Business

About 150 guests attended the 16th annual Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards. (The News files)

Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Business Excellence Awards to be celebrated virtually

Finalists have been announced for the Feb. 6 event

People wait in line to enter a Costco store in Toronto on Monday, April 13, 2020. Canadians who weren’t happy with some of their holiday gifts or who changed their mind after making purchases might face trouble when trying to get their money back. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Ask about COVID-19 return policies as you shop to avoid disappointment later: experts

Canada has no laws requiring retailers to accept returns, but provinces have some rules

Dave and Skye Hamming of Tazo Farms are pictured inside their barn, with roughly 110 cattle behind them. A recently installed DeLeval milking robot, pictured in the background, allows them to do more, with fewer hands. (Phil McLachlan - Black Press Media)

Supply management key to survival of B.C. dairy industry, says Okanagan farmer

Automation, robotic milking; family farms continue to adapt to keep up with the changing times

The Air Canada logo is seen on a hangar at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Friday, March 20, 2020. Air Canada has advised airports in Atlantic Canada that it will suspend more routes in the region until further notice. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Air Canada cuts 1,700 more jobs, slashes capacity

Its first quarter 2021 capacity will be 20 per cent of what it had in 2019

The Air Canada logo is seen on a hangar at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Friday, March 20, 2020. Air Canada has advised airports in Atlantic Canada that it will suspend more routes in the region until further notice. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Starbucks says closure of up to 300 stores in Canada to be completed by end of March

Starbucks says the changes will help the coffee chain ‘best meet our customers where they are now’

(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Condo construction in Victoria. Property values have continued to rise in most areas of B.C. in the past year. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press)

B.C. takes over homeowner grant applications, raises eligibility

Online system to open once property tax notices are out

Condo construction in Victoria. Property values have continued to rise in most areas of B.C. in the past year. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press)
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Eternity Medical Equipment’s ECAN95 masks have received Health Canada approval and CSA certification. (Eternity Medical Equipment photo)

B.C. company makes 1st Canadian-made mask to receive official CSA certification

Eternity Medical Equipment producing N95-equivalent masks out of Campbell Heights facility

Eternity Medical Equipment’s ECAN95 masks have received Health Canada approval and CSA certification. (Eternity Medical Equipment photo)
B.C. housing starts were up 16 per cent in 2019, with lack of supply identified as a key element of B.C. urban home prices and rents that are among the highest in Canada. (Vernon Morning Star)

Speculation tax doesn’t slow B.C.’s hot housing market

$88 million raised mostly from foreign owners in 2019

B.C. housing starts were up 16 per cent in 2019, with lack of supply identified as a key element of B.C. urban home prices and rents that are among the highest in Canada. (Vernon Morning Star)
The Bank of Canada building is seen in Ottawa, Wednesday, April 15, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Pandemic job concerns could pose problem in long-term, Bank of Canada says

Lockdowns in the spring of 2020 led to a historic drop in employment with about three million jobs lost

The Bank of Canada building is seen in Ottawa, Wednesday, April 15, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Royal Bank president David McKay speaks at the banks annual meeting in Toronto on April 6, 2017. McKay says it’ll take a few million people in the country getting vaccinating to get the country on track for an economic rebound. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

At least 4 million Canadians need vaccines for country to look at reopening economy: RBC

McKay says government relief will have to continue and become focused on areas of the economy

Royal Bank president David McKay speaks at the banks annual meeting in Toronto on April 6, 2017. McKay says it’ll take a few million people in the country getting vaccinating to get the country on track for an economic rebound. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Kiki Lally is seen in an undated handout photo at Pinnovate, a craft studio in Calgary. When the pandemic began, Lally couldn’t host birthday parties, camps or bridal showers anymore, so she started making DIY kits and offering them for delivery. The DIY kits had to be sold through a new website called DIY Delivery that she built. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Jennifer Chabot, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

‘Not as easy as it looks’: Small businesses share what it takes to move online

Shipping, fitting all made complicated by COVID

Kiki Lally is seen in an undated handout photo at Pinnovate, a craft studio in Calgary. When the pandemic began, Lally couldn’t host birthday parties, camps or bridal showers anymore, so she started making DIY kits and offering them for delivery. The DIY kits had to be sold through a new website called DIY Delivery that she built. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Jennifer Chabot, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
A WestJet flight from Calgary arrives at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield, N.S. on Monday, July 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

WestJet puts 1,000 workers on leave, citing government’s ‘Incoherent’ policy

International capacity will be down 93 per cent year over year and only five daily flights will be offered

A WestJet flight from Calgary arrives at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield, N.S. on Monday, July 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Cheslatta Carrier Nation received a grant in 2020 to help cover the costs of shipping fire-damaged trees to a pellet plant or bioenergy facility. (Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.)

B.C. pellet contract with Japanese giant extended past 2023

Mitsubishi buying 80,000 tonnes a year from Pinnacle

Cheslatta Carrier Nation received a grant in 2020 to help cover the costs of shipping fire-damaged trees to a pellet plant or bioenergy facility. (Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.)
A worker smooths concrete at a construction site in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. Statistics Canada is expected to release its snapshot of the Canadian job market for December this morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Canadian economy lost 63,000 jobs in Dec., first decline since April

Statistics Canada said Friday the economy lost 63,000 jobs in December while the unemployment rate edged up to 8.6%

A worker smooths concrete at a construction site in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. Statistics Canada is expected to release its snapshot of the Canadian job market for December this morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
(Black Press Media Career and Post-Secondary Education Event)

Black Press Media’s virtual career fair brings exciting opportunities, fresh starts

As many as 40 businesses will be hosting virtual sessions

  • Jan 11, 2021
(Black Press Media Career and Post-Secondary Education Event)
Credit cards are seen in Montreal on December 12, 2012. Industry groups say small businesses are being hammered by high credit card fees on online purchases as the shift toward e-commerce continues amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Small businesses feeling the pinch of credit-card fees as e-commerce ramps up

The rise in e-commerce sales ‘inevitably squeezes out cash’ from vendors

Credit cards are seen in Montreal on December 12, 2012. Industry groups say small businesses are being hammered by high credit card fees on online purchases as the shift toward e-commerce continues amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Credit cards are seen in Montreal on December 12, 2012. Industry groups say small businesses are being hammered by high credit card fees on online purchases as the shift toward e-commerce continues amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Small businesses feeling the pinch of credit-card fees as e-commerce ramps up

CFIB and retail council are calling on the federal government to negotiate lower fees from credit-card firms

Credit cards are seen in Montreal on December 12, 2012. Industry groups say small businesses are being hammered by high credit card fees on online purchases as the shift toward e-commerce continues amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Vehicles are seen in a parking lot at the General Motors Oshawa Assembly Plant in Oshawa, Ont., on June 20, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

Canadian auto sales fell 19.7% in 2020 from a year earlier; lowest level in a decade

The consultancy says auto sales fell 2.6 per cent in December 2020 from the same month in 2019

Vehicles are seen in a parking lot at the General Motors Oshawa Assembly Plant in Oshawa, Ont., on June 20, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
File

Vancouver, Victoria among top 10 tech markets in Canada

Tech education and industry continue to boom in B.C.

File
Maintenance on the Trans Mountain pipeline, which has run from Alberta to B.C. and Washington since 1954. B.C.’s apprenticeship training system involves traditional trades such as pipefitter, electrician and carpenter, as well as cooking, aircraft maintenance and other skills. (Trans Mountain photo)

‘Compulsory trades’ next battleground for B.C. industry

NDP aims to end B.C.’s 2003 move to workplace ‘flexibility’

Maintenance on the Trans Mountain pipeline, which has run from Alberta to B.C. and Washington since 1954. B.C.’s apprenticeship training system involves traditional trades such as pipefitter, electrician and carpenter, as well as cooking, aircraft maintenance and other skills. (Trans Mountain photo)