Bold action needed to help B.C. businesses survive COVID-19: board of trade

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade has launched a recovery plan to help businesses survive COVID-19, urging the province to help them restart, retrain and retool.

The board is also urging governments to avoid implementing measures that add administrative burden, red tape, or costs to struggling companies.

The board wants to create better investment conditions in B.C. going forward and money directed to support businesses. That includes creating a working capital grant to help struggling businesses, as well as one for entrepreneurs just starting out.

It also wants more support for childcare and housing, and improvements to regional infrastructure.

“Bold vision is required to help businesses not only survive but to emerge more resilient and competitive. With the right actions, I am confident that we will not only overcome these economic challenges, but also make necessary progress on broader societal issues,” Bridgitte Anderson, president and CEO of the board of trade, says in a release.

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“To realize a full and resilient recovery, the government must act now with immediate measures that get people to work and lay the foundation for a strong economic future.”

The plan, already submitted to the provincial government, has three pillars: helping businesses survive; transforming the region; and investing in the future.

Certain sectors, especially ones that have broader economic impacts, will require tailored plans so that they can get back to work, says the plan.

“We must approach economic recovery efforts with the same determination as the public health emergency,” says Anderson. “As we deal with the challenges of today, we must also plan for the future so that we can emerge from this crisis as a more resilient and competitive region.”

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