History

While You Worked in Your Business, the Chamber Worked for You!

2021 was a year of uncertainty, challenges and opportunities for the business community.  If your business renewed its membership or became a member of the Yorkton Chamber, you viewed the membership as an investment in your business. As a Chamber member, you were able to work on your business while the Chamber looked after the bigger concerns facing businesses in Yorkton and area.  The Chamber Board and Staff are proud of the work they did in 2021 for the betterment of the community.  Below is a summary of the 2021 highlights.

Advocacy: Informing the various orders of government of policies or legislation having an impact on the business community:

• Letters sent
  • In March, the Board urged the Business Response Team (BRT) and /or Sask Health Authority (SHA) to consult with industry and sector experts on Best Practices for their respective areas.  In turn, businesses would be better able to implement rules & regulations with the least amount of disruption to their businesses
  • In Sept, the Board thanked Premier Moe and his government for not overreacting to the surge in COVID cases by locking down or restricting businesses
  • In October, an email was sent to Greg Ottenbreit, MLA asking if businesses would be compensated for the extra cost of having to verify vaccination records in order to allow people into their businesses.  THE BRT responded, “no”.  The Chamber indicated to Mr. Ottenbreit its disappointment in the response and that “the cost of vaccination verification is the sole burden of a select few businesses”
  • In October, a letter was sent to Premier Moe and several cabinet Ministers asking for an indication of the new Goal Posts for a “no mask, no vax verification” society
  • In November, a coalition of Chambers, led by the Saskatoon Chamber, called upon the Government to undertake a review of the current property tax system and address its weaknesses
• Met twice with City Council.  Also met with local MLA and MP
• Promoted the Yorkton RCMP Fraud Prevention Group
• Held a virtual meeting between concerned commercial property owners and a property assessment and tax expert to discuss soaring property assessments
• Appeared before Council urging it to find a way for assessments to more accurately reflect the true value of commercial properties.  Also attended a Council meeting where SAMA delivered a presentation on assessment and taxation.  President Sveinbjornson asked a number of questions
• Continued to send out notifications about government programs available to businesses
• Encouraged members to join Sask Chamber’s Input Sask to provide input on a wide variety of business-related topics
• Hosted the All Candidates’ Forum for the Federal Election

Education & Networking:

• The Training & Employment Network (TEN) Project enabled the Chamber to offer Indigenous Awareness training to a number of businesses; and in partnership with the Sask Chamber, a 15-minute video entitled Journey was released featuring immigrant business owners from across the province discussing their experiences adjusting to life and doing business in SK.  The video has subtitles in a number of languages
• The Shop Local Project enabled the Chamber to produce 101 videos featuring local businesses and encouraging people to Shop Local.  An aggressive ad campaign was also launched.  A study was commissioned to evaluate the impact of shopping local has on the economy.  Remember to “think before you click” – does a local business offer the goods or services you are looking for?
• Held a Business Lunch featuring Jolene Watson who shared how stress changes people
• Held the 22^nd Annual Chamber Business Dinner featuring Kendal Netmaker as Guest Speaker

Let the Chamber Work for Your Business in 2022