Advocacy at Work: Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness

Advocacy at Work
Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness

On Feb. 12, I unveiled the Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness for 2013 during a lunch at the Economic Club of Canada. As you may know, we undertook this initiative last year to draw attention to the barriers that are holding back Canada’s progress and to urge all levels of government to act more swiftly to improve our country’s ability to compete globally. While Canada’s skills crisis remains our main priority in 2013, we will also be focusing our advocacy efforts on addressing the barriers surrounding energy, public infrastructure and tourism.

2013 Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness
- Skills shortages
- Barriers to world markets for Canadian energy products
- Inadequate workforce productivity
- Inadequate public infrastructure planning
- Tax complexity and structure
- Poor innovation performance
- Deficient strategies for trade success in new markets
- Internal barriers to trade
- Uncompetitive travel and tourism strategies
- Lack of access to capital

I invite you to consult our Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness document or visit our website, Chamber.ca, for more information.

On the skills file, I met with the Hon. Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, on Jan. 31 and emphasized the need for more skilled talent from abroad and for continued support for settlement services across the country. We also discussed the new Expression of Interest system to be introduced by the end of 2014. It will allow employers to be more directly involved in a faster selection of skilled immigrants for permanent residency. The Canadian Chamber is represented on a new employer group established by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to consult on the design and implementation of the new system. We have also formed an Immigration Working Group with corporate and chamber members to guide our work on the immigration file.

Lastly, on Feb. 28, I hosted a private dinner meeting with the Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and senior executives from our membership to address the skills gaps in our economy. We discussed the role of post-secondary education in closing the gap; how to engage the aboriginal population; the lack of basic skills in the labour force at large; the need for specialized skills and for increased participation in skilled trades; and greater retention of international students and attention to diversity in the workplace. Minister Finley signalled her government’s commitment to a domestic skills and employment strategy that addresses those concerns.

Thought Leadership

We published a number of reports this quarter. In January, we issued a report entitled Electricity in Canada: Smart Investment to Power Future Competitiveness that argues that as Canada continues to define its place as a responsible energy producer, electricity—and the sector responsible for its production, transmission and distribution—will play a significant role in Canada’s energy future.

Also in January, we released a report entitled The World’s Mining Capital: How Canada Transformed Its Resources Endowment Into a Global Competitive Advantage that examines how Canada has leveraged its metal and mineral endowment not just by extracting and processing raw materials, but also by creating and marketing the knowledge of how to develop these resources. Accompanied by the Greater Sudbury Chamber and other industry partners, we launched our report at the Toronto Stock Exchange.

In February, we issued a report entitled Closing the Skills Gap: Mapping a Path for Small Business that focuses on the upskilling and training employees in small business. The report is based on the input we received at our skills symposium last November. To supplement our report, we created a toolkit of training resources for small business.

Last week, we released the first instalment of our 2013 Economic Policy Series by Chief Economist Tina Kremmidas. Entitled Canada’s Labour Market Puts in a Strong Performance in 2012, this report examines Canada’s labour market performance in 2012 by demographic group, sector and region and forecasts job prospects for 2013.

Mark Your Calendars

Canada-Japan Trade Symposium: Revitalizing Growth Opportunities Through a Formal Economic Partnership Agreement
April 25 | Toronto, ON

ATA Carnet Seminars
May–June | Cities across Canada

The Competitive Edge Conference: Confronting Canada’s Skills Gap
May 29 | Markham, ON

Annual General Meeting
Sept. 28–30 | Kelowna, BC

International Trade Day
Oct. 29 | Ottawa, ON

For more information on our upcoming events, please visit our website, Chamber.ca.

Stay Connected

I encourage you to follow me, @PerrinBeatty, or the Canadian Chamber, @CdnChamberofCom, on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CanadianChamberofCommerce

I would like to thank you for you ongoing suppor and, as always, I welcome your views and comments.

Sincerely,

Perrin Beatty,
President & CEO