We understand that there is much more to running your business than just working from 9 to 5. In addition to providing quality customer service and products for your community, you are expected to be your own HR department, bookkeeper and much more.
Small business owners are seeing red!
Small business owners are expected to complete mountains of paperwork and be in compliance with a plethora of rules:
GST, PST, payroll taxes
Records of employment
Statistics Canada surveys
Business registration
Workers’ compensation
Employment standards
Consumer protection
Sector-specific rules
…And, this list goes on.
The sheer number of different regulations and obligations that you must be aware of is daunting. To add insult to injury, government “customer service” aimed at helping business owners with compliance is often far weaker and less accountable than it should be. Bureaucratic language, long turn-around times for approvals and getting different answers to the same questions about how to comply with regulations are common small business difficulties that you deal with every day. Is it any wonder that many small business owners equate regulatory compliance to death by a thousand paper cuts?
Let us be your megaphone in telling government that you’ve had enough! We’d love to hear about your frustrations in dealing with government regulation, e-mail us your stories at redtape@cfib.ca
Small business story:
I have a small family business. A short while ago, I decided to hire three more persons to reduce the workload on key individuals and to increase the size of my operations. (Such a move is not unlike adopting new family members.) Since I have heard horror stories from others, and intent on doing everything right, I decided to personally go to Service Canada to get assistance. With a hundred people milling about, looking for jobs with difficulty I managed to speak to an agent. When I requested a checklist of my employer obligations and a guide as to what steps I should follow to hire employees, I was told that the place existed only for employees, not for employers. No official government checklist or guide was available and I was informed that it was my responsibility “to know the regulations found in the legislation”. How do I find out my obligations as well as rights as an employer without reading through volumes of legal mumble jumble? How is it that hundreds of government agents are looking after “employees” but no one is assisting future employers such as myself? I have hired no “stranger” on account of this!!!
Join CFIB today. When you do, your business gains the clout, impact and scale that come with being part of the largest small business organization in Canada. There is strength in numbers, and we make your views count. Don't just hope for a better future for your firm, take direct action to protect your business investment by becoming a member of CFIB.
