The announcement Monday that the federal government would be revising their proposed tax changes impacting small business came as welcome news to the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce.
The Liberal government announced it would reduce the small business tax rate down to nine percent, one of several changes announced this week.
In a statement released Wednesday, the Battlefords Chamber credited the concerns and comments expressed through the national #ProtectGrowth campaign launched by the national Chamber, as well as feedback from members during the consultation process, for the policy reversals.
“Though the job is not complete,” said Battlefords Chamber President Warren Williams in a statement, “this step is as a result of the hard work of businesses and members, who participated by writing letters, signing petitions, and emailing concerns to elected officials.”
Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, also issued a statement pledging cooperation and offering to work with the government going forward.
“It is always more productive when government and business work together. We can only hope the government will listen as we provide advice on those areas where more remains to be done, and that they will propose concrete data to back up their claims. The Canadian Chamber will be working with the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce and other chambers across the country for suggestions on reforms that can improve the competitiveness of Canada’s tax system. Lowering the small business tax rate is one such measure, but there is still much room for improvement,” Mr. Beatty said.
“We must ensure that Canada, and with it the Battlefords, remain attractive places to do business. Although there is a great deal of work to be done, today’s announcement is a positive first step, but we expect more and we will be vigilant on the next steps.”
While the general reaction has been positive, the Battlefords Chamber’s executive director Linda Machniak voiced caution about the Trudeau government’s announcement at their board meeting Tuesday.
“The chamber at all levels, and I think even we, would still have concerns,” Machniak said. She noted the policies had not all been delineated, and in some cases there’s still no legislation out.
President Williams further indicated the Battlefords Chamber would still be offering their support to their members and would continue to work with the Saskatchewan Chamber and Canadian Chamber on the issue.
In other news from the Oct. 17 meeting:
Board members got an update on the re-launched “Chamber Market the Battlefords” app, which has started to some mixed results so far.
The good news is the app seems to be resonating with users, according to Machniak. She had met with the app’s developer Nathan Puffalt the previous week and according to the numbers provided there, there were 1,317 users of the app.
The challenge, it was indicated, was convincing local businesses to come on board. Puffalt had reported to Machniak there was less response than anticipated.
It is expected there will be further discussions between Puffalt and the Chamber on ways to support the app going forward, particularly with the Christmas season coming up.
Chamber members also were updated about some of the upcoming events happening. Thursday evening, Oct. 19, the Battlefords Chamber were set to hold their Small Business Week event at the Gold Eagle Casino’s VIP room.
The scheduled speakers for that event were Steve McLellan, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber, as well as Chris Odishaw, proprietor of Battleford Furniture and former Battleford mayor. The event was seen as an opportunity to attract potential new chamber members to the organization.
Also, the next Chamber on Tap is scheduled for Nov. 23; there is no word yet on who the guest speaker will be for that event.
There was a delegation at the meeting Tuesday. Nicole Fidelak, executive of Concern for Youth, was also on hand at the meeting outlining the priorities of her organization. She encouraged members of the Chamber and the business community to get involved in Concern for Youth and consider serving on their board, and encouraged people to contact them if they wanted information on the organization.
