A long-standing small business in Lake Cowichan has come out swinging against exorbitant rent increases that are threatening its financial future, as well as others in the community.

Glenda Osborne-Burg, manager of the family-run Gerard鈥檚 Specialty Foods that has operated in the town since 2012, has begun a letter-writing campaign to senior and local levels of government asking for some sort of government protection or regulations against massive rent increases.

She said Gerard鈥檚 Specialty Foods has recently had a 120 per cent rent hike from the owners of the building it operates from.

Osborne-Burg said the British Columbia Tenancy Act, which governs commercial leases in the province, doesn鈥檛 offer any protections against such rent increases for small businesses.

鈥淲e are told by government, from municipal to federal, that [small businesses] are invaluable to our respective communities and play a large part in the economic development of our areas,鈥� she said.

鈥淵et, when it comes to regulations that can protect our very existence, much more effective legislation is needed, specifically rent or lease-increase protection.鈥�

Osborne-Burg said she鈥檚 not against rent increases, and that she sees a 50 per cent increase as reasonable, but a 120 per cent increase all at once is a 鈥渉eck of a jolt鈥� for a small business like Gerard鈥檚 Specialty Foods, and she knows other businesses in the community that have had to deal with rent increases as high as 300 per cent.

鈥淭his should not be allowed," she said. "Why can鈥檛 there be controls in place to protect commercial tenants similar to those controls for housing?鈥�

Osborne-Burg has written Diana Gibson, B.C. Minister of Jobs, Economic Development & Innovation, on the issue, as well as federal officials and Lake Cowichan鈥檚 council, and she said she intends to continue writing letters until she sees results.

鈥淚鈥檒l keep writing until we get some satisfaction,鈥� she said. 鈥淛ust waiting for something to happen is not an option for us. I鈥檓 a firm believer that the squeaky hinge will get the grease.鈥�

John Baker, who owns the building Gerard鈥檚 Specialty Foods operates from, said that even with the steep rent increase, the tenant is paying about $1.20 per square foot for the commercial space, while the average in the town for commercial space is approximately $1.50 per square foot.

He said he has also had to contend with increasing costs, including hikes in Hydro rates, property taxes, maintenance of the building and other expenses.

"As well, the community has begun to thrive and there's not a lot of commercial space available right now," Baker said. "It's a matter of supply and demand."

Lake Cowichan Mayor Tim McGonigle addressed the issue at a recent council meeting after the town received a letter from Osborne-Burg.

He said the town has investigated high rent increases for commercial properties in Lake Cowichan, and a resolution looking for regulations to control the rent increases for commercial properties was made at a meeting of the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

鈥淲e鈥檙e waiting for an answer from the province on that resolution,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 lot of commercial properties are facing this, not only in our community but throughout the province, and they are finding it difficult to stay in business with these increases. We鈥檒l keep [the issue] on the burner.鈥�