Key Issue: Environment & Climate Change

The Chamber asserts that there is a growing disconnection between the goals of reducing waste, increasing diversion rates and the cost that independent businesses are being asked to bear. It is apparent in recent developments proposed by Metro Vancouver and Nanaimo that regional and local governments are shifting to policies that protect and favour public […]

Much of the recent energy dialogue has focused on the price of oil and the impact this is having on federal and provincial budgets. This misses the fact that a more fundamental shift is occurring in the global economy. For the first time in more than a century, multiple signs suggest that the dominance of […]

The British Columbia Geological Survey and Geoscience BC are the core of an innovative and successful made-in-British-Columbia approach to public geoscience. An adequate, long-term provincial funding model for these organizations will improve the impact of public geoscience to attract investment and encourage economic recovery through responsible natural resource development; boost competitiveness and innovation; enable climate […]

BC’s low-carbon economy is founded on the generation of clean, renewable electricity to power our transportation, homes, and industry. Policy to achieve the province’s climate goals and grow our low-carbon business advantage, however, currently stops at the point of appreciating our 97% clean electricity advantage, without recognizing how the private sector’s considerable investment in BC’s […]

Agriculture is rapidly changing, and the realities of climate change and a growing population mean the years to come will be a time of great challenge in the systems that feed us every day. As the recent COVID-19 global pandemic has highlighted even further, the need to ensure food security and for a reliable local […]

In 2018, the Government of Canada began to use provisions of the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) to pressure the Province of BC into taking more aggressive action to protect Southern Resident Killer Whales and Mountain caribou, including the potential for full closures of large areas of backcountry and coastal regions. The absence of […]

Engaging the business community will be an essential part of successful climate change actions in BC, and that includes small businesses.  However, too often small businesses are shut out of government environmental programs because of their scale, complexity, and up-front funding requirements.  As the provincial government moves to implement its CleanBC program and other environmental […]

Old-growth forests in many parts of the province are important for supporting tourism, recreation, scenery, wildlife, clean water, and wild fisheries, and enhancing nearby property values. Large numbers of tourists from around the world visit the province’s old-growth forests every year. Perhaps the grandest stand of unprotected old-growth forest in the province is the 500-hectare […]

Plastic long believed to be a miracle material that has solved and continues to solve several needs of mankind while making lives easier is now emerging as a most environmentally damaging issue the world is facing especially from cheap “single use” plastics that are not reusable and recyclable. British Columbia, one of the most beautiful […]

BC’s recreational fishery generates over $1 billion in economic activity annually. The recreational fishery on British Columbia’s west coast tidal waters has been subject to significant area closures to protect populations of iconic Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW).  BC’s many coastal communities have strong economic reliance upon the recreational fishery and tourism.  These values are […]