Capital Report~January 15, 2010
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Premier Gordon Campbell and B.C. Aboriginal artists unveiled four First Nations-themed pieces of Coke Bottle Art that will be displayed at the B.C. Pavilion during the 2010 Games. The bottles will be auctioned off with proceeds supporting the Vancouver 2010 Aboriginal Youth Legacy Fund.

LESS THAN ONE MONTH AWAY FROM OLYMPIC GAMES

These Games are occurring at the perfect time for our communities, our people and our economy. The entire world will see the opportunities for tourism, trade and investment that exist here.

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REBATES MEAN NO TAX INCREASE FOR SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS

New provincial rebates proposed for qualifying schools, universities, public colleges and hospital authorities will ensure that, on average, these institutions pay no more tax when HST is implemented on July 1, 2010.

  • The partial rebates of the provincial portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) will ensure that, on average, these sectors will not pay any more provincial HST after harmonization than they currently pay in PST.
  • These rebates are in addition to the rebates previously announced for municipalities, charities and qualifying not-for-profit organizations.

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B.C. ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS

Premier Gordon Campbell announced the Province will provide $500,000 to the Red Cross to support victims of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. The Province will also work with the federal government to offer assistance to help Haiti rebuild.

  • Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell is working with the federal government to co-ordinate an effort to provide wood products for rebuilding as well as construction expertise, just as British Columbia did after the 2008 Sichuan, China earthquake.
  • The January 12 earthquake measured 7.0 on the Richter scale and caused immense destruction, leaving millions of Haitians without homes.

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B.C. AND SMALL BUSINESS STEP UP BATTLE AGAINST RED TAPE

The B.C. Government is making red tape reduction a fixed agenda item in its conversations with small businesses and has launched a new project to streamline and simplify government forms.

  • Starting this year, regulatory reform will be part of each of the consultations held by the Small Business Roundtable throughout the province.
  • The roundtable is the voice of small business within government and based on consultations, creates an annual report detailing ways government and small business can improve B.C.’s business climate.

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There are currently no interviews scheduled.

Quotes This Week

“The B.C. government has been a leader right across this country, and they deserve a lot of credit for what they did. …they were the first government in Canada to say: we're going to measure this beast, and we're going to set a target for reduction. So they set a target to reduce red tape by one-third, and actually, they're now running at 42 percent below that original target, which is very good news, and they have a target for no net increase, no increase in regulation.”
Laura Jones, Canadian Federation of Independent Business. CKNW Christy Clark, January 11, 2010.


Did You Know?

  • A web-based system called eResponse that will give potential jurors the option of responding to summonses electronically will be piloted for a number of upcoming civil trials. Citizens summonsed to provide a panel of potential jurors for upcoming trials are selected at random from the provincial voters list and a paper summons is sent in the mail. This step will not change. Jurors participating in the pilot will be able to use the Internet to verify if they can participate in the jury selection process, rather than mailing in their response or travelling to their local courthouse during business hours.
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  • The 2010 homeowner grant threshold will be locked in at the 2009 level, providing the full grant amount to over one million eligible home owners in B.C. Homes assessed at the same value or at a lower value in 2010 than in 2009 will not see a reduction in their grant in 2010. The threshold will remain at $1,050,000 in assessed property value. This translates into at least 95.5 per cent of B.C. homeowners being eligible to receive the full grant amount.
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  • Taseko Mines Limited has received an environmental assessment certificate for its proposed Prosperity Gold-Copper Project. The project is expected to contribute approximately $340 million to provincial GDP annually, and $400 million in provincial revenue and $43 million to local and regional government over the life of the project. The project, a conventional open-pit mining project with a 20-year operating life and a production capacity of 70,000 tonnes of mineral ore per day, will be located approximately 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake.
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