February 2012 - Chamber Week is Here!!
With Chamber week around the corner, it reminds us of what the Chambers of Commerce are all about. That is why the Kelowna Chamber will be honoring all of our Past Presidents at our upcoming Open House on February 22. We’ll also be paying tribute to those Businesses who’ve been a member of the Chamber for over 40 years!
BC’s Chambers of Commerce are an important and respected voice of the Province’s business community, representing more than 30,000 BC businesses of every size and in every sector. This can be said for the whole of Canada that is represented by over 420 Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade that represent 192,000 businesses Canada wide of all sizes in all sectors of the economy.
Chambers of Commerce stimulate local economies, direct community promotion, and engage in multilevel advocacy which benefits the entire province. We support businesses through benefit programs, services and education.
Being community based means that Chambers are funded entirely by their members, events and sponsorship. This community investment is what drives Chambers of Commerce to directly support and stimulate local economies, and work collaboratively to create vibrant communities around the Country.
As Canada’s largest and most influential business association, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the primary and vital connection between business and the federal government. It continually demonstrates impact on public policy and decision-making to the benefit of businesses, communities and families across Canada.
John Winter, CEO and President of the BC Chamber comments on the accomplishments of 2011 “After emerging from perhaps the worst economic slump of our lifetime, we can point to a number of achievements that softened the blow for businesses in most sectors of our economy, and have laid the groundwork to ensure that BC is well positioned to weather any future downturn. Our strong dollar, much revered banking system, competitive tax regime, employment, labour and regulatory environment all came about as a result of the contribution made by Chambers of Commerce and like minded organizations on many different fronts. This is not short term work, in fact, it is the product of many hours of advocacy development and presentation to governments.
We’re proud of the work that’s been accomplished and look forward to much more in 2012!
January 2012
The Kelowna Chamber has been working with the Canadian Chamber this year on many initiatives. The Canadian Chamber is your “feet on the ground” on Parliament Hill – representing your business concerns, as we move to make a difference in the lives of members’ and their business, their employees, their families and the community. Throughout 2011, we have seen the cross-Canada network’s voice have impact on several discussions this year; here are some of the specific ways that the network affected change for your business in 2011:
Almost $750 million in savings in 2011 and 2012 combined as a result of the
Government’s decision to limit employer Employment Insurance premium
rate increases to 7 cents per $100 of insurable earnings in 2011 and 2012;
no planned personal or corporate income tax increases over the next five
years;
A commitment to lower the general corporate income tax rate from 16.5% in
2011 to 15% in 2012—a measure that will save businesses about $1.5 billion
per year;
The launch of government consultations on how the Employment Insurance
rate-setting mechanism can be further improved to ensure more stable,
predictable premium rates going forward;
The introduction of federal legislation for Pooled Registered Pension Plans
(PRPPs) which will offer more options to individuals and small- and
medium-sized businesses, many of which have limited or no resources to
support offering retirement savings plans; and,
On behalf of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we were pleased
with the launch of government consultations into reducing the red tape
burden on Canadian businesses and a commitment to address the red tape
irritants identified through the consultations.
These are just some of the “wins” that the chamber network can claim over the past year.
In 2012, we look forward to working with you and your business and the Canadian Chamber on the top barriers to Canada’s competitiveness project which will launch early in the New Year. I hope I can count on your support as we move to make Kelowna and Canada an even better place to work, live and do business.
Caroline Grover
December 2011
December means many things, depending on your age, your type of business, your personal outlooks and your state of mind. The month is filled with wonder seen through the eyes of a five year old, it can offer spiritual renewal to some and for others a time to thank people for their business support during the past year.
At the Chamber, we would like to thank our volunteers for their dedication to representing the interests of our 1200 members, in offering solid value for dollars invested in membership or marketing. And for advocating for business with all levels of government in areas as diverse as taxes, organized crime task force funding and affordable housing.
I believe our membership is well served by our staff, who you may have met in person at one of our over forty annual events, or spoke to regarding accessing member benefits. This enthusiastic group of ladies has a cumulative 25 years of Chamber customer service and deserves the accolades at our front line and is a large part of why we have long standing, satisfied members.
When the glow of the season begins to fade and we turn our minds to strategies for enhancing our business performance in 2012, I would like to offer a suggestion that much of the support required to make positive change is available right here in our community.
Okanagan College offers on-site learning as well as on-line business courses that vary from a few hours of focused topic specific learning bytes to full credit courses. You can help yourself or your staff, at your pace of learning. We also have numerous privately owned colleges with business seasoned instructors who really ‘get’ the challenges you face. And one of our city’s solid business development teams is the Community Futures instructors and staff who have supported many individuals through difficult business times.
We are offering you a taste of the valley’s private consultants beginning in January. The Chamber will kick off monthly network and learn sessions. Conveniently, for one hour, in our boardroom at 8am or at noon, you will take away practical tips to apply to your business, meet twenty other local firms and connect with industry specialists who are giving the presentations. So whether its law, tax, social media or marketing, you will be taking some steps to growing your company.
On behalf of our staff and Board, we wish you a wonderful holiday season and look forward to working with you in the New Year to support local business development through Chamber involvement.
As the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, we generate opportunities that provide connection and advantage, as well as champion initiatives that influence change. Contact me if you would like to be part of discussions that relate to your future.
November 2011
Employment opportunities are one of the hot topics in the information crossing my desk; self employment and growth industries in BC and the U.S to name a few. A recent U.S. panel of experts via video feeds, courtesy of Deloitte indicated that the hottest job going forward was going to be a bio-medical information technologist. The speakers concurred that the health care crisis in the U.S. was dependent on the hiring of people trained to read results from increasingly advanced technology systems, and would be less dependent on hard to find, highly paid medical staff. Further discussion highlighted hugely successful computer animation companies, located in Orlando Florida, where 100 simulation companies exist and then indicated the notoriety of San Francisco as home to a significant number of human genetics firms.
Bringing this to a more local level, I attended a funding announcement for Accelerate Okanagan, and had the pleasure of speaking with many of the companies who are being supported in the development of their technology start up companies by Accelerate Okanagan; a technology-focused not-for-profit that has already benefitted more than 35 local growth technology companies through its startup and growth strategy programs.Our valley has long focused on the attraction and support of technology companies, creating an environment that is fertile to entrepreneurship. This has been well tended by the Economic Development Team for the Central Okanagan Regional District. Like minded individuals are also beginning to rally round The Okanagan Valley Entrepreneurs Society (OVES), established to contribute to the development of "entrepreneurial leaders" in the Okanagan Valley through the creation and offering of relevant programs, services and activities and growing a network of professionals.
I would like to think that when a Canadian team of economists have a North American platform to talk about jobs futures and locational hotspots, that the Okanagan Valley will be top ranking. They will recognize that our region raises optimism along with the solid supports for long term job creation.
Caroline Grover
October 20th 2011 (Update)
Last week I had the opportunity to attend a BC Chamber event to meet with the Premier and Cabinet Ministers. It also provided ample opportunity to connect with key industry leaders and bring issues of local interest to the government. The Kelowna Chamber hosted the round table dialogue with the Honorable Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of Advanced Education and senior executives of mining, seaport terminals, accounting associations and PR agencies. The Premier spoke at length and with great enthusiasm about the Canada Starts Here, “The BC Jobs Plan”.
I want to share my perspective on why this BC Job Plan offers significant economic hope and recovery, and what it can mean locally. The Canada Starts Here refers to the fact that we are the western most Province in our country and the first port of call for peoples and goods that come to Canada. This is an opportunity to secure our place in the emerging economies in Asia Pacific.
Much of the information in the BC Jobs Plan is not new but what I heard from senior executives involved in BC natural resource industries gave me a sense of optimism that high value jobs and significant economic recovery for BC is indeed possible. The document is available on line and is an easy 15 page read.
BC is leading Canada in export diversification and in 2010 had the highest percentage of non US exports in the country. In recent years our province has leveraged our position and goods and reduced reliance on trade with the US.
Some examples of what this means at local levels is the concerted efforts of the Province to eliminate the backlog of permit processes. The twenty year approval to ship CNG from the Port at Prince Rupert to Asia is tangible, the re-opening of the mine in Princeton with pre-sales of all inventory has happened, extensions of copper mine permits on Vancouver Island being completed on a weekend is further proof. The very latest shipbuilding contract for Vancouver is all significant news. We learn of these developments as singular activities, yet the cumulative effect of the private sector being able to respond to market opportunities quickly and the government seeing revenue returns on major infrastructure is a compelling story of significance to all of us.
Natural resource production and sales in one part of BC provides direct job results in our region too. The engineers, land management and consultants for First Nation development activities required to support natural resource development can be found in our Kelowna Chamber membership.
As the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, we generate opportunities that provide connection and advantage, as well as champion initiatives that influence change. Contact me if you would like to be part of discussions that relate to your future.
October 1st, 2011The Chamber Board, committees and staff are fully engaged in rolling out new networking opportunities, organizing your annual favorite events and preparing to speak to issues impacting Kelowna businesses.
This past month our Chamber teamed with the Urban Development Institute (Okanagan) and Kelowna Home Builders to bring our united voices of concern about the impact of the HST referendum to our MLA’s. We stressed the urgency for the Provincial and Federal governments to find a quick way to bring customers back to the drawing boards and Realtor offices. This vitally important construction industry has come to a halt as customers wait for the changes back to pre-HST conditions as they affect their real estate transactions.
We will keep this issue and the elimination of the Property Transfer Tax in front of the Provincial Government as we believe this contributes to a negative impact on affordable housing. The PTT adds increased upward pressure on wages, the attractiveness of living here and attracting skilled workers. The HST impacted our membership in different ways, and the restaurant and service sectors will welcome the elimination of the tax and they too want a speedier return to a GST, and PST approach to encourage customer spending. The current information indicating an 18 month return to the old system is not fast enough for many sectors.
Members of the Provincial Standing Committee on Finance will be in Kelowna October 13th and our Chamber of Commerce will be presenting views like this. At any time, if you would like to share your opinions and ideas with members of our Kelowna committees working on advocacy, policy development or issues affecting your business, call me. The value of your membership in the Chamber increases every time you get involved in advocating for policy change at every level of government, when you attend events and make new business connections.
Caroline Grover
For more information on the Kelowna Chamber, go to http://www.kelownachamber.org/ or contact Caroline directly at (250) 469-7356.