Kelowna: The Kelowna Chamber hosted nearly 200 Chamber of Commerce/Board of Trade executives and directors over the last week of May in Kelowna. Industry leaders and elected officials from four provincial parties addressed the delegates around themes of innovation and growth.
Embedded in the conference were the annual policy debates, in which the Kelowna Chamber tabled six of the 42 adopted policies. Central to Kelowna’s slate were policies around invasive mussels, interprovincial trade, emergency response and short-term rentals. All were adopted, three by unanimous vote.
Maryse Harvey, President & Chair of the Kelowna Chamber attended all the sessions along with three board directors and staff. "Every year, we are very impressed with the breadth and depth of knowledge in the room at these BC Chamber conferences. The passion and experience on display is remarkable, as chamber after chamber presents solutions to the challenges their members face and the messages we will take to government for action. These gatherings, and the healthy debates they generate, are important because they are the root of our advocacy strategies which is our core purpose."
Derek Gratz, Chamber Vice-Chair, and Chair of the Policy Advisory Committee said “I was truly impressed by the wealth of opinion and wisdom in the room, and our chamber’s representatives were no exception to that. Our committee members were deeply involved in researching and preparing our policies, which reflect the concerns of many of our Chamber members, as expressed in our annual policy forum, and policy touchpoints throughout the past year. I know our policies will make a difference when we speak to government later this year.”
Final policies, as amended and adopted by delegates on the floor in a super majority/two-thirds vote, will be published within a few weeks and be available for review on the Kelowna Chamber website.