Mid-year report: read the Chamber’s notable position statements

12 July 2017

Highlights January to June 2017:

learn more about the Chamber’s noteworthy positions

BARACK OBAMA INFRASTRUCTURE TAXATION AND ECONOMY LABOUR INTERNATIONAL ENERGY TRANSITION ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION OTHER ISSUES

President Barack Obama in Montréal

Barack Obama

Infrastructure

Infrastructures

REM, time to take action

Open letter

A problematic expansion of the BAPE’s analysis

Reaction

Exceptional measures for an exceptional project

Brief

May 12, 2017: two signature CCMM Forums in one day: major projects and transportation

  • Close to 750 decision makers
  • A federal minister, Québec ministers and mayors of Montréal, Laval and Longueuil in attendance
  • 9 major real estate projects presented

4 major transportation themes addressed:

  • Sustainable mobility
  • Technology innovation
  • New business models
  • Strategic infrastructures

1.  Make heritage part of the city’s contemporary fabric

2.  Identify which heritage sites can be updated

3.  Present vacant historical and heritage buildings to investors

4.  Establish conversion and development plans to save heritage buildings

5.  Evaluate religious heritage for possible conversions

6.  Introduce a consultation process starting at the project evaluation stage

brief

Taxation and economy

Fiscalité et économie

The business community is disappointed with the federal budget. While the budget included some positive initiatives for long-term growth, it confirms that Canada risks moving into a period of structural deficit.

Recommendations  Budget
Develop and stick to a plan to balance the budget  
Invest in strategic infrastructures ✔
Increase the competitiveness of the Canadian tax system  
Maintain all transfers to provinces and support provinces in their health and education efforts  
Strengthen research and innovation ✔
Encourage business internationalization ✔
Get the federal government involved in aerospace policy again  
Make Montréal home to the Canada Infrastructure Bank  
PRESS RELEASE
BRIEF

The budget echoes the requests of the Chamber and the city’s business community

Recommendations   Budget
Manage public funds prudently ✔
Make education the budget priority ✔
Increase financial support for integrating immigrants and the Interconnection program ✔
Make sure major infrastructure projects that have been announced are completed on time ✔
Have a long-term, iterative vision of public transit development in Montréal  
Extend L’Assomption Blvd. to Notre-Dame St. and connect it to Souligny Ave.  
Step up promotion of innovative, high-value-added sectors ✔
Create the position of innovation commissioner within the Ministère de la Santé ✔
PRESS RELEASE
BRIEF

1.  Exercise strong leadership developing and promoting Montréal universities

2.  Tap into university expertise for the city’s development

3.  Increase the attraction and retention of international students

4.  Leverage the contribution of universities to metropolitan clusters

brief

Labour

Main-d’oeuvre
  • Over 1,000 leaders gathered to make a successful shift to industry 4.0
  • Presence of the Québec Premier and the Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation
  • A number of activities alongside the Forum:

Trade show

Funding Meet-and-Greet

Competition for ÉTS students

Workshop on labour challenges

+ INFO

Understand the advantages of relocating the local manufacturing industry

+ INFO

Québec manufacturing sector in numbers:

6 fascinating articles inspired by a workshop with 50 industry players

+ INFO 

1.  Leverage immigrant labour and francization

2.  Develop future skills and target future niches

3.  Introduce concrete initiatives

Press release

International

International

Positioning of companies in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Chinese centres of growth

Travel on the inaugural Air Canada direct Montréal-Shanghai flight
Press release

4 trade missions to the U.S.: Leading export destination for local businesses

  • Trade mission to Florida: hotel and architecture sectors
  • Trade mission to New York: fashion and textile sectors
  • 2 trade missions to Plattsburgh: training on moving merchandise through customs and NAFTA
+ INFO

Energy transition

Transition énergétique

A first Strategic Forum on the energy transition for the CCMM

  • Close to 300 decision makers took part
  • With Québec Premier Philippe Couillard and the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Minister responsible for the Plan Nord, Pierre Arcand, in attendance
  • Announcement of the official creation of the Québec Energy Transition and appointment of its first managing director

    • Three themes:

    • Many solutions to problems
    • Emerging business models
    • The major suppliers for key partners
+ INFO

Entrepreneurship and innovation

Entrepreneuriat

1.  Support for the entire innovation process, from idea to commercialization

2.  Develop skills of the future for jobs of the futur

3.  Create an artificial intelligence supercluster

Press release

1.  Get businesses to “start up and grow digitally”

2.  Improve the graduation rate and general level of digital literacy

3.  Maximize results by leveraging digital niches of excellence

Brief

Three things to remember from Jean-Philippe Courtois’s visit to the Chamber:

+ INFO

Other issues

Entrepreneuriat

Pilot project in partnership with Mobility Montréal

  • Objectives:
    • Increase the fluid movement of people
    • Reduce solo car use
    • Reduce transit demand at rush hour
  • Strategy:
    • Recruit 10 participating organizations
    • Pair participating organizations with mentors
    • Develop strategies suited to the reality of organizations
    • Introduce concrete measures, such as telecommuting and flexible schedules, and encourage carpooling and the use of public transit and assets
+ INFO

1.  Mutualize priority economic development projects between the government and the Ville de Montréal

2.  Increase and index the Fonds de développement économique

3.  Maintain the powers granted to the Ville de Montréal for integrating immigrants

4.  Grant the Ville de Montréal powers to modify its internal governance

5.  Allow the Ville de Montréal to decide how it consults the public

+ INFO

Tap into demand for culture

1.  Stimulate cultural demand in all neighbourhoods

2.  Attract more visitors from other regions of Québec to local cultural events

3.  Increase the impact of tourism on the entire cultural industry

4.  Leverage the export of cultural products

Strengthen the development of the cultural offer

5.  Promote infrastructure sharing and resource pooling

6.  Encourage clusters

7.  Facilitate crowdfunding

Increase support to culture

8.  Promote better collaboration between artists and creative industries that develop digital products

9.  Have a forum for discussion between the private and public sectors

brief

The “Diversity Champion” award from the Réseau des entrepreneurs et professionnels africains

Michel Leblanc named to the “TOP 20 for Diversity” by Média Mosaïque

Michel Leblanc encourages Chamber members and the business community to show solidarity and openness after the Québec City killings.

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