Thank you for supporting the Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce! This WEEKLY email highlights information and updates from our Chamber, the Alberta and Canadian Chambers of Commerce, and our municipal, provincial, and federal government partners.
Be sure to watch for our weekly Member Marketplace newsletter on Thursdays featuring sales, promotions, accomplishments, events, and general awareness of our membership. Email tom@gpchamber.com for info.
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CHAMBER COFFEE BREAK
The next Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce Chamber Coffee Break for members is THIS FRIDAY, April 9 at 10:00 AM.
These virtual networking events take place every second Friday and offer an opportunity for our members to meet or reconnect online.
The informal event is intended to be a light-hearted discussion including ice-breaker introductions, questions of the day, and current news topics of interest.
For more information, contact our office by phone at 780-532-5340 or email cindy@gpchamber.com. |
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Federal Budget 2021 Webinar – Tax Considerations for Business Owners
The Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce invites you to join MNP for highlights of the 2021 Federal Budget on Tuesday, April 20 at 11:00 AM.
As provinces navigate lockdowns and the roll-out of vaccines nationwide, this year's budget is one of the most widely anticipated and important budgets of our time. This discussion will provide business owners further insight to understand, prepare and navigate the proposed changes. This is the first Federal Budget tabled since the October 2019 Federal Election.
There is no cost to participate but registration is required to receive the Zoom link.
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Alberta’s Future: A Virtual Conversation with Rachel Notley
Our province is in the midst of a generational economic shift as we face the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we look ahead to the post-pandemic recovery, it’s time for Albertans to come together to overcome the economic challenges we face as a province. On Tuesday, April 27 at 12:00 PM, join Rachel Notley for a conversation about how we can create a new economic strategy and build a more resilient and diversified economy in Grande Prairie and across the province.
No cost to participate but registration is required to receive the Zoom link.
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Contact our office for more information on the Partnership Plan:
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The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce is offering the Edmonton Trade Accelerator Program (TAP) to businesses in Grande Prairie. TAP familiarizes participants with exporting resources to support the development of a customized export plan with the mentorship of industry experts.
More than 60% of Edmonton graduates are actively exporting to international markets and have experienced an average revenue growth of 24% one year after completing the program. Over $1.7 billion in export revenue has been generated nation wide by TAP graduates one year post-graduation.
We are in the process of recruiting candidates for the Grande Prairie session starting on May 10. If your company is interested in joining the program, we highly encourage you to apply today as registration closes April 26.
If you have any questions, please reach out to John Gerum at the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce at jgerum@edmontonchamber.com or 780.409.2128. You can also visit the Edmonton TAP website which lists the eligibility criteria as well as alternate dates at www.edmontonchamber.com/TAP.
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County of Grande Prairie Business Support Network
presents Todd Hirsch: Four Economic Rules to Unlearn - and what it means for Alberta in 2021
Please join the County of Grande Prairie Business Support Network on May 4, 2021 for guest speaker, Todd Hirsch, Vice-President and Chief Economist for ATB, as he talks about Four Economic Rules to Unlearn... and what it means for Alberta in 2021. REGISTER HERE
As with most things in life, economic dogma is full of "truths" that many of us accept unconditionally. But as we move through the pandemic, some of our old ways of thinking about the economy need to be challenged. What does this mean for Alberta in the second half of 2021? And what can we expect next?
CGPBSN partners: Community Futures Grande Prairie, County of Grande Prairie, Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce, Grande Prairie Regional College, Grande Prairie Regional Tourism, Peace Wapiti School Division, TLR Enterprises, Western Cree Tribal Council.
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Pilot Project - Service Excellence Blue Pin Program
The County of Grande Prairie Business Support Network is excited to offer a brand-new customer service certification program through Grande Prairie Regional College.
Customer service in your business is a major factor in keeping loyal staff who enjoy their work. During these exception economic times, having the staff who excel at customer service may mean the difference between keeping repeat customers and closing the doors on your business.
The Service Excellence Blue Pin Certificate is an employee retention strategy that focuses on training and customer service skills to front line professionals, management and supervisory staff. Providing the tools to your staff to provide exceptional customer service helps your workforce perform as a team and give awesome experiences to customers.
Participants will receive a certificate and lapel pin to signify completion of this program and participating businesses will receive door signage showing involvement in this customer service excellence program.
Funding for 100 participants (75 front line, 25 managerial/supervisory) is available through the County of Grande Prairie Business Support Network (BSN) for Employers looking to certify their Front Line and/or Management Staff and for unemployed or underemployed Albertans looking to further enhance their customer service career opportunities by completing the entire Customer Service Excellence Blue Pin program.
Funding for the certification program is made possible by grant funding from Alberta Labour and Immigration and the Destination Marketing Fund.
Please note that in an effort to support businesses of all sizes, larger organizations may be limited to the number of employees eligible for funding.
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Save The Date:
Tourism Webinar in partnership with ATB and MNP
April 22, 2021 @ 3 pm MDT
Join us on April 22 at 3 pm MDT for an Alberta Chambers of Commerce-hosted Tourism Webinar, presented in partnership with ATB and MNP.
With economic uncertainty continuing in Alberta, ATB and MNP have partnered to create a comprehensive content series aimed at deepening insights around the challenges and opportunities of post-pandemic recovery first discussed at The Alberta Economic Recovery Summit.
This ACC-hosted webinar will focus on Alberta's tourism sector and will feature a panel of industry experts. More details to follow!
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Available now: new measures in the ESB Program
The Energy Savings for Business (ESB) Program has released new measures eligible for incentives. These new measures will give businesses more opportunities to take advantage of the program, install more efficient equipment, and reduce emissions.
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Vexxit Webinar Recording
Thank you to everyone who attended our webinar and Q&A event with Vexxit on March 24. The webinar recording is available here.
Learn more about entitlement when claiming the CEWS or CERS funds.
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CPA Canada SMB Webinar Series
CPA Canada has developed a webinar series to provide small businesses with the necessary information and resources to recover from the effects of COVID-19.
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Webinar invitation: GST/HST registration
What you need to know if you provide taxable goods and services
The Canada Revenue Agency is hosting a free webinar to help businesses determine when and how to register for a GST/HST account. Topics to be discussed in the webinar include:
- what GST/HST is
- provincial and territorial GST/HST rates
- who needs to have a GST/HST account and how to get one
- taxable supplies
- GST/HST obligations
- GST/HST returns, filing deadlines, and payments due dates
This webinar is for you if you’re a:
- business owner
- self-employed individual
The webinar is on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, at 8:00 AM in French (Register now) and at 11:00 AM in English (Register now)
You’re also invited to submit your questions about GST/HST registration before the webinar takes place. To do so, please visit the registration website on Monday, April 19, 2021, between 6:00 am EST and 8:00 pm EDT. We’ll answer as many questions as we can during the webinar.
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Building a Stronger Workforce Campaign
The Canadian Association for Supported Employment (CASE) has launched Building a Stronger Workforce focused on opening minds, increasing knowledge, dispelling myths and cultivating interest among employers to make their workplaces more accessible and hire persons with disabilities.
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OHS Code review engagement: Minister Copping
Minister of Labour and Immigration Jason Copping issued a statement on the public engagement for the Occupational Health and Safety Code (OHS Code) review. Albertans are encouraged provide their input through an online survey, which is open until May 10.
New resources:
Updated resources:
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Engaging with Albertans on a modern coal policy
Alberta has appointed an independent committee to lead a comprehensive public engagement to inform the development of a modern coal policy. Albertans are invited to share their thoughts in an initial survey. The survey is available online and will be open until April 19.
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Free webinars offered by Employment Standards
Webinar Dates & Times:
Wednesday, April 7: 1:30 – 2:30 PM
- General overview of employment standards in Alberta
Wednesday, April 14: 10 – 11 AM
- Overview of employment standards, with a focus on general holiday pay changes, and vacation pay
Each webinar includes a live Q&A chat session to give participants a chance to ask questions to employment standards education specialists.
If you are unable to attend a live webinar, you can find recorded webinars online.
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COVID-19 updates and improvements poster
Service Canada has updated its general poster, which has been updated with changes to the CRB, CRCB, and CRSB.
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Industry Advisory Roundtable on COVID-19 Testing Recommends Self-testing
The Industry Advisory Roundtable on COVID-19 Testing, Screening, Tracing and Data Management has released a second report. This report reiterates the importance of task shifting to enable the use of rapid tests to screen for COVID-19 in workplace settings. Rapid screening helps with the quick isolation of positive COVID-19 cases to keep the rest of the workplace safe and support economic recovery.
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IR4: Beyond Paris: Greening Canada’s Transportation Technology
Webinar | April 7 | 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET | Virtual
Canada has long been a leader in the global fight against climate change. Nowhere is this more evident than in its transportation sector. Whether it's planes, trains or automobiles, each has a significant role to play in meeting not only Canadian environmental objectives, but global targets as well. Industry has and continues to demonstrate leadership in ensuring a clean future for people around the world.
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Facebook: Supporting Vaccine Rollout Is Critical for Canada’s Economic Recovery
We won’t see true recovery until vaccines are widely accessible and it’s clear we need to act quickly and we need to get this right. Challenged by limited vaccine supply, the next critical step for Canadians and our economy is to amplify public health messages encouraging vaccine acceptance. The business community has an important role to play.
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Email info@gpchamber.com|Phone 780-532-5340 | Fax 780-532-2926
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