As the Manager of Economic…

As the Manager of Economic Development for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, I have experienced first-hand how much the current and very much outdated $2million Leave to Construct Limit in Ontario has been a roadblock to business attraction, growth and expansion. Even small projects are seeing quotes well in excess of the $2 million limit now and business needs cost certainty and timelines to make decisions. They can't sit around waiting for the slow pace of government process to unfold, with an unknown outcome. Business needs full upfront information to prepare business plans and make financial decisions now, before committing to future projects. The rising costs and inflationary environment over the last 20plus years since the current LTC limit was established, means that even small projects now exceed the $2million limit, and must go through the lengthy regulatory process. The speed of business dictates that many times this regulatory burden encourages an immediate decision to not move forward with a project or to seek other locations outside of Ontario. Even just to keep pace with inflation over this time frame would necessitate a much higher LTC limit.

Additionally, we are now competing for international investment with other provinces across Canada and we are totally not competitive with a jurisdiction like BC who has a $20million LTC limit. There is no reason why we shouldn't at least have the same LTC limit as other provinces so that we can compete on an even playing field based on our Economic merits. Unfortunately, the reality is that our current LTC limit in Ontario provides a message that our province is not open for business.

I strongly urge the OEB and Ontario Government to correct this competitive and economic disadvantage by dramatically raising the LTC limit as soon as possible!!