TD Merchant services offers discounts on Visa, Mastercard & Debit rates

Contact the BC Chamber
to learn more

Join the BC Chamber Mailing List

(Plain Text version available here)

• Chamber of Commerce Week

• Breakfast with Hon. Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure

• Fraser Valley Chambers of Commerce: Business Showcase

What's New @ bcchamber.org

• New Public Affairs Update Newsletter 

Chamber News

Provincial News

• Province to focus on Burns Lake economic recovery

• Softwood lumber exports to China shatter record

• Land use plan, faster permitting promotes mining jobs

Chamber of Commerce Week

February 20-24, 2012

February 20th, 2012 marks the beginning of Chamber of Commerce Week, an opportunity for Chambers of Commerce across the province to demonstrate the outstanding value they provide to their communities.

The week will be kicked off in Victoria on Monday at the Harbour Towers Hotel at 11:30 AM, with an event featuring the Honourable Pat Bell, who will be addressing the "Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness in Canada" and issuing a proclamation.

For more information, or to find out how you can participate, please contact your local Chamber of Commerce.

Breakfast with Minister Blair Lekstrom - Transportation & Infrastructure

March 13, 2012

Members and future members of the BC Chamber of Commerce are invited to join the Honourable Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, for a networking breakfast and presentation.

Fraser Valley Chambers of Commerce: Business Showcase

April 11, 2012

Showcase your business at the most inclusive Fraser Valley networking event of the year.  An estimated 1,200 business owners and decision makers are attending.

This event is a joint initiative of the Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Cloverdale, Langley, Mission and Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Chambers of Commerce.  Find details and registration here.

New Public Affairs Update Newsletter

This new newsletter is the first in what will be weekly installments, designed to give you insight and analysis on current Public Affairs issues in BC and Canada.

We are very pleased to be able to provide this service to our member Chambers and businesses around the province, and believe that enhancing the dialogue in this area can help strengthen the advocacy efforts of the Chamber Network in BC.

Burns Lake Mill Disaster - Seeking support from Chambers across BC

The BC Chamber has added its voice to those of so many in offering condolences to the families who have felt the great effect of the Burns Lake Mill tragedy. The loss of the mill will impact far more than the workers themselves.  It was the largest generator of economic growth in Burns Lake, and its loss has devastated the entire business community.

As a show of support for the Burns Lake community, the BC Chamber has called on the network of Chambers of Commerce in BC to take out a year's membership in the Burns Lake Chamber for $200.  To date only 5 memberships have been purchased, and we very much hope that this number will grow substantially as others join us in mobilizing support for our suffering colleagues.

Upcoming Small Business BC Seminars

• PR and Media Opportunities for Small Business - February 20, 2012  (1:00pm - 4:00pm)
• Canada Revenue Agency (CRA): Payroll - February 22, 2012  (9:00 am-12:30 pm)
• Canada Revenue Agency (CRA): E-Services - February 22, 2012  (1:30 pm-4:30 pm)

Road Map - A Program for Entrepreneurial Families

Planning for family succession may only seem necessary far off in the future. Or perhaps it just seems daunting. The truth is quite the opposite: family succession planning is imperative, necessary and imminently doable.

Offered by experts at UBC's Business Families Centre, the Road Map program serves as an introduction and guidebook to the complex world of family business affairs. It gives you and your family members-active in the business or not-a firm foundation from which to plan, to grow, and to create a foundation for future growth and stability.

Seminars can move to locations convenient for business families across the province based on demand. For more information contact the Business Families Centre at 604-827-4604 or visit the website.

Province to focus on Burns Lake economic recovery

BURNS LAKE - Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, will be leading the Province's efforts to help the community of Burns Lake recover economically from the devastating fire that destroyed the Babine Forest Products mill.

The Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation will work closely with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources and other ministries on short- and long-term economic development planning.

Softwood lumber exports to China shatter record

VICTORIA - The value of British Columbia's softwood lumber exports to China jumped 60 per cent in 2011, surpassing the $1-billion mark for the first time. Since 2003, lumber exports to China have risen by more than 1,500 per cent.

Land use plan, faster permitting promotes mining jobs

VANCOUVER - A new agreement with First Nations in the north that provides certainty around resource development along with a reduced backlog of mining permits will help create jobs in the mining sector, Premier Christy Clark announced today in her speech to Round Up 2012.

The plan also includes a government-to-government Strategic Land Use Planning Agreement with the Kaska Dena Council that will guide future resource development.