Three in Ten (29%) Small Business Owners Have Dealt with Legal Disputes in the Last Three Years

Toronto, ON - Three in ten (29%) small business owners in Canada say that they've had to deal with various types of legal disputes in the last three years, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of DAS Canada. The most common type of disputes include collecting money owed by a customer (19%) or a contract dispute with a customer (13%), followed by a contract dispute with a supplier (9%), an employment dispute (7%), appealing a tax audit decision (7%), a customer, supplier or third party causes damage or trespasses or interferes with their business property (7%), appealing a regulatory or business license decision (6%), or a customer, supplier or third party causes bodily injury to one of their employees (5%).

Most (72%) small-business owners say that a legal dispute would have a tangible impact (46% large/26% moderate) on their business, while a minority says it wouldn't (14% no impact at all/13% not much). Despite recognizing the strain it could cause, just 12% of businesses have enough insurance to pay legal costs relating to being sued by employees, suppliers, customers, government regulatory or tax agencies, shareholders or other investors, or appealing a tax audit decision.

Perhaps most troubling is that one in ten (12%) business owners say they personally know another business owner who has lost their business due to lawyer's fees and related costs required to settle a legal dispute. For a more detailed account of the data, please visit: www.das.ca/accesstojustice

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between January 12th to 20th, 2015 on behalf of DAS Canada. For this survey, a sample of 1,005 Canadian small-business owners from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all small businesses with fewer than 100 employees been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos in Canada

Ipsos is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos' marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.

With offices in 87 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across five research specializations: brand, advertising and media, customer loyalty, marketing, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,669.5 ($2,218.4 million) in 2014.

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos' offerings and capabilities.