Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

business improvement areas of bc

BIA BC bringing concerns around community safety, employment development to provincial ministers

Jan 10, 2025 | 5:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — Now into 2025, provincial ministers are settling into their files and the Business Improvement Areas of BC has been quick to schedule meetings with the government to discuss ongoing problems with public safety and labour shortages.

BIA BC represents 55,000 businesses across the province and recently met with the provincial government to underline ongoing community safety concerns from the business sector. Specifically, those concerns include criminal justice, social service development and some of the negative trickle-down effects on business operators.

“We also identified that we are still seeking some reforms on criminal justice reforms, bail provisions and prolific offenders,” notes BIA BC President Jeremy Heighton. “These are not issues that are endemic only to Kamloops. These are issues we see in Nanaimo, downtown Victoria and downtown Vancouver. We’ve had a number of stories out of Downtown Vancouver recently. This is a province-wide issue that really needs to be addresesd by the incoming government.”

The next provincial meeting is scheduled for later this month with BC Minister of Jobs Diana Gibson to discuss skill development and how it relates to employment stability, as Heighton says many businesses have been struggling to maintain staff or fill job vacancies.

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“We’ll be talking about sick leave. We’ll be talking about the sick leave provision and employers. We’ll be talking about skilled employment and the immigration reform changes that have been made federally and how we balance some of these really skilled people,” he explains. “We’re going to talk about moving skilled people into accreditation at a more rapid pace to allow us to have doctors practicing medicine rather than driving cabs.”

Heighton says that meeting is set for January 23.