Business

B.C. Municipal Affairs Minister Josie Osborne (B.C. government photo)

B.C. easing zoning requirements to speed up housing projects

Bylaw amendments may not require public hearings

A real estate sign is pictured in Vancouver, B.C., on June 12, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward

Parents are gifting increasingly large sums of money for kids’ down payments: CIBC

Average gift for first time homebuyers rose to $82,000 in 2020

A Tim Hortons employee hands over a coffee from a drive-through window to a customer in Mississauga, Ont., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Tale of two Tim Hortons: Suburban, rural locations busy, downtown restaurants empty

Tim Hortons’ sales are up, but continue to lag pre-pandemic highs amid…

B.C.’s greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise in recent years, and as of 2018 were 17% higher than 2007, the baseline year for the province’s carbon tax, mainly due to population growth. (B.C. government)

B.C. emissions, carbon tax keep rising as Ottawa rules catch up

Building, vehicle, fuel rules aim to bend emissions down

B.C.’s greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise in recent years, and as of 2018 were 17% higher than 2007, the baseline year for the province’s carbon tax, mainly due to population growth. (B.C. government)
Dawn Tam, RBC’s Regional Financial Planning Consultant for B.C., says that couples have two main stressors as they start planning their life together: planning weddings and managing finances together. (Mike Davies/Campbell River Mirror)

Money stress heightened for 68% of Canadian couples during the pandemic

RBC poll finds weddings, money management top stressors

  • Oct 25, 2021
Dawn Tam, RBC’s Regional Financial Planning Consultant for B.C., says that couples have two main stressors as they start planning their life together: planning weddings and managing finances together. (Mike Davies/Campbell River Mirror)
Credit cards are displayed in Montreal, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. If you haven’t shopped for a credit card in a while, you may see some unfamiliar names in the offerings. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Fintechs looking to break into credit card market dominated by big banks

Startups have to be creative with rewards because they can’t offer the big sign-up bonuses of the big banks

Credit cards are displayed in Montreal, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. If you haven’t shopped for a credit card in a while, you may see some unfamiliar names in the offerings. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Each year, less than one per cent of the area designated for sustainable timber harvesting by B.C.’s independent chief forester is harvested. (B.C. government photo)

Modernizing B.C. forests starts with up-to-date facts, industry says

30% of old forests on high-productivity sites, 75% off limits

Each year, less than one per cent of the area designated for sustainable timber harvesting by B.C.’s independent chief forester is harvested. (B.C. government photo)
B.C. Forests Minister Katrine Conroy is leading an overhaul of the B.C.’s Crown forest management. (Hansard TV)

B.C. begins forest management overhaul to increase Indigenous participation

Province reasserting control over Crown forests, minister says

B.C. Forests Minister Katrine Conroy is leading an overhaul of the B.C.’s Crown forest management. (Hansard TV)
Balsam Hill Outlet retail manager Kelly Bratt, right, talks with sales associate Rickey Haynes during on-the-job training in Allen, Texas, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Retailers, restaurants and others are grappling with increasing demands in the last few months from hourly workers for more flexible schedules, going beyond  a better salary and  bonuses. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Workers fed up with nights, weekends seek flexible schedules

Hourly workers demanding scheduling terms that often used to be non-negotiable

Balsam Hill Outlet retail manager Kelly Bratt, right, talks with sales associate Rickey Haynes during on-the-job training in Allen, Texas, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Retailers, restaurants and others are grappling with increasing demands in the last few months from hourly workers for more flexible schedules, going beyond  a better salary and  bonuses. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
A costumed trick or treater turns after being given candy during Halloween celebrations in Toronto, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Supply shortage woes have Halloween shops scrambling for stock

COVID fears, supply chain issues making scary sales hard to come by

A costumed trick or treater turns after being given candy during Halloween celebrations in Toronto, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Citizens Services Minister Lisa Beare speaks in the B.C. legislature, June 2021. (Hansard TV)

B.C.’s $25 information access fee ‘modest,’ to speed up service

Frequent filers slowing public access, Minister Lisa Beare says

Citizens Services Minister Lisa Beare speaks in the B.C. legislature, June 2021. (Hansard TV)
Langford developers have contributed to the city’s affordable housing fund with every rezoning request over the last five years. (Black Press Media file photo)

B.C. city promising select new homeowners up to 75% of their down payment

The city has earmarked $3 million in grants to help 250 families buy homes

Langford developers have contributed to the city’s affordable housing fund with every rezoning request over the last five years. (Black Press Media file photo)
A compactor works at the Vancouver landfill in Delta. (City of Vancouver)

B.C., Vancouver to expand natural gas capture from Delta landfill

Province matches city’s $4.28 million methane project

A compactor works at the Vancouver landfill in Delta. (City of Vancouver)
A flare stack lights the sky from the Imperial Oil refinery in Edmonton on December 28, 2018. Environment groups in Canada say governments and the oil and gas industry can no longer pretend there is an economic case for expanding oil production after the latest international energy forecast suggests demand for Canada’s oil will fall before the end of this decade. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

International Energy Agency forecasts decline in Canadian oil demand coming

Agency says only scenario where world hits Paris agreement goal to minimize global warming is net-zero plan

A flare stack lights the sky from the Imperial Oil refinery in Edmonton on December 28, 2018. Environment groups in Canada say governments and the oil and gas industry can no longer pretend there is an economic case for expanding oil production after the latest international energy forecast suggests demand for Canada’s oil will fall before the end of this decade. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Kim Lysak, assistant chief flight instructor with Aurora Aviation Academy flies over Chilliwack on Sept. 9, 2021. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)

B.C. flight school expanding amid a global pilot shortage

COVID has decimated the industry but Aurora Aviation sees opportunity on the horizon

Kim Lysak, assistant chief flight instructor with Aurora Aviation Academy flies over Chilliwack on Sept. 9, 2021. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
Carbon Engineering’s pilot project at Squamish B.C. began in 2018, extracting carbon dioxide from air to convert to liquid fuel. Huron Clean Energy is building a similar facility with the Upper Nicola Band at Merritt B.C. (Carbon Engineering photo)

B.C. government puts $2M toward carbon capture fuel plant at Merritt

Upper Nicola Band partners in hydrogen fuel conversion plant

Carbon Engineering’s pilot project at Squamish B.C. began in 2018, extracting carbon dioxide from air to convert to liquid fuel. Huron Clean Energy is building a similar facility with the Upper Nicola Band at Merritt B.C. (Carbon Engineering photo)
Pruning fruit trees is one of the jobs where temporary foreign workers may be used. B.C. moves to a minimum working age of 16 as of Oct. 15, with exeptions for “light work” on farms such as hand harvesting. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

B.C.’s minimum working age going from 12 to 16 on Friday

Some recreation, farm, administrative, retail jobs allowed at 14

Pruning fruit trees is one of the jobs where temporary foreign workers may be used. B.C. moves to a minimum working age of 16 as of Oct. 15, with exeptions for “light work” on farms such as hand harvesting. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
Independent economists’ analysis of B.C.’s natural gas royalty program shows how decades of incentive programs have led to decreased royalties. (B.C. energy ministry)

B.C.’s biggest natural gas leak is revenue loss from Crown sales

Outdated incentives are ‘fossil fuel subsidies,’ minister admits

Independent economists’ analysis of B.C.’s natural gas royalty program shows how decades of incentive programs have led to decreased royalties. (B.C. energy ministry)
Venture capital firm “The51” founders Judy Fairburn, left, co-CEO and fund managing partner, and Shelley Kuipers co-CEO, general partner and growth officer, are shown in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Venture fund aims to unleash the power of female capital in the agri-tech space

Focus in on agriculture and food was made because of an ‘unprecedented economic opportunity’ in the space

Venture capital firm “The51” founders Judy Fairburn, left, co-CEO and fund managing partner, and Shelley Kuipers co-CEO, general partner and growth officer, are shown in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s minister of jobs, economic recovery and innovation, speaks at a restaurant in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. leads in job creation numbers, but more work ahead, says recovery minister

Kahlon says the provincial jobless rate has fallen below six per cent

Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s minister of jobs, economic recovery and innovation, speaks at a restaurant in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck