Published Articles
Budget Deficits and Health of the Community (in Business Examiner)
September 30, 2009
Both the provincial and federal finance ministers have announced deficits expected to be far worse than forecast only a few short months ago. The provincial deficit projections have increased from $495 million to $2.8 billion and the federal deficit projections have grown from $33.7 billion in January to $55.9 billion. Both governments have cited similar reasons – greater business slowdowns that originally expected providing less income to governments through corporate taxes. The unknown really is when that situation will improve to the point that everyone is on the same page regarding recovery.
It appears that the recession is set to be longer and deeper than at first expected and that the recovery, though it may well have begun, could be slower than expected.
What does all of this mean for our communities?
Inasmuch as some businesses are struggling, it is going to be even tougher times for the not-for-profit organizations in our communities. Whether it is little league or the symphony – take your pick of the type of organization on the top of your mind – if they rely upon government funding to stay solvent, they are in trouble. Just like your own budget, it is obvious that non-essentials will be trimmed when times are tough.
That is not to say that not-for-profits of all sorts don’t bring value to a community and have long term positive impacts. But the fact is unless they are involved in essential social services, they are not likely to make it to the top of the list of funding requests. We have seen that already with the provincial budget and can expect to see much of the same with federal funding.
Even as the economy starts to turn around, likely governments won’t be too anxious to jump back to recent funding levels for the not-for-profit sector as they will be focussed on paying down accumulated debt. The best case scenario for our community groups is that the business community in our region will feel confidence in a recovering economy and be able to re-engage in philanthropic activities.
It is interesting how in recessionary times we see how important the health of the local business community is to the health of the community overall. Our hope is that as our business community regains its footing that the health of our non-profit community will also be able to be restored.
Articles - 2010
Borrowing for the Bridge Our Best Option (in September Business Examiner) (August 30, 2010)
ADS is Positive for BC Tourism (in Business Vancouver Island) (August 11, 2010)
Regional Issues Require Regional Decision Making (in Business Examiner) (July 28, 2010)
Task Force Only a First Step (in Business Vancouver Island) (July 07, 2010)
Paying for the Bridge (in Business Examiner) (June 30, 2010)
Shoulder to Shoulder with Tourism (in Business Vancouver Island) (June 17, 2010)
What is the Cost of Not Building the Marina? (in Business Examiner) (June 01, 2010)
Business Vote is Complicated (in Business Vancouver Island) (May 17, 2010)
Keep an Eye on Tax Spending (in Business Vancouver Island) (April 08, 2010)
Calling for Police Amalgamation (in Business Examiner) (March 24, 2010)
Health, Police Connected (in Business Vancouver Island) (March 11, 2010)
Tourism Benefits of the Games Needing Our Support (in Business Examiner) (March 01, 2010)
Listen to the Tax Canary (in Business Vancovuer Island) (February 15, 2010)
Education and Sewage (in Times Colonist and Blackpress, Letters) (January 29, 2010)
Bay Street Bridge Closure a Wake Up Call (in Business Examiner) (January 27, 2010)
Improving Province's Productivity (in Business Vancouver Island) (January 15, 2010)
Stable Funding for Tourism an Urgent Need (in Business Examiner) (January 04, 2010)
Articles - 2009 
Municipalities Need to Tighten their Belts (December 10, 2009)
What About the Displaced Traffic? (in Business Examiner) (November 27, 2009)
The Local TV/Cable Battle (in Business Vancouver Island) (November 12, 2009)
Budgetary Mitigation Efforts for HST (in Business Examiner) (October 26, 2009)
Why we are Canada's Best Place to Live (in Outlook 2010 in the Times Colonist) (October 17, 2009)
Carving a Place on the Canadian Stage (in Business Vancouver Island) (October 07, 2009)
Budget Deficits and Health of the Community (in Business Examiner) (September 30, 2009)
Keeping the Lens on Crime and Public Safety (in Business Vancouver Island) (September 18, 2009)
HST from Three Perspectives (in Business Examiner) (August 28, 2009)
The Ups and Downs of Tourism (in Business Vancouver Island) (August 10, 2009)
Bar Watch Program Shows Results (August 06, 2009)
Experience Vancouver Island (in Business Vancouver Island) (July 08, 2009)
Dealing with Downtown Drunkeness (in Business Examiner) (July 06, 2009)
TV Playing Field Must be Even too (in Business Vancouver Island) (June 15, 2009)
Get Prolific Offenders Off the Street (in Business Examiner) (June 04, 2009)
Mico-firms in Need of Capital Too (in Business Vancouver Island) (May 11, 2009)
Small Business Realities on Raising Minimum Wage (in Business Examiner) (May 04, 2009)
Letter to the Editor - Johnson St. Bridge (April 22, 2009)
Changes Needed for Film Biz (in Business Vancouver Island) (April 08, 2009)
Keeping Tax Increases Sustainable (in Business Examiner) (April 06, 2009)
Keeping Cities Affordable (in Business Vancouver Island) (March 13, 2009)
Preserving Heritage at What Cost? (in Business Examiner) (March 02, 2009)
Deficit Budgets - Good? (in Business Vancouver Island) (February 11, 2009)
Getting Organized for Budget Investments (in Business Examiner) (January 19, 2009)
The 2009 Budget Slalom (in Business Vancouver Island) (January 11, 2009)
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