Three member partnership looks to advocate for Small Business Recovery in Prince Rupert

Advocacy for Prince Rupert's Small Business sector
is part of a new initiative in the city

Three local organizations will be working together to assist Prince Rupert's Small Businesses owners recover from the impacts of the COVID 19 emergency, which has put some significant stresses on a range of local services and business providers.

In a Monday afternoon announcement, Tourism Prince Rupert, the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce and the Prince Rupert Economic Development Office announced the formation of a Small Business Task Force a partnership that will look to provide additional supports locally as the BC Restart plan moves forward in the weeks and months to come.

“The tourism sector has been, and will continue to be, severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism Prince Rupert has been working hard to advocate for tourism-specific relief, through engagement with our local tourism businesses and collaboration with local partners. Our participation in the Small Business Recovery Task Force allows us to work more closely with both the Chamber and the City to ensure that we are advocating for and developing support programs that will help the greatest number of businesses"  -- Ceilidh Marlow, Executive Director, Tourism Prince Rupert

As they described their new partnership on Monday, some of the background to the project was outlined:

The purpose of the Small Business Recovery Task Force is to work collaboratively and efficiently to advocate for relief and find solutions to support our local stakeholders. Meeting weekly, representatives from Tourism Prince Rupert, the Prince Rupert & District Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Prince Rupert’s Economic Development Office are able to share concerns and feedback from each sector and develop shared action items to address with the relevant levels of government or local business.

"Our local small businesses have indeed felt the sudden impact of COVID 19. While some were able to respond and adapt, many more were not, and this crisis is not over. The PR&DCC is committed to leading local business efforts to provide support as we begin ramping up our economic recovery with urgency, safety, and collaboration in mind. The Small Business Recovery Task Force partnership with PR&DCC, TPR, and the City of PR further serves to underscore the necessity of a consolidated effort to maximize recovery and to build resiliency into our future. As part of our new normal, working together as one united voice for the sake of our local business economy is imperative.” - Michelle Boomars-MacNeill, President, Prince Rupert & District Chamber of Commerce

The partnership has already announced a pair of initiatives to help the local business community in its recovery plans.

As we noted last week, the City of Prince Rupert has announced a plan that will see the City waive the $250 fee towards sidewalk patios, a move which could help local restaurants achieve social distancing requirements in the recovery phase of the COVID situation.

Another are where the City will be looking to cushion the impact, comes from the area of Seasonal Charter fishing businesses, with the City moving forward with a plan to offer a complete refund on charter fishing business licences for 2020 for those operators who elect not to operate this season.

That request was brought forward to the City by Tourism Prince Rupert after discussions with the local industry participants.

'The City understands that now more than ever we need to work with local partners to support our small business community through these challenging times. The pandemic has taught us that we are stronger together, which is why we are combining efforts with the Chamber and Tourism Prince Rupert to listen to and address small business concerns.” -- Paul Vendittelli, Manager of Transportation and Economic Development, City of Prince Rupert

Should local business operators have any concerns to express, or ideas to share with the Task Force you can contact the membership at the phone numbers below:

Ceilidh Marlow, Tourism Prince Rupert -- 778-361-0440
Anthony Yecyec, Chamber of Commerce -- 250-624-2296
Paul Vendittelli, City of Prince Rupert -- 250-627-5138

For more notes on the Northwest business sector see our archive page here.