Today, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the nationwide network of chambers of commerce, including the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, unveiled the Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness list for 2014. The Canadian Chamber undertook this initiative two years ago 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.
Canadian Chamber President and CEO Perrin Beatty stated: "Since launching this initiative, in cooperation with our network of chambers of commerce, we have made great progress in furthering our competitiveness agenda, particularly in addressing the barrier our members identified as being the greatest impediment to the success of Canadian business: the growing skills gap. The federal government and several provincial and territorial governments have also named this issue as the country's biggest challenge."
"The need for action is urgent. The standard of living of every Canadian depends on how well we respond to the challenge. We must identify and implement real, tangible solutions for breaking down the barriers to our competitiveness and for creating more opportunities and greater prosperity for Canadian businesses and families," noted Orla Johnston, chair of the Oakville Chamber.
Addressing the Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness will go a long way towards restoring Canada's competitiveness. The Canadian Chamber is calling on its own membership, on governments, on educators, on labour organizations, and others to tackle and overcome these barriers. Tolerating them is simply not an option. Effectively addressing these 10 barriers will sharpen Canada's competitive edge and allow us to prosper in the global economy.
Barrier I: Skills shortages
Barrier II: Uncompetitive travel and tourism strategies
Barrier III: Inadequate plans for addressing deficiencies in public infrastructure
Barrier IV: Barriers to success in global markets
Barrier V: Internal barriers to trade
Barrier VI: A complex and costly tax system
Barrier VII: Lack of clear sustainability policies
Barrier VIII: The severe shortage of economic development tools for businesses in Canada’s territories
Barrier IX: Inconsistent regulatory policies between Canada and the U.S.
Barrier X: Insufficient support for innovation in Canadian manufacturing
This is the link for the full report: 10 Barriers to Success