Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce president Sarah MacKenzie (Photo courtesy of Scott Roblin)

By Scott Roblin

Chamber of Commerce

Chamber claiming business community being left behind in federal election

Oct 7, 2019 | 4:49 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – With just two weeks left before Canadians head to the polls, the Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce is seeking clarity from the federal parties.

Taking to social media over the weekend, the local chamber claimed ‘the voice of business has been largely ignored during this campaign.’

Following the upcoming federal election closely, president Sarah MacKenzie said they’ve heard very little regarding concrete steps to help small business across Canada.

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“We’re hoping to see a little bit more conversation focused around economic development,” said MacKenzie. “I think it’s important for all parties to have had a plan that they can lay out and show not just business owners, but also all Canadians what their plans and intentions are.”

The Medicine Hat Chamber is promoting their ‘vote prosperity’ campaign, which they leaned upon during last spring’s provincial election. That campaign saw four pillars being promoted by the local chamber including strengthening business competitiveness, growing provincial trade, building healthy communities, and improving government accountability.

Following provincial ‘vote prosperity’ campaigns in Alberta and Ontario, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has also taken on the mantra ahead of the federal election.

The federal initiative now includes seven pillars:

• a tax system that is fair, efficient and modern
• a regulatory system that works for everyone, including business
• access to new markets around the world and the elimination of trade barriers at home
• resources to help small and medium-sized businesses grow and succeed at home and abroad
• a workforce with skills, education and training required to prosper
• a healthier pharmacare system for healthier Canadians

However, MacKenzie said they haven’t seen the same success nationally as the provincial initiatives.

“We saw some great success with that,” she said. “So, we were kind of hoping to see that federally as well.”

MacKenzie added her main issue is a lack of planning for small businesses in the parties’ respective platforms, especially relating to Alberta.

“There’s been a concern about loss of jobs,” she said. “It’s often talked about that Calgary’s downtown is empty and there’s a ripple effect that impacts us. So, in Alberta it is kind of hurting and we need to see some growth.”

All major federal parties have released their platforms, save for the Conservative Party who will be unveiling their full plan during advanced voting.

Issues like pipeline construction also haven’t been touched upon enough according to MacKenzie.

“Being here in southern Alberta, we’d like to hear a little bit more talk about the Trans-Mountain Pipeline and energy as a whole,” she said. “I think that’s a huge hot topic issue for Canadians right now and we’d like to see some positive conversation about this.”

MacKenzie added it’s a good sign to see her national organization on board with the ‘vote prosperity’ campaign, representing over 220,000 businesses from coast-to-coast.