“Small Business Too Big To Ignore”

In Celebration of Small Business Week 2017, Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Minister Leal highlight challenges faced by SME community

TORONTO, October 16, 2017 – The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) kicked-off Small Business Week today at Queen’s Park with Ontario’s Minister Responsible for Small Business Jeff Leal to announce a partnership on a new program for small businesses. Small Business Access is a valuable new program the Government of Ontario is creating to help small businesses access support, information and resources when navigating Ontario’s regulatory environment.

The OCC and Minister Leal also held a roundtable with small businesses to discuss how these businesses contribute fundamentally to Ontario’s economy, making them too big to ignore.

“Small businesses constitute a large proportion of the OCC’s members and are powerful economic drivers in their local communities and across the province,” said Richard Koroscil, Interim President and CEO of the OCC. “We are partnering with the Ontario government on Small Business Access to help small businesses around the province access support, information and resources when navigating through the province’s regulatory environment.”

Over the course of Small Business Week, the OCC and local chambers will be hosting Small Business Too Big To Ignore campaign events across the province to actively engage small businesses in discussions about the top obstacles impeding their growth and the ways in which these challenges can be overcome.

Last year, the OCC published a report, Obstacles and Opportunities: The Importance of Small Business in Ontario, which identified many obstacles small businesses in the province face including key infrastructure gaps, access to talent, and concerns about the rising costs of doing business.

Small businesses make up 98 per cent of all Ontario businesses and 30 per cent of the provincial GDP. They employ over 3 million Ontarians and account for over two-thirds of all private sector workers.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the Ontario economy and the heart of local communities,” added Mr. Koroscil. “This week, the Chamber Network will engage with small businesses to show them that we recognize the significant role they play in our province and to discuss how we can support them to ensure they are not ignored.”

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Media Contact:

Sydney Stonier
Ontario Chamber of Commerce
sydneystonier@occ.ca
647-243-3561