www.chamber.ca

Federal Budget 2012: Advancing the Competitiveness Agenda

2012-03-30T20:45:33+00:00

The 2012 federal budget presents a plan for long-term economic growth that builds on Canada’s economic fiscal advantages. The five themes laid by the government—innovation, investment, education, skills and communities—include a number of measures from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s 10-point national plan to regain Canada’s competitive edge in the global economy.

The Canadian Chamber urged the government to focus on where Canada needs to be five or 10 years from now, even if it means taking tough decisions now. The government has acted on many of the key elements of the Canadian Chamber’s Top 10 program for restoring Canada’s competitiveness.

The Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness: What Did the Budget Deliver?

Addressing Canada’s skills crisis
Returning Canadians to work
Improving the tax system
Making regulations work
Attracting international investment
Stimulating research and development and bringing it to market
Using technology to make Canada competitive
Providing the financing businesses need to grow
Building 21st century infrastructure

Protecting Trade on the Great Lakes

2012-03-13T15:21:04+00:00

New York State has recently backed away from its plan to unilaterally impose stringent ballast water standards for ships transiting New York waters. These rules would have required ships to treat their ballast water to a degree 100 times greater than current International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards. Furthermore, any vessels built after January 1, 2012 would have needed the ability to treat their ballast water to a level 1,000 times greater than IMO standards.

Beyond the Borders Announcement

2011-12-07T14:45:08+00:00

On Feb. 4, 2011 President Obama and Prime Minister Harper made a joint declaration to improve border efficiency and regulatory cooperation. The announcement made on Dec. 7, 2011 is the first step in realizing this goal. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has been a vocal advocate of greater regulatory cooperation and border efficiency with the United States. This partnership will strengthen the economic and physical security of both countries and facilitate the flow of legitimate people and goods across the border.

Canadian Wheat Board Reform

2011-10-11T15:00:22+00:00

On October 7, 2011 in Regina, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, Gerry Ritz, announced the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) monopoly on the sale of wheat and barley. For the first time since World War II, Western farmers will be legally permitted to sell their wheat and barley to any buyer they choose. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has been instrumental in calling upon the federal government to allow farmers to sell their products openly, including by ending the CWB monopoly.

Federal Budget Aligns with Canadian Chamber’s Call for Action

2011-03-23T13:16:10+00:00

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its members called on the government to focus on three areas in 2011. The government heard the voice of Canadian business and aligned its budget with the Canadian Chamber’s call for action:

Transition from stimulus to private sector-led recovery.
Lay out a credible plan to return to balanced budgets within five years.
Commit to a tax and regulatory environment that will attract investments and create jobs.

A New Vision for Canada-U.S. Relations

2011-02-10T14:16:18+00:00

On February 4, 2011 President Obama and Prime Minister Harper made a joint declaration to establish a new long-term partnership between Canada and the U.S. This partnership will strengthen the economic and physical security of both countries and facilitated the flow of legitimate people and goods across the border.

The issue

Improving the efficiency of the border
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has called upon the Canadian and U.S. governments to improve the efficiency of the Canada-U.S. border. Since 9/11, the costs of doing business across the border have grown thanks to the growing layers of regulations, infrastructure constraints, regulatory complexity and uncertain wait times.

Reducing non-tariff barriers to trade
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has advocated for regulatory alignment between Canada and the U.S., indicating that greater regulatory cooperation would foster economic growth, improve the competiveness of both economies and fuel job creation.

MPs give Canada’s extractive sector companies a vote of confidence

2010-10-29T17:28:22+00:00

The issue
In February 2009, the Liberal party introduced Bill C-300: An Act Respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil, or Gas in Developing Countries. Contained in this bill were a series of proposed punitive measures if a Canadian-owned oil, gas, or mining company was judged to be behaving in a manner inconsistent with yet-to-be-defined guidelines.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its network across the country mobilized to lobby against Bill C-300 as the proposed legislation would institutionalize a process for launching sensational-and unproven-accusations against Canadian extractive companies, alleging they are engaged in the most repugnant of activities in developing countries. Bill C-300 would also establish an unnecessary and duplicate process for dealing with complaints against Canadian mining, oil, and gas companies, which must already abide by internationally-recognized corporate social responsibility guidelines. Our voice was heard loudly.

Replacement workers legislation off the table for this Parliament

2010-10-21T18:02:12+00:00

Yesterday, a majority of 153 MPs voted to defeat Bill C-386 An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (replacement workers). This means that bills addressing this issue will be ruled as inadmissible during this Parliament. This is good news for Canada’s federally-regulated critical infrastructure providers, including railways, airlines, airports, telecommunications providers, trucking companies, ports and banks. It is also good news for those businesses depending upon them to keep their operations running and Canadians who use electronic banking, automated teller and retail debit card services; rely upon communications in hospitals and police services, airlines, passenger rail; and live in communities with limited or no road access.

Employment Insurance: A double win for the Canadian Chamber!

2010-09-30T18:36:13+00:00

As the biggest and most important businesses constituency in the country, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its network across the country issued a resounding call to action in the wake of proposed changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) program, and plans to increase EI premiums by the maximum allowed under federal legislation. Our voice was heard loudly.

Canada-Columbia FTA

2010-06-28T21:18:23+00:00

On June 21, 2010, Bill C-2 (An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Colombia, the Agreement on the Environment between Canada and the Republic of Colombia and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Colombia) passed Third Reading in the Senate and was given Royal Assent. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has been instrumental in calling upon government to conclude FTAs that further open doors to markets and new opportunities for Canadian business.