Two major successes for members of the Burnaby Board of Trade

At the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s annual general meeting (AGM), held Sept. 27 to 29, 2014 in Charlottetown, P.E.I., the Burnaby Board of Trade, on behalf of its members, submitted two resolutions and co-sponsored a third.

The first, entitled Senior Global Talent for Key Canadian Industries, dealt with the issue of a skilled workers shortage being the number one barrier to Canada’s economic competiveness. The resolution recommends modifications to the Temporary Foreign Worker program to enable Canadian businesses to more easily source senior expertise not otherwise available locally.

The Burnaby Board of Trade also co-sponsored a resolution submitted by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, entitled Protecting the National Economy by Managing the Lower Fraser River, which recommends specific steps to ensure the continuous flow of commerce to and from the Asia-Pacific market, and to ensure the sustainability of the Lower Fraser River.

We are pleased to report that both the Senior Global Talent and Lower Fraser River issues are also of importance to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its network of chambers of commerce and boards of trade across Canada. At the AGM, both resolutions were approved by the Canadian Chamber’s members, representing 200,000 Canadian businesses. These resolutions are now formal policy positions of the Canadian Chamber and will be pursued with the federal government over the coming months.

A third resolution, although narrowly defeated, addressed the need for a labour market impact assessment exemption for foreign workers in film and television production occupations. The issue remains a major concern for the Burnaby Board of Trade, who will continue to advocate strongly to protect BC and Canada’s film and television industry from the negative impacts of recent federal regulation changes.