Duane Hicks
The local business community would like more input on any future amendments to the town’s business licensing bylaw.
Town council voted 5-1 against a recommendation to approve an amended draft of the bylaw during its regular meeting Monday night, citing it needed more changes and clarification.
Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce president Jennifer Greenhalgh said after the meeting that the current business licensing bylaw, which was passed in 2005, should be reviewed “very closely.”
“That makes it 11 years old, and there are things that have developed, technologically and otherwise, that maybe need to be given some thought,” she noted.
“I don’t think we should rush into it but I think we need to, as a business community, review what’s out there,” added Greenhalgh.
“We did take a survey to see what kind of input we would get and we got a lot of input—that’s good.
“The Chamber of Commerce represents business, which is the heart and core of the economic development of Fort Frances,” Greenhalgh remarked.
“I really do feel the business community should have more input.”
“It affects us directly,” noted Inga Friesen of Merge2.
As Greenhalgh noted, the Chamber recently conducted an online survey regarding the business licensing bylaw, which indicated respondents have varied but strong opinions about the amended version.
Perhaps most telling is the final portion of the survey, which asked for feedback and recommendations to improve the proposed bylaw update.
Some of the comments included:
•“Keep it simple. Enforce the current bylaw.”
•“If you are going to have a licence process, then it needs to be actively enforced; otherwise, it becomes just another tax to those who comply rather than the service and tool it was designed to be.”
•“Contrary to the stated intention of the [Town of Fort Frances], the business licensing bylaw needs to be updated to ‘make it more clear’ and ‘up to date.’ It is instead becoming regressive and more imprecise.
“It essentially writes the Town of Fort Frances bylaw enforcement a ‘blank cheque’ because of an alarming lack of clarity and qualifiers defining various points. This leaves it open to interpretation and therefore also open to potential misapplication.
“The proposed bylaw changes are also overreaching in the demand for information not previously required and not essential to acquiring or holding a business licence in other municipalities.”
•“The proposed business licensing bylaw, as currently re-written, will further undermine Fort Frances’ business growth and contribute to the ongoing decline of the local economy.
“It will create yet another roadblock for, and discourage, new small ventures from even starting up here.
“It must not under any circumstances be passed, but be sent back to the drawing board and updated to reflect what growing, forward-thinking communities do in their bylaws that support and govern their business sector.”
•“For the protection of all consumers in the Fort Frances/Rainy River District, [having] a business licence bylaw is a very good idea. All people would have the confidence that all solicitors and businesses have been cleared and fraudulent practices would be thwarted.”
•“We strongly believe that liability insurance protects everyone involved. The amount for liability insurance [anything over $1 million] should be at the customer’s request, not the town’s.
“However, any business operating within Fort Frances, and around Fort Frances, should have at least $1 million liability insurance to obtain a business licence and carry on business in Fort Frances.”
•“While the town should not mandate that a business carry liability insurance, it may be in the best interest of that business to carry some form of coverage for their own business. Some are required to carry professional insurance.
“If the business is renting space, they should check with the building owner as they would have some level of liability insurance through his/her property insurance policy that may be sufficient coverage.
“In this case, the business tenant could be exempt.”
•“All businesses should have WSIB, and be current and checked on a regular basis every three months. Should be on the town website who is OK to work.”
•“Although the City of Kenora does have something similar in place, it has never really been applied to business owners and they are in the process of making changes because it is obsolete.”
•“I believe the proposed collection of private information by the town is unconstitutional and may well cross over some privacy boundaries.”
•“The current business licence fee is nominal. Consider it a tax or admin fee to register in town. My only concern is if the fee continues to increase.”
•“No other community in the area has a bylaw that even remotely resembles this piece of work. . . . We need a bylaw that allows the business owner to make their own decisions, does not impede starting a business in the course of a few days, and does not stymie new business growth or business expansion.
“It is ironic that our town councillors want to run my [and others] businesses but not share in the risk.
“Whoever supports this bylaw will not be getting my support in 2018 as it demonstrates short-sightedness on their part.”
•“With my operations crossing provincial and international borders, I have never experienced any other community or municipality mandating a business hold any form of insurance to obtain a business licence.
“This action is unprecedented from what I have witnessed in other areas. . . .
“As community leaders, the [Town of Fort Frances] needs to make it easier for new businesses to open and existing businesses to expand.”
•“This update seems to far override what is necessary and will negatively affect small business, in particular, to the point that many people may be forced to break the law to avoid disaster.”
