Entrepreneurship is important to Canada’s competitiveness. In 2013 and 2014, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce conducted seven roundtables across Canada with leaders of entrepreneurial firms. These roundtables sought to better understand the challenges and the opportunities entrepreneurs face in order to determine how the federal government and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce could support them most effectively.

In today’s podcast, Susanna Cluff-Clyburne, our Director of Parliamentary Affairs, discusses the results of the roundtables with two guests: the Chair of our entrepreneurship project, Dr. Peggy Cunningham, Dean of the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University, and the Vice-Chair, Peter Matutat, Partner with BDO Canada.

The recovering U.S. economy, the ups and downs of the Loonie, a slow-down in emerging markets: Canadian businesses live and die by these global economic trends. Getting a sense of where the global economy is heading in 2015 and its strengths and weaknesses can be crucial for Canada’s trade-oriented economy.

In this episode of the Voice of Canadian Business, host Katrina Marsh sits down with our Senior Director of Economic, Fiscal and Tax Policy, Hendrik Brakel. Hendrik gives listeners a preview of his upcoming presentation at our AGM: Global Economy at a Turning Point. Despite being a practitioner of the ‘dismal science,’ Hendrik’s forecast is surprisingly upbeat; although, there are a few pitfalls in store for the Canadian economy.

The uses and abuses of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program have put the labour market program in the news. The federal government has announced that Canadians should be first in line for jobs in Canada, and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce agrees. However, recent changes to the program may have some unintended consequences for both businesses and the labour market that should be taken into account.

In this episode of the Voice of Canadian Business, Katrina Marsh, our Director of Natural Resource and Environmental Policy, sits down with our Director of Skills Policy, Sarah Anson-Cartwright, to discuss the implications of a few of the government’s changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, specifically the new distinction between high-wage and low-wage workers as well as increased fees for Canadian business.

Should Canadian companies be concerned when they are conducting business or investing abroad? How can Canadian companies avoid “getting burned?”

In this episode of the Voice of Canadian Business, Mary Anne Carter, Director of Competition Policy and Business Law, sits down with Barry Leon, Partner and Head of the International Arbitration Group at Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l., and Chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Arbitration Committee, to address practical steps that Canadian companies can take to reduce their risks when doing business with a company outside of Canada.

In addition to discussing risk reduction, Barry Leon provides insight on how to effectively resolve international disputes, if disputes arise, and key points that listeners can take away to better prepare themselves for conducting cross-border business and making cross-border investments.

It’s the proverbial elephant to our metaphorical mouse; the Canada-U.S. relationship is by far our most important international partnership. In this episode of the Voice of Canadian Business, host Katrina Marsh interviews Paul Frazer, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s special advisor on Canada-U.S. relations. Paul provides an overview of the key issues shaping the Canada-U.S. relationship, including Keystone, Buy America and others.

In this episode of the Voice of Canadian Business, Sarah Anson-Cartwright, our Director of Skills Policy, interviews Sarah Watts-Rynard, Executive Director of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum. The demand for the skilled trades has put increasing attention on Canada’s apprenticeship systems and the roles of government and employers. Ms. Watts-Rynard was on the recent mission to study the apprenticeship models in Germany and the U.K., led by the Hon. Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development. This interview explores the lessons from Germany, including the aspects of the German system that could be adopted in Canada as we strive to close our skills gap.

In this episode of the Voice of Canadian Business, Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, sits down with the Hon. Bob Rae, former Ontario Premier and leader of the federal Liberal Party, to discuss Aboriginal Peoples' participation in Canada's resource economy. The relationship between Aboriginal governments and communities and resource development is an increasingly crucial issue to the Canadian economy. As chief negotiator and counsel for the Matawa First Nations in Northern Ontario's Ring of Fire development, Mr. Rae has a unique insight into how resource project proponents and Aboriginal communities can work together for the benefit of all.

In this episode of the Voice of Canadian Business, host Susanna Cluff-Clyburne sits down with three business leaders from Canada’s territories: Mike Bradshaw, Executive Director of the Northwest Territories Chamber of Commerce; Philip Fitzgerald, COO of Northern Vision Development and Chair of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce; and Rich Thompson, CEO of Northern Vision Development and Chair of the Yukon Chamber of Commerce. The discussion focuses on the tools the territories need to ensure their full participation in the Canadian economy and touches on issues like temporary foreign workers, attracting human capital, investment in infrastructure and devolution.

In this episode of the Voice of Canadian Business, host Katrina Marsh sits down with Cam Vidler, our Director of International Policy, to discuss his new report, Turning it Around: How to Restore Canada's Trade Success. The report argues that free trade agreements are not enough to reverse Canada’s dismal trade performance over the past decade. Canada must also bolster trade promotion services and diplomatic support for companies abroad.

In this episode, host Katrina Marsh sits down with John Barrett, President of the Canadian Nuclear Association, and John Stewart, the CNA’s policy director, to talk about how Canadian nuclear technology fits into the global push for cleaner energy. Candu nuclear reactors not only have lower life-cycle emissions than solar panels or geothermal systems, but can also act as fuel ‘recyclers’ by repurposing waste made by other reactors.