The new CEO of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce says the region faces a lot of challenges, but also many opportunities.
Sheri Somerville says she will be focusing on initiatives that contribute to sustainable economic development.
She says their members have made it clear that reduction of red tape is a top priority.
“Making it easier to do business interprovincially, making it more cost effective for businesses to be able to do that, we look at regulation and stuff, you know, companies that have to do things twice in two provinces to operate or do business,” says Somerville.
She says keeping an eye on provincial debt is going to be another priority for them.
“Some provinces are doing better than others right now, but we’ll always be watching for that, and things that will make it harder for businesses to operate in the region,” says Somerville. “And we want to make sure that we can advocate effectively to make sure the right policies and priorities are in place.”
Somerville says another one of those priorities is immigration.
“We have an aging population and a declining workforce, we need to make sure that we’re getting people, attracting newcomers to the region and retaining newcomers,” says Somerville. “There’s a lot of good work being done with the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and we support that.”
She states job creation is a vital factor in not only getting, but keeping immigrants and they are advocating for policies and actions that will support and encourage job creation.