THUNDER BAY – August 8, 2022: The Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce and Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) welcome the return of the Legislature and look 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 Thunder Bay are looking to the government to develop policies that will spur local and regional economic growth and job creation,” said Charla Robinson, President of the Thunder Bay Chamber of commerce. “The government must create the right conditions to support business stability, predictability, and confidence. There must be a balance between short-and long-term solutions to address our current and future challenges.”
Some key highlights 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, hospitality, and transportation.
- Continuing to prioritize lowering the administrative burden on business and ensuring that regulation is streamlined and effective.
- 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.
- Seizing Ontario’s opportunity to lead in the global green economy by minimizing uncertainty, supporting cleantech, mobilizing clean energy solutions, and strengthening climate adaptation.
- Advancing broadband infrastructure projects in collaboration with the private sector.
- Modernizing public procurement to support small businesses and equity seeking entrepreneurs to diversify the supply chain.
“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, 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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Contact:
Charla Robinson, President
(807) 624-2620
stronger business together: it’s the creed that drives everything we do. Our Chamber is a voluntary, Member-driven organization of individuals and businesses working together to advance the commercial, financial, and civic interests of our community. Whether we’re pooling resources to offer Member learning opportunities, raising our voices together on a policy issue or facilitating connections between members of our business community, we know that businesses that work together are stronger. Our Chamber is a
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.
