News & Events - Express Newsletter
BC Chamber of Commerce Express Newsletter - August 2009 Issue
Contents |
Policy Success Feature: Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)
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BC Chamber in the Headlines |
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Policy Success Feature: Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) |
On July 23, 2009, Premier Gordon Campbell and Finance Minister Colin Hansen announced that British Columbia intends to harmonize its provincial sales tax with the federal Goods and Services Tax effective July 1, 2010. Background material on this issue is available on the Chamber website - click here. Chamber Members can also access further HST related information in the Members Only section. If you have questions regarding HST, please address them to Jon Garson at 604.638.8113 or jgarson@bcchamber.org |
Policy Successes |
$30.2 M Builds New Film Centre at Capilano UniversityA $30.2-million investment from the federal and provincial governments will fund construction of a new film centre building at Capilano University and create as many as 192 jobs. For more information, click here. B.C. Encouraged By Federal Action on Open SkiesThe federal government has secured an air service agreement with South Korea, making progress on Canada’s Open Skies agreements. The Chamber applauds this success and hopes that further agreements will be undertaken without delay. For more information, click here. |
Provincial News |
Upcoming: Throne Speech, Budget 2009 Update, and Pre-Budget (2010) Consultations
Province Launches Review of Independent AuthoritiesThe Province is launching a review of publicly funded, independently regulated transportation authorities, including Translink and BC Ferries operations, to ensure customers and ratepayers are receiving maximum value for services. The review, to be completed by Sept. 30, 2009, will look at all aspects of the operations, from regulatory environment to corporate structure to financial performance. Following completion of the reviews, a final report containing recommendations will be made public. The recommendations may also identify other areas needing further examination. Read the news release here... Huge Industry Interest in Oil and Gas Royalty ProgramThe BC Chamber is pleased to note this month that the Province has awarded $120 million in royalty credits under the Infrastructure Royalty Credit Program to 19 companies for 31 oil and gas infrastructure projects. This program is critical to the ongoing success of one of BC’s most important industries. The program provides oil and gas companies with royalty deductions in exchange for industry investment in road and pipeline infrastructure. Companies are required to fund the entire cost of an approved infrastructure project and may receive up to 50 per cent of the eligible project costs from the Province paid in the form of royalty deduction once the project is completed. Read the news release here... Proposed updates to the B.C. Building Code are now available online for public inputThree changes are proposed to provincial building regulations. Representatives from industry and local governments worked with the Province to develop these proposals. They represent the next steps in developing unified green provisions for the construction of new buildings in B.C. (Read the news release here...) More information is available online at www.housing.gov.bc.ca/building. The deadline for comments on the proposed changes is September 14, 2009. 4th Annual PIPA Conference 2009 - Solving the Privacy PuzzleThe 4th Annual PIPA Conference 2009 - Solving the Privacy Puzzle, presented by the Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia and Alberta, is being held on October 14-16, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver. The conference consists of case studies, plenary lectures, and expert-led sessions provided by organizations across British Columbia and Alberta. For more information, click here. An early bird rate of $499 is available until September 18, 2009. Trades Training BC Launches New WebsiteThe Trades Training Consortium of BC, representing 16 public post-secondary institutions throughout British Columbia, is the major provider of apprenticeship and foundation training in the province with over 100 different programs offered. To ensure that trades training is top of mind and viewed as a viable option by high school graduates, those looking to re-train and employers, the consortium has re-branded as TradesTrainingBC.ca. For more information, click here. |
National News |
Canadian Chambers’ Joint Letter to the Council of the Federation Sees ResultsThe Council of the Federation concluded their annual meeting on August 7, 2009; a meeting which saw progress on several issues including those contained in the National Chamber Network’s joint letter to the Council. These included the ‘Buy American’ provisions in the United States, Canada-EU enhanced economic-partnership negotiations, and interprovincial barriers to trade, investment, and labour mobility. On ‘Buy American’, the premiers acted on the chambers’ recommendation by agreeing to participate with the federal government in negotiating a reciprocal procurement-liberalization agreement with the United States that would cover national and sub-nation procurement markets. For more information, click here. On Canada-EU enhanced economic-partnership negotiations the premiers re-iterated their support for reaching a comprehensive agreement with the European Union. For more information, click here. And on interprovincial barriers to trade, investment, and labour mobility, the premiers approved the new labour mobility chapter of the Agreement on Internal Trade and agreed to begin negotiations for putting in place a person-to-government dispute settlement mechanism and eliminating transportation-related regulatory barriers. For more information, click here. Canadian American Business Council poll shows Americans in favour of cooperation on climate, free tradeA new survey of U.S. voters conducted by communications consultancy FD for the Canadian American Business Council (CABC) shows strong support for a cooperative approach on free trade and North American climate change, with close to two thirds backing free trade with Canada as a way to create jobs. According to the results of the poll, on the economy 61 percent of American registered voters want to continue free trade with Canada to create jobs. 31 percent favor trade restrictions. On climate change a joint approach had overwhelming support, with 65 percent saying North American countries should be working together on a joint plan to address climate change. 26 percent said each country was better off developing their own plans. |