JULIE LAWLOR
WEST SHORE – From May 31-June 2, delegates from chambers and boards of trade across the province met in Whistler or joined from their home communities for the BC Chamber of Commerce 70th Annual General Meeting & Conference. The event included the annual policy sessions where sixty-three policy resolutions were tabled, debated, and voted upon. Of these, sixty-one resolutions were approved and will be included in the BC Chamber’s 2023 Policy & Positions Manual.
Staff and directors of chambers of commerce are regularly asked “What do chambers of commerce do, anyway?” This. This is ONE part of what we do. We take business issues that resonate across the province and create policy which then goes to government. This also happens at the federal and local level.
Policy development within the BC Chamber network takes place at a grass roots level, which means that policy is developed by chambers/boards of trade to respond to a business issue. However, given how everything is interconnected, a “business issue” also includes community and social issues which impact upon employers, business owners and employees. Policy approved this year includes “Developing A Path Forward to Support Neurodiverse Children and Their Families is Good for Business,” as well as “Better Protections for BC Businesses Through the Name Approval System” and “Excluding Ineligible Employees from Employer Health Tax Payroll Calculations.” These last two had 100% delegate support.
Vancouver Island Chambers who are members of the BC Chamber came together to create and support amendments for a renewing policy, ‘Restoring Rail on Vancouver Island’. This policy was originally passed in 2020 and as all policies do, came up after three years for review and discussion. Delegates discussed and acknowledged the necessity for any rail restoration to be based on the decisions of each and every First Nation along the rail corridor. The Policy & Positions Manual will be available later in the summer, at which time you’ll be able to read about all of the policies that will be the BC Chamber network’s focus in engaging with the provincial government in 2023-24.
To find out more, please go to bcchamber.org. To connect with the WestShore Chamber, you can sign up for our e-news on our “Contact Us” page at westshore.bc.ca or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. We’re here to help!
Julie Lawlor is Executive Director at the WestShore Chamber of Commerce
