Buns Master Bakery owner Alvin Ginther has waited two years to hang up his apron. Turns out, he might have to wait a little longer.
Ginther has been waiting since 2013 for the B.C. government to review an application that would see his bakery business sold to two Chinese investors through the B.C. Provincial Nominee Program.
The application was denied 10 days before Christmas because government felt the prospective entrepreneurs didn’t have the money behind them for support, or that they had the expertise and training, according to Ginther.
“I was really disappointed,” he said. “I was maybe foolishly hoping everything would go because a lot of them did. A lot of places sold … I thought why can’t I be one of those?”
The provincial nominee program is a government initiative to encourage investment and economic growth while entrepreneurs are put on the fast track to permanent residency. An increase in demand has meant long wait times for both sellers and buyers. The B.C. PNP website shows wait times to review applications can be more than three years.
Local success stories of business changing hands include Dog’s Ear T-Shirt and Embroidery and Jumping Jiminy’s Playground and Café, but other deals fell apart after years of waiting for applications to rise to the top of the pile.
Kim Smythe, chief executive officer of the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, said the process might be reaching a maturity point where deals are starting to fall apart and sympathizes with business owners. He also pointed out that caution is still required – people have seen success, failure and likely situations in between.
According to Angela Fang, owner of immigration and investment consulting firm Integrity Impact Management Group, the system has gone out of whack in the last two years with long wait times. The program has close to a 90-per cent turn-down rate, she said, adding there can be very limited explanations for refusal. Some are told they are not qualified.
Fang argues, however, that people choose opportunities they feel will be a good, stable business. Judgment should be based on their performance, not assumption.
In Ginther’s case, the applicants didn’t even make it to the interview stage. The duo, who are in the movie and restaurant business, were told their background didn’t match the business. They were also given 15 days to provide additional information but Fang said it’s not enough time. It takes her company up to two months to collect and translate information like tax receipts and bank statements.
Ginther would like to see government approve investors as immigrants first before the process to find a business begins rather than leave immigration until the end. He isn’t sure he’ll sell through the program again, but he does plan on putting the bakery back on the market and get back to business of breads.
Ginther’s story was originally part of the News Bulletin’s Immigration and Investment series, published in October 2015. To read stories from the series, please click here.
