Regina small businesses 'feeling a crunch' as rising utility rates affect their bottom line
Saskatchewan small business owners are raising concerns about rising utility costs that could be detrimental to their bottom line.
In the last six months, utility bills at the Cure Kitchen and Bar in Regina have nearly doubled, according to co-owner Morgan Choquer.
Between rising utility rates and the growing cost of food supplies, Choquer said the restaurant had no choice but to increase prices.
“We’re feeling a crunch and it’s also being piled on by the lack of people willing to spend money,” she said.
“We do see a similar amount of people coming through the door, but I think people are spending less when they do come in.”
SaskPower increased its rates by four per cent last September. Rates went up another three per cent in the New Year. As of April 1, SaskPower is expected to increase rates by another four per cent.
SaskPower has previously said the increases are driven by the rising price of natural gas and the company’s’ expected reliance on the resource as coal is phased out.
About 93 per cent of Saskatchewan’s small businesses have seen energy costs increase despite their energy consumption staying about the same or decreasing, according to a recent survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)
“We’ve been hearing concerns from small business owners that these cost increases are going to further erode their bottom line and ultimately they’ll have no choice but to increase their prices and pass those costs onto consumers,” said Brianna Solberg, CFIB Director of Provincial Legislative Affairs.
Solberg said small businesses are still suffering from the effects of pandemic-related debt and stress.
The average small business owner in the province faces $63,000 in debt, according to CFIB survey results. About 12 per cent of small businesses are considering closing their doors.
“Small business owners thought that they were finished dealing with the pandemic after restrictions ended. However they are not in the clear yet and they are still very much trying to fight an uphill battle,” Solberg said.
The CFIB wrote a letter to the provincial government, urging officials to scrap the upcoming power rate increase in April.
The official opposition echoed those calls.
NDP MLA Aleana Young said this is not a policy issue and small businesses are not asking for a handout.
“They’re asking the government to stop adding taxes and costs everywhere that they can and to stop trying to balance their own books on the backs of entrepreneurs and households in Saskatchewan,” Young said.
The province stands behind the rate review panel’s recommendations for the 2022 and 2023 increases.
Prior to 2022, it had been more than four years since the last SaskPower rate increase, according to a statement from the provincial government.
“The Government of Saskatchewan does not take rate increases lightly. Without a rate increase, SaskPower’s financial pressures would grow over time, and damage the company’s ability to provide the safe, reliable power that our customers expect,” the statement read.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6877535.1715120774!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Senior charged in shooting of teen on rural property north of Edmonton
A Sturgeon County man has been charged after he allegedly shot a teen over the weekend.
Altercation between 'numerous' golfers on B.C. course broken up by RCMP
Authorities broke up an altercation involving "numerous" golfers at a course in B.C.'s Lower Mainland over the weekend – an incident that was apparently prompted by serious breaches in etiquette.
'He was bigger than life': Former broadcaster Scott Boyd dies at 68
Former Breakfast Television co-host and radio broadcaster Scott Boyd has died at the age of 68.
Judge grants U of T injunction to clear pro-Palestinian encampment from downtown Toronto campus
An Ontario judge has granted the University of Toronto an injunction allowing it to clear out a pro-Palestinian encampment from its downtown Toronto campus
RFK Jr. says he has 'skeletons in my closet' after sexual assault allegation
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Tuesday he has 'so many skeletons in my closet,' when asked about an allegation in a Vanity Fair article that he sexually assaulted a former family babysitter.
Eastern Ontario doctor accused of killing four patients acquitted of murder charges, negligence
An eastern Ontario doctor facing four charges of first-degree murder and negligence causing death in connection with the deaths of four seniors at a Hawkesbury hospital was acquitted on all charges at the Ottawa courthouse on Tuesday.
Ontario police seize over $1M in cocaine, $300K in cash in major drug bust
Police in Cornwall, Ont. have seized approximately $1.3 million worth of cocaine and $300,000 in cash as part of a major drugs investigation.
Are fewer Canadians having children? We want to hear from you
Are you choosing not to have children? CTVNews.ca wants to hear from you.
NHL free agency shows teams in U.S. states with no income tax have an advantage
It's become difficult to deny the impact of favourable tax situations for teams around the NHL.