Rosa Pino, owner of Simply Biscotti on Preston Street, is among the 77 per cent of Ottawa business owners found to be unhappy with city hall in a survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of
Ottawa’s small business owners have been losing confidence in the city every month since May, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
The CFIB’s Business Barometer Index is the tool that is used to measure the confidence of small business owners.
Factors that are taken into consideration include indicators like unfilled customer orders and the amount of overtime available for staff, cost concerns, financing available and the owner’s opinion on the overall state of their business.
Louis Parent, director of provincial affairs of CFIB, says that while Canada wasn’t hit as hard as many other countries in the recession, people have been losing confidence because the recovery that they were promised is taking longer than expected.
He says especially in Ottawa, small business owners seem to be the ones struggling to survive in the city.
“Locally, there has been a lot of feeling from small businesses that they’re not being heard enough at city hall,” says Parent.
“Especially with what’s been going on around the city other than the recession like the bus strike and major construction.”
Parent says that small business owners are looking for more awareness from the city.
He says the major construction that took place on Preston and Bank streets took a toll on small businesses.
“When it happens a few summers in a row and all the city does is put up signs saying they’re still open, that’s not enough,” Parent says.
But Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes says small business owners are not going to get the compensation they’re asking for.
“Small businesses often ask for compensation but under legislation we cannot give compensation,” Holmes says. “The city really couldn’t afford to pay every business affected, and when old pipes need to be changed we have to dig up the roads, it’s not really something we have a choice in.”
While it seems clear that small business owners won’t be seeing monetary compensation anytime soon, many of them are just asking to be recognized in the city along with the larger businesses.
Rosa Pino is a new small business owner. She owns Simply Biscotti on Preston Street.
While she says she hasn’t yet had any issues with the city, she wants to be sure that her business can survive in Ottawa.
“I’m hoping we can grow in the way that they say the city is growing,” Pino says.“I hope that they don’t forget the little guy along with the big guy. We don’t want to be left behind.”
Pino says that while she has many of the same concerns as any business owner, such as tax increases, she’s still optimistic for the future of small business owners in Ottawa.
“As the city is evolving, don’t just think of the big guy because the little guy is the one who really makes the paycheques,” she says.
Some small business owners say they’re doing fine on their own.
Dave Dudley, owner of Dave’s Drum Shop on Gladstone Avenue, says he doesn’t think CFIB’s statistics apply to him.
“I’m pretty optimistic to begin with, but I haven’t really had anything to worry about,” Dudley says.
Dudley says when it comes to his business, he has never really expected anything from the city. Because he owns a specialty music store, he says he has the support of the music community and a strong customer base.
“Coming from a musician business, you learn about hard times and you deal with them in a positive way,” Dudley says.
“I started my business when the economy was just collapsing. I forged through that time, so now I’m feeling more confident.”