After extensive consultation with the small business community, Minister of State for Small Business Naomi Yamamoto and BC Chamber of Commerce president and CEO John Winter unveiled the finalized BC Small Business Accord this morning in Vancouver.

In October 2012, the B.C. government announced it would create the BC Small Business Accord to establish a list of priorities to make B.C. the most business-friendly jurisdiction in Canada.

A consultation period was launched to determine guiding principles that should be included in the accord, and over 35,000 individuals provided feedback through community meetings, an online survey and the #BCBizChat Twitter town hall.

On Feb. 5, 2013, a BC Small Business Accord forum, made up of 15 business owners/operators from various regions and sectors around B.C., used the feedback from the consultation period to determine the accord principles and establish action items for the provincial government.

The BC Small Business Accord contains the following principles:

• Consider the needs and impacts of small businesses in policy and program decisions to enhance business certainty, access to qualified labour, access to capital and technology adoption.

• Foster a regulatory environment that small business can access, navigate and influence effectively and efficiently.

• Design provincial government programs and resources affecting small business so that they are well developed, accessible, properly funded and effectively communicated.

• Foster thoughtful collaboration among all levels of government, including First Nations.

• Deploy educational and training programs that are future-focused and aligned to meet the changing needs of small business and the labour talent it develops.

• Create long-term growth opportunities for small business through government procurement.

The BC Small Business Accord forum's action items for the provincial government are:

• Develop a Small Business Awareness Strategy.

• Encourage provincial/municipal collaboration in the adoption of the BC Small Business Accord principles.

• Develop a Mobile Training Program for Remote Communities so they will be better able to access skills training and qualified labour.

• Reduce barriers to government's procurement process.

• Support an Integrated Small Business Mentoring Program.

• Support additional skills training.

The Province already has taken initial steps to address the action items, including the following:

• Provide incentive for local governments by establishing a $10,000 award for up to 20 municipalities that can best demonstrate they are operating within the spirit of the accord principles.

• Appoint a senior official to consult directly with small business owners to identify barriers to accessing provincial government procurement opportunities, develop recommendations to remove those barriers and report back to government within six months.

• Develop a mobile trainers program under which trainers will travel to communities to provide skills training and certification using existing equipment in colleges and industry during times when that equipment is idle.

The BC Small Business Accord is a living document and will evolve to meet the ongoing needs of small business. The provincial government will continue to engage small business owners and operators on Twitter through #BCBizChat or #SmallBizBC and through the BC Small Business Roundtable.

Quotes:

Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of State for Small Business -

"Small businesses form the backbone of our communities and our economy, so it's imperative that we do all we can to ensure B.C. has a business-friendly climate that allows them to grow and succeed. The BC Small Business Accord holds government accountable to doing all it can to support small business. We listened to small business owners and now we're taking action."

John Winter, president and CEO, BC Chamber of Commerce -

"Chambers of commerce are the voice of businesses across B.C., and one of our key responsibilities is to ensure that government policy supports the business sector and the success of our members. The BC Small Business Accord is a valuable tool that supports us in advocating for business to ensure its needs and concerns are being heard by government."

George Hunter, CEO, Small Business BC -

"We at Small Business BC applaud the B.C. government's efforts to harness the collective wisdom of the B.C. small business community. We strongly support the Small Business Accord principles and are very excited about the opportunity to lend our support to this endeavour."

Quick Facts:

• Small business is a key economic driver in B.C. with 98 per cent of all businesses being small businesses.

• The small business sector provides nearly 56 per cent of all private sector jobs, employs over one million people and generates 29 per cent of the provincial GDP.

• B.C. is the first government in Canada to enshrine in law the requirement to publish annual reports about regulatory reform, and have reduced regulatory requirements by over 42 per cent since 2001.

• B.C. was the only province to receive an "A" from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business in 2013 for cutting red tape.

Learn More:

To learn more about the BC Small Business Accord, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/smallbusinessaccord

To find out more about starting and growing a business in B.C., visit: www.gov.bc.ca/businessandinvesting

To find out more about the BC Small Business Roundtable, visit: www.smallbusinessroundtable.ca

To learn more about regulatory reform, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/regulatoryreform

To find out more about the BC Chamber of Commerce, visit: www.bcchamber.org

Contact:

Media Relations
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour
250 387-2799