Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

BC Small Business Confidence Weakens as NDP Piles on New Costs


New data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)shows weakening business confidence in British Columbia and rising cost pressures across the board.


“Business confidence in BC is weak, barely above neutral, and moving in the wrong direction,” said Gavin Dew, MLA for Kelowna–Mission and Critic for Jobs, Economic Development, Innovation and AI. “At the exact moment small businesses are struggling, this government continues to kick them while they’re down with higher taxes and more red tape.”


CFIB data shows 74% of small businesses in BC identify tax and regulatory costs as a major challenge, alongside rising pressures from insurance, wages, and energy.


“Tax and regulatory costs are a major burden on small businesses, and this government keeps making red tape and taxes worse,” said Dew. “Insurance is also one of the top pressures, reflecting the real public safety challenges businesses are dealing with every day.”


The report also points to weakening demand, declining business health, and cautious hiring intentions.


“Businesses are being squeezed from every direction, demand is softening, confidence is falling, and costs are rising across the board,” Dew added. “This isn’t a strong economy. It’s one where businesses are hesitant, cautious, and under pressure.”


Dew said the NDP’s expansion of the Provincial Sales Tax to professional services, along with a 7% increase on security services, is making the situation worse.


“These results show just how tone-deaf the PST expansion really is,” said Dew. “The government is increasing taxes on the very services businesses rely on to grow and to stay safe. It adds insult to injury for a small business sector already bearing the burden of a public safety crisis made worse by the NDP’s reckless drug experiments.”


“The NDP is committed to a path that will keep ramping up costs, including energy costs, for families and businesses,” Dew added. “That’s not a recipe for growth. It’s a recipe for fewer jobs, less investment, and a weaker economy.” 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nurses Take Job Action After Years of NDP Neglect

Image Credit:  BC Nurses Union BC nurses have reached a breaking point after years of unsafe conditions, rising violence in the workplace and a government that wouldn’t listen. Now they are on the picket line fighting to be heard. Last week, nurses began job action with a 72-hour strike notice, refusing non-essential overtime and stepping back from non-nursing duties. As of Tuesday, they have escalated to picket lines for the first time in decades. This moment was avoidable. It is the result of years of unanswered concerns from the frontline workers who keep our hospitals running. Nurses have been raising the same concerns for years: unsafe staffing levels, rising violence on the job, and a workload no single person should have to carry. None of it is new, and none of it should have taken a strike vote to get the government's attention. "Nurses are exercising their legal right to job action, but it shouldn’t have had to come to this," said Kiel Giddens, MLA for...
Post a Comment
Read more

British Columbians Still Don’t Know Who’s Paying for NDP’s BC Hydro Deal

The NDP is making billion-dollar promises with BC Hydro, but British Columbians still don’t know who will pay the bill. Last week’s memorandum of understanding isn’t what the federal government and the NDP are making it out to be. It’s an admission that the NDP failed to make the long-term investments needed to keep B.C. powered. Now British Columbians have serious questions about the cost and whether BC Hydro ratepayers will end up paying the price. David L. Williams, MLA for Salmon Arm-Shuswap and Shadow Minister for BC Hydro and Electrical Energy Development , said British Columbians deserve clear answers about the full implications of the Canada–British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement. “British Columbians deserve the full truth,” said Mr. Williams. “This multi-billion-dollar announcement does not answer who pays for cost overruns, who pays for new generation, who carries the risk if industrial customers do not materialize, or whether ratepayers will be forced ...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDP Government Blames Everyone but Themselves

The federal government has announced new measures to support British Columbia's forestry sector, including $65 million in funding for projects across the province. While any support is welcome, it falls far short of the level of assistance other provinces have secured for key industries. Conservative Forests Critic Ward Stamer says the NDP government needs to take responsibility for its mismanagement of B.C.’s forest industry instead of trying to pass on the blame. Despite promising to create more jobs in the forest sector, the NDP government has overseen the loss of thousands of forestry jobs and 21 mill closures which have devastated communities. “If Premier Eby spent more time addressing the regulatory issues impacting the forestry sector than he did complaining about the federal government, we would not be in the position we are now,” said Stamer. “And instead of trying to place the blame for mill closures on Donald Trump, Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar should t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more