BizNews This Week Archives - Victoria Chamber

Provincial deficit looms as Premier seeks fed funding

September 17, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Government Provincial, Inflation And Rising Costs, New And Established Businesses, Safe Communities, Streamlined Regional Regulations/by Jim Zeeben

A day after admitting the provincial books are deeper in the red than initially forecast, BC’s Premier is in Ottawa seeking more cash from the federal government.

On Tuesday, BC Finance Minister Brenda Bailey updated the budget forecast to show a deficit of $11.6 billion for 2025. That’s $665 million more than expected. The deficit is forecast to rise to $12.6 billion next year and $12.3 billion in 2027-28.

The Chamber is calling on all levels of government to focus on needs and set aside wants until our financial circumstances improve.

“I’m hearing from our business community that times are tight and they are doing everything they can to streamline and live within their means,” Chamber CEO John Wilson said. “They expect governments to do the same with the taxes they collect from all of us.”

The province has committed to cutting back its spending, noting it was able to find $300 million in savings this year.

Premier David Eby said he’s pushing for more major infrastructure projects in BC, as well as urgent action to address public safety.

The Chamber applauds these steps, while acknowledging that patience has worn thin among the business community facing a crisis from public disorder and the crushing burden of red tape and taxes.

“I’ll keep saying it as long as I need to. Enough is enough,” Wilson said. “We’ve heard enough announcements without seeing adequate results. That needs to change.”

IDEA committee hears how equity helps employers

September 17, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Fair Rules, Training And Microcredentials/by Jim Zeeben

The Chamber’s IDEA committee met this week after taking a break over summer, and heard a great presentation from the team at the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria. Paulina Grainger, Billie Tess and Parker Johnson provided an overview of ICA’s Tools for Equity program. It was an enlightening and informative conversation about the benefits that organizations get from helping everyone have a chance to succeed.

The program offers tools to address systemic and institutional racism that exists in many workplaces. The work helps build better businesses and great community, while improving the competency of management and employees.

The ICA will work with any organization wanting to become more inclusive in order to stay relevant, competitive and an employer of choice.

Borrowing costs drop as Bank of Canada cuts rate

September 17, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Global Uncertainty, Inflation And Rising Costs/by Jim Zeeben

As expected, the Bank of Canada lowered its policy interest rate by 25 basis points, bringing it to 2.5%.

The news follows yesterday’s report from Statistics Canada showing inflation remains stable, coming in at 1.9% in August.

The Conference Board of Canada said a weakening economy makes the cuts appropriate, especially as we have so far avoided the rising costs that many feared would result from US tariff announcements.

“Up to now, inflationary concerns about the trade dispute with the US have largely been evaded,” the Conference Board said. “Looking ahead, we’re cautiously optimistic that this trend will continue, and that inflation will continue to moderate. On Sept. 1, the federal government removed retaliatory tariffs on $44 billion worth of goods which have been in place since March. The removal of these tariffs will take away some upward price pressure and has instilled further confidence in the Bank’s decision to cut its key policy rate today.”

Work begins on amalgamation question for voters

September 17, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Government Local, Streamlined Regional Regulations/by Jim Zeeben

In July, a Citizens’ Assembly announced that its research showed that residents in the City of Victoria and District of Saanich would be better served by an amalgamated municipality.

Victoria was quick to begin working on the wording of the question that will go to voters next October. And, on Monday, Saanich followed suit with a decision to work with its neighbour on the question.

The Chamber has been calling for amalgamation for decades. We were strong supporters of the Citizens’ Assembly process and worked to keep it on track through the pandemic years.

It’s been a slow process, but finally voters will have their chance to make a decision that many have been calling for. The next BC General Local Elections are set for Oct. 17, 2026.

Minister meets with Chamber to hear about business issues

September 17, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Chamber News, Global Uncertainty, Government Provincial, Hospitality And Tourism Rescue And Recovery, Safe Communities, Training And Microcredentials, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

The Chamber would like to thank BC’s Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, Jessie Sunner, for meeting with members of Greater Victoria’s business community today.

The Minister had lunch with Chamber members and staff after a tour of Camosun College‘s Interurban Campus. The meeting was a welcome opportunity to hear about the province’s plans to address ongoing challenges in BC, and hear from businesses about the value of supporting local education as well as urgent issues facing Greater Victoria.

Members from the post-secondary sector as well as aviation, hospitality and transportation industries spoke candidly with the Minister about actions they would like to see happen.

“We spoke about investing in trades training, and we also spoke about the crisis happening in downtown Victoria, and the need to not damage businesses there,” Chamber CEO John Wilson said. “Yes, this is a complex problem that involves all levels of government, but that is precisely why we need all levels of government to listen to business.”

Policies like a Canada-wide restriction on foreign workers or allowing downtown Victoria public sector offices to remain vacant have ripple effects that hamper the ability of businesses to operate.

Without the vibrancy that businesses create everyday, there’s a real risk we’re hollowing out an invaluable economic engine for our region.

Government decisions must consider downtown

September 10, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Safe Communities/by Jim Zeeben

Let’s be clear about an issue that’s sparking plenty of conversations.

Downtown Victoria is facing a crisis.

That’s not to deny the natural beauty or economic power of downtown, which remains a gem for our region. Anyone who visits our destination can see how special this area is among the world’s small cities.

But most can also see that warning bells are ringing ever louder, and, if immediate action is not taken, we could face an even more dire situation. Businesses downtown are fed up with crime, social disorder, increasing costs and labour shortages, Chamber CEO John Wilson told Global News.

Wilson was speaking about the cumulative impact of all levels of government not doing enough to invest in downtown. The ongoing BCGEU strike signals another pain point. The issue is not with public sector workers seeking to continue working from home, but with a government that has allowed its workforce to flee downtown without a real plan for the hundreds of businesses that have evolved to serve these workers.

“The public sector workforce in the downtown core is instrumental in supporting some of these small and mid-sized businesses. Some of them were put in place to support that workforce, whether it be coffee shops, lunch shops, things like that,” Wilson told Global News. “The downtown core needs these workers back in the office space, the private industry, the economy and the vibrancy of downtown Victoria is being greatly affected — I think it has a trickle-down effect on the safety and disorder in the downtown core, too, with the lack of busyness down here.”

With the federal government and most other provinces bringing workers back to offices, The Chamber is calling for BC to do the same — or provide a pragmatic plan for filling vacant or underutilized offices downtown. The province must do better than adding another burden to the private sector without considering the consequence.

Timely data to make sense of business environment

September 10, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Chamber Awareness/by Jim Zeeben

In an age of economic uncertainty, having access to real-time data can help businesses make sense of shifting conditions. That’s how a new tool from the Canadian Chamber can provide insight between gaps in official reporting.

BDLNow adjusts its estimate based on recently released high-frequency economic indicators. The tool generates an estimate of Canada’s GDP growth rate for the present quarter as well as for the previous quarter, months ahead of Statistics Canada’s official data release.

Unlike a forecast, the nowcast is purely model-driven, which makes it dynamic and versatile and provides leading accuracy as new economic data becomes available.

Check out BDLNow

Hospitality businesses urged to stock up on liquor

September 10, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Finding And Keeping Workers, Hospitality And Tourism Rescue And Recovery, Immigration And Integration/by Jim Zeeben

The BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association is advising its members to stock up on liquor inventories in the event the BCGEU strike targets BC Liquor Distribution Branch warehouses and stores.

“We advise you to immediately stock up on your liquor inventories. Based on multiple conversations and reliable intel, it’s very likely that the BCGEU strike action will target BC Liquor Distribution Branch warehouses and stores,” BCRFA President and CEO Ian Tostenson said in a statement. “If this happens, restaurants and bars will not be able to access product through normal channels.”

The Chamber works closely with the BCRFA and will call for changes to supply chain regulations to ensure this type of costly disruption can’t happen in future. The Chamber is currently working with the BCRFA on resolving concerns about the Temporary Foreign Worker program. The Chamber has called for regions of low unemployment such as Greater Victoria to be exempt from a nationwide pause on the program. A one-size-fits-all approach does not work. And current efforts to politicize immigration do a disservice to people who are new-to-Canada contributing to our workforce.

The Chamber will continue to advocate on behalf of members who need help finding and keeping workers.

FortisBC President and CEO shares insights with business

September 10, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Global Uncertainty/by Jim Zeeben

The head of one of BC’s largest regulated utilities offered some sage advice to more than 90 business and community leaders yesterday at the Hotel Grand Pacific.

Speaking at The Chamber’s Business Leaders Series event, FortisBC President and CEO Roger Dall’Antonia said it’s important to depoliticize decisions that could affect a business for years or even decades.

“The thing that is unique for the business community right now is we’re dealing with geopolitical issues that have far-reaching implications,” Dall’Antonia said, noting that projects that create real benefits for customers will be acceptable to whatever political party holds office.

This is especially critical for massive infrastructure investments that need to be planned and built over multiple election cycles.

By focusing on understanding the direct and indirect impacts of government polices, businesses can make their case objectively.

The event featured a direct dialogue between engaged audience members and Dall’Antonia, a dynamic and entertaining speaker.

“I’d like to thank FortisBC and our event sponsor Coldstar Solutions for making this event possible,” Chamber CEO John Wilson said. “I also encourage all Chamber members to reserve their seat now for our next BLS event. These are great opportunities you don’t want to miss.”

Canadian shipbuilding worthy goal, but will take time

September 3, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Government Provincial, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

Few transportation links are as important to Greater Victoria’s economy as BC Ferries. The routes connecting the Island with the Mainland and coastal communities are the lifeblood for many businesses.

This week, The Chamber spoke up once again as the voice of business in support of the pressing need to keep the fleet operating at capacity.

“BC Ferries is an essential link for Island communities and businesses,” Chamber CEO John Wilson said. “Our members see the impacts every day when capacity is stretched and people or goods are left behind.”

The comment was included in a BC Ferries’ media release that points out five realities necessary to responsibly build ferries in Canada. They are:

1. Local options that can deliver

2. Fixed costs

3. Guaranteed delivery dates

4. Assured vessel and shipyard performance and quality

5. An open and competitive procurement process

“Building in Canada is a worthy goal and we support BC Ferries in getting any new vessels delivered on time and on budget so communities can keep moving in ways that stay affordable for the people who live and travel in Greater Victoria and across British Columbia,” Wilson said. “We can’t afford to delay new ferries, which are needed to increase the Island’s resiliency and deliver significant economic benefits to the entire province.”