2022 Wins for Business

Budget 2022

We were happy to see a number of policy wins for business in the Budget aligned with our pre-budget submission and/or policy resolutions passed at previous AGMs.

Some highlights:

• Funding of $875.2 million over five years, plus an ongoing $238.2 million per year to respond to cybersecurity threats. This goes towards the Communications Security Establishment as well as other departments and crown corporations.
• $1.5 billion over seven years for infrastructure investments to support critical mineral supply chains, plus a further $1.5 billion to support manufacturing, processing and recycling applications.
• Additional $450 million over five years for the National Trade Corridor Fund, with a rebranding of the fund to focus on supply chains.
• Launch a cannabis strategy table led by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to identify ways to grow the sector.
• An investment tax credit of up to 30% for net-zero technologies, battery storage solutions and clean hydrogen.
• Amendments to the Employment Insurance Act to provide more support for worker re-training, including a commitment to modernizing Labour Market Transfer Agreements.
• Funding of $29.3 million over three years for a Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Trusted Employer Model that reduces red tape for regular users of the program. More details to be announced in 2023.
• A consultation will launch on Bill C-208 passed by the last Parliament to reduce loopholes in the execution of intergenerational business transfers.

Explore a more detailed list of Budget 2022 wins for business here.

BLUEPRINT TO BOLSTER ONTARIO’S PROSPERITY

Letters to Each Provincial Cabinet Minister Outlining Key Policy Priorities

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) welcomes the return of the Legislature and looks 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.

“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 amid so much uncertainty, 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.”

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, and hospitality, and transportation.
• Bolstering our health care system by developing a health human resources strategy, delivering on digital health, and addressing backlogs in routine vaccines, diagnostics, and cancer screenings.
• 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.
• Propelling housing affordability through increased supply and regulatory reforms to fuel the industry and help organizations attract and retain talent.
• Advancing regional transportation connectivity and fare integration as well as broadband infrastructure projects in collaboration with the private sector.

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