There has been no shortage of issues for the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce to deal with lately.
As expected, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business was a prime topic at the Chamber’s monthly board meeting Tuesday. It was their first board meeting in two months after their March meeting was cancelled, and was hosted electronically on the ZOOM platform.
Much of the discussion was about Chamber advocacy efforts, but there was also extensive talk about the direct impact of the pandemic on the Battlefords Chamber itself and its own members.
ADVOCACY EFFORTS ONGOING
Chief operating officer Linda Machniak reported that she had been on weekly conference calls with the national and provincial Chamber networks, covering the various topics.
On the advocacy front, the Chamber has been active. She noted that the COVID-19 wage subsidy increase from the initially-announced 10 percent to 75 percent in March was due to business advocacy efforts.
Regarding the supply chain, Machniak said national Chamber CEO Perrin Beatty had been working with senior CEOs across the country on those issues. “Other than a few hiccups, the supply chains are moving pretty well. They’re certainly happy with the content and the movement of goods,” said Machniak.
There were a few hiccups seen at the provincial borders, mainly regarding public health orders. A letter was sent by the national Chamber to the premiers about the need for coordination of rules and regulations.
One large national retailer had talked about the challenge of dealing with 12-13 different sets of rules, Machniak said.
She reported the provincial Chamber network was also glad to see the province step to the plate with emergency funding as well, to augment what the feds were doing and fill in the gaps.
Machniak also said a lot of the shift has started nationally, with talk now of “resilience and recovery” as opposed to the initial pandemic planning. The Canadian Chamber has partnered with the federal government to put up the website for the Canadian Business Resilience Network, at cbrn.ca, for all business groups to access. According to that website, the Canadian Business Resilience Network was set up “to help Canadian businesses navigate the COVID-19 reality and prepare for recovery.” The website provides a variety of information, including ones for specific sectors that were hard hit.
Later in the meeting Machniak reported being on a conference call with federal minister of economic development Melanie Joly, who urged Chambers to make sure that if they were hearing about gaps in programs to let her know — they wanted to make sure they were reaching as many people as they could.
CHAMBER SURVEY
There was also an update about a recent survey conducted by the Saskatchewan Chamber which closed on Tuesday.
The survey was “to gauge the continued impact that COVID-19 is having on our business community, and your thoughts on re-opening the economy,” according to the Sask. Chamber. Results would be provided to provincial and federal government on behalf of Saskatchewan's business community.
There will also be specifics provided for the Battlefords. Machniak reported there was enough response from the Battlefords that they will get their own report of data from that survey.
BATTLEFORDS CHAMBER IMPACTED
Machniak reported to directors that the Battlefords Chamber is making some funding applications of its own related to COVID-19. She acknowledged the Battlefords Chamber is “in the same boat as many businesses” and has suffered a loss of revenue due to cancellations and postponements of events.
Among their applications was a work-sharing agreement application to the feds in March. A second program they can qualify for is the Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment, and they also are applying for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Program which covers up to 75 percent of wages.
The Chamber is also applying for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) which Machniak says they qualify for based on their payroll numbers for 2019. Chamber directors voted in favor of moving ahead with the applications.
DIRECTORS REPORT BUSINESS IMPACTS
Machniak noted the Chamber has been doing calls to reach out to members. She reported there was still a sense of optimism, despite concerns expressed of how to keep people employed.
“This business community is amazing,” said Machniak. “Ultimately, in those phone calls that positivity shone through, even in the midst of those challenges.”
Directors around the table reported at one point about how each of their businesses was dealing with the impact of COVID-19. Some reported minor adjustments to deal with the pandemic situation, with more working from home and electronically.
“People still need their tax returns done,” said accountant Dallan Oberg, who said he has spent a lot of time addressing clients’ concerns and answering questions about various programs.
Others reported temporary closures and layoffs. Chamber chair Harris Sutherland reported his employer Gold Eagle Casino closed and laid off 200 staff.
Tisha Carriere of Gold Eagle Lodge reported her hotel had to close, due to concerns about a “high level of people travelling from hot spots.” She also reported most other hotels in the city had layoffs or been reduced to bare-minimum staff. Some have made their empty rooms available, with the Holiday Inn opening their rooms to truckers and the Comfort Inn to health care workers.
Melanie Roberts of North West College reported the college sent their students home after classes on March 16, and everyone has been working from home since March 20.
Misty Lavertu of the North Battleford Downtown BID said her organization was looking at their own upcoming events and deciding “when is the right time to pull the plug, to cancel,” and if and when to host them again.
“We’re kind of waiting on what the province has to say,” she said, referring to gathering restrictions and timelines.
FUTURE OF EVENTS
Not surprisingly the event calendar for the Battlefords Chamber has been thrown into turmoil because of the pandemic situation.
The main hurdle continues to be the provincial restrictions on gathering sizes, and continued uncertainty over whether those could be lifted in time for their major events. Chamber directors were particularly waiting to find out what Premier Scott Moe would say later on in the week regarding the “Re-Open Saskatchewan” plan and whether that might change things.
The two big events on the Chamber calendar this year are the annual Chamber Business Golf Challenge, slated for May, and the Battlefords Business Excellence Awards in the fall. The future of those events remains uncertain. Regarding BBEX, Machniak said there is already talk about how they might do things differently.
Other events are similarly up in the air. The previous Chamber on Tap event in April was cancelled; the next one is slated for June and Machniak expects that will likely be postponed. There has been no discussion yet about November events such as Holly & Heels.
The Indigenous Awareness training slated for the fall is still going ahead, although not in person — that programming will be online.
The provincial Chamber annual conference in May has been postponed to late November / early December. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce conference in Ottawa in September is still a go, said Machniak, but the talk is of electronic options for that event.
