MEDIA RELEASE October 29, 2020
Kelowna Chamber Celebrates Policy Wins
Kelowna: At the conclusion of the two-day Canadian Chamber Policy Resolution Debates based in Ottawa, the Kelowna Chamber chalked up two big wins for local business interests on the national stage. Limited to presenting two policies, the Chamber saw both its policies adopted at the virtual symposium. “Hydrogen and Hydrail: A Real Advancement in the Transportation Sector” touts the bold vision of moving to the pilot and retail stage in the use of hydrogen as fuel source in the transportation industry.
“We appreciate the federal government has expressed a long-term vision for tapping into the potential of hydrogen powered automobiles but we were calling on the Government of Canada to accelerate the investment in research and development now so that 2050 goals might actually be met”, says Dan Rogers, Kelowna Chamber Executive Director. Discussion on the potential use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source has been occurring for some time in the Okanagan mostly around the concept of a region wide hydrail – rapid transit system.
A second policy, “Transport Canada Civil Aviation: Addressing the Need to Speed up STCs & TSOs” took a local manufacturing problem and garnered 100% adoption. “Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) and Technical Standard Orders (TSOs) sounds complex,” said Dan Rogers, Executive Director of the Chamber. “But believe me, not getting new products certified in a timely manner is a multi-million dollar headache for many Canadian businesses.” Transport Canada’s current approach to certifying product and services used in the aerospace industry can be extremely time consuming and at times, can give US companies an unfair advantage by allowing them to apply and receive certifications quicker than in some regions of Canada all because of the current operational practice by Transport Canada.
Kelowna’s Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing’s CEO Brian Wall was elated at the news: “An incredible advancement for Canadian Aerospace companies, especially in the Western Region. When given the opportunity to work with our local Chamber in addressing policy issues at the Federal level, we’re now able to advance our STC and TSO applications allowing for quicker certifications while retaining the expertise and credibility Canadian Aerospace Manufacturers are known for around the World.
We are very appreciative of our Kelowna Chamber in driving this change on behalf of Aerospace Companies across Canada.”
Now that the Kelowna policies were adopted by the Canadian Chamber, the next step is using the power of the Canadian Chamber’s national influence to convince the federal government and its agencies to make the changes recommended.
“Policy is a core strength of the Kelowna Chamber,” said Jeffrey Robinson, Chamber President. “This week’s session highlighted our Chamber’s abilities and wraps up our 2020 policy year, just as the cycle begins again with a Policy Forum for members in December to seek new challenges that need research and advocacy in 2021.”
Publication of all final policies is expected shortly at www.chamber.ca.
For video links to three Chamber reactions to the outcomes, click: https://bit.ly/3e9sVxf
For more information
Dan Rogers
Executive Director, Kelowna Chamber
dan@kelownachamber.org
250-469-7356