The Hamiltonian asks Questions re: Mayor's Trade Mission to Colombia

The following questions were posed to Mayor Eisenberger in relation to his recent mission to Colombia. We were hoping for more detailed and substantive answers to our questions, which we we thought were fair questions. We have included the Mayor's response verbatim below our questions:

1. Can you tell Hamiltonians what prompted this trade mission and why Colombia, as opposed to any other location.

2. In your media release, you stated : This is a mission to solidify new business connections, nurture investment leads, and ultimately create new jobs for this city.

a) Can you identify which new business connections were made and what did the parties commit to as next steps?

b) Can you explain what measures will be/have been put in place to gauge whether new jobs for Hamiltonians have ultimately resulted from this mission?

3. Who else attended the mission with you, on behalf of Hamilton?

4. Is there a report that has been produced that captures the progress made from this mission. If so, can we receive a copy for our readers?

5. How much did the trip cost, in terms of any monies that are to be paid by Hamilton taxpayers and why was this effort worth the cost?

6. Is there anything else you’d like Hamiltonian to know about this matter?

Mayor Eisenberger replied as follows:

Thank you for your inquiry. The mission was the culmination of bilateral talks that began during the PanAm Games in 2015. The mission consisted of both private and public sector partners, involved investment meetings and events designed to partner Hamilton entities with potential Colombian investors/trade partners, and culminated with the signing of a Memorandum Of Understanding with a Colombian technology accelerator.