February 9, 2023
The Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy
Minister of Finance
c/o Budget Secretariat
Frost Building North, 3rd Floor
95 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1Z1
RE: OBIAA Submission to 2023 Provincial Budget Consultations
To Peter Bethlenfalvy, the Honourable Minister of Finance,
As the Government of Ontario prepares for the 2023 Budget deliberations the Ontario BIA Association has identified issues that affect main streets across Ontario’s 444 municipalities. The OBIAA is the only voice that speaks directly to and about our main streets.
The attached document encapsulates the issues that are currently affecting our main streets (BIAs) as well as recommendations and actions that have relevance to your budget cycle. Much of our response is drawn from your pre-election budget.
We thank you for your time in reviewing the attached document as we hope it will help inform and align with the Government of Ontario’s budget priorities and in turn will enhance Ontario’s main street economy.
Our Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) are part of the framework of the Ontario community and economy. Many of our BIAs represent the founding villages, towns and cities that make up Ontario. While BIAs have only been a part of the Canadian landscape for the past 50 years, they are responsible for providing their business areas an almost 100% return on investment of local funds. Our BIAs and OBIAA are therefore key industry partners. Our BIAs are Public Realm Investors, Area Marketers and Event Facilitators. The businesses within our BIAs are innovators, entrepreneurs and part of the creative community. Our BIAs most often are the ‘heart’ of their community, representing heritage, economy, arts, revitalization and tourism.
The work of BIAs has never been more critical than it is today during this unprecedented time in history, the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we must turn our sights to recovery. Our BIAs represent thousands of small businesses with a critical employment base, which is integral to driving our economy. Our future recovery must start with our BIAs’ small businesses.
The OBIAA welcomes the opportunity of being a key stakeholder in relation to Ontario’s small businesses, the main street economy, current social issues that affect our main streets and our common goal of rebuilding Ontario’s economy.
Upon reviewing our issues, we welcome the opportunity to meet with you to further discuss the issues affecting main street.
Sincerely,
Doug Sams, President
Ontario BIA Association
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OBIAA Ministry Liaisons:
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Read the Full OBIAA 2023 Budget Consultation Submission – 2023 OBIAA Provincial Budget Consultations – Submission
OBIAA Cover Letter – 2023 OBIAA Provincial Budget Consultations – Cover Letter (1)
