BC Economic Fundamentals

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B.C. growth expected to be strong at 3.1%

Western provinces are expected to weather the effects of the U.S. economic storm, while Ontario and Quebec are likely to suffer fallout from the gloomy outlook south of the border, according to Tuesday`s report from the Conference Board of Canada.

Manitoba is expected to have the fastest economic growth among all the provinces, with an expansion of 3.7 per cent in 2008.

And despite the floundering forest industry, British Columbia will post another strong year with estimated growth of 3.1 per cent in 2008, placing the province fourth behind Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...99-4655da62c16d

 

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B.C.`s carbon tax complements federal emission limits, PM says

The decision by British Columbia to impose a carbon tax in July complements the federal government`s plan to combat climate change through regulations, despite concerns to the contrary, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.

"The B.C. plan, which is tax-based, targets at this point mainly consumer emissions and emissions down the production stream," Harper told a Business Council of B.C. luncheon at the Westin Bayshore.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...d9-e284a81d5f5f

 

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Coquitlam wants northwest route


City staff and two-thirds of Coquitlam council were in favour of a northwest rapid-transit alignment at a special council meeting Monday night.

However, staff didn`t rule out seeing a southern route built in the future and three councillors came out in favour of building a southeast routing now.

The province announced on Feb. 1 that SkyTrain-like technology (ALRT) -- not light rail -- will be employed for the line and the five Tri-Cities councils have until March 17 to make route recommendations.

http://www.canada.com/coquitlamnow/news/st...5637&k=7045

 

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Buyers options rise with listings

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential attached, detached and apartment property sales totalled 2,676 in February 2008, a decline of 6.4 per cent from the 2,859 residential sales recorded in February 2007, and a decline of nine per cent compared to the 2, 941 sales in February 2006.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties rose 26.2 per cent to 5,260 in February 2008 compared with February 2007, which had 4,167 units listed. New listings this February rose 21.2 per cent over new listings figures from February 2006.



http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.h...ad-033a1ad812f9

 

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Cruise ship spending in B.C. up 21% in four years

The cruise ship industry generated $765 million in direct spending in B.C. last year -- a 21-per-cent increase over 2003 spending, the North West Cruiseship Association (NWCA) reported Wednesday.

The B.C. total represents the lion`s share of all Canadian cruise spending, which reached $1.1 billion last year -- up 16 per cent from 2003, the last time the association calculated figures.



http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...33-d817f9f9fe61

 

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Healing a neighbourhood

The 12th Street neighbourhood needs time to heal and to focus on the area`s positive future.

Jaimie McEvoy, president of the 12th Street Neighbourhood Society, said the future of 12th Street is looking up. He noted the city has received an application to redevelop an aging building and new businesses are coming to the street - and staying.

"There is a lot of good news about 12th Street," he recently told city council. "One is crime. We don`t know the exact figures. We know crime is down on 12th Street."

The 12th Street Neighbourhood Society would like to obtain crime statistics from the City of New Westminster.

http://www.canada.com/newwestrecord/news/s...18c&k=42860

 

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Surrey plans to relocate city hall


Mayor Dianne Watts is going to move Surrey city hall to the developing central business district to send the message that Surrey wants to create a real downtown.

"By relocating city hall, we will be demonstrating our faith in the future of our downtown core to investors," Watts told an enthusiastic crowd today in her annual state-of-the-city speech to the Surrey Board of Trade.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...fcd7&k=1230

 

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2010 Olympics` official airport is -- wait for it -- YVR

Take off, eh?

The latest flight of fancy by Vancouver 2010 is -- drum roll, please -- to announce that Vancouver International Airport is -- wait for it -- the "official supplier" of airport services for the Winter Games.

YVR is contributing just over $3 million in services for the honour -- the first airport in Olympic history to receive such a title.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...fe-672885a5228d

 

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Town considers mass carpooling


QUALICUM BEACH - A pilot project that matches people needing a lift with drivers going in the same direction is getting rolling in Qualicum Beach.

Its proponent, Coun. Mike Wansink, based the Good Samaritan Ride Program on a successful scheme that`s been operating since 1971 in Washington D.C., where he attended university in the mid-1990s.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...13-be0536385901

 

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Albertans` interest in Kelowna real estate puzzling

I spoke to an old friend of mine the other day, a girl I knew from Alberta many years ago.

We were catching up a little and she asked where I live now. I told her Kelowna.

"That`s just crazy," she said. "It seems like everyone I grew up with in Calgary is living in the Okanagan."

"No kidding," I said.

I might have corrected her but didn`t see the point.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/opinion/16665291.html

 

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The perils of pot houses: How unsuspecting home buyers get duped

OTTAWA -- An Ontario couple thought they had found the perfect place to raise their two young children. But, what was to be their dream home, in a safe, tight-knit community, soon turned into a nightmare. They had purchased a former marijuana grow-op.

Four years later, health concerns and legal bills are piling up.

The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, say there is evidence of mould in the home and they worry about the health of their two young children. Since moving in, the husband has suffered from sinus infections.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...c63&k=31182

 

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House prices out of reach for most Vancouverites

It got even harder to afford a home in Metro Vancouver at the end of 2007.

RBC Economics confirmed Friday what any home shopper here knows -- buying a house will eat up most of an average person`s income.

Covering the cost of a standard, 1,500-square-foot two-storey Metro Vancouver house worth $648,592 would take 79.2 per cent of the region`s median pre-tax household income, according to RBC`s fourth-quarter measure of housing affordability.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...db-9512485ae78b

 

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Last houses down to make way for overpass

Construction of Port Coquitlam`s Coast Meridian Overpass is well and truly underway, with the demolition of the last of three houses in the construction zone north of Lougheed Highway this week.

Two of the vacant houses were located on Lougheed Meridian and one was on Bridgeman Avenue.

http://www.canada.com/coquitlamnow/news/st...33c&k=80034

 

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More than mortgage in first year

When buying a new home, it is important to remember there are added expenses besides the mortgage. While most homeowners are prepared, a recent Ipsos Reid poll found three in 10 B.C. residents felt unprepared for the costs and expenditures of their first year in a new home.

Industry experts say first-time purchasers should have, in addition to their down payment, sufficient funds to cover closing costs that can add thousands of dollars to the purchase price. Buyers of homes over $500,000 should set aside 2.2 per cent for the property- transfer tax. They can also expect fees for such things as a home inspection, appraisal, and site survey.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...7d-1cd11a632c18

 

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City needs to push the envelope to stay on top

Yet again Vancouver has climbed its way up another "great-city" list. This time the city has moved to No. 8 from No. 16 on something called the Anholt City Brands Index, a survey assessing the world`s best received cities.

I suppose we should feel self-congratulatory about it, given we`re sandwiched just below Barcelona and above Amsterdam. I always wanted to live in Amsterdam, but now I don`t need to -- right? -- now that we`re ahead of it, not to mention Berlin, Madrid, Geneva.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...71-342c26eed7d6

 

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Translator helps B.C. firms pitch to China

Vincent Dong is an unassuming Burnaby resident, but the Hefei, China native has helped a slew of B.C. companies and associations put a sharp foot forward when pitching for business in China.

At the same time, Dong also co-hosts a television show that helps recent immigrants from mainland China adjust to life in Lotusland.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...0c-f7954ba5c5b1

 

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Don`t neglect tax-smart investing

EDMONTON -- If you had to choose between two investments, one offering returns of 10 per cent and the second offering returns of eight per cent, which would you choose? This is not a trick question. Most people would choose the 10-per-cent investment. However, if the first investment produced an after-tax return of six per cent while the second investment produced returns after tax of seven per cent, which would you choose now? No matter what return you make, the real indicator of success is the after-tax return.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/mon...k=21902&p=1

 

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Buyouts possible for high-voltage-line homes in Tsawwassen

METRO VANCOUVER - Tsawwassen residents living along a controversial electricity corridor may be offered buyouts on their homes, Energy Minister Richard Neufeld said Monday.

Neufeld said, however, that the government has made no final decision to offer buyouts to homeowners living beneath a set of high voltage lines that deliver electricity to Vancouver Island.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...beb6&k=1405

 

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Property owners tell TransLink they`re tired of being taxed

A hearing on TransLink`s plans to impose an $18-million tax increase on property owners drew about 50 people Monday night, filling only about one-third of a Burnaby firefighters hall rented for the occasion.

The hearing, the first held by the new TransLink board of directors, was aimed at finding out how taxpayers feel about an extra $18 million in property levies.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...e2-f6e62126ca8f

 

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City`s tax-burden shift applauded

The Vancouver business community has applauded Vancouver city council for approving a gradual five-year shift of the property tax burden from commercial to residential properties.

Commercial properties currently pay 53 per cent of city taxes but that will be reduced by one percentage point a year until it`s cut to 48 per cent, with residential properties paying the remaining 52 per cent.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...70-8897b069eb18