Sept 27, 2014 – The Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce (GOCC) is calling on local candidates in the municipal election to take action to improve Oshawa and Durham Region’s business climate and foster economic growth.
With over forty candidates vying for election in Oshawa and with the extensive coverage of All Candidates debates and profiles by the local media the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, in an effort to better inform its members, is focusing on who will be the next Mayor in Oshawa and Clarington and Durham’s next Regional Chair.
“This municipal election comes at a critical time for Oshawa and Clarington,” says Bob Malcolmson CEO of the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce. “The greater Oshawa area’s economy is recovering, but growth is sluggish, property taxes and youth unemployment is high, more than ever, government has to ensure it is doing everything in its power to encourage investment and job creation in the region.”
On Friday, October 17, 2014, in a continuing effort to keep the business community informed, the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Durham Region Homebuilders’ Association, will host a Business Breakfast with Mayoral candidates John Henry and John Gray – Oshawa, and Adrian Foster and John O’Toole – Clarington.
The leading candidates from the two municipality’s which the Chamber of Commerce serves have been invited to attend and state their platforms and discuss their plans and vision to make Oshawa and Clarington more liveable, affordable and functional and discuss the concerns of the business community. The breakfast will be held at the Quality Hotel & Conference Centre at 1011 Bloor Street East in Oshawa beginning at 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The selection of the candidates was determined by which candidates were running the most serious campaigns and therefore should be given focused time to discuss their platforms with the business community.
Also, as this is the first time the ratepayers will be electing a Regional Chair, the Chamber posed four questions to each of the candidates vying for the Regional Chair position and asked that they reply no later than 12 noon Wednesday September 24, 2014 to enable the Chamber to publish their answers to in the October issue of Business Matters. To help keep the business community informed on the major issues, the questions were about Nuclear, Metrolinx, Interest Arbitration and the candidate’s expertise. The Chamber’s position is that the next municipally elected officials need to improve the business climate by tackling Oshawa’s debt, address electricity prices, youth unemployment, the ever increasing property taxes, transportation, and invest in attracting business to the Region.
“Improving the business climate is good for everyone: it will encourage investment in the region, create jobs, and improve our prosperity,” says John Sturrup, President of the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce.
