Publications

The Business Council is concerned that policy-makers are underplaying signs of softening growth globally and in North America. Increasing costs, an inability to advance major projects, and significant uncertainty for investors and firms looking to expand are eroding confidence and overall competitiveness in B.C.

Given the intrinsic and complicated role of the automobile in our lives, the challenges of transition are enormous.

The Business Council's 2018 fourth quarter B.C. Economic Review and Outlook shows the economies in Canada and British Columbia are cooling from recent highs but remain reasonably positive.

A paper prepared for the 2018 B.C. Business Summit

As the population ages and more people exit the workforce than naturally enter it, policy-makers will be presented with significant challenges. This short paper looks at some of the fiscal stresses that demographic change will pose, with a specific focus on British Columbia, and suggests options that could help to ease the looming fiscal crunch.

A research paper prepared by David Williams, Vice President of Policy, that takes a close look at the potential impact of automation on the B.C. labour market. This is the first study that considers how AI, robotics and other digital technologies may affect the demand for labour in the B.C. context.

How will the BC labour market be impacted by automation? B.C. has a greater share of highly-automatable jobs compared to the rest of Canada.

The latest edition of the BC Economic Review and Outlooks examines the impact rising interest rates are having on the BC economy.

Along with strong trade linkages, B.C. and Washington share many similarities.

If British Columbia or Canada ceased to exist tomorrow, the greenhouse gas emissions eliminated from energy production and consumption relative to the global total would be equivalent to a rounding error.

It feels like back to the future – or like being on an endless treadmill – as governments in Canada take steps yet again to “reform” environmental assessment legislation while also pursuing a myriad of other changes to other environmental and energy regulatory processes. The pretext is political messaging about a lack of public confidence in “the system” for managing environmental issues. In our view, this is largely a manufactured crisis of words over substance. Neither Canada nor BC is on the verge of environmental Armageddon or decay, no matter how loudly some groups argue otherwise. Yet both in both Canada and BC, policy-makers seem to be intent on “fixing” a system that is not broken. Canada initiated a review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012 in June 2016, along with reviews of the Fisheries Act and Navigation Protection Act. These reviews are ending after 24 months of significant effort on the part of many stakeholders. But British Columbia has now decided to add to the uncertainty and rising costs facing industry by launching several environment-related reviews within its own jurisdiction. This includes a planned “revitalization” of the province’s environmental assessment (EA) process. From the business community’s perspective, the changes proposed in the federal government’s environmental/impact assessment processes are not improvements. Time will tell if the outcomes of the BC review are positive or negative.

How can Canada and British Columbia improve productivity?

An analysis of the progress made advancing women in the workforce and areas where there is more to do to enable the full participation of women, particularly in light of shifting demographics and labour markets.

How will digitalization of the economy impact the labour market?

Manufacturing is a growth story for the B.C. economy over the last 10 years and is punching above its weight in terms of our export portfolio, generating new income for the provincial economy. The latest Policy Perspectives, details economic facts, figures and trends, as well as sectoral breakdowns and cross provincial comparisons, relevant to BC’s $50 billion resource and non-resource manufacturing activities. It also provides some cautionary advice relative to key competitive headwinds facing this element of our economy - which makes up 7% of provincial GDP and over 170,000 jobs.

On the lookout for the hottest in job trends? We've got the latest on the updated Labour Market Outlook, 2017 - 2027 Edition by WorkBC.

In an environment of heightened uncertainty about NAFTA and steep tax cuts south of the border that have made the United States a more attractive place to invest capital, Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s 2018 Budget focuses on expanding social supports, addressing gender issues, improving life for Indigenous Peoples, and dialing up innovation.