Business in Vancouver - Issue 1372

Brokerage business model teeters on the brink second in a series

investment | Online options, competition from Canada’s Big Six banks

choking the life out of independent brokerage houses | Page 4

PROFILE | PAge 13 British Pacific Properties president Geoff Croll on the delicate developmentenvironment balance

Daily business news K biv.com

February 16–22, 2016 | Issue 1372 | $4.00

NO WIND IN B.C. SALES energy | Province’s clean energy superpower ambitions dimmed as poor business

prospects prompt Canadian Wind Energy Association to abandon B.C. | Pages 6–7

metro vancouver’s top 100 manufacturers Seaspan’s $8 billion shipbuilding bonanza and BIV’s annual inventory of the region’s biggest manufacturing companies | PAges 15–21

entertainment | PAge 3

BIV photo illustration; B Brown/Shutterstock

real estate | PAge 12

musical cheers

flipping flap

Why the B.C. government is rolling out a $15 million music fund

Confidentiality agreements forcing real estate deals into the shadows

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Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Department: 303 W 5th aveNUe, Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1J6.

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BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

inside

BIV.com | Beyond the print hot topics

TRANSPORTATION 5 Bridge too far?

Nurse Next Door launches partnership with health-care system in California

The B.C. government studies a fixed link to the Sunshine Coast

The transaction marks the first time a private home-care franchisor has entered into this type of deal

PORTS 8 Weight watching New shipping-container weight rules pack bigger burden for B.C. terminals

Surrey 9

Victoria delivery company Accio is set to launch ride sharing as soon as provincial regulations will allow it

BIV on Global BC: Jen St. Denis discusses Fortis buying ITC Holdings. Plus: more volatility in the Asian markets

Whiff of success

Green startup gains traction with product aimed at fighting kitchen compost odour

Sign up for our daily newsletter covering the breaking news of the day along with highlights of our print stories, videos and events

Metro’s biggest manufacturers BIV’s exclusive list, ranked by total number of employees in B.C.

Kirk LaPointe on what awaits Kevin Desmond, TransLink’s new CEO

Find it finance 10-11

insights 26-27

Real Estate

Peer to Peer

12

Profile 13-14

For the record

top 100

Life lessons

15-21

27 28-30 31

Vancouver’s Lucara Diamond has named its 1,111-carat diamond – the second-largest ever found – the “Lesedi La Rona”

Contact

Training wheels

Alberta’s economic misfortunes are continuing to creep into one of B.C.’s largest companies

Newsletters

LIST 16

Insights 26

Telus profit drops 16% as Alberta economy takes toll

Imperial Metals has announced it will be closing its Huckleberry copper mine near Houston, B.C.

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Appointment

The Strongman Group is pleased to announce the following individuals have joined their team:

ANNOUNCEMENT

Nick Argue, CPA, CA, is Director of Finance. Nick brings with him a wide breadth of financial skills developed over many years of advising global organizations and real estate companies. Prior to joining the Strongman Group, Nick was Senior Manager with Ernst & Young LLP (“EY”) in Vancouver and spent 14 years as a business advisor to clients primarily in the real estate industry. Nick also worked for EY’s London, UK and Auckland, New Zealand offices. Nick is a Chartered Professional Accountant and earned his B.Comm from Queen’s University.

Ching Lei Lee, MBA, is Property Manager. Prior to joining The Strongman Group, Ching Lei was Senior Property Manager with Colliers over 13 years and has extensive experience and knowledge in property management of offices, industrial as well as retail buildings for institutional and private investors. Ching Lei was involved in capital planning as well as managing several large capital projects, focusing primarily in optimizing energy efficiencies and implementing environmental programs and was successful in achieving BOMA BEST certification for some of the buildings while meeting clients’ overall sustainable objectives. Ching Lei achieved LEED AP accreditation in 2009.

ABOUT THE STRONGMAN GROUP The Strongman Group owns and manages over $100 million in assets consisting primarily of commercial retail shopping centres and free standing buildings throughout Western Canada, Ontario and Quebec. We continue to grow these assets for the company and its partners by creating successful investments and joint ventures with trusted business associates and discerning investors. As we continue to diversify and expand our real estate holdings, The Strongman Group also specializes in creating new opportunities and customized strategies for qualified investors seeking stable, long-term investments in the $1 million to $10 million range.

For more information on The Strongman Group, please go to: www.thestrongmangroup.com

Garry Zlotnik, CEO of ZLC Financial is pleased to announce that Fabrizio (Fab) Biagini has joined the firm.

Fab Biagini

Fab has been building relationships and solving problems in the employee benefits field for 29 years.

He started on the insurer side of the business, where he was the Sales Manager of Government and Provincial Accounts.

In 2004, he became the VP of Client Services and Business Development for a third party administrator, developing and managing employee benefit and retirement plans for clients across Canada.

Fab was born and raised in Vancouver and lives each day with enthusiasm and purpose.

ZLC Financial is a leader in the areas of: Employee Benefits & Pensions Estate Planning and Living Benefits Investment & Retirement Solutions Business Family Succession

1200 Park Place, 666 Burrard Street Vancouver BC V6C 2X8 Tel: 604.688.7208 Fax: 604.688.7268

news

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

3

B.C.’s music industry sings Ontario tax fund blues culture | Victoria

launches $15 million music grant program to stop eastern exodus of local artists

BY TYLER ORTON

Music Canada’s report recommendations include:

TORTON@BIV.COM

I

t started with a few B.C. musicians being pressured by their labels and management to move to Ontario, where government incentives were making it cheaper to record.

But over the past three years, Sarah Fenton says Ontario’s burgeoning music industry has created a “mass migration” of West Coast artists to Central Canada.

“The answer is super boring.

The answer is funding,” said Fenton, general manager at Vancouver’s Watchdog Management, whose company represents acts like Hedley and Mother Mother.

“The B.C. music industry has been absolutely annihilated by the OMF [Ontario Music Fund].”

The province and Music Canada agree.

The industry advocacy group released a report February 11 calling on the B.C. government to implement 26 recommendations to stimulate the province’s music industry. They include updating liquor laws and event licences to make it easier to support live shows.

The province responded by launching a $15 million music fund – one of the report’s recommendations – that same day to compete with the OMF and help return wayward musicians, engineers and producers to their home province.

“It would have the effect of immediately levelling the playing field,” Music Canada president Graham Henderson told Business in Vancouver.

Mike Schroeder, CEO of Vancouver’s Nimbus School of Recording Arts, said the loss of B.C. talent has been widely felt across the local industry in recent years.

“We’ve seen a lot of artists, they develop, they work their way up the artists’ ladder, and then they hit this point where they want to move to the next level, and Ontario has some really attractive offers right now.”

An empty sound stage in Vancouver’s Gastown area. The $15 million music fund the province announced last week aims to help head off the loss of more music industry business to Ontario | tyler orton

The B.C. music industry has been absolutely annihilated by the OMF [Ontario Music Fund]

[] Sarah Fenton general manager, Watchdog Management

The Ontario government introduced the OMF in 2013 following consultations with Music Canada about how to stimulate that province’s music industry.

Ontario’s three-year program offers $15 million annually in funding to recording artists, music companies and festivals based in Ontario for up to 75% of

eligible costs.

Meanwhile, B.C. recording studios are facing increased competition from Ontario, where up to 50% of recording costs can be recovered through the OMF. “W hat we did in Ontario – that was an unexpected consequence,” Henderson said. “We were expecting that there would be more international recording artists coming to Ontario, but the uptake in Canada was intense.”

And unlike in the film and TV industry, the plummeting Canadian dollar hasn’t attracted more international engineers and artists to record in Vancouver, according to Henderson.

Premier Christy Clark said the government would monitor the economic impact of the fund to determine whether to extend it beyond its one-year, $15 million rollout.

“We want to deploy this money well and wisely, see how it works and then, in the coming years, continue it, grow it, change the way we deploy it based on what we see,” she said.

The money will be managed

by Creative BC, the government agency responsible for promoting the province’s creative sector.

Meanwhile, funding will go to music education, live performances and venues across the province and a music tourism initiative.

“It really does move the economic needle,” Henderson said. “It’s not just a handout.”

The Ontario government reported in June 2015 the OMF helped create or retain 2,000 jobs and generate $24 million in additional revenue for music-related businesses during its first year.

Mu s ic Ca n a d a’s Febr u a r y

•Launch fully refundable tax credit or grant program •Allow profit-making festival producers to apply for large special-occasion licences for liquor •Examine the viability of creating a music accelerator at Downtown Eastside Vancouver’s Technology and Social Innovation Centre •Implement artist support for affordable housing programs •Create a multi-city music alliance among Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle and Los Angeles •Require developers and municipal staff to take culturally significant sites into account in land-use planning •Appoint municipal liaisons between cities and music industry •Institute short-term, reserved parking spots near music venues and recording studios for equipment loading and unloading

report, meanwhile, estimated a $15 million annual refundable tax credit would translate into a $73 million boost to the province’s gross domestic product.

About $30 million of that would come from a boost in tourism, $15 million for the live performance sector, $8.3 million for recording studios, $7.5 million for B.C.-based music businesses and $11.4 million for music businesses not based in B.C. B.C. singer Michael Bublé, who was on hand at the government’s announcement, said he expects the fund will keep local musicians wanting to pursue a music career here from leaving.

“For a long time, people have had to go to Ontario if they want to be able to afford to make a record.” he said.

“Who wants to go to Ontario to make a record?” •

4

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

news

Broken business model batters B.C. brokerage houses FINANCE | Canaccord founder Brown doubts he could have built his empire under current conditions

Second in a series

By Glen Korstrom gkorstrom@biv.com

V

ancouver-based Salman Partners’ plan to cease its investment banking and wealth-management operations as of February 15 is another nail in the coffin for Canada’s independent brokerage sector.

CEO Terry Salman told Business in Vancouver February 10 that the company will continue to offer corporate advice for activities such as mergers and acquisitions and that he will keep about four employees.

All public clients have been moved to other brokerages, however, and Salman expects the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, which regulates the industry, to approve the company’s voluntary resignation as a brokerage by June.

“We’re not winding down the company,” Salman said, correcting what had been a widespread misconception. “I have 40 years in this business. I’m not about to throw away my Rolodex.”

Salman Partners once employed 60 staff and had 40 employees as recently as December.

During its 22 years in business, Salman raised more than $20 billion in more than 400 financings, mostly for resource companies.

The largest of these was a $4 billion financing for Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX).

The company, however, faced the same challenges as others in the distressed industry.

Its end as a brokerage comes on the heels of Toronto’s GMP Capital slashing about a quarter of its workforce in January and Toronto’s Octagon Capital falling into bankruptcy in December.

Acquisitions such as Quebecbased Industrial Alliance Securities Inc.’s purchase of Ontario’s Burgeonvest Bick Securities Ltd. in November illustrate that the brokerage sector countrywide is shrinking.

“If this market goes on for another two years, we’ll see the 140 independent dealers in Canada reduced to below 80,” said Peter Brown, who co-founded Canarim Investment Corp. in 1968 and turned it into Canaccord Genuity, which is Canada’s largest full-service independent brokerage. “There’s going to be huge consolidation.”

Perfect storm batters brokerages The Canadian brokerage sector has been pushed into its downward spiral by diminishing revenue from two main business models: raising capital for public

Global Securities chairman Art Smolensky believes a merger would improve his firm’s cost efficiency | Rob Kruyt

companies and managing individual portfolios.

Low oil and commodity prices have battered Canada’s resourcesector-heavy stock markets, making equity financings both smaller and less frequent.

The TSX composite index has fallen more than 15% in the past year; the junior TSX Venture Exchange is down more than 25%.

Not only are corporate financings being snuffed out, but wealth-management commissions are a fraction of what they were a couple of decades ago.

Brown estimated that Can­ accord’s brokers made a 2% c o m m i s s i o n f r o m w e a l t h-­ management clients in 1995 and that the average commission in the industry has since dropped by more than half.

The rise of the Internet has also eaten into the business of wealth management.

Brown estimated that online brokerages have taken about 20% of brokerages’ historical wealthmanagement business.

“The model is broken. You could not build a Canaccord today in this regulatory climate with those returns and those costs.”

Fewer than 10 independent brokerage firms remain in B.C., and sector insiders expect that to soon shrink to three.

Executives at some of the surviving firms admit that they are losing money and say that mergers are a good way to become profitable.

“Realistically, we will have to be part of a larger entity to cut costs,” said Art Smolensky, who is chairman and founder of Vancouver’s Global Securities Corp.

Smolensky’s 130-employee firm has seven compliance officers who ensure that brokers operate ethically. Were the firm to double in size, it would still need only seven compliance officers, Smolensky said.

“Synergies” were behind the

If this market goes on for another two years, we’ll see the 140 independent dealers in Canada reduced to below 80

[] Peter Brown founder, Canaccord Genuity

December merger of Leede Financial Markets Inc. and Jones, Gable & Co. Ltd., said Larry Martin, who is now Vancouver branch manager at the new Leede Jones Gable Inc. Both those predecessor companies were headquartered in Calgary but had their largest presence in Vancouver.

Shayne Nyquvest is another industry veteran who was recently involved in a merger. He was president of Vancouver’s Jordan Capital until Toronto’s Mackie Research Capital swallowed that brokerage last year.

Nyquvest suggested that by the time Business in Vancouver went to press, another local brokerage would likely be swallowed or merged.

“The sooner we get down to three or four companies, the sooner we’ll be able to compete with banks,” said Nyquvest, who is now executive vice-president at Mackie, which has more than 350 employees Canada-wide.

Deregulation created “brutal bank domination” Brown, Nyquvest and others say that the beginning of the brokerage sector’s demise started in 1987, when former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s government started deregulating Canadian banks and allowing them to enter the insurance, brokerage and trust company businesses.

Brow n est i m ated t h at t he banks now control about 80% of

the brokerage business Canadawide and are on their way to having a 90% stake, which he said points to an unhealthy lack of competition.

The U.S., in 1999, also deregulated its banks, but Brown said competition remained strong because the U.S. had more than 100 banking companies.

“In Canada there are only the Big Six,” he said.

Following Canadian bank deregulation, big banks bought brokerages. That’s how RBC Dominion Securities, CIBC Wood Gundy, BMO Nesbitt Burns and other brokerage behemoths were created.

“Brutal bank domination is another reason why independent brokerages will not survive,” Brown said.

Salman said that in the late 1990s, banks provided what he called “bank letters,” which essentially vouched for a firm and enabled brokerages with little capital to double the amount of money they could deploy in financings.

Concern about systemic risk stopped that practice, he said, and made it more difficult for small brokerages.

Another key asset of Salman’s firm was its respected research.

Salman started his career working in research at Nesbitt Thomson and built a strong reputation, which attracted institutional investors willing to pay large sums for insight into listed companies’ internal dealings.

The Internet and easy access to information, however, have diminished the value of research.

Independent brokerages’ business models vary Not all independent brokerages in B.C. have been stung to the same degree by the dearth of corporate financings.

Odlum Brown, for example, does no investment banking.

The 93-year-old company is the largest independent employeeowned Vancouver-based brokerage firm, with “just under $10 billion” in assets under administration, its CEO, Debra Hewson, told BIV. “We’re purely a retail advisory firm,” Hewson said. “We’re not only surviving but we’re thriving.

Our firm is growing because we’re clear about what we do and what we don’t do.”

About 90 of the company’s 255 staff in its five offices are advisers. They take a commission on each trade they make for a customer or by receiving a set annual fee, which is a percentage of the client’s portfolio.

And while commission rates have fallen through the years, Odlum Brown’s size has allowed it to remain profitable.

Hewson said the company is not looking to get bigger by merging or acquiring competitors but rather aims to get better at advising clients.

“There will always be a place for quality investment advice built around client need,” she said.

Brown agreed. He said Odlum Brown’s model is much better than that of many other Vancouver brokerages, particularly if it is able to keep its advisers’ books of clients when the advisers leave.

Other Vancouver brokerages, such as Wolverton Securities Ltd., are focusing more on the wealth management.

“We’ve been diversifying our revenue streams and building out our wealth-management platform,” CEO Richard Butterworth told BIV. “Salman would be disproportionately weighted to corporate finance and investment banking, so it was more vulnerable than an organization like we are [to market instability].”

Also, unlike Salman Partners, Wolverton does not have a research team.

“As a result, we haven’t staffed the business with a lot of expensive mouths to feed,” Butterworth said. “That’s unlike some of our other investment banking competitors.”

Wolverton does some corporate financings, but Butterworth said fewer than 10% are on the TSX Venture Exchange.

The company focuses instead on big boards in Canada and the U.S., which have been lagging for the past year but have not had as steep a downturn as those that are filled with small-cap stocks.

Unlike some firms offering wealth management, Oldum Brown employs research analysts to determine which companies it should include in its 43-company model portfolio.

Those researchers cost money, but their salaries are a worthwhile investment, Hewson said.

“Good people are expensive no matter what business you’re in.”•

news

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

5

Land link proposals highlight ferry service controversy transportation | Infrastructure plans include Squamish, Powell River highway, Anvil Island bridge

By Jen St. Denis jstdenis@biv.com

I

t’s a pie-in-the-sky idea that’s been ta l ked about on the Sunshine Coast for decades: linking the picturesque region – population 30,000 – to the Lower Mainland via a highway or a combination of bridges.

In early February, the government awarded a $250,000 contract to engineering firm R.F. Binnie to study options that could include an overland route from Powell River to Squamish or bridging Howe Sound via Anvil Island. Both would be ambitious projects i nvolv i ng bu i ld i ng multiple bridges or hundreds of kilometres of road through unpopulated mountainous terrain.

“This is the first attempt at trying to put some serious numbers to what might be possible,” said Gibsons Mayor Wayne Rowe.

But critics say the Sunshine Coast study and a recently completed study of a bridge to Gabriola Island are poor responses to the real problem: cuts to BC Ferries service that have made it harder to live and do business in the coastal communities.

The feasibility study for Gabriola showed it would not be costeffective to build a bridge linking

the island to Nanaimo.

“There’s always been talk of [a fixed link], but I’ve never heard as much talk as I have in the last four or five years,” said Nicholas Simons, NDP MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast. “Some people would suggest the government has made the ferry service so bad that it’s created a greater demand for alternatives.”

Gabriola a nd the Su nsh i ne Coast both saw reductions to ferry sailings in the last round of BC Ferries cuts in February 2014.

Rowe said the cuts have had an immediate impact on Sunshine Coast towns like Gibsons, with increased waits for ferries during the busy tourist season.

“It’s difficult for our businesses to be competitive given the cost and reliability,” Rowe said.

The two studies are the result of provincial government consultations with coastal communities about ferry service in 2013 prior to the cuts, said Jordan Sturdy, Liberal MLA for West VancouverSea to Sky. During those consultations, the government heard widespread opposition to its plan to cut service to save funds on unprofitable routes.

The Sunshine Coast feasibility study will compare the highway

Coast crossings The Powell River-based Third Crossing Society advocates building a 170-kilometre road linking Powell River to Squamish. Another option, according to the society, is to build bridges across Anvil Island to connect to Highway 99 tunnel

Some people would suggest the government has made the ferry service so bad that it’s created a greater demand for alternatives

[] Nicholas Simons

Powell Lake

proposed Route

MLA, Powell River-Sunshine Coast

Jervis Inlet

Powell River •

Brackendale • Squamish •

•Saltery Bay Earls Cove • Texada Island

Anvil Island

Hwy. 99

Port Mellon • Hw

•Parksville

or bridge alternatives to current ferry service levels. That doesn’t sit well with Simons.

“If you’re going to do a comparative analysis, you should do it on the basis of when the Sunshine Coast had adequate service,” he said.

Rowe said he looked forward to

y. 10 1

•Langdale Vancouver •

the results of the study.

“If it’s not in the cards, then let’s see what we can do to improve the ferry access.”

Rowe added that a highway link would likely change the smalltown character of the Sunshine Coast, increase development pressures and raise house prices.

Currently, houses in the lower Sunshine Coast sell for around $350,000 to $400,000, but with a road link more people would commute to the Lower Mainland, as has started to happen with Squamish.

T he province’s current approach doesn’t take into account the entire transportation system, said Peter Hall, an urban planning professor at Simon Fraser University.

“It’s an artifact of separating the ferry service from the highway system in terms of the centre of decision-making,” he said. “As a politician you know the two are connected … and you use the one in order to mollify resistance. But you’re not putting them together and looking at what is the best way to truly serve this population.” •

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6

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

news

By Nelson Bennett nbennett@biv.com

Done with the wind

BC

“

renewables | Canadian

Wind Energy Association folds its tent in B.C. to focus on Alberta and Saskatchewan as opportunities in this province evaporate with BC Hydro betting big on its $9b Site C dam megaproject

With the province committed to a third hydroelectric dam on the Peace River, no new wind farms are planned for B.C. |

BGsmith/shutterstock

h a s t he p otent i a l to b e a c l e a n-e n e rg y superpower.”

So said B.C. Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon in last week’s throne speech.

But one organization that had hoped to play a role in realizing that goal – the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) – might have either missed that speech or simply not put much faith in it.

CanWEA has folded its B.C. tent and set sail for Alberta and Saskatchewan.

In a recent letter to its members, CanWEA’s Jean-François Nolet, vice-president of policy and communications, announced it is pulling its regional director from B.C., due to a lack of opportunity to develop new wind projects here.

It plans to focus on Alberta, which aims to phase out coal p ower a nd repl ace much of it with renewable energy, and Saskatchewan, which plans to double renewable power generation by 2030.

“We obviously have limited resources, and we’re going to focus our efforts on those markets which provide the greatest opportunities in the short term to see more wind energy deployed in

Stalled power outlook not ENERGY | Hydro’s

By Timothy Renshaw trenshaw@biv.com

BC

Hydro’s second-quarter 2016 fi na ncia l report points to lower domestic power demand and a projected drop in 2016 sales to large industrial customers resulting from mine and mill closures and other effects of the global commodity nosedive.

The Q2 2016 numbers continue the theme in the Crown energy corporation’s 2015 fiscal report, showing stagnant electricity demand from large industrial customers in the province over the past decade.

Meanwhile, a January 25 U.S. Supreme Court decision supporting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s right to offer major power users financial incentives to curb power use during peak demand periods could dim BC Hydro’s power export prospects in North America via its Powerex subsidiary.

Despite those factors, opposition from First Nations and other groups and criticism from power analysts, the Crown power corporation’s $9 billion Site C dam remains on track, and Chris O’Riley, the Hydro executive overseeing the project, remains conv i nced of the long-term need for Site C’s capacity when

it comes online in 2023, and of the fiscal prudence of the massive engineering project.

According to the Q2 report, revenue from Hydro power sales into the North American grid for the six months ended September 30, 2015, was down 44% compared with the same period a year earlier.

Among the reasons for the drop, according to the report: a 33% decrease in the average price of natural gas resulting from increased U.S. production.

Significant changes from the fiscal 2016 service plan noted in the report include a drop in large industrial and commercial categories “largely as a result of lower forecast customer load in the mining and pulp and paper sectors due to metal mine closures, closure of a major pulp and paper mill [Howe Sound Pulp and Paper] in July 2015 and lower commodity market outlook.”

Numbers in Hydro’s 2015 fiscal report show flatlining electricity demand from large industrial customers in the province over the past decade. Sales in that category have slipped 15% from fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2015.

T hose nu mbers have aga i n raised questions over the need to invest billions in building Site C. Robert McCullough, principal

second-quarter financials reveal lower demand from

of energy policy research company McCullough Research, said the horizontal hydraulic fracking revolution has rendered Site C “an expensive luxury” in a world where the price of natural gas is roughly one-third of what it was in 2008.

In December, natural gas spot prices, according to OilPrice. com, hit their lowest monthly average since 1999.

McCullough’s May 2015 report for the Peace Valley Landowner Association questioned the math used in Hydro’s far-lower projection of per-megawatt-hour costs for Site C versus such alternatives as independent power projects.

In an interview with Business in Vancouver prior to a recent visit to Vancouver, the Portland, Oregon-based McCullough reiterated the concerns raised in his report over such issues as Hydro’s discount rate (cost of future money) for Site C and cost assumptions for Site C alternatives that Hydro used in its calculations to justify the project.

But he emphasized how dramatically the plunge in natural gas prices, generated by the advent of horizontal fracking technology, has changed the global energy marketplace – to the point that “only an idiot would be building a very expensive project in Canada

instead of buying power on the open market.”

He pointed out that the chief expense for electricity generated by natural gas is the gas itself, which can now be bought far into the future relatively cheaply.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that natural gas prices will remain low and stable for the long term.

According to its projections, spot natural gas prices will be lower in 2020 than they were in 2015.

In a December Site C information briefing with Business in Vancouver, O’Riley said that despite the recent drop in energy demand, Hydro is confident in its forecasts of 1.1% annual growth in electricity demand in B.C. “You don’t build something like this [Site C] for today or even 10 years; you build it for the long term.”

O’Riley said the forecast is based in part on population migration to B.C. and “the continued reliance in B.C. on the resource sector,” regardless of whether liquefied natural gas export plants are built in the province or not.

“But we know you can never get supply and demand to match up perfectly, so we know we’ll be some years short and some years long, and we have got a good capability to optimize that, so

Three largest Site C contracts awarded thus far: 1. Main civil works: awarded to Peace River Hydro Partners (Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc., Samsung E&C America Inc. and Petrowest Corp.). Value: $1.75 billion.

2. Worker accommodation (construction and operation): awarded to ATCO Two Rivers Lodging. Value: $470 million over eight-year period.

3. North bank site preparation: awarded to Morgan Construction and Environmental. Value: approximately $60 million.

Major procurements underway or to come: •Site C substation •Transmission lines •Turbines and generators •Generating station and spillways •Highway 29 realignments

we think … particularly in a carbon-constrained world, there’s a long-term benefit for low-cost, low-[greenhouse gas], reliable, dependable, firm power.”

Site C would add around 10% to the province’s overall annual

news the country,” CanWEA president Robert Hornung told Business in Vancouver.

“While B.C. has tremendous untapped potential for wind energy … it’s also true that, at this time, there’s no vision of short-term opportunities emerging in B.C.” Wind power developers made great inroads in B.C. between 2009 and 2015, investing $1.3 billion in new wind farms.

Under 25-year power purchase agreements with BC Hydro, developers built four large wind fa r m s here: B ea r Mou nta i n (Dawson Creek), Quality Wind (Tumbler Ridge), Dokie Wind (Chetwynd) and Cape Scott (Port Hardy).

Combined, they have a generating capacity of about 480 megawatts (Site C dam’s estimated capacity will be 1,100 MW).

Sometime this year, a fifth wind farm – the $400 million Meikle Wind project near Tumbler Ridge – is expected to start generating power.

But that might be the last wind farm built in B.C. for at least a decade, because these projects require long-term power purchase agreements from BC Hydro. “ B C Hy d ro h a s i n d i c a te d they’re not likely to see a call for power in B.C. till 2030, and at the same time we have other

markets where commitments are being made, or decisions being taken, that open up opportunities for new investment in the short term.”

B.C. developers like Aeolis Wind Power Corp. and NaiKun Wind Energy Group (TSX-V:NKW) have several wind farm proposals on the drawing board.

But without a new power call from BC Hydro on the horizon, there is some question whether those projects could get funded.

Industrial demand for power in B.C. is falling, thanks to the closure of mines and pulp and paper mills, which are both big electricity consumers. Moreover, the B.C. government and BC Hydro decided to put all of their eggs in one basket in meeting future energy demands with a single megaproject: the $9 billion Site C dam.

That has effectively killed the prospects of new wind power projects being funded for at least a decade, according to CanWEA. “In B.C., I would agree with CanWEA’s assessment that the opportunity is, at a minimum, uncertain and seems to be relatively far out in time,” said Dan Woynillowicz, policy director for Clean Energy Canada. “Over the past several years, I would concur that [based on] the signals from the provincial government and from BC Hydro, there’s fairly

limited near-term opportunity.”

BC Hydro maintains there are better wind prospects in other provinces because they’re playing catch-up to B.C. However, Alberta already has three times the installed wind capacity that B.C. has.

Woynillow icz thinks there could be an opportunity to export B.C. power to Alberta to help that province wean itself of coal.

“For A lberta to ach ieve its emission reduction objectives, importing from BC Hydro could present a really cost-effective way to do that,” Woynillowicz said.

But Alberta Premier Rachel Notley appears to have splashed cold water on that idea.

In December, she told the Globe and Mail: “It’s certainly one option. But we in Alberta want to be the owners of our power. … Our plan, going forward, is to build a system that ensures that we in Alberta are generating enough power for the needs of Alberta.”

Juergen Puetter, founder and CEO of Aeolis Wind – which built B.C.’s first wind farm, Bear Mountain – is more bullish than CanWEA about the prospects for new wind power projects being built in B.C. He thinks they could be built without BC Hydro’s participation.

“We th i n k that there a re a number of ways of utilizing the

stranded energy that we have in B.C. in abundance, particularly wind, and that doesn’t necessarily need BC Hydro,” he said.

“We are entering a carbon-constrained economy, and there are many different types of projects that we think will have very substantial energy demand that are currently not anywhere on the drawing board.”

One potential area of development, he said, is to use B.C. wind power in pumped storage projects to provide the firm power needed to backstop wind power in Alberta. In pumped storage, wind is used to pump water uphill to a lake, which is then released when the power is needed to drive turbines.

NaiKun CEO Michael O’Connor thinks the biggest opportunity for projects like his might be a liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.

NaiKun has an ambitious plan to build an offshore wind power project off the coast of Haida Gwaii.

At $1.5 billion to $2 billion, it would be expensive, but it would tap a powerful wind resource to produce power for Haida Gwaii, which currently gets most of its power from diesel generators.

It would also tie into the grid at Prince Rupert, where LNG plants are proposed. “ W hen L NG h app en s, t he

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

7

While B.C. has tremendous untapped potential for wind energy … at this time, there’s no vision of short-term opportunities emerging in B.C.

[] Robert Hornung president, Canadian Wind Energy Association

demand out there is going to be one of the only places where the demand is going to grow fast and significantly,” O’Connor said.

Puetter agreed: “The LNG industry is one potential candidate.

Today it looks pretty dim, but it doesn’t mean to say that it’s the same in six months. They have a very strong incentive for carbon reduction as costs are placed on carbon.” •

slowing Site C project large industrial customers in depressed energy and commodities market

Major earthmoving work on the north bank stabilization component of BC Hydro’s Site C project |

electricity output of 60,000 gigawatt hours.

BC Hydro claims the cost for Site C power will be between $58 and $61 per megawatt hour, but that’s a cost levelized over 70 years. Actual costs in a given

year could be much higher.

Power can be bought in the North American market for less than half that range.

Hydro estimates that Site C will result in ratepayers paying an average of $650 million less

BC Hydro

each year over the first 50 years of the dam’s operation compared with a power portfolio generated by independent power producers or natural gas.

O’Riley added that with interest rates so low, it’s a good time to

invest in major power infrastructure projects like Site C. As to the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Hydro’s power export prospects in America, Mike MacDougall, Powerex’s director of trade policy, said in an

email that the changes will have little effect on Hydro’s trade with U.S. markets because they predominantly affect market-clearing prices during higher-priced hours and won’t significantly change overall market demand. •

8

NEWS

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

New container weight rules raise new port wait fears trade | IMO shipping regulations set to be instituted July 1 could complicate local goods movement

By Timothy Renshaw trenshaw@biv.com

S

hippers, freight forwarders and other links in the local logistics chain are hoping to head off another potential roadblock in containerized goods movement through Port Metro Vancouver (PMV).

“If we don’t get it right,” said Bonnie Gee, Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia (CSBC) vicepresident, “there is the potential for delays in moving containers and definitely things coming in by rail.”

T he “it” referenced by Gee is compliance with new International Maritime Organization (IMO) shipping-container weight regulations scheduled to come into effect on July 1. The SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) Convention amendments, which will require packed shipping containers to have a verified gross mass before they can be loaded on a ship for export, are aimed at improving container ship safety. Accurate container weights are critical to determining how a ship’s cargo is stowed. Mistakes or falsely declared container weights can upset cargo balance and reduce a ship’s seaworthiness.

Institution of the new requirements is still months away, but local shippers have raised numerous compliance concerns. They include lack of clarity over who will be responsible for verifying container weights, the infrastructure needed to check loaded container

weights, how the system will be policed and how complying with the new rules will affect container movement efficiency.

Any goods movement disruptions in either PMV or the Port of Prince Rupert would be bad for what continues to be a growing business for B.C.’s Asia-Pacific gateway.

PMV, the third-largest container port on North America’s west coast, now handles approximately 2.8 million 20-foot equivalent container units annually, more than double its total at the turn of the century. As of November 2015, it had posted a 6% year-todate growth in containers handled compared with the same period in 2014.

Prince Rupert, meanwhile, is one of North America’s fastest-growing container ports. According to Prince Rupert Port Authority numbers, its 2015 containerized cargo increased 26% compared with 2014’s.

But, as recently as 2014, PMV container movement was disrupted by an ongoing fight over container truck rates and wait times at terminals.

The port’s retooled truck licensing system, rolled out in early 2015, was among several initiatives aimed at resolving the still-­s immering dispute. (See “Companies claim government wrongfully turning back time on minimum rates for port truckers – page 29.)

Ironing out the potential kinks in the local supply chain caused by

It is logistically ... impossible to weigh these individual containers every day without disrupting the fluidity of the supply chain

[]

David Montpetit chairman, Western Canadian Shippers’ Coalition

new container weight regulations is therefore a priority for the local shipping community.

The CSBC hosted a workshop on the issue in January. Gee added that it has also helped organize a working group of shippers and other main supply chain players to determine “what else we need to resolve, and a lot of it comes down to all the information [being] relayed on a timely basis so the movement of the goods doesn’t get disrupted.”

But many other issues need to be resolved.

For example, in an opinion piece published earlier this year in the U.S.-based Journal of Commerce, Gary Ferrulli, president for Unicon Logistics in North America, wrote that, aside from the added time and cost of complying with the requirements, the real concern resides outside the U.S., because while such countries as Canada and Australia have requirements for transporting packaged goods labelled with weights, “those ‘niceties’ don’t exist in many exporting nations, and truck scales there are anything but abundant.”

Ferrulli pointed out that if a freighter finds a container that doesn’t comply with the new weight rules, “it can inspect the offending box and refuse to ship it, resulting in significant costs, delays … .”

He concluded that there remains “great doubt about how countries will implement [the new rules] and even if they can.”

In Vancouver, David Montpetit, chairman of the Western Canadian Shippers’ Coalition, said the new SOLAS rules are a hotbutton issue for members of his organization, which export forest products via containers and in break bulk.

For example, he said, there are about 2,000 export containers shipped via truck daily through PMV. “We believe it is logistically and physically impossible to weigh these individual containers every

day without disrupting the fluidity of the supply chain.”

He added that only one PMV container terminal has a weigh scale on site, and there are only “between 10 and 15 scales within city limits, and most transload facilities used by exporters do not have any on site.”

While DP World, the Dubaibased company that owns Prince Rupert’s Fairview and Vancouver’s Centerm container terminals, has upgraded its scale at Centerm to comply with Transport Canada and Measurement Canada requirements for the new SOLAS rules, and plans to add a second scale, GCT Canada, which operates PMV’s Vanterm and Deltaport container terminals, has no plans to install a similar scale at either terminal.

Louanne Wong, GCT’s manager of market initiatives and development, said in an email that “current practices legally require container weights to be identified prior to arriving to the terminal.

When the new SOLAS regulations come into effect, the responsibility remains with the shipper to verify weight prior to arrival.”

Transport Canada senior communications adviser Mélany Gauvin confirmed that shippers will be responsible for weighing the containers and the verified weight must be signed by a person authorized by the shipper.

She added that penalties for violating the new weight verification requirements will range from $600 to $12,000 per infraction. •

Transportation

POLITICS

TransLink names King County transit chief as new CEO

Surrey hires Liberal lobbyists to push for infrastructure

TransLink’s soon-to-be boss has a West Coast connection.

The Metro Vancouver transit agency has hired Kevin Desmond, general manager of King County Metro Transit, as its new permanent CEO. Desmond’s first day on the job is March 21, TransLink announced February 10.

King County Metro is headquartered in Seattle and serves about 400,000 riders on an average weekday, according to data released last year by the transit authority.

King County Metro does not have a rapid transit system as expansive as TransLink’s SkyTrain.

But the transit authority operates a light-rail system running between downtown Seattle and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, a small monorail line running between two stops in downtown Seattle, as well as a streetcar service.

Prior to his move to Washington state in 1996, Desmond served as chief of operations planning for New York City

Surrey city hall has hired federal and BC Liberal insiders to help lobby senior governments for infrastructure funds, Business in Vancouver has learned.

Concise Consulting Ltd. was given a $28,800, six-month no-bid contract to help Surrey’s general manager of investment and intergovernmental relations, Donna Jones, develop a government engagement strategy.

Earnscliffe Strategy Group’s contract is capped at $21,656 for strategic communications support for the proposed $2.1 billion Surrey light-rail transit project. Competitive, public bidding is triggered for Surrey contracts worth $75,000 and up.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to spend $60 billion across the country over the next decade on infrastructure.

Concise is headed by Prem Vinning, a Liberal power broker in the South Asian community. Oliver Lum, spokesman for Mayor Linda Hepner, said the scope of Concise’s work includes dedicating

Transit.

At T ransLink, Desmond will take home an annual salary of $ 3 6 5 ,0 0 0 – o r $1,000 a d ay – a nd w i l l get a mont h ly hou sing allowance of $1,500.

TransLink’s board of directors ousted former CEO Ian Jarvis in February 2015, about a month before voting began for the region’s controversial transportation plebiscite.

The board of directors said Jarvis was cut loose to restore public confidence.

This came after two lengthy SkyTrain breakdowns the previous summer as well as problems with the rollout of its Compass Card program.

During the past year, the interim CEO job was held first by Doug Allen and then

by Cathy McLay.

K biv.com Go online to read these stories in full, along with much more business news updated daily at biv.com.

eight hours a week from February 1 to August 1 to “generate unique ideas for how Surrey can engage with key government officials” about Surrey’s priority funding needs.

Vinning, a former World Sikh Organization president, was B.C.’s director of Asia-Pacific trade and economic development under premier Gordon Campbell in 2005, but quit after only three days when it was revealed that he called a talk show under a different name when Campbell was a guest.

Vinning did not return a call seeking an interview.

Vinning’s son Manjeet is an aide to federal Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and is married to the rookie Vancouver South Liberal MP’s cousin Simran. Vinning’s other son, Gurpreet, is an aide to Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi.

Gurpreet Vinning previously worked under Peter Fassbender, the SurreyFleetwood BC Liberal MLA who became minister responsible for TransLink last year.

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

9

Surrey Green startup has sweet smell of success SERVICES | City

company and municipal government look to benefit from organic waste

By Patrick Blennerhassett news@biv.com

W

e’ve all heard the stories of big companies t hat got t hei r sta r t in someone’s garage – Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN) and Apple (Nas­d aq:AAPL) are two of the better-known modern giants with outbuilding origins. Surrey resident Shawn Davis hopes to take his company on a similar from-the-shed-to-the-stars trajectory and clean up in the kitchen composting business.

Compy, Davis’ natural additive for kitchen compost bins aimed at reducing odours and fruit flies and absorbing moisture, has landed distribution through London Drugs and Choices Markets, clearing 1,500 sales in six months with no external funding. Davis and his co-founder, Sam Sidhu, started the business through old-fashioned trial and error, first tinkering with the idea in December 2014.

“I wrote the patent myself with help from a few lawyers who volunteered their time,” said Davis, who received his bachelor of commerce in real estate and urban land economics from the University of British Columbia (UBC). “I initially tested Compy at my girlfriend’s apartment at UBC, and had her roommates

Shawn Davis wants to take the stink out of your compost bin |

help me determine which type of plant stalk did the best job of eliminating odours.”

The product got its start when Davis, who, like many, keeps a kitchen compost bucket in his house, decided to do something about the serious stink that can emanate from the container after a few hours. The solution was a product that is biodegradable

Rob Kruyt

right down to its packaging, as well as being locally sourced.

Momo Deretic, a professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business who also sits on Compy’s board, said it’s encouraging to see former students run with progressive business ideas.

“As for the funding and future growth of Compy, I am very optimistic, as he has the right product

for an increasingly growing market, which is composting and recycling,” Deretic said. “Not just in Canada, but the U.S. as well.”

The City of Surrey is also looking to capitalize on composting.

It is on schedule to complete a biofuels processing facility by January 2017. The plan will be located at 9752 192 Street, just south of the Fraser R iver by

Barnston Island.

Once the facility is operating, Surrey will have North America’s first closed-loop, fully integrated organics waste management system.

The facility will convert collected kitchen and yard waste into renewable natural gas that will fuel the city’s natural-gaspowered waste collection trucks, natural gas operations service vehicles and the district energy system – all using an odour-mitigation system as well.

“This project is a milestone for meeting the sustainability goals we have set for Surrey,” said Mayor Linda Hepner in a release. “[The facility] will reduce CO2 emissions in Surrey by 40,000 tonnes a year – that’s the equivalent of taking 8,500 cars off the road per year.”

Davis said Surrey’s large-scale biofuels project dovetails with his own small startup.

“If Compy can help people compost their food scraps, that can in turn help facilities like these,” he said.

Davis added that composting is a growing industry across the world and locally is now mandated by law under Metro Vancouver’s organics disposal ban.

“In Metro Vancouver alone, almost every detached household has a kitchen compost bin.”•

POLITICS

ENERGY

Metro transit is funding priority: infrastructure minister

Mixed environmental assessment for Petronas LNG

New federal dollars will go to “social infrastructure” projects like transit and affordable housing, Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi told the Vancouver Board of Trade February 11.

As the federal Liberals’ first budget looms, Sohi said his government has committed to two Metro Vancouver transit projects: light rail for Surrey and a subway along a portion of Vancouver’s Broadway corridor. Sohi also said he supports the Mayors’ Council plan for $7.5 billion in transit improvements for the region, which includes the two rail projects as well as increased bus service.

The multibillion-dollar Pacific NorthWest LNG project proposed for Prince Rupert would hurt harbour porpoises and raise production of greenhouse gases but is not likely to have significant adverse effects on fish habitat or other aspects of the environment.

That is according to a draft environmental assessment report released February 10 by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA).

The 257-page draft report is a mixed bag. On one hand, it says the project “is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects ... on harbour

The expansion is stalled after voters rejected a proposal to levy a regional sales tax to raise the municipal portion of the plan.

But that federal support doesn’t mean those projects will be prioritized ahead of others: proponents will have to apply to the federal government through a process that has yet to be set up, although Sohi said his ministry was looking at ways to reduce application backlogs.

The federal Liberals plan to post deficits to spend $9.5 billion a year for 10 years on infrastructure, arguing that it is needed to stimulate Canada’s economy.

porpoise and as a result of greenhouse gas emissions.” But otherwise, the report concludes, “the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects taking into account the implementation of the key mitigation measures.”

The main objection to the project from First Nations groups is its potential effect on salmon habitat. The liquefied natural gas plant on Lelu Island poses concerns because of a suspended bridge and pipeline trestle that would pipe LNG from the plant on Lelu Island to an offshore loading terminal.

K biv.com Go online to read these stories in full, along with much more business news updated daily at biv.com.

We are everywhere – Surrey and beyond Our practice takes us wherever our clients need us; from the courtroom, to the boardroom, to offices and factories, from Vancouver to the Fraser Valley and further afield. You’ll also find us at mcquarrie.com.

MCQUARRIE.COM

10

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

finance

Freegold Ventures (TSX:FVL) weekly price gain

D 65%

Timmins Gold (TSX:TMM) weekly price gain

B.C. job growth inches up

B.C.’s modest job growth leads country in January

Bryan Yu

BC

’s job market posted a negligible employment gain to start 2016 following two down months. January employment edged up by only 1,200 or 0.1% to a seasonally adjusted 2.3 million persons but still outpaced the national dip and contributed to a lower unemployment rate of 6.6%, down from 6.7% in December.

January’s performance added to the subdued pace of job growth since October but masked a substantial monthly gain in full-time employment of 0.6% (10,700 jobs), that offset declines in parttime work. Even with weaker growth in recent months, B.C. led all provinces in yearover-year employment gains in January at 2.1%, reflecting moderate economic growth, compared with 0.7% nationally, which was dampened by job losses in the Atlantic, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Provincial gains have largely been led by manufacturing, information, culture/recreation and education, which in part reflects improving export conditions and expansion in tourism and high-tech. Not surprisingly, natural resources are faring poorly.

Metro Vancouver led the provincial gain with job growth surging at a yearover-year pace of more than

Bryan Yu is senior economist at Central 1 Credit Union.

Dagmara K/SHUTTERSTOCK

The province’s job market posted a negligible gain to start 2016, compared with December, but its 2.1% year-over-year growth is the strongest in Canada

Employment has climbed in Metro Vancouver over the past decade but stagnated in the rest of the province A slowdown in recent months likely marks a temporary hiatus for a broadly improving job market 110 105 100 2014=100

Data Points

4% since October.

A higher unemployment rate, which was up a percentage point from a year ago, reflects higher labour force participation and signals improved labour market prospects for job-seekers.

Dovetailing with soft employment was deterioration in small-business confidence, according to the latest results from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business Business Barometer survey.

While B.C.’s economy is doing relatively well and confidence is higher than in most provinces, sentiment has understandably waned with a flurry of negative news, including weaker expectations for global and national growth, volatile equity markets and the pummelling of the Canadian dollar.

B.C.’s confidence index on a scale of one to 100 fell to 62.8 points in January, down three points from December and nine points from a year ago. A reading above 50 means that the number of businesses expecting their performance to be stronger over the next year exceeds those with a negative outlook.

While the year-over-year drop was among the sharpest in the country, the level points to modest optimism behind only Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. With a reading below 30 points, businesses in Alberta remain the most pessimistic, which is the primary contributor to a national reading of only 54 points. •

D 55%

95 90 85 80 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Metro Vancouver

2013

2014

2015

2016

Rest of B.C.

SourceS: statistics canada, central 1 credit union, seasonally adjusted

B.C. was only one of four Canadian provinces to see positive job growth year-over-year in January Overall Canadian job growth of 0.7% in January, year-over-year, was one-third of B.C.’s 2.1% growth rate British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Ontario Quebec New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island Newfoundland and Labrador Canada -4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

Per cent SourceS: statistics canada, central 1 credit union

NomiNatioNs DeaDliNe march 28, 2016 Business in Vancouver and the chartered Professional accountants of Bc have once again partnered to recognize and celebrate the top cFos in British columbia.

Winning cFos will be profiled in Business in Vancouver on may 10th and honoured at a gala dinner in early June where each winner will share their leadership lessons to an audience of Vancouver’s business community.

Visit www.biv.com/events/cfo to submit your nomination online.

Presented by:

gold sPonsors:

general sPonsors:

finance

D 52%

Corvus Gold (TSX:KOR) weekly price gain

Sierra Wireless (TSX:SW) weekly price drop

B.C. Business confidence dips slightly

F 31%

First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM) weekly price drop

The global oil glut is set to increase as oil from Iran flows back into the marketplace

The province’s business confidence level fell three points in January but remains higher than national average With an optimism level below 30, Alberta’s business leaders are the country’s least confident 80

70

Index

60

F 28%

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

Nevada Copper (TSX:NCU) weekly price drop

40

30

20 January 2013

July 2013

January 2014 Canada

July 2014 British Columbia

January 2015

July 2015

January 2016

Alberta SourceS: CFIB, Central 1 credit union

The following is a list of stock trades made by corporate executives, directors and other company insiders of B.C.’s public companies filed in the week ended February 10, 2016. The information comes from a compilation of required reports filed with the BC Securities Commission obtained from DisclosureNet.com.

Insider Albert Wilhelmus Vanzeyst, 10% owner Company: Village Farms International Inc. (TSX:VFF) Shares owned: 8,196,233 Trade date: February 4 Trade total: $116,100 Trade: Sale of 135,000 shares at a price of $0.86 per share

Insider Dennis Higgs, director Company: Nevada Exploration Inc. (TSX-V:NGE) Shares owned: 3,777,160 Trade date: February 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 Trade total: $93,179 Trade: Sale of 210,815 shares at prices ranging between $0.40 and $0.45 per share Insider Gillyeard (Gil) James Leathley, director Company: Novagold Resources Inc. (TSX:NG) Shares owned: 59,486 Trade date: February 4 Trade total: $79,085 Trade: Sale of 13,137 shares at a price of $6.02 per share Insider Douglas Edward Ford, officer Company: Avanti Energy Inc. (TSX-V:AVN) Shares owned: 850,000 Trade date: February 4 Trade total: $66,000 Trade: Acquisition of 550,000 shares at a price of $0.12 per share

Uber Images/SHUTTERSTOCK

BIV

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Sign up at biv.com .

• LASER CUTTING • CNC MACHINING • SHEET METAL • WATERJET CUTTING • WELDING • METAL STAMPING • TOOL & DIE • SILK SCREENING • PROTOTYPING • ASSEMBLIES

F 23%

INSIDERTRADING

Insider Lori Leigh McClenahan, officer Company: Intigold Mines Ltd. (TSX-V:IGD) Shares owned: 597,500 Trade date: February 4 Trade total: $95,975 Trade: Sale of 872,500 shares at a price of $0.11 per share

50

11

Insider James Duane Poliquin, officer Company: Almaden Minerals Ltd. (TSX:AMM) Shares owned: 2,127,936 Trade date: February 4, 8, 9

Trade total: $21,250 Trade: Acquisition of 25,000 shares at a price of $0.85 per share Insider Zahir Dhanani, director Company: Terraco Gold Corp.

(TSX-V:TEN) Shares owned: 8,874,413 Trade date: February 10 Trade total: $13,590 Trade: Acquisition of 151,000 shares at a price of $0.09 per share Insider Wolfgang Wiese, officer Company: Golden Dawn Minerals Inc. (TSX-V:GOM) Shares owned: 3,457,908 Trade date: February 5, 8 Trade total: $10,920 Trade: Acquisition of 84,000 shares at a price of $0.13 per share Insider Andrew Rae, officer Company: ICo Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V:ICO) Shares owned: 2,973,010 Trade date: February 8, 9, 10 Trade total: $10,000 Trade: Acquisition of 250,000 shares at a price of $0.04 per share Insider Brian Causey, director Company: Nanotech Security Corp. (TSX-V:NTS) Shares owned: 10,125 Trade date: February 5 Trade total: $9,720 Trade: Acquisition of 9,000 shares at a price of $1.08 per share Insider Darcy Alan Higgs, 10% owner Company: Nevada Exploration Inc. (TSX-V:NGE) Shares owned: 1,612,350 Trade date: February 4, 5 Trade total: $9,610 Trade: Sale of 24,025 shares at a price of $0.40 per share Insider Michael Bruno John Franz England, officer Company: Alix Resources Corp.

(TSX-V:AIX) Shares owned: 852,040 Trade date: February 4 Trade total: $5,000 Trade: Sale of 100,000 shares at a price of $0.05 per share •

12

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

realestate Watchdogs circling Vancouver’s flipping market sales | But

real estate agents say confidentiality agreements force some deals into the shadows

By Frank O’Brien fobrien@biv.com

C

lient confidentiality might trump a realtor’s disclosure of a home being flipped under an assignment sale, a topic that has drawn the attention of B.C.’s premier, the Real Estate Council of BC (RECBC) and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigators.

Some Vancouver-area real estate agents and investors are making windfall profits through assignment sales, a legal method that allows a home to be resold before the original sales agreement closes.

The practice was widespread in Vancouver a decade ago. It preceded the 2008 crash in the presale condominium market. Today the focus has shifted and the profits have risen in the city’s whitehot detached-housing sector. The

CRA, which is studying approximately 128 transactions, suspects that some income is not being reported by either real estate agents or investors.

An investor flipping a transaction is supposed to report the profit as business income. For example, if the investor sold an assignment for a $500,000 profit, it would be subject to a 47.7% tax (based on B.C.’s top marginal rate), or $238,500.

However, if the house is a principal residence, there is no tax on the sale, and because assignments are not registered on land titles, tax avoidance is tempting. Real estate agents also collect commissions on assignment sales.

A Business in Vancouver investigation has found that close to 20% of Vancouver detached sales since 2014 can be defined as flips, where a house is bought and sold in less

than 12 months. In the Dunbar area on Vancouver’s west side, for example, BIV and Landcor Data found 30 houses that were bought and sold within months during 2014 and 2015.

The typical Dunbar-area house flip generated a 23% return, or an average of $1,360 per day that the house was held, according to Landcor Data.

Real estate regulators are concerned that some realtors might be acting as both agents and investors without advising their clients, a contravention of RECBC regulations.

The watchdog RECBC, which enforces the licensing and conduct of B.C. real estate agents, is appointing an independent advisory group to investigate whether assignments are being used inappropriately.

Premier Christy Clark said the

province would act if RECBC did not find a solution.

But realtors note that real estate agents also have fiduciary duty to their clients not to release details of sales agreements. For example, if a realtor’s client is buying a property to flip it, no disclosure has to be made to the original seller, said veteran Vancouver realtor and senior property adviser Neil Hamilton of Macdonald Realty.

“In fact, the realtor has a duty of confidentiality not to disclose his client’s intentions. Similarly, a separate realtor representing the buyer has no responsibility to disclose to the listing realtor what his or her client is doing and in fact isn’t supposed to.”

However, a realtor who is actively part of the transaction must disclose that fact.

“He/she may not have to say that they’re flipping it, but they

at least have to disclose that they are an active part of the sale in some way,” Hamilton said, “and a smart seller can draw their own conclusions.”

Vancouver real estate lawyer Wesley McMillan of Hakemi & Ridgedale LLP noted that there are risks involved in flipping assignments if the housing market suddenly cools.

“Assignments come with significant risks for all of the parties involved, particularly assignors,” McMillan said. “Unless the assignment agreement states the assignor is free from future liability – and the vendor agrees to it – the assignor remains exposed.

If the assignee does not complete the purchase, the assignor can be sued for the damages suffered by the vendor. In a declining market, these damages can be significant.” •

Builders betting on eastern migration of downtown development

Real Estate Roundup Peter Mitham

Forward-looking There’s a story behind every sale, and in the case of 501 Dunsmuir Street – which Reliance Properties Ltd. recently purchased – the best part of the tale may be yet to come.

The two-storey property, home to eateries and private

learning centres at Dunsmuir and Richards streets, underwhelms in many regards: kitty-corner to Holy Rosary Cathedral and opposite the old Dunsmuir Hotel (more recently a former Salvation Army residence, student hostel, and shelter), it’s dwarfed by its neighbours.

Reliance Properties president Jon Stovell thinks it’s a giant opportunity.

“It’s a very well located downtown property – good transit connections, good area of the city,” Stovell said. “We, of course, will be looking to do a significant development there sometime in the future.”

Two factors are setting the

pace for Reliance’s plans.

On the one hand, the city is shifting east – something Bob Rennie proclaimed to the Urban Development Institute a dozen years ago and that is even more true today as plans to remove the viaducts take shape.

“We see all the shift eastward with the removal of the viaducts, the development of the Larwill Park site and all that kind of stuff – it’s just a good part of the downtown,” Stovell said.

On another hand, the city’s desire to add housing prompts Stovell to wonder if, or when, council will once more allow residential development in the

downtown core.

Council imposed a moratorium on the conversion of downtown commercial sites to residential in May 2004 – neatly timed with Rennie’s proclamation that the city had nowhere to develop but east – and subsequently tweaked the exclusion zone for downtown residential development.

Now, with office development booming enough for Mayor Gregor Robertson to crow last August that the city had seen 3.6 million square feet of office construction since 2009 and could boast “a record-breaking 4.5 million square feet of new office space under development” (even if

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some of those projects were mere applications), Stovell wonders if council may once again welcome residential development on select downtown sites.

A residential development is part of the Telus Garden development, and Stovell expects a relaxation for the Canada Post site in the 300-block of West Georgia.

“The city seems to be at least considering situations where, if the commercial density that goes with the site is achieved, … residential density over and above that can be considered,” he said. • pmitham@telus.net

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BUSINESSVANCOUVER

profile

February 16–22, 2016

13

Geoff Croll | President, British Pacific Properties Ltd.

Chung Chow

King of the mountain

By Peter Mitham news@biv.com

W

inding through the forest west of Cypress Bowl Road in his black Lexus GX 460, on the slopes below Eagle Lake, British Pacific Properties Ltd. president Geoff Croll speaks with intimate knowledge of the surrounding landscape.

A civil engineer by training, he has worked with the land his entire professional life. And as a lifelong resident of the North Shore, he has explored the backcountry more than have many of his fellow developers.

“My specialty is the land; my passion is dealing with the land,” Croll said. “That’s part of my job, walking this land. I probably know this land better than anybody because I grew up here, I walk my dog up

here, I ride my bike up here, I hike up here, I run the trails up here and I understand the recreational values, the ecological values, not to mention the economic values of this land.”

With many developers facing greater pressure to protect the environment, Croll is ideally positioned as one of the most ambitious land plays in the history of B.C. continues to play out on Hollyburn Ridge.

Decades before the province sold the Expo lands to Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing, West Vancouver sold 4,000 acres of wilderness to investors in London anchored by members of the Guinness family.

The 1931 purchase price was $75,000, with an additional $1 million pledged for community amenities. In today’s dollars those numbers would be $1.2 million and $16 million respectively. Compare that with the $321 million that Concord Pacific

agreed to pay for the 205 acres of Expo lands and one gets a sense of just what a steal the British Properties – now home to some of the region’s most prestigious real estate – was.

But it was also a long-term play. Eightyfive years after that initial purchase, no more than half the site has been developed.

Of the original 4,000 acres, about 1,000 acres lie above a 1,200-foot contour line established in the 1950s.

“There’s no need to develop them at this point,” Croll said. “It’s there as an asset for both the [owners] and the community.”

His simultaneous awareness of the land as both grounds for private development and a public amenity distinguishes Croll’s approach to managing British Pacific since becoming president in October 2014.

Croll is also the first local president of the company, having grown up in Bayridge,

south of the Upper Levels Highway and the area of Eagle Lake of which he speaks so fondly. He now lives with his wife, Susan, just east of the Capilano River in North Vancouver, a location chosen for a simple reason that resonates with many today: “There were more housing choices there at the time.”

Driving through the estates, Croll describes how British Pacific is helping increase the range of housing options in West Vancouver in an area better known for exclusiveness.

Whitby Estates, developed 15 years ago, features large lots with custom residences that rank among the most expensive in Metro Vancouver.

“The council of the day dictated that we have these big, huge estate lots, which you continued on page 14

14

profile

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

King of the mountaiN Continued from page 13

then tend to build big, huge homes on,” Croll said. “There was a feeling, as we built this out, that the community needed a different way of developing, in terms of providing a wider variety of housing types, providing more green space, concentrating density into nodes.”

The feelings found expression in Rodgers Creek, a neighbourhood west of Whitby Estates off the newly completed Chippendale Road. Originally launched in 2006, the project is being constructed by British Pacific’s own in-house building division and follows stringent guidelines that mandate green building practices.

“It was an opportunity to make a difference, to be a leader in the industry, particularly in sensitive hillside development,” Croll said, pointing out key features.

“There’s more native landscaping, more focus on stormwater management; there’s a big wetland right there that filters water.”

By preserving 55% of the land in Rodgers Creek as green space, British Pacific was able to relocate density farther west near a planned commercial centre. Attached homes, especially apartments, will account for more than 80% of the new units.

Cypress Village, as the centre will be known, will occupy a fiveacre site that was designated to become a rugby pitch until the

It was an opportunity to make a difference, to be a leader in the industry, particularly in sensitive hillside development

A day in the life

Geoff Croll describes a typical workday

7 a.m.

8:15-8:30 a.m.

[]

8:30-10 a.m.

Geoff Croll President, British Pacific Properties Ltd.

city manager suggested taking advantage of the expansive view with some kind of development.

A public consultation process is slated for this spring to guide the form and configuration of the development.

“It’s a really exciting opportunity to do something from the ground up,” Croll said. “To build a village that people can actually walk to from their home and get their daily needs met, whether it’s a quart of milk, a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.”

What’s equally exciting for Croll is watching an area he originally worked on as a consulting engineer 20 years ago become a new community. Positions with BCR Properties Ltd. and Genstar Development Co. followed that work. When Jim McLean, then president of British Pacific, invited Croll to join the company in 2006, his experience was an advantage and meshed with a long-standing interest in the environment.

He joined as general manager,

9 a.m.

10-11 a.m.

11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Read emails, research and background reading for work Weekly sales and marketing meeting Lunch meeting and site tour with local developer

Interview job applicant

5-6:30 p.m.

Review legal agreements and prepare for the next day’s meetings

6:30-8 p.m.

Reception with community partners

9-10:30 p.m.

11:30 p.m.

Dinner Gym Lights out

land, and served as the company’s sustainability officer. He became vice-president, land, and, finally, president.

It’s been a good fit, dovetailing

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Respond to emails, review new marketing materials, home plans and specifications, construction budgets

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Meeting at show home

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Inside information

with Croll’s interest in projects that have a significant public interest. British Pacific worked with the acclaimed U.S. landscape architects Olmsted Brothers in

Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Not Fragile

What I wanted to be when I grew up: Civil engineer

Advice for younger me: Get the MBA

What is left to do:

Make the vision of a world-class, sustainable mountainside village a reality

the 1930s to lay out the initial form of development, Croll noted, and today the company partners with the West Vancouver Streamkeeper Society as implementation of the original vision unfolds, providing boulders that create fish habitat and shelter the foreshore from high tides and storm surges.

“You can have development and preservation of these ecological, recreational values,” he said. “They’re not mutually exclusive. You can do both, and I see development as a way to provide long-term conservation of a lot of these environmentally sensitive areas.” •

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

15

Top 100 Manufacturers

BIVLIst

Biggest manufacturers in Metro Vancouver

16, 17, 18, 20, 21

Workers at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards are busy building the first of 17 ships for the federal government | Heath Moffatt Photography

Full steam ahead for Vancouver Shipyards as it builds ships and shipyard capacity shipbuilding | North

Vancouver’s Seaspan plans to double its workforce of tradespeople by 2018, thanks to an $8 billion federal shipbuilding contract

By Nelson Bennett nbennett@biv.com

C

ompared with Ontario and Quebec, B.C.’s manufacturing sector is still relatively small. But one sub-sector that has been growing by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years is shipbuilding.

In 2011, Seaspan was awarded an $8 billion shipbuilding contract under the federal National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. Since then, its head count has nearly doubled: to 2,300 today from 1,200 in 2009.

And it continues to grow.

Over the past three years, the company has hired 370 professionals, including naval architects, marine engineers and procurement specialists. Its trades workforce

– welders, electricians, mechanics, pipefitters and labourers – has grown to 250 in 2015 from 200 in 2014.

“Today we’re at 370,” said Seaspan CEO Jonathan Whitworth. “At year-end we’ll be at 550, and in 2018 we’ll be at 1,000.”

On top of all the new hires, Seaspan has also invested a significant amount of its own capital – $170 million – to modernize its Vancouver Shipyards, and is building a new headquarters to accommodate a growing corporate workforce.

All of that growth comes down to a single contract with the federal government. As part of Canada’s commitment to modernize its naval fleet and boost Canada’s shipbuilding industry, the federal government awarded billions in shipbuilding contracts to

Seaspan and Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax.

Irving Shipbuilding won a $26 billion contract to build up to 15 new combat vessels for the Royal Canadian Navy. Seaspan won the contract to build up to 17 non-combat ships for the Canadian Coast Guard and Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), as well as non-combat support vessels for the navy. The contract includes building an “extremely large” polar icebreaker.

“These first 17 ships are part of – probably – another dozen behind it,” Whitworth said.

“We don’t have a contract for those, but we expect that there are more ships behind it.

And we expect the federal ship program to be 20 to 25 years.” continued on page 19

16

Top 100 Manufacturers

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

Vancouver Biggest manufacturers in Metro Vancouver Ranked Totalnumber numberof ofemployees employeesin inB.C. B.C. RANKED BY | BY | Total Rank Company '16

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16 18 19 20

Seaspan ULC 10 Pemberton Ave, North Vancouver V7P 2R1 P: 604-988-3111 F: 604-984-1615 www.seaspan.com Starline Windows Group 19714 96 Ave, Langley V1M 3B9 P: 604-882-5100 F: 604-882-5102 www.starlinewindows.com Lafarge Canada Inc 7455 132 St Suite 200, Surrey V3W 1J8 P: 604-521-8811 F: NP www.lafargenorthamerica.com Teal-Jones Group 17897 Triggs Rd, Surrey V4N 4M8 P: 604-587-8700 F: 604-581-6162 www.tealjones.com Sunrise Farms 13538 73 Ave, Surrey V3W 1C9 P: 604-596-9505 F: 604-596-6966 sunrisefarms.ca Arc'teryx Equipment Inc 2220 Dollarton Hwy Suite 110, North Vancouver V7H 1A8 P: 604-960-3001 F: 604-904-3692 www.arcteryx.com Lehigh Hanson Canada PO Box 950, Delta V4K 3S6 P: 604-946-0411 F: 604-946-2420 www.lehighcement.com Freshpoint Canada 1020 Malkin Ave, Vancouver V6A 3S9 P: 604-253-1551 F: NP www.freshpointcanada.com WhiteWater West Industries Ltd 6700 McMillan Way, Richmond V6W 1J7 P: 604-273-1068 F: 604-273-4518 www.whitewaterwest.com Purdys Chocolatier 8330 Chester St, Vancouver V5X 3Y7 P: 604-454-2777 F: 604-301-4402 www.purdys.com Creation Technologies 8999 Fraserton Court , Burnaby V5J 5H8 P: 604-430-4336 F: 604-430-4337 www.creationtech.com Stemcell Technologies Inc 570 7th Ave W Suite 400, Vancouver V5Z 1B3 P: 604-877-0713 F: 604-675-7830 www.stemcell.com Cloverdale Paint Inc 2630 Croydon Dr Suite 400, Surrey V3Z 6T3 P: 604-596-6261 F: 604-597-2677 www.cloverdalepaint.com Ebco Industries Ltd3 7851 Alderbridge Way, Richmond V6X 2A4 P: 604-278-5578 F: 604-276-1488 www.ebco.com S&R Sawmills Ltd 18887 98A Ave, Surrey V4N 4E1 P: 604-888-0022 F: 604-888-3387 Chevron Canada Ltd (Burnaby refinery) 355 Willingdon Ave N, Burnaby V5C 1X4 P: 604-257-4040 F: NP www.chevron.ca Weyerhaeuser Co Ltd 1272 Derwent Way, Annacis Island V3M 5R1 P: 604-661-8000 F: 604-661-8377 www.weyerhaeuser.com Avcorp Industries Inc 10025 River Way, Delta V4G 1M7 P: 604-582-6677 F: 604-582-2620 www.avcorp.com Richmond Plywood Corp 13911 Vulcan Way, Richmond V6V 1K7 P: 604-278-9111 F: 604-278-2617 www.richply.com Crown Packaging Ltd PO Box 94188 , Richmond V6X 8A7 P: 604-277-7111 F: NP www.crownpackaging.com

Head office

Products

Top local executive(s)

North Vancouver

Association of Canadian companies primarily involved in coastal and deep-sea transportation, Jonathan Whitworth, CEO bunkering, ship repair and shipbuilding services in western North America

Langley

Vinyl and aluminum windows

Calgary − Western Canada; Zurich − worldwide Surrey

Year founded No. B.C. staff '16/'15 1970

2,200 1,953

Ron Martini, president

1970

1,400 1,000

Diversified supplier of construction materials; produces and sells cement, ready-mixed concrete, aggregates, asphalt, paving and construction, precast solutions and pipe products

David Redfern, vice-president, Greater Vancouver area

1833

1,157 NP

Western red cedar lumber, bevel, siding, timbers, roofing; Douglas fir and hemlock lumber; acoustic guitar tops and components

Dick Jones, president, Tom Jones, CEO

1947

970 970

Surrey

Poultry processing: fresh, chilled or frozen chicken, poultry meat

Peter Shoore, president

1983

900 900

North Vancouver

Design and manufacturing company specializing in technical high-performance outerwear and Vincent Wauters, general manager and president equipment

1989

827 750

Irving, Texas

Cement

Pat Heale, vice-president

1873

7001 600

Vancouver

Freshly prepared vegetables

NP

1936

650 NP

Richmond

Amusement park and playground equipment, waterslides, soft modular playground equipment

Geoff Chutter, president and CEO, Michael Heaven, 1980 COO, Andrew Wray, chief business development officer, Barbara Keys, CFO

578 502

Vancouver

Chocolates, ice cream, seasonal gifts

Karen Flavelle, CEO

1907

565 539

Burnaby

Electronic manufacturing service provider focused on OEMs requiring high-mix, highcomplexity start-to-finish design, manufacturing and supply chain solutions in various industries

Geoff Reed, chairman, Bhawnesh Mathur, president and CEO

1991

540 460

Vancouver

Cell culture media, cell separation products and ancillary reagents, lab automation equipment, Allen Eaves, president and CEO contract research services

1993

5152 515

Surrey

Paints and related paint products; protective and industrial coatings, lacquers, enamels and marine paint coatings

Tim Vogel, CEO

1933

500 NP

Richmond

Heavy machining and fabrication

1956

450 175

Surrey

Lumber and sawn timber

Richard Eppich, president and CEO, Umendra Mital, executive vice-president and general manager, Peter Ingram, vice-president, finance and administration Donald Stewart, president

1963

425 400

San Ramon, Calif.

Gasoline, fuel oils and other petroleum products

Steve Parker, country chairman and refinery manager

1935

400 400

Federal Way, Wash.

Engineered lumber, softwood lumber

Fred Dzida, president

1965

400 407

Delta

Designer and manufacturer of aircraft components and structures such as horizontal and vertical stabilizers, wing and fuselage components

Peter George, group CEO, Mark van Rooij, president and CEO, Avcorp Delta

1986

385 3704

Richmond

Plywood

Gurnam Minhas, president, Frank Aubert, general manager

1956

381 381

Richmond

Corrugated packaging

Colin Fernie, president

1956

375 NP

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. Other companies may have ranked but did not respond to information requests by deadline NP Not provided 1 - Between 600 and 700; fluctuates 2 - 2015 figure 3 - Includes Advanced Cyclotron Systems Inc 4 - BIV estimate

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Top 100 Manufacturers

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

17

Biggest manufacturers in Metro Vancouver Vancouver Ranked Totalnumber numberof ofemployees employeesin inB.C. B.C. RANKED BY | BY | Total Rank Company '16

21 22 22 24 25 26 27 27 29 30 30 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

SeaStar Solutions 3831 No 6 Rd, Richmond V6V 1P6 P: 604-270-6899 F: 604-303-2897 www.seastarsolutions.com Tree Island Steel Ltd 3933 Boundary Rd, Richmond V6V 1T8 P: 604-524-3744 F: 604-524-2362 www.treeisland.com Vitrum Industries Ltd 9739 201 St, Langley V1M 3E7 P: 604-882-3513 F: 604-882-3516 www.vitrum.ca Regency Fireplace Products Ltd 6988 Venture St, Delta V4G 1H4 P: 604-946-5155 F: 604-952-6638 www.regencyfire.com Canadian Autoparts Toyota Inc (CAPTIN) 7233 Progress Way, Delta V4G 1E7 P: 604-946-5636 F: NP www.toyota.ca Original Cakerie Ltd 1345 Cliveden Ave, Delta V3M 6C7 P: 604-515-4555 F: 604-515-4565 www.cakerie.com Ballard Power Systems Inc 9000 Glenlyon Pkwy, Burnaby V5J 5J8 P: 604-454-0900 F: 604-412-4700 www.ballard.com Burnaby Lake Greenhouses Ltd 17250 80 Ave, Surrey V4N 6J6 P: 604-576-2088 F: 604-576-2475 www.burlake.com Philips Lighting Canada − Langley 19750 92A Ave, Langley V1M 3B2 P: 604-888-6811 F: 604-888-2003 www.ledalite.com Dynamic Structures Ltd 1515 Kingsway Ave, Port Coquitlam V3C 1S2 P: 604-639-8300 F: 604-941-7447 www.empireds.com Sun Rich Fresh Foods Inc 22151 Fraserwood Way, Richmond V6W 1J5 P: 604-244-8800 F: 604-244-8811 www.sun-rich.com Great Little Box Co 11300 Twigg Pl, Mitchell Island, Richmond V6V 3C1 P: 604-301-3700 F: 604-301-3745 www.glbc.com Point Grey Research Inc 12051 Riverside Way, Richmond V6W 1K7 P: 604-242-9937 F: 604-242-9938 www.ptgrey.com Delta Controls Inc 17850 56 Ave, Surrey V3S 1C7 P: 604-574-9444 F: 604-574-7793 www.deltacontrols.com Coast Spas Manufacturing Inc2 6315 202 St, Langley V2Y 1N1 P: 604-514-8111 F: NP www.coastspas.com EaglePicher Technologies 13136 82A Ave, Surrey V3W 9Y6 P: 604-543-4350 F: 604-597-0814 www.eaglepicher.com Océ Display Graphics Systems 13251 Delf Pl, Richmond V6V 2A2 P: 604-273-7730 F: 604-273-2775 www.oce.com Garaventa (Canada) Ltd 7505 134A St, Surrey V3W 7B3 P: 604-594-0422 F: 604-594-9915 www.garaventalift.ca PNP Pharmaceuticals Inc 9388 North Fraser Cres, Burnaby V5J 0E3 P: 604-435-6200 F: 604-435-6213 www.pnppharmaceuticals.com Gardein (Garden Protein International Inc) 12751 Vulcan Way Suite 200, Richmond V6V 3C8 P: 604-278-7300 F: 604-278-8238 gardein.com

Head office

Products

Top local executive(s)

Year founded No. B.C. staff '16/'15

Richmond

Designs and manufactures hydraulic, electronic and thermal technology products

Eric B. Fetchko, vice-president and general manager, Sam Low, director of finance

1943

374 390

Richmond

Produces wire products for a diverse range of construction, agricultural, manufacturing and industrial applications

Amar Doman, chair, Dale MacLean, president and CEO

1964

340 321

Langley

Laminated glass, insulated glass, solar-control coated glass, sound control, tempered glass, patterned glass, silkscreened glass, painted glass

Gemma Martini, CEO

1997

340 200

Delta

Wood and gas fireplaces, stoves and inserts

Glen Spinelli, president, Robert Little, owner

1979

320 350

Toronto, Ont.

Aluminum automotive wheel hubs

NP

1983

310 315

Delta

Layer cakes, super bars, dessert bars

Dave Hood, CEO

1989

298 292

Burnaby

Fuel cells

Randall MacEwen, president and CEO

1979

275 280

Surrey

Indoor plant products including planter baskets and cut flowers

Greg Watkin, president

1955

2751 275

Somerset, N.J.

Premium-quality, high-performance luminaires, optics and controls

Vincent Gelineau, plant manager

1982

264 NP

Port Coquitlam

Steel fabricator for dynamic, complex structures across a variety of market sectors including astronomy, entertainment and infrastructure

Ye Zhou, president

1926

250 NP

Richmond

Fresh cut fruit and berries, fresh or chilled

1988

250 NP

Richmond

Manufacturer of packaging including corrugated boxes, folding cartons, rigid boxes, clear PVC containers, foam protective packaging, pressure-sensitive labels, flexible packaging, moving equipment and shipping supplies Innovative, high-performance digital cameras for industrial, scientific, medical, traffic and security applications

Neville Israel, president and CEO, Jeff Pitchford, vicepresident, operations and supply chain, Steve Davies, vice-president, finance Robert Meggy, CEO

1982

242 212

Rod Barman, president; vice-president of engineering

1997

236 210

Richmond Surrey

Card reader/access systems, access devices and systems, control systems, building automation systems, HVAC control systems

Brian Goodchild, president, Raymond Rae, vicepresident

1980

229 229

Langley

Hot tubs and spas, swim spas, fitness spas and commercial hot tubs for hotels

Don Elkington, president and CEO

1997

2213 2503

Joplin, Mo.

Custom batteries and power systems

NP

1980

220 NP

Venlo, Netherlands

Document management and printing

Dante Di Pasquale, director, business development and 20104 site manager, Dale Mortimer, director, marketing

214 1945

Surrey

Wheelchair lifts and home elevators

Mark Townsend, president and CEO, Vince Sciamanna, 1974 director, business development

210 182

Burnaby

Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacturing

Glen North, president and CEO, Dennis Thneah, vicepresident

1999

205 200

Richmond

Frozen and fresh meat-free foods are marketed under the Gardein brand

Yves Potvin, founder and president

NP

200 NP

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. Other companies may have ranked but did not respond to information requests by deadline NP Not provided 1 - 2015 figure 2 - Coast Group of Companies 3 - Seasonal; fluctuates 4 - Year acquired by Canon; originally founded 1877 5 - BIV estimate

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in the List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Carrie Schmidt, lists@biv.com.

2016

w

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18

Top 100 Manufacturers

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

Biggest manufacturers in Metro Vancouver Vancouver RANKED BY | Total Ranked BY | Totalnumber numberof ofemployees employeesin inB.C. B.C. Rank Company '16

41 42 43 44 44 46 47 48 49 49 49 52 53 54 55 56 57 57 57 57

Wesgar Inc 1634 Kebet Way, Port Coquitlam V3C 5W9 P: 604-942-9558 F: 604-942-4045 www.wesgar.com Bulldog Bag Ltd 13631 Vulcan Way, Richmond V6V 1K4 P: 604-273-8021 F: 604-273-9927 www.bulldogbag.com Nature's Path Foods Inc 7453 Progress Way, Delta V4G 1E7 P: 888-808-9505 F: 604-248-8760 www.naturespath.com Asco Aerospace (Canada) Ltd 8510 River Rd, Delta V4G 1B5 P: 604-946-4900 F: 604-946-4671 www.asco.be Associated Labels 61 Clipper St, Coquitlam V3K 6X2 P: 604-525-4764 F: 604-525-6744 www.associatedlabels.com Rempel Bros Concrete Ltd 8955 Shaughnessy St, Vancouver V6B 3W6 P: 604-525-9344 F: NP www.rempelbros.com Punjab Milk Foods Inc 6308 146 St, Surrey V3S 3A4 P: 604-594-9190 F: 604-594-9108 www.nanakfoods.com Daiya Foods Inc 2768 Rupert St, Vancouver V5M 3T7 P: 604-569-0530 F: 604-569-0747 www.daiyafoods.com Canadian Fishing Co (Canfisco) Foot of Gore Ave, Vancouver V6A 2Y7 P: 604-681-0211 F: 604-681-3277 www.canfisco.com K-Line Trailers Ltd 27360 58 Cres, Langley V4W 3W7 P: 604-856-7199 F: 604-856-8399 www.klinetrailers.com Wexxar/BEL Packaging Inc 13471 Vulcan Way, Richmond V6V 1K4 P: 604-930-9300 F: 604-930-9368 www.wexxar.com GEA Refrigeration Canada Inc 2551 Viking Way, Richmond V6V 1N4 P: 604-278-4118 F: 604-278-4847 www.gea.com Advanced Integration Technology Canada Inc 5690 268 St, Langley V4W 3X4 P: 604-856-8939 F: 604-856-8993 www.aint.com Norampac Inc (Richmond) 3300 Viking Way, Richmond V6V 1N6 P: 604-273-7321 F: 604-273-0988 www.norampac.com West Coast Reduction Ltd 105 Commercial Dr N, Vancouver V5L 4V7 P: 604-255-9301 F: 604-255-1803 www.wcrl.com Ocean Concrete 8955 Shaughnessy St, Vancouver V6B 3W6 P: 604-261-2211 F: 604-261-7537 www.oceanconcrete.com Beachcomber Hot Tubs Group 13245 Comber Way, Surrey V3W 5V8 P: 604-591-8611 F: 604-597-2853 www.beachcomberhottubs.com Gizella Pastry Ltd 3436 Lougheed Highway, Vancouver V5M 2A4 P: 604-253-5220 F: 604-253-4825 www.gizellapastry.com Intercity Packers Ltd 1575 Kootenay St, Vancouver V5K 4Y3 P: 604-291-7791 F: 604-291-0456 www.intercitypackers.ca Primex Manufacturing Ltd 20160 92A Ave, Langley V1M 3A4 P: 604-881-7875 F: 604-881-7835 www.primexfits.com

Head office

Products

Top local executive(s)

Port Coquitlam

Metalwork assemblies, electronic enclosures, brackets and housings, face plates and custom sheet metal products

John Purdy, board chair, Keith Day, president and CEO, 1965 Nash Kassam, COO

196 196

Richmond

Complete line in both paper and plastic bags, as well as lumber wrap and industrial covers

Frank Sirlin, president

1964

194 194

Richmond

Organic food processor and marketer of breakfast cereals, granola bars, gluten-free foods, frozen toaster waffles, toaster pastries, pancake mixes, Que Pasa tortilla chips and salsas

Arran Stephens, founder and president, Ratana Stephens, COO

1985

171 1851

Brussels, Belgium

Aircraft structural components

Kevin Russell, vice-president and general manager

1987

1702 170

Coquitlam

Labels, flexible packaging, packaging equipment and digital printing

Shaun Ashworth, president

1981

170 140

Vancouver

Ready-mix concrete

Larry Baloun, vice-president and general manager

1967

1622 162

Surrey

Indian dairy products, appetizers, desserts and assorted confections

Gurpreet Arneja, president, Vineet Taneja, CEO

1997

160 1751

Vancouver

Dairy-free cheese alternatives: shreds, wedges, slices, cream-cheese-style spreads and pizzas Terry Tierney, CEO

2008

154 NP

Vancouver

Fresh, frozen, canned and smoked salmon, herring roe, groundfish fillets, halibut and other fish Dan Nomura, president products

1906

150 NP

Langley

U.S. and Canadian-style truck transfers, multi-axle low-beds, mine equipment, bulk and/or waste haulers, demolition vans, end and side dumps and other specialty trailers

Les Knight, CEO, David Knight, president and general manager

1994

150 NP

Richmond

Designs and manufactures leading-edge case-erecting, case-sealing and tray-forming machinery for corrugated container packaging

NP

1977

150 NP

Richmond

Industrial and commercial freezers, chillers and refrigeration equipment

Sascha Poteralla, president and CEO

1979

148 170

Langley

Designs, engineers, manufactures and installs machines, systems and tooling for the automated assemblies of aerospace structures, including fuselage, wings and empennage

Steven Taylor-Lewis, general manager

2004

1432 143

St-Bruno, Que.

Corrugated paper products, containers, boxes and cartons

Todd Clark, sales and marketing manager

1971

140 334

Vancouver

Provides terminal service to the canola and biodiesel industries; exports 65% of Canada's canola oil to Asia-Pacific markets

Barry Glotman, president and CEO

1964

138 NP

Vancouver

Ready-mix concrete

Larry Baloun, vice-president and general manager

1886

1352 135

Surrey

Hot tubs

Keith Scott, founder and CEO

1978

130 180

Vancouver

Producer of quality desserts, primarily cakes and cheesecakes

NP

1960

130 NP

Vancouver

Suppliers of meat and seafood from all over the world

Danny Ransom, general manager, Ming Jung, sales manager

1973

130 NP

Langley

HVAC venting products, telecom enclosures, shelf supports

NP

1971

130 NP

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. Other companies may have ranked but did not respond to information requests by deadline NP Not provided 1 - BIV estimate 2 - 2015 figure

Year founded No. B.C. staff '16/'15

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in the List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Carrie Schmidt, lists@biv.com.

2016

LIFE SCIENCES

Call Katherine Butler to reserve your space today!

Advertising deadline: March 4, 2016 (604) 608-5158

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BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

19

Economy | Province to buck global doldrums, Business Council of British Columbia says

Onward and upward

The Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) is projecting a 2.8% growth rate for the province in 2016 and up to 3% in 2017

Eggs in many baskets

A diversified industrial and export base is helping B.C. stand up to a diminished outlook for global growth, the BCBC said

The good and the bad

Commodities are weighing on growth, while service exports and non-resource merchandise shipments are benefiting from the low Canadian dollar and ongoing U.S. expansion

Close to home

Consumer spending is buoyant in B.C., aided by falling cross-border shopping and continued population growth

Full steam Continued from page 15

Qualifying for the contract required Seaspan to commit to an overhaul of its Vancouver Shipyards, which were built in 1966 and with the $170 million modernization investment can now accommodate three ships at a time.

“That money was completely out of Seaspan’s pocket,” Whitworth said. “That was all our money.”

He added that the $170 million upgrade was a big challenge for the company. Seaspan, after all, has experience building ships, not shipyards.

“We were very concerned that we could get that done and do it on time and on budget,” Whitworth said. “We set ourselves a pretty ambitious goal. We needed to do it in 24 months. We actually did it in 22 months, and it came in $20 million below our budget.”

In addition to the Vancouver Shipyards expansion, Seaspan recently began construction on a new 84,000-square-foot, fourstorey headquarters to accommodate the company’s growing corporate head count.

Seaspan is owned by U.S. businessman Dennis Washington.

His son, Kyle Washington, Seaspan’s executive chairman, lives in Vancouver.

The company owns three shipyards in B.C.: Vancouver Shipyards, Vancouver Drydock in North Vancouver and Victoria Shipyards. Victoria Shipyards employs 750 workers and will do some of the finishing work, once the new ships are nearly completed.

T he compa ny i s cu r rent ly

Workers at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards, which underwent a $170 million modernization overhaul to accommodate its multi-vessel federal shipbuilding contract | Heath Moffatt Photography

working on its first order: three DFO science vessels.

“We finished the design early last year, and we began cutting steel in June of 2015, and we should be launching our first ship around year-end this year,” Whitworth said. “And then we’re building three of this class.”

In 2016’s second quarter, Seaspan will begin building the second ship.

Ramping up for the new orders required the company to go on a hiring and training spree. So far, the company has not had trouble finding skilled workers, and the downturn in Alberta’s oilpatch has been working in Seaspan’s favour.

“We always thought that we were goi ng to be i n a better

position than projects in the north because you get to live at home,” Whitworth said. “You don’t have to l ive i n a ma ncamp. You don’t work in minus20-degree weather. And it’s not a three-month or three-year contract; it could be a career. “ T h a t w a s b e fo re t h e A lberta meltdown. Since then, our unions say they have been averaging about 1,000 resumés a month trying to get into Seaspan.”

In addition to hiring skilled trades workers, Seaspan has been working with the British Columbia Institute of Technology and colleges on apprenticeship training. Of the new apprentices Seaspan is sponsoring and hiring, 25% will be women and

First Nations.

The jobs pay well. Red Seal certified welders are paid an average of between $75,000 and $100,000 per year.

The economic spinoff of the federal shipbuilding contract for other B.C. companies is significant. Over an eight-year period, Seaspan estimates that $1.3 billion will be spent with Canadian suppliers. The lion’s share – $785 million – will be spent in B.C. The total economic spinoff is estimated at $6.7 billion in economic activity, $3 billion in gross domestic product growth (Canada-wide) and 26,000 full-time equivalent jobs over 10 years.

“The largest benefactors are going to be small and medium enterprises across Canada,”

Source: Business Council of BC

Whitworth said.

Roughly 150 suppliers across Canada will receive $197 million in orders, $21 million of which will go to aboriginal businesses.

Ideal Welders Ltd. on Annacis Island is one of eight B.C. companies that have been benefiting from service contracts.

Dale Hamill, Ideal Welders’ vice-president of operations, said a master service agreement with Seaspan to provide pipe fabrication is welcome, especially given the downturn in work related to the oil and gas industry in Alberta. “[The Seaspan agreement] is significant,” he said. “It’s probably in the neighbourhood of 20% of our annual volume.”

The federal government’s goal under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy wasn’t just to acquire new ships for the Canadian navy, DFO and coast guard – it’s also intended to build Canada’s shipbuilding capacity.

For the time being, the federal contract consumes all of Seaspan’s capacity. When BC Ferries put out a request for proposals to build new ferries, Seaspan wasn’t able to bid, because it’s got its hands full.

But eventually it hopes to be able to bid on other contracts, domestic and international.

Within seven years, the company plans to dedicate 50% of its capacity to the federal shipbuilding contract, with the remaining capacity open for other commercial orders.

“What we couldn’t offer in the past was for the government to use our product as a trading tool,” Whitworth said. “Hypothetically, now there could be a trade deal done with another country.” •

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Top 100 Manufacturers

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

Biggest manufacturers in in Metro Metro Vancouver Vancouver BiggestTotal manufacturers number of employees in B.C. RANKED BY | Ranked BY | Total

number of employees in B.C.

Rank Company '16

61 62 62 64 65 66 67 67 69 69 71 71 71 74 74 76 77 78 79 79

Thomson Power Systems 9087A 198 St, Langley V1M 3B1 P: 604-888-0110 F: 604-888-3381 www.thomsonps.com Deere-Hitachi Specialty Products 26901 56 Ave, Langley V4W 3Y2 P: 604-607-4543 F: NP Rogers Sugar 123 Rogers St PO Box 2150, Vancouver V6A 3N2 P: 604-253-1131 F: 604-258-4483 www.lantic.ca Lush Manufacturing Ltd 8739 Heather St, Vancouver V6P 3T1 P: 604-301-2748 F: NP www.lush.ca Canterbury Coffee Corp 8080 North Fraser Way Suite 1, Burnaby V5J 0E6 P: 604-431-4400 F: 604-456-0603 www.canterburycoffee.com Highland Foundry Ltd 9670 187 St, Surrey V4N 3N6 P: 604-888-8444 F: 604-888-3634 www.highlandfoundry.com Kardium Inc 8518 Glenlyon Pkwy Suite 155, Burnaby V5J 0B6 P: 604-248-8891 F: 604-304-3478 www.kardium.com Unifiller Systems Inc 7621 MacDonald Rd, Delta V4G 1N3 P: 604-940-2233 F: 604-677-5844 www.unifiller.com BW Creative Railing Systems 23282 River Rd, Maple Ridge V2W 1B6 P: 604-467-5147 F: 604-467-1197 www.bwcreativerailings.com Flexstar Packaging Inc 13320 River Rd, Richmond V6V 1W7 P: 604-273-9277 F: 604-273-4889 www.flexstar.ca Ellett Industries Ltd 1575 Kingsway Ave, Port Coquitlam V3C 4E5 P: 604-941-8211 F: 604-941-6854 www.ellett.ca Global Gourmet Foods Inc 11611 Bridgeport Rd, Richmond V6X 1T5 P: 604-278-8688 F: 604-276-8829 globalgourmetfoods.com Restwell Mattress Co Ltd 14922 54A Ave, Surrey V3W 5V9 P: 604-576-2339 F: 604-576-6637 www.restwell.com Columbia Manufacturing Co Ltd 4575 Tillicum St, Burnaby V5J 3J9 P: 604-437-3377 F: 604-437-4443 www.columbiaskylights.com EWOS Canada Ltd 7721 132 St, Surrey V3W 4M8 P: 604-591-6368 F: 604-591-7232 www.ewos.com Van Gogh Designs 19178 34A Ave, Surrey V3Z 1A7 P: 604-372-3001 F: 604-372-3002 www.vangoghdesigns.com Endurance Wind Power Inc 19347 24 Ave Suite 101, Surrey V3Z 3S9 P: 604-579-9463 F: 604-542-9463 www.endurancewindpower.com Intercontinental Truck Body (BC) Inc 5285 192 St, Surrey V3S 8E5 P: 604-576-2971 F: 604-576-1304 www.itb.ca Advance Lumber Remanufacturing Ltd 12184 Old Yale Rd, Surrey V3V 3X5 P: 604-580-4918 F: 604-580-4998 www.theadvancegroup.net Merit Kitchens Ltd 12185 86 Ave, Surrey V3W 3H8 P: 604-591-3321 F: 604-591-9141 www.meritkitchens.com

Head office

Products

Top local executive(s)

Langley

Automatic transfer switches, battery chargers, control systems and custom-built switchgears Rick Martin, vice-president, sales and marketing

Langley

Forestry excavators built to order

Vancouver

1973

130 NP

1999

126 160

Refined sugars

Alan Tracey, general manager, Claudio D'Agnolo, human resources manager, Simon Snobelen, manufacturing manager John Holliday, president and CEO

2010

126 123

Poole, U.K.

Bath and beauty products

NP

1995

122 NP

Burnaby

Whole bean and ground roasted coffee, single-serve coffee in K-Cup format

Rosemarie Ho, Eric Lightheart, senior vice-presidents

1981

120 120

Surrey

Iron, steel and nickel alloys, castings (steel, metal, monel, ni-hard or ni-resist, stainless steel, sawmill), dies and moulds, marine propellers

Garth McKay, president

1970

118 128

Burnaby

Ablation catheters

Doug Goertzen, CEO

2007

115 99

Delta

Conveyors and conveying systems, pumps and parts, fillers

Kuno Kurschner, president

1988

1151 115

Maple Ridge

B2B manufacturers of railing systems (aluminum, glass, mixed materials) for both the retail dealer market and, through its commercial division, the multi-family/builder/developer market

Rob Mitchell, president and CEO

1974

110 80

Richmond

Printed flexible packaging, laminates and plain film

Marc Bray, president and CEO

2005

110 97

Port Coquitlam

Heat exchangers, pressure vessels, towers, reactors, crystallizers, evaporators, tanks and pipe Bob Gill, vice-president, sales spools

1921

1001 100

Richmond

Custom processor of ready-to-serve soups, sauces and entrees

NP

NP

100 NP

Surrey

Mattresses and box springs

NP

1990

100 NP

Burnaby

Skylights, curtain wall, panellized glazing systems

Michael Williams, president, Gord Watt, vicepresident, operations

1955

90 90

Norway

Supplier of feed and nutrition for the international aquaculture industry

Jason Mann, managing director

1931

90 NP

Surrey

Custom-designed home furniture: sofas, chairs, beds and accessories

NP

1993

88 NP

Surrey

Small wind turbine manufacturer

Brad Bardua, CFO and interim CEO

2007

85 90

Surrey

Manufactures aluminum truck bodies, trailers and enclosures; repairs and up-fits existing units

Nathan Van Seters, general manager

1986

84 NP

Surrey

New and used pallets and shipping crates

Rajinder Brar, president, Jaspinder Brar, vice-president 1995

80 40

Surrey

Kitchen cabinetry and bathroom vanities

Frank Siekmann, president

80 NP

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. Other companies may have ranked but did not respond to information requests by deadline NP Not provided 1 - 2015 figure

officespace 2015

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Year founded No. B.C. staff '16/'15

1971

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in the List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Carrie Schmidt, lists@biv.com.

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Top 100 Manufacturers

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

21

Biggest manufacturers in Metro Vancouver Ranked BY BY | Totalnumber numberof ofemployees employeesin inB.C. B.C. RANKED | Total Rank Company '16

81 82 83 83 85 85 85 88 89 89 91 92 93 93 93 93 97 98 99 100

Head office

Products

Top local executive(s)

Year founded No. B.C. staff '16/'15

Watson Gloves 7599 North Fraser Way, Burnaby V5J 0A4 P: 604-874-1105 F: 604-875-9009 www.watsongloves.com Iplayco Corp Ltd 27353 58 Cres Suite 215, Langley V4W 3W7 P: 604-607-1111 F: 604-607-1107 www.iplaycoltd.com Hansen Industries Ltd 2871 Olafsen Ave, Richmond V6X 2R4 P: 604-278-2223 F: 604-278-7733 www.hanind.com Robar Industries Ltd 12945 78 Ave, Surrey V3W 2X8 P: 604-591-8811 F: 604-591-5288 www.robarindustries.com Artron BioResearch Inc 3938 North Fraser Way, Burnaby V5J 5H6 P: 604-415-9757 F: 604-415-9795 artronbio.com Ideon Packaging 11251 Dyke Rd, Richmond V7A 0A1 P: 604-524-0524 F: NP www.ideonpackaging.com Mountain Technologies Ltd 35 Gostick Pl, North Vancouver V7M 3N2 P: 604-986-9008 F: 604-986-9095 www.mtntech.com Zaber Technologies 605 West Kent Ave N Suite 2, Vancouver V6P 6T7 P: 604-569-3780 F: NP www.zaber.com DNA Data Networking and Assemblies Ltd 8057 North Fraser Way, Burnaby V5J 5M8 P: 604-439-1099 F: 604-439-1187 www.dnadata.net Pacific Bindery Services Ltd 870 Kent Ave SW, Vancouver V6P 6Y6 P: 604-873-4291 F: 604-875-8006 www.pacificbindery.com Norsat International Inc 4020 Viking Way Suite 110, Richmond V6V 2L4 P: 604-821-2800 F: 604-821-2801 www.norsat.com

Burnaby

Gloves and work gloves, footwear (slippers/indoor)

Martin Moore, president

1918

80 75

Langley

Custom designs, manufactures and installs premium-quality, fun, safe and durable play structures for children worldwide

Scott Forbes, president and CEO, Max Liszkowski, CFO 1999

78 76

Richmond

Custom metal, plastic and composite components for other manufacturers, using lasers, presses, brakes, milling machines, lathes and water jet machines

Edwin Beange, president

1975

76 75

Surrey

Waterworks fittings and other castings in iron, steel and ductile and wire-rope fittings; products for the waterworks, forestry, industrial and mining sectors

Michelle Charleston, CEO, Jacqueline Levy, president

1958

76 96

Burnaby

Specializes in the development and large-scale production of antibodies and antigens

NP

2002

75 NP

Richmond

Packaging manufacturer specializing in digital POP displays, retail packaging, shipping containers, internal packaging and automation

Rick Van Poele, president, CEO and partner

2002

75 65

North Vancouver

Wiring harnesses, cable assemblies, cables, coaxial, electromechanical assemblies

Andrew Buttjes, president

1988

75 75

Vancouver

Designs and manufactures precision positioning devices that are affordable, integrated and easy to use

NP

1997

71 NP

Burnaby

Custom data and electrical harnesses and assemblies and complete turnkey manufacturing for cabinets and racks

Marty Pashak, president

1997

70 801

Vancouver

Bookbinding, finishing, packaging, fulfilment

Kris Bovay, general manager, Brad Clement, controller 1972 and privacy officer, Larry Worfolk, operations manager

70 NP

Vancouver

68 57

EEC Industries Ltd 1237 Welch St, North Vancouver V7P 1B3 P: 604-986-5633 F: 604-986-2999 www.eecind.com AG Hair 3765 William St, Burnaby V5C 3H8 P: 604-294-8870 F: NP www.aghair.com DBC Marine Safety Systems 1689 Cliveden Ave, Delta V3M 6V5 P: 604-278-3221 F: 604-278-7812 www.dbcmarine.com Delta-Q Technologies Corp 3755 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby V5G 3H3 P: 604-327-8244 F: 604-327-8246 www.delta-q.com International Submarine Engineering Ltd 1734 Broadway St, Port Coquitlam V3C 2M8 P: 604-942-5223 F: 604-942-7577 www.ise.bc.ca Allied Vision Technologies Canada Inc 4621 Canada Way Suite 300, Burnaby V5G 4X8 P: 604-875-8855 F: 604-875-8856 www.alliedvisiontec.com OceanWorks International Corp 6741 Cariboo Rd Suite 120, Burnaby V3N 4A3 P: 604-415-0088 F: 604-420-7125 www.oceanworks.com Gemini Packaging Ltd 12071 Jacobson Way Suite 150, Richmond V6W 1L5 P: 604-278-3455 F: 604-278-3697 www.geminiltd.com Otter Farm & Home Co-operative Association 3650 248 St, Aldergrove V4W 1X7 P: 604-607-6922 F: 604-856-2674 www.ottercoop.com

North Vancouver

Designs, develops, produces, distributes and provides infield support and service of portable Amiee Chan, president and CEO, Arthur Chin, CFO 1977 ground station satellite terminals, antennas, radio frequency conditioning products, microwave components, maritime-based satellite terminals and remote network connectivity solutions Aluminum, brass, bronze, glass and plastic signs; ornamental and/or architectural bronze Allan Buch, president and CEO, Henning Buch, senior 1973 work; metal letters vice-president, sales, Way Richard, vice-president, sales

Burnaby

Hair-care products made with natural ingredients

NP

1989

65 NP

Delta

Marine life-saving equipment, fire safety, safety equipment, life rafts and rescue boats

Mark Hansen, sales director

1977

65 NP

Burnaby

Manufacturer of industrial battery chargers

Ken Fielding, president and CEO

1999

65 63

Port Coquitlam

Subsea systems, submarines; control systems; remotely operated vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles

James McFarlane, president

1974

65 NP

NP

Digital imaging cameras

Jeff Bisacquino, director, operations, and facility manager

NP

61 NP

Burnaby

Cabled sea-floor observatories, atmospheric deep-sea diving suit systems, submarine rescue systems, ROV tooling and specialized subsea equipment

Michael Smith, president

1986

60 NP

Richmond

Dish and laundry detergents, glass and surface cleaners, cling wrap, cosmetics, industrial cleaners, marine products, patient-care products, septic treatments

Reg Stranks, CEO, Tim Stranks, president, Dave Stranks, vice-president

1980

58 601

Langley

Manufactures feed for animals

Richard Bonneau, controller, Jack Nicholson, general manager

1922

56 54

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. Other companies may have ranked but did not respond to information requests by deadline NP Not provided 1 - BIV estimate

67 65

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in the List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Carrie Schmidt, lists@biv.com.

Next week’s list – Biggest public relations companies in B.C.

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22

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

Events

Forty under 40 Awards gala

B

usiness in Vancouver celebrated its 26th annual Forty under 40 Awards on January 27. The sold-out event, which continues to highlight the achievements of B.C.’s young entrepreneurs, executives and professionals, hosted more than 520 people for a gala dinner and awards ceremony at the Fairmont Waterfront hotel. Chosen by a group of five judges, honourees were selected based on demonstrated excellence in business, judgment, leadership and community contribution. The night was MCed

by CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe and host Andrew Chang and wrapped up with platinum sponsor Fasken Martineau awarding a cheque for $5,000 in legal fees to 2015 winner Pook-Ping Yao of Optigo Networks. Silver sponsor Entrepreneurs’ Organization Vancouver also awarded a $1,500 Youth Scholarship Award to Angela Tam from the Vancouver Police Department cadet program. Check out the profiles of our 2015 winners at biv.com or visit BIV’s Facebook page to see more photos from the event.

Photography: Chung Chow

CBC Vancouver’s Andrew Chang and Johanna Wagstaffe MCed the evening’s program

Cameron Burke, director, partners, of Hootsuite, accepts his award from Sue Belisle, president and publisher, Business in Vancouver

Michael Parrish of Fasken Martineau (left) awarded Pook-Ping Yao of Optigo Networks $5,000 worth of legal services

Meredith Powell, co-founder and executive chair of The Next Big Thing (left), accepts her award from Sue Belisle, president and publisher, Business in Vancouver

Commercial Real Estate

Awards of Excellence the NAIOP Vancouver Chapter, in partnership with Business in Vancouver is delighted to present the 2016 Commercial Real Estate Awards of Excellence. this event will recognize excellence in commercial real estate within the Metro Vancouver area for the 2014 and 2015 calendar years.

Youssef Zohny, director, wealth management, and portfolio manager of StennerZohny Investment Partners, accepts award from BIV publisher Sue Belisle

Nominations Deadline:

February 26, 2016

Presented by:

Gold sPonsor:

sponsorship opportunities available!

Contact Chris Wilson at cwilson@biv.com

Visit www.biv.com/realestateawards to nominate today!

silVer sPonsor:

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Congratulations 2015 BIV Forty Under 40 Winners!

Fasken Martineau is Vancouver’s largest law firm. We see legal issues in the context of our clients’ broader business issues. Our greatest satisfaction arises from our clients entrusting us with their most critical and pressing matters. Find out how we can assist you.

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24

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

Events

Laura Dilley, executive director of PACE Society (left), accepts her award from Sue Belisle, president and publisher of Business in Vancouver

Danna Dunnage, president of Gordon Food Service (left), accepts her award from Sue Belisle, president and publisher, Business in Vancouver

Silver sponsors

Gold sponsor

Platinum sponsor

February 23rd, 2016 4:00pm - 6:00pm Panellists:

Adrian Fluevog, chief operating officer of Fluevog Shoes, accepts his award from Sue Belisle, president and publisher, Business in Vancouver

Moderator:

BES: Buying & Selling a Business explores the mechanics and strategies of buying and selling a business from doing your research to finding the right business or buyer, to negotiating a sales agreement and then closing the deal.

For information about sponsorship opportunities or to purchase tickets to the entire series, please contact ads@biv.com SponSored by:

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WHERE: Terminal City Club, 837 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC | PRICE: Subscribers: $49 | Non-subscribers: $59 For more information visit biv.com/buying-selling

Events

Attendees browsing the Forty under 40 magazine before the awards ceremony

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

Left to right: Kerry Riley, Paula Tedham, Tricia Gilliss and 2015 winner Jessica Hollander, director of marketing at Carruthers & Humphrey

GO2PRODUCTIONS make it great

Left to right: Winner Jamil Murji, Inter-Urban Delivery Service CEO, his wife Faizah Mitha, and fellow winner Market One Media Group founder Farhan Lalani

®

Angela Tam (centre) accepts a cheque from members of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Vancouver

General sponsors

with Andrew Chang &

Johanna Wagstaffe Senior Meteorologist & Science Reporter

Weeknights at 6pm

An hour

at

25

6 cbc.ca/bc

CBC Vancouver

@cbcnewsbc @andrewchangcbc @jwagstaffe

26

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

Insights

Publisher | Sue Belisle, 604-608-5151 Vice-President, Audience And Business Development | Kirk LaPointe, 604-608-5183 Managing editor | Timothy Renshaw, 604-608-5131 Deputy Managing editor | Mark Falkenberg, 604-608-5174 Business in Vancouver is owned by Glacier Media Inc., 303 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1J6

Debunking university divestment drives

T

he recent recommendation from the finance committee of the University of British Columbia (UBC) board of governors to reject a call from students and faculty to divest funds from the fossil fuel industry is a refreshingly realistic view from the halls of academe.

UBC is among the more than 20 Canadian universities being targeted by on-campus groups to remove funds from fossil fuel companies.

fossil fuels will continue to be the world’s primary energy source The divestment movement argues that pulling investment dollars out of those companies erodes their bottom lines, exposes them to public shaming and puts a university’s money where its mouth is on climate change action.

But the reality is that, for the foreseeable future, fossil fuels will continue to be the world’s primary energy source for power generation and transportation, regardless of divestment decisions on university

last laugh

campuses. Divesting funds from energy companies might reduce shareholder support for their fossil fuel business, but it also eliminates shareholder opportunity to influence corporate decisions to clean up their operations and invest in developing alternative energy sources and technologies.

The university board’s recommendation rightly pointed out that divestment would not “meet the objectives of addressing climate change or influencing corporate behaviour,” nor would it be consistent with the board’s “fiduciary obligation to endowment donors.”

The university divestment movement might presume that corporate Canada opposes initiatives to reduce carbon emissions.

But a growing number of corporate leaders see carbon pricing as a key to weaning the world from fossil fuel dependence. Other keys to achieving that goal, as Suncor Energy’s Steve Douglas has pointed out, are “education, conservation, regulation and adaptation.”

Universities should be promoting that enlightened approach, because politicizing and demonizing what continues to be a vitally important energy industry is neither helpful nor effective in finding practical longterm solutions to reduce carbon emissions and counter climate change.

Note to American now behind wheel of TransLink: drive with caution

Podium Kirk LaPointe

The good news for you, Mr. Desmond, is that you are buying in at the bottom of the market

D

ear Kevin Desmond, new TransLink CEO: Welcome to the job!

Those are perhaps the most generous words you will hear in the early going of your term, so savour them. We spell savour with an extra letter north of the border, so savour the extra letter, too, as Canadianstyle generosity.

You will have noticed during the job interview process that,

if you asked any questions about the state of the organization you will be running, the respondents averted their eyes and examined their footwear. This is not a Canadian thing; this is the universal body language for discomfort. Acquaint yourself with it, because it will be necessary to unfurl empathy for the pervasive TransLink hurting out there.

Were you told about the hurting? You still came!

In case you need a refresher, let us count the pain points: a stalled infrastructure program, revenue challenges, governance issues that helped scupper a plebiscite to deal with the two previous pain points, complaints about the disconnection with the riding public, angst about excessive executive compensation, Compass Card snafus, allegations of police aggression, SkyTrain breakdowns and Victorian-era hours, frenzied eagerness to build more subways and not

what’s your opinion?

the light rapid transit you are so familiar with…

We could go on, but we want you to stay.

We not only want you to stay, we want you all over all of this, and yesterday. We are proverbially waiting for the bus. You are in the driver’s seat of our economic destiny.

You see, you may have met the mayors who will set the tone for your long days and nights to come, and some of them appear to believe that if we can’t walk, run or bike somewhere, we automatically take public transit.

That condos exist where transit does not should not disquiet you.

Advice: discuss the existence and possible furtherance of the vehicles named cars or trucks with your trusted confidants only – and make them sign a non-disclosure agreement.

There is no small irony in the fact you are leaving America’s most strangled commuter city for, well, the same danged thing.

You must be prepping for that job in Jakarta.

The good news for you, Mr. Desmond, is that you are buying in at the bottom of the market.

You cannot help but look good compared with what preceded you, which is every CEO’s dream position. If you do well, no one will want to follow you; then again, if you don’t do well, there may be nothing left to follow.

No doubt, in using Google to read up about Canada, you learned about a fellow named Justin Trudeau and drew relief from the fact he is not related to Justin Bieber. Our newly minted national leader is going to be your guardian angel from afar, providing (groan) true dough (we Canadians love puns).

As you arrive north to take your job in semi-late March (hope you have a Nexus card, by the way, because that unmentionable word – ahem, car – regularly congests our border crossing), Trudeau will have set the stage for a decent infusion of infrastructure money into transit in our cities. You’re welcome!

And as the federal money descends from the heavens – albeit Canadian money – you may not have quite the ordeal of raising the regional share that you would have had a year ago.

Sweet timing!

Your country may be about to elect a national leader who will build a wall, literally; ours is trying to build a few bridges, figuratively. He’s the swish guy at the bar picking up the tab, not the mansplainer who sticks you with it. He also seems ready to legalize in Canada what you’ve legalized in Washington to raise taxes and, just saying, you never know when that revenue will be handy.

We drive on the right side of the road here, too, and just remember, we do so frequently because the organization you run has not kept pace with the lives we wish to lead. No pressure! • Kirk LaPointe is Business in Vancouver’s vice-president of audience and business development.

| BIV welcomes readers’ opinions. All letters, including those sent by email, must include the author’s name, address and daytime telephone number. Business in Vancouver, 303 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1J6. Email: news@biv.com. We reserve the right to edit for brevity, clarity and legality.

insights

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

27

peerto Why the cover of the book matters peer QUESTION | How do I dress for Local experts answer your business questions

success in the business world?

ALYSA KANANI | Founder and editor, Brix & Bows Dressing for work can be a stress-inducing experience, especially when you’re interacting with different clients in a variety of industries throughout your workweek or in a new work environment.

When it comes to dressing for the workplace, fit is the main thing to focus on. Dressing for your body type is more important than what’s on-trend for the season, and always leaves you looking the part.

Being under- or overdressed can be a concern when you don’t know the situation or the formality of the event or meeting. When it comes to meetings with clients or executives, err on the side of caution and dress up. A quick tip to prevent missing the mark: keep a neutral blazer and a change of shoes under your desk to make sure you’re prepared for any unscheduled formal meetings.

Try not to focus on what’s on-trend. Instead, build a capsule wardrobe that will carry you through the seasons. Staple garments are neutral and versatile, have great fit or structure and can be mixed and matched easily.

Once you have a great collection of go-to pieces, you can add a few stylish items each season to keep the staples looking fresh. This way you won’t have to refresh your whole wardrobe each season, which will help keep your costs down.

JJ WILSON | Co-founder, Kit and Ace

TOM KEARNAN | Director of apparel development and merchandising, Indochino

To me, dressing for success depends on how you define success. I have a lot going on – teaching classes at Ride Cycle Club and heading up the brand team at Kit and Ace – so a successful day involves being very productive.

As a result, I don’t have time for fussy clothing – getting dressed needs to be the easiest part of my day.

I’ve worked in other industries where a suit and tie are standard, and while it looked great, it wasn’t really me. That’s part of what led Shannon Wilson and me to found Kit and Ace – we wanted comfortable, technical clothing that was luxurious but still lasted all day.

I want to get dressed after my morning workout and know that when I reach dinner with friends in the evening, my pants won’t be wrinkled and my shirt won’t have bagged out at the elbows.

I’m also constantly on the road, visiting Kit and Ace locations around the world, and looking for new ones.

When packing, there just isn’t room for clothing that’s not multi-functional – everything I take with me has to be suited to more than one activity.

I’ve grown up in the fashion industry and I know it well, so I love learning about new brands and trying them out. But day to day, I stand by a tried-andtrue uniform: crewneck T-shirt, Kit and Ace joggers or a pair of jeans, a tailored jacket and my Common Projects.

Your appearance matters because going to work is like stepping onto a stage. You can influence how people perceive you by presenting yourself well – a polished and puttogether appearance will make you feel confident and inspire confidence in others.

I’ve worked in men’s fashion for 30 years. To me, there is no better recipe for success than a great suit, crisp shirt and well-co-ordinated tie. Trends come and go, but the suit is the timeless uniform of the successful (and stylish) gentleman.

Make sure your clothes fit well. The greatest suit in the world won’t look great if it doesn’t fit, so make sure it is well tailored to your body.

Build a smart work wardrobe. This is particularly true if you dress up every day. Start with a couple of well-tailored suits in versatile colours, half a dozen dress shirts and accessories that you can mix and match for multiple outfits. This doesn’t mean spending a fortune – choose quality tailoring over expensive labels.

Be your best self – don’t try to be someone else. Think about your entire look from head to toe. Make sure you’re well groomed, that your shoes are polished and your tie is perfectly knotted.

If you’re unsure where to start, seek help. Don’t be afraid to ask your retailer for advice.

Next week’s question: What kind of mobile device policy should my business implement?

Comments curated by BIV news staff | Have a question for the experts? Email Tyler Orton at torton@biv.com

U.S. energy-sector sprint leaves Canada sucking wind

Northern Initiative Joel McKay

A

nother week, another dozen stories about the crisis in global energy markets and job losses in Canada.

Let’s consider the role of the United States in this saga.

The Obama administration has overseen the largest expansion of U.S. domestic energy production (read: oil) since the Reagan era.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. field production of crude oil has increased 63% since 2009 to approximately 8.7 million barrels per day in 2014 compared with 5.4 million barrels per day in 2009.

By comparison, Canada produced approximately 3.7 million barrels per day in 2014.

Most of that new U.S.

production is coming from shale or tight oil deposits, through a process commonly known as fracking.

EIA data shows annual domestic production is nearing record levels not seen since the days Richard Nixon sat in the Oval Office.

Here’s another glowing fact: between 2010 and 2014, more than 19,000 kilometres of new oil pipelines were built in the U.S., according to the U.S. Association of Oil Pipelines.

That represents a 22% increase in U.S. pipelines, or the equivalent of 12 Keystone XL pipelines or 16 Northern Gateway pipelines.

This fundamental shift in the North American energy sector presents a market share problem for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), notably Saudi Arabia.

Still, the U.S.’ 8.7 million barrels per day of production equates to only 9% of total world demand, which OPEC predicts will top 94.17 million barrels of oil per day in 2016.

The increase in U.S. production, coupled with a significant slowdown in China and

devaluation of global commodities markets, is enough to get OPEC worried.

So the OPEC taps have been opened and the prices have dropped, as low as US$31 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate crude.

That’s a 75% decline in the price per barrel since June 2014.

The price shock has slashed profits for North American producers, with OPEC hoping it can use price attrition to push higher-cost U.S. shale producers into shutdown mode – at least enough to gain back some of its market share.

The market share war has hit Canada’s energy-producing regions particularly hard.

The drop in oil prices and other commodity sectors has wiped billions of dollars of value from the Toronto Stock Exchange and dragged down the loonie.

Since November 2014, Canada’s major energy-producing provinces have recorded a 31% increase in employment insurance claimants and declines in retail sales (4%), vehicle sales (10%), housing resales (23%) and housing starts

(33%), according to the Bank of Canada.

Northeast B.C., ground zero for the province’s oil and gas industry, is home to the largest concentration of British Columbians employed in primary resource industries.

According to BC Stats, the Peace River Regional District recorded a 9% decrease in building permits to $225 million between January and November 2015, compared with the same period the year before.

The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality posted a 31% decline in building permit values to $3.8 million between January and November 2015.

Similarly, B.C. energy product exports recorded a 24% decline to $5.5 billion January to November 2015 when compared with the same period the year before (these numbers include steelmaking coal, which is another story).

Global energy companies are now reporting 2015 results. Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s 2015 income dropped 87% to US$1.94 billion. The company has now delayed its LNG Canada project in Kitimat, an

investment of up to $40 billion in northern B.C., or the equivalent cost of staging the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games five times over.

The good news is that B.C.’s tourism industry could post a banner year in 2016 thanks to the low value of the loonie coupled with cheap gas prices.

Dawson Creek not only is home to Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway, but is also the gateway to our province’s oil and gas sector.

U.S. tourists have a tendency to stop and buy gas there. It’ll be cheaper this year.

I’m having a difficult time determining whether that constitutes an intended or unintended consequence of the U.S. energy strategy.

At the very least, it’s ironic. • Joel McKay (joel@northern development.bc.ca) is director, communications, at Northern Development Initiative Trust, a nonprofit organization that stimulates economic growth throughout northern B.C. He is also a Jack Webster Award-winning journalist and a former Business in Vancouver editor.

28

BUSINESSVANCOUVER

send your free listing to fortherecord@biv.com

February 16–22, 2016

for the record People on the Move

in litigation and Dueck practises in the taxation group.

Email your For the Record information to: fortherecord@biv.com.

Please include a high-resolution, colour headshot where possible.

Alexander D. Mitchell Nicholas T. Hooge Ron D. Dueck Alexander D. Mitchell, Nicholas T. Hooge and Ron D. Dueck have joined the partnership of Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP. Mitchell practises in the labour and employment group, Hooge practises

Airlines, GTE, Global Crossing and most recently at Rentech Inc. and Rentech Nitrogen Partners in Los Angeles, where he served as executive vice-president and CFO.

Tournament, and are directed to the child life department, which helps children cope with their hospital stay by introducing music, art, distracted play, games and other interactions.

Companies on the move

SOS Children’s Village BC’s Gingerbread Village, presented by Re/Max, and the holiday gala event at Grouse Mountain, raised a total of $72,500 to benefit foster children.

Cameron Wilson Cameron Wilson has been appointed creative director at Tribal Worldwide Vancouver.

Over his 17-year career in Montreal and India, Wilson has led teams to deliver digital-centric creative solutions to clients such as Royal Canadian Mint, Aeroplan, LotoQuébec, General Mills, IBM, Yoplait, Fido, Rona, Budweiser, Cirque du Soleil and Bell Canada.

Name change Guardian Risk Managers and Chutter Personal Lines Underwriting Services have merged into one new managing general agency called Guardian Risk Managers Ltd., with headquarters at 212 – 15252 32 Avenue in Surrey.

Technology Dan Cohrs Dan Cohrs has been appointed chief financial officer at D-Wave Systems Inc., the world’s first quantum computing company.

Cohrs has served in senior positions in corporate strategy, development and finance at Marriott, Northwest

Hats Off Business in Vancouver welcomes submissions from local small businesses and large corporations alike that demonstrate examples of corporate philanthropy and community involvement in the Vancouver area. High-resolution images are also welcome.

Acme Fire and Safety Co. Ltd. and T-Lane Nation donated $15,000 to British Columbia Children’s Hospital. Funds were raised through the Isabelle Tonolli Legacy Golf

We Don’t Cut Corners ...We Clean Them!

info@skywaywest.com

604-482-1225

The Como Lake Village location of Your Dollar Store with More received a Community Citizenship/Involvement Award from the company’s head office for its contributions to the community. As part of the award, the head office donated $1,000 to the store’s charity of choice – Crossroads Hospice.•

How to grow your business 1301 20141007 page Category

ProPerty assessMent angst griPs Metro’s coMMercial, rental sectors

Rent hikes loom for small businesses, tenants | 6, 7 Local mortgage broker now Canada’s biggest | 6 Surrey’s single-family building boom | 14

PROFILE | Page 15 BIV has a word with Andrew Petter, the former NDP MLA now serving as Simon Fraser University’s president

Daily business news K biv.com

January 12–18, 2016 | Issue 1367 | $4.00

Vancouver city goes big game hunting SportS | Six years after hosting the Olympic Games, Vancouver is finally embarking on a longterm initiative to attract more major sporting events and the opportunities they generate for its businesses and global profile

By BoB Mackin news@bIv.com

A Sport Hosting Vancouver manager Michelle Collens backdropped by Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium: “being the destination that we are, people were just knocking on our door, and we didn’t know how to respond” | Rob kRuYt

lmost six years after the 2010 winter olympics, vancouver is finally plotting a long-term strategy to net more sporting events. vancouver city council voted December 10 to spend $1 million over the next two years to fund the Sport Hosting Vancouver Partnership. Another $2.15 million cash and in-kind will be coming from partners Vancouver Hotel Destination Association (vHDA), Tourism Vancouver, the BC Pavilion Corp. (Pavco) and the University of British Columbia. continued on page 3

REsOuRcEs | Page 4

•Purdy’s pitch sends Sigvardsen to Hall of Fame | Page 29

Imperial Metals’ water fight miner’s response to mount polley tailings pond report raises questions over efficiency of provincial government water management

•Local small businesses still not big on Bitcoin | Page 30

RetuRn undeliveRable Canadian addResses to CiRCulation depaRtment: 303 W 5th avenue, vanCouveR, b.C. v5Y 1J6.

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Boeing Canada-AeroInfo donated $15,249.60 to Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland in support of its Big Sisters program.

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Concert Properties donated $100,000 to British Columbia Institute of Technology in support of the school’s Trades Discovery program.

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RBC Foundation donated $40,000 to Zajac Ranch for Children in support of its therapeutic riding program.

www.valleypowersweep.com Phone: Main: 1-888-423-8003 • Lower Mainland: 604-221-8003 Fraser Valley: 604-792-8003 email: valleypowersweep@telus.net

Celebrating

Legal

Non-Profit Leonard Schein Leonard Schein, founder of the Vancouver International Film Festival and Festival Cinemas, has been appointed chair of Coast Mental Health Foundation.

Schein, a retired psychologist, also serves on a number of other boards including the Canadian Cancer Prevention Centre Foundation, Ecojustice, InspireHealth and the Schein Foundation.

Sales/Marketing Adam Besse Adam Besse has been appointed president of Agency Media, a digital marketing company founded in 2013 and owned by the Westlund Group. Besse previously served as creative director at the company since July 2014.

71114

Peter Brady and Mark Wang have been appointed director of enforcement and director of capital markets regulation, respectively, at the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC). Brady was most recently director of corporate finance at the BCSC and, prior to that, was general counsel and corporate secretary for Qtrade Financial Group. Wang joined the BCSC in 2001 as a compliance officer, became manager of self-regulatory organization oversight in 2005, then transferred to the position of manager, legal services, in 2007.

Michael Tonolli, president, Acme Fire and Safety Co. Ltd.; France Dorais, Isabelle Tonolli’s mother; John Latzen, operations manager, Acme Fire and Safety Co. Ltd., and organizer, Isabelle Tonolli Legacy Golf Tournament, with donation to the BC Children’s Hospital. Funds were raised at the golf tournament

PM40069240

Finance Gary Horga has been appointed vicepresident, business development, at Guardian Risk Managers Ltd. Horga was previously branch manager at Economical Insurance Group, where he managed overall operations, business development and the broker distributions channel in B.C.

Kai Alderson Sarah Batut Ally Bharmal Amanda Robinson Chris Sharpe Kai Alderson, Sarah Batut, Ally Bharmal, Amanda Robinson and Chris Sharpe are now partners at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. Alderson practises business law with an emphasis on energy, aboriginal and environmental matters. Batut advises clients on real estate transactions, including acquisitions and sales, subdivisions, development of mixed-use, commercial and residential projects and commercial leasing. Bharmal’s practice focuses on corporate and commercial business advice, with an emphasis on the technology sector. Robinson’s practice focuses on securities, M&A transactions and corporate financings, both public and private.

Sharpe advises clients on corporate and commercial transactions, particularly commercial real estate acquisitions and the development of those properties.

7

Education Joanne Curry Joanne Curry has been appointed vicepresident, external relations, at Simon Fraser University after serving four years as associate VP, external relations, and acting as VP, external relations, since December 1, 2015.

TAKING BC BUSINESS

FORWARD Into a New Year

for the record

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

29

trouble Lawsuit of the week Companies claim government wrongfully turning back time on minimum rates for port truckers A group of trucking companies is taking the British Columbia container trucking commissioner and the B.C. government to court, claiming they were shut out of discussions that resulted in new minimum rates being retroactively applied for port trucking services as part of a review designed to quell the labour disruption at the ports in early 2014.

The group’s January 29 BC Supreme Court petition names the B.C. container trucking commissioner and the attorney general of British Columbia as respondents. The petitioners include Aheer Transportation Ltd., Bestlink Transport Services Inc., Burton Delivery Service Ltd., Gantry Trucking Ltd., Gur-Ish Trucking Ltd., Indian River Transport Ltd., Roadstar Transport Co. Ltd., Sunlover Holding Co. Ltd., Triangle Transportation Ltd. and TSD Holding Inc. The companies claim that the Container Trucking Act and other regulations don’t authorize the establishment of minimum rates that apply to trucking services provided before the act came into force. The spat began when both unionized and non-unionized truckers withdrew services to the ports in February 2014. In response, the federal transport minister appointed Corinn Bell and Vince Ready to “conduct an independent review aimed at resolving issues that have contributed to disruption of trucking operations at the ports,” the petition states.

“However, the federal and provincial governments instead engaged in closed-door discussions with Port Metro Vancouver, Unifor and the United Truckers Association about resolving the cessation of container trucking services. ... The petitioners were not part of those discussions and, in fact, were not invited to participate in those discussions. No trucking companies were invited or part of the discussions.”

The talks resulted in a “Joint Action Plan” to return truckers to work, announced in late March 2014, and anticipated several changes to trucking regulations and minimum rates paid to operators. An “industry memo” in December 2014 notified companies “that all retroactive pay owing to drivers must be fully paid by January 22, 2016, and that the imposition of penalties ... will be highly likely for any licensee found in non-compliance.”

Two audits of petitioner Aheer Transportation found that the company owed more than $200,000 to independent operators who worked for Aheer between April 2014 and January 2015, “including amounts arising from container trucking services provided before the act and regulation came into force,” the petition states.

“As the contracts between the petitioners and their customers in respect of this period were agreed, performed and completed before the regulation came into force, the petitioners have no ability to recover from their customers the additional costs they are now being required to bear ... while the truckers who were engaged to provide the services under those contracts will receive a windfall over and above the rates that they voluntarily agreed to provide their services for at the time,” the petition states.

The trucking companies seek declarations that the Container Trucking Act doesn’t authorize retroactive application of minimum rates for services provided before the act was implemented, and that certain sections of the Container Trucking Regulation are void.

The petition has not been tested or proven in court and the respondents hadn’t filed a response by press time.

BUYER’S ALERT Companies listed below, which are not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, have failed to respond, as of February 5, to Better Business Bureau of Mainland BC’s efforts to mediate complaints from January 24 to January 30. In some instances, the company may have taken care of the complaint and considered the matter closed, or may believe the complaint is unjustified; however, if the BBB has not received a response, records cannot reveal either position. Please note that BBB accredited businesses must respond to customer complaints that are brought to their attention. The companies listed are not members of this Better Business Bureau.

Source: BBB.

Auto Ads Canada (HO), Langley CanadianCarpet and Tile – Coquitlam Inc., Coquitlam Elizabeth Anne Shoes Inc., Delta Father & Sons Demolition, Vancouver Hayer Homes Ltd., Prince George Jhat Pat Foreign Exchange Ltd., Surrey Knight Heating & Gas, Maple Ridge Marquis Salon & Day Spa, North Vancouver Plentyoffish Media Inc., Vancouver The Friendly Furniture Fellows, Surrey Tri-M Plumbing Drainage Inc., New Westminster The following company has responded to the BBB subsequent to being published: Advanced Nutrients Ltd., Abbotsford

WHO’S GETTING SUED These corporate claims were filed with the BC Supreme Court registry in Vancouver. Information is derived from notices of civil claim. Civil claims have yet to be tested or proven in court.

Defendants Hillman Yacht Sales Ltd. and Simply Mobile Ltd. and Ronald L. Hillman Plaintiff GE Commercial Distribution Finance Canada Claim $2,441,498 for debt.

Plaintiff Mega International Commercial Bank (Canada) Claim $228,530 for debt.

Defendants Hon Kit Chung aka Larry Chung and Optima Joint Developments Inc. and N. Odlin Management Co. Ltd. Plaintiff Xin Yun Lai Claim $155,000 for debt.

Defendants 0847192 B.C. Ltd. o/a Modern Master Dental Ceramics and Kerr Corp. aka SDS Kerr Corp. and John Doe Manufacturer Plaintiffs Dr. Barry Evans Koehler and Dr. Raheem Badur Kherani Claim $140,000 for damages related to a fire.

Defendant Hoban Equipment Ltd.

Defendant CHC Global Operations Canada (2008) ULC Plaintiff Regent Tanzania Ltd. Claim $1,263,699 for helicopter transportation and equipment services.

Defendant Nicoson Investments Corp.

Plaintiffs Maria Louise James and David F. Sky as executors of the will of Dominic Ciarniello, deceased, and Cinimod Enterprises Ltd. and Dr. D. Ciarniello Inc. Claim $1,204,696 for debt.

Defendants Seemore Entertainment Ltd. dba Au-Bar and David Kershaw and Derek Pink Plaintiff Parkwell Parkade Corp.

Claim $649,258 for breach of lease.

Defendants Jamar Vac Services Ltd. and Jason March and Bernadette Bridger Plaintiff Current Financial Corp.

Claim $610,924 for breach of equipment lease.

Defendants Triathlon Ltd. and MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd. Plaintiff Lotus Geosolutions Private Ltd. Claim $414,404 for digital mapping services.

Defendant Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp.

Plaintiff GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants Ltd. Claim $387,141 for debt.

Defendants Zebra Enterprises Ltd. and Nelson Kuang Y. Chang and Shao Ying Chang

The partners of McQuarrie Hunter welcome Christopher Bettencourt to the partnership Chris joined the firm in 2009 and has developed a robust practice supporting the legal needs of businesses.

Chris’ real estate and business clients rely on him for a range of services including securing debt, incorporation of companies, business acquisitions, land development, and sale of residential and commercial real estate.

Chris supports his clients by protecting assets, bringing sensitivity to important relationships and responding to needs in a timely and effective manner.

McQuarrie Hunter is Surrey’s largest law firm, providing services in almost all areas of law.

Central City Tower, Surrey McQuarrie.com 604.581.7001

30

BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

for the record

Plaintiff Bal Global Finance Canada Corp.

Claim $138,968 for debt.

Plaintiff HSBC Bank Canada Claim $49,988 for debt.

Defendant Castle Resources Inc. Plaintiff Minconsult Services Ltd. Claim $127,495 for mining camp equipment and services.

Defendant Kooy Brothers Lawn Equipment Ltd. Plaintiff Global Fleet Management Inc. Claim $49,381 for GPS tracking equipment and services.

Defendants William Marc Strongman and Kerry Diane Strongman Plaintiff Drar Development Ltd. Claim $112,500 for construction and demolition work and a builders lien.

Defendant 097767 B.C. Ltd. dba Vach Group Biofuels Plaintiff Wayne Szybunka Claim $38,671 for debt.

Defendant No. 255 Seabright Holdings Ltd. Plaintiff Dentons Canada LLP Claim $110,040 for legal services.

Defendants Michael Lorion and Sabina Van Tuyn Plaintiff Kettle River Timberworks Ltd. Claim $69,734 for construction work and a builders lien.

Defendants C & J Bennewith Enterprises Inc. and Jim Bennewith and Cliff Bennewith

misrepresenting the financial performance of defendant Western Rocky Mountain Industries.

Defendants Charles Edward Young and Dale Etelle Young Plaintiff Bordignon Marble and Granite Ltd. Claim $25,246 for countertop supply and installation work and a builders lien.

Defendants Western Rocky Mountain Industries Ltd. and 0951980 B.C. Ltd. and Douglas Robert Feher and Stuart John Notheisz Plaintiffs Ralph Sholinder and Kelly Sholinder and 0954526 B.C. Ltd. Claim Damages for breach of management and shareholder agreements for

Defendants Zhilan Luo aka Cathy Luo and Zhuang Kang and John Doe and Jane Doe and John Doe Corporations 1-2 Plaintiffs Thyssenkrupp Materials Ca Ltd. and Thyssenkrupp Metallurgical Products Co. Ltd. and Thyssenkrupp Metallurgical Products GMBH Claim Damages for breach of employment contract, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy for misappropriation of company funds by former employees.

Defendants Wulin Restaurant & Catering Co. dba Grub Restaurant and Ling Zheng and Misty Therrien and Scott Minns Plaintiff Rachel Harari Claim Damages arising from a fire.

Defendants Phalanx Distribution Corp. and Slung Suspended Systems Corp. and Kindred Construction Ltd. Plaintiffs Cactus Club Coal Harbour Ltd. and Cactus Restaurants Ltd. Claim Damages for breach of contract related to a defective motoroperated sliding door system designed and installed by defendants.

UPCOMING EVENT Register at boardoftrade.com/porter

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Defendants Island Select Homes Ltd. and Shelley Weremi and Robert K. Langhorn and Eric J. Cooper and ABC Cos. Plaintiffs Dwayne Thomas Mayenburg and Kimberly Michelle Mayenburg and Aviva Insurance Co. of Canada and National Home Warranty Group Inc. Claim Damages related to construction defects and breach of warranty.

Defendants Appraisal West Real Estate Corp. and Shaun Ausenhus Plaintiff Royal Bank of Canada Claim Damages for professional negligence after plaintiff granted a $1.1 million mortgage on a property that sold for $699,000 after going into foreclosure.

Defendants Niemi Laporte & Dowle Appraisals Ltd. and Eddie Kwan Plaintiff Royal Bank of Canada Claim Damages for professional negligence after plaintiff granted a mortgage on a property based on defendants’ inaccurate property appraisal.

Plaintiffs Weihong Li and Zhanwei Luo and Quaoling Zhong Claim Damages for breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation and professional negligence after defendants duped plaintiffs into providing investment funds claiming it would ensure their acceptance as permanent residents in B.C. Defendants Jonn Askin and The Wealth Strategy Group Plaintiffs Paula Palyga and David Demers Claim Damages for breach of fiduciary duty after defendants devised a tax strategy for plaintiffs that was declared invalid by the Canada Revenue Agency. •

K biv.com

To View More Lawsuits, go to biv.com/WHOS-GETTING-SUED

BIV Datebook online For a comprehensive and searchable list of networking events in the Lower Mainland, go to Business in Vancouver’s Datebook at biv.com/events

Defendants Patrick Wan aka Patrick Chung Pang Wan and B&B Resorts Financial Ltd. and Canapex Immigration Consulting Corp.

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BUSINESSVANCOUVER February 16–22, 2016

31

LifeLessons Focus on doing a few things right

By Jen St. Denis jstdenis@biv.com

A

Surinder Bains Owner, Miraj Hammam Spa

fter experiencing Turkish-style hammam spas in Paris, Surinder Bains opened her Miraj Hammam Spa in 2000 at Granville Street and 6th Avenue. She’s built a loyal following of repeat customers who come for the spa’s set offering of a steam, exfoliation treatment and massage.

While many business owners are intent on growing, Bains said she’s found success by staying in the same location and sticking with her idea of bringing a hammam to Vancouver.

“I d id n’t do it a s a p ubl ic hammam because I knew North Americans wouldn’t take too kindly to that idea,” she said. “It was already challenging enough

to bring the concept to North America. So I made it for singles, for mothers-daughters, for bridal parties, for couples on Sundays.”

While some customers have requested extra services, like facials or manicures, others have pleaded with her to keep things the same. After realizing that offering more options would require her to hire more staff and take on more space, Bains has gone with the latter option.

“Every time something challenging comes up where I lose my mojo, I lose my energy and I get really frustrated, I go back to: ‘I created the original vision, I stuck with the original vision,’” she said.

“People want to know they can come to a place where they’re well taken care of and don’t give them too many options,” she

Next Life Lesson: Paul Schaffer, principal investigator, TRIUMF Has a work or life challenge taught you a key career lesson? Contact Jen St. Denis at jstdenis@biv.com.

Every time something challenging comes up where I lose my mojo, I lose my energy and I get really frustrated, I go back to: “I created the original vision, I stuck with the original vision”

[] surinder bains owner, Miraj hammam spa

said. “By sticking to that and not listening to other people and being focused with my vision, that’s what’s gotten me through everything.”

T he ph i losophy ex tends to her staff, many of whom have worked at the business for eight to 10 years.

“It’s a home for the clients and a home for the staff.”

On retaining staff | “We all have our good days, and we all have our bad days, but I think it’s important to treat all persons the way you want to be treated yourself. To me it’s as simple as that. You have to listen to other people. That seems to work, and that’s been a huge part of my success in retaining staff.”•

HIS PROGRAM WAS CHALLENGING but deciding to hire him was easy.

Dan Geier General Manager, WestJet Vancouver

BCIT School of Business Find out how a challenging business education makes BCIT grads the perfect hire at bcit.ca/business

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