BC Economic Fundamentals 2008-11

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1108VANC
Road closures, restrictions forecast

The Georgia and Dunsmuir Street viaducts will be closed to private cars for 17 days during the 2010 Olympics.

Other roads around Games venues and the athletes village will also be closed for security reasons, while rush-hour parking restrictions will be extended over an extra 650 blocks throughout the city.

Olympic-only priority lanes will be installed on kilometres of major routes, reducing room for public vehicles, according to Vancouver city traffic planners.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...06-75aa005f290b

 

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1108BCBC
B.C. looking to make major changes to trail management

Sweeping changes are being urged to the management of thousands of kilometres of trails across the province, with the goal of resolving issues of funding, public access, environmental protection and enforcement, and conflicts between motorized and non-motorized users.

The recommendations are part of a 48-page draft report, Trails Strategy for B.C., prepared by a multi-stakeholder committee with participation from senior provincial officials representing tourism, parks and transportation.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...15-4a3eeb87d10f

 

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1108BCBC
Salmon prospects slightly brighter for 2009

Coming off a difficult and sometimes disastrous season, sportfishing operators got a bit -- a tiny bit -- of encouragement Tuesday from marine scientists with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Delegates to the annual conference of the Sport Fishing Institute of British Columbia heard that salmon returns in 2009 will be no worse, and in some cases could be substantially better, than in the angling tourism season just passed.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...eb-259635135d12

 

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1108BCBC
Hong Kong commerce minister offers opportunities for B.C. companies even with Chinese slowdown

Rita Lau, Hong Kong`s top secretary for commerce, brought a simple message to Vancouver Tuesday: "We want to turn crisis into opportunity and believe there are opportunities for Canadian companies to use Hong Kong as a platform into the China market."

Unfortunately, this usual spiel comes not only as the global economy falters, but also as a slowdown dramatically hits the formerly ever-booming China prize.

Reduced exports have stalled production and shut many factories, and falling stock and property markets have dented domestic consumption.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...d1-65fc86c38c88

 

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1108BCBC
B.C. posts one-per-cent retail-sales gain in September

After two months of declines, B.C. posted a one-per-cent gain in retail sales in September compared to August, according to a survey released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday.

The gain was slightly below the national average of 1.1 per cent.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...0d-fea5b25c2bad

 

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1108BCBC
BC Transmission boosts spending on high-voltage wires

BC Transmission expects to spend $5.3 billion over the next decade to upgrade British Columbia`s network of high-voltage transmission wires, the Crown corporation said this week.

"The transmission system is B.C.`s electricity highway, and powers virtually every home and business in the province," Jane Peverett, BCTC president and CEO, said in a news release.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...80-0b2d96c1331a

 

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1108BCBC
B.C. mills take downtime in `a world awash in pulp`

With paper demand falling and reports of the world awash in pulp, Catalyst Paper announced Wednesday it is shutting down all of its pulp and paper operations over Christmas.

The shutdowns, which vary in duration from mill to mill, are to begin Dec. 19 and extend into the first week of January in a bid to keep production in line with orders, Catalyst said.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...b1-891611e373e0

 

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1108BCBC
B.C. exports expected to grow 4% in 2009

A weaker Canadian dollar and continued demand for energy are expected to push growth of exports from British Columbia into positive territory after three years of declines, predicts an Export Development Canada forecast released Wednesday.

Exports (measured by value, which reflects both volume and price changes) in the province are forecast to grow four per cent in 2009, after an estimated two-per-cent slowdown in 2008, a 5.6-per-cent contraction in 2007, and a drop of two per cent in 2006.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...bc-e666a5ff1b59

 

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1108BCBC
Sales slip as Whistler becomes buyers` market

Phones are still ringing at Tourism Whistler`s booking office, offering some hope to a waning Whistler real estate market.

"Our real estate activity does flow from our tourism activity," Patrick Kelly, an agent at the Whistler Real Estate Co., said in an interview, "particularly where the international -- American and European -- market is concerned."

"If they don`t come [to visit], we don`t sell to them."

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...ad-f84f3ebe079b

 

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1108BCBC
What`s wrong with property taxes? Far too much

Regular readers will already know a couple of flaws that feature prominently on my list of what`s wrong with property taxes.

One is the ease with which an unfair share of a city`s taxes -- Vancouver is a textbook example -- can be shifted from residents, who vote, to businesses, who don`t. Another big one in today`s economic climate is that property value and the tax bill it generates are revenue-insensitive. In other words, the biggest bills can hit at the worst of times.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...c2-1e15f1b45114

 

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1108BCBC
B.C. businesses rely on Web, survey finds

British Columbia businesses are more likely to rely on their corporate website to boost their bottom line than companies in other parts of Canada.

And despite the current economic anxiety, one in three Canadian companies that engage in e-commerce believe their company`s online sales will increase in the coming holiday season by an average of 15 per cent.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...c9-c30c97c969ad

 

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1108BCBC
Delay social-housing evictions until developer, financing ready: Critics

Pressure is growing on the province to reopen more than 200 suites of social housing in Vancouver that B.C. Housing is busy boarding up and preparing to demolish.

Redevelopment of Little Mountain, the six-hectare site that is one of the city`s oldest social-housing developments, has been controversial since a deal was struck last year to demolish the aging homes, sell the site to a private developer, have the 224 units rebuilt as part of a 2,000-condominium project -- and use the profits from the sale to fund social housing across B.C.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...28-5db53fab782f

 

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1108VICT
Province to fund E&N commuter rail line study

The push for commuter rail service on Vancouver Island got a needed boost from the B.C. government yesterday.

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon announced that the province will spend $500,000 to investigate whether it makes sense to upgrade the E&N tracks for freight and passenger travel.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...8b-9235d4376bc9

 

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1108BCBC
B.C. economic relief package passes after brief sitting

The B.C. Liberal government and NDP opposition concluded a five-day legislative sitting last night by unanimously passing an economic relief package for taxpayers.

The legislation, which was introduced last week, included an accelerated five per cent cut in personal income taxes that will put $144 million back in people`s pockets next spring. Other measures will cut small-business taxes, protect RRSPs from creditors and provide unlimited deposit insurance for credit unions.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...bc-2e94e1de2955

 

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1108VICT
Victoria malls extend hours for Christmas

If these are supposed to be tough, belt-tightening times someone ought to tell the people flooding through the doors of Greater Victoria`s shopping malls.

With Christmas just 27 days away, the city`s malls are starting to feel the heave of increased traffic and their hours have either been extended or are about to be in order to deal with it.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...0d-bccad818343a

 

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1108VANC
St. Regis joins the boutique crowd downtown

The construction schedule expanded from seven months to 14 months and the budget ballooned from $5 million to $11 million.

Marble tabletops, granite windowsills, $150,000 worth of art and $50,000 worth of Italian chrome electrical-outlet plate covers will do that.

But the renovated 65-room St. Regis Hotel in downtown Vancouver welcomes its first guests today as an upscale boutique property -- a far cry from what one analyst used to call a "backpackers` hostel."

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...ce-15804fc2a8a9

 

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1108VICT
High-tech pipe repairs to save money, time

Work will begin next month on a $6.1-million, nine-month project to rehabilitate about five kilometres of old water main pipes in the Fernwood, Hillside/Quadra and South Jubilee neighbourhoods.

The bulk of the work will be done using so called "trenchless technology" in which a flattened high-density polyethylene liner is pulled through the old steel pipes and then re-rounded to form a tight fit in the pipe. The host pipe and liner are then inspected using closed circuit television, disinfected and put back into use.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...4a-0d0f751f8dcd

 

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1108VICT
City OKs Old Town condo plan

A 27-unit loft-style condominium project on Government Street near Chinatown has received Victoria council`s approval.

Formwerks Developments Corp., which counts former Vancouver Canucks captain Trevor Linden as a partner, plans to build commercial space on the ground floor with the 27 units up above at 1725 Government St.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...22-f3f41e5fdb9b

 

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1108VICT
Vic West condos OK`d despite height increase

Two new Vic West hilltop condominium towers will reach 17 and 21 storeys, substantially taller than the proposal city council originally approved.

After hearing from about 20 people at a public hearing, Victoria councillors gave their blessing to Ken Mariash`s plans to increase the approved height of the two Bayview Properties proposed condos on Saghalie Road to 17 storeys from 11 and 21 storeys from 13. The two towers would be 57.5 and 68 metres tall, respectively.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...d9-79e48941e141

 

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BC Small Town Updates: 2008-11-30