The executive director of the Upper Ottawa Valley Chamber of Commerce says she saw some of chamber’s interests reflected in Tuesday’s federal budget.
Kelly Hollihan said the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, both of which the Upper Ottawa Valley chamber is a member, submits recommendations to governments in advance of budget considerations.
Hollihan said the chambers have been lobbying for immigration policies that would assist rural areas with labour market shortages like Renfrew County, which often rely on foreign workers.
She said there was some language in the budget addressing that.
She added that some of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s key interest areas right now include energy innovation and greater investment in business and the GDP.
“Some of our priorities have been addressed at least in one way or another, but again the question is execution,” she said.
Hollihan said a lot of the budget seems to involve partnership with business, and it will be a matter of seeing if that comes to fruition.
