Small businesses are a vital part of the Canadian economy and will play a critical role in helping our economy recover from some of the challenges we currently face.  In fact, small businesses represent 98% of companies in Canada and employ nearly half of the Canadian workforce.

In this column, I have written about our Economic Action Plan, about the positive analysis this Plan has received from independent experts, and about our government’s commitment to improve infrastructure in our communities.  This week, I would like to highlight the importance of our small businesses and outline what our government is doing to help these businesses become and remain successful.

Before the global economic downturn, taxes and red tape were considered to be the most significant challenges facing our small businesses.

So, we lowered taxes.  In 2009, Canadians and Canadian businesses will pay $31 billion less in taxes than before we took office.  For instance, we raised the maximum income at which Canadian businesses can be taxed at the small business tax rate from $300,000 to $500,000. 

And, we dealt with red tape.  Our government has achieved a 20% reduction in the federal paperwork burden for small businesses.  This reduction gives business owners more time to run their businesses and focus on their customers, and demands less of their time to fill out government forms.

In our current economic climate, however, a third growing challenge has emerged: access to credit.  In our Economic Action Plan, we seek to address this challenge.

For example, we introduced the Business Credit Availability Program, which will help provide $5 billion for additional loans and other forms of credit support for small and medium-sized businesses.  We set aside $350 million through Business Development Canada, to be used specifically for loans to small businesses.  And, we increased the maximum loan amount a small business can acquire under the Canada Small Business Financing Program.

I feel that our government has taken measures to help our small businesses in both the short and the long term.
In the short-term, measures such as a reduced tax burden and increased incentives to modernize, will assist small businesses through this period of economic uncertainty.  In the long-term, they will help make Canada more innovative and competitive on the world stage.

Canada will be one of the first countries to emerge from the global economic downturn and will do so with better infrastructure, a more skilled labour force, lower taxes, and a more competitive economy. I’m confident that our small businesses will be both a catalyst and a beneficiary of these positive changes.