Hon. Rona Ambrose with ICCC team

Hon. Rona Ambrose, the interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition in the House of Commons, visited the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce’s (ICCC) headquarters in Toronto on 29th February 2016 for a roundtable to discuss the issues faced by the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs before the federal budget.

Mr. Sanjay Makkar welcomed Hon. Ambrose on behalf of the Chamber and briefed her about the different set of Chamber’s initiatives to promote Canada India bilateral trade. He gave Hon. Ambrose detailed information about the ICCC’s India Mission 2016 when the Chamber led over 50 Canadian small businesses to explore the burgeoning Indian market. The ICCC President said that during the India Mission, the Chamber visited nine Indian cities, and held B2B meetings, seminars, and industry tours to explore the possibilities for the promotion of the commercial ties between the two countries.

Hon. Ambrose expressed gratitude to the warm welcome that was given to her by the ICCC on her first visit to the Chamber. She lauded the Chamber for undertaking the task of advocating the cause of small businesses, and emphasized the increasing significance of small businesses as employment and wealth generators globally and especially in Canada.

Hon. Ambrose assured the executive team of the ICCC and other participants, a majority of whom are small entrepreneurs, that her party would continue to be committed to the small entrepreneur in Canada, focus upon the challenges that the small and medium businesses face in a rapidly changing environment, especially with the precipitous downslide in the global prices of most natural resources, which forms the backbone of the Canadian economy.

She emphasized that as the leader of the official opposition, she would continue to focus on the Canadian economy and consistently raise the issue at the federal level of the difficulties faced by the business community. In the interaction, participants discussed topics like energy, mining, infrastructure, tax structure, deficit budgeting and its impact on the Canadians and real estate.