Business Barometer, January 2012

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The following comments were taken directly from the survey:

• The biggest problem in our business is supply and demand . Also trucking is becoming a bigger problem do to fuel cost ,permit office demands that create bigger cost to our clients , labour cost are another big problem also , so as an ag dealer we are in the strongest industry of canada but it's also one of the most competitive industries.
• The business outlook does not look great realistically. If we were to hold our own or increase in revenue o margin in the coming year, that would be great.
• Operating costs - gas, telephone, internet, hydro, heating oil etc. are rising at a much higher rate than my profit. When you combine that with client's inability to pay for services (because they have the same cost restraints) my business is now in jeopardy.
• It seems to me that much of Canada has been in denial of our real domestic economic situation, primarily masked by the demand for commodities. If this demand levels off in the future, it is going to become painfully apparent just how weak our underlying economy really is. It surprises me that we collectively don't seem to notice that boulder rolling down the hill towards us!
• The major issue I have is going to be the new WSIB that is going to be incurred for executives of a company - I shouldn't have to pay WSIB - when I sit at a computer all day and almost never see our job sites and if I do I will certainly take all the appropriate precautions.
• Canada Post is horrible for losing mail and something needs to change as it causes issues when invoices are not received and suppliers have not received payment due to lost mail then I have to re-write payments and resend not to mention the cost to cancel cheques
• We have hired unskilled where necessary to train, but it reduces profitability
• Things are looking positive< sales are up 60% all is good
• We are insurance brokers. Our growth is partially dependent on growth objectives of the markets with whom we do business. Currently, the commercial insurance market is soft which makes growth less dependent on market driven forces and more dependent on our own marketing initiatives.
• There is lots of work .. yes you must look for it .. but the employees must "want" to work There is no shortage of labour or skills .. there is a shortage of people who want to work ..
• There has never been a worse time for small business. Mr. McGuinty is determined to rid himself of us and he is succeeding. I don't expect us to be here next year at this time and we have been in business since 1948. The government, big oil companies, banks and insurance companies are morally bankrupt.
• Energy cost and taxation is main problem. Cost to live in NB is high in comparision
• Our business is seasonal, so the number of employees currently is 90 but in May that number will swell to 190-200 in 2012.
• We have a shortage of good employees. Nobody is looking for a long term career. We also need automotive trades people for mechanical and especially collision repair. We have been looking for a while and have now started looking abroad for applicants. Very trying process.
• Small business is being constantly pressured by rising costs so that big business can stay in business with their highly paid employees. Its time for small business to get a break. What kind of company gives a million dollar bonus to someone who drags a business down. In our business if you can't pull your weight you are gone as should be these so called smart people! But I guess they are smart if they can get away with it.
• Our Provincial Government is totally not in touch with reality and they are arrogant and have been in power too long with a majority. We need a change!
• As the pool of available talent shrinks we are left with decisions regarding disappointing customers by reducing quality of output or of declining the work outright. We have taken a "train new graduates approach" but struggle as they all hope to make oil & gas money even though we aren't in that industry. Those challenges are unlikley to change over the next few years.
• A non-responsive economy, heavy government regulations which are costly to comply with, lack of sufficient communications (high speed and cell towers) in our rural area are among the many factors which are inhibiting our growth outlook for this coming year.
• Don't really expect a long of change for 2012
• The elimination of the HST is very bad for our business. Due to re-introduction of the PST in BC, we will stop making any capital investment in this province from this point onward. We will shift our operations to Alberta. We have also planned to release one or two of our employees as a result of this situation. We are in tourism and the fact that we will have to pay 8 % hotel room tax in BC again - on top of all the taxes and destination marketing fees already paid - will increase our prices so much that it will weaken the demand, business WILL be down in the mid-term for sure. It doesn't help that our main markets are in Europe. And it certainly doesn't help that our government provides foreign tour operators with a 100 % GST/HST rebate on accommodations, while we are only allowed to rebate 50 % of the tax, thus forcing foreign tour operators to buy direct and eliminating their Canadian suppliers (us). I must say, one of those typical smart moves by our beloved government! Frustrating!
• This survey may be slightly premature - notices and impact of almost every government service/tax are going up have been received but not been realized yet.
• Definite slow down over last 8 months. Fewer small businesses and much tighter budgets for the ones that are out there.
• Customers are only buying what they need and anything extra
• IMPROVED SALES GOING INTO 2012
• We are a very busy seasonal fishing resort.
• Municipal taxes are out of control.
• My company supports the transportation and academic sectors primarily and business is doing very well in both sectors.
• Given the general market and employment levels holding par is good in our area as the product we provide is local and specific to each client. As a partnership for 32 yrs the new ruling for WSIB on mandatory coverage beyond one owner is not justified nor reasonable. It benefits the sole owner working directly to homeowners as this cost is not required of them. It adds to the frustration of unequal taxation and legislation.
• Where's the money ?
• My production is fruit where weather is number 1 issue. Second is government tax and paper burden. Thirdly foreign competition and value of our dollar. Presently the off-shore labour is our only saviour.
• I am reasonably optimistic for this next year. Growth in 2011 fell a little short of what I would have liked however we did experience an 8% increase in sales
• Expectations are good in the beef cattle industry, with more markets opening up after BSE and North American inventories down.
• I feel that the biggest hinderence to Canadian business growth is the frustration that employers and employees both feel with the continually increasing fees, taxes and misc charges that continue to come from all levels of government, government agencies and crown corporations. It feels like the harder one tries to get ahead, the more these people try to shift your gain into their own coffers. Most business people, I'm sure, would like to feel that the money that is taken from them and their business was appreciated and wisely spent. The other frustration is the wages paid to and demanded by all levels of government workers, management and staff alike, in relation to what a normal small business can afford to pay its employees if it wishes to remain competitive in the market. Not fair and certainly not motivating.
• Overhead continues to increase however our fee structure has remained the same for 3 plus years now in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. If this trend continues we will have to consider other options.
• We see no improvement in the non-housing construction market in Canada, the U.S. or Europe over the next 2 - 3 years. Other markets may grow somewhat
• My business is in a town bordering Michigan, and the strength of the CDn $ is allowing my Cdn customers better perceived value in the U.S. Cross border shopping is an issue for me, and lax border inspection. Also, costs of goods and shipping costs are up. At the same time I am squeezed to keep my prices the same to remain competitive resulting in lower margins. I would love to hire or increase the hours of my part-time staff, but with lower margins, and perhaps reduced traffic, I'll be hard pressed to keep things the same.
• When need government to focus on small business
• I see slower customer demand in the coming year and higher cost of sales.
• We have a concern over the impact of Calgary's proposed 'consolidation' of commercial property and business taxes - particularly with a renter/tenant's right of appeal
• Zero assistance from any government on any level, advertising costs are far too high
• My business is counter-cyclical. It tends to do better in a down economy.
• I own a flooring store and the WSIB is the biggest head ache for our store in dealing with our sub contractors....please help us eliminate the WSIB if they already have disability insurance. Help !!
• Demand is still below expectations and customers are reluctant to commit in advance and/or committing to less service. I still see ourselves in a recessionary climate.
• We are a niche residential construction company that limits explansion do to concerns of quality control issues.
• If things keep going the way they are,...we will be laying off people for the first time ever.
• We are in a serious cash flow crunch due to domestic market manipulations and uncertainty. Domestic markets are justifiably hesitant and foreign markets take resources, time that is not easy to overcome with tight bank policy and limited funding. We continue to focus on foreign opportunities.
• Inability to borrow commercially at reasonable rates. Poor overall economy.
• We are a seasonal business. Employment varies considerably . Property taxes and minimum wage increases 44%and since 2004 have been a killer of jobs Not profit sensitive. Property taxes bad tax. Google's of the world do not pay fair share. Modern high tech internet businesses have very little property, but can take in huge income from those that must have.
• The HST is killing me! Clients are having a hard time justifying to themselves to pay 12% on my services and they have been backing out of projects! Also, taxes in general. It seems that most of my time and effort is to satisfy the various levels of government and their insatiable appetite.
• Holding the fort with attention required
• I am finding for small business there are some serious issues ahead, these are 1) the endless requirements for safety issues that big companies per employee can handle so much more easily 2) the extended time ...up to 75 days to get paid for work completed 3) the heavy cost of insurance. We are proceeding towards a work enviroment that will shortly make it impossible for small business to start up in anyway. I do not think we realize that big companies are supporting process, saftey and process that the small companies just cannot afford. The latest is the need for everyone in Newfoundland to do a two day course by only 6 approved ($$$$) conpanies to send people on a 2 day course to work above 3 meters that is good for only 3 years. How many 50 yr olds have worked for years and years with no injury. What is this doing...it is sending more and more work over seas where we do not have to tolerate ourselves...think about that.
• I am unsure of the business climate in the next 6 mos but speaking with some fellow business owners their indications are that there may be some further slowing until the HST has been dealt with.
• We are in the construction sector and we are finding that there are a lot of companies cheating on payroll by making the employee a subcontarctor so that they eliminate payroll deductions. This is causing us to lose business Also there is a lot I think 50% of jobs under the table for cash. cheating is rampant in this sector. There are employers who will go back to their original country, pay for some guys airfare these guys will come in a tourists and then work for this employer for cash for 2-3 weeks and then go back. I do not have a solution but I am not sure more goverment regulations is the answer.
• I was hoping to start downsizing my accounting practice slowly, but it is still growing slowly.
• Since we are a service industry providing counselling and trauma services organizations often do not see the value in being proactive about these services. Or they cut back on them when they are needed the most, for example during recessions or down turns.
• I think that if sales could be consistent I could make due. rising costs of everything will be tight, but I likely could break even and pay myself a salary
• Our business is maxed out for our facility, but no intentions to expand. Busy is good.
• I know it's January and to expect a lull, but ours started in November when we should have been really busy. I worry about what will be in 3 months.
• Business is very slow, this is much worse than the normal December/January slow down.
• Our biggest concern is Provincial and Federal legislation concerning flavoured tobacco. Although this represents a significantly small portion of the tobacco industry it draws a large amount of attention as irresponsible politicians and unimaginitive journalists throw around headlines such as "Big Tobacco Targets Kids with Flavoured Tobacco". In fact "Big Tobacco" doesn't sell these types of products at all and would enjoy nothing more than to see products of this sort disappear so they can get people back to smoking more highly addictive cigarettes.
• Because of the difficulties with skilled labor that care enough to do good work, Most of the so called skilled laborers don't seem to care when they are doing their work. An example of this is an employee installing a new furnace and not following the installation instructions. We are contemplating having to close our business.
• Our main concern is when our children attend J K full time. We could end up closing down after 27 year. Very sad.
• While we are continuously told that the economy is better. As a manufacturer in the wood industry in Ontario, we totally disagree as do most of our customers whether they be other manufacturers, our wholesale customers, contractors and installers of our products.
• We are expecting 2012 to be better than 2011. Product innovation and new customers are keys to sustained growth and profitability.
• We have very little control over bank charges. - small businessman must use whatever personal financing they can get on their own, there is very little investment capital available at competitive rates hst making consumer want to deal in cash - underground economy main competitor- especially for company that pays its taxes and remittances correctly. - very difficult for the good guys to compete.
• We are entered a typically slower period but hope that sales will be a wee bit better than last year (2011). Had to lay off a full time employee in September 2011 due to slower sales.
• Although the forecasts for the economy are grim, many people are still willing to build new homes and spend money on renovations. Since the start of our business over 20 years ago, we've never had to turn so much work away. This is puzzling, but we're not sure when the economy is going to do a nose dive and we suddenly become cash-strapped. Therefore we take things as they come and work when we can.
• I do not expect a better year for 2012 , our budget and plan is to maintain status quo as close as we can to 2011(not alot of growth),,, Thats means a tight grip on cost lines, The Atlantic Province in general is not out of the woods , Government is cutting back in area;s that effect transportation ,which in return effects alot of privite sectors doing business
• Although we are located in Grande Prairie and our civic fathers believe that our local economy is doing well, our business is custom picture framing & art gallery dealing with the general public, and whose discretionary spending impacts us, we are of the opinion that our customers are still cautious and not patronizing our particular business to the same extent as they were 3-5 years ago.
• Raw materials are commodities and are very volatile!!
• We are in a supply managed agricultural business and non supply managed greenhouse and crop business.We expect a noemal year but high fuel and parts, repair cost are starting to hurt.
• My wife and I farm. We only use seasonal help.
• We anticipate that our oil company customers will have more projects in 2012 than in 2011.
• Quebec has a huge social infra-structure which has put a huge burden on people living in this Province. More and more businesses around me are not growing any more. They are operating only to generate a working income for the private owner in order maintain a lifestyle. It all comes down to socialism, which destroys businesses and in due time will degrade the social infrastrucure of quebec.
• Business is generally good. Major issues for the company are: - recruiting new staff - training new staff - strengthening Cdn dollar. Majority of revenues are in USD or Euro, and majority of costs are in Cdn dollars
• Except for a few customers that are in specialty products, general demand is poor. We have over 500 customers and there seems to be a genaral lack of confidence now and the immediate future conserning the strenght in the economy.
• the economy this year has hurt us tremendously plus the guys that now work from their homes or trucks undercut us by thousands . they dont offer warranties or service down the road just a quick sell and they are gone .Plus the big guys are now taking over like Reliance .Direct Energy , Bif corporations are buying out he small guys and when they can they flood the markets in the small towns and it hurts the honest working man / business trying to make an honest living. There is no such thing anymore as customer loyalty anymore ..Its whomever has the lowest price regardless of quality . There will bemore small businessed close this year .I pray I am not one of them . My father is semi retired and he says try to sell ..but this is a bad time to sell .
• No comments, this is a bad time of the year for comments. This review should be done in LATE March not January.
• I own a water fountain and statue business, and I make and will start making landscaping decor and hopefully fire places and arch ways. I am working on my marketing stategies with limited funding
• Things seem to be going well. The bills are paid and we are relatively busy. We hope to keep this trend going for awhile.
• I am surprised at how quiet it is in the cottage rental business. Two or three years ago, it was an oddity to have no guests on the property, especially on the weekends. Now it is very common to have no one in. November and December were very quiet. January is proving to be the same.
• high cost of rent + poor location = monthly losses. I will have to sell my house soon
• Very busy
• Business outlook is quite good overall. Credit card fees add up. It would be nice to see them reduced.
• Service business operated by a retiree. Probably untypical of the average business and doubtful if it should be included in your results.
• The last 2-3 years have been much worse than I had anticipated. I gave up my leased business space a year ago to save the overhead and am working out of my home and my self-employed assistant's home and have saved money doing that, and it has proved a good solution. However the amount of business has still not been enough to climb out of debt yet or for the foreseeable future. However the past couple months have been encouraging and the cash flow and orders have improved. I am hopeful this will continue.
• I do not look for employees anymore..the amount of time needed to find suitable and train and supervise and then payroll and then all the government induced paperwork has made me decide that it is more trouble than it is worth. My husband and I hoof it faster at our business when it is needed and we have learned to manage everything without the burden of employees.
• Underground economy and depressed demand is causing us to make some difficult decisions
• The number one item holding my company from growth right now is Trades people. The government needs to seriously look at the foreign labor markets and make it easier for companies to bring these people here.
• Biggest problem is dealing with Health Canada, their regulatory framework makes it difficult to bring innovation to Canada.
• Unfair competion from Asia is controlling our market and destroying our jobs.
• We are still in our first year and are currently in our "slow" season and I am amazed at how far I have exceeded our business plan forecast. Next year should show signs of major growth
• This year ahead looks like it could be a slight bit better than last year, the banks seem to think so, as they are raising their "Service Fees" - some to the point of 50%. other than that, a slight raise in business is seen, but depends upon the "Oil Plants and their expansion"
• NOT MUCH CHANGE THIS YEAR
• Strong
• Our industry is slow , hoping for improvement
• Our $ too high for export. carbontax if not changed will kill our greenhouse ind. local demand falters as well. have to be realistic. customers are carefull
• The same as last year.
• I think the economy is in way worse situation than being reported. Owning a restaurant I am amazed how many families have members out of work and it just gets worse by the day.
• Working on a marketing plan to increase sales
• Things have been very strong until now, but our backlog is shrinking, prices are plummeting and the next year looks pretty scary.
• BANK CHARGES AND CREDIT CARD EXPENSE ARE TOO HIGH!
• We are thankful for the blessings that we receive.
• Get rid of the damn HST NOW!
• For the question about input costs, paying workman's comp and EI & CPP on payroll is a huge expense for us. I know several people who work for small companies that won't put employees on payroll because of this. They say the employee is on contract work, but the employee only works for them every day for many years. These employees should be on payroll as we do with our receptionist. I think these costs may be high because a lot of employers are opting out of paying. This is unfair to the employee and also to those of us who are honest and paying it for the employee. This need to be investigated.
• As per usual small businesses are weighed down with the burden of government red tape. As a small business we are not recognized for our contribution to the economy.
• I believe that our economy is still suffering from the 2008 downturn and many clients of ours are lacking confidence as a result. Plus the effect of the flood of negative international news affects our confidence level as well.
• it is really hard to say how the next year will go seeing as the media continues to state that people will tighten up their spending the next few years, so if clients don't spend, we don't stay as busy as we'd like
• Calgary Business taxes are always an unexpected blow. Power rates are crazy. My bill more than doubled.
• Our Ontario government is decidedly business unfriendly. The bureaucracy is bad and getting worse. The average public sector interaction generally has me feeling like a third class citizen.
• Energy continues to be a terrible burden at all levels. Consumer confidence is resulting in less money spent on dining. Alcohol sales are down resulting in overall diminished profits. The single biggest problem is inflation is outrunning menu price increases by about .75% to 1.5% per year. Net profits have dropped by about 6% over the last 6 years. All other cost increases (labour, insurance etc. have been offset by price increases.
• thank you !
• Feds doing the right thing.McGuinty/Duncan being forced to improve. Municipalities still out of control. Need "right to work", secret ballots, limited picketing etc for unions. Public Sector workers/institutions should lose monopoly if they go on strike.i.e.competition/privatisation. We have to shrink public sector-boomers retiring,lower taxes needed.
• Not looking good for this year in the food industry. Lots of competition and just by the customers comments it is looking to be a bad year.
• Our business has been much more dependent on credit in the last 5-7 years than it was when we first started in 1987. Sales are down and, as always, expenses keep going up.
• Canadian regulatory costs are excessive and will eventually kill innovation and development of some new products in Canada. Eg. Our registration cost for a bioinsecticide in Canada $77,000. Same product in the U.S. $1500. I have been advised that these costs may double or triple in the next few years. Also WSIB costs vary significantly between provinces. In Ontario they are excessive.
• Upbeat
• We're experiencing unexpectedly low sales. Since Apr '11, sales & revenues have fallen to 2009 levels. Jan is traditionally a re-start month, with business picking up and continuing well until May, when it dips slightly until resuming again in Jul & Aug. Sept & Oct always prove to be busy. These patterns did not occur in 2011. Business dipped in Apr '11, and did return to expected levels until Dec. Returns for 3rd & 4th quarters resulted in an effective loss. We failed to meet expenses for the period. We have been unable to secure extra financing, or restructure current debt. We have not had any of our financing rolled back, but without cooperation from lenders, or an improvement in sales, we may be forced to make some unpleasant decisions. I am hopeful the situation will improve in the 1st quarter of 2012, but I am not optimistic. The patterns of the past 12 months are eerily similar to those we experienced in 2008.
• The Federal Government increased interest rates far too soon. Consumers need to be "educated" about the serious consequences of consumer debt. Credit Card companies are "double dipping" both from the merchant side as well as the cardholder side. This practice needs to change.
• We're investing in sales staff to improve our revenues but we're in a competitive international industry that is affected by global financial insecurity, political instability, travel issues. We've had 10 years of shocks (911, Afghanistan, SARS, H1N1, Japan Earthquake, Korean economy going bust, Mexican visa changes) and we can't take much more! We need better immigration processes for students coming to study in canada and federal support for our national organization Languages Canada.
• To CFIB on an unrelated matter: Work on modifying the Minimum Wage Laws to recognize student employees and exempt them from Min Wage. Thank you
• In general my type of business (printing) seems rather depressed
• Regulations are our biggest hurdle
• Our company is tied to the manufacturing industry and I do not expect this sector to get better any time soon.
• Lower wages, unemployed people & fear of not having enough money to live are causing the consumer to force retailers to drop prices before they will purchase or not purchase at all. This will and already is creating problems for small business already burdoned with high expenses.
• The increase in EI and CPP contributions are quite a concern to both employees and employer.
• We seem to be at a tipping point. High public wages, government demands and red tape are all but killing us!
• Loss of two major customers in the last quarter of 2011 put us back into the "red" - which we'd only climbed out of a couple of months earlier. We are seeing growth, but the question is whether we will see enough growth to get us back into the black before borrowing costs kill us.
• Keep up the good work
• There is a slow decrease in billing due to companies cutting back services. Some customers lost contract to provincial and local governments. The downwards trend in business is slowly trickling down and has its effect. Recession? Cost of EI , WCB , CPP liability insurances, supplies etc all went up.
• The Hst slow to change/the restrictions from the goverment and bank towards new home owners over the last 2 years. These things have hurt our company
• I am in the jewellery business and we have had to change with the times. I originally used primarily gold but have now needed to change to other metals to keep up with the ever changing business. Also purchased a laser welder in the past year to help with the demand in our repair department. When times get tough or uneasy people will repair things before they will purchase new so in my business I have a win win situation where many others do not. Hope everyone else out there continues to prosper through this yet another tough economic time. These downturns in the economy are supposed to be teaching us a lesson but no one seems to be getting it.
• I am very lucky to be an older sole practitioner without a lot of fixed costs. It must be next to impossible for people just starting out now.
• The only issue that I have and my company has is that I continue to pay taxes to support the retirement plans of others at the expense of my own. I don't believe that any percentage of my income should go towards the retirement plans of those who earn more money and benefits than I do and are on the receiving end of a guaranteed pension payout from tax payers who are not on the receiving end.
• Need less gov't interference in my business daily routine.
• I certainly hope that this does not lead to me being inundated with banking advertisements...
• We depend heavily on tourism. We are not seeing near as many Americans since the world economy crashed in 2008. Our last strong tourism season was 2007. The forced rapid 2 yr wage increase of approx 43% has caused a great deal of financial difficulty & we now have less staff than we need
• Things are looking up for this year. We hit $227,000 last year . Last reached in 1985. Looking to a good year. I must admit we are of to a slow start.
• I am extremely excited about 2012. Better access to affordable credit would make this a tremendous year. More help from the government in the hiring expenses as it relates to initial outlay until that person has been able to increase the sales necessary to compensate their salary.
• The real issue is in the market place is cash flow as it relates to the average collection period of receivables. The majority of my customers hold payment 60 - 90 days which in turn forces me to do the same. The only reason I need a line of credit is to create short term liquidity. The additional interest cost on the line of credit is recovered through increased prices.
• We're just in a downturn and hopefully we'll get out of this mess shortly. We need to get our debt level down so we're not relying on as much borrowed money. I can't see the situation getting much better in the short term.
• We are currently having the best year the company has had since opening in 1955. The economy and competition have forced us to buy smarter, manage better and become more in tune with our market.
• When we applied for the mortgage loan, we had to sign documents to personally guarantee the loan. We were only allowed 75% financing on the building before improvements, so had to come up with a great deal of money personally. Our business was in operation 10 years with no problems.
• Having to compete with the deep pockets of the oil and gas industry for skilled and semiskilled labour is a major strain on our small business. I believe this problem concerns most small business in the northern Alberta area. A journeyman trades person can make more money as a truck driver or labour in the oilfield with the overtime and bonuses. This is something they price in to the price of gas and is not seen. We have to show our labour rate and customer are concerned if they see a labour rate they believe is high.
• Sad, after being in business since 1947 we are going to see our company close within the next 18 months. We are a specialty shop and run into too much competition with general mechandise stores carrying our stock to continue to offer the indepth selection and expert advise and training to our customers, many of whom buy the fast turnover items elsewhere, thinking they may be cheaper, they aren't, or from a more convenient location with longer hours.
• Expect that this year will perform to the levels of 2011
• We are in process of trying to pay down credit.
• Business is very slow at this time.
• I believe that the overall "fear factor" about the economy and that outlooks seem to change every day, has affected my sales. Dealing in used, new, and vintage items should place me in a very good position and with some customers it does but more and more I am hearing that the government in power scares people as there appears to be no communication or accountability of the Conservatives yet someone/somewhere must have voted them in. I am not going to borrow to keep my business afloat and that may not be the best business plan but I will not put my retirement in danger just to keep my doors open. Hopefully I can stay afloat until some positive change happens.
• The largest influence on our company at this time is the price of oil and the federal governments unfair tax on aviation fuel which they no longer spend on "any" airports or services such as navigation/weather/air traffic control and the user fees we now pay to have those services! The second largest influence is government regulations and "more" user fees (specific to aviation).
• Our company will do good but only because we have diversified over the last few years
• What about WSIB? why do they increase rates every year plus extra money from increasing of wages. it is not OK! i pay from 20 years without any accident about $5000 a year. just bring back a justice about it please. angry
• A cautious positive.
• ok
• This has been a very bad past year or 2. I have not hired any staff and therefore work twice as hard and still struggle.
• Banks don't like accounts very much when client is going through marriage separation. They put you in special loans and really put the screws to you!
• Thank you
• Small businesses in this area do not have support of the municipal govt. There are absolutely no incentives to operate a small business in Summerside, PEI. Unless there is a benefit in some form for the city, there is no support. Wages, cost of advertising, rent and propane costs are making it impossible to get ahead