For Chamber President & CEO Shirley de Silva and Monica Shepley, the Chamber’s manager of advocacy and policy development, participating in a full day of panel discussions and talks about various issues of importance to members was an important exercise for a number of key reasons.
The second annual Advocacy Day, held on March 27 and organized by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (of which your local Chamber is a member), included a look ahead to the 2018 provincial election as well as discussion around issues destined to be of local and provincial interest.
Those included cap and trade, electricity prices, red tape, and innovation, all issues that are acknowledged to have ongoing effects on the effectiveness and sustainability of business.
Shirley de Silva was able to meet with representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, expressing concerns voiced by members over the impact the province’s plans around cap and trade are likely to have on local business.
Monica Shepley met with representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Ministry of Transportation, with discussions largely focused on infrastructure funding. Among the topics discussed were the oversized load corridor and last year’s work on the Indian Road/Highway 402 overpass.
“We take advantage of every opportunity to keep our position on these issues in front of legislators and regulators,” notes de Silva. “The ongoing work is key to making sure those who develop policy know and understand what’s important to the future of our business community.”