Six Issues That N.B Business Leaders Want Addressed During The Federal Election Campaign
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called a federal election for October 21, and the region’s chamber of commerce officials have a wish list of things in mind for the parties that want to form the next government.
We spoke to Fredericton Chamber of Commerce CEO Krista Ross, her Moncton counterpart John Wishart and Atlantic Chamber of Commerce policy VP Glenn Davis about the priorities of the business community this election.
1) Taxes And Regulations
“The number one priority would be that whoever forms the government is to work hard to create an environment where business can prosper and grow,” says Ross.
That means a comprehensive review of the tax system to make it more supportive to business, and offering tax credits for innovation or research and development work. It also means fewer and simpler regulations. According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, in 2015, there were more than 130,000 federal requirements on businesses.
“It’s a complete web of overlapping regulations, it’s confusing for business and [the government] needs to find a way to make it easier to navigate that regulatory system,” Ross says.
Davis says the taxes and regulations imposed on businesses – a mix of federal and provincial – can make companies decide whether they want to be located and to stay in Atlantic Canada or leave.
The recent addition of a carbon tax, and increases to employers’ CPP costs and WorkSafe contributions are hurting businesses in New Brunswick, all three noted.
“It’s just the reality specifically in New Brunswick that costs are piling up and it’s going to make businesses think twice about investing in New Brunswick,” Davis said.
“If we really want the private sector to be the catalyst for growth and create more wealth, we need to create an environment where they’re able to reinvest; hire more workers. It’s especially important these days because the U.S. has drastically reduced its business taxes, which makes it that much more difficult to compete especially for our exporters,” Wishart said.
Wishart says there’s no denying the impact of climate change. But he’s hoping the new government will revisit carbon tax talks with the provincial government to find a made-in-New Brunswick solution that still meets environmental commitments.
Ross says instead of adding a tax, the government could provide incentives to companies that make environmentally-friendly choices.
2) Workforce And Immigration
Labour shortage is an issue that’s top-of-mind for Atlantic Canada’s businesses and policy-makers. One of the proposed solutions is to bring in workers through immigration programs like the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) program to fill jobs that can’t be filled locally.
Ross and Davis say the AIP has been a great tool and the government needs to make sure programs like that stay. But the process to bring newcomers to New Brunswick is still complicated and should be streamlined, Wishart said.
The Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce will propose two resolutions related to immigration at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting in Saint John on September 21-23.
“One is to increase [Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s] presence in communities that have proven that they’re good at bringing in immigrants like Moncton. We have no IRCC office here, and if a newcomer comes to town, they have to travel to Fredericton to get their paperwork done,” Wishart said. “Second is foreign credential recognition. There are lots of very experienced, educated immigrants who can’t find jobs in their fields because of credential recognition [issues].”
Davis also calls for more support for integration of immigrants, including for things like language training.
To stay ahead of labour demands, Ross adds that programs that help small businesses upskill and reskill their staff should also be supported.
3) Clarifying ‘Duty to Consult’ With Indigenous Communities
The recent revival of talks about shale gas development in New Brunswick, among other things, has brought up a key notion in Canada’s relationship with indigenous communities: the duty to consult. There’s confusion in the business community nationally regarding this responsibility to consult with indigenous communities before a project is launched.
Davis says there’s the federal government needs to clarify that and engage the business community.
“There’s certainly legislation under the title of duty to consult but it’s not clear who’s responsible for what,” he said. “Next week, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce will be meeting in Saint John, and one of the resolutions and one of the enduring challenge for business is getting a reliable framework for initiating discussions with First Nations.”
4) National Pharmacare
In line with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Platform for Prosperity, Wishart said he’s wary about plans to implement a national pharmacare system.
“As a business community, we agree 100% that everyone deserves access to the drugs they need. But there’s already a system in place where a lot of employers and employees have a drug plan. So if the plan is to throw that out and come forward with a one payer pays all and do it through taxes, we don’t think that’s necessarily the right option,” he said.
“We would rather see a system that fills in the gaps – those who aren’t covered, provide coverage to them rather than start from scratch.”
According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, approximately 90 per cent of Canadians already can access the medications and treatments they need under the current system. It’s concerned that the government can’t develop a cost-effective system.
5) Trade
With New Brunswick being a province that highly reliant on trade, Ross says the government needs not only to build on the existing trade opportunities but also open new ones, including by making inter-provincial trade easier.
“We need to have a system where businesses can better understand what opportunities exist, where they can better understand the trade agreements that are in place and how they affect their businesses and what opportunities they provide for their business,” Ross said.
She also called for better access to resources and expertise to help prepare businesses that are looking to export.
“We’ve worked with Ignite Fredericton and Planet Hatch to have an export accelerator to help small businesses looking to grow their export or even start exporting….that’s something that so many businesses can benefit from if there were broader programs available to support them,” she said.
6) Health Spending
“New Brunswick has the oldest average population in Canada and we’re also a very rural province,” Wishart said. “I think federal transfers need to recognize those two things especially the aging demographics, so we would support some sort of system of transfer that provides for funding because we have an older demographic.”