Trail businesses prepare for seniors games

Posted on 07. Jul, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Business, Trail

Trail is getting ready for an expected onslaught of business with the coming B.C. Seniors Games, reports Val Rossi for the Trail Daily Times.

The city’s Downtown Opportunities and Action Committee is chatting with businesses about how to get the most out of an expected $2 million economic spinoff. The games are being co-hosted by Trail, Castlegar and Nelson from Tuesday, Aug. 16 to Saturday, Aug. 20.

Strike likely avoided at credit union

Posted on 10. Mar, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Business

Negotiations between the union representing the Kootenay Savings Credit Union employees and the credit union have reached an agreement that will likely avoid a strike, reports Colin Payne at the Slocan Valley Current. The union members had approved a strike option should negotiations fail. In a press release, the union wrote: “It was a tough [...]

Layoffs at Grand Forks factory

Posted on 02. Feb, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Business, Grand Forks

Roxul laid off 19 people at the end of January, reports Michael Wirischagin at the Boundary Sentinel. The company, which makes insulation, blames a slow business season and high inventories for the lay offs. There’s no word when the 19 employees could expect to work again. Read more at the Boundary Sentinel.

Interfor unhappy about new Midway mill

Posted on 20. Jan, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Business, Grand Forks

Mona Mattei at The Boundary Sentinel reports it isn’t all good news surrounding plans to re-open a mill in Midway and it appears there may not be enough wood in the region to support two mills Interfor, which operates a mill in nearby Grand Forks, says that despite claims by the Vaagen Brothers, the Midway [...]

Municipal spending a ‘disgraceful state of affairs,’ says report

Posted on 02. Dec, 2010 by Chris Shepherd in Business

Municipal governments are spending twice as much on their operating budgets than what inflation and population growth would support, reads a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, news the federation’s vice president calls a “disgraceful state of affairs.” The BC Municipal Spending Report, released today, looks at the operating expenses – which does [...]

Lumber sales to China will bring ‘a thousand’ jobs: Bell

Posted on 10. Nov, 2010 by Chris Shepherd in Business

Pat Bell, Minister of Forests, Mines and Lands, says a recent trade mission to China will create almost a thousand jobs for the province. Bell is in China on a trade mission and during a conference call with media, he announced companies taking part in the mission, including Castlegar’s Interfor, sold 418 million board-feet of [...]

Optimistic talk about local forest industry

Posted on 28. Oct, 2010 by Chris Shepherd in Business

Like a tree faller keeping an eye out for widow makers, the forest industry in the West Kootenays is looking up. Pat Bell, Minister of Forests, Mines and Lands, has said the timber supply and planned projects at Castlegar’s Interfor saw mill bode well for the Kootenays. Read the story at The Slocan Valley Current.

Legal pot in California could hurt Kootenay economy

Posted on 27. Oct, 2010 by Chris Shepherd in Business

News reports are coming out that should Californians vote to legalize marijuana, the economy in British Columbia, and the Kootenays in particular, could suffer. George Penfold, an economist who studies B.C.’s marijuana trade, says if pot can be legally grown in California there’ll be little need for the drug grown in the province. Proceeds from [...]

Province considers raising minimum wage

Posted on 30. Sep, 2010 by Chris Shepherd in Business, Provincial Politics

Labour Minister Murray Coell has said it’s time to look into whether the province should raise the province’s minimum wage. Speaking at the recent Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, Coell said the province provided many ways, or “levers” in his words, to alleviate financial hardship for British Columbians with low wages. Those include: Eliminating provincial [...]

Employees at Trail Wal-Mart consider unionizing

Posted on 13. Aug, 2010 by Chris Shepherd in Business, Trail

Some employees at Trail’s Wal-Mart are looking to unionize, a move that’s likely to draw the ire of the international department store. The news surfaced after Rossland residents received a flyer from the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union this week. According to Cara Johnson of UFCW Local 1518, “At this point in time [...]