From April 24th to 26th, Jaipaul Massey-Singh, CEO of the Brampton Board of Trade, and Vijai Kumar Singh, Manager of Policy & Government Relations, participated in the 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), held in Windsor, Ontario. This event brought together chamber leaders, business advocates, and policymakers from across the province to align on priorities and chart a stronger economic future for Ontario.
What is the OCC AGM?
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce AGM is a cornerstone event in Ontario’s business community calendar. It provides a platform for member chambers and boards of trade to exchange insights, engage in policy debate, and collectively shape the OCC’s policy agenda for the year ahead. Through panel discussions, workshops, and policy resolution sessions, the AGM serves as an engine for collaborative problem-solving and economic strategy development.
Spotlight on Brampton: Leadership and Advocacy
Thought Leadership from Brampton
One of the highlights of the conference was the participation of Jaipaul Massey-Singh in a panel titled “Ontario’s Competitive Edge: Actions Today for Success Tomorrow.” This session focused on strategies Ontario must adopt now to ensure long-term economic resilience and competitiveness. Jaipaul’s contributions emphasized Brampton’s perspective as a rapidly growing city navigating opportunities and challenges in infrastructure, innovation, and labour force development.
Collaborative Policy Development
The policy resolution debate is one of the most valuable aspects of the OCC AGM. It provides an opportunity for local chambers and boards of trade to engage in meaningful dialogue about the most pressing issues in their communities. By listening to and debating with fellow members from across Ontario, delegates can better understand shared challenges, regional nuances, and new perspectives. These discussions help refine and strengthen policy recommendations and shape the OCC’s unified advocacy agenda, ensuring it reflects the collective priorities of Ontario’s diverse business network.
Policy Advocacy in Action
This year, the Brampton Board of Trade successfully submitted and presented two policy resolutions, both of which were adopted into the OCC’s official policy compendium. These resolutions address some of the most pressing issues facing municipalities and postsecondary institutions in Ontario.
Policy Resolution 1: Assisting Ontario Municipalities with Growth-Related Challenges through Reallocated Land Transfer Taxes
The Challenge
Ontario’s municipalities are struggling to meet rising infrastructure demands and population growth with limited revenue tools. At the same time, the province collects billions in Land Transfer Tax (LTT) revenue—$3.54 billion in 2023–24 alone, which itself was a slow year for real estate.
The Opportunity
The Brampton Board of Trade is advocating for the redistribution of a portion of LTT revenue to municipalities, providing a predictable and sustainable funding source without burdening residents with new taxes. Over 100 municipalities have voiced support for this approach, emphasizing its potential to empower local planning, infrastructure investment, and service delivery.
Recommendations
The resolution calls on the Ontario government to:
- Develop a plan, in consultation with municipalities, to redistribute a portion of LTT revenue.
- Establish criteria to ensure predictable and targeted funding for growth-related municipal challenges.
Policy Resolution 2: Supporting Fiscal Sustainability for Ontario’s Postsecondary Institutions and Municipalities
The Challenge
Ontario’s colleges and universities are the most underfunded in Canada on a per-student basis. With domestic tuition frozen and the federal cap on international student visas, postsecondary institutions are under immense financial strain. Meanwhile, municipalities are inadequately compensated through the outdated Heads and Beds levy, which hasn’t been updated since 1987.
The Consequences
This funding shortfall threatens both the sustainability of postsecondary education and the ability of municipalities to support growing student populations who live in their communities but study elsewhere. The current model fails to recognize the real, local demand for transit, housing, parks, and other essential services.
Recommendations
To address these issues, the resolution urges the Ontario government to:
- Increase annual funding to public colleges and universities by 11.75% for five years to reach the national average.
- Review the corridor funding model to allow growth in domestic student enrollment.
- Reform the Heads and Beds levy to reflect actual costs of municipal service provision.
A Unified Voice for Change
Through its active participation in the OCC AGM, the Brampton Board of Trade reaffirmed its role as a strong voice for Brampton’s business community and a key contributor to provincial policy development. These two resolutions, grounded in data and supported by growing consensus, offer practical solutions to Ontario’s infrastructure and education funding challenges.
We are proud to advocate for sustainable, forward-thinking policy that reflects the needs of a growing and dynamic Ontario.
