Just ahead of the climax of a contentious provincial election and Small Business Week, Victoria council members passed an advocacy motion with three requests to the provincial government to support the region's small businesses.
At an Oct. 17 committee of the whole meeting, the motion, which was brought forward by Coun. Jeremy Caradonna, was adopted, requesting the province to provide better supports for small businesses and other commercial tenants experiencing high commercial rents and the impacts of current economic conditions; to consider impacts to downtown Victoria when making decisions about remote and hybrid work arrangements; and to renew focus on "street disorder" and its underlaying causes.
"The reality is that we are in a really tough economic condition right now. We're in this post-pandemic economic moment where there's high inflation, there's high interest rates and it does create challenges for small, commercial tenants," said Caradonna.
The letter to the provincial government comes after the closures of multiple commercial tenants in the city's downtown core, including Baggins Shoes, Little Jumbo, Tombo, Prism Imaging and the Victoria Events Centre.
Caradonna said based on interviews with media, he noticed businesses close for three main reasons: post-pandemic economic conditions, the shift to remote and hybrid work, and street disorder and the perception of the downtown core being unsafe.
"If we want to ensure that brick and mortar small businesses are able to thrive, survive in [this] economic environment, that means support coming from provincial and probably federal governments," he said.
Currently, there are two main perceptions of the city, according to Caradonna. One of which is the positivity that comes from awards the city has procured over the past year, including being among the top cities for young people to work in, and being named the best small city in the world. The second "narrative" is that Victoria is unsafe and unwelcoming.
"And every time a small business closes, it seems to feed that narrative. So, in a sense, we're dealing with these two Victorias right now, so which one is it, is it struggling or is it thriving?" he questioned.
In a news release, Caradonna said downtown Victoria is thriving as it boasts one of the lowest storefront vacancy rates of any downtown in the country, and tourism and other industries remain vibrant.
"That said, and as with many downtowns across this province and country, it is experiencing the strains of the post-pandemic economy and requires greater investment and supports from all levels of government," he noted in the release.
He said the city can't do much to address some of the issues, as they are forbidden to give direct financial contributions to individual businesses and there's no commercial rent control, though property taxes are in their purview and they do what they can to address street disorder.
"As a local government we do not have the capacity to solve the deeper underlaying issues that drive homelessness, street disorder, mental health, addictions. All that stuff falls to the province."
The motion passed unanimously, and the letter and requests will soon be sent to the province.
