BC Economic Fundamentals 2008-10

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1008BCBC
Read all relevant documents before buying a condo

Dear Condo Smarts: We bought an investment condo to rent in July.

We contacted the property manger and obtained a Form B and a Form F before we decided to go ahead with the purchase. At the time, our agent told us this was sufficient information and once we had a firm signed deal, we could get the minutes and financials and take our time reading them.

We rented our unit out on Sept. 1, and on Sept. 5, we received a bylaw violation notice from our strata council advising that rentals were not permitted in our building according to the bylaws filed in 2006, and that we must evict our tenant or face a fine of $500 per week until the tenant was evicted.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...f5-ba489d4dbdf8

 

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1008BCBC
Kootenays towns to gain from forestry agreement

The B.C. government approved Tuesday the removal of over 4,000 hectares of private lands from a provincially regulated tree farm licence in the Kootenays in exchange for $6 million in benefits to regional communities.

The Kootenays deal comes less than a year after a similar land deletion on Vancouver Island sparked widespread community protest because the government sought no compensation.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...f6-8ea2ee837910

 

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1008BCBC
Builder halts $1.4-billion Langford project

Construction and sales have stopped at the $1.4-billion Capella luxury housing development in Langford in the latest fallout from the global financial crisis.

Developer Robert Quigg characterized the move as a "suspension of work, not a get-out-of-Dodge situation."

Significant construction work had already begun on the eight-hectare site next to the Bear Mountain resort. Yesterday, Quigg said he expects construction won`t resume for at least a year, maybe two.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...c7-11e81f3203bd

 

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1008BCBC
Langford development hasn`t been sold: Barrie

Len Barrie wants to see the cheque.

The president and CEO of the Bear Mountain Master Partnership said yesterday that if his development has been sold, someone ought to show him the money -- something in the range of $400 million to $500 million.

"Every time I sell, I can never find the cheque," Barrie quipped, when asked about the persistent rumours he has sold the sprawling 500-hectare Bear Mountain development and its assets which straddle Langford and Highlands.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...3f-e152a8c17d8a

 

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1008VICT
Politicos fear tent cities in public parks

As tents began springing up in Beacon Hill Park, the region`s politicians worried yesterday that tent cities could become a reality in city parks.

Their frustration was with this week`s B.C. Supreme Court ruling permitting the homeless to camp in Victoria parks.

Oak Bay Mayor Christopher Causton said the ruling flies in the face of the public`s perception of law and order.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...ee-8ce51ec9bf00

 

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1008BCBC
Big drop in B.C. prices pulls down average cost of Canadian home prices across the country

Falling sales and declining prices in British Columbia`s high-priced Vancouver, Kelowna and Fraser Valley markets helped cut the national average home price by 6.2 per cent in September compared with the same month a year ago, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported Wednesday.

The average Canadian Multiple Listing Service-recorded home price this September was $315,461, compared with $336,321 in September 2007.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...21-875c1c0c7d49

 

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1008BCBC
B.C. Ferries to cut fuel surcharge in half by Nov. 3

People riding B.C. Ferries will get a bit of relief next month.

The company announced yesterday that it will cut its fuel surcharge in half by Nov. 3 to reflect dropping oil prices.

Ferries president David Hahn said the company has been in talks with Ferry Commissioner Martin Crilly for several weeks about lowering the surcharge.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...c1-61bb3d645512

 

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1008VICT
City hotels resort to rate cuts

Greater Victoria`s major hotels managed to keep their occupancy rates in August on par with the same month last year but their room rates and revenues declined.

"I think there was a bit of panic selling going on," tourism consultant Frank Bourree, of Chemistry Consulting, said yesterday.

August`s average rate slid to $168.46, from $176.14 in August 2007, a drop of 4.36 per cent.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...8d-5733e1eb3f17

 

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1008BCBC
B.C. sales of rights tops $2 billion

British Columbia`s revenue from oil and gas rights moved higher over the $2 billion mark this month, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Richard Neufeld announced yesterday.

The monthly auction of oil and gas rights, which took place earlier this week, brought in $151 million -- not a record, but still a very strong one-month performance by gas and oil exploration and development companies anxious to invest in B.C.`s gas patch.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...5e-de23126f709c

 

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1008BCBC
Second bomb attack hits northern B.C. natural gas pipelines

EDMONTON - RCMP are investigating what one politician is calling an act of terrorism after a bomb exploded on a sour gas pipeline in northern British Columbia, the second such incident to be discovered in the area in a week.

Police said they believed the attack was meant as a threat intended to drive oil and gas companies out of the area.

The attack came after letters demanding oil and gas companies leave the district were sent to area media organizations.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/s...69-b92512955396

 

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1008VICT
Subdivision needed to save farm, owner says

Ian Vantreight, operator of a long-running family farm on the Saanich Peninsula, wants to sacrifice a piece of his operation to save it.

Vantreight says turning about 32 acres of treed, non-arable land into a subdivision will make it possible for him to pay down debt and make improvements that will keep the 750-acre operation afloat.

But to make it happen, he needs approval from Central Saanich council, now embarking on an election campaign.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...46-43f4d9a7c7cd

 

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1008BCBC
B.C.`s economic challenges and prospects in 2009

The chaos that has gripped global financial markets since early September may be starting to ease, as governments around the world move to shore up wobbly banking systems and rejuvenate the flow of credit on which a well-functioning market economy depends.

Even so, British Columbia`s near-term economic prospects have dimmed. The global economy has been losing momentum for most of the past year, and the recent escalation of the financial crisis is likely to tip the United States, Western Europe and Japan into recessions. The latest International Monetary Fund forecast predicts that even if the financial crisis is resolved in a timely manner, the global economy will slow markedly, with the U.S. likely to record essentially no growth through the end of 2009.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...65-e44d680d6463

 

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BC Small Town Updates: 2008-10-19

 

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1008VICT
Trailer-park residents face eviction

Yet another group of mobile home owners is facing eviction as their park owner looks to redevelop.

Nineteen owners of mobile homes in the Seaview Mobile Home Park in downtown Sooke have received one-year notices to vacate from landlord Jeff Zigay. Another group of mobile home park residents from Pedder Bay recently lost their bid in court to block eviction.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...af-3d43845b6800

 

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1008BCBC
Vancouver firm finds niche in financing immigrant investors

Canadian financial institutions have found it notoriously difficult to make a splash in China: There are a few rep offices and corporate banking branches; there have been tiny stakes in obscure, regional names; there are insurance players who have joint-venture partners, but many complain about being shut out. The slog of it all has been daunting for even the biggest of Canadian names.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...5e-d8759cb80198

 

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1008VICT
Cowichan Valley commuters hop aboard

The Cowichan Valley commuter bus made its first trip from Duncan to Victoria yesterday morning.

Joanna Morton, spokeswoman for B.C. Transit, said that 39 commuters caught the bus, slightly fewer than the 45 monthly passes that have been sold through Transit`s website.

In total, six buses left the Cowichan Valley for Victoria over two routes numbered 66 and 99, covering Duncan, Cobble Hill, Mill Bay and Shawnigan Lake. The 41-passenger buses -- that run weekdays, leaving the Cowichan Valley in the mornings and returning from Victoria in the evenings -- can take up to 246 riders a day. B.C. Transit is forecasting 70,000 riders will use the system every year, with the buses running half-full.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...c5-55fdb7ee4eaa

 

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1008BCBC
Faster spending, no deficit is B.C. plan

VICTORIA -- Premier Gordon Campbell says he`s considering fast-tracking infrastructure spending to combat a slowing economy, but his government won`t rack up any deficits.

"What we`re calling for is that we should look at accelerating some of the potential capital projects as we move into what will likely be a slower construction market to make sure we keep people [in] work across the province," he said Monday.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...f7-4482b8cd7c1a

 

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1008BCBC
B.C. is in good shape to weather financial storm, report says

On the bright side of the current economic gloom, British Columbia is heading into a period of economic uncertainty with a provincial budget that is in good shape and an economy that is performing well, says the Institute of Chartered Accountants in B.C.

B.C.`s still-low unemployment rates, with competitively low tax rates and a business-friendly regulatory regime, will stand the province in good stead, Richard Rees, the ICABC`s CEO, said in an interview.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...d6-3d0cb606d8e0

 

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1008BCBC
B.C. Cheering Russian Lumber Tax

VANCOUVER -- Forest companies in British Columbia are seeing increased interest in their products from Asian countries that could soon be priced out of the Russian market thanks to a pending increase in its log export tax.

There is also hope the Russian tax, which will increase to 80% from 25% on Jan. 1, could help tighten supply and stop the downward spiral of lumber prices.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/Business/News/2...150816-sun.html

 

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1008BCBC
`Accelerate` building? Campbell`s got billions to shovel out faster

VICTORIA - Premier Gordon Campbell is planning to "accelerate" government-funded construction projects as a way to keep British Columbians working in the months ahead.

He`ll probably set out details this evening, as part of a promised state of the economy address from the provincial legislature buildings.

But the Campbell government is already in the midst of the most expensive publicly funded construction program in provincial history.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...ac-a00615078e14