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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - JANUARY 2012
situation. Staff are now required to
give an ID number.
CIO: Are next year’s goals similar to this
year’s?
LJ: Well we are definitely going to
continue to have a big push to cut
red tape. When we talk to busi-
nesses, the number one thing that
they say is that they would like to
have more time and money freed up
to invest in equipment, instead of
spending time on red tape.
Another initiative that is a first for
us is battling a big headache for
small businesses: workers compen-
sation board issues. Of course safety
is number one, but we want to make
sure that the boards are run
efficiently and economically, keep-
ing premiums reasonable. Another
focus for our lobbying activity is
taxes; of course small businesses
want to be able to see taxes kept at
reasonable levels.
What we’re seeing is municipal
governments are the most out of
touch when it comes to small
business. We try to get out and meet
with Mayors. We are trying to get
across that small businesses are
critical at the municipal level. We
look at data, comparing municipal
property taxes and doing a sort of
“name and shame”—why are some
municipal areas more favourable
than others for small businesses?
I would be remiss if I didn’t
mention another big issue that we’re
working on: our pension campaign.
We’re good at shining a light into
some pretty dark corners. I think
we’re at the point now between the
public and private sectors where we
have some gross unfairness when it
comes to pay structure and
pensions/retirement.
CIO: What is CFIB doing to help small
businesses recruit the right people?
LJ: One of the most important
things we’ve done in the skills area
is encouraged government to make
sure the immigration system is
working properly. There is a big
mismatch between the skills we
need, and the skills that are in
demand. We are lobbying for a
better match in immigration and
getting the right people to do certain
jobs.
Each business situation is
different. But we have business
counsellors that are quite good at
helping you with whatever you need.
We work on issues on an individual
level, but then on a macro level as
well to make sure that what needs
to be changed is changed. It’s not
rocket science to understand some
of the issues, but we’re here to make
sure the information is available to
small businesses. We can’t promise
that we’ll solve every issue, but we
can promise that we will take it
seriously and do everything we can.
We are on your side.
Small businesses provide over
half of the private sector’s
employment in Canada, and they
really are the engines of growth.
They are the lifeblood of our
communities.
EXCLUSIVES - CFIB