DIANNE HAWKINS
COMOX VALLEY – On Thursday, January 13th, the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce and MNP LLP hosted the annual Economic Forecasting Event. The keynote speaker was the Honourable Perrin Beatty, PC, OC, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the 200,000-member Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada’s largest and most representative national business association. Going into the third year of the pandemic, Perrin offered his perspective on Canada’s economy today following three themes: the current challenges presented to businesses, the long-term economic challenges and opportunities for Canada, and the policy context and the actions that are needed from the Federal Government. We would like to share the insights provided by Perrin for the upcoming year at a time when many businesses continue to deal with an unprecedented crisis.
Perrin highlighted that the current problems facing Canada, such as high import costs for businesses, elevated prices of houses, cars, food, and gasoline, rising labour shortages, and supply chains are expected to persist into the second half of 2022. He noted that these current problems will not subside quickly, even if they have begun to turn the corner towards improvement. On a positive note, he observed that BC’s growth in 2021 was better than expected; “the jobs recovery in BC over the pandemic has been near the top of the country – and that’s impressive.”
Federally, Perrin called attention to the debt burden Canada has incurred during the pandemic: “The government projects that, at the time of the next federal election, we will have accumulated a national debt of $1.4 trillion. This is a figure that would have been absolutely inconceivable just two years ago.” While he explained that the trend for economic growth has slowed across all developed countries in recent decades, Canada’s relative performance has fallen behind our trading competitors. According to Perrin, the slow growth is due in part to lagging overall business investment – especially middling spending on research and development for IP and machinery & equipment in an increasingly digital and data-intensive economy.
The solution? In Perrin’s words, “We need a plan to generate growth at a level that we haven’t seen for many years. We’ll have to sustain that growth for at least the next decade as governments come and go. Most importantly, the Government has to understand what every business and householder understands: that we can’t borrow our way to prosperity. Instead, we need policies that will encourage both Canadians and foreign investors alike to put their money in this country, to innovate here, and to build a much more secure future for our children.” Should we implement a strategy that achieves this sustained growth, Perrin asserted that our capacity to fund new programs, build new infrastructure, and provide for the services that Canadians expect will be more likely.
In questions following the keynote address, Bruce Williams, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, noted that our local economy is different – simply because we are on an island. Bruce, myself, and other island Chamber CEOs have created an Island Chamber Policy Alliance to address issues specific to Vancouver Island.
For example, the recent supply chain blockages caused by the devastating weather experienced recently. Bruce explained that we can no longer be dependent on the port of Vancouver: “We need to find a way to make our deep-water ports more secure and more available; in other words, bring goods directly to Vancouver Island.” He also highlighted transportation as an issue, with no rail services of any kind on the island (for either supply chain or for travellers). In 2020, the Comox Valley Chamber presented an island rail policy, with support from Island Corridor, and Island Chambers at the BC Chamber policy sessions, the policy was approved by the network. Island Rail is waiting on a response from the Provincial government.
It was an honour to have Perrin Beatty speak to our Chamber. On behalf of our members, I am truly grateful that he took the time to share his excellent insight at this year’s economic forecast. A tremendous thank you also goes out to our sponsors, and to our members for attending and supporting the Comox Valley Chamber. Thanks to you that we are able to advocate for Island businesses and the overall economic wellbeing of the Comox Valley.
Dianne Hawkins is CEO of the Comox Valley Chamber. For more information on what’s happening locally and advocacy at the Chamber, give us a call or email our CEO at dhawkins@comoxvalleychamber.com