Influence: Advocacy that helps your business

What the 2015 federal budget means for Calgary business

The Calgary Chamber is pleased to see that several of our priorities were addressed in the 2015 federal budget, including small business tax competitiveness, infrastructure investment, venture capital incentives, and skilled labour. Nonetheless, there are a few areas in which we would have liked to have seen greater commitment, and greater detail. As our nation continues to grapple with economic volatility, now more than ever the federal priority must be to support Canada's long-term competitiveness.

See the highlights, as well as our impressions of how well-positioned the budget is to tackle the Calgary business community’s greatest priorities (PDF).

Developing a regulatory system that keeps Alberta competitive

Certainty. Efficiency. Value.

This paper is the first in the Energy Future series, a series of policy white papers examining energy issues, both provincially and federally, that impact Calgary’s businesses community.

Energy Future is meant to, over time, develop a body of work which touches on the most important aspects of the energy sector—offering policy insights and solutions to the challenges facing the province both today and into the future.

Read our recommendations for taking the regulatory handcuffs off the oil and gas industry so that it can continue to bring economic and social prosperity to the people of Alberta (PDF).

ICYMI: 2015 Provincial election - A guide to party platforms for Alberta business

With less than a week left before Albertans go to the polls, take a look a your Chamber's review of the policy platforms of the major parties and assess their sensitivity to the needs of the Calgary business community.

As a non-partisan, policy-focused organization, our aim here is to highlight the elements of each party platform that, in our view, would help support a vibrant, competitive economy. Conversely, we would be remiss to simply glaze over those aspects that we feel compromise the interests of business, and for that reason, a healthy dose of criticism is sprinkled in.

Take 10 minutes to read your Chamber's thoughts on all five parties' platforms and what a vote for each represents to Alberta business.

2014 Ian Anderson Committee Chair of the Year: Ben Van Sant

The Ian Anderson Committee Chair of the Year award recognizes an exemplary leader who demonstrates an ongoing commitment to the Chamber by taking an active leadership role in policy committees, and advancing the advocacy of the Chamber, on of our most important roles.

This year’s recipient, Ben Van Sant, President of Whitehall Energy, leads one of the most active and effective Chamber policy committees, and the work of his committee this year had a tremendous positive impact on the business community in Calgary. It included key successes on the small business job credit and securing funding for Alberta infrastructure through the Building Canada program. He also helped led the Chamber’s work on influence Premier Prentice’s first budget in a challenging economic climate, and working diligently to craft a policy resolution calling for the implementation of an Alberta Investor tax credit to incent private investment in Alberta Small businesses.

Thank you Ben!

Interested in learning more about policy committee opportunities? Click here.

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