Minutes before its scheduled time, Sylvester’s meeting was abruptly cancelled. In fact, not only was the meeting called off; the commission itself was soon to be history.
Economy
Dan Fumano: Questions in Vancouver business community over decision to scrap Economic Commission
City hall has announced that with the VEC’s dissolution, it will launch a new “business and economy office” inside the city manager’s office, and will work with Invest Vancouver, a region-wide initiative created in 2019 to attract investment to Metro Vancouver.
But Sylvester sees the value of having an arm’s-length organization like the VEC instead of folding more work into the bureaucracy of the city manager’s office.
Just as the U.S. government under President Joe Biden is moving quickly to “transition to a clean economy and set up centres in cities to advance investment in green and creative businesses, we are dismantling our competitive advantage,” Sylvester said. “I swear I must be missing something here. It just doesn’t add up.”
Sylvester was not the only one publicly questioning the decision and calling for a more thorough explanation. Several local business leaders and professionals expressed concern and shock this week in public statements on social media, especially on LinkedIn.
The city hasn’t yet confirmed the one-time costs associated with the decommission, a city spokesperson said in an emailed statement, but “financial efficiencies were a consideration contributing to this decision and the budget savings are estimated to be $2 million per year.”
Last Thursday, 13 out of the VEC’s 23 staff members and two of the three contractors were notified their jobs were being terminated as part of the VEC’s decommissioning.
The city said that some of those 15 people affected by the job cuts may remain in their roles until mid-2024 while programs are wound down, while others will leave their roles “in the coming weeks.”
James Riley, CEO of Vancouver software company Lightspark, said he believes the VEC provided a good return on investment.
“Is it penny-wise and pound-foolish?” Riley asked. “You save $2 million bucks, great. But this was something that was stimulating the economy and attracting investment.”
The VEC introduced Riley’s company to international trade commissions, investors and partner companies, he said. The VEC was instrumental in Amazon and Microsoft setting up significant offices in Vancouver, Riley said, and helped connect made-in-Vancouver tech company Hootsuite with early investors.
The VEC was a key part of efforts by Vision, the municipal party in power from 2008 to 2018, to make Vancouver a hub for clean technology and innovation. Some supporters of the VEC and the broader green technology industry are affiliated with Vision, including Sadhu Johnson, who served as city manager under Vision and now is an adviser to Lightspark, and Sylvester, a former Vision board member.
Riley hopes Vancouver’s ABC-majority council didn’t decide to wind down the VEC because it’s viewed as “a legacy of Vision,” he said.
“If it’s being squashed for political reasons, that is a major mistake.”
Riley supported Sim in last year’s election, he said, and liked ABC’s campaign messaging about promoting a vibrant, business-friendly city. That’s why, Riley said, he and others in his industry felt “blindsided” by last week’s announcement.
Sim didn’t reply to a request for comment Tuesday sent through his communications director.
“The new business office we’re setting up will allow us to have more on-the-ground, direct relationships” with both small local businesses and major players in key sectors like tech, Klassen said. “It also perhaps gives council more control … to pivot where we need to … We evaluated this is a better way to direct those millions of dollars we’re currently spending. I estimate we’ve probably spent between $25 (million) and 30 million on the VEC in the last decade or so, and we have to be careful with the taxpayers’ dollars.
“Having VEC in a separate office, run by a separate staff and kind of two steps away from what was going on at city hall, I think that was probably not the way we wanted to go forward, because we’re a very business-focused council.”
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.
She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.
The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.
The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.
The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.
Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.
Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
News13 mins ago
Manitoba NDP removes backbencher from caucus over Nygard link
News58 mins ago
Federal money and sales taxes help pump up New Brunswick budget surplus
News60 mins ago
Rent cap loophole? Halifax-area landlords defend use of fixed-term leases
Media1 year ago
12 Bizarre Things People Did Just To Make Social Media Content
Sports5 years ago
AP source: Bears acquiring quarterback Nick Foles from Jaguars – Sportsnet.ca
Investment5 years ago
dynaCERT Inc. Invites You to Join Us at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference | INN – Investing News Network
-
Sports3 hours agoPenguins re-sign Crosby to two-year extension that runs through 2026-27 season
-
Politics7 hours ago
Next phase of federal foreign interference inquiry to begin today in Ottawa
-
Economy4 hours ago
Liberals announce expansion to mortgage eligibility, draft rights for renters, buyers
-
News7 hours ago
Feds wary of back-to-work legislation despite employer demands: labour experts
-
News7 hours ago
Voters head to the polls for byelections in Montreal and Winnipeg
-
News7 hours ago
Ontario considers further expanding pharmacists’ scope to include more minor ailments
-
Economy5 hours ago
Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales up 1.4% in July at $71B
-
Real eState7 hours ago
National housing market in ‘holding pattern’ as buyers patient for lower rates: CREA
