Campbell River, BC News

Chamber of Commerce poses questions for all-candidates business forum


Campbell River Chamber of Commerce is pleased to host an All Candidates Business Forum for the Citizens of Campbell River to hear the candidates’ views on important issues in Campbell River. The forum takes place on Wednesday night October 26th at 5:30 p.m. at the Tidemark Theatre.

Candidates will be asked to address questions received and prepared in advance by the Chamber of Commerce. There will also be an open forum segment where questions for the Mayoralty Candidates will be taken from the floor.

The All Candidates Business Forum will be conducted in a business professional context and facilitated through an independent moderator who will be responsible to read the questions as stated and ensure the candidates’ response times to those questions are conducted within the allotted timeframe.

Candidates for Council will be presented at 5:30 and will each have one minute for opening statements and one minute to answer one of 9 prepared questions from the Chamber. There will be a short intermission at approximately 6:20 and the Candidates for Mayor will take the stage. Mayoralty Candidates will have 2 minutes each for introductory statements and 1 minute each to answer prepared questions from the Chamber. At approximately 7:45, the forum will be opened to questions from the floor for Mayoralty Candidates. Those who wish to ask questions from the floor will be given a ticket number at the door and tickets will be drawn to determine question opportunities as time permits. Those drawn to ask a question, will have 30 seconds to pose their question which must related to Campbell River’s business environment. Candidates will also have 1 minute each for closing statements.

Candidates’ are also being given an opportunity to respond to the Chamber’s questions in writing and these responses will be posted on our website at www.campbellriverchamber.ca by November 4th so residents can see the full range of candidates’ responses

The Chamber is posing the following questions to Municipal Candidates for Mayor and Council:

1. Many of our Chamber members tell us City Hall’s development permitting process is too onerous, too lengthy and that development cost charges (DCCs) are too high.

What will you do to make the development permitting process more entrepreneur-friendly and to make DCCs more affordable?

2. Overwhelmingly our Chamber members say creating a “business friendly” environment should be the city’s top priority.

What will you do to ensure that everyone at City Hall embraces a customer service mentality, makes interactions with existing and prospective businesses more positive and productive and encourage investment in Campbell River?

3. Our community has experienced difficult times requiring residents and businesses to make hard decisions to keep up. Municipalities need to address spending that has grown faster than taxpayers can afford.

What will you do to ensure that municipal tax increases and spending are within our means?

4. Major infrastructure projects need to be considered when budgeting every year to ensure money is set aside for the future. As well, budgetary and service decisions must protect our quality of life within a sustainable level of taxation.

What will you do to sustain and improve our quality of life while also budgeting for future infrastructure investments?

5. The community is best served when there is open dialogue with City Hall. Citizens must be able to readily understand the decisions taken on their behalf. The Chamber encourages transparency regarding the resolution of issues before council and the voting record of individual councillors.

What steps will you take to support transparent, accountable and understandable communication of municipal business?

6. In the goal of business retention and growth there is wide-spread agreement that revitalizing the city core and areas such as Campbelton needs to be a higher priority.

How will you support taxation incentives as well as infrastructure upgrades to encourage new businesses to locate in priority areas and invest in the refurbishment of vacant and under-utilized properties?

7. There is growing concern that the Vancouver Island Health Authority does not share the city’s belief that the proposed new hospital is critical to the future development and well-being of the community.

What will you do to ensure the new hospital project goes ahead and retains, at a minimum, our current level of service and acute care?

8. A BC-appointed Municipal Auditor General has the potential to redefine the relationship between local governments and taxpayers. The Auditor will provide the support municipalities require to maintain transparent accounting practices, prudent spending and efficient service delivery.

How will you maximize the benefits of a Municipal Auditor General to deliver the highest level of fiscal accountability on behalf of taxpayers?

9. Effective economic development should include strong economic development strategies and policies and a sustained, concerted effort to promote the standard of living and economic health of Campbell River through development of human capital, critical infrastructure, regional competitiveness, environmental sustainability and other related initiatives

How will you support and ensure accountable and effective economic development?



Election Day is Saturday November 19th – be informed and be sure to vote.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL:
Colleen Evans, Executive Director
250-287-4513 (office) or 250-204-5100 (cell)
colleen.evans@campbellriverchamber.ca