Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and committee members.
My name is Jasmin Guénette. I'm the vice-president of national affairs at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB. I'm joined by my colleague, Virginia Labbie, a senior policy analyst for agri-food. I'll give my short presentation in French and my colleague will give her presentation in English.
I want you to know that we're very pleased to be here today. You have been emailed a PowerPoint presentation, which will serve as the basis for our comments.
I want to remind you that CFIB is a non-partisan and non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of SMEs to governments. We have 95,000 members across the country who work in all sectors of the economy, and 6,000 of those members work in the agricultural sector.
As you know, the pandemic has been very challenging for small independent businesses. Our most recent survey shows that only 56% of SMEs have fully reopened. The situation is even more worrisome when we consider that only 29% of SMEs have normal revenues for this time of year. This isn't the time to add costs or to increase taxes for businesses that are already struggling financially. Instead, it's the time to find ways to lighten their tax burden.
We're here today to support Bill C-206. My colleague, Virginia Labbie, will provide several pieces of information that substantiate our position.
Ms. Labbie, the floor is yours.