May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light. May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

St. Patrick’s Day is usually a time for large gatherings and celebrations regardless of your culture or heritage. But with the end of the pandemic so close, we need to stick together and stay apart a little longer. Still, there are many ways we can celebrate safely. See our story below for great ideas on making the most of today and supporting local businesses. #ChamberLocalVicBC

Also, remember that special Provincial Health Orders are in place tonight restricting the service and sale of alcohol after 8 pm at restaurants, bars and pubs, as well as liquor and grocery stores. Establishments also need to close by 9 pm, unless full meal service is being provided.

WorkSafeBC is planning to have an increased presence at workplaces tonight and throughout spring break. Businesses are required to have updated measures and controls in place to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Renewed calls from the mayors of Victoria and Esquimalt for a regional police department need to be carefully considered in order to meet the best interests of Greater Victoria. The Victoria Police Department needs help. Victoria and Esquimalt account for about one-quarter of the region’s total population of 400,000, yet VicPD is tasked with protecting a downtown that serves the entire region.
 
Before the pandemic, Victoria and Saanich were engaged in a Citizens’ Assembly process that will examine the benefits and challenges of merging the two municipalities. One of the outcomes will be a better understanding of how Saanich and Victoria police departments can work together. After all, their role is to improve safety for citizens, many of who have daily lives that cross between municipalities.
 
Before the pandemic, The Chamber was encouraged that the Citizens’ Assembly process, currently on hold until in-person meetings can be done safely, was the best way to move forward on better regional services. The concerns voiced by VicPD show how vital it is for that process to move forward as soon as possible.

Helping women entrepreneurs get the funding they need to run a successful business will be key to our economic recovery. A recently released report by the Women’s Enterprise Centre helps explain the unique challenges facing women who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
 
This report outlines strategies to get back to growing the overall number of women entrepreneurs, as was happening before COVID-19.

After many months of calling on governments to help transportation businesses that have been devastated by the pandemic, the province finally delivered good news yesterday.
 
Funding of up to $10.7 million is available for inter-city bus operators, as well as up to $16.5 million for regional airports to support operations for one year starting April 1.
 
“During the pandemic, inter-city bus operators that connect rural and remote communities and regional airports that provide medical safety services experienced a significant drop in ridership,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure in a news release. “This relief funding will help these vital services stay open and be ready for a strong recovery when travel restrictions are relieved by the COVID-19 vaccination effort in BC”
 
Minister Fleming, who spoke to Chamber members on March 2 as part of our Business Restart Series with provincial ministers, said relief would be announced soon to ensure valuable transportation services get through the pandemic.
 
“Today is filled with a sense of overwhelming gratitude and relief for the inter-city ground transportation sector across the province, but more importantly for the members of our rural, remote and Indigenous communities that rely on these services,” John Wilson, president and CEO, Wilson’s Group of Companies said. “With the announcement of this grant, I am pleased to say we will be looking at restarting services in the coming weeks to ensure Vancouver Island once again has the connectivity that so many members of our communities need.”

BC’s Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation has agreed to extend the application deadline for the Business Recovery Grant from March 31 to Aug. 31.
 
The Hon. Ravi Kahlon spoke to Chamber members on Feb. 18 as part of our Business Restart Series with provincial ministers. At that time, he said he was listening to businesses and would adjust the program to ensure pandemic relief was available.
 
As well, businesses are required to demonstrate a 30% revenue loss in any one month between March 2020 to the point of application. That’s significantly lower than the previous requirement of at least 70% revenue loss in March or April 2020.
 
The $345-million program provides fully funded grants to businesses that employ up to 149 BC residents. Grants can be up to $30,000, with an additional $15,000 available to tourism-related businesses.