Special Features - Progress 2012

RETAIL

2012 progress

A report on business in Greater Victoria

Wednesday May 2, 2012

ANCHORS AWAY The region and shipbuilding

THE S-WORD

Business and sustainability

PROTEIN POWER

Cutting edge science in Victoria

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BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

A Truly Canadian

Story...

Outdoor Living

1922 – THE BEGINNING

Two brothers, John W. and Alfred J. Billes, with a combined savings of $1,800, buy Hamilton Tire and Garage Ltd. in Toronto.

Voted

Best City

of the

1928 – FIRST CATALOGUE PUBLISHED

1

VICTORIA NEWS

Featuring tire values and a handy Ontario roadmap on the back

1937 – CLERKS ON ROLLER SKATES

The main store moves to a vacant supermarket in Toronto with an innovation that delights generations of Toronto shoppers.

17th

9 % !

2

1958 – FIRST GAS BAR OPENS IN TORONTO

Customers receive coupons, later known as Canadian Tire ‘Money’

1980 – FIRST STORE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Auto

1999 – CANADIAN TIRE FOUNDATION FOR FAMILIES LAUNCHED Helping to ensure that basic needs of families are met

2001 – WWW.CANADIANTIRE.CA Online shopping arrives

OPENING OF VICTORIA STORES

2001 – MARK’S WORK WEARHOUSE 2005 – CANADIAN TIRE JUMPSTART LAUNCHES

1982 DOUGLAS STREET 2959 Douglas Street 250.361.3152

2006 – CANADIAN TIRE PARTNERSHIPS WITH NASCAR AND TSN

1982 GORDON HEAD 3993 Cedar Hill Road 250.721.1125

Joins the Canadian Tire family

To address the inactivity of children and help families give their kids a sporting chance. Canadian Tire helped 417,835 Canadian kids

2010 – $17,000 DONATED TO FRIENDS OF VETERANS CANADA

1983 ROYAL OAK 801 Royal Oak Drive 250.727.6561

20 veterans travel to Holland to participate in the 65th anniversary celebrations of Holland’s liberation.

2011 – CANADIAN TIRE WINS GLOBE AWARD FOR BEST GREEN RETAILING PRACTICES

1998 LANGFORD 855 Langford Parkway 250.474.2291

2012 – CANADIAN TIRE CELEBRATES 90TH ANNIVERSARY TODAY CANADIAN TIRE REMAINS

2002 VIEW ROYAL 1519 Admirals Road 250.381.5055

A Canadian family of retail, retail-related and financial services businesses that are inter-related and strengthened by the triangle… a great Canadian brand.

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Kitchen & Bath

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

progress

2012

Contents RETAIL 15

Group Publisher Penny Sakamoto Editorial Director Kevin Laird Advertising Sales Director Oliver Sommer

TECHNOLOGY 21

Photo Editor Don Denton Production Manager Janice Marshall Progress is published once a year in Victoria, B.C.

by Black Press Vancouver Island, and is distributed to select homes as a supplement to the Victoria News, Saanich News, Oak Bay News, Goldstream News Gazette and Peninsula News Review. Black Press has sole copyright over any written material or images in this publication.

In the event of an error occurring in any advertisement, the liability of Black Press shall not exceed the charge of the space actually occupied by the item in question. Black Press Vancouver Island is located at 818 Broughton St., Victoria, B.C., V8W 1E4.

TOURISM 29

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AGRICULTURE 37 GOVERNMENT 41

ECONOMY 5 DEVELOPMENT 11

EDUCATION 45

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In 1955, released its first car, the Subaru 1500, followed by the 360 in 1958.

The Subaru 360 became a milestone in Japans’s auto history.

In the decades to follow, Subaru have refined their automotive design and technologies to produce award winning, environmentally conscious vehicles.

Bob Saunders started his foray in

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BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012 ADVERTISING FEATURE

PROGRESS VICTORIA

> Business Prole: Shaw

Shaw Business - fits your business Shaw Business offers a suite of telecommunications products and services to help your company

By Noa Glouberman

“Behind every great business, there’s Shaw Business”

Whether it’s a dentist’s office, design agency or a national company with locations across the country, Shaw Business has you covered.

As part of Shaw Communications, Shaw Business provides Internet, data, voice and video networking services to companies across Canada. It’s a one-stop solution to your business telecommunications needs.

“We supply any business, from a small home office to a large government agency, with the products and services it needs to move forward,” says John Piercy, group vice-president, business, Shaw Communications. “We focus on offering excellent customer service, competitive pricing and totally secure, reliable point-to-point transmission over our unbeatable fibrebased net-work.

“The 625,000 kilometres of fibre that make up Shaw’s network run coast to coast in both Canada and key centres in the United States, delivering

greater reliability and routing options.

To provide increased stability and a capability exceeding nearly two terabits per second, the company is constantly making investments to keep improving its network.

With companies today relying on the web to connect with a world of opportunity, Shaw Business offers scalable and flexible Internet solutions with a variety of capacities from 1.5 Mbps to 10 Gbps that are IPv6 ready. It’s part of Shaw Business’ commitment to delivering products and services that grow as your business needs increase.

“Our Internet backbone has over 1,200 peering connections at all major North American network access points,” Piercy says. “To be certain your data gets to where it needs to go, we offer a suite of products, including hardware, network connectivity paths, gateway routers and more that increase your Internet uptime.”

Shaw Business also lets you tailor

your usage patterns to your billing preferences through multiple billing options, and Internet customers enjoy access to an online portal where they can view statistics and monitor their usage of contracted services in real time, helping them understand what services they use the most – and where they can save.

Voice services bring the strength of the company’s fibre-optic network to your phone. “Our bundled business voice services provide better value and value-added features,” he says. “And we offer automatic measures to ensure calls are always completed.”

The strength of Shaw’s network also provides an unbeatable video platform that delivers richer content and real-time communications to business customers. Says Piercy, “We can help customers align the latest video applications with their business initiatives, boost sales and maximize efficiencies all while reducing

deployment costs and downtime.”

Shaw Business understands that companies large and small are looking for solutions that offer “more bang for their buck” – without compromising on quality. As such, the company’s always looking to deliver “exceptional value to customers through incredible technology and competitive pricing.”

“Building all our products on a highspeed Internet protocol-based platform allows us to offer multiple services on the same access, keeping it costeffective for clients,” he adds.

Providing customers with the latest in technology at a price that can’t be beat is just part of the Shaw Business’ experience, says Piercy.

“Our commitment to delivering exceptional customer service helps you grow, become better and build your business.”

– Appeared in Business in Vancouver

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BUSINESS

economy

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

Capital Region’s economic future looks bright

A

PPARENTLY THE SECRET that Victoria is a great place to live and do business is getting out. That’s not surprising when international studies like KPMG’s Competitive Alternatives report have once again identified Victoria as one of the top five places to do business in the Pacific Northwest.

And we are less than one point away from being No. 1.

Our cost of doing business in highly desirable sectors such as digital and biomedical technologies is the lowest in the Pacific Northwest – something that has been consistent for the EXPERT OPINION SASHA ANGUS last two surveys.

Based on KPMG’s detailed examination of 26 significant business cost components, Victoria outranks other notable cities in this region including Vancouver, San Diego, Seattle and San Francisco.

This is an impressive feat when you take into account the fact that the Canadian dollar increased by four per cent between studies.

Even the Conference Board of Canada is shouting out that Victoria is a great place to do business. Its Metropolitan Outlook report predicts that our 1.7 per cent GDP growth in 2011 will be moving up to 2.3 per cent by 2013. There are strong indicators

that Victoria’s economic recovery continues to move forward: ■ Employment numbers have grown in every quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 ■ Retail sales are expected to rise by three per cent in 2012 – three times as fast as the 2011 growth ■ Personal income per capita is above both the Canadian and B.C. average at $39,300 and is forecast to rise to over $40,000 in 2012 Beyond the costs and stats, Victoria is growing because everyone wants to live here. Cutting edge companies like Microsoft, Gamehouse and Flock have made the decision that Victoria is the right location choice to grow their business.

Who are we to disagree?

■ Sasha Angus is the economic development officer for the Greater Victoria Development Agency.

Moving Ahead by Giving Back Members received a

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Victoria is a great place to do business, according to recent economic reports.

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ECONOMY

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Artist groups tackle tough economic times VIVIAN MOREAU OAK BAY NEWS

L Ernie Maestrello, ship repair superintendent at Seaspan Victoria Shipyards, looks over the soon to be replaced Butler buildings, reflected in his sunglasses at the Esquimalt Graving Dock.

Don Denton/News staff

Federal shipbuilding contract translates into big investment for the federal government’s shipbuilding contracts up for grabs last year. Seaspan was awarded an $8-billion contract for the construction of five Canadian Coast Guard vessels and two Royal Canadian Navy non-combat ships.

Shaw led Seaspan’s proposal team that put together the package for the shipbuilding ERIN McCRACKEN VICTORIA NEWS agreements, which included the preliminary designs of facilities eyed for the Victoria and Vancouver yards. s employees of Victoria Shipyards begin It was important to show commitment to work in late 2013 or early 2014 on the investments in “facility, process and first of seven new vessels people to meet commitments and being built for the federal standards set by the government,” Shaw government, the yard itself will undergo said. a significant face-lift.

A second building at the Graving Dock, The first of two buildings, with a which is on Admirals Road next to CFB combined price tag of about $30 million, Esquimalt, will be built not far away on will be constructed on the south jetty at the same jetty, replacing a hodgepodge the Esquimalt Graving Dock, between of small workspaces. That demolition 2013 and 2015. and construction process is scheduled to It’s part of a broader plan to expand begin in 2014, for completion in 2015. infrastructure, valued between $100 Though it will have more offices and million and $150 million, over the next workspaces, such as pipe and machine three years at Seaspan Marine Corp.’s John Shaw shops, it will be similar to the first new Victoria and Vancouver shipyards. building.

The bulk of that expansion will happen in “They’ve both been in development for a couple Vancouver, but Victoria will see its fair share of of years, it’s just that there was one (building) that investment. absolutely required for our shipbuilding plans,” The process of tearing down the old Butler Shaw said.

Building at the Graving Dock is scheduled to begin Ernie Maestrello, Victoria Shipyards yard in 2013. Construction on its replacement will wrap superintendent, has been with the company up the following year. since the early 1980s and says the investment in The aging and confined ground-floor building, infrastructure is reflective of a changing industry. which offers less than 1,000 square feet of space for “I think it’s great,” Maestrello said. “It storage, painting and offices, will be replaced with shows success. When you can provide modern a three-storey facility with more than 32,000 square accommodations for our workforce, they’re feet of workspace and habitat. happier.”

“As a three-storey building it provides greater But infrastructure investments have been a flexibility with offices, shops, storage, and facilities regular occurrence at the yard. Within the past five for the workers,” said John Shaw, Seaspan’s years alone, Seaspan has pumped more than $15 Vancouver-based vice-president of program million into infrastructure at the Victoria facility. management.

“It is a large transformation at Victoria “It’s providing better facilities for the workers that we have,” he said, noting that the building will Shipyards, and provides for new facilities for the work that’s being undertaken there,” also offer lunch and locker rooms for employees.

Shaw said.

That building was indicated within Seaspan’s bid

A

ying in bed 10 months ago after suffering a stroke, visual artist James Gordaneer thought about a lot of things. Besides how to get better, he thought about his work.

The Victoria resident started out as a modernist abstractionist, but also painted landscapes and the human figure, in oil.

“But lying there I thought ‘I want my work to be more direct,’” he recalled. “I wanted less things in the painting, less doctoring of colour.”

Although medical experts suggested he move to extended care, with an elevator installed in his home, a wheelchair to move about in, and with the support of his family, he is painting once again.

And he’s followed through on his private directive, painting human figures with a strong focus.

Just as Gordaneer, 78, has changed with challenging times, so has Victoria’s arts scene.

Faced with provincial funding cuts in the past three years, arts organizations have been re-thinking and re-aligning.

Two years ago, Dance Victoria, known primarily for bringing first-class productions to the capital city, leased a 12,000 square-foot building on Quadra Street near Hillside Avenue.

Purpose built as offices for several trade unions, the well-lit small and large meeting rooms were perfect for hosting dance classes.

DV producer Stephen White had noticed a dearth of venues for independent dance instructors in the city and when he learned the space was available he convinced the organization’s board to lease the space. Rooms within are now rented to three studios.

“It’s evened out our cash flow,” he said. “There’s money coming in every month and that adds to the bottom line.”

Arts groups need to be nimble and adept in tough times, White added. Not only has Dance Victoria diversified its structure, it varied its donor base.

While some groups rely on a single source of funding, such as government grants or one or two generous patrons, DV believes in cultivating small donations.

“If you’ve got the $25, $500 or $1,000 donor then you’ve got a whole community that becomes your family,” he said.

“If people step forward with even $25 it means they want to belong in some way and they believe in your vision strongly.”

Allison Bottomley was managing producer of Theatre Skam three years before recently taking up a position as theatre policy advisor with the B.C. Arts Council.

Theatre Skam produces the Bike Ride performance that takes place along the Galloping Goose trail each summer. The group started 17 years ago by four young artists straight out of theatre school.

Theatre Skam has changed with the times, Bottomley noted. Its audience has matured with the group and so has its programming.

“We are older ourselves now and no longer the brash company,” Bottomley said.

“We’ve seen an increase in work that’s suitable for families and that might be part of our evolution as we have families of our own.”

Expanding his universe has worked for Gordaneer.

“Everyone who sees (his latest paintings) agrees with me there is a change and that’s only the start of the change. You never stay ahead by staying where you are, it’s always a matter of pushing ahead somewhere.”

ECONOMY

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

Struggling under a financial albatross ERIN McCRACKEN VICTORIA NEWS

W

hen business tanks and debts mount, Peter Innes may not be too far away.

The Courtenay-based bailiff spends much of his time seizing and selling whatever is left of a foreclosed business’s assets, as well as those belonging to the owner who has personally guaranteed the enterprise.

The employee of Consolidated Civil Enforcement B.C., Inc. is often in Greater Victoria. Times are tough for small businesses here, he said.

“By the looks of things, I would say (Greater) Victoria is struggling right now,” Innes said.

In 2010, 23 businesses in the Capital Region declared bankruptcy, representing a 69.7 per cent decrease since 2000, according to the Victoria Foundation’s 2011 Vital Signs report.

Meanwhile, the report indicated there were 892 personal bankruptcies in the Capital Region in 2010, a 22.4 per cent increase since 2000.

That doesn’t surprise Mia Maki, a

senior instructor in entrepreneurship and finance at the University of Victoria’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business.

“Corporate bankruptcies in Canada are rare,” the Oak Bay resident said.

Most small to medium enterprises are personally guaranteed by the business owner, she added.

When debt troubles develop, the owner “tends to trigger what is maybe a corporate bankruptcy originally, but ultimately is a personal bankruptcy because the person personally guarantees whatever debt they’ve Mia Maki taken on.”

That likely accounts for some of the personal bankruptcies in the region, she said.

Furniture stores, recreational vehicle businesses, dollar stores – many have fallen to enormous debt pressures in recent months, said Innes, who has watched a lot of businesses – and owners – fall.

“People are just getting in too deep and they just cannot get out,” said Innes, who has been in the repossession business for 15 years.

“There’s people out there that have three credit cards and each one’s got $50,000

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By the numbers ■ Business bankruptcies in the Capital Region dropped 69.7 per cent between 2000 and 2010. In B.C. that number dropped by 76.6 per cent.

In Canada that decreased by 59.5 per cent.

■ Personal bankruptcies in the region rose 22.4 per cent between 2000 and 2010. In B.C. that rose 5.3 per cent and in Canada, it climbed 23.4 per cent.

■ One-third of retired households in Canada have an average debt load of $60,000, while 17 per cent owe at least $100,000.

■ The Certified General Accountants Association of Canada says if household debt were evenly distributed among Canadians, each individual would owe $44,115.

owing on it at 28 per cent.”

Businesses are struggling for other reasons too. Consumers are more reluctant to spend, Innes said, leading to businesses, such as dollar stores, that struggle to pay their employees, and while facing the hourly minimum wage hike in B.C. to $10.25 on May 1.

At one time, about 40 per cent of the bailiff ’s work was repossessing goods. As people’s debt increases, Innes is seizing more property.

“A lot of people out there are struggling to make the rent, let alone them taking a wage out of it,” he said.

Heather Wellman’s preferred area of practice as a lawyer with Armstrong Wellman Barristers & Solicitors in Victoria is bankruptcy.

Her clients run the gamut, from students struggling under huge loans to people with income tax debt, to those struggling financially after a marriage dissolves.

“Or someone has to take part-time work instead of full-time because they have aging parents that they have to take care of, or a child is sick or they themselves get sick,” Wellman said.

“Think of all the human tales of woe – they can all result in financial distress.”

Nationally, household debt was at a record high of $1.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2011, according to the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada.

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ECONOMY

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

New developments transform airport land ERIN McCRACKEN VICTORIA NEWS

A

bobcat scoops up a load of crushed rock and rumbles off to an enormous room where construction workers armed with large rakes spread the material across the roughed-out floor.

Nearby, a compactor moves slowly along one wall, smoothing the surface.

As Erin Kelly, Thrifty Foods communications manager, walks from one enormous room to the next, the signs of progress in the construction of Sobeys’ new $31-million retail distribution centre are everywhere.

“We’re hoping it will be all finished by the end of March,” she said. The complex aims to be open this summer.

Jon Dodd, first-aid attendant for Burnaby-based general contractor Wales McLelland Construction, points to a wall of loading bays where goods will be unloaded from trucks and stored and either refrigerated or kept frozen in cavernous cold storage.

Distributors will truck their products to the centre, and those goods will be stored and eventually shipped out when orders arrive from various grocery stores.

“It means we can offer more products on our shelves because we will have more room for storage,” Kelly said. “It’s pretty exciting to know what it’s

Leblanc

Yager

going to mean for our company.”

At 152,000 square feet, the new building will be spread out over about five hectares of land leased from the Victoria Airport Authority in North Saanich. The area was coveted for its central location.

“Being close to the ferries we can service our six Mainland stores – soon to be seven when we open our Maple Ridge location this summer,” Kelly said.

The 19 Thrifty Foods stores on the Island will also be serviced from the facility.

“When we became part of Sobeys’ national distribution strategy, we became part of a bigger operation that had an expanded distribution network,” she said. “So this fits into that overall plan.”

Not far away, on the other side of the Victoria International Airport, another enormous parcel of land is slowly being transformed.

Contractors are prepping the site before construction begins this month on the new home of 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, which will begin receiving its new Cyclone helicopters not long after the complex opens in spring 2014.

“It is historic. It is kind of the beginning of the end, as I call it,” said Maj. Don Leblanc, a Sea King helicopter pilot and former squadron commander, who has been involved in the conceptual phases of the hangar project since 2004. “It’s going to be a stateof-the-art facility.”

Once built, the 220,000-square-foot building will be one-third larger than the airport terminal. “Except for the Uptown mall, it is the largest structure on southern Vancouver Island,” Leblanc said.

Victoria-based Knappett Projects secured the construction project with a $104 million bid. The contract represents a boon for the construction industry, as well as lucrative spinoffs in other sectors.

“It does create a lot of person jobs in the construction of the facility,” said Roger Yager, vice-president of Knappett. “Over the course of construction it will create 500 to 800 jobs in total. So it’s a good economic boost for the lower Island.”

There will be enough room for the squadron’s six Sea King helicopters and their replacements: nine new Cyclone helicopters.

Valued at $155 million (with inflation and a contingency fund built in), the building project will consolidate squadron operations. The squadron currently operates out of seven buildings, including a 60-year-old hangar and a 45-year-old headquarters building.

With the added space and a larger fleet of helicopters, the squadron’s 254 military personnel and civilians at the squadron will eventually be able to expand to include nearly 100 employees.

“We need to grow, just like our sister squadron on the East Coast (which is also getting Cyclones),” Leblanc said.

“I am proud to be your voice in Ottawa & I am happy to assist you with federal issues.

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ECONOMY

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

Organic produce boxed up CHARLA HUBER GOLDSTREAM NEWS GAZETTE

W

hile most people visit grocery stores to select their produce for the week, there are those who opt for a surprise instead.

Food box programs are on the rise in Greater Victoria, from the West Shore to the Saanich Peninsula, which deliver weekly local produce for a fee.

Eleven months out of the year Saanich Organics packs up food boxes for 80 clients, but is looking to expand to 100. The company incorporates four farms and grow dozens of crops on about 3.2 hectares.

“We are a lot of little farms. We are staying small on purpose,” said Robin Tunnicliffe, co-owner of Saanich Organics. “We each have a certified organic farm and formed a collective together.”

The farmers pool resources by sharing a bookkeeper,

Don Denton/News staff

Heather Stretch, left, and Rachel Fisher of Saanich Organics. administrator and delivery driver as a means to maintain a viable business.

Winter boxes don’t mean slim pickings, Tunnicliffe said.

“In the winter we grow 20 different crops, like kale, chard, cabbage. We love winter farming.”

When Saanich Organics’ box program first began in 1993, Tunnicliffe said the price of their produce was more than at a typical grocery store, but economics of organic food is changing.

“We have to cover the cost of our production, but with grocery store prices going up, the cost of food

in the box is about the same,” she said.

Similar to Saanich Organics, Alm Farm also has a long list of clients on the wait list for its box program.

Operating at the farm for more than 20 years, each year the box program runs from 40 to 48 weeks and has about 20 clients.

In the colder months, boxes are topped up with preserved foods such as dried tomatoes and peppers or frozen strawberries from the previous season. The food box program is continuing to grow, but Alm Farm partner Marika Nagasaka said it’s not for everyone.

“People just have to cook with what they are given instead of shopping from a recipe,” Nagasaka said. “People get to see what seasonal eating really is. It’s quite educational.”

It’s common practice for customers to prepay for boxes, giving farmers an idea of how much food to plant and the number of customers they are going to serve. The average price for a food box is $25 among farms.

“For farming, most of the expenses are at the beginning of the season,” said Alex Fletcher of Wind Whipped Farm in Metchosin.

Last year, Fletcher had 34 weekly customers and this year he plans

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to increase that number to 60. By increasing his box program, he won’t have to operate a roadside stand.

“If we achieve that it will be our only market,” Fletcher said. “Then we won’t waste food and we will know what to expect.”

In the last few years, Fletcher has seen a rise in customers and interest in locally grown organic food.

“On Vancouver Island we are a bit sheltered from the economic crisis,” Fletcher said. “There is more demand than we can supply.”

While most food box programs are straight from farmer to consumer, the non-profit Good Food Box offers its program to make local farm fresh food more affordable. Customers can buy boxes individually from $6 to $18 and don’t need to commit to a program.

“In the summer and fall it’s 98per-cent local,” said Sushil Saini, Good Food Box executive director.

In the winter that might drop to 50 per cent. I have been a client of farm boxes for almost 10 years. It’s a win-win for local economy and health,” Saini said.

“It encourages me to be more creative and allows me to find new flavours.”

Veggies in a box A typical food box may include: Rhubarb Spinach Kale Lettuce Bok choy Arugula Radishes Onions (green) Peas Carrots Dill Cilantro Parsley

B9

B10

ECONOMY

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

College sets course for shipbuilding KYLE SLAVIN SAANICH NEWS

T

he term “shipbuilder” is a bit of a misnomer when it comes to the skilled individuals who’ll have their hand in the $8-billion federal shipbuilding contract that will benefit the West Coast.

Ray Fischer, chair of mechanical and metal trades at Camosun College, says “shipbuilder” is an over-arching term for a multitude of tradespeople: pipe fitters, electricians, carpenters, sheet metal workers, metal fabricators, welders, painters and more.

Camosun has provided training in these trades for more than 40 years, so it’s more or less business as usual at the college – though new courses are being planned and rolled out to help make the jump to the shipbuilding sector.

“A lot of the skills are transferable from, say, the construction industry,” he said, “but there are some major differences.”

Measurements, terminologies, safety issues – sometimes even the materials and tools you use – change dramatically for some of the trades when you move into the shipbuilding industry from construction.

“The challenge is that many tradespeople assume it’s just a Sharon Tiffin/News staff lateral move, but sometimes it’s more difficult than that. They Camosun College student Sara Bisson works in the metal shop at Interurban campus. need to get an orientation to that sector,” said Olaf Nielsen, will essentially be a “sampler course” for individuals who don’t know much Camosun’s trades training development co-ordinator. about the industry or the careers that can branch out through each trade.

He’s working with the province and three other post-secondary institutions They’re also looking at a program that will provide training for entry-level in B.C. to ensure that programs are available to upcoming and previously trade positions (tippers, labourers, forklift operators, material handlers), with skilled tradespeople to get them ready for this booming industry. a foundation in best shipyard practices and terminology.

In October, the federal government awarded an $8-billion shipbuilding David Turpin, president of the University of Victoria, says he hopes some of contract to Seaspan, which owns Victoria and Vancouver Shipyards and the the technology born out of his school’s ongoing green research ship project – Vancouver Drydock. Four thousand direct and indirect jobs are expected to powering a vessel using electricity, hydrogen fuel cells and low-emission diesel come to B.C. over the next eight years as a result of the deal. fuel – will be used onboard the new vessels built locally.

Among the programs in the works are a shipbuilder repair program, which

HST relief in sight for local builders and consumers ERIN McCRACKEN VICTORIA NEWS

S

everal home builders in the Capital Region breathed a collective sigh of relief in February when the B.C. government rolled out its long-awaited harmonized sales tax transition rules.

Until then, consumers had held off on building new homes with the goal of saving themselves thousands of tax dollars while waiting for the return of provincial sales tax to replace the HST. “We’re not talking chump change here,” said Casey Edge, executive officer of the Victoria office of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association.

Housing starts in the region slumped in 2011 with sales tax uncertainty, but builders were buoyed as consumer behaviour began to change days after rules were unveiled.

“Anecdotally we’re already getting information that consumers are getting engaged, purchasing homes, moving forward on construction,” Edge said following the provincial announcement, and the unveiling of the 2012 budget.

One highlight in the rules package was the government’s decision to raise the rebate threshold on new homes to $850,000. This allows more newly built homes to be eligible to receive a HST rebate of up to $42,500, which Edge said “is a very welcome concession.” That took effect on April 1.

It’s fair, considering the average price of building a new home on an average lot is more than $600,000 on the south Island, he noted.

Up to that point, home builders had spent two years telling the province that the HST threshold wasn’t high enough. The association lobbied for at least $600,000. As HST policy evolved, the government boosted it from $400,000 to $525,000 and finally to

$850,000.

“The increase in the threshold and the rebate for new housing was critical to turn around the singlefamily housing starts that were on a 10-year lull in Greater Victoria,” Edge said. “You can build your home for significantly less right now, especially with this HST rebate, than if you’d built it during the boom year of 2007 when everybody was building.”

But for View Royal-based custom home builder Christopher Walker, the rebate wasn’t enough to entice one of his clients to build before the HST is eradicated on April 1, 2013.

Walker has been waiting more than a year to build his client’s multimillion-dollar retirement home on a vacant waterfront lot in Oak Bay. “On a high-end home where the purchaser has purchased a lot prior to the HST being implemented, we’re really only looking at a $28,000 rebate,” Walker said. “On a multimillion-dollar home, that doesn’t make a lot of difference.”

The wait for the HST restructuring rules seemed interminable to the developer and designer.

“We’ve seen ups and downs – market fluctuations – but nothing like this,” he said. “I am in a situation where I could grow the company right now, but I can’t.”

There were other concessions in the 2012 provincial budget. However, the new home-buyers’ bonus and a renovation tax credit for seniors do little to make up for thousands of job losses in construction, following double-digit declines in housing starts across B.C. in 2011, Edge said.

Still, with the HST transition rules now in place, he is optimistic that consumer confidence will grow. That, in turn, will mean good things for a beleaguered construction sector.

“We’re looking forward to stronger housing starts and more employment,” Edge said.

Don Denton/News staff

Home builder Christopher Walker of Christopher Developments stands on a vacant lot along King George Terrace. He says the HST transition process has impacted buyers’ behaviours.

By the numbers ■ 2011 had the lowest number of single-family housing starts in Greater Victoria since 2001.

■ There was a 46 per cent decline in the number of single-family housing starts in January 2012, compared to January 2011.

■ There were 1,642 housing starts in the region in 2011, down from 2,118 in 2010 – directly related to tax uncertainty following the HST referendum, according to the Canadian Home Builders’ Association.

B11

development

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

Reconfiguring the mall Enclosed shopping centres, strip retail, mixeduse developments: there’s a shift happening in retail and the mall is in the middle

by Natalie North

C

ondominiums. Office spaces. Big box retailers. High-end clothing. It’s all under the umbrella of mixed-use development, which is why, when discussing Uptown, the terms “shopping centre” and “mall” are both misnomers.

Uptown is the first major mixed-use development the region has seen and while research south of the border suggest it’s the wave of the future, closer to home, there’s evidence supporting the continuing viability of traditional enclosed malls.

“Mixed-use urban development is the way we’ve lived everywhere except North America for the last 50 years,” said Geoff Nagle, director of development for Western Canada with Morguard Investments, operators of Uptown.

“It’s no longer just a single use on a single site. It’s an urban neighbourhood.

It’s an emerging urban core. … It’s meant to look like a street that’s evolved over time and will continue to evolve into a real neighbourhood.”

The Uptown development as it is today, had it been constructed under the mid-century enclosed mall model, would have required 32 hectares to accommodate the same density, versus seven hectares today, Nagle said.

In the United States, an explosion of vacant retail space – estimated at more than one billion square feet in 2010 – has sparked numerous academic analyses of how the country will move forward and develop sustainable retail.

The future belongs to main streets, town centres and mixed-use developments, said Ed McMahon, senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute, a global non-profit research and education organization representing land use and real estate development disciplines.

McMahon recently published an article on the changing face of retail centres in the spring edition of the Planning Commissioner’s Journal.

“We’ve had a paradigm for commercial development in North America that was characterized by the strip mall and the

enclosed mall,” he said. “Strip retail is retail for the last century.”

Less spread out, drive-only development is well on its way out and compact, mixed-use centres, accessible by more green modes of transport, are on their way in.

Those suburban centres that remain, McMahon said, are likely to see some changes.

“All of the malls are being turned inside out,” he said. “They’re putting in (private streets) and opening up to the outdoors and putting housing above the stores.”

At Hillside Shopping Centre, the City of Victoria has approved 75,000 square feet of expansion to the fully-enclosed mall, built over six phases and last expanded in 1995.

Don Burton, executive vice-president of Hillside operators Redcliff Realty Management, said it’s time for the 50-year-old mall to receive some renovations – though the plans don’t include a shift to mixed use development.

The updates will see second-level shops added to entrances from a renovated parking deck. However, Hillside continues to follow, at least for the foreseeable future, the traditional enclosed mall model of strip retail.

Continued on page B14

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DEVELOPMENT

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

File photo

Work started this year on the $1-billion Capital City Centre in Colwood.

Billion-dollar projects get green light KYLE SLAVIN SAANICH NEWS

I

t’s always a good sign when trucks and construction workers, cranes and tradespeople are tending to the big holes in the ground where development is planned.

In the current economy, with little appetite for new development, progress on any construction project means employment for skilled labourers.

Here’s a list of some of the projects currently being worked on in the Capital Region:

■ Capital City Centre, Colwood Colwood’s downtown core is undergoing a major facelift, courtesy of an ambitious $1-billion, 20-year project known as Capital City Centre.

By the time the 5.5-hectare site is completely built out, the plan is to see 12 residential and office towers, along with multiple retail units, covering more than 350,000 square metres and housing more than 4,000 people.

Ground broke on Phase 1 earlier this year. To complement the currently under-construction four- and five-storey buildings, a 29-storey residential tower is next on the list to break ground.

■ Bayview Place, The Railyards, Victoria Vic West is in the midst of massive change, as it has been targeted as a centre for growth in Victoria in the coming years. While some projects on that side of the water have sat idle, there’s movement on properties

at Bayview Place and The Railyards.

Combined, the two projects are worth $500 million. When completed, they are expected to offer 1,100 residential units, along with retail and commercial space.

■ Oak Bay Beach Hotel, Oak Bay Set to open later this month, construction is still underway on the new Oak Bay Beach Hotel. With a $52-million price tag, the new hotel will come with 120 units, 20 of which are condos. Also included in that cost is the David Foster Foundation Dinner Theatre, which will be located inside the hotel.

■ The Hudson, Victoria Work continues on The Hudson, one of the largest residential development projects now in Victoria. With one building complete, retail businesses continue to fill the ground-floor storefronts. A 12-storey residential tower next door, the second phase of

the project, is now underway. Two more towers are still planned. The project costs $300 million.

■ Uptown, Saanich Currently on Phase 2 of a monumental three-phase development, progress at Uptown continues to change Saanich’s landscape on a daily basis.

Beginning this summer, portions of the second phase are expected to be complete, with the entire phase done by 2013. The future of the third phase – two residential towers – is still up in the air until there’s demand for the housing.

■ Westhills, Langford When complete, the entire $2-billion Westhills neighbourhood is expected to have roughly 6,000 homes, housing thousands of families, on 209 hectares of land above Langford Lake. Work on the next neighbourhood phase, Glenvale, is underway.

Some developments won’t be going ahead this year KYLE SLAVIN SAANICH NEWS

M

ore than $7 billion worth of construction projects on Vancouver Island are stalled for a variety of reasons – from a lack of financing to poor market conditions.

Here are some of the biggest projects in the Capital Region that have been put on hold: ■ 937 View St./930 Fort St., Victoria It was supposed to be a 14-storey tower featuring 136 units, along with townhouses and retail on the bottom floor, but it doesn’t look like that’s happening any time soon. The former architect on the project, Number 10 Architecture, says it is no longer working on the $20-million residential condos, and there are no plans to revive the project until the condo market rebounds.

■ Aquattro, Langford Stalled since 2009, Aquattro was planned to include

three 12- to 16-storey apartments, townhouses and condos, totalling 26 separate buildings and 585 units.

So far, just 90 units have been built. The $350-million project is stalled while more funding is being sought. Aquattro went into receivership in February 2010.

■ Bear Mountain Development, Langford This planned 20-year $1.2-billion development – set to include homes, golf courses and a retail village – hasn’t budged since October 2009, most notably at The Highlander, a partially constructed 14-storey condo.

The floor plans at the building are currently being redesigned to reflect the present housing market, and a new head of real estate has been brought in to help sell units.

■ Dockside Green, Victoria Just 30 per cent of the planned Dockside Green is built, and it’s been sitting that way for a quite a while now. The largest part of the $650-million

project, a 14-storey and 10-storey tower, hasn’t budged – and there’s no indication when it’ll resume. So far, 266 units have been built.

■ Esquimalt Legion Tower, Esquimalt Originally proposed as 17 storeys, though the township’s maximum height allowance is five storeys less, these plans to replace the Esquimalt branch of the Royal Canadian Legion on Admirals Road are still in the works. The developer is scaling back the $80-million plan and instead opting for a 12-storey tower, which fits with zoning requirements in Esquimalt.

ON THE BACKBURNER: ■ 819 Yates St. residential development, Victoria, $40 billion.

■ Constance residential development, Esquimalt, $52 million.

■ Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence expansion, Saanich, $42 million.

■ Royal Bay, Colwood, $150 million.

DEVELOPMENT

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

Need for rental units continue to rise NATALIE NORTH SAANICH NEWS

T

he corner of Tillicum and Burnside roads in Saanich will soon be home to a rarity in the Capital Region.

Heron’s Landing, the only new rental development being built in the region’s most populous municipality, has been green lit after years of planning and community consultation. It will go to tender this spring.

“The condo market is kind of saturated and there’s the need for new rental stock,” said Angela Oakley, property manager with EY Properties, the developers behind Heron’s Landing. “It’s cost prohibitive.”

If it weren’t for two major factors working in favour of EY, a family-owned business of three generations, the sixstorey residential development wouldn’t have been possible.

There was no purchase cost associated with the property as it already belonged to EY. Additionally, the B.C. Building Code changed in 2009 allowing wood-frame residential construction to rise from four to six storeys, making the project viable.

“Land values and building costs were both way too high, but when the (rules) changed … we were able to put it all together,” Oakley said.

To allow Heron’s Landing to move forward, Saanich reduced parking requirements – largely based on the family’s reputation, said Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard.

Facing a dearth of new rental developments and with dwindling stocks of affordable housing across the Capital Region, Leonard is wide open to new proposals.

The efforts of one municipality aside, the thorny snaggle facing developers of rental properties has its roots in federal tax law.

“Because of federal taxation it’s just not even worth it in the end,” said Carly Ludwar, manager of Rental Owners and Managers Society of B.C., based in Victoria.

“You’re providing housing for people, which is what many landlords and developers would like to do, but by the time you finish with it, you’re going to end up losing money.”

Capital gains tax requires rental unit owners who sell to pay 50 per cent of the increase in the value of the property, in current, not inflation-adjusted, dollars.

Homeowners who live in their residences are exempt.

“It’s more attractive for someone to buy a condo and live in it where they don’t have to pay tax on the gain, rather than

have an owner to develop it and a tenant to move into it,” said John Dickie, president of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations.

“The tenant pays rent as they go along, but the landlord has lots of expenses and at the end of the day the rental owner has to pay tax on this gain.”

Additionally, in rental housing, there is no rollover tax option for building owners selling properties in order to reinvest.

“The government should allow the rental owner to rollover, to defer the tax on their property until they actually sell their asset and get cash out of the sale,” Dickie said.

“The fact that there is no rollover, that there are these capital gains taxes, which do not apply to owner-occupied homes, means there’s less investment in rental housing.”

Dickie is participating in a Canadian Housing Renewal Association task group aimed at providing solutions to the problem of a stagnant rental development market.

One idea is to increase the availability of high-end rental units, which would trigger what’s known as “filtering” – allowing midrange renters to move to previously highend properties and lower-income earners to move to mid-range rentals. That should free up more low-rent properties for those in need of affordable housing, Dickie said.

“It would be really good to get more (rental) development,” he added. “Even high-end.”

Did you know?

Greater Victoria vacancy rates from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (Fall 2011): ■ Average monthly rents ranged from $676 for bachelor suites to $1,244 for apartments with three bedrooms or more in October 2011 ■ The number of purposebuilt rental apartments is estimated to be 23,287 units, which represents an increase of 51 units relative to October 2010 ■ The estimated total rental stock sits at 47,627 units ■ The Victoria CMA apartment vacancy rate increased to 2.1 per cent in October 2011, from 1.5 per cent in October 2010 ■ The average one-bedroom rent increased 1.6 per cent in October 2011, relative to October 2010 ■ Increased rental demand will more than offset increased competition from the secondary rental market in 2012 ■ Increased enrolment at post-secondary education institutes, new job prospects and increased migration are expected to drive an increase in rental demand in 2012

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DEVELOPMENT

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Residential development showing signs of stability EXPERT OPINION MIKE MILLER

W

ith spring upon us, trending is showing stability in the residential development sector in Greater Victoria.

Real estate sales in February for single family homes closely matched those for 2011, with 497.

Meanwhile, the market continued to experience a higher listing-to-sales ratio, with 3,977 MLS listings, 263 over last year across all residential housing categories. House prices took a slight dip, softening by roughly five per cent compared to same period last year.

The biggest differences are in new manufactured home and townhome inventory.

Housing starts in the region overall have seen a strong increase, up 57 per cent over last year to 116 starts in February. The greatest influx was in attached homes, up by 131 per cent.

Along with the notable starts for attached homes, there continues to be a strong condo inventory in the Capital Region, while locally and nationally this category is continuing to see a lower absorption rate at development completion.

Absorption by buyers from out of province, including the vacation and second-home buyers’ market Victoria has previously seen from regions such

as Alberta, is wavering. This increased interest is being seen in southern U.S. destinations from Canadians seeking bargain-basement prices.

According to a Bank of Montreal release in March, house prices in the United States have fallen 34 per cent from their peak levels in 2006. Even greater declines are being seen in some typical destinations for Canadian snowbirds: Tampa, Fla., is down 48 per cent, Miami is down 51 per cent and Phoenix has dropped 56 per cent.

Overall in the Greater Victoria region, the increase in housing starts is indicative of developer confidence and stronger collaboration between developers and municipal councils.

And, while the recent announcement of the HST transition rules has not yet sparked the sales movement the industry has been waiting for, increased buyer interaction, including inquiries and viewings, is leaving developers and real estate agents optimistic that 2012 will prove to be a stronger year than 2011.

■ Mike Miller is president ofAbstract Developments Inc., president of the Urban Development Institute-Victoria Chapter and vice-chair of the Capital Regional Housing Corporation.

Enclosed malls still have certain appeal From page B11 Burton isn’t concerned about the potential death of the enclosed mall, but he recognizes they’re a dying breed.

“Enclosed shopping centres are getting more versatile and the offering is changing,” Burton said.

“You’re seeing outside access and inside access, but there aren’t as many anchors or the population mass to start new enclosed developments.”

Meanwhile at Mayfair Shopping Centre, there are no expansion plans currently in the works and shoppers shouldn’t expect outdoor-facing storefronts any time soon.

Bi-annual surveys reveal that Mayfair’s customers prefer the enclosed mall experience, said Jonathan Dallison, the centre’s marketing director.

While Mayfair is currently void of any outdoor space, ironically, it originally included an outdoor element in its 1963 inception, when it included a Woodward’s food floor.

“The outdoor aspect is interesting in a place like Victoria, where we have a better climate than in other parts of Canada. But we’re still finding that we see a lot of rainfall and it still gets cold,” Dallison said.

“We find the appeal is still there for that comfort shopping experience and the variety of things you can do indoors.”

Keeping true to the enclosed mall format, Mayfair operators Ivanhoe Cambridge have proposed a new 1.4-million-square-foot enclosed mall in Tsawwassen.

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retail

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

B15

Text | Roszan Holmen Photography | Sharon Tiffin

the

word

At the Soap Exchange on Hillside

Wes Koch with refillable bottles at the Soap Exchange on Hillside Avenue.

Avenue, customers arrive with their own empty bottles in hand.

“We will fill anything,” said owner Wes Koche.

In his shop, bottles of various types of cleaners are nestled into a papier mâché-andchicken-wire creation, moulded into a mountain and tree.

A riverscape coats the floors.

In the back, a new staffer practises filling bottles with washing fluid from vats that line one wall. Lining the other walls, hundreds of 20-litre buckets sit stacked to the ceiling, ready to be shipped back to the manufacturer in Saskatchewan for refilling.

Container reuse, both at the consumer and wholesale level, is the primary appeal of Soap Exchange, said Koche. People also seek him out for scent-free, dye-free products which don’t contain “nasty” chemicals.

Koche opened his shop of eco-products in 1993 – he was well ahead of the green trend.

He started out with one part-time employee.

“It didn’t take me long to figure out that the business would not survive if I kept that person,” he said.

Continued on page B20

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RETAIL

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Tea kettles bubble over in capital LAURA LAVIN OAK BAY NEWS

A

fternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress is a time-honoured tradition that goes back more than a century. But times have changed.

Tea is no longer just for sipping with finger sandwiches and dainties; tea is used in cooking, beauty products and cocktails, but its true value may be found in its healthy side effects.

“There are a lot of health benefits associated with tea,” said Daniela Cubelic, owner of Silk Road Aromatherapy and Tea Co. on Government Street.

“We have seen an increase in the scientific evidence that tea is good for you.”

Cubelic credits the increase in tea shops not only to the health benefits of tea, but to more selection and better educated consumers. “What you see on the shelves now is more and more speciality tea,” she said.

“People in Victoria have quite sophisticated taste. There is quite a foodie population here.”

She finds that people are excited to see good-quality loose tea made available and local businesses devoted to it.

The scientific evidence of a connection between tea and health also helps drive interest in tea, said Cubelic.

The chair of the Victoria Tea Festival, Lisa Stekelenburg, agrees. “From what we’ve seen it’s blown open ... around the world tea is utilized in many different ways.”

Tea contains catechins, a type of antioxidant. In a freshly picked tea leaf, catechins can compose up to 30 per cent of the weight.

Some studies claim that the polyphenol content of green tea has antioxidant properties that can help prevent cancer.

There is also a suggestion that it can increase endurance in exercise by improving fat metabolism, research however, is ongoing.

Sharon Tiffin/News staff

Daniela Cubelic, owner of Silk Road Tea on Government Street, with a blended specialty tea.

“Definitely the health consciousness associated with tea has grown. People recognize the value of tea in health,” said Stekelenburg.

The Victoria Tea Festival is a good example of the growing interest in all things tea related. Six years ago at its first event, 200 people showed up to the festival – in 2012 more than 3,000 walked through the doors, making it the largest public tea exhibition in North America.

“What we’ve observed in the festival is changing tea trends,” Stekelenburg said.

Plenty of flavour and lots to choose GREEN: Green tea is made of young leaves that are minimally oxidized before drying. The short oxidation period translates to a lighter colour and more delicate flavor.

BLACK: Tea leaves that have been picked and

allowed to oxidize for a longer period of time.

OOLONG: A combination of green and black teas.

PU-ERH: A type of tea that is often fermented and pressed into cakes, then aged.

“There’s a lot of different aspects of tea: tea in cocktails, tea in beer. Tea is not limited to traditional afternoon tea anymore.”

■■■ A lack of access to quality tea was part of the reason there was less interest in tea in North America in the past.

When Cubelic opened Silk Road 20 years ago most tea that was available was of the black, English variety.

“It was what people considered British-style tea.

If you didn’t enjoy black, English-style tea – what was there to explore?” she said.

“Part of Silk Road’s mission was to expose people to higher quality tea,” Cubelic said. At her shop she gives customers the chance to taste different teas and learn about the virtues of different blends.

She draws a parallel between tea and the wine industry. “Tea

has wonderful characteristics, it’s similar to wine in that where it’s grown, the altitude, the soil conditions, the processing, it all makes a difference in the taste.”

Access to higher quality teas has helped increase the number of local tea lovers, she feels.

“Think back 30 years ago, no one would ever imagine that so many coffee shops would be possible or speciality wine stores. No matter how successful it seems to be now, I think there is still room for growth in the tea sector.

“One thing I see with tea is it’s relaxing. It’s providing a moment of contemplation in your day.

“If you look at modern society it’s a very rushed lifestyle – you find yourself in constant noise, constant activity – you never shut down. Tea is an important antidote to the hustle and bustle of the life we live,” Cubelic said.

Technology is changing the way we shop – and buy

W

EXPERT OPINION DARLENE HOLLSTEIN

hat are the trends in retail?

How retailers promote and sell their goods is evolving at a rapid pace and the way consumers are shopping and interacting with brands is changing as well.

Smartphones and tablets have made mobile commerce much more accessible and made deal shoppers elated.

While retailers are still promoting their brands in “bricks and mortar” stores, their merchandise is also for sale through their websites and increasingly through discount websites such as Zappos and Amazon.

The reverse is also beginning to happen: Amazon, an online-only store, is looking at a bricks and mortar store in Seattle to augment its online model.

While consumers still want to feel and touch the product, there is definitely room

for both retail models. In-store allows for a sensory product and brand experience, while online allows for product and price research.

With the downturn in the economy, retailers are right-sizing and focusing on their core brands.

Victoria still has a strong presence of national stores, but equally has a great selection of locally owned boutiques, carrying local designers, national and international brands.

Many of these retailers are utilizing social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and now Pinterest, to engage their consumers and provide information on how to utilize their products and services.

Technology such as Geo-fencing, tabletassisted sales, anonymous facial analytics, mobile commerce, QR codes, digital fitting

apps, interactive windows and virtual change rooms are just the tipping point.

Forward-thinking retailers are leveraging technology to enhance the live experience.

For instance, anonymous facial analytics detect gender, and if a female face is detected, the ad will change from promoting men’s shoes to ladies’ shoes.

Retailers who provide exceptional customer experiences will be the real winners. Discount retailers will grow, retailers in the middle will struggle and higher-end retailers will flourish. Average won’t exist.

Technology is changing commerce and this will continue, as shaped by the dictates of the consumer.

■ Darlene Hollstein is the manager of the Bay Centre in downtown Victoria.

RETAIL

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

B17

Fitness junkies turn to personalized workouts ROSZAN HOLMEN VICTORIA NEWS

A

s the noon hour workout begins, about 20 people pick their stations. One drags a weight with his feet, another jumps over a tire and a woman grabs a bar overhead and lifts her legs.

When Body Dynamics Headquarters first opened on Johnson Street four years ago, it was the only boot campstyle gym in the region.

Clients participate in one-on-one or small group training sessions with a personal trainer. The goal is “to ensure every time you come in the door, you leave having your best workout,” said manager Lovisa Anderson.

For this reason, it is more expensive. But that’s not the only difference.

After years of running outdoor boot camps, BDHQ tried to recreate that experience indoors. People workout with car tires, kettle balls, medicine balls, tubing and other equipment. There isn’t an exercise machine in sight.

Today, at least a dozen gyms have sprung up in the region using a similar model, including several branches of the popular CrossFit trademark.

“They’re more rugged than your traditional fitness facilities,” said Kristal

e as

Ph

Anderson, chair of exercise science at Camosun College.

“They’ve been popping up in the last five years, but in the last year couple of years, we’ve seen a lot more of these styles of companies,” she said.

Many companies without a facility are running outdoor boot camps by meeting clients in parks such as Beacon Hill. Others with a facility are expanding their space by also making use of the outdoors. Still others are diversifying by offering yoga-Pilates fusion classes.

The trend is to offer lots of options.

“They’re gearing towards a diverse range of clients with different styles of classes,” said Anderson.

In Victoria, the fitness industry is strong.

People here have an interest in fitness and physical activity, Anderson said. “That may be due to the climate and may be due to the people who are attracted to living in Victoria.”

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RETAIL

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

High rent challenges Victoria businesses ROSZAN HOLMEN VICTORIA NEWS

T

he Organic Teething Bonbons are Mary Lucas’ biggest seller at Hip Baby on Johnson

Street.

Customers come in to the shop which specializes in sustainability, asking for the made-in-Victoria product. For her business, finding a location downtown, among other boutiques, was key.

“I benefit from all the clientele that come from the other businesses,” said Lucas, who launched her business two years ago. “They want to support a local, independent business, or they’re strolling.

Strolling with strollers!”

Location, however, comes with a cost.

At $37.50 per square foot, it’s the major portion of her overhead – it’s more than salaries. Rent, she says, is high.

“For businesses, when things slow down they feel the burden a bit more,” she said.

“I do think it plays into some decision making that’s going on with retailers. There’s a lot of shifting going on in my lot and

I think it has to do with rent.”

Three doors down, a desirable space has been vacant for a year.

“Why isn’t someone seeing that as a viable opportunity?” she asked. She suspects the rental rate.

Rents downtown, however, aren’t necessarily more expensive than suburban rent, she adds. It all depends on the desirability of the space.

“We looked at Cook Street Village and the cost per square foot was actually higher,” she said, adding retail space inside a mall is even higher.

Conversely, commercial rent north of Market Square drops by about half.

In describing the range of rents downtown, Bev Highton asks: how large is a piece of string?

Highton works with both landlords and tenants in his role with NAI Commercial, a company that manages retail centres.

A store located on the high end of Government Street could pay as much as $70 per square foot, he said.

“The smaller tenants are struggling mightily to keep

Don Denton/News staff

Mary Lucas is the owner of Hip Baby, a store that caters to the needs of young children. She says businesses may feel the burden of high rents in slow economic times. their head above water,” Highton said.

While economy is a major challenge, the high cost of rent aggravates the problem.

There are two components to a retailer’s rent, Highton said. The common costs cover fixed building costs, such as maintenance, utilities and property taxes. The only negotiable part is the base rent,

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“Having a good retail space saves me from having to advertise as much,” she said.

“Would I like my rent to be lower? Yes I would, particularly in January.”

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Most will, Highton said, to avoid the expensive possibility of losing a tenant, thereby taking on the high costs of tenant turnover, or worse, a vacant property.

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RETAIL

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

B19

Doing the right thing NATALIE NORTH SAANICH NEWS

I

f you were the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company that produces AIDS medicines in the U.S., how would you respond to the AIDS crisis in Africa? Would you have a social responsibility to provide medicines to African patients for free, or would you maximize profits with the aim of pouring more funds into creating new AIDS medicines back home?

It’s a dilemma Josh Ault, professor in the University of Victoria’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, regularly puts before his international business classes. Through assignments such as this, where students must draft a memo to the faux company’s board of directors explaining their chosen business strategy, Ault is among educators leading the discussion on corporate social responsibility in the global marketplace.

“There is this movement now to start looking at ethics not just at teaching students how to make more money,” Ault said. “The level of acceptance of that is varied both among faculty and students.”

Ault’s course also requires students read famed economist Milton Friedman’s article The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits – the title of which has basically outlined the dominant paradigm at business schools since its publication in The New York Times Magazine in 1970, he said.

“Now there’s a handful of professors who are starting to push against that.”

The evolution toward more ethical business practices is stronger in Victoria than at other North American universities, acknowledged Ault, who studied business in Utah, Texas and South Carolina before joining the faculty at UVic a year and a half ago.

“Let’s face it, when you’re in business school: these are kids who are 20 or 21 and haven’t necessarily thought about what’s going on in the world around them,” he said.

“This is something you have to face when doing business: do you just follow the rules that are in place or do you make some kind of internal decision on what is or is not ethical and what you will and won’t do to make another dollar.”

Brenda D’Argis, Yates Street London Drugs assistant photo/electronic manager, with a Kobo eBook Reader.

Sharon Tiffin/News staff

‘Connectivity’ goes high-tech ROSZAN HOLMEN VICTORIA NEWS

H

ome “connectivity” is the latest buzzword in the world of electronics.

“Overall, the biggest trend that’s going across every platform is the connected home side of things,” said Steve Leduc, who started his career with Future Shop in 2001 and now manages the branch in Saanich. “You’ve got wireless speakers connected to your wireless TV connected to your smartphone, all operating in its own community, if you will.”

While 3D televisions, which hit the market three years ago, are sticking around, the so-called smart TV is the newest and hottest thing. The television streams content from the Internet, from sites such as Netflix. Just like your smartphone, your TV can now have its own apps.

But televisions aren’t the only thing adopting wireless connectivity.

Even washing machines can now be controlled by a smartphone.

Music listening is also being transformed.

“Modern surround-sound receivers now have Internet radios,” said Austin Mayo,

Darryl Galick of Atlas Audio Visual. “So we’ve gone from having our local stations to having 17,000 stations world wide at will, by genre, by artist.”

You no longer have to go to your computer to find these radio stations.

Instead, you can buy an add-on to your stereo system, or get the same Wi-Fi music streaming from a table-top radio, said Mayo, citing the Logitech Squeezebox.

Outside the home, portability and longevity are the qualities in demand for our tech toys.

People want “stuff that’s going to last a long time,” said Matt Gerow, assistant computer manager at Atlas Audio Visual.

“That’s why a lot of people are going to

the tablets. They do have a long battery life.”

Tablets, especially the iPad, are dominating the computer market.

“We have trouble keeping certain ones in stock,” adds store manager Darryl Galick. Tablet computers have totally replaced the market for Netbooks, a lightweight laptop offering very few frills but boasting a good price.

“The Netbooks are pretty much done,” Galick said. Ultrabooks, however, are an emerging portable computer able to compete with the booming market for tablets. The Ultrabook is a high-powered laptop.

“It used to be that you have your tower, and that’s the fastest machine you’re going to get,” said Galick. “Whereas the ultrabooks are coming close to the power you can get with a tower.”

A similar demand for a high-end product in a smaller size is also taking hold of the camera market.

Brenda D’Argis, assistant manager of electronics at London Drugs, has seen a new range of cameras emerge she describes as a “middle division” between SLR cameras and point-and-shoot cameras.

“This is a hot new category,” she said.

These compact cameras offer some of the versatility of the SLR cameras, such as different lens options. They also aren’t as cumbersome as the bigger models.

“It’s the way everything is going,” said D’Argis. “A lot of people go, ‘I don’t want to carry that.’”

B20

RETAIL

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Young entrepreneurs grasp sustainability

Don Denton/News staff

Bill Findley inside his eco-friendly clothing store Hemp And Company on Government Street.

“We learned a really cool word… called co-opetition,” he says.

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Since then, sales have grown about 10 per cent each year, only leveling off in the past two years. Koche now sells product through 19 distributors.

He’s also part of the Green Collective, a four-year-old collaboration between eco-retailers in the downtown core. Since starting six years ago, the collective has expanded to include 14 businesses.

Even though some sell similar products, they don’t see each other as competition.

“We learned a really cool word… called co-opetition,” said Bill Finley of Hemp & Company, one of the founders of the collective.

“It’s a growing industry,” said Finley. “The younger entrepreneurs, they’re growing up with a bit more of an environmental history. (They are) wanting to a do a business, but also wanting to make sure that ethic is involved.”

Since entering his business 14 years ago, Finley’s seen postsecondary business programs adapt to the new demand by offering sustainability classes.

The Downtown Victoria Business Association is also jumping on board. It recently launched what it calls a Green Index.

“It’s an online toolbox for greening your business,” said Finley.

“To me, this is showing that it’s not just these little hippie eco stores. It’s becoming more mainstream.”

It’s not the DVBA’s only initiative.

In 2010, the association made a decision to be a leader in the field, said general manager Ken Kelly.

The DVBA purchased industrial-strength pedicabs to launch people-powered composting in partnership with reCYCLISTS. So far, 30 businesses have signed up.

“It is absolutely delightful to have our board members say, ‘this issue of sustainability is important. We have to demonstrate leadership,’” said Kelly.

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technology

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

RYAN FLAHERTY OAK BAY NEWS

A

sk anyone who’s spent time in hospital about their experience, and they’ll usually have something to say about the food.

The Vancouver Island Health Authority is doing its best to make sure those comments are positive and has introduced a new method of cooking and serving food to patients at both major hospitals in Greater Victoria.

The system is called Steamplicity. Developed in the U.K. in 2005 and introduced in Canada in 2009, it uses steam pressure to cook food by using its natural moisture, providing patients with meals that taste better and retain more nutrients than traditional hospital food.

“It’s one of the few completely new cooking processes and food delivery systems that’s been developed in the food service sector in the past few years,” said Leta Hill, regional vicepresident of Compass Group Canada Health Care, which owns the rights to Steamplicity.

With the new system, meals are plated in a production kitchen, then taken to pantries on each patient floor, where they are pressure-cooked in microwaves. An emphasis is given on ensuring that each patient receives a hot meal in as little

B21

time as possible.

The other key aspect of Steamplicity is that it allows patients to choose what they eat. They are given a restaurant-style menu featuring up to 20 different hot entrees, and their orders are processed using a tablet, which relays the information to the production kitchen using wireless technology.

“That’s very innovative, as compared to the old system where they’re non-selective menus,” said Lynn Nabata, VIHA director of food services.

“Patients just got what was on the menu. If there was chicken on that day, then everyone got chicken unless there was some reason the patient couldn’t have chicken.”

The new menu includes gluten-free, low-lactose and high-fibre options, but the electronic ordering process also allows food service staff to cross-reference orders with a patient’s dietary restrictions and allergies.

“This computer system helps ensure that people who have declared allergies to things don’t get foods with those allergens in them,” said Nabata.

Not only is the Steamplicity model beneficial for patients, it also has a positive impact on VIHA’s bottom line. “(The patients’) recovery is better through improved nutrition, but also you have less food waste, because they’re getting what they want to eat,” said Hill.

Steamplicity is nearing the end of the “stabilization” phase at Royal Jubilee Hospital, as the wrinkles in meal service times and the selection process, among other details, are ironed out. Meanwhile at Victoria General Hospital, the system was implemented for the first time in March.

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TECHNOLOGY

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

A peek inside the data vault RYAN FLAHERTY OAK BAY NEWS

O

n a hillside near the Pat Bay Highway in Saanich sits an unassuming gray building that contains some of the region’s most vital information.

Shielded by multiple layers of security and housed in a facility built to withstand a major earthquake, the data belonging to a wide variety of companies, educational institutions and government agencies is stored here, backed up in the event that the original versions are lost.

Since 1982, CUBE Digital Storage has been in the business of protecting information.

“Data backup is probably the single most neglected part of information technology.

There’s not much of an awareness around it,” said CUBE senior account executive David Miller. “It’s not until someone loses all their business data that they go, ‘Oh, I guess I should have been backing it up.’”

David Miller Originally started as an offsite location for companies to store hard copies of vital documents – a service it still provides (see sidebar) – CUBE added digital storage to its business model in the early 1990s.

It was around the same time that CUBE moved to its current location, a custom-built facility designed to not only survive a 9.5-magnitude seismic event, but to continue business as usual afterwards.

The building sits on solid igneous rock that descends 22 kilometres into the Earth, and is sited in a location well above the tsunami hazard zone. The steel I-beam structure can withstand winds of up to 135 km/h, and there are no natural gas lines within 150 metres.

In essence, it is a veritable fortress, intended to handle anything man or nature can throw at it.

“We’ve got redundant fail-overs on pretty much every one of our systems,” said Miller.

In addition to providing a secure place for companies to back up their data, CUBE also offers space where it can set up temporary recovery centres in the event of a loss.

It’s important to remember that it doesn’t take a massive disaster to cause major headaches for an organization, said CUBE representative Aaron Daur.

Even leaks, fires and thefts – not to mention the dreaded human error – can have crippling effects.

“When you don’t think about (backing up) every day … you just don’t consider what could happen and the ramifications of that,” Daur said.

And while some organizations do perform some kind of data backup, far too many keep that backed up information on site, making it just as prone to being lost as the original copies.

Ideally a business will have both an onsite backup for quick recovery and an offsite copy, said Miller.

And if they’re really serious about protecting their information, a third copy will exist at another offsite location. It may require a bit of extra time and money, but the consequences of not taking precautions can be far more costly.

“As we move to more and more electronic information, people have all their businesses sitting on their computers,” said Miller.

“More than half of businesses that have major data loss go out of business. Despite that, about one in four backs up regularly.”

And that makes this unassuming gray building in Saanich pretty important.

Sharon Tiffin/News staff

Dr. Christoph Borchers, director of the University of Victoria Genome B.C. Proteomics Centre, holds a slide with a sample of mouse brains to be studied in the centre’s lab.

Redefining the power of protein RYAN FLAHERTY OAK BAY NEWS

D

r. Christoph Borchers envisions a world where patients are prescribed medicines that are tailored to their own unique body chemistry.

“Doctors normally give the same medication whether you’re female or male, or if you’re 70 or 18 years old. If you’re black, white or brown, whatever. Doesn’t matter,” he said. “But we are all different and it needs to be more customized.”

Such developments aren’t so far off, given the work Borchers and his staff of 25 are doing every day at the University of Victoria Genome B.C. Proteomics Centre, located at the Vancouver Island Technology Park in Saanich.

Proteomics – the study of the structure and function of proteins – is a rapidly evolving area of research that has farreaching implications. And the Proteomics Centre, where Borchers has been director since 2006, is at the heart of much of that investigation.

One area of study at the centre involves looking for biomarkers – unique protein combinations –

which allow doctors to identify a patient’s susceptibility to diseases.

“The proteins in your blood tell us that something is going wrong,” Borchers said. “If it is diabetes, if it is cancer, or something else.”

Earlier detection means better chances of survival, something which customized treatment can also offer.

“It can give the doctor information which helps him to put together a better therapy. The technology is there.”

That technology involves several large machines, the most significant of which is called a mass spectrometer, which uses a magnetic field to identify proteins by their molecular weight. The machine costs close to $1.5 million, but the work it does is invaluable to researchers.

Human proteins aren’t the only ones being subjected to the hum of the mass spectrometer.

Proteomics has a number of applications in the forestry industry, from learning about trees that are more resistant to pine beetles and other predators, to ones which have a higher capacity to retain carbon dioxide and subsequently slow the effects

of climate change.

The medical applications of proteomics are especially exciting to the scientific community.

“The Proteomics Centre is an excellent example of B.C.-based innovation working on tools to increase diagnostic sensitivity and move us towards a future of personalized medicine,” said Dr. Alan Winter, president and CEO of Genome B.C. “The potential impact to create positive patient outcomes and efficiencies in our health-care system is significant.”

All told, the not-for-profit centre, which operates on a cost-recovery model and is the longest operating proteomics core facility in Canada, is doing work on behalf of numerous local and international clients.

And as the range of applications for proteomics research continues to grow, so does the list of organizations that want to tap into the science.

It marks a stark difference from when he began, Borchers said.

“I started doing this 20 years ago … and people were laughing at me, and said, ‘You must be stupid, machines can never do that.’ But we can do it right here, right now.”

TECHNOLOGY

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

B23

Saanich firm helps ships make green statement DON DESCOTEAU

Coast.

Scanship has installed equipment of one kind or another on 100 ships, representing companies from Holland America to Royal magine sitting in an office in Saanich and Caribbean to Costa Cruises. The six waste being able to monitor the effectiveness systems it can provide are: advanced of a wastewater purification system on a wastewater purification (AWP) and the cruise ship sailing in the Caribbean. treatment of bio-sludge left over from that Micheal Taylor doesn’t need to imagine such process; organic foodwaste; sludge oil and a scenario. garbage incineration/disposal; regular Via satellite communications, Taylor, the recycling (a la Blue Box) and waste-to-energy director of Scanship Canada, the Canadian generation. arm of the Norway-based company, can analyze Taylor’s specialty is AWP. It’s perhaps not how well the ship’s equipment is operating. so ironic, given that liquid waste treatment “They can be sitting in the engine control is among the most critical environmental room (looking at at a series of monitors), and improvements for ships traversing the Inside I can be sitting in my office doing the same Passage and Pacific Coast. thing, because it’s all online,” he said.

Christianne Wilhelmson is executive director “If they’re having an issue they can email me with the Georgia Strait Alliance, which or call me and say ‘this is happening, can you monitors B.C. marine traffic. She calls any check it?’ I can look at trends of the last month, movement by the cruise industry to clean up its or day, and do an assessment from land.” act “an attitudinal shift.”

Taylor, 27, joined Scanship two years ago as a “I can’t speak to the details of (Scanship), but wastewater service technician after working in the fact the company is working with the cruise a similar capacity with now-defunct Hydroxyl – ship industry is telling,” she said. “The (cruise former contractor to B.C. Ferries. He convinced industry is) recognizing that the way they’ve his bosses that locating a service centre here been doing things in the past is not acceptable.” made sense, especially with the cruise industry Wastewater treatment is particularly well-entrenched on this coast. important in Alaskan waters, where the “Holland America has their headquarters in Murkowski Bill enacted in the last decade Seattle … We’re really looking forward to being there for them when they need something in a Sharon Tiffin/News staff created very stringent standards for cruise lines bind,” he said.

Scanship Canada director Micheal Taylor uses technology to to adhere to in terms of dumping wastes.

Taylor proudly states that his company’s The small Saanich operation, which opened monitor cruise ship equipment around the world. equipment purifies 98 per cent of the liquid last September as a place for the well-travelled waste from a ship – the other two per cent, known as Taylor to hang his hat, has a warehouse to store the plan is to have others manufactured by Victoriabio-sludge, is captured and processed separately. parts. Some will come directly from Norway, while area shops, further solidifying the link to the West VICTORIA NEWS

I

B24

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

Destination: Innovation RYAN FLAHERTY OAK BAY NEWS

C

ould Canada’s next great technology hub be right here in our own backyard?

It’s a bit early to tell for sure, but Greater Victoria is steadily gaining a reputation as the home of some of the brightest and most innovative minds in the high-tech industry, a feature which could bode well for the area.

The CEO of one local wireless startup certainly thinks so.

Stuart Bowness is the co-founder of MediaCore, an online media platform that allows individuals or organizations to create and control their own fully-featured video site. He says the Capital Region is bursting at the seams with talented minds.

Don Denton/News staff “(The University of Victoria) is Victoria’s Stuart Bowness, CEO of MediaCore in his company offices in strong, Camosun is strong, Royal Fernwood Square.

Roads is strong,” Bowness said. surfing and skiing in the same day. those schools see the South Island as He adds the relative proximity of Why wouldn’t you want to live here?” both the University of B.C. and Simon an appealing place to start a career.

That appeal is one of several “(Victoria) is a beautiful city right Fraser University is also a factor, reasons MediaCore has been able to next to the ocean where they can go pointing out that many grads from

continue growing while remaining in the Capital Region. The company has slowly grown to 15 full-time employees, and as it continues to expand will likely have to relocate from its current home in Fernwood to a larger space downtown.

Part of the company’s success, says Bowness, is due to a more focused approach to its feature product.

Originally conceived as an opensource platform for a wide range of video-based applications, MediaCore is now in the process of being revamped as an e-learning tool.

“The way that education is done right now isn’t scalable. You see a constant reduction in education expenditure while the population is increasing,” Bowness said. “How do you train more people? How do you educate them? And how do you do it faster? What we’re really wanting to solve is that problem.”

It was this new focus that recently earned MediaCore a $10,000 award from a provincial government agency dedicated to supporting innovation.

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TECHNOLOGY

expenditure while the population is increasing,” Bowness said. “How do you train more people? How do you educate them? And how do you do it faster? What we’re really wanting to solve is that problem.”

It was this new focus that recently earned MediaCore a $10,000 award from a provincial government agency dedicated to supporting innovation. The British Columbia Innovation Council’s New Ventures competition hands out the annual award to young entrepreneurs in the province’s tech sector.

The competition is just one of several ways of bringing fledgling companies into the area’s tech network. Bowness also mentions the Centre 4 Growth, an offshoot of the B.C. Technology Industry Association, and the Victoria Advanced Technology Centre (VIATeC) as organizations working hard to strengthen Greater Victoria’s tech community.

Saanich resident Jeffrey Bucove’s company, LEC Light Emitting Computers, is part of the ViaTEC network.

The technologist has created what he calls the “plant whisperer,” which uses different combinations

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

of coloured lights to manipulate plant growth.

“What we essentially do is control all the signals the plant will get from the lighting of its environment to cause it to grow in the way we want,” Bucove said.

The science is still in its infancy, he says, but already he is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to determine the implications his patented system could have for the agricultural industry.

“We can actually show increased nutrition, increased harvest weight, increased attractiveness – vegetables that actually look better, they have more flavour – and we can do this with one-third of the electricity of classic lighting technologies, one-tenth of the water consumption, one-fifth of fertilizer consumption,” Bucove said.

Bucove hopes that being part of a community like VIATeC will help him find more investors for his invention.

Judging by the growing support network for tech startups in this neck of the woods, that could happen sooner than later.

It’s all in the game

S

application due for unveiling ecrecy. in late 2013 and commercial It’s nothing new in release in 2014. But future the software industry, applications developed here with companies could extend beyond gaming. vying to get their products “I’ve been making games onto the market first, before for 20 years and I’m more competitors have a chance to excited than I’ve ever been,” respond or create something Robertson says of the similar. atmosphere and potential It’s no surprise, then, that Microsoft Studios Chris Robertson around the studio.

News of Microsoft coming Victoria has largely kept its to Victoria was a big story around the operations under wraps. From a nonlocal technology industry last year. descript space in Bastion Square, the Five months after the studio opened its plan was to move into more spacious doors – so to speak – it continues to be digs in mid-April. Along the way it a bright spot. has attracted attention from techies “Attracting an anchor like that does a both locally and around the Pacific lot for us,” said University of Victoria Northwest. technology parks president Dale Gann.

Technical director and co-founder “Microsoft will bring top talent into Chris Robertson says most staff come the community, but it will also absorb from the game or film industries, but top talent from our universities.” some newcomers were hired fresh out The city’s tech sector hopes to draw of school. on Microsoft’s expertise and grow the “Rookies bring energy and courage industry locally, Gann says. “They’ll and veterans bring wisdom,” he says help build the technology community of the mix. “There’s a lot of bright, here and let us know what we should smart people right here in Victoria. and shouldn’t do.”

We’re looking forward to providing As long as it doesn’t give a leg up on jobs for people.” the competition.

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BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

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tourism

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

Everett Silvertip fans were loud and proud in a visit to Victoria earlier this year.

FAN tastic

W

hen the Everett Silvertips hockey team made its first-ever trip to Victoria for a pair of games on Feb. 7 and 8, so too did 63 members of the Everett Hockey

Fanatics.

Many of the Fanatics took time off work to make the midweek trip. All were rewarded, as the Silvertips swept the Victoria Royals in both games and used those wins to sneak into the Western Hockey League playoffs.

During their stay, the Fanatics slept at the Quality Inn downtown, went bowling in Sidney and sampled a cross-section of Victoria’s restaurant scene.

“Everyone went in different directions to eat and came back with great reactions,” said head Fanatic Craig (Woody) Wood.

“A lot of our people from our group said they’d like to (visit Victoria) in the summer. We also had a lot of fans that didn’t make (Feb. 7 and 8) because they couldn’t get the time off in the middle part of the week.”

Since re-joining the Western Hockey League

this year the Royals have benefitted from the geographical proximity and passion of major-junior hockey fans.

Setting aside blocks of tickets as big as 100 for visiting booster clubs has been the norm for the Royals ticketing staff.

“The WHL is such a well-branded league, you didn’t have that with the ECHL,” said Corey St. Laurent, ticket sales executive with the Royals.

“There’s a passion for the WHL in people’s veins.

We’ve seen dedicated booster clubs from Portland, Everett and Kamloops, among others.”

Groups of 20 tickets or more receive a discounted cost of $10 per ticket, and an even greater discount when the group nears the 100 mark.

Earlier in the season a group of 93 Kamloops Blazers fans made their presence felt for two games.

And anyone who attended the Royals’ final two regular season matches – a pair of wins over the Portland Winterhawks – had to feel bad for the mass of Oregonians taking up nearly half of section 113.

Continued on page B33

by TRAVIS PATERSON photo by SHARON TIFFIN

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TOURISM

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

St. Andrew’s School Celebrates

THURSDAY, MAY 10TH 9:15-10:15am

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Parents Bring Your Preschooler! le

Fort Rodd Hill species at risk officer Susan MacIsaac shows a planter of blue wildrye grass that will eventually be planted in the field behind her. The historic site is trying to create a Garry oak meadow ecosystem on former lawn in the fort.

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Diamond Optical expands to Oak Bay

After serving Victorians for 20 years from its Douglas Street store, locally owned Diamond Optical is bringing its commitment to quality and customer service to Oak Bay. Joining the Victoria and Duncan stores, Diamond Optical is opening in the Foul Bay Professional Building May 22, says founder and owner Ron Boyce.

Son Greg Boyce, an instrumental part of the business for eight years, will manage the new location, continuing the family tradition of affordability, quality and service.

Operated as Diamond Eyecare in Oak Bay and Duncan, where Ron’s daughter Karen also works in the family business, the new location will also offer eye exams, with an optometrist on-site.

Key to Diamond’s success is its approach, both in products and service. “We try to offer broad range pricing, from basic frames to exclusive designer frames,” Ron explains. Choose from Canadian designers such as Vancouver’s

SSpectacle EEyeworks and Reflections By R Traff, for example, or sought-after European brands such as Versace, Fysh and Kliik. With summer fast approaching, Diamond Optical also offers one of the city’s largest selections of EasyClip glasses, Ron notes.

Downtown, long-time optical technician Lori Flanagan, who is also fluent in French, delights in helping clients choose the perfect frames for their lifestyle, and because each location also has a modern, in-store finishing lab, Diamond can offer clients the prompt, professional service they’ve come to expect. For those times you’d rather not wear glasses at all, Diamond Optical also offers excellent prices on contact lenses.

“Our business has grown the way it has because of word-of-mouth advertising,” Ron says. “We care about our customers and we stand behind what we sell.”

To celebrate the new store, visit Diamond Optical in May and June for 50 per cent off all frames. ◆

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Fort Rodd Hill returns to nature Ecological history takes shape amid military history EDWARD HILL SAANICH NEWS

F

ort Rodd Hill, a site known for its big guns, scenic views and military history, is digging deeper into its natural history.

Fort staff has covered an acre of manicured lawn inside its front gate under a thick blanket of mulch as part of an experiment to revert the field to a Garry oak meadow and woodland.

The concept is to bring the lawn, amid Garry oak trees, back to a roughly natural state as it might have been 200 years ago. It’s a project that started in 2007 and could span nearly a decade — the finished meadow isn’t expected to bloom until at least 2015.

“We are hoping by 2015 to have it close to completion, to be restored so it looks like a Garry oak meadow and woodland,” Susan MacIsaac, the Parks Canada species at risk officer at Fort Rodd Hill, who is leading project. “With one acre, visitors can get a good sense of what Garry oak ecosystems are.”

MacIsaac, staff and volunteers started growing camas in 2007, and started a full-fledged nursery two years ago with scores of native plants.

Garry oak ecosystems are flush with plant and animal life, but are considered endangered on southern Vancouver Island due to development and invasive species.

Camas itself takes three or four years to get to planting size. It also takes a few years for lawn grasses to die and for invasive species to be weeded out before native wildflowers, shrubs and grasses take root.

Parks Canada staff and volunteers have laboured for years to remove invasive species from Garry oak forests around the historic site, but MacIsaac says nurturing a full ecosystem is their biggest project yet.

The meadow won’t be completely back to its natural state — MacIsaac plans to erect a tall deer fence around the oneacre plot.

“We think this is what would exist there naturally. What is great about this national historic site is the military

preserved a lot of the ecosystem because it camouflaged the area,” she said.

“Fort Rodd Hill wanted to blend in. It didn’t want to take too much down.”

The next steps are designing a landscape plan for trails and signs for the various ecological attributes of the meadow.

“There is a lot of preparation before we get planting anything. The project will be beautiful when it’s completed,” MacIsaac said.

“It will be another great opportunity for visitors to enjoy Fort Rodd Hill.”

While some staff help create a Garry oak ecological niche, others are drawing up plans to help restore the aging and salt-eaten battlements that make up Fort Rodd Hill.

Fort Rodd Hill is considered one of the best preserved coastal artillery sites in North America, but manager Dave King said keeping ahead of repairs is a tough business. The Parks Canada staff is drawing up a repair management plan this year for the batteries and barracks.

Upper and lower batteries in particular — the reinforced concrete structure that defines the fort — are slowly breaking apart from the inside. Salt air rusts internal steel beams causing expansion called “hydraulic jacking.”

King said Parks Canada has a group of experts in historical building and ferroconcrete restoration, but probing into the batteries is fraught with risk. Once holes are drilled, there is no going back.

“You have to know what you are doing before you make a hole in a historical building, you’ve got to proceed cautiously,” King said. “If you replace a roof, is it still a historical building? It’s a challenge to retain the original historical fabric while maintaining the integrity of the building. It’s a balancing act.

“We have a no-harm rule. We want to do the minimum amount of damage possible,” he continued. “But if you look at the world, this place is in really good shape. We’re lucky in Victoria there is no freeze and thaw.”

All buildings at Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse are originals from the 1890s to 1950s, except for the small boathouse. King said the management plan will point them to which structures need priority, and the cost for repairs.

“The best way to keep historical buildings in good shape is to use them.

It’s worse when you let them fall to neglect.”

TOURISM

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

B31

Butchart’s secret: keep it simple NATALIE NORTH SAANICH NEWS

J

ennie Butchart’s transformation, more than a century ago, of an exhausted limestone quarry into a sunken garden is a well-known piece of local history. Yet the familiarity of the Butchart Gardens story doesn’t make it any less impressive.

“That still amazes me,” said Butchart Gardens general manager Dave Cowen. “When you go down in (the sunken garden) and realize how big it is, you realize just how daunting a task it must have been for her.”

Advances in Dave Cowen technology have changed how the gardens are developed since the days when the Butcharts first requisitioned topsoil to be delivered by horse and cart to their property near Tod Inlet.

Cowen now oversees some 500 employees during the peak season. He regularly liaises with the Canadian Tourism Commission, Tourism B.C. and Tourism Victoria to promote the

gardens globally, with much attention spent on Asian markets. But at the core of the Island’s largest tourist attraction remains Jennie Butchart’s original vision.

“We work very hard at not changing the brand,” Cowen said.

“We have made a commitment to focusing on what we do best, which is growing beautiful gardens and treating people well. Visitors have come to expect a certain experience and we work very hard at keeping what is an estate garden very true to what that experience was 100 years ago.”

The gardens, established in 1904, were recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada in 2004. It’s still owned by the Butchart family, who have made numerous additions over the years.

Summers now include a musical program and fireworks, as well as a boat tour through Tod Inlet. Food services have been expanded and a major new draw is the carved carousel that Cowen describes as “an animated piece of art.”

While Christmas remains a favourite time for local visitors, the summer months are what makes the gardens the No. 1 tourist destination on the Island.

Overall, the gardens attract just under one million visitors annually – still

impressive but markedly lower than the numbers before 2008, Cowen admitted without divulging any specific numbers.

Central Saanich Mayor Alastair Bryson lauds the gardens’ presence as a valued employer of young people entering the workforce, and as a corporate citizen dedicated to maintaining high standards when it comes to new project proposals.

Yet Bryson doesn’t overlook the historical significance of the flagship attraction that put his municipality on the map.

“It places Central Saanich in the world,” Bryson said, noting the gardens’ presence in Central Saanich is nearly twice as old as the municipality itself.

“It’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the quality of the experience of going to the Butchart Gardens in the summer time,” he added. “Entering the sunken gardens is just a marvel for the senses.”

“If (Jennie Butchart) lived 200 years, I think she would be adding things like Robin (Clarke, owner and great granddaughter of Jennie and Robert Pim Butchart) has added over the years,” Cowen said. “(Any change is done in) a fashion that doesn’t distract from what the gardens are truly about as a national historic site, an Edwardian garden and something that needs to be preserved.”

File photo

Nature meets flowers at Victoria’s venerable Butchart Gardens.

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B32

TOURISM

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

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Sharon Tiffin/News staff

Tourism Victoria director of destination marketing Trina Mousseau at the Tourist Information Centre on Wharf Street shows a viewfinder used in a recent campaign in Vancouver and Seattle to promote the region.

‘Short-haul’ marketing brings visitors to Victoria KYLE SLAVIN SAANICH NEWS

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V I C T O R I A B C C A N A DA

t’s no coincidence that you’re bound to see a whole whack of Washington State or Alberta licence plates driving through Greater Victoria on any given day. It’s a sign Tourism Victoria is doing its job.

Trina Mousseau, director of destination marketing, said focusing consumer marketing on short-haul markets (in other parts of B.C., as well as Alberta and Washington) is a strategy that pays off both in a strong and struggling economy.

“It’s a quick getaway. It’s a nearby escape that feels like it’s a world away,” she said, pitching Victoria.

“We try to focus on unique nontraditional campaigns that cut through the clutter.”

One recent strategy Mousseau said was successful in attracting people from Vancouver and Seattle was last year’s viewfinder campaign. Coin operated-style binoculars were set up in both cities, but instead of seeing local views, users saw pictures of Victoria and were directed to Tourism Victoria’s Facebook page.

“We grew our Facebook fanbase by 76 per cent,” she said, regarding that campaign’s success. “It was amplified by people sharing it. It grew beyond our expectations.”

Mousseau says social networking is an inexpensive marketing tool that helps draw people to Victoria. “The top way that people get inspiration to travel to a destination is recommendations from family and friends,” she said.

As Internet users continue to become more open with sharing their information – tweeting about what they’re doing on holidays, posting photos from their vacation on Facebook – it all helps attract prospective visitors.

“We’re always going to be challenged with the economy. What I can do is market my destination in the most effective way possible,” Mousseau said.

Brock Smith, professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at the University of Victoria, said tourism is an “elastic consumer decision” that gets cut during economic challenges.

Tourism companies adapt to the times by marketing closer to home, Smith said.

“You try to enhance the value proportion, by lowering prices or increasing what people get for the money they spend,” he said. He points to companies like B.C. Ferries and Black Ball Ferry Lines, now offering complete vacation packages to Vancouver Island.

The challenge, he says, is that Tourism Victoria has to compete with much larger organizations like Tourism California, for the same tourists coming from Seattle and Oregon.

“Tourism Victoria does quite a good job of trying to do that, working with a reasonably limited budget,” Smith said. “The key to the tourism industry is the transportation hubs, so making it relatively easy and cost effective to get to the Island is key.

“I think the prices for B.C. Ferries, on some terms, are quite reasonable, but the people typically travelling on our ferry system aren’t comparing us to Europe.

They’re choosing between spending that extra $200 to get to the Island, or spending that $200 on the other side of the water doing something else.”

Either way, it’s a challenge that marketer Mousseau feels Tourism Victoria is overcoming – a sluggish economy or not.

“We always want to have people talking about us and what we’re doing,” she said.

“We really have to do more with less, but we’re doing a good job at it.”

TOURISM

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

Marketing is key, but we still need to deliver our product

EXPERT OPINION ROBERT GIALLORETO

V

ictoria is a beautiful harbourbased global destination.

Marketing Victoria worldwide however has never been more challenging.

As domestic visitation remains steady, we have felt the continued loss of the U.S. tourist, as well as declines in our European markets. China is now growing to be a vital market for our province and India is not far behind.

In order to promote visitation to Victoria in these markets, we need a value proposition.

What that means changes depending on the consumer. Our nearby markets like Seattle, Vancouver, Alberta and California look at us as an escape without having to travel too far. We will push this message in 2012 and know that our city can provide many offerings from cultural, heritage and soft adventure, to festivals and a vibrant food and beverage scene, to name a few.

In our overseas markets, guests are most likely funnelling through Vancouver and Seattle. To truly “see” Victoria, at least a one night stay is needed, and the communication of this message is vital.

Driving visitation to support our economy with foreign dollars is accomplished in many different ways.

Each process meshes with the other to

provide a united presence in our target markets. We combine advertising, promotions, social media, travel media, travel trade, meetings and incentive travel and sport events and festival support.

Travel media is our interaction with key tour operators throughout the world that bring valued groups here. Incentive travel experts work with corporate and association meeting planners showing them why they should hold their conferences here. Travel media works with writers, bloggers, television and radio reporters who promote our destination to viewers and readers.

All this collective work with our industry is meaningless however, if we can’t deliver the product we promise.

While there is much to celebrate about our great city, we have some stark issues that continue to be ignored. The dilapidated Belleville Terminal leads the pack. We welcome our U.S. visitors to paradise, but make them walk through purgatory.

To keep pace with the rest of the world we need to re-invigorate our offerings to ensure our collective marketing efforts are well invested.

■ Robert Gialloreto is president and CEO of Tourism Victoria.

B33

Vancouver Giants fans Vicky and Bob Resch spent a weekend in Victoria cheering on their favorite WHL team.

Struggling economy slows sports tourism From page B29 In that case, the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club had reserved a block of tickets earlier in the year, and then became part of Royals’ fifth and sixth sellouts of the season.

They also spent an extra night in Victoria, as the games were two days apart.

“A lot of (fan) groups have been around the league and call us months in advance, so we set those tickets aside for quite a while,” St. Laurent said.

There’s no doubt the slower economy has affected the number of booster clubs following their teams around the WHL, said the Fanatics’ Wood. It’s also more difficult and expensive for Everett fans to get to Victoria than Chilliwack, the latter only a two-hour bus ride away.

“We haven’t had as many trips this year as in past years. But we always have a group that does the central swing through (Alberta and Saskatchewan).”

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“From the beginning, we’ve emphasized the patient experience, from the moment they walk in the door,” says Dr. Milkovich, noting their recent honour of “Best Vancouver Island Business with Fewer than 50 Employees” in the Business Examiner’s Business Excellence Awards.

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Other innovations include the new Fraxel Dual Laser that’s showing terrific results in treating sun damage and pre-cancer spots, with natural results and minimal downtime.

As Victorians become more knowledgeable about esthetic treatments, more are taking advantage of the opportunity to re-visit a more youthful version of themselves, say Dr. Milkovich, who with Dr. Banks is also a nationally recognized expert in Botox and injectable filler techniques.

More exposure to treatments also means people better understand how safe and effective they are when undertaken by a trained professional.

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B34

TOURISM

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Visitors take a trip on the wild side NATALIE NORTH SAANICH NEWS

T

he first time Rachel Grigg led a group of travellers into the wilds of Parkinson Beach near Sombrio, she walked straight into a scene she hadn’t expected.

“With the first actual paying guests we took out, we ran into four bears on the beach that day,” said Grigg, co-owner of Rainforest Tours. “It was a bit of a shocker and it taught us to expect the unexpected.”

One of the hikers, back in the summer of 2010, was a little nervous about being so close to wildlife, most of the group was overwhelmingly excited to have a front row seat.

Grigg and her business partner Toni Chalk lead groups of two to 12 people on hikes through East Sooke Park and along the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.

Grigg is among a number of entrepreneurs in Greater Victoria capitalizing on Vancouver Island’s largely untapped adventure travel market. It’s a sector that may translate

Sharon Tiffin/News staff

Rachel Grigg, a hiking tour guide for Rainforest Tours: ‘(Adventure tourism is) definitely a big market for us.’ into different levels of activity to different people, but ultimately involves taking advantage of the region’s nearby wild spaces.

In a domestic destination study of 1,500 people in Vancouver, Seattle and Calgary, commissioned by Tourism Victoria, 37 per cent of potential travellers to Greater Victoria identified themselves as adventurous and 30 per

cent as outdoorsy.

“We know that 67 per cent of our target market is saying they’re outdoorsy or adventurous, so that makes adventure travel very, very important for this travel destination,” said Trina Mousseau, director of destination marketing for Tourism Victoria.

“It’s definitely a big market for us.”

And though Tourism Victoria’s target demographic – women aged 35 to 54 – might not be drawn to Victoria primarily for outdoor adventure (affordability and relaxation remain the primary motivators), Mousseau is working on drawing attention to the region’s natural activities.

“When (locals) think of Victoria, (we) know we have so many hiking and cycling trails, but our target market doesn’t know us for this, and this is something we’d like to change,” she added.

The region’s ability to capitalize on adventure tourism will depend on Victoria being seen as one piece of a larger cluster of accessible backcountry on Vancouver Island, said Geoffrey Bird, associate professor in the school of tourism and hospitality management at Royal Roads University.

Victoria’s proximity to the West Coast Trail and the Pacific Marine Circle Route – 250 kilometres of roadway running from Greater Victoria through Nanaimo, Lake Cowichan and Port Renfrew – offers an authentic foreign experience to many visitors without having to travel far from the city.

“When German visitors come to the Island, they have a quick look around and they want to get out into nature as soon as they can,” Bird said.

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TOURISM

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

B35

Marketing Greater Victoria to the world KYLE SLAVIN

automobile or stay at “unique lodges set in a natural landscape” to attract tourists from the United Kingdom. Marketing to other nations often uses similar images – trio of bear cubs frolic, neckbut Germans are also known to enjoy RV deep in water, in a photo with tours, while Australians are interested “British Columbia” posted in the plethora of breweries B.C. has to prominently beside the image. offer.

This particular banner is specifically Marketing to a Chinese audience is aimed at residents of the United another story. City tours, scenery and Kingdom, one of B.C.’s six key shopping are among the experiences used international tourism markets. The to attract tourists from China.

United States, Germany, Australia, Japan Tourism Victoria also works closely and South Korea are the others, while with Tourism Vancouver and Tourism China, India and Mexico are considered Whistler to help in packaging experiences emerging markets. that benefit all three destinations. It’s a “Our objective, when we have such a concerted effort to convince those who diversity of potential customers, is to can influence international travellers focus on connecting the right product Sharon Tiffin/News staff – tour operators, travel media, meeting experience with the right consumer, Tourism Victoria director of sales Heather planners – to promote B.C.’s southern through their preferred channels of McGillavray holds a French tourist brochure coast to prospective visitors. communication,” said Grant Mackay, “We’re responsible for marketing the featuring downtown Victoria outside the Victoria assistant deputy minister with the destination as a whole,” McGillivray said. tourism division of the Ministry of Jobs, Tourist Information Centre on Wharf Street.

“We’re wearing that hat and representing Tourism and Innovation.

Victoria. A small business in town arguably “I guess technically we’re competing Through a variety of Internet, television doesn’t have the resources to be in China or and print marketing campaigns (including a (with other cities in Canada), because Australia. We’re there promoting Victoria everybody wants that visitor coming to that feature in Vanity Fair), Tourism B.C., tries on behalf of them.” to tailor the travel opportunities available to destination. But we can’t be all things to all Because tourism is such a large economic visitors – you’re really targeting visitors visitors. The agency works in conjunction driver in the region, the job of selling that have an interest in Western Canada. with the larger Canadian Tourism Greater Victoria in the right way to the “Few consumers would be saying, ‘I want Commission, as well as the smaller Tourism right people plays a big role in our lives. to take a trip to Victoria.’ It would be, ‘I Victoria.

“It really impacts everyone that lives want to take a trip to Canada,’ first and “We definitely take an approach that here,” McGillivray said. “Whether (or not) foremost.” working together is better than competing,” they think they’re touched by tourism – Tourism operators use enticements such said Heather McGillivray, director of sales they are.” as the chance to view wildlife, to tour in an at Tourism Victoria.

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www.victoriaairport.com Your gateway to Vancouver Island.

B36

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

agriculture

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

THE PROFITABLE FARM A

t then end of the farming season, Marika Nagasaka plods through her fields, whacking seed pods into bags, or hanging ripe plants to dry. Collecting tomato seeds is less labour intensive, but means allowing the fruit to rot for a week.

“It gets moldy and kind of gross,” Nagasaka said matter-offactly.

It may be tedious, but collecting seeds helps generate a significant revenue for Alm Farm in Sooke, and adds a revenue stream to a business always operating on thin margins.

“Cleaning the seeds takes a long time, but it adds to the income,” she said.

Selling seeds is a secondary avenue for income. Fruits and vegetables are the bread and butter of the farm’s income, selling mainly to restaurants and individuals. A food box program is also offered that operates on a prepay system to ensure the farm is guaranteed money.

With a number of income streams, Nagasaka said the farm is able to stay financially healthy and on top of trends. They sell produce to about four restaurants, but five years ago the restaurant sales were through the roof.

“Trends peak and then they drop,” said Nagasaka, crediting

the popular 100-Mile Diet for the boom in restaurant sales.

“Trends like local food and the 100-Mile Diet, those things come and go, but it’s good they make people aware.”

As a farmer, Nagasaka backs the local food concept, but said people who try to truly live that lifestyle soon hit reality.

“People aren’t as excited when they find out all they can eat is kale.”

By diversifying, the farm is able to shift the business from people dining out to people starting gardens.

Nagasaka said the farm makes about the same amount of money each year; it just comes from different avenues.

Farming can be a tough business to sustain, but it’s also tough to break into.

Nagasaka works for Mary Alice Johnson, the owner of Alm Farm in Sooke, but is also a partner, and is rewarded through profit sharing.

Continued on page B40

Story by Charla Huber | Goldstream News Gazette Tony Gooch, member of the Victoria Foundation’s Victoria Circle

Enjoy the certainty that you have done the right thing.

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If community matters to you, the Victoria Foundation is where you can make your priorities known.

Learn more at www.victoriafoundation.bc.ca or call 250 381-5532

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B38

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

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AGRICULTURE

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

B39

Farmers raise meat alternatives CHARLA HUBER GOLDSTREAM NEWS GAZETTE

I

f there’s no meat on the table, chances are you’ll find mushrooms or legumes in the pot.

While there has been a growing emphasis on producing local meat in Greater Victoria, two farmers are making an effort to produce local meat alternatives.

“I grew up on a traditional diet, but now we eat lentils all the time,” said Bryce Rashleigh of Saanichton Farm.

Lentil lasagna is his favourite, but lentil stew is a close second.

Rashleigh was raised on a meat-andpotatoes diet and never ate a lentil until he grew them. A third generation farmer, his grandfather started the farm 100 years ago.

He harvested Vancouver Island’s first batch of commercially grown lentils in August.

“I am trying to get back into food production for humans,” said Rashleigh, who up until recently was growing hay for horses. “If I am successful at feeding people that will trump horses any day.”

Rashleigh wants to contribute to food security on the Island by growing lentils, a legume and a small assortment of grains.

Straw, one of his crops, is helping another

farmer grow mushrooms.

Brad Mondesir of Marquis Mushrooms has transformed what was deemed unfarmable soil into a productive farm.

The land would have been taken out of the provincial agricultural land reserve, but Mondesir set up shop on the North Saanich property. He now grows shiitake, oyster and lion’s mane mushrooms.

The business has been operating for two years, but it took about two additional years of research and development before cultivation could begin.

Not an outdoor crop, growing mushrooms require high-humidity conditions. It’s the reason Mondesir built a 10,000-square-foot building for his mushrooms. A few more buildings are on the way.

As for the actual art of growing a mushroom, Mondesir stays mum. He is the only business in the region growing mushrooms commercially.

“I can’t explain the process,” Mondesir said, but he does emphasize that he found a way to farm on land deemed not farmable.

“You have to figure out crops that can grow. This is a year-round product,” Mondesir said. “We are showing we can farm from front to back of this farm. We are leading by example.”

When it comes to eating his mushrooms, Mondesir keeps it simple.

“I never like to complicate things, I just like them sautéed in butter or sautéed in a herb butter,” Mondesir said. His favourite dish is shiitake linguini in a cream sauce.

“This gives people the ability to have different flavours and textures and they can use the product as a replacement for meat. It’s big with the whole vegan thing.”

Don Denton/News staff

Bryce Rashleigh, owner of Saanichton Farm, stands in a field planted with various grains. Rashleigh is experimenting with growing different grains and legumes, including lentils.

Answers sought for deer, geese CHARLA HUBER GOLDSTREAM NEWS GAZETTE

D

File photo

Deer and other wildlife are making it tough for Greater Victoria farmers. Farmers say they need a better way to protect their crops from the hungry animals.

uring the Great Depression, farmers’ crops were consumed by hordes of locusts. These days for Greater Victoria, pestilence comes in the form of geese and deer.

Saanichton farmer Wendy Fox has tried just about everything to rid her fields of hungry guests. Whether she is B-lining toward deer on her tractor hooting and hollering, sicking the dogs or firing a scare gun, “they just come back in half an hour,” she says.

Fox, of Silver Rill Farm, lost 75 per cent of her berry crops to deer last year.

“We farm over (40 hectares) and of that, 90 per cent is leased land,” Fox said. “Fencing is not an option, it’s extremely expensive.”

Her family has been farming in Saanichton for 100 years, but in the past two years, Fox has witnessed the deer population double. Even if she were to surround her fields with 2.5-metre-high fencing, she suspects the deer would still get in.

“They will do whatever they need, to

get in,” Fox said. “Right now they are living in a smorgasbord.”

After receiving municipal and provincial permits, Fox can kill five deer per year, but has witnessed up to 40 deer in a field at once. It’s a problem that cuts into her livelihood, unlike, say, urban gardeners in Oak Bay. “It’s not deer eating grandma’s rose bush.”

Like many farmers, Fox says the only way to solve the problem is if “they are professionally thinned out.”

While deer menace agriculture in Saanichton, Metchosin farmers see more problems with ravenous Canadian geese.

Metchosin farmer Tom Henry doesn’t worry about deer – in the past 15 years he hasn’t noticed an increase in pesky ungulates. But geese, on the other hand, are causing a ruckus.

He’s run through the fields with his dog, but the birds fly up only to land again. He’s used noisemakers to startle the geese, but they learn to tune it out.

He’s even nailed hundreds of wooden stakes into his fields and strung out kilometres of twine, creating a grid that hovers over his crops and deters the big birds from landing. But once one goose lands on the field for a nibble, the entire flock will follow.

Deer in Metchosin are still known to damage crops, but Henry is quick to

point out geese will decimate a crop.

“With deer they could consume 10 to 15 per cent of the crop, but geese could consume up to 100 per cent,” Henry said. “An adult goose eats about the equivalent to a lamb.”

Henry has a permit from Canada Wildlife Service and the RCMP allowing him to shoot 30 geese on his property per year. Like Fox, he says it doesn’t make much of a dent.

Outcry about ruined gardens and eaten crops has pressured the Captial Regional District to form a citizen deer management advisory group to investigate how to manage the deer population, which could involve relocation or even a cull.

Furious debate is raging in newspaper letters and forums between those who grow food and flowers and advocate a limited deer cull, and those who deem a cull inhumane.

Canada geese are receiving far less attention. The Union of B.C. Municipalities supported a Metchosin request for the province to help formulate a solution to problem geese.

On the farm, Fox says she can tolerate geese, and Henry says he can tolerate deer, but both are in favour of respective culls.

“The vehicle accidents and cougars have kept the deer in check (in Metchosin),” Henry said. “We have regular cougar sightings and they are probably not eating at Tim Hortons.”

B40

AGRICULTURE

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

10% solution toward consuming local food EXPERT OPINION TOM HENRY

W

hen people ask me what I fear most as a farmer, I never say cougars, drought or disease – though we’ve dealt with all three on our Metchosin farm.

I tell them that I fear the demand for local food will grow too fast, and producers will be unable to fulfill the demand.

If this happens, disillusioned buyers will return to their regular food-buying habits (air-freighted grapes, etc.), and the chance to create a large and vibrant local food system will be lost.

The last 10 years have seen amazing changes in the way all of us think about food. We want to know how it is grown/ raised and where.

All this has been for the good of local agriculture – farm markets and local box programs from Saanich to Sooke are booming. For the first time in decades smart young people are seriously considering a future in farming.

But it would be a mistake to think that local farmers have the ability to immediately provide a large percentage of food needed in the Victoria area. (And, given the nature of local soils, it might be a mistake for consumers to eat nothing but locally raised products as well.)

What’s needed is what I call the “10 per cent solution.” We need 10 per cent of the area’s population to try at least some local food each year, and we need those consumers that are already eating some local food to consume 10 per cent more.

That will give farmers and processors the time to produce more and better food at a steady, sustainable rate.

We all need to work together to grow our local food system with the same care and caution that farmers use to grow crops and livestock.

■ Tom Henry runs Stillmeadow Farm in Metchosin. www.stillmeadowfarm.ca.

Marika Nagasaka stands in one of Sooke’s Alm Farm’s greenhouses with a variety of salad greens growing.

The greens are one way to sustain profitability, she says.

Don Denton/News staff

Farmland not always accessible From page B37 When Alex Fletcher wanted to get into the business with his partner, Virginie Lavallée-Picard, they looked to Fletcher’s parents for help.

They operate Wind Whipped Farm with an orchard, a green house and half an acre of cultivated gardens for vegetables.

This on one acre of land rented from his parents’ 10-acre parcel in Metchosin.

“Land value is so high, there is lots of farmland around, but it’s hard to access,” Fletcher said.

“We are lucky my parents own the land.”

Young farmers need to know

they are guaranteed use of the land for at least 10 years to make it viable to invest in growing crops, he said.

Having access to land is one thing, but Fletcher said they can only commit to farming six months of the year. The rest of the time they find other work.

Last winter Fletcher lived on Race Rocks ecological reserve as the eco-guardian, watching elephant seals duke it out.

“Instead of trying to do it all year long, we farm for six months and enjoy it,” Fletcher said.

“Then we can take work that is more profitable.”

ADVERTISING FEATURE

PROGRESS VICTORIA

> Business Prole: Sands Funeral Chapel Victoria

A Century Milestone for Sands The past century has been marked by many advancements, the funeral industry and Sands Funeral Chapel of Victoria, is no exception to that change.

Walking the halls inside the buildings of Sands of Victoria on Quadra St., you see pictures of the stoic forefathers who founded Sands a century ago - Mason (Pop) Sands and his son Laverne Sands grace the walls.

“Sands Memorial Chapel of Chimes” as it was known in the early 1930’s, houses the only pipe organ in a funeral home on Vancouver Island and d was specially built for Mason Sands.

A Funeral Director or “Undertaker”, ”, was perceived to be an older gentleman’s role, but has evolved to include women and a more youthful generation. Sands recognized the need for energy, vision and continued progress and Nathan Romagnoli, Funerall Di Director and Manager at Sands of Victoria is an example of this vision.

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Sands, with their long standing history, have a recognized brand of quality, trust, integrity and commitment to families from before loss to after death services. A strong promise of quality service and care at their funeral home, ser cemetery and crematorium is evident. cem Staff are highly trained, educated, Sta licensed and active members in their lice communities. com Sands of Victoria, although maintaining its iconic Spanish facade m a has h as undergone many interior changes and now houses a beautiful chapel with adjoining areas to accommodate 300 adj plus guests, full reception facility with plu ability to responsibly serve wine, and abi public meeting space for community pub groups, among other amenities. gro Bruce Simpson, who manages Hatley Memorial Gardens and pre-planning at H l M Sands says, “It’s important to listen to the needs of families and help to lessen the burden of their loss. At Sands, we offer many free products to aid in pre-planning, from a Family Registry to record all pertinent and legal information to free will kits and power of attorney information. “ The quality of service, attention to detail and integrity of staff are evident in dealings with Sands of Victoria, at every stage of life; whether prior to, during or after the loss of a loved one.

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Bruce Simpson Manager, Hatley Memorial Cemetery Nathan Romagnoli Funeral Director, Sands

government

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

B41

Railway vs. LRT EDWARD HILL SAANICH NEWS

I

t’s early in the morning and a sleek train car pulls up to a platform in Langford. Hundreds of people clutching lunch boxes and newspapers cram onto the train for a 20-minute ride on the E&N Railway to jobs at the shipyards or downtown Victoria.

On the Trans-Canada Highway, a speedy rapid-transit line shuttles people from Colwood and Saanich along the Douglas Street corridor into the core. It zips past heavy traffic that still clogs the highway.

This could be a picture of the farflung future of transit in Greater Victoria – or a just pipe dream. But two distinct agencies are planning separate rail transit systems for the region: E&N commuter rail and a rapid transit line. The E&N has tracks rusting in place, while LRT is on paper only, but both efforts will be or are vying for senior government funding.

The two transit systems are recognized as complementary while doing different jobs, but how does that translate through the distant lens of Ottawa? Is a medium-sized city planning two expensive transit systems a good candidate for infrastructure spending?

“It’s easy for Ottawa not to make any decisions on this, especially if the community doesn’t get its act together,” remarked Dan Spinner, CEO for the West Shore Chamber of Commerce. “There are a lot of

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“Are we going to spend nearly $1 billion to move people eight kilometres or $15 million to get the (E&N) trains going?” posed Langford Mayor Stew Young. “It’s important the (E&N) corridor be revived. The

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train is at the heart of our economic infrastructure.”

LRT and E&N commuter rail aren’t directly competing for funding, yet, but Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca MP Randall Garrison (NDP) agreed that message needs to be made clear in Ottawa.

“I think we have a sales job to do, we’ve got to explain how they are complementary,” Garrison said.

“We’ve got to make the case, and it’s my job to help do that.”

In April, the federal government announced it will match the $7.5 million pledged by the province for the Island Corridor Foundation, a public agency that owns the 290 kilometre rail corridor.

The $15 million will allow the foundation to replace 104,000 rail ties and pay for a three-car Via Rail train to run between Nanaimo and Victoria.

The ICF is also hunting for another $5.4 million to repair rail bridges along the line.

Foundation CEO Graham Bruce expects a train to be running by next year, giving CFB Esquimalt workers living in the Cowichan Valley an option other than driving. That meshes with West Shore priorities that the E&N line be revived now to serve thousands of military members and future shipyard workers.

“We need facilities to accommodate that workforce. We don’t have enough asphalt to put those workers on the road,” said View Royal Mayor Graham Hill, a director with the Island Corridor Foundation.

Continued on page B41

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GOVERNMENT

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

No matter who’s in power, CRD wants ‘unified’ voice government keeps growing on transportation options EXPERT OPINION TOM FLETCHER

A

typical day at the B.C. legislature involves debate over a tightfisted neoconservative regime that started slashing personal and business income taxes a decade ago and has been starving public services ever since.

Let’s have a look at the books to get a sense of this. The B.C. budget tabled in February has been described as the most miserly in the country, attempting to hold spending increases across government to an average of two per cent in each of the next three years.

Total spending for ministries and service delivery agencies (health care, education, etc.) is forecast to be $43.9 billion in the coming fiscal year. It rises to $44.2 billion next year, and soars above $45 billion the year after.

Despite those tax cuts, personal and corporate income tax revenue to the B.C. government continues to rise. From paycheques, the province expects to take $6.6 billion in the coming year, $7.1 billion the next year and $7.5 billion the year after.

Finance Ministry charts continually show growth in taxes and spending. The last serious reversal was during the 1990s, when Ottawa cut transfer payments to provinces to get its own chronic deficits under control. An NDP government ruled B.C. In 2010, the Fraser Institute ranked Gordon Campbell first in cost control among Canada’s premiers. It noted that Campbell’s government held average annual growth of program spending to 4.4 per cent over a decade. Even so, the average growth of the B.C. economy was only 4.1 per cent during those years, and as a result government grew from 19.4 per cent of gross domestic product to 21.1 per cent during his term.

Government is by far B.C.’s biggest employer, with more than 300,000 unionized employees plus management at the provincial level alone. No matter what party runs things, government continues to grow.

■ Tom Fletcher covers provincial politics for Black Press.

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From page B41 “The priority should be the E&N from Langford to relieve congestion.”

Although the $15 million came through this year, dedicated commuter rail still won’t roll anytime soon.

Bruce expects the limited Via Rail service would run as a pilot project for two years to gauge the need and interest.

“Demand will drive intensity of the service. If it catches on it’s easy enough to add another car,” Bruce said.

“We’ve got an incremental approach to a get a line running and to build upon that, rather than a Hail Mary approach.”

On the LRT front, over the past two years B.C. Transit has defined a rapid transit corridor between Victoria and Langford, and selected the light rail technology to do the job. Now a B.C. Transit-CRD task force is exploring how to fund the regional portion of the $950-million system, such as through property taxes or transit levies.

“The amount we’re trying

to ID is still unknown,” said Erinn Pinkerton, project manager for regional rapid transit with B.C. Transit.

“Local funding could drive the scope and forward planning. If we can’t afford it all at once, it will drive what we ask for.”

Indeed, LRT planners have approached Victoria and Saanich to endorse light rail between downtown and Uptown as a first phase.

Spinner, with the West Shore chamber, suspects that’s where the line will end.

As transit planning inches along, region politicians are also scrambling to co-ordinate a regional transportation authority, and take broad transit planning out of the hands of the Victoria Regional Transit Commission.

“The CRD wants to assert a unified voice,” Hill said.

“If we leave it up to the bus company to do planning, we get a bus answer; left to train people, you get a train answer.

We need to get the best answer.”

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GOVERNMENT

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

B43

From homeless to highways VIVIAN MOREAU OAK BAY NEWS

I

Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin: “We can’t take the province for granted.”

Don Denton/News staff

West Shore looks to attract government ministry offices EDWARD HILL SAANICH NEWS

E

ach morning for 20 years, Denise Blackwell would join the Trans-Canada Highway traffic jam and patiently inch her way from Langford to her office in downtown Victoria.

It’s a clockwork cycle – each day thousands of people living on the West Shore, Sooke and beyond flood into the city in the morning, and out in the evening. The rush-hour ritual has prompted regional politicians and commuters alike to call for some kind of West Shore to downtown commuter rail service.

But it’s also prompted Langford politicians to lobby for government offices – any government office – to relocate to the West Shore, ideally to Langford itself.

Home to a growing chunk of the region’s civil service employees, Langford officials see landing a ministry or two as key to promoting the live-work ideal and reducing congestion on the highway, while drawing jobs into the city. In a nutshell, they want Victoria to share the wealth.

“I did the commute for 20 years. I would have loved to work out here. A lot of people would love to have an office out here,” said Blackwell, a Langford city councillor. She worked for the Ministry of Labour as a program officer, but spent the past six years with the Archeology Branch before retiring.

“A lot of (civil servants) live out here, especially younger ones with families who can’t afford houses in Victoria or Oak Bay.” Langford Mayor Stew Young made attracting government offices a key element in his election platform last year. He’s offered tax holidays and incentives for any ministry willing to relocate into a new building.

“It’s time people can live and work on the West Shore, so they can have a five minute drive instead of an hour long commute in a traffic jam,” Young

said. “Hopefully we’ll get some government offices out here.”

Langford isn’t completely devoid of government jobs. The Capital Regional District parks department is headquartered in Langford, as is CRD bylaw services. Provincially, the B.C. Ambulance Service is relocating its Vancouver Island dispatch centre from the Vancouver Island Technology Park in Saanich to a new earthquake-ready building on Leigh Road in Langford.

That $7-million centre will employ about 60 people near the Spencer interchange, giving ambulances ready access to the highway. B.C. Transit too is shifting its dispatch and customer relations departments, about 30 personnel, from Victoria to an updated facility at its existing Langford yard.

But for Langford’s white whale – a major provincial ministry office – there are no takers, and if there were, the City of Victoria wouldn’t let them go without a serious fight.

Maintaining Victoria as the headquarters for the provincial government is the No. 1 priority in that municipality’s economic development strategy.

Ministry offices occupy a significant chunk of office space in the downtown core, and the province is Victoria’s largest employer.

“Any significant decentralization of provincial agencies would be devastating for the city,” notes Victoria’s 2011-12 economic strategy plan. “The presence of government is fundamental to the city’s economic sustainability.”

With that in mind, Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin said relocating government offices out of the core would have deep economic ramifications for the region. And if ministries were to move, he doubts they would be to Langford.

“Victoria’s role as the primary centre for government offices can’t be understated. If we start to diffuse this, the big risk isn’t that offices would move to Langford, it’s that the province would move them to Vancouver,” Fortin said.

That would lead to private sector partners, such as banks and corporate offices soon leaving town, the mayor said, which would reduce the vibrancy of the core and eat into vital tourist dollars.

“We can’t take the province for granted,” Fortin said. “They’ve been one of our best customers and we’ve got to build and maintain that strong relationship.”

t seemed like a good idea at the time.

In the mid-1990s the provincial government closed down psychiatric institutions, saying people with mental health problems could best be served by smaller support organizations.

But for a variety of reasons the vision didn’t work and Victoria and Vancouver now have thousands of homeless people living on the streets, the majority of whom are mentally ill.

Solutions to the issue has taken time – local governments have struggled to find a path.

“Look how long it took to get (homelessness) on the agenda,” said Evert Lindquist, school of public administration director at the University of Victoria.

He points out that federal and provincial governments offloading responsibilities is nothing new – it started in the 1990s and continues to today.

Confronting a need to provide more services yet not having the tax base to do so, federal and provincial governments “washed their hands,” he said. “Or they simply stopped addressing problems, they just stopped providing (certain services).”

The District of Saanich knows what it feels like have expensive responsibilities offloaded. In the 1990s the province “gifted” Admirals Road to Saanich. The busy arterial connects Esquimalt’s military community with Highway 1.

But Saanich’s transportation manager says the gift was “kind of like the underwear you get from Grandma at Christmas,” and one that couldn’t be re-gifted. The road needed re-paving and two old bridges replacing. Colquitz Creek bridge was replaced two years ago for $3.4 million and a Craigflower bridge replacement is expected to cost $10.8 million. The province isn’t helping out financially.

Decisions to offload need to be negotiated better, Lindquist says.

“There needs to be more co-ordination so local governments can get ready for this sort of thing, not in a couple of months but in a more orderly fashion.”

He also says citizens need to seriously consider if they want more services then they should be willing to pay higher taxes.

Lastly, the question needs to be asked whether government needs to take on everything.

“There are more imaginative ways, whether through volunteer or public-private partnerships, to get services delivered.”

Sharon Tiffin/News staff

Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard at the Colquitz Bridge on Admirals Road. Senior governments continue to download infrastructure costs and services onto local governments.

B44

GOVERNMENT

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Rodney Dangerfield of government VIVIAN MOREAU OAK BAY NEWS

P

op quiz.

Is the CRD a: a) cleaner that removes scale from shower doors? b) new kind of compact disc? c) federation of municipalities?

As chair of the Capital Regional District’s planning committee, Metchosin Mayor John Ranns says one of the biggest problems the CRD faces is that most people don’t know what it is.

“Most regard it as a fourth and unnecessary level of government. It’s not. It’s a service provider,” he said.

Ranns points out the CRD looks after the nuts and bolts of daily life for residents in the region. It is a federation of municipalities governed by a board of 11 mayors and 12 city councillors and electoral area directors. It has 600 full- and part-time staff.

While most people know the CRD is mandated by the province to regulate the regional sewerage system, not everyone knows that it establishes parks, monitors drinking water quality, funds the arts, builds affordable housing, and looks after lost animals.

Municipalities can opt in to other services, as Metchosin does, paying about $2,200 a year for access to the district’s mapping system.

“This isn’t some big monolithic organization that rolls ahead like a black hole gathering everything in its path,” Ranns said.

“The reality is it’s the municipalities themselves that determine the size of the CRD for the most part.”

The CRD was the first of 28 regional districts to be established by the province in the mid-1960s. The ministry of municipal affairs did so in response to growing concerns about indiscriminate dumping of garbage near B.C.’s smaller cities - a major

Don Denton/News staff

John Ranns is both mayor of Metchosin and the chair of the Capital Regional District’s planning committee. He says the CRD is an essential service provider for the region. problem at the time.

Originally, the ministry considered giving school boards the authority to oversee garbage disposal services, but as more challenges to municipal governance popped up, such as untreated sewage pollution, forward-

thinking municipal affairs minister Dan Campbell drafted the concept of regional districts.

In 1966 B.C. became the first and remains the only province with regional districts. Other provinces, like Ontario, have regional

municipalities. Quebec has regional municipal counties and Alberta has a county system.

B.C.’s regional district system works well and is the envy of other communities across North America, says University of Victoria public administration professor emeritus Robert Bish.

“They (regional districts) are the institutional arrangements that have allowed relatively small and mediumsized municipalities to group together to get services more efficiently. Both the CRD and other regional districts are looked at by academic scholars in the U.S. as a model to be implemented.

Those are the models across North America that seem to be doing the best job.”

Bish, who has published many articles on the regional district model, goes on to discuss the a-word, amalgamation, a topic of heated discussion among local politicians this year.

“The last time I looked at the CRD there certainly was not a better model,” he said of the district that extends from the Southern Gulf Island to Port Renfrew.

“Some people talk about amalgamation all across North America but it simply costs more than small municipalities who do things jointly with their neighbours.”

Six-term mayor Ranns also bristles at the mention of amalgamation.

“All amalgation would be is a super CRD. So if you don’t like the CRD then get used to really not liking the amalgamated government because all those services can’t change,” he said.

Ranns points out that the average Victoria household pays $157 a year in taxes dedicated to the CRD budget, which is just under $160 million in 2012. “That’s not expensive for the services you get.”

He also points out that the CRD takes on issues no other levels of government want to tackle, such as the proposed 236-hectare Marine Trail Resort near Juan de Fuca Trail that drew hundreds of outraged residents to meetings in 2011.

“On tanning, smoking and other issues, the CRD has responded. It’s up to the public to put the squeeze on but the CRD does respond to public will.”

Four years in making, planning rules still months away VIVIAN MOREAU OAK BAY NEWS

I

t sounds good. But is it do-able?

That’s the question John Ranns asks about the region’s new sustainability strategy. As chair of the Capital Regional District’s planning committee, Ranns, also mayor of Metchosin, is leading a four-year review of the plan that defines social, development and environmental parameters for the region.

A levy to build more affordable housing? That could be in the works. Ditto for using compost from the region’s scrap food recycling program to enrich agricultural land. Marine habitats? Those spots need protection. And climate action? It too, is on the table.

“We need to separate away what we can do and

what we would like to do,” Ranns said about the sustainability strategy that was until recently called the regional growth strategy.

Deciding what to include in the RSS began four years ago with public forums, discussions, and many presentations, but a first draft is still about six months from being presented to the CRD board.

The 12-person committee overseeing the review has sent staff back to the drawing board twice already, asking it to reduce the scope of the RSS. “Most of the new RSS – and this is what’s causing the problem – when you’re dealing with climate change and smart growth issues, first of all it’s outside our mandate to do anything about it as a region. The second problem is that it (the draft strategy) is too loosey-goosey.”

As it stands in draft form the strategy has two

components.

“One is the sustainability strategy which is a nice, happy plan we hope municipalities buy into,” Ranns says. “But it can’t be airy fairy.”

The second part is the meat of the document: what changes the CRD can actually effect. “It has to have substance, has to be solid,” Ranns said.

Whether it’s controlling deer, supporting farm-gate sales, or converting landfill gases to fuel, the resulting plan has to be readable, Ranns said.

“When you’re sitting (in a planning committee meeting) so pressed for time and you get a paper package that’s as thick as a brick and a good portion of that is in technical language, it’s impossible to deal with.”

A first draft of the CRD’s sustainability strategy plan is expected by September.

education

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

R KI

E TH

R

WO

NG TOGE

B46 ✒✒✒✒✒✒✒✒✒✒✒✒✒

by Natalie North / Saanich News

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B46

EDUCATION

BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION – Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Schools learn by working together UVic, Camosun and Royal Roads offer complementary experiences NATALIE NORTH SAANICH NEWS

T

he hedges and water features within the walled garden at Royal Roads represent more than hard work and history. They reflect a 14-year-long collaboration between Camosun College and Royal Roads University, a collaboration that has seen the college’s horticulture students build the university’s vegetable, droughttolerant and hedged gardens, as well as perennial borders, turf and greenhouses.

The horticultural work is one of the longer-standing and more visible ways post-secondary institutions in Greater Victoria are combining forces now more than ever.

“It was just a good combination with Camosun horticulture because we were able to use the existing garden and bring it up to the rest of Royal Roads’ standards,” said Dale Toronitz, Camosun College horticulture instructor.

“We benefit in an educational and garden point of view, and they benefit from a garden and maintenance point of view.”

While the gardening agreement is simple – horticulture work is provided in exchange for classroom space at Royal Roads – more complex strategic planning is happening at a higher level between post-secondary institutions in Greater Victoria.

“There’s an interest now in the province in tighter economic times to ensure we’re all using our resources as best we can, working together co-operatively instead of competitively,” said Catherine Mateer, associate vice-president for academic planning at the University of Victoria.

Don Denton/News staff

Camosun College horticulture student Nick Adair builds a rock wall outside one of the greenhouses on the Royal Roads University campus. Post-secondary institutions in Greater Victoria are collaborating and co-operating with each other more than ever.

Vice presidents meet regularly to discuss in-progress partnerships, such as biomedical and civil engineering programs bridging students from Camosun to UVic, and an upcoming streamlined, simultaneous-admission process for the nursing degree.

Existing partnerships between UVic and Camosun include the areas of counselling services, health and human services, international students, sport and exercise education, aboriginal education and business.

Student recruitment is also being approached jointly as recruiters for UVic and Camosun often distribute materials bearing both institution names.

“That certainly doesn’t mean

we have to approve one another’s decisions, but Victoria’s our community and we don’t want to waste resources with head-to-head competition,” said Camosun College associate vice-president John Boraas.

“We see more and more students from UVic are coming back to Camosun after completing degrees to get specific applied skills and university transfer students here who are moving on to UVic to complete their degrees. It’s a beautiful match for the most part.”

Although transfer agreements between Camosun and Royal Roads haven’t been formalized in the same way as those between Camosun and UVic, Royal Roads has a similar mandate toward building on the

strengths of the college’s existing programming.

Royal Roads’ communications degrees recognize the technical training Camosun applied communications grads come equipped with and forego supplying the same equipment on-campus.

“Royal Roads took the approach not to replicate the same resources available to applied communications students at Camosun and rather to build in the next steps,” said Jennifer Walinga, director of the school of communication and culture and division of education studies.

“They already have the fundamentals and the resources. We wouldn’t want to get into that business because it doesn’t make sense.”

Innovation in teaching and learning into the future

T

echnology has been a game changer in the field of education throughout a variety of learning settings ranging from kindergarten to Grade 12 to

EXPERT OPINION VALERIE IRVINE

adult.

We are noticing an evolution of K-12 education as school districts have started to lift bans on mobile devices in schools and instead embrace them, even buying sets of mobile devices like iPads and iPods.

We are seeing connected learning happen like never before with social media starting to drive a wedge into the abyss that used to keep teachers as silos and students isolated from their peers globally.

New learning applications are available for download and new learning designs like the flipped classroom are gaining ground.

All these developments combined with the drive for personalized learning, part of the 21st century learning movement, will no doubt be making major changes in how our children learn at school.

The intended result is deeper learning and an emphasis on pursuit of learning flow, not to mention the expected impact on student engagement.

Now the road will most certainly be bumpy as new findings are discovered on what is a good change and what is not, but students will most certainly be entering the workplace and post-secondary institutions with different tools in their toolbox … and this is a good thing.

This evolution is also taking place in the post-secondary classroom as instructors and learners are beginning to explore and use the same tools and approaches albeit with more freedom given the adult status of learners.

The hierarchy of learning is now flattened through the use of social media and networked learning. It is allowing learners of all ages to learn from anyone anywhere which some argue is making less of a need for traditional courses.

Geographic and economic characteristics

of learners are becoming less of an issue with open education (which does not require official enrollment to join a course) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) like Change11, Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence course with 80,000 enrolled, and those at MIT are changing the landscape for all.

We are continually exploring these and other issues in learning settings at the University of Victoria’s Technology Integration and Evaluation Research Lab, which was funded in part by the Canada Foundation for Innovation. You can find us at http://tie.uvic.ca . Please feel free to make contact.

■ Dr. Valerie Irvine is professor of educational technology and co-director of the Technology Integration and Evaluation Research Lab, Faculty of Education, at the University of Victoria. You can find Valerie on twitter at http://twitter.com/@_valeriei and her blog is at http://edtech.uvic.ca/virvine.

EDUCATION

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – BLACK PRESS PROGRESS EDITION

Innovation in the face of cutbacks

UVic’s Kristi Simpson, stands inside the main boiler plant inside the Engineering wing on the university campus. The school is looking at its energy master plan, as well as individual buildings, to ensure everything is running as efficiently as it can.

KYLE SLAVIN SAANICH NEWS

T

he University of Victoria isn’t looking to grow. In fact, as little new money comes in, the post-secondary institution constantly needs to cut costs to sustain student, faculty and administration levels.

How to do this, without impacting the school’s raison d’être, is the challenge facing Kristi Simpson every day.

“We always want to protect the quality of the learning environment,” said the associate vicepresident of financial planning and operations. “So when we’re looking at trying to maintain costs, we’re looking at how can we maintain educational services by reducing administrative and service costs?”

As with many home- and business-owners, one of the first focuses is on energy savings. Investing a little more on green technologies up front can save money on utility bills in the long run.

The school is looking at its energy master plan, as well as individual buildings, to ensure everything is running as efficiently as it can.

Over the 2011 winter break, when the campus was essentially void of people, the university shut off the heat in all of its buildings. “(Energy efficiency has) been a priority for a long

Panache

B47

Don Denton/News staff

time, but it really became a focus for us the last two years, partly because of rising costs, but also because of the fiscal environment,” Simpson said.

Grants to the university from the provincial government are not expected to increase for at least two years. However, as labour costs increase with the rising cost of living, the school requires a little more money every year.

As such, Simpson has to make cuts to fund that 1.5 per cent annual boost to the school’s overall operating budget. Usually, she’s able to find the money by not filling vacant positions or other methods that don’t affect anyone’s employment directly.

Roughly one-third of the school’s budget comes from tuition, Simpson said holding student numbers steady provides some budgetary stability. If numbers were dropping and enrolment targets weren’t being met, it would impact the budget. Obviously a drop in

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tuition revenue would affect the budget.

The school is also finding money by replacing administrative systems – finding inefficiencies in such places as the finance department and leveraging technology.

The school’s ongoing “improved procurement” policy is doing wonders to cut costs, Simpson said.

“We’re looking across the campus to say ‘where are ways we can improve the overall costs of purchasing plumbing supplies or courier services?’” she said.

Newly signed contracts with FedEx and Total Delivery Services for sending packages is expected to save the university almost $250,000 this year.

“We estimate that total savings for the year could be closer to $800,000, because we also will get these discounts on inbound shipments,” Simpson said.

“We look at these (cost-cutting) opportunities as a need to move forward. It isn’t just because of budget prompts, sometimes it’s the right thing to do.”

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Supreme Multivitamin 50+

AdrenalStart

Daily multi vitamin and mineral supplement with Co Q10 to support cardiovascular health.

The stimulant-free solution to increase your energy levels Tired of being tried all the time? Are coffee and energy drinks your main source of energy? Do you feel overwhelmed by work? Are you unable to cope with the demands of family and friends? Does your energy crash in the afternoon? Are you plagued by cycles of unexplained low energy?

• Enhanced energy, performance, endurance and vitality • Strengthens adrenal, immune and cardiovascular $ response to stress • Over 3200mg of concentrated herbal extracts in a 120 Capsules daily serving

High potency combination of vitamins, minerals, nutrients and antioxidants specially formulated for men and women 50+ years of age. Co Q10 is a powerful antioxidant that supports energy production, muscle and heart strength. Increased zinc for immune support because it is often low in older adults. A high dose of vitamin D3 to support bone and muscle strength. Full complex B vitamins to support brain function, nervous system, and cardiovascular health. Extra vitaminn B12 in the active form to support nerve health and red blood cell formation. Ester-C®, a type of antioxidant vitamin C, is $ 98 less acidic and lasts up to 24 hours in the white blood cells.

Increased magnesium because older adults are at greater risk 120 Capsules for deficiency. Vanadium helps support healthy blood sugar and insulin levels. Lutein is important to eye and vision health.

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Heartfelt Living Himalayan Salt

Holy Basil

A GREAT REDISCOVERY OF OUR TIME FOR A HEALTHY, ENERGETIC LIFE Himalayan Crystal Salt is a superior form of salt containing the most easily assimilated forms of minerals and trace elements required by the body. It is created when the sun dries sea water and the earth’s pressure over the millenia turns it into large crystals. The higher the pressure, the moree perfect the crystalline structure. Mined from deep within the earth, it has never been exposed to pollution. Himalayan % Crystal Salt, with its wealth of minerals and trace Entire Line elements, has been valued through the ages for its health benefits. SALT IS AS ESSENTIAL FOR THE BODY AS WATER. WE CANNOT SURVIVE WITHOUT EITHER SALT OR WATER.

Fermented Holy Basil by Botanica • Revitalizing Tonic • Helps control mood swings • Raw and unpasteurized • Supports a healthy intestinal tract • Beneficial Bacteria • Enzymes

20% OFF

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250 ml

GH Freak/Ripped Freak/Creatine Freak

The World’s Most Scientifically Advanced Protein Matrix!

Ripped Freak Hybrid fat burner - 3 fat loss formulas in one! e!

GH Freak The world’s most clinically- Proven Growth Hormone Stimulator!

15% OFF Entire Line

Creatine Freak ated!

The world’s strongest Creatine Pill Ever Created!

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Mutant Mutant products are scientifically designed to stimulate muscle growth, enhance strength, and speed up recovery! In fact, every single aspect of all Mutant products have been researched and tested to ensure maximum effectiveness.

Mutant products deliver the perfect combination of protein and other anabolic nutrients you need for the best results possible! Both Mutant Mass and Mutant Pro feature a cutting-edge Multi-Staged 10 Protein Matrix. This unique protein matrix supplies the body with 10 complete protein sources, which provides an immediate and long-lasting increase in % protein synthesis! When you combine the powerful protein matrix with the other key anabolic nutrients found in the Entire Line Mutant products, you have the ultimate formulas for rapid gains in muscle, strength and recovery.

Prices in effect May 1st - May 30th, 2012

While quantities last

20% OFF

101-300 Gorge Road West • 250.590.5524 • www.myhealthessentials.ca (Next to Il Greco Restaurant) For updates on upcoming seminars and in-store specials, follow us on facebook.

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