At the annual Canadian Chamber of Commerce Convention, representing 200,000 Canadian businesses, held virtually on October 27-28, the Surrey Board of Trade sought the support for 12 federal government policies from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce member chambers of commerce and boards of trade (all of which were researched and written by the Surrey Board of Trade),. There were 67 federal government policies being debated at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Convention this year, very similar to the UBCM and FCM format.
“The Surrey Board of Trade actively participates in the formation of federal government policy perspectives to instigate change to help business and the economy. This serves as one of our member and stakeholder value propositions,” said Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.
Surrey Board of Trade federal government policies that received support include:
· Work From Home Here to Stay – CRA Needs to Make the T2200 Short Form Permanent
· Veterans: An Asset to Any Workforce
· Creating a Comprehensive Action Plan on Building a Sustainable Business Relationship with Indigenous People
· Reinstate the Annual Publication on Foreign Trade Barriers to Benefit Canada’s Interests
· Renewing the Canada-United States Relationship
· Creating Businesses and Jobs with the Blue Economy
· Resource Industries – A Critical Ingredient in the Post-Pandemic Recipe
The policies that were narrowly defeated were:
· Creating a Level Playing Field for Canadian Broadcasters in a Digital Age
· Adding Fitness Credits as Medical Expenses on Tax Returns
· The Need for a National Supply Chain Strategy
· Protecting the National Economy by Managing the Lower Fraser River
· A Need for a Long-Term Post Pandemic Strategy for the Air Transportation Industry
Despite these policies being defeated, they will remain policies of the Surrey Board of Trade and will continue to be advanced to government.
There are 450 chambers of commerce/boards of trade in Canada. The Surrey Board of Trade is one of the top 10 largest chambers of commerce/boards of trade nationwide.
All 2021 federal policies can be accessed here: https://chamber.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021ProposedPolicyResolutions.pdf
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