Work to rebuild the docks at the Belleville International Terminal could begin as early as Oct. 13. The project could take about 18 months to complete and cost more than $10 million. It will see Black Ball Ferry Line rebuild its docks, replace the dolphins and car ramps, improve U.S. Customs facilities and establish covered walkways for passengers.

"The Inner Harbour is one of our region's greatest assets, and Belleville International Terminal is a key international gateway, helping to link B.C. to external markets," said Chamber CEO Bruce Carter. "We are pleased to hear this important project will soon be underway, and look forward to seeing the results."

Black Ball Ferry Line, operating the MV Coho, and Clipper Vacations, operating Victoria Clipper, bring in more than 665,000 people each year. The two operators have an estimated economic impact of $180 million a year, supporting 4,500 full-time jobs in Victoria and Vancouver Island.

Celebrate summer's harvest at Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse. Enjoy a four-course seasonal dinner prepared by Food for Thought Catering, paired with award-winning cider. See the menu here.

The Harvest Dinner is bought to you by Three Point Motors - Mercedes Benz.
 

Thurs, Sept 24 5-9 pm Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse 2487 Mt. St. Michael Rd.

Planning on trying all the cider samples? Enjoy a shuttle from downtown Victoria to the English Inn and back again, courtesy of L.A. Limousines Inc.

For donations, tickets or sponsorship details contact Patrick Marshall at 250-507-4500 or patrick.marshall@capitaledc.com.

Three interactive virtual forums will be served up to Greater Victoria voters during the last week of September, spiced up with questions from Chamber members. The forums will be open to interested voters via webstream, accessible free-of-charge on the web-enabled platform of their choice. As time permits, there may be additional opportunities for the general public to ask candidates questions via The Chamber's Twitter account @chambervictoria. The three forums will be from noon to 1 p.m. on the following dates:

Saanich-Sooke-Esquimalt - Tuesday, September 29
Saanich-Gulf Island - Wednesday, September 30
Victoria - Thursday, October 1

"As the voice of the business community, The Chamber is uniquely positioned to give Greater Victoria's voters an opportunity to ask federal candidates questions affecting our businesses and region's economic environment," said The Chamber's CEO, Bruce Carter. "Candidates for the Conservative, Green, Liberal, and New Democrat parties have confirmed their attendance for all three forums, so I expect each will be enlightening, and of use to voters."

Interested voters can pre-register by Sept. 25 at www.victoriachamber.ca to be emailed the direct weblink and twitter event hashtag the day of their registered event.

FALL MARKETPLACE MIXER:
Book your Fall and Spring booths together and save $50!

Exhibitors showcase their businesses to over 300 people, including Chamber members and the public.

Book your booth early to avoid disappointment!

Full-colour Times Colonist advertising is available at a discounted rate of $100 when you book your booth.

4-7 pm
Bay Street Armoury
713 Bay St.

Register today to attend our annual Marketplace Mixer - admission is free with business card.

Co-op students can help you tackle new projects, provide relief during peak periods and bring innovation and energy into your workplace.

Worried about funding a work term? There are several funding opportunities that can help small businesses in Victoria and BC to hire co-op students:

• The BC Tech Co-op Grants Program was launched by the provincial government in May 2015 to help small technology firms (less than 50 employees) hire co-op students. Employers can receive a grant of $2,700, which covers up to 25% of the student's salary.
• The Service Learning Internship Program (SLIP) helps local community-based organizations hire students through the University of Victoria's Co-operative Education Program. Funding covers up to $1,750 of the student's salary per month.
• MITACS-Accelerate is a graduate research internship program that connects Canadian university students with companies through short- to medium-term research projects that address a company need.

Details about these funding opportunities and more can be found on the University of Victoria, Camosun College or Royal Roads University websites.

University of Victoria: member since 1976

The City of Victoria's Task Force on Economic Development and Prosperity launched its draft economic action plan, Making Victoria: Unleashing Potential last Friday, and is asking the Greater Victoria public to help strengthen and shape the draft plan - to identify what can be improved and what may be missing.

There are a variety of ways for the public to provide feedback:

• Participate in an online survey.
• Email input to prosperity@victoria.ca
• Tag your ideas on Twitter to @CityofVictoria, #VicProsperity

The deadline to provide feedback is Wed, Sept 30. The draft plan will be presented to Victoria City Council for consideration on Oct 22.

The Task Force's mandate is to advise how Victoria City Hall can best deliver an economic development function that will increase the genuine well-being of citizens. The Task Force is now seeking public input to help strengthen and shape the draft plan - to identify what can be improved and what may be missing.

I'm on LinkedIn. What now?


LinkedIn is the largest business network in the world, with nearly 400 million users around the world, 11 million of whom call Canada home.

In this two-hour seminar we will cover:

• twenty minutes to building an effective LinkedIn profile,
• recommendations and introductions: 5 minutes a day,
• leveraging LinkedIn Groups
• "share an update" - How LinkedIn is not Facebook, and
• much more!

Presented by social media expert, Paul Holmes, Social Media Camp and Smart Dolphins IT Solutions.

2-4 pm
The Chamber
852 Fort St.

Victoria Museum Best in Canada

The Royal BC Museum has captured TripAdvisor's award as the best museum in Canada for the second consecutive year.

"I'm happy to see them get well-deserved recognition," said Tourism Victoria CEO Paul Nursey in a Times Colonist article. "The Royal B.C. Museum reliably puts on great events year after year, which is an anchor to tourism in Victoria."

The museum won special attention from TripAdvisor reviewers for its natural history displays, First Nations galleries, customer service and temporary exhibitions such as Gold Rush! El Dorado in B.C., which runs to Nov. 1.

Three Chamber members are finalists for the Canadian Tourism Awards. Tourism Victoria's "Victoria Calling" marketing campaign has been named as a finalist for the social-media initiative of the year award, while Eagle Wing Tours and Harbour Air Seaplanes are both up for the traveler experience of the year award.

The Canadian Tourism Awards, presented by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, recognize success, leadership and innovation in the travel and tourism industry and those who go above and beyond to offer superior tourism experiences. More than 200 companies were nominated this year. The awards will be presented at the Westin Ottawa Hotel on Dec. 2.

Special offers abound on The Chamber's website, both for members - and their staff - as well as for the general public.

If you are a member and have a special offer, simply log-in to the Members Only section to share.

A sample of this week's deals:   
 

Want one The Chamber's name tags? Email us to order yours today.