Chamber Forum - What Policies Will Your Party Implement To Help Small/Medium Sized Businesses?

On Tuesday evening the Moose Jaw and District Chamber of Commerce held an all candidates forum for all six candidates vying to be the next MP in the Moose Jaw - Lake Centre - Lanigan riding.

To help voters make up their minds we are running the questions and the answers from the candidates to the questions put forward to them in that forum in no particular order.

The fourth question we feature deals with small businesses.

QUESTION - What policies would your Party implement to ensure the continued vitality of Canada’s small and medium sized enterprises?

Chey Craik, People’s Party of Canada candidate, said his Party would end corporate welfare and use the Constitution to push through infrastructure projects of national interest. In other areas the Party would get out of international organizations to put more power back into the hands of ordinary Canadians.

“We would immediately stop all corporate welfare. Sending billions of dollars to GM, Bombardier, Loblaws, CBC through government has crushed our small and medium businesses,” Craik said.

“I am a business owner and if I mismanage my business then I fail the government is not baling me out. We would push through building of Canadian pipelines under section 9210 of the Canadian constitution. In the interest of national infrastructure projects this can be done through BC and Quebec for the good of all Canadians,” he said.

“By getting out of the UN the World Health Organization and other non-government organizations we will restore Canadian’s sovereignty and put the power back into the hands of Canadians.”

Katelyn Zimmer, Liberal Party of Canada candidate, said the key thing to getting small businesses back on track was getting people back working.

Zimmer said the $10 per day childcare program would help to return 50 percent of the population - women - back to work. Another initiative which would help are planned healthcare initiatives.

“One of things that will be important is getting people to work and that includes women who have the potential to make up 50 percent of the workforce,” Zimmer said, adding “the Liberal Party is proposing a $10 per day childcare program and it is going to expand the number of facilities with spots. And this will benefit people like me who are struggling in smaller communities to find placements for their kids to return to the workforce.”

“The second thing that is going to be for these small businesses to keep at work when they are back so there are healthcare initiatives to increase the doctors and nurses by 7,500 positions as well as treating mental health as health are two initiative of the Liberal government that will benefit small businesses directly,” she said.

Talon Regent, New Democratic Party candidate , said small businesses just had to look at the record of the NDP during the pandemic to know they offered and fought for a better deal for small and medium businesses in the area of wage subsidies.

“Who has the backs of small and medium sized businesses? When we ask that question we can point to evidence during the COVID pandemic that you know that New Democrats are in it for you. New Democrats are in it for small and medium businesses,” Regent said.

“Justin Trudeau and Erin O’Toole they were suggesting that businesses get a 10 to 15 percent wage subsidy for their workers in the pandemic and the NDP said hold on a second you want to give a 10 or 15 percent wage subsidy but you want to give tens of billions of dollars to the banks? You want to give a major bailout to the likes of Loblaws? We need to help small businesses,” he said, adding “and it was the New Democratic Party that ensured we had a wage subsidy of 75 percent which helped to save so many small businesses in Moose Jaw. In our riding. And from coast to coast.”

“So you know when it comes to push comes to shove it doesn’t really matter what the Conservatives and Liberals say because they won’t do what it takes to protect small businesses. The NDP we fought for you and we made sure to get it done.”

“Moving forward one of the major other things we need to do is to ensure ultra wealthy corporations are paying their fair share of the taxes,” Regent said.

“In all of these billion dollar companies are sending their money off shore to tax havens. That means every other business has to shoulder the burden as does every other working families. Everyday Canadians have to pick up that slack when Billionaires are allowed to offshore their funds. So we need to ensure they are paying their fair share which will ensure that small and medium sized businesses have an equal opportunity to succeed.”

Fraser Tolmie, Conservative Party candidate, said the Conservatives have always been the friend of smaall and medium sized businesses and would continue to do so.

“This question is about what we will do not about what we won’t do,” Tolmie said, adding “small businesses don’t only provide jobs and services in their community but they also enhance and enrichen the culture of that community. That’s why the Conservative Party introduce the Canada Jobs Surge Plan to get Canadians back to work and support small businesses to make new hires.”

“A Conservative government will pay at least 25 percent of the salary of new hires for six months after the CWES expires helping to support small businesses and help them expand,” he said.

“The Conservative Party has always been the Party of Free Enterprise and has always supported small business. This election is no different. We will always fight for small business and opportunities for small businesses.”

Craig Townsend, Maverick Party candidate, said government interference and regulation hurts small and medium sized businesses and the Maverick Party would advocate against such overreach and get out the way of businesses.

“As a small business owner I know regulations disproportionally hinder small and medium businesses often who cannot afford the costs of new regulations and simply pick up and move to a more appealing jurisdiction,” Townsend said.

“The Maverick Party advocates for less government overreach and less regulation. We would like to see the Federal government get out of way of industry,” he said.