Chamber wants to hear your budget ideas

NEWS RELEASE

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

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The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce is asking its members to identify some key economic policies and opportunities that will benefit local business and the economy prior to delivering a federal budget pre-consultation process submission.

According to Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce President Mark Barsanti, the federal budget pre-consultation process is an important one, noting that the process “provides an opportunity to communicate our priorities and suggestions as a Chamber, and as a business community, directly to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. It’s these priorities and suggestions, which will be compiled by the Committee and submitted to the Minister of Finance for consideration in preparation of the 2015 federal budget.”

In the fall of 2014, the Committee will invite specific groups and individuals to present during the pre-budget hearings.

The focus of written submissions and the panels will focus on six key areas, including:

• Balancing the federal budget to ensure fiscal sustainability and economic growth
• Supporting families and helping vulnerable Canadians by focusing on health, education and training
• Increasing the competitiveness of Canadian businesses through research, development, innovation and commercialization
• Ensuring prosperous and secure communities, including through support for infrastructure
• Improving Canada’s taxation and regulatory regimes
• Maximizing the number and types of jobs for Canadians.

Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce members who would like to provide feedback and suggestions are invited to do so by taking a short on-line survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/2014_Federal_Budget_Pre-consultation_Input.

The deadline to provide feedback is Wednesday, July 23 at 4 p.m.

Barsanti notes that “as a community with a strong manufacturing base that sits on the Canada - United States border, local businesses are heavily impacted by federal government policies and practices that affect transportation, border security, cross border shopping, competitiveness and infrastructure.

We have a University and a College. We have leading research into natural resource management going on right here in our community. Further, every single business that has payroll - even if it’s a payroll of one - deals with the federal government and that interaction can be either positive or negative, but it all comes down to how resources and finances are allocated on the government’s end”

He suggests that “as a Chamber, we firmly believe that our local member business people are incredibly well-positioned to have some very good insights into where the federal government could prioritize some of its spending in order to meet several of the six key areas that it has identified for the 2015 budget. Many of our members deal with issues arising from federal government prioritization and policies everyday… Who better to ask on how to improve the processes and prioritize spending?”

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