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Budget Highlights
- Business Support
- An average 25% reduction in commercial property taxes in 2020
- $10 million to increase value-added manufacturing in BC by supporting small- and medium-sized businesses to make their products more accessible to customers and an additional $6 million in grants for businesses to help strengthen BC’s supply chain
- $44 million for Launch Online, connecting businesses with BC technology companies to create or improve their e-commerce and provide digital marketing training to help businesses boost their online sales
- An ongoing PST exemption on capital investments in select equipment and machinery to help businesses pivot or upgrade operations with an anticipated 110,000 incorporated BC businesses eligible; exemptions on select machinery and equipment supports in 2021-22 estimated to be $235 million
- $500 million over three years for the “InBC Strategic Investment Fund” which will attract and anchor high-growth businesses and help local firms scale and grow
- $71 million towards wholesale pricing for hospitality licensees
- $150 million towards the Increased Employment Incentive Tax Credit
- $195 million towards the Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant
- $806 million for ongoing supports for businesses in 2021-22, including:
- Childcare Support
- Over $2.2 billion in childcare funding over 3 years
- Support for the creation of 400 new spaces for children of Indigenous families and the ability of 2000 more families to access supportive childhood development programs
- Increase the wages for 11,000 licensed early childhood educators by $4 an hour
- Doubling the number of $10-a-day childcare spaces and increasing the early childhood educator wage enhancement to $4 an hour
- $233 million invested in the New Spaces Fund over 3 years to create an additional 2,500 – 3,000 spaces per year and improve access to ECE training by adding 110 more post-secondary seats in B.C
- Health
- $4 billion in new funding over 3 years, including $3.1 billion to improve the quality of health and mental health care for people, and $900 million in 2021-22 allocated for pandemic response.
- $585 million over 3 years to hire new health care workers to build capacity
- $500 million over 3 years to expand and improve mental health and addictions services and respond to overdose crisis
- $748 million over 3 years to expand urgent and primary care centres and reduce wait times for surgeries and diagnostic services
- Transportation
- $11 million to implement free transit for youth aged 12 and under.
- $7.5 billion in transportation capital investments to maintain the flow of people and goods to support BC’s economy, such as the George Massey Tunnel replacement and planning for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain
- $3.5 billion more in capital spending thank Budget 2020 for projects in the healthcare, education, and transportation sectors
- Employment and Skills Training
- $96 million over three years for skills training to build health sector capacity
- $33 million in 2021-22 for student and youth employment initiatives
- $500 million over 3 years in financing for InBC to attract and anchor high growth business, talent, and good jobs in BC
- $6 million to support work-integrated learning placements for 3,000 students
- $4 million for short-term skills training programs to support training more workers for in-demand sectors
- $15 million in incentives to hire students for tech-enabled jobs.
- $32 million to continue training launched through the StrongerBC Economic Recovery Plan, including:
- $17 million to partner with Indigenous communities and organizations to expand access to skills training
- $5 million to expand micro-credential training for people looking to retrain and pursue new careers
- $10 million for work-integrated learning opportunities and short-term skills training
- Tourism
- $100 million to support tourism and anchor attractions, plus $20 million more for grants that will help communities prepare for future visitors through new tourism infrastructure
- Affordable Housing
- As part of the 10-year Homes for BC strategy’s $7 billion, Budget 2021 will add $2 billion to expand the Housing Hub program, a division of BC Housing, to facilitate the creation of 9,000 units of rental housing and homeownership options over the next three to five years, which will help increase the supply of affordable housing middle-income households
- Greater funding for non-profit housing providers and $1.6 billion in capital investments over the fiscal plan
- Agriculture
- $7 million to expand BC’s food hub network and support farm innovation and food processing
- $35 million to support B.C. farmers in safely accessing and accommodating temporary foreign workers to support crop harvesting
- Communications Technology
- Investments of $40 million per year over 3 years to provide reliable high-speed broadband to rural, remote, and Indigenous communities and unlock opportunities for businesses to better access local, regional, and global markets
- Education
- $3.5 billion in capital investments over the fiscal plan to expand, replace, maintain, or renovate schools in communities across the province
- New funding to support post-secondary education, including new spaces to build training capacity in the health care sector
- Environment and Green Technology
- $130 million for zero emissions vehicle incentives, electric charging stations, technological development and electrification of school buses, ferries and government fleets
- $60 million to support the development and commercialization of clean technology in B.C
- $96 million for the CleanBC Program for Industry to reduce emissions, further expand British Columbia’s clean tech sector and support global competitiveness in the clean economy
- $10 million over three years to develop policy on reducing the carbon intensity of fuel and develop the hydrogen economy
- Business Support
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Budget Highlights
- $101.4 billion over three years in proposed investments as part of the government's plan to create jobs and support economic recovery, which proposes to extend business and income support measures through to the fall and to make investments to create jobs and help businesses across the economy.
- The reduction of the federal debt as a share of the economy and the unwinding of COVID-19-related deficits, with the federal deficit projected to decline to $154.7 billion in 2021-22 despite an increase in the federal debt this year.
- The proposing of the new Canada Recovery Hiring Program, which would aim to offset a portion of the extra costs that eligible employers take on as they reopen.
- Future investments for improvements in child care offerings, including reaching an average of $10 a day by 2025-26 for all regulated child care spaces country-wide. annual growth in quality affordable child care spaces across the country, and progress in improving and expanding before- and after-school care
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For a list of upcoming town halls, Chamber Chats and webinars from the Chamber, our members and partners, visit the Chamber's Event Calendar.
In case you missed one of our virtual events, they are recorded for your convenience. If you follow this link you will also find useful recorded webinars, online events, and virtual interviews.
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As a member of the Chamber, you are eligible to join the Chambers Plan, Canada's leading group benefit plan for firms with 1-50 employees. If your business is currently enrolled, you have access to Teladoc® telemedicine service, allowing employees to consult with a physician by phone* or video conference, within an hour, from anywhere in Canada or the United States. Should you or your employees have additional questions in relation to your benefits, submitting a claim, please contact the Customer Service Centre at 1-800-665-3365.
For businesses who receive insurance via the Chambers Plan, the team behind the plan is offering the following credits, retroactive to April 1st, to your May billing.
- Dental: 50% premium reduction adjustment
- Extended Health: 10% premium reduction adjustment
For inquiries:- Teladoc: click here
- General inquries or to enroll in the ChambersPlan: click here
