OTTAWA  (21 April 2009)  –  “This Conservative government realizes the importance of small and medium-sized businesses to the Canadian economy,” states Leon Benoit, Member of Parliament for Vegreville-Wainwright. “On top of the many tax cuts we have implemented in the past 36 months, we have also recently announced that the federal Government has reduced the paperwork burden required of small businesses by 20 percent. We promised to accomplish this through Advantage Canada in 2006, and 13 federal departments and agencies have since worked together to achieve the reduction by streamlining regulations, eliminating duplicate requirements, getting rid of overlapping obligations, and reducing how often documents need to be filed.”

As Benoit explains, cutting the paperwork burden, or red tape, supports small businesses and helps keep Canada competitive.  The less time entrepreneurs spend on red tape, the more time they have to grow their business and, this in turn, is good for the local and national economy. 

“At the same time, the government is maintaining the strength and effectiveness of our regulations, which exist to protect Canadians, the environment and our economy,” says Benoit. “Also, we have implemented measures to simplify how businesses interact with government.  BizPal for example, gives online access to the permit and licence process needed to start up or grow a business.”

“Canada’s Economic Action Plan, which we tabled this past fall, further supports small businesses with tax relief, improving access to credit, and funding for a number of programs and services to improve Canada’s competitiveness,” continues Benoit. “This Conservative government has taken this action to make it easier for business to comply with government rules and regulations, while at the same time ensuring Canada continues to have strong, effective regulation to protect individuals, the environment and the economy.”

Click here to download the Backgrounder on Conservative Government support for small businesses.