Not unlike the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s vision for Ontario as a Magnet for the World – which describes Ontario as a place with many values that attracts people from all over the globe including opportunity, abundance of educational resources, diversity and freedom to pursue their dreams — the Open Ontario plan rests on a foundation of Ontario’s inherent strengths.  

Open Ontario acknowledges some work already underway including tax reforms and efforts to reduce red tape, both of which the OCC has lobbied for many years.  In addition, it identifies new areas of opportunity including clean water technology, a focus on Northern Ontario, development of Aboriginal businesses, further strengthening of our financial services sector and expansion of our post-secondary education spaces.

In these and all other areas, the OCC encourages the government to set the right conditions for innovation and job creation, and then allow business to get to work and grow the economy.

Open Ontario also addresses the growing cost of healthcare which is now consuming 46% of the provincial budget.

In the OCC’s pre-budget submission, greater efficiency and accountability in healthcare spending was listed as a key priority:

“Government expenditures cannot be addressed without looking at the elephant in the room – healthcare.  As you know, this is the single largest cost to government and growing at a significant pace.  It simply cannot be excluded with regards to spending restraints or cost efficiencies.

We recommend that the government first conduct an actuarial analysis of healthcare expenditures – similar to what is done in regards to the Canada Pension Plan, for example.  This would provide much needed predictability, transparency and accountability – and provide a window to long term planning.”

We would encourage the government to employ an actuarial analysis of healthcare costs with the same rigour and displine used by the Canada Pension Plan.

Overall the OCC is pleased with the ideas as presented in the Throne Speech but it remains to be seen how these goals will be turned into action in the weeks and months to come.

 Ont. HST funds won’t be directed to health, CBC News

Politics – Provincial

McGuinty trades bleak messages for talk of a bright new future, Globe and Mail

Misery loves by-elections, Globe and Mail

Election strategy tops agenda at Tory convention, Hudak’s first as leader, The Record

McGuinty prorogues provincial parliament, Toronto Star

Liberals and Tories retain their seats in by-election wins, Toronto Star

Conservatives face even tougher battle, Ottawa Citizen

Politics - Federal

Flaherty shifts right with business-friendly budget, Toronto Star

Cautious steps amid fragile recovery, Globe and Mail

Transfers intact, Montreal Gazette

Business

Ontario to invest $80-million in Ford plant, Globe and Mail

Scotiabank nominates David Dodge to board, Globe and Mail

New chief for GM Canada, Toronto Star

Economy

An unequal race among provinces to clean up their deficits, Globe and Mail

Border Issues

United States raises passport fees, Globe and Mail

Higher U.S. passport fees could put a damper on local tourism, Toronto Star

Energy

It’s pretty easy to be green, National Post

Bosch latest to tap Ontario’s solar market, Toronto Star

Equalization

How equalization harms Ontario, Alberta and B.C., Calgary Herald

‘Over-equalization’ crippling, Hamilton Spectator

The OCC is concerned that spending restraint over the next five years is modest at best; a more aggressive plan to control spending over the next several years would have been welcomed given the severity of the record-level deficit; the reduction in spending will not begin until 2011 and beyond.

Government operating expenses have dramatically increased in the last three fiscal years. Although the OCC applauds the reduction in overall operating expenses between 2010/2011 and 2011/2012, there is concern expenses are set to return back to their current record high in 2014/2015, well after stimulus programs come to an end.

As it pertains to Ontario’s economic renewal and business competitiveness, there are a few modest improvements.

The OCC is pleased to see the elimination of the remaining tariffs on manufacturing inputs and machinery and equipment, totaling $1.3 billion. This measure will assist Canadian industry by lowering the costs of manufacturing inputs and machinery and equipment that are imported from outside North America.

Red tape continues to be one of the largest impediments to business growth, making the establishment of a Red Tape Commission a positive move. However, it comes with no concrete plans other to review ‘red tape’.

On the infrastructure front, there is good news for the Detroit River International Crossing partnership, with a much needed injection of $10 million over 3 years to support the legal, financial and technical work required to advance a new international crossing at Detroit-Windsor – the key lifeline to Ontario’s economy.

The OCC is pleased to see a continued commitment to Canada’s nuclear industry, with $300 million dedicated to AECL’s operations in 2010–11 to cover anticipated commercial losses and support the corporation’s operations, including the continued development of the Advanced CANDU Reactor.

You can find the budget documents at the following links:

Budget Plan

Budget in Brief

Budget Speech

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce analysis of Federal Budget 2010.

The Rotman School also believes that finding creative solutions to difficult problems will also make Canada a better place to work and live. Any economy that wants to have a high and rising standard of living must continually innovate and upgrade itself, or it will stagnate. Both the public and the private sector need to play a part. The private sector creates the wealth and the jobs, of course, but the public sector is crucial because it provides the vital infrastructure and the context that the private sector needs. Think of the impact that safe communities, the best health care, and a top-grade education system have on people in the private sector. When the public sector is in top form, it provides a powerful jurisdictional advantage for any company.

When you attend an executive program at Rotman, you’ll join the Rotman community of creative business thinkers. You’ll meet like-minded people facing hard problems just like you are. You may meet people in your professional field – in health leadership, human resources, or even the program for board directors. Rotman believes in building communities – through ongoing seminars, lectures, and informal get-togethers you can enjoy even after you leave the school. It’s a way to make people, and communities, happier and stronger.

You can visit Rotman Executive Programs for more information, including specific dates for upcoming April programs.

This Ontario Bridging Participant Assistance Program will help newcomers meet Canadian licensing requirements and professional standards.

With a chronic shortage of skilled workers and an aging workforce, the province has become dependent on recruiting large numbers of new immigrants. With more qualified candidates, businesses will have a larger pool of skilled professionals and trades people to choose from to fill the chronic shortages.

Financial assistance of up to $5,000 will be provided for students in short-term college and university bridge training programs to cover the cost of tuition, books and equipment.  More than 1,800 newcomers are expected to benefit, according to the government.

Access to skills tradespeople have been key priorities of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Through the OCC’s Global Experience @ Work program, various programs have been developed to help eliminate barriers to better integrate foreign trained professionals into Ontario’s workforce.

The report by Dr. Rick Miner, President emeritus of Seneca College, released People Without Jobs, Jobs Without People:  Ontario’s Labour Market Future.  The intersection of two mega-trends  - an aging population and an emerging knowledge economy – is examined in the report, which predicts 700,000 Ontarians will be unemployable by 2021 due to a lack of postsecondary training or credentials. 

Dr. Miner’s report provides stark and compelling evidence of the absolute necessity for business, educators, government and industry to act now to address this challenge.

For more information, please contact Frank Belluardo, Policy Analyst, at 416 482 5222 ext. 247.

This is particularly important as the governments of Ontario, Canada, Michigan and the United States complete their studies in anticipation of a new bridge across the Detroit River. This vital economic link with the US is our busiest international border crossing, but it is in need of modernizing its pre-NAFTA infrastructure.

MDOT’s  traffic information study, prepared at the request of the Michigan Legislature, reaffirm:

• the need for an additional border crossing in the Detroit-Windsor corridor despite the current economic downturn
• traffic projections developed as part of the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
• the strong bi-national commitment to construct a new publicly owned border crossing that will link Hwy 401 with the US Interstate provide redundancy for the existing crossings

The traffic study will be submitted as part of a required investment-grade traffic study report which will be submitted to the Michigan Legislature by May 1, 2010.  In addition, Requests for Proposal of Interest have been issued, seeking private sector interest in joining a public-private partnership to construct the DRIC bridge, plaza, and related infrastructure. 

The Michigan Legislature has announced its intention to vote on whether to support the DRIC project by June 1, 2010.

For further information, please contact Frank Belluardo, OCC Policy Analyst at 416 482 5222 ext. 247 or frankbelluardo@occ.on.ca.

The CWS will share training tools, resources and best practices with companies, especially small and medium-sized firms, that can support their training efforts.

 The workshops will be customized to local needs, and can be combined with other local events to fit best with local schedules.

The Centre for Workplace Skills, formerly the Work and Learning Knowledge Centre, is an initiative led by the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and the Canadian Labour Congress.

 Those interest in hosting a workshop through their local  Chamber of Commerce or Board of Trade should contact Derwyn Sangster, Business Liaison at the CWS, at  613-241-3222 ext 4250.

This agreement aims to make it easier for wine entering the Mainland through Hong Kong, and thereby strengthening Hong Kong’s place as a wine centre.

There are two main aspects to the Canada-US Agreement on Government Procurement.  First,  permanent and reciprocal commitments have been made under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) in regards to provincial, territorial and state procurement.  Second, there are temporary reciprocal guarantees of access, which include:

• Canada agreeing to provide US suppliers with access to a range of construction contracts across Canada’s provinces and territories, as well in as a number of municipalities.
• The US agreeing to provide Canadian suppliers with access to state and local public works projects in a range of programs funded by the ARRA.

The two countries have also agreed to start discussions to investigate adding other reciprocal access to procurement markets on a permanent basis.  As well, Canada and the US have agreed to create a fast-track consultation process in the event similar Buy American legislation are approved. 

Trade between Canada and the US represents almost $350 billions of dollars in trade annually and millions of jobs.  For Ontario, one in four jobs in dependent on exports to the US.