Burnaby NOW • Wednesday, June 15, 2011 • A19
JUNE 2011
Burnaby Board of Trade
Voice of Burnaby OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION IN BURNABY
www.bbot.ca
BBOT Spotlight BBOT Maintains Neutral Stance on HST Changes The future of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) will be decided via a mail-in referendum. The Burnaby Board of Trade has maintained that there are arguments both in favour of and against harmonizing the GST and PST, and that its member organizations need to carefully weigh the pros and cons before reaching their own opinion on the matter. The Honourable Kevin Falcon, Minister of Finance announced changes to the HST to address the strong public reaction to the tax. The proposed changes would reduce costs for consumers by lowering the HST to 10 per cent in two steps starting July 1st, 2012. Regardless of your position on the HST, a lower tax burden on consumers would be beneficial for the Burnaby business community, says Paul Holden, President & CEO of the BBOT. “Due to the diverse nature of our membership, the HST has so far had both positive and negative impacts on Burnaby businesses,” Holden says. “However, the changes proposed yesterday offer something that everyone can benefit from. We encourage our membership to consider the proposed changes and to carefully research the implications of the possible referendum outcomes and vote accordingly.” The HST mail-in referendum runs from June 13 to July 22.
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THE BCB TRADE SHOW AT THE DELTA HOTEL ON MAY 17 ATTRACTED A DIVERSE GROUP OF EXHIBITORS AND A RECORD NUMBER OF ATTENDEES. SHARON BARNES PHOTOGRAPHY
Local Businesses Increase Exposure at BCB Trade Show MEGAN KAPTEIN megan@bbot.ca
The 6th Annual Business Creating Business (BCB) Trade Show, presented by the Burnaby Board of Trade and Burnaby Now, allowed local businesses to gain exposure and expand their networks in a comfortable and interactive setting at the Delta Burnaby Hotel and Conference Centre on May 17th. The show was the most well attended BCB Trade Show to date, and featured exhibitors from a range of industries, reflecting the diverse membership of the BBOT.
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“It was a great event and we met lots of Burnaby business operators and attendees! It was very informative and a great B2B networking opportunity,” said Brenda Smith, Executive Marketing Manager at the Grand Villa Casino, whose booth added an element of entertainment to the trade show by providing the opportunity for participants to try their hand at Blackjack between networking. Jens Nilausen of JN - International Consulting Services
walked away from the event with a handful of new connections and also an Xbox 360 game console donated by EA Games, one of the many door prizes offered at the show. “The trade show was a very positive event for me because of the variety of potential connections that were represented,” stated Nilausen. “The BBOT’s event was a very successful venue for local businesses to expose the community at large to their products.” Attendees also had the
opportunity to meet the BBOT’s new CEO Paul Holden and benefit from his expertise in print media advertising. Throughout the afternoon he offered one-onone consultations for advertising and strategies for approaching news media about their business or products. The BBOT thanks presenting sponsor Burnaby NOW, media sponsor Business in Vancouver, and sponsor The Portables for their support of the trade show.
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