Peek under the hood of any healthy economy and you’ll see that business, not government, is the big shiny V8 engine that really makes it run.
When it comes to the economy, there is sometimes a role for government to play. Ultimately, it is the local businesses in our communities that are the real creators of employment and that drive our economy. Statistics show that small and medium-sized ventures account for 98 per cent of the country’s businesses. Our government has supported business owners in Canada by reducing business taxes to stimulate economic growth and job creation.
For example, we have scrapped the federal capital tax, eliminated corporate surtaxes and introduced broad-based tax reductions for job creators. Measures such as these to reduce taxes on business, combined with the Economic Action Plan investments in infrastructure, skilled workers and research have steered the economy through the deepest global recession since the 1930s. We have also struck a Red-Tape Reduction Commission that is working to cut the costs of federal regulatory requirements and the red-tape burden that so often ties up the best efforts of enterprises to get off the ground, especially small businesses. Our government’s support for BizPal – a service designed to simplify the permits and licensing process for businesses – is a good example of our attempts to cut red-tape. BizPal has recently been launched in our riding in Olds, Canmore, Cochrane and Airdrie, to name a few. In recognition of the vital role that small and medium-sized businesses will continue to play in securing Canada’s economic recovery, our government has designated 2011 as the Year of the Entrepreneur.
Our focus on business people will be a guide for our actions as we continue working to set the stage for their success. Despite demands by the opposition parties that we do so, our government will not hike taxes or put roadblocks in front of business that would kill jobs and stall efforts to get our economy motoring again.
It is vital that government efforts focus on ways to position the business owners who are critical drivers of the Canadian economy for success.
