Vancouver, December 21, 2021 – The BC government has announced new restrictions starting Wednesday including, the closure of all indoor fitness, bars, clubs, and events, and capacity limits on restaurants, sports and theatres. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is worried about the survival of BC businesses that are once again going to have to shut down or severely restrict their operations with little notice or adequate government supports.
BC small businesses have not returned to normal sales and are taking on huge debt amounts simply to survive. Only 37 per cent of BC small businesses have returned to normal sales and over one-third (35%) are losing money every day they are open. These new restrictions and closures are going to hit small businesses hard when they are in survival mode and relying on a strong finish to the holiday season.
CFIB recognizes the government has committed to providing support to businesses, but sadly there are no further details when business owners can expect to apply and what funding will be available. We urge the BC government to get these supports in place as soon as possible and press the federal government to return its support programs to a sliding scale for all businesses with revenue losses.
With these new restrictions and closures now is definitely not the time to impose additional costs on small businesses. CFIB reiterates its call for governments to stop any further cost increases coming in 2022, and for the BC government to fully fund its 5-day employer paid sick days coming into effect on January 1, 2022.
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Annie Dormuth
BC provincial affairs director
403-700-1945
Annie.dormuth@cfib.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 95,000 members (9,000 in BC) across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.
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