Ontario Chamber Calls on Queens Park for an Economic Growth Strategy

(TORONTO– March 2, 2023) – On March 6^th, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) heads to Queens Park for its 8^th annual Advocacy Day with close to 100 members from across the province to meet with all parties to discuss how they can work together to drive economic growth.

“We look forward to meeting with officials from across party lines to discuss pro-growth policies needed to combat the headwinds facing the economy: labour shortages, inflation, supply chain backlogs, and health care system vulnerabilities,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO, OCC. “Our 2023 Ontario Economic Report revealed that business confidence is at an all-time low, underscoring the importance of strategic investments and continued collaboration between the private, public, and non-profit sectors.”

Some of the key recommendations of the OCC Advocacy Day delegation are:

• Addressing Ontario’s labour market challenges by boosting immigration, removing barriers to labour mobility and foreign credential recognition, and introducing workforce development strategies for key sectors such as construction, health care, tourism, and hospitality, and transportation.
• Bolstering our health care system by developing a health human resources strategy, continuing to expand community care and addressing backlogs in routine vaccines, diagnostics, and cancer screenings, and combating the mental health “echo pandemic.”
• Investing in growth-enabling infrastructure, from roads to housing, to ensure Ontario’s built environment is climate resilient, energy efficient, and informed by smart planning principles that will support population and economic growth for decades to come.
• Continuing to modernize regulation and lower administrative burdens on business to encourage business investments in Ontario.

The delegation is comprised of leaders from chambers of commerce and boards of trade from across the province. They will be meeting with all four of Ontario’s political parties throughout the day just ahead of the 2023 provincial budget and conclude the day with a reception at Queens Park.

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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:
Andrea Carmona
Manager, Public Affairs,
Ontario Chamber of Commerce
andreacarmona@occ.ca | Mobile: (647) 234-0255