Chamber of Commerce to cabinet ministers: Each of you has a role to play in economic recovery. Here’s how to help businesses fuel growth.

(OTTAWA) – October 14, 2021 – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has released 21 mandate letters, one for each key ministerial portfolio responsible for economic issues, asking the next cabinet to look past ideology and work with the business community as a partner to the greater benefit of Canada.

The letters outline specific steps each minister can take to help businesses lead the recovery from COVID-19 and set the stage for sustainable long-term economic growth.

“Economic growth has gone from a nice-to-have to an absolute imperative thanks to our massive fiscal debt, social goals and looming climate costs. Canadians can no longer take their standard of living for granted. Nor can parliamentarians dither. Business and government must come together, and fast, as partners to ensure every Canadian has a brighter future, a certainty they don’t have today,” said Perrin Beatty, President and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Although the letters cover a variety of issues, there are common themes that will require close collaboration between businesses and multiple ministers, including:

• Continuing to help the hardest-hit sectors, like hospitality and tourism, recover through means such as a replacement for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy programs.
• Ensuring a competitive tax and regulatory system that will attract business investment that generates the growth to pay down our COVID debts.
• Enabling Canadian businesses to compete in a digitalized world through modernized privacy legislation.
• Revitalizing the Canada-United States relationship, including addressing the issue of critical minerals.
• Significantly improving private-public collaboration for industries like agriculture and energy to ensure we can in adapt and manage the rising costs of climate change and hitting our net-zero targets.

“These are just a few of the core issues that will determine Canada’s ability to sustain long-term economic recovery and growth. We look forward to working with the government to build a more prosperous Canada,” added Beatty.

For more information and to view all 21 letters to ministers, click here.

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.

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For more information, please contact:
Phil Taylor
ptaylor@chamber.ca