It’s Small Business Week in Canada – a time to recognize and acknowledge the importance of small business to all of our communities.
According to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BCDC), small and medium-sized businesses contribute 54 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product and there are more than 1.2 million small and medium-sized businesses in Canada that help fuel our economy.
Delta plays a strong role in these numbers and the community is built upon small business.
Local shops and businesses are the fabric of our community. They are among the first organizations to support our schools, sports teams and local charities.
The dollars that are spent locally get invested back into our community through the hiring of local services, eating in local cafes/restaurants and coming together to support local events and initiatives. Local businesses are the employers for our friends, our neighbours and many in our community.
Did you know that approximately 98 per cent of businesses in B.C. are small businesses? When we choose to shop local, we are often choosing to support that 98 per cent of our province and our economy.
Local businesses are invested in our community more than just financially. Local business owners are volunteers, philanthropists and support systems for many in the community.
We here at the Optimist rely on the support of small business, which allows us to publish a newspaper in print every week and online every day.
Now more than ever it is vital that we all support the small businesses in our community as we all continue to deal with the challenges of the pandemic.
We may recognize these businesses this week as part of Small Business Week, but it is imperative that we offer them support every day of every week.
Without small businesses, especially the ones here in Delta, our community would not be the great one that it is.
