No, I certainly don't. There have been some advancements, including in the 2024 budget, but sadly, there have been a host of government policies that set small businesses back.
I mentioned at the beginning of my commentary the four tax hikes we've seen just over the last four months. Those are not good for small and medium-sized firms. Small firms tend to be very payroll-intensive, and the increase in employment insurance premiums combined with the increase in CPP premiums creates big worries and takes a big bite out of the payroll budgets of every business across Canada.
Also, at the beginning of the year, we saw the Canada emergency business account deadline come and go. While many businesses were successfully able to repay the government by coming up with the $40,000 to repay their CEBA loan—many did that—I think about a quarter of small businesses did that by borrowing from the bank. The government got its money back, but the businesses didn't get any of their debt relieved other than the $20,000 forgivable portion. They still have that loan, and it is now at higher bank interest rates, which is a big worry.
Over the course of the past three years, the pandemic years, small firms were hit incredibly hard. Canada kept lockdowns in place for longer than almost any other jurisdiction in the entire world, so small firms in retail, hospitality, the service sector, arts and entertainment, travel and tourism were desperately weakened from the restrictions. Sadly, that damage—the debt that has been created and the lack of sales—has been a problem.