Government Advocacy
As the Voice of Business, the Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce works towards making the region a competitive place to do business. That is why advocacy is core to our mandate.
Working with the municipality and through partnerships with Economic Development, the Chamber is able to ensure that business concerns are heard.
In collaboration with local Chambers and as a member of the BC Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, we work with regional, provincial and federal policy-makers to continuously improve the business environment.
BC Chamber Policy Development
The BC Chamber's grassroots policy-development process is second-to-none in British Columbia. Every year, the membership, Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade develops policies that reflect the on-the-ground needs of B.C. businesses. Through this process, our membership endorses approximately 50 new policies every year at the Annual General Meeting
Canadian Chamber Policy Development
Every year, member chambers of commerce and boards of trade, along with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s policy committees, are invited to submit resolutions of a national scope to the Canadian Chamber policy process. This process culminates in a democratic vote on the floor of their annual general meeting. Following approval at the AGM, we, along with our members, can move forward in our advocacy efforts based on the resolutions contained within the Policy Resolutions Books. Each resolution, once approved, has an effective lifespan of three years.
Recent accomplishments for the MISSION CHAMBER have included:
- Joint Chamber of Commerce Letter of Support For Split Assessments and Property Tax Relief
- PST On Donations Policy passed at the 2017 BC Chamber AGM
- Remediation Standard for Substance Affected homes policy, passed at the 2016 BC Chamber AGM and the 2016 Canadian Chamber AGM
- Inter-municipal Business Licensing passed at the 2015 BC Chamber AGM
- Fraser River - Economic Importance of the Lower Fraser River Report passed at the 2014 BC Chamber AGM
Once policies are approved at the BC Chamber or Canadian Chamber, the MRCC continues to work with local members of parliament to encourage government support for the policies and to push for change.
New Policies in development at the Mission Chamber:
- Remediation Standards for Legal & Illegal Substance
- Canada Summer Jobs Grant Policy
- BC Utilities minimum notice period for rate increases
For more information on all the activities of the Government Affairs Committee of the Mission Chamber see our recent news releases!Remediation policy - FINAL submitted March 2019
Join our Government Affairs Committee
Are you interested in helping us shape public policy? Are you an expert in your field, with a passion for strengthening the local business community?
Send an email to execdir@missionchamber.bc.ca with the following information:
Name & Title
Company Name
Contact info (Phone & Email)
Please take the time to answer the following questions in your submission:
- Are you currently a Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce Member?
- Why are you interested in joining this committee?
- What unique expertise would you bring to the committee table?
- How do you hope to benefit from committee membership?
- How did you hear about our committee?
- What other organizations are you currently affiliated with?
PLEASE NOTE:
- All committee members must be Members of the Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce in good standing.
- All committee members must sign a Code of Conduct agreement as well as appropriate confidentiality agreements.
- Regular attendance and participation is expected for all MRCC Committees
Committee Work Timeline
- Monthly Meeting - 3rd Tuesday at 2pm
- Sept/Oct - Review expiring policies
- Nov/Dec - Survey Members about policy to bring to next AGM
- Jan/Feb - Develop Policy
- Mar - Send policy to BC Chamber
- June - Send policy to Canadian Chamber
*For the time being, we will continue holding our meetings online via Zoom and following the public health orders.
