Policy Search

British Columbia is a geographically large and diverse province with significant rural areas and communities not within a reasonable distance to enable access to medical services that should be available to all British Columbians. Access isn’t just a community issue for the people living in rural and remote communities, it’s a business issue for companies in those communities. Access to health...

Over the years, depending on the government of the day, the minimum wage has either stagnated in comparison to the cost of living or increased very rapidly via legislation. These swings left workers either falling behind economically; or business owners, particularly those in the service industry, suddenly finding themselves facing large, unanticipated payroll increases. Indexing future minimum...

Over the past few years, the provincial government has increased existing taxes, or added new taxes, with little or no notification with the business community, or general public. This is causing serious harm to business competitiveness, as well as reducing economic growth and productivity due to less dollars going back into the economy as opposed to provincial general revenue.

The Northern British Columbia (B.C.) economy heavily relies on the natural resources sector to produce and export goods to domestic and international markets. However, the ongoing supply chain disruptions due to climate events, the COVID-19 pandemic and labour shortages have highlighted the negative impact on communities when production and exporting are inconsistent and unreliable. This creates a...

A justice system which resolves disputes in a timely and cost-effective manner is a foundation upon which our civil society is based. When legal disputes are allowed to interrupt lives and business longer than necessary, we all bear the cost. To thrive, business in British Columbia needs a justice system that delivers predictably expeditious resolution of legal matters in accordance with law...

Acute skills and talent shortages in B.C. have shown the pressing need for new sources of labour supply. Given the high level of job vacancies in the economy, there can be a need to bring in workers from outside Canada. When there are no Canadians or permanent residents available to do the job, some businesses seek to hire foreign workers under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program of the federal...

In B.C., businesses pay a significant portion of municipal property taxes through their lease payments; however, businesses do not have the right to vote in the municipal election process. Businesses have become the silent taxpayers – essentially taxation without representation. This has led to a scenario where B.C.’s business community has little actual recourse when faced with unfair tax burdens...

Community amenity contributions (CACs) are becoming a feature of development in many parts of British Columbia. Municipalities negotiate CACs from those seeking a change in zoning, in order to capture some of the boost in land values that results from a change in use or an increase in density. This practice has grown immensely in recent years and seems poised to continue. Additionally, the amount...

Many of our members own and/or operate residential property and this policy is responding to an abundance of complaints regarding the Residential Tenancy Act ("RTA") and its enforcement by the Residential Tenancy Branch (“RTB”). There is a significant imbalance in favour of the tenant which is impacting the already challenging housing market in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. The...

Transportation of freight and passengers by rail is a cost effective and economically beneficial mode of transportation worldwide. On Vancouver Island, the former Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) rail corridor, now maintained by the Island Corridor Foundation, presents an opportunity for the re-introduction of this mode of transportation to one of the fastest growing sections of B.C.