McGuinty Gov't to Help Small Business Grow & Succeed
Gov't Launches New Agency to Give Voice to Small Business

April 21, 2005

 

TORONTO, April 21 - The McGuinty government is creating a Small Business Agency to help small business save time and money, Economic Development and Trade Minister Joseph Cordiano announced today.

"As a former business owner, I understand the amount of government paperwork small businesses need to wade through," said Cordiano. "Business owners have told me again and again about how time-consuming it is to find information about regulations, and how the concerns of small business are not always heard."

The Ontario government is establishing the Small Business Agency to allow small business owners to focus their energy and resources on the work of running a business.

The agency will help small businesses grow and succeed by:

The agency will also work with small business groups such as the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and other community business organizations to see where improvements need to be made.

"This new agency will review regulatory proposals, promote regulatory best practices, streamline paperwork and ensure small business interests are part of the decision-making process," said Tony Wong, Small Business Agency Chair and Parliamentary Assistant to Minister Cordiano. "It will hold regular, open discussions between business owners and government to ensure small businesses in Ontario can compete and grow."

"The Canadian Federation of Independent Business's 10-point plan for Regulatory Reform in Ontario envisions that the new small business agency will be equipped to reduce the regulatory load and paper burden on small firms," said Judith Andrew, Vice-President (Ontario), CFIB. "We appreciate the government's determination to work with the CFIB and our members to improve Ontario's economic competitiveness with this important initiative."

Small and medium-sized enterprises make up 99 per cent of Ontario's businesses and account for more than 50 per cent of Ontario's jobs. "I am confident that our new agency will help ease the costly and time-consuming bureaucracy that small businesses experience, and let small businesses focus on what they do best - create jobs and prosperity for the people of Ontario," said Cordiano.

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Backgrounder
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GOVERNMENT STRATEGY TO HELP SMALL BUSINESS SUCCEED

The Ontario government has launched an aggressive economic growth
strategy to assist business owners and operators to achieve their goals,
create jobs and make Ontario prosper.

A key focus is small business, which makes significant contributions to
innovation, investment and job creation in every region of this province.
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade is establishing the Small
Business Agency of Ontario to champion the interests of small business. It
will do much more than make it easier for small businesses to operate. The
agency will give owners and operators a voice at Queen's Park and help
government provide a positive environment for small business success.

The agency will focus on supporting small business by:

Agency members will include Parliamentary Assistants from the Ministries
of Economic Development and Trade, Finance, Labour, Tourism and Recreation,
Consumer and Business Services, Northern Development and Mines, and Management
Board of Cabinet. An equal number of business representatives will be
announced in the coming months.

In 2005, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade created the Small
and Medium Enterprise Division - fully dedicated to meet the real needs of
small business. This represents a significant improvement, with ministry staff
focused on helping small businesses succeed.

Also this year, the government formed the Doing Business with the Ontario
Government Task Force to study how the government can improve the way it does
business with small and medium-sized companies, including government purchases
of goods and services. Parliamentary Assistant Tony Wong participated in
consultations in Ajax, Toronto, Ottawa, London and Thunder Bay. A report is
now being prepared and will be submitted to the Chair of Management Board of
Cabinet this summer.

Support from the government to the 44 Small Business Enterprise Centres
across Ontario continues. These centres provide vital information to
entrepreneurs on how to start and manage a business successfully and are an
important part of the government's strategy to increase the quality of jobs
available to Ontarians.

The McGuinty government has also taken steps to put more funds into the
hands of small businesses by raising the Small Business Income Threshold
eligible for tax exemption to $400,000. This allows more small businesses in
Ontario to get the full tax reduction.

The government has also simplified and consolidated the audit process for
small business through streamlined Retail Sales Tax Audits.

Measures have been taken to ensure a strong economic future for the north.
The government has established the Northern Ontario Grow Bonds program
for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. It has also
developed six new programs under the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, including
Small Business Energy Conservation and Enterprises North Job Creation, to
stimulate job growth and help northern businesses grow and succeed.

The government's efforts to help small business extend to rural Ontario.
Programs such as Rural Economic Development, Rural Economic Development
Data and Intelligence, and Rural Tourism are significant measures which help small
business thrive outside urban areas.

There are programs to help young Ontarians make their mark in business
and contribute to Ontario's prosperity. The recently-announced Apprenticeship
Training Tax Credit provides young people with more career options. The goal
is to increase opportunities for Ontarians to train as apprentices for
rewarding careers in the skilled trades, giving employers the support they
need to expand their commitment to skills training. Ontario has also developed
programs to help internationally-trained individuals enter the workforce.
The government is also helping companies to export more and expand their
markets to become part of Ontario's presence on the international stage.

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