Federal Budget Highlights and Response + Provincial Budget Recommendations

Thank you to Ottawa business and community leader who attended the Post Budget Breakfast on April 8, 2022 at The Westin Ottawa,

including our speakers:

The Honourable Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board
Gavin Miranda, Regional Tax Leader, MNP
Goldy Hyder, President and CEO, Business Council of Canada
Kevin Page, President and CEO, Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at the University of Ottawa

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting this long standing tradition of convening the morning after the federal budget to learn more details, what it means for business and how it impacts our economic outlook. See this post for more details. Full viewing of the event coming soon!

Canadian Chamber: Federal Budget a Mixed Bag

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s President and CEO, Perrin Beatty, issued the following statement today in reaction to the federal government’s 2022 Budget.

"Canadian businesses have faced an unprecedented two years, characterized by a multi-wave pandemic, inflation that has reached a thirty-year high, supply chain disruptions, extreme weather events and geopolitical turmoil. Given these conditions, it has never been more important for the federal government to focus on economic growth. This economic growth must be private sector-led. While our public finances have benefitted from higher inflation rates and energy prices and low interest rates, we cannot borrow or inflate our way to prosperity. Federal spending needs to be both fiscally responsible and targeted at where it can generate genuine economic returns. Generating economic growth requires carefully using all the tools available, including tax, regulatory, labour and infrastructure policy to attract private sector investment. The government has set out an ambitious agenda in Budget 2022. It now will be essential to work collaboratively with businesses to ensure measures announced are implemented in a manner that will support economic growth."

READ FULL CANADIAN CHAMBER RESPONSE

On April 7, 2022, the Government of Canada released its 2022 Budget: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable. Building on previous commitments, Budget 2022 proposes a series of new investments in public health, housing, the green economy, workforce development, infrastructure, and other areas.

Key Highlights:

Housing: The OCC is pleased to see the government prioritize housing affordability, particularly through increased supply. More attention is needed at the local and provincial levels to accelerate development of missing middle and affordable units.

Workforce Development & Immigration: The OCC strongly supports federal efforts to reduce barriers to interprovincial labour mobility and recognition of foreign credentials. We have been advocating for targeted strategies to support sectors exhibiting large shortages (such as health care, agriculture, and skilled trades) as well as underrepresented demographics (such as women, persons with disabilities, and Indigenous peoples).

Business Supports: The budget fell short of providing immediate, targeted relief to sectors and small businesses that continue to grapple with the impacts of the pandemic. For small businesses, we would have liked to see targeted debt forgiveness and financial relief.

Indigenous Businesses & Communities: The OCC has called for a greater emphasis on financing for Indigenous-led businesses and Indigenous-led clean energy projects. We support continued public investments and meaningful efforts within the private sector to advance reconciliation.

READ THE FULL ONTARIO CHAMBER ANALYSIS

Ontario's 2022 Budget Must Focus on

Business Predictability and Growth

Ontario’s economic outlook remains uncertain for businesses and households as labour shortages, high energy costs, supply chain disruptions, and inflation continue to hit home. Ontario's business community needs a clear and predictable path forward to support economic recovery and growth. Today, the Ottawa Board of Trade and Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released the 2022 Ontario budget submission with recommendations to the Government of Ontario to ensure a strong and sustainable recovery.

OCC’s 2022 provincial budget submission provides recommendations to the Government of Ontario. Some key highlights include proposals to:

Support entrepreneurship and small business growth with targeted business supports and access to public sector procurement.
Strengthen Ontario’s workforce by boosting immigration and training programs.
Make housing more affordable through increased supply and regulatory reforms.
Advance regional transportation and broadband infrastructure projects.
Bolster our health care system and address major backlogs in diagnostics and cancer screenings.
Seize Ontario’s opportunity to lead in the global green economy.
Remove barriers to interprovincial trade and labour mobility.