JENNY LEE
Prime minister Stephen Harper has declared 2011 the Year of the Entrepreneur and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business is optimistic that concrete action will follow.
“Some will dismiss [the declaration] as pretty words because talk is cheap, but acknowledging the important role entrepreneurship plays is an important first step to taking concrete action and I think this could prove an important catalyst if all levels of government get on board with this and start tackling some of longstanding obstacles faced by entrepreneurs,” Laura Jones, CFIB vice-president for Western Canada said in an interview. “We could look back on this as a turning point for entrepreneurs in Canada.”
Jones said the federal government is off to “a roaring start” having announced a red tape reduction commission two weeks ago. The commission has already made stops in Kamloops, Vancouver, Calgary and is on its way to Saskatoon and Toronto.
Jones said she is “quite hopeful” that the commission is going to tackle issues such as poor service from the Canada Revenue Agency, overlapping environmental regulations and “silly” liquor rules preventing consumers from buying a bottle of wine in BC and bringing it to Toronto - an act dating back to the 20s.
The prime minister said in a news release that entrepreneurs are “the backbone of our economy, creating jobs and driving economic growth in communities large and small across our country” and that he was declaring the Year of the Entrepreneur “as part of our Government’s efforts to raise public awareness of the importance of entrepreneurs to Canada’s economy and pay tribute to their drive and dedication.
“Our Government has listened carefully in the last five years to what entrepreneurs told us they need to succeed. We have listened and have taken decisive action to address their needs and concerns, including reducing taxes and red tape, improving access to business financing, making substantial investments in training, research, and development and opening up new markets.”
Jones said she expects to see a lot of activity this year related to removing unnecessary regulatory constraints. While tax relief is important, in this tough economic climate, it would be entirely appropriate to make 2011 a year of controlling spending, she said. She’d particularly like to see municipalities embracing a vision that supports entrepreneurship.
“We need to see the action to back it up, but it starts with a vision,” Jones said of the prime minister’s announcement. “I, for one, am cheerleading this because I think it’s about time we had the year of the entrepreneur. I understand it’s only the fourth time in history that a prime minister has declared a year of anything.”
Small Business BC CEO George Hunter said small business is the backbone of the B.C. economy and his organization agrees with the sentiments expressed in the prime minister’s announcement.