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Ontario splits with federal government on small-business tax change
Ontario says it won’t apply a controversial federal small-business tax change at the provincial level, reducing the effectiveness of the federal policy on passive investments inside corporations. Story
Liberals deliver tax breaks for businesses in response to Trump’s rate cuts
The Liberal government has delivered billions of dollars in tax breaks for businesses in an economic update that gives priority to incentives for new corporate investment over shrinking the federal deficit. Story
Meal-kit company Fresh Prep faces hefty competition as it gears up for expansion
In the first 1½ years Fresh Prep Foods Inc. was in business, the Vancouver meal-kit company signed on 200 customers. It was a slow start in the rapid-growth business of meal kits, where ingredients for dinner are portioned and packaged to cook at home – cutting out the need to hustle through grocery aisles for each item in a recipe. Fresh Prep, launched in early 2015, spent time figuring out the foundation of its business, the things it does differently than its competitors, from reusable delivery bags to a delivery network of drivers the company oversees. Story
Canada Post warns of delivery delays into 2019, with worst delays in Ontario
Regardless of whether it gets a last-minute deal with its striking employees, Canada Post warned Canadians Tuesday that they can expect delays of parcel and mail delivery into the new year as a result of rotating walkouts. Story
Entrepreneurs can ill afford to skip Twitter in building their business
To the population at large, Twitter is perhaps best known as a place for reading and disseminating news or taking in the musings of celebrities and certain American presidents. Story
WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE
‘At whose expense?’: B.C. entrepreneur says small business owners caught in postal strike crossfire
A Delta small business owner says operations like hers are getting caught in the crossfire between Canada Post and striking postal workers. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has been engaging in rotating strikes since late October, with health and safety concerns a key sticking point in stalled negotiations. Story
Shopify exec donates $500K to create Sandy Hill synagogue: ‘Coolest thing I’ve ever done’
Harley Finkelstein is part of a new generation of philanthropists in town. The kind who wears a black T-shirt to work, or commutes on a motorized skateboard, or rolls in a Mercedes-Benz ragtop coupe; the kind who ditches law to join a startup in 2010 in little offices over a restaurant and, eight years later, is chief operating officer when the company goes gonzo-global with 3,000 employees. Story
Cannabis vaping laws frustrate B.C. entrepreneurs
Canada’s rules around cannabis vaping are frustrating entrepreneurs and putting consumers’ health at risk, according to those in the industry. The federal and provincial governments allow people to own cannabis concentrates meant for vaping and to vape cannabis concentrates, yet federal law bans businesses from selling those concentrates. A change in those laws is expected sometime next year as part of regulatory revisions that also legalize consuming edibles and cannabis-infused drinks. Story
Nenshi attempts to reassure business crowd as huge tax hit looms
Mayor Naheed Nenshi told a gathering of Calgary’s business leaders that the problems caused by empty downtown office towers aren’t getting better — in fact they’re “much worse” — but that city council will “have their back” in the months to come. Story