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transport truck and personal services businesses

CRA is scrutinizing personal services businesses. Here’s why

As devastating as the global pandemic has been, it did create a new way of thinking for businesses large and small. Remote work became common, Zoom calls the norm and businesses of all sizes shifted their workflow, both to accommodate lockdown restrictions and the evolving work preferences of their employees. At the same time, a […]

CERB relief for students

Government order provides relief for some students who incorrectly claimed CERB

In the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, as the federal and provincial governments rushed to rollout a whirlwind of relief benefits, Canadians applied for income support programs for which they believed they were eligible–one of the most readily available being the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)  Some of those applications were later deemed inappropriate, […]

inflation graph

10 ways to mitigate the business impact of inflation

Businesses across Canada that navigated the pandemic storm and thought they were in the clear soon faced another major challenge: widespread inflation. Rising prices have impacted the cost of everything from labour and materials to machinery and services across sectors. The latest Statistics Canada data puts the official inflation rate at 5.7 per cent year […]

office employees that have access to COVID-19 relief benefits

Ottawa expands access to COVID-19 relief benefits as restrictions tighten

Under intense pressure from the business community, and as COVID-19 restrictions are tightened across the country in an attempt to contain the fast-spreading Omicron variant, the federal government has stated its intention to temporarily expand access to two worker and business relief benefits. The $4 billion expansion would be covered by $4.5 billion in funding […]

person holding a maple leaf after Fiscal and Economic update 2021

Federal Fiscal and Economic Update 2021: Few gifts (or lumps of coal) for business

The federal government tabled its Fiscal and Economic Update 2021 last week and the business community across Canada wondered if it had been all but forgotten. The update was heavy on COVID-19 relief spending and made direct references to the potential uncertainty ahead—including the looming economic impact of the omicron coronavirus variant, global supply chain […]

Ontario Fall Economic Statement

Ontario’s Fall Economic Statement sets the stage for the spring election

Ontario’s Fall Economic Statement, released late last week, was clearly drafted with the province’s upcoming spring election in mind. With a focus on infrastructure and economic development, the statement is aimed at positioning the Progressive Conservatives as the party focused on economic growth, which is their traditional political wheelhouse. But it was also a decidedly […]

From supply chain issues to inflation, new economic risks loom for your business

Business owners are an optimistic lot. They take extraordinary risks to conceive, build and grow their companies. They don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. They persevere even when the odds tower against them. Yet even the most tenacious entrepreneurs can see the economic risks ahead—and it’s putting a damper on their post-pandemic recovery plans. The […]