Voice of Business: Sustainable Partnerships

We’re stronger together. A common phrase, good naturally passed around to comfort and inspire. Something aimed to motivate the community to join together in times of trouble.

But it’s more than an expression. It’s how the community got through the flood in 2006. It’s how we recovered from the May two-four windstorm. It’s how we will get through the pandemic. That way of thinking can get through another crisis, our environmental crisis.

A key to creating a more sustainable environment may be the connections we have to the other businesses in the community. Or at least a place to start.

1. Our communities have local resources for furniture and supplies. From Brant Basics to the Habitat for Humanity Restores, furniture can be picked up locally. Shipping your furniture and supplies from far away increases transportation emissions, energy waste and air pollution.

2. Did you know Charlotte Products recently partnered with Merit Precision Moulding Ltd. to make the bottles for their soap and hand sanitizers? This includes their new ALLORGANIC USDA Certified Organic Hand Soap (available at Swish Maintenance). Partnerships like this one not only energize the local economy, but also cut down on the carbon footprint. Manufacturers that created biodegradable food containers, cleaning supplies, metals and food and drink supplies: All located in Peterborough and the Kawarthas.

3. If you do need to buy online, check out similar businesses to yours and see if your items can be shipped together. Turn your competition to collaboration. This will also save on shipping costs.

4. Take advantage of GreenUP’s Ecology Park and plant plants around your office. Build rain gardens to treat polluted stormwater runoff and collect stormwater and melted snow. Grow a rooftop garden to help reduce air pollution and remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. They can also offer more insulation for your building and can help extend the life of the existing roof fabric by up to 200 per cent.*

5. Help lobby our levels of government for property tax credits and other tax incentives for adding sustainable additions to office buildings.

6. Encourage employees to carpool or offer employees remote working opportunities to cut down on emissions.

7. Reach out to your neighbours and organize a battery/waste collection and drop off. Each business can take turns taking the items to the waste collected to the Household Hazardous Waste Depot to make sure these items are properly disposed of.

* Todd Haiman Landscape Design – Blog Jan. 25, 2017 in URBAN ROOFTOP AND TERRACE, OUTDOOR SPACE DESIGN

Even small changes and collaborations can make big changes for our environment. The more people working together, the bigger the impact is.

If you’d like to discover more businesses within Peterborough and the Kawarthas, check out lovelocalmarketplace.ca.

Content provided by the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Summer Soul Yoga, Heather's Holistics, Kawartha Hypnosis and Heritage Blooms Upick

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition…

Summer Soul Yoga and Wellness is a brand-new yoga studio in Downtown Peterborough.

Located at 394 George St. above Bluestreak Records, owners Ashley and Kevin Woollacott have renovated what was the home of Peterborough's first lawyer, Elias Burnham. The original tin roof from 1857 is a prominent feature of the studio which offers a wide range of yoga and wellness classes from a number of instructors so there is something for everyone.

Heather, from Heather's Holistics recently moved into a new location in downtown Peterborough.

Located at 311 George St. across from the Whistle Stop, Heather specializes in the nervous system and reproductive support, offering Reiki, reflexology, fertility coaching and menstrual literacy. You can find Heather in The Red Tent at the Downtown Saturday Market, or online at heathersholistics.ca or on Facebook or Instagram.

Rebecca O’Rourke is marking the reopening of Kawartha Hypnosis this Thursday at noon.

Like many, O’Rourke has survived a complete shutdown through the pandemic but then add a complete shutdown from a two-week power outage and a complete shutdown from a catastrophic flood. Located at 351 Charlotte St. and after four months of renovations, she is reopening with food refreshments, tours, and talks.

Heritage Blooms Upick is Claudia MacDonald’s business.

Located on Highway 7 in Norwood near Dinosaur Park, Claudia offers hundreds of varieties of flowers which you can pick by the vase or by the bucket. Claudia and her husband Ben also operate the Heritage Cattle company and farm shop where you can purchase their grass-fed beef products, honey, maple syrup, eggs and more.

“Like” StoosNews page on Facebook here!

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Innovation Cluster Peterborough Announce Camila Duarte as New Executive Director

Innovation Cluster Peterborough has appointed Camila Duarte as the organization’s new executive director after a decision from the board of directors announced on Wednesday morning.

Photo courtesy of Innovation Cluster.

Duarte has spent nine years in tech innovation, non-profit and customer-facing industries, coaching, relationship-building, and developing strategic initiatives across international centres in Melbourne, Australia, Montréal and Toronto according to a press release.

During her Innovation Cluster tenure, she pioneered initiatives that generated over $1 million in revenue growth, mentored more than 100 companies and fostered pivotal partnerships internationally and across Canada, including hubs in Manitoba, Vancouver, Guelph and Cape Breton as stated by Innovation Cluster.

“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to understand the Innovation Cluster from its grassroots,” said Duarte. “This provides me with a unique understanding of the entrepreneurial landscape in the regions we serve and what the organization needs to continue its history of driving growth and innovation.”

“Camila’s impressive track record, together with her entrepreneurial spirit and proven leadership skills, makes her the right candidate to lead the organization as a prominent and vibrant centre for the incubation of innovation,” said Nicole Stephenson, board chair. “Her dedication, resilience, and transformative vision are the skills that we require in a leader to achieve our ambitious goal to be a catalyst for building, attracting, nurturing, and retaining companies in the region.”

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Voice of Business: Driving Innovation in Canada

Guest column from the Chamber of Commerce of Brantford-Brant

Investing in innovation is key to a thriving economy.

The Chamber of Commerce of Brantford-Brant has a proposed policy resolution that will urge the federal government to expand and improve its investments in innovation. The resolution is a partnership with the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce and will be debated at the annual Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) conference in October. If approved by the CCC membership, it becomes part of its advocacy efforts for the next three years.

The resolution:

Description

The federal government created an “Intellectual Property Strategy” to support and protect innovation across Canada. Improvements to the strategy must include an additional focus on federal investment and tax incentives, that will encourage business investment in intellectual property (IP) and innovation to improve productivity, economic growth, and incomes for Canadians.

Background

The “Intellectual Property Strategy” was an investment of $85.3 million over five years to help Canadian businesses, creators, entrepreneurs and innovators understand, protect and access intellectual property (IP) through a comprehensive IP Strategy. This strategy was announced in the 2017 budget with details released in the 2018 budget, and underwent a program review in the spring of 2023, with the results pending to be published.

In the Roadmap to Recovery document, the Canadian Chamber makes the following recommendation as an important step in nurturing recovery: “Adopting an “innovation box” regime that would reduce the corporate tax rate for income derived from patented inventions and other intellectual property connected to new or improved products, services and related innovative processes developed in Canada.”

The Intellectual Property Strategy has goals and recommendations in three areas: IP Awareness, Education and Advice; Strategic IP Tools for Growth; and IP Legislation. Recommendations within these areas lack information about the cost of potential investments.

In 2019-2020, $30M was slated to establish a pilot program called the “Patent Collective”. The collective will work with Canadian entrepreneurs to pool patents so that small and medium-sized firms will have better access to critical IP they need to grow in the early stages without fear of infringing on a patent. The budget refers to this program as providing these businesses with the “freedom to operate.” Program entry was limited to the first year, and applications closed after one year.

This strategy is still in its infancy and Canada remains 16th in innovation overall in the Global IP Rankings in 2023. The Index consists of five key sets of indicators to map the national intellectual property environment for the 28 surveyed countries by the US Chamber of Commerce.

Canada's support to businesses in this space lags behind the offerings of other countries that are ranked above Canada on this list. One of those differences is a “patent box” tax approach. A number of countries (the U.K., Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Hungary, Ireland, Switzerland and China) have adopted this approach which sharply reduces the normal corporate tax rate on income derived from the exploitation of patents. The Netherlands widened the policy to an “innovation box” to encompass a broader class of intellectual property.

The various “patent box” programs have been implemented provincially in Canada, but not yet adapted at the federal level. British Columbia has had a tax policy in place since 2006, Quebec included the patent box policy in its 2016 budget, and has recently updated it to maintain a 2 per cent reduction in the corporate income rate for R&D activities carried out in whole or in part in the province, and Saskatchewan announced patent box tax policy in its 2017 budget, and recently updated it to include a 10-15-year eligibility window.

The reference to “box” comes from having to tick a box on the tax form that indicates this type of revenue is being claimed. The types of profits that qualify for the lower tax rate, and how acquired intellectual property is treated, differ significantly among countries and provinces.

Additionally, the “patent box” rate varies considerably among nations and provinces. Finally, some countries put caps on the total tax relief companies can receive from patent boxes. In the case of Saskatchewan, the provincial government has installed time limits on the number of years of tax relief that can be attached to a patent.

In the 2021 Federal Budget, the government committed to study a national patent box program; however, this study has not yet started. The Parliamentary Budget Officer found that a Patent Box program to reduce the corporate tax rate by half to 7.5 per cent for large corporations and 4.5 per cent for small business, applied to profits generated from R&D developed and patented in Canada, would cost $242 million over five years. This investment in a national incentive will improve international competitiveness, support business investment in research and help bridge the commercialization gap between concept, patent, and delivery to market, by supporting new economic activity and tax revenue to offset the immediate expenditures of the proposal. The government could also apply the savings that will be realized from streamlining the SR&ED tax incentive program to offset all the immediate revenue cost of this proposal, and complement the existing SR&ED Investment Tax Credit program— firms would have an incentive to base their R&D activities in Canada and to commercialize them in Canada.

The federal “Innovation Strategy” also has a goal to double the number of high-growth firms in Canada from 14,000 to 28,000 by 2025. High-growth firms are the most likely to innovate, sell globally and invest in people creating more and better paying jobs. A secondary goal is to achieve growth in intellectual property applications and have these companies base their R&D and commercialize their innovation in Canada.

A federal “My First Patent Program” could help achieve this. Quebec funds such a program with the following parameters: Quebec SMEs with 250 or fewer employees that are able to demonstrate research and development efforts completed or in part can apply for a non-repayable contribution of up to 50% of eligible expenses, to a maximum of $25,000 for patent application projects, industrial design registration or integrated circuit topography.

This policy resolution was renewed at the 2017 and 2020 national conventions, and it continues to propose key solutions to help Canadian businesses develop and protect IP.

Recommendations

That the Government of Canada:

1. Complete the study on a national “patent box” strategy to encourage business investment in innovation in Canada by 2025, to be implemented for 2026.

2. Consult with senior business leaders and technologists to define what intellectual property would qualify, e.g., patents, copyright, industrial design, and for what duration.

3. Ensure that any such regime adopted in Canada delivers the clarity and simplicity that encourages participation in innovation from both SMEs and large companies.

4. Develop a federal program modelled after the “My First Patent Program” using the Quebec model as a template to encourage more investment by SMEs across the country.

5. Review the Patent Collective Program and update funding to meet the needs of new potential innovators.

Content provided by the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Ken Currie, Right Up My Alley, Sanctuary Flower Fields and Mark Million

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition…

Ken Currie recently launched his own business, specializing in residential design and construction consulting.

Currie has a long history including in the construction trades, as a Chief Building Official and as a Director of Planning and Building. Add Residential Designer and you have someone who can handle all forms of residential permit drawings, planning applications for Minor Variances, and Re-Zonings. From drawings to permit applications, Ken Currie is the guy to call at 705-977-5561.

Tweed has a new bowling alley. Called Right Up My Alley, the new business also includes a restaurant with a farm-to-table approach, featuring locally sourced organic meats, produce and dairy.

The menu is a reflection of the seasons but you can count on everything from complex to comfort food, pub grub, with gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, halal and kosher options. For details on the bowling leagues and schedules visit rightupmyalleytweed.com

After 14 years as a Peterborough County/City Paramedic, Kelly Convery is switching from the frontline to flower farming.

Called Sanctuary Flower Fields, Kelly offers a variety of services including floral design, U-Pick and Photography opportunities. Located in Ennismore, Kelly’s seasonal flowers are started from seed, thoughtfully picked and creatively arranged and the Flower Field is a big hit with local Photographers. For details visit

Congratulations to Mark Million, the new Director of Merchandise for the Peterborough Petes.

Million takes over from Don Sharp who built the Petes Store into a thriving entity at the Memorial Centre. Million is a graduate of the Fleming College Sporting Goods Business program and operates his own sports apparel-related store in Downtown Peterborough called The Capital PTBO.

“Like” StoosNews page on Facebook here!

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Voice of Business: Assisting Small Business With Protecting Their Data and Business From Cybercrime

The cost and maintenance of cybersecurity measures is prohibitive to small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) across all sectors of the Canadian economy.

There are a few very simple things that can be done to minimize the risk and enhance recovery procedures. Many SMEs lack the detailed knowledge to make informed decisions and the financial support to contract professionals to handle it for them.

We at the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce have put together a policy resolution on this topic with input from our fellow chambers and industry experts. This policy resolution will go to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and be discussed at our annual policy debate in October. If approved by the membership, it will become part of the CCC’s advocacy program for the next three years.

The issue of cybersecurity is even more relevant today as bad actors begin to use Artificial Intelligence to produce even more invasive ways to trap their victims.

The internet is the road on which the majority of business is conducted in the 21st century and while business is responsible for its own portion of that road, help is needed to make sure it is maintained. Many businesses still feel cybersecurity is an optional extra, yet it is just as important as locks on our doors. Protecting digital assets requires at least a basic cybersecurity strategy and should be part of the business strategy for all SMEs.

The Canadian economy is comprised primarily of SMEs. By incentivizing the adoption of cybersecurity solutions, the federal government can ensure that small and medium-sized businesses are not only protected but can recover quickly and effectively if attacked.

As of December 2021, there were 1.21 million employer businesses in Canada. Of these, 1.19 million (97.9 per cent) were small businesses and 22,700 (1.9 per cent) were medium-sized businesses. Small businesses employed 8.2 million individuals in Canada, or 67.7 per cent of the total private labour force, with medium businesses employing another 2.5 million people. Together, SMEs represent about 51 per cent of Canada’s GDP.

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada:

• 40 per cent of small business owners are spending at least $100,000 to resolve a cyberattack

• 1 in 5 small businesses have been affected by a cyberattack or data breach

Cyber risk insurance is also a contributor to a business’ ability to survive a cyber incident. However, many SMEs lack the minimum requirements to qualify for cyber risk insurance and are not able to implement needed protocols due to the financial burden.

According to an annual report from IBM, the average data breach cost about $5.5 million globally in 2022, up from $3.92 million in 2019. Canada is ranked the third highest for cost per data breach with an average of $7 million, up from $4.44 million in 2019. In a 2023 study conducted by MasterCard, cybercrime has increased by 600% since the pandemic.

It is clear the need for SMEs to protect themselves is important to the Canadian economy. In November 2018, the CRA implemented the Accelerated Investment Incentive proposals which, under Chart 3.

Purchase of Equipment, allow a business to deduct up to $4,400 in the first two years after the purchase. While this was welcomed, under the current economic situation it is not enough.

Ideally, SMEs need support from professional cybersecurity businesses. This should come through an initial assessment, typically around $100 per system user. Additionally, grants, tax rebates, and tax deductions will support investments in training, support from third-party experts, and getting up-to-date software.

Furthermore, as businesses recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canada Business Resilience Network (www.cbrn.ca) Roadmap to Recovery document suggests government introduce programs, funding and incentives for technology adoption in businesses of all sizes and across all sectors to improve Canadian productivity.

Our recommendations are that the Government of Canada:

1. Broaden the scope of the existing Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) or create a similar grant program focused on cybersecurity which will allow SMEs to access comprehensive cybersecurity products and services;

2. Provide specific annual tax credits for the ongoing support and maintenance required from third-party vendors for SMEs that have satisfied the grant program to assess their technology;

3. Allow SMEs to write off 100% of their business investments in preventative cybersecurity-related software, equipment and other costs (support services and outsourcing costs) in the year those investments are made;

4. Provide a subsidy for training of staff on cybersecurity awareness programs; and

5. Create a SME Cyber Defence Fund that provides SMEs with the necessary support to improve their cyber resilience and close the cybersecurity investment gap.

Content provided by the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Sam's Place Deli Expands With Soft Launch of Hot Dog Joint 'Sam's Place Wienery'

Entrepreneur Sam Sayer has expanded her business of putting meat on bread as she has soft-launched a new hot dog joint ‘Sam’s Place Wienery’ for this week that began on Tuesday.

Sam Sayer says her love for hot dogs was also a reason for expanding her business operations with a ‘wienery.” Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The ‘wienery’ is located behind her delicatessen ‘Sam’s Place’ on 188 Hunter St. W.

“We truly had an empty space between our new kitchen and the sandwich shop but it wasn't really usable for anything so we thought why not give this a shot,” said Sayer, Sam’s Place Deli and Wienery owner.

The soft launch runs from Tuesday until Friday from noon to 6 p.m. There are seven selections of hot dog combinations that the place is offering during the soft launch. Customers can also dress their own plain or special combination hot dogs. Beef, pork and beyond meat wieners are options available for any hot dog. Pogo corn dogs are also on the menu.

“The beef hot dogs are actually American, so those are Nathan's. They're world famous of course. We've got Wagner's dogs which are pork dogs out of Toronto and then we have the beyond-meat bratwurst,” explained Sayer.

A dressed Chicago Dog with mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle, celery salt and banana peppers. All photos by David Tuan Bui.

A San Fran dog consisting of bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo (excluded).

The following are the featured topping combinations for this week’s soft launch:

• Dog River Dog: house-made vegetarian chili, cheese sauce, shredded cheese and green onion

• Chicago Dog: Mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle, celery salt and banana peppers

• Chou Dog: Creamy five-cabbage slaw

• Dad Dog: Cheese sauce and shredded cheese

• Poutine Dog: Empire cheese curd, vegetarian gravy and Hickory Sticks

• San Fran Dog: Bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo

• Sonoran Dog: Pico de Gallo, bacon, mayo, mustard and hot sauce

The soft launch will help Sayer determine what adjustments need to be made before her grand opening at an undisclosed date.

“We have a real thing for art so I'd really like to have more on the walls,” explained Sayer. “Aside from that, we just want to make sure we have the kinks out and we can run as smooth as possible, all set for everybody when the time comes.”

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.

StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Marlin Travel, On Your Journey, Morning Cup Productions and Innovation Cluster

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition…

After 19 years at 550 Lansdowne St., Marlin Travel Peterborough is moving into a new office this Friday.

The new location is at 1789 Stenson Blvd. in the Stenson Plaza, across from the entrance to Fleming College on Brealey Drive. Owner Mary LaRocque and her team of travel advisors, Tara, Jayne, Carrie and Sarah and their new Customer Care team member Gayle, offer a full-service travel agency including all-inclusive holidays, river cruises and group tours.

Tracey Wilson is a registered nurse with 40 years of experience, devoted to caring for palliative and long-term care patients. Tracey brings all of that to her new service called On Your Journey.

Tracey offers end-of-life doula care and services, bereavement/grief support, advanced care planning and end-of-life education and workshops. Tracey’s website is very informative and includes tools like her end-of-life plan checklist. Visit onyourjourney.ca for details and to book a free initial consultation.

Luke Shauf’s company is called Morning Cup Productions.

He brings years of experience in photography, videography and production with an impressive list of credits, from Hockey Night in Canada, The World Series and The Olympics, to co-founding and positioning a rock band. Luke specializes in video for commercials, overviews and podcasts, and photography for branding, headshots, commercial and real estate.

Social innovations are new social practices that aim to meet social needs in a better way than the existing solutions, needs such as working conditions, education, community development or health.

The Innovation Cluster Peterborough and the Kawarthas and Cape Breton University have introduced a new Social Innovation microcredential, focusing on creativity, design thinking, innovation and social business models. The four-week course will be held on Thursdays from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m, starting Sept.r 7, at a cost of $500 per participant.

“Like” StoosNews page on Facebook here!

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Innovation Cluster and Cape Breton University Partner for Social Innovation Microcredential Course

The Innovation Cluster Peterborough and the Kawarthas (ICPK) has partnered with Cape Breton University's Centre to launch the Social Innovation microcredential that focuses on creativity, design thinking, innovation, and social business models, announced on Wednesday.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn alongside Jasmine Alam, a renowned expert with a Ph.D. focused on Social Innovation in a sector that is currently experiencing tremendous growth. Photo courtesy of Innovation Cluster.

The four-week course is held on Thursdays from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. beginning on Sept. 7 until the 28th.

The course is being offered at a cost of $500 per participant and at a discounted rate of $250 to ICPK clients.

“Our partnership with the Innovation Cluster is an exciting step towards fostering social entrepreneurship in Canada,” said Jasmine Alam, Cape Breton University director “The course reflects our shared mission to engage and equip innovators to create social impact while also being profitable.”

“The alliance between the Innovation Cluster and Cape Breton University further fosters our commitment to build a prominent and vibrant centre for the incubation of innovation,” Nicole Stephenson, Innovation Cluster interim CEO. “Their exceptional program in social innovation aligns seamlessly with our goal to drive innovation-focused economic growth and continuously provide new opportunities for our clients.”

The program offers four modules with a pitch competition at the end where participants can obtain funding for their ideas. Innovation cluster is inviting current Trent and Fleming College students, alumni and aspiring entrepreneurs interested in social innovation enterprises to participate.

Registration is open and anyone interested can enroll online. Upon successful completion, a badge will be issued by Cape Breton University with the Innovation Cluster.

“This partnership is about more than a course; it's about building a community of innovators,” said Alam. “By working together, we are confident we'll witness a significant rise in social entrepreneurial activity.”

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Voice of Business: Policy Matters: Regulatory Reform

Guest column from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce

We talk a lot about regulatory burden here at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce because it is consistently one of the biggest barriers to economic growth that we see across sectors.

So, what *IS* it exactly?

In a Nutshell

“Regulations” are the government rules that legally dictate what businesses are allowed to do when it comes to producing, manufacturing and selling their goods and services.

The OECD lists three general types:

• Economic regulation is meant to improve the efficiency of delivering goods and services to markets and customers. It can include government-imposed restrictions on things like prices, quantity, service and imports and exports.

• Social regulation is meant to protect the well-being and rights of society. It can include protection of the environment, health and safety in the workplace, workers’ rights, and consumer protections against things like fraud.

• Administrative regulation relates to general government management of the operation of the public and private sectors. It can include regulations relating to taxes, business operations, distribution systems, health care administration and intellectual property rights.

The Policy Problem

Well-designed and well-implemented regulations can be one of the government’s tools to grow the economy and help keep Canadian citizens and our environment safe.

Unfortunately, Canada has a complex network of overlapping regulations from all levels of government that make a lot of things more expensive and difficult than they need to be for businesses.

Complying with all these layers of regulations is also time-consuming, and combined with inefficient and unpredictable regulatory processes, Canadian businesses are not set up for success. Every hour and every dollar spent dealing with redundant paperwork and confusing compliance issues is an hour or dollar not spent on running and growing a business. This is especially true for small businesses, which often lack the specialized staff and financial resources of larger companies to deal with regulation and compliance.

Let’s look at a few examples of how regulatory burdens can impact the economy:

Transportation

The approval process for trade-enabling transportation infrastructure projects can take upwards of 10 years due to inefficient regulatory processes. By stalling on the approvals that would put shovels in the ground on projects like twinning railways, increasing bridge capacity and modernizing shipping ports, Canada and Canadian businesses lose out on billions in annual revenue. We need to be able to get things

like food, fuel, fertilizer and critical minerals to domestic manufacturers, ports and international markets. If we can’t move Canadian goods, we can’t sell them, and that’s bad news for everyone.

Interprovincial Trade

Nearly 25 per cent of businesses who trade interprovincially cite red tape as a major obstacle to doing business within Canada. Over decades of regulation-making, provinces and territories have introduced differing rules and standards that impact nearly every sector. They affect areas like trucking and transportation standards, food packaging and labelling standards, professional certifications and securities regulation. As a result, businesses have to deal with different sets of rules and processes in each province, and for many, this causes serious barriers to business or opting out of interprovincial trade all together – this reduces Canada’s GDP by billions of dollars every year.

Net-zero

A predictable, consistent regulatory framework is crucial for Canada to hit its net-zero targets. Key words – “predictable” and “consistent.” The transition to net-zero can’t happen overnight and businesses need time to prepare, make the necessary investments and gradually adjust their operations. Unfortunately, Canada’s convoluted, shifting goal posts and regulations make long-term business planning extremely challenging. This uncertainty also impacts our ability to attract the kinds of global investments we need for our natural resources sector to help develop clean fuels like natural gas, hydrogen and sustainable biofuels. We need to convince investors that Canada is a safe bet – the uncertainty around net-zero regulations is doing anything but.

Talent & the Workforce

In a global economy, regulatory burdens are especially problematic. The more red tape a business runs into in any given country, the less likely they are to stay– they can take their business and job opportunities elsewhere. And where the opportunities go, so too does the talent. Canada is at risk of losing not just businesses, but the next generation of talented and innovative workers to other countries.

Canada and the United States

The United States is our primary ally and trading partner – a huge amount of goods come and go across the border every day – which makes regulatory differences between the two countries especially problematic. Different rules or processes create unnecessary supply-chain slow-downs and add costs for exporting companies. We also compete with the United States for investment. We want companies to open headquarters here, create jobs for Canadians and contribute to our economy – but when they can do that at a cheaper price tag and with less of a headache south of the border due to more business-friendly regulations, all Canadians lose.

Policy Soloution

Considering Canada’s alarmingly low level of economic growth – our GDP is projected to grow by only 1.4% this year and 1.3% in 2024 – we literally can’t afford the regulatory burdens facing Canadian businesses. The solution?

Regulatory reform (aka regulatory modernization).

A modern, streamlined regulatory process is a thing of beauty, removing barriers and allowing businesses to stay competitive and maximize their growth while protecting the welfare of Canadian citizens. This looks like improved environmental, social and economic protections, while simultaneously increasing investment growth and the number of jobs for Canadians – win-win!

We can’t just talk the talk when it comes to regulatory reform – we need to see real action that will move the needle.

What’s Next?

Concerned about regulatory burdens and want to know how your business can act? Here are a few ways to get involved:

• Write or request a meeting with your federal MP(s) or provincial/territorial government representative to voice your concerns if your business is being impacted by regulatory burdens.

• Consider joining your local chamber of commerce or board of trade. By joining, you can add your voice to the development of policy and advocacy positions that drive business success.

Content provided by the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.