SUDBURY, February 15, 2018 – A strong and prosperous Northern Ontario depends on business growth, but businesses are grappling with daunting challenges. To help local businesses compete and grow, the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, released 10 Ways to Build a Canada that Wins. 10 Ways provides businesses, decision-makers and government with a series of clear priorities and objectives that, if addressed, will give Northern Ontario and the rest of Canada a competitive edge, improve our business climate and grow our economy.
10 Ways touches on a range of key issues, including developing an agile workforce, providing opportunities for business development among Indigenous peoples, and improving regulatory efficiency. Such issues are crucial to improving the business climate in Northern Ontario and growing the local economy.
“Government needs to prioritize growing our economy and finding opportunities for business,” said Michael Macnamara, Chair of the Board, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce. “10 Ways identifies the ways in which business, government, and others can work together to improve Canada’s business competitiveness. It provides a list of priorities, such as developing an agile workforce and increasing meaningful business development by Indigenous people, which aim to grow the economy here in Greater Sudbury and across Canada.”
This annual list developed by the Canadian Chamber Network is particularly important in Northern Ontario given the pressures facing the region’s businesses, including sluggish commodity prices, higher costs of inputs, a critical skills mismatch, and a stagnant population. 10 Ways gives direction to government on key strategies to enable Northern Ontario’s businesses to grow and the chamber is urging politicians at all levels of government to implement the recommendations.
The ten recommendations included in the report are:
- Make Canada a Magnet for Business Investment
We need a policy environment in Canada that makes this country the preferred location for businesses to invest, employ, export from, and grow.
- Ensure a Globally Competitive North America
The growth potential of Canadian business depends not only rely on our domestic policy environment, but also on our access to business opportunities and capabilities across North America and around the world. We need to expand and streamline business access to resources as we eliminate barriers to trade.
- Make Canada an Agri-food Powerhouse
Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector has a strong and well-earned reputation. In order to make Canada a global leader in high-value food production and exports, we need a national vision and clear objectives for an agri-food cluster development strategy, a supportive regulatory environment and an increased capacity to export.
- Develop Agile Workforce Strategies
Agile workforce policies are vital in ensuring Canadian businesses can acquire the skill sets they need to compete and grow. To this end, Canadian businesses need easy access to comprehensive market information and to programs and policies that support diversity and labour mobility. Our workforce must also have access to formative and life-long learning opportunities in essential skills and basic science, technical, engineering, and business education. Only then can we attract the best and brightest from all over the world.
- Make all of Canada an Export Gateway
Trade is the linchpin of the Canadian economy. We can enhance the competitiveness and growth potential of Canadian businesses by building on the gateways and corridors modeled to make strategic, sustainable and long-term improvements in Canada’s trade infrastructure. It is time for us to create a single, unified and efficient trade-enabling network.
- Improve Regulatory Efficiency, Achieve Regulatory Alignment, and Ensure the Unrestricted Movement of Goods and People across Canada
The elimination of trade barriers and unnecessary regulatory differences across Canada could add as much as $130 billion to Canada’s GDP by freeing trade and commerce within our own internal markets. Through incentives for regulators, we can concentrate on the big picture: nationally aligned standards and regulations that work for all, instead of a patchwork of regional rules.
- Help SMEs Trade and Grow
Canada’s economic prospects depend in large part on the vitality and growth potential of small and medium-sized enterprises. We can support our SMEs through tax policies that reward entrepreneurship, regulatory policies that take their reality into account, and by giving them easier access to government contracts and international opportunities.
- Provide Opportunities for Business Development to Support Self-determination for Indigenous Peoples
The economic and social benefits of encouraging greater and more inclusive participation by Indigenous peoples in employment and business development opportunities are shared by all Canadians. This includes a supportive tax and regulatory environment, access to new business opportunities, government programs that provide meaningful supports, and ready-access to education and training, leading to employment, apprenticeship, and mentorship programs.
- Make Canada a Global Innovator
Canada can retain its status as an advanced economy only if its businesses are world leaders in the development and application of new and advanced technologies. Canadian businesses need to be connected to the broadband infrastructure, research expertise and technology resources they require. Intellectual property and other regulatory regimes also have to be supportive and allow for easier R&D, development and, ultimately, commercialization.
- Make Canada the World’s One-stop Shop for Green Resources and Technology
The application of new technologies and production processes is vital if Canada is to meet its goals for reducing carbon emissions and improving the quality of its environment while at the same time sustaining economic growth. This requires support for resource-based technology business clusters and the incentives and support programs Canadian technology companies need to be able to do business with global resource companies and engineering and procurement firms.
Read the full report here.