Category: Government Relations

As part of the Oakville Chamber’s advocacy efforts leading up to the federal election on October 21st, we invited candidates to share with our members their vision with the Oakville business community.  Specifically, how their party’s policies and/or platform would strengthen Oakville’s business competitiveness.  

Their responses are included below in alphabetical order by last name (as seen on the Elections Canada ballot). 

To learn more about the Canadian Chamber of Commerce priorities for this election, check out Vote Prosperity. 

Jerome Adamo

New Democratic Party of Canada

The NDP expresses disappointment in recent disproportionate trade deals affecting Canadian businesses and workers. As a labour activist, I’ve always sought, the best interests of workers and my inclusive activism deciphers no difference between employee; union; non union; owner; manager.

As your Ottawa representative, whether opposition or ruling party, I’d thrive as your Oakville watchdog. My focus either way, is for average families and small business owners while pushing legislative change in every area affecting people’s daily lives. Health; workplace; education; safety; trade and/or barriers; wages; taxation; workers compensation; greener economics and pension security. The umbrella issue being the commitment to end a system catering to insiders.

Our Infrastructure vision is one where communities can afford to build infrastructures needed to thrive, from roads and bridges to community centres; child care centres, and telecommunications broadband access, an issue as close as Milton.

To help Canadian small business’s world stage ambitions, a New Democrat government will streamline access to government export services making it simpler to break into foreign markets, achievable for small- and medium-sized businesses through a single point of contact easing regulatory processes. You’ll have more time to invest in business growth.

And finally as MP, I would not oppose recommendations of a royal commission to conduct a tax system review, in fact every party should be committed to this. For too long our tax system has been working for the wrong people, the wealthy elite while average hard working families and small business owners pay the price.

Anita Anand

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party recognizes that small and medium-sized businesses are the drivers of Canada’s economy. That is why the Liberal government cut the small business tax rate from 11% to 9% — the lowest in the G7. A re-elected Liberal government will continue to support business owners by:

· Cutting fees and reducing red tape
· Eliminating the swipe fee on HST and GST for credit card transactions.
· Cutting the cost of federal incorporation by 75%, to $50 from $200.
· Eliminating all fees from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Export Development Canada (EDC) and Farm Credit Canada for business advisory services, such as mentorship and training.
· Implementing a voluntary payroll system to automate records of employment, eliminating the requirement for small businesses to submit detailed records to Service Canada.
· Lowering taxes for clean tech businesses
· Cutting corporate taxes in half for businesses that develop technologies or manufacture products that have zero emissions.
· Helping entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses
· Creating the Canada Entrepreneur Account to provide up to 2,000 entrepreneurs per year with as much as $50,000 to launch a new business. The program will be run as a pilot project for the first three years.
· Making it easier to do business online
· Providing every new business with a $250 voucher for support services, such as web or e-commerce development, from leading Canadian service providers.

These measures will increase our business competitiveness by making it easier and less expensive for business owners to start and grow their businesses.

James Elwick

Green Party of Canada

Business competitiveness depends on consumers’ trust that the rules of the economic game are fair for everyone. But are they fair?

Let’s take the case of taxes. Any taxation system is based upon a moral contract. When people pay taxes to a government, they trust that it will use their money to deal with problems too complicated or too expensive for each individual to deal with on his or her own.

But our trust that each Canadian is indeed paying his or her fair share in taxes is declining. It’s partly because of tax avoidance. But one crucial problem is hiding in plain sight: the Canadian tax system has not been systematically reviewed since the 1960s. It means the government doesn’t even have information about how the tax system can be made fairer and more effective. Think of all the enormous technological, social, and financial changes that have occurred since the 1960s.  

Therefore the Green Party proposes a wide-ranging Federal Tax Commission as a wise investment in our economy. We’ve costed it at $10 million over two years. It’s money well spent if we can make the tax system more efficient while identifying loopholes we should close. Such a review would help restore Canadians’ trust that our tax system works for everyone. It would help restore people’s faith in the rules of our larger economic system, boost consumer confidence, and lead to greater economic participation.

JD Meaney

People’s Party of Canada

Canadians face many challenges and corrective action is needed. The interest payment of $25 billion on a debt approaching $1 trillion is unstainable.

I present to you our economic plan. The People’s Party government will do the following:

Balance the federal budget in 2 years and remain fiscally responsible towards tax payers.

Set the federal income tax at two rates. Personal exemption will be set at $15,000. $15,001 – $100,000 will be set at 15% and $100,001 onwards will be set at 25%.

Set our corporate tax rate at 10%.

Encourage reinvestment in Canada by ending capital gains tax.

Promote an environment for a thriving economy of entrepreneurship and small businesses.

Not pick winners and losers in business. We will end corporate welfare to businesses who have relied on government subsidies for many years.

Solve Canada’s energy crisis by building pipelines and repeal bills C-48 and C-69.

Prioritize our immigration levels on skills and merit.

Review the equalization formula for provinces, making it fairer for the provinces who really need it.

Eliminate interprovincial trade barriers making it easier for provinces to move goods and services across our vast nation.

End supply management on farming commodities such as dairy, poultry and eggs, making basic groceries more affordable for our poorest Canadians.

I believe in individual freedom, personal responsibility, fairness and respect.

I look forward to honourably serve the people of Oakville as your next Member of Parliament.

It’s our future.

Terence Young

Conservative Party of Canada

If you believe the Liberals, our economy is in great shape. Employment is high. We have 4% growth. 

Trudeau and Morneau claim we should add another $100 B in debt over the next four years, after adding $76 B in the last four, and planning to add debt yearly forever.

To be clear, they have no plan to ever balance the budget.

Is this spending and economy sustainable? 

International investors don’t think so. They are fleeing Canada. Direct foreign investment has crashed by 80% in the last five years.

Canadian investors don’t think so either. Canadian investment abroad has tripled.

Our exporters are losing billions. Entrepreneurs are leaving Canada to avoid paying 53.5% tax rates.

Justin Trudeau’s international antics and costumes have embarrassed Canada, hurting trade relations with key trading partners. 

We can’t grow our economy and increase markets for GTA businesses when capital is deserting Canada, new trade deals are frozen, major infrastructure projects are on hold, and taxes are driving out entrepreneurs.      

Under my Conservative government we had a balanced budget by 2015 and the lowest business and personal taxes in 50 years. And we will do that again.

We will balance the budget in 5 years, by cutting corporate welfare and reducing unneeded foreign aid; consult properly with First Nations to get pipelines and other infrastructure built in a national energy corridor, put more money in the pockets of ordinary people with tax cuts, reset trade relations, and kill the ineffective and punishing carbon tax.