Nancy Gardiner
Northern News Services

NNSL (Apr 05/99) - Flexibility, layoffs and lifestyle are among reasons why the number of home-based businesses are on the rise in the North.

This sector of the retail economy is starting to be recognized as a separate group. In Hay River, more than half the town's businesses are home-based. There were 210 commercial business licences and 124 home occupation business licences registered from April 1, 1998 to March 31, 1999.

Similarly, for the city of Yellowknife, there were 571 home occupations and 943 commercial business licences taken out in 1998.

For the first two months of 1999, there were 50 home occupations registered and 73 commercial.

"In trade publications now there are specific businesses servicing home-based businesses, designed to accommodate home business equipment needs," Alan Vaughan, vice-president of the NWT Chamber of Commerce said.

"And in software sales, home occupations are ticked off on a box, so people are tracking it now when software is bought," he said.

"Home occupations are a noticeable and valuable part of the economy and very important to the North," he said.

"And the trend is that they are increasing."

Vaughan was asked to undertake some research on home occupations by a member of the NWT chamber. He did so on a committee he chairs.

The NWT chamber's position is that home-based businesses are a good thing and important to the economy, Vaughan said. It is felt by the chamber that while municipalities should regulate them, there is no standard set of rules for all municipalities and rules should be set in the context of specific communities.

The chamber's research found several common issues but the issues do not have to necessarily be adopted by any of the different municipalities, Vaughan said. Some common issues identified were parking, signage, residential character and land use.

Other concerns included unfair competition to businesses that take up commercial space and municipalities losing out on tax revenue. But others felt home occupations were a natural and essential step in the evolution of small business because they reduce start-up costs and allow for flexibility.

"We cannot have a territorial position on it. These issues should be taken into account (by individual municipalities) and dealt with," Vaughan said.