JUST THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Warm thanks for red tape cutters
The two most powerful words in the English language might just be “thank you.”
As small business month in British Columbia comes to a close, it’s not unexpected that an advocate for small business would suggest independent business owners and their families deserve to hear those words a lot more often. Perhaps less expected is that we want to join business owners in finding a new way to say those powerful words back to many in government.
During the 45 years that the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has been advocating for small businesses across Canada, the challenge of complying with government rules is one that is raised by business owners more than any other, except the challenge of taxes.
Like most citizens, business owners believe in and support government rules that serve important purposes such as keeping us safe, protecting the environment, and helping to resolve disputes. However, sometimes the rules themselves or the administration of the rules veers into much more negative territory — colloquially referred to as “red tape.”
For example, I once dealt with a case where a business owner following written government advice on how to charge provincial sales tax was informed, unsympathetically, by an auditor that the written government advice was wrong and that she owed over $90,000 in taxes.
In every case, large or small, red tape is destructive to our economy, our communities, and to individuals. In addition to its more obviously negative consequences — raising prices, lowering employment and lowering wages — there is a less visible cost: Red tape undermines the relationship between a government and its citizens to the point that many business owners report “feeling like the enemy” when dealing with government.
We are fortunate in B.C. and Canada that we have many individuals in government who are committed to improving that relationship and making sure that regulatory hurdles are manageable and citizens are treated respectfully. Like business owners, these individuals deserve to hear a lot more thank yous. Enter Bravo the Bear, a new, special edi- tion, “thank you” bear. The idea for the bear came from conversations with independent business owner Karen McKee.
Her North Vancouver company, Warm Buddy, has been making therapy products, including warm-up plush animals, since 1995.
She knows first-hand how important it is to reduce red tape, as a number of years ago she had her own difficult encounter that threatened her business.
Starting this fall, thank-you Bravos will be given to those who are taking action to support small business by doing things like shortening forms and waiting times, putting things in plain language, and getting rid of unnecessary requirements.
The first Bravos will be given out in British Columbia and we plan to have the Order of the Bear go national. If you know a worthy recipient, feel free to let us know at msbc@cfib.ca.
If the bears can help raise awareness about how important it is to support small business by keeping government rules and attitudes around administering those rules reasonable, our country will be better for it.