Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Patrick Sullivan. I'm the present CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.
The Halifax Chamber of Commerce is a best-practice business advocacy organization that continuously strives to make Halifax an even more attractive city in which to live, work, and play.
The Halifax Chamber of Commerce has been around since 1750, whether it has been the chamber of commerce or the board of trade, so it has been a very long time. We represent more than 1,600 local businesses and more than 65,000 employees and act as a powerful voice in promoting local business interests.
Halifax is one of the most economically dynamic cities in the country. The Conference Board of Canada projects that Halifax will have the second-highest GDP growth in Canada in 2016, and this puts us on track to achieve the chamber's strategic goal of having Halifax among the top three highest-growth economies in Canada by 2018. With strong transportation links and emerging clusters in ocean technology and financial services, our city is well positioned to succeed in today's economy.
We certainly appreciate the opportunity to address the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance today and will address your questions in order.
The maritime region is facing a rapidly aging population and a serious decline in the size of our region's labour force. Ensuring that Canadians, particularly those from under-represented groups, have the skills they need to participate productively in the modern economy is a critical part of building the labour force in our region to succeed in the future.
The federal government plays an important role in skills training in Canada, and it's important to ensure that existing programs provide effective training for Canadians. As well, Nova Scotia has struggled to retain its youth and recent graduates in recent years, compounding our demographic challenges. To address this, the federal government could increase support for youth and recent graduates so they can take part in experiential education opportunities, such as internships or co-op programs. This would help better prepare them for the workplace and would increase labour force attachment and retention.
When we speak to our members, we hear that the overall tax burden is a constant source of frustration. In recent months, the federal government has taken action, such as planning to raise the CPP and introducing the concept of a price on carbon, both without consultation. Both of these will have a significant impact on business costs in the years to come. Going forward, we'll be looking for the federal government to take action to make business in Canada more competitive, not less.
Lowering corporate income tax rates or reinstating the planned decrease in the small-business tax rate would help in this regard. As well, reducing regulation, providing timely customer service, and consulting the business community early in the regulatory process would help make life easier for business.
Immigration is also an important avenue for the region to help manage its demographic transition. Fortunately, the federal government has taken recent action in this area and will provide the Atlantic region with a pool of over 2,000 more provincial nominees, which we certainly plan to take advantage of. More immigration will only be effective if they stay in the region, and while Nova Scotia's, particularly Halifax's, rate of retention has improved dramatically in the past few years, we can still do better. The federal government can help in this area by providing more funding for settlement services and by ensuring that immigrants have the skills and language training needed to succeed in the local labour market.
Finally, ensuring that Canada has the transportation and information technology infrastructure required to participate fully in the global economy is critical for economic growth. Investing in trade-enabling infrastructure should be a top priority of the federal government's infrastructure program, as should, as has been mentioned, concluding the major outstanding trade agreements to help open up new markets for businesses. Improving the ability of companies in our region to export their products and services around the world is a key economic goal for business and will help communities and Halifax.
That's it. Thank you very much.