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Chamber facilitating discussions with elected officials

by Fatema Bhabrawala in Advocacy, News

The Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce continues to bring together members and elected officials so they can discuss matters that are important to business. The most recent example of this was a lunch hour discussion with MPP Bob Delaney, Parliamentary Assistant to Glenn Thibeault, Minister of Energy, on Friday, March 17 at the Chamber’s office.

Delaney spoke briefly to attendees about the Ontario government’s recently announced “Fair Hydro Plan”. Delaney then answered questions posed by Chamber members and heard their stories.

One of those attending was Kathleen Mundy, owner of several area Little Caesar’s Pizza locations and member of the Chamber’s Energy Committee and Board of Directors. “The concerns we have are around electricity costs that are such a proportionally high part of our costs and which impact on our bottom line, shrinking it to the point where there’s no fun in being a small business anymore,” said Mundy.

Shirley de Silva, the Chamber’s President and CEO, said Friday’s visit was the second involving political representatives in recent weeks, the first being from Andrea Horwath, head of the Ontario New Democratic Party, who visited at the end of February.

The Chamber will also meet with the Green Party of Ontario’s leader, Mike Schreiner, when he visits Sarnia-Lambton during an upcoming tour through southwestern Ontario. A Community Roundtable is being hosted by the local association of the Green Party of Ontario and the Chamber encourages members to attend.

The Community Roundtable will take place on Tuesday, March 28 at 1 p.m. at the Lochiel Kiwanis Centre. It is open to the public. Topics to be discussed include the state of the local economy, electricity prices, education and small business.

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Liberals Promise Electricity Relief

by Fatema Bhabrawala in Advocacy, News

Premier Wynne says that electricity prices are “unfairly high” and that current rate payers are bearing a disproportionate cost stemming from decades of energy mismanagement by previous governments of all stripes.

Many Chamber members would agree that electricity prices are too high. We’ve heard many stories about difficult choices, like whether to lay off employees or take out loans in order to pay the electricity bill.

So, when the Chamber heard that the government is cutting electricity bills by 25% (including the 8%  HST cut already announced in January), we wondered, does the plan go far enough to help struggling businesses?

The rate reduction, made possible my remortgaging the Global Adjustment will extend the period of electricity contracts from 20 years to 30 years. It’s estimated that $25 billion will be saved over 10 years, but another $14 billion will be paid in interest for the extended “mortgage”.

There’s additional relief coming for farmers, the less affluent and rate payers in remote areas.  The Industrial Conservation Initiative will be extended to mid-sized manufacturers. Energy conservation programs will continue.  Another significant promise is to freeze rates so they will not increase beyond inflation for 4 years.

Questions remain: is this a fair solution to “unfairly high” hydro rates? Is the NDP plan any better? What solutions will the PCs propose? The Chamber will be watching this issue closely now and until the next provincial election, currently scheduled to be held on or before June 7, 2018.

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Chamber releases ‘open letter’ to Premier about arbitration process

by Fatema Bhabrawala in Advocacy, News, Publications

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the provincial body representing all chamber members across the province, has written to the Premier about challenges it sees in the arbitration system that covers wages and benefits for emergency services such as police and fire throughout the province.

The letter points out that the cost of services have increased at over three times the rate of inflation annually since 2002, making those increases unsustainable.

The Ontario Chamber calls for the Premier to take immediate action. “Our principal concern is that the current system does not adequately consider the capacity of municipalities to pay,” said the letter, signed by Allan O’Dette, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce CEO Shirley de Silva said the issue of arbitration affects municipalities’ ability to pay for other essentials, like roads and bridges and to invest in economic development initiatives that will drive economic growth.

“We know from ongoing discussions with our members that the ability of a municipality to fund these essential services needs to be factored into any kind of fair and equitable system that is in place to deal with arbitration issues,” she said. “On that basis, we are encouraging the province to address this issue as soon as possible.”

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Chamber advises MPP Bailey and MP Gladu on provincial and federal budgets

by Fatema Bhabrawala in Advocacy, News

In separate letters to MPP Bob Bailey and MP Marilyn Gladu last week, the Chamber shared its priorities for consideration in this year’s provincial and federal budgets.

At the provincial level, investment in high speed broadband, allowing small business owners’ children access to student loans and reducing the public sector’s total compensation premium were highlighted as key solutions to improving productivity and economic growth. The “oversized load corridor” project was also mentioned in the letter, available here as a key infrastructure project that would help create local jobs and boost our economy. The full pre-budget submission can be accessed here.

The Chamber advised MP Gladu to consider 10 ways to build Canada’s economy, as recommended by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in this report. Read the letter to MP Gladu here.

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Outlook for area economy is ‘challenging’: Report

by lewismenelaws in Advocacy, News, Publications

  

A survey released today reveals local business may be confident when it comes to their future but more remain concerned about key economic issues, notably proposed government actions around Canada Pension Plan and cap and trade initiatives.

The Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce, which co-released the inaugural Ontario Economic Report, highlighted concerns over the economic climate in the province.

The survey, produced by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, includes references to several sets of data, including a Business Prosperity Index developed by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis and an Economic Outlook for 2017 prepared by Central 1 Credit Union.

The survey projects a positive net migration of 1,300 for an area that includes Sarnia-Lambton and Windsor. The report cites an improved unemployment rate of 6.3 percent, down from 6.6 percent and a rise in housing prices, with the $183,000 median cost still the lowest in Ontario.

But local businesses are said to be weary of investment, citing a combination of high risk and low confidence in the provincial economy, said Shirley de Silva, the Chamber’s CEO.

“Many of our members, particularly the small businesses, were shown to have the least amount of confidence in the economic outlook,” said de Silva. “From a practical standpoint, even though businesses have more financial resources available to them than they have in the last 15 years, they are less willing to invest in production, which would serve to generate wealth and jobs.”

The Chamber’s survey shows a relatively weak business climate, notably the result of a perceived weakness in exporting opportunities and a lack of government infrastructure, which at only 3 percent of GDP is lagging behind the recommended 4.5-5 percent of GDP, according to the Chamber report.

The report’s companion Business Prosperity Index also shows a drop in the generation of wealth generated from the production of goods or services.

“What that tells is that Ontario businesses are less likely to earn income from actual business activity today than they have in the past,” said the Chamber’s de Silva.

Ontario wide, the research shows that Ontario’s economic climate is posing challenges to the businesses represented by members of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, including those in Sarnia-Lambton.

“Investment is being held back because of a high perception of risk,” said Ontario Chamber of Commerce CEO Allan O’Dette. “We need immediate action in order for our province to continue to grow and prosper.”

O’Dette said Ontario’s business prosperity is increasingly dependent on non-production, financial activities, with a 12 percent drop in production activities having taken place since the Great Recession.

Locally, the Chamber, on behalf of its membership, has continued to voice caution around the effect of regulatory burden, high input costs and government policies, said de Silva.

“The findings in this report reinforce this,” she said.

The Chamber, both locally and at the provincial level, will continue to prioritize workforce development, infrastructure, energy and health care as issues of key importance.

“In particular, our members are concerned about access to affordable energy, and improvement in infrastructure through funding of local, jobs-generating projects,” she added.

Click here to see report

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Federal government won’t tax employer health benefits following Chamber opposition

by Fatema Bhabrawala in Advocacy, News

Opposition by business groups, including the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce, has struck home, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing in the House of Commons that the government will not, after all, tax employer-sponsored benefit plans.

A government report on tax expenditures, released last year, had indicated that such a tax would add $2.9 billion to revenues in 2017, prompting the opposition.

Locally, that response came in the form of a letter sent by the Chamber to local Members of Parliament (Marilyn Gladu of Sarnia-Lambton and Bev Shipley of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex) with a copy to Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

“We are gratified as a Chamber that the government has recognized how this kind of taxation could have quickly cascaded to the point where it becomes a hardship for Canadians,” said CEO Shirley de Silva. “On behalf of our members, it’s important that the Chamber steps up before actions like a proposed tax on health benefits become a reality.”

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Chamber urges area MPs, Minister of Finance, ‘don’t tax health benefits’

by Fatema Bhabrawala in Advocacy, News, Publications

The Chamber is urging Lambton’s two Members of Parliament, along with the Federal Minister of Finance to steer clear of any plans for taxing health and dental benefit packages provided by employers. This comes on the heels of a report in the National Post on December 2, 2016 that the Department of Finance is reviewing the tax exemption.

In this letter to MP Marilyn Gladu of Sarnia-Lambton and MP Bev Shipley of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, with a copy to the Hon. Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance, Chamber CEO Shirley de Silva and Mark Lumley, chair of the Board of Directors, voice concern on behalf of the Chamber membership.

Taxing health care benefits would result in fewer businesses, particularly smaller ones, that offer these benefits and it could cost employees hundreds or thousands of dollars each year.  It also means that many Canadians may be at risk of losing access to vision care, prescription drug, dental care and other preventative services if their employer can’t afford to keep them insured.

Find out more about this issue and how you can take action by visiting the website www.donttaxmyhealthbenefits.ca.

The letter is another example of the Chamber, on behalf of members, taking a stand on issues of importance to the local business community.

“We do this on behalf of our members on a consistent basis,” said de Silva. “Our role as the Voice of Business in our community is acknowledged by elected government officials and regulators at every level and it’s one that we take very seriously.”

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Twenty Chambers across Ontario Call for Deferral of Provincial Cap & Trade

by Fatema Bhabrawala in Advocacy, News

Chambers cite high costs of program on top of rising electricity prices, lack of sector-by-sector economic impact analyses and a changed policy direction of the United States. 

Today 20 chambers across Ontario called for a deferral of the provincial government’s Cap and Trade program scheduled to be implemented January 1, 2017, citing the rising costs of doing business, the need for time to prepare, a lack of sector-by-sector economic impact analyses and a change in policy direction in the United States.

In Ontario, the rising cost of electricity is the greatest source of frustration for small businesses. A survey conducted by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce found that 33% of small businesses may delay or cancel investment because of increasing energy prices. A recent report by the Auditor General found that residential electricity bills may rise another 23% between 2015 and 2020. The introduction of the cap and trade system will add further charges on natural gas, gasoline and diesel fuel that will be felt by every individual and business in Ontario.

Shirley de Silva, President and CEO of the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce says, “Businesses are struggling to pay their electricity bills. It’s their number one frustration we hear about. We also hear that they need more time to understand and prepare for such a complicated new economic system as cap and trade.”

The Sarnia Lambton Chamber has joined 19 other Chambers across Ontario to request that the Ontario government delay the implementation of the cap and trade program for at least one year. The Chamber network has already voiced this message in the past, along with calls for an economic impact analysis in order to understand which sectors will be most affected.

“We are concerned that policy makers don’t know the full impact that cap and trade will have on Ontario. Nor do they know what will happen given the recent US election and the Prime Minister’s decision to mandate carbon pricing. We are extremely concerned about the impacts this uncertainty and added costs will have on jobs and the economy.”

An unintended consequence of implementing cap and trade this early is industry and businesses could leave the province for other jurisdictions that do not have a carbon price or an electricity grid that’s as clean as Ontario’s. “This would negatively impact not only jobs and the economy, but also the environment,” says de Silva.
 

Backgrounder
Auditor General

  • The cap-and-trade system will result in only a small portion of the required greenhouse-gas reductions needed to meet Ontario’s 2020 target.
  • Cap and trade is expected to bring higher electricity prices, which may lead people to switch to cheaper natural gas—a fossil fuel that also produces greenhouse gases. Between 2017 and 2020, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change plans to spend up to $1.32 billion of cap-and-trade revenues to address this issue. The Action Plan indicates that this will result in 3 Mt (megatonnes) of reductions. However, neither the Ministry nor the provincial agency that oversees Ontario’s electricity system could show how they arrived at the 3-Mt estimate. In addition, the $1.32 billion is expected to have only a small impact on reducing the expected electricity price increases. In particular, electricity prices are projected to increase by 14% for businesses and 25% for households; after applying the $1.32 billion, businesses will still face a 13% increase and households 23%.

  • No plan for achieving renewable natural gas goal.
  • Climate Change Action Plan commits about $1 billion to previously approved initiatives: some initiatives were approved years before the Action Plan was created. By including these projects in the Action Plan, the Province has found an alternative way to fund their costs— but will not achieve any additional emissions reductions
  • Under the linked system, Ontario’s cap does not actually control the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted in Ontario: Because Ontario has chosen to link with California and Quebec, Ontario may exceed its own emissions cap if Ontario emitters decide to purchase allowances from Quebec or California. The cap on emissions set by the Ontario government consequently does not actually control Ontario emissions.

LIST OF PARTICIPATING CHAMBERS
Ajax Pickering Chamber of Commerce
Burlington Chamber of Commerce
Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce
Greater Kitchener Waterloo
Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce
Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce
Hamilton Chamber of Commerce
Ingersoll Chamber of Commerce
Kingston Chamber of Commerce
London Chamber of Commerce
North Bay Chamber of Commerce
Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce
Newmarket Chamber of Commerce
Sault Ste Marie Chamber of Commerce
Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce
St Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce
Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce
Tillsonburg District Chamber of Commerce
Timmins Chamber of Commerce
Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce

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