Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, released the following statement on Small Business Week:

“Small business owners are the unsung heroes of the Canadian economy. These entrepreneurs employ nearly two-thirds of workers across Canada, providing meaningful paycheques to millions of Canadians. During Small Business Week, governments should be grateful for small business owners – many of whom take on incredible risk to provide necessary goods and services to their communities.

“But right now, under the Liberals, small businesses are being punished. They are being punished with rising payroll taxes, leaving them with higher costs for every person that relies on that business for a paycheque. This means they are forced to hire fewer people and raise prices on the things Canadians need.

“They are also being punished by the Liberal carbon tax. Small and medium sized businesses have to pay the whole thing, and have no choice but to pass the cost of that along. This has made it more expensive for Canadians to buy local, home-grown products, than goods that have been flown, trucked, and shipped from other countries.

“And they’re being punished by Justin-flation. Liberals ran up half a trillion dollars in spending, fuelled by money-printed deficits, which means more dollars chasing fewer goods, driving up the cost of everything.

“This Small Business Week, Conservatives will keep working to turn hurt into hope for business owners. We stand with these risk takers and job creators. We will keep fighting the Liberal-NDP Costly Coalition’s planned tax increases, and call for a cap on government spending to stop inflation, so that Canada can become the freest country on earth, where entrepreneurs pursue their dreams and create meaningful paycheques for our workers.”