An historic meeting at Songhees Nation this week brought together Canada's provincial premiers as well as leaders from National Indigenous Organizations. The two-day meeting wrapped up with an urgent call for the federal government to fund a modernization of Canada's health care system.

“The whole continuum of care needs to be revisited. And now is the time to do that,” BC Premier John Horgan told the Times Colonist. The discussion also needs to include Indigenous voices, which have not had a seat at the the table in the past.

“Hosting this meeting at the Songhees Wellness Centre reflects and amplifies Indigenous voices in the decision-making process," the Songhees Nation said in a statement about the gathering.

Actions matter on the road to reconciliation, and The Chamber applauds the decision by the City of Victoria to rename a municipal throughway Su'it Street. Pronounced "say-EET," the new name is Lekwungen for "truth."

The street had been named for Joseph Trutch, who was born in England and became involved in colonial politics in British Columbia. He was an avowed racist who refused to acknowledge Indigenous treaties and titles.

"With the renaming of this road, the Lekwungen people are not only able to share our native language, but also decolonize a chapter of local history," Songhees Nation Chief Ron Sam said in a media release. "We will continue to work with the City of Victoria to change the narrative on historical figures, and towards a partnership reflective of truth and reconciliation.”

The Chamber continues to work with Indigenous individuals and nations to facilitate inclusion in the broader business community.

Last Friday's network disruption at Rogers Communication affected many businesses who relied on the service for financial transactions or other communication needs.

Details are still emerging about what caused the outage and Rogers has so far promised to make sure the issue doesn't happen again and credit customers for five-days of service.

The disruption prompted the federal government to call on all communications companies to create a plan to mitigate the impact of any future outages.

Consumers want to retain some of the benefits of spending more time at home, according to a report by professional services network PWC. The report found that 56% of Canadians are enjoying home cooking and only 6% said they expect to do less of it in the months ahead. As well, 34% of respondents said they shop local more often than before the pandemic and only 4% think that will change in the near future.

Not surprisingly, the increased ability to make purchases online has become a habit with online shopping levels stabilizing after a surge in growth. The lesson for retailers is that customers want the best of both worlds — the convenience of buying online and the experience of shopping in-person.

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Want to know what events are happening in the community? Check out The Chamber's Community Calendar to stay up to date with plays, seminars, grand openings and more.