Canadian Chamber of Commerce outlines approach to sharpen Canada’s competitive edge

Ottawa, February 8, 2012 - The Canadian Chamber of Commerce announced today that it has launched a 10-point national plan aimed at helping Canada regain its competitive edge in the global economy.

After extensive research and consultation with business leaders and member chambers of commerce across the country over the past year, the Canadian Chamber has singled out the top 10 barriers holding Canadian business back and diminishing Canada’s ability to compete.

“We believe it’s time to tackle the issues head-on by providing specific measures to solve them,” said Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “We will catalogue the cause, impacts and possible solutions for each issue.”

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce will leverage the power and voice of its national network of more than 420 local, regional and provincial/territorial chambers to press for action from all levels of government, businesses and other stakeholders to help sharpen the country’s competitive edge. The members of the chamber network recognize that building a more productive, more competitive economy is a shared undertaking and are eager to be part of the solution.

Over the next several months, the Canadian Chamber will tackle each of the top 10 barriers, with a specific focus on the issue of skills in order to establish tangible, real solutions for Canadian business. “Everywhere I go, businesses of all sizes tell me that their number one concern is finding the right people to do the job”, Beatty added.

“With our cross-country reach and the depth of our collective experience, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its partners are uniquely positioned to help address these challenges,” Beatty said.

Here are the top 10 barriers to Canadian business the Canadian Chamber will be focusing on over the coming year:

• Resolving Canada’s skills crisis. A growing shortage of highly skilled labour is becoming desperate, threatening our ability to keep up in a global, knowledge-based economy.
• Returning Canadians to work/Helping federally regulated businesses compete. Our Employment Insurance Program perpetuates regional disparity and discourages Canadians from relocating to where work is available. Federally regulated employers constantly risk being hobbled by overly prescriptive laws and regulations, which their competitors aren’t required to follow.
• Improving the tax system. Reforms are needed to repair our tax system, which relies too heavily on the most economically damaging forms of taxation - income and profit taxes - and is overly complex.
• Breaking down internal barriers. Internal trade barriers impose unnecessary costs to businesses and consumers, weakening our economy and our ability to compete.
• Regulating efficiently. Inefficient government regulatory processes waste valuable time and resources for businesses, hampering their ability to grow and prosper.
• Making Canada a magnet for international investment. Canada must remove obstacles in the way of attracting more foreign direct investment, actively promote it and strengthen regulatory regimes to enable it.
• Stimulating research and development and bringing it to market. Flaws in the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentive program must be addressed so that businesses see it as a reliable and predictable incentive that doesn’t involve significant compliance and administrative costs.
• Using technology to make Canada competitive. We must do a better job promoting our knowledge-based economy and take better advantage of our knowledgeable workforce.
• Providing the financing businesses need to grow. Canada’s venture capital industry has been struggling for more than a decade, holding back our ability to compete. An aggressive national strategy is needed to build and sustain a robust venture capital industry.
• Building 21st century infrastructure. Canada’s infrastructure is rapidly aging and current levels of investment in infrastructure are not keeping up with our needs. Canada needs a national infrastructure investment plan that includes new funding models and increased private-sector involvement.

Consult our top 10 barriers to competitiveness document or visit ChamberTop10.ca for more information.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the vital connection between business and the federal government. It helps shape public policy and decision-making to the benefit of businesses, communities and families across Canada with a network of over 420 chambers of commerce and boards of trade, representing 192,000 businesses of all sizes in all sectors of the economy and in all regions. News and information are available at Chamber.ca or follow us on Twitter @CdnChamberofCom.

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Contact:
Émilie S. Potvin
Director, Public Affairs & Media Relations
Office: 613.238.4000 (231)
Cell.: 613.797.1860
epotvin@chamber.ca