Changes announced today by the government to the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program will add costs, delays and red tape for Canadian businesses.

Most companies using temporary foreign workers are small businesses that can’t afford to wait to find the appropriate workers and don’t have many options for training. Nor can they pay much higher wages to persuade Canadians to relocate.

The Temporary Foreign Workers Program is often the only way for small businesses to find the people they need.  While they would much rather employ Canadians, or permanent immigrants, these business often have no choice but to look to temporary foreign workers to take jobs that would otherwise go unfilled.

La Chambre de commerce du Canada et Grant Thornton LLP ont formé un partenariat pour présenter le Prix de la croissance des entreprises privées.

Le Prix de la croissance des entreprises privées cherche à souligner le travail des entreprises qui adoptent des stratégies de croissance englobant un vaste éventail de leurs activités :

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is looking into charging a toll for people driving into the United States. Charging a toll to travellers crossing the border by ground would be a serious mistake.

Any fee on travellers crossing the border is bad for individuals and for the economy. Building the walls higher and making the border stickier and thicker is exactly the wrong way to go. Not only would it have a damaging impact on trade and businesses on both sides of the border but goes against the Beyond the Border Action Plan presented by the Prime Minister and President Obama to improve border efficiency and regulatory cooperation.

These new fees would break down the sense of North American community we have been working so hard to build. We will vigorously lobby against this proposal.

Next month, Canada will host a high-level trade mission from Nigeria. Led by their Vice President, the delegation includes seven cabinet ministers, five state governors and 25 CEOs representing some of Africa’s most successful new businesses. Such high-profile business delegations are not common in Canada. Even more unusual is the fact that they are here for Canada—and not just stopping over on their way to the U.S.

This is good news. Over the next decade, Africa’s economy is expected to grow faster than any other continent. Foreign direct investment has more than tripled over the past ten years, and remains strong despite increasing global headwinds. Appropriate for Canada, the vast majority of this investment goes into extractive or infrastructure projects, which explains why our equipment producers, engineers and mining and energy firms are already making significant inroads.

Ottawa, April 12 2013 — The Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcomes today’s issuance of the Presidential Permit needed to start the construction of a New International Trade Crossing between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario.

With about half of all trade between Canada and the U.S. moving across the Michigan-Ontario border, the region is at the heart of our bilateral trading relationship. A new bridge is long overdue. The region can’t continue to rely on one major span. If the Ambassador Bridge were closed for any reason, even just for repairs, it could have catastrophic effects on the economies of both nations. A new bridge will create more than 10,000 construction jobs and will strengthen the industrial base in both countries. It’s a win for citizens and businesses on both sides of the border.