Thanks, Mr. Easter. It's good seeing you again. I'm a big fan of P.E.I. Actually, I've been to Summerside and Charlottetown. You come from a very nice part of the country. I hope to get back out there before long, and maybe I'll see you.
Good morning. Thanks for inviting the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber. We've been representing this region for over 141 years, so we have a our fingers on the pulse on the community.
I'll get right to the key points. Before getting too far, though, I want to thank the government for following through on its commitment to lower the small business tax rate from 10.5% to 9%. We also want to thank our local MPs Tracey Ramsey, Brian Masse, and Cheryl Hardcastle for standing with small business. I also want to thank you, Mr. Easter, for your work in that regard.
Chambers across Canada take the government at its word that meaningful consultation with us will follow. We will be vigilant on this ongoing small business tax issue and offer ideas and solutions. The one thing we need is a full economic assessment of what these changes mean in terms of investment, jobs, and tax revenue. We also believe this raises an opportunity for a full review of the tax system.
The Prime Minister said on Monday that the problem isn't individuals, but the system. We agree. The tax system is too complex, and we need to simplify it. We need to make our tax structure more competitive. The U.S. government right now is embarking on the most massive tax reform package of our lifetime. Its goal is to improve the competitiveness of the American economy. We urgently need a policy response; hence our call for a comprehensive tax review here in Canada.
The big issues that affect our economy locally are jobs without people and people without jobs. This is one of the top concerns of business here and across Canada. Right now, Canada is leaving tens of billions of dollars of economic opportunity on the table in lost wages as companies are unable to bid on work and find workers. More than half of Windsor-Essex and Ontario businesses cannot find qualified staff. The local impact here is about $600 million a year.
Skills Canada reports that 40% of the jobs in the next 10 years will be in the skilled trade sector, yet only a quarter of our young people are considering a career in skilled trades. The problem is only getting worse.
Here are some quick ideas to drive jobs and productivity: encourage the provincial government to address the skills gap by changing the apprentice ratios, encourage young people to take on skilled trades as a career, and use the power of government to drive changes in attitudes. In addition, we would suggest tax incentives to get more people in the trades and reward them for graduating. We need to be aggressive if we want to be successful.
Another top issue is the skyrocketing cost of doing business in Canada. For example, our competitor states in the U.S. Midwest, such as Ohio, have one-third the electricity costs, no carbon taxes despite using 50% coal, lower regulations, no border or political risk, and a much lower wage structure. We need cost offsets to be competitive and to maintain jobs and investment here in Canada.
The U.S. is pursuing an America-first, jobs-first agenda. We need a policy response, and we recommend that a manufacturing strategy including auto and steel, two big pieces of the Canadian economy, be developed and executed.
The Windsor—Essex chamber can assist in that regard. We have resolutions, and the Canadian chambers are supporting us. Included in a manufacturing strategy would be the goal of a level playing field. It's unfair to expect Canadian entrepreneurs and workers to compete with one set of rules for labour, environmental, and safety standards while other countries we compete with for investment and jobs have far lower standards along with much lower costs. Some of our competitors aren't even companies at all; they're essentially government departments.
For our agricultural community, PACA, the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, is the key issue. We are waiting for the agriculture minister and the industry minister to follow through on their election commitments to provide the agricultural sector, which is largely made up of small businesses, with an alternative to PACA.
Work visas for Canadians working in the U.S. are another key issue. Just so the committee understands, right now, every day, we have 6,000 people in the Windsor-Essex region commuting to Michigan for employment, predominantly in health care and automotive-related industries. We need certainty that the work visa issues will be addressed in the current NAFTA discussions.
Last but not least is innovation. While it's exciting that many communities across Canada and the U.S. are trying to land tech companies, Windsor—Essex would also like to create and build more of them here. How do we do that? Our ideas include investing in 5G network technology, looking at funding models to support training and retraining due to technology advancement, and supporting community-led accelerators and innovation centres.
Thank you.