In the face of a global pandemic, the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association has tried to change course to survive the past year.

CIVL spoke with Jennifer McEwan, executive director of the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association. In the first part of a two-part interview, McEwan talks about the challenges encountered by small business owners in Abbotsford as a result of COVID-19 and what the business association is doing to address them.

McEwan says local small businesses are facing the reality that they must change their approach to business if they want to have any chance of weathering the pandemic. She adds that they must abandon the face-to-face approach that has served them for decades for a newer, riskier online approach to try to attract customers.