Nov. 24

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Nov. 25

Tax Issues for Small Business

Dec. 5

Christmas Party

Jan 15.

BEA Nomination Package

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Municipal Red Tape Ad Hoc Committee

The GSCC is looking for volunteers to sit on its Municipal Red Tape Ad-hoc Committee.

Individuals must be business owners or employees who, through their job, are required to interact with the city for the purpose of fulfilling their job description. The objective of this committee is to develop a series of recommendations as to what departments, if any, are high priority areas and what, if any, specific actions the city can take to alleviate the unnecessary levels of red tape.

Please click here to volunteer.

Ontario Government Announces New HST Exemptions

Ontario has announced additional point-of-sale exemptions for the provincial component of the proposed Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).

The new qualifying areas include prepared food and beverages sold for $4.00 or less and print newspapers. Other items, such as basic groceries, most health and education services, prescription drugs and childcare, will not be subject to the HST.

Beginning in July, Ontarians can expect $10.6 billion in direct payments and permanent tax relief for the next three years. As part of the HST package, 93 per cent of Ontario taxpayers would get a personal income tax cut, while nearly 3 million low-income Ontario families would receive a new, permanent sales tax credit of up to $260 for each adult and child per year - one of the most generous in Canada.

For a complete list of exempted items, click here.

Ontario Government 2009-2010 Economic Update

On Thursday, October 22, 2009, Ontario Finance Minister, Dwight Duncan delivered an update on the state of the government’s finances and provided insights into the budget which will be announced in March.

Here is what we learned:

• Ontario's deficit is expected to reach $24.7 billion in 2009-2010.
  
• Real Gross Domestic Product is expected to decline by 3.5 per cent over the same period.
  
• Corporate tax revenues dropped by 48.1 per cent in 2008-2009 (more than $6 billion).
  
• More people are depending on public services like social assistance, skills training programs and health-care services.
  
• Employment in the province dropped three per cent, or by 205,200 jobs, from 2008.
• Jobs in the auto sector are down by 25.5 per cent over the first nine months in 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.

To review the proposed 2009-2010 Ontario Budget, click here. To review the GSCC's summary click here.

GSCC meets with MPs and MPPs

Over the course of the past few weeks, the GSCC has continued with its schedule of meeting with political representatives, both provincially and federally.

Recently, we met with MP Glenn Thibeault and MPPs Rick Bartolucci and Francé Gelinas.

Click here, here and here to view photos from the meeting.

The meetings were productive and allowed both parties to find some common ground on a variety of issues.

GSCC meets with the Mayor

As part of its mandate to reflect the issues of its members, the GSCC holds annual meetings with MPs, MPPs, councillors and the municipal CAO on an annual basis.

This week the GSCC kicked off the schedule of meetings, beginning with Mayor John Rodriguez.

GSCC Chair Steve Irwin, First-vice Chair André Dumais, President and CEO Debbi Nicholson and Communication and Policy Manager, Jonathan Laderoute spent and hour and a half discussing a variety of issues facing the membership, business community and city at large.

Some issues discussed included:

• 2010 City Budget
• Potential privatization of city services
• Maley Drive Extension
• Store Hours
• Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund
• Business Red Tape