Small businesses support sought from Ottawa [Video]

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is estimating issues such as the recent Canada Post strike and the federal government’s GST holiday have cost small businesses more than $1 billion in the months leading up to Christmas.

The CFIB is asking Ottawa for a $1,000 tax break directed at businesses that carry items currently exempt from the GST.

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“You have to put that all in into your point-of-sale system individually, so business owners have had to turn into tax accountants almost overnight with their employees and putting tons of overtime hours and work into it,” the CFIB’s Seorhin Yoo told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.

Graeme Head, who’s been working at Whyte Avenue’s Junque Cellar for the last 19 years, says the store took a nosedive in foot traffic after incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s tariff threat, adding that …