Chamber Update
June 15, 2020
Play ball! Meet you at this week's virtual mixer
Wed., June 17: Put on your best HarbourCats apparel and join us for a virtual tailgate party on Zoom. After the mixer, grab some takeout from one of our awesome local  restaurants  and watch a replay from July 19, 2018 — the night of a Chamber Mixer hosted by the HarbourCats during a game against the Corvallis Knights.  Register here.
Time to reconnect with Victoria's tourism industry
With an announcement expected imminently to open up travel within British Columbia, work is well underway to promote tourism in Greater Victoria.

Throughout Phase 2 of the province's Restart Plan, Destination BC has encouraged residents to safely support local tourism through its #exploreBClocal campaign.

Destination Greater Victoria has also launched a new marketing campaign called Reconnect in Victoria. You can watch the video here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit tourism harder than most other sectors. Businesses that rely on international visitors are struggling and need your help. The Chamber will continues to work with our community partners and our network across Canada to support our members in the tourism and hospitality industry.
Destination Greater Victoria: Member since 1988
NEW! Business Restart Series
Business Restart Series: Tourism (Online Event)
As Phase 3 begins, tourism businesses in the Inner Harbour are grappling with how to adapt with a renewed focus on domestic tourism as our borders remain closed.

Join our CEO Bruce Williams and a panel of tourism leaders including Indu Brar (Fairmont Empress), Ian Robertson (Greater Victoria Harbour Authority) and Randy Wright (HarbourAir Seaplanes) as they talk about how the pandemic continues to affect our tourism industry, what's needed and a look to the path forward to recovery.
Crosstown plan approved for former Tally-Ho site
The Victoria Cool Aid Society’s plan to re-develop the former Tally-Ho Hotel site is moving forward.

The proposed Crosstown development at 3020 Douglas St. will create 102 units of affordable housing as well as 52 homes for people currently living in supportive housing on site. There will also be more than 30,000 square-feet of commercial space, a daycare and a gathering space for the neighbourhood.

The proposal was approved on June 11 at the first virtual public hearing held by the City of Victoria.
Victoria Cool Aid Society: Member since 2006
City of Victoria: Member since 1962
CERB extended, but wage subsidy critical for restart
The federal government will extend the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this morning. Details of the extension are expected in the days ahead.

More than eight million Canadians have applied for CERB, which is much higher than the number that are participating in the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program.

The federal government has promised to re-assess eligibility requirements for the wage subsidy. As provinces re-open their economies, it is vital that more Canadians move away from receiving CERB and instead return to work under the wage subsidy program.

The Chamber is calling on the federal government to ensure employers have access to the workforce needed to ramp up operations and contribute to a successful restart of our economy.

Join us for Virtual Events
Virtual Tailgate Business Mixer with HarbourCats
Join us for a virtual tailgate party and support the Victoria HarbourCats!

Attendees are encouraged to wear a Victoria HarbourCats hat while they network. If you don't already have one, click here to get yours before the event.

After the mixer grab some takeout from one of our awesome local restaurants and watch a replay of the July 19, 2018 game (a Chamber mixer night!) against the Corvallis Knights.
Wed., June 17 | 5- 6pm
Zoom
Virtual Seminar: Intro to Microsoft Teams
Looking for ways to keep your team connected and streamline your collaboration?

Learn from Paul Holmes of Smart Dolphins IT Solutions on how your organization can use Microsoft Teams to empower your workforce and improve communication, collaboration, flexibility, security and efficiency in the workplace.  
Tues., June 23 | 12- 1pm
Zoom
Getting you back to business
Open for Business — Chamber directory style
To help locals looking to support businesses in the region, we want to make it easier to find businesses that are open and ready to provide products or services.

You'll see on our Chamber online business directory that we've added an Open icon for businesses. Details on how the business has adapted and/or new hours will appear in Products and Services at the bottom of the listing. We've also enhanced the SEO keywords on these listings to get you noticed.

Do you have updated business hours or services? ​ Contact us for your Open Icon and enhanced directory listing.
Job board back to being exclusive member benefit
As of today, the job board has returned to being an exclusive benefit of Chamber membership.

The Chamber is proud to have featured more than 200 jobs on our job board since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. We opened up this member benefit to help our community meet the demand for essential service jobs. We are now seeing a return to job postings that reflect the restart of our economy.
 
If you have any difficulty posting, please email [email protected] . We will get back to you within one business day. We know how important hiring the right person can be.
 
All jobs posted to our job board have been vetted by a member of The Chamber team.
Don't let self isolation make you feel alone
The Chamber has a myriad of resources to help you and your business. You can connect with our staff or schedule a virtual coffee with one of our Ambassadors to talk about your business and next steps on our road to recovery.

We're #InItTogetherYYJ even if we can't be together. We look forward to talking with you soon about how we can help.
250-383-7191 
victoriachamber.ca