​It’s that time of year when the Ontario Chamber Network comes together to set the lobbying priorities and agenda.   

Over the past several months, chambers of commerce and boards of trade have been researching and developing suggestions on how to help improve the business climate and ultimately the Ontario economy.   These issues rise from the grassroots of individual communities and land on the provincial stage at the Ontario Chamber Annual General Meeting.

This year’s meeting is being hosted by the Muskoka Lakes and Gravenhurst Chambers of Commerce and is themed “Stronger Together”.   Attending for the Peterborough Chamber will be President & CEO Stuart Harrison, Chair of the Board of Directors Ben vanVeen, and Policy Analyst Sandra Dueck.

The policy debate will feature 29 policy resolutions including 23 new resolutions.   

The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce has a recurring resolution around creating flexibility in the apprenticeship system to allow for larger ratios in smaller urban and rural communities.   The needs of rural and small urban communities in the apprenticeship realm are different from the GTA.  Our member businesses have told us they have to turn people away because of the ratios.   With a major gap in workforce in the skilled trades, our area is missing opportunities to keep people local and fill jobs in our community.

The Peterborough Chamber Policy Committee and Board of Directors also approved submitting a
resolution around the transition of the Ontario College of Trades back to the Ministry of Advanced Education.

We learned from our members that two programs developed through the college were valued and
important to keep.   The first is to keep the public registry of businesses and status of their membership with the government.  Members indicated they used this feature to promote and encourage potential clients to be aware of their standing and record in the skilled trades.

The second recommendation is to ensure new Canadians with skilled trades can easily access the Ontario economy.   Other topics that will be discussed during the policy debates include addressing high electricity prices, how government deals with private sector contracts, highway connectivity, strengthening the connections between the business community and our post-secondary institutions and creating a stronger business/commerce curriculum.

In our workshop sessions, we will be discussing the advocacy plan for red tape and continued advocacy around the cannabis legislation.   

This work is a signifcant part of the work a Chamber does.  Through the policy resolution process we are able to bring the voice of our 900 members along with the rest of the Chamber Network to government as one voice.  This influence helps create the conditions for growth and improves competitiveness of our business community.   
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Stay tuned as we will update our members on the results of the conference!

World IP Day was recently celebrated here in Peterborough and with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC). 

Our own Si Grobler attended the Innovation Cluster's Power Breakfast that featured member Marcelo Sarkis of Prima IP.  Si told us that one of the most important  takeaways from the presentation was that every company should consider having an IP policy.

Currently, an IP policy resolution from Peterborough is on the books at the CCC.  It calls for a number of reforms including more help and encouragement with first patents.

In a recent blog the Canadian Chamber echoed that sentiment writing, that IP rights play a
significant role in encouraging innovation and creativity. IP rights offer not only protection, but can also drive commercial success. Canadian businesses, whether large or small, should take stock of their IP assets and develop a solid IP strategy.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce along with Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), are building programs to help increase IP literacy among businesses and help businesses access to IP services to support the growth of Canada’s innovation ecosystem and the global competitiveness of Canadian innovators.

chamber.ca

Over the past several months, we’ve been detailing the federal and provincial budgets and the impact on the local business community.

I’m a fan of understanding process, so now is a good time to start digging into the municipal budget, how it’s developed and when businesses and residents can weigh in.

The City of Peterborough has started its journey to developing the 2020 budget.  Even though there have been a few public engagements held already, residents and business owners still have time to present their thoughts.    

How do municipalities budget?
According to the City of Peterborough website, the budget process starts in the spring with the development of budget guidelines.  These guidelines set out initial goals, including any anticipated tax increases and capital project parameters.

“Creating the City’s annual operating and capital budget is a big undertaking that involves our community, the delivery of services, maintenance of infrastructure, and ultimately City Council as your elected representatives,” said Councillor Dean Pappas, the City’s Finance Chair in a recent press release. “There are many ways for you to get involved, be engaged, and get the information that you want.”

Municipalities have relatively few mechanisms to raise the money required for operations and capital needs.  Traditionally, the operating budget is funded by tax dollars and user fees, which include charges for recreation programs, water and sewers.  Tax increases can also include an amount
designated for capital purchases.

The operating budget is the plan for the day-to-day operations.  This includes salaries, materials and supplies.

The capital budget is the annual plan for the development, purchase and financing of capital assets such as infrastructure, lands, buildings, machinery and equipment.

So, what are some of the areas that the business community is keeping an eye on in the next municipal budget?

With the advice and feedback of our members we developed the Municipal Business Platform that outlines a number of key areas including:

• Investing in areas of economic growth
• Completing the Tax Ratio Reduction program to ensure that Peterborough businesses remain competitive
• Planning and building measures that are future focused, proactive and bridge city and county geographical lines
• Building a transportation network that works for all
• Supporting the building of various types of housing stock

Now some of these requests fall into the operations budget and others into capital projects.

What do you want the City to know from a business perspective as the budget guidelines are built?
Let us know.  Contact Sandra Dueck, Policy Analyst at [email protected]

You can also fill out the survey on the City’s website. 

The 2019 time frame as released by the City in a recent press release:

Public engagement opportunities:
Thursday, April 25 (tonight) – Ward 3 Town public drop-in session, Peterborough Public Library, 345 Aylmer St. N. 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Monday, April 29 – Ward 5 Northcrest public drop-in session, Northcrest Community Centre, 100 Marina Blvd. 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 7 – Ward 4 Ashburnham public drop-in session, Peterborough Museum and Archives, 300 Hunter St. E. 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday, May 10 – Closing of public survey on budget priorities
Wednesday, May 22 – City Council, Finance Committee meeting to hear public delegations on the preliminary guidelines for the 2020 Budget development
Monday, June 24 – City Council to consider ratifying its Finance Committee’s decision on the guidelines for the creation of the 2020 Budget, opportunity for public delegations during the meeting
Wednesday, November 13 – Public meeting to hear from the community on the draft 2020 Budget
Monday, December 9 – Council considers final approval of the 2020 Budget, opportunity for public delegations

Budget document release and review by Finance Committee:
Monday, May 6 – City Council, Finance Committee meeting, presentation of preliminary guidelines for 2020 Budget development
Monday, June 10 – City Council, Finance Committee meeting to consider recommendations to approve guidelines for the creation of the 2020 Budget
Monday, October 28 – City Council, Finance Committee to receive draft 2020 Budget documents, which begins the official review of the draft documents
Monday, November 18 to Thursday, November 21 – Council holds Finance
Committee meetings each day to review and discuss the draft 2020 Budget documents
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The provincial government has announced the following plans:

• Introduced Bill 87 Fixing the Hydro Mess which includes refinancing of the Global Adjustment
• Consultations on industrial electricity pricing and programs with the following sectors:
• automotive
• forestry
• mining
• agriculture
• steel
• manufacturing
• chemicals
• Modernizing the Ontario Energy Board (OEB)

Plans also include:

• Ending Green Energy contracts
• Supporting the nuclear industry in Ontario
• Promoting transparency and accountability at Hydro One

Read more on Electricity.

Comment:
Our Peterborough Chamber member businesses consistently report concern around the pricing of electricity and available programs.
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Consultations are currently underway and the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce will be requesting feedback from members in the above industries to provide to the provincial government.

Contact Sandra Dueck, Policy Analyst if you would like to participate.
Email: [email protected]

The provincial government has announced the following plans:

• Proposing new legislation for a governance framework that would replace the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009
• Financial incentives to encourage employer participation in the apprenticeship system to support a consortium like model where employers come together and train apprentices
• A new one-window application process for apprentices
• Promoting apprenticeship and the skilled trades to students from K-12
• A flexible framework to allow training and certification in a full trade or in a portable skill set
• A micro-credentials pilot in an effort to develop the in-demand skills employers are seeking
• Enhanced labour market information website featuring job profiles and a connection to the federal government job bank
• Changes to Ontario’s Immigration Nominee Program to better reflect changing labour market needs across the province.
• Specifically, the government will amend the program by:
• Creating a technology-focused stream to attract skilled employees
• Expanding the occupations eligible for the Employment Job Offer to reflect in-demand skills
• Expanding the Entrepreneur Stream

​
Read more on Workforce and Training.

Comment:
In the Peterborough Chamber's most recent membership survey, retaining and recruiting talent was identified as one of the most prevalent challenges. The Chamber is hopeful that these new programs, particularly those around apprenticeships, will help our member businesses.

The Peterborough Chamber has advocated for flexibility in the apprenticeship system for small urban and rural centres for the past three years.

Changes to the Ontario Nominee program have the potential to bring highly skilled immigrants to communities such as Peterborough.

The provincial government has announced the following plans:

• Development of a Housing Supply Action Plan with the following principles:
• Develop the right mix of housing where it is needed
• Lower the costs of development
• Make it easier to develop rental housing
• Address other concerns and opportunities to increase the housing supply
• Allow municipalities flexibility while protecting the Greenbelt, agricultural lands, and cultural heritage areas

• Introduce legislation in Spring 2019

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Read more on Housing Supply.

Comment:
Through its membership, the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce has identified that housing is an area that has an impact on employment.

In the Chamber's Municipal Business Platform under Building Whole Communities, we call for increasing housing stock by supporting the construction of a variety of types.

The provincial government has announced the following plans:

• Commitment to Made-in-Ontario Tourism Strategy
• Consultations are complete and strategy development is underway

Read more on Tourism.
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Comment:
Tourism is an important pillar of Peterborough's economy. It is positive to see the recognition of the need to develop a tourism strategy that is reflective of the importance of the industry to Ontario's economy.

With the provincial budget set to be released today (Thursday, April 11, 2019) there is a lot of speculation as to what exactly it will hold.   

We know what our members have said to our MPP through a series of roundtable events earlier this year, including:
Not-for-Profit Innovation
Among them is the request from our not-for-profit members to have the flexibility to be innovative in their programming by having budget buckets instead of line by line reporting. This would afford them the ability to future plan effectively.

Workforce
Many of our employers spoke to the need for skilled and unskilled labour to fill their job openings in core Peterborough industries such as agriculture and construction.

Suggestions from the group included more high school specialist programs, reaching students at an earlier age to introduce them to different career paths, and retraining opportunities that are flexible enough to work for the employee and the employer, including a flexible apprenticeship ratio.   

Broadband
Generally, it was expressed that broadband should be a focus to connect communities and improve business competitiveness.

Taxes
There was agreement to bring the marginal tax rate below 50% to leave more money in the pockets of Ontarians.

Government & Legislative Compliance
Participants at both roundtables expressed concern with the number of government touchpoints they must experience and encouraged goal-setting to reduce that number for businesses and not-for-profits.   Legislative compliance has a cost and a productivity toll, particularly on smaller operations.

On the issue of improving government accountability, there was a desire to see less rebranding
of government ministries and programs, and the suggestion that an effective navigation or concierge service for business and not-for- profit organizations would improve communication between the
government and its constituents.

Peterborough Chamber Policy Resolutions
The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has approved two policy positions for our advocacy program.  Both are focused on the apprenticeship framework by encouraging more flexibility of ratios, particularly for businesses in smaller urban and rural centres, and keeping two parts of the Ontario College of Trades as that arms-length body is dissolved.   

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce pre-budget submission includes a request from the Peterborough and Kingston Chambers of Commerce to increase the heads and beds levy on public institutions and then tie it to the Consumer Price Index.  Doing so would help our municipalities achieve a more realistic return on providing services, which in turn would help the businesses and residents of impacted communities.   

The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce recognizes that Ontario has debt and deficit challenges and that focused leadership through this time will be crucial to our overall competitiveness.

Ontario Chamber Debt Report
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce recently released a report that takes a look at the province’s $348 billion debt and the impact that debt has on our province.  Currently the debt accounts for about 41 percent of the provincial GDP.  Ideally, a province would like to have debt account for less than 40% of GDP to receive the best credit ratings from financial rating companies.

The challenge is that the large debt and deficits are holding the province back.  Interest on our debt is the third largest expense of government.  The question is how does the government go about reducing that debt and yet continuing to encourage growth in investment and competitiveness for business?

These are tough conversations, particularly when there are outside forces to consider including the fact that we are very much in a global economy.  Then there are the areas that need our tax dollars to really work for us such as broadband internet, transit and transportation, health care and education.
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We’ll be breaking down the budget over the coming days and assessing what it will mean for the
Peterborough business community.

With over 12.7 million volunteers in Canada and many in Peterborough, (in fact according to the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough 54% of residents volunteer), we celebrate their contributions to National Volunteer Week.

Being a volunteer can lead to:
Improving your well-being: Helping someone in need or serving your community can offer fulfillment and can reduce stress.

Professional development: 63% of Canadian volunteers feel they have improved their interpersonal and organizational skills.

Contributing to your community:
The economic value of volunteering in Canada is $50 billion each year, according to TD Economics.

Making connections: Volunteering is an opportunity to expand your network and learn about
organizations.

More: chamber.ca

Husayn Dharshi is a local website and web application developer, and the Founder of TransitOne Canada, a local start up dedicated to creating better access to local communities through better transit.

Husayn issued a challenge on his @thebus.ca Facebook page a couple of weeks ago for people to ride the bus. I jumped at the chance as I’d never been on a city bus!

Husayn and I met at the bus stop next to the No Frills on George Street, and rode the last leg of the Route 10 Bus to the terminal on Simcoe Street. There we had a quick chat with Tyler Burns, head of the Amalgamated Transit Union, and then boarded the Route 8 Monaghan Bus.

I sat beside Jim who lives in the Talwood Apartments and was on his way to his bank at Lansdowne Place. Talwood is roughly 10 – 12 blocks from Lansdowne Place, just a little too far for a retired senior to walk, so Jim boards the #10 Sherbrooke Street bus to get to the downtown terminal, then transfers to the Monaghan bus to get to Lansdowne Place travelling roughly 50 blocks in the process. He’s cagey too. Instead of getting off the bus stop just outside the former Sears store on Monaghan, he stays on the bus as it loops around Crawford and Erskine and then pulls up right in front of his bank at the main entrance to Lansdowne Place. We had a great chat, as Talwood is the first place my wife and I lived when we moved here some 40 years ago.

I was struck by a couple of things:

• It was raining and everyone boarded the bus wet and cold.
• Everyone was super nice and friendly with each other.
• Nearly everyone thanked the bus driver when they left

The intent of Husayn’s Facebook challenge was to illustrate some of the realities of transit in a relatively small city. Having had conversations with Husayn, Tyler, a few riders, and City Transportation Chair Counsellor Kemi Akapo, here is a short list of issues and opportunities:

• The system is a little daunting at first 40 minute wait times (between regular bus service) are difficult to deal with Coordinating transfers from one line to the next is tricky, often resulting in trips like Jim’s, riding 50 blocks to get to a place that is 10 blocks away.
• More frequency, better connections and knowing where the buses are would be great
• Lower fares for children would help ease the burden (In Toronto, children under 12 ride for free, in Peterborough it’s children under 2…)
• There seems to be a disconnect between the number of operators (drivers), the number of buses, enough storage space to house the buses, and the maintenance staff to support them. Scaling up costs money, and typically government funding from the federal and provincial governments is tied to infrastructure, not operations.
• Getting people from the County into the City is an even bigger challenge.

Changing the way we think about transit is a place to start. In Toronto, transit is considered infrastructure equal to heat and hydro. It’s simply a requirement. There is also no stigma. The morning of my trip I told a friend what I was doing and he suggested that I was overdressed… Many people who use transit in Peterborough do so by choice, including Councillor Akapo. 

People who use transit shouldn’t be marginalized any more than people who ride their bike to work. Husayn moved to Peterborough to take a job in computer software support, but in the end the bus service made it impossible to accept the position.
Thankfully he chose to stay and build his own software company, including the @thebus.ca transit app to help improve some of the current challenges for riders.
Of course, we are not Toronto. We don’t have millions of people in need of transit. But we do have students, seniors, workers, and families who need to get around.

There seems to be a good relationship between the City and the Union, and the various levels of government, including last week's announcement regarding $26 million in transit infrastructure funding. As the Transit Union says “Peterborough Public Transit serves an essential purpose…”

The entire Peterborough Transit fleet is fully accessible and that there are about 450,000 rides per month for a total of about 5 million per year.   

The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce in its platform document on business issues identifies the need for a transit system that works for all to get residents to places of employment.

Husayn has a few notes that dovetail with that statement as well, including that:

• Buses reach many city attractions (like the Liftlock, shopping, the museums, downtown, CityHall, Riverview Zoo, Memorial Centre, etc), local businesses (including many Chamber members), schools (high school and post-secondary) and residential neighbourhoods.
• Bikes currently cannot be taken on the bus
• Technology Drive service runs twice a day. Many people work shift work so having the service run at an additional time makes sense.

The City of Peterborough is currently in the midst of reviewing its transportation plan. Included in the review are three studies:

• A Transit Route Review to redesign the transit network in the near term so that connectivity and service are improved
• A Long-Term Transit Growth Strategy to set the vision for the future of transit and identify the resources needed to achieve it
• A Downtown Transit Hub Plan to identify a plan to improve or relocate the downtown transit terminal