It was a successful return to in-person events this week for the Brampton Board of Trade. We welcomed three of our Members of Parliament for a wide-ranging discussion at the 2022 Federal Issues Forum on Wednesday. It was great to see MPs Ruby Sahota and Sonia Sidhu, both in their third terms and familiar faces to Board of Trade members. We were also happy to welcome MP Shafqat Ali, newly elected in September 2021, to his first Board of Trade event. Members engaged directly with our representatives on pressing topics and priorities including:
- Aligning local and provincial agreement on critical infrastructure priorities to enable federal government support of shovel-ready projects
- Pursuing policies that support high growth, such as removing trade barriers and tailoring immigration to economic needs
- Leveraging the federal government’s capacity to work on files critical to residents’ well-being such as housing affordability and healthcare capacity
On Thursday leaders from the private and public sectors convened at our inaugural Energy & Environment Forum to discuss their sustainability efforts and the theme of prospering on the way to net zero. Members were delighted that Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks joined us for a keynote address on the province’s work to support clean tech and help to foster sustainable innovation.
We also heard from Marion Organ, Director of Sustainability at Coke Canada Bottling, on the early stages of their sustainability journey. Marion shared with Board of Trade members the pillars of their strategy and their vision of implementing a fully circular economy.
The forum was capped off by a panel featuring sustainability leaders from Alectra (Lynn Williams), Sheridan (Herb Sinnock) and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (Matt Brunette). They spoke of their organizations’ views on net-zero and the imperative of embracing it as an opportunity, as well as how critical it is to forge strong partnerships to help get there.
