I have heard from business owners it is becoming harder to operate in parts of the city, Social disorder and crime have had a negative impact on the number of people coming to their stores, increased shoplifting, and increased insurance costs have made it difficult to be profitable. Some businesses are also struggling to find workers and some of this may be attributed to the increased housing costs. This is not unique to Nanaimo and requires collaboration amongst all levels of government. There is also concern about the lack of family physicians and specialists in the City. This is not unique to Nanaimo however it does figure into a decision business owners make. The other issue we are facing is the surge in on line shopping so many companies are moving away from brick and mortar stores.

we have a wonderful city, that being said we have some work ahead of us to make it more attractive for business. Our downtown core needs to be revitalized and made a safer area so it can grow to it’s full potential.

The proof is in the pudding. Nanaimo is seeing the largest increase in housing and construction that we have ever seen. Businesses are moving here, and we are about to embark on the largest increase in our industrial base since Nanaimo was created. Nanaimo is the 5th largest growing city in Canada. With that comes business. So if business is coming here and larger developers are working in our city then Nanaimo is an attractive place for small and large business to operate.

Nanaimo is an attractive city if we are speaking of scenery and the general community. However, there is no way I would want to open a small business in Nanaimo in the shape it is in currently. Again, social unrest, crime rates and costs have skyrocketed , which would make it a challenging endeavor for entrepreneurs.

Development and business growth has occurred and is continuing to occur. However, there is a need to reduce development approval times and provide more affordable housing options for citizens. Both are barriers to business at the present time.

It could be if the many empty buildings were utilized to accommodate a group of small vendors

We have many feature to attract business and workers. There are certainly some concerns with commercial concerns downtown amid growing reluctance for folks to travel downtown,

Our proximity to Vancouver and to other communities on Vancouver Island make us an attractive place for some businesses to establish themselves, especially if the business owners appreciate Nanaimo’s natural beauty and easy access to outdoor recreation opportunities. Tourism businesses can capitalize on the fact that Vancouver Island is a popular destination and many people arrive in Nanaimo first before heading elsewhere. Being on an island presents some unique challenges for certain businesses, and the lack of affordable housing and low vacancy rate can make it difficult to find/attract workers depending on the type of business.

There are many positives and negatives that Nanaimo has in terms of attracting small and large businesses. Our central location on the island, desirable place to live, population growth and connectivity to Vancouver are positives for attracting business. The downside is our high cost and low availability of housing for workers, limited industrial land and challenges with building and development permit times. This last council has opened up more industrial lands and has made some strides to improve permitting times with a fast-track tenant improvement program. More improvement is needed. The next council must lead a change to a more service-oriented and solution-focused approach to further improve the building and development approval process and support business development.

I am a business owner in downtown Nanaimo. Sometimes, my day begins cleaning up trash that has been left outside our building (including needles) or dealing with someone struggling with drug or mental health issues.

The city places a low priority on business and this needs to change.

This city is a real jewel and has so much potential. In order to attract more business we need to address the crime issues. I would like to explore the creation of it’s own police service to address the specific needs of this city.

What I hear from business owners are that the downtown businesses struggle greatly with street disorder but are thankful for the new Downtown Safety Plan and the addition of Community Safety Officers. For new businesses or those looking to grow, I understand we need to be better at our permitting times, which is something this Council has taken an active role in.
Overall, this Council’s deep engagement work with the business sector which resulted in the creation of the new Prosperity Corporation is a testament to Nanaimo’s commitment to building a strong and vibrant local economy.

Compared to our competition cities Nanaimo has slow, bureaucratic approvals that impede business. We fail to stop the subsidy (effectively an extra tax burden) to the gas utility which other communities do not pay. It takes far too long to develop housing or commercial and industrial projects.

Without people – business do not thrive. With the population of Nanaimo increasing, however, there is better potential for business.

Nanaimo has managed to attract considerable investment over the past few years and has fared relatively well in a competitive environment amongst cities for business investment that brings jobs. We have positives – our Parks, Port, Airport, University. We need to push hard for improvements to and modernization of our Regional hospital and we need to keep our region looking tidy. And we need senior government to address the mental health and addictions problem that is affecting business confidence.

We live in one of the most desireable places to live in Canada because of our stunning natural surroundings, to our weather, and recreational opportunities. We are abundantly blessed with passionate and creative local entrepreneurs and more would love to rehome here.

Affordable housing continues to be a challenge to those considering relocating here. We cannot expect a new business to thrive when the owner is living out of the back of their station wagon (or maybe minivan is more appropriate). Businesses need workers. Workers need homes. It is a simple equation but not so simple to address.

This is a challenge I welcome to address as a member of City Council. As I have demonstrated for the past 30+ years, creative solutions are my specialty!

Public safety is at the top of mind for all business owners that I have speken to. Without drastically improving public safety, Nanaimo isn’t a friendly place to do business.

As the fifth fastest growing municipality in Canada, we are fortunate to be attracting younger people between the ages of 25 to 40 according to latest census data. We are a green city, with natural beauty and a moderate climate. The Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation will support economic development externally and we have an Economic Development Department, Tourism Nanaimo, the Chamber of Commerce and Community Futures to support existing business and growth. The Nanaimo Port Authority will be looking to expand operations in the near future at Duke Point. In this challenging economy Nanaimo looks very promising.

Nanaimo is known for its great quality of life, local amenities and natural features. Our location in the center of the island, our proximity to Vancouver, Vancouver Island University, the Nanaimo airport and the Port of Nanaimo are all positive features to attract small and medium enterprises. On the downside, the spike in housing and rental costs and the low vacancy rates make it expensive for workers to live in our community and businesses are facing labour shortages and competition on wages. If we want to attract businesses to Nanaimo then we also need to attract workers.

We need to create the conditions for small and medium enterprises to thrive in Nanaimo. SMEs are the engine of the local economy and hire the majority of local workers. SMEs can pivot and serve the needs of the community when global supply chains are failing. We need a robust business sector for a resilient community.

We need more light industrial space in the city. Also, city hall is notoriously slow with the permitting process, with delays of up to two years for projects to receive full approval for building and development permits. These processes need to be more efficient and expedient.

Nanaimo is a gorgeous place for people to live, work and play! It’s especially attractive for small and large businesses to operate because of the beauty of the area and the community support. However, we can do more. Let’s do everything we can to promote getting small renovation permits through faster. Let’s do everything we can to make infrastructure projects around the new business go faster. I think all buildings today with businesses on the lower floors should be allowed and encouraged to have residential apartments/condo above.
Let’s put our homes near our businesses so we have more people within easy access of the businesses. More people are out of their cars and supporting the areas where they live.
Let’s do more to beautify the areas where our business are located to help generate more public activity.

It use to be….but global circumstances along with federal, provincial and municipal mandates created a stranglehold on small and medium businesses creating the closure of way too many. Take a walk in the malls…drive around our downtown…look at the lack of shoppers, look at all the vacancies. Our prosperity has diminished at a sad rate. This does not bode well for business.

We can work on this. There are too many open spots in downtown Nanaimo that could be filled with amazing people following their dreams. Places that inspire and assist people are already in the city and need to be promoted. Workbc is a great start but we are growing and haven’t reached the goal.

I am disagreeing because we need to address and improve the current crime rate so local businesses will improve, and we can welcome new businesses with a positive outlook so all can in turn will thrive.

Yes if City and Provincial governments work together with good co-ordination and cooperation.

Yes, I believe Nanaimo is an attractive place for small and large business to operate. Aside from the natural beauty of the area which attracts consumers, we are still relatively affordable compared to Victoria or lower mainland. We are the “hub” of the island, central to everywhere, with an airport and two ferry terminals. I do feel, though, that we need to be more business friendly in terms of approving developments and providing supports to local businesses. More attention needs to be on fostering a healthy local economy, something which I do not feel enough emphasis has been devoted to in our new City Plan.

Nanaimo has always been an attractive place to run a business however with the drastic increase in crime it’s becoming more difficult for locals to operate their businesses.

Nanaimo has potential to be a truly beautiful City, but the reality is much of this is marred by the Crime and the Homelessness which plague the City, and so many like it that are run by people with Neo-Liberal, Progressive ideologies.

Of course Nanaimo is a very attractive place for businesses to operate in on the level of amenities and natural attractions. If you want to enjoy Nature, Nanaimo is phenomenal. If you want to shop at all the popular big box brands. Nanaimo makes it easy to do so.

But, Nanaimo needs to STOP the slide into becoming another City that is ruined by Progressive ideologies.

In Chicago, the CEO of McDonalds told the Chicago Mayor that McDonald’s employees, including Executives, did not want to live or work in the City because of the severe issues around Crime and Homelessness. In San Francisco, businesses are suing the City because of issues around Crime and Homelessness.

Nature and Amenities only make a City so attractive. Safety and Security are the biggest drivers for Business retention and Resident satisfaction. Nanaimo needs to become a City of Law and Order. Then the Natural Beauty and Amenities are truly irresistible.

I believe there are areas which can continue to improve, we are working on the development and business permit time frames. I believe more work needs to done to address this. A consultant was hired to review our processes and we are in the process of implementing many of the recommendations. One of the issues remains we are in competition across the Country for building inspectors , engineers etc. These vacancies can make the licensing time longer.

I would like to know where the red tape could be nipped to make it more business friendly

For the last four years council has worked hard to put in place good policy and bylaws to promote the development of a good community and good business. What’s good for the community is good for business.

Development and business growth has occurred and is continuing to occur. However, there is a need to reduce development approval times and provide more affordable housing options for citizens. Both are barriers to business at the present time.

The downtown core is dirty and needs to be powerwashed removing the cars would present a people friendly atmosphere where people could sir and socialize

We need to make decisions consistent with our OCP and apply that guidance consitently to give certainty to business concerns.

This is something I am keen to discuss this further with the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce to learn more about, and I am interested to see how the newly-established Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation (NPC) will approach their vision of making Nanaimo, quote: “THE city of choice: a vibrant, globally connected gathering place at the forefront of innovation in economic and community development.”

I would help the next council ensure a more efficient and predictable building and developmental permitting process. That’s an improvement that could help businesses succeed in Nanaimo. It would also help increase much-needed housing stock. Making building and development approval processes more efficient and predictable does not mean lowering standards, but it does mean changing the culture of how the process is administered. Although this council has commenced work on improving the process more focus and leadership are needed in developing a solution-focused culture that can achieve quicker results.

As a downtown business owner, I do not feel supported by the City. It look many months (and dozens of calls) for us to obtain a city permit to start operating several years ago. I hear many others in the same position.

We need to be better at our permitting times. That work is underway and is being guided by a multi-disciplinary group of stakeholders.

see previous comment

Small businesses have been hit most significantly. In conditions of economic recovery following multiple waves of the pandemic, the City of Nanaimo has to do more to be attractive to small business in particular. If elected to council, I will work with community and fellow council members to identify and implement solutions to the practical difficulties that small businesses are facing. I would like to help them any way that I can.

We need to support small-businesses and – in order to do that effectively we need better contractual terms and conditions being offered to them, as well as various other supports.

We need to continue to make progress in reducing the time it takes to review and approve investment proposals.

I would say the City of Nanaimo is generally easy to do business with and there are no glaring regulatory issues aside from some missed or unexplored zoning opportunities.

Again, it is reprioritizing and addressing some of the more challenging issues faced by our community (such as accessible housing) which will provide a more desirable environment for local businesses to prosper.

We can improve processes and regulations for building permits, and work to streamline these services, along with the construction industry. We are open to listening and improving processes that support various forms of business to succeed.

The process for building and development permitting needs to be more efficient and expedient. Currently, it takes far too long for permits to be approved. We need to ensure that standards are met and that the community has proper input on proposals but improvements to the process are necessary. This would improve the business environment, and also to ensure that we can build affordable housing faster to meet current demand.

I think as much as possible City Hall needs to be as welcoming and helpful to businesses. City Hall serves the community and it’s important to remember, we are their customers. Their role is to support the local residents and businesses particularly when you know how much it costs to run a business in any community.
I’ve been told that even small renovations can take months and that affects businesses from operating so City Hall must be more helpful and remember that when business makes money, our whole community thrives.

I have heard of too many situations and circumstances where bylaws, regulations and permits have led to businesses withdrawing due to the cost, time delays and bureaucracy. So no, it has not been favorable.

As a local business owner, I felt it was difficult and expensive to get where I am and I am still learning. I was fortunate to find some help with Workbc, but help takes time and expenses come quicker. Fortunately I am creative and versatile but not everyone is as lucky.

The City of Nanaimo is a beautiful and attractive place to own a business. We have a welcoming community and a strong Chamber. However, we need to do better at the city level when it comes to the regulatory environment. We should look at relaxing some of the regulations when it comes to certain downtown buildings/businesses that want to change use. They should be able to do so without facing expensive upgrades. We also always need to be thinking about ways forward where we can make Nanaimo the economic hub for Vancouver Island. With our city’s projected growth, location, and amenities (I.E., the Port Authority, VIU, etc.), we have the potential and right ingredients to be well positioned economically.

Fairly yes.

On the whole I agree with this statement. We have made efforts to work with the local business community to improve development approval timelines despite a huge increase in the number of developments being processed. Our staff are excellent. What is needed is a greater support from Council for developers rather than putting barriers in their way based on personal philosophies. An example would be Council turning down a small mall development in the Chase River area with the neighbourhood wanted but which was voted down because it was deemed too autocentric and contained a drive-through restaurant.

In past years I found Nanaimo has struggled to allow new businesses room to grow.

I must admit to not being very familiar with the regulations the City imposes on Businesses, but I have heard it said that it is prohibitively time consuming in Nanaimo to get a Building Permit, or meet many of the Environmental Regulations.

I am a firm believer and celebrant of Capitalism, the Free Market, and Free Enterprise. I do believe that Government needs to provide guidelines and a framework to insure that Citizen’s well being and the Environment are protected and preserved, but, as much as humanly possible, Government needs to GET OUT OF THE WAY of Private Enterprise and let the process of Competition and Efficiency inherent in the Capitalist system provide people with the best value for their hard earned money.

For example, the City is considering the possibility of making it mandatory for all new Construction to NOT use Natural Gas, but instead Heat Pumps.

One of my 2 Big Ideas is the “Expert Debate”. Council would invite 2 Experts, one in favor, one against, to answer questions from Council and the Public, and debate one another. Then Council could make an informed decision with informed Community feedback. The Goal : Government regulation as unintrusive as possible.