Chambers of Commerce from across Canada are gathering in Hamilton to learn, network and join voices at their annual conference.
Prince George Chamber of Commerce president Bill McGill and director Ranjit Gill are both delegates, as is CEO Jennifer Brandle-McCall.
Brandle-McCall said Prince George has special business at this year's conference, as the co-sponsor of a major resolution the national body will consider.
"We are part of the team behind a resolution proposal about improvements to environmental law," she said. "We want to see the national and provincial environmental assessment processes streamlined. It was important for our region, which is why we are playing our role to move it ahead, particularly because of the impact the resource industries have on our region. We have, for a long time, been advocates for streamlining that policy framework."
She said the resolution was not advocating for a weaker environmental standard, just to reduce national/provincial redundancies, clearing the unnecessary red tape, and speeding up the process.
Many of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce's hot topics are directly related to the local business climate. One of the eminent ones is the nation's lack of skilled workers, which then pertains to immigration, skills training, accessing education, First Nations social barriers and many more. "
There are scores of proposed resolutions. Not all will win the vote to become an official position or action-point for the national Chamber, but some of them include the Northern Gateway Pipeline, changing the tax structures for small business, to not over-regulate the food industry, enhancing trade relations with Asia, completing an all-weather north-south trans-Canada highway, and addressing Canada's looming infrastructure replacement costs, among many other topics.
The conference runs from Saturday to Monday.
