Small business made some gains through the just-released federal budget, but the government hasn’t gone far enough to support the needs of small companies, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
Laura Jones, the CFIB’s senior vice-president of research, economics and Western Canada, commended the federal government for renewing the employment insurance (EI) hiring credit and to limit future EI hikes.
“EI is really important for small business because it’s a payroll tax, so anyone who has employees is affected it by it,” she said.
She also commended the federal government for reaffirming a commitment to reducing red tape, and for making moves towards public-sector pension reform.
However, Jones criticised what she called “the fantasy of spending cuts.”
“There was a lot of talk leading up to the budget and it would have been entirely appropriate to at minimum freeze spending and look for some areas to cut,” she said. “And spending actually went up by $3 billion.”
She also critiqued the government’s plan to gradually raise the age of eligibility for Old Age Security from 65 to 67.
“Until all public-sector retirees start retiring at 65 or older, it’s a little bit rich to ask those in the private sector to do that,” she said.
