COVID-19 Policy Brief Series

With the rapid onset of COVID-19, which included the mandatory closure of non-essential workplaces in Ontario and travel restrictions, the OCC has mobilized quickly to support the business community in different ways.

To help inform relief and recovery efforts, the OCC will be releasing a series of policy briefs touching on various aspects of the COVID-19 crisis.

Better Budgets: Bolstering the Fiscal Resilience of Ontario’s Municipalities

While COVID-19 has created a uniquely difficult situation for Ontario’s municipalities, it has also exposed areas to improve municipal fiscal governance. Local governments do not have the fiscal autonomy they need to make them competitive and maintaining the status quo could be devastating for communities in a post-COVID economic recovery. The impact of the virus and the resultant public health measures have meant that most municipalities are seeing a decline in revenue and increase in expenditures.

As all levels of government look to balance debt and deficits while protecting the well-being of our communities, Better Budgets: Bolstering the Fiscal Resilience of Ontario’s Municipalities, identifies 14 recommendations for both the Province and municipalities which can bring immediate and long-term relief to communities across Ontario.

Enormous thanks to our partner KPMG Canada and the report’s authors for their collaboration on this important report.

Read our report.

Capital is Key: Financing Entrepreneurship in Ontario After COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a cash flow crisis for many entrepreneurs and small business owners across Ontario who represent 98 percent of all Canadian businesses and contribute close to half the GDP generated by the private sector. Recognizing the critical role of entrepreneurship in Canada’s economic recovery, the Ontario Chamber’s latest report – Capital is Key: Financing Entrepreneurship in Ontario After COVID-19 – offers practical solutions to support small businesses as they fuel Ontario’s economic advantage.

We would like to acknowledge and thank Meridian Credit Union and Innovate Cities for their collaboration on this policy brief.

Read our report.

Growing a More Resilient Food Supply Chain in Ontario | April 2021

With COVID-19, Canada’s food supply chain experienced numerous pressures – ranging from panic buying to temporary shortages at some grocery stores to the shift to e-commerce. This policy brief examines issues that emerged for the food supply chain during the last 12 months as well as longstanding ones that were exacerbated by the pandemic. While the COVID-19 crisis caused the food supply chain to bend, this policy brief explains that the chain did not break. Canada’s food system stabilized relatively quickly and continued to provide consumers with uninterrupted access to food. Since a future public health emergency may emerge, this brief encourages policymakers to prioritize six issues to ensure the agri-food sector is better positioned to withstand future disruptions, as well as support local producers and ensure an equitable recovery.

This policy brief was made possible by support from Beef Farmers of Ontario, Durham College, and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

Read our report.

Realizing the Full Potential of Virtual Care in Ontario | December 2020

While telemedicine sites have been in place for decades, virtual care has risen in prominence thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and implementation of temporary billing codes in Ontario. As in-person medical appointments became less feasible, virtual visits have enabled Ontarians to continue accessing quality care while not exposing themselves to the virus. Given the demand for timely care, the many benefits associated with virtual care, and continued government investment in digital health, virtual care is here to stay.

Recognizing the timeliness of this issue, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s (OCC) Health Policy Council has developed recommendations to help the Province realize the full potential of virtual care and ensure it is more accessible, equitable, and widely adopted throughout Ontario’s health care system.

Read our report.

Read The She-Covery Project | September 2020

The COVID-19 crisis is having a disproportionate economic impact on women, with women’s labour participation rate falling to its lowest in 30 years. Existing systemic inequalities have been further exacerbated by recent shut-down measures, resulting in what some economists are calling a “she-cession,” as more women have lost their jobs and fewer women than men are re-gaining employment. As schools begin to reopen, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce releases its latest report, The She-Covery Project: Confronting the Gendered Economic Impacts of COVID-19 in Ontario. This brief lays out a path to Ontario’s “she-covery” by offering practical recommendations to confront both immediate and longer-term challenges.

Read our report.

Read Small Business, Big Impact | June 2020

Small Business, Big Impact: How SMEs are Pivoting During COVID-19, examines explores Ontario’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which have been at the centre of the economic crisis created by COVID-19. Since small businesses are the backbone of the economy and key to vibrant communities, this situation has sparked great concern among policymakers.

The 28 SMEs profiled in this policy brief share best practices and how they have pivoted during this unprecedented period.

Read our report.

Read Collaboration in Crisis: A memo from COVID-19 | May 2020

Collaboration has been a dominant theme throughout the COVID-19 crisis, both within and across countries. In Ontario, unprecedented alignment between businesses and all levels of government has been instrumental to crafting policy responses and supplying critical products and services.
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However, this cooperation will be put to the test as communities around the world take steps to reopen their economies and turn towards recovery. While globalization had been in retreat for years prior to the crisis, the brief warns against pulling integration back further and underscores the importance of global ties, particularly for Ontario, where economic growth depends on harmonious global trading relationships and well-functioning international supply chains. Continued collaboration will also be required as provinces begin to ease public health measures at different rates. Managing the interprovincial movement of goods and people will require a renewed commitment to collaboration to avoid jeopardizing the progress already made.
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Read our report.

Read Uncharted Territory: Assessing the Landscape of Ontario’s Economic Recovery Post COVID-19 | April 2020

COVID-19 containment measures, while essential to seeing resolution of the epidemic, have come at tremendous economic cost. Businesses are struggling to retain cashflows needed to meet immediate short-term obligations such as wages and rent. The inability of businesses to cope with the pressure, and make ends meet during the crisis, marks the beginning of what could be a swift deterioration of invaluable economic structures, irreparably harming Ontario’s economic future. Immense relief measures are needed if such structures, including supply chains, markets, private investment, and credit facilities are to be preserved through the pandemic.

This report examines the policy tools capable of providing critical economic relief, and the economic risks of failing to act appropriately. Confidence in the government’s ability to see the economy through the pandemic must be palpable if markets are to remain liquid, and our economy is to be preserved.

Read our report.