What we saw in the Ontario Fall Economic Statement

Today at Queen’s Park, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy delivered the government’s fall economic statement.

In response, Alanna Sokic, CCI’s Manager of Government Affairs for Ontario, made the following statement:

“Despite heartening signals from this government on digital policy, the fall economic statement is largely devoid of measures to help the province’s innovators succeed. If the government truly wants to Build Ontario, they should be working with the province’s high-growth scale-ups to remove barriers to growth and maintain a competitive innovation ecosystem.

“With only eight months to the provincial election, we were disappointed we didn’t see a clear signal on enacting privacy legislation or any mention of the Data Authority, an exciting proposal that stands to benefit data-driven businesses across the province. The province consulted with us on privacy regulation, and we told them that innovators are eager to see a clear framework that gives citizens confidence their rights are protected while giving businesses clarity to understand their compliance obligations. We were encouraged to see support for advanced manufacturing, acknowledging that investing in technology and innovative processes is a driver of economic growth.

“The economic data published today shows that Ontario’s economy is growing, and we are already starting to recover from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The months between now and the 2022 election are a crucial time to put in place the conditions that can bolster and sustain growth in the knowledge-based and data driven economy. While we were disappointed that Premier Ford and Minister Bethlenfalvy didn’t use the Fall Economic Statement to advance key initiatives to support growth in the innovation economy, we remain committed to working with the Ontario government in the months ahead to advance our member’s priorities.”