ADVOCACY
Working for You The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce continues to actively advocate on behalf of its membership. Recent items to highlight include the following: Government of Saskatchewan launches new webpage to cut red tape
In January, the Ministry of Trade and Export Development launched a new web page aimed at cutting red tape across provincial ministries, agencies and Crown corporations. The page, entitled Help Cut Red Tape, is a site dedicated to gathering feedback from businesses and citizens regarding red tape issues they have encountered. Businesses and citizens are encouraged to submit their experiences through the on-line platform and their submissions will be referred to the appropriate ministry, agency or Crown Corporation. For more information, please go to www.saskatchewan.ca/help-cut-red-tape.
Maxime Bernier speaks to Saskatoon Chamber members
On January 14th, Maxime Bernier, People’s Party of Canada founder and leader, presented to members of the Saskatoon Chamber. He provided insight on his new party and discussed his thoughts on moving forward with pipeline projects. Approximately 50 attendees were present for the talk, which was the first edition of the Chamber’s Pulse on Politics for 2019.
New Year, new trade agreement
2019 has arrived, and with it, a new trade agreement has come into force. In the interest of diversifying trade, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will expand Canada’s access to a number of Asia-Pacific markets, including
Luncheon Speaker: Maxime Bernier, People's Party of Canada Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia. At full membership of potentially eleven countries, the agreement will encompass over 495 million people and a combined GDP of $13.5 trillion. The CPTPP is expected to reduce a number of barriers to trade and assist small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) looking to access Asia-Pacific markets.
Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce joins Saskatchewan network to clarify position on Carbon Tax
Following the release of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s A Competitive Transition, follow-up media coverage indicated that the business community across Canada was in support of carbon tax. The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce joined members of the Chamber of Commerce network in Saskatchewan to clarify that the Saskatchewan Chamber network is not supportive of the federally proposed carbon tax. The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce CEO, Darla Lindbjerg noted, “The Saskatoon Chamber has been active on the issue of carbon taxes and our policy on the matter has been clear and concise and very much in support of the Government of Saskatchewan’s efforts. The imposition of a carbon tax is not the right tool to serve our environmental or economic needs.”
Municipal waste utility and the ridesharing option for Saskatoon
Late in 2018, a final City of Saskatoon Council meeting was held that featured two items of interest to the Saskatoon Chamber. The first pertained to a motion to rescind a resolution passed on November 19th to fund curbside waste collection through a utility. In response, the Saskatoon Chamber submitted a letter to Council expressing concern for reopening the debate. The Saskatoon Chamber also provided comments on vehicle-for-hire transportation. Ridesharing has become a common option in many jurisdictions across Canada, providing residents with greater options for transportation.
The Chamber will continue to address the concerns of our members and businesses in Saskatoon and the surrounding area to ensure that Saskatoon has a thriving business climate and is the place to live and do business on the prairies.
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