Charlottetown, PE – The Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce is asking the provincial government to help businesses and our economy prepare, persevere, and prosper through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. In their annual pre-budget submission, the Chamber recommends several priorities for the 2021-22 operating budget to help businesses and set up the Island’s economy for future recovery.
“The past year has been challenging for many Island businesses, particularly for those hardest-hit sectors, and much uncertainty remains,” said Chamber CEO Penny Walsh-McGuire. “While we are recommending that government invest in timely cost savings and relief measures for businesses, we also highlight the importance of ongoing economic priorities for our province, including workforce development and population growth.”
The Chamber’s 2021-22 provincial pre-budget submission calls for relief or investment in seven key areas, including:
- Providing funding to businesses negatively impacted by the work-from-home transition.
- Analyzing gaps in supports and providing targeted financial aid to hardest-hit businesses, specifically those in the tourism and hospitality industry.
- Ensuring sufficient policy, resources, and capacity for the Chief Public Health Office and other government departments, so that public health and our economy can continue to co-exist.
- Enhanced supports to attract and service more population growth in response to increased federal immigration targets.
- Investing in supports for customized retraining and reskilling as the workforce and the needs of the labour market evolve.
- Increasing the PEI Basic Personal Amount to $12,000, bringing it closer to the Canadian average and keeping more money in the pockets of low-income workers.
- Lowering the small business tax rate to 1% to allow more income to recirculate in business operations.
“Business owners and operators have been working hard and adapting through the pandemic, maintaining their operations as best as they can and keeping Islanders employed,” said Walsh-McGuire. “This resiliency paired with ongoing support from government will bridge the next year and appropriately position PEI’s economy for recovery and future growth.”
To read the Chamber’s provincial pre-budget submission, Prepare, Persevere, Prosper: Supporting a Resilient Island Economy, click here.
To watch a brief video of CEO Penny Walsh-McGuire providing details on the Chamber’s submission, click here.
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For more information, contact:
Sam MacPhail
Policy & Communications Manager
(902) 978-0058