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Business

‘Lunch & Learn’ returns to Campbell River with a Legal Q&A

Prior to COVID, the Campbell River business community would regularly get together for ‘Lunch & Learn.’ These were times to meet with people you haven’t seen for a while, and learn about topics of mutual interest. The Campbell River & District Chamber of Commerce is restarting the Lunch & Learn program this Tuesday, April 18, with legal Q&A. 

“The legal landscape for businesses is changing so quickly. If someone has a business, or is a sole proprietor, or anybody out there who has a business question around a legal issue: this is a great way to come and chat with Taylor Stephen from Tease Kittle Spencer, and Elizabeth Hunt from Campbell River Lawyers. This is their area of expertise. Come on out to the Anchor Inn at noon to have lunch and ask your questions,” explained Mary Ruth Snyder, Executive Director of the Campbell River Chamber of Commerce.

CC: What legal issues are businesses facing today that were not as common before?

MRS: “The laws in the province are shifting and it’s really hard for business owners to keep up with what has changed when they’re so busy running their business, because that’s their main focus 100% and 1000%. There are so many issues from how you deal with customers, to how you deal with suppliers.”

“Say you’ve made a big purchase from a supplier and then that doesn’t come through. What are your legal routes to retrieve your order, or retrieve your money? With the recent supply chain issues, the laws have changed.”

“Other legal issues could even be in-house, like how you deal with your staff if you have a problematic staff member? What is your legal obligation to that staff member?”

CC: Can I throw some hypothetical situations at you? 

MRS: Sure, I don’t know that I’ll be able to answer, but go ahead. 

CC: Let’s say I’m a business, I’ve paid someone for a bunch of goods and they’re not delivering. Can’t I just demand my money back? 

MRC: “You can try. I’m dealing with an individual right now somewhere in the Strathcona Regional District, I won’t be specific. They are having issues with Individuals that they hired to do the job. We talked to the businesses. The issue turned out not to be with the business, but actually with the person that hired them.”

“This would be a perfect situation where the business needs some legal advice about how to navigate retrieving what they left on site that is being withheld from them.”

CC: Speaking as a former painting contractor, I had several criteria before I would give anyone a raise. They amounted to how hard they would work and their quality. For example, no one would get a raise if they hit the ceiling while painting a wall. That was one of my  biggies. I can repair ceilings. Depending on the lighting, I can usually make it look like new, but to me hitting the ceiling  says you’re not a professional. I would also be watching my employee’s output. One fellow who kept on taking smoke breaks was fired at the end of his first day.

MRS: “I think the general best practices is that if you lay out what your criteria are prior to them starting the job, and if they don’t measure up to that criteria, then that’s grounds for dismissal. A lot of the larger companies now have binders two inches thick about what is expected of employees. Smaller businesses, such as a majority of the businesses through the Strathcona Regional District, wouldn’t have the time or the resources to maybe put that amount of thought into the prerequisites for a person’s job. They might have a general description.” 

CC: “What about assumptions? For example, I would’ve assumed that people would know that painters shouldn’t hit the ceiling.” 

MRS: “That is a really big mistake for anyone to make, especially a small business. You should always have your facts in line, your company regulations lined out. You should never assume anything because that’s just going to lead to trouble on every front.”

“That’s why you should come to the lunch to ask those questions and find out what the lawyers actually would advise you to do.”

“This is an opportunity for businesses or sole proprietors or home-based business, whoever you are, to come on out to the Anchor Inn. The ticket price includes lunch, which will be a lovely soup and sandwich.” 

CC: How does it feel to get ‘Lunch & Learn’ going again?

MRS: “I’m just really excited. It’s been a long haul for a lot of people through the pandemic and getting back on our feet in terms of coming together and meeting. There’s still some people that are not comfortable meeting, and we understand that, unfortunately we don’t have the ability to do a virtual hybrid session for this. We might look at that in the fall, depending on next year’s flu season.”  

‘Lunch & Learn’ will continue throughout the spring.

VIEA’s foreign trade zone is coming in May to explain import/export challenges.  

“The new CEO of Vancouver Island  Economic Alliance (VIEA) will be joining us along with Brady Calancie from Export Canada.” 

The topic for June is technical security. Snyder explained that businesses are finding keeping there website’s safe is another really huge challenge.

 “A really good example is the Campbell River Arts Council had their website hacked and totally messed up about two months ago. They couldn’t salvage it, so they had to build a brand new website.” 

“The tax laws have changed. We will be doing another ‘Lunch & Learn’ in the fall with some accountants that will  bring everybody up to speed on how the tax laws are shifting.” 

“We are trying to tackle issues and offer access to people that might have some answers, to help raise the general comprehension of where things stand by today’s standards and best practice.”

CC: Where can people go to learn more? 

“Go to our website, https://campbellriverchamber.ca/. All of my contact details are at the bottom of the website on every single page, and they can get their ticket by going to the website to The Chamber Store, which is one of the top links. It’s very easy to find.”

‘Lunch & Learn’  at the Anchor Inn Tuesday, April 18.  Lunch is at 12:00 PM followed by a Q&A with the panel to answer your business legal inquiries.

Lunch is included in the price: $20 for Chamber Members and $25 for Non-Members.

Top photo image: Lunch & Learn has returns to Campbell River on April 18, 2023 – Photo courtesy Adobe Stock

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