Access to Immigration, Capital, and Trade Essential for Ontario Business Recovery: Ontario Chamber of Commerce

(TORONTO-August 30, 2021) Today, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) and Ontario Chamber Network called on all political parties to take bold action to strengthen business competitiveness as the economy continues to reopen and recover. In its Ontario Business Matters federal election platform, the OCC underscores that longstanding issues – including barriers to interprovincial trade, relatively low immigration quotas, financing challenges, and infrastructure gaps – must be addressed to strengthen Canada’s long-term resilience and recovery.

“As the economy continues to reopen, labour shortages are being felt across the province. The skills mismatch has been a longstanding challenge for businesses to remain competitive and has been amplified by the crisis,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO of the OCC. “We are calling on the next Parliament to address these critical labour market needs, along with enhanced access to capital and trade, to support Canada’s recovery.”

The first pillar of the Ontario Business Matters campaign is Workforce Recovery and Business Competitiveness, with recommendations such as:

• Removing barriers to interprovincial labour mobility and trade.
• Increasing Ontario’s allocation of immigrants under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.
• Enhancing access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Modernizing federal privacy frameworks.

“With Ontario responsible for 40% of the national GDP[1] and home to almost 50% of all employees in high-tech, financial services, and other knowledge-intensive industries[2], adopting pragmatic solutions to support Ontario business competitiveness will be a critical driver of Canada’s economic recovery,” added Rossi.

The OCC underscores that special attention must be placed on policies that facilitate equitable recovery for small businesses, communities, and sectors that have been most severely impacted by the pandemic, including women, Indigenous peoples, racialized people, and businesses in the tourism, retail, and foodservice industries.

Through the Ontario Business Matters federal election campaign, the OCC, along with over 155 local chambers and boards of trade, will be sharing pressing policy issues related to Ontario business that need to be front and centre in the federal election.

For more information about the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Ontario Business Matters campaign, please visit the OCC’s website.

-30-

About the Ontario Chamber of Commerce
For more than a century, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has been the independent, non-partisan, indispensable partner of Ontario business. The OCC’s mission is to support economic growth in Ontario by defending business priorities at Queen’s Park on behalf of its network’s diverse 60,000 members.

For more information, please contact:
Ceara Copps – Edwards
Manager, Public Affairs
cearacoppsedwards@occ.ca | Mobile: (647) 936-6734

[1] Ibid

[2] Government of Canada, ‘Key Small Business Statistics – 2020,’ viewed on August 16, 2021, https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/eng/h_03126.html#how-SME

[3] An Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts