Small businesses in Saskatchewan and across the country are suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Results from a survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) suggest a full 60 per cent of small companies, or 55 per cent in Saskatchewan, have dealt with a significant drop in sales. Almost 11,000 small business owners participated in the survey.
The CFIB also found that more than one in three reported a reduction greater than 75 per cent.
Marilyn Braun-Pollon, vice president of Western Canada and Agri-Business with CFIB, said their research suggests COVID-19 is quickly making the situation a disaster for business owners.
“When you look at it, more than half of the small firms we’ve surveyed have begun laying off staff with a quarter of them reporting they’ve been forced to already layoff their entire workforce,” shared Braun-Pollon.
“At this rate, the only way to prevent massive additional unemployment is for the government to introduce a much larger wage subsidy program.”
What the CFIB is proposing is a COVID-19 job retention program to help small businesses out. They propose the program would cover at least 75 per cent of wages for all employers that are able to hold on to staff with a cap of $5,000 per worker per month. CFIB would propose the program for both self-employed and small business owners.
Braun-Pollon said she appreciates the federal government worked quickly to respond to the outbreak with their business plan, but she feels there are other problems that need to be addressed.
“I think the most critical anxiety on the part of business owners is what to do with staff they are no longer able to pay,” she explained. “When you look at it, we are recommending that they look at Western European governments that are offering business wage subsidies of up to 75 per cent.”
Another concern Braun-Pollon discussed is the upcoming carbon tax hike on April 1.
“We need the federal government to postpone the carbon tax hike which is supposed to happen next week. It would be devastating for businesses and residents alike to be digesting that cost increase.”
Among other requests from the federation are immediate access to EI Work-Sharing for all employers and providing tax relief by deferring sales taxes, forgiving the payment of income, sales and payroll taxes for the next three months and delaying all filing deadlines.
