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BC Day
Happy BC Day! Ever wondered if anyone loved BC enough to make a song featuring all the municipalities in the province? Well you're in luck, we discovered that person
via Twitter
and you can watch the masterpiece here. How many do you think you could name?
The Chamber Offices will be closed on Monday, Aug 6. See you out there!
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Regional traffic solution is right
 in front of us
Message from Chamber CEO Catherine Holt
This article originally appeared in the Times Colonist Tuesday, July 31.
When is the last time you complained about traffic? Driving home from up-Island on Sunday? Trying to park downtown in the middle of the day? This morning on your commute from Bear Mountain?
There's no shortage of talk about how bad traffic is in our region. There's also no shortage of ideas to improve things: Use the E&N corridor for buses, start a ferry from the Inner Harbour to Royal Bay, get more people living downtown so they won't need cars, attract employers to the West Shore so workers won't drive so far.
What we do fall short on is governance. There is no regional transportation entity that can set priorities, fund them and make them happen. What we have is the Victoria Regional Transit Commission, but currently its focus is buses. It also has the challenge of region-wide responsibility without region-wide authority to act. Now is the time to give it the authority.
Read the
Times Colonist
or listen to
CFAX
to find out all the reasons why the Victoria Regional Transit Commission would make an excellent Regional Transportation Commission.
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From Kansas City to Memphis, southern smokehouse cooking tantalizes with savoury, spicy and tangy flavours as unique as the regions that inspired them.
Jones Bar-B-Que brings those traditions to Victoria. Try them paired with just the right taste of hops and malt courtesy of
Lighthouse Brewing Company Inc. See the full menu
here.
Gather your friends for this finger-licking good time with our special group pricing! Trust us, it'll be the BBQ of the year!
Not a beer drinker? We'll have some non-alcoholic pairings too.
Sponsored by:
Thu, Aug 16 | 5:30-9 pm
Market Square - Anthem Properties
39-560 Johnson St.
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Downtown YMCA-YWCA sold
Following a year-long property review, the Board of Directors of the
YMCA-YWCA of Vancouver Island (the Y) announced the sale of their premises at 851 Broughton St. to Vancouver-based
Concert Properties for nearly $22 million.
Concert's purchase agreement allows the Downtown Y to remain in operation in its current facilities for up to seven years enabling the organization to plan for relocation without business interruption. The sale enables the Y to move forward and pursue opportunities to relocate and build a new, modern Y in partnership with a yet-to-be-determined development partner in Victoria's downtown core.
"For more than a decade, the Board has contemplated the Victoria Y's aging facilities at 851 Broughton Street," said Christine Gleed, Chair, Board of Directors YWCA-YMCA of Vancouver Island. "Victoria is becoming more urban, and we are optimistic about relocation opportunities given the renewal investment taking place in the core. We have received some strong interest to date and now that we have a final sale, we can begin to engage with greater certainty."
To facilitate the development of a modern Downtown Y, the City of Victoria has signed a new agreement to replace a 1965 covenant as the City donated a portion of land to the Y. Under the agreement, the Y will place $1.89 million with the City to secure the Y's continued commitment to remain in the downtown core. Upon the successful relocation of the Y in less than eight years, the City of Victoria will return the funds to the YMCA-YWCA of Vancouver Island.
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YMCA - YWCA of Vancouver Island: member since 1987
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Concert Properties: member since 2012
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City of Victoria: member since 1962
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Open letter slams province's plan to unionize public mega-projects
An open letter to BC Premier John Horgan - signed by prominent business and construction associations, including the BC Chamber - expresses concerns about the province's recently announced procurement policy for mega-projects. The plan requires non-union workers to join a government-approved union in order to be involved in construction of major projects, such as the $1.4 billion Pattullo Bridge replacement.
Download the letter here.
The letter, published in Saturday's Vancouver Sun, says the announcement is a "departure from the fair, open and transparent process that has successfully built our Province over much of its history."
The Premier responded to criticism, saying the use of project labour agreements in BC started with BC Hydro dams built under WAC Bennett's Social Credit government.
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Members Around Town
Victoria's Butchart Gardens receives Award of Excellence
The
World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) has recognized
The Butchart Gardens with an
Award of Excellence and a commemorative plaque at their recent conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference is held every three years.
WFRS was founded in 1968 in London, England and its stated purpose is to hold international rose conferences and act as a clearing house for rose research, now made up of national rose societies from 40 countries, the organization represents rose lovers around the world.
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The Butchart Gardens: member since 1976
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Victoria Golf Club celebrates 125 years
The Victoria Golf Club celebrated its 125th anniversary this year with a Seaside Garden Party on the course. The Victoria Golf Club, founded in 1893, is the oldest 18-hole golf course in Canada in its original location, and second oldest in North America. The course began as 14 holes but quickly expanded to 18 in 1895. There have been at least three different layouts - the one played today was finalized in the mid-1920s (after a decision in 1923 to end the practice of hitting tee shots on two holes across the ever-busier Beach Drive).
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Victoria Golf Club: member since 2006
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Canada Victoria Art Co. Ltd & Picture Perfect Gallery - 30 years old
| Canada Victoria Art Co. Ltd & Picture Perfect Gallery: member since 2018 |
Coast Capital is B Corp certified
The nonprofit B Lab
has designated Coast Capital Savings as a Certified B Corps company for achieving high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. There are more than 2,500 Certified B Corps from 50 countries and over 130 industries working together to redefine success in business. B Lab's vision is that one day all companies will compete not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world through positive social and environmental impact.
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Coast Capital: member since 1980
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Best Places to Live - 2018
Moneysense.ca has released its
2018 list of Best Places to Live in Canada. The list is based on 10 categories such as weather, taxes and affordability, and can be narrowed down to best places within provinces. While the list has a few headscratchers, such as ranking Fort St. John as the top place in BC, what's more interesting is that the value of all 10 categories can be adjusted based on what is important to you.
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Want to see your prouct or service showcased at the auction? Contact Thomas at
[email protected].
Here's a sneak peek at a few items that will be at this year's Annual Dinner Auction Gala.
- Reach for the sky on your next trip to Vancouver. Take flight on board Harbour Air Seaplanes with return tickets for two people.
- Continue to soar through the skies at Adrena LINE Zipline Adventures with a professionally guided zipline experience for two adults or two youth.
- All this adventure may make you a bit hungry, so enjoy a delicious meal with a gift certificate to Bin 4 Burger Lounge.
- Have an item that you have always wanted to sell? Get your item noticed with a Big Box ad on Used.ca.
Any of these items catch your eye?
Early bird tickets are now on sale!
Fri, Nov 2 | 6-10:30 pm
Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort & Spa
100 Harbour Rd.
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Amazing Race Canada
The Amazing Race Canada season 6  premiered July 3 and has featured many Chamber members!
Teams are racing to win $250,000, a new car and a year-long trip around the world.
Episode 1 -
The start line was
Royal Roads University where teams had to search the grounds around Hatley Castle to find backpacks with their first clue. They then had to hop onboard a
BC Ferry to continue their tasks on the mainland.
Catch up on all episodes here. Teams are headed to Indonesia, Ontario, Mexico and New Brunswick in the remaining episodes.
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Welcome to Our Newest Members!
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Chamber Name Tags
 Need to get one of the snazzy new Chamber Name tags?
Email us to order yours today.
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