On Tuesday, B.C.’s business community leaders called on the province’s political leaders to ensure that any political party has a “clear and actionable plan that fosters economic growth, increases prosperity, ignites innovation, and upholds our province’s entrepreneurial spirit.”
Bridgitte Anderson with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade said the last five years have been challenging for residents and businesses in British Columbia.
She said Vancouver only scored 14 out of 20 when compared to a group of peer cities.
“The report showed that we’ve been unable to translate our highly-skilled workforce and world-class post-secondary institutions into higher incomes,” Anderson said. “Meaning we have fewer higher-paid jobs and fewer high-performing companies and our productivity is in the bottom half of more than 100 global regions.
“These are concerning numbers.”
Anderson said the business community has come together because a strong economy is needed to solve affordability.
They are willing to work with any political party, she added.
Jairo Yunis, director for B.C. and Western Economic Policy at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said 41 per cent of small business owners in B.C. have not yet decided how they are going to vote in the upcoming election.
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“Who can blame them?” he said.
“Small business owners aren’t just undecided. They’re losing faith. Small business confidence in the provincial economy is now below its historic average according to CFIB’s business barometer.”
Yunis said two out of three small business owners said they would not advise someone to start a business in B.C. at this time.
“The message is simple,” he said. “This election is not just about choosing a government. It is about shaping the future of our economy, restoring confidence and ensuring all businesses have the opportunity to thrive and contribute to a prosperous British Columbia.”
B.C. Finance Minister Katrine Conroy said on Tuesday that the province’s economy is strong.
“We’ve listened to the business community,” she said. “They told us they wanted the EHT (Employer Health Tax) lowered and we did that, so now only 90 per cent of businesses in the province actually pay the EHT, the rest don’t.
“We’ve also seen some significant private sector growth in B.C. and there’s a number of examples I can give you but just in August, we had over 9,800 new private sector jobs in B.C. So private sector is coming to B.C., they are interested in investing in B.C.”
Conroy said B.C. has one of the lowest small business taxes in the country.
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