Fort St. John will celebrate local entrepreneurs during Small Business Week

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Mayor Lilia Hansen and council declared October 15th to 21st as Small Business Week in Fort St. John on October 10th.

On Tuesday, CEO of the FSJ Chamber of Commerce, Kathleen Connolly, alongside board president Adam Reaburn, presented to council members and highlighted the service small businesses do for the community. 

“Small business is the backbone of British Columbia and Canada as a whole, 90 per cent of businesses in B.C. are small or medium-sized,” said Connolly. 

“Without business, there is no community. Without entrepreneurs, communities have no identity, no vision for the future and no foundation for growth.”

Connolly also stated Small Business Week celebrates entrepreneurs and acknowledges the challenges they and their businesses face along the way.

“Small Business Week celebrates those who are brave enough to start a business and who are determined to succeed,” said Connolly. 

She added many of these obstacles include supply chain issues, taxation, permits, labour shortages and changing policies implemented by “Governments that don’t understand how economies work in northern jurisdictions.”

The FSJ Chamber of Commerce thanked the support of city staff, mayor and council, Community Futures, MLA Dan Davies, MP Bob Zimmer and more. 

In the proclamation, mayor Lilia Hansen mentioned that “Fort St. John & District Chamber of Commerce strives to be a leader locally, regionally, provincially, and nationally through initiatives of advocacy that affect business growth and development.”

Hansen honoured the contribution of small businesses to the foundation of the Canadian economy and their support to larger corporations in growing and developing the region.