Film

Photo from Royal City Record

As long time supporters of the BC film industry, New Westminster has more film activity than ever before.  From TV series’ to the feature film, Godzilla, New Westminster is now on track for its busiest year yet.  In the first six months of 2013, the economic impact of filming was $300,840 in film permits combined with an estimated $300,000 in compensation to residents and merchants.  The local economy also benefited by providing  goods and services to the production companies and employees.

Why the attention?  With 1890s heritage homes, tree-lined streetscapes, campus-like park settings, institutional buildings, and a Downtown lined with heritage buildings, gritty alleys and a majestic riverfront, New Westminster has locations for virtually every genre of film. Also, being a film industry friendly city, New Westminster provides personalized location and permit/license assistance for all areas through the Film Coordinator.

In 2013, New Westminster Environmental Partners and Green Ideas Network are hosting their 3^rd annual New West Doc Fest, which has expanded into a three day festival.  This year the festival is being hosted at a new venue, the Landmark Cinemas in the Shops @ New West Station, and will run October 23-25.  

Contact the Film Coordinator:
Scott Harper
T 604.527.4613  
C 604.841.4386

Welcoming and Inclusive New West

Between 2006 and 2011, increases to the immigrant population comprised 61.3% of the total population growth in New Westminster. 

As New Westminster becomes increasingly diverse, the value of being at the forefront of inclusivity grows exponentially.  The primary goal of Welcoming and Inclusive New Westminster (New West WINs) is to work towards communities where racism is eliminated, cultural diversity is valued and celebrated, and immigrants can realize their full potential.

There are three areas that New West WINs is focusing on to achieve these goals: welcoming spaces, inclusive workplaces, and receptive communities.  Each of these focus areas serves a unique purpose and has specific objectives: 

	Objectives
Welcoming spaces	Enhance access to government and community spaces for new immigrants Foster intercultural interaction and mutual trust
Inclusive workplaces	Change attitudes and reduce systemic barriers to employment
Receptive communities	Increase community awareness and understanding of immigrant integration issues Support the development of intercultural relations and mutual trust

New West WINs is currently conducting research to find the best ways to accomplish these objectives.  If you are a recent immigrant we would like to hear from you.  Find out how you can get involved by contacting Janet Goosney, the New West WINs coordinator at janet.goosney@purposesociety.org

Check out who’s involved:

City of New Westminster: City Council, John Stark, Andréa Khan
Douglas College: Lois Taylor, Peter Wilkins
Family Services of Greater Vancouver: Maylen Crespo, Lisa Whittaker, Tulia Castellanos
Immigrant Services Society of BC : Andrea Solnes, Chris Stephenson
Lower Mainland Purpose Society: Eman Elmasri, Dawn Embree, Janet Goosney
MOSAIC: Sherman Chan, Astarte Sands
New Westminster Chamber of Commerce: Cori Lynn Germiquet
School District #40: Betina Ali
S.U.C.C.E.S.S.: Ling Chu
United Way of the Lower Mainland: Chinu Das

Inter-municipal business licenses

On October 1^st, 2013, the Metro West region - New Westminster, Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond, Burnaby, and Delta - will launch an inter-municipal business license (IMBL) pilot.

Those eligible for the IMBL are defined as trades contractors or other professionals related to the construction industry that provide a service or product other than from their fixed and permanent location. Only
those with a fixed and permanent location in one of the
participating municipalities are eligible for the IMBL.  

The benefits:

For business	Saves time and money by reducing administrative burdens and enabling businesses to operate easily where their services are needed.  Instead of paying for a business license in each Metro West municipality, an IMBL can be purchased for $250 to cover all participating municipalities.
For residents	Increased choice and confidence in services providers.
For municipal government	Reduced administrative burden; reduced application processing time; improved information flow between local governments; increased licensing compliance.

For more information contact the City of New Westminster Business Licensing Office at 604-527-4565 or businesslicenses@newwestcity.ca 

For more information, visit the FAQ page here: Metro West IMBL FAQs