The Burlington Chamber of Commerce kicked off its first-ever Signature Speaker Series last week. This signature series event was held at the Burlington Golf and Country Club and featured the Honourable Karina Gould, Burlington’s Member of Parliament and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, as the keynote speaker.
A lifelong resident of Burlington, mother, and the youngest female cabinet minister in Canadian history, Gould continues to advocate for Burlington in Ottawa. She has previously served as the Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development, Minister of International Development, and Minister of Democratic Institutions.
Invited to speak about her role as government house leader, Gould is currently on maternity leave with a daughter that she and her husband welcomed just eight weeks ago, and is taking a brief leave from her ministerial duties. However, Gould was delighted to share about her role as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, a position she has occupied for the last eight months, and where she is responsible for managing the agenda of the House of Commons.
“It’s actually one of the most interesting and exciting roles that I’ve held in government,” said Gould.
She is proud of her previous ministerial roles and is most proud of having brought forward affordable child care in Canada as Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development.
“What we saw in the first year alone was 100,000 women joining the workforce — in one year of having the affordable child care,” said Gould, noting that it is not just a smart social policy, but also a smart economic policy filled with opportunities and significant return on investment. According to Gould, Canada now has the highest female workforce participation rate in Canadian history as a result of this policy being implemented.
While being responsible for the government’s agenda, Gould also reflected on what the priorities are for Canadians today, and two key items come to her mind: public safety and the cost of living.
To address the priorities of public safety, the federal government debated and passed legislature on bail reform in September, emphasizing continued partnerships between provinces, territories, and police forces across Canada.
To address the priorities of the cost of living across the country, Bill C-56 focused on housing and affordable groceries, removing the GST from new builds and new apartment buildings, and increasing the rental market for Canadians to have access to more housing opportunities. With regard to groceries, being cognizant of global implications that could affect food costs and distribution that is unfortunately beyond the control of the federal government, the ability to modernize the Canada Competition Act is within the federal government’s reach.
“When you compare the competition in the grocery sector in Canada and the U.S., we have five companies that control almost 80% of the grocery sector. In the U.S., that’s a completely different number — it’s less than 50%,” said Gould, emphasizing the need to modernize the Act, which is now being brought forth before the Senate.
Another important focus brought forward were the interoperability laws in Canada — this means having the ability to essentially use the same plug for multiple electronic devices. A law passed in Europe for some time already, interoperability is quite critical for small manufacturers in Canada, as some of the larger corporations in the market have made it difficult to have interoperability with their products, which then means that other companies are unable to connect. This is important because it enables diversification in the economy and ensures there is a degree of competition for smaller competitors so that they are able to bid, be part of and connect to bigger systems.
“Canada is now ranked second in the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] when it comes to foreign direct investment,” said Gould, explaining that Canada is attracting a lot of investment, and that translates into job creation and new opportunities for Canadian companies to thrive and succeed.
“I remain an incredibly optimistic person and someone who, despite very aggressively and strongly defending the values, policies, and the programs that I geared out, and will fight for, for Canadians…[to] ensure that we can deliver for Canadians. I remain very optimistic for the future, but I think it’s a future that is worth fighting for, and one that we have to do,” Gould closed.
A brief question and answer period followed Gould’s address, moderated by Ian Ferris, the senior vice president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Gould plans to return to her ministerial duties in July.
This session of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce’s Signature Speaker Series was held on March 19, 2024.
