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Pique publisher selected for Small Business Roundtable

Kathy Barnett, co-owner and publisher of Pique Newsmagazine, was one of 24 small business owners named last week to sit on the newly created Small Business Roundtable with Rick Thorpe, the minister of small business and revenue, and the minister resp

Kathy Barnett, co-owner and publisher of Pique Newsmagazine, was one of 24 small business owners named last week to sit on the newly created Small Business Roundtable with Rick Thorpe, the minister of small business and revenue, and the minister responsible for regulatory reform.

The roundtable will provide a forum for small businesses to voice their concerns and ideas on behalf of B.C.’s small business community. Candidates were selected to represent different regions, industries, associations and small businesses.

"Establishing the Small Business Roundtable is the next step toward achieving our goal to make British Columbia the most small-business-friendly jurisdiction in Canada," said Thorpe. "We want to hear directly from the small business community about their issues and priorities and how we can work together to improve the economic prosperity of small business in B.C."

Thorpe will chair the group. Kevin Evans the vice-president of the Retail Council of Canada and chair of the Coalition of B.C. Businesses, and Oliver mayor and former small business owner Linda Larson will serve as vice chairs.

The group will visit 16 communities between now and next spring, seeking feedback from the small business community. That information will be included in a report with recommendations on how the provincial government can better serve and promote small businesses.