“The legislation of this new office has the potential to fundamentally change the way municipalities in BC operate,” said John Winter, President and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce, “and we applaud the BC Government for making this bold move to ensure that our municipalities are accountable and provide services in a competitive and cost effective way.”

The concept for a Local Government Auditor General office in BC was developed in a 2010 policy paper by the BC Chamber of Commerce, which focused on creating equity in the property tax system and bringing transparency to local government. Chambers of Commerce recognize that many local governments face challenges providing services with limited financial means. However, many tax rates are set with little to no involvement by the public and with no effective oversight.

“It is critical that the public have information through value for money audits to ensure that taxpayer interests are protected, and that elected officials at all levels are held to account. An Auditor General of Local Government would achieve these goals while respecting municipal autonomy,” continued Winter.

“We are very glad to see that the guiding principles of independence and transparency for the Auditor General office have been written into the legislation,” Winter concluded. “The Auditor General of Local Government will ensure that municipalities are accountable and employing best practices in the interest of local residents and businesses.”

The survey instrument was distributed province wide in early October, and to date we have almost 400 responses, mostly on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland. For the results to be valid, the BC Chamber would like a broader cross section of geographic representation. The Poll will close on November 9th.

**There are only 9 questions and the time to complete is less than 5 minutes.**

Thanks for your assistance as the BC Chamber continues to guide policy decisions of this government to develop a more appropriate energy policy going forward.

Thank you

Here is the link: http://www.surveylogix.com/take_survey.spark?surveyID=11283

“This successful bid is a good example of a partnership between the private sector and government producing jobs and making a very positive contribution to the provincial economy”, said John Winter, President & CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce. “The work put into this by the Chamber of Commerce Network in both BC & Canada played a large role in it’s success, and I would like to congratu-late the Provincial Government for the leadership they showed towards securing the contract.”

The bid as secured by Seaspan Shipyards in North Vancouver will have an economic impact throughout Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island & the province as a whole. The benefits will extend to other BC shipyards which will participate with Seaspan Shipyards, and to suppliers of everything from construction to professional services. In addition, the cluster of companies, capital and human resources it will support will act as a continued catalyst for the province’s technology sector. This contract will provide new opportunities for knowledge transfer between our post-secondary institutions and fostering the next generation of marine industry and technologies.

“We anticipate that the positive ripple effects of this contract will benefit businesses across multiple sectors and create jobs on a very large scale.” added Winter. “To put this into context, the total benefit of this contract to the BC economy will outweigh the 2010 winter Olympics by a factor of ten.”

NEW BUSINESS OF THE YEAR – Sponsored by GPI
Gearhub
Le Grand Fromage
Midges Mags and Movies

FERNIE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR – Sponsored by GPI Accountants
Fernie Fix – Claris Media
Gearhub
Giv’Er ShirtWorks

OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE – Sponsored by Fernie Alpine Resort
Gearhub
Giv’Er ShirtWorks
Yamagoya

CHAMBER BUSINESS EXCELLENCE – Sponsored by Fernie Chamber of Commerce
Gearhub
Ghostrider Trading
Side Street Sweet Shoppe

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR – Sponsored by Community Futures
Claude & Lilis Perreault-CP Catering
Dean Juneau- East Kootenay Security Services
Mark Hall & Jon Levesque- Gearhub

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR – Sponsored by TECK Coal
Nic Genovese – Photographer & Cinematographer
Scott Prentice – El Guapo Mexican Diner

COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD – Sponsored by Finning Canada
Fernie Ghostriders Hockey Team
Fernie Mountain Bike Club
Fernie Trails Alliance

CITIZEN OF THE YEAR – Sponsored by The City of Fernie
Dee Hatina
Mary Giuliano
Rebecca Hall

Congratulations to all of this years nominees!!!

The winners will be announced on the Awards Evening held on October 27th @ 6:00pm, at the Fernie Golf & Country Club. Call the Chamber today to reserve your seat! only $35./pp includes Dinner & Entertainment (Keynote speech by Michael Bortolotto-inspirational speaker)

Call 250-423-6868 for more info & to reserve your spot for this exciting evening!

The total number of ballots cast was 1,610,125. 881,198 voted “yes”, 728,927 voted “no”. The total number of ballots cast closely paralleled voter turnout in the last (2009) general election.

Former Socred premier Bill Vander Zalm found success in his anti-HST campaign.

The riding-by-riding breakdown indicated support for the tax in ridings such as the North Shore of Metro Vancouver and a number of historically safe BC Liberal seats. The North Shore, the West Side of Vancouver, Langley and the Fraser Valley largely voted to keep the HST, while East Vancouver, Burnaby, the Tri-cities, Richmond and most of Surrey voted to extinguish it. All NDP-held ridings and most “swing ridings” in BC voted against the tax. Many ridings with large ethnic populations voted against the tax.

Analysis
The HST vote represents one of the more significant exercises in direct democracy in Canadian history and one of the few times (if not only time) tax policy in Canada has been put to referendum. The failure of the government to win support for the tax, particularly in ridings held by the government, may give pause to BC Liberal considerations of calling an election, possibly as early as this fall.

The defeat of the HST complicates the government’s fiscal plan and progress towards a balanced budget in the near term. Transition funds will be paid back to the federal government and either spending cuts or new sources of revenue will need to be identified to offset an ongoing shortfall of an estimated $800 million per annum.
In addition to impact to the government’s fiscal position, the failure of the HST will likely affect the competitiveness of industries (natural resources, film, etc.) where input costs are a factor. Possibly anticipating today’s result, Ontario’s Finance Minister commented early today that removing the HST in BC would be to Ontario’s competitive advantage.

Pundits are pointing to the NDP as the political beneficiaries of today’s result. With a lengthy transition period to removal of the HST and obvious public enmity respecting how the government introduced and implemented the HST, it is uncertain how or whether the government may fully put the issue behind them. This will be particularly the case if removal of the HST is tied to spending restraint and program cuts in the months to come.

Transition Plans
Shortly following release of the results of the referendum, Finance Minister, Hon. Kevin Falcon, unveiled the government’s “Plan B” to deal with the fallout. In summary, the plan will:
* Reinstate the combined 12 percent PST and GST tax system in BC, which is expected to take a minimum of 18 months. During this period, the provincial portion of the HST will remain in place at 7 percent.
* Reinstate the PST with all permanent exemptions at 7 percent. The Province may also make some administrative improvements to streamline the PST.
* Repay $1.6 billion in federal transition money to the Government of Canada.
* Undertake public consultation to solicit views on the on-going fiscal implications of removing the tax (estimates are that removal of the tax represents an $800 million loss to the BC Treasury annually).
* Continue delivering the HST Credit to low-income British Columbian’s until the PST is reimplemented. The $75 PST low income credit will be reinstated at the time the HST is replaced.
An action plan has been established to ensure a transition to the PST. Key phases in the transition process include:

Federal Transitional Rules and Systems:
* The Province has begun work with the federal government to develop HST transition rules and to make necessary changes to systems and processes.
* The provincial government will begin discussions with the federal government about exiting the Comprehensive Integrated Tax Coordination Agreement (CITCA) including the return of the funding received for adopting the HST.

Provincial Legislation and Transitional Rules:
* The provincial government will develop legislation and regulations necessary to re-implement the PST and may make some administrative changes to streamline the PST.
* Provincial PST transition rules to mirror federal HST transition rules will be developed.
* The provincial government will develop other legislation and administrative programs necessary to support the full reimplementation of the PST (e.g. hotel room tax, etc).

Provincial Systems Development:
* The Province will develop and establish appropriate reporting, data gathering, billing, remittance/collection, audit, assessment and appeal processes, and supporting computer systems to administer the PST and other related taxes.

Provincial Administration:
* The Province will re-establish its capacity to administer the tax in the areas of registration and close of business, field and desk audit, appeals, rulings, provincial tax information phone lines, billings and remittances, collections and refunds. This will include staffing, facilities and equipment, and staff training to administer the PST and related taxes. This also includes developing appropriate administrative reporting forms and other information and communications material required to support the transition.

Provincial Business Registration and Outreach:
* The provincial government will register approximately 100,000 businesses as tax collectors before the PST is re-implemented and provide information and training on the tax application, collection, compliance and reporting rules related to the PST. By the time the PST is re-implemented, there will be an estimated 30,000 new businesses with no PST experience. These businesses will need to be registered and provided with detailed information and training to enable them to comply with the tax law.

Business Transition:
* Businesses will need to change their own electronic and manual systems and processes to assess, collect, report and remit the PST and other related taxes to the provincial government.

Other Stakeholders:
* The provincial government will consult with key stakeholders once provincial transition rules are completed. The Province relies on partner agencies to help ensure efficient tax collection, reporting and compliance. These agencies will need to make a number of systems and process changes, as well as receive information and training to help complete the PST transition.

Doug Foster, Director, Strategic Initiatives, Ministry of Finance, will lead the government’s transition process.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information included in this publication as of the date issued, events and government policies are subject to frequent change. Therefore, Fleishman-Hillard cannot assume any re-sponsibility for actions taken solely or principally on the basis on the information contained herein. For more information on how Fleishman-Hillard can assist your firm, please contact Katie Robb at Fleishman-Hillard, (604) 688-2505.

This award recognizes the contribution youth make to their community and is open to any youth 19 and under, who lives or volunteers in the city of Fernie and surrounding area. This young person has contributed to their community through volunteer service, and has demonstrated leadership abilities.

The award, sponsored by the City of Fernie and the Fernie Chamber of Commerce, is usually presented to a deserving youth at our annual business excellence awards, we’ve decided this year to have it coincide with graduation so the award winner can be recognized amongst their peers. We’re hoping this will create a little more excitement surrounding this award, and a greater number of deserving youth will be nominated.

All nominations must be submitted by June 10th, so please vote today! For more information please contact the Fernie Chamber of Commerce via email at info@ferniechamber.com, or by telephone at 250-423-6868!

MEMBERS SPECIALS/PROMOTIONS
The Loaf Bakery and Pizzaria
Goldstar Cleaning
Fernie Alpine Resort
College of the Rockies
Sara Funk Bookkeeping & Clerical Services
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
Elk River Guiding
Fernie Historical Society
Leppard Technology
Dr. A.M. Kahane
Smokey Mountain Shuttle Service
Fernie Heritage Library
Summit Lift
Fernie Physiotherapy

To download the pdf newsletter click here: Chamber E-News December 09,2010

Members Specials
College of the Rockies
Goldstar Cleaning Services
Miner’s Walk
Fernie Arts Council
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
Fernie Golf & Country Club Christmas Parties
Park Place Christmas Parties
Dr Kahane
Elkford Chamber

Click here to download: Chamber E-News October 28 2010

Members Specials/Promotions
KRIC
Stanford Inn
Prestige Cleaners
Community Futures
Fernie Alpine Resort
Community Business Awards
Fernie Golf & Country Club
Christmas Parties
Dr Kahane
Fernie Physiotherapy
College of the Rockies
Community Business Awards

Click here to download the e-news Chamber E-News October 14th 2010

FEATURE BENEFIT
Group Insurance

MEMBERS SPECIALS/PROMOTIONS
Goldstar Cleaning
The Drive
College of the Rockies
KRIC
Elk Valley Chiropractic
Dr A.M. Kahane
Fernie Alpine Resort

Click here for E-news: ChamberNewsSept.30