Dreamer 2 Creator Magazine

As of today, Canada's small business owners have lost $1 billion as a result of the Canada Post strike ($76 million per day). Unless I've missed it, I've not heard a single MP from ANY party calling on govt to order employees back to work. The minority parliament and courting of the union vote before an election means Ottawa is silent. Christmas 2024 is essentially a write-off this year for retailers dependent on Canada Post. Even if the strike were settled today, there would not be enough time for Canada Post to get through the weeks of backlog before fulfilling any new demand before Christmas. Government is to blame. It has not allowed Canada Post to make any of the important changes it needs to serve clients better - balancing universal service within a modern postal system.

The GST/HST announcement has gone over poorly among small business owners. Even I was surprised by how negative the reaction has been - including among businesses that some would think would be potential beneficiaries. - 52% of small restaurants oppose the holiday (32% support) - 59% of small retailers oppose the holiday (28% support it) - 62% of all those who are required to implement the holiday oppose it (25% support it)

Here are the top concerns, which explain why small businesses are so concerned: - 77% say it is too complicated and costly (average of $1000 to reprogram POS machines) - 74% say it will simply push sales into the holiday period - 71% say big businesses/online giants will have the upper hand to benefit - 66% say there isn't enough time to implement the change - 66% believe the CRA will penalize them for making mistakes - 62% worry about customer reactions to the holiday (eg. arguments over what's taxable or not) - 61% do not believe this is a good way to provide tax relief - 56% believe the costs to implement will exceed any benefit