News Type: Policy & Advocacy

“We appreciate that government sees this as the next step, not the final step, in the road to recovery.” says Dan Baxter, Director of Policy and Government Relations.  Today, the provincial government shared details of its Economic Recovery Plan, Stronger BC. In addition to broad consultation and recommendations, the Stronger BC Plan took into consideration the BC Chamber of […]

The BC Chamber of Commerce completed its recommendations for BC’s Economic Recovery Plan on behalf of it’s 36,000 members, and submitted this report to government on July 21. This submission will help the Province design a plan to support BC’s businesses and our economy as we move out of crisis and toward recovery. Our submission […]

“Plan will require big thinking around small business,” says Aleece Laird, Board Chair.   Today, the BC Chamber of Commerce (BCCC) publicly released its Economic Recovery Submission (submitted to Government July 21st, 2020), made up of 54 policy recommendations focusing on competitiveness, innovation, and inclusivity respectively. The plan is a pan-provincial in scope and aims to guide the Province on stimulating BC’s economy through measures that support small and medium enterprises […]

The Cannabis sector is ready to put hundreds of unemployed retail employees back to work – quickly. They’re also well positioned to generate thousands of dollars in tax revenue if they could accept online orders and deliver to your door. Unfortunately, burdensome regulations mean cannabis retailers are struggling to find workers and being forced to […]

On July 20, 2020, the BC Chamber and 21 other BC business associations sent a letter to the Hon. Harry Bains, outlining the business community’s concerns with Bill 23, Workers’ Compensation Amendment Act, 2020, which was tabled in the legislature on July 14.

The B.C. government is extending temporary layoffs provisions under COVID-19 to a maximum of 24 weeks after concerns were raised by business groups, notably the BC Chamber of Commerce Network. We issued this news release in partnership with several other BC business associations on June 22 and also advocated to the Premier directly on the importance of extending the layoff provision in […]

Business organizations representing almost all of British Columbia’s 500,000 businesses are frustrated by Labour Minister Harry Bains refusal to appreciate the severity of current business challenges. At issue specifically is the potential for bankruptcy and insolvency for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses and not-for-profits as they are forced to payout severance costs due to […]

Hon. Minister James announced early this week that landlords who are eligible for CERCA but don’t apply will be prevented from evicting tenants for at least the next month. A joint letter to provincial/territorial governments from the BC Chamber of Commerce in late May, and BC Chamber CEO Val Litwin’s recent op-ed in the Vancouver Sun, called for more landlord participation […]

Like you, in the past month we’ve had to pivot quickly. Our full-time job has been to advocate on behalf of the thousands of local businesses like yours that have been impacted (and in many cases devastated by) the current economic downturn. 

The BC Chamber of Commerce (and its 120-member chamber network) in partnership with Small Business BC, The BC Economic Development Association, and Community Futures BC, launched a survey on March 13 to understand specific impacts BC businesses are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and hear their proposed solutions. As of March 18, almost […]