Madam Chair, Canada has more than 1.1 million small businesses. They employ 8.3 million people. This sector contributes 40% of Canada's entire economic output, yet every day I'm hearing too many stories of businesses falling through the government's process cracks.
One story is about Finley's Bar and Grill, a restaurant in the mountain town of Nelson, B.C. It employed over 50 people prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has recently begun to rehire based on a promise of a 75% wage subsidy. However, of the 12 employees it was able to hire, only five qualified for a wage subsidy. The remaining seven did not qualify due to a technicality created by this government.
Madam Chair, when will the government move to secure a future for small businesses, and the workers they employ, by removing criteria such as a 14-day clause and a payroll test?