Policy Search

Water infrastructure—systems that supply and treat drinking water—is under increasing strain across B.C., particularly in small, rural, and remote communities, due to aging assets, deferred maintenance, population growth, and climate pressures. This is driving rising costs, service instability, and economic risk, with impacts on business operations, investment, and housing. While systems are...

B.C. is facing a severe housing crisis where costs have grown much faster than local incomes. This problem is made worse by development and municipal fees that are among the highest in Canada, adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of each new home. Because builders must pay these heavy charges early in a project, their money is tied up, which often makes new construction too...

Repeat non-violent crime is driving significant and growing costs for B.C. businesses, impacting operations and viability; the Chamber recommends faster court processes, coordinated enforcement for repeat offenders, improved reporting systems, expanded business supports, and federal bail/sentencing reforms to address repeat offending.

Businesses in British Columbia are struggling with rising costs from street disorder, such as vandalism, theft, and property damage, which are threatening the survival of many small shops. Currently, police forces are understaffed and stretched thin, while local bylaw officers lack the legal authority to handle many mid-level safety issues. This creates a gap where many public nuisances go...

British Columbia’s waterfronts are vital economic drivers, with the maritime and water recreation sectors contributing billions of dollars to the provincial GDP. However, shared waterways face significant safety risks due to congestion between industrial shipping, commercial traffic, and recreational users, leading to tragic accidents and potential economic damage. Many communities also struggle...

Rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in British Columbia are facing a significant digital divide, with nearly 30% of rural households lacking high-speed internet as of 2024. This lack of connectivity prevents businesses from moving online, makes rural services two to three times more expensive, and creates dangerous "dead zones" along highways that threaten public safety and tourism. While...

As British Columbia rapidly adopts electric vehicles, the province faces a growing challenge in managing the large volume of batteries reaching their end-of-life. Without a clear strategy, B.C. risks losing valuable minerals like lithium and cobalt, as well as the chance to repurpose batteries for secondary uses like power grid storage. While some local firms are already innovating in battery...

Across British Columbia, RCMP detachments interact with their local communities in inconsistent ways, with some maintaining regular advisory committees while others have no formal consultation process at all. This lack of a standardized system can weaken policing priorities and lead to missed opportunities to address serious issues, such as extortion or property crime, that directly impact local...

British Columbia is facing a serious fiscal challenge as the provincial budget deficit has more than doubled, growing from $5 billion in 2023/24 to an estimated $13.3 billion for 2026/27. Debt is currently accumulating 2.5 times faster than the underlying economy, causing the debt-to-GDP ratio to climb toward a projected 34.4% by 2027/28—well above the historical average of 15.5%. This rapid...

The concern is that BC’s 50-50 rule for food processors operating on Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) land may be making it harder for the province to grow its food processing industry. The ALR is a protected land system designed to preserve farmland and limit non-agricultural development. Under the current 50-50 rule, food processors on ALR land must source at least 50% of the ingredients they...