Business

The coronavirus and the drastic measures put in place by government officials to try to control its spread had a severe toll on many small businesses. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

B.C. pilot program launches to help small businesses weather COVID

1,000 entrepreneurs across the province will be chosen to receive free help from experts

Cranbrook Food Bank coordinator Deanna Kemperman, Potluck Cafe Society executive director Naved Noorani and Sunshine Coast Community Services Society executive director Catherine Leach join B.C.’s new Municipal Affairs Minister Josie Osborne on a video call about B.C. gaming grants, Jan. 19, 2021. (B.C. government)

B.C. gaming grants reorganized for COVID-19 priorities

Minister highlights community kitchens, food banks

Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons was appointed to the NDP cabinet as minister of social development and poverty reduction after the October 2020 B.C. election. (Hansard TV)

B.C. job training fund increased for developmentally disabled

COVID-19 has affected 1,100 ‘precariously employed’ people

B.C. driver’s licence and identity cards incorporate medical services, but the passport option for land crossings is being phased out. (B.C. government)

B.C. abandons border ID cards built into driver’s licence

$35 option costing ICBC millions as demand dwindles

B.C. driver’s licence and identity cards incorporate medical services, but the passport option for land crossings is being phased out. (B.C. government)
Charles Rochfort, left, and Jonathan Grenier work on a home as Quebec lifts the ban on residential construction due to the COVID-19 pandemic Monday April 20, 2020 in Deux-Montagnes, Que. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Annual pace of housing starts down in December: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 22,373 units

Charles Rochfort, left, and Jonathan Grenier work on a home as Quebec lifts the ban on residential construction due to the COVID-19 pandemic Monday April 20, 2020 in Deux-Montagnes, Que. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Dastkar, a new furniture store in Vernon, features handmade, unique furniture carved from wood and inlaid with brass in the Chiniot style. The business located on 43rd Avenue was started in December 2020 but is currently unstaffed due to COVID-19 staffing shortages. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)

PHOTOS: Vernon’s hidden handmade furniture store

Owners of Shahi Pakwan Indian restaurant opened the South Asian furniture store in December 2020

Dastkar, a new furniture store in Vernon, features handmade, unique furniture carved from wood and inlaid with brass in the Chiniot style. The business located on 43rd Avenue was started in December 2020 but is currently unstaffed due to COVID-19 staffing shortages. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)
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Real estate sales in the South Okanagan grew by more than any other part of the province in 2020. (Marissa Tiel - Black Press)

South Okanagan fastest growing real estate market in B.C.

There was over $1 billion in residential sales in 2020

Real estate sales in the South Okanagan grew by more than any other part of the province in 2020. (Marissa Tiel - Black Press)
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

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
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
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

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)
(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)
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
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.)
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
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