Chamber members celebrated cocktails and community at a vibrant, after-hours business social, held May 18 at Thomas and Birch Kitchens + Living. It was an excellent opportunity for members and future members to meet face-to-face and establish valuable relationships.

There has been a lot of talk lately about downtown Victoria.

Some of the talk is positive. Greater Victoria often ranks highly in lists of desirable places to live, work and visit. Our region has a sterling reputation — especially to people who aren’t from here.

But it would seem many of us believe our own bad publicity. Have we taken on an inferiority complex?

Crime and violence are real but not rampant as some would have us believe. And at the root of these issues are housing and mental illness.

By the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, Downtown Victoria Business Association, and the Urban Development Institute – Capital Region.

B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association: Member since 1996

The province received some welcome news about its financial state of affairs when Moody's reaffirmed BC's AAA credit rating on May 17. Moody's is the last credit agency to release its results. In April, Fitch Ratings maintained its AA+ rating for the province, while S&P Global Ratings downgraded BC from AA+ to AA. On May 1, DBRS Morningstar kept BC at AA(high).

Moody’s noted British Columbia’s attractiveness to businesses and individuals, as well as migration into the province.

Good credit ratings are vital for the province to get competitive rates on borrowing for infrastructure projects and service demands. BC has the highest credit rating among Canadian provinces across the four agencies.

In less than 10 minutes, you can share your thoughts on your Chamber membership by taking our Membership Matters Survey.

Help us help you! Enter to win round-trip flights to Vancouver for two from Helijet by completing the survey.

In this Chamber Chat, CEO Bruce Williams speaks with Christina Clarke, Executive Director of the Indigenous Prosperity Centre, about the organization and its work.

Special thanks to our series sponsor: Island Savings

Make sure you're putting your best self forward by updating your online directory listing! Through strong SEO practices, thousands of users are viewing The Chamber’s member directory every month. So, we made an easy checklist to ensure your listing is getting the views it deserves.

Online Directory Listing Checklist:

It's easy to make changes to your listing — simply login here. To update your logo, photo or video, scroll to the Upload Media table listed at the bottom of the page. To update your listing description, keywords and social media channels, select the Edit this Profile button.

Remember to visit the Exposure Opportunities and Deals tab to learn more about unique ways to showcase your business.

You can email [email protected] the changes you would like to see and we can update your listing on your behalf.

In celebration of the 21st anniversary of Asian Heritage Month, the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society is hosting the second annual Awakening Chinatown event Sunday, May 28, for a celebration that honours the contributions of Chinese Canadians who enrich our country.

Presented by the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society and in collaboration with the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Pacific Opera Victoria and local Chinatown businesses, the Second Annual “Awakening Chinatown” festivities will take place in the vibrant National Historic Site area of Canada’s oldest Chinatown.

Chamber members participating in this event include: RBC, Reliance Properties Ltd., Coastal Community Credit Union, Dumpling Drop, the Salient Group, and Western Design + Build.

Western Design + Build: Member since 2013

The District of Saanich announced that three popular pop-up dog parks are back for the summer. The parks are completely fenced and available from 7 am to 10 pm daily. The pop-ups are at Hyacinth Park, Lambrick Park and Rudd Park, and proper dog etiquette is essential to making the parks a success:

Eagle Wing Whale and Wildlife Watching Tours is the world's first marine ecotour operator to become Biosphere Certified. The certification, from the Responsible Tourism Institute, promotes environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of life in tourism destinations.

Sage Initiative’s Indigenous Womxn’s Impact Investing Collective returns for a third cohort this fall, with 15 seats available. The program uses a trauma-informed online learning curriculum that is used in Indigenous concepts of commerce and is designed to help participants learn to take initiative with their money.

Kenmore Air announced a new option for travellers from Seattle, starting tomorrow, May 25. Kenmore is flying to Victoria International Airport from Boeing Field and Paine Field as well as from Friday Harbor Airport. The flights expand on Kenmore's long-running float plane service. Kenmore Air will use its fleet of modern Cessna Caravans, which can operate in limited visibility conditions and provide increased service reliability.

Members can post Coupons and Discounts free of charge here.