BBOT Participates in Exclusive Pre-Budget Consultation to Push for Business Supports and Strategic Investment

February 2, 2021 — Businesses need a robust economic recovery in 2021, and the only way to get there is through aggressive vaccination, testing, and consumer confidence efforts — that was the message the Burnaby Board of Trade delivered to the federal government during an exclusive budget consultation today.

Paul Holden, BBOT President & CEO, joined an exclusive roundtable with the Department of Finance and Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and the Associate Minister of Finance, Mona Fortier.

In addition to the immediate needs of vaccination and reopening, the Burnaby Board of Trade also advocated for a variety of actions from the federal government including:

  • Strong and significant investments in childcare to deliver access to affordable childcare spaces.  Childcare is an economic issue that supports the full participation of women in our economy, and goes hand-in-hand with keeping schools open to allow employees to get back to work productively.  Employees cannot be full-time workers if they are expected to also be teachers or childcare providers.
  • Continued direct supports to businesses such as the wage subsidy and rent support to ensure they can continue to operate and hold on through the remainder of the pandemic
  • Funding for hands-on “go to market” supports for businesses, including tools and resources to build e-commerce capacities, expand marketing efforts, and engage with international trade and exports
  • Embracing the “orientation to yes” that has seen governments at all levels move quickly to develop and launch programs.  This is a positive effect of the pandemic and there is no reason to return to gridlock and delay going forward.