Good morning, Chair and members of the Standing Committee on Finance. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee on the topic of the 2017 federal budget.
The chamber serves as the voice of business in the greater Charlottetown area, and that takes in Stratford, Cornwall, and Charlottetown. We are a very active provincial chamber, and we provide services, opportunities, and advocacy support for members to enhance their ability to do business. We have close to 1,000 members, and we reflect a diverse network of businesses from almost every industry sector and profession in our region.
It is our philosophy that Prince Edward Island, if it is to prosper, must have a business development strategy that is private sector driven, export oriented, and focused on innovation. We also must possess the quality and quantity of human capital and strategic infrastructure appropriate to the task. This is a core message of the chamber and drives our advocacy efforts on behalf of our membership.
With these principles in mind, we initially provided written recommendations to the committee on August 5, addressing five issues that could be influenced by the federal government's actions. Today, I will highlight some specific recommendations that pertain to the following five issues: strategic physical infrastructure, innovation and commercialization, access to capital, taxation, and demographic and labour issues.
To begin, I'm sure you would all agree that the quality and quantity of local infrastructure are essential to advancing the Island economy. Infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer, electrical power, and broadband Internet are basic requirements for the prosperity of Island communities. It is worth recognizing that phase one of the new federal infrastructure program has made important investments in public transit, clean water, and affordable housing; however, it is still unclear where phase two funding will be allocated.
With this in mind, we emphasize the importance of federal investments in innovation and commercialization projects that will accelerate new product development, local manufacturing, and scaling of export-oriented businesses. Strong inroads have been made with past strategic investments in physical infrastructure at our post-secondary institutions and scientific research institutions. Additional investment in these areas is critical for the growth of P.E.I.'s existing knowledge-based industries.
Further to this, financial infrastructure must also be in place for individual firms to realize innovation and commercialization success. In this case, the importance of federal R and D financial assistance programs, such as ACOA's Atlantic innovation fund, SR and ED, and the NRC's IRAP cannot be underestimated.
Still on the topic of strategic infrastructure, the chamber continues to actively pursue the issue of the federal airports capital assistance program, or ACAP. I think you might be hearing more about that this week. Because of its location on federal land, the Charlottetown Airport is one of six small airports in the national airport system that is currently ineligible for funding through ACAP for safety-related maintenance and upgrades. Members of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, representing over 200,000 Canadian businesses, recently approved and support a resolution to pursue this issue further with the federal government. We do urge you to consider the connection between the prosperity of P.E.l.'s business community and adequate access to our country's transportation network through a safe and financially viable airport.
Access to capital is another crucial aspect of an effective business development strategy for P.E.I. A range of programs is available for new businesses seeking financing, but gaps still remain. Through its Island advance initiative, the chamber is expanding connections among potential investors and entrepreneurs. I want to recognize our Island Advance advisory board chair Ron Keefe, who is very actively involved in the Island Advance initiative. The chamber recommends that the federal government continue to pursue initiatives to support entrepreneur development, whether it be through a specific venture capital strategy or a combination of taxation measures to promote venture capital investments and encourage first-time entrepreneurs.
Finally, a significant priority of the chamber has been to stress the central role that international immigration plays in P.E.l.'s economic growth. We spoke to a number of demographic and labour market issues in our written submission, but today I want to highlight the efforts of the chamber's PEI Connectors program, which is supported through federal funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
The importance of attracting international immigrants to the Atlantic region was underscored by the recently launched Atlantic growth strategy. Retention through integration is the key aspect of building on this goal, and the PEI Connectors program has been at the forefront of this work by helping entrepreneurial immigrants make connections and establish themselves on P.E.I. As such, the chamber would like to reinforce the importance of federal government support for this program as an effective method of ensuring the future economic prosperity of P.E.I.
I want to thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on behalf of the business community. l look forward to your questions.
Thank you.