Small business should prepare for new economy: Green candidate

Small business owner Stuart McCall, the Green Party’s candidate in Nickel Belt, says he wants to make sure small businesses in the riding have the tools they’ll need to succeed as business shifts towards a lower-carbon economy.

“The Green Party of Canada really is the party of small business,” McCall said in a news release.

“We were the first party to prioritize the interests of small businesses during the federal election campaign. As a small business owner, I know first-hand the challenges that small businesses face every day – from finding capital for startups, to dealing with government duplication and red tape.”

More than anything else, small businesses form the backbone of Canada’s economy, the release said. More than 7.7 million Canadians are employed in more than one million small businesses across the nation. Small business workers make up almost 70 per cent of Canada’s private-sector workforce.

“With sensible, innovative proposals, the Green Party will make life easier for small businesses in Nickel Belt and across Canada,” McCall said.

“We’re calling for the creation of a Green venture capital fund to help new small businesses raise startup funds. Capital for start-ups has become increasingly scarce since the 2008 economic meltdown, and with another recession on the way, I’m personally concerned that without action, small businesses in the Nickel Belt will be hurt.”

Making the shift to a lower-carbon economy will require more investment in business and technological innovation. Through the Green venture capital fund, the federal government would match dollar for dollar locally raised capital for small business startups.

“The pressing need to decarbonize our economy has created incredible opportunities for innovative small businesses,” says McCall. “The Green Party believes that the government has to create a level playing field for small businesses. Past cuts to corporate tax rates have largely failed, as massive corporations have used tax breaks to pad CEO salaries, rather than to create jobs as promised.

“Small businesses, however, have shown that when tax costs are reduced, they’ll re-invest in local communities and create new jobs. That’s why Green Party will hold the line on corporate taxes for small businesses.”

The Green Party is the only national party promising a truly progressive tax regime, the release said. Ecologically based fiscal reforms will include higher taxes on things which are detrimental to society, such as carbon pollution, which the Green Party will seek to reduce through a revenue-neutral pricing mechanism.

The Green Party is also committed to easing the tax burden on things which are good for society, such as job-creating small businesses. Greens also support lowering income and payroll taxes. This progressive, ecologically based tax regime will help, not hurt, the less fortunate in our society.

“As a small business owner who has created good jobs in my community, I’m proud to be representing the Green Party in the Nickel Belt,” says McCall. “The Green Party has a real plan to create and sustain the jobs that we need for 21st Century.”