September 27, 2018
During the recent Ontario election campaign, Doug Ford promised residents that once elected into office, his Party would create a business-friendly environment to boost the economy, and emphasized that Ontario would once again be ‘open for business’.
Holding true to that statement, Ford’s government has made several announcements.
Firstly, the Ford government will ‘pause’ a planned minimum wage hike that was scheduled to increase in January of 2019. Labour Minister Laurie Scott announced that the minimum wage will remain at $14 an hour rather than rising to $15 as planned by the previous Liberal government, allowing businesses some relief.
Earlier this week, the government also announced it was reducing premium rates for employers by close to 30% after the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) eliminated its unfunded liability to help employers boost the economy.
Finally, under new legislation announced yesterday, the government will be loosening the restrictions for retail of cannabis in the province. There will be no ceiling on the number of stores granted provincial licenses for retail recreational cannabis stores, unlike other provinces where caps on the amount of licenses to be approved have been introduced. The licensees will still have to meet a set of qualifications, but this certainly offers a new opportunity for small business, specifically franchises, and we welcome this initiative.
The CFA applauds these pro-business initiatives and welcomes these changes that are sure to ease the burden on businesses, and therefore franchising, in Ontario.
For more information on CFA’s advocacy, please contact Samantha Sheppard, Government Relations Specialist, at ssheppard@cfa.ca or by phone at 416-695-2896 ext. 230.
