Chair’s Message
As business leaders in our communities, we were quick to recognize at the onset of the pandemic that support in recovery is different than in crisis. This has driven our unwavering advocacy efforts over the last 15 months and was reflected in the theme of our 2021 AGM: Resilience to Recovery – Big Thinking for Small Business.
The challenges of the pandemic heightened our collective risk tolerance and shifted our priorities on a personal, business, and community level. Yet we conquered the feeling of uncertainty and trepidation, by sharpening our focus on the connections that we share, our sense of community, and our duty to look out for each other, be inclusive, and stand up for what’s right.
We know that diversity of perspective leads to stronger and more robust decision-making. We have a profound opportunity through our policy process and our network to do what’s right and to address barriers that exist in our business community, and promote equality and equity. Looking forward to the year ahead and beyond, this will be critically important because the way we will do business tomorrow is fundamentally different than today. We must seek alternate partnerships, engage differently, and be open to new ideas in order to compete and innovate to respond to ongoing and future challenges.
As a powerful network of boards of trade and chambers of commerce, we have a tremendous opportunity to be leaders in the area of inclusion and diversity, and to make our advocacy efforts that much stronger and our collective voice that much louder.
Joelle Westlund
BC Chamber of Commerce Board Chair