BizNews This Week Archives - Page 2 of 6

City of Victoria seeks input on 2025 Draft Budget

October 30, 2024/in BizNews This Week, Government Local/by Jim Zeeben

The Chamber works with municipalities year round to provide information about the importance of investing in local business. One of the most important ways a municipality can help is by being aware of the burden of property taxes. The private sector creates jobs and provides goods and services that improve quality of life for all citizens. Local business make communities healthier. A healthy business environment allows a municipality to grow a resilient tax base and provides revenue certainty for the future.

As a Chamber member, you can help share this message by providing feedback to your municipality. Right now the City of Victoria is seeking input on its 2025 draft budge, currently set at $365.6 million in operating costs and $94.6 million in capital improvements.

Go to engage.victoria.ca to see what’s proposed and how you provide written feedback by email, or a pre-recorded video up to five minutes in length.

Sick notes an unnecessary burden on doctors: CMA

October 30, 2024/in BizNews This Week, Safe Communities/by Jim Zeeben

If your organization requires staff to provide a note from their doctor for sick days, take note that the Canadian Medical Association is lobbying to make this practice a thing of the past.

“Sick notes are not a health systems issue, they’re a human resources issue,” CMA president Dr. Joss Reimer said in a media release. “We understand that organizations have policies in place to manage their human resources, but when 6.5 million Canadians don’t have access to a family doctor and patients wait far too long for specialty care, physicians need to focus their time caring for patients who need medical care. We need to be there for patients who need us when they need us.”

A survey found that one-third of employers require notes from doctors for sick days.

The CMA is asking for legislative changes to restrict the requirement for sick notes and promote alternatives that improve the overall efficiency of the health care system.

Greater Victoria cruise ship season concludes today

October 30, 2024/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

Today marks the end of cruise ship season as the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority welcomed the 316th ship to call at the Breakwater District at Ogden Point this year.

More than 700,000 passengers of about 930,000 that arrived here disembarked their ship and explored Victoria’s attractions, landmarks and restaurants.

“The industry remains a strong economic driver for Victoria. The Alaska itinerary is an important growth market,” GVHA CEO Robert Lewis-Manning said in a media release. “The GVHA team is already looking towards the future, with a similar number of cruise ship calls anticipated for 2025. We will continue listening to our communities and improving the cruise experience for passengers, local businesses and residents to ensure everyone benefits from this growing sector.”

Our cruise ship industry contributes $130 million annually to Greater Victoria’s economy and helps create 800 jobs. The Breakwater District at Ogden Point is Canada’s busiest port for ship calls.

“The Chamber has supported the development of our region’s cruise industry since ships began calling at Ogden Point. Every cruise ship season now provides a substantial contribution to our regional economy and its workforce,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “Of course, as with every industry, there are always challenges, especially around the environment. I think all of us take pride in our region’s well-deserved reputation for climate action leadership, and in the work being done locally by the cruise ship industry to reduce its carbon footprint. The Chamber will continue to support our community partners, and I expect we’ll see more innovations led by business brought in before the start of next year’s cruise season.”

Saanich making plans to address major challenges

October 24, 2024/in BizNews This Week, Climate Change Solutions, Government Local, Housing, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

It’s the biggest and most populous municipality on Vancouver Island, so, when the District of Saanich makes plans, it pays to pay attention.

Saanich has created a draft plan for Quadra McKenzie that will help transform the area over the next 20 years. The plan addresses challenges such as housing and climate change as well as suggesting ways to add public spaces, services and amenities.

The busy crossroads is home to the Saanich Operations Centre, which is undergoing a redevelopment project of its own. Property owned by the municipality will be leveraged to increase rental housing by as many as 600 units.

Saanich council also recently adopted an innovative road safety plan that aims to eliminate fatal crashes.

“I’m really excited to have the first road safety action plan on Vancouver Island,” Saanich Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff told the Times Colonist. “The approach we have here is a really good start to getting us towards Vision Zero.”

Better policies key to helping small businesses grow

October 23, 2024/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Chamber Awareness, Finding And Keeping Workers, New And Established Businesses/by Jim Zeeben

It’s often said that small businesses are the backbone of their communities, and a new report shows that the numbers back up that claim.

The Canadian Chamber’s Business Data Lab recently published Scaling Success: Enabling Small Businesses to Grow. Among its findings are that nearly 70% of private-sector jobs are created by small businesses. The report also shows that businesses projecting high growth are typically between five and 19 employees, are owned by immigrants or visible minorities and have been operating between three and 10 years.

In order to grow, the biggest challenges facing businesses are access to financing and technology, as well as a supportive policy environment that provides opportunities to export.

Regulatory burden crushing BC restaurant industry

October 23, 2024/in BizNews This Week, Hospitality And Tourism Rescue And Recovery/by Jim Zeeben

They are a bellwether for business health. Restaurants in BC are hurting, which is a concern for everyone. Not only do restaurants operate on the front line of our economy but they provide the venues for much of our community’s vibrancy and social life.

“Restaurants are feeling the pain of inflation and low consumer confidence, but so are the hundreds of thousands of British Columbians they employ, and the many other economic sectors that depend on the restaurant industry to remain profitable, such as fisheries and agriculture,” said Mark von Schellwitz, Restaurants Canada Vice-President, Western Canada in a media release.

The industry lost nearly 5,000 jobs between August and September, and — outside of the pandemic years — is seeing the lowest employment level since 2016. This is the same time-frame that saw BC gain 20,000 jobs in total.

With a new BC government about to begin its mandate, the restaurant industry is calling for quick action to get rid of red tape, including:

reducing payroll taxes and asking the feds to reduce payroll taxes for employers and workers
returning WorkSafe BC’s $2.1 billion surplus to employers
and implementing a Tourism and Hospitality Stream to BC’s Provincial Nominee Program.

More than 80% of restaurants report food and labour costs are their top challenges during a time of slow sales.

Chamber policy resolution passes unanimously

October 23, 2024/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Housing/by Jim Zeeben

Work spearheaded by staff at the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce has paid off.

The Chamber’s paper — Adding to Canada’s housing supply by strengthening Canada’s military through housing on military bases — was adopted at last week’s Canadian Chamber AGM.

“I was in Halifax for the conference and there was rigorous debate and amendments made to almost every policy,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “When our work was introduced, I was happy to see it adopted unanimously. Clearly, housing is an issue across Canada and our West Coast thinking once again leads the way.”

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM was held at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel and brought together “chamber of commerce executives and community business leaders to discuss the economic and political issues affecting the prosperity of Canadian business and set our policy agenda for the upcoming year.”

Supersized interest rate cut aims to spur economy

October 23, 2024/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Global Uncertainty, Inflation And Rising Costs/by Jim Zeeben

Does today’s news from the Bank of Canada mark the start of better times? Maybe.

There is certainly plenty of buzz surrounding this morning’s announcement that the policy interest rate has been cut by 0.5% to stand at 3.75%. It’s the biggest drop since 2020, back when the bank needed to reassure an economy frozen by fear in the early days of the pandemic.

To better understand today’s situation, the following post by RBC is helpful. Cutting Through Interest Rate Chatter: What Interest Rate Changes Really Mean for You offers a few ways to think about today’s news. The cut has potentially created a “sweet spot” for first-time home buyers. As more people decide the time is right to list their house, buyers might be able to take advantage of a lag in prices before they return to previous levels.

Today’s rate cut is also welcome news for homeowners needing to renew mortgages. The landscape looks much better than it did before the Bank started its series of four straight rate cuts. Variable mortgage holders will also feel immediate relief with more money staying in their pockets or going toward their mortgage’s principal.

And best of all, more rate cuts appear to be on the horizon. According to the Bank of Canada’s Governing Council, it will continue to lower the rate if the economy stays on its expected path.

BC’s political future remains uncertain after tight election

October 23, 2024/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Government Provincial/by Jim Zeeben

Clarity on BC’s political future will have to wait.

The provincial election remains mired in recounts that could take a week to determine who will form government.

“We knew this was going to be a close election and Greater Victoria’s business community is ready and eager to work with whichever party forms government,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “The Chamber hosted party leaders during their campaigns and, as an organization, we have nurtured meaningful connections with the provincial government for more than 160 years.”

Initial results of the election left the BC NDP with 46 seats, the Conservative Party of BC with 45 and the BC Green Party with two seats. However, because races were so close in many electoral areas, the initial results could change. As well as the recounts taking place, about 49,000 mail-in and absentee ballots are being counted.

In the Juan de Fuca-Malahat riding, NDP candidate Dana Lajeunesse had a 23-vote lead over BC Conservative Marina Sapozhnikov.

Elsewhere in our region, elected MLAs include:

Esquimalt-Colwood – NDP Darlene Rotchford.
Langford-Highlands – NDP Ravi Parmar.
Oak Bay-Gordon Head – NDP Diana Gibson.
Saanich North and the Islands – Green Rob Bottrell.
Saanich South – NDP Lana Popham.
Victoria-Beacon Hill – NDP Grace Lore.
Victoria-Swan Lake – NDP Nina Krieger.

Survey helps helps create safety and well-being plan

October 17, 2024/in BizNews This Week, Government Local/by Jim Zeeben

The Capital Regional District is working on a plan to improve the safety and well-being of Greater Victoria residents.

“The value of safe communities is something we can all agree on. It has been a Chamber advocacy priority for years and we’re happy to participate in the regional district’s effort to build a great community for everyone,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said.

The CRD has contracted the Canadian Centre for Safer Communities to create a Regional Community Safety & Well-Being plan. The centre is gathering information to start, and The Chamber encourages members to fill out their survey. It takes about 20 minutes so set some time aside for this important topic.