Our Jordan Bateman gives you the heads-up on small businesses hamstrung by Ottawa, the BC deficit, and how technology is changing construction (and how it’s not).
🏦 Small businesses, many decimated by government restrictions during the pandemic, continue to get kicked around by the Trudeau Government. The pandemic loan program’s stringent criteria have left countless businesses out in the cold. While Ministers boast of the 850,000 businesses that have received over $46 billion in loans, they overlook those who couldn’t access the funds due to the program’s limitations, and others who have no viable path to pay the loans back in the timeline government demands. As our friend Dan Kelly of CFIB says: “They can find billions of dollars in a matter of weeks to fund battery plants, but yet extending time for small businesses to repay a loan seems to be an area where Ottawa is all of the sudden becoming fiscally conservative.”
📉 The fallout and analysis continues from the Eby Government’s shocking Q1 fiscal report, showing B.C. is tracking for a $6.7 billion deficit this year — $2.5 billion more than expected, and a full billion dollars more than the COVID pandemic year. Two comments resonate. First, Laura Jones of the Business Council of B.C., on how the NDP are missing a vision for the future: “The importance of growing the economy can’t be overstated. Growth gives us hope and means more resources for everything from hiring more teachers to developing more social housing. Shrinking economies force tough trade-offs that no one wants to face like which programs get less.” And here’s Vaughn Palmer of the Vancouver Sun: “The NDP era is more about expanding government and spending, spending, spending. It’s also one where debt, deficits and overruns appear to be of little concern.”
🏗 Finally, Mark Bryant of PCL Construction chatted with Site News about how technology is transforming the construction industry. Mark emphasized the importance of innovation, especially in areas like augmented reality and 3D modeling. However, he warned businesses against adopting technology just for the sake of it. Instead, he urged a strategic approach, ensuring that any tech adoption aligns with genuine business needs. For small business owners in construction, this is a call to be both tech-savvy and strategic, ensuring that technology truly serves the business and isn’t just a flashy addition. Great insight from Mark, who will be one of our 30+ speakers at ICBA’s Construction Innovation Summit, Oct. 30-31, in Vancouver. Tickets are going fast – get them now at www.icba.ca/cis.
