Saskatchewan Party Pledges Support For Small Business As Economy Recovers

Premier Scott Moe kicked off Small Businesses Week in the province by saying a re-elected Saskatchewan Party government will support small businesses as they help drive Saskatchewan’s economic recovery. Saskatchewan is celebrating Small Business Week from Oct. 18th to Oct. 24th.

"Small business is really big business in Saskatchewan," Premier Moe said during a visit to Battleford.

"Small businesses employ nearly 150,000 people in our province and have a total payroll of more than $6 billion. They are active in every sector of the economy. They are innovative, resilient and community- minded. We will do everything we can to ensure our small businesses can grow, invest and hire as we come through the COVID-19 pandemic."

Premier Moe made a campaign stop at Battleford Furniture, where he continued to stress the Saskatchewan Party’s focus on a strong economic recovery. He was joined by Jeremy Cockrill, the Saskatchewan Party candidate in The Battlefords constituency.

Premier Moe said small businesses are already driving the strong economic recovery in Saskatchewan.

"The strongest recovery in Canada is taking place right here in Saskatchewan," Moe said. "More people in Saskatchewan were able to continue working through the pandemic than in any other province. Saskatchewan was the first province to release its reopening plan. We reopened safely while controlling the spread of COVID-19 and now, almost all of our economy is open and operating.

"8,700 new jobs were created in September and today, we have the lowest unemployment rate in the country. But the pandemic is not over and neither is the recovery, so the Saskatchewan Party has a plan for a strong recovery and a strong Saskatchewan."

Moe outlined a number of measures a re-elected Saskatchewan Party government will take to support small business and strong recovery, including:

• A reduction of the small business tax rate for the next three years that will save small businesses nearly $190 million dollars, or an average $6,100 per business;
• A 10 per cent reduction in power bills for one year for everyone in Saskatchewan, including small businesses. The cut in power bills will result in $260 million in savings that will be reinvested in the economy and help drive the recovery; and
• A Home Renovation Tax Credit that will save homeowners up to $2,100 on the cost of home renovations and create new jobs in the construction industry.

These commitments are in addition to programs the Saskatchewan Party government introduced during the pandemic to help small businesses, including:

• The Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment, which provided a maximum of $5,000 to businesses directly affected by the shutdown;
• The Saskatchewan Tourism Sector Support Program, which supported one of the province’s hardest hit sectors;
• Training subsidies to help businesses adapt to new safety protocols; and
• Relief for businesses who were unable to remit their provincial sales tax or pay their utility bills on time.

"Supporting the success of small businesses in our province is an important part of our plan for a strong recovery and a strong Saskatchewan," Moe said.