The Chamber applauds a new initiative by the Town of View Royal to make it easier for the public to track the municipality’s spending.

View Royal’s new budget variance dashboard provides detailed info on operational finances in a number of areas, and allows comparisons of this year’s figures to previous years.

“It’s important that the community holds us accountable to stewarding their financial resources and that they receive regular reports on our progress,” View Royal’s Chief Administrative Officer Kim Anema said in a news release. “By regularly sharing detailed budget information with the community, we aim to build trust with our residents and demonstrate how we work to meet our financial goals.”

The provincial government’s financial picture was better than expected in the first quarter, with the year-end deficit projected to be $4.8 billion — about half of what was initially forecast five months ago in the 2021 budget.

The Chamber recently presented to BC’s Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services to advocate for policies that will help grow the economy and allow the province to return to budget surpluses.

The updated numbers show that BC’s economy is rebounding, and that the province has the capacity to continue helping hard hit sectors, such as tourism and transportation, until they can fully participate in the recovery.

All in all, the rollout of BC’s new proof of vaccination requirements has been smooth for most businesses in Greater Victoria. Unfortunately, there have also been reports of rare but disturbing incidents of misplaced anger at businesses and their staff.

“The province has ordered businesses to comply with this order, so anyone who has concerns about the rules should not be bullying people who are trying to make a living. It’s not their rule,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams says. “We’ve been working with our community partners on posters and other materials that we hope will remind everyone that we need to continue to be kind and patient while these requirements are in place.”

The Chamber also supports ongoing advocacy efforts underway to ensure the burden of enforcing the vaccine card is not placed solely on the shoulders of business.

“It has been a tough 18 months for restaurants and retailers, and they’ve worked extremely hard to keep their businesses operating. We can’t risk that by making it even harder on them by adding new challenges,” Williams said. “Getting your proof of vaccine is a simple process and only takes a few seconds to check. This will be a temporary measure, and it allows businesses to stay open and let’s all of us get back to the things we enjoy.”

The Chamber has been a vocal advocate for immunization as the best way forward. The data from today’s update by BC’s Ministry of Health shows that, after factoring for age, people not vaccinated are 37.9 times more likely to be hospitalized than those fully vaccinated.

​Starting Sept. 13, anyone over the age of 12 will need to show they’ve had at least one dose (rising to two doses on Oct. 24) to enter what the province is calling “higher risk social and recreational settings and events.”
 
These include dine-in restaurants, gyms, indoor ticketed events, pubs, bars, casinos and movie theatres. As well, indoor wedding receptions, conferences and events with 50 or more people will require proof of vaccination. No proof will be required for “grab-and-go” fast food or take-out.
 
On Monday, the province also soft-launched a website that can be used to access a QR code indicating vaccination status. However, the app that businesses will need to scan QR codes won’t be available until Sept. 13.
 
The Chamber called on government to ensure the vaccine card did not increase the burden on business. There remain concerns about the cost of screening customers, and The Chamber wants to hear from members who encounter any challenges with the program.

​A transition period will run until Sept. 26, during which the cards received from vaccine clinics will suffice as proof.
 
“All of us want to avoid further restrictions on business, and the data shows COVID is much less of a risk when people are fully vaccinated,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams says. “We all want to put the pandemic behind us, and immunization continues to be our way forward.”
 
According to the BC Centre for Disease Control, the current surge in cases is primarily occurring in people who are unvaccinated. One of the goals of requiring proof of vaccination is to prompt those who are not vaccinated to get their shots.