The Government of Ontario has issued a call for submissions in its pre-budget consultations, and the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) will offer suggestions for the 2020 budget. The vision of the GNCC is to see the Niagara region at its social and economic best, and the Chamber will be presenting policy options that would support not only business growth, but general prosperity.

Among the suggestions that the GNCC will make are:

• Investing in infrastructure to anticipate population growth and climate change, particularly including public transit and GO train service, to ensure Ontario’s competitiveness for business attraction and retention
• Offering incentives for businesses to hire and retain full-time workers, especially younger workers
• Guaranteeing that government purchasing and procurement will remain open to and realistic for bidding from small-to-medium-sized enterprises
• Guaranteeing that transfers of responsibility between municipal and provincial governments will only take place when thorough investigation and the best evidence suggests that the result will be a net savings to the taxpayer and/or enhanced service delivery
• Restoring funding to Small Business Enterprise Centres to help promote entrepreneurship and business growth
• Restoring fiscal balance to the province and reducing the debt burden that will be inherited by future governments
• Continuing the work in reducing red tape and the regulatory burden on Ontario’s businesses.

The GNCC will make the full text of its submission publicly available in the near future.

The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in Niagara and the second-largest Chamber of Commerce in Ontario, with 1,500 members representing 50,000 employees. More information on the GNCC is available at gncc.ca.

For more information, contact:

Mishka Balsom, President & CEO of GNCC
Mishka@gncc.ca or 905-684-2361