Stress test killing sales

Home sales in B.C. last year would have been about 10 per cent, or 7,500 units, higher if the B20 mortgage stress test hadn’t been introduced, according to a new economic study by the B.C. Real Estate Association. The rest of the real estate slowdown can be explained by other market factors, such as rising […]

Liquor branch went rogue

VICTORIA — Staff at B.C.’s liquor distribution branch should receive contract management training, according to an audit that revealed contracts totalling millions of dollars were awarded without competition. Auditor general Carol Bellringer said Wednesday several contracts awarded by the province’s liquor branch did not comply with procurement policies, including some that were awarded without an […]

Twitter wants case tossed

VANCOUVER — Twitter Inc. is asking the B.C. Supreme Court to dismiss or stay a defamation lawsuit filed by a local businessman and philanthropist because the court lacks jurisdiction. The social media company has filed an application in response to a lawsuit by Frank Giustra, the founder of Lionsgate Entertainment and CEO of the Fiore […]

BC ride-hailing rules set

VICTORIA — The B.C. government has set up a of series rules and regulations as it opens the door to riding hailing applications for the service on Sept. 3. There’s no exact day when riding hailing could start in the province, and opinion varies from mid-September to as late as the end of the year. […]

New training for truckers?

The provincial government will begin looking at mandatory entry-level training for Class 1 commercial driver’s licences this summer. “Safety on our highways is our top priority, and advancing the skill development of new commercial drivers would make roads even safer for everyone,” Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevena said in a press release. “That’s […]

Attempts to discredit LNG failing

By Brad Hayes Adjunct Professor, University of Alberta Two articles published in the Globe and Mail recently might make supporters of Canadian LNG pause and wonder whether they’re backing the right horse. Marc Lee, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), wrote an opinion column entitled “LNG’s big lie,” and a […]

Another forestry slowdown

It keeps getting worse, with no end in sight. Canfor, an integrated forest products company, announced Thursday evening it will be implementing phased summer curtailments in July and August at its Intercontinental and Northwood NBSK pulp mills in Prince George. “This is due to a significant deterioration in market conditions,” Canfor said in a press release. […]

Sawmill situation deteriorating

It’s only getting worse. Numerous mills in B.C. have had to either curtail their production or entirely shut down their facilities. The Quest Wood sawmill was shut down by Tolko Industries Ltd. in Quesnel because of not enough fibre, with official closure slated for Aug. 22. While many hope the market will go into an upswing, Brink Forest […]

Indigenous tourism gets lift

It’s Indigenous Peoples Day across Canada, and those in B.C. are celebrating by finding new ways to share the province’s rich collection of Indigenous tourism products and experiences. Indigenous Tourism BC and the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate with one another in an effort to support Indigenous […]

Market should recover in 2020

With the decline of the average B.C. home sale price seeming to flatten out in the latest monthly figures, the B.C. Real Estate Association is now forecasting that the average sale price over the year will be $697,000, down 2.2 per cent compared with 2018. As consumer demand recovers, the average sale price of a home across […]