The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce proudly announced the first members of the Chamber Champions initiative at the Annual General Meeting Tuesday afternoon. The Champions are a new, highly engaged echelon of membership designed to connect these business and community leaders through vigorous dialogue and strategic discussions about the recovery and resilience of our Greater Victoria economy.

“The Champions are just as the title says, they are offering their resource to champion the work of The Chamber in support of our members,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams says. “This sort of leadership is more important now than at any other time in The Chamber’s 157-year history. The Chamber matters more than ever, and these leaders represent a clear voice.”

This first announcement of Champions welcomes:

Many more will be announced in the weeks and months ahead.

“MNP works with clients on business planning and advisory services, tax strategies, accounting and helping to make strategic decisions about the future," says Steve Wellburn, Partner, Private Enterprise with MNP Victoria. "Given the exceptional challenges and opportunities our local businesses are facing right now, the Chamber Champion program is extremely timely and we’re proud to be involved as a partner.”

On Tuesday, The Chamber held our 2020 Annual General Meeting, sponsored by Fortis BC, with a special panel featuring mayors from four Greater Victoria municipalities.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes, Colwood Mayor Rob Martin and View Royal Mayor David Screech spoke about affordable housing, amalgamation, the financial impact of COVID-19 and the need to provide mental health services to address homelessness.

"It was a great forum and truly illustrated what makes our region so diverse," says Chamber CEO Bruce Williams, who moderated the panel. "We share a lot of challenges across Greater Victoria and there are definitely opportunities to adopt best practices. But there are also differences that we need celebrate as we continue to advocate for better governance for our region."

The Chamber strongly supports the guidance of Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, and we are waiting for direction on regional restrictions for BC.

With Vancouver Islanders making a concerted effort to keep COVID-19 cases low, it's time to at least consider why businesses here face the same restrictions as areas of the Lower Mainland that have not had the same success.

"We are hearing some frustration that the entire province is being painted with the same brush," Chamber CEO Bruce Williams told CTV News Vancouver Island on Tuesday. "People are saying that we are abiding by the rules here and have really never seen a bump in cases."

The Chamber would like to hear from our members about what you would like the province to do. Are you in support of regional restrictions, or do we need to continue to apply the same rules to the entire province?

Send your feedback to [email protected].

The Chamber welcomes the federal government's latest effort to provide relief for businesses continuing to struggle due to the pandemic. Bill C-9 was tabled on Monday after the national Chamber network outlined a number of concerns raised by our members.

The Chamber is happy the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy will be extended until June 30, 2021, but we are disappointed the new legislation will reduce the subsidy to 65% from 75%, where we would like to see it remain.

The redesign of the commercial rent subsidy is also good news. More tenants will be able to access the program. However, a few details are still not ideal. We share the Canadian Chamber's concerns about the corporate entity cap of $300,000.

"This punishes businesses that have several locations, especially those in expensive downtown cores. Businesses in the hardest hit sectors, such as the food service and travel industries, that have several locations have compounded challenges by operating several locations, and need fair and equal access to the program."

With restrictions expected to be in place for many months to come, government programs need to reflect the reality that businesses are facing.

Register for our Nov. 24 COVID-19 Government Measures for Business and Individuals event to learn about these programs and more.

Please contact Kathy Khouri at [email protected] for more information.

A new federal program is offering up to $75,000 for small businesses through the CanExport SMEs program. Before the pandemic, the program had helped cover the cost of travel but has a new focus now. Business can access funding to:

For more information, go to tradecommissioner.gc.ca.

And if you're looking to improve your international e-commerce reach, join The Chamber and the World Trade Centre's ICE program this December.

Chamber CEO Bruce Williams has started a new series of video podcasts — vodcasts — we're calling Chamber Chats.

The first vodcast includes experts from the the Victoria Real Estate Board, including president Sandi-Jo Ayers, president-elect David Langlois and executive officer David Corey. The vodcast is timely as real estate sales continue to set records in Greater Victoria. Our region saw 990 property sales in October — almost 60% more than October 2019.

The second vodcast is a discussion with an expert on vaccine research. Dr. Srinivas Murthy is the co-chair of the WHO clinical research committee on COVID-19, associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC, and a critical care and infectious diseases physician at the BC Children’s Hospital.

With so many people waiting for a vaccine, find out what the science says about when that will be and what it means for Vancouver Island and BC.

Want to have a say on future bike lanes in Victoria? The City of Victoria is hoping to hear from businesses and residents about plans for the next phase of the cycling network. You can check out and comment on specific sections of the plan below:

Submit your questions by end of day Monday, November 23, 2020.

During these extraordinary times, The Chamber’s Job Board connects employers needing help with employees in need of work. Whether you’re a CEO, small business owner, or a manager looking for talent, finding and retaining employees is crucial.

Learn more about how to post on the job board here. ​If you have any difficulty posting, please email [email protected]

Each week, The Chamber will profile one of the 14 different award categories, encouraging members to nominate a deserving Chamber member.

Need some inspiration? Check out the videos of the 2020 Business of the Year (40+ Employees) finalists below. Thanks to Ralmax Group of Companies for sponsoring this award.

Flytographer (Winner)

Vancouver Island Brewing (Finalist)

In Greater Victoria, finding a family doctor is undoubtedly a difficult task. With cold and flu season quickly approaching, getting a prescription or waiting hours for medical advice can take a serious toll on the productivity of not only yourself, but your business as well.

If you have Chambers Group Insurance, you can now take advantage of Teladoc Telemedicine Services — a fast and efficient way of getting the help you need, when you need it.

Members can receive a diagnosis, treatment recommendation, and even be prescribed medicine when necessary. Members can consult a physician about non-urgent medical matters by video conference or by phone, from wherever they are, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Chambers Plan offers the Teladoc Telemedicine service at no additional charge to all plan members and their dependents. With the Chambers Group Insurance plan, you can customize an employee benefits plan that meets your needs.

Inquire with a Chamber member pharmacy to see if they are offering flu shots this year, and be sure to book your appointment ahead of time.

CFB Esquimalt and the Canadian Navy will hold a Sail Past and live stream on Remembrance Day. Two Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels and an Orca will be involved in the Sail Past.

 

The live stream will begin at 1 pm from Ogden Point, and can be viewed on the Maritime Forces Pacific Facebook Page.

 

Here's the schedule if you prefer watching the Sail Past in person, from a safe physical distance.