The issue of implementation of on-street pay parking for the Shipyard's Heritage Precinct  and the Lower and Central business districts will be brought forward North Vancouver City Council on Monday, January 18th.  We encourage all members to attend the meeting and express their views.  Sign-in sheets for presentation to Council will be posted at 5pm at the City Hall.  The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7pm. For more information, see the City of North Vancouver website.

 

The Federal and Provincial Governments recognized the value of maintaining a vibrant film school at Capilano University with their commitment to provide a total of $30.2 million in funding to construct a new film centre.

Mike Watson, co-chair of the Chamber sponsored Economic Summit held in January 2009,, applauded the announcement.  “Back in January, business and community leaders from across the North Shore came together to identify three North Shore based infrastructure projects that they believed government should be supporting.  They evaluated projects based on which would provide the most significant long term economic benefit.  We are delighted that, with this announcement, the Federal and Provincial Governments have committed to all three projects that were identified.”

“Delegates at the BC Chamber of Commerce held in Prince Rupert in May 2009 unanimously supported a policy resolution advocating support for the expansion of educational opportunities in film in British Columbia”, said Stephen Joyce, Past Chair of the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce.  “this announcement is good news for all of British Columbia”.

A number of individuals were a part of this funding success and Dr, Greg Lee, Capliano University President and Vice-Chancellor in particular recognized North Vancouver MP Andrew Saxton and our region's MLA's Jane Thornthwaite, Naomi Yamamoto, Ralph Sultan and Joan McIntyre for their efforts.

"Capilano University has been a major player in providing the education and training necessary to build British Columbia's thriving film industry", said Peter Leitch, President of North shore and Mammoth Studios. "The film centre will be a cornerstone for young talented filmmakers to learn and maintain B.C.'s position as a leader in this industry".

 

For further information contact:

 604-987-4488 President North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce

 

 

The worldwide financial decline has lead to a deterioration of the Canadian economy felt in many sectors of our North Shore community. Senior levels of government have sought to mitigate this negative impact by implementing a series of stimulus packages. The business communities of North and West Vancouver applaud these initiatives. On January 30th, the North Shore Economic Summit brought together local business and public sector leaders to develop a consensus on the strategic allocation of the recently announced capital infrastructure funds from the Federal and Provincial governments.

Guided by a process led by the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce this group of senior executives from the business sector, together with leaders from education, health care and First Nations from across the North Shore had one ultimate purpose;“To identify three North Shore based infrastructure projects that could be presented to senior levels of government with a recommendation for financial support”

“The group undertook a rigorous process that opened with a situation analysis of the economic downturn on their respective businesses,” stated Mike Watson, Summit Co-Chair and Chair of the North Shore Business Council. “They established criteria against which several infrastructure projects were evaluated, from which the top three were selected,” he continued. Prior public input and advise from Summit participants figured prominently in the selections.

The group concluded that the following three projects would provide the region and the province with the greatest long-term benefits.

1. Expand rail accessibility from the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and along the North Shore’s Low Level Road including road upgrades and buffer zones.
2. Upgrade the Low level Road access linking North and West Vancouver and the Taylor Way approach to the Lions Gate Bridge.
3. Invest in a new Film Centre at Capilano University to support and grow our expertise in the film sector.

“Although we believe these projects will have the most significant long-term economic benefits, there were also substantial social and economic benefits identified within the other proposals,” said Naomi Yamamoto, President of the North Vancouver Chamber. “This process should in no way detract from the merits of the other projects considered,” she added.

In October 2008, Premier Gordon Campbell outlined 10 measures to improve the province’s economic competitiveness and reduce costs for families and business during anticipated tough times throughout 2009. Accelerating public investments in capital infrastructure was one of the key actions announced and the North Shore Economic Summit was a response to the Premier's call for action.

The North Shore Credit Union hosted the Summit. Local MLAs including the Hon. Joan McIntyre, Katherine Whittred, Ralph Sultan and Daniel Jarvis along with the three North Shore Mayors attended the briefing session at the conclusion of the Summit.

“We’re now calling on our MLAs and MPs to work with senior levels of government to bring these recommendations to reality,” said Wayne Hunter, Summit planning Co-Chair.

The recommendations will be presented to Premier Campbell in February.

 

NORTH SHORE TRADE AREA
Canada’s and British Columbia’s, Largest & Most Diverse Export Hub

A North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce resolution calling for the Federal and Provincial governments to recognize the strategic importance of the North Shore Trade Area and that the rail and road system be included in Gateway funding, was passed by the delegates at the 56th Annual BC Chamber of Commerce AGM and Conference.

Chambers of Commerce from across BC came together in Whistler, May 23, 2008 to set policy and direction for the province’s largest business organization.

“While Transport Canada should be commended for undertaking a North Shore Trade Area infrastructure study, we believe more must be done.” said Chamber Board Chair Mike Watson, a delegate at this year’s conference.

“To date there has been no targeted Gateway funding for the North Shore Trade Area to address the needs of the BC and Western Canadian exporters who rely on this critical link,” Watson continued, “we need continued export infrastructure investment given the reality that current bulk transport methods are the most efficient means to transport the majority of bulk commodities”.

$7.85 billion dollars (2007) of Canadian export commodities, approximately 45% of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s annual export volume by value moved through the North Shore Trade Area.

"Today, Chambers from across BC recognized that some break bulk products, specifically forestry products, are increasingly being exported via containers and that flexibility to transition from break bulk to container handling is required,” stated John Winter, President & CEO of the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce. "This policy recommendation, adopted by Chamber delegates, will go to the Canadian Chamber as the official position of the BC Chamber of Commerce".  

As published in the Wednesday, September 19, 2007 edition of the Vancouver Sun. (click here to view original article).

Reform railway system, chamber of commerce says
Delays are costing too much money, businesses add

By Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

A growing sense of frustration among local port terminal operators about "poor and inconsistent service" is prompting North Vancouver's chamber of commerce to lead a new national call for railway system reforms.

North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce president Naomi Yamamoto said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that tens of millions of dollars in potential terminal improvements are being forestalled by uncertainty about quality of service - and she says local taxpayers could be victimized as well.

The chamber says its members, including North Shore terminal operators, accept that some delays are inevitable when weather conditions affect a rail line and stall the movement of goods including potash, coal, vegetable oil, grains, pulp, wood chips and sulphur.

But it is calling on the federal government, which is in the process of reviewing railway service provisions of the Canada Transportation Act, to compel railways to eliminate delays that arise from labour agreements and from movement of freight on rail lines owned by one railway but required by another seeking access to a port.

In one instance, a 1953 agreement between CN Rail and the Vancouver Port Authority guarantees CN exclusive access to North Shore terminals - which means CP Rail and other CN rivals have to hand over their trains to CN crews in order to get their customers' goods into those terminals.

The transfer often takes place at Boston Bar in the Fraser Canyon and the North Vancouver chamber notes that the trains "may sit for long periods" before a CN crew becomes available - with terminals sitting idle while the switchover is completed.

The chamber says CN is doing "an admirable job" of controlling its labour expenses - to the detriment of the terminal operators.

"Because of the ownership rights (railway monopolies) that exist, terminal operators feel that there is little they can do to influence better coordination and reliability between railways," says a North Vancouver chamber policy statement endorsed this week by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

"The interests of the port terminals aren't being fairly weighed against the interests of the railways, who really are out there to increase their value to their shareholders," Yamamoto said.

"These port facilities are obviously export oriented and they depend on products arriving on time to ensure that we are seen as a dependable supplier for export markets.

"But the rail service as it exists now is inadequate and the terminal operators are telling us that they face significant added costs, which erodes their competitive advantage.

"They are challenged by the fact that they face a monopoly situation in terms of the railway service that's provided."

The chamber wants the federal government to amend the transportation act so that labour issues - notably the lack of coordination on crew transfers between CP and CN do not continue to be an issue for terminal operators.

"Capital investments are not being made in our port terminals," Yamamoto said. "If we can't get the product to the terminal it doesn't matter how much more efficient the terminals become.


"I've become afraid we will lose $100 million worth of infrastructure that a company may want to put into a terminal - and it will go somewhere else.
"I can tell you terminal operators on the North Shore are some of our biggest taxpayers in the city and it will affect everybody if their operations are not deemed profitable."

Officials with CN did not respond by press time to The Vancouver Sun's request for a comment on the situation.

In a news release, North Vancouver chamber board chair Mike Watson said railroad service to Lower Mainland ports has "deteriorated in recent years."
He said the situation acts as a disincentive to investment, and that greater freight handling capacity would put the terminals in a "strong, competitive position to serve B.C.'s and western Canada's critical exports."

 

 

There appears to be confidence in the business community these days. Our economy is performing well and it's a good time for us to influence government policies to ensure that we can build upon our strengths for future investment and success.

Your North Vancouver Chamber membership provides you a voice through the BC Chamber of Commerce as well. This is the largest business organization in BC and is well positioned to act as the Voice of BC Business. Every year an incredible opportunity presents itself in the form of the BC Chamber policy development process. Chambers across BC are urged to identify issues of importance to our members.

And we've done just that. The North Shore Business Council is a committee of the North Vancouver Chamber. It's composition includes business leaders from various business, education and health sectors on the North Shore. A proposed policy submission and a Statement of Policy was discussed and approved by this Council to be submitted to the BC Chamber Policy Review Committee. The proposed policy resolution identified rail service and capacity issues in the lower mainland. The Statement of Policy submission entitled Sustainable Development acknowledges that as stewards of the economy, we need to ensure that actions and decisions we take today do not have negative consequences for future generations.

I look forward to reporting to you the results of our efforts. If our submissions receive a recommendation for approval by the BC Chamber Policy Review committee, they will be submitted to the policy session of the BC Chamber AGM in May. Your Chair will have an opportunity to defend our resolutions at the policy session. If our resolutions are passed by a majority of the members voting at the AGM, they become part of the BC Chamber Policy Manual and form a platform to communicate and influence the government of BC to make policy decisions that will deliver sustainable, long term economic growth.

Exciting stuff ahead...