Entrepreneurs say moves don’t go far enough
By Derek Sankey, For The Calgary Herald May 8, 2010
When the federal government recently introduced changes to Employment Insurance benefits for self-employed Canadians, it was touted as a big win for entrepreneurs who now have the option to pay into EI to receive parental benefits they couldn’t previously access.
But after several weeks it has become apparent that many small business owners and selfemployed Canadians don’t know about the changes and while some welcome the move, others say it doesn’t go far enough.
The Fairness for the Self-Employed Act meant that selfemployed Canadians could start opting into the new program beginning April 1 this year to begin receiving benefits by January 2011.
The act provides EI maternity, parental/adoption, sickness and compassionate care benefits to self-employed Canadians, who pay into the program for a specified period before becoming eligible to receive them.
“When I first heard about it, I thought it was perfect — the government is catching on — it’s sort of a lagging indicator of the trend that’s already in this upswell,” says Christie Schultz, founder of Calgary-based Entrepreneurial Moms International.
“But for this particular legislations, it seems to me this is going to benefit the people who have really firmly established themselves in their business and perhaps their spouse is an entrepreneur, as well,” says Schultz.
“When you start reading the fine print, it’s (not) as beneficial for the typical person in our network.”
Entrepreneurial Moms is a global networking and support services organization for mom entrepreneurs who are just launching their business ideas and often already have a spouse with a full-time job.
Schultz says she hopes more changes will be rolled out to help cover the wider range of circumstances for self-employed individuals and “mompreneurs.”
“I think, going forward there should be different packages that should be available,” says Schultz, who has a nine-month-old, a three-year-old and a five-year-old.
So far, most entrepreneurs appear to know very little about the changes.
A survey by Bizlaunch, a large entrepreneur training company, shows that while 72 per cent of respondents believe the new EI parental/maternity benefits will have some impact on their family or business decision-making, 69 per cent were not aware of their obligations around this new benefit or their entitlements.
And only 11 per cent were planning on taking advantage of the early opt-in to receive benefits as soon as they kick in by early 2011.
In Alberta, there are 110,000 female entrepreneurs, with 50 per cent of women under the age of 35 and typically college educated.
Reactions to the new changes have been mixed.
“At first I thought it was another tax grab, but I am going to sign up for it for sure because I plan to have my next baby soon,” says Carol Mc-Bee, an Edmonton entrepreneur who runs three companies.
“I think this is just the Canadian government taking some cues from what some of the provinces are doing and getting a pulse on what people need. It’s just one more safety net so there are still those benefits for women,” says McBee. “I think they are bang on.”
Laura Watson, sole proprietor of Venture Coaching in Calgary, primarily coaches women entrepreneurs. While she doesn’t plan on having kids, she talks to many clients who are in that position.
“I think (the EI changes) are going to be well-received with the small business community because work-life balance is so important to entrepreneurs and this is just another means available to be able to make that happen,” says Watson.
Schultz advises people to evaluate the program carefully before signing up. “You would have to really work your numbers,” she says. “I was looking at it and doing my own numbers and it wouldn’t really make any sense for me. It is very individual.”
There is also the risk that you could pay into the program only to be denied benefits if the business fails or you change jobs.
As entrepreneurs get owing number of self-employed Canadians and how much they contribute to the economy.
“I think (Ottawa) is responding to a fairly assertive voice from the entrepreneur community saying: ‘Hey, what about us?’ ” says Schultz.
derek.sankey@telus.net
