Sustainable Community Film Series

Here's a notice from the South Cariboo Sustainability Committee, one of our new non-profit assiciation members, about a Film Series that they are putting on at the 100 Mile Library.

Sustainable Community Film Series

(Sponsored by the South Cariboo Sustainability Committee)

Come out and enjoy the films!

There will be time for an informal discussion after each film.

Where:  100 Mile Library

When: 7:30 PM (after our meeting at 6:30 PM)

Admission by donation (suggested donation $2 to $5)

For more information call 250.791.1901

Films are shown on the third Tuesday of each month:

February 15^th: “Escape from Suburbia”(sequel to “End of Suburbia”)  

In ESCAPE From SUBURBIA director Greg Greene once again takes us “through the looking glass” on a journey of discovery – a sobering yet vital and ultimately positive exploration of what the second half of the Oil Age has in store for us.  Through personal stories and interviews we examine how declining world oil production has already begun to affect modern life in North America. Expert scientific opinion is balanced with “on the street” portraits from an emerging global movement of citizen’s groups who are confronting the challenges of Peak Oil in extraordinary ways.

March 15^th:“What A Way To Go: Life at the End of the Empire”

A middle class white guy comes to grips with Peak Oil, Climate Change, Mass Extinction, Population Overshoot and the demise of the American lifestyle.  A disturbing, compassionate, sometimes humorous personal essay about our present global predicament, as oil depletion, climate change, species extinction and population overshoot converge in a “perfect storm” of cataclysmic dimensions.  Produced independently by Sally Erickson and Tim Bennet, this personal essay explores the cultural stories and assumptions that have brought us to this point, and provides a larger context for thinking about, and feeling our way through, our global situation.  

April 19^th:  “In Transition”  

This film is about the worldwide “Transition Town” movement and about how communities around the world are responding to peak oil and climate change with creativity, imagination and humour; and how they are setting about rebuilding their local economies and communities.  Transition Towns envision a future where communities have reduced dependency on fossil fuels and increased resiliency.   

20th Anniversary of Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) 100 Mile House and District Chapter White Cane Club

A message from our 100 Mile House & District White Cane Club: 

The Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) 100 Mile House and District Chapter White Cane Club is currently making plans to celebrate our 20^th anniversary which will take place in conjunction with National white Cane Week February 6 through 12, 2011.  We would like to extend this invitation for you to join us on Saturday, February 5, 2011 from 10:00 am through 3:00 pm as we launch White Cane Week with this worthwhile community event.

The event will include many hands-on tools that will provide everyone the opportunity to experience a visual impairment; displays of visual aids & assistive devices along with educational information on blindness and related topics will be on site; a toonie auction, live music, and lunch will all form part of the exhibits and festivities.

The entire community will be invited to take part in this celebration at the 100 Mile House Community Hall in what we hope will be the largest undertaking our club has ever experienced since receiving our Charter in February 1991.  Since that time, the generosity and support received from retailers, residents and organizations throughout the South Cariboo has been exceptional and greatly appreciated.  We look forward to another twenty years or more of working together and welcome any donations of auction items you are able to contribute.

Join us and see how our club hopes to bring the reality of blindness out of the dark!


Thanks to Lori Fry for submitting the above information.  If you have anything to donate towards this event, please contact Lori.

Chamber Update - January 2011

Thanks to the many members who have already renewed their dues for 2011.  Congratulations to Cariboo Truck and Equipment Repair, winner of the draw for $100 in Chamber Coins for renewing by December 31.  For those members who have not done so already, I encourage you to renew membership by January 31.  Payment can be made by Visa, Mastercard, cheque or cash.  Please contact me if you did not receive your invoice, which was sent the end of the November.

A warm welcome is extended to our two newest members, Sheridan Lake Bed and Breakfast and Canada's Log People, who recently joined the South Cariboo Chamber.

In today's update:

• establish a simple web presence for your business or organization through the Chamber website;
• Citizen of the Year 2010 call for nominations;
• upcoming Chamber events.

Develop Your Web Presence Using The Chamber Website
As you may know, the Chamber posts member contact information on the Chamber website, including hot links to existing websites, as a basic service provided with membership.  As an extended service to our members, we also provide hosting for simple web pages at an additional cost of $90 + HST.  A page like this can be helpful for those who either don't have a site or would like to expand their online presence and send more traffic to their main site. When completed, a link to your Chamber Page will be added to your membership listing.

To keep costs down and implementation relatively simple, Member Chamber Pages are based on a template, created by the Chamber's website designer, JN Web Design.  The first page, for Work 'n Play, is now up and launched. Click here to visit and get an idea of what your Chamber Page would look like.  After completion, simple changes or updates (e.g. prices, dates, names, replacing photo etc.) would be $10.  More extensive changes would be at JN Web Design's Chamber discount rate of $38/hour ($19/half-hour) + HST.

For details, contact either me or Jeffrey Newman at JN Web Design.


2010 Citizen of the Year: Call for Nominations
It is that time of year again when we look back and seek to acknowledge the community-building contributions of our dedicated residents.  A Committee of past Citizen of the Year winners, chaired by our MLA Donna Barnett, will review nominations.  I invite you to give some thought towards who has made an outstanding contribution of their time and energy for the betterment of our South Cariboo community.  Nomination forms can be obtained at the Chamber office, fascination street, the Free Press or the Visitors Centre.  All nominations must be submitted by January 31.


Upcoming Chamber Events
On Wednesday January 19, Sean Crouse from the Business Development Bank of Canada will be speaking at our Chamber lunch.  Sean is a Senior Manager for Business Development at BDC.  The lunch will be held at the Happy Landing Restaurant.  More details to follow next week.

On Wednesday January 26 from 5:30 until 7pm, the South Cariboo Arts and Culture Society will be hosting a Chamber Business After Hours at Parkside Art Gallery.  "After Hours" is an opportunity to network with other Chamber members and to learn about one of our members.  Several local artists will be on hand, as well as the Society's Board of Directors to share their passion for art.  Again, more details to follow.

Summary of the Minimum Wage Survey

Members of the South Cariboo Chamber were invited to participate in an on-line survey from December 10 to 15, 2010, to gauge their opinions on whether the minimum wage in British Columbia should be increased.  In all, 34 members participated.

The survey was carried out to provide the South Cariboo Chamber with an accurate snapshot of members’ opinions to be passed onto the BC Chamber, which is in the process of engaging the provincial government on this topic.

Below is a summary of the results from the survey.

____________________________________

How many people does your business employ?

29% responded none/self-employed

37% responded 1-5 employees

11% responded 6-9 employees

9% responded 10-15 employees

0% responded 16-20 employees

11% responded 21-50 employees

3% responded 51+ employees

Do you currently employ any staff at minimum wage?

15% responded yes

85% responded no

Which of the following statements do you most agree with:

23% - The minimum wage should be left unchanged for now

35% - The BC Government should implement a one-time increase to the minimum wage in the near future

42% - Increases to the minimum wage should occur annually based on a clear and predictable formula

If the BC minimum wage is increased, please rate the impact this would have on your business.

55% - negligible impact

14% - negligible to moderate impact

14% - moderate impact

17% - moderate to severe impact

0% - severe impact

 

If the BC Government were to increase the minimum wage, what should it be increased to?

16% - $8.00/hr – wage should stay the same

10% - increase to $8.50/hr

32% - increase to $9.00/hr

10% - increase to $9.50/hr

29% - increase to $10.00/hr

0% - increase to $10.50/hr

3% - increase to $11.00/hr or more

 

Numerous additional comments were received, including:

·        Wrong year for an increase

·        Training wage should be eliminated

·        As basic cost of living increases, minimum wage should follow, but so should the allowable deductions for small businesses

·        Rebate taxes (carbon, HST, etc) back to low income workers

·        Let the market determine wages

·        Link minimum wage to CPI (Consumer Price Index) – this will take the politicization out of the issue – businesses would know to expect an annual increase based on cost of living

·        Minimum wage should be a liveable wage.  This is not currently the situation.