Business events and workforce support initiatives, such as hiring and retaining employees, in the tourism sector will receive more than $9.3 million over the next two years as part of the Tourism Recovery Initiatives Action Plan.

Nine contracts have been awarded for technical and engineering expertise to support the Province’s delivery of the Highway 99 Tunnel Program to replace the Massey Tunnel, which will improve mobility along the corridor between Richmond and Delta.

B.C.’s latest Labour Market Outlook (LMO) forecasts more than one million job openings into the next decade, creating opportunities for students and jobseekers to develop their skills and find rewarding jobs of the future.

Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, has issued the following statement on the release of Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey for January 2022:

As of Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, 89.3% (4,451,945) of eligible people five and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 83.4% (4,159,043) have received their second dose.

The Province is extending the COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant and doubling supports for eligible businesses that have been ordered to remain temporarily closed through public health measures until Feb. 16, 2022.

More people will have access to local child care when Capilano University’s (CapU) new purpose-built Centre for Childhood Studies opens with expanded on-site child care and learning spaces for students at the School of Education & Childhood Studies. 

Businesses can now apply for the COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant, a new program the Province has fast-tracked to support B.C. businesses ordered to temporarily close their doors due to recent public-health measures.

British Columbia businesses that were mandated to temporarily shut down through public health orders because of surging COVID-19 cases will be eligible to receive a new one-time relief grant of up to $10,000.