The Greater Sudbury chamber delegates had an exciting few days at the 2016 Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) Annual General Meeting that took place in Oakville from April 28-May 1. Over the course of three days, the chamber listened to engaging presentations by industry leaders and government officials, including Premier Kathleen Wynne.

Delegates also participated in a plenary session where policy resolutions were debated and voted on.  We are pleased to report that all three of our policy resolutions were successfully passed and have now become official policy of the OCC.  The chamber advanced resolutions on topics such as mining innovation, the Ontario College of Trades, and mitigating the risk of cap and trade on business.

The chamber also collaborated with its fellow chambers to support a number of policy resolutions which included issues such as making electricity pricing more transparent in the province, improving the responsiveness of the Provincial Nominee Program for employers, and supporting rural and small businesses in hiring apprentices. These policy resolutions are an example of how chambers of commerce are leading discussions around important issues in their respective communities.

“The policy resolutions and the recommendations contained within them are the very issues the Ontario Chamber network uses to advocate to the provincial government on key issues of importance to our business community,” said Karen Hourtovenko, Chair of the Board, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.

“The cumulative burden on employers is rising with high WSIB rates, electricity prices increasing, a proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, among other regulations.  These policy resolutions hold the government accountable and recommend ways to mitigate risk and costs to business,” added Hourtovenko.

You can read our policy resolutions here:

We also co-sponsored on the following resolutions with the Thunder Bay, Greater Peterborough and Timmins Chambers of Commerce:

Author: Andy Veilleux