The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce has added its voice of support to a list of recommendations from the Canadian business community for the federal political parties in advance of the federal election this fall.
Among the four key areas outlined in the Canadian Chamber of Commerce platform is one that is especially important to the members of the Kelowna Chamber—access to technology and innovation.
“Access to new technology can be a real game-changer for many businesses. Innovative manufacturing and export methods can significantly reduce costs and help create new products,” said Ken Carmichael, president of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce.
Carmichael said the Chamber is also looking for other commitments in the following areas:
• providing incentives to move ideas from mind to market, such as an “innovation box” regime in Canada that would see any sales/revenues earned on a patent or a new technology developed here in Canada taxed at a much lower rate
• investing in digital infrastructure (networks and switching required to handle the volumes of next generation data transfer) and rewarding private sector investment driven by profit motives
• providing incentives that encourage collaboration through technology clusters or centres of excellence.
