Canada’s new trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico was top of mind for Rocco Rossi, CEO of Ontario’s Chamber of Commerce when he spoke at a Kingston Chamber of Commerce breakfast on Tuesday.
Although the new trade deal may mean trouble for Canadian dairy business, the USMCA deal reached after months of negotiating the terms of its predecessor NAFTA, Rossi emphasized it doesn’t mean Canadian businesses are out of the woods.
“The deal will not create or protect one job. Unless we as a province and a country get an awful lot more competitive.”
Rossi also spent a good portion of his speech talking about Ontario’s skilled trades shortage.
“The average age of a skilled journeyman tradesman in the province of Ontario — and you pick the trade: carpenter, electrician, plumber, boilermaker — plus or minus, it’s 58.”
Rossi said that lacking infrastructure to encourage young people to get involved in trades is “a clear and present danger to our economy.”
Glenn Vollebregt, president and CEO of St. Lawrence College attended the breakfast, and said that one way of encouraging more young people into trades would be to reform the apprenticeship system.
“But we need to make it easy. We need to make it a very transparent system so that our students and folks that want to get into the trades — they understand the path, Vollebregt said. “We can help them find employers and really get the student out there — in the classroom and out into the field.”
Also attending the breakfast was the newly named interim CEO of the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce, Laura Turner.
“I’m here for the next almost three months — just before Christmas and that’s what I’m supposed to be doing — fulfilling a mandate, helping with the strategy, day-to-day operations and to find a new facility.”
Turner had to step into the position after the previous CEO, Martin Sherris, left suddenly to pursue other options.
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