Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce / Bruce Williams, Chief Executive Officer - Registration - Organization - Lobbyists Registry - Office of the Registrar or Lobbying of BC

Registration versions:

This version of the registration was submitted prior to the Lobbying Transparency Act coming into force on May 4, 2020. Due to different information requirements at that time, the registration is presented in the following format.

Registration ID: 7398853
Submitted by lobbyist on: October 18, 2011 11:05:48 AM
Accepted by Registrar on: November 9, 2011 01:51:01 PM

Designated Filer Information

Name: Carter, Bruce

Contact Information: 100 - 852 Fort Street
Victoria, BC, V8W 1H8	250-383-7191
Canada

Organization Information

Name: Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce

Business Activities:

The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce was formed in 1863, only two years after the City of Victoria was founded and has played a significant role in the Victoria region ever since. Over the years the Chamber has initiated or been involved with so many of the developments in the region's business community including encouraging Canadian Pacific to build the landmark Empress Hotel, to establishing both the Victoria Film Commission and Tourism Victoria, which first started as committees of the Chamber. Today, with a membership of more than 1,500 members, the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce is the second largest of the 131 chambers in the Province of BC. Our membership reflects the diversity of the business community. We represent the interests of small, medium and large businesses across all sectors as well as members from the not-for-profit sector. Reflective of the character of businesses in Greater Victoria, approximately 60% of our membership is from organizations with 5 employees or less and the majority of the remainder has less than 50 employees.

Contact Information: 100 - 852 Fort Street
Victoria, BC, V8W 1H8	250-383-7191
Canada

Relevant Affiliates

The client has no relevant affiliates.

Government or Government Agency Funding

The organization does not receive any funding from a government or government agency.

Other Controlling or Directing Interests

The organization has no other controlling or directing interests.

Active Registration Period

Registration start date: October 18, 2011
Registration end date: May 17, 2012

Organization's In-House Lobbyists

Name:

Angus, Matthew Alexander

Start Date: October 18, 2011

Inactivation Date:

May 31, 2012

BC Public Office Background

This individual has not held any public office positions in BC.

Lobbying Activities

Small Business

Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy or decision

Stable Funding for Tourism ¿ Chamber is supporting tourism and calling for the implementation of a predictable performance-based funding model for the provincial and regional marketing organizations (PDMO) and (RDMO) to be protected within legislation and not subject to regular budgeting appropriations. Municipal Auditor General ¿ Chamber supports the Premier¿s call for a Municipal Auditor General¿s office. ¿ Chamber is distressed by the size and excessive rate of growth in the municipal tax burden ¿ Impartial - What has been lacking is an unbiased, independent office that will review all issues in an impartial way that has a mandate of empowering communities in a manner that embraces and enhances the provincial interest ¿ Transparent ¿ one of the key benefits of this office will be to provide information and transparency at the local level ¿ Credible ¿ by definition being an arm of the BC Auditor General lends a degree of credibility that will be critical in dealing with complex and controversial topics regarding local government and their role. ¿ Value for Money Audits (VFM) - We feel that a primary benefit of a municipal auditor general¿s office would be provision of such services in a manner that is consistent amongst all provincial municipalities and local governments. Foreign Convention and Tour Incentive Program (FCTIP) ¿ The restructuring of the value added tax rebate program in 2007 is not reaping the intended results ¿ In fact, tourism operators in the US in particular are simply pricing in the HST cost to their customers as the new rebate system in too onerous on for their administration ¿ This makes tourism product in Canada less competitive ¿ Chamber calling for a restructuring of the FCTIP program to eliminate the excessive administrative burden on tour operators and so that it reintroduces individual rebates. Airport Extension ¿ Need to continue to advocate for federal partnership in funding the extension to Victoria International Airport ¿ This $41.2 million project will add will add another $37 million dollars to Greater Victoria¿s economy annually.

Target Contacts

Target Type	Name	Title or Constituency	Date Added
Minister	Bell, Pat	Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation	October 18, 2011
Minister	Bond, Shirley	Minister of Attorney General	October 18, 2011
Minister	Bond, Shirley	Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General	October 18, 2011
Minister	Cadieux, Stephanie	Minister of Social Development	October 18, 2011
Minister	Chong, Ida	Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development	October 18, 2011
Minister	Clark, Christy	Premier	October 18, 2011
Minister	Coleman, Rich	Minister Responsible for Housing	October 18, 2011
Minister	Falcon, Kevin	Minister of Finance	October 18, 2011
Minister	Lee, Richard	Parl. Sec. for Asia-Pacific to the Min. of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation	October 18, 2011
Minister	Lekstrom, Blair	Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure	October 18, 2011
Minister	Les, John	Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier	October 18, 2011
Minister	Stilwell, Moira	Parl. Sec. for Indust, Research & Innov. to the Min. of Jobs, Tour. & Innov.	October 18, 2011
Minister	Yap, John	Parliamentary Secretary for Clean Technology to the Minister of Energy and Mines	October 18, 2011