Local Chamber Successfully Advances a Breadth of Homegrown Policies at the BC Chamber of Commerce Policy Session 

The Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce (KDCC) sent a delegation of Board Members alongside Executive Director, Acacia Pangilinan, to advocate homegrown policies on behalf of the local business community at the BC Chamber of Commerce Convention from June 7 – 9, 2022.

The team successfully presented and passed nine policy resolutions in Prince George, BC, who hosted the first in-person Policy Session since before the pandemic. In total 59 policy resolutions were presented and debated on from Chamber network from across British Columbia.

Pangilinan notes that, “I am extremely proud of our team. We showed up to represent our district and the local business community that we serve with innovative and proactive policies that will strengthen our business community as we confront inflation, climate change, labour and pandemic recovery. This direction is the result of the grassroots policy development process that the KDCC does with it’s member organizations and we couldn’t be happier to have advanced these key priorities on behalf of our membership. I am exceptionally pleased to report that 3 out of the 9 resolutions passed with 100% support from the entire BC Chamber of Commerce delegation”

The policies presented were provincial and federal in nature and tackles a wide variety of issues from climate change to labour challenges. If a policy resolution is passed, it means it is officially “on the books” for three years and the BC Chamber of Commerce will promote that policy to key-decision makers.

The nine policy resolutions that passed were:

• Filling the Province’s Nursing Schools
• Help B.C. Employers Survive the Labour Crisis (in collaboration with the Whistler Chamber of Commerce)
• Revamping The Provincial Disaster Financial Assistance Program To Address The Realities Of Climate Change
• Unlocking the Potential of Forest Residual Biomass
• Pause the Implementation of the Provincial Sales Tax on Fossil Fuel Combustion Systems and Heat Pumps Initiative
• Changing BC’S Sales Tax Model – Moving Beyond The PST 
• Reinstate Business and Executive Coaching as part of the Work BC Training Grant program to Enhance Training and Skills Program
• Implement the Development Approvals Process Review (DAPR) Report
• Fair Taxable Benefit Exemptions for Employee Gift Cards

You can learn more about the local Chamber’s policies via its Policy Tracker at kamloopschamber.ca