Key Issues for Business Set at Canadian Chamber AGM

The key issues for Canadian businesses in 2020 will be taxation, regulation, and skills. That was the consensus at this year’s Canadian Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting (AGM), the largest gathering of business leaders in Canada.

“Distilling the aspirations and concerns of 200,000 businesses across Canada can be a challenging endeavour, but this year our members are laser-focused on Canada’s eroding ability to compete. They need a level playing field with their U.S. and EU peers when it comes to taxation and regulation costs and they need policies that make it easier to find and retain skilled workers,” said the Hon. Perrin Beatty, P.C., O.C., President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Leaders from more than 300 chambers of commerce across Canada submitted and voted on 76 proposals to improve Canada’s business environment. Sometimes referred to as the “Parliament of Business”, the proposals adopted in Saint John will form the backbone of the Canadian Chamber’s advocacy efforts with the federal government in 2020.

The upcoming federal election was a hot topic at this year’s AGM, and delegates benefited from fireside chats with party insiders and pollsters about policies that will affect businesses. They also heard about the importance of inter-provincial trade from the Hon. Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta.

“The Chamber will be working hard with whoever forms the new government to develop real-world solutions to the administrative and regulatory burdens that our businesses face, ones that will work for corner stores and leading companies alike,” concluded Beatty.