Should businesses be compensated for lost revenue due to construction work?

A new report from theCanadian Federation of Independent Businesssuggests more needs to be done to mitigate the loss of revenue some businesses experience during municipal construction.

According to the report, nearly half of small businesses in Canada have been negatively affected by construction projects at some point in the last five years, which resultin lost sales and in extreme cases the need to move or close up shop.

"It might even be as minor as having a culvert replaced outside their business. That's a day or two of revenue they're not going to get back, though they won't necessarily complain about it," said Vaughn Hammond, the federation's director of provincial affairs in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"If a customer can't get to a business or avail of a service, then that's obviously revenue lost to a small business owner that they can't recover later."

Call for funding

The CFIB is calling for some sort of financial compensation from all three levels of government for small business owners who lose revenue from construction.

That could take the form of a government tax rebate, or some sort of fund set up to help entrepreneurs when customers can't properly access their business during road or infrastructure work,Hammond told CBC'sCentral Morning.

With many Canadian municipalities dealing with aging infrastructure, Hammond said upgrades are going to become much more frequent, so the time is right to address the impact on businesses.

"What we have to recognize is that construction can have an effect on a small business, and it can have such an effect that it goes to the point where a small business owner might not even be able to continue and make a go of it."

Better co-ordination

In addition to special funding, Hammondsaid the CFIB is also calling for better collaboration between municipalities and businesses, so the risk to their bottom line can be minimized.

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He said in light of the report, the group is asking business owners to not hesitatewhen it comes to voicingtheir concerns tolocal town councils, and is also asking councils to work more closelywith businesses.

"That could include planning, co-ordination, better communication," he said,

"What it comes down to is a better relationship between the municipalitiesand small business owners."