We were pleased to see a social media post by CKCA member Cripps and Sons of Waugh’s River, Nova Scotia about a meeting they had with their provincial Premier. They got our attention as we continue to encourage our industry to reach out to your political representatives on matters impacting your business. We spoke with Margaret Cripps about what her company did and she was pleased to allow us to share this inspiring story with you.

This small business in the heart of Nova Scotia is a shining example of innovation and determination and we commend them for their passion and commitment to their business. There are so many businesses in Canada like Cripps and Sons and this is why we are also passionate about speaking up on behalf of our members and it’s also why CKCA partners with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Small business is the backbone of the Canadian economy and we encourage consumers to buy from Canadian kitchen cabinet manufacturers. It is not easy running a small business these days, there are many issues facing the industry including labour shortages, technology affordability, trade and competitiveness plus small business must deal with a lot of regulation at all levels of Government. It’s encouraging to see a small company not deterred, but rather determined!

Enough from us, over to you Margaret:

Over the course of the last few months Cripps and Sons has been working with a Gov’t employee through Invest NS to nail down some rebate programs we’re eligible for our operation. As I’m sure many are aware, anything like this comes with a decent amount of paperwork. We worked diligently to get our documentation all in a row to then find out that other larger multinational corporations had successfully gobbled up all the majority of finances without giving small NS businesses a fair opportunity. Although there are no stipulations against this for the multinational corps, it made no sense why the NS Gov’t would put $millions on the table to feed out-of-province based businesses. Don’t get us wrong, there is still a lot of job creation provided by some of these outfits and there should be equal chance. We’ve also been working to sort out paperwork to bring in overseas employees to help with the lack of skilled workers in our area. Through this process we were blindsided by some major setbacks, only to find out that as much effort as we were putting into it all, there was no municipal rep to help us. We had to track down a rep from a neighbouring municipality to give us some direction. We’ve been slightly disappointed by the turns these had taken but persevered through it all, but not as upset as our rep who had spent a lot of time and effort to help lots of small businesses who are all in the same boat.

We have an awesome relationship with this rep, so we all decided we get some officials involved to get some insight into this and make them aware of the downfall of the programs and the lack of representation.

At the first meeting, on the Tuesday, we had Tom Taggart, our MLA, and Mike Gregory, our local councillor visit our workshop. We’ve worked with Tom in the past and Mike is a great local rep who loves innovation and rural NS. Tom has a background in the woodworking industry and was taken back by what we’re striving for and where we’re hoping to go. As Tom was on the road with Tim the coming Friday, he wanted to make sure we addressed to the Premier the issues we were having and to take a look at what rural NS has to offer. As a side note – we’re working on a project in Tim’s neighbourhood and he had been told by a friend, the contractor, that if he’s visiting our area,  he must stop in to see us. Tim mentioned we were on his list of places to visit in our area before our MLA told him they were coming here – kinda cool!

During the Premier’s visit we gave him a first hand look around the shop and showed him some of our unique equipment including a prototype fastener insertion machine, currently the only one in the world, the only edgebander east of Toronto with a specific patented technology, and showed Tim what makes our cabinets just a little different. We were able to show him the pride we have in our family-run operation, the quality of the work that comes from our building as well as the dedication and innovation that drives rural NS businesses. As two of the youngest Red Seal Cabinetmakers in Nova Scotia we explained  how we’re working closely with Apprenticeship NS to help create a cabinetmaker apprenticeship and discussed the number of NSCC Cabinetmaker students we offer work placements to in order to encourage young people in the trade. We were able to have a great chat about the issues we’ve been having, not only as a rural cabinetmaking business but also as a generic small business in NS. We discussed program changes and other options that would create an equilibrium of all businesses within our province.

Whether some of this comes to fruition is unknown, but having the opportunity to have an honest and open discussion with the Premier about some programs that, when slightly altered, could make a massive impact on the effectiveness of the outcome for many small businesses in NS,  the Premier was genuinely impressed by what we have in our hands and we’re hoping that the ripple effect will be greater spread around the province. We didn’t realise this would get the massive amount of publicity it’s turned in to, but would definitely recommend inviting or meeting local politicians so they can see and hear our industry concerns first hand.

One thing we must remember is that we’re a huge part of the building sector. With the rising population around the country, the only way people are going to have their homes filled with cabinetry is to recognise the people behind that part of the process. All of us. Being able to harness programs put in place for Canadian businesses to succeed allows us all, coast to coast, to work together to create a level of quality known as purely Canadian.

Margaret – we couldn’t have said it any better than you. Well done to Cripps and Sons for your work in this area. You are inspiring and we look forward to hearing how this evolves in the future. It is a great example of what a tour of a shop can accomplish. Many people do not know much about the cabinet industry, so that’s why we encourage companies to send out those invites and help your politicians at all levels better understand what you do, how you do it and why you need their support through policy and process.

Note:  CKCA members can access the CKCA Advocacy Kit. This kit contains important industry data that you can share with your guests that further explains what our industry is all about. This tool was created by industry for industry to use. Reach out to us at info@ckca.ca if you would like more information and to receive this free kit.