REGINA – Small Business Week is underway from Oct. 19 to 25, and that means a renewed focus on the issues facing those business owners across Saskatchewan and Canada.
Advocating for those issues is the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, representing small and medium-sized businesses at the government table with 100,000 members across Canada and roughly 4,100 members in Saskatchewan.
According to Tyler Slobogian, CFIB’s Senior Policy Analyst for the Prairies and Northern Canada, Small Business Week is an important one for the businesses they represent.
“Small Business Week is obviously critical for the small and medium-sized businesses that operate in Saskatchewan, but across the country as well,” Slobogian said.
“A large majority of your dollars spent in a small business stays in the local community. So that's obviously very important and really re-emphasizes the importance of shopping local as well, at a time where many small businesses are struggling.”
Slobogian notes small business owners have been “proven to be resilient, but they're currently under a lot of pressure. So Small Business Week means more to them than you think.”
Slobogian spoke of some of those pressures expressed in the feedback from small and medium-sized businesses. He said, according to their September business barometer, labour shortages and weak demand are the top factors limiting sales and growth right now.
“I think three-quarters of firms say that insurance costs and tax and regulatory costs are kind of their biggest financial constraints right now.”
He also pointed to “all the uncertainty around the tariffs, the trade discussions, and then also Canada Post disruptions have been severely hurting rural and e-commerce businesses, which has led to lost sales and reliability issues over the past month. So I think business owners are doing everything they can right now to keep the doors open. But between rising costs, persistent labour shortages, and the slower demand we're seeing, it's getting harder for them to plan and kind of grow moving forward.”
Cost pressures remain a particular sore point, with Slobogian saying they “remain considerably high.”
He said that tends to group everything into one when talking about tariffs and trade barriers and how they're affecting small businesses and labour shortages.”
Cost relief required
Ultimately, he said, small businesses are in dire need right now of some cost relief from the provincial government.
He spoke of what small business is looking for in the upcoming Saskatchewan legislative session, which begins Oct 22, right in the middle of Small Business Week. Much of what he calls for are familiar issues in Saskatchewan.
“Specifically, I think we're looking for, as we head into this next session, the government to look at the PST in particular,” said Slobogian.
“Many of our members have told us that commercial property insurance has been increasing dramatically lately for them. So our recommendation is to remove the PST on commercial property insurance as well as the PST on capital purchases.
"So machinery and equipment for these small businesses, that could be anything from a cash register to pens and pencils for their employees. So I think Saskatchewan is one of three provinces who still charges the PST on capital inputs for small businesses. So I think that would be an important measure to encourage reinvestment for these small businesses, but also improve the cash flow.”
He regards cost relief as the number one priority, urging the government to remove the PST on commercial property insurance, restaurant meals and capital purchases. He also wants to see more tax competitiveness from the province.
“I think, you know, small business tax competitiveness would also help small businesses. You know, we recommend kind of increasing the small business tax threshold to $700,000 and moving toward a 0 per cent rate similar to that of the neighbouring province, Manitoba. You know, obviously that would help in the times that we're in right now to help small businesses manage the cost pressures that the tariffs and inflation are causing them.”
Addressing labour shortages is another issue they want addressed in Saskatchewan.
“It remains one of the top obstacles for growth. So we're… also encouraging Saskatchewan to support stronger interprovincial credential recognition as well to improve labor mobility and really reduce those trade barriers as well across Canada.”
Finally, Slobogian said, they want to see the tariffs addressed.
“I think many of the small businesses in Saskatchewan say that they won't last more than six months if these costs persist as it relates to tariffs. So, you know, we're really hoping that Saskatchewan can come out, which they have, and really voice their efforts to the federal government and how it's affecting Saskatchewan small businesses. But, I mean, ultimately, you know, we need to get a stronger voice in Saskatchewan as it comes to these tariffs for the federal government as well.”
Slobogian said thay between “that and the Canada post strike… it's been difficult for small businesses lately,” and that it will continue to be “unless the provincial government comes through with some tax cuts or some important measures for them this next session.”
Ultimately, he said, “We need to keep Saskatchewan competitive by cutting costs, removing barriers, and really letting entrepreneurs do what they do best, and that's create jobs and grow communities. I think many of them have felt bogged down by the excessive red tape, you know, interprovincial barriers that exist within Saskatchewan. And I think the Saskatchewan government has an important role to play in making sure that these small businesses feel like they're being heard going forward.
"And I think that some long-term tax relief would go a long way in times of toughness for Saskatchewan business owners right now.”
Would like to see federal tax relief
CFIB is also calling for tax relief at the federal level as well. Among them is to reduce the small business tax to zero per cent, as well as long term tax changes.
“I think that would go a long way in adding some flexibility for these small business owners who are currently dealing with strikes, high costs, labour shortages. It would give them that flexibility.”
With labour shortages an issue, Slobogian has some thoughts on immigration and the temporary foreign worker program, with some politicians having spoken about the need for potential major changes.
“We're obviously looking for the federal government to also increase the temporary foreign worker allocation that Saskatchewan does get,” Slobogian said. “I know Manitoba just got an increase recently, and that would be great for our members as we're hearing that they're struggling finding people ultimately as we kind of go forward here. So, yeah, I mean, the temporary foreign worker program has been beneficial for our members.
I do think that there are some gaps that the federal government can change and would make even better for our members. But I think ultimately our members just want to see some movement. And, you know, I think the fact that they're having such difficulty finding these workers, it means that there needs to be change at some level as well.”
Canada Post strike a big concern for small business
One major issue that CFIB has been voicing concern about has been the impact of the ongoing Canada Post strike. He says the strike has been “pretty devastating for many Saskatchewan small businesses.”
“For many, it's putting their livelihoods at risk, to be honest with you. You know, they're kind of Canada Post small businesses or Canada Post kind of last profitable customers, it seems.
So, you know, these repeated disruptions have really put them to the brink. And every day that this continues, you know, more businesses are forced to make these tough choices.”
Slobogian said what they are hearing has basically been “frustration and exhaustion.”
“Nearly two-thirds of small businesses nationwide and numbers similar in Saskatchewan say they could permanently stop using Canada Post if the strike continues. And, you know, I think many are worried about reliability, delayed payments specifically for their employees as well, and also missed shipments. And many have not been able to explore other costly alternatives because they can't afford to do so. So I think many are feeling stuck in the cycle of uncertainty. And they're unable to plan ahead because they don't trust that their meal will get delivered on time or at all right now. So it's impacting them at many levels, and many are very frustrated.”
He said there are a large number of small businesses who have changed to different courier services at this point, and many will look to do so if this were to continue.
Ultimately, he said, this is “leading to increased costs that will be passed down to consumers. So when these small business owners do end up switching over courier services, they aren't able to eat these increased costs, and then they will pass that down to consumers. So that also affects, you know, consumers' purchasing decisions, and it's a trickle-down effect when these small businesses do change delivery services that ultimately are more expensive. So, yeah, it's pushing their customer base away is kind of what I'm getting at as well.”CFIB has also voiced concern about the impact of other labour disruptions such as the Alberta teacher strike, and in British Columbia with the BCGEU strike there.
“It honestly creates such a level of uncertainty from daily operations,” Slobogian said. “Many have told us that they're not sure how long they can endure not only this kind of a post-strike, but just the worriness of when the next strike will happen, the next disruption will happen. I think right now it's harder to start a small business than it's ever been, and the sentiment has been changing lately.
I think productivity and growth has been stagnant across Canada as a whole, and it doesn't help that small business owners are feeling so uneasy about how the economy is moving forward. I think that there needs to be some very strong reforms at the federal level, not only for Canada Post, but just in terms of how we're dealing with these labor disruptions going forward. Because, like I've said, many small business owners are rethinking the next six to 12 months and then what's going to happen there.
A lot of them won't be able to survive if this keeps going the way it's going.”
CFIB’s message to the public: shop local
As for CFIB’s message to the public during Small Business Week, Slobogian said ultimately their message is pretty simple.
“In order to keep Saskatchewan competitive, cutting costs, removing these barriers, and really letting small business owners have some breathing room as this session goes forward will be key for the legislature as we kind of resume sitting here. That also starts at the consumer level and encouraging people to shop local,” Slobogian said.
“During Small Business Week, I'd encourage everybody to shop local where they can. Every dollar spent at a small business is about 60 cents a day in the local economy.”
