Community News

ONTARIO NEEDS TO SUPPORT SMALL TOWN SMALL BUSINESSES

CANDIDATES NEED TO ADDRESS INFLATION PRESSURES, FOSTER CONNECTIVITY, WRITES SHOLA EKPERIGIN

Column Shola Ekperigin is owner of My Sweet Sweet World in Hagersville.

The provincial election is around the corner. This is an exciting time for anyone who is invested in making sure our elected officials are concerned about our priorities.

I wanted to write a few issues that are important to me. I own a niche small business, in a beautiful small town. I am paying attention to the candidates' plans and priorities because it affects the survivability of my small town small business.

Inflation: Small town small businesses are at special risk with inflation pressures. With a lower population density, we simply do not have the foot traffic to weather a major squeeze.

Inflation will force many small businesses to increase prices out of necessity; this could potentially lead to lower demand. Also, higher costs of rent, food and gas will lead to less money in the pockets of our prospective customers, further dampening demand.

Many independent small town small businesses cannot compete with the brand recognition or bulk purchasing power of big-box stores. In this election, I am paying special attention to the candidates' plans to ease inflation pressures.

Connectivity: Social media and online connectivity are essential for small town small businesses to compete with more recognizable brands. Small and rural communities need the provincial government to support connectivity infrastructure development in rural communities.

Small town small businesses need affordable and reliable fast internet to stream, post, update their website, process payments, communicate with their local customers and attract visitors from the cities. I am paying attention to candidates' plans to improve high speed connectivity for small and rural communities.

Community events: I believe that what we lack in population density, we more than make up for in community spirit and local support. Haldimand has done a phenomenal job in promoting local businesses, but continued funding and partnership with the province is needed to maintain and improve these initiatives.

Many new residents are still unaware of the incredible small town businesses in our area and find it easier to drive to the nearest big city to shop. I believe that the provincial government should invest in supporting local events that help community bonding. This would give residents a sense of ownership of their local community and give them an opportunity to learn about local businesses close by that they can support.

Elections are always exciting for me; this write-up is meant to push all candidates for political office to be more responsive to the voting power of small town voters, who consider the survival of their local small businesses a motivating voting issue.

"The top priority focus for the Haldimand-Norfolk area is to preserve our precious agricultural land and agricultural based commodities. We need our farms over housing developments or new highways. On another political platform, not only Haldimand Norfolk, but all of Ontario needs to focus on is a way to boost tourism." – Roger Arnold, Lowbanks

OPINION

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2022-05-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281681143485605

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