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Guelph Chamber of Commerce and Ontario Chamber of Commerce Release their Blueprint to Bolster Ontario’s Prosperity
Aug 8, 2022
For Immediate Release | August 8, 2022
(Guelph– August 8, 2022) – The Guelph Chamber of Commerce and Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) welcomes the return of the Legislature and looks forward to working with Premier Ford, his new cabinet, and all parties to champion the province’s competitiveness, productivity, and growth. To put its members’ concerns’ front and centre as the Legislature returns, the OCC today released its Blueprint to Bolster Ontario’s Prosperity, which provides a letter to each provincial cabinet minister outlining key policy priorities.
“Businesses across Guelph are looking to the government to develop policies that will spur local and regional economic growth and job creation,” said Shakiba Shayani, President & CEO of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce. "Our province is strongest when government enables the right conditions for businesses to thrive. The province should include the private sector at the table to assist in striking a balance between short-and long-term solutions to address our current and future challenges.”
The most essential conditions outlined in OCC’s Blueprint to Bolster Ontario’s Prosperity include:
- Addressing Ontario’s labour market challenges by boosting immigration, removing barriers to labour mobility and introducing workforce development strategies for key sectors such as construction, health care, tourism, and hospitality, and transportation.
- Prioritizing our health care system’s urgent needs by developing a health human resources strategy, delivering on digital health, and addressing backlogs in routine vaccines, diagnostics, and cancer screenings.
- Continuing to decrease lowering the administrative burden on business and ensuring that regulation is streamlined and effective.
- Propelling housing affordability through increased supply and regulatory reforms to fuel the industry and help organizations attract and retain talent.
- Modernizing public procurement to support small businesses and equity seeking entrepreneurs to diversify the supply chain.
- Planning for Ontario’s long-term energy needs to ensure businesses and residents continue to have access to reliable, clean, and affordable energy for generations to come.
- Advancing regional transportation connectivity to ensure efficient movement of peoples and goods.
“The past few years have been characterized by tremendous uncertainty: a prolonged pandemic, record-high inflation, supply chain disruptions, labour shortages, and geopolitical turmoil. If we want our economy and people to emerge stronger amid so much uncertainty, Ontario must focus on creating the right conditions to support competitiveness, productivity, and growth,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “We are providing all Ministers with a blueprint for steps that can be taken to ensure we are bolstering Ontario’s prosperity – we look forward to continued collaboration with the Government of Ontario and all parties over the next four years.”
The OCC’s blueprint letters includes both policy asks where immediate action is required to support business and foundational recommendations for long-term prosperity and were informed by OCC’s diverse membership.
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Media Contact:
Shakiba Shayani
President & CEO, Guelph Chamber of Commerce
519-822-8081 ext. 2
About the Guelph Chamber of Commerce
The Guelph Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit, member-driven organization dedicated to advocating, connecting, and convening on behalf of its members. As the voice of business in the Guelph community for over 190 years, the Guelph Chamber facilitates conversations, connections, and solutions that strengthens the economic prosperity of the community. Learn more at guelphchamber.com
About the Ontario Chamber of Commerce
For more than a century, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has been the independent, non-partisan, indispensable partner of Ontario business. The OCC’s mission is to support economic growth in Ontario by defending business priorities at Queen’s Park on behalf of its network’s diverse 60,000 members.