P.G. Chamber gets policies on provincial plan

The Prince George Chamber of Commerce successfully lobbied their provincial peers to push three particular issues towards government this year.

The three policies were among 39 the B.C. Chamber of Commerce debated and agreed to adopt at this year's annual general meeting, May 24 in Richmond.

"These adopted policies now become part of the BC Chamber's advocacy agenda," said Jennifer Brandle-McCall, director of external relations for the local chamber. "When a policy is presented on the convention floor it needs the support of two-thirds of the delegates to pass, not a simple '50 per cent plus one' majority. All three we presented this year passed."

The Prince George contingent to the provincial AGM included local Chamber CEO Christie Ray, board president Ranjit Gill and vice-president Cindi Pohl.

The three locally crafted resolutions (some in partnership with other Chambers, but led by Prince George) included:

Providing certainty for business through the timely administration of justice

Overview: Enhancing the Court Service Branch, maintaining an appropriate level of Provincial Court judges and providing adequate funding to legal aid will go a long way to dealing with the [costly court] delays and backlog, which in the end will support businesses [displaced by prolonged family and criminal matters].

Easier access to VISA programs

Overview: That the provincial and federal governments support the amendment of the visitor visa program by streamlining the process for travelers who need visas. Canada's visitor visa system could better facilitate economic trade and tourism and the business opportunities for British Columbia and Canada would result.

Further improvements to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

Overview: We asked the B.C. government to facilitate the ability of specific industry groups to request creative responses to proven and targeted labour market needs, to advocate for a higher annual nomination limit for the PNP, and to ensure that adequate resources are available to maintain effective PNP processing times.

"The timely administration of Justice one was submitted to the floor in previous years and was defeated on the floor at that time," said Ray. "This time we worked with other chambers and revamped it to include a stronger case for business relevance. That was not as strongly explained in its previous form. Ranjit Gill was one of the point-people on the revamp. There was some discussion about it when it reached the floor, but this time it passed and that was especially pleasing."

Ray said the resolution about reforming the visa regulations stemmed from conversations with the Prince George Airport Authority. Officials there had noticed certain visa problems causing losses to the local economy, because foreign investors encountered red tape they couldn't get through.

The resolution pertaining to the skilled labour shortage was "a no-brainer, frankly," and she was proud that the Prince George Chamber had taken the lead on an issue so pervasive across the provincial economy.

It is now in the hands of the B.C. Chamber to triage the lobby efforts called for by each of these resolutions. Some require only light letter writing or personal meetings with government officials, some require complex advocacy.