November 18, 2020
Quick Links
- Government of Canada provides targeted support for business to help maintain over 11,000 jobs in British Columbia
- HelloBC: Know Before You Go
- Spring's Build Back Better Challenge
- Funding Extended to Increase Indigenous Participation in Oil and Gas Infrastructure Development
- Building an Inclusive Corporate Culture: A Small Business Approach with Gabi & Jules
- Why You Should Start Your Passwordless Journey
Connecting all Canadians to high-speed Internet
November 9, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario
As we continue to deal with the global COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians have needed to rely on the Internet to help connect them to work, school, government resources, and loved ones. It’s how grandparents visit with their grandchildren, students communicate with their teachers and classmates, and businesses continue to sell their products. However, many communities across Canada still don’t have the infrastructure needed to connect us to one another. That’s why the Government of Canada is working to ensure all Canadians have access to fast and reliable Internet, no matter where they live.
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced an investment of $1.75 billion to help connect Canadians to high-speed Internet across the country, grow businesses, and create jobs. This investment will connect 98 per cent of Canadians across the country to high-speed Internet by 2026, with the goal of connecting all Canadians by 2030.
Announced originally in Budget 2019 as $1 billion, today’s additional funding of $750 million for the Universal Broadband Fund will help advance projects with partners, like the Canada Infrastructure Bank, to connect Canadian households and businesses in underserved communities over the next six years. This includes a $150 million Rapid Response Stream with an accelerated application process to allow shovel-ready projects to get started right away. With today’s announcement, our government has made $6.2 billion available for universal broadband since 2015.
The Prime Minister also announced an agreement of $600 million with Canadian satellite company Telesat to improve connectivity and expand high-speed Internet coverage to the far north, rural, and remote regions across Canada, through low-earth-orbit satellite capacity.
Today’s announcement is the largest one-time federal investment in broadband and will make a real difference in the lives of Canadians and businesses across the country. It will support Canadians living in rural, remote, and northern communities and move forward the Government’s commitment to create over one million jobs. As we work to rebuild from the pandemic, the Government of Canada will continue to make investments in infrastructure to build strong communities and a more competitive and resilient Canada for everyone.
Businesses Helping Businesses
The B.C. Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant program is seeking interested parties such as accountants, financial planners, bookkeepers and lawyers to assess the solvency of businesses and help develop recovery plans (template to be provided). Small Business BC matches the business to the service provider who invoices SBBC for reimbursement for services, up to a maximum of $2,000 (including taxes) per grant recipient at their normal hourly rate of up to $250/hour.
Service providers must participate in a 45 minute webinar to ensure they are fully briefed on the objectives of the program, its timelines and the importance of a consistent approach.
Once businesses are verified as being eligible for the program, they will be matched with professional service providers through Small Business BC, wherever possible based on location, sector and spoken language needs. Businesses will receive a detailed summary of next steps and requirements of their participation. Once assigned to a business, the role of the professional service provider will be to review the business’s financial statements and assist them in evaluating and developing a recovery plan which will become the foundation of their grant application. More detail will be provided at the webinar.
Upon completion of the recovery plan – which should take no longer than two weeks to prepare from when the professional advisor is referred, the business will upload the recovery plan to their online application and the system will notify the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness (JEDC) that the plan is ready for review.
How to Apply
If you are one of the professions listed above, can support clients within a two week window, and would like to lend your skills, knowledge and expertise to assisting companies develop their economic recovery plans, and play a part in rebuilding a critical part of B.C’s economy, please submit your interest to Small Business BC by November 18th at 11:59pm PDT. Late applications will not be considered – no exception.
Love Northern BC's Plaid Friday 2020
November 27, 2020
Every year, Love Northern BC takes part in a Plaid Friday campaign. This campaign is designed to support local independent business owners through a variety of Plaid Friday celebrations. The goal of Plaid Friday is is to have consumers spend their dollars locally, to have some fun wearing plaid and to celebrate the diversity and creativity of local and independent businesses in their communities.
Plaid Friday 2020 will look different this year. To keep everyone safe and healthy, our community champions will not be able to hold the same tradeshows, parades and other public events that draw large groups. Instead, we will have to come up with creative solutions – keep an eye out for virtual Plaid Friday celebrations, contests and more in your community
Economic Recovery and Resilience: A Guide for First Nation-Municipal Collaboration
Disasters have increased in frequency and intensity in recent years. Across borders and jurisdictions, natural disasters and economic impacts of COVID-19 have thrust emergency preparedness and economic recovery onto government radars. First Nation and municipal governments have unique jurisdictions and different relationships and responsibilities to their membership or citizens; although, similarly they often lack the fiscal and human capacity for effective preparedness, response, and recovery.
The First Nation – Municipal Community Economic Development Initiative (CEDI) has created this guide with the intention to support First Nations and municipalities to collaborate on preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters of any kind. It establishes a framework, bolstered by best practices, for communities who want to begin or strengthen emergency management partnerships.
Learn more about this guide, and how to use it alongside CEDI’s Stronger Together: A Toolkit for First Nations-Municipal Community Economic Development Partnerships.
The Great Reset
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to think about the kind of future we want. TIME partnered with the World Economic Forum to ask leading thinkers to share ideas for how to transform the way we live and work.
Articles include:
- It's 2023. Here's How We Fixed the Global Economy
- The Climate is Breaking Down. Architect Bjarke Ingels Has a Masterplan for That
- Yo-Yo Ma: The Pathway to a Better World Begins With Culture
- The COVID-19 Pandemic Upended the Office. It’s Time to Radically Rethink How We Work
- and more
TOTA & CCCTA Virtual AGM & Summit 2020
November 25th & 26th, 2020
Within every challenge lies an opportunity for transformation. Recovery, resiliency, and regeneration start from within. We invite you to join us in coming together as a tourism community to learn, strategize, collaborate, and move forward better than before. 12 panels. 2 streams. Over 50 world-renowned speakers and industry experts from around the globe.
While COVID-19 means a different world and a new way of meeting online, it has also enabled us to feature a wide range of speakers and panelists from both home and around the globe, who we believe will be interesting, informative, and inspirational; something we are all in need of.
In addition to the 12 panels in two streams featuring over 50 renowned presenters, there will also be a virtual tradeshow, several networking opportunities, and 6 major keynotes including:
- Anna Pollock - Conscious Traveller
- Bill Reed - Integrated Design Inc and Regenesis Group
- Geoffrey Lipman - SUNx Strong Universal Network
- Jeremy Sampson - Travel Foundation
- Rochelle Turner - MaCher
- Michael Shellenberger - Environmental Progress
We are also very pleased, through the support of Western Economic Diversification, to extend complimentary registration for the entire event. For those that are able, we do ask that you consider making a donation (of any amount) that will help to support the annual student bursary program for the coming year.
Ec Dev in Action
Profiling economic development success in BC's communities
TELUS’ report outlines how the benefits of connectivity are helping to enable cultural, economic and governance goals for Indigenous communities
First drone delivery license in Canada issued to Salt Spring company
Couple moved to Okanagan Falls to try and fill the grocery store void left by shuttered IGA
Quesnel Waterfront Plan
Tourism Vancouver Island's Storm Rider series
BCEDA is continuing to seek success stories to highlight on the Economic Development in Action website. The website is advertised internationally and used as a tool to market your community and attract international investors. Economic Developers can use the website to collaborate on ideas and gain inspiration from others. We a looking for a brief summary of your successful projects, partnerships and initiatives.
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