80% of BC business owners concerned about affordability as province awaits its next government

Even with all the ballots counted, the make-up of BC’s next government has yet to be determined.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says that’s worrisome to many business owners.

“It’s still a lot of uncertainty for small business moving ahead,” says Richard Truscott, CFIB Vice President for BC and Alberta. “That’s because we are going to be entering a phase that appears to be highly political with the parties trying to cobble together some kind of governing arrangement and that is worrying, that is concerning to small business owners.”

With no clear picture of who will govern and which policies will prevail, Truscott says the province’s business owners are holding their breath.

“That is something that the parties need to address. They need to focus on good policy to support small business, avoid the politics and avoid the bad policies and really focus on ways to support and help and respect small businesses right across our province.”

Truscott says some of the policies included in this year’s campaign platforms would not be good for business owners.

Lots of issues were discussed during this year’s election campaign and it’s still anybody’s guess which campaign promises will ever become a reality. Truscott believes one issue in particular will need the government’s attention

“Like other British Columbians, business owners right across the province are very concerned about affordability issues and rising costs. According to recent surveys that we’ve done, almost 80% to business owners say that their business has become less affordable in the last couple of years.”

Truscott says more than 80% of business owners expect the affordability issue to get worse. He says politicians need to recognize these concerns and ensure their policies will address them.

“Business owners are feeling pretty good about the future, pretty good about the economy but are concerned about the political shenanigans and some of the political issues that need to be resolved so we can move forward and really focus on the issues that matter most to British Columbia: jobs, the economy and making sure that they can provide for their families.”