- Business in Vancouver

The first of B.C.'s three forestry majors released third quarter financial results Thursday that confirm an "unprecedented" surge in lumber prices this summer that has reversed some of financial losses in the latter part of 2019 and earlier part of 2020. Canfor Corp. (TSX:CFP) reports operating […]

The run-up in the number of newly discovered COVID-19 cases in B.C. continued October 22, with 274 infections identified in the past 24 hours, provincial health officer Bonnie Henry told media.  This is the fourth record-high number of daily cases in the past six days, and it puts the average […]

B.C. politicians shouldn’t dodge human rights issues in China, particularly if they want to continue engaging with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) following this Saturday’s provincial election. That’s the position of MP Garnett Genuis, Canada’s opposition critic for […]

Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor The ever-eloquent Josh Marshall on how the chaos and criminality of the Trump era has undermined our capacity for shock: “The sad truth is that we’ve gotten used to this – the casual law-breaking and bad acts, the aping of foreign […]

What happened: New survey results show impacts of pandemic on B.C. workers Why it matters: As B.C. moves into the cooler months, the impacts may become more pronounced Just as the pandemic is fraying much of the economy, it also appears to be fraying the nerves of British Columbians in the […]

Statistics Canada data shows that the legal cannabis sector in B.C. is putting down roots, as consumers spent a record high of more than $36.5 million on that industry’s products in the month of August. This is the eighth straight month of record sales for legal cannabis, and it is more than […]

Weddings, funerals and social gatherings – not the province's general election – are behind B.C.'s second wave of COVID-19, said BC NDP leader John Horgan. "I'm confident British Columbians should be safe, confident and secure going to vote," Horgan said on Thursday. The […]

Raincoast Trading, one of the last remaining fish canneries in B.C., has received a sustainability stamp of approval from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for all of its products. MSC certification is the world's most recognized label for certifying seafood as sustainably caught. […]

The Tsilhqot’in First Nation, which battled the B.C. government in court for years to win rights and title to traditional territory, are throwing their support behind John Horgan’s NDP in the provincial election. The Tsilhqot’in National Government has announced its formal […]

What happened: Report reveals B.C.’s broad film sector spent $4.1b last year Why it matters: Much of the B.C. film industry was put into stasis mode in 2020 at outset of pandemic A new report is shining the spotlight on B.C.’s entertainment economy, estimating the film, TV, visual […]

In November 2018, the United States reached a milestone in the adoption of environmentally friendly transportation, as the one millionth electric vehicle hit the road in the country. At the time, Canada was home to almost 100,000 electric car owners. With several jurisdictions establishing lines […]

China is committing acts of genocide against Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims in the autonomous region of XinJiang, a House of Commons subcommittee on international human rights has declared. On Wednesday, members of the non-partisan subcommittee issued a statement that said, after studying the […]

A plan by Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) to unlock the real estate values of its vast property holdings could run into dramatic price differences among its holdings in Western Canada. On October 19, the venerable retailer, founded in Canada in 1670, announced it had formed HBC Properties and […]

The spread of COVID-19 has never been more prevalent in B.C., as the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) confirmed 203 new cases in the past 24 hours, on October 21. This is the third record high number of cases in a day in the past five days. The BCCDC identified a record 172 cases of the […]

Semiahmoo First Nation Chief Harley Chappell says a new police force in Surrey can provide a blank slate for a new Indigenous policing strategy. The recently minted Surrey Police Board, to which Chappell is a member, announced October 15 it has approved the development of an “indigenization […]

Candidates from all major B.C. political parties have said that they support ending the province’s “worker security verification” system, which usually includes criminal-record checks and other probing into the lives of people who want to work at legal cannabis stores. No such […]

B.C.’s 2019 workplace death rate matched a record high of 203 set six years ago, with two thirds of those accepted as WorkSafeBC claims at a cost of almost $1.34 billion, a jump of $113 million. The rate dropped in 2015 but has crept back up as the number of injuries increased year over […]

See the event page here: Join Business in Vancouver online as the three major political parties debate their policies for the British Columbian economy. Over 90 minutes they'll be questioned by BIV journalists on their ideas for pandemic relief, for resources and the environment, and for spending […]

B.C.’s election day is on Saturday, but half the ballots may have been cast already. Nearly 800,000 ballots had been received by Elections B.C. as of late Monday through in-person voting at advance polls and mail-in votes. More mail-in ballots are in transit ­ in the postal system and […]

A woman who had previously received a removal order from Canada has defrauded three B.C. residents – two in Richmond and one in Vancouver – of $3 million dollars, the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) alleges. Meiyun Zhang convinced two of the individuals to invest in her […]

Vancouver city council has approved a supervised drug injection site downtown and further directed staff to work with health providers and police to find other locations for sites across the city where data shows the greatest risk of overdoses. Council’s decision Tuesday allows Vancouver […]

Seven months into the COVID-19 crisis, a growing number of companies are looking for ways to adjust their benefit packages to help support employees in the unprecedented uncertainty created by the pandemic. Now that more is known about COVID-19 and the initial panic sparked by the virus has […]

B.C.’s labour market performance was surprisingly strong in September, with employment up 2.3% or 54,800 persons. This followed a 0.6% gain in August and outpaced the national increase of 2.1%. With the latest gain, the gap from pre-pandemic February employment narrowed to 3.7% or fewer than […]

The BC NDP remains silent on whether or not it will continue to support the further encroachment of China’s Belt and Road Initiative into British Columbia, if elected. “The B.C. government regularly works with foreign countries, including China, when it comes to trade and industries […]

The number of new COVID-19 cases in B.C. remains as high as it has ever been, with an ominous 666 new cases in the past four days – a record for that stretch of time. In just the past 24 hours, the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control identified 167 new cases – with almost […]

The B.C. Liberal Party says it will work with the province’s information and privacy commissioner to strengthen laws and continue a review of those laws halted by the election call. Commissioner Michael McEvoy has made multiple recommendations to improve B.C.’s Freedom of Information […]

What happened: CEO Kevin Desmond set to leave TransLink Why it matters: The job move comes as the transit authority still grapples with impacts of COVID-19 The head of TransLink is planning to make a departure from the regional transit authority in early in 2021. Kevin Desmond, who joined […]

B.C. drug overdose deaths in September decreased 15% compared with August but were 112% higher than September 2019, the BC Coroners Service said Oct. 20. There were 127 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths in September, compared with 60 for the month last year and 150 this August. That […]

Turmoil erupted at a Surrey city council meeting Monday night after Mayor Doug McCallum ejected an advocate of the RCMP from the chamber for violating speaking rules.   Ivan Scott, coordinator of the Keep the RCMP in Surrey group, which opposes the ongoing transition to the Surrey Police […]

Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau, who has done most of her campaigning on Vancouver Island, made a whistle-stop Tuesday in the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky riding – one she thinks could go Green in the October 24 provincial election. Meanwhile,New Democrats have been campaigning heavily in […]

More Canadians are reporting isolation and loneliness as the country heads into winter and the threat of more social and economic restrictions from a second surge of COVID-19 cases looms, an Angus Reid Institute (ARI) poll shows. “As Canadians have become more isolated, many are voicing […]

COVID-19 is transforming the way Canadians use their identity documents and how they prioritize accessing services digitally. According to a new survey from Interac Corp., three in four Canadians (75 per cent) say government services should be accessible online instead of in-person, with […]

Vancouver’s downtown office sector has seen sublease space increase by 347 per cent this year, pushing the vacancy rate from 4.2 per cent in the second quarter to 5.7 per cent as of the third quarter, according to a survey by JLL Canada. In comparison, Metro Vancouver’s suburban office […]

A group of B.C. doctors and dentists – the same group that previously petitioned the provincial government to adopt a mandatory face-mask policy in August – has put its support behind a Vancouver city councillor’s proposal to make masks mandatory in civic facilities. Masks4Canada […]

With businesses and public institutions more reliant on technology than ever, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of good cyber security, which will be the focus of an upcoming panel providing advice to prevent breaches. Paul Armitage, a partner at Gowling WLG’s Vancouver office […]

The competing parties in B.C.’s 2020 election offer voters contrasting choices as to whether the government should give money back to British Columbians during the pandemic – and if so, how much. One issue voters will decide is the preferred strategy for a revitalized economy, and […]

British Columbia's talented craft brewers have been busy capturing the flavours of the season, perfect for your next can, bottle, or glass of the sudsy stuff. You can taste your way around the province this fall thanks to the BC Ale Trail's picks for some awesome autumnal examples of delicious […]

COVID-19 health restrictions have severely hampered the business operations of Metro Vancouver’s sports teams, but Canucks Sports & Entertainment is finding part of the solution – in charity and community service. Since March 10, Vancouver’s NHL franchise has seen its […]

B.C. is in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said at her daily pandemic press conference Monday.  In addition to announcing a total of 327 new cases and two new deaths between Sunday and Monday, bringing the total number of cases so far in […]

Fraser Health Public Health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at J&L Beef Ltd., a meat processing facility, after finding evidence of COVID-19 transmission among staff working at this location. To date, 13 employees of the facility have tested positive for COVID-19. Fraser Health said in a […]

Liquefied natural gas will either be a major economic boon for the Canadian economy, or a dud, depending on which recent report you favour. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) on Monday published a report responding to an earlier economic analysis by the […]

The industry-funded organization responsible for containing and cleaning up oil spills in B.C. has signed an agreement with the Sc’ianew (Beecher Bay) First Nation to build a new spill response base on Vancouver Island. The Western Canada Marine Response (WCMRC) is spending $150 million on […]

Following massive job losses in March and April, the number of people working in the province has been rebounding for five months now, punctuated by a healthy 55,000 jump in September. True, employment is still nearly 100,000 below the level in February. But at one point almost 400,000 workers had […]

There are many more questions to consider prior to casting your 2020 ballot than space permits here. But overriding them all should be the same one raised when Premier John Horgan sprung a snap election on the province’s electorate and his BC NDP adversaries: why? The province’s […]

British Columbians will be uncertain about the full result of the October 24 election for weeks afterward because so many voters are choosing to vote by mail. As of October 16, approximately 717,000 voters have requested vote-by-mail packages, and 177,000 of those packages had been returned to […]

Over the past couple of years, Research Co. and Glacier Media have looked at the issue of discrimination in B.C. We learned that 20% of women in the province felt they were treated unfairly at work because of their gender. A similar proportion of residents who described themselves as non-European […]

In the lead-up to B.C.’s October 24 election, BIV sat down with BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau, BC NDP Leader John Horgan and BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson in a virtual Q&A to gather their thoughts on some of the most pressing economic issues facing the province and […]

The following is a list of stock trades made by corporate executives, directors and other company insiders of B.C.’s public companies filed in the week ended October 15, 2020. The information comes from a compilation of required reports filed with the BC Securities Commission obtained from […]

Despite the global economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19, mergers and acquisitions continue on. But one aspect the pandemic has highlighted is the need for excellent legal counsel for business transactions. The law firm of Richards Buell Sutton LLP (RBS), with offices in Vancouver and […]