BC Economic Fundamentals

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Businesses looking for highway help

The twinning of the Simon Fraser Bridge has prompted some businesses to revive a campaign to improve access to their area from Highway 97 South.
The seven businesses are the Four Points by Sheraton, Great Wall Restaurant, Carmel Restaurant, Mr. G-Esso, Thanh Vu Restaurant, Carmel Motor Inn and 97 Motor Inn.


http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/2008040...ghway-help.html

 

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Population: 6. Number of trolley buses: 8

SANDON - You never know what you`ll find in a ghost town. There could be old houses, there could be some ruins, there could be an old cemetery.

But Sandon, a ghost town in the Kootenays, offers a little extra. Its population may have dwindled from 5,000 to six, but the former mining town retains its own electric power station, the oldest one still operating in the province. It also has its own museum. It even has a fleet of vintage Vancouver trolley buses.

It`s one of the weirdest sights you`ll ever come across. Driving in on a winding road from New Denver, you come around a bend and come upon the Broadway bus. And the Kingsway bus. And the Renfrew.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...83-720a09f80649

 

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Dubai developer gains a foothold in B.C.

For a company with projects as audacious as the 160-storey-and-growing Burj Dubai, Emaar Properties` first Metro Vancouver incursion seems modest.

It`s taking on a 98-unit townhouse development in South Surrey while adding more storeys to the world`s tallest building in the United Arab Emirates.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...9b-ced390a2c97b

 

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Minister dismisses call to halt power projects

The New Democratic Party`s call this week for an immediate halt to development of independent power projects makes for good headlines, but it doesn`t make for good sense, according to British Columbia Energy Minister Richard Neufeld.

Nor do recent claims about the sector make for good math, a review of BC Hydro filings and other documents suggests.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...30-6ac2ed8992c8

 

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Economic growth expected to slow

B.C.`s economy is expected to avoid much of the impact of the U.S. slowdown. RBC forecasts growth of 2.3 per cent in 2008 and 2.9 per cent in 2009, thanks in part to increased spending on capital projects, a jump in tourism and strong retail activity ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...bf-316a48702136

 

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B.C. unveils emissions cap-and-trade act

The B.C. government on Thursday introduced its promised Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act, making it the first province to introduce legislation authorizing hard caps on greenhouse gas emissions.

Under a cap-and-trade system, governments set greenhouse gas emission levels. Companies that produce amounts of greenhouse gases below those levels can trade their excess emission credits to others who would otherwise not be in compliance.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...9a-d9a16fb88cb0

 

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B.C. attracts the most interprovincial migrants

Javier Diaz always wanted to come to Vancouver, partly because of its reputation for scenic beauty, but mostly because the city is a hub for video game production, his chosen career.

So when Vancouver games company Radical Entertainment replied to his job application by flying him here from Mississauga, Ont., for an interview, and then hiring him, Diaz was a happy man.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...30-1cd3dd4976b2

 

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Cruise ships invited to dock in N. Van

Two floating hotels hosting up to 1,000 Olympic visitors will be moored near Lonsdale Quay in 2010, if a plan by the City of North Vancouver holds water.

City officials want the 215-metre-long Burrard Dry Dock Pier to become home to a pair of cruise ships during the Winter Games.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...64-62a3197cdc93

 

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Housing market to sink after Games: Expert

A housing expert figures the Vancouver housing bubble will burst after the 2010 Olympics.

Steve Pomeroy said people are buying properties, hoping to flip them before the Games, which has pushed prices higher.

"In the Vancouver market, there`s going to be a correction," the Ottawa consultant said yesterday.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...ce-86fdcdf10c66

 

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Bus-only lanes eyed for Lions Gate access

TransLink hopes that bus-only lanes in North and West Vancouver will get commuters out of their cars and into public transit.

TransLink wants to turn the curb lanes of Marine Drive into bus-only lanes leading on to the Lions Gate Bridge.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...3a-b5009c7c2eab

 

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TransLink to use slush fund to pay expansion bills

TransLink will use its rainy-day fund to help pay for a raft of expansion bills due next year.

"We`ve been accumulating the money with an eye toward the hefty bills we are going to start getting next year to do with the transit expansion," said TransLink spokesman Peter Louwe.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...7b-6f44270b2d94

 

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London Drugs to anchor Duncan development

London Drugs is moving into downtown Duncan as an anchor tenant in the redevelopment of the Village Green Inn site.

Its arrival is just one of several commercial projects going on in an area where developers say there`s plenty of potential, with a regional customer base of approximately 77,000 and new residents moving in.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...54-b703028951c5

 

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Builders across the country face high costs: survey

Victoria home builders, like their colleagues across the country, expect the rising costs of serviced lots and higher development charges will be their most critical problems in the next 12 months.

In its semi-annual survey of members, the Canadian Home Builders Association found the problem of increasing costs was acute in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and B.C. -- a fact that is old news to Victoria builders.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...2d-361ab5449416

 

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House prices up, sales down

House prices in Prince George continued their trend upward during the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, according to a report released Thursday by the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board.
However, the number of sales of single-family homes during the first three months of 2008 declined from 2007.

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/2008040...sales-down.html

 

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Mapping A Land Deal

Chilliwack city council was given no idea of the true scope of former mayor John Les`s development plans for Rosebank Place when they voted to approve it, records at city hall suggest.

And yet shortly after council approved a rezoning on Oct. 6, 2007, Grant Sanborn, the city`s approving officer, signed off on a dramatic change to the lots` boundaries to include portions of an adjacent farm that the Agricultural Land Commission twice earlier had refused to subdivide.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...e1-77c5427cea03

 

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Construction leads way to strong B.C. job growth

British Columbia hit a new high in March for the proportion of its population that is at work thanks to 15,000 new jobs added to the economy during the month, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

That made B.C., along with Alberta, the brightest spots for Canadian workers who are being threatened by weakening exports to the U.S., which is struggling economically.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...5c-ce6e9edc2d7f

 

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Sewage plans a puzzle for Colwood

Colwood officials are both baffled and frustrated over why future high-end, waterfront town centre in Royal Bay keeps appearing on Capital Regional District maps as a potential sewage treatment site.

"It would be like going into downtown Oak Bay right in the middle of their commercial area and wanting to buy up three acres," Colwood Mayor Jody Twa said.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...12-ada0f38fbfb7

 

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Province pumps $5 million into Nanaimo cruise plans

NANAIMO -- Premier Gordon Campbell was in the Harbour City for the second time in as many months yesterday, this time announcing a government investment of $5 million to help develop a cruise ship facility at downtown`s Assembly Wharf.

Campbell was in the city last month to announce provincial funding of $11 million for the Port of Nanaimo Centre and expansion plans at the Nanaimo airport.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...3f-1a7c112bc4a7

 

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Real estate pace to ease

After moving at a record pace for several years, the real estate market in Kamloops appears to be calming down in early 2008.

According to the latest MLS statistics, the number of sales for Kamloops and district dropped 1.7 and 9.1 per cent in January and February, respectively, compared to the same months last year -- although prices were still up 32 and 27.1 per cent from a year ago.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...a6-3a534826ab7d

 

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Fuel storage to quadruple

Vancouver International Airport is preparing to add four new fuel-storage tanks that will nearly quadruple the amount of aviation fuel stored on Sea Island.

The new storage system, which is planned to be in operation by May 2009, will give YVR the capacity to store 48.8 million litres of fuel -- enough to meet airline demand for five days. Currently, the airport has on-site storage for 1.5 days.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/mon...3b-5fa95f6822e8