Anyone against a proposed merger of the Sunshine Coast’s three chambers of commerce has until early November to speak up. So far, though, Sechelt chamber interim chair Gaetan Royer says he has heard no opposition.
The Pender Harbour, Sechelt and Gibsons chambers of commerce have been ramping up engagement with their members following an August announcement that the three organizations had signed letters of intent to merge by the end of the year.
A volunteer task force – made up of Doug Marteinson from Gibsons, Gaetan Royer from Sechelt and Ron Badley from Pender Harbour – has taken up the business of merging, engaging with its members and its work will culminate in membership votes for each of the chambers on Nov. 7 and 8. Members will receive the invitations to said meetings by email. To vote, the member or a designate must attend the meeting in person or online. Those who are members of more than one chamber may vote in each chamber meeting that they are a member of. The quorums for each organization vary (five per cent of members in good standing in Sechelt, 15 per cent of members in good standing in Gibsons and 10 members in Pender Harbour) but once it is met, the vote will proceed with majority rule.
“There's a lot of details to be sorted out but one of the key elements is to make sure that we listen to the membership,” said Royer. Each chamber has been holding information sessions and reaching out to its members. “The task force wants to listen to all the members who may have concerns or ideas on how to do [the merger]. We've heard so far, a lot of positive support, but if there are concerns, if somebody has reservations about this, we want to hear about it.”
Royer said he’s heard of the benefit of having one, stronger voice, and for those who work in multiple jurisdictions on the Coast, having one go-to place for advice and business information. Whether there will still be a physical office (like the one in Trail Bay Mall) is still to be decided, said Royer (though he said it makes sense to keep said office as it is central.)
An FAQ circulated to the three memberships says that there is a commitment for the Sunshine Coast Chamber of Commerce to keep localized networking, communication and event opportunities.
“I'm quite used to working through controversial development issues,” said Royer, who is an experienced development consultant. “This is not controversial. It seems like it's readily accepted,” he said.
Should the vote be successful, an interim board formed of two board members from each chamber and one local economic development organization representative will meet for three to five months to oversee the merger.
The three existing boards will continue to meet until the end of their terms or until the new entity is ready to elect its inaugural board.
The chambers’ combined membership is more than 500 with revenues of $170,000, said an August press release from the merger task force.
