MP Blake Richards (left) and Gary Vidal met with local business owners and supporters at the Meadow Lake Golf Club on Aug. 15. (Nikita Ganovicheff/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Nikita Ganovicheff

Business Concerns

Conservative MP Blake Richards meets with local businesses

Aug 15, 2019 | 4:32 PM

Banff-Airdrie MP Blake Richards met with a dozen local business owners and business supporters on Aug. 15 to discuss their concerns and the issues small businesses face.

Richards is the Conservative shadow cabinet minister for small business, export promotion and tourism, and was joined by Conservative candidate Gary Vidal at the meeting. Richards was appointed the shadow minister in September 2018.

“We had a really good discussion and talked about some of the challenges small businesses are facing. Obviously, many people are expressing their frustration with how difficult it is to make a good living with a small business,” Richards said.

The biggest issue brought up during the meeting was the carbon tax. Richards said the tax drives up costs for businesses who then have to either take the cost themselves or pass it on to their customers.

The Conservative party plan to scrap the carbon tax if they are elected this October which Richards said will have an immediate impact on businesses.

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“We’ll be removing the carbon tax so that’ll take off a significant cost that’s been added, particularly in communities like this one where shipping costs are a huge part of the expense for businesses and for residents too,” Richards said.

Richards emphasized the need to reduce red tape on regulation and lower taxation on small businesses.

“Those challenges seem to be across the board across the country the challenges small businesses face,” Richards said.

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nikita.ganovicheff@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @Nikitaganov