July 7 , 2009

ICBA Commentary: Building Permits

The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) offered the following commentary on today's Statistics Canada release of the building permits survey for May 2009.

“The increase in building permits for May suggests that BC is better positioned to weather the storm than other parts of the country,” said Philip Hochstein, President of the ICBA. “It is very encouraging to see commercial projects increasing, as that leads not only to construction jobs but also to full time jobs once the project is built.”

However, Hochstein noted that governments need to help the recovery along – not just by initiating projects -- but by reducing costs and finding ways to encourage construction.

“Governments should use this year’s slowdown in construction economic activity to reengineer their regulatory processes, making it easier to bring projects to fruition,” he added. “Now is the time to streamline construction-related regulations, fees and permit processes to become more efficient and more responsive. When the real turnaround comes for our industry, we should be able to get projects moving quickly.”

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