After many months of calling on governments to help transportation businesses that have been devastated by the pandemic, the province finally delivered good news yesterday.

Funding of up to $10.7 million is available for inter-city bus operators, as well as up to $16.5 million for regional airports to support operations for one year starting April 1.

“During the pandemic, inter-city bus operators that connect rural and remote communities and regional airports that provide medical safety services experienced a significant drop in ridership,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure in a news release. “This relief funding will help these vital services stay open and be ready for a strong recovery when travel restrictions are relieved by the COVID-19 vaccination effort in BC”

Minister Fleming, who spoke to Chamber members on March 2 as part of our Business Restart Series with provincial ministers, said relief would be announced soon to ensure valuable transportation services get through the pandemic.

“Today is filled with a sense of overwhelming gratitude and relief for the inter-city ground transportation sector across the province, but more importantly for the members of our rural, remote and Indigenous communities that rely on these services,” John Wilson, president and CEO, Wilson’s Group of Companies said. “With the announcement of this grant, I am pleased to say we will be looking at restarting services in the coming weeks to ensure Vancouver Island once again has the connectivity that so many members of our communities need.”

There was more good news that the pandemic will soon be behind us. On Monday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry advised BC's post-secondary schools to plan to have students back on campus in the fall.

The province hopes to provide clear guidance over the next few weeks, enabling post-secondary institutions such as Royal Roads University, Camosun College and the University of Victoria to work with Island Health and WorkSafeBC on detailed safety plans.

"There are still lots of unknowns, and many of you will have questions," UVic President and Vice-Chancellor Kevin Hall said in a statement. "We'll do our best to keep everyone updated over the coming weeks and months while building flexibility into our planning. When the final fall timetable goes live in May it will indicate how courses will be delivered and registration will begin in June as usual."

Two planned tax changes that were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic will go into effect on April 1, 2021.

Starting next month, Provincial Sales Tax will be charged on carbonated beverages that contain sugar, natural sweeteners or artificial sweeteners. The products are currently exempt from PST.

As of April 1, PST must also be collected by e-commerce businesses outside the province, such as US-based services Netflix and Disney Plus.

Compassion and caring have always been key to long-term care homes, but the pandemic has increased awareness about how important relationships are to residents and the staff who look after them.

Chamber CEO Bruce Williams looks back at the last year and lessons learned with David Cheperdak, President and CEO of Broadmead Care, and Amir Hemani, CEO

of Berwick Retirement Communities.

Special thanks to our series sponsor: Island Savings

By responding quickly to early concerns about COVID-19, both organizations were able to ensure the safety of people under their care. What they found out was how important their staff are to bringing joy to residents in later stages of life. Find out how they rose to the challenge, and how technology and new ways of thinking about employee resiliency have become embedded in each organization’s culture.

BC's Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation has agreed to extend the application deadline for the Business Recovery Grant from March 31 to Aug. 31.

The Hon. Ravi Kahlon spoke to Chamber members on Feb. 18 as part of our Business Restart Series with provincial ministers. At that time, he said he was listening to businesses and would adjust the program to ensure pandemic relief was available.

As well, businesses are required to demonstrate a 30% revenue loss in any one month between March 2020 to the point of application. That's significantly lower than the previous requirement of at least 70% revenue loss in March or April 2020.

The $345-million program provides fully funded grants to businesses that employ up to 149 BC residents. Grants can be up to $30,000, with an additional $15,000 available to tourism-related businesses.

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is among 120 arts and culture organizations on Vancouver Island benefiting from $3.5 million in provincial grants.

The art gallery will use its share of the funds to hire a digital assets co-ordinator and an educator to develop and deliver online programming.

The funding is part of the provincial government's Expanded Arts and Culture Resilience Supplement delivered through the BC Arts Council. Organizations can use the funds for operating costs, to pay artists and to protect or restore jobs such as theatre technicians, production designers or arts administrators.

"The Chamber brings alive the local voice of Greater Victoria entrepreneurs with the credibility of a nationally respected organization."

Learn more about how these organizations are championing the work of The Chamber.

On March 8, camping reservations opened for BC Parks. Before you head out on your next great adventure, be sure to read the 2021 Camping Season Policies to ensure you’re staying safe while enjoying the great outdoors.

Every successful trip starts with a great plan, and Chamber members are here to ensure you’re well supplied for your next local camping trip.

Before heading to your campsite, be sure to review the latest Provincial Health Order to verify your camping plans are within the guidelines. Although Bonnie Henry is optimistic that BC could be in a “post-pandemic world” this summer, by taking the necessary precautions now, we can continue to bounce forward together.

With 14 categories to choose from, The Chamber’s job board is perfect hiring tool for any industry.

When you post your next job, be sure to add a category in the job title so it can be properly sorted. From Accounting & Finance to Technology related positions, you can see the full list of categories here.

If you have a specific category, you can also utilize the Industry Type field on the job posting. This list is continually added with new industry types.