One crash on the QEW grinds cross border trade to a halt.
CAO of the Niagara Region Carmen D'Angela says it's time to look at transportation options like the mid-pen corridor with over 950,00 trucks passing through the region every year.
D'Angela was one of hundreds who gathered for the Niagara Economic Summit.
The event, organized by the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce launched this morning with CKTB's Round Table Road Trip at White Oakes in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The day kicked off with remarks from Niagara Region Chair Alan Caslin, Brock President Gervan Fearon, and Niagara College President Dan Patterson.
Dr. Marc Nantel made the audience laugh when he compared the changing economic environment to parenting children -just when you find something that works you have to throw it all out and find a new path.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce VP of Policy and Government Relations Karl Baldauf talked to the crowd about the Ontario government's plans to increase minimum wage to $15/hour by January 2019.
He says the move will cost the Ontario economy $23 billion over 2 years.
The Ontario Chamber is campaigning against Bill 148.
Baldauf says the number one issue facing Ontario's workforce is finding talent, saying it's becoming more and more difficult to find candidates to move businesses forward.
Executive Director of Multi-Industry Sectors at Global Affairs Canada Tracy Reynolds
He says over 75% of Canadian exports go to the United States and our relationship with the US is critical.
Reynolds would not comment on NAFTA.
Another keynote speaker was from Canada Post talking about the Crown corporation and how a paper-based company is surviving in a paperless society.
Senior VP of Strategy and Corporate Marketing Len Diplock says the key to survival for Canada Post was to change drastically by changing its focus to parcel delivery and E-commerce.
One of the panelists included Dean Wood of Borderworx.
He says Canada is sleeping beside a giant and Niagara is positioned in a bilateral position to succeed.
Some students were in the audience among business leaders.
Andrea Lorenzo a student at Denis Morris High School in St.Catharines says the conference was interesting and she plans on attending Brock University and hopefully finding a job in Niagara so she can stay close to her family.
That was the major goal of the summit - trying to train and retain youth to ensure our workforce remains strong.