Profound shift hitting Victoria businesses
It would appear that certain representative Victoria business groups, in asking the provincial government to reconsider its new work-from-home policies, want to be exempted from the multiplying impacts of technology, war, the pandemic and global heating.
Anyone tasked with managing people, supply, policy, or production — private or public — has to recognize and find ways to respond to a profound and permanent shift that is upon us all.
The COVID pandemic, the Russian war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures, far-reaching technological innovation, and mounting environmental degradation mean that entirely new ways of conducting business are inevitable.
For years, business interests have wanted governments to cut costs to keep taxes low. Now that this province is implementing policies that will go some way to assist in just that, they cry foul.
Perhaps one answer to their concerns lies in embracing the same flexible and worker-friendly policies — not asking the province to reject them for their sake alone.
Odd how these representative Victoria business groups seem to have forgotten a few things: their prior objections when other special interest groups have sought preferential treatment; and wanting a workforce that is fully compliant when times are tough and change is afoot.
Paul Walton
Nanaimo
Business must adjust to the changing times
Small- and medium-size business owners are usually part of the labour force in their own businesses, but they are in business to make profit. We invest in our businesses taking risks because the rewards are worth it.
We always tell the government to get out of our way so we can be flexible and innovative. Now is the time for all business owners to show how we can roll with the times.
In 2020, my economic consulting business pivoted from an over 37-year period of renting downtown office space, requiring employees to commute to meet our time to work standards.
Over a two-week period we shifted to remote working. This resulted in our best year in terms of productivity, costs and total revenue.
No one in our organization wants to go back.
My other business requires downtown offices to be functioning. Over the past two years our annual revenue has been consistent while we have had to make some adjustments and will continue to do as needed.
That is what business does. They don’t complain about another business or employer’s approach to how their labour force do their jobs.
Rob Wickson
Past President, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
Victoria must stop pushing people away
Core businesses will not trump the function of government doing what it needs to do in the shadow of COVID. The situation of at-home workers is playing out in metro cores all over North America with perilous affects on downtown economies.
Victoria’s solution is to focus on rebuilding itself as a destination for the community downtown and for that to happen its needs to reverse years of pushing the community out of downtown in pursuit of commerce while leaving moral decay in its wake.
John Vickers
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Downtown businesses must take some blame
Businesses in the Downtown Victoria core can’t seem to make up their minds — they need as many people as possible to be in one place to enjoy and support their businesses, yet we constantly see articles about whether it is worth staying in such an expensive, deteriorating, and prone-to-vandalism area.
You can’t have it both ways. Many businesses have already moved out of the core or opened satellite locations in other communities to respond to shifts in customer locations and needs.
This tired narrative of needing work to be in person to “promote collaboration” is pushed by businesses that refuse to see and plan for change. They refuse to make investments in the infrastructure, tools, work spaces and organizational structures that would foster collaboration and engagement, regardless of location.
Government is notorious for being slow to accept change, and to determine how exactly to respond to it. Yet in three years of pandemic reality, they have shown to be more adept, quicker to action, and able to manage change far better than many other businesses.
Downtown businesses have had more than enough time to assess the inevitable reality of change. They have planned poorly, and want the public to continue to support their unwillingness to do anything other than stay put and exist.
We are not an answer to your impending catastrophe.
Eryn Shrimpton
Saanich
Base level of care on patient needs
Re: “Turf protection injuring our health-care system,” commentary, Feb. 25.
Ken Fyke is absolutely on target when he asserts that more money on its own will not solve our health-care challenges, and that the underutilization of health professionals is contributing to serious inefficiencies in service delivery.
Other changes that would be better for patients, and improve health-care economics, would be to ensure that patients are treated at the appropriate level of care — be it homemakers, home care, intermediate care, long-term care, out-patient, or acute care, amongst others.
It is extremely dysfunctional, for example, to have patients occupying acute care beds when they need, and would be better served as a patient in home care. Much more could and should be done in this area.
Hon. Roy Cullen, P.C., C.P.A.
Victoria
Citizens’ forum needed on our health care
Re: “Turf protection injuring our health-care system,” commentary, Feb. 25.
I would like to thank Ken Fyke for providing insight into the “real shortcomings “ of our primary health care. I have previously written a similar observation. It is not the lack of money or professionals that is leading to the perception of inability to provide health care in a timely fashion.
We need to review the job descriptions of each of the health-care professionals and cut down the unnecessary administrative and repetitive tasks.
Then, hire administrative staff to handle these tasks to free up the healthcare provider to tend to patients. We can easily achieve these divisions of labour and get a better handle on the needs of the patients.
There are built-in inefficiencies in our health services that can be eliminated. I would like to suggest to our politicians and health-care professionals to treat the system as if every dollar is coming out of their own pocket. The bottom line is not “profit-making,” but to realize efficiencies to meet the growing needs of the population.
There are problems in the health-care system that ordinary citizens can see, yet the politicians do not listen to the built-in advisory role of B.C. residents.
The health minister should look into a citizens’ health-care forum to provide advice from an outside perspective.
Mano L. Sandhu
Victoria
Trade barriers hurting our economy
Re: “Turf protection injuring our health-care system,” commentary, Feb. 25.
I agree with Ken Fyke;s observation of the turf protection in our health-care system being its biggest obstruction to productivity. Similarly, interprovincial trade barriers effect our GDP. It is estimated our GDP would increase by seven to 15 per cent simply by removing these interprovincial trade barriers.
Turf barriers are costly, leading to lower quality and efficiency.
Roland Beaulieu
Victoria
Naturopathic medicine should be covered
Re: “Turf protection injuring our health-care system,” commentary, Feb. 25.
I agree with and appreciate the comments of Ken Fyke. He is well-versed and well-experienced in this area.
I have wondered for a long time why naturopathic physicians are not covered by the B.C. Medical Services Plan. Those with extended health will have a few visits covered, but I believe that this service should be made available to all B.C. residents.
Naturopathic medicine focuses on prevention of disease and improving health and with that in itself, supporting our overloaded health-care system.
There are more than 700 licensed naturopathic doctors practising in B.C. and they should be made available to all.
Susan Calder-Heaps
Victoria
Victoria’s urban plans will cause health issues
Re: “Public policies as if health matters,” column, Feb. 26.
Once again, Trevor Hancock has touched on areas of public policy that shows we are, potentially, on a suicidal path as a society. If we look only at what is happening in Victoria it is easy to see how the Victoria council and the provincial government seem to lack an understanding of the inter-dependence of human health and the environment.
Cramming people into high-rise apartments with what appears to be limited or no access to green spaces is unhealthy. The psychological impact on people living in high-rise boxes can be extremely negative and can be very detrimental to overall human health.
All we need to do is look at the development in any large city to see this effect. Toronto, as an example, experienced the ghettoization of an area where a group of high-rise buildings were developed without consideration for the impact on overall human well-being.
It is said the those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
I think the Victoria council and the provincial government should take heed before they repeat the mistakes of other cities and turn Victoria’s core into an urban jungle, subjecting residents to mental and physical health problems, increasing the demand on health services as well as many other public services.
Glen Holmes
Victoria
Innovative idea means food grows near home
Re: “Food-relief group turns underground parking into indoor farm,” Feb. 26.
I was so cheered to read this article, not only by the obvious good work of this charity but for the flourishing of this vertical garden in the heart of our city. This seems to be a phenomenon that is gaining favour globally.
What a wonderful way to grow vegetables sustainably in a way that shelters them from changing weather patterns, and keeps them free from pesticides. Not to mention growing and keeping our food close to home and thus addressing the supply chain issues we faced during the pandemic.
Wonderful!
Jennifer Chapin
Victoria
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