ADVOCACY

Fredericton's Voice of Business

As the largest chamber of commerce in New Brunswick, the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce is in an ideal position to effectively advocate for you and your business. Drawing on the knowledge and expertise of our extensive network of business and community leaders, we work with all three levels of government to ensure that the voice of business is heard.

Our advocacy work is driven by a diverse group of volunteers representing member businesses. Some of the key priorities they’ve identified for 2010 include:

Advancing Collaborative Care
Collaborative care clinics – medical practice facilities in which physicians work as a team with assistance from family practice nurses, licensed practical nurses, and medical office administrators – are quickly becoming the practice model of choice for new graduates and experienced practitioners alike. We believe that these clinics are an important step toward improving primary care and addressing the physician shortage in our community, and will continue to work with the Regional Health Authority and provincial government to press for additional collaborative care clinics in our city.

Supporting Immigrant Entrepreneurship
Fredericton has an increasingly diverse immigrant business community and the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce wants to ensure newcomers have access to all the resources that will help them prosper here. Our Business Immigrant Mentorship Program – a provincially-funded initiative that is the first of its kind in New Brunswick – pairs established local businesspeople with immigrant entrepreneurs to help guide them through the process of starting a business. We also work with government to ensure that immigrants’ concerns are brought to their attention, and that these concerns are addressed in government policy and programming.

Reducing Barriers to Business Success
Members tell us that one of the greatest challenges they face in business is government red tape. To help our members overcome this challenge, we are exploring ways to act as a liaison between business and government, develop processes for navigating through red tape, and educate members on how to most effectively manage red tape challenges in their own businesses.

Easing the Impact of Increases to the Minimum Wage
We believe that the most effective way for small business to adapt to the rising minimum wage is to prepare for it. We’re working with economic development agencies, government, and experts in IT and finance to develop a series of workshops that will introduce members to proven cost savings strategies, provide advice on how to retain employees in a competitive labour market, and explain how to navigate government grants programs.


To learn more about the Chamber’s advocacy work or to become involved in any of its initiatives, please contact Jennifer English, Director of Policy and Research, at Jennifere@frederictonchamber.ca or 451-9742.