Greetings from your CEO
February 2023
Dear Members,
Thanks to everyone who came out at our last breakfast meeting. Our President Dan MacDonald led a roundtable discussion with some great conversations around better infrastructure in place as the population increases -housing, doctors, transportation, creating certified training programs in West Prince to help with skilled labour shortages. Lobbying provincial and federal governments and Holland College to support certified training programs in West Prince. Members also voiced their concerns regarding price/wage inflation - supporting local sustainability and advocating to our young people to help them come up with new creative ideas.
The breakfast mixer scheduled for Feb. 22 has been cancelled. Our next member meeting will be on March 29. Register Now!
The speechcraft series will begin on March 9th along with a number of workplace skills sessions coming up in March.
The West Prince Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Workplace Learning PEI and Rural Community Learning Inc (Employment Resource Centres) to offer free workplace skills training. Employee retention is important to the growth of your organization. This a great opportunity to learn some tips to retain top talent and drive business outcomes. Please see the details on the poster below.
There is also a great article on Kildare Fisheries in the "Business in Focus" magazine. For anyone who exports it is a great opportunity to connect with this North American magazine and promote your brand/products.
Sincerely Yours,
Tammy Rix
Chief Executive Officer
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The Valentine’s Day mini-campaign
as part of Love Local, PEI kicks off
February 6-14. Valentines Day gift guides featuring seven locally owned and operated business across the Island is live on Love Local, PEI website: Check out the
links below
Earrings by Kate Clark
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Workplace Skills Sessions (FREE)
Could you benefit from better employee retention or becoming a stronger employee?
Communication in the Workplace, Wed. March 15
Problem-solving at work, Wed. April 12
Stress Management & work, Wed. May 17
Learning to be adaptable, Wed, June 14
Location: Alberton Employment Resource Centre (Vogue Optical Building)
Time: 9-12 PM
Cost: FREE
To register Contact Sharon Horne at 902-853-3715 or Jacob Robar at 902- 670-8622
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If you missed the webinar, you can listen to it HERE! If you have more questions give me a call and I will assist. If you want to review the full itinerary click HERE! If you are ready to book your trip to Ireland please contact Dhruv Raval, with Indus Travel.
Dhruv Raval
Business Development Manager
Exceptional Experiences!
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WIN A TRIP FOR 2 to IRELAND
The Chamber will be selling raffle tickets as part of our annual fundraising campaign. They should be ready in the next couple of weeks to purchase from a few local businesses. They will also be available from the board of directors and at the office. The draw date will be at the Awards Gala on April 20, 2023. Thanks for the support!
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The best space to lease in town of Tignish.
This is a brand new building known as the Dr. Gomez - Tignish Dental Clinic building. Available three units of 800 sqt/each
to be leased. Lease for a minimum of one year lease. These units are all at ground level and wheelchair accessible. Water
& sewer included in lease rate. Ask for extra espace arrangements if you need more/complete space. Estrategic location
with high traffic street in town and has high visibility to the public. Please contact Liliana Angulo at 902-882-2483.
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Here's the link to the current issue of Business in Focus:
The Kildare Fisheries story starts on page 20. There's several Atlantic Canadian stories in this edition. Hope you enjoy reading it!
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Do you have news or important information you would like to share with other members? Chamber E-News goes out monthly!
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Congratulations to Dr. Herb Dickieson, winner of the 2 Tickets to the Business Awards Gala for submitting a business nomination. Thanks to everyone who submitted! |
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Learning Management System |
Please click on the link to read the member letter. An opportunity to upskill your new and current staff.
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Membership Resources & Programs |
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Did you know our Chamber signs Certificates of Origin for export? This is one of our many member benefits.
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Have you taken advantage of our B2B Program? The Business 2 Business Member Benefit Program offers discounted prices to chamber members only. Call or email today to be a B2B Business Sponsor.
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B2B Programs helps promote its members and the services they offer. Support & promote our local economy, stimulate new business through increased exposure and word of mouth referals. You can also create new business contacts and leads to customers.
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Thank you Business Sponsors!
Your chamber membership belongs to your business and all of your employees! Both you and your staff/colleagues can take advantage of the events, benefits, and the B2B Program.
Need another discount card contact us today!
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Government Updates & Programs |
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Work-Sharing Program for Employers
As the Commissioner for Employers, it is my priority to support employers and I would like to draw your attention to the EI Work-Sharing Program as it may be beneficial for employers at this time.
Work-Sharing is an Employment Insurance (EI) Program that helps employers avoid layoffs during a temporary period of decreased business activity. Work-Sharing provides EI benefits to eligible employees who agree to reduce their normal working hours and share the available work with other employees. With this approach, employees continue to be paid for the reduced hours they work, while collecting EI benefits to help cover the work hours they lose.
Work-Sharing can benefit employers. By minimizing layoffs, the program allows employers to retain skilled workers and avoid additional recruitment or training costs to onboard new employees once business activity returns to normal levels.
Tourism Seasonal Extension Program
PEI tourism operators please check out the newly launched Tourism Seasonal Extension Program. The program, offered through CBDCs in partnership with Tourism PEI, provides tourism businesses with a non-repayable financial contribution (grant) toward eligible capital, and expenses to assist with seasonal extension. For full program information and to apply online check HERE.
PEI’s apartment vacancy rate dropped
from 1.5% in 2021 to 0.8% in 2022, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rental Market Survey.
- The data shows a 0.6% vacancy rate for Downtown Charlottetown in 2022. Stratford has a 1.5% vacancy rate. There was no data for 2022 for Cornwall.
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Vacancy rates on the Island hit their all-time bottom in 2018 at 0.3%
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In our meeting with the Province in December, as well as our 2023-24 Provincial Pre-Budget Submission, we called for the provincial government to reduce rental restrictions and work with developers to pursue a housing strategy that fosters the development, while directly supporting those who are experiencing housing challenges with alternative measures, in order to support housing supply growth and prevent the vacancy rate from worsening.
Residential Property Tax in PEI
For the second year in a row, the Residential Property Tax in PEI will increase by 5%. Under the Real Property Assessment Act, increases are tied to the rate of inflation. For 2022, the consumer price index was 7.7%. The annual increase caps at 5%.
Rural Transit Solutions FUND
Two streams: Capital Projects and Planning & Design. Webinars for applicants
The Rural Transit Solutions Fund targets the development of transit solutions in rural and remote communities. From on-demand services, to publicly-owned ride shares, and volunteer community car-pooling, funding will help rural, remote, and Indigenous communities develop and offer new public transit options. Local governments and non-profits are eligible. Register for an interactive webinar to learn about the process of developing and submitting an application. Find Applicant Guides HERE.
Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program: Federal
Deadline February 28, 2023, at 3 pm ET
Applications are being accepted for retrofits, repairs, and upgrades to community buildings, and the construction of new ones, under the second intake of the federal Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program. The program continues to accept applications for small and medium-sized projects to retrofit community buildings (total eligible costs $100,000 to $3 million).To learn more about the program and apply online check HERE.
Bank of Canada Rate
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Business Assistance Service, standard with Chambers Plan employee benefits. Access to professional accounting, counselling, legal and human resource experts who understand the challenges faced by small business owners. |
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Are you looking for real-time data and insights for real-time data and insights for companies of all sizes, sectors, and regions of the country? The Business Data Lab (BDL) provides future-focused data from a variety of sources to track evolving market conditions, providing Canadian businesses with critical information to help them make better decisions and improve their performance.
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Trusted, Engaged, Responsive, and in your Community! Refer a local business to join today!
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