Celebrity sightings in Greater Victoria are a welcome reminder of the role the film industry plays in sustainable economic growth of our region. Chamber CEO Bruce Williams was interviewed by CTV Vancouver Island on Monday about the opportunity to invest in production infrastructure.
 
“Having the film people in town is a big boost in many ways to the economy,” Williams said, noting that hosting film and television crews provides benefits to the tourism and hospitality industry.
“They are spending money, they are renting things, they’re staying in hotels (and) they’re going to restaurants.”
 
The Chamber is actively advocating for investment in film production facilities in Greater Victoria.
 
We continue to work with the Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission as well as Malahat Film Studios, Camosun College, the District of Saanich and all of our partners working on bringing production facilities to our region.

In the wake of the new provincial restrictions announced March 29 limiting indoor dining across BC, The Chamber’s Takeout Challenge has helped raise awareness about the need to step up support for our members restaurants.
 
So far, more than 100 people have entered by tagging their favourite restaurant and two friends on one of our Takeout Challenge social media posts for a chance to win a $100 gift card from Tutti or Lucky to Go.
 
Take a photo enjoying takeout from your favourite restaurant, post it on social media and tag us with the hashtag
#ChamberLocalVicBC for five additional entries!
 
The contest is on now until Sunday, April 25, 2021. Winners will be announced on Monday, April 26 in our Chamber Events newsletter.
 
Along with take-out and delivery, the current health restrictions allow outside dining.
 
Featured in photo above: Takeout treats from The Inn at Laurel Point. Photo by @kwonmediastudio

The pandemic and the “unprecedented uncertainty” we’ve all had to live with for more than year is not an excuse for surprise decisions that damage businesses.
Monday’s announcement that restaurants, pubs and bars had mere hours to implement severe restrictions could have been handled better. Business has been leading the charge on following restrictions and keeping our community safe, but we need the government to work with us.

“It’s clear that decision makers in government don’t understand business, which is why we’re calling for the province to do a better job of working alongside organizations such as ours,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams says. “I’m talking to our partner organizations in Greater Victoria and the other Island chambers to offer the province a readily available advisory network that understands the challenges facing businesses.”

Monday’s decision left the restaurant and hospitality industry reeling. The Downtown Victoria Business Association reports that business owners are worried about wasting food purchased as part of plans for Easter weekend. Staff are also anxious about their jobs, while the tourism industry has been left feeling kicked while already on the ground.

Destination Greater Victoria says it’s hearing from hotels that, after Monday’s announcement, guests have cancelled planned visits as far out as September. According to DGV, the sector could lose $900,000, based on 6,000 hotel rooms with an average room rate of $150.

The District of Saanich is hoping to lead the way for Greater Victoria municipalities after council voted unanimously to reduce the speed limit on side streets to 30 km/h. Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes has reached out to other municipalities that had agreed to a previous plan to reduce speeds to 40 km/h. The hope is they will agree to a further reduction and can make a joint request to the provincial government. The default speed for streets in BC is currently 50 km/h.

Proponents note multiple benefits of reducing side streets to 30 km/h. Fewer collisions and better experiences for pedestrians and cyclists would immediately improve the many streets in Saanich without sidewalks.

Improved infrastructure and more environmentally sustainable buses are being welcomed by the University of Victoria. On Tuesday, the federal and provincial governments announced funding to provide BC Transit with six natural-gas buses that will replace diesel buses currently in the system. As well, UVic is getting an enhanced transit exchange on campus that includes better paths and bike storage to encourage students to cycle to school.

“This project will help us reach our goal of having 70% of all trips to and from campus facilitated by public transit or active transportation,” UVic’s president and vice-chancellor Kevin Hall says. “These transit improvements complement our Campus Cycling Plan and give our campus community and neighbours greener and healthier commuting choices from their doorstep to school, work and play.”

The new buses will be fueled by compressed or renewable natural gas, and replace buses at the end of their service life.

The federal contribution will be $4.9 million while the province will provide $4.5 million. The Victoria Regional Transit Commission and UVic will chip in $1.9 million.