News & Events - Express Newsletter
BC Chamber of Commerce Express Newsletter - July 2008 Issue
Contents |
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BC Chamber in the Headlines |
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Policy Successes |
Competition Policy Review Panel ReportThe Canadian Chamber of Commerce recently reported its satisfaction with the results of the final report of the Federal Government’s Competition Policy Review Panel. The Panel, put in place last year by the government in order to to review Canada's investment and competition laws and international competitiveness generally, showed thorough support in its final report of most of the Canadian Chamber’s recommendations. For the BC Chamber’s part, we have been very pleased to see that several of these endorsed recommendations have originated in resolutions put forth by the BC Chamber and through our involvement in the Canadian Chamber’s policy process, and that the BC Chamber has heavily influenced the recommendations directly in the sections of Air Transportation, Taxation, Immigration Selection and Integration, Cities, Agreement on Internal Trade, and Canada-US Economic Ties. To view the full report visit: http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/cprp-gepmc.nsf/en/h_00040e.html |
Chamber News |
BC Chamber Relaunches bcchamber.orgLater this month, The BC Chamber of Commerce will be relaunching its website, www.bcchamber.org. The relaunch will include a site redesign as well as an expansion of both the public site and the members only area, with the aim of not only improving upon the existing site and the BC Chamber’s web presence, but also incorporating many of the online elements recently recommended by members during the Communication Task Force’s Strategic Audit earlier this year. If you have any comments or questions pertaining to the website, either prior to or following the site’s launch, please direct them to Alexis Hoy: ahoy@bcchamber.org BC Chamber Partners with Growing ChampionsThe BC Chamber of Commerce has recently partnered with Growing Champions, a young athlete sponsorship program which links businesses with aspiring champions in their communities. Created in partnership by 2010 Legacies Now, Sport BC, PacificSport, BC Athlete Voice and the Province of British Columbia, Growing Champions asks businesses to contribute $5,000 annually for three years. Three out of every four dollars goes directly to the athlete with the remaining dollar allocated to future athlete development programs and increasing sport participation in B.C. Growing Champions provides businesses with the unique opportunity to support a promising athlete and building goodwill in their communities. Visit their website: http://www.growingchampions.ca/ To connect with an athlete in your community, please contact Aaron Vidas at avidas@growingchampions.ca or 1.866.515.0177. |
Provincial News |
Province Launches International BC Forest Products Awareness CampaignThe BC forestry industry and Premier Gordon Campbell recently announced their intention to raise global awareness of BC forest products. The crux of the campaign centres on establishing the province’s forest products as important alternative uses of wood that have an enormous potential to reduce consumers’ carbon footprints. The Province points out that B.C.’s forest products store vast amounts of carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. Moreover, by using clean wood-based bio-energy in the manufacture of these products – and substituting them for fossil-fuel-intensive alternatives – further reductions in B.C.’s greenhouse gas emissions are achieved. This campaign complements the industry’s already existing goal of achieving carbon neutrality across all operations and all sectors by 2015 – without the purchase of carbon offset credits. The B.C. Government is pursuing a goal of zero net deforestation by 2015, and will put that goal into law by 2010. Read the full news release here: First Vancouver 2010 Indoor Competition Venue Completed – UBC Thunderbird ArenaVANOC, UBC, and the Federal and Provincial Governments have announced that UBC Thunderbird Arena, scheduled to host the men’s and women’s ice hockey, as well as the men’s ice sledge hockey competitions during the 2010 Winter Games, has been completed on budget and a full four months ahead of its November 2008 projected completion date. Construction on the UBC Thunderbird Arena began in April 2006, and involved refurbishing the Father Bauer Arena, built in 1963, and the construction of two new rinks: a practice rink and a 7,500-seat competition arena. Read the full news release here: Nominate your community to be the 2009 Forest Capital of BCThe Association of BC Forest Professionals is inviting communities across the province to apply to be named the 2009 Forest Capital of BC. With BC’s forestry industry facing some uncertainty in the province’s current economy, the Forest Capital designation is an important opportunity to build community spirit and garner recognition - not only for the community, but for the importance of BC forests as well. The written bids of nominated communities are judged on the basis of such criteria as the community/forest relationship, the proposed Forest Capital program, leadership and organizational capacity, and broad support (including letters of support). Any community in British Columbia may apply. The deadline for applications is November 14, 2008. For more information, or to apply, visit www.abcfp.ca Carbon Tax SeminarsThe Ministry of Small Business and Revenue will be hosting a number of free seminars on administering the new Carbon Tax in various communities across the Province to assist businesses in understanding the Carbon Tax and its administration process. The training schedule is as follows:
For more information about the Carbon Tax Seminars in your area visit: For more information about the Carbon Tax itself, visit: http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/business/Consumer_taxes/Carbon_Tax/carbon_tax.htm Tax Information for Accommodation ProvidersAs British Columbia moves towards the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Ministry of Small Business and Revenue is working to provide tax information to all businesses and individuals conducting business in the province. To this end, the ministry and the Canada Revenue Agency have produced the brochure, Tax Information for Accommodation Providers. It provides a concise summary of the provincial and federal tax issues which may be encountered by accommodation providers operating in British Columbia. The ministry provides printed brochures free of charge in either English or French. To obtain printed copies of the brochure, please contact: Daryl.Nelson@gov.bc.ca |
National News |
Consumer Confidence at a 13 year lowThe Conference Board of Canada’s index of consumer confidence showed a decline of 6.2 points in June – a further fall from May’s drop of 7 points, bringing the National average to 79.6 points. Experts suggest that rising fuel costs and the struggling economy in the U.S. are causing consumers to tread more carefully. The index hasn’t fallen to this point since 1995. This is bad news for BC, whose consumer index fell a full 9.3 points in June, bringing it under 100 for the first time since 2003, and warning of a consumer trend that the province’s current economy can ill afford. To this point, BC has not been badly impacted by the US downturn. Unlike most regions of Canada, BC’s exports do not rely so heavily on the US. BC’s economy grew 3.3 per cent in 2007, but much of that growth depended on internal sales of goods and a healthy construction industry. The fall in BC’s consumer index indicates a threat to the former, and that, coupled with increasing signs that the housing market has begun to slow, have already prompted the Business Council of BC to reevaluate its projections for BC’s growth over the next years. Read more at the Vancouver Sun: Bill C-415 Scheduled for Second ReadingBill C-415, An Act to Amend the Canada Labour Code (replacement workers), is scheduled for Second Reading debate once parliament resumes in the fall. The BC Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce have lobbied strongly against this bill and its implications for Canada’s economy. The bill attempts to ban the use of replacement workers in federally regulated industries. Although, unlike Bill C-257 (which tried to make a similar ban and was ultimately rejected), Bill C-415 tries to incorporate provision for the protection of “essential services,” a ban such as this nonetheless poses an obvious threat to Canadian society and its economy. Despite Bill C-415 continuously being traded down over last few months, there is a chance it could be debated as early as September. We encourage you to continue to communicate with your local Liberal MP during the summer parliamentary break so that they are aware of Bill C-415’s potential for real negative effects. The BC Chamber will shortly be providing template material for members to utilize in contacting their MPs to express concern with regards to the possibility of this bill passing. Read the full Bill here http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=2786627&file=4 |