Trent Hills, Ontario — The Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce is seeking support to re-evaluate the Small Business category identified by the Federal Government. “We have long recognized that the current definition of Small Business as 100 employees or less is too broad,” said Jeff Hamilton, Chair of the THCC. “It is businesses in the 1 – 19 employee range that are vital to small towns and villages across rural Canada, and they create that small-town community atmosphere within large urban centres.”
Businesses with 19 employees or less account for 86.2% of employer businesses and according to the Key Small Business Statistics Report, June 2016, “…the contribution to net employment change between 2005 and 2015 (1.2 million jobs) was 87.7% attributable to small business.”
“We have heard from our members that navigating government websites, regulations and legislation is difficult without the human resources department that larger companies often have,” said Mr. Hamilton. “The current programming available for small business is very limited if you not an exporter, in the technology sector or conduct research and development. Creating a new focus and priority for this business category is key to making changes.”
“This is a tremendous undertaking and we are working with the area Chambers of Commerce to achieve our goal,” said Mr. Hamilton. “Our next step is for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to adopt our policy as a resolution for advocacy.”
“At the end of this month I will be attending the CCC Annual General Meeting and Conference in New Brunswick to speak on behalf of this policy resolution,” said Nancy Allanson, Executive Director of the THCC. “Garnering support for this resolution from area Chambers has been key in getting our policy resolution to this stage of the process.”
The Northumberland Central, Port Hope and District, Brighton/Cramahe and Greater Peterborough Chambers of Commerce have co-sponsored this policy resolution. Chambers across Canada submit policy resolutions to be considered for advocacy at the federal level.
“Our Chamber received an award to cover the entire cost to attend the AGM and Conference thanks to the generosity of conference sponsors,” added Mr. Hamilton. “Speaking up for small business is a priority for us and we plan to take full advantage of this opportunity.”
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Contact:
Nancy Allanson, Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce
705-653-1551