Chamber Updates & Local News

Continued Advocacy and Support for Small Businesses Post-CEBA Deadline Dear OCC Members, I am writing to you today with deep concern after hearing from members about small businesses that missed the final Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) deadline. As President and CEO, I want to assure you that the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has…

The Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce a new partnership with Kingston Transit in which it will offer all members and their 18,000 employees’ access to the Employer Transpass Program. The Chamber will formalize the partnership with the Kingston Transit on January 25. Through this partnership, members will be able to offer…

The Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce is pleased to unveil their 4th Quarter 2023 Kingston City Council Report Card.  The document is the result of work by the Chamber’s member-led advocacy committee and Chamber staff. “We are pleased to provide the fourth installment for the 2023 calendar year which is a short summary of business-related…

The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 5%, and the implications are sending ripples through our economic landscape. In his recent commentary, Andrew DiCapua, our Senior Economist, breaks down the key takeaways and what they mean for businesses. As we approach 2024, there’s talk of interest rate cuts, but caution is still advised.…

The outlook for Canadian businesses hit a two-year low in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Statistics Canada’s latest Canadian Survey on Business Conditions (CSBC), underlining a prevailing sense of pessimism in the industry. To better understand the findings of the survey, our Business Data Lab has released an in-depth analysis of the nearly…

Unpacking Robert F. Kennedy’s famous speech on Martin Luther King’s assassination By: Julie Barling I was still a high school student in South Africa in 1966 when Robert F. Kennedy’s brief visit to South Africa electrified the anti-apartheid movement and terrified the apartheid government. RFK, then a United States senator, was hardly known as a gifted…

On November 21, 2023, the Government of Canada released its 2023 Fall Economic Statement (FES). Policy experts from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce have reviewed the FES in detail, and their perspective on its implications for Canadian business can be found below. General Today’s Fall Economic Statement (FES) signals that the government heard the business community…

The report card is a quarterly document that tracks how city council voted on business issues. The document is the result of work by the Chamber’s member-led advocacy committee and Chamber staff. The Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce is pleased to unveil their third quarter 2023 Kingston city council report card. The document is the…

The report card is a quarterly document that tracks how city council voted on business issues. The document is the result of work by the Chamber’s member-led advocacy committee and Chamber staff. The Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce is pleased to unveil their second quarter 2023 Kingston city council report card. The document is the…

On July 24, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, along with over 280 industry associations, sent an open letter addressed to Minister Freeland, urging the government to extend the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) repayment deadline. From the Canadian Chamber of Commerce: On July 24, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, along with over 280 industry associations,…