We’re All in This Together (except Small Business Owners)

I was two years into starting my cosmetic clinic in downtown Toronto and had just hired my second employee when COVID hit. Despite my 70-hour weeks, gargantuan bank debt, and seemingly never-ending battles with local bureaucracy, my small business has received exactly zilch from government. I was all the more furious then after reading the recent exposé on the complete lack of checks being placed on the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit program (CERB).

Starting a Small Business

Due to our (for now) low level of employees, thousands of small businesses owners, like myself, have been shut out from Ottawa’s relief plans. As a member of numerous business associations in Toronto, however, I can guarantee that these operators work far harder and contribute much more on average than large sections of the CERB beneficiaries (certainly those who will game this apparently hugely, game-able program). Take the case of a 32-year-old woman and small business owner whose own pressures pushed her to committing suicide this month. According to a tweet from a friend who knew her, ‘The business was totally trashed by the lockdown it all became too much’ for her. Would things have been different if Ottawa had better arranged its priorities? Perhaps by putting proper checks in place, stopping payments from going to foreign students, laying off a few pricey government workers, or asking more from some of our already propped-up corporations? After years of working for a large firm, I ventured out on my own, opening up a laser cosmetic clinic, despite having no background or education in the field. I researched business trends in numerous industry segments and thought this one had some opportunity for growth. In the first 2 years I lost money, my loans looked insurmountable, but I plugged away.

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Then the virus hit

Last September, I hired my first employee. It was an exciting moment knowing that I was contributing to the labour market. Sales soon started picking up, and in the last 4 months of 2019, I was earning the most revenue ever. I wasn’t getting rich, but I had stopped hemorrhaging money, and was able to turn a small profit. In February of this year, I hired my second employee. I also then paid to send both employees on extensive (and expensive) training courses. We were all quite excited about growing together. Then the virus hit. Any new business owner will tell you that most weeks are 75 hours of work and very little down-time. All of us beginners knew that would be the case. That is one of the prices we decided to pay to hopefully obtain our own independent income source. But even still, we knew our work week would never be less than 55 hours.

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Arbitrary nature of Ottawa’s relief programs

My association friends and I don’t complain about the long days. We don’t agonize about the money we tend to lose the first couple years and even the high taxes and bureaucratic red tape slide off our backs. What does draw complaints is not being treated fairly. There are a vast number of small businesses like mine, who were once on the up, but, due to the arbitrary nature of Ottawa’s relief programs, and the apparent waste they’re creating with CERB and no doubt elsewhere, are now in free fall. We're not asking for a hand-out, just a hand up, considering the risk and work-load we take on. So when my friends and I hear the COVID slogan “We're All In This Together”, we know more than anyone that this is just feel-good, PR-speak that is, per the usual, an attempt to cover up inept, leaderless government. Much of big business has received relief because they can call up their friends in Ottawa. Canadian university students and young, urban loafers are getting it because they can wave placards and shout. Us, small business owners? We haven’t the resources or time to do either.