On Monday, August 28, we hosted a special version of #StartupChats, where we discussed government relations tools and resources for Canadian entrepreneurs. This #StartupChats discussion was presented by our partners at Mastercard.
This chat was hosted by Natasha Morano, President of NHM Connect and Corporate & Government Affairs Director at Startup Canada, and Brad Vis, Member of Parliament for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon and Shadow Minister for Small Business Recovery and Growth!
Check out these highlights from our discussion:
- Brad: Canadian officials, especially members of parliament (MP) have unique access to other ministers in parliament and an array of officials and departments. For example, if you’re a small business owner and having trouble connecting with the CRA, your local MP can help expedite your case!
- Brad: If you want to connect with your local MP, simply give your local constituency office a call! You can come to your MP’s office to learn more about what support public officials can offer. Find your local MP at https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en
- Brad: As an MP, I have a unique tool to demand info from a government department that an average citizen wouldn’t have access to and use it to advocate for small businesses. As the shadow minister, I work to find out what small businesses want and work to develop policies to improve the business climate for entrepreneurs across Canada.
- Brad: For entrepreneurs, I’d recommend checking out the Business Grants and Financing page on the Government of Canada website to see what is available to you: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/business/grants.html. I also recommend checking out the Trade Commissioner Service, they have trade officers located all across Canada to help you connect with local markets.
- Natasha: Lobbyists have some different tools we use, you can check some of them out in our Startup Gov toolkit for entrepreneurs at https://bit.ly/startup-gov!
Watch the recording
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