Government Provincial Archives - Page 2 of 9

Minister meets with Chamber to hear about business issues

September 17, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Chamber News, Global Uncertainty, Government Provincial, Hospitality And Tourism Rescue And Recovery, Safe Communities, Training And Microcredentials, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

The Chamber would like to thank BC’s Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, Jessie Sunner, for meeting with members of Greater Victoria’s business community today.

The Minister had lunch with Chamber members and staff after a tour of Camosun College‘s Interurban Campus. The meeting was a welcome opportunity to hear about the province’s plans to address ongoing challenges in BC, and hear from businesses about the value of supporting local education as well as urgent issues facing Greater Victoria.

Members from the post-secondary sector as well as aviation, hospitality and transportation industries spoke candidly with the Minister about actions they would like to see happen.

“We spoke about investing in trades training, and we also spoke about the crisis happening in downtown Victoria, and the need to not damage businesses there,” Chamber CEO John Wilson said. “Yes, this is a complex problem that involves all levels of government, but that is precisely why we need all levels of government to listen to business.”

Policies like a Canada-wide restriction on foreign workers or allowing downtown Victoria public sector offices to remain vacant have ripple effects that hamper the ability of businesses to operate.

Without the vibrancy that businesses create everyday, there’s a real risk we’re hollowing out an invaluable economic engine for our region.

Canadian shipbuilding worthy goal, but will take time

September 3, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Government Provincial, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

Few transportation links are as important to Greater Victoria’s economy as BC Ferries. The routes connecting the Island with the Mainland and coastal communities are the lifeblood for many businesses.

This week, The Chamber spoke up once again as the voice of business in support of the pressing need to keep the fleet operating at capacity.

“BC Ferries is an essential link for Island communities and businesses,” Chamber CEO John Wilson said. “Our members see the impacts every day when capacity is stretched and people or goods are left behind.”

The comment was included in a BC Ferries’ media release that points out five realities necessary to responsibly build ferries in Canada. They are:

1. Local options that can deliver

2. Fixed costs

3. Guaranteed delivery dates

4. Assured vessel and shipyard performance and quality

5. An open and competitive procurement process

“Building in Canada is a worthy goal and we support BC Ferries in getting any new vessels delivered on time and on budget so communities can keep moving in ways that stay affordable for the people who live and travel in Greater Victoria and across British Columbia,” Wilson said. “We can’t afford to delay new ferries, which are needed to increase the Island’s resiliency and deliver significant economic benefits to the entire province.”

Mental health support vital for safer communities

July 23, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Government Provincial, Safe Communities/by Jim Zeeben

A healthy community is a safer community, and The Chamber continues to call for smart investments that help people achieve wellness required to reach their potential.

Connections Place, a community-based organization that helps people diagnosed with mental illness, recently received $500,000. The non-profit offers employment, education and recreation initiatives that foster hope, opportunity and purpose. Their initiatives help people get the support they need, and break cycles of crisis and interactions with the justice system.

“At Connections Place, our focus is on improving quality of life in our region, starting with those who need it most,” Connections Place executive director Neelam Pahal said. “Every day, our clubhouse creates space for people living with mental illness to find purpose, connection and hope. The momentum we’ve experienced recently reflects a growing understanding of the value of recovery-oriented community supports. Through strong partnerships across sectors, we’re building something meaningful here in Victoria, something that we believe can inspire broader change in the future.”

In 2024-25, more than 182 active members accessed services at Connections Place, with 8,880 total visits and 6,417 total meals served.

Serious crime down in Victoria, recent report says

July 23, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Government Local, Government Provincial, Safe Communities/by Jim Zeeben

The latest numbers show serious crimes have decreased in the City of Victoria, according to Statistics Canada’s Crime severity index.

“We’ve put a significant amount of effort into crime prevention and disrupting nonviolent crime, and I commend all of our officers, reserves and volunteers for this positive outcome,” VicPD Chief Del Manak told Black Press.

Victoria-Swan Lake MLA Nina Krieger, who was recently named Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General said the numbers are good news but more still needs to be done.

“While these results are promising, we know we have more work to do and there are specific areas where we need to renew our focus,” Krieger said in a media release. “If you are the victim of a theft or an attack, these statistics do not make you feel any safer.”

Provincially, the crime severity index is at its lowest level in six years, with homicides down 24%, robberies down 8% and mischief down by 4%.

Chamber network continues to call for red tape reduction

July 23, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Chamber Awareness, Government Federal, Government Provincial/by Jim Zeeben

The Chamber continues to call for reduced red tape across all levels of government.

According to the latest update from the Business Conditions Terminal for Greater Victoria, conditions remain challenging with the number of active businesses at 11,300, a slight increase (0.5%) from a year ago.

Businesses are encouraged to help shape Chamber advocacy efforts through tools such as the Red Tape Review. This survey seeks specific feedback on regulatory irritants. The results will be used in direct consultation with federal ministries as they work to streamline government.

Provincially, there was good news as BC signed agreements to ease interprovincial trade with Ontario, Manitoba and the Yukon. The Chamber has been calling for reduced restrictions for east-west trade for years. The move helps Canada’s economy overall and lessens the over-reliance on southern trade routes with American states.

The agreement will make it easier for regulated trades and professions to work in any of the jurisdictions. The deal with Ontario also improves the ability for alcohol producers to access either market.

The agreements were signed during a gathering of all 13 provincial and territorial premiers at the Council of the Federation meeting this week.

Good step forward for safer supportive housing

July 2, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Government Provincial, Housing, Safe Communities/by Jim Zeeben

Businesses continue to demand action on making communities safer. On Monday, the provincial government announced help for supportive housing providers dealing with problematic and dangerous individuals taking advantage of vulnerable people.

A new, time-limited working group will have more authority to deal with urgent safety issues and better respond to weapons and criminal activity within supportive housing. The group will explore the potential to remove supportive housing from the Residential Tenancy Act.

“The government really listened to the concerns of our sector and has acted on them,” Our Place Society CEO Julian Daly said. “These proposed changes give us, as housing providers, more flexibility in how we manage our buildings, greater control over who lives with us and allows us to create safer homes for those we serve and a safer workplace for our colleagues.”

The working group will also address air-quality issues in supportive housing related to second-hand exposure to fentanyl.

“The Chamber applauds actions that make our communities safer,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “We know that helping people dealing with mental health and addiction challenges is vital, and part of that help includes keeping them safe from predators who target those populations.”

C-5 aims to rebuild Canada’s economic momentum

June 25, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Chamber Awareness, Government Federal, Government Provincial/by Jim Zeeben

An economic evolution that the national chamber network has been working on for years is one step closer to reality this week. On June 23, the federal government passed legislation to vastly improve free trade and labour mobility between provinces.

Without this legislation, large-scale energy and infrastructure projects have routinely been delayed by regulatory gridlock, rising costs and political indecision.

“The Canadian Chamber of Commerce applauds the federal government for urgently introducing and passing Bill C-5 in the House of Commons,” Canadian Chamber Executive Vice President and Chief of Public Policy Matthew Holmes said, adding the ongoing tradewar with the US administration drove home the need to diversify. “We cannot have all our eggs in the United States economic basket any longer.”

Projects where fast-tracking has the broad support of impacted First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities should be the first to be considered.

“Canada’s business community firmly believes we can end project paralysis while working in collaboration with Indigenous rights holders and communities while maintaining world-class environmental standards,” Holmes said. “We know respect and partnership for shared prosperity are the path forward. The Canadian Chamber does not believe a major project is viable in the absence of clear community level support and expects Canada to meet its legal obligations to consult and cooperate with Indigenous peoples, per the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act adopted in 2021.”

Bill C-5 is just the first step. The onus is now on the federal government to deliver so that we can build economic momentum in Canada and show the world we’re serious about growth, energy and getting big things done.

Municipalities applaud expanded borrowing powers

June 25, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Government Local, Government Provincial/by Jim Zeeben

Municipalities in BC are applauding a move to make it easier to finance capital projects. The Chamber is cautiously optimistic about the change, though businesses are wary of enabling any level of government to take on more debt.

“There’s no question that we want to see the public sector work more efficiently, but we also are clear that we need investments that help the private sector grow our economy,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “Innovation led by business is key for us to create the good jobs and creative solutions needed to solve many of the issues affecting our society that government itself is unable to fix.”

The Province amended the municipal liabilities regulation and the short-term capital borrowing regulation to give municipalities more flexibility to plan and finance infrastructure projects that support population growth and housing development.

Municipalities can now borrow up to 10% of their annual revenue, without having to hold a public vote. The changes are a response to concerns raised by municipalities about the cost, complexity and risk of delays associated with implementing capital projects.

Construction begins in Inner Harbour on Belleville terminal

June 25, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Government Provincial, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

Construction on the Belleville Ferry Terminal will begin this month, following the awarding of a design-build contract.

The Chamber has called for the new terminal for decades and, once complete, it will provide a more comfortable experience for people travelling to downtown Victoria by ferry.

“The Chamber has been an outspoken proponent for modernizing Belleville terminal for decades, and we’re happy to see the project meet new milestones along its way to completion,” Chamber CEO

Bruce Williams said. “With so much uncertainty affecting the economy, we support this project as an important investment in the future of Greater Victoria and as a confirmation of the value the Clipper and Coho bring to our region.”

Construction involves demolishing existing infrastructure and building a new pre-clearance terminal building with modern border-security standards. It also includes replacing aging wharf facilities and building a new commercial goods processing facility.

The new pre-clearance terminal will comply with the Canada-US Land, Rail, Marine and Air Transport Preclearance Agreement, and will make travel faster and easier by allowing passengers to complete the customs and immigration process in Victoria prior to disembarking in the US.

The overall project cost has increased from the $331 million budget that was approved in 2024, due to complex geotechnical and seismic conditions, site constraints and significant soil contamination that will require extensive remediation. Other factors include inflation and safeguarding against economic uncertainty related to tariffs on steel and other products. The federal government has confirmed it will increase its contribution to more than $45 million for the project. The new cost of the project is $416 million.

The project is expected to be completed in 2028.

Work continues on reducing internal trade barriers

June 18, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Government Federal, Government Provincial/by Jim Zeeben

With less than two weeks to go for Canada’s new Prime Minister to meet his promise of reducing barriers to inter-provincial trade, the national chamber network is encouraging lawmakers to move quickly.

On Monday, the Canadian Chamber appeared before a Senate committee to highlight the urgent need to reduce internal trade barriers and accelerate the development of critical infrastructure across Canada. The delegation also reiterated Canada’s role in ensuring energy security, supporting Indigenous partnerships and restoring investor confidence through regulatory reform.

The government has said that removing internal trade barriers would reduce prices by up to 15% and add up to $200 billion to Canada’s economy. According to Scotiabank, there is a lot to understand the impact removing inter-provincial trade barriers could have on our economy.

“The (barriers) are basically a lot of these small differences in regulatory standards that just make it that much more difficult to trade internally. When we think about trade barriers, often we think about them as anything that makes trading more difficult,” Scotiabank’s Senior Policy Advisor John McNall said. “They can be these little unintentional frictions that add up over time. For example, think of a nurse or an electrician who’s working in a particular province, they’re licensed to work in one province. But if they want to move over to another one, their licence doesn’t necessarily carry over. These sorts of little technical standards or regulatory changes create extra costs for businesses. None of these laws are created maliciously, the province is implementing what it feels is best for business in that jurisdiction, but they become an issue when regulations are different between provinces.”