EDMONTON, AB: The United Conservative Party marked the end of Small Business Week by highlighting the damage that the policies of the NDP government provincially and Liberal government federally are having on small business owners in the province.
With a rapidly increasing minimum wage that is resulting in businesses either closing up shop or increasing prices, an ever increasing carbon tax and proposed changes to tax measures federally that were an attack on entrepreneurs, small business owners are rightfully fed up with the treatment they have received from two out of touch levels of government.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and are struggling to stay afloat due to a combination of an economic downturn and with an all-out attack from two levels of government,” United Conservative Party Interim Leader Nathan Cooper said. “The United Conservatives are marking Small Business Week by ask the NDP provincially and Liberals federally to recognizes the consequences of their policies, and to do no further harm.”
Chef Paul Shufelt, an Edmonton area restaurant owner with over two decades of experience in the industry, said that small business owners are succeeding despite the NDP’s policies.
“Small business owners are having their hands tied as a direct result of policies that we didn’t ask for, and we can’t afford,” Shufelt said. “There are razor thin margins for small businesses across our province, and the government just doesn’t seem to realize that when they introduce policies, they are cutting directly into that margin that can mean the difference between closing and keeping the doors open.”
Audio of the press conference is available here.