Read the bill here

For immediate release:

March 3, 2011

 

Small Business Bill of Rights

Passes First Hurdle in the Legislature

 

NEWS:

 

Queen's Park - Today, the Ontario Legislature passed the second reading of MPP Julia Munro's Small Business Bill of Rights. The bill outlines 10 specific rights that Ontario's small businesses should have when dealing with provincial ministries and agencies.

 

Small business people in Ontario have to spend more and more time meeting the demands of government regulators and rule-makers. Government rules, many of them senseless, cost businesses thousands of dollars a year.

 

A key aim of the Small Business of Rights is to change the attitude of government towards small business. Business people deserve to be treated with courtesy by competent officials. Government must keep tax and regulation to a minimum while ensuring infrastructure and energy needs are met for small businesses.

QUOTES:

"Tackling the red tape burden on small businesses requires a fundamental change in culture from within government. We therefore applaud Mrs. Munro's efforts to champion measures to further reduce the impact of this hidden tax on our job creators." -- Satinder Chera, Vice President, Ontario - Canadian Federation of Independent Business

 

"The ORHMA would like to congratulate you on the introduction of Bill 152, Small Busines Bill of Rights, 2011. It is encouraging for our members to know that there is an elected official watching out for their interests and proactively trying to make their day to day operations easier." - Tony Elenis, President and CEO, Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association

"What needs to change in Ontario is the attitude of government to small business. This is what the Small Business Bill of Rights is aimed to do" -- Julia Munro, MPP, Ontario PC Critic for Small Business, Consumer Services and Red Tape

"Ontario's small businesses are the engine of growth and prosperity in our province. Government must become an enabler of small business, helping them to succeed."-- Julia Munro, MPP, Ontario PC Critic for Small Business, Consumer Services and Red Tape

QUICK FACTS:

•-       The CFIB's 2010 Red Tape report found that the annual regulation cost per employee is $5,825 per employee for businesses with fewer than 5 workers.

•-       2005 data from the CFIB indicate that 55% of small business owners believe that regulation impedes their ability to compete with larger businesses and that 73% say that regulatory compliance adds significant cost to their lives.

CONTACT:

Julia Munro, MPP 416-325-3392