Ontario Chamber: Upcoming Budget Should Focus on Hardest Hit

(Toronto – February 26, 2021) – Today, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released its 2021 Ontario pre-Budget submission, focused on recovery, growth, and modernization. The submission calls for policies that minimize the impacts of business closures, uplift the sectors and demographics hit hardest by the pandemic, invest in the infrastructure and workforce of the future, and modernize government services to improve outcomes for businesses and residents.

“With Ontario’s economy expected to enter a period of recovery this year as vaccines are distributed and businesses begin to reopen, resources need to be focused on where they will have the greatest impact.” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “In the upcoming budget, we would like to see a focus on reskilling, broadband, and access to capital, which will be necessary for the revival of small business and entrepreneurship as well as an inclusive economic recovery.”

In 2021, Ontario will continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. The OCC’s submission notes the crisis has created new problems and exacerbated pre-existing ones.

The impact on people and business has been catastrophic overall, and disproportionate for certain regions, sectors, and demographics.

“Resources should be targeted towards the sectors and communities that have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, including industries requiring face-to-face contact, small businesses, municipal governments, as well as women, lower-income, racialized, elderly, new immigrant, and younger Ontarians,” added Rossi.

The recommendations outlined in the submission were developed together with businesses, post-secondary institutions, chambers of commerce, and boards of trade. The submission focuses on mitigating the immediate impacts of the crisis, while laying the groundwork for a robust and sustainable economic recovery.

Read the OCC’s pre-budget submission here.

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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 or to arrange an interview:
Ceara Copps – Edwards
Manager, Public Affairs
Ontario Chamber of Commerce
2105 – 180 Dundas Street West, Toronto ON M5G 1Z8
cearacoppsedwards@occ.ca| Mobile: (647) 936-6734
www.occ.ca | @OntarioCofC | @Ceara_Edwards