|
|
1-part tradeshow, 1-part connecting. Shake them together and you get the
Fall Marketplace Mixer! Join over 300 business professionals today - Wed - from 4-7 pm at the Comfort Hotel and Conference Centre at this FREE networking event.
|
Right Regional Governance
Hear BC Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Peter Fassbender discuss the findings of the Capital Integrated Services and Governance Initiative report at a Chamber Business Leaders' Luncheon on Dec 1.
The report is due to be released Oct 29, and, in consultation with capital area local governments, recommends ways they can integrate and improve services and governance. This report will include input from local stakeholder organizations - including The Chamber - on their perceptions of issues and opportunities facing local government in the Capital Regional District.
 |
Victoria Business Profile
 |
Smart Dolphins IT Solutions Inc: member since 2002
|
|
|
|
|
|
Opportunities and connections
|
|
|
|
|
Transportation Woes: The Path Ahead
Business owners and leaders have been concerned about transportation in Greater Victoria for years - if not decades. Travel times are already increasing during peak periods with commuters crowding the existing infrastructure.
Much of this issue is due to regionally important infrastructure being left to one municipality to fund and manage. Agreement of all municipalities is required to achieve the desired outcome - a regional transportation system that works for everyone.
The CRD recently announced its plans to introduce a
regional transportation service.
"Although a step in the right direction, we need to go further than the current CRD proposal," said Chamber CEO Catherine Holt. "Greater Victoria needs a transportation authority with regional planning responsibility for all current and future modes of transportation. We need this entity to have the right governance, taxation power, decision-making and zoning authority, and project management capacity."
|
Know a Business that has Excelled this Year?
Do you know a small business that demonstrates continual business excellence through positive business growth, demonstrates a commitment to the community, exemplifies superior customer service and embraces an outstanding commitment to quality? If you do,
nominate them for the 2017 Business of the Year (1-10 Employees) Award!
Need some inspiration? Check out the videos of the 2016 Business of the Year (1-10 Employees) finalists below.
Thanks to
Times Colonist for sponsoring this award!
|
Missed the TweetChat with Chamber CEO?
The Twittersphere had the chance to engage
Chamber CEO
Catherine Holt via
Twitter on Oct 18 about business in Greater Victoria thanks to
#yyjchat.
#YYJchat is a tweet chat, hosted every Tues evening by co-founders Susan Jones and Mat Wright, that covers Greater Victoria's issues and aspects of life and community.
"Programs such YYJChat offer an innovative way to reach and engage new and existing audiences," said Catherine. "I am very grateful for the opportunity, and learned a lot in the process!"
From Catherine being called a dude to discussing the challenges facing Greater Victoria businesses (
#yyjbiz), the chat was busy! Check out the compiled questions and answers
here.
|
Professional Clothes for Students
Starting in November, Camosun College students will have the opportunity to borrow professional clothes for job interviews, field trips, etc. at the new Campus Closet Club (the Club) located in a 600 sq ft space at the Interurban campus.
The Club will be run by student volunteers who will use their roles to meet assignment requirements in various courses.
"This is a win-win," said
Camosun School of Business
instructor
Catherine Mack. "The students volunteering gain valuable experience and the students who will utilize the club's services will benefit when they go out into the workforce."
Over 300 items of "gently used" professional clothes have already been donated to the Club to lend. The Club is always looking for more clothing donations, but they also need store fixtures like shelves, hanging racks, hangers and anything else that will spruce up their space. If you have something to give, let them know.
 |
Camosun College: member since 1981
|
|
We Are All Connected
Where do you live? Where do you work? Where can I get that?
One of the welcome outcomes of The Chamber's Trade and Investment program was that these questions are starting to be answered. As one of the linchpins of the program, Stantec developed a geographic information system (GIS) that maps Greater Victoria's key assets and competitive advantages such as the Victoria International Airport, Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, industrial-zoned land, municipal and CRD boundaries, cycle lanes, and green spaces.
 |
|
|
An example of a GIS map showing where employees from eight Greater Victoria companies live vs. work. |
This project illustrates the dispersed nature of the workforce, showing that people often live in one municipality and work in another. The objective of this project is to aid investors' decision-making by providing them with geographic data that is pertinent to their specific investment decision, such as where to locate a distribution facility or a retail storefront.
More on the GIS project in X Will Soon Mark the Spot for Investment.
Although the
Trade and Investment Program
's various successes are expected to continue well into the future, The Chamber's Trade and Investment Program ends March 31, 2017. The Program
was made possible by Western Economic Diversification Canada as well as local private and public partners.
The Chamber's Trade and Investment Program is funded in part by
|
Luxury Seating Coming to the Odeon
Cineplex Entertainment will be replacing all of the seats at
Cineplex Odeon Victoria Cinemas with luxurious, fully-reclining seats. All seven of the theatre's auditoriums will be upgraded by early 2017.
"We are always looking for new and innovative ways to enhance the movie-going experience for our guests," said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. "Our guests absolutely love our fully-reclining seats and we're confident that the Victoria community will find it an ultra-luxurious and relaxing way to enjoy a film."
|
Welcome to Our Newest Members!
|
Chamber Name Tags
 Need to get one of the snazzy new Chamber Name tags?
Email Reception to order yours today.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
