State of the North conference to focus on taxation, economic growth

The annual State of the North conference will be held in North Bay this September.

The event. organized by the Northern Policy Institute, is being promoted as a major economic conference focusing on northern issues.

NPI President and CEO Charles Cirtwill says the overall theme will look at how taxation can help economies grow.

He says normally taxes are portrayed in a negative light and in many cases they’re a drag on the economy and employment.

“But if you get your tax structure right, it can create a competitive advantage for your community,” Cirtwill said.

“Taxes also help ensure you have the resources to pay for infrastructure and services.”

Cirtwill says in Europe, where countries have consumption taxes, a study about 10 years ago by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development showed countries with consumption taxes had faster-growing economies than those without the tax.

Cirtwill is among the several speakers at the conference and during his presentation he plans to dispel the myth that Northern Ontario is seeing no growth.

He says “across the north there are job opportunities and in some cases, they are above the provincial average wages.”

Cirtwill says an example of this is a personal support worker.

Other examples are medical technicians, nurses, machine operators and long-haul truck drivers.

“In many of those industries, we’re seeing growth across the north,” he said.

“In geographic terms, we’re seeing a little economic and population growth on Manitoulin, in the North Bay area and Timiskaming Shores region.”

This is the second State of the North conference by the NPI.

The inaugural conference took place in Timmins last year which was well-attended by municipal politicians, as well as federal and provincial bureaucrats.

He says once the event gets underway, it’s not about “the talking heads”

“This is an opportunity for people taking part in the event to talk about what the global trends mean for communities like North Bay,” said Cirtwill.

The two-day conference begins September 26 at the Best Western.

Go to www.stateofthenorth.ca for information on how to register.

(With files from Rocco Frangione)