ACCA allows companies that purchase new machinery or equipment to depreciate the asset at 50% using the straight line method. In the absence of ACCA, the machinery would be depreciated at 30% declining-balance rate, which will result in lower annual deductions from income over a much longer period of time. Let’s take the example that a manufacturer purchases new machinery for $10,000 that has zero salvage value.  See the below table which compares the two depreciation methods:

As illustrated, straight line depreciation allows for a faster write-off of machinery and equipment. The declining balance depreciation results in lower annual deductions from income over a longer period of time.  In the above example, it would take nine taxation years to deduct 95% of the value of the machine. By allowing for a faster depreciation through the straight line method, ACCA provides support to the manufacturing sector to help them be competitive with the global economy.

“The trade picture in the first quarter of 2013 certainly paints the story of an economy moving away from domestic demand driven growth, to one where the economic engines are being fuelled by trade,” said TD Bank economist Diana Petramala.

With increasing demand in the US, it vital for Canadian manufacturers to take advantage of export opportunities south of the border. The Government of Canada has facilitated this through Canadian business funding such as the Ontario Exporters Fund (OEF) and Export Market Access (EMA).

• OEF allows companies to become export-ready through the hiring of an export manager. The grant provides funding up to $40,000 a year for two years, covering a maximum of 50% of the salary.
• EMA is designed to provide companies easier access to foreign markets. Manufacturers can receive 50% of eligible costs up to $100000. Eligible categories include direct contacts, tradeshow expenditures and market research. If your company has plans for expansion, the government has programs in place to encourage you to increase your sales outside of Canada.

1. Requires the application of engineering principles.
2. Concerns the safeguarding of economic interests, public welfare, the environment.
3. Any act of planning, designing, composing, measuring, evaluating, inspecting, advising, reporting, directing or supervising, or managing any of the activities that comply with (1) and (2).

The change follows the repeal of Section 12(3)(a) of the Act.  Prior to the repeal, 12(3)(a) allowed non-licensed individuals to conduct engineering work when it related to production machinery or production processes in manufacturing — as long as the individual was the manufacturer’s employee.  After the repeal, if you are upgrading or modifying an existing piece of production equipment, and the work qualifies as professional engineering work, then you will require the services of a professional engineer.

The government has made these steps because they want to increase public and workers safety, as well as help decrease businesses costs. They are hoping that with this change will decrease workplace injury/illnesses and minimize downtime and replacement of machinery. It is expected that this change will effect over 1000 companies in Ontario.

PEO is the licensing regulating body for engineering in the province of Ontario with over 80,000 license holders.  NorthBridge Consultants is authorized by PEO to offer professional engineering services in Ontario.

As part of the 2013 federal budget, the government has announced plans to introduce a new federal training initiative called the Canada Jobs Grant.

Back in 2007, Canada unveiled its $3 billion Labour Market Agreements (with the provinces and territories) which offered assistance over three years to  low-skilled Canadians or those who were not eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. The agreements will expire on March 2014, but the Government intends on renewing the Labour Market Agreements and reforming them to closely connect skills training and employers with the Canada Job Grant. Economic Action Plan 2013 announced the Government’s intention to renew the Labour Market Agreements  in 2014 with investments of $500 million per year. The Canada Job  Grant will consist of $300 million of the total annual Labour Market Agreement funding from the federal government, upon full implementation in 2017–18. As for the remaining $200 million per year, it will continue to be transferred to provinces and territories to assist in delivery of critical employment services like counselling and job search assistance, and administration.

One thing that makes the Canada Job Grant unique is the fact that provinces and employers will be required to match the government’s contribution of up to $5,000 per person towards training at eligible training institutions.  The budget estimates that roughly 130,000 Canadians will be able to benefit from this grant. That being said, there are also numerous other workforce development grants available which offer businesses added incentive to hire interns and students.

The Canadian government provides a variety of funding to provide financial support for companies to undertake innovation projects. The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit is the most popular funding source for R&D projects, but there also exist various grants and loan programs such as IRAP, AgriInnovation Program, Innovation Demonstration Fund, and the Southern Ontario Fund for Investment in Innovation (SOFII), to name a few. The Canadian government ranks 8^th in terms of R&D spending for business; yet, Canadian business spending on R&D has dropped to 0.89% of GDP in 2011, from 1.29% of GDP in 2001. US businesses spend twice as much on R&D, and Finnish businesses three times as much on R&D compared to Canadian businesses. The onus is on Canadian businesses to ensure that they receive full value from generous  government funding initiatives.