A business turf war between local chambers of commerce and the Vancouver Board of Trade could come to a head this Friday.
The Vancouver organization will be voting on a name change to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, but the move is causing a stir among other chambers around the region, including in New Westminster.
New Westminster Chamber of Commerce CEO Cori Lynn Germiquet said she’s not sure what VBOT’s intentions are with the name change, but suggested each city and chamber has different issues.
“If what they’re proposing to do is have a regional voice that represents all business in Metro Vancouver, I’m not sure that would be in the best interest of New Westminster, because we have a unique voice here,” she told the Record, also adding the concern is the VBOT change will confuse the market. “Why would we think that one voice is going to represent all the different unique voices in Metro Vancouver?”
Germiquet, who noted a group of chambers from around the region met last week to discuss the issue, also argued the local chamber represents mostly small businesses, and their needs are different than the bigger corporations involved with the Vancouver board.
She also said the chamber supports collaboration, especially on regional issues like transit, but suggested the B.C. Chamber of Commerce’s role is to facilitate the collaboration for a “regional voice.”
In late December, VBOT’s board of directors unanimously recommended its members vote to rename the organization.
“In changing our name, the board believes we will better reflect our regional advocacy efforts and the 5,000 members that we represent – nearly 50 per cent of whom make their living or own businesses that operate outside the City of Vancouver,” read a statement from VBOT’s chair Tim Manning.
“The reality is, our organization has been focused on issues that are region-wide for more than a century, because we understand that regional vision, leadership, and collaboration is critical to the success of not just our local economy, but the B.C. and Canadian economies as well.”
The Record attempted to speak to a representative from VBOT, but was told president and CEO Iain Black was in a meeting and unavailable. The vote to change the name will be held at a meeting Friday.
Germiquet said the New West chamber will be watching the results of the vote closely, but also added it won’t change much for the organization.
“Whatever happens on Friday, that’s not going to take away from the work that we’re doing,” she said. “We’re still going to keep doing what we’re doing. We do it New West-style.”
