Saskatchewan Municipal Elections Platform
Municipal elections took place in Saskatchewan on November 9th. We worked hard to make sure your voice is heard.
Learn more about what policies we pushed to help improve the odds of your business' success.
Our Platform Policies
CFIB created this small business platform for the municipal elections. We asked Mayoral and Council candidates across Saskatchewan to introduce key policies at the municipal level to improve the odds of your business’ success!
We know that COVID-19 has hit most businesses hard across Saskatchewan. For many the road to recovery is still a long one. We've surveyed our members nearly every week during the pandemic to find out what impact COVID-19 is having on businesses. Economic recovery must be a priority for municipal candidates on November 9.
Saskatchewan businesses continue paying more than their fair share of municipal taxes because the province’s largest municipalities levy an unfair property tax burden on businesses like yours. How is this fair? We are calling on municipalities to narrow this gap and to stop your tax burden from growing by not adding new tax powers.
Construction projects disrupt a lot of things: roads, walkways, bridges. We know they also disrupt your business’ operations by minimizing vehicle and foot traffic, and limiting customer exposure. We are calling on candidates to create a detailed construction mitigation strategy to ensure the livelihood of small businesses is not put at jeopardy!
When municipalities fail to rein in spending, small businesses take a hit – and so do local economies. Local governments are spending faster than cities are growing, and you are footing the bill. We are urging municipal governments to limit annual operating spending growth to the rate of inflation plus population growth.
Did you know that red tape all levels of government cost Saskatchewan businesses $340 million in 2017 alone? To help cut municipal red tape, we are advocating to simplify business licenses. This could mean no annual fees and/or less administration! We are also encouraging municipalities to create an online platform where you can submit your red tape concerns.
We know salaries make up the greatest operating expenditure for governments. Not only are public sector wages higher than private sector equivalents, they are also growing fast! The collective bargaining and arbitration process is contributing to this and hurting municipal governments’ finances. We are calling for a public sector wage freeze and a review of these flawed processes.