December 2010 BC Economic Fundamentals
- Thread starter Ally
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B.C. economy has fared better than most despite rough times
VANCOUVER - It has been a rough couple of years everywhere, but not quite so bad in B.C. as in most other provinces.
This is the nub of the analysis in the B.C. Progress Board's 10th annual benchmark report released today.
Two of the 11 social and economic indicators tracked by the report actually slid backwards last year. Yet overall, B.C. still managed to tie or beat the Canadian average.
It should be no surprise to anyone who felt the pinch of the recession, or who saw it squeezing friends and neighbours all around, that the two categories where our performance fell off the most were related to income and jobs.
Real personal disposable income, which had been rising by a steady though by no means stellar rate of a little over $500 a year for most of the decade, suddenly fell by almost that much in 2009.
Read the full article here.
VANCOUVER - It has been a rough couple of years everywhere, but not quite so bad in B.C. as in most other provinces.
This is the nub of the analysis in the B.C. Progress Board's 10th annual benchmark report released today.
Two of the 11 social and economic indicators tracked by the report actually slid backwards last year. Yet overall, B.C. still managed to tie or beat the Canadian average.
It should be no surprise to anyone who felt the pinch of the recession, or who saw it squeezing friends and neighbours all around, that the two categories where our performance fell off the most were related to income and jobs.
Real personal disposable income, which had been rising by a steady though by no means stellar rate of a little over $500 a year for most of the decade, suddenly fell by almost that much in 2009.
Read the full article here.
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All's quiet in old town as Port Moody awaits Evergreen Line
METRO VANCOUVER -- When the Hogan family opened Hogan's Restaurant and Lounge in Port Moody earlier this year, they figured the Evergreen Line would help rejuvenate the old town and bring in more foot traffic.
Months later, they're still waiting, partly because property owners and developers are holding off on any new plans until they're sure the SkyTrain line will come through town.
And even if it does ` construction is scheduled to start next year ` a station planned for the old section of town has been canned, meaning the Hogans will have to wait even longer to reap any benefits.
"The old town is very quiet. We're doing pretty good but we're a destination," Marilyn Hogan said. "We have to market and spend money like crazy; there's no one coming by here.
Read the full article ]here.
METRO VANCOUVER -- When the Hogan family opened Hogan's Restaurant and Lounge in Port Moody earlier this year, they figured the Evergreen Line would help rejuvenate the old town and bring in more foot traffic.
Months later, they're still waiting, partly because property owners and developers are holding off on any new plans until they're sure the SkyTrain line will come through town.
And even if it does ` construction is scheduled to start next year ` a station planned for the old section of town has been canned, meaning the Hogans will have to wait even longer to reap any benefits.
"The old town is very quiet. We're doing pretty good but we're a destination," Marilyn Hogan said. "We have to market and spend money like crazy; there's no one coming by here.
Read the full article ]here.
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Talisman Energy sells $1.05B stake in B.C. shale gas assets
JOHANNESBURG ` South African energy group Sasol said on Monday it would pay US$1.05 billion for a 50% stake in Canada`s Talisman Energy Farrell Creek shale gas assets.
The deal is the petrochemical group`s first shale gas buy in a move to boost its gas portfolio and to provide feedstock for future gas-to-liquids plants based on its technology.
Sasol, which is also the world`s largest producer of motor fuel from coal, runs the world`s largest GTL plant in Qatar and is also building a GTL plant in Nigeria.
Sasol said the assets, which cover over 51,000 acres of land in the Montney basin of Canada`s British Columbia, had an estimated contingent resource of 9.6 trillion cubic feet (tcf).
The two firms have agreed to jointly conduct a feasibility study on the economic viability of a GTL plant in western Canada and to collaborate on other natural resource opportunities in the area.
Read the full article ]here.
JOHANNESBURG ` South African energy group Sasol said on Monday it would pay US$1.05 billion for a 50% stake in Canada`s Talisman Energy Farrell Creek shale gas assets.
The deal is the petrochemical group`s first shale gas buy in a move to boost its gas portfolio and to provide feedstock for future gas-to-liquids plants based on its technology.
Sasol, which is also the world`s largest producer of motor fuel from coal, runs the world`s largest GTL plant in Qatar and is also building a GTL plant in Nigeria.
Sasol said the assets, which cover over 51,000 acres of land in the Montney basin of Canada`s British Columbia, had an estimated contingent resource of 9.6 trillion cubic feet (tcf).
The two firms have agreed to jointly conduct a feasibility study on the economic viability of a GTL plant in western Canada and to collaborate on other natural resource opportunities in the area.
Read the full article ]here.
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B.C. still strong on quality of life, not so hot economically
Better than average when it comes to health and environment, not so hot on crime, income and fighting poverty ` that`s the picture of B.C. that emerges from the 10th annual bench-marking exercise conducted by the BC Progress Board.
Yet, despite two of 11 indicators ` per capita income and the employment rate ` actually sliding backwards last year, BC still managed overall to weather the tough times better than the Canadian average.
My Vancouver Sun analysis of the report (accessible here) and my video commentary (found here) explore the details of the report in more depth. Or you can click here to link directly to the report itself.
Read the full article ]here.
Better than average when it comes to health and environment, not so hot on crime, income and fighting poverty ` that`s the picture of B.C. that emerges from the 10th annual bench-marking exercise conducted by the BC Progress Board.
Yet, despite two of 11 indicators ` per capita income and the employment rate ` actually sliding backwards last year, BC still managed overall to weather the tough times better than the Canadian average.
My Vancouver Sun analysis of the report (accessible here) and my video commentary (found here) explore the details of the report in more depth. Or you can click here to link directly to the report itself.
Read the full article ]here.
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Vancouver property taxes to rise 4.2%
VANCOUVER ` Vancouver city council approved on Tuesday a modest 2.2-per-cent increase in its tax levy, breaking the $1-billion benchmark for its operating budget.
That increase will translate into a 4.2-per-cent property tax increase for homeowners and a tiny 0.2-per-cent increase for businesses. The disparity is a result of city council`s decision to continue shifting one per cent off the business tax base every year as part of a long-standing policy to rebalance residential and business tax rates.
In a surprise amendment Tuesday, Vision Vancouver councillors added $1 million to next year`s $1-billion operating budget, making minor adjustments to police, fire, library, parks board and homelessness programs.
The changes came after department heads had scrambled to cut $20 million from their budgets as part of a council directive to keep tax increases to two per cent.
Read the full article ]here.
VANCOUVER ` Vancouver city council approved on Tuesday a modest 2.2-per-cent increase in its tax levy, breaking the $1-billion benchmark for its operating budget.
That increase will translate into a 4.2-per-cent property tax increase for homeowners and a tiny 0.2-per-cent increase for businesses. The disparity is a result of city council`s decision to continue shifting one per cent off the business tax base every year as part of a long-standing policy to rebalance residential and business tax rates.
In a surprise amendment Tuesday, Vision Vancouver councillors added $1 million to next year`s $1-billion operating budget, making minor adjustments to police, fire, library, parks board and homelessness programs.
The changes came after department heads had scrambled to cut $20 million from their budgets as part of a council directive to keep tax increases to two per cent.
Read the full article ]here.
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B.C. band reaps benefits from wholly owned forest products firm
METRO VANCOUVER - Almost 1,000 people filed into the community centre in the isolated coastal first nations village of Lax Kw`alaams last Thursday to pick up the first dividend cheques to be issued by their own wholly owned forest company, Coast Tsimshian Resources.
There were a lot of happy faces, Chief Counsellor Garry Reese said of the occasion. Reese is also chairman of Coast Tsimshian and was on hand for the historic day. The company handed out almost $100,000 in dividend payments.
`We are paying out $100 a member, and that`s for every man, woman and child,` Reese said in a telephone interview from the Lax Kw`alaams band office. `I think our people are quite pleased.`
The band`s total membership is 3,300, living mostly in nearby Prince Rupert or Vancouver. By the time all the cheques have been sent out, Coast Tsimshian will have paid out $330,000 in dividends. That`s not bad for a company that many were saying would fail only six years ago, when it acquired timber rights in a bankruptcy sale from one-time pulp and sawmilling giant Skeena Cellulose.
Read the full article ]here.
METRO VANCOUVER - Almost 1,000 people filed into the community centre in the isolated coastal first nations village of Lax Kw`alaams last Thursday to pick up the first dividend cheques to be issued by their own wholly owned forest company, Coast Tsimshian Resources.
There were a lot of happy faces, Chief Counsellor Garry Reese said of the occasion. Reese is also chairman of Coast Tsimshian and was on hand for the historic day. The company handed out almost $100,000 in dividend payments.
`We are paying out $100 a member, and that`s for every man, woman and child,` Reese said in a telephone interview from the Lax Kw`alaams band office. `I think our people are quite pleased.`
The band`s total membership is 3,300, living mostly in nearby Prince Rupert or Vancouver. By the time all the cheques have been sent out, Coast Tsimshian will have paid out $330,000 in dividends. That`s not bad for a company that many were saying would fail only six years ago, when it acquired timber rights in a bankruptcy sale from one-time pulp and sawmilling giant Skeena Cellulose.
Read the full article ]here.
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Home sales jump in November
Stronger sales momentum in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island housing markets drove provincial sales significantly higher in November.
Based on data released this week by the B.C. Real Estate Association, MLS home sales rose 11 per cent from October on a seasonally adjusted basis, marking a fourth consecutive monthly increase. Low mortgage rates over the past few months have been the major driver for the increase.
Annualized housing sales surpassed 80,000 units for the first time since April and upward sales trends have been established in most regions, despite some month-to-month volatility. While sales have climbed higher in recent months, absolute sales levels remain low in most regions.
At the same time, resale inventories have remained high relative to current sales, particularly in the Okanagan and Kootenay regions, in spite of a downward trend in new and active listings since the spring.
Vancouver Island (excluding Victoria) and Chilliwack also remained moderately over-supplied. Relatively weak market conditions reflect less than stellar employment trends outside the Lower Mainland and a continued lack of investment and recreational housing demand. The current demand and supply imbalance suggests further downward pressure on prices could be exerted in some markets, but rising sales should provide a moderating influence.
Read the full article ]here.
Stronger sales momentum in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island housing markets drove provincial sales significantly higher in November.
Based on data released this week by the B.C. Real Estate Association, MLS home sales rose 11 per cent from October on a seasonally adjusted basis, marking a fourth consecutive monthly increase. Low mortgage rates over the past few months have been the major driver for the increase.
Annualized housing sales surpassed 80,000 units for the first time since April and upward sales trends have been established in most regions, despite some month-to-month volatility. While sales have climbed higher in recent months, absolute sales levels remain low in most regions.
At the same time, resale inventories have remained high relative to current sales, particularly in the Okanagan and Kootenay regions, in spite of a downward trend in new and active listings since the spring.
Vancouver Island (excluding Victoria) and Chilliwack also remained moderately over-supplied. Relatively weak market conditions reflect less than stellar employment trends outside the Lower Mainland and a continued lack of investment and recreational housing demand. The current demand and supply imbalance suggests further downward pressure on prices could be exerted in some markets, but rising sales should provide a moderating influence.
Read the full article ]here.
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Hst pushes B.C. inflation rate above national average
B.C.'s controversial harmonized sales tax pushed the province's annual inflation rate above the national average, say economists, with a predictable rise in the price of restaurant food, energy, gasoline, tobacco and electricity.
The province posted a 2.2 per cent inflation rate from November 2009 to 2010, compared to a national rate of 2.0 per cent, according to Consumer Price Index Figures released Tuesday by Statistics Canada. Greater Victoria's inflation rate matched the national average.
It's generally good news on a national level, economist say, because a lower-than-expected inflation rate will increase the likelihood that the Bank of Canada holds off raising interest rates until the fragile economy shows signs of a sustained recovery.
But in B.C., it adds more fuel to the fire over the HST. The new tax, a merger of the PST and GST, came into effect July 1 but applied to many items that were previously PST exempt. Widespread anger forced Premier Gordon Campbell to announce his resignation, sparked an HST referendum set for next year and has led to recall campaigns against Liberal MLAs.
Read the full article ]here.
B.C.'s controversial harmonized sales tax pushed the province's annual inflation rate above the national average, say economists, with a predictable rise in the price of restaurant food, energy, gasoline, tobacco and electricity.
The province posted a 2.2 per cent inflation rate from November 2009 to 2010, compared to a national rate of 2.0 per cent, according to Consumer Price Index Figures released Tuesday by Statistics Canada. Greater Victoria's inflation rate matched the national average.
It's generally good news on a national level, economist say, because a lower-than-expected inflation rate will increase the likelihood that the Bank of Canada holds off raising interest rates until the fragile economy shows signs of a sustained recovery.
But in B.C., it adds more fuel to the fire over the HST. The new tax, a merger of the PST and GST, came into effect July 1 but applied to many items that were previously PST exempt. Widespread anger forced Premier Gordon Campbell to announce his resignation, sparked an HST referendum set for next year and has led to recall campaigns against Liberal MLAs.
Read the full article ]here.
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Eagle Landing starts to take flight
The Walmart store opening in November at the Eagle Landing shopping
centre on land leased from the Squiala First Nation marked what could
be a new era in Chilliwack`s economy.
With the opening
of Galaxy Cinemas eight-theatre complex the following month, a Home
Depot store nearing completion, and other retailers lining up for a
piece of the action, Eagle Landing could become the largest unenclosed
shopping centre in B.C.
In addition to drawing shoppers
from surrounding communities, the joint venture project between the
Squiala and the Property Development Group may also change shopping
patterns in Chilliwack.
Downtown merchant Ken Popove
told The Progress in April that shoppers following Walmart to the Eagle
Landing, instead of the two malls south of the Trans-Canada, might
return to downtown `specialty` stores, if road access is improved
through the old UFV campus now slated for re-development.
`It`s an opportunity to get more people on this side of the highway,` he said.
Downtown merchants saw a decline in shoppers when the two malls were built south of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Walmart left its location at the Chilliwack Mall for the Eagle Landing development.
PDG
partner Keith McRae said the company saw a `jewel of an opportunity` in
a retail development on the Squiala land because of its easy access to
the Trans-Canada Highway to catch the eye of shoppers from Hope and
Merritt heading to the `big box` stores in Abbotsford.
He
also said there was a `pent up demand` for retail space on land not
tied up in the agricultural reserve to justify a 600,000-square foot
development, making Eagle Landing the largest unenclosed shopping
centre in the Lower Mainland. In comparison, the Cottonwood Mall is
234,000 square feet.
But without the Evans Road flyover
and city council`s far-sighted purchase of a road right-of-way up to
the Squiala land, the development would likely not have gone ahead for
lack of access.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/fraser_valley/theprogress/news/112518559.html
The Walmart store opening in November at the Eagle Landing shopping
centre on land leased from the Squiala First Nation marked what could
be a new era in Chilliwack`s economy.
With the opening
of Galaxy Cinemas eight-theatre complex the following month, a Home
Depot store nearing completion, and other retailers lining up for a
piece of the action, Eagle Landing could become the largest unenclosed
shopping centre in B.C.
In addition to drawing shoppers
from surrounding communities, the joint venture project between the
Squiala and the Property Development Group may also change shopping
patterns in Chilliwack.
Downtown merchant Ken Popove
told The Progress in April that shoppers following Walmart to the Eagle
Landing, instead of the two malls south of the Trans-Canada, might
return to downtown `specialty` stores, if road access is improved
through the old UFV campus now slated for re-development.
`It`s an opportunity to get more people on this side of the highway,` he said.
Downtown merchants saw a decline in shoppers when the two malls were built south of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Walmart left its location at the Chilliwack Mall for the Eagle Landing development.
PDG
partner Keith McRae said the company saw a `jewel of an opportunity` in
a retail development on the Squiala land because of its easy access to
the Trans-Canada Highway to catch the eye of shoppers from Hope and
Merritt heading to the `big box` stores in Abbotsford.
He
also said there was a `pent up demand` for retail space on land not
tied up in the agricultural reserve to justify a 600,000-square foot
development, making Eagle Landing the largest unenclosed shopping
centre in the Lower Mainland. In comparison, the Cottonwood Mall is
234,000 square feet.
But without the Evans Road flyover
and city council`s far-sighted purchase of a road right-of-way up to
the Squiala land, the development would likely not have gone ahead for
lack of access.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/fraser_valley/theprogress/news/112518559.html
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
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Opinion: Some right, some wrong in B.C.'s business taxes
In some ways, B.C. businesses are doing well on the tax front; in other ways, not so much.
So it's worth considering what governments get right when it comes to business taxes, and what they get wrong.
To keep this column focused, let's set aside two key aspects of the total tax load -- whether governments spend efficiently, and whether they spend on the right things. These questions matter, but they're so complicated and contentious they're best left for another day.
So let's just look how taxes are assessed and distributed. Do they fall on the wrong shoulders or at the worst possible time? Do they undermine a healthy economy or foster it? Are they fair?
Certainly the picture is changing.
Read the full article here.
In some ways, B.C. businesses are doing well on the tax front; in other ways, not so much.
So it's worth considering what governments get right when it comes to business taxes, and what they get wrong.
To keep this column focused, let's set aside two key aspects of the total tax load -- whether governments spend efficiently, and whether they spend on the right things. These questions matter, but they're so complicated and contentious they're best left for another day.
So let's just look how taxes are assessed and distributed. Do they fall on the wrong shoulders or at the worst possible time? Do they undermine a healthy economy or foster it? Are they fair?
Certainly the picture is changing.
Read the full article here.