Canadian Federation of Independent Business
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is a non-profit business organization representing the interests and concerns of over 110,000 Canadian owners of small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) to all three levels of government. Issues of concern to the Canadian SME community are identified by CFIB members through surveys, opinion polls and face-to-face visits. Members' views and opinions are then delivered to all three levels of government in the form of research reports, meetings and testimony. These concerns are far ranging but typically include tax policy,[1] labour policies[2][3] and the reduction of regulatory paper burden.[4] CFIB describes itself as a non-partisan political advocacy organization working with all federal and provincial parties and reports that its sole source of funding is membership dues; it accepts no donations or government funds. The organization's head office is located in Toronto and there is a regional office located in each province. There is also a national office located in Ottawa.
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Membership[edit]
Ninety-six percent of CFIB members have less than fifty people on their payrolls. Fifteen percent are self-employed. The membership reflects the economic diversity of the country and ranges over all industries and economic sectors. While business size is not a criterion for membership, members must be Canadian-based privately owned companies. Therefore, CFIB describes itself as a representative of the "non-stock market economy."
History[edit]
Born out of a 1969 tax protest, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business was officially founded in 1971 by John Bulloch, a small business owner and business professor at Ryerson. Bulloch had formed The Canadian Council for Fair Taxation in 1969 to fight the White Paper on Taxation proposed by the then Minister of Finance, Edgar Benson. Under the terms of the White Paper, Canadian small businesses faced the prospect of an increased tax rate of 50%. The White Paper was ultimately withdrawn and the CCFT was succeeded by the enduring CFIB.
Catherine Swift succeeded John Bulloch and has been chairwoman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) since 1999. Dan Kelly succeeded Catherine Swift as president and CEO as of 2012, and chair of the board in 2014.
Positions during the 2019 Federal election[edit]
During the 2019 Canadian federal election, the CFIB came out strongly against the UPU subsidy for Chinese shipments, when a spokesperson noted that:[5]
| “ | The United States is raising a valid point about unfairness in international trade. Businesses in China have an unfair advantage when they can ship to a customer in the US or Canada for less than it would cost a Canadian business to ship to that same customer. | ” |
Donald Trump had tweeted his disfavour to the status quo in April 2018 when he said[6]
| “ | Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer? Should be charging MUCH MORE! | ” |
He had indicated his upset prior to the October 2018 passage of the Ending Needless Delivery Subsidies Act.[7] A minister from Justin Trudeau's government punted questions on the subject to Canada Post in response to the platform of the CFIB.
Research[edit]
CFIB produces research on the Canadian small and medium-sized business sector, based on the views and experiences its members. One of CFIB's regular reports is the "Business Barometer", a monthly research report detailing the economic expectations of Canada's small businesses. CFIB also holds an annual "Red Tape Awareness Week" during which they release a number of research reports documenting the burden of government regulation the small business community.
References[edit]
- ^ "CFIB Tax Research Program – www.cfib-fcei.ca" Archived 2013-01-15 at Archive.today[non-primary source needed]
- ^ "Minimum Wage: Reframing the Debate" February 2011 Archived 2013-09-11 at Archive.today[non-primary source needed]
- ^ Workers’ compensation boards under the microscope[non-primary source needed]
- ^ Red Tape Awareness Week 2014 Archived 2012-10-27 at the Wayback Machine[non-primary source needed]
- ^ "U.S. withdrawal from postal treaty could have implications for Canadian e-commerce businesses". The Globe and Mail Inc. 16 September 2019.
- ^ "GOP Senator moves to close shipping loophole that helps Chinese businesses on Amazon". CNBC. 10 April 2018.
- ^ "Cassidy Applauds President Trump for Initiating U.S. Withdrawal from Unfair Treaty on International Mail Rates". 17 October 2018.
