One of the reasons I think I have the best job in Canada is that it gives me the opportunity to meet business and community leaders from every part of Canada. The Canadian Chamber network now includes 420 Chambers and Boards of Trade representing 192,000 businesses of all sizes and sectors and every region of Canada.
It was to talk about how we can use the strength of the network to benefit Northern Canada that brought me to Whitehorse this week. The Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce had invited representatives from across the three territories and Labrador to join them for their annual meeting and for a roundtable where we could discuss how to work together to promote the success of this vast region. As a follow-on to the Canadian Chamber’s Board meeting in Iqaluit in April, it was a great opportunity for me to hear, first-hand, from the people who know most about the economic and social changes that are transforming the north.
There is a new confidence in Northern Canada, and it was obvious in Whitehorse, where Yukon’s economic growth last year far outpaced what took place in the rest of the country. But the north also faces major challenges, including, as Premier Dennis Fentie pointed out in his speech to the Chamber and in a later meeting I had with him, the need to deal with a serious housing shortage and to put in place the clean energy infrastructure that Yukon’s continued economic development will require.
The need for improved infrastructure of a range of different kinds was a common theme I heard from chamber representatives who attended the meeting. And there was a clear consensus that northern businesses and the communities where they are located need to work together on a common agenda.
When members of the Canadian Chamber’s Board returned from their meetings in Iqaluit in the spring, they had a clear sense of both the opportunities and the challenges that exist in the north. And they were determined that the Canadian Chamber will be a partner with Northerners in helping the region achieve its full potential.
Chambers from across Canada will meet in Gatineau in three weeks for the Canadian Chamber’s Annual General Meeting. There will be a strong and active delegation from the North, and they will have an important story to tell the rest of us about why their region’s economic success will benefit every Canadian.
- Perrin
On August 6, the Council of the Federation concluded their annual meeting in Winnipeg. The premiers addressed several issues that the Canadian Chamber highlighted in an open letter to them including Canada -U.S. relations, international trade, the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), as well as domestic barriers to trade, investment, and labour mobility. On Canada-U.S. relations, international trade and the CETA, the premiers committed to:
-continuing their engagement with their U.S. counterparts to advance Canada’s interests focusing on climate change, clean energy technologies, and border efficiency,
-developing a framework for provincial/territorial involvement in international trade negotiations, and
-remaining actively involved in the CETA negotiations. (Newfoundland and Labrador’s “substantive issues with the content and process of CETA” were highlighted.)
The Council of the Federation’s Strengthening International Trade and Relationships communiqué is available here.
And on interprovincial barriers to trade, investment, and labour mobility, during their discussions on sustaining the economic recovery, the premiers directed that work to achieve full labour mobility for financial services be completed by July 1, 2011. The premiers also directed that extra-provincial corporate registration and reporting requirements be reconciled by December 31, 2010. The Council of the Federation’s Premiers Working to Sustain Economic Recovery communiqué is available here.
- Perrin
Today, I wrote to the provincial and territorial premiers in advance of their annual Council of the Federation meeting in Winnipeg on August 4-6. There are several issues of national importance to not only Canadian business but all Canadians over which the premiers have significant influence. These include the movement of goods, services and people within Canada; our relationship with the U.S.; expanding Canada’s trade opportunities through a Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA); and reforms to the Canada Pension Plan.
I encouraged the premiers to include these issues in their discussions and look forward to the results of their meeting. My letter to the premiers is available here.
- Perrin
I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Warren Everson as our new Senior Vice President, Policy, as of September 1. I have known Warren personally for the past twenty-five years, during which he has demonstrated an impressive intelligence, good judgment, and personal integrity. He has a long experience in public policy and advocacy, starting in 1982 after his graduation from Queen’s University. During his time in government, he worked for ministers in a variety of departments, including Forestry and Mines, Privatization/Regulatory Affairs, International Trade, and Transport and the Solicitor General’s Department. He served as Chief of Staff to the Solicitor General of Canada and the Minister of Transport.
He brings to us extensive experience in the transportation sector, including as Executive Director of the National Transportation Act Review Commission and as a Commissioner on the Transportation Safety Board Review Commission. For the past four years, he has been Senior Consultant with Strategy Corp, providing strategic advice and government relations services to support to a wide range of clients in communications, education and transportation files.
I believe he will be a first-rate addition to the Canadian Chamber and that he will help take what is already the best policy team in Ottawa to an even higher level.
- Perrin
Today the Canadian Chamber joined with several business organizations representing thousands of Canadian businesses and their millions of employees to call on the federal government to immediately intervene in the labour conflict at the Port of Montreal to end the dispute so that normal business operations resume immediately. The disruption at the Port of Montreal has serious implications for businesses large and small across Canada. We urge both parties to work together to resume services immediately.
- Perrin
