BC Economic Fundamentals 2008-11

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1108BCBC
Tourism seeks help overseas

Canada has taken its search for new talent to Europe, and B.C.`s tourism industry is hopping on for the ride.

A job fair planned for France, Belgium and Germany later this month called Destination Canada 2008 will feature delegations from every province and a variety of industries in search of manpower.

The hospitality industry in this province, starving for people at all levels despite the economic slowdown, is getting in on the act with employers and recruiting agencies making the trip overseas.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...90-c60cfad49544

 

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1108VANC
City of Vancouver allegedly makes secret $100M loan to Olympic developer

Vision Vancouver mayoral hopeful Gregor Robertson Thursday called for an emergency council session to allow public debate on reports the city will loan $100 million to developers of the troubled Olympic Village.

He also challenged Coun. Peter Ladner, mayoral candidate for the Non-Partisan Association, to spill what he knows about the deal, apparently made at an in-camera meeting on Oct. 14.

Ladner is chairman of the city`s finance committee.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...13-b3244d9ee806

 

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1108VANC
City rethinks Granville Bridge exits

Vancouver city hall plans to take a hard look at redesigning the exits on the north end of the Granville Street Bridge early next year.

The aim would be to remove some of the traffic loops that create "dead space" underneath the bridge, city planner Karen Hoese said.

Removing the loops would allow the city to extend its street-grid system into the area south of Drake between Howe and Seymour streets.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...63-574f678d78d9

 

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1108VANC
Proposed rooftop restaurant riles Yaletown condo dwellers

Tempers may be short tonight at Vancouver city hall when a public hearing resumes over a Yaletown rezoning that would allow a proposed 250-seat open-air rooftop restaurant in the middle of residences.

Trilogy Yaletown Development Corp. wants to build the restaurant-bar atop the seven-storey Opus Hotel at 322 Davie St., in spite of opposition from residents concerned about noise, privacy, traffic and parking.

The public hearing began Tuesday, when 30 of a scheduled 140 speakers were heard. There will likely be a third meeting next week.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...35-a0e3a45fbc4a

 

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1108BCBC
Inside the `Silicon Valley of the north`

VANCOUVER - What`s the link between Canada, paper-clips and Nokia`s newest cellphone?

Simple, the new Nokia N96, a multimedia camera phone on steroids, doesn`t need a paper-clip to stand upright -- it comes with its own flip stand.

And that`s because it was Nokia`s Canadian designers and engineers who noticed users poking paper clips into previous models to prop them up for movie watching -- not a good idea.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...b4-fe005796d7ae

 

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1108BCBC
B.C. hit hardest by downturn

VANCOUVER -- More than 8,000 jobs disappeared in British Columbia in October - the most lost in any province - pushing up B.C.`s unemployment rate to 5.1 per cent from 4.6 per cent a month earlier. In sectors from forestry to construction, people were pushed out of work by a weakening economy. They included 6,500 construction workers.

Political and business leaders, however, pointed out the job market is still tight and the jobless figure is less than the national rate of 6.2 per cent.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ritishColumbia/

 

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1108VICT
Victoria has lowest jobless rate

Greater Victoria continues to have the lowest unemployment rate among major urban centres in Canada.

Despite the economic downturn, help wanted signs are still plentiful in the region. And that has helped to keep Statistics Canada`s seasonally adjusted three-month moving average unemployment rate steady at 3.2 per cent in October, the same as September.

Ken Stratford, Business Victoria CEO, said he had expected Victoria`s unemployment rate to rise last month.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...92-8db277638e3c

 

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1108VICT
Water rates to jump four per cent in `09

Greater Victoria water bills are going up again.

After a 20 per cent increase last year, most Capital Regional District homeowners can expect their water bill to increase about $12.50 a year -- an increase of about four per cent. Victoria homeowners can also expect an increase of about $23.22 in their annual sewer costs.

The typical commercial user will see an increase of about $480 a year in water costs and $540 in sewer.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...00-f219348eab31

 

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1108VICT
Jobs abound in transportation

Despite the current economic woes, jobs are waiting in Greater Victoria`s transportation sector, where service expansion, company growth and retiring baby boomers are creating a number of openings.

A wide range of available positions was on display at a career fair this week in Saanich, where a dozen employers looked to lure attendees to the transportation industry.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...16-8ce4af065446

 

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1108VANC
City protected in village deal, officials say

Only a third of the units in the Olympic athletes village housing development have been sold, but Vancouver officials remain confident that city taxpayers will not be left exposed because of rising construction costs on the $1.1- billion project.

Several new details emerged Friday about the complicated financing arrangements behind the 1,100-unit project that is at the centre of a political firestorm.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...66-1441e87cd287

 

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1108BCBC
Assessment freeze more apt to hurt than help

Gordon Campbell`s decision to freeze B.C. property assessments at the 2007 level will mean a six- or seven-figure windfall for owners of high-end office and commercial properties.

For everyone else, it`s a crap shoot with loaded dice. The odds of not losing at least a few bucks, and maybe your shirt, are nil if you`re a developer, poor if you own a business in a second-best location, and worse than at a casino if you own a home.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...98-e0a18caef830

 

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BC Small Town Updates: 2008-11-09

 

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1108BCBC
Value of Canada`s oilsands pegged at $1.5 trillion

OTTAWA -- The wealth in Canada`s oilsands, even taking into account the recent plunge in world oil prices, is nearly $1.5 trillion, more than four times the $342 billion officially estimated by Statistics Canada, argues a Canadian think-tank in a report released today.

That works out to an $34,591 increase in the wealth of Canadians to $243,950 for every man, woman and child, according to the analysis by the Canadian Centre for the Study of Living Standards.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...f3-19482d83a935

 

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1108VICT
Towers could rise to 21 storeys: application

Two proposed Vic West hilltop condominium towers will have less impact on their neighbours` views if they`re built thinner but substantially taller, Victoria councillors have been told.

In a move supported by city planning staff, Ken Mariash`s Bayview Properties wants to increase the approved height of two proposed condos on Saghalie Road to 17 storeys from 11 and 21 storeys from 13. The two towers would be 57.5 and 68 metres tall, respectively.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...bd-1241fe51f8f0

 

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1108VANC
Tenants to fight evictions to the last

Tenants of a West End apartment have been told they must vacate their suites by Dec. 1 so the building can undergo renovations.

But the tenants are vowing to use every legal means to fight the evictions.

"This is extremely stressful. All the tenants want to stay in their homes," said Christine Brandt, a longtime resident of the Seafield building in the 1400-block Pendrell Street. "It will be over our dead bodies that we will allow this to happen."

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...3f-32ea8c6ccd81

 

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1108VANC
Memo to next mayor: Leave the real estate game to the moguls

It`s awfully tempting to swallow the don`t-worry, be-happy line coming out of Vancouver City Hall about its gamble on the $1.2-billion Olympic Village. Don`t buy it just yet, though.

The don`t-worry theory holds that even if everything goes sideways, and the City of Vancouver is forced into the position of taking over the project, the taxpayers are safe because they get to retain a prized piece of real estate.

How could we lose?

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...d5-18b11ead4ca1

 

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1108VICT
Council halts Rogers` renovation plans

Victoria council has imposed a 60-day stop-work order on any renovation of Rogers` Chocolates` Government Street store while it drafts a bylaw to designate the shop`s interior a heritage site.

City councillors met in an emergency session yesterday after Rogers` gave 48 hours` notice Friday that it planned to resume interior renovations to expand the store`s retail space. The result of the session was a 60-day temporary order of protection while the city investigates heritage designation and potential compensation.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...9d-5b9beadd8544

 

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1108VICT
UVic shares top spot in magazine`s annual rankings

The University of Victoria has again excelled in the national rankings of Canadian universities published annually in Maclean`s magazine, sharing the top spot among comprehensive universities.

The 18th edition of the annual poll will be in the magazine that hits newsstands on Thursday.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...5a-9efcfb45df0d

 

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1108BCBC
100% mortgage financing `still around`

VANCOUVER -- The federal government officially closed the door on no-money-down mortgages Oct. 15, although exceptions do remain that allow buyers to effectively finance 100 per cent of a home purchase.

Federal finance officials announced the changes in July, to take effect Oct. 15, banning 100-per-cent mortgages and loans with 40-year payouts calling it "a responsible and measured approach," to "reduce the risk of a U.S.-style housing bubble" in Canada.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...ce-982cb3cafa86

 

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1108VICT
City home construction slides

New home construction in Greater Victoria has slid by 17 per cent this year and B.C. is forecast to see the largest drop in average housing prices among provinces in 2009, according to separate reports released yesterday.

The Canadian Real Estate Association predicts a 7.8 per cent decline of average house prices in B.C. to $416,100 next year. It also predicts the number of sales in the province will fall by 11.7 per cent to 64,700 in 2009.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...1c-311046813f36