Local Immigration: Assessing the Policy Capacity of Smaller Communities

Who should decide whether a smaller community is ready to welcome foreign-born residents? Who should participate in the design and implementation of a local immigration strategy? There has been an increasing policy interest in encouraging immigration settlement in smaller communities, as evidenced by the introduction of Rural and Northern Immigration pilots and soon-to-be Municipal Nominee…

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Rural Development Success Story

Originally Posted on: Nelson Chamber of Commerce   Over the last five years, Canada has been a high-tech job creation machine. Year after year, the Toronto area alone has generated more technology jobs than San Francisco, Seattle or any other U.S. city. Vancouver has seen a similar economic boom. Both cities, with top universities and hospitals,…

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Supporting Small Independent Businesses in BC

Support Local BC was an initiative brought on out of necessity in 2020 due to the closures of many businesses in response to the Provincial Health Orders to stop the rapid spread of COVID-19.  The website provides a place for communities and businesses throughout the province to support each other. Connecting all regions with its…

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Rural-Urban Inequities in Palliative Care

Many rural communities have few or no palliative care beds. And as financial burdens increase, some health authorities are agreeing to staff new beds only if the local community pays for the design and building costs of new palliative care facilities. When built, residential hospice palliative care programs have often been at least 50% funded…

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Regulations Urged for Short-term Rentals

The Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) has made 13 requests of the province to consider in order to establish a regulatory framework for the short-term accommodations industry, similar to those in place for ride-hailing and other regulated industries.  Read The Report Here

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