June 10, 2020

 

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To our Chamber Members and Community, Gila'kasla.

 

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The Port McNeill Chamber of Commerce is working with Government, business, and non-profit organizations to understand the impact of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. There is no doubt about the harsh realities rural British Columbia and our communities are facing, and now is the time to pull together in business and community for the greater good. On the Chamber front, our Board of Directors and membership has volunteers with extensive knowledge in Community Economic Development, finance, and business, and we are collaborating to ensure we take a cohesive and streamline approach to business recovery. We aim to take action in areas supported and guided by the direction shown all levels of Government, and perform advocacy and policy recommendations in areas where we see the need.​

 

While we aim to serve and promote access to resources, your best most up-to-date information on financial supports, health information, and more comes directly from the Government of Canada, Province of British Columbia, Island Health and the BC Centre for Disease Control who update information daily. Locally, we will be working to find ways to best communication opportunities and options to support you, our business community, the backbone of society.

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Please feel free to volunteer, reach out, ask questions, and engage during this time. We can use "all hands on deck" in our regional economic recovery. Action and success only occurs as a result of effort. We acknowledge people are tired. We acknowledge the Forestry labour dispute in 2019 followed by COVID-19 was an unprecedented economic blow to our community. That being said, we maintain an abundance of hope. We are a resilient community in one of the most ecologically abundant regions in the world. We have increasingly inclusive communities, and we are focused on reconciliation and equitable business for all. We are entering a new age. Together we can optimize and maximize opportunities that are still present in times of hardship.

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Please, have a look at the resourced we have compiled for business and community, keep in touch with your local Chamber of Commerce, and be inspired by the strength of collective action and the gritty determination found in the heart of the entrepreneur.

 

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Sincerely, 

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Eric Dutcyvich, 

President

Port McNeill Chamber of Commerce

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Gila'kasla