The Political Round Up

THE POLITICAL ROUND UP

Local & Regional

THE MISSISSAUGA BOARD OF TRADE IS THE VOICE OF BUSINESS AT THE CITY OF MISSISSAUGA AND REGION OF PEEL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT.

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

Municipal elections are scheduled for October 24, 2022 to elect the Mayor, Members of Council and School Board Trustees. Those elected will take office on December 1, 2022 for a four year term.

COVID-19 RESPONSE

Both the City of Mississauga and Region of Peel have returned to basically a “pre- COVID” system of operations for most programs and services. Some meetings continue to be on a hybrid or online system and some services that converted to completely online service will continue indefinitely.

OUTDOOR BUSINESS OPERATIONS, PATIOS & SIGNS

Mississauga City Council has approved an extension to both the temporary patio and temporary outdoor business programs until December 31, 2023. These program extensions will allow Mississauga restaurants and bars to continue using their patios and other outdoor businesses to use outdoor spaces as they continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is very likely that Council will decide to make these exemptions permanent after the October 2022 municipal election.

MISSISSAUGA OFFICIAL PLAN REVIEW

The City of Mississauga is conducting a formal review of its Official Plan and Policies as required by law. The Mississauga Board of Trade continues to advocate for the protection of important employment lands in the city to ensure they are not lost to future residential development.

The City is also reviewing and updating its Development Charges By-law, Community Benefits by-law and Parks Plan/Payment in lieu of Parkland policy. Each of these revenue tools for the City of Mississauga are required for new developments and designed to fund important infrastructure related to the developments.

IDEA INNOVATION DISTRICT

The City of Mississauga has announced the creation of an Innovation District called “IDEA Mississauga” that will include an innovation centre to be built in Square One with an opening planned for Fall 2022. However, IDEA Mississauga does not represent one specific location in Mississauga – rather, it represents the city’s entire ecosystem made up of industry, government, education, and providers of space and programs that support innovation.

Mississauga has also committed to work with Lakeview Partners Developments to establish an Innovation District complex on their lands abutting Lake Ontario.

INCLUSIONARY ZONING

The City of Mississauga is moving forward with Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) to help get more affordable housing built across the City. IZ is a tool that allows the City to require affordable housing units for certain new housing developments. Mississauga’s IZ policy, approved by City Council in August, will apply to larger scale developments with over 50 ownership units (or 3,600 square metres of residential area). Once built, the new units will be required to remain affordable over time. At this time, only developments in Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) are subject to the by-law.

SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION SITES

MBOT WORKS VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE ONTARIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (OCC) ON ISSUES WITH THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT. OUR COMMITTEES WORK HARD LOOKING AT RESOLUTIONS, POLICY DOCUMENTS, GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS ON CONSULTATIONS TO ENSURE THE VOICE OF MISSISSAUGA BUSINESSES IS ADVANCED ON PROVINCIAL ISSUES. MEMBERS OF MBOT ARE AUTOMATIC MEMBERS OF THE ONTARIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE OCC, PLEASE VISIT WWW.OCC.CA.

Provincial Government

ONTARIO GENERAL ELECTION – JUNE 2, 2022

A Provincial Election was held on June 2, 2022 resulting in a re-elected Progressive Conservative majority Government led by Premier Doug Ford.

A new Cabinet was named with many familiar faces returning to previous portfolios including Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, Economic Development Minister Victor Fedeli and new associate Ministers of Housing and Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity. Parliamentary Assistants to the Ministers have also been named.

As in previous years, MBOT looks forward to hosting many Ministers at events to give our members an opportunity to interact directly with them.

ONTARIO LEGISLATURE RETURNS FOR SUMMER SITTING

Following the June 2, 2022 election, the Ontario Legislature returned in August 2022 to pass the budget legislation and deal with other matters that were time sensitive.

SIGNIFICANT LABOUR REFORMS IMPLEMENTED IN ONTARIO

Through the Working for Workers Act 1 and 2, the Ontario Government has enacted several worker protection regulations which employers should be concerned about. These include:

• require workplaces that are at risk of a worker opioid overdose to have naloxone kits

• paying the minimum wage to anyone employed in the “gig” economy

• establishing a “disconnect” policy for workers

• banning non-compete agreements

• mandatory licensing of employment recruiters and temporary employment agencies

• increasing the general minimum wage on October 1, 2022 to $15.50/hour for all workers.

HIGHWAY 413

With the re-election of the Ford Government in Ontario, plans for the development of Highway 413 are full speed ahead. MBOT expressed its support for the development of another much needed west-east transportation corridor particularly for goods movement through the Region of Peel. The Government has publicly said that future Highway 413 will not be tolled.

Federal Government

MBOT MEMBERS ARE ALSO MEMBERS OF THE CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (CCC) WHICH IS THE NATIONAL VOICE OF BUSINESS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. MBOT STAFF AND COMMITTEES EXAMINE ISSUES AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE CCC AND PROVIDE MISSISSAUGA’S INPUT. MORE INFORMATION ON THE CCC IS AT WWW.CHAMBER.CA.

COVID19 FEDERAL RESPONSE

The Public Health Agency of Canada along with its provincial counterparts continues to monitor trends in COVID across the country and to make recommendations to Government. At this time, agencies appear satisfied withthe levels of COVID and no need for a return to drastic measures that would affect businesses. A push to continue to administer vaccinations as well as booster shots continues as one of the most effective ways of combatting COVID.

The Federal Government has wound down all COVID related support programs like the CERB and CEWS given the “back to normal” situation across most of the country.

CANADA DIGITAL ADOPTION PROGRAM

The Government of Canada has established the Canada Digital Adoption Program to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) realize their full potential by adopting digital technologies. The $4 billion program is an investment of $1.4 billion in grants and advisory services to SMEs from the Government of Canada and up to $2.6 billion in loans from the Business Development Bank of Canada to help businesses cover the costs of implementing new digital technologies. For more information go to www.ic.gc.ca.

Locally in Ontario, the program is being administered by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. If you have any additional questions or would like to participate in the program, please contact them at cdap@occ.ca.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT

The Chamber of Commerce Network across Canada has stepped up to help Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees to Canada particularly those who wish to find employment. MBOT has more information on how businesses can help on its website at www.mbot.com.

INTEREST RATES/INFLATION/ ECONOMY

These issues continue to be monitored very closely by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and others on their impact to business in both the short and longer terms. Affordability issues continue to be front and centre for most Canadians which impacts economic growth and jobs. The Bank of Canada continues to raise interest rates which is causing some concern among business about its ability to access capital in a costeffective manner.

TORONTO PEARSON AIRPORT OPERATIONS

The Government of Canada has made a number of announcements related to operations under its control at Canada’s airports. Lack of staff at agencies like the Canada Border Security Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) and the significant increase in travel with less COVID restrictions have led to consider delays and operational challenges for Mississauga’s Toronto Pearson Airport. The agencies have been hiring additional staff and the pressures seem to be easing.