Chamber Submits Letter re: Highway 407
The Provincial Government recently announced that the planned extension of Highway 407 to Highway 35/115 will now be split into two phases, the first phase ending at Simcoe Street in Durham Region. This has two key outcomes:
1. An inappropriate volume of traffic will now be funneled onto Municipal roads in Durham;
2. A key transportation link for the Peterborough area has now been delayed.
Years of preparation and study are simply being set aside in favour of a two-phase approach which delays the expenditure but causes significant problems in the meantime.
The attached letter has been sent to Premier Dalton McGuinty and MPP Jeff Leal. We encourage all members to write their own letter of support for completion of the project in one single phase. The correct addresses are contained within the attached letter.
407 Letter
Ontario Fact Sheet May 2009
The Economic & Revenue Forecasting & Analysis Branch, Office of Economic Policy of the Ontario Ministry of Finance has updated the fact sheet for Ontario, as of May 2009. The fact sheet includes information on population, trade (international and interprovincial), economy, exports and imports. For your convenience, we have included a link to the fact sheet for Ontario, located on the Ontario Ministry of Finance website below.
Ontario Fact Sheet 2009
Protectionism
At its Board meeting June 6, 7, 2009 in Edmonton, the Board of Directors of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce expressed its support for efforts by the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to pursue bilateral discussions with the United States to ensure that companies from both countries can bid on government procurement contracts. The Canadian Chamber issued the media release below.
Meanwhile the Chamber of Commerce of the USA has written a letter to President Barack Obama expressing their concern over the growing protectionist policies being written into the American stimulus funding initiatives. See the link below.
Canadian Chamber USA Chamber
Tax Harmonization
Harmonized Sales Tax is a dramatic change in taxation for the Province of Ontario. The Chamber of Commerce Network has been advocating for a single tax since 2004. Unfortunately the initiative has become somewhat Political, resulting in a significant amount of miscommunication and misunderstanding. The links below will provide some information on HST.
Comprehensive Tax Reform Package
Finance Budget 2009
Download Tax Harmonization Facts and Figures
Examples - Tax Harmonization Website Ontario 2009 Budget
Ontario Fact Sheet - November 2009
The Economic & Revenue Forecasting & Analysis Branch, Office of Economic Policy of the Ontario Ministry of Finance has updated the fact sheet for Ontario. The fact sheet includes information on population, trade (international and interprovincial), economy, exports and imports. For your convenience, we have included a link to the fact sheet for Ontario.
Ontario Fact Sheet