British Columbia
B.C. Electronic Waste Stewardship Program. Following the launch of the province's Electronic Waste Stewardship Program in February 2007, RCC worked closely with its members to ensure that retailers selling designated products (including computers, televisions and printers) were members of the new stewardship agency, Electronic Stewardship Association of British Columbia (ESABC), and were reporting and remitting their obligations as per the province's Recycling Regulation. As a result of RCC's efforts, retailers in B.C. have the flexibility to display the Environment Handling Fee (EHF) associated with the program visibly as a separate line item on the sales receipt, and there is no mandatory return-to-retail collection associated with the new program.
Gift Card Regulation. The B.C. government has responded positively to RCC's submission on proposed gift card regulations. In addition to pushing for uniformity with recently introduced legislation in Ontario and Manitoba, RCC made the case that the province should not regulate gift card refunds. (Among the regulatory proposals from the government was a requirement that retailers provide refunds on request, which would have the effect of turning gift cards into debit cards.)
Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo. RCC's Director of Government Relations (British Columbia) presented a speech to delegates at the Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo that took place November 29, 2007, in Vancouver. RCC was invited to speak at a panel discussion entitled "Canadian Context: How the Big Players Support Recycling." Delegates responded positively to RCC's overview of how retailers are actively involved in waste diversion and recycling programs across Canada.
Tire Stewardship British Columbia (TSBC). An RCC representative continued to represent retailers' interests on the board of Tire Stewardship British Columbia (TSBC) when the program was successfully transferred from government leadership to industry leadership.
Tobacco Sales Regulations. RCC convinced the B.C. government to delay implementation of new tobacco sales regulations to March 31, 2008, which meant that RCC members were not required to make compliance adjustments in their stores over the busy 2007 Holiday season.
RCC's Derek Nighbor and Max Logan join retailers and the Information and Privacy Commissioners for Alberta and British Columbia at the Private Sector Privacy Conference in Vancouver September 2007. |
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