Chamber Blog ~ September 2019

We believe governments should pave the way to a connected Canada by minimizing the obstacles to doing business as a means to achieve better service for consumers at a lower price point. 

Earlier this week, we concluded our 2019 AGM and Convention in Saint John, NB. But the feel of this year’s AGM was different than in years past, with being only one month away from the federal election, all the topics discussed were had knowing that our political landscape is about to change.

From our chambers competition to our policy resolution debates, our AGM kept the upcoming election top of mind. Our pollsters and pundits session with David Coletto, CEO and Founding Partner, Abacus Data, and Huw Williams, President, Impact Public Affairs, was invaluable in helping us and our chamber network improve our advocacy strategies ahead of the federal election.

A gender-balanced workplace is not just a women’s issue, but a business issue. Diversity in the workplace allows for creative thinking, innovation and problem solving, which ultimately provides businesses with a competitive advantage. Despite these benefits, 45% of employed women are working in one of 20 lowest-paying occupations.

User fees play an important role in how departments and agencies are funded. Like taxes, they affect the competitiveness of businesses that pay them.

The federal government replaced the User Fees Act with the Service Fees Act in the 2017 federal budget. The legislation was included in the omnibus budget bill, meaning it received far less parliamentary debate, committee study or public scrutiny than it would have as standalone legislation. Unfortunately, Health Canada’s 2017 attempt to dramatically increase fees for drugs and medical devices, gave no consideration to business competitiveness impacts and reinforced industry concerns about the federal shift on fees.

It is easy to think international trade is all about convoluted acronyms that describe trade agreements that take a long time to negotiate. A sampling of the ones you have probably heard about recently include CPTPP, CETA and CUSMA.

Indeed, the trade world is not short of acronyms, but there is another crucial one for businesses to know called Incoterms®, which stands for International Commercial Terms.

Over the course of the summer, we sat down with business and Indigenous leaders across Canada to hear what they had to say regarding reconciliation, what it means to them, their communities and their businesses.

Despite repeated requests of the federal government to be part of the reconciliation discussion, the business community has been by-and-large excluded. This unfortunate reality is why we seek to demonstrate to the federal government that businesses and Indigenous peoples are often way ahead of them in reconciliation.