Parliamentary Secretary Richard Hébert met with entrepreneurs and small business owners in Percé, Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé and Gaspé

He shared how the federal government is helping small business owners start up, scale up and access new markets

GASPÉ, QC, May 24, 2019 /CNW/ - Small businesses make up 98% of all Canadian businesses and employ 8 million hard-working Canadians from coast to coast to coast. They are the backbone of our economy and critical to the middle class.

Today, Richard Hébert, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion and Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Jean, was in Percé, Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé and Gaspé to meet with entrepreneurs and small business owners.

On May 23, Mr. Hébert joined the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, at the Vieille Usine de l'Anse-à-Beaufils to discuss the new Federal Tourism Growth Strategy and how it will impact local small businesses. Following this, Mr. Hébert and Minister Lebouthillier met with local small business owners to discuss ways the government is helping them start up, scale up and access new markets.

Mr. Hébert shared the government's many initiatives that are making it easier for small business owners to do business, such as:

• lowering the small business tax rate to 9%, one of the lowest rates in the world;
• getting credit card companies to lower the fees they charge businesses when their customers use credit cards;
• providing access to over a billion and a half new customers through trade deals like the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, commonly called the new NAFTA;
• introducing the Accelerated Investment Incentive that will allow businesses of all sizes in all sectors of the economy to write off a larger share of the cost of newly acquired assets in the year the investment is made;
• committing to universal high-speed Internet across Canada;
• investing $2 billion to help double the number of women-owned businesses by 2025; and
• reducing over 450 federal rules that impose an administrative burden on business.

Quotes

"This is a small business–friendly government that is working hard to reduce red tape and make it easier for Canadian small business owners to start up, scale up and access new markets. When small businesses in communities across the country succeed, our economy grows and middle-class jobs are created."
– The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and at the heart of communities across Quebec. From lowering the small business tax rate to removing long-standing barriers to business, our government is working hard to support small business owners and entrepreneurs as they grow."
– Richard Hébert, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion and Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Jean

"By creating jobs, innovating and being leaders in their respective sectors, small and medium-sized businesses in the Gaspé Peninsula participate concretely in the development of our region. Our government is proud to help them become even more competitive and stand out."
– The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue and Member of Parliament for Gaspésie–Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine

Associated links

• Innovation and Skills Plan
• Canadian Trade Commissioner Service
• CanExport
• Accelerated Growth Service
• Industrial Research Assistance Program
• Innovative Solutions Canada
• Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative
• Women Entrepreneurship Strategy
• Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
• Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement

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SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada