Guelph Chamber of Commerce Connection

Drummond Report Summary - Good for Business

The analytical and pragmatic approaches put forward in the Drummond Report are consistent with policies the Guelph Chamber has been advocating for, including streamlining business support programs, alternate financing of infrastructure projects, encouraging innovation, consolodation of hydro utilities, focusing on wellness initiatives to reduce health care costs, maintaining investment in education. The policy review team from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce has put together a bullet point summary of highlights of the report now in front of our provincial government.

Ontario Chamber of Commerce Review of the Report of the Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

Overall Key Messages:

· The Commission's report sets the stage for Ontario's future competitiveness.

· To slay the deficit and keep Ontario competitive, the government must seriously consider the package of reforms recommended by the Commission.

· Ontario's business community has been asking the government to get the province's fiscal house in order by setting out a deficit reduction plan, managing public sector compensation, finding efficiencies in service delivery, and negotiating a new fiscal deal with the federal government. The report responds to those ideas.

· Now more than ever, the government needs to look to the private and non-profit sectors to partner in the delivery of services and financing of public projects.

· Encouraging innovation will increase productivity and provide Ontario with a sustainable economy in the 21st century.

Background:

· The Commission on the Reform of Ontario Public Services Report (the "Drummond Report") was released on February 15, 2012.

· The report contained 362 recommendations on how to transform government service delivery in order to reduce costs.

· The Government of Ontario will now decide which recommendations to implement in Budget 2012 and beyond.

Economic Assumptions

The Commission projects that:

· In the current economic climate, and if government continues to spend as it does today, the deficit will not be eliminated by 2017-18. Instead, the deficit would more than double to $30.2 billion in 2017-18 and net public debt would reach $411.4 billion.

· The Commission's recommendations would balance the budget in 2017-18, based on a revenue
projection that is substantially lower than the 2011 Budget projections. The Commission's plan allows for a 0.8 percent increase in total spending programs per year.

· The Commission recommends restrained growth in spending on:

o health care (increase of 2.5 percent per year out to 2017-18),

o education (increase of 1.0 percent per year),

o post-secondary education (excluding training) (increase of 1.5 percent per year), and

o social programs (increase of 0.5 percent per year).

All other programs would see a decrease in spending of 2.4 percent per year until 2017-18.

Recommendations that may be of interest to the OCC Network include:

Business Support:

· Review direct business support programs and tax expenditures to ensure they are delivering value for money.

· Refocus the mandate of business support programs from job creation to productivity growth.

· Pool money for direct and indirect business support programs into a single funding envelope.

Labour Relations and Compensation:

· Constrain broader public sector compensation increases over the next several years.

· Look at “total compensation” when engaging in public sector labour relations – this means including benefits and pensions in any discussion.

Operating and Back-Office Expenditures:

· Consider alternative service delivery where value for money can be enhanced without compromising quality or access.

· Seek greater private sector participation in ServiceOntario.

Government Business Enterprises:

· Create additional value from Ontario’s Government Business Enterprises (LCBO, OLG, Hydro One and OPG) by improving their operational efficiencies, by directing the LCBO to use its purchasing power more effectively, and by directing the OLG to close one of its two head offices and one of the two casinos in Niagara Falls.

Revenue Integrity:

· Ensure user fees more accurately reflect the costs of inflation and the costs of providing the related service.

· Continue to gradually implement a single uniform Business Education Tax rate.

· Replace taxes tied to a good’s volume with taxes tied to its value (e.g. many “sin taxes” like gasoline, tobacco and alcohol are currently taxed on the volume of the product rather than the value. This means when prices rise, revenues from the tax do not respond).

Liability Management:

· Eliminate the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund or transfer it to a private insurer.

· Eliminate or modify the Taxpayer Protection Act so that both spending and taxes can be used to address threats to fiscal sustainability.

Intergovernmental Relations:

· Reform the equalization program to capture resource revenues in the equalization formula.

· Eliminate the Canada Social Transfer and transfer tax points to the provinces.

· Eliminate duplication and overlap in shared areas of responsibility with the federal government.

· Decrease the rate of increase of provincial transfers to municipalities.

Health Care:

· More private-sector involvement in the delivery of health care so long as the public payer model remains intact.

· Develop and publish a comprehensive plan to address health care challenges over the next 20 years.

· Maximize opportunities to use nurse practitioners with the aim of efficiency, while maintaining excellent care.

Education:

· Funding for First Nations on-reserve education that at least reaches parity with per-student provincial funding for elementary and secondary education.

· Post-secondary institutions need to devote more resources to experiential learning such as internships.

Employment and Training:

· Streamline and integrate employment and training services with Employment Ontario to reduce red tape and increase client access.

· Develop a comprehensive training agreement to replace the patchwork of federal-provincial agreements currently in place.

· Direct Workforce Planning Boards to encourage employers to increase investment in workplace-based training.

· Link employment and training services more strongly to economic development initiatives.

· Shift responsibility for apprenticeship training administration to colleges and union training centres. All other administrative responsibilities for apprenticeships should be transferred to the College of Trades.

Immigration:

· Develop a position on immigration policies that is in the province’s best economic and social
interest.

· Advocate for a greater provincial role in immigration selection to support economic prosperity.

· Streamline and integrate provincial delivered settlement agencies for immigrants with Employment Ontario.

· Advocate for devolving federal immigration settlement and training programs to province with appropriate funding mechanism.

Infrastructure and Transportation:

· Find efficiencies in transit services in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).

· Use alternative financing methods to fund transportation.

· Pursue a national transit strategy with the federal government, other provinces and municipalities.

· Engage citizens in an open, public dialogue on how best to create new revenue sources for transportation capital needs. These sources could include: congestion charges, parking surcharges, and regional gas taxes.

Energy:

Acknowledging the importance of electricity prices to regional competitiveness in areas such as
manufacturing and forestry, Mr. Drummond recommends the following:

· Review energy subsidy programs to ensure they align with policy goals and are delivering value for money.

· Eliminate the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit (OCEB) as it can lead to higher electricity costs for consumers and businesses while discouraging conservation.

· Consolidate Ontario’s 80 local distribution companies (LDCs) to reduce the $1.35 billion/year spent on operations, maintenance and administrative costs.

· Undertake an electricity education strategy that covers information on Ontario’s electricity resources including nuclear, hydroelectric, thermal and renewable generation; the role of electricity import and export markets; roles and responsibilities of the various players in the electricity sector; and what drives and shapes electricity prices.

Environment:

· Streamline the roles for environmental protections where currently there is overlap among provincial ministries and the federal government.

· To reduce duplication of environmental assessment procedures at the federal and provincial levels, investigate ways to further streamline the environmental process, such as co-ordinating further with the federal government’s process or integrating it with certain approvals.

· Consolidate the agencies and bodies involved in land use planning and resources management.

Ring of Fire:

· Ensure employment and training opportunities for Aboriginal People are maximized as part of the development of the Ring of Fire.

· Streamline and co-ordinate environmental assessment and regulatory processes to improve timelines in order to secure investment and growth in the region.

Excellence is All Around Us In Guelph

The mission of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce is to contribute to economic growth, profitability, competitiveness and community involvement. The GCC President’s Awards are designed to recognize any of our member organizations which have helped to fulfill our mission.

We are looking for submissions in each of four categories:

Large Business of the Year (50 + employees) -Has your organization created any innovative new products, processes or services that have changed your way of doing business, increased your bottom line or stimulated employee engagement?

Small Business of the Year (1 - 49 employees) - Has your organization done some amazing things to grow, provided outstanding customer service, come up with a great new idea, done some exciting things with your staff?

Environmental Stewardship - Has your organization implemented any new initiatives that have helped to reduce your power or water consumption, carbon footprint or contributed to the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle)?

Community Building - Has your organization developed any new programs or policies which have served to increase your commitment to the community or supported your employees to engage in community building, volunteerism, support of the arts, athletics, etc?

The top 3 submissions in each category, as selected by our panel, will be put to a vote among our 2600 voting members representing approximately 850 organizations. The winning submission in each category will be recognized at the Guelph Awards of Excellence Gala on June 28, 2012. Nominations or self-nominations close Thursday April 20, 2012 at 5pm and must include:

• Organization name, address, phone number
• Contact person’s name, phone number and email
• Coloured photo (300 dpi or larger) in an eps or high resolution jpeg format.
• In 1000 words or less explain how you qualify for recognition in any of the above categories:

If you feel that you have met the criteria in any of the above mentioned categories we would love to hear from you. Submissions should be emailed to sean@guelphchamber.com.

For more information on the 2012 Guelph Awards of Excellence or to purchase tickets please click here.

Jobs In Guelph

Two stories in the Mercury yesterday show how jobs in Guelph directly link to world trade winds. Hitachi has been working on expansion plans for over a year, and have now announced the plant expansion in Guelph. The recovery in world mining has had this fantastic Guelph based manufacturing facility hopping. The vehicles made here in Guelph are recognized around the world. Successful development of the Ring of Fire in Ontario and northern mining projects including Baffin Island also directly affect jobs in Guelph. An interesting mention was made of automated welding. Enrolment in welding at Conestoga is still not at capacity, in spite of a nation-wide shortage of welders.

Derek Burleton from TD Bank mentioned in another article talks about the cooling off of the job market in Canada. He will be in Guelph for the Chamber's Lunch and Learn this Wednesday to discuss the headwinds from the EU impacting us here. Interesting that Canadian Press continues to headline Guelph as having the lowest unemployment rate in Ontario. With an unemployment pool of about 4,000 workers, it only takes a few announcements like Hitachi creating 575 jobs to put real stress on Guelph employers looking for employees. Conestoga, Second Chance, and Lutherwood are working hard to match workers with skills needed. The Chamber of Commerce Workplace Development Committee is working on co-op opportunities to create first jobs and to let students see where the jobs really are being created.