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BC Economic Fundamentals 2008-11

1108VANC
Lower Mainland`s shift to left a challenge for B.C. Liberals

VANCOUVER -- The weekend`s civic elections nudged the political balance in Metro Vancouver to the left, a shift that won`t be welcomed by the B.C.`s ruling Liberal government, Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan says.

"In the core of the region -- in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey -- there is now more of a centre-left tinge on councils across the board," Corrigan said yesterday.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...a4-f6ef2e1d2577
 
1108BCBC
Bad investments hurt condo owners

Owners of two B.C. condo complexes have lost substantial amounts from their reserve funds after making risky investments.

The strata councils -- one in Vancouver and the other in the Okanagan -- were lured by the prospect of high returns and now have to answer to condo owners about huge losses caused by the global financial meltdown.

In the Okanagan case, the strata council lost nearly $100,000 of the condo owners` contingency fund.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...85-0fc9b9423e50
 
1108VANC
Densification coming to West Vancouver: re-elected mayor

WEST VANCOUVER - Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, who was re-elected Saturday as West Vancouver`s mayor, would like to see a shift in thinking when it comes to the types of housing being built in the affluent municipality.

Instead of allowing more massive single-family homes to be built on the uplands and on existing properties throughout the community, Goldsmith-Jones favours the idea of new, multi-family dwellings and converted carriage houses.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...70-1e27dd605663
 
1108BCBC
B.C. gas patch poised for another boom

Drilling for natural gas and oil in British Columbia is expected to reach record levels of activity in 2009, in the wake of frenzied bidding for new gas exploration leases in 2008.

Two organizations that track the Canadian gas and oil drilling industry predict a drop in exploration and well development in Alberta, but forecast a major jump in activity in B.C.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...7a-45f6f04b35ae
 
1108BCBC
B.C. lumber headed to China

SHANGHAI -- British Columbia`s forests minister trumpeted the success of a lumber trade mission to China on Tuesday, after a group of Canada`s largest timber harvesters announced a surge in exports.

Pat Bell, who has led a delegation into the heart of China over recent days, said the companies on the delegation had in recent weeks secured 83 million board feet of new orders into a market that Canada has coveted for nearly a decade. He took the new business as a sign that the massive Chinese market is beginning to open to Canadian wood.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...43-306cc21af137
 
1108VICT
Commuter rail should be priority, all-party committee says

The Island`s E&N train tracks should be upgraded with a view to developing commuter rail service, the province`s all-party finance committee says.

In a budget priorities report released yesterday the select standing committee on finance, made up of Liberal and NDP MLAs, said the track project should be a capital spending priority.

Island mayors and commuter rail boosters are cheering the recommendation.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...5b-efb7459485d4
 
1108BCBC
B.C. second only to Alberta when it comes to online shopping

Residents of British Columbia are only slightly behind their oil-rich Alberta neighbours when it comes to shopping online, according to Statistics Canada figures released yesterday.

However, that could be changing as Alberta`s economy is hard hit by falling oil prices.

A Statistics Canada survey for 2007 showed 47 per cent of B.C. Internet users aged 16 and over bought online in 2007, compared to 50 per cent of Albertans and 44 per cent Canada-wide.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...92-4409aa6b389b
 
1108VICT
Langford to build its own stadium

The City of Langford is tired of waiting for a new sports stadium to be built at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre site, so it`s taking matters into its own hands.

Langford says it will build a $1.5-million, 1,600-seat covered grandstand of timber and river rock -- with dressing rooms, concessions and luxury boxes -- alongside a newly-installed $1.5-million turf field at City Centre Park on Langford Parkway.

Several teams have pledged to make the stadium their home base.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...85-d9b29df21d6d
 
1108BCBC
Telus issues cellphone warning

Telus issued an urgent warning to its customers last night to ignore a widespread e-mail that asks cellphone customers to submit their numbers for a do-not-call registry.

Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said the e-mail is "fraudulent and dangerous" and customers should not respond or forward it.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...13-d07c5da5ab61
 
1108VANC
$45m spinal-cord centre opens for research, care

The man who co-discovered what was to become the first diamond mine in Canada has given new hope to spinal-cord-injury patients.

The $45-million six-storey Blusson Spinal Cord Centre in Vancouver officially opened yesterday.

The centre is named for Dr. Stewart Blusson and his wife, Marilyn, who contributed $8.75 million through the Rick Hansen Foundation.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...6b-74d4d2688179
 
1108BCBC
B.C. resigned to real estate price declines

British Columbians have largely resigned themselves to the reality of declining real estate prices, according to two new polls.

And while they have come to grips with the idea that they are on the downslope of provincial real estate markets, that appears to be the pressure release many prospective buyers have been looking for.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...55-8a737a21e07d
 
1108BCBC
Proposed power line to Lower Mainland draws intense environmental scrutiny

The hunt for a route for a $725-million high-voltage power line to Metro Vancouver has begun in earnest, and it`s a massive effort.

The British Columbia Transmission Corp. announced this week that it has formally submitted its application for an environmental certificate for a 500-kilovolt transmission line along a 255-kilometre route between Merritt and Coquitlam.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...77-1544b64a28f3
 
1108BCBC
B.C. plans to boost spending as surplus shrinks

VICTORIA -- The provincial government plans to increase spending on a broad range of programs even though it expects a dramatic decline in its surplus, Finance Minister Colin Hansen said Wednesday.

"I`m very confident that in February, when I bring the budget down, you will still see more dollars spent on health care, education and social services in the next year and the year after then we`re seeing this year," Hansen said in an interview.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...63-30f45fc10dd1
 
1108VANC
Struggling GM still committed to Olympics

Financially battered General Motors says it remains fully committed to keeping its name on GM Place in Vancouver and staying on as a national partner of the 2010 Olympics.

GM Canada representative Stewart Low said Wednesday the struggling automaker clearly wants to cut costs now, but the two Vancouver-based sports partnerships are too important to eliminate.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...dd-57918ba0502f
 
1108BCBC
Forest sector CEOs warn against selective bailouts

Chief executive officers from 15 of the nation`s leading forest companies warned Ottawa Wednesday against bailing out the auto and aerospace sectors.

The CEOs, who have been struggling to survive a severe downturn in their own industry for the past two years, said in Vancouver that they don`t want to see public money going to bailouts for any failing industries.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...84-2c9ce239a1a2
 
1108BCBC
Optimism drops in B.C.`s small business sector: report

Small-business optimism is plummeting across the country and B.C. is among the most bearish provinces, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The latest Business Barometer survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business concluded that global economic turmoil has had a profound impact on the small and medium-sized business community across the country.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...b4-510aeb7813ca
 
1108BCBC
Liberals promise `relief` for British Columbians

The focus will be on the economy today as MLAs gather in Victoria for a five-day fall session.

The Liberal government is to introduce two bills.

One will reduce income taxes for individuals by five per cent, retroactive to Jan. 1. For small businesses, income tax will drop from 3.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, effective Dec. 1.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...9c-6d72206dff93
 
1108VICT
Mount Arrowsmith to get regional park status Nov. 26

Vancouver Island hikers and climbers are thrilled with news Mount Arrowsmith, near Port Alberni, will soon be preserved as a regional park.

A 10-year battle to save the land for future generations will culminate on Nov. 26, when the Regional District of Nanaimo board is expected to formally designate the land as an RDN park.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...2c-33ebdb13b866
 
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