April has felt political, from the shifting messages around DRIPA from the province - which look like settling down - to watching the federal government move from a de facto majority to a real majority in which the Speaker’s vote needn’t be invoked to break a tie.
Both moves signal a bit more stability so that governments can get on with the business of governing.
April is also a busy policy writing and submission and review month for Chambers; ours is no exception. We’ve written a policy on crime to submit provincially, through our Okanagan Business Advocacy Council (OBAC), and nationally, directly to the Canadian Chamber. The negative impact of street crime on small businesses throughout our province is staggering, and certainly when coupled with current economic challenges, is a leading cause of businesses closing their doors.
The Crime Policy’s recommendations include fully staffing the justice system; and creating a special ‘crime zone’ for businesses to access tax reductions to cover security costs, property damage, staff training and loss of insurance deductibles.
Tied closely to our crime policy is another we strongly support: “Recognizing Brain Injury as a Workforce Participation and Productivity Issue.” Sounds simple, but for years, some drug treatment policies have fed the problem, not mitigated it. There are bills in train federally: Bill C-206 “An Act to establish a national strategy on brain injuries” and provincially, an amendment to existing legislation, M242 “Mental Health (Brain Injury) Amendment Act 2026”.
Oxygen deprivation and toxic chemicals are two leading causes of brain injury in 2026. Dr. Daniel Vigo, B.C.’s chief scientific advisor for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders, has criticized how harm reduction policies have been implemented.
“The way it was implemented was completely blind to the fact that for people with severe mental illness, harm reduction is not harm reduction, but harm enhancement,” says Vigo.
Revelstoke’s policy – which OBAC fully supports – mirrors the advocacy work we’ve done locally with BrainTrust Canada’s Amanda McFarlane. Treatment of significantly brain injured individuals would alleviate some of the street crime issues our businesses confront daily.
The new PST expansion continues to resonate with our businesses, following our Townhall presentation on March 24th. The government at this point hasn’t shown any signs of blinking before the October 1 implementation deadline. Our members continue to modify inhouse software to manage the changes, not an inexpensive process.
Another issue we are hearing about is multi-employee (up to 500 per trade) procurement for major projects in small and mid-size population centres. If a large infrastructure project is approved outside a major centre, requirements from the managing contractor for large sub-contractors (electric, plumbing, steel fabrication) can shut out local providers before they even have a chance to bid. We’re looking at whether “pre-qualifying” could assist some of our smaller contractors and suppliers, rather than having 100% of the trades parachuted in to larger projects.
What’s up with housing? Well, rental inventory is hotter than ownership sales. And SFH housing continues to be desirable but on the unaffordable side. We’re in favour of cutting DCCs – development cost charges – back to a more manageable level to reduce the non-construction cost on every new home, condo, townhouse, housing unit – as one way to help affordability. Meanwhile, Kelowna continues to attract new residents and struggles to offer them the housing they want.
Talking about housing, we are also working on a policy which would increase energy supply: natural gas, electricity – for housing – for the ever-expanding airport – for commercial and industrial and for local infrastructure projects. Again, we developed our policy through OBAC to submit provincially – under the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce’s name – and directly to the Canadian Chamber, as impact of energy shortages on development is a national issue as well. We’re inviting Bryan Detchou, The Canadian Chamber’s Senior Director of Natural Resources, Environment and Sustainability to visit our Chamber and our members to talk on the subject with us.
Bryan has expressed his interest in coming out to Kelowna from Ottawa, where he is being recognized as a 2026 Emerging Leader at the Public Policy Forum’s Testimonial Dinner May 7. It would be a timely visit as the whole country refocuses on natural resources, energy security and sustainable growth. We’ll let you know if we succeed in getting this information powerhouse to Kelowna.
A change in metal tariffs on Canadian manufactured “derivative” goods made of steel, aluminum and copper is having severe negative impacts on Canadian manufacturers as of April 6. The change which applies to nearly all countries is expected to drop the sale of Canadian-made goods by nearly 100% in many cases. Manufacturers are turning to Canadian and offshore markets. The increase “is not sustainable” says the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. Applying the tariff to the entire of the good is having negative impact on American manufacturers who now can’t afford to import Canadian- and foreign-made metal derivative component parts. Parts made entirely of metal remain at a 50% tariff rate. Changes to the new policy are anticipated, but meanwhile, many companies’ survival isn’t a sure thing.
Should we talk immigration, and unemployment? Nancy Healey, Canada’s Commissioner for Employers, continues to look for a new path that combines sensible immigration with the best outcomes for Canada’s businesses and agricultural industry. We are signatories to her project “Reimagining Immigration” along with numerous business associations and chambers across the country. Our chamber is partnering with the Thunder Bay chamber on a new national policy aimed at recommendations for the federal government to make innovative policy changes to benefit business.
B.C.’s unemployment rose again in March, losing 19,000 jobs – 6.7% unemployment in the province now, the highest level since 2016 discounting the pandemic period. Canada overall added 14,000 jobs in March. And the national unemployment rate is 6.7%, unchanged from the previous month.
In Kelowna, unemployment continues to rise. We were at 6% in early January but have shot up to 8.9% as of April 10. These numbers mean no LMIAs (Labour Market Impact Assessment applications) will be processed – too much local unemployment that needs to be absorbed. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/refusal.html#h2.2.3 This leads to uncertainty for employers looking for minimum wage employees in the hospitality and home care industries; there is separate anxiety around the SAWP (Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program): will we have the numbers we need for our fingers-crossed abundant orchard harvests. Check the government websites for the current stringent advertising and reporting requirements.
Short term rentals? News as of April 17 - the province granted the exemption Kelowna has been seeking to increase STRs as of June 1, given Kelowna's vacancy rate in excess of 3% for two years running. Good news for summer tourism, summer events, flexibility for visiting friends and relatives. City Hall is ready with a number of in-place policies for individual home owners to apply for their license. The province and Kelowna's mayor acknowledged the positive improvement in the number of available homes in the long-term rental market. The Housing Minister also noted overall changes being made in the regulations which mirror the timeline just announced for Kelowna, making municipal planning more reactive to vacancy rates, and seasonal demand across the province.
All as we prepare for the final policy stretch to the BC Chamber and Canadian Chamber policy conferences in June and October.
If something is keeping you up at night, let us know. We may not be able to fix it, but we can help shine a light on the issue with appropriate regulatory bodies. cmiller@kelownachamber.org