http://dailycommercialnews.com/Infrastructure/News/2015/11/Infrastructure-should-be-a-top-priority-says-OCC-1011340W/
Infrastructure should be a top priority, says OCC
0 56 Infrastructure
by DCN NEWS SERVICES Nov 10, 2015
TORONTO—The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) is calling on the new federal government to make infrastructure spending one of its top three priorities as it moves forward to fulfill election promises.
In an open letter to all new Ontario Members of Parliament, the OCC calls for immediate action to address Ontario's economic challenges. Besides "getting infrastructure dollars out the door," the OCC says in a media release, two other priorities should be reinstating the mandatory, long-form census and moving forward with tax relief measures for small businesses.
"It is paramount that the newly elected government deliver on its commitments to Ontario," said Allan O'Dette, president and CEO of the OCC. "In the near term, more than anything, we want to see increased federal investments in trade-enabling and productivity-boosting infrastructure."
On tax reform, the new federal government has committed to reducing the small business tax rate from 11 per cent to 9 per cent. The OCC is urging the new federal government to work with the business community as it designs and implements the tax cut.
During the recent federal campaign the OCC published a policy document titled In Focus: Federal Priorities for the Ontario Economy in which it called for the federal government to allocate infrastructure funds on a per capita basis. Ontario's estimated $60 billion infrastructure funding gap is delaying economic recovery in all parts of the province, the OCC argued, while congestion in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area costs the region $6 billion in lost productivity every year.
"We need all Ontario MPs to champion a focused and ambitious agenda for a stronger Ontario," said O'Dette.
Nov 10, 2015
