By Jock Finlayson, ICBA Chief Economist As a new year beckons, Canadian policymakers and business leaders find themselves staring at an unsettled economic landscape that renders the task of forecasting more perilous than usual. The past two years have been...
ICBA OP/ED: B.C.’s government will face extraordinary economic challenges in 2025
The following piece by ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson first appeared in Business in Vancouver on Dec. 19, 2024. As the clock ticks down on a turbulent 2024, Premier David Eby and his recently installed cabinet are staring at an uncertain and unforgiving economic...
WELLNESS WEDNESDAY #181: Our Final Edition
For more than three-and-a-half years, I’ve been writing Wellness Wednesdays for ICBA’s social channels – sharing tips, takes, and tales from our work in mental health. But this will be our final regular edition. While Wellness Wednesday is wrapping up, our work in...
ICBA OP/ED – B.C.’s business disadvantage about to get worse
The following op-ed, written by Jordan Bateman, ICBA's VP-Communications, first appeared in Business in Vancouver on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. David Eby made his annual visit to the B.C. business community this week, but if you were looking for specifics and good news,...
ICBA ECONOMICS: Snapshot of Labour Supply Challenges in the U.S. Construction Industry
By Jock Finlayson, ICBA Chief Economist Over the past few years, the Canadian construction industry has been grappling with labour shortages, escalating payroll costs, and growing numbers of retiring workers. It may come as a small consolation to know that our...
TRAINING THURSDAY: Practical Tools for Less Stress and More Joy Over the Holidays
Kerry and Jordan wrap up 2024 with a slight existential crisis about how old they are, how Y2K was a quarter century ago, and (of course!) a look at ICBA’s latest featured course. Practical Tools for Less Stress and More Joy Over the...
ICBA OP/ED: B.C.’s Oil and Gas Emissions Cap – A Costly Misstep
The following op-ed, by ICBA VP-Regional Mike Davis, first ran on EnergeticCity.ca on December 11, 2024. When a politician’s ideology blinds them to hard economic truth, it’s everyday people who suffer the most. And Premier David Eby is about to deal a hard blow to...
WELLNESS WEDNESDAY #180: A Tip of our Hard Hat to Procore
ICBA Wellness is our mental health initiative, but we know there are a ton of organizations doing great work in this space. Procore, for example. Under the leadership of CEO Tooey Courtemanche, Procore has offered resources, research, support, and continuing HR...
ICBA OP/ED: A question for Ottawa’s fall economic statement: to grow or share the economic pie?
The following op-ed was co-written by ICBA Chief Economist Jock Finlayson and Business Council of BC VP-Policy David Williams, and ran in the Dec. 9, 2024 edition of the Globe and Mail. On Monday the federal government said it will release its fall fiscal update on...