Linda Machniak (Battlefords Chamber of Commerce), centre, with Elissa LaLiberte, left, and Joshua Kurkjian, right, (both of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce), shown following Wednesday's roundtable meeting in North Battleford. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Business matters

Employment needs, infrastructure among local chamber’s concerns shared at roundtable talk

Apr 25, 2019 | 1:52 PM

Employment for grads, mental health needs, improved infrastructure and challenges with the carbon tax.

These were a few of the key issues discussed when the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce members sat down to share some of their ideas and concerns with representatives from the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce during a policy roundtable meeting in North Battleford, Wednesday.

”It was just getting some input from the local chambers in terms of business competitiveness, what’s working well and what could be improved,” said Joshua Kurkjian, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce director of research and policy development, of the event.

Among some of the local issues were ensuring service roads and other roadways, known as urban connections, are improved so there is adequate access to help businesses transport their products easier.

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Battlefords Chamber of Commerce Chief Operating Officer Linda Machniak said there was also a discussion on the need for finding placements in businesses for students graduating from post-secondary programs, so there are jobs available for them once they come out of school.

The challenges with the carbon tax issue and the federal government’s Bill C-69 were also on the table during the meeting.

“Our opinion is that it deserves a major re-write and a major overhaul,” Kurkjian said of the legislation.

He said the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce has been involved in research and advocacy work around the issue, and has put together policy recommendations on how to improve the bill.

Local chamber members also discussed mental health and addictions needs in the community, and the impact on business.

The concern affects many communities across the province, not only the local area, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce Director of Membership Engagement Elissa LaLiberte said.

“There was an additional budget [from the provincial government] this year for mental health,” she said, while adding more still needs to be done to increase support to meet the need, and provide greater access to services. “There is a cost to business; there is a cost to all of us when it’s not being addressed, or invested in properly.”

On the local side, Machniak pointed out the Battlefords municipalities and the community have put in a great deal of work in developing initiatives to help people dealing with addictions and mental health issues, in an effort to try to improve the situation.

The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce will continue to travel across the province gathering input from the many chambers it works with.

LaLiberte said the input they receive can help guide the provincial chamber’s advocacy work.

“The ideas are put together, and our board of directors uses them to form our three-year strategic plan,” she said. “They are going to be used to for actions of the Saskatchewan Chamber moving forward.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow