Municipalities applaud expanded borrowing powers

Municipalities in BC are applauding a move to make it easier to finance capital projects. The Chamber is cautiously optimistic about the change, though businesses are wary of enabling any level of government to take on more debt.

“There’s no question that we want to see the public sector work more efficiently, but we also are clear that we need investments that help the private sector grow our economy,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “Innovation led by business is key for us to create the good jobs and creative solutions needed to solve many of the issues affecting our society that government itself is unable to fix.”

The Province amended the municipal liabilities regulation and the short-term capital borrowing regulation to give municipalities more flexibility to plan and finance infrastructure projects that support population growth and housing development.

Municipalities can now borrow up to 10% of their annual revenue, without having to hold a public vote. The changes are a response to concerns raised by municipalities about the cost, complexity and risk of delays associated with implementing capital projects.

Work continues on reducing internal trade barriers

With less than two weeks to go for Canada’s new Prime Minister to meet his promise of reducing barriers to inter-provincial trade, the national chamber network is encouraging lawmakers to move quickly.

On Monday, the Canadian Chamber appeared before a Senate committee to highlight the urgent need to reduce internal trade barriers and accelerate the development of critical infrastructure across Canada. The delegation also reiterated Canada’s role in ensuring energy security, supporting Indigenous partnerships and restoring investor confidence through regulatory reform.

The government has said that removing internal trade barriers would reduce prices by up to 15% and add up to $200 billion to Canada’s economy. According to Scotiabank, there is a lot to understand the impact removing inter-provincial trade barriers could have on our economy.

“The (barriers) are basically a lot of these small differences in regulatory standards that just make it that much more difficult to trade internally. When we think about trade barriers, often we think about them as anything that makes trading more difficult,” Scotiabank’s Senior Policy Advisor John McNall said. “They can be these little unintentional frictions that add up over time. For example, think of a nurse or an electrician who’s working in a particular province, they’re licensed to work in one province. But if they want to move over to another one, their licence doesn’t necessarily carry over. These sorts of little technical standards or regulatory changes create extra costs for businesses. None of these laws are created maliciously, the province is implementing what it feels is best for business in that jurisdiction, but they become an issue when regulations are different between provinces.”

Saanich launches new BusinessCare program

The District of Saanich announced a new initiative aimed at business retention and engagement. The municipality hopes the program will lead to business growth and economic resiliency.

Saanich BusinessCare involves quick, in-person visits by Saanich’s Economic Development Office so that staff better understand how policies and programs affect businesses in the District.

“As our economy changes, helping businesses remain competitive and resilient is more important than ever,” Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock said in a media release. “Engaging directly with local businesses will enable the District to create a stronger, more supportive and connected business environment.”

Through one-on-one engagement and relationship-building, the program hopes to help policy makers provide the support needed to help businesses thrive.

“The Saanich BusinessCare program will help address the dynamic needs of businesses within our community,” Saanich’s Economic Development Manager Mitchell Edgar said. “Over the coming months, our team will be meeting with Saanich business owners and management to better understand the unique challenges and opportunities each organization is dealing with.”

Applications open for Storefronts Activation program

The Chamber has been working on an initiative to help businesses in downtown Victoria turn empty or underutilized storefronts into vibrant spaces that enhance the area’s appeal. The City of Victoria‘s Storefronts Activation Program promotes safe communities and business growth and development by connecting property owners with artists and performers to create temporary indoor activations.

Whether it’s a one-day pop-up activation or a year-long series of programming and installations, the City has $100,000 to fund projects that add vibrancy. Funding will be prioritized for projects located in the downtown core.

For details on eligibility, and submission requirements, read the Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI). Submit your proposal by 4pm on July 7. You can email culture@victoria.ca to chat about your ideas or receive feedback prior to applying.

Taskforce identifies first steps on path to prosperity

The South Island Prosperity Partnership‘s Rising Economy Taskforce released its preliminary findings last week, revealing huge opportunities for Greater Victoria to redefine its economy.

“This includes creating high-value jobs for the next generation, attracting healthcare and essential workers, and maintaining our quality of life through sustainable prosperity and innovation,” Taskforce Chair and SIPP CEO Aaron Stone said. “The current global trade dynamics further highlight the importance of a bold vision for Greater Victoria’s economy and decisive, unified action that aligns with residents’ values and provincial and federal priorities.”

The taskforce is a 40-member, multi-sector coalition of regional community and business leaders, including the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.

Among the early findings are:

  • Fostering private sector growth
  • Strengthening economic resilience
  • Ensuring business continuity
  • Addressing affordability
  • Advancing economic reconciliation
  • Expanding global market access
  • Empowering small businesses.

The full report is due in late August.

 

BC Ferries announces more details for new vessels

The Chamber is a strong supporter of the work BC Ferries does as a vital transportation and supply chain link for Greater Victoria.

“Our organizations have a very good relationship and we are encouraged by the business-minded approach BC Ferries takes to its long-term feasibility and sustainability,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said, who spoke today about the decision on CFAX as well as with the Canadian Press. “We know yesterday’s announcement about selecting the builder for new ships was a very well-informed decision, and we’re hopeful that we will still see a much needed fifth ship added to this proposal.”

BC Ferries announced China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards will build four new vessels to replace four aging ships nearing the end of their service lives, each increasingly prone to mechanical issues and service disruptions.

“CMI Weihai is a global leader in passenger ferry construction, and shipbuilding more broadly,” BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez said. “It was the clear choice based on the overall strength of its bid, including its technical capabilities, high-quality and safety standards, ferry-building experience, proven ability to deliver safe, reliable vessels on dependable timelines, and the overall cost and value it delivers for our customers — all essential as we continue to experience growing demand and the urgent need to renew our aging fleet.”

BC Ferries said, in the first 10 years of their operation, the new vessels will inject $230 million locally on refits and scheduled maintenance. Over their expected 45-year lifespans, the ships are expected to spur 17,200 job-years of employment and $1.2 billion in wages, contributing $2.2 billion to BC’s GDP.

The new vessels will be more spacious, have reduced emissions and be significantly quieter underwater to better protect marine life.

Greater Victoria real estate market ‘boring’ but stable

Home sales in Greater Victoria picked up in May, though the total is still slightly below the same month last year.

“Ample inventory coming to market outpaced brisk sales, which provided a consistent amount of choice and eased competition on high-demand properties,” Victoria Real Estate Board Board Chair Dirk VanderWal said in a media release. “More balanced market conditions were supported by stability both in prices and in interest rates. The May market was resilient, and that steady pace is a little boring to report on but has been much more comfortable for buyers and sellers to navigate than markets we’ve seen in past years.”

The benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core was $1,326,600 in May, down from April’s value of $1,345,200. The benchmark value for a condominium in the same area was $564,100 in May, down from the April value of $566,300.

BC minimum wage increases to $17.85 next week

On Sunday, the province’s annual minimum wage increase will raise the lowest hourly rate from $17.40 to $17.85 per hour.

“The 2.6% increase on June 1 also applies to minimum-wage rates for resident caretakers, live-in home-support workers, live-in camp leaders and app-based delivery and ride-hail services workers,” the provincial media release stated. “This is the fourth year of the government’s ongoing commitment to tie annual minimum-wage increases to inflation.”

In February 2024, the Employment Standards Act was changed to automatically tie annual increases to the previous year’s average inflation rate.

Another Postal disruption simply bad for business

The Chamber is calling for a quick resolution to the simmering Canada Post labour dispute. Across the country, many businesses rely on dependable delivery service and, for some, the only option is currently Canada Post.

The Canadian Chamber’s Business Data Lab shows that supply chains are already facing challenges and any further disruption could make some businesses nonviable.

“Roughly 130,000 Canadian businesses were directly impacted by logistics-related labour disputes last year. Another stoppage — particularly during a fragile economic recovery — risks slowing deliveries, straining e-commerce and delaying critical services like payments and housing approvals,” the Canadian Chamber said. “Continuity matters. Business needs certainty, not another bottleneck.”

In Greater Victoria, we’ve seen first-hand how a postal strike can hurt small businesses and non-profit organizations.

“We know that many organizations still rely on Canada Post for cheques and fundraising. If they can’t rely on this service, they need to find alternatives and that could lead to higher costs or delays, and it certainly isn’t good for maintaining trust in Canada Post” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams told the Times Colonist, noting that “during the last postal strike, Chamber team members drove around the region to pick up and drop off payments and invoices for local businesses.”

On Wednesday, Canada Post gave its latest and “final” offer to the union representing 55,000 of its workers. You can find ongoing updates here:

Inflation down but concerns lurk below surface

Inflation watchers haven’t had much excitement over the past several months (thankfully), but the April numbers have created a bit of intrigue. Statistics Canada reports the Consumer Price Index rose by 1.7% year over year last month. That’s well within the Bank of Canada’s target rate for maintaining interest rates. However, without the 12.7% discount created by the removal of the carbon tax on fuel, prices for many other goods jumped by an uncomfortable amount.

This makes the Bank of Canada’s June 4 interest rate announcement more complicated, said an economist with TD Bank.

“We had expected the inflationary impacts of tariffs to start flowing through later in the second quarter of the year – the jump in April suggests this could be happening sooner than expected,” TD Senior Economist Andrew Henci said. “With the government of Canada offering a temporary reprieve on some tariffs, and the labour market slowing rapidly, we believe the central bank will have enough space to deliver two more cuts this year – adding a bit more support to an economy quickly losing momentum.”