Grimsby, Ontario
18 September 2014
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today participated in a roundtable meeting with Ontario businesses at Forty Creek Distillery in Grimsby. He was joined by Diane Finley, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, and Dean Allison, Member of Parliament for Niagara West-Glanbrook.
During the roundtable, the Prime Minister discussed the economy and measures that our Government is taking to help Canadian businesses thrive, both at home and abroad. Some of the measures highlighted included support for businesses in Economic Action Plan 2014, tax reductions, the elimination of unnecessary regulatory burdens, the Canada Job Grant, and the recently announced Small Business Job Credit.
The Prime Minster also highlighted the Government’s unprecedented efforts to increase Canadian businesses’ access to international markets, including through the Canada-European Union (EU) Trade Agreement and the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA). In particular, he highlighted the many benefits that the Canada-EU Trade Agreement will bring to workers and businesses from a wide range of sectors throughout Southern Ontario and across Canada. Some of the benefits that were highlighted included eliminating the EU’s tariffs on almost all of Ontario's keys exports, providing access to new market opportunities in the EU, improving conditions for export by easing regulatory barriers to trade, reinforcing intellectual-property rights, and ensuring more transparent rules for market access.