(OTTAWA) – January 13, 2021 – Today Hon. Perrin Beatty, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, released the following statement regarding the implications of workforce reductions at Air Canada:
“The implications of today’s news about decreased capacity and further workforce reductions at Air Canada are deeply troubling. With cuts to regional air service in Atlantic Canada and across the country, the situation is much more than just an air industry issue – pockets of our country risk being disconnected from others.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce renews our call for the federal government to provide targeted financial support for the hardest hit sectors, including the beleaguered travel industry. As we continue to navigate the current crisis, a restart plan for safe travel while using an integrated approach to rapid testing for COVID-19 is also crucial. Our industry partners are committed to working with governments to develop this plan and to reopen our economy.”
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Emily Walsh
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
ewalsh@chamber.ca (preferred and fastest response time)
About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce – Because Business Matters
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce helps build the businesses that support our families, our communities and our country. We do this by influencing government policy, by providing essential business services and by connecting businesses to information they can use, to opportunities for growth and to a network of local chambers, businesses, decision-makers and peers from across the country, in every sector of the economy and at all levels of government, as well as internationally. We are unapologetic in our support for business and the vital role it plays in building and sustaining our great nation.
Although two months of solid job gains are encouraging, it’s still likely to be a long, bumpy journey to the end of the pandemic tunnel for Canadian business-owners and their employees as the third wave of COVID-19 breaks across the country, threatening to disrupt the positive trends we’ve seen in today’s numbers.
“It’s clear that Canadians and their employers have been adapting to work and life during the COVID-19 pandemic, doing their part to keep us safe and carrying the Canadian economy on their shoulders. Their pessimism about the return to normal may speak to broader concerns about our country’s slow pace at vaccinating and the need for a concrete plan for what comes next. While they see what good planning looks like in workplaces, they also hope to see our political leaders set a clear pathway out of this pandemic,” said Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada’s largest business association.
However, the issue is divisive for many Canadians. Understanding that the federal carbon tax and its incremental increases on the price on carbon over the following decades are here to stay is one thing. Ensuring businesses are able to successfully navigate a carbon price with confidence is quite another. To succeed, businesses will need sustainable finance and public policy supports. Canadian businesses have already taken impressive steps to bring all of us closer to Canada’s ambitious net-zero target, but further progress will require close collaboration between government and industry.
