SUN PEAKS LENDING DILEMMA PAGE 5
“CROSSROADS” TRANQUILLE TUNNEL TOURS OPEN PAGE 10
OCTOBER 2—5
Rainy periods, seasonable
OCTOBER 6—10 Sunny, cool
OCTOBER 11—19
Rainy periods, mild
OCTOBER 20—28
Sunny, cool
OCTOBER 29—30
Showers, mild
VOLUME 13 ISSUE 10
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OCTOBER 2—OCTOBER 30
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FEDERAL ISSUES AT HOME
Community leaders identify key points by BRANDI SCHIER
W
hen Sun Peaks heads to the polls this fall, residents will have many issues to weigh. In addition personal political principals, there are several federal topics which have an impact on the community where they live, work and play. For Darcy Alexander, general manager of Sun Peaks Resort LLP (SPR), it’s all about the big picture. “It’s no surprise which side of the fence I reside on. I believe that a strong economy is the number one issue. Without a strong economy you can’t pay for all the wonderful things in life that we enjoy,” he said. Alexander isn’t alone. According the CBC’s online Vote Compass tool, 36 per cent of respondents said the
“For the resort specifically, there are all kinds of policy issues going forward, from taxation to GST on foreign travellers, those kind of things. There are a myriad of other policy issues.”
economy was the single most important issue in this election campaign, followed by the environment at just over 11 per cent. Drilling further down, more specific themes emerged from those interviewed, centering on federal funding, the tourism labour shortage and tourism policies. “For the resort specifically, there are all kinds of policy issues going forward, from taxation to GST on foreign travellers, those kind of things. There are a myriad of other policy issues,”
Alexander said. From a municipal point of view, Al Raine, Mayor of Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality, cited funding for infrastructure as a top federal election issue, which is no surprise for a growing community. With several big ticket projects on the local government’s wish list, such as a health centre and the Sun Peaks Centre, continued federal funding is a top priority. “We are hopeful they will continue to put funding into infrastructure programs,” he said. “The Conservatives committed a whole bunch of money before the election was called and it seems like the Liberals are saying they’re going to put even more money in.” Also critical to the resort’s success is employment and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Recent changes to the federal program, including increased application fees, have hit the tourism sector hard. “It still hasn’t been resolved to anyone’s satisfaction,” said Raine, adding he has spoken with
community representatives from around B.C. “That’s still a major issue but I don’t see it on any of the parties’ agendas,” said Raine. The labour crunch is expected to worsen in coming years. According to go2hr, B.C.’s tourism industry human resources association, the Thompson Okanagan region has one of the most severe levels of seasonality in the province. By 2020, they project the region will have 12,334 job openings with a labour shortage of 1,626. The food and beverage sector is forecasted to be hit the hardest. “The shortage of workers in any resort town environment is closing businesses, it’s reducing hours, its impeding the mountain resort’s ability to compete and offer a world class service,” said Christopher Nicolson, president of Tourism Sun Peaks. “We would ask the federal government to look at seasonal mountain resort business separately from things like urban-based call centres. “The government has provided exceptions and exemptions to the seasonal agriculture industry. So the federal government has looked at the agriculture industry as different and having specific needs. Our ask to the federal government would be they look at our industry in the same way as we
“That’s still a major issue but I don’t see it on any of the parties’ agendas.” have similar unique needs and challenges.” Nicolson pointed out that while tourism strategy conducted by Destination Canada, formally the Canadian Tourism Commission, isn’t a federal government issue, the funding that drives the strategy certainly is. “Over the past several years we’ve seen significant cuts to Destination Canada and what’s happened more recently over the past half year are funding commitments to reinvest back into tourism,” he said. The Conservative government earmarked $30 million over three years to Destination Canada in its last budget, specifically to increase US visitors. In August, NDP leader Tom McClair promised an additional $30 million over three years, however tourism funding has not been a popular topic during the campaign so far. “The combination of increased marketing into the US at a time when the US dollar is favourable to travel in Canada is a very positive situation for Sun Peaks,” said Nicolson.
Vol 13 Issue 9 October 02—October 31
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