Speaker January 23rd was David Levinson from Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Our speaker On January 23rd was David Levinson General Manager of Canadian Federation of Independent Business. 
Founded 47 years ago by John Bulloch in response to a proposed change in federal tax that would increase tax on small business to 50%. At that time Bulloch established the Canadian Council for Fair Taxation and mobilized a response to the government proposal that resulted in the proposal being withdrawn. Despite this victory, Bulloch recognized that there was a need for an organization to fight for the interests of independent businesses and the CFIB was born.
The purpose of the association to promote free enterprise and making sure that the voice of small business is heard at all levels of government.
The three areas of focus of the association are:
Advocacy- Lower Taxes, Better Regulations, Stronger Business Environment. Across Canada, CFIB advocates for small business with politicians and decision-makers. As a non-partisan organization, they influence public policy based on their members’ views, ensuring that small business owners have a chance to affect the laws and policies that affect their businesses.
Tools and resources- Resources & Templates, Online Learning, Dedicated Member Counselors. CFIB provides specialized business resources, including on-call counsellors, to help their members navigate the daily challenges of running small businesses.
Member savings-The CFIB offers partnerships with carefully selected service providers to deliver savings not found elsewhere or available to their members. A good example of this is the Mastercard discount rate for members is the same as the 4 largest retailers in Canada including Walmart.
The membership fees are variable related to the number of employees making it affordable to even the smallest organization. There are over 109,000 CFIB member businesses across Canada which makes this the largest small business focused organization in the world.
You may recall in 2017 there was significant press about a government public consultation on possible changes in the tax laws for private corporations, income splitting, lifetime capital gains exemption and trusts among other topics. The CFIB played a key role in attracting attention to these issues and encouraging feedback be sent to the government with the result of the proposals being significantly changed generally to the benefit of small businesses.
Current issues in the headlines that CFIB is working on in Ontario include the recent passing of Bill 148 which includes the hike in the minimum wage. With the passing of the bill, the CFIB focus changes from advocacy for change to assisting members with compliance and information. This bill is the first major change in employment standards in almost 40 years and while there are some positive measures in the bill, there are many that have the organization concerned. The increase in the minimum wage materially affects only 18% of the CFIB membership but the change seems aggressive and too fast making implementation difficult for those affected. The addition of 10 mandatory personal emergency days (2 paid) and increasing vacation entitlement after 5 years to 3 weeks put increased pressure on small businesses to properly staff their operations. Two of the more controversial parts of the legislation include measures to make it easier to unionize and the addition of 175 inspectors focused on policing small businesses with broad power to issue monetary penalties with the mandate of ensuring they are a “good employer”. The wording of the inspection role is particularly aggressive and vague that has the CFIB worried about enforcement and the focus on small businesses which generally lack resources.
In the everchanging marketplace, small businesses need support and a voice that the CFIB has provided and will continue to provide.