The election is over. Time to get serious about economic growth: Canadian Chamber of Commerce

(OTTAWA) – September 21, 2021 – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s President and CEO, Perrin Beatty, issued the following statement today on the actions that Canadians and the business community need to see from our next Parliament.

“The clear message from last night’s election is that our politicians need to get back to work on the issues that matter. With an election that lacked a meaningful debate on the economy, it is critical for Parliament and the government to resume the business of governing the country. Canadians want less politics and more leadership from their elected officials.

Businesses and the millions of Canadians they employ need action on two critical issues: safely managing the fourth wave of the pandemic without further lockdowns and implementing a strategy to restore economic growth to address our urgent and growing fiscal challenges.

The recovery must be led by the private sector. We cannot borrow our way to prosperity, and we cannot confuse government spending with economic growth. We need to get very serious about growth if we are to have any hope of paying for our enormous pandemic debt and dealing with the coming costs of climate change.

Parliament should be convened at the earliest possible opportunity with a Speech from the Throne that clearly outlines how we will finish the fight against COVID-19, address the economic fundamentals holding back our economy, and get our country ready for the opportunities of the future.

With public finances stretched to the maximum, it is critical we target our investments to achieve private sector-led growth. Growing businesses that hire more Canadians is the only path towards true recovery and sustainable economic growth. The next Parliament needs to prioritize helping businesses of all sizes do exactly that, and they can start by focusing on:

• extending the wage and rent subsidy programs past to ensure support for the hardest hit sectors;
• accelerating the deployment of a harmonized system of digital health credentials and providing legal certainty for companies on their rights and obligations;
• working with business to ensure we have a 21^st century workforce;
• refocusing our efforts with the United States to defend Canada’s trade interests; and
• creating a genuine partnership with businesses to reach Net Zero 2050.

Canadian businesses also want to see progress on other key structural economic issues like interprovincial trade barriers, targeted infrastructure investments, cybersecurity, tax reform, and renewing privacy legislation to avoid creating a patchwork of laws across the country.

The Canadian Chamber looks forward to working with all Parliamentarians and government in delivering this agenda.”

For more information about the Canadian Chamber’s recommendations on What it Takes to Grow, 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