INSIDE JOKE INSIDE JOKE
‘Nom ajor decl ine’ in STRm arket, despite$1K fee
CITY HALL | Nu mber of licencesi ssued in Va ncouvercon si stentinpastt hree years, sl ig ht drop in 2024
BY MIKE HOWELL
MHOW EL L@ GL ACIE RM EDIA .C A
Van co uv er ci ty co un ci l’s de cisi on to in cr ea se th e an nu alli ce nc ef ee fr om $109 to $1 ,0 00 fo ro pe ra to rs of shor t-term rental s(ST R)h as not tr ig gere da si gnif ic antd ec re ase in th en um be rofa pp li ca ti on s from people listingresidenceson home-sha ri ng pl at form s.
Counci lapprovedt he increa se in 2023,w it ht he $1,0 00 fe ee ffe ct iv eJan ua ry 2024.Al ic en ce no wc os ts $1 ,0 60 an dr eq ui re s fi rst-ti me licenceholders to al so paya$74 appl ic at ionfee.
Data provid ed to BI V from t he ci ty ’s co mm uni ca ti on sd ep ar tme nt show s3,670 ST Rl ic ence s we re is su ed in 20 23 (b eforet he fe ei nc re as e) an d3 ,2 74 in 20 24 (a fter thefee increa se).
As of Au g. 29,atot al of 3, 12 4 licences were issued in 2025 “A st he ab oved at as hows,t he nu mb er of ST Rl ic en ce si ss ued ha srem ai ne dc on si st en tint he pa st th re ey ea rs ,w it ho nl ya sl ig ht drop in 2024,” thecitysaid in an em ai l. “T hi si nd ic ates th at t he in crea se in th eS TR li ce nc e feed id notleadtoamajor decli ne in th en um be rofS TR li ce nc es issued .”
Ad de dt he city :“As ig ni fica nt po rt io nofl ic en ce si ss ue de ac h ye ararerenewal sofe x is ti ng licences.T he sm al ldeclineint he nu mb er of li ce nc es is su e da fter th ef ee in cr ea se in di ca te st ha t thefee increa se wa snot adeterre nt to mo st li ce nc eh ol de rs to cont inue op erat in gt heir ST R.”
‘Strengt henenforcement ef forts’
City counci lapprovedthe $1,000 fe ea fter AB CVanco uver Co un LennyZ hou successfu llya rg ued an in cr ea se wa sw ar ra nt ed .A t thet ime, Kelown awas ch argi ng $3 45,Squam ish$500a nd Nelson ra nged from $200 to $800.
Va ncouver’sshort-ter mrenta l li ce nc ep ro gr am ha so pe ra te d si nce2018.
Si ncet hentoJuly2025, thecity ha scol lected $8.3 mi llion in ST R bu si ness licencefees.
“T he fees collectedf romshortterm rental bu si ness licences are
Vancouvercitycouncil’s move to increa se theannuallicence feefor shor t-term rental operatorsfrom$109to$1,000in2024has nottriggered a signific antdecreaseinapplicationsfor licences. | MIKE HOWELL
al lo c ated to wa rd th eo pe ra ti ng c os ts of th es ho rt-t er mr en ta ls pro gram ,” th ec it ys aid. “A dd iti on al re ve nu ea bo ve prog ra m co st sc on tr ib ut es to th ec it y’s genera loperati ng budget to help ba la ncet hebudgeta nd fu nd city serv ices that benefit busi nesses.”
Th ep ro gr am—a nd th eb yl aw th at go ve rn si t—we re de si g ne d to al lowahomeowner or tena nt to ea rn ex trai ncome, buttoa lso forbidp eoplef romt urni ng residences into fu ll-t imeshort-ter m rental accom mo dation.
Theongoi ng concer nf romt he c it yi s th at sh or t-te rm re nt al s ca nd is rupt thelon g-term rental ma rk et ,w hi ch ha sal owvaca ncyrate,a nd ma ke it di ff icult for pe ople se arch in gfor apla ce to live.
Zhousa id in atex texcha ngelast thei ncreasef rom$109to$1,000 f or al ic en ce wa sn ot in te nd ed to re du ce thenum berofS TR licences in Va ncouver.
“O ur co ncer ni s th at we do n’t wa nt to se ei ll eg al ST Ru ni ts op er at eu nd e rg ro un dw it ho ut lice nc e s,”hes ai d. “T he adju stm en tism e a nt to st re ng th en en fo rc emen te ff or tsby inve st in gn ew anal yt ic s, hi ri ng
en forc ementoff ic ersa nd doin g publ ic educ at ion.”
Zh ou pl an ne dt om ee tl as t we ek wi thth et ea mt ha to ve rsees shor t-term rental stoget an up date on the prog ra m. To date, th er eh av eb ee na pp ro xi ma tely 27,4 00 li ce nc es is su ed si nc e 2018.
Prov incial legislation
Th ep rovi nc ia l gove rn me nt ha s up date dits ST Rleg islation ,b ut thecitysaidits ow nreg ul at ions, in ma ny in st an ce s, area li gn ed with or st ri cter th an th os ec reated by theprovi nce.
Forexa mple,STR licences ca nnot be issued forvac antsecondar ys uitesoraccessory dwel li ng un itsinVancouver,which di ffers from th ep ro vi nc ia ll eg is la ti on th at al lo ws ho me ow ne rs to us e them as shor t-term rental s.
“T he prov inci al legi sl at ionh as noti mpactedt he city’s ru lessigni fi ca nt ly,” th ec it y sa id .“ Th e on ly no ta bl e ch an ge is th ec it y up datedt heir ST Rp ol icybyextend in gt he ST Rter mdef in it ion fr om a‘ pe ri od of less th an 30 days’toa‘period of less th an 90 days’ toa lign withtheprovi nce’s ST Rreg ul at ions.”
Th ec it yp re vi ou sl yt ol d BI V th at shor t-term rental op erators wi ll of tenl istapropertyonmultipleplatfor ms,but on ly requ ire on el ic en ce .Sot he nu mb er of licences issued wi ll notmatch up with tota ll isti ngs.
“A nS TR op erator ca na lsou se on el ic en ce an dl is tm ul ti pl e ro om sint he same un it,b ut ca n on ly ac cept on eb oo ki ng at a ti me,” thecit ysaid.
“I t’ si mpor ta nt to no te th at someonl inel isti ngsm ay fa ll out of thecity’sSTR regu lations, and these operatorsmay choose to list on li ne withoutabusinessl icence or us e‘ex em pt’int he [a ppli cation form fora busi ness licence].”
Some of thosel is ti ng si nc lu de re nt al st ha ta re lo ng er th an 90 da ys ,h ot el s, an db ed an d brea kfasts.
Li st in gs ou ts id eoft he ci ty in cl ud et ho se on Un iv er si ty En do wm en tL an ds ,att he Unive rs it yofB .C .a nd on th er ese rv el an ds of th eM us qu ea m, Sq ua mi sh an dT sl ei l-Wa utut h nation s.
2,015l icencessuspended
Some more data ab outVanco uver’sS TR prog ra m:
•Tod at e, th er eh av eb ee n ap pr ox im at el y2 ,0 15 li ce nc es su sp en ded .T he re ar ev ar io us re as on st ha tc ou ld re su lt inlicencesuspension, genera llymost involvenon-compli ance of ST R regu lation s.
“T he fi rststept he city ta kesto encouragecompliance is th rough educ ation andawa reness bu ildin g—li ce nc es us pe ns io ni st ypic al ly th el as tr es or tw he na ll op po rt un it ie stos up po rt co mpl ia nc ea re ex haus te d,”t he city sa id .
•A sofA ug .2 8, 20 25 ,at ot al o f2 ,6 48 vi ol at io nt ic ke ts we re is su ed to pe op le op er at in ga sh or t- te rm re nt al wi th ou ta licence.
•Atotal 217l isti ngsh avebeen referred to prosecution;l is ti ngs ar er efer re dt op ro se cu ti on fo r op er at in gw it ho ut ab us in es s licence.
Si nc eA pr il 20 18 ,t he re ha ve be en 80 9b yl aw vi ol at io nn oticespaid, andi n52c ases,operat or se it he rp le ad ed gu il ty or were fo undg ui lt yinc ou rt.T he ci ty sa id th ef ig ur es re pr es en t thenum bers of ticket spaida nd co ur tc as es ,n ot th en um be ro f people. •
BY DAISYXIONG
DX IONG @BIV.COM
Asstudentsret ur ntoc ampusthismonth,manyB.C.
p os t-se co nd ar yi ns ti tution sa re bracingfor anot herdecl ineini nter nation al en rolment andcopingw it hrevenue losses.
Ottawa says wi ll issue437,000 studypermits in 2025—10per cent fewerthanthe 2024 cap. Of these, 53,5 89 perm itsw ill be al lo cate d to B.C.,d ow nf ro m65,00 0l as t ye ar.T ha t’sn ea rl y45p er ce nt b el ow20 23,b eforet he ca p wa s introduced
“T hi sisa di fficu lt ti me forour sector.Universit iesa nd colleges across Ca nada arenav igatingu nce rt ain ty an dm akin gd if fi cu lt de ci si on s,”s ai d Ma tt Ki elty ka , asso ci ated irec torofc om mu nic at ions andm arketi ng at Si mon Fraser University,inastatement.
Th ec ha ngeh as af fe ct ed B .C un iv er si ti es di ff eren tl y. Th e Un iversity of Br it ishColum b ia ,
Fewerforei gn students put
EDUCATION | Some school sa re cutt in gjobs,
BYJAMIMAKAN
JM AKAN@BIV.COM
The de ma nd fo rs tu de nt housi ng in B.C. is ex pected to rema in resi lientdespite ne wc ap so ni nt er na ti on al st ude nt s, wi th do me st ic st ud en ts ma ki ng up fora ny shor tfal l, say ex perts.
Thefedera lreduction in i nternational studentpermits may not ma ke mu ch of ad entins tu de nt h ou si ng de ma nd beca us et he re re ma in sas tr on gn ee df or ne w qu al it yi nve ntor y, says arep or t by Bonard,aVienna-basedhousi ng intelligencef ir m.
“T he re is as er io us un de rsupply in themarket,”said Patrik Pavl acic ,B on ard’schief intelligenceofficer.
Ca nada’s intern at iona lstudent po pu la ti on su rged 8.6p er ce nt
wh os ei nter na ti on al en rolm en t ne ar ly do ub le df ro m9 ,1 44 to 19,9 09 be tw e en 2012 an d2 02 2, ex perience damod erated ropto 19,601 in 2023, followed by af ive p er cent ye ar-over-ye ar de cl ine to 18,674 in 2024
SF Us aw ad ec li ne of ab ou t10 percent,from 6,416 international students in 2023 to 5,774in202 4. Some un ive rs it ie sh av es ee n sh ar pe rd ec li ne s. La st ye ar , Kwa nt le nP ol yt ec hn ic U ni ve rsity en rolled 4,317i nter nation al students,dow nmoretha n28per ce nt from a2 02 2p ea kof6,100 T he nu mb er is ex pe ct ed to fa ll fu rt he rto2 ,360 th is fa ll—m ore th an 60 pe rc en tb el ow20 22 level s—wi th ov er al le nrol me nt proj ec te dtod ec li ne byab o ut a qua rter.
Le ng th yi nt er na ti on al st ud y per mitprocessingt imes andi ncreasedstudy perm it denial rates ar en ow th eb ig ge st ba rr ie rfor in te rn at io na ls tu de nt ss ee ki ng ad missiontoCanada, sa id acti ng
B.C. post-secondary institutions anticipate anotherdropininternational enrolmentthisyeardue to thefederal government’s studypermit cap. | ROBKRUYT
Studenthousing demand stillhighinB.C.
f ro m2 01 8-19 to 20 23-2 4, an d
Va nc ou ve r’si nter na ti on al st ude nt po pu la tio ng re wt hree pe r ce nt fr om 20 22-2 3to2 02 3-24 , sa id th eB on ar dr ep or t, m ea nin gt he re ’s st ill pl en t yo ft he m arou nd .
Pa vl ac ic sa id th e“ pr ov is io n rate”—therel at ionshipb etween n um be r of be ds an dn um be ro f st ud en ts—i sj us t15p er ce nt in Ca na da ,c om p ar ed wi th mu ch hi gh erlevel sino th er po pu la r dest in at io nc ou nt ri es .F ra nc e ha sa pr ov is io nr at eo f2 5p er ce nt ,G er ma ny 26 pe rc en ta nd theU.K .37 percent, forexa mple.
Th ep ro vi si on ra te fo rVancouversitsat17p er cent,w it ha “m issi ngsupply”of79,007beds, sa id theB on ardrep or t.
Bo na rd tr ac ke dn ew st ud e nt ho us in gd evel op me nt s in 24 cities across Ca nada ,a nd found
t here areabout 25,000 newb ed s in thepipel ine, whichwou ld on ly co ve ra bo ut 3.5p er ce nt of cu rre nt de ma nd ne ed si n Ca na da , sa idPavl acic.
“I nadd itiontothe undersupply now, there’snotenoughpipel ine, there’snot su ff icient nu mberof beds to be bu iltinthe foreseeable fu tu re to so rt ofof fs et fo rt he g rowt hindem and,”hesaid.
On es tu dent ho us in gprovider says thei nternational caps might ha ve as ho rt-o r me di um-t er m impact,a nd that Ca nada needsto do some “sou l-search ing” about theroleofforeign students in the nation’s educ at ioneconomy
“I’veseenU.S., U.K.,Austral ia doingareset of thei rstudent visa policy ever ys even to 10 ye ars,” sa id Toby Chu ,president of Va nco uv er-b as ed Glob al Ed uc at i on Communities Corp. (GEC), which
h as aprivate port folioofstudent housin ginB.C.
“I ha ve n’ ts ee na ny re se ti n Ca nadi anintern at iona ls tudent vi sa sfor,Idon’t know,38yea rs. It hink it ’s ti me fo rab it of an ad ju st me nt ,f in e- tu ni ng an d co rrec ti on .It’sn ot ab ad th in g, we’v egot to do wh at we’v egot to do,” hesa id . Th ed om est ic co mpon en to f GE C’ sp ro pe rt ie sh as gr ow n fr om 11 pe rc en tto44p er ce nt th is yea r, andCanad ia nstudents to okover anyava il able beds vacatedbylower intern at iona lenrolments,Chu sa id . Reducedv isaent ry wi llimpact thelong-term pipelinei ft he cap rema in sinplace forever, thou gh th er ew il lb e no im pa ct on domest ic dema nd ,hesaid.
“For nowa nd in thenea rfuture, th es up plya nd de ma nd fo rt hi s
n iche ma rket rem ai ninac atchup mo de,” he sa id . Do ug la sC ol le ge is in th ep rocessofbui ld ingits fi rstresidence bu ildi ng at itsNew West mi nster ca mpus.T he residenceisschedul ed to op en in mi d-fa ll 20 27, wi ll consistof368 si ng le student ro om sw it hs ha re db at hroo ms , andw il lbeattachedtoa newacademic bu ildi ng
Sa ra hD en ch ,D ou gl as ’ vi ce -p re si de nt of st ud en ta ffa ir s, sa id th ei ns ti tu ti on pe rfo rm edde ma nd anal ys es an d su rvey stoens uret he re sidenc e wi ll be fi lled,eveni ft he nu mber of in te rn at io na ls tu de nt sf al ls signif ic antly. Intern at iona lstudentscur rent ly ma ke up arou nd 27 perc entoft he st ud entb ody, shesaid.
“Wen evermo de ll ed o nt he basisofour internationa lstudent
squeeze on B.C. un iversities
ex plorin gnew revenuetobalance 2025-26bud gets
KPUpresident DianeP u rvey in a memo to staf finl ateAug ust.
At th e Un iver si ty of Vi ctor ia , intern at iona lu ndergraduate enro lm en tf el ln ea rl y25p er ce nt fr om 2, 10 9s tu de nt si n2 02 2t o 1,58 7in2 02 3. It sa tat1 ,5 04 in 2024 andt heschool now ha sset atargetof1,3 40 for2025-26
In addition to thecap,U Vica lso high lightedChi na’s promotionof in-cou nt ry st udya nd thed iplomaticten sion sb et we en Ca nada an dI nd ia as fa ctor sc on tr ib utin gtot he de cl in e, acco rd in gto it s202 4-25 En rolm entA na ly si s Report.
Some universities that have historica llyh ad feweri nter nation al students arelessa ffected,such as the University of NorthernBritish Co lu mbia ,w he re in te rn at io na l en rolmentrem ai ne ds te adyl as t ye ar at 742,comp ared with 729 in 2022
“Wes ti ll have to be mi nd fu l— we don’tk nowwhere thefederal poli ci es wi ll co nt in ue to go,”
GeoffPayne,president of UN BC, told BIV ininterv iew.
Revenueshortfa llstriggerstaf f cuts,h iringf reeze
Adeclineini nter nation al st ude nt en ro lm en tisf or ci ng B.C. po st-s ec on da ry in st it ut io ns ma ny heav ilyrel ia nt onoverseas tu it io nrev en ue—tos la sh st af f, fr ee ze hi ri ng an dt ak eo th er me as ures to of f se tlos se sint he newschoolyea r.
Af tercut ti ng 70 facu lt ymembers in March, KPUannounced in Augu st it wouldeli mi nate 40-45 more fu ll-t imeposit ions andl ay of fe ig ht in st ru ctorsw it hi nt he Melville School of Business—once am ajor dr aw fo ri nt er na ti on al students—byearly 2026.
To meet a$5-mi llion reduct ion ta rg et fo rt he 20 25-2 6b ud ge t, KPUsaiditwillalsocutovertime, re du ce di sc re tion ar ys pe nd in g, freeze hi ri ng andstoprenew in g most temporar ycontracts.
“Tod ate, $2 .6 mi ll ion[of th at target]has been achieved through
theelimin at ionofapproxi mately 20 va ca nt po si ti on sa ndno t re pl ac in grol es as th ey be co me vaca nt,” Pu rvey wroteinthe Augu st memo.
Ot he ru ni ve rs it ie sa ls om ad e st af fc ut sin2 02 4. SF Ue liminated 80 po si ti on stoa dd re ss an $18-mi llion op erat in gshort fa ll, wh ileU Vicl aidoff about20empl oy ee s, in ad di ti on to re ti rementsa nd volu ntar ydepar tu res, to achieveafou rper cent budget reduct ion.
UBC, whilerefrainingfromunive rs it y-wi de la yo ff s, al so sa w staf freduction sinsomedepar tme nt s, acco rd in gt o Ma tt he w Ra msey,t he scho ol’s di rector of universitya ffairs.
“T he de crea se sa re im pa ct in g some pa rtsofthe un iversity more si gn if ic antlyt ha no th ers,”s aid Ra ms ey,w ho di dn ot spec if y whichu nits
Fo rt he co mi ng sc ho ol ye ar, th es et hr ee le ad in gu ni ve rs ities told BI V they have ba la nced
bu dg et sa nd do no tp la na dd ition al budget or staf fcutsatt hi s po in t, as th ey wo rk on cu tt in g ex pe ns es,i mprovi ng ef f ic ienc y andexploring alternativerevenue st ream s.
“H ow ever, t hi so ngoi ng volati lity wi ll requ ireconti nued di lige nc er eg ardi ng ou rf in an ci al situ at ion,”saidK ieltyk a.
As un iversities enterthe second year undert he cap, Paynesaidit maybet imetorev isit thepol icy for some “f inetun ing.”
“I understood what thegovernment wa st ry in gtoa ccompli sh Th at sa id ,It hi nk thep ol icyextended beyond what they thought it wa sgoi ng to do,” hesa id
Henoted that each province and in st it ut ionh as it sown uniqu eness andnua nces,a nd abla nket policy maynot be ther ig ht fitfor al l. Thecap ha srai sedquest ions fo rs tu de nt sc on si de ri ng st ud y in Ca nada.
“T he number onething we need to ma ke su re of is th at Ca nada is
despiteinternationalcaps, sayexperts
a nd ha s‘room to grow,’ accord in gtohou si ng fi rm
de ma nd .Wea lw ay sw an te dt o be more caut ious anddoour dema nd analysis re al ly ca refu lly,” Denchsaid.
“Evenif[thenew residence] was on ly fo rd om es ti cs tu de nt s,we co ul de as ilyf ill th at prob ab ly a fewt imes over.”
In st it ut ions likeD ou gl as have a lr ea dy se en pa st fl uc tu at io ns in in te rn at io na le nrol me nt du e to th in gs li ke COVI D, cu rren cy exch an ge rate sa nd ge op ol it ic al cr ises.
“Wed id notwa nt to overex tend ou rs el ve sorp ut ou rs el ve sina po si ti on wh er ewew er em o re vu lnerable to theups anddow ns of internationa lstudentsa nd the en ro lm en tn um be rs ,” De nc h sa id Im migration,Refugees andCitizen sh ip Ca nada pl an stoi ss ue a to ta lof437,0 00 st ud yp er mi ts
Ithi nk it’s ti me forabit ofanadjus tment, finetun in ga ndcorrection . [ ]
TOBY CHU PRESID ENTAND CEO, GLOBAL ED UC ATIO NCOMMUNITIESCORP.
Thisis ad ifficu lt ti me for ou rs ector.Univer sities and colleges acro ss Ca nada are navi gati ng uncertai nt ya nd ma ki ng di fficultdecis ions .
MATT KIELTYKA
SP OKESMAN, SIMO NFRA SERU NIVERSIT Y
open fori nternational students,” sa idPayne.
“T heycontributemorethanjust attend ingi nstitution s. They live in thecom mu nities,theyworki n th ec om mu ni ti es ,a n dwen ee d to be mi nd fu lofa ll thep os itive things they providetoCanada.”•
th is yea r, a10-per-cent decrea se from the2024cap,accordi ng to a Ja nu ar ya nnou ncement. T he federa lgover nment’sM ay 27 th ro ne spee ch an no un ce da fu rt herc eilin g, sayi ng thetot al nu mb er of te mp or ar yf or ei gn wo rk er sa nd in te rn at io na ls tude nt sw il lbec ap pe datf iv ep er ce nt of Ca na da’s po pu la ti on by 2027. • Toby Chu, presidentofGlobalEducation CommunitiesCorp. Hiscompany ha saprivate portfolioofstudent housinginB.C. | CHUNGCHOW
Sma ll bu si ness ow ners grapplew ithU.S.duties
item sv ia e-commerce to America ns arepar ticu la rlyfeeli ng the pinch.
Pr es id en t Dona ld
Tr um p’s re ce nt deci sion to star tcha rgi ng duties on low-va lu ep arcel sh ip me nt stoA me ri ca ns fr om co untr ie sa ro un dt he wo rldh as pu tVan co uv er-b as ed re ta il er s in thef irin gl ine.
Up un ti lA ug .29, th es es hi pme nt sd id not in cu rd ut ie si f th es ta te dv al ue wa sl es st ha n US$800
Sm al lb us in es so wn er sw ho generate signif icantsales sel ling
So me ar eh a vi ng to co me up wi th wh at ca nb ec om pl ic at ed st ra te gi es to na vi ga t et he ne w bu si ness re ality.
Andsomesay Tr ump’smoveto endt he so-c al le d“de mi ni mi s” sh ipment exempt ion—wh at ha d been a95-year-old tradepol icyto allowlow-value parcel sh ipments to enter thecou nt ry duty-f ree— co ul dbed ev as ta ti ng fo rt he ir businesses.
Ot he re nt re pr en eu rs fo re sa w t ha th av in gaU.S .w ar eh ouse
co ul dh el pt he mn av ig at ew ha t ha sb ee nc ho pp yC an ad a-U. S. traderel at ions.
Ha vi ng th at re al es ta te ca n mi ni mi ze co st sr el at ed to th e U. S. endi ng itsdem inim is trade policy.
Dr.J oh nn y’ s ow ne r Br an do n Sega l,for ex ample, told BI V th at ea rl ie rt hi sy ea rhec on tr ac te d ac om pa ny in Bl ai ne ,Was h.,to op erateaw areh ouse forS eg al’s company, whichgenerates more th an $1 mi lli on in ann ua ls al es primarilysel lingspecialty socks, su ch a s co mpr es si on so ck so r di ab et ic so ck s.
He cont ractsm anyofh is sock s to be ma de in Ch in a—ac ou nt ry forwhich theU.S.now hasah ig h andrapid ly ch an gi ng ta ri ff rate th at in Au gu st av er ag ed ab ou t 57.6 percent.
Sega l’shabithad been to import Ch inese-made socksi ntoCanada and then sell them on li ne,about 30 percentto Amer ic an sa nd 70 percenttoCan ad ians
Of th eA me ri ca ns al es ,a bo ut ha lf we re to in divi du al sw ho bo ug ht sm al la mo un ts an dh ad th es oc ks de li ve re dd ir ec tl yi n de mi ni mi ss hi pm en ts .T he re st were in la rger sh ipment sto
resellers.
If he we re to se ll a$ 40 pa ir of socksd irecttoanA merica ncustomerearlier th is year,hewou ld have sent it from hi sDelta wa rehouse. Thesocks wouldhaveentere dt he U. S. withoutt ar if fs or duties
If he we re to se ll th os es oc ks di rect ly to Amer ic an sf romD elta no w, he wo ul dh av etop ay th eU .S .g ov er nm en t’ sc ou ntry-of-origi ntariff, whichwou ld be hi gh beca us et he so ck sw ere made in Ch in a.
Dr. Johnny’sowner BrandonSegalis usinga U.S. warehousetoavoid some costsinvolvedinshippingsocks directly to Americ ans | ROBKRUYT
SMALLBUSINESS
CONTINUEDFROMPAGE6
He wouldseparatelyhavetopay an 18-p er-c en td ut y, whic hisa rate forwhich theU.S.placeson sm al ls hipm ents of so ck s. Duty ra te sc ha nged epen di ng on th e item
Sega lw ou ld al so sepa ra tely ha ve to pa yab ro ke ra gefe e to ac us to ms br ok er to su bm it paperworkrel ated to each sm al l, cross-border sh ipment.
Th ereisab enef it fo rS eg al of havi ng aBla inewarehouse.
Hisprocess hasconti nued to be to fi rstshiph is so ck stoCan ad a from Ch in a. He thensortst hem at hi sD elta wa rehousea nd ea rma rk ssometogotoBla ine.
He th en se nd sas in gl el ar ge sh ip me nt of so ck stoB la in e, av oi di ng th ed ut ie shew ou ld have to payonsma ll sh ipmentsto individuals. Th is also meansthat he pays asinglecustoms brokeragefee in stea doft ho us an ds of cu stombrokeragefees.
He st ill mu st pa y U. S. Cu sto ms an dB orde rP rote ct io n th e country-of-origi ntariff, butthat ch arge is on Sega l’sown co st of t he go od sa ndno tonh is fi na l reta il pric efor thepro du ct sb eca us et he sh ip me nt is de em ed an in te r-co mp an yt ra ns fe ra nd notaf inal sa le to an individu al, he sa id .
Se ga lw ou ld be ab le to av oi d U. S. ta ri ff sonC hi nese -o ri gi n products if he used th eChi nese prod ucts as as ma ll co mpon en t of al arge rCan ad ia n-ma nu fa ctu re di te m, an difhec er ti fi ed thosepro du ct sasb ei ng el ig ible fo rt arif f-fr ee ac ce ss beca us e th ey we re co mp li an tw it ht he Ca nada-U.S.-Mexico Ag reement (CUSMA).
Alas,h is socksa re not componen ts of al arge ri te msoh e mu st payt he ta ri ffs, hesa id . Wh il et he sa vi ng shea cc ru es by ha vi ng th eU.S .w ar eh ouse ares ub st an ti al ,t he wa re ho us e is cost ly becauseitrequi resh im to payac ompa ny to overse eh is faci lity,hesaid.
“Wes ti ll ha ve to fi gu re ou t wh at th en ew no rm al wi ll be ,a nd to so rt it ou t,”S eg al to ld BI V.“ Th at ’s th ej ob of an entrepreneur.”
Ot he re nt re pren eu rs ,a nd advo ca te s, su ch as Re ta il Co un ci l of Canada director of government re la ti on s Gr eg Wi ls on ,s ay U. S. tr ad ep ol ic yc an be fr us tr at in g
becauseitisi n flux.
If it is not Tr umpwho ch an ges ta ri ff rates,it couldbethe courts.
Ju dges wi thth eU.S .C ou rt of Appealsfor the Federa lCircu it on Aug.29saidit is il lega lfor Trump to us ee me rgenc yl eg is la ti on to le vy t ar if fs buts aidt he ywou ld not implementt heir de cision to removet he ta ri ffsu nt il Oct. 14
Tr umph as sa id he pl an stoappe al thed ec is iontot he U. SS upremeCou rt.
Tr umpinM ay ended theU.S.’s dem inim i sexemption forshipmentsf romChi na.Hesaidatt he timethatthe de mi ni misexemption forshipments to Amer ic an s from ot hercou nt ries wou ld end i n2027.
He th en si gn ed an ex ec ut iv e or de ronJ ul y30s ay in gt ha t he wo ul de nd th edem inim is ex em pt io nfor sh ip me nt sf ro m al lcou nt riesstar ti ng Au g. 29.
“T ru mp ch an gesh is mi nd and th ings ch ange,” Wi lson sa id.“Is the endofthe de mi ni misexemption sgoi ng to be long term?Oris t hi sjusta shor tblip?”
Vi nt agec lo th in ge-c om me rc e se ll er an d Ch er is ht h e La be l ow ne r Da ryaK os il ova to ld BI V th at sh eh ad be en co un ti ng on the de minimisexemption ending in 2027.
“I th ou gh t, ‘G re at.Ih av et wo ye ar s’ ti me un ti lite nd ssoI ’m g oi ng to tr ytob ui ld ab ri ck sand-mort ar storeb us in es sh ere in Vancouver,’’she sa id
Ko si lo va’s bu si ness la un ch ed j us tb eforet hepa nd em ic an di t grew th an ks to In sta gramal gor it hm sget ti ng herp osts in front of ma ny Amer ic an s.
Ce le br it ie ss uc ha s Ha il ey
Bi eb er wo re so me of he rc lo thin ga nd ga ve he rs ho ut ou ts on so ci al medi a.
Th at ,a nd co ve ra ge in ma gazi ne ss uc ha s V ,p ro pe ll ed hertoh aveabout90 perc entof herbusinessb ei ng sm al lsales to individu al Amer ic an s.
Beca us eh er pr od ucts ha ve va ri ou su nk no wn or ig in s, sh e i su na bletoh avet hemc er ti fied u nder CUSM A, so they wi ll ca rry va ri ou sd ut ie sw he ns he ma il s them to U. S. customers.
“I do n’tk no w, re al is ti ca ll y, if I’ mgoi ng to ha ve th e ti me an d money to [n av igate] successf ul ly andstayinbusiness,”she sa id. •
herposts in frontofmanyAmericans.
Newlocation, samecommitment
pandemic anditgrewthanksto
Cherishthe Labelowner DaryaKosilova’sbusinesslaunchedjustbeforethe
Instagramalgorithmsgetting
| ROBKRUYT
B.C. alcohol-sellersadapt to ba nonU.S.i mpor ts
RETAIL|
Wi ne andCan ad ia nwhi skyseein gsales grow th ,whi leoveral la lcohol wholesalesales fa ll
BYGLENKORSTROM
West Co as td ri nk er si n thet hree mont hs ended Ju ne continued thei r ye ar sl on gt re nd of bu yi ng le ss al co hol,acco rd in gton ew Br itishColumbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCL DB)d ata.
They al so were forc ed to pivot away from buyi ng U.S. libations forthe firstfullquarter sincePremier DavidEby in Ma rchtoldt he govern ment’s monopoly alcohol di st ri bu to rtos to pi mp o rt in g Amer ic an products andfor staf f to ta ke thoseitems of fshelves at th eprovi nc e’sgover nm ent-ru n liquor stores.
U. S. al co ho la lr ea dy in th e BCLDB’ssystemwas able to conti nuetobesenttoresellers unti l inventor yran dr y.
Da ta sh ow ri se sinw ho le sa le sa le sf or B. C. wi ne sa nd Ca nad ia nw hi sk yd es pi te th ew in e an dw hi sk yc at eg or ie ss ee in g wholesalesalesdecl ines
Overal l, B.C. restau ra nts, pubs, ba rs,a nd al lstores—govern ment an dp ri va te —c om bi ne dtob uy $861,521,920 wort hofa lcohol in thet hree mont hs ended Ju ne 30. Th at wa sdow n$31,707,944,or 3.55 percent, from $893,2 29,864 in thesamequa rter in 2024
St at is ti cs Ca na da da ta sh ow s alcoholprice sc ou nt ry wide ri sin g2 .6 pe rc en tyea r-over-yea r in Ju ne so if wholesalesales were flat,ariseinspendingwould have norma llybeenexpected.
BC LDBd at as imil arly sh owed al co ho lw ho le sa le sa le sf alli ng
year-over-year th roug hout2023 and202 4.
Theonlya lcohol category th at sa war is einB CL DB wh ol es al e sa le sint he qu ar te re nd ed in J un ew er er ef re sh me nt be ve rages,which is thesma llestoft he distributor’s four main categories andi ncludescoolers,cidersa nd spritzers.
Th at ca te go ry sa ww ho le sa le sa lesr ise2.31per cent in dollars, to $127,235,816;a nd 1.29 percent in volu me,to23,661,495l itres, in theM arch th roug hJunequa rter versus thesamet imein202 4.
Beer wholesalesales in thequarterended Ju ne fell 2.45 percent, to $276,326,092,and 3.45per cent by volu me,to64,490,687l it res,
Investment Foundations Certificate InformationSession September 22,2025 2:30pm -3:30pm info@cfavancouver.com Builda betterfuture. Startwiththe foundations.
versus thesameper iodin202 4.
Wholesalesales forb eer, howev er,w er ee no ug ht oh el pt he category rega in itscrown as the la rges to ne fo rw hole sa le sa le s, un like in thefirst th reemonthsof 2025,whenw inewas thel argest category
Sp ir it sa nd wi ne sa ws te ep es t wholesalesales declines
Wholesalesales forspi rits saw thebig gest plunge amongm ajor al co ho lc at egor ie sint he th re e mo nt hs en de dJ un e, co mp ar ed withthesamet imein202 4.
Re se ll er ss pe nt $2 07,5 57,8 08 onwh ol es al es pi ri ts pu rc ha ses ,d ow n6 .6 8p er ce nt fr om $2 22,403,931 in thesamequa rter in 2024.Byvolume, they boug ht 6,546,97 3l it resofspi rits in th at ti me fr am e, do wn 5.9p er ce nt from thesameper iodin202 4. Th at sa me phenomenon wa sat pl ay in thew inecategor y.
Re se ll er ss pe nt $250,4 02 ,2 04 onwholesalew inep urch ases in th at period ,dow n4.86p er cent from $2 63,186,4 66 in th es am e qu ar terin202 4. By volu me th os ew in ew holesa le sa le sf el l3 .7 2p er ce nt to 15,581,224 litres in thosetwo ti me period s.
BC L D Bd at ad oc um en ts th e st arkp lu ngei nw ho le sa le sa le s forU.S.products
Wh ol es al es al es fo rCan ad ia n
wh is ky an dA me ri ca nw hi sk ey plungedmoretha nd id thespi rits cate gory as awhole:d ow n1 2.31 pe rc en tto$ 55 ,3 23 ,6 54 an db y 8.62 percentto1,760,510 litres
Ca nadian wh isky is thel argest co mpon en tw it hi nt he wh is ky/ wh iskeycategor y, andwholesa le sa le si nc re as ed 7.77pe rc en tto $3 1,32 4,101, and5 .1 1p er cent to 1,121,525 litres
Wholesalesales forbou rbon,i n cont ra st,plu nged 93.35per cent, to $419,971,a nd 90.2 percentto 13,292 litres.W holesa le sa lesfor ot he rA me rica nwhi skey fe ll 89 pe rc en tto$21,0 00,a nd 86 pe r cent to 12,2 25 litres
Me an wh il e, te qu il aw ho lesa le sa leswereup0.7 percentto $2 4,055,516a nd by 1.93 percent to 476, 213l it re sint he qu ar te r endedJune, compared to thesame ti me in 2024.
They li kely didnot transition to top-shel fs pi rits su ch as Sc otch si n g le ma lt wh is ky,w hi chsa w wholesalesales fa ll 11.67per cent to $8,920,136,orby8.49per cent to 99,358 litres
Thet rend of ajumpinsales for Ca na dian prod ucts wa sa ls oa t pl ay forw ine.
BC LD Ba cc ou nt in gw as co mpl ic ated fo rU.S.w in es beca us e in ve nt or yr em ov ed fr om go ver nm ents to re sa nd re tu rn ed to storagec re ated an eg at ives al es
ba la nce.
Resellersbought-$1,603,868 in U.S.–a negative dollar figu re becausethe amount purchasedfrom inventor ywas belowt he amou nt retu rned from BCLDBstores.
Th at am ou nt wa sd ow n105 .1 pe rc en tf ro mt he same qu ar te r in 2024,a nd down 101per cent to -14,365 litres by volu me.
B.C. wi nesbenef itted.
BC LDBwhole sa le ss al es sh ow re se ll er sb uy in g$ 13 1, 22 7, 57 0 wo rt ho fB .C .w in eint he th re e mont hs ende dJune, up 6.28 per ce nt fr om th es am ep er io di n 2024.
By vo lu me in th at pe ri od ,t he bu ye rs pu rc ha se d1 .91p er ce nt more B.C. wi ne th an they didi n thesamequa rter in 2024. Th is ba nn er qu ar te rf or B. C. wi ne whole sa le sa le sreverse da prev ious trendwhere B.C. wi ne wholesalesales grow th wasbelow th at of theent irew inecategor y. Theregionwiththe largestspike in sa le s, ho we ve r, wa sA rg enti na .R esellerss pent $7,934,939 on Arge nt in ia nw in ew hole sa le sa le sint he qu ar terend ed Ju ne, up as ta gg er in g3 0.58 pe rc en t from thesamequa rter in 2024 By volu me,t hosesa leswereup by alarger35.12 percent, indicatin gt ha tl ow er-v al ue Arge nt inia nw in es sa wt he bi gges ts al es bu mps.
Australian winesmay have been anot herbenef icia ry of thehalti n newi mpor ts of U.S. wi nes. Sa les fo rA us si ev in os oa re d15.3p er ce nt to $1 2, 813,59 2, or 12 .8 pe r cent to 951,18 4l it res.
U. S. be er ha sl on gb ee na ti ny nichew it hi nt he la rger beer categor yinB.C
It ss al es plun ge d87.7p er ce nt to$75,664, andby90per cent to 10,472 litres.
Do me st ic B. C. -m ad eb ee r re pr es en te dm or et ha n7 3.7 pe rc en to fa ll wh ol es al eb ee r sa le s. It sw hole sa le sa le sint he th re em on th se nd ed Ju ne we re $2 03 ,6 93 ,6 45 ,d ow n2 .9 pe r ce nt fr om $2 0 9, 829, 20 9int he sa me qu ar te rin2 02 4. By vo lum e, B.C. be er wh ol es al es al es we re 49 ,6 98 ,5 50 li tr es ,d ow n 2, 16 0, 115l it re sor4 .2 pe rc en t from 51,858,665 litres in thesame qu ar terin202 4. •
Canadian whisky wa sabig winner from theBCLDB stopping importsofU.S.produc ts | GLENKORSTROM
FINANCE
Tourismnum bers take adip alon gsidejob losses in B.C.
DATA POINTS
BRYAN YU
BCemployeeheadcountdecreased in Ju ne af teraf lat Maytom ai ntai nt he lack lu st re trendofh iring, accord ingtot he latest figu resf rom Statistics Ca nada’s Su rvey of Employers, Payrol la nd Hours(SE PH).
Payrol lcou nts(includ ingu ncl assi fied bu si nesses)fel l0.2 percentto2.6 mi ll ion. On a year over-yea r-ba si s, pay roll headcounts rose ma rg inally by 0.1per cent.E xclud ing
u ncla ssif iedbusinesses, employee headcou nt decrea sedby 5,399 position s(-0.2 per cent) to 2.5m ill ionf romM ay to Ju ne Theser vicessectorrecordeda decli ne of 3,910 position s(-0.2 percent),whi le thegoods sector recorded adecreaseof1,4 89 posit ions (-0.2per cent).
SEPHnumbers droppedi n Ju ly’s Labour ForceSurveyemploymentreading,but B.C. employmentremai ns sign ificantly stronger year-over-year at 1.5per cent.However, SEPH is abetter indication of jobcreationinthe prov ince,a nd points tofewer opportun ities(andmultiple-job holders).T hese measures tend to al ignoverlongerperiods of time With in thegoods-producing i ndustries, construction saw alossof951 positions(-0.5 per cent)duringthe month, wh ile mi ni ng,qua rryi ng,a nd oi la nd
gasextraction reported adecline of 797positions.T he most notabledecreaseinpay rol lcou ntsi n theservicesectorwas in educational serv ices,which reported adecreased of 1,787positions (-1 percent).Professiona l, scientific andtechn ical serv ices also saw positionsdecli ne by 833positions (-0.5per cent).
B.C.’s jobvacancy ratefellto 2.9per cent from3.1 percenti n May, representing73,015vacant positionsinthe prov ince.W hile averageweeklyearningsrose 0.7per cent to $1,304.22from May, grow th wasam ild2.6 per centyea r-over-yea r. In thenea r term,h iringi ntensionsw ill be tempered by broadeconomic uncerta inty as busi nesses lim it investment andexpansion plans. On thetou rism front, the nu mber of non-resident v isitors enteri ng Ca nada th roughB.C
ma rginallydeclined in Ju ne as tradea nd politica ltensions tempered travel.Onaseasona lly adjusted basis, entriesfellby0.2 percentcompared with May. Thelevel wasthesecond lowest nu mber si nceJanua ry 2024. Overn ight touristv isitsrose0.3 percentbut sa me-day excu rsionsdecli nedbyone percent. Visitors from countriesother than theU.S fell by 2.4per cent. Thosethatcamefor overnight staysdecli nedbytwo percent wh ilethosewho made sa me-day excu rsions declined by 4.9per cent.Overa ll,the nu mbersthat ca me in Ju ne wasrough ly inli ne withtheaverage monthlynumberoverthe last 12 months
ThenumberofU.S.residents enteri ng Ca nada th roughB.C rose ma rginal ly,up0.4 percent over thepreviousmonth.A mong U.S. v isitors, overnightstays
rose 1.4per cent,a nd sa me-day visits fell by 0.8per cent.T he overal lU.S.v isitationratestood at 93.9 percentofthe prev ious 12-month average.
Ca nadian resident travel retu rn ingv ia B.C. rose sl ightly,up 0.9per cent in Ju ne compa red withthepreviousmonth.T his wasthesecond monthinarow thenumbergrew. Buta fter revisi ng thenumbers,itwas stil l on ly 80 percentwhencompared withtheaverage over theprevious12months. Compared w ith theprior 12 months,the nu mber of Canad ia nresidents retu rn ing from theU.S.inJune2025was down 20.7 percentwhile the sa me comparison forCanad ia n residentsreturning from other countriesother than theU.S for Maywas up 2.2per cent • BryanYuischiefeconomist at Central1
TOP100 FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES
HowOxygen8 tu rned pa ndem ic into ex ponentia lg rowth
| Vent il at ioncompa ny
BY GLEN KORS TROM
GKOR ST ROM@ BI V.COM
Itm ay no tbes ur pr is in gt ha t ac om pa ny spec ia li zi ng in ve nt il at io nw ou ld wi nd up as thefastest-g rowi ng company in B.C. be tween2020a nd 2024. Un do ub te dl yt hemo st co nse qu en ti al ec onom ic ev en ti n th ef ir st ha lf of th e2 02 0s wa s theCOV ID-19pandemic.
Ox yg en 8S olu ti on sI nc . ca pit al iz ed on th eo pp or tu ni ty pr ov id ed wh en th ep an de mi c br ou gh tc on ce rn ab ou ti nd oo r ai rq ua lity to thetop of pe ople’s mi nd s.
CE O Ja mes De an to ld BI V th at he me tc o-fo un de r Ma tt hewD oh er ty in 2019,a nd th at in Ja nu ar y2 02 0t he yw en ttoa vent il at iont ra de show.
“P eo pl ew er es ay in g, ‘H ey, ha ve yo uh ea rd pe op le in Wuha n, Ch in a, ar eg et ti ng sick ,’” De an sa id .
“Wed ec id ed to st ar tt he compa ny an dt he nweg ot ou rf ir st order,a nd it wasl ike, ‘Oh, shoot. No wweh av eg ot to de li ve ro n th is th in g.’F ro mt he ti me we de velo pe dt he prod uc ttow he n wes hipp ed ou rf irst fo urun its, it wa ss ix or sevenmonth s.”
Thecompa ny notched $295,184 in 2020 revenu e, whic hwas not ba df or as ta rt up .By2 02 4, it ra ke din$ 33 ,0 72 ,3 16—good fo r 11 ,104 pe rc en tg ro wt hd ur in g the 2020-2 4p er io d .
Th ec om pa ny op en ed an
8,000-squ are-fo otfa ctor ynea r the Br it ishColu mbia Institute of Te ch nology ’s Bu rn ab yc ampu s, wh ic hw as ab as ef or ab ou t2 0 st af f.
Th ey ad de das ec on df ac to ry, th is ti me 28 ,0 00 sq ua re fe et , nea rCom merc ia lD rive in 2021. At hi rd ,5 5, 000 -s qu ar e- fo ot pl an tl aunc he dinB ur na by ’s Glen lyon Busi ness Pa rk th is pa st spri ng
Ox yg en 8a ls oo pe ne dar ese arch andd evelopment faci lity in Onta rio.
De an sa id hi s2 30 -e mp loye e companyisscout ingfor afou rt h fa ctor yint he nort he as tU.S., in pa rt fo rp ro te ct io na ga in st potent ia lU.S.tar if fs,a nd to he dge cu rrency ri sk.
Th ec omp any’ss uc ce ss stem s in pa rt beca us ehea nd cofo un de rD oh er ty ha dt he ri gh t mi xofe xp er ie nc e: De an in comp on entm anuf ac tu ri ng an d Dohert yinventi lation system s, theC EO sa id . St ra te gi cp ar tn ersh ip sh el pe d to o.
Ox ygen 8p ar tn er ed wi th Ja panese mu lt in at io n al Da iki nI nd us tr ie sL td . ,w hi ch is th ew or ld ’s la rg es ta ir co nd ition er ma nu fa ct urer.T hatp ac t me an sO xy ge n8 pr od ucts ar e so ld th ro ug ht he Da ikin sa le s
network, wh ichg ives it cred ibilit y, De an sa id
Ox ygen 8a ls ofou nd twol arge in ve st or st ha te ac hi nv ested ab ou t$ 7.5m il li on :G er ma ny ’s
Vi es sm an nG ou p an dC an ad a’s Greensoi lP ropTechVentu re s
Af ur ther venturecapital round mayc om el ater th is ye ar to help pr op el Ox y ge n8 to me et wh at De an sa id is hi scompany’sgoa l: ha vi ng a$ 10 0m ill io nr even ue ru n-rate by 2028.
Mo st ex ec ut iv es ar eb as ed in Bu rn ab y, an dD ea ns ai dh eh as no pl an stoc ha nget hat.
He ha sa co nn ec ti on to Me tro Va nc ou ve r, he sa id ,w hi ch is wh yhew an te dtom an uf a ct ure componentpar ts forh is heat ing, ai rcondition in ga nd vent il at ion systems in loca lfacil itiesi nstead of ou ts ou rc in gt he wo rk to fa ctories in As ia
It me an st ha them us tp ay wo rk er sm or et ha ne qu iv ale nt wo rk er sinC hi na wo ul d be pa id ,b ut he sa ve sm on ey by cu tt in go ut in te rm ed ia ri es an de xt ra sh ip pi ng co st sf or wh at ca nbever yl arge piec es of in fras tr uc tu re.
Ma ki ng th es ys t e ms in B. C. al so re du ce st he gr ee nh ouse ga se st ha tw ou ld ot he rw is eb e generatedshippingt he products from As ia ,D ea na dd ed .
Th es el li ng po in tfor th es yste ms is th at th ey ha ve te ch nolog yt ha te na bl es th em to br in g in hi gh am ou nt sofo ut si de ai r wh il eu si ng li tt le ener gy.T ha t gi ve sc us to me rs lo we ro ngoi ng costswhi le thesystems produce le ss greenhouse ga s.
Ox yg en 8s ys te ms ca na ls o be mo re co mp ac tt ha no th er s, wh ic hm ea ns th at cl ien ts ha ve more ro om forrooftop ga rd en s, De an sa id .
Despitecompetition from ventu re ss uchasSwe den’s Swegon , an dA me ri ca nv en tu re s RenewA ir e an d AAON ,c us to me rs se em to be flocki ng to Ox ygen8.
De an sa id hi sc om pa ny ha s produced system sfor more th an 2,200bui ld ings,i ncludi ng more th an 100 JP Morgan Ch ase& Co. st ru ct ures.
“I ca n’tg iv et he na me bu tfor oneoft he bi gg loba ltec hnolog y co mp an ie s, we ’r ed oi ng al lo f thei rret ai ls tore s,”hes aid.
Ab outt wo-t hi rd soft he compa ny’s revenu enow come sf rom theU.S., with aboutt hree-qua rte rs of th ep ro je ct sb ei ng fo r comm erci al bu ildi ng s.
Work at mu lt i-fa mi ly re sidential bu ildi ngsa nd seniors’ homes hassta rted to rapidlyg row, Dean sa id.
An aT ur ne r ,C EO of th e
300-b ed Bu rn abysen iors’home
Ge or ge De rb yC en tr e to ld BI V th at he rc omp an yaf ew ye ar s agoi nter viewed mu ltiple bidders fo rap ro je ct to co mp le te an ew vent il at ionsystematherfaci lity bu iltin1988.
Th ep an de mi cw as li ng er in g andhav ingcleanai rwas important,s hesa id . Ox ygen 8’se ne rg y, kn owle dge an dc os tc om pe titi ve ness wo n herover, Tu rn er sa id .
“T heya re very coll ab orat ive,” sh es ai d. “T he yw eresoe as yto work with.T heyu nderstoo dt he in du st ry,a nd th ey un de rs ta nd thes ys tema nd wh at it wa st hat we re al ly ne eded .”
Th ee nt ir ev en ti la ti on se ct or ha sd on ew el ld ur in gt hepa st fi veye ar s, sa id To dd Ba ck us , CO Oof Th er ma lE nv iron me ntal Comfor tA ssociation,which is based in Su rrey buthas members ac ro ss Ca na da Bu il di ng co des te nd to be upda te de ve ry fo ur ye ar sors o, andq ua lity st anda rd stod ay are mu ch more adva nc ed th an de cad es ago, he told BI V. Ex is ti ng bu ildi ng sdonot ne ed to altert heir vent il at ions ys tem ea ch ti me th ec od eisu pd at ed bu tt hene ws ta nd ar ds ch an ge custom er ex pe ct at io ns an dc an br in gn ew work ,B ac ku ss aid.
We decidedtos ta rt the comp anya nd then we got ou rfi rs torder,a nd it wa s like, ‘Oh, shoot. Nowweh av e gottodel iver onth is th in g.’
JAME SDEAN CEO, OXYGEN8
“T hepa ndem ic de fi ni te ly br ou gh tv en ti la ti on to mi nd fo rm an yint he pu bl ic ,b ut it ha sb ee nac riti ca lc om po ne nt to bu il di ng-s ys te md es ig nf or ma nyye ars,”hea dd ed . •
Whycybersecuritycheckupsarethenew insurancepolicyforbusinesses
InnovationNetworkshas prov ided industry leading andproactive IT solutionssince 1996
Given that time andmoneyare thecornerstones of anybusiness,consider thesobering–and at times, terrifying–realities laid outinarecent cybersecuritystudy from tech giant,IBM.
Released in July 2024, thereportsuggestsanaverage data breach costs Canadian companiesinexcessof $6million. Brokendown by sector, financial services andtechnolog ycompaniesexperiencedthe worst breaches, with average costs of $9.3million and $7.8million, respectively
In caseswhere credentialswerestolen, theturnaround time forrecover ywas nearly 10 months
AndreasKarakashas seen virtuallyevery scam overhis 30 yearsincybersecurity :300,000 breachedpasswords in one setting, cripplinglawsuitsand profitslost.
Butaspresidentand CEO of Innovation Networks, Karakas andhis team specializein stayingtwo steps ahead of thosepitfallsfor businessesthe worldover.
“A lotofcustomers don’tknowwhattheydon’t know andwe’re able to discloseexposures to their businessthat they’rejustnot awareof,”Karakas says. “Fromthatpoint of view,it’sagreat feelingtohelppeople andcompanies protect themselves.”
Establishedin1996, Innovation Networksdelivers award-winning, compliance-ready IT solutions with a customer-firstapproach, proactivesupport and24/7 responsiveness. The company’sfull suiteofservices includes cybersecurityand compliance; managedIT services; cloudand hybridinfrastructure;co-managed IT support;and strategicconsultingand technologyplanning.
The companyisa mainstay in theIT realmfor smallto medium-size businessesspanningnumeroussectors: accountingand financial services; manufacturing; insuranceand law; medical and pharmaceutical; green energy andbiotech and construction anddevelopment
Workingwith Innovation Networks starts with identifyingpainpointsaroundsecurity, compliance,data, infrastructuregapsand more.
From there, baselineaudits aredrawn up to establish vulnerabilities alongwithdiagnostictesting that identifies problem spotsbased on areasofimportance.
“Wethencreatearoadmap that shows whereyou’reat andwhere youneed to be –it’saprocesswecall ‘inspect what youexpect,’” Karakassays. “Then we puttogethera plan to getyou bettercoverage.”
Karakasnotes that Innovation Networksdifferentiates itself througha customer-first philosophyand a solution-drivenapproach. Rather than simply sellingIT products, thecompany builds long-term partnerships byimplementing tailored solutions that alignwitheach client’sbusinessgoals
He citesexamples of in-houseITdepartments or other firmsthatoperate under a“break-and-fixenvironment,” wherethe approach is datedand focusesonreactive workarounds rather than proactivesolutions.
“Whenyou’reworking withthat kind of mentality,it becomes acaseof‘if nobodycomplains,everythingis workingfine,” Karakasexplains. “That’s nothow things work.You need weekly anddaily checkups,monitoring andmaintenance.”
Karakasbelievessostronglyinthe Innovation Networksadvantagethathe’soffering a complimentar y service bundleincluding:
•A no-charge Level1cybersecurity penetration assessment valued between$3,000 and$8,000.
•A detailedreportand resolution plan with no obligation to proceed
•A complimentary IT strategy sessionwithhis award-winningteam.
•Priorityonboardingfor qualified engagements. Thepromotion is aimedatorganizationswho value long-term IT partnerships andcompliance-first solutions, with 25 or more employeesand at least25computers under management.
“Ifanorganization is actively questioningthe strength of their cybersecurityposture or thereliability of their businesscontinuityplans —especiallythose whosuspect gaps, feel exposed,orwantgreaterconfidencein their resilience —theyare ideal candidates forourcompany’s support,”Karakas says.
To claimyourcomplimentaryservicebundle offer,visit marketing.innovationnetworks.com/BIV-Complimentary-Audit.
Innovation Networks provides tailored,results-drivenIT servicesacrossCanada. With expertise ininfrastructure, security,applications andsupport,theycombine continual learning, client-focused care andstrong technolog ypartnershipstohelpbusinessesoperate efficientlyand grow.
With over25 yearsofexpertise,InnovationNetworkshelps companiesstayahead of cyberthreats beforetheybecomecostlydisasters. Photo viaKindamorphic/iStock
Innovation Networks builds long-termpartnershipsbyimplementing tailored solutionsthatalign with eachclient’s business goals. Photo viagorodenkoff/iStock
Fastest-grow in g companiesinB.C.
Percenta ge grow th in revenuebetween 2020a nd 2024
1
P:431-293-8942 oxygen8.ca
P:604-628-7266 well.company
1133MelvilleStSuite2700,VancouverV6E4E5 P:800-545-0941 neptunedigitalassets.com
5
6
1575GeorgiaSt WSuite428,VancouverV6G2V3 P:604-609-7736F:604-609-0611 dsny.com
550BurrardStSuite2900,VancouverV6C0A3 P:NP tiny.com
7 FalkirkEnvironmentalConsulting 378EsplanadeE,NorthVancouverV7L1A4 P:604-336-6066 falkirk.ca
8 HemisphereEnergyCorp 905PenderSt WSuite501,VancouverV6C1L6 P:604-685-9255F:604-685-9676 hemisphereenergy.ca
9 AvantBrandsInc 1632DicksonAveSuite335,KelownaV1Y7T2 P:778-760-8338 avantbrands.ca
10
NovarcTechnologiesInc 4505StillCreekAve,BurnabyV5C5W1 P:12364775347 novarctech.com
AvinoSilver &GoldMinesLtd 570GranvilleStSuite900,VancouverV6C3P1
P:604-682-3701F:604-682-3600 avino.com
P:604-484-4085F:604-662-8829 fortunasilver.com
14 BosaConstruction 1021HastingsSt WSuite300,VancouverV6E0C3 P:604-299-1363F:604-299-6460 bosaconstruction.com
Suite2100,VancouverV6B0M3
capstonecopper.com
P:604-362-2994 orionconstruction.ca
AuroraSolarTechnologiesInc 2025WillingdonAveSuite900,BurnabyV5C0J3 P:778-241-5000 aurorasolartech.com
19 ThinkificLabsInc 369TerminalAveSuite400,VancouverV6A4C4 P:888-832-2409 thinkific.com
2103-11871HorseshoeWay,RichmondV7A5H5 P:800-303-1162F:866-531-8999 securedefence.ca
aritzia.com
22 RBGlobalInc(dbaasRitchieBrosAuctioneers) 9500GlenlyonPky3,BurnabyV5J0C6 P:778-331-5500F:778-331-4628 rbauction.com
AndrewWilkinson,co-founderandcoCEO, ChrisSparling,vice-chair,cofounderandco-CEO
MichaelMcPhie,executivechairandcofounder, JenniferTurner,presidentand CEO, MaxBrownhill,COO
PrivatelyheldFalkirk’steamfocusesonallaspectsofprojectpermitting andassessments,regulatorymattersandcompliance requirements,Indigenousengagement,publicand governmentalaffairs,andenvironmentalscienceand engineering.
DonSimmons,presidentandCEOTSX-V:HMEDevelopscoreareasthatprovidelow-to-medium-risk drillingopportunitiestoincreaseproduction,reservesand cashflow
NortonSinghavon,founder,directorand CEO TSX:AVNTCultivation,productionandmarketingofhigh-quality cannabiswithcultivationfacilitiesinB.C.,Albertaand
SoroushKarimzadeh,CEONPFull-stackAIroboticscompanyspecializinginthedesign andmanufacturingofautomatedweldingsolutionsfor
DavidWolfin,president,CEOanddirectorTSX:ASMSilverproducer
JohnMacKenzie,CEOanddirectorTSX:CSCopperproducerwithoperationsinChile,Mexicoandthe UnitedStates
BrianKynoch,president, DarbDhillon CFOandcorporatesecretary
JoshuaGaglardi,founderandpresidentNPDeliversindustrial,commercial,andmulti-familyspaces acrossWesternCanadathrough aunifieddesign-build modelandfinishedproduct
KevinDodds,CEO
GregSmith,co-founderandCEO, Steve Krenzer,president
TSX-V:ACUDevelopsandmarketsproductionmeasurementand controlsystemsforthephotovoltaicmanufacturing industry
TSX:THNCCreatorsandbusinessescancreateandsellonlinecourses, buildvibrantcommunitiesandmonetizememberships -all on asingle,scalableplatform
Fastest-grow in gcompanies in B.C.
DecisiveDividendCorp 1855KirschnerRdSuite260,KelownaV1Y4N7 P:250-870-9146 decisivedividend.com
UltraX-PressPrinting/PrintPrint.ca 33PenderSt WSuite110,VancouverV6B1R3 P:604-872-8943F:604-872-8953 printprint.ca
2016186thAveBlg BSuite340,LangleyV2Y2C1 P:604-881-1988F:604-881-1995 adentragroup.com
31 InternationalPetroleumCorp 1055DunsmuirStSuite2800,VancouverV7X1L2
P:604-689-7842 international-petroleum.com
CalibreMiningCorp 200BurrardStreet,Suite1560,VancouverV6C3L6 P:604-681-9944F:604-681-9955 calibremining.com
33 lululemonathleticainc 1818CornwallAveSuite400,VancouverV6J1C7 P:604-732-6124F:604-874-6124 lululemon.com
JeffSchellenberg,CEO
SalimLakhani,president PrivatelyheldPrintedmaterials,stickers,brochures,tradeshowdisplays, banners,signs,samedayandnextdayprint,fencecovers
Robert JBrown,presidentandCEO, Faiz Karmally,vice-presidentandCFO
TSX:ADENSuppliersofspecialtybuildingproductstoindustrial manufacturers,prodealersandhomecentres
WilliamLundin,CEO TSX:IPCOInternationaloilandgasexplorationandproduction companywithaportfolioofassetslocatedinCanada, EuropeandSoutheastAsia
DarrenHall,CEO, DaniellaDimitrov,CFOTSX:CXBMFGoldmining
CalvinMcDonald,CEO Nasdaq:LULUDesignerandretaileroftechnicalathleticapparel1998NP
34 AffinityGroupInc 2985VirtualWaySuite275,VancouverV5M4X7 P:800-665-6693 affinity-group.ca DanielLamb DanQueiros Scott French,partners
35 ClearlineCharteredProfessionalAccountants 450MarineDrSWSuite600,VancouverV5X0C3 P:604-639-0909 clearlinecpa.ca
36 AnalyticSystemsWare(1993)Ltd 8128RiverWaySuite101,DeltaV4GIK5 P:604-946-9981F:604-946-9983 analyticsystems.com
37 CanlanIceSportsCorp 6501SprottSt,BurnabyV5B3B8 P:604-736-9152F:604-736-9170 canlansports.com
38 HallGroupofCompanies 1992380AAveSuite300,LangleyV2Y0E2 P:604-882-8201 bdhall.ca
BilalKathrada,managingdirectorNPPublicpracticefullservicefirmfocusedonprivatelyowned andnot-forprofitentities.
JamesHargrove,CEO, Darlene Hargrove,VPAdmin NPDesignandmanufactureofhigh-performancepower conversionproductsformilitary,alternativeenergy,marine andindustrialmarkets
JoeySt-Aubin,presidentandCEOTSX:ICERecreationfacilityoperations1956NP
BryanHall,presidentandCEO, Chad Tenney,executivevicepresidentandCOO
1660,999WestHastingsSt, VancouverV6C2W2 P:236-466-0664 crossroadslaw.ca MarcusSixta,founder,seniorfamily lawyer,mediator,collaborativedivorce lawyer
573SherlingPlSuite1105,PortCoquitlamV3B0J6 P:604-526-5155F:604-526-7667 qmeters.com
P:604-233-0247F:604-233-0248 foreseeson.com
bqewater.com
55WaterStSuite210,VancouverV6B1A1
4400DominionStSuite280,BurnabyV5G4G3 P:604-473-9883F:604-473-9887 microserve.ca
impactsilver.com
MichaelDeGiglio,presidentandCEO, StephenRuffini,executivevicepresidentandCFO
SpudMatthews,CEO, HeatherSchaan, president& COO
,presidentandCEO, JerryHuang,CFO,investorrelations
shoring,pilingandfoundations,aggregatesandlogistics,
Fastest-grow in g companiesinB.C.
RANKEDBY| Percenta ge grow th in revenuebetween 2020 and2024
51
52
MiraFloors &Interiors 9785192StSuite104,SurreyV4N4C7 P:604-856-4799 mirafloors.com
SandstormGoldLtd 733SeymourStSuite3200,VancouverV6B0S6 P:604-689-0234F:604-689-7317 sandstormgold.com
OpenRoadAutoGroupLtd 13100SmallwoodPl,RichmondV6V1W8 P:604-205-3199F:604-205-3198 openroadautogroup.com
InnovationNetworksInc 701-850WestHastingsStreet,VancouverV6C1E1 P:604-275-5100F:604-275-7978 innovationnetworks.com
KevinBergstresser,co-ownerand operator
NolanWatson,presidentandCEO, David Awram,seniorexecutivevice-president, ErfanKazemi,CFO
,CEO
13237KingGeorgeBlvd,SurreyV3T2T3 P:604-581-5815F:604-637-2999 kasasupply.com SarbjeetSahota,president
56 PlaceOneSystems 4720KingswaySuite2600,BurnabyV5H4N2 P:604-601-2118 placeone.net
57 EquinoxGoldCorp 700PenderSt WSuite1501,VancouverV6C1G8 P:604-558-0560 equinoxgold.com
58 FinningInternationalInc 1910094Ave,SurreyV4N5C3 P:604-691-6444F:604-691-6440 finning.com
59 TasekoMinesLtd 1040GeorgiaStW Suite1200,VancouverV6E4H1 P:778-373-4533F:778-373-4534 tasekomines.com
60 SmokeyBaySeafoodGroup 896CambieStSuite309,VancouverV6B2P6 P:604-568-4310 smokeybay.com
61
62
63
64
65
MonumentMiningLtd 1100MelvilleStSuite1580,VancouverV6E4A6
P:604-6381661F:604-6381663 monumentmining.com
KlohnCrippenBergerLtd 2955VirtualWaySuite500,VancouverV5M4X6 P:604-669-3800F:604-669-3835 klohn.com
MillerTiterleLawCorp 638SmitheStSuite300,VancouverV6B1E3 P:604-681-4112F:604-681-4113 millertiterle.com
LucaraDiamondCorp 1250HomerStSuite502,VancouverV6B2Y5 P:604-689-7842F:604-689-4250 lucaradiamond.com
DomanBuildingMaterialsGroupLtd 1111MelvilleStSuite1600Box39,VancouverV6E4A6 P:604-432-1400F:604-436-6670 domanbm.com
67
68
,president
GregSmith,president,CEOanddirectorTSX-V:EQXGoldmining1986NP
KevinParkes,presidentandCEO, Greg Palaschuk,CFO TSX:FTTSalesandserviceofheavyequipment,digitalcustomer
StuartMcDonald,presidentandCEO, BryceHamming,CFO, Richard Tremblay,COO
TSX:TKO; NYSE:TGB; LSE:TKO
Copper,goldandmolybdenummininganddevelopment1966211
PatrickWarren,presidentandCEOPrivatelyheldSmokeyBayis amultinationalenterprisemanagedbya teamwithexperienceinseafoodsourcingandtrade 19985
CathyZhai,director,presidentandCEOTSX-V:MMYGoldproducer,developerandexplorer
RyanDouglas,presidentandCEOPrivatelyheldEngineering,geoscienceandenvironmentalconsulting1950292
RobertMiller, JimTiterle,co-foundersPrivatelyheldBoutiquelawfirmservingforward-thinkingbusinessand Indigenousorganizations
WilliamLamb,CEOandpresidentTSX:LUCDiamondmininganddevelopment
,chairandCEOTSX:DBMDistributionoflumber,buildingsuppliesandassociated
52012thSt,NewWestminsterV3M4H9 P:604-525-5441F:604-525-3932 royalprinters.com BryceGieschen,president, Chelsea Gieschen,vice-president
409GranvilleStSuite416,VancouverV6C1T2 P:604-659-4380 mogo.ca
SentisMarketResearch
900 -2025WillingdonAvenue,BurnabyV5C0J3 P:604-306-5633 thesentisgroup.com
PremiumBrandsHoldingsCorp 10991ShellbridgeWaySuite100,RichmondV6X3C6 P:604-656-3100F:604-656-3170 premiumbrandsholdings.com
,founder,CEOandchair, GregoryFeller,presidentandCFO
AdamDiPaula,managingpartner, Julie Winram,managingpartner, Ayden Verhulst,vice-president
GeorgePaleologou,presidentandCEO,
themgetincontroloftheirfinancialhealth
925GeorgiaStW Suite810,VancouverV6C3L2 P:604-630-3134 ahipreit.com
73 JacobBrosConstructionInc 3399189St,SurreyV3Z1A7 P:604-541-0303F:604-541-0343 jacobbros.ca
74 EroCopperCorp 625HoweStSuite1050,VancouverV6C2T6 P:604-449-9244F:604-398-3767 erocopper.com
75 MercerInternationalInc 700PenderSt WSuite1120,VancouverV6C1G8 P:604-684-1099F:604-684-1094 mercerint.com
JonathanKorol,CEO, BrucePittet seniorvice-president,assetmanagement andCOO
TSX:HOT.UNInvestsinhigh-quality,premium-brandedhotelproperties
ScottJacob,presidentandCEO, Todd Jacob,COO NPGeneralcontractorofheavycivilconstructionandbuilding
DavidStrang,CEO, MakkoDeFilippo presidentandCOO
TSX:EROBase-metalsminingcompanyfeaturingproductiongrowth viaits99.5%interestinMineraçãoCaraíbaSA,a
Fastest-grow in gcompanies in B.C.
76
A&WFoodServicesofCanadaInc
171Esplanade WSuite300,NorthVancouverV7M3K9
P:604-988-2141F:604-988-5531 aw.ca
WestFraserTimberCoLtd
885WestGeorgiaStreet,Suite1500,VancouverV6C 3E8
P:604-895-2700 westfraser.com
78 MethanexCorp 200BurrardStSuite1800,VancouverV6C3M1 P:604-661-2600F:604-661-2676 methanex.com
1747456Ave,SurreyV3S1C3
P:604-575-7020 mainroad.ca
80 RogersSugarInc/LanticInc 123RogersSt,POBox2150,VancouverV6A3N2 P:604-253-1131F:604-258-4483 lanticrogers.com
81 InterforCorp 4720KingswaySuite1600,BurnabyV5H4N2 P:604-422-3400F:604-422-3452 interfor.com
82 MajesticGoldCorp 1688152StSuite306,SurreyV4A4N2 P:604-560-9060F:604-560-9062 majesticgold.com
83 SafeSoftwareInc 9639137AStSuite1200,SurreyV3T0M1 P:604-501-9985F:604-501-9965 safe.com
84 FraserValleyEquipmentLtd 1339972Ave,SurreyV3W2N5 P:604-590-1433F:604-599-8840 fraservalleyequipment.com
85 ABM-AppliedBiologicalMaterialsInc 3671VikingWayUnit1,RichmondV6V2J5 P:604-247-2416F:604-247-2414 abmgood.com
86 EldoradoGoldCorp 550BurrardStSuite1188,VancouverV6C2B5 P:604-687-4018F:604-687-4026 eldoradogold.com
87 TelusCorp 510GeorgiaSt W23rdfloor,VancouverV6B0M3 P:604-697-8044 telus.com
88 Central 1CreditUnion 1441CreeksideDr,VancouverV6J4S8 P:604-734-2511F:604-734-5055 central1.com
89 D-WaveQuantumSystemsInc 3033BetaAve,BurnabyV5G4M9
P:604-630-1428F:604-630-1434 dwavesys.com
777Broadway WSuite1200,VancouverV5Z4J7 P:604-871-9909F:604-871-9919 gechq.com
wfsinc.com
V7Y1H2 P:604-643-7300 canaccordgenuity.com
WheatonPreciousMetalsCorp 1021HastingsSt WSuite3500,VancouverV6E0C3 P:604-684-9648F:604-684-3123 wheatonpm.com
SuddenTechnologiesCorp 7635NorthFraserWaySuite103,BurnabyV5J0B8 P:604-873-3910F:604-873-3600 sudden.ca
95 EasternPlatinumLtd 1188GeorgiaSt WSuite1080,VancouverV6E4A2 P:604-689-9663F:604-434-1487 eastplats.com
,presidentandCEOTSX:MX, NASDAQ:MEOH
IanFillinger,presidentandCEOTSX:IFPManufacturerofcommoditystructurallumber,machine stress-ratedproducts,industriallumberandtimbersand appearancelumber
StephenKenwood,presidentandCEOTSXV:MJSEmerginggoldproducerinShandongprovince,China1986NP
DonMurray,CEO NPDeliversfeaturemanipulationengine,thedataintegration platformwithsupportforspatialdataworldwide
TerryRobbins,president PrivatelyheldSalesandserviceofoutdoorpowerequipment198629
PeterLi,CEO, RyanSaranchuk,COOPrivatelyheldBiotechnology,lifescienceresearchreagentandservices, next-generationsequencing,CRISPR,polymerasechain reaction(PCR)andquantitativePCR,growthfactors,cell lines
GeorgeBurns,CEOandpresidentTSX:ELD; NYSE:EGO Goldandpreciousmetalsmining
DarrenEntwistle,presidentandCEO, DougFrench,executivevice-president andCFO TSX:T; NYSE:TU Communicationsproductsandservices
Hider,CFO
,presidentandCEO,
,CEOandpresidentNYSE:QBTSQuantumcomputingtechnologyandresearch1999NP
TobyChu,chair,presidentandCEO, Paul Harman,CFO
DanSceli,CEO, William(Bill)Larkin, CFO TSX:WPRTEngineersadvancednaturalgasenginesandfuelsystems1995300
MatthewCicci,head,privateclient group, TerrenceLyons,leaddirector
andpresident, CharlesTsoi,president
JSE:EPS
,presidentandCEO, Greg Moore,boardchair GovernmentConductsandmanagesgambling,includinglottery,casino, bingoandonlinegamblingservices,inasocially responsiblemannerforthebenefitofBritishColumbians
,managingdirectorNPDesignandmarketing,onlinecontests,socialand
REALESTATE
Ma ss ti mber goin gm ain stream despiteg rowi ng pa in s
CONSTRUCTION | B.C. lead in gm arketinNorth America, accord in gtogovernment
BY JAMIMAKAN
JM AKAN@BIV.COM
Mas st im be rism ak in ga bold entrance in B.C. real est at e, bu te xp er ts sa y it fa ce sh urdl es in cl ud in gs upply-de ma nd mi sm atch an df ire sa fety concerns
Theprovi nce’smasstimberi ndu st ry is se ei ng grow th .A bo ut 450mass-ti mber bu ildi ngswere completedoru nder constr uction in th ep ro vi nc ea so fD ec em be r 20 24,upf ro ma bo ut 410ay ea r pr io r, sa id as ta te me nt fr om the B.C. Ministry of Jobs andEconomicGrowth.
Over 60 additional buildingsare in plan ni ng,g iv ingB.C.20times more supply perc apit at ha nt he rest of Nort hA merica,t he mi nis tr ys ai d. Th is ha sh elpe dB .C . ca pt ur e1 2.7p er ce nt of No rt h Amer ic an ma rketsh areinm ass ti mber ma nufactur ing, and29.2 percentofCascadiamarketshare, it sa id
Wi de ra do pt io nm ay hi ng e on de velo pe rs ch an gi ng th ei r mi ndset.
Be tt er al ig nm en tisn ee ded be tw ee ns up plyc ha in sa nd developerdem andi norder fornew co ns tr uc ti on me th od storea lly ta ke of f, sa id An drew St if fm an , vi ce-p re si de nt of co ns tr uc ti on se rv ic es wi th Ka le sn ikof fM as s Timber Inc
“W it hm as st im be ra ndot he r more industrialized formsofconst ruct ion, there’sabitof aparadigm sh if tthat’sneeded in terms of theway we consumeconstruction materials,”hesaid. Thereisincongruity betweenthe waysomebui ld ings aredesig ned andt he wayh is indu st ry is cu rrent ly setuptodel iver them.To improvec al ibration ,c us tomers ne ed to unders ta nd thetechnologica l“menu”a nd as sess su itab il it yf or in di vi du al pr oj ec ts , Stiffman sa id.
“You wouldn’t …walkintoTesla andd em andasem i,”hes aid. “Justthesa me,asadesig ner, as a
building owner, as aspecifier,you n ee dtou nd erst an dt he op tion s available.”
Publ ic perceptionsoffiresafety maya lsobeholdi ng thei ndustr y back.
“I tist he pr im ar yt hi ng th at pe ople us etoopp os eit, an dit’s r ea ll yb ec au seou rp er cept io n o fw oo db ui ld in gs is se tb y th e burni ng of oldl ig ht wood-f ra me bu ildi ngs,”said A nd rewHarmsworth,fou nd ingpri ncipal of GHL Consultants Ltd
“T he va st majo rity of fi re swe seea re in olderbui ld ings,not in modernbuildings,but gettingthat message across ca nbed ifficu lt.”
Proponents of mass timber claim ithas similarfireand seismicperforma nc etoc oncretea nd steel. Supporters also tout itslowerembodied carbon,aswellas itsuse of B.C. forestry products.
So me de velo pe rs ar ed ip pi ng thei rtoesinthe water.
W es gr ou pP ro pe rt ie sL P is ac ti ve ly ex pl or in gm as st im be r fo rm or et ha n6 00,0 00 sq ua re feet of projects of differentclasses in va riousstagesofdevelopment, sa id se ni or de velo pmen t
di rector Graham Brewster.
“T he re’sab it of anin fl ec ti on poin tt ha tish op ef ul ly goin gto en able mass ti mber to come into it sown ,” Brew ster sa id .“ There ha sbeeni ncreasingcosts across theboard on many differentfronts wherethe oldway of doingthi ngs isn’tworki ng.”
Ta ri ffsa re putt ingpressureon B.C.’s de velo pm en ti nd us tr yto so ur ce wo od an do th er in pu ts lo ca ll y, gi vi ng ma ss ti mb er a boost.
“T he re ’s ac er ta in elemen to f nation al pr id ea nd de si re to us e what’s in ourbackyardtoimprove what’s in ourfront yard,” Brewster sa id.
He sa id ma ss ti mb er couldencouragenew bu ildi ng ty pologies, su ch as mi dr is es be twee ne ig ht and14storeys:“That sweetspot wh er ec on cret eisn ot as vi ab le becauseyou don’thavethe same econom iesofsca le,” hesa id
SU B HE AD :B ig ba ck in gf ro m
B.C. govern ment
Th ep ro vi nc eist hr ow in gi ts weig ht behi nd thei ndu st ry du e to itsmassive economic potential. Ma ss ti mb er is ap ie ce of th e
global engi neered-woodmarket, whichisexpectedtog rowby40 percentfrom$285billion in 2019 to $400 billionby2027, according to B.C.’s Of fi ce of Ma ss Ti mb er Implementation (OMT I) Mo dellin gshows potent ia lfor th ee qu iv al e nt of up to 10 mo re mid-sizedmasstimbermanufactu ri ng faci lities in B.C. by 2035, andit’sproje cted th at theprovince’s ma ss-t imbersectorcou ld be wo rt h$ 403m il li on by th en , theOMT Iwebsite says
It’s no su rpri se theprovi nc ei s goinga ll-i n.
La st ye ar’s B.C. bu ildi ng co de ch an ge sa ll ow ed ma ss ti mb er constr uction in ma ny additional bu ildi ng ty pes, andi n some cases up to 18 storeys.
B.C. re qu ires pu bl ic ly fu nd ed buildingstouse mass timber when fe as ib le .For ty-o ne prov in ci ally fu nd ed bu ildi ng sa re act ively pl anni ng or bu ildi ng withma ss ti mb er across theprovi nceasof November 2024,saidthe ministry. Theprovi ncehas engagedw ith 13 lo ca lgov er nm en ts si nc el as t su mm er to id en ti fy pe rm it ti ng an de nf or ce me nt po li ci es ,a nd
p ro ce du re st ha tw ou ld crea te a friend ly regu latory envi ronment th ro ug ha mend ed of fici al commu nity plansa nd bylaws,itsaid.
Th eB .C .g ov er nm en tisa ls o pa rtneri ng with un iversities.Desi gn gu id an ce do cu me nt sh av e been developedi ncol laboration with Si monFraserUniversity to help land-use planners implement changes. In July 2023,$3.3million over th reeyea rs wa scom mitted to the B.C. In st ituteofTechnolog y fo rt he de velo pm en to fa mass-timbertra ininghub. Meanwhile, theprovince’smass ti mb er de mons trat io np ro gram ai ms to provid erea l-worldc ase st ud ie s. Th ep ro gram su pp or ts 20 demonstrat ionbui ld ings and eightresea rchprojects, them inistrysaid.
SU BH EA D: Fi re sa fety in focus Ma ss ti mb er products aresolid,str uctu ra lload-bearingcomponentssuchascolum ns,bea ms an dp an el s. Th ey ar et yp ic al ly ma nufactured offsiteinfactories by fa st en in gm ul ti pl el ay er so f wood together with glue,dowels or na ils.
Thematerialcosts formasstimbera re aboutfiveper cent higher than conventional materials, but th isis made up forbyfasterconstructionspeedsastradesbecome more fa mi liar with it,saidGHL’s Ha rmsworth
Fi re sa fe ty ma ybet he pu bli c’sb ig ge st co ncer n, th ou gh Ha rm swor th at tr ibutes th is to a misu nderstandi ng aboutthe natu re of mo de rn fi re s, whic ha re automatica llys uppresse du si ng spri nk lers compared to de cade s agowhenhuman de te ct ionw as necessa ry.
“A na wf ul lo toff ires afet yi s, ‘We’ve always done it th at way, so it mu st be sa fe.’ Yo uwanta n ex ampleofsomet hi ng th at’s not very sa fe?Drivi ng ca rs,” hesa id.
“We’ve always done it,b ut we accept that [risk].Concretewe’re used to,masstimberwe’re not so used to.” •
BCIT’s studenthousing developmentwas builtfrommasstimber. | CHUNGCHOW
Lesson sf rom John Horg an st il lechoa fter hi spas si ng
PODIUM
KIRK LAPOINTE
Ife el as thou gh Ih avef inally hadt hatb eerIwanted to have with John Horgan. Mayb et wo or th re e. It ha staken ap osthumou s bo ok—one long series of ta les, tr ia ls andt ri bu lation s, told in hi si ni mitablevoice—for me to at la st unhitcha nyvest ige of thep er formative politici an from thever yadm irable hu ma n soul th at left usla st Novemb er Horgan told hi sl ifestory af ter le av in gt he premiershipa nd into batt li ng ca ncer,evenf rom aB erli nhospita lb ed in hi sf inal days,tojou rn al is ta nd longti me fr iend ,Rod Mick lebu rg h, afor merb ureauchief of Th e Glob eand Mail .
On ly ah andful of passages interr uptHorga ntoset the contex tofachapter;t he bo ok re ad sl ikeone long even in g into then ig ht andt he ea rly morn in gl is teni ng to hi m. John Horgan :In Hi sO wn Wo rd s,w ill be rele ased in mid-Octoberby Ha rb ou rP ubli sh in g, andno amou nt of quot in gorexcer ptin gitdoesf ul l-on ju st iceto wh at youc an he ar as youread. Ih aves pent ab out45yea rs noww riti ng,broadca sti ng andm an ag in gnewsrooms on politic sinO ttawa, Toronto, Ha mi lton andVancouver,a nd thel ateB.C.premier wa st he le ader with t he most intr ig ui ng path amon ga ll Iwatched .He wa sinnoway born fort he role, he made enou gh mi stakes to ru le outa ny ru n foroffice,he caug ht brea ks more th an made them,b ut by thet imehelef ta s thef irst two-term NDPpremier,evenfor meradversa ries ma rvelledatt he natu ra lf it.I n thei nter views, Horga nnoted theN DP ba ni shed—atlea st
wh ilehewas there—”t he na rrative th at theN DP ca n’tm an age money.”
He lef t successorDavid Eby—hesays rema rk ably litt le ab outh im,which sp ea ks volumes—a budget su rplu ssince squa ndered . Therea re someme aculpa s, nota ll of them mi ld:t he cost ly, ulti mately ca ncelledpla nto restoret he Roya lBCMuseu m, theonerous sick-leave provi sion sonsma ll bu si nesses du ri ng COVI D, andarem arkable ch apteront he fa ilureto contendw it ht he opioid cr isis andhow it sh rouded anyeffor t hi sgover nmentt ried to ma ke on de alin gw it hmenta lhea lt h. Th at ch apterstr uckme as havin gt he mostdeta iled reflection,reg reta nd in si ght.
In hi sf irstter m, Horgan createdam in is tr yofmenta l he alth andadd iction s, under thehea lt hm in is tr y, buthe ad mitted it didn’t have the budget to have much impact. Themonth ly “b odycou nts” of
overdose vict im sd is torted an importantdebateabout how to setl im itsonh ar mreduction andt hesa fe supply of dr ug s, anddecri mi na li zation ledto op en dr ug usea nd “a bitof a trai nw re ck.”
Onemea cu lpat hatbroke NDPt radition,about whichhe hadnoremorse:t he de cision s to proceedonresou rcedevelopment, an awaken in goft he pa rt yi n re cogn iz in gt heneed forastron ge conomy to payfor prog ra ms.Hek newresou rce approval su nner vedm anyi n hi spar ty,b ut he al so knew cred ibil it yw it hb usinesswas cr it ic al.T he prov ince’s preemi nent bu si ness le ader,Jim my Patt ison,vouched forh imin skeptica lb oa rd ro om s, andit mattered more th an adozen speeche scou ld
COVI Db ec amet he cr ucible of hi spremiersh ip,b ut Horgan’s ta ke is th at theh andl in gwas prop er—eveni fitexp osed gaps in thesystema nd relegatedeffortsonadd iction andmenta l
he alth.H is le asteffective argumentsa re on therat iona le for the2020snapelect iontogai n am ajor it ym andate;itrem ai ns ha rd to seehow even in am inor it ygover nmenthewou ld havelost powerint he cr isis Therea re ma ny sn ippets of soundadv ice: “I’vea lwaysfelt th at if youscrew up,fessup. Ever yone knowsyou’renot perfect. If youconti nuetodeny theevidenceb eforeyou becauseyou don’twanttoadm it you’re wron g, people arenot goin gto believeyou ,a ny way, andt heyw il lt hink less of you.” He wa sa sked as he left of fice: “Wou ld youwanta form al state fu nera l?”Hea ns wered:“D o Ih avetobet here?” Butinh is la st di scussion sw it hh is son, he left asimplerequest:“Ju st tell ever yone Id id my levelb est.”•
Kirk LaPo inte is aLodes ta rM edia co lu mnis tw it hanexten si ve back grou nd injo urnalism .Heisv ic epresid entint he of fi ce of th ec hair at Fulmer &C ompa ny.
Tr ump’sreturnspu rs reth in kofA gricultu ra lLand ReserveinB.C.
PODIUM
MARIOCANSECO
Apr il ma rked the52nda nniversar yoft he adoption of theL andCom mi ssion Act, whichcreatedBr it ish Colu mbia’s Agricu ltural La nd Reserve. Theleg islation,which ca me into beingu nder a BC NewDemocratic Pa rty government,establi shed aprovi ncia l desig nation th at protectedapprox im ately4.6 mi llion hectares of ag ricu ltural ly su itable la nd across theprovi nce.
TheA LR legi sl at ionwas immedi atelya nd decidedlycontroversia l. Opposition Social Cred it pol it icians cr it icized itsscope andreach.For most of thef ive decadessince,gover nments of a cent re-r ig ht bent (whether Soci al Cred it or BC Libera l)sought andsomet imes implemented
ch angest hath ad been ch ampioned by NDPadm in istrat ions
Theprovi nceh as been gover nedbyt he NewDemocrats si nce2017. Du ri ng th is ti me,d iscu ssions aboutt he AL Rcentred pr imarilyont he constr uction of ma nsions in la nd th at shou ld have been used foragr icultu re production.T he issuewas st ill contentiou s, butnot someth ing th at captured much attent ion from policy ma kers.
Th at wa sbeforet he star tof 2025.Fewer th an si xmonth s have passed si ncet hesecond presidency of Dona ld Tr ump in theUnitedStatesbegan.T he reaction from Ca nadi an stoeffor ts—rea lorperceived—rel ated toestabli sh inganew wayofdoingbusinessh as been positive. We have seen asteadyproport ion of consumerswho arelooki ng at labels more closelya nd tr yi ng thei rbesttopurch aseproduce th at is not Amer ican.
When we askedBriti sh Colu mbians if it is ti me to ma xi mi ze thefood production useofA LR la nd,i ncludi ng la nd of poor soil qu al ityt hatiscur rent ly not
fa rm able,u nfar med, or used for ag ricu ltural pu rposes,73per cent believet he prov inci al gover nmentshould“defi nitely”or “probably” ta ke th is course of act ion.
In legi sl at iveter ms pa st,t here ha soften been ad isconnecton thef utureoft he AL Rf romt he twom ai npol it ical forces in the prov ince.In2025, th isis not the ca se.Support fort hi snew way of en ha ncingfood production is backed by si zeable propor tions of Br it ishColumbi an swho voted fort he Conser vative Pa rtyofBC (74per cent), thegover ni ng NDP (76per cent)a nd the BC Green Pa rty (79per cent).
Thenot ionofm ax im iz ingt he food production useofA LR la nd is popu la racrossa ll region s, includ ingNor ther nB.C.(83 per cent), MetroVancouver (74per cent), Va ncouverIsl and(71 per cent), theFra serVal ley(70 per cent)a nd Sout hern B.C. (67per cent).
Acha nge of th is magn itude comesw it hcha llenges. Some believet hata llow ingfood processingfacil it iesonA LR la nd
couldi ncreaselocal va lue-added food production andd iversi fy fa rmer incomes, wh ileothersa re concer nedabout theeffectofa llowi ng toomuchm anufactur ing act ivity.
Af terponderi ng each of these argu ments, seveninten Br it ish Colu mbians suppor ta llow ing food processi ng faci lities on AL R la nd.O nceaga in,sizeablem ajorities of voters whocastbal lots forNew Democrats(73 percent), Conser vatives(al so 73 percent) andGreen s(72 percent) arei n ag reement.
Asidef roma ny benefits th at an increa se in loca lfood production maybri ngtot he prov inci al economy, thesituation in the Un itedStates is clea rlyint he mi nd sofBriti sh Colu mbians Thereisa lwayst he th reat of a presidenti al soci al medi apost resu lt ingintarif fs,orapol icy ch ange th at wouldw reak havoc forA merica nproducers and ex portersoft he fr uits andvegetables th at Br it ishColumbi an s consume.
In ou rsur vey, al most four in five Br it ishColumbi an s(78 per
cent)feelt hatour food secu rity is th reatened,a nd th at theprovince shou ld ta ke im medi atesteps to increa se thea mountoffood grow n, processeda nd packaged on theA LR . Fort hepa st fewdecades,effortstomod if yt he AL Rh ave rarely unitedBriti sh Colu mbi an s. Therewas no consen su s, andt he ch angest hatwereenv isaged by govern ingpar ties were su mm arilyrejectedbyt he opposition.T hi st imea round, with Tr umpint he Wh iteHouse,t he positive perception sofBriti sh Colu mbians on at ra nsformation of theA LR span acrosspa rty li nes. •
MarioC ansecoispresident of Rese arch Co
Result sare basedonanonlinesur vey conduc tedfrom August 17-19, 2025, among802 adults in BritishC olumbia. Thedatahas been statis tically weighted accordingtocensusf igures fora ge,genderand region in British Columbia .The margin of error—which me asures sample variabilit y—is +/-3.5 percenta ge points ,19times outof20.
WHO’SGET TING SUED
Thesecorporate claims were filedwiththe B.C. SupremeCourt registryinVancouver. Information is derivedfromnotices of civilclaim.Civil claims have notbeentestedorprovenincourt
DEFENDANT
Megadex InternationalInvestments(Squamish)Corp.
PL AINTIFF
Kerkhoff Construction(2017)Ltd.
CL AIM
$3,895,642.58plusdamagesand adeclaration thatKerkhoffhasaninterestin astratalot. Thisrelatestounpaidworkon aproject.
DEFENDANTS
Mo YeungChing aka MuyangCheng and International TradeCenterPropertiesLtd. and KensingtonUnionBayPropertiesGPLtd.
PL AINTIFF
Comfy HoldingsLtd. and ZhuhuaZin
CL AIM
Judgment for$1millionforanunpaidloan plus $300,000for asecondunpaidloan,plus general damages.
DEFENDANT
Firestone PacificFoodsLLC
PLAINTIFF
Geri Partnership dba GoldenEagleFarms
CL AIM
US$347,481 plusinterestforunpaidinvoices for blueberries.
DEFENDANT
Richard KeithNixon
PL AINTIFF
The ArgenCorp.
CL AIM
$302,926.97 foranunpaidloanplusinterest
DEFENDANTS
Park SideEdgeDevelopmentsLtd. and ABC Co. and JohnDoe
PL AINTIFF
The Owners,StrataPlanEPS9244
CL AIM
General andspecialdamagesplusinterestfor completing workonthestrata’sdevelopment with seriousdefectsarisingfrom acombinationoffaultymaterials,poorworkmanshipand poor supervision.
DEFENDANTS
Rycor SolutionsInc. and RyanKerr
PL AINTIFFS
Compatabil LLC and DavidTindale
CL AIM
Adeclarationthatanequityagreementisa bindingcontractbetweentheparties,anda declaration thattheplaintiffisentitledto10 percentofRycor’ssharesand10percentofits newrevenue.Inthealternative,damages.
DEFENDANTS
Amazon.com.caULC and Amazon.com.caInc. and ABCCo.#1 and ABCCo.#2 and ABCCo.#3
PL AINTIFF
LindaCranmer and SharonWillans
CL AIM
Generalandspecialdamagesplusinterest relatedtoAmazon.comselling alithiumbattery forane-bike,whichcauseda firethatdamagedproperty.
DEFENDANT
ComnavMarineLtd.
PL AINTIFF
DerekSkates
CL AIM
General,special,aggravatedandpunitive damagesrelatedtotheplaintiffbeinglaidoff, whichconstituteda constructivedismissal, afterhewassettoreturnfrom asix-month medicalleaveandwasfittoresumehispreviousduties.
DEFENDANTS
FraserGlassInstallationsLtd. and Thinkspace ArchitecturePlanningInteriorDesignLtd. and ABCEngineeringCo. andthe ABCBuilding EnvelopeConsultant
PL AINTIFF
HeatherbraeBuildersCo.Ltd.
CL AIM
Adeclarationthatiftheplaintiffisheldresponsiblefordefectiveworkon aprojectatDouglas College,thedamageandexpensetoDouglas Collegewascausedbythedefendants.
DEFENDANTS
BlakeEricksonRoofing &Waterproofing ServicesLtd.
PL AINTIFF
InSpaceChildcareInc.
CL AIM
Generalandspecialdamagesrelatedtothe defendantsperformingroofworkfortheplaintiffandcausinga fireintheprocess,causing significantdamage.
DEFENDANTS
MagnaPacificAgricultureLtd. and MagnaPacificApiariesLtd. and Tilt-TechConstruction Ltd. and TNTExcavatingLtd. and 0994855 B.C.Ltd. and CaboPlacingandFinishingLtd. and MagnaPacificDevelopmentsLtd. and RichardMatis
PL AINTIFF
AquiliniInvestmentGroupInc.
CL AIM
Theamountowingunder apromissorynote plusinterestpluscollectioncosts.Thisrelates toAIGinitiallyadvancing$10millioninfunds undera promissorynote.
PRESSRELEASE
BCAMASeeksNominations for MarketeroftheYear2025
VANCOUVER,BC- TheBritish ColumbiaChapterof theAmericanMarketingAssociation(BCAMA)is callingonBC'smarketingcommunity to nominate candidatesfortheprestigiousMarketerofthe Year (MOY)Awards. The2025editionwillcelebrate innovatorsandleadersdrivinglocalbusiness successthroughcreativity,strategic excellence,and measurable results.
The BCAMA isseekingnominations forestablished BCbusinesses,teams,orindividualswhohave pushedboundaries,embracedboldideas,and achievedremarkableoutcomes.
Forthefirsttimeinthe award'shistory,the Marketerofthe Yearwinnerwillbeannouncedlive at thegala,addingsuspenseandexcitementtothe evening.Inaddition,theBCAMAwillcoverthe cost ofthe eventforthewinning team,makingthis recognitionanevengreateropportunity to celebratetheirsuccess
NominationDeadline
September15,2025
MOYGala
November13
Roundhouse Community Arts &Recreation Centre
VancouverNominationscanbesubmittedonline, andtickets forthegalaarenow availableat https://bcama.com/marketer-of-the-year.
Accelerating Success.
clearceilings.
2252190thStreet,Surrey
Tier 1industrialspace with existing officesinCampbell Heights. 30’ clearceilings,dockand grade loading, with flexible occupancytiming.
2695956thAvenue,Langley
Alow-sitecoverage industrial facilityin Gloucester with expansionorredevelopment potential. Ashort lease-back withthevendorisrequired.
Offers theopportunity to pursue amixed-use redevelopmentfeaturing multifamily residentialabove grade-levelretail. 7800
20436 FraserHighway, Langley
Locatedinheart of historic Langleyand perfectfor owner-usersand developers with long term,mixed-use redevelopment potential.
TheHaven,GabriolaIsland, BC Touristaccommodation zoning,120 beds,restaurant andcommercial kitchen, conference facilities, gym, pool,hot tubs andmore.
Matt Saunders
Personal Real Estate Corporation matt.saunders@colliers.com
9873182AStreet,Surrey
Minutes from Highway1,Highway 15, Highway17, and theGoldenEarsBridge,ideal foroutside storage. 32550 LoganAvenue,Mission