Mid-year report: discover the Chamber’s noteworthy positions and events 19 July 2019 Print Share on: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Highlights from January to June 2019: discover the Chamber's noteworthy positions and events 96 INTERVIEWS GRANTED 52 Print and Web 30 TV 14 Radio 59 BLOG POSTS 35 PRESS RELEASES 8 BRIEFS 3 OPEN LETTERS 1 STUDY SOCIAL MEDIA 20,936 followers 21,685 followers 12,778 followers 62 EVENTS 12,719 Participants 6 TRADE MISSIONS Legend Innovation and disruptive technologies Fiscal, economic and regulatory agility Internationalization of local businesses Modern, efficient infrastructures Availability of skilled labour Other issues January Position statement A viewpoint co-authored by Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Chamber, and a collective from the business community and published on the Journal de Montréal’s website. Publication “The consultations on the impacts of the Royalmount project should serve as a springboard to explore recurring and predictable questions about the development of these areas, which are still sparsely populated but located near public transit routes and access to existing busy highways.” – Royalmount, a sign of the city’s regained momentum brief Publication “The Chamber welcomed this recognition of the reality of the city’s status as a metropolis and the increased financial resources granted to the Ville de Montréal to support its economic development and provide a business-friendly commercial environment by working on areas such as employment, education and professional integration of immigrants, which are central to the new government’s priorities.” Workforce, competitiveness, mobility, and the environment: keys to maintaining Quebec’s economic growth brief February Publication “The autonomous car is at our doorstep. It’s up to us to create favourable conditions that allow technologies developed here to be tested here, and then marketed from here. The demise of Téo Taxi shouldn’t challenge the relevance or, more importantly, the urgency of seizing opportunities presented to us in the field of electric and smart transportation.” - Viewpoint co-authored by Michel Leblanc of the Chamber and Sarah Houde of Propulsion Québec and published in La Presse+ Event The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Canada, at the Chamber to report on his government’s Innovation and Skills Plan. Event Nearly 850 leaders from different industries took part in the second Strategic Forum on Artificial Intelligence to assess the impact of artificial intelligence on the city’s economic development. Event More than 600 people from the business community came to listen to Stephen Poloz, Governor of the Bank of Canada, report on Canadian monetary policy and its scope and limits. Publication “The tabling of Bill 9 is an opportunity to clarify the processes that will be used to regularly update the criteria for assessing candidates based on labour market needs. The business community strongly supported the government’s decision to adopt a model based on expression of interest that provides a clear understanding of the immigrant’s objective and ability to integrate quickly into the job market.” – Michel Leblanc March Event Randi Zuckerberg, a tech entrepreneur and leader, addressed an audience of more than 1,800 people, including several hundred female students, to promote tech careers to women as part of the Ubisoft Women in Tech initiative. Position statement “The Chamber reiterates the business community’s desire to see the Government of Canada work toward a balanced budget following ten years of economic growth. It would also like the budget to reduce the tax burden on businesses in order to review Canada’s tax system following the US reform.” - Michel Leblanc Publication Special report on French in the workplace published in La Presse+ on International Francophonie Day. Position statement “The Act respecting remunerated passenger transportation by automobile gives greater prominence to innovation and will provide a framework for the emergence of future business models based on autonomous vehicles.” – Michel Leblanc Event Eric Girard, Minister of Finance of Quebec, and the Honourable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance of Canada, came to outline their respective budgets. April Position statement “We congratulate elected officials for making this issue a real priority. The objective of subsequently increasing access to public transit in the east of the island is also welcome. We anticipate that many companies will want to invest in this sector, which is particularly well-connected to the intercity transportation network and located near the Port of Montreal.” - Michel Leblanc Publication The Chamber encourages the municipal government to use its resources carefully, employ new sources of income, particularly from green taxation, and use contributions from higher levels of government to create greater leverage.” – The Ville de Montréal's budget: maintaining the city's momentum brief Publication The Chamber proposes ten recommendations to guide the special urban planning program (Programme particulier d’urbanisme, PPU) responsible for the development of the sector in the coming years. Publication The Chamber provided the OCPM with its brief presenting an analytical framework and recommendations for reviving the economy of Montréal East. Event On CN’s 100th anniversary, Jean-Jacques Ruest, President and Chief Executive Officer, reviewed the group’s activities and the major challenges ahead. Acclr – Business Services “Today’s announcement strengthens our ability to help SMEs prepare for the early stages of their international operations, a crucial step for the success of their strategy [...]. We are convinced that, thanks to this new program, they will accelerate their growth and successfully access new markets.” – Michel Leblanc, on the Government of Canada’s investment in Montréal’s business accelerator program May Acclr – Business Services “With this trade mission, we want to draw attention to inspiring female role models in this industry and mobilize players around a global movement to promote the place of women in tech.” - Francis Baillet, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Ubisoft “The tech sector plays a key role in the city’s growth and economic prosperity. The Montréal ecosystem has a pool of talent and leading expertise that enable it to aspire to be one of the top centres for innovation. To get there, we need to follow the example of the best and develop our international networks.” - Michel Leblanc Event The Chamber and Propulsion Québec announced the results of a new comparative study of regulations and public policies on electric and smart transportation at the Strategic Forum on Transportation. Event The Chamber organized the fourteenth Major Metropolitan Projects Strategic Forum, which brought together more than 600 business leaders at the Palais des congrès. Position statement Recommendations during public consultations and hearings on Bill n°17: An Act respecting remunerated passenger transportation by automobile. Event Thirteen scholarships were awarded to outstanding high school students. Event Elmar Mock, Swatch’s professional inventor and co-founder, was invited to address an audience of more than 700 people during the third Strategic Forum on Innovative Manufacturing. Event Martin Coiteux addressed the business community for the first time since his appointment as Chief Economist at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. June Position statement “At a time when our main collective challenges are mobility and sustainability, reasonably densifying a sector such as the Faubourgs is a way to encourage families to invest in their quality of life in the city rather than in urban sprawl, a second car and hydrocarbon.” – Viewpoint co-authored by Michel Leblanc of the Chamber and André Boisclair of the Institut de développement urbain du Québec and published in La Presse+ Acclr – Business Services Two hundred people from the business community gathered to network and enjoy a cruise on the St. Lawrence. Event Mayor Valérie Plante presented her vision of the city’s social, cultural and economic diversity to 450 representatives of the business community.