Paul Bickford/NNSL photo
Aug. 21 has been declared Shop Local Day in Hay River.
The special day is an initiative of the Hay River Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with a month-long campaign by the NWT Chamber of Commerce.
"Obviously supporting local businesses as much as you can makes a huge impact on your local economy," said Terry Rowe, the interim president of the Hay River Chamber of Commerce.
Shop Local Day is to support businesses and business owners in Hay River, he said. "That's what the chamber is supposed to stand up for and have a voice for."
Rowe noted that, even though Covid-19 border restrictions mean less travel to Alberta, many people are still shopping online.
Shopping local means the money goes back into the community, he said, adding it goes to employees who are working and living in Hay River, towards taxes, to schools and to many other different things.
"We have a very strong small business group here and we just want to support them, and thank our customers for supporting us," said Rowe, who is the general manager of the Ptarmigan Inn.
Any business can participate in Shop Local Day in any way they deem appropriate.
"It's all in-house," said Rowe. "So if people wanted to offer some discounts or contests or sales, that's up to the business to do so."
The Town of Hay River has supported the initiative with a proclamation declaring Shop Local Day on Aug. 21.
"I strongly believe council should support this," said Mayor Kandis Jameson during the July 28 online meeting of town council. "Hats off to the chamber for bringing this forward."
Coun. Keith Dohey also expressed his support.
"I think it's a great idea that the chamber has put forward," said Dohey. "And to me it would be a no-brainer for the town to support it, whether it be a Covid year or any year. I think that's pretty obvious that our local businesses are the ones that support our community and give back and forth. We very rarely see businesses from High Level or Grande Prairie sponsoring our youth sports teams or things like that."
The NWT Chamber of Commerce's Shop Local Campaign began on Aug. 14 and will run until Sept. 14.
The highlight of the campaign is a passport program at participating businesses.
For every $25 spent at a participating business, a stamp is added to the passport. It becomes an entry to a contest once the passport is full with $500 in purchases.
The prize is $1,000 worth of gift cards at local businesses of the winner's choice.
There will be six winners – one each from Hay River, Inuvik, Norman Wells, Yellowknife, Fort Simpson and Fort Smith.