The Royal BC Museum will soon have a major presence on the West Shore, after an announcement that a 14,000 square-metre facility is planned for Royal Bay in Colwood.

“Colwood is extremely proud to welcome RBCM’s collections and research building to our community, along with hundreds of jobs and significant construction investment,” Colwood mayor Rob Martin said of the new archives that will complement the main museum in Victoria.

Building construction is expected to begin in 2021 and finish in 2024. The project will generate more than 950 direct and indirect jobs. The finished facility will improve research activities and open access to many of the seven million objects in the museum’s collections.

That will help with the ongoing reconciliation process, Songhees First Nation chief Ron Sam said in the news release.

“Our Nation is looking forward to participating in the modernization of the Royal BC Museum. This project is an opportunity to tell the stories of our people, our history and our culture in the provincial museum in our territory.”

Royal BC Museum: member since 1994

City of Colwood: Member since 2020

Songhees Nation: Member since 2017

The minority federal government has promised to extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy until next summer, and create one million jobs while continuing the fight against the pandemic, climate change and social inequality.

“Businesses need certainty that they will be supported as we all adjust to new ways of doing things or are able to return to currently restricted activities,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams says. “Today’s Speech from the Throne says a lot of the right things but until we learn more details it’s too soon to be anything but cautiously optimistic.”

The speech included proposals to reform employment insurance and measures to retrain workers who were displaced by the pandemic. There was also a promise for federal funding for child care aimed at helping more women participate in the workforce. However, we share concerns about a lack of attention to economic fundamentals or rising debt levels. If the vote on the Throne Speech gets the required support from other parties to pass, we’ll want more details about plans to help the tourism and hospitality sectors.

Alacrity Canada has been chosen to assist businesses in western Canada increase their international sales and investment in clean technologies. The federal government announced last week that Alacrity will get $1.3 million to create 100 jobs in clean tech that will help the country recover from the pandemic-caused recession.

“Canadian researchers and entrepreneurs are addressing the world’s most significant environmental problems with innovative solutions. They are on a quest to help this planet survive for many generations to come,” Alacrity Canada’s managing director Richard Egli said in a news release. “This new funding will give Alacrity an excellent opportunity to connect Canadian innovation with significant challenges waiting to be solved.”

A total of $2.3 million is going to BC’s clean tech sector, including $100,000 to the South Island Prosperity Partnership.

Alacrity Canada: Member since 2019

South Island Prosperity Partnership: Member since 2017

The Chamber is a strong supporter of BC Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, and we are proud of all our members who have dutifully followed her advice.
 
Among those are many of our restaurants, pubs and cafes that have gone above and beyond to keep their customers and our community safe. Which is why we share concerns expressed by the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, through the Business Technical Advisory Panel (Liquor Policy). On Sept. 8, Dr. Henry verbally ordered the closure of bars and banquet halls, and called for liquor sales to end by 10 pm (among a list of restrictions).
 
For many operators, money earned in the last few hours of the evening is the difference between being able to make ends meet and shutting down the business.
 
A more effective approach would be to address specific situations and enforce problematic behaviour. As the panel’s letter notes, why punish a business providing wine to a couple in Victoria on a late-night date because a small group of people in Vancouver are breaking the rules?

If you’re wondering how working from home will impact your tax deductions, you’re not alone. The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), in consultation with the Canadian Chamber, is looking at expenses incurred by staff who worked — or are still working from home — and how to create a way to efficiently apply for deductions on personal returns.
 
Paul van Koll, who serves on our Chamber Board of Directors and is a Partner at Dusanj and Wirk Chartered Professional Accountants was part of one of several recent Chamber roundtables with the CRA.
 
Still in the feedback stages, areas coming under discussion include the best way to document that staff was required to work from home, whether a T2200 Declaration of Conditions of Employment is required from an employer and if there is a minimum duration for time spent working from home as well as the split between hours spent working at home versus in the office.
 
If you have any feedback you’d like us to pass along to the CRA, please email communications@victoriachamber.ca. Right now, the only thing we can say with absolute certainty is keep your receipts.