Retail Council of Canada Asks Atlantic Governments to Adopt a "Small Business Lens" Approach

Toronto, April 16, 2007 – Retail Council of Canada (RCC) welcomed the opportunity to meet today with the four Atlantic Ministers responsible for small businesses to discuss initiatives to remove 'red tape' for small business owners in the provinces and to harmonize regulations where appropriate.

RCC is pleased with the many efforts the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are taking to remove regulatory burdens for small- and mid-size retailers in these provinces.

However, RCC today challenged the four governments to be more proactive and adopt a "Small Business Lens" approach to dealing with future legislative and regulatory changes. This proposed approach is similar to one recently adopted by the B.C. government to review the impacts any new legislation or regulations will have on small and medium-sized businesses.

"As the Voice of Retail, RCC wants to ensure the governments of Atlantic Canada consider the unique needs and challenges of small and mid-size retailers and this is why we are asking for these four governments to adopt a 'Small Business Lens' approach," says Derek Nighbor, Vice-President, National Affairs, Retail Council of Canada. "This approach would encourage all Departments and Ministries in Atlantic Canada contemplating regulations or legislation to look at things from a small and mid-size retailers' perspective before moving forward."

The purpose of the "Small Business Lens" approach would be to take the needs of small and mid-sized retailers into account and ensure that the changes are needed and appropriate, as well as competitive with other jurisdictions, and that the regulations are streamlined and clear.

About Retail Council of Canada
Retail Council of Canada (www.retailcouncil.org) is the Voice of Retail. It is a not-for-profit association representing more than 40,000 stores of all retail formats, including independent merchants, regional and national mass and specialty chains, and online merchants. For more information, contact: Stephanie Petroff, Manager, National Public Affairs, Retail Council of Canada, (416) 922-0553, ext. 228; e-mail: spetroff@retailcouncil.org.