RBCM picks Colwood for collections and archives

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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

BC extends patio service rules through October 2021

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As we continue to learn how to live with COVID-19, we need to support successful adaptations such as expanded service areas for restaurants and pubs. The summer experiment with sidewalk patios and outdoor seating has, by most accounts, been a success.

The Chamber applauds the provincial government by formally extending measures to allow expanded services areas for another year.

In May, BC’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch began permitting food-primary, liquor-primary and manufacturer licensees, such as wineries, breweries and distilleries, to apply for a Temporary Expanded Service Area. These were originally set to expire at the end of October but the initiative will now run until October 2021.

As of Sept. 11, 1,073 permits were approved in BC after businesses received the green light from their local municipality.

Throne speech promises wage subsidy extension

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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.

Huge ratings for Business Awards TV premiere

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From start-ups to local legends, The Chamber’s 2020 Greater Victoria Business Awards showcase hard-working entrepreneurs, business people and community leaders in 14 categories worth celebrating.

CHEK broadcast: 31,000 viewers
Facebook: 16,000 viewers
YouTube: 665 viewers

Winners were chosen by an independent panel of prominent business leaders who served as judges. This marks the first year the event has been held as a televised broadcast.

Missed the livestream? Watch the 2020 Business Awards on YouTube or Facebook.

Arena shelter closing; new rules for encampments

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There have been a couple of developments this week regarding housing for people who are homeless in downtown Victoria. On Monday, Victoria council passed a bylaw limiting the size and location of temporary shelters in the city. The change will mean fewer people in encampments, and prohibit tents within 50 metres of schools.
 
Council also expanded the list of parks where camping is prohibited, and, announced that, 30 days after the provincial state of emergency ends, people will no longer be allowed to camp during the day. The rule is already in place but has been suspended during the pandemic.
 
As well, according to reports, BC Housing has said it won’t be extending its agreement to house people in Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena after Sept. 30. People who have been sheltering in the arena will move into newly renovated lodging at Paul’s Motor Inn, which the province announced it had purchased in June.

How working from home affects your tax return

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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.

Saanich seeks input on lowering speed limit

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The District of Saanich is looking for input as it moves forward on a plan to lower the speed limit on residential roads. Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes proposed the reduced speeds earlier this year, as a way to make streets safer.
 
BC’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure allows for local communities to submit pilot projects that improve road travel for British Columbians.
 
“As a result, District of Saanich staff are leading a collaborative initiative with several other Capital Region municipalities to apply for a three-year pilot project that would set the default speed limit to 40 km/h on streets without a continuous yellow centre line,” said Troy McKay, Saanich’s Senior Manager of Transportation and Development Services in a letter shared with The Chamber.
 
Send your feedback to communications@victoriachamber.ca, and we will share your thoughts with Saanich.

BC approves municipal bans on single-use plastics

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The Chamber applauds the provincial government’s decision last week to approve municipal bylaws banning single-use plastics in Victoria, Saanich and other BC municipalities.
 
The move follows what many businesses have been doing for years as they react to public demand to reduce waste and show leadership in the fight against climate change. The Chamber worked extensively with the City of Victoria on its bylaw, helping officials understand the innovations already in place. Those efforts were key to ensuring the rollout of the rules were well-received.
 
The Chamber also successfully advocated that the same regulations be copied by other municipalities — including the District of Saanich — to ensure a seamless process for regional retailers and shoppers.

Province expanding recycling to include milk jugs

At the same announcement, the provincial government said it was looking to ban single-use plastics throughout BC. As well, a new 10-cent minimum deposit on all beverage containers was introduced and, for the first time, milk containers will be added to the deposit and refund system.

EI premiums unchanged, but concerns over Bill 23

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Good news for employers as Employment Insurance premiums for 2021 and 2022 are being frozen at the 2020 level. The federal government made the announcement this week. The maximum insurable earnings are going up by $1,100 next year to $56,300.
 
Self-employed Canadians who opt into the EI program will be required to earn $7,555 to file a claim in 2021.
 
As the economy recovers, governments can’t burden businesses with added costs such as increased premiums. The Chamber is working with our advocacy partners to make sure the provincial government understands this when it comes to WorkSafeBC premiums.
 
Recent changes to the Workers Compensation Act (Bill 23) are problematic because they make it easier for employees to make a compensation claim if they contract COVID-19 with little to no burden of proof that it was work related. The goal of reducing the risk is good, but the concern is that it will unfairly drive up costs and increase premiums shifting public healthcare costs to employers.

Victoria by-election might be delayed until spring

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Voters in Victoria might need to hold on a little longer to have a say in who will fill the vacant seat on city council. Citing the challenges of going to the polls during a pandemic, city staff are saying they don’t have enough time or capacity to ensure a safe by-election this fall.
 
“At this point, timelines are challenging to predict,” says the staff report, which goes to council tomorrow. “It is possible that a by-election may not be able to be safely planned and delivered until Q1 of 2021.”
 
The Chamber will monitor the situation as it is vital that the democratic process carry on, especially as other BC municipalities have found a way to schedule their own by-elections for this fall.

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