After consulting with small businesses throughout the province, government is taking action to make it easier for small businesses to compete for - and win - government contracts.

Released today on the one-year anniversary of the BC Small Business Accord, the Small Business - Doing Business with Government Project report contains 12 recommendations to reduce the barriers facing small business and make doing business with government easier.

Today government committed to accept all 12 recommendations and begin taking action to implement them.

The recommendations include:

• Implement a cost-effective small business outreach and training approach.
• Improve BC Bid functions, develop a tutorial and consider reducing or eliminating fees.
• Implement a strategy to communicate about existing and future contract possibilities.
• Explore establishment of a supplier management tool.
• Encourage government's larger suppliers to post and promote opportunities for small businesses.
• Develop centrally accessible plain language information and resources.
• Explore ways to expand the scope of proactively released contract award summaries.
• Enhance staff training to promote best practices throughout the contract management lifecycle.
• Streamline procurement processes and templates.
• Implement a new policy and approach for welcoming new ideas.
• Explore ways to further achieve ministry mandates and objectives through governments purchasing decisions.
• Establish clear accountability for reporting out on results and tracking progress through the Minister of State for Tourism and Small Business.

The Doing Business with Government Project builds on the key principles of the BC Small Business Accord, established one year ago today, to "create long-term growth opportunities for small business through government procurement."

Quotes:

Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of State for Small Business -

"After consulting with small businesses, the Doing Business with Government Project has delivered 12 clear and concrete recommendations on how to ensure that small businesses have more opportunities to apply for - and win -government business. "

"On the one-year anniversary of the Small Business Accord, it is exciting to say we are accepting all 12 recommendations and we will begin to take action on them immediately. This is a part of our plan to ensure B.C. is the most small business friendly jurisdiction in Canada."

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

"When it comes to landing government contracts, our small businesses start at a disadvantage: with few exceptions, they lack the resources to identify and pursue these opportunities. It's encouraging to see a government that has not only identified this issue, but is working proactively to deal with it."

"Chambers around B.C. appreciate the tangible steps B.C.'s government is taking to bring public-sector contracts within reach of our small businesses."

Tim Draper, vice-president sales, B.C., TELUS -

"We applaud the B.C. government's efforts to support small businesses. At TELUS, we work hard every day to support small business clients, who in many cases are also our partners and suppliers."

"We procure from a substantial number of small businesses every year, and have an award-winning Supplier Diversity program in which we provide training and mentorship for targeted groups."

Quick Facts:

• During the fall of 2013, eight consultation sessions were held in communities throughout B.C.
• In total, 108 small business owners and representatives attended these sessions and hundreds more interacted through email, telephone and social media.
• Small business is a key economic driver in B.C. with 98% of all businesses being small businesses.
• The small business sector provides nearly 55% of all private sector jobs, employs over one million people and generates 26% 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 has reduced regulatory requirements by over 42% since 2001.
• B.C. was the only province to receive an "A" from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business in 2013 and 2014 for cutting red tape.

Learn More:

To read the Small Business - Doing Business with Government Report, visit: www.jtst.gov.bc.ca/selltobcgov/reports.htm

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

Media Contact:

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