Our Speaker, Amber Ruddy Tim Heaton and Paul Chave Thank Our Speaker | | Michael Pierson introduced our speaker Amber Ruddy, Director of Provincial Affairs with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). Her presentation, The Alberta Advantage Is Dead - How to Bring It Back, provided a sobering look at the conditions Alberta businesses are currently facing. Unsurprisingly, small business confidence is currently lower than at any point in recent memory, as can be seen in the results of a recent CFIB survey. - 66 per cent of respondents indicated that Alberta's advantage as a business friendly jurisdiction has disappeared, while an additional 25 per cent said the "Alberta Advantage" is eroding.
- 92 per cent believe the provincial government is not committed to improving the Alberta business climate.
- 91 per cent want the Alberta government to balance provincial budget by 2024 through the spending reductions (wage freezes and staff attrition) and refraining from spending on new initiatives.
- 94 per cent want employment laws to be more flexible to better support small businesses.
- 87 per cent strongly agree or somewhat agree the government should repeal the carbon tax.
- 89 per cent want to see the minimum wage frozen at $13.60 to preserve jobs.
- Additionally, 55 per cent of respondents indicated they have already reduced or eliminated plans to hire additional workers, while 52 per cent are eliminating plans to hire young workers.
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A strong majority of respondents agreed with the statement that the small business corporate tax rate should be reduced from 2 to zero per cent to offset increasing carbon taxes. The survey responses also show the Alberta government's new tax credits and grant programs for small businesses, such as Alberta Export Support Fund and the Alberta Investor Tax Credit, are unknown to Alberta small businesses, and are difficult to access. The CFIB hosts an annual Red Tape Awareness Week to draw attention to the difficulties faced by small businesses when dealing with government. It has developed the following recommendations that would enhance the competitiveness of Alberta small businesses. - Repeal the carbon tax
- Freeze the minimum wage and introduce a training wage policy for new hires
- Require WCB surpluses to be rebated to businesses
- Balance the budget by 2022 at the latest
- Measure and publicly report the regulatory burden and set clear reduction targets.
Paul Chave thanked our speaker for her informative presentation. |
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