The City of Victoria has been at the forefront of the move to ban single-use plastics, and worked closely with The Chamber to ensure its regulation aligned with ongoing business practices. Consumers have asked for alternatives to plastics for years, and it was vital that regulations match the innovations businesses already had in place.

The Chamber also worked with the District of Saanich, the Township of Esquimalt, and the City of Colwood to ensure regulations are the same for businesses and consumers throughout Greater Victoria.

BCI’s CEO and CIO, Gordon Fyfe, told Black Press a shift to managing assets in-house freed up $3 billion. Those savings are now being invested as well as covering the cost of 400 new employees.

“It certainly helps the economy. We now have 600 people managing $200 billion based here in Victoria. Rather than everybody around the world taking that money from our pensioners, that money’s staying here in the province,” Fyfe told Black Press.

Last week, Transport Canada announced that, effective Nov. 1, it was ending the prohibition of cruise ships in Canadian waters. In the weeks before, The Chamber joined the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority and a number of community and business organizations calling on the government to set a re-open date. A firm date is necessary for the industry to begin planning for a return to Canadian ports.

“We needed government to make it clear that cruise ships are welcome in Canada, and we needed a date so that industry can plan to return as soon as possible. I’m happy that the federal government heard us and understands the importance of this industry to our region as well as to Canada’s economy,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams told Douglas Magazine. “The GVHA has done tremendous work making Greater Victoria a great port, and a lot of businesses will be thrilled to see the ships back with their passengers and crew enjoying our city. There is so much potential for this industry and we look forward to continuing to advocate for the investments and projects that will help make the cruise industry an important and sustainable economic driver for many years to come.”

The GVHA says cruise adds $130 million to our region’s economy and creates more than 800 jobs. Revenue from cruise tariffs allows the authority to support popular spaces such as the Ogden Point Breakwater and the Inner Harbour Lower Causeway.

Greater Victoria employers will also get some relief with the return of post-secondary students to our region this fall.

“Finding and keeping workers was an advocacy priority before the pandemic and will be even more so as we emerge from restrictions and the economy recovers,” says Chamber CEO Bruce Williams, who recently spoke to CBC and CFAX about this issue.

Many employers in Greater Victoria already pay above minimum wage but will continue to face challenges as our region also deals with a limited supply of affordable housing and child care.

“We’re working with our partners and government to address the housing shortage and challenges with child care,” Williams said.