Consultation Summaries
2009 Small Business Conulsation Summaries
- Aboriginal - Richmond
- Port Moody
- Surrey
- Prince George
- Fort St. John
- Victoria
Aboriginal - Richmond (Mar. 16)
Key Issues
- Access to financing is particularly challenging since reserve land is not a recognized "asset".
- First Nations communities need a comprehensive economic plan which allows independent small businesses to thrive within the context of the band.
- Regulatory complexity from multiple organizations and levels of government makes it challenging for individuals to access available funding.
- Many competitive advantages arise from the fact many aboriginal communities are located in geographically remote regions.
- Need distributed learning centres to provide training in communities since the majority of those who leave their communities for such training do not return.
- Access to high speed internet would help redcue competitive disadavantages as well as provide one way of delivering training to remote communities.
- Business and entrepreneurial training needs to be in schools or be customized to aboriginal youth.
Port Moody (Mar. 16)
Key Issues
- Small Business acces to finaancing is an incerasing challenge.
- Transportation infrastructure improvements required to alleviate growing difficulty in distibuting goods and services.
- Need simple, clear climate action information from a single source.
- Streamline regulatory requirements across all levels of government and elimate duplications.
- Expose youth to trades and small business education at earlier stage.
- Design education programs to reflect need of today's youth and attract them away from the streets.
- Continue to support film industry.
Surrey (Oct. 2)
Key Issues
- Harmonized Sales Tax - need simple, targeted information programs and workshops.
- Access to capital and credit remains a challenge.
- Business training required in high schools so youth are prepared to become effective employees and successful entrepreneurs.
- Need more training programs for persons not eligible for EI.
- Incorporate business training in trades training.
- Need a training tax credit for in-house training provided by small buisness owners.
Prince George (Oct. 13)
Key Issues
- Regulatory requirements for recruiting foreign workers remain challenging.
- Small Buisness needs access to funding subsidies for training.
- IT programs in universities and colleges don't meet business needs.
- Government information and tools on websites diffiult to find and need to be more client centered.
- Continue to open new international markets and reduce dependence on US market.
- Need more deregulation of liquor sales for level playing field with Alberta.
- Reduce federal and provincial duplications in mining regulations.
- Regions require more direct acc3ess to basic business trianing in areas of change management, sales/marketing, first line management, and how to run a small business.
Fort St. John (Oct. 14)
Key Issues
- Access to capital remains a challenge.
- Workable HST rules and enforecement to ensure compliance and reduce the competitive disadvantage with Alberta companies.
- Succession planning - the majority of small businesses do not have succession plans.
- Local investors need information on how to become angel investors in their own communities.
- Small business needs on the ground, face-to-face, business training.
- Mentoring program needed to support start-up and growth businesses.
- Local professional upgrade training programs required.
- Business education required in high schools so youth can be effective employees or successful entrepreneurs.
Quesnel (Oct. 15)
Key Issues
- Access to capital remains a key issue.
- Need business courses in high school to prepare our youth to be good employees and successful business entrepreneurs.
- Clearer technical and industry specific HST information is required to mitigate concerns of business community and consumers.
- Potential angel investors need to be better informed about local investment opportunities.
- Government service websites need to be more client-focused and reliable.
- Age bias providing visas for potential foreign investors resulting in lost oppportunities in the regions.
Victoria (Oct. 27)
Key Issues
- Improve global competitiveness by taking advantage of international trade and on-line tools.
- Foster angel investment climate in British Columbia.
- Incentives needed for small business to get involved in environmental sustainability.
- Establish fibre-optic communities with easy access to high-speed internet to support small business, particularly home-based businesses.
- Small businessses are unaware of the resources and tools available to them.
- Difficult to access information on government services and programs.
- Need to expose our youth to business trianing at an earlier age.
- Provide incentives for more affordable office space in urban areas.
- High commercial property taxes need to be addressed.
2008 Small Business Consultation Summaries
Nanaimo - November 5, 2008
KEY ISSUES:
- Vancouver Island requires a comprehensive transit plan to offer alternatives to reduce carbon emissions.
- Opportunities for businesses to work together to create synergies to reduce their transportation costs and related carbon emissions.
- Opportunity for public and private sectors to work together for more efficient means of communicating to small business.
- Build on and provide support for growing trend of home-based businesses.
- Address affordable housing by allowing secondary suites.
- Video conferencing network and green initiatives are very good.
North Vancouver - October 22, 2008
KEY ISSUES:
- Entrepreneurship needs to be promoted as a career opportunity to our youth.
- Bank charges for retailers accepting credit and debit charges impose financial burden on small business.
- Incentives are needed to help small business fund climate action initiatives.
- The portion of fuel tax that is carbon tax and the portion that is road tax needs to be more visible.
- Apprenticeship model should be applied to all industries and a bonus incentive provided to help.
- Need to increase language training for new immigrants.
- Need training in human resources skills, leadership, project planning and environmental issues.
- Partnerships across different types of organizations, e.g., between business and non-profit organizations.
Prince Rupert - October 16, 2008
KEY ISSUES:
- New deep sea port facilities provide advantages for new business opportunities.
- Retail businesses and other partners can work together to develop Prince Rupert as an appealing cruise ship destination.
- Need a strategy to enable Prince Rupert, Terrace and Kitimat to work together towards creating a regional development plan.
- Need to have kindergarten to Grade 12 education available for youth in their home communities; this will resolve social problems and high drop-out rate from youth who need to move to Prince Rupert after Grade 10 in order to complete their education.
- Need one convenient source of straightforward, small business relevant climate action information, as well as access to climate action programs.
- Brownfield remediation is vital in Prince Rupert since a significant portion of what would be prime commercial real estate is currently unusable.
Terrace - October 15, 2008
KEY ISSUES:
- Bio-energy and renewable energy are great opportunities – producing clean energy attracts clean industry, e.g. building solar panels.
- Eco-tourism is a real opportunity in Terrace given the region’s natural beauty; need further collaboration with First Nations to develop eco-tourism attractions.
- Brownfield remediation is an opportunity, but need to make it easier to remediate so that the land can be used for development.
- Opportunities with the new Prince Rupert port, but strategic plan is needed so benefits extend to inland communities. Terrace could be a hub for recycling; recycled materials used to fill empty cargo cars and ships.
- Need to attract medium to large industry to open up opportunities for small business to provide needed services and products.
- Need to provide career and trades training in high schools that meets the needs of business and that will provide incentive for youth to stay in school.
Saanich - October 7, 2008
KEY ISSUES:
- Amalgamate municipalities in Greater Victoria to reduce duplication and regulatory complexity.
- Remove traffic lights on Pat Bay Highway to keep traffic flowing and reduce carbon emissions.
- Engage small business in climate action through incentives rather than punitive measures.
- Temporary foreign worker program needs to be further streamlined.
Kamloops - October 6, 2008
KEY ISSUES:
- Need “EnergyPaL”, similar to BizPaL, to provide single portal for clear, simple information on climate change and related programs.
- Training modules need to be designed to address small business constraints in time, resources and cost of travel.
- Align all business interest groups in a community to collaborate in a single vision and combine resources.
- Significant opportunities for joint ventures and business partnerships with First Nations to develop aboriginal lands.
- Need massive tree planting project that is not linked to the Ministry of Forests and Range.
- Enhance tourism and promote quality of life in region to attract new business and new residents for workforce.
Port Alberni - January 31, 2008
KEY ISSUES:
- Customer services training for retail and hotel industry.
- Opportunity to be leader in sustainable forest management.
- Tax credit applications too time consuming.
- Video conferencing facilities required for small business.
- Repair and upgrade highways.
- Time required to complete tax credit applications.
- Better publicize resources for small business, such as Small Business BC and Training Tax Credits.
Powell River - January 28, 2008
KEY ISSUES:
- Need work readiness skills training for entrants into labour market.
- Public schools must partner with private sector partner to deliver ITA level training.
- Many opportunities to generate green power, but need to coordinate how the power is supplied to BC Hydro grid.
- Meat Inspection Regulations needs exemptions for isolated communities.
- Increase opportunities for local apprenticeship training.
- Continue to streamline government red tape and PST.
- Provide discount ferry rates for residents.
- Develop Sunshine Trail to increase tourism.
Burnaby - January 22, 2008
KEY ISSUES:
- Need work readiness skills training for entrants into labour market.
- Need incentives to encourage buyers to purchase recycled materials.
- Need training programs on how to integrate immigrants into Canadian business culture.
- Address staff retention by offering scholarships to employees’ children, seminars on personal issues and challenges, and engage all employees in staff meetings.