CFIB to survey federal leaders on election promises

As federal candidates start hitting the campaign trail for the election, a lobby group for small and independent businesses is giving its wish list to party leaders for improvements it wants to see implemented.

Marilyn Braun-Pollon is vice-president for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ Saskatchewan region. She said it’s “important” to support local and smaller businesses in each community.

“You can just look down the street, and see your hardware store, your dry cleaner, your bakery. Those are the people that we’re talking about,” she said.

The idea that independent businesses are “wealthy one-per-centers” looking for a handout is a myth and a misconception, she said.

Among the items the federation wants to see from federal leaders are: A lowered employment insurance rate; a halt to increases to Canada Pension Plan contributions; replacing the federal carbon tax with a province-by-province approach to deal with climate change; easing restrictions for a business owner to sell her/his operation to a family member; exempting spouses from income splitting rules; a plan for a balanced federal budget in the next five years; and reversing rules on passive investment income.

Those are the issues that affect business owners country-wide, Braun said.

Locally in Saskatchewan, she said the federal carbon tax is a key item that has hurt owners here. Another concern is “bringing more fairness into the credit card industry by ending processing fees on taxes,” she said.

And though it’s in the realm of agriculture and international trade, the dispute with China over banned imports of canola and pork meat needs to be solved, because it affects small-scale, non-corporate agriculture producers, Braun-Pollon said.

Saskatchewan’s “trade-based” economy would benefit from a resolution there, she said.

Whichever party forms the next government, she emphasized that the group is non-partisan and is willing to work with all of the parties.

“We criticize bad policy and commend good policy, no matter from which party it comes,” she said. “During the 2015 federal election CFIB was pleased to note that the NDP, Conservative, Liberal and Green parties all committed to reduce the small-business corporate tax rate to nine per cent.”

The lobby group is also submitting surveys to all of the party leaders. The surveys will ask them to commit to the federation’s wish-list priorities.

Braun-Pollon said the CFIB will publish the survey results on Oct. 14, a week before voters head to the polls to cast their ballots.