The Kelowna Chamber hosted a visiting delegation of BC’s NDP ministers a few hours before hosting 150 guests at their 120th birthday party Thursday evening.

“The brief meeting gave us a chance to air some pressing issues for Kelowna,” said Derek Gratz, past president of the Chamber. “We asked the owners/operators of Evil Genius Tattoo to come tell their story: how the business is impacted by the increasing crime, addiction, and mental health emergencies engulfing the city. Donavan and Shandell Moore made a powerful plea for treatment, and creation of exclusion zones to remove chronic offenders from areas where they repeatedly break the law.”

Visiting were: Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth; Nina Kreiger, Minister of Public Safety & Solicitor General; Terry Yung, Minister of State for Community Safety; and Parliamentary Secretary Steve Morrisette, Rural Development. Following the Chamber meeting, members of the Downtown Kelowna Association took the group on a walking tour of crime-impacted businesses on Bernard Avenue.

“We also had questions about the Vintage Cap Replacement Program, difficulties with which we’ve heard a lot about from our local wineries,” Gratz said. “Another major issue for the majority of our one thousand business members is the October 1 expansion of the PST to a new range of services, notably accounting and security, which is having wide-ranging ‘tax on tax’ effects.”

Director Binny Boparai-Gill, co-founder of Farming Karma Fruit Co spoke to the ministers about the water restrictions, now up to Stage 2 for orchards in Kelowna and Stage 3 in Vernon. She highlighted the multi-million-dollar damage that lack of water on fruit trees will cause, and how the valley fruit industry would be set back years unless alternate water solutions could be found. Mr. Kahlon promised to connect Ms. Boparai-Gill with Minister Lana Popham, Agriculture & Food Minister.

Crime, however, took the spotlight. “We’ve hosted Minister Terry Yung before, and he has heard our recommendations to deal with street crime: most recently, captured in a policy for the BC Chamber which passed with a 95% vote, proving it is province-wide concern,” Gratz said.”

Derek Gratz, Past President, Kelowna Chamber accepts the provincial proclamation of the Chamber's 120th anniversary from Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs & Economic Growth June 11, 2026 

The visiting delegation also brought a proclamation noting the Chamber’s 120th birthday, signed by Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia. “It was timely to host this delegation from Victoria,” Gratz concluded. “We always appreciate being recognized for our value to the business community, and it made our birthday a bit more special.”

 

From left: Steve Morrisette, Nina Krieger, Maxine De Hart, Kristian de Pont, Manik Dhir, Ravi Kahlon, Derek Gratz, George Greenwood, Binny Boparai-Gill, Terry Yung with Proclamation

 

Proclamation from the Province of B.C., signed by The Hon. Niki Sharma, Attorney General & Deputy Premier, and The Hon. Wendy Cocchia, Lieutenant Governor