TRURO, N.S. – Rural broadband and taxation issues will be topics up for discussion during a roundtable next month in Truro with Mary Ng, the federal minister of Small Business and Export Promotion.
Ng is to be guest speaker at a Truro & Colchester Chamber of Commerce breakfast April 8 at the Holiday Inn on Prince Street.
She is expected to speak about benefits for small business identified in the Liberals’ 2019 budget, released March 19, along with answering questions presented by the business community.
One of the recently announced benefits was support for rural broadband, which chamber president Ron Smith said could help grow business in the Colchester region.
“Our members have told us repeatedly that access to better, and in some case any, high speed internet will assist with business growth and retention in this region,” Smith said, in a news release. “Lack of access was identified as one of the greatest barriers to growth and we have been lobbying on our members’ behalf to all levels of government to seek improvements.”
While the Liberal government has earmarked $1.7 billion, for rural and remote and Northern communities as part of its plan to have Canada-wide high-speed internet access by 2030, Smith suggested that swift action needs to be taken by Internet service providers to get projects moving as soon as possible.
Last fall, the Truro and Colchester chamber was among 450 chambers from across the country to vote on policy recommendations that were forwarded to the federal government for consideration. The budget recognizes some of those recommendations, such as expanding Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) programs in partnership with industry, and enhancements to skilled trades apprentice programs.
However, two other major barriers to growth identified by local chamber members and echoed by business across the nation, were not addressed in this year’s federal budget. They include a comprehensive review of the taxation system to make it fair and less cumbersome for businesses and a broad-based commitment to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses.
“For years our chamber has been asking the federal government to review its taxation system with an eye to modernizing it for today’s business world,” said Smith. “It is unacceptable that we are using the same system that was implemented more than 50 years ago. Business has changed and the government needs to evolve with us.”
He said the chamber will continue to work with the federal government to ensure the voice of the business community is heard to identify critical priorities for them to maintain competitiveness and prosperity. A report called 50 Years of Cutting and Pasting, Modernizing Canada’s Tax System is available on the Chamber’s website, www.trurocolchesterchamber.com.
The breakfast with Ng, which begins at 8:30 a.m. is open to anyone in the business community. The cost to attend is $25 for chamber members and $30 for non-members.
Anyone planning to attend must RSVP. To reserve a seat at the breakfast roundtable, call 902-895-6328 or email [email protected]
