Ontario must do more to keep business here
I was invited to provide a bid for the dismantling of a factory. This manufacturer, which shall remain unnamed, employed 1,100 people in a state-of-the-art facility of 250,000 square feet.
When I walked in to this empty factory, and imagined the despair of the many families that now find themselves with no source of income, my heart just sank and I was unable to continue working that day. Up until recently, there were 1,100 people hard at work, feeding the once-powerful business machine in Ontario.
But today, all that is gone, evaporated into thin air, and with it, the dreams and aspirations of thousands of hard-working people who just want to earn an honest living. What hurt most, however, was when I was told that this company did not close down or become insolvent, rather it decided to relocate to another country, where doing business is more affordable.
We all hear stories through the media about large companies such as car manufacturers that receive grants from the government to incent them to continue doing business in Ontario, but this does not matter to the 1,100 people who lost their jobs overnight.
Their employer, unfortunately, was not well enough "connected" to procure the grants that would make staying in Ontario possible. The problem is that one-time grants will never stop the exodus of the manufacturing sector from Ontario.
The only way to keep businesses in Ontario and attract new businesses to Ontario is to create a climate that stimulates business. Why would a company set up operations in Ontario in the hopes of obtaining a grant with no guarantee of future success?
Ontario must show the world that we are serious about business and that we will create and maintain a healthy business environment. This includes lowering business taxes across the board and establishing limits for future tax increases. It means ensuring steady and affordable utility rates and fast-tracking applications and approvals for creation and expansion of business. This requires that politicians acquire some foresight and discipline to tighten their belts while delivering tax relief.
Politicians must stop using our money to pay off their corporate and union sponsors and focus on attracting investors from around the world. Every manufacturer should know that it is easy and affordable to do business here. Today, tomorrow and forever. This is the only way to guarantee the future of our province and the future of our children. It is the only way to prevent such catastrophic closures and such sad, abrupt endings to peoples' dreams and lives.
Joseph Simon
