The Corporation of Delta was one of five B.C. communities recognized by the B.C. Small Business Roundtable’s 2016 Open for Business Award.
in recognition of their efforts to support the growth of small businesses, create jobs and drive local economic growth.
The fourth-annual awards ceremony was held during the Union of British Columbia Municipalities annual convention in Victoria on Sept. 26.
Twenty one communities from around the province applied for this year’s award recognizing municipalities’ efforts to support the growth of small businesses, create jobs and drive local economic growth, with Delta, the Village of Telkwa, the City of Victoria, the District of Lake Country and the Nisga’a Lisims Government taking home the honours.
According to a press release by the office of Mayor Jackson, Delta won the award by investing in creating a “fertile environment for business growth” and cultivating strong relationships with the local business community under the leadership of Jackson, Delta’s municipal council and Chief Administrative Officer George Harvie.
In order to assist with the growth of small businesses, the Corporation of Delta adopted the South Delta Business Sustainability Strategy to revitalize the downtown environments of Ladner and Tsawwassen. The strategy hopes to improve access to existing businesses and attract new investment. Delta has also created a variety of economic incentives and tax revitalization programs to encourage development in business areas throughout the municipality. This is the first time that Delta has won this award. Its inter-municipal work was recognized as being incredibly well thought-out, having 16 distinct communities within its borders.
Coralee Oakes, provincial minister of small business and red tape reduction and chair of the B.C Small Business Roundtable, said the awards “are an important way to honour communities across our province that are invested in helping local small businesses grow.”
The Open for Business Awards started in 2013 as a way of recognizing local policies, projects, and programs that support small business. Small businesses make up 98 per cent of all business in B.C. and employ over one million people.
Winners are chosen by an adjudication committee made up of members of the roundtable, along with other import- ant small business stakeholders and selected according to a specific criteria, including business-friendly initiatives in the community, activities to reduce red tape, understand- ing the needs of the small business sector, reducing cost for small business, tracking and measuring activities for small business, and efforts to attract, develop and retain entrepreneurial talent within communities.
The B.C Small Business Roundtable’s goal is to make British Columbia the most small-business-friendly jurisdiction in North America. B.C. is currently ranked first in Canada for the number of small businesses per capita, with 83 businesses per 1,000 people.
Small businesses interested in applying for the 2017 awards scan apply on the roundtable’s website in early summer 2017 or follow them on Twitter @SBRoundtableBC.
