

Codi Wilson, CP24.com





Mayor John Tory says his business mission to Los Angeles next week will focus less on traditional studios and more on “newer content producers.”

Tory, Coun. Michael Thomson and a delegation of 22 Toronto companies and organizations will depart for the three-day mission on Jan. 23.

Speaking during a news conference on Thursday, Tory said the group will be looking to attract business from some companies that have not done a great deal of business with Toronto in the past.

“We are going to Netflix … they have not done as much production work in Toronto. They won’t necessarily know, except through word of mouth, some of the Toronto experience,” he said.

“So we are going to tell them about it, we are going to encourage them to come to Toronto.”

Tory said the purpose of the trip is to strengthen relationships with members of the industry in Hollywood and bring good, skilled jobs to the city.

“We are putting all these people through the (educational) institutions… these are people that we have invested in their education and we have a responsibility to make sure that we’re working with the industry that we make sure there are opportunities here wherever possible for those talented young people,” the mayor added.

Tory said that productions such as ‘Suicide Squad’ and ‘Suits’ have brought thousands of well-paid jobs to Toronto.

When asked if it was necessary for him to attend the business mission, Tory said he would prefer not to travel if he could avoid it.

“I am going on this mission to Los Angeles because the industry asked me to go. And I guess if they felt my presence was useful, they would ask me and if they felt my presence wasn’t useful … they wouldn’t ask me,” he said.

“I don’t look for opportunities to travel. My wife will confirm that to you. Even when it is vacation time… I don’t like being away. I have many things to do here but part of what I have to do here is ensure a healthy economy.”

The city’s portion of the trip, Tory said, rings in at $35,000.

“If said to me, would I expend or invest $35,000 of the taxpayers money to get the return we get in terms of jobs and film production here and made a small contribution to help productions get over the line to come to Toronto, the answer is yes I would every single time.”

Tory noted that film and television production in Toronto is a $1.5- billion industry.