However, when it was known three weeks prior, that
Adrian Dix, leader of the Provincial opposition was to visit Cranbrook, November
9th and 10th, he was not accommodated. Mike de Jong, nevertheless, on very short
notice was accommodated and the meeting time and date for the latest regular
Chamber meeting was changed to accommodate MLA Bennett.
When members of the Chamber are denied the opportunity
to hear the leader of the provincial opposition, myths such as the opposition
being ‘not for business’ are perpetuated.
Without balance and the opportunity for all political parties to be
heard, how can the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce claim to be ‘apolitical’? The City of Cranbrook provides the Chamber of Commerce with an annual $86800.00 grant and one might think, this no doubt valuable organisation, might try to reflect all taxpayers in their political representation if they wish to be regarded as 'apolitical.'
In other local news media, on November 15th
there was a full page article combined advertisement under the mistaken title of,
‘Features’. With a half page, paid
advertisement for the BC Jobs Plan and a paid article promoting the same, it is
questionable as to whether all readers would question why the feature article
needed to be paid for or even knew it was paid for.
It is not always easy to spot spin and exclusion but
going into our own election year it will be necessary to read carefully to find
the whole story.
I'd be interested to hear what any member of the Chamber has to say about your comments.
ReplyDeleteThanks to this blog for pointing this out. I wouldn't have known about Adrian Dix availability to speak to the Chamber. Just as you stated, in order to make educated decisions, people must hear all points of view and then decide. Shame on you Chamber!
ReplyDeleteTo suggest that the City's fee for service contract (which is not a grant) with the Chamber creates a duty on the part of the Chamber to "all taxpayers" is more than a little misleading, no matter what the circumstances of Mr. Dix' visit. Also, why is the CLCS arguing on behalf of Chamber members?
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this information. I would also like to know more about this "fee for service" deal between the city and the chamber.
ReplyDeleteI would hope that with a provincial election looming, the chamber would accommodate speakers of all parties. I imagine that not all chamber members support the same party.
Congrats to the Cranbrook Guardian again for raising issues that otherwise would likely never see the light of day.
It is important that I, Lana Kirk, President of the Cranbrook and District Chamber of Commerce, respond to your “Whole Story” article.
ReplyDeleteI recently reiterated the Chamber’s policy on remaining apolitical. While some speakers at our events may choose to become political in their statements, it is important that the Chamber – as an organization - does remain apolitical while ensuring that our members have access to information. It is important to note that the views of our speakers do not necessarily represent the views of the Cranbrook and District Chamber of Commerce or its members. Our focus is always on improving the business environment in our community.
Your article incorrectly states that the City of Cranbrook is funding the Chamber of Commerce with a grant. In fact, we sign a “fee for service contract” with the City on an annual basis. This contract with the City requires the Chamber to provide the following services to the community:
• Information services for visitors – Main Chamber office year round and Elizabeth Lake from June to September
• Publishing and circulation of tourism brochures.
• Promotion of Sam Steele Days
• Building, managing and housing the City of Cranbrook float
• Hosting visiting dignitaries
If the Chamber was not doing this work on behalf of the community, it would have to be done by the City or someone else. As discussed in our presentation to City Council on March 19th, 2012, this contract provides a very impressive 2.48:1 return on investment.
I appreciate the opportunity to correct the errors in this story.
Lana Kirk, President
Cranbrook and District Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber of Commerce IS a political organization, and blatantly exclusionary, contrary to what they say.
DeleteWhile the Chamber went out of their way to schedule a Monday luncheon for Liberal Minister De Jong, and a Friday breakfast for Liberal Minister Bennett, the Chamber refused to accommodate Adrian Dix, leader of the opposition, even with three weeks notice.
The Chamber supported the Liberal’s debacle of an HST, even though many Chamber members are adversely affected by it. There were no more jobs created by the implementation of the HST, and prices did not drop as promised. Then, in a total about face, the former Chamber President, in an Oct. 12, 2011 presentation to the Select Standing Committee on Finance & Government Services states “. . . Next, the transition/return to the GST/PST tax system must be accelerated and completed with a forward-looking approach.” Flip flop.
Most recently CUPE and the Chamber held simultaneous events around the “10% Shift”. CUPE’s BC President (a BC resident) was travelling throughout BC presenting to Chambers of Commerce (including Nelson, Creston, Fernie, and Invermere) encouraging people to make 10% of their spending with local producers/merchants. However, the Cranbrook Chamber ultimately did not want to collaborate with CUPE, so there were two different events. What was shocking, given that the Chamber is very concerned about cross border shopping, is that they paid for their guest speaker to come from South Dakota, USA! If that isn’t cross border shopping I don’t know what is.
What the Chamber says, and what they do, are two different things.
While we realise the Chamber was not able to control the content of their most recent speaker's speech the point of this article was to demonstrate the exclusionary choice of speakers. The Chamber chose to not host or accommodate the leader of the opposition recently.
ReplyDeleteAll organisations provide some sort of service to the City and as you will see from this document all these taxpayer donated funds are listed under grants.
http://livablecranbrook.blogspot.ca/2012/02/cranbrooks-proposed-grants-to.html
Can the authors of this blog in the sake of transparency please publish the elected board of directors for the CLC. I am beginning to see a political agenda by the authors of this blog to promote their political agenda while attempting to discredit a respected organization within the community.
ReplyDeleteTo the readers of this blog...please be assured there is always more to what the CLC reports in their blog. I would also like to know more about the CLC Boards mission statement...especially the part about being inclusive of all community members
If Anonymous were to look at the top of the blog and see the icon CLCS Vision & Mission Statement, that might provide the information you are looking for. The list of Directors are at the bottom of that page.
DeleteI don't see this blog as discrediting any organization, just pointing out some facts, that are otherwise not reported on. All of the events and workshops that CLC Society has held have been open to the public. That is being inclusive.
thanks for pointing that out. Could not find it. I do believe there is more to the whole story than has been written. I know that I in past have been to Chamber functions that have hosted Mike Harcourt and possibly Glen Clark (getting old now...cant remember for sure.) I would like to know who specifically asked the Chamber to Host a business meeting. There are protocols to follow and it would start with a request from the Office of the Official Opposition
ReplyDeleteThis is ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteWe have no idea if and how the NDP contacted the Chamber. If they say they acted in accordance with their policies, why do we care? Mr. Dix came to town anyway, and as a supporter of him I was able to attend his event. I don't care if the Chamber hosts it or not... and in fact I prefer that they don't!
The Chamber does do some good fundraising in this community, and I am thankful for the efforts of a group of volunteer business people who want what we want: a vibrant prosperous community that we can all be proud of!
They don't have to answer to me regarding their decisions. They have to answer to their membership.
Why do we care again?!?
What is ridiculous is that this conversation has gone way off topic. I doubt anyone questions the good work the Chamber does. The point of the original article clearly stated the issue of a publicly funded organisation appearing to promote one side of political issues when it claims to be apolitical. Opportunities to question various parties about their business policy do not come around every day and it would appear this was an opportunity missed.
ReplyDeleteEverybody is assuming that the Chamber chose not to accommodate the leader of the NDP when nobody has come out and said that the Chamber turned down an official request to speak at a Chamber sponsored event. Ms. Blisset is the NDP Candidate and has commented on this blog so I would like to know from her if there was an official request and therefore a valid beef with the Chamber. Also, saying the Chamber is publicly funded is like saying the janitorial company for the RecPlex is publicly funded. Performing specific work for specific pay is NOT the definition of publicly funded.
ReplyDeleteTo Whom it May Concern,
DeleteI contacted the Chamber of Commerce in mid October, more than three weeks in advance, to ask if they might be able to hold a luncheon on Friday November 9 as Adrian Dix, the leader of the BC NDP was coming to Cranbrook and I was hoping that the Chamber luncheon would be a forum for the leader of the official opposition to speak to business people. I was told no, that the Chamber luncheons were scheduled many months in advance and that the schedule could not be changed. I could approach the Chamber again in January when they were preparing their 2013 schedule.
I was quite surprised to see that on Monday November 5, the same week as Adrian’s visit, there was a special Chamber luncheon for Liberal Finance Minister Mike de Jong. I had been led to believe that the Chamber luncheons were only held on Wednesdays.
I hope that this adds more clarity to the situation. If there are more concerns regarding this issue please just give me phone call as I’d be more than happy to answer any questions.
There it is, The Whole Story, no spin, no rhetoric - simply what happened. Now we can all make up our own mind about the Chamber's conduct. However, the Chamber's accountability ultimately lies with its membership and, while its credibility in the community may be a bit tarnished over this (or not, depending on how you feel), neither the City nor the taxpayer gets a vote. With regard to the fee for service contract, one has nothing to do with the other.
DeleteThe Chamber is not a publically funded organization. It has a contract with the City to provide services. Plain and simple. The membership contributes the revenue for the advocacy of business climate.
ReplyDeleteso the Whole storey is not quite the whole storey. Turns out that Adrian Dix was not refused, in fact an opportunity in 2013. Once again the blog authors are not providing all the details. Hopefully this is a moot point now and we can all move forward.
ReplyDelete