BC Chamber of Commerce Statement on Floods
In response to the recent flooding and damage to transportation infrastructure across British Columbia, Fiona Famulak, President and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce, released the following statement:
“The safety of people is always the top priority and I want to express my support and appreciation for the thousands of emergency personnel and volunteers who are working around the clock to rescue and provide assistance to people who have been affected by the recent weather event.
“In the last 48 hours, we have lost all major transportation routes connecting the Interior of our province with the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland. We are an interconnected province and rely on our ability to move goods to markets, within the province, domestically, and internationally. The impacts on the economy are therefore going to be significant.
“As we move from response to recovery, we cannot afford to be complacent or delay. We need our governments to take urgent action to dedicate the resources required to repair and replace the lost infrastructure and re-open our trade corridors as soon as possible. At a time when businesses are struggling with the impacts of the pandemic, the timing of this event, while unpredictable, is even more concerning. An immediate, coordinated and multi-level response is required and the BC Chamber of Commerce is ready to assist in any way it can.
“The days and weeks ahead are going to be hard on small- and medium-sized businesses. However, I know they are resilient. The BC Chamber of Commerce is going to continue to advocate for the interests of the 36,000 businesses that are members of the provincial network and the hundreds of thousands of people they employ. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen how strong our business community is and I know we will persevere and come out stronger.”
To donate funds or supplies to relief efforts, please contact [email protected].
Government is also promoting various resources that will help businesses navigate the next few days/weeks:
- Small Business BC hotline – 1-800-667-2272
- Business disaster support – https://gov.bc.ca/businessdisastersupport
- Disaster financial relief – https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/preparedbc/evacuee-guidance/disaster-financial-assistance