News & Press Releases

Chamber to Guelph Council: Cities Matter

For Immediate Release | Feb 21, 2019

The Guelph Chamber of Commerce presented to Guelph City Council as part of the stakeholder engagement and public presentations process on the City’s Annual Budget. The Chamber reiterated its concern that this year’s budget proposal comes in at almost twice the rate of inflation. Governments at all levels are re-doubling their efforts to provide relief for small-and-medium sized enterprises. As a City it is important to ensure this momentum is not stifled by passing a budget that would raise property taxes nearly double the rate of inflation.By 2025, cities of our size around the globe combined, will contribute more than half of global growth. This will not happen by chance, it can only happen if the right environment exists to bolster private sector growth and job creation.

“None of these cost increases live in isolation and they disproportionately impact job creators in our community.  It is important now to examine closely the overall cost of doing business in Guelph and the City’s role in ensuring Guelph remain a competitive place to do business,” says Kithio Mwanzia, President & CEO of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce. “For us to continue to be Canada’s Jobs Powerhouse we must respond effectively to the needs of businesses and their ability to get their teams to work, appropriately manage business costs vis-a-vis property taxes and attract top talent to homes they can afford to live in,” continues Mwanzia.

The Chamber focused on these key areas as part of its presentation:

  1. The need to ensure that property taxes did not increase beyond the rate of inflation in this budget year.  
  2. The need to implement a new Guelph Transit system guided by the just concluded review that will allow the city to modernize the system and be an active part of Guelph’s competitiveness continuum.

“We look forward to working with the City and continuing to provide the voice of the business community as a means to bolster growth and opportunity for Guelph,” concludes Mwanzia.

Download the Guelph Chamber’s full budget presentation here.

For more information, contact Kithio Mwanzia, President & CEO, Guelph Chamber of Commerce.
E: kithio@guelphchamber.com | P: 519-822-8081 | www.guelphchamber.com