Labor shortages are costing Canadian businesses dearly
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has recommended hiring more foreigners.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has summarized its financial results for the year, and some of them were disappointing.
Labor shortage
Small businesses in Canada missed out on more than CA$ 38 billion in profits last year due to labor shortages. Staffing problems are forcing employers to work longer hours, reduce hours and cancel services and contracts simply because they can't find enough staff to fully run their businesses.
Small businesses in the construction sector experienced the most significant loss of lost profits, over CA$ 9.6 billion.
To address this problem, the federation proposes the following measures:
- Increase the prevalence of vocational training in high schools;
- Developing an employment insurance program that does not create barriers to work;
- Facilitating labor mobility between provinces;
- Simplification of procedures for recognizing foreign education and attracting specialists from other countries;
- Reviewing tax policy and creating tax incentives to prolong the careers of ageing workers.
Small business loans
Although the government has extended the final repayment deadline for the covid CEBA loan to the end of 2026, the deadline for the portion of it that can be forgiven (up to CA$ 20,000) expires just a few weeks later on January 18, 2024.
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