Golden chamber works

Since its term began in May, the board of Golden’s chamber of commerce has been busy with business events and initiatives

by Marie Milner — August 27, 2015

Golden, B.C., has an active and attractive downtown core. — Kirsten Armleder photo

The stated mission of the Kicking Horse Country Chamber of Commerce (KHCCC) is to help business thrive in Golden, B.C. The KHCCC has been working to enrich the experience of local shoppers and to attract travellers to stop and spend some time in Golden.

“The KHCCC‘s focus has been in the downtown core, working in conjunction with events to create vibrancy downtown,” said Ruth Hamilton, manager of the KHCCC. “We began with a downtown sidewalk sale during the annual Golden Mountain Festival (in May), then on July 1 we organised a free community pancake breakfast and a five-and-10K run in Spirit Square, and partnered with the Redline Car Show and the Golden Farmers Market to host a day-long celebration in the downtown core.”

Coming attractions

The three-day Golden Ultra trail race will take place on September 18 to 20, and as an added attraction, the KHCCC has arranged for a chainsaw carving exhibition to take place that weekend as well. If it’s as popular as anticipated, the exhibition may become an ongoing feature at this annual event.

Dr. Erika Buckley-Strobel, president of the KHCCC, said she is looking forward to having the chamber’s monthly Let’s Do Lunch meetings resume in September after a summer break.

“These events provide a venue for new and established business people to come together, learn something new related to business skills and share support for each other,” she said.

Tough stuff

Buckley-Strobel and Hamilton agree that two important topics before the KHCCC’s Policy and Advocacy subcommittee are the four-laning of Highway 1 and changes to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

The volume of traffic on Highway 1 demands that Golden’s highway services be available 24 hours per day—but little Golden doesn’t have the resident population to staff those restaurants and fuel stations around the clock, all year round. It has relied on temporary foreign workers to help fill those jobs. In the tourism sector, skilled seasonal workers—rafting guides, ski instructors and paragliding instructors, for instance—are often recruited from other countries. Changes to the foreign worker program are making it more expensive and more difficult for businesses to attract and hire people from other countries, and Golden’s economy is suffering.

Hamilton said that the chamber’s Policy & Advocacy subcommittee is continuing to keep the topic of four-laning Highway 1 in front of the politicians every chance it gets.

“(The subcommittee) is planning to take the issue to the BC Chamber of Commerce because it has the ear of government,” she said. “This is a complex, long-term project with a huge price tag, and we need to keep pursuing it.”

Among other activities and events planned for the last quarter of the year, KHCCC will host an all-candidates forum before the October 19 federal election, hold its Community Excellence Awards evening on October 24 and host the Santa Parade and Shopfest on November 28 to kick off the holiday season.