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9/7/2012 12:30:44 PM
“We firmly believe today’s venture companies have the very real potential to become tomorrow’s leading businesses.” Board of Trade CEO Iain Black, pg. 3
THIS ISSUE Board of Trade celebrates Small Business Month · 3 New health committee · 4 Return to the PST/GST · 5 Strategies for the looming labour crunch · 6
October 2012 • VOLUME 52 • NUMBER 7
Dix addresses business community NDP leader pledges to raise corporate income taxes, focus on education and training, in first speech to Board of Trade By greg hoekstra
Building a new Ronald McDonald House · 7
Improving concentration levels in kids · 10 Creating a fresh start for new immigrants · 11 Outsourcing for small businesses · 14 Using social media for recruitment · 15 Exploring the generational gap in the workplace · 15 The value of reverse mentoring · 17 @boardoftrade /VancouverBoardofTrade
boardoftrade.com
BC NDP leader Adrian Dix gave his first official address to The Vancouver Board of Trade on Sept. 18, outlining his vision for the province’s economic future and how the local business community could be affected. The event, which was sponsored by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, drew a sold-out crowd of some of the city’s top business and industry leaders to the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. The speech also made headlines across B.C. and Canada, as many were eager to hear what the leader of the official opposition’s top priorities will be heading into next year’s election. Dix opened his speech by pledging that his party, if elected, would strive to be “a government that focuses on the fundamentals, focuses on the key things that government does to support society and support the economy.” He identified three specific challenges the NDP would tackle if chosen to form the next provincial government, including B.C.’s declining productivity, increasing social inequality, and the
Adrian Dix, Leader of the Official Opposition, speaks to Board of Trade members at a sold-out luncheon. Photo by Kim Stallknecht
need for greater environmental sustainability. On the first issue, Dix argued that Canada has been lagging behind in productivity on the world stage, and that B.C. has dropped to the bottom half of Canadian provinces in terms of productivity. This decline, he said, threatens our economy’s long-term viability. In order to address this problem, Dix said the number one priority of an NDP government would be education, skills and training. He said his government would work to build “ladders of opportunity” that would allow younger people – particularly those of lesser means – to access post-second-
ary education. To achieve this goal, Dix said he would reinstate nonrefundable, needs-based grants for post-secondary education. He also explained where the money for those grants would come from. “I’ve said how I’m going to pay for it – and this is challenging in this room – which is to reinstate the minimum tax on the banks, which was taken away in 2008,” he said. Dix said he believes there is also a growing disconnect between the taxes people pay and the services they get. In particular, he highlighted the carbon tax and said money collected through that tax should be
used to fund transportation and infrastructure initiatives – not corporate income tax cuts. Dix pledged that, if elected, he would roll back tax cuts associated with the carbon tax. Corporate income tax rates, he said, would be reinstated to 2008 levels. “It’s not easy to say that we’re going to raise taxes,” said Dix. “This is a reality of the times.” Dix added that it’s “essential” that voters know where all the parties stand on taxes before the election next May. Despite his disagreements with the current administration, Dix acknowledged that the government has made some good turn to page 5
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