YORKTON - In Saskatchewan where hard work and a spirit of co-operation have long been part of our collective make-up, it maybe isn’t surprising Small Business Week and Co-operatives Week overlap.
Small Business Week, has marked the importance of those businesses with less than 50 employees for decades, launching nearly 50 years ago by Business Development Bank of Canada.
The week celebrates the important contributions small businesses make to the economy, and when you look around Yorkton, and other Saskatchewan communities, small businesses dot the streets and drive much of a local economy.
"While the businesses may be small, the impact that they have on this province's economy is massive," said Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison in a release. "Small businesses provide the products, services and jobs that are so vital to our everyday lives. More than thirty per cent of all workers in the province work for a small business."
In many communities, side-by-side with entrepreneurial spirit which launches most small business is the co-operative effort of local people banding together to fill a need.
It is those efforts marked by Co-operatives Week, a week recognizing the contributions local co-operatives make, which help ensure communities can continue to grow.
"Co-operatives are a vital part of Saskatchewan's economy and continue to provide essential jobs, products and services to communities of all sizes," Harrison said in a second release. "From providing approximately 15,000 jobs across sectors, to investing their profits back into the province, co-ops are helping to grow our economy and create a better quality of life for families and communities in Saskatchewan."
In terms of local economies small business and co-operatives are most definitely two of the cornerstones – the others being larger corporate business and agriculture.
A small business might too often be taken for granted – appreciated too often as an afterthought if it closes, but it is important their contributions are marked.
It’s the same when thinking of co-operatives, when a tip of the hat to the collective effort of community members is a good thing.
Of course the best way to thank a small business, or co-operative is to walk in the front door and buy something.
Certainly there are options today when purchasing many items, online, or hopping in the car and heading to a larger centre.
But, it is the local store that pays wages, and the staff buy homes, pay taxes, keep children in schools and ultimately build community.
We should not forget that, and the two weeks being marked Oct. 15-21, help us remember.
