OTTAWA, ON, April 16, 2024 – The Cap-Acadie Chamber of Commerce expresses its satisfaction with the Government of Canada’s 2024-2025 budget, particularly because of the significant investments in the areas of housing, community initiatives, labour, initiatives for Francophone immigration, and measures to reduce burdens on the country’s small and medium-sized businesses.
“The measures announced in the Federal Budget 2024-2025 represent significant steps towards strengthening our communities and the local economy. However, while welcoming these advances, we remain cautious about the impact of the $40 billion budget deficit and stress the need for a robust strategy for long-term financial and debt management. Our commitment to the development of Cap-Acadie remains at the heart of our priorities,” says Anthony Azard, Chief Executive Officer of the Cap-Acadie Chamber of Commerce.
In the current context, it is crucial to develop a skilled and resilient workforce, ready to meet the needs of today’s job market and the jobs of tomorrow. The Cap-Acadie Chamber of Commerce welcomes the investments to encourage more Canadians to pursue careers in the skilled trades, to improve labour mobility within the country and the recognition of foreign qualifications, particularly in the construction and health sectors. The budget also proposes specific measures to support youth employment, by creating more work-integrated learning opportunities, work placements and employment support, as well as to facilitate francophone immigration to the country.
We welcome the carbon tax rebate for small and medium-sized businesses, an initiative that significantly reduces the burden on our local businesses. This measure, along with the proposed process for an accelerated and automated refund, should alleviate the additional obstacles that weigh disproportionately on SMEs. It remains essential to carefully monitor the implementation of this policy to ensure that SMEs benefit fully from the repayments of sums invested over the last few years.
We also applaud Canadian Heritage for maintaining its support programs for communities, official languages and heritage. Francophone minority communities and non-profit organizations are essential to the preservation of French language and culture.
The Cap-Acadie Chamber of Commerce defends the interests of its 190 members with various government bodies. It was also present in Ottawa for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Hill Day on April 15 and 16.
-30-
For information or interviews
Anthony Azard
Chief Executive Officer, Cap-Acadie Chamber of Commerce
(506) 531-5375, ext. 500
direction@cccacadie.ca
