Human Resources committee  The CFIB, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, represents 97,000 small business owners in all sectors of the economy and in all regions of the country, Canadian SMEs that are concerned about the potential negative impact of this bill on their business, the people they employ and those they serve.

Human Resources committee  I think there is one thing that really jumps out at me when we look at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, which we have here today. Could you really quickly, because we have limited time, give an example of those businesses across Canada? Isn't 98% of Canada's economy fuelled by small businesses?

Human Resources committee  Great. Thank you very much. I'll move over to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. When you look at your members from across the country who have small and medium-sized businesses and you hear about their challenges.... We know a lot of small businesses are still carrying a lot of debt from the pandemic that they haven't been able to pay off.

Human Resources committee  Ultimately, the concern is that this bill, as written, could further embolden unions to walk away from the table and result in a greater incidence of strike action, and even more disturbances along the supply chain. British Columbia and Quebec, where greater restrictions on the use of replacement workers have been enacted, have experienced more work stoppages than most of their counterparts, including the federally regulated private sector.

Human Resources committee  From the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, we have Brodie Berrigan, director, government relations; and Todd Lewis, vice-president. From the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, we have Christina Santini, director, national affairs; and Jasmin Guénette, vice-president, national affairs. From the Federally Regulated Employers, we have Derrick Hynes, president and chief executive officer.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to be here. As you may know, the CFIB is a not-for-profit organization representing the interests of over 97,000 small and medium-sized businesses across Canada. Our members come from all sectors of the economy and all regions of Canada.

International Trade committee  Good afternoon. My name is Corinne Pohlmann. I'm the executive vice-president with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization representing 97,000 small and medium-sized companies across every industry and region in Canada. I want to share some insights from small businesses engaged in international trade on the challenges they are facing with CARM.

International Trade committee  We have with us today from the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters, Kim Campbell, past chair. From the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, we have Corinne Pohlmann, executive vice-president, advocacy, by video conference. From the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers, we have Candace Sider, vice-chair, board of directors.

Business of Supply  It is ultimately the end consumer who ends up paying for it. On the supply side, business ends up paying for it. Yesterday, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business produced a document that it posted on its website. It reaffirmed to its members that the “carbon tax is increasing by a staggering 23% on April 1st! That means the cost of a litre of gasoline will include 17.6 cents of carbon tax!”

Business of Supply  The government keeps a sizable percentage of the carbon tax. In fact, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, estimates that the carbon tax alone costs small business $2.5 billion, which is $2.5 billion sucked right out of the economy, and those costs that those businesses have to pay gets passed on to consumers.

Public Accounts committee  There was no one to answer the businesses' questions. It's a well-known fact. Everyone knows it. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business knows it. The Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec knows it. No matter who you talk to, it's unanimous: there was no one to answer the businesses' questions.

Status of Women committee  I was really disappointed, as my colleague from the Bloc was speaking about, that the government refused to extend the CEBA repayment deadline for loan forgiveness. This is after the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Canadian Women's Chamber of Commerce, every premier and the NDP called for that. Why did you not listen to the main business organizations across the country when they said it was very clear that this would be devastating for small business?

Status of Women committee  We would have liked to see another extension of the January 18 deadline. We are seeing the consequences now. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, reacted this week to the issue of businesses in trouble. The file is not closed, Minister. I would therefore like to know about the impact of the CEBA repayment deadline on entrepreneurs.

Small Business  Speaker, let us recap the situation with the Canada emergency business account. According to current numbers from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, nearly 150,000 businesses were unable to pay back their loan and nearly 200,000 others had to go into debt to do so. In addition to all that, roughly 50,000 business owners are still looking for refinancing.

Committees of the House  This is an important issue locally in northwestern Ontario and, really, right across the country as, of course, it is not just the farmers who have to pay it, but everyone who has to pay this tax as it gets passed on to the price of food. In fact, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has estimated that farmers paid almost $14,000 in carbon tax in the first year it was imposed. The independent Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed that an increase in carbon taxes to $170 a tonne, which the government would sure like to do, would cumulatively cost farmers over $1 billion by 2030.