Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism, and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour was joined by Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Peter Fassbender, Her Honour Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon, Speaker of the House Linda Reid, and representatives from the Association of Book Publishers of BC, to officially proclaim March 8 Book Day in the province.

Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour has issued the following statement on the observance of the 2017 Fallen Firefighters' Memorial:

The Province intends to move ahead with an amendment to the Firefighters Occupational Disease Regulation under the Workers Compensation Act to add presumptions for breast cancer, prostate cancer and multiple myeloma as occupational diseases for firefighters.

In accordance with a commitment made in May of 2016, the B.C. government will increase the minimum wage by 50 cents to $11.35 an hour, effective Sept. 15 of this year, to better reflect the province’s overall economic growth and ensure all workers benefit from B.C.’s thriving job market.

New annual international visitor arrival statistics show that in 2016, British Columbia saw a total of 5,532,065 million visitors – an increase of 12.3% accounting for 605,198 more visitors compared to 2015.

The B.C. Aboriginal Business and Investment Council (ABIC) has updated its website to make it easier to do business with First Nations companies, promote economic development among Aboriginal communities, and showcase the successes of Aboriginal businesses throughout the province.

Effective Feb. 1, 2017, the regulation c. 37 for the Provincial Immigration Programs Act (PIPA) will come into effect.

In the first 11 months of 2016, more than 5.1 million international visitors arrived in British Columbia, a 12.2% increase over the same time frame in 2015.