Chambers of commerce and boards of trades from the Thompson-Okanagan region met with 18 B.C. Government representatives to discuss issues affecting businesses in the region.
The meeting was held on July 23 as 11 boards met with 18 government representatives, including deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers from 12 ministries.
The network presented its policies, adopted at the 2019 B.C. Chamber AGM, which contained specific recommendations to government.
Pan-provincial issues included taxation competitiveness, Species-At-Risk Act legislation and its impacts on business, transportation and infrastructure and emergency preparedness.
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Regional concerns included developing a sufficient stock of accessible market and rental housing, accelerating the development of a transportation infrastructure, supporting the tree fruit sector, the trans-provincial movement of wine and beer and developing an aerospace innovation cluster.
“It was a very remarkable gathering of the regional business community and senior government officials,” said David Hull, executive director of the Summerland Chamber of Commerce.
“To have that many people in one room in the middle of summer to discuss provincial and regional issues important to trade and commerce was impressive. One deputy minister even took time from his Okanagan vacation to attend.”
“Presenting our policies to government is a critical part of our network’s robust policy process,” says Val Litwin, CEO of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce. “We look forward to working collaboratively with government in the year ahead on numerous files for the betterment of all BC’s regional economies.”
The B.C. Chamber and its local chamber network will meet with government in regions across the province over the next three months.
These consultations were created to enable the B.C. Chamber network to communicate directly with government and propose legislative and policy solutions that will expand opportunities for business, strengthen the provincial economy, and drive deeper consultations with government moving forward.
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