Record gas prices adding to costs for businesses

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Record-breaking gas prices are the latest challenge for businesses that need to transport goods across our region. The cost per litre of regular gas hit $2.219 this week. That compares to $1.526 in December. The rapid increase is partly linked to global shortages caused by sanctions on Russian energy supplies after the invasion of Ukraine. However, supply issues existed before the war began and are expected to become more of a concern as demand for gas increases in the summer.

The sudden jump in gas prices has led to spirited debate in BC’s Legislature, and highlighted efforts to switch to alternative fuels.

Celebrate Mother’s Day in style

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This Mother’s Day, show your mom she’s on your mind by surprising her with a thoughtful gift or experience — all while showing love to local business, as well!

Shortage of early childhood educators continues

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Affordable and accessible child care is vital to the economy because it creates opportunities for working parents to contribute to the labour force. As such, The Chamber has long called for child care to be considered an investment that attracts families to our region and helps organizations find and keep workers. The provincial government now offers a wage enhancement for Early Childhood Educators and is working with the federal government to reduce the costs that families pay for care.

However, it will take more than funding for new spaces to address the lack of access to child care in Greater Victoria. Our region needs qualified workers for the many positions currently going unfilled.

“Finding an early childhood educator seems like trying to find a unicorn these days,” said Mira Laurence, executive director of the Oaklands Community Association which runs the Oaklands Little Acorn Centre. “There are no people,” Laurence said, in an interview with CHEK News. “The four-dollar top-up doesn’t even seem to be working.”

“We’re having discussions with post-secondary institutions as well as with government about how we can get more Early Child Care workers,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “We need to create pathways that lead from school to jobs, or ease immigration for qualified foreign workers. And when we find staff, we need to keep them by making sure they feel valued.”

The Chamber supports Red Dress Day

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May 5 is Red Dress Day, a national day of awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.

Too many lives are lost to violence. We all grieve the loss of these daughters, sisters, mothers and wives. The Chamber is working to continue advocating for change to end this national tragedy.

Learn more about the importance of Red Dress Day and access resources for support here.

Low inventory slows region’s real-estate market

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Housing supply continues to present a major bottleneck for Greater Victoria’s economy. The latest figures on Greater Victoria’s real estate market show low inventory, rising interest rates and buyer fatigue has the industry off to a slow start in 2022.

Spring is typically the busiest season fro real estate sales.

“This tells an interesting story because activity traditionally peaks over the course of the spring, and this year we have seen a gradual softening of the market,” 2022 Victoria Real Estate Board President Karen Dinnie-Smyth said in a news release. “As we have reported many times in the past years, the market hinges on supply and demand.”

A total of 824 properties in Greater Victoria sold in April, down from 1,116 in April 2021. The board’s benchmark value for a single-family home increased to $1.27 million, up from $1.23 million the month before.

Regional police force discussed in special report

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It should be no surprise that a regional police force was one of the common themes of a long-awaited report from the Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act.

The report, released last week, noted that the City of Victoria and Township of Esquimalt are the only municipalities in BC that share a local police department.

The report also stated that when the provincial government ordered the merger of the Esquimalt and Victoria police forces, the understanding at the time was that “this would be the first step towards regional integration of policing in the Capital Region, but this has not happened.”

The Chamber supports a regional police force in order to ensure limited resources are used as efficiently as possible to create Safe Communities for everyone in Greater Victoria.

Open House tonight in Esquimalt

Esquimalt hosted an Open House from 5:30-7:30 pm on May 4 in the gallery at Esquimalt Town Square to hear from residents about the Township’s police model.

“We want a dialogue with our community before making any large decisions about policing,” Esquimalt Mayor Barbara Desjardins said in a news release. “By joining the conversation about policing in Esquimalt, you will help us make crucial decisions that impact community safety, crime prevention and the use of your tax dollars.”

Feedback wanted on sustainable takeout plan

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Innovation led by business is key to tackling climate change and The Chamber is committed to working with all levels of government to help them understand how the private sector is providing real solutions to meet public demand. The City of Victoria has designated staff to work on ensuring food service businesses are using the most sustainable materials available.

City staff have developed a Draft PDF of a Sustainable Takeout Guide that they hope will help businesses. Staff have also asked The Chamber for feedback on the city’s plan. The Chamber worked closely with the city on plastic bags regulations holding a roundtable of city staff and business owners to identify what was already working, what could be efficiently implemented and the tools needed to do so. As a result, the regulation was welcomed by most businesses and served as a model for municipalities across the region.

Housing supply slips further: CMHC

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The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is forecasting Greater Victoria housing starts to “decline in 2022, strapped by capacity constraints, before moderating in 2024.”

CMHC’s Senior Analyst of Market Insights, Pershing Sun, said 2022 will be a moderating year in Greater Victoria’s housing market.

“Rising borrowing cost, affordability erosion, and constraints in construction will anchor sales and slow down price growth,” Sun said in a recent report. “Improved job market and migration inflow will drive rental demand over the next few years.”
The CMHC report said the market is expected to slow down after breaking records last year, with prices rising slower than the “frenzied pace in 2021.”

The Chamber has been calling on all levels of government to address obstacles hindering the construction of more homes. With builders operating at their slowest pace in the past 10 years, the industry needs more workers, improved supply chains and streamlined regulations to meet demand.

Saanich streamlines affordable housing

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The District of Saanich is the second municipality in BC to fast-track affordable housing. On Monday night, Saanich Council unanimously approved a motion to accept the streamlined process adopted earlier this month by the City of Victoria.

The decisions will streamline the approval of development proposals as long as they fit with each municipality’s Official Community Plan. This will help increase the supply of homes for workers in our region — vital to finding and keeping the staff needed for employers achieve their economic potential.

Property taxes should not unfairly burden business

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As municipal councils across the region finalize tax rates for business properties, The Chamber wants to hear from any members facing unfair increases.

“Businesses need to plan for expenses, and they expect to be treated fairly. After all, the long-term health of our communities is directly related to the health of our small businesses,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams told the Times Colonist. “The Chamber is reaching out to our members to see how (tax increases) affect them ­individually, and we’ll take that information forward to ­candidates in the fall municipal election.”

The Chamber recognizes that municipalities must juggle a number of variables when setting rates. Ultimately, each municipality determines how much money they need to deliver services to their citizens and then set rates to raise the revenue to cover most of those costs. Whether an individual property experiences an increase in their tax bill typically depends on whether the property had a higher-than-average increase in value. However, municipalities also need to be fair when allocating costs to commercial properties.

“The business community understands that taxes are a tool used by local governments to provide services, but we’re always watchful of councils who try to shift costs to business and industry and away from residents for political reasons,” Williams said, noting that now is not the time for municipalities to be increasing costs for any taxpayers. “Many businesses are still facing challenges, so any tax increase will weigh on them at a time when we need our economy to take flight.”

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