New mandatory paid sick leave, minimum wage hikes, health care premiums shifted to employers, a new provincial holiday, ever-increasing carbon taxes – the cost of doing business in B.C. has ballooned in recent years, according to a new report from the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT).
Over a three-year period, from 2022 to 2024, GVBOT estimates the additional burden to businesses in B.C. will total $6.5 billion and will start taking its toll in the form of a drag on economic performance and growth.
“These cumulative costs can be the death by a thousand cuts for businesses,” the GVBOT study warns.
“In 2023, B.C. is entering a period of economic uncertainty, with many projecting a slowdown in economic growth or a shallow recession. While B.C. fared well during the pandemic compared to other provinces in growth and employment, many private sector forecasters project that B.C. will trail most provinces in real GDP growth in 2023 and 2024.”
GVBOT is projecting real GDP to contract by one per cent in 2023, before rebounding to 1.9 per cent growth in 2024. It notes that the Canadian Survey of Business Conditions found 34 per cent of businesses in Metro Vancouver expect a decline in profitability in the next quarter due to economic conditions.
"Small and medium-sized businesses are disproportionately impacted by higher interest rates and rising costs that are making it incredibly challenging for them to grow and thrive," said GVBOT CEO Bridgitte Anderson. "The report...
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