Business in Calgary - April 2019

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Volume 29 | Number 4

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Breaking the Cycle of Addiction

By Brad Field

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Taxes and the Alberta Election

By Frank Atkins

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Calgary Chamber of Commerce

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Decision Time Brad Wall on the Electoral Choices Albertans and Canadians Will Make this Year

By Melanie Darbyshire

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The Calgary Report Current developments for Calgary Telus Convention Centre, Tourism Calgary, Calgary Economic Development, and Innovate Calgary

Marketing Matters

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THIS MONTH’S FEATURES

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CONTENTS COMPANY PROFILES

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evved Up for Calgary R Auto Show 2019 edition to feature more than 250 vehicles, including $3.5-million supercar

By Jamie Zachary

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Village Honda

Celebrates 30 Years

Focus on the People Managing mental health disability claims

By Erlynn Gococo

Generation Gapping Recreational Properties Boomers and millennials drive the market

By Colleen Wallace

Sunik Roofing

Celebrates 30 Years

Matrix Video Communications

53

Celebrates 25 Years

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Nexus Exhibits

Celebrates 40 Years

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It’s Getting Hot in Here Solar panels are heating up where we live and work in Calgary

By Danyael Halprin

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Going the Distance Downtown office sector sparked by renewed sales activity

By Jamie Zachary

Eye on the Prize Maintaining vision for life

By Erlynn Gococo

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OUR VIEW, TOO.

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OF ENERGY

APRIL 2019

UNDERSTANDING ALBERTA’S ENERGY POSITION PETER TERTZAKIAN ON THE FORCES DISRUPTING THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

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It’s a Pivotal Year for Canadian Energy Policy

by Cody Battershill

Understanding Alberta’s Energy Position

by Melanie Darbyshire

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Fluor Canada Ltd. 70 Years of Safety,FEBRUARY Integrity, 2019 Teamwork and Excellence

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Some Really Good News About Alberta’s Oilsands

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Innovation, Do It Now, But Don’t Get Attached To It

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Cody Battershill | It’s a Pivotal Year for Canadian Energy Policy

IT’S A PIVOTAL YEAR FOR CANADIAN ENERGY POLICY

by Cody Battershill

G

iven the rallies, petitions, media interviews and editorials produced so far for 2019, we’re well into another intense, actionpacked year as we advocate for energy workers and our national prosperity. Our organization can’t afford to slow our progress toward making the economic stability of Canadian families and the competitiveness of Canadian resource industries top of mind.

and we work hard to fill it with credible data and verifiable fact.

We’re challenging Canadian activist groups and their non-Canadian dollars – and we’re holding them to account. We’re asking them why they oppose every Canadian pipeline while they fail to discuss other oil tankers on the West Coast or the oil Canada imports in the East from countries without carbon regulations.

You’ll see more Canada Action rallies like the ones recently in Lac La Biche, Moosomin and Kindersley with other cities across the country joining the cause. And you’ll be seeing more of our petitions and letter-writing campaigns on issues that matter to Canadians.

Make no mistake; we still face real headwinds.

Amid all the negative campaign rhetoric, we see Canadians working hard to keep their jobs and support their families, investors worrying about Canada’s competitiveness, and many First Nations leaders telling Ottawa that indigenous people rely on the energy economy to lift their communities out of poverty.

That means our work is even more vital. And while our economy continues to come under fire from the “Tar Sands Campaign” of U.S. and Canadian activist opponents, we think we’re in a pivotal year.

Since our genesis in 2010, we’ve taken up the challenge by addressing misinformation headon. We see a significant information vacuum,

It’s also worth repeating we’re focused on including the views of many indigenous communities in our vision, if only because they’ve told us again and again that full indigenous participation in the development of their resources is a key aspect of their future.

As a genuine grassroots organization built by volunteers, there’s even more you can do to help make our voices heard this year. Have you thought of hosting a rally, ordering a banner for your residence or workplace, or wrapping your vehicle in our pro-Canada message? Will you watch for future petitions on key issues affecting all of us or consider volunteering to write letters to your elected representatives locally, provincially and federally?

There’s so much to do, but with your help we’re B committed to getting it done together. OE

Cody Battershill is a Calgary realtor and founder/ spokesperson for CanadaAction.ca, a volunteer organization that supports Canadian energy development and the environmental, social and economic benefits that come with it.

5 • Business of Energy • April 2019

Melanie Darbyshire | Understanding Alberta’s Energy Position

UNDERSTANDING ALBERTA’S ENERGY POSITION PETER TERTZAKIAN ON THE FORCES DISRUPTING THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

by Melanie Darbyshire

D

isruption. Defined as disturbance or problems which interrupt an event, activity or process, today the word is used to describe the state of many industries. Major technological advancements, globalization and morphing societal preferences have intersected in various ways to disrupt – the retail, taxi and print news media industries are just a few notable examples.

Alberta’s oil and gas industry, too, is in a state of disruption. So says Peter Tertzakian, executive director at ARC Energy Research Institute. The well-known economist, investment strategist, author, podcaster and public speaker employs the “d” word purposively, noting this disruption is unlike anything we’ve seen.

“While disruption is not unique to oil and gas, it is quite acute in oil and gas because it’s so large – the largest industry in Canada,” he explains. “This is the most impactful disruption in a hundred years. And because it’s on such a large scale, and because the province’s economy depends heavily upon it, the impact is severe.”

Indeed, you don’t have to travel far from Tertzakian’s downtown Calgary office to feel the impact. A paucity of investment in the industry, high unemployment, empty office towers, a sagging real estate market, the flight of human capital to other markets, minimal drilling activity – the effects of the disruption are wide spread and

brutal and, Tertzakian says, rival if not surpass the turmoil experienced here in the 1980s.

It’s the forces behind the disruption, he explains, which are critical to understand. They number six: environmental, societal, government policy, geopolitics, economy and capital markets, and technology. “Those six forces are acting on the energy business, globally and in North America,” Tertzakian says. “Canada is experiencing acute forces of change from all of those forces that, in some ways, make it unique in the world of energy, particularly oil and gas.”

While they’ve existed for the last 10 years or so, within the last four the forces have come to a head. “Late last year, as the price differential widened and the various politics came into play, it became very chaotic to try to process things without any structure,” he says. “The impulse is to throw your hands up in frustration and anger, which is what’s happening.”

Rather, he counsels, we need to understand the forces behind the chaos to move the industry into the 2020s. “That’s what I’m trying to do.

And there is good news in terms of adaptation, though there’s frustration along the way too.”

So what will society in the 2020s expect of their energy? “Obviously they’ll want it cheap,” Tertzakian says. “And they’ll want it clean. Those are the two big dimensions. They’ll also want it

6 • Business of Energy • April 2019

Understanding Alberta’s Energy Position Photo by BOOKSTRUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY

7• Business of Energy • April 2019

Melanie Darbyshire | Understanding Alberta’s Energy Position

safe, reliable and available 24-7. While the latter three are almost a given in our society, cheap and clean have historically not gone together.”

The demand for clean energy – a notion, whether defined as low carbon or zero carbon, the oil and gas industry has done very little to facilitate debate around – and environmental sustainability will not abate into the next decade.

Climate change, he affirms, will remain the dominant narrative. “And there are sustainability issues relating to water and air quality too.

“The force of environment has historically been a major driver of change in the energy business, even going back a couple hundred years,” Tertzakian explains. “The realization has to set in – and it is setting in with the more progressive parts of the industry, globally and locally – that these environmental and societal forces are not going away.”

While he understands the inclination of many in the industry to get angry, he warns against a purely defensive posture. “Finger pointing at the government, saying ‘fix the problem’ leads to greater and greater polarization. I actually see it getting worse before it gets better.

“Let’s try and foster some kind of intelligent discussion and debate in the middle ground, rather than drive ourselves apart,” he urges.

“Because the forces of environment and society are in western democracies. They’re very difficult to overcome with denial and finger pointing, or anger and frustration.”

Societal forces within Canada include indigenous social issues. “It’s a very complicated social situation,” Tertzakian cautions. “There are many companies in the industry with a long, successful record of working with indigenous groups, and it’s been win-win. But often the good news doesn’t get out and the industry has a tendency to blame the media or others for that. But there really hasn’t been a concerted effort to get the good-news stories out.”

When societal forces intersect with environmental ones, they often trigger the

third force of change Tertzakian highlights: government policy. To understand this force, he explains, one must examine another force: technology.

“You can think of government policy [the National Energy Board and policies] as infrastructure,” he explains. “This infrastructure has evolved over the long history of our oil and gas industry and is tuned to the old paradigm of oil and gas extraction [vertical well conventional extraction]. Suddenly, in the last 10 years in Canada, we have two new paradigms of oil and gas extraction: the oilsands and horizontal extraction.”

Multistage horizontal fracturing unleashed a sudden surge in productivity unlike anything seen before in the 150-year history of oil. “It’s a massive unprecedented technological step change in the way oil and gas is liberated,” Tertzakian marvels. “All of a sudden, generally speaking, policies that were designed for the old way of doing things have to adapt to the new world.”

For example, Alberta’s royalty scheme needed overhaul and in 2015 the Alberta royalty review panel, which included Tertzakian, was struck. “It was a patchwork quilt of amendments to royalty schemes that was first introduced in 1937,” he says. “We started with a white sheet of paper to make it more in sync with new technologies and allow it to endure into the 2020s and beyond.”

The panel’s work was done in close collaboration with industry.

While the response to the royalty review was generally positive, other government policies have been less well received. Bill C-69, the federal government’s attempt to “update” the NEB framework by expanding the criteria (including gender and climate change commitments) for impact assessments of new infrastructure projects, has been met with fierce opposition in Alberta.

“The federal government is doing a really poor job of explaining what they’re doing,” Tertzakian admits. “They’ve done it without much

8 • Business of Energy • April 2019

consultation with industry, because societal and environmental forces are calling for the end of fossil fuels. It was supposed to take us to the future but wasn’t done in the proper way, and has caused further polarization.”

The tanker ban on the West Coast, federal Bill C-48, is worse. “I don’t support it.

There are all sorts of other tankers going in and out of all coasts of Canada. Why is that one special?” Tertzakian believes geopolitical, environmental and social forces lie behind the bill.

He notes Bill C-48 has yet to pass. “We’ll see what happens with the election, but if you want to reverse it, you have to start collaborating more and getting in the flow of communication in a proper way.”

That communication includes between provinces, particularly Alberta, Quebec and B.C. “We’re talking in an echo chamber here,” he laments. “How many people actually go out to Quebec, to B.C., to talk to people, address their issues face to face. A lot of this is just done within Alberta.”

Outside Canada, geopolitical forces have shifted, again because of technological advancements. “Technology is driving the cost of bringing a barrel of oil out of

9 • Business of Energy • April 2019

Understanding Alberta’s Energy Position

“

Outside Canada, geopolitical forces have shifted, again because of technological advancements.

“Technology is driving the cost of bringing a barrel of oil out of the ground way down,” Tertzakian explains. “It’s completely shifted the power base of the global oil industry complex from Saudi Arabia to North America, predominantly the U.S. supported by Canada.”

Melanie Darbyshire | Understanding Alberta’s Energy Position

“

The shift to the West means we’re less likely to see the volatility of the past. “The industry has historically thrived on volatility,” he says.

the ground way down,” Tertzakian explains.

“It’s completely shifted the power base of the global oil industry complex from Saudi Arabia to North America, predominantly the U.S. supported by Canada.”

The shift to the West means we’re less likely to see the volatility of the past. “The industry has historically thrived on volatility,” he says. “Now companies have to make a go of it without the expectation that prices are going to spike up.”

The relationship between Canada and the U.S. has changed too. Ten years since the shale gas revolution, the U.S. no longer needs Canada’s gas, after decades of needing more and more.

Moreover, while Canada still supplies the U.S. with the majority of its imported oil, the U.S. no longer needs certain types of Canadian oil.

Canadian heavy oil is still needed at Gulf Coast refineries, but delivery has been impeded with the delay of the Keystone XL pipeline.

“In the last few months, the realization has set in that we may not even get that pipeline,” Tertzakian cautions, “so now rail comes into play. I think it’s healthy and adds flexibility of transportation. If we can catalyze more rail as a permanent fixture of infrastructure for moving hydrocarbons, rather than being reliant on one modality – pipelines – that optionality is a good thing. Though it’s going to take another couple years to build it out.”

The prospects for other pipelines – including Trans Mountain – are dim. “Trans Mountain is going to be very difficult even though approved, because the resistance in Burnaby is so intense,” he says. “I still hold out some

hope for Keystone XL. The pipeline that made the most sense was Northern Gateway, though because of C-48 wouldn’t be possible. If C-48 doesn’t pass and there is enough indigenous support and industry collaboration, it could be revised after the election.”

Though investment has flown from Alberta’s oil and gas industry, Tertzakian predicts it will return as we work our way through healing these distortions. “The differentials have already stabilized with government intervention. Once intervention is no longer needed, which I believe will happen this year, and once investors feel comfortable things have stabilized and some of the other big issues have been worked through, investment will return. It will take a couple of years though.

“But there is good news,” he continues. “We have an industry that, as a consequence of these acute forces, has changed. Companies that progress through to the next era and generation will have high-quality, low-cost assets. The ability to generate profitability and deliver cleaner, lower-carbon intensity hydrocarbons into the 2020s puts us way ahead of a lot of other jurisdictions that have yet to go through these issues.

“Alberta has an abundance of energy resources – oil, gas, sun, wind – and we can produce them at one of the lowest costs in the world,” he concludes. “As we enter the 2020s, we’ll start to see more secondary industries which will help diversify our economy. You add to that technology, manufacturing and process-oriented industries, and we could have a fairly robust B economy in the 2020s.” OE

10 • Business of Energy • April 2019

BUILDING A CANADIAN LEGACY Fluor Canada Ltd: 70 Years of Safety, Integrity, Teamwork and Excellence

by Nikki Gouthro | Photos by Riverwood Photography

THE EARLY YEARS

While most things that began in 1949 have significantly slowed down or long since retired, the engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction and maintenance (EPFCM) company known as Fluor Canada Ltd. (Fluor) has done just the opposite. Celebrating its 70th year in business, the company has built a legacy and a reputation for successfully, ethically and safely completing capital projects.

Since its humble beginnings in Canada 70 years ago, Fluor has played a significant role in some of the country’s most impressive engineering projects. From refinery expansions, repairs and improvements to designing and building worldclass projects right here on Canadian soil – Fluor has been leaving a positive footprint on the Canadian marketplace for decades.

In 1973, the company moved its head office from Toronto to Calgary in an effort to better serve the growing oil and gas industry in Western Canada.

From that point in history, Fluor has continued to build its Canadian legacy by delivering a wide range of energy-related projects across the Canadian landscape.

THE DIFFERENCE

Today, Fluor provides innovative and integrated solutions to government and the private sector across diverse industries. Its approach is a full-service, holistic one that covers the work required from conceptualization to completion.

That work includes things like economic evaluations, conceptual engineering, feasibility studies, program management, detailed engineering, procurement, transportation and logistics, modularization, fabrication, direct-hire

Fluor Canada Ltd. | 70 Years

THE HUB FOR INNOVATION

As client needs and demands have evolved over Fluor’s 70 years in Canada, the company has been challenged to continually deliver new and efficient solutions that meet and/or exceed clients’ expectations. Time and again, this has meant becoming more innovative in familiar spaces.

As the company’s offering of integrated services has grown, Fluor has added things like drone technology and capabilities that give a bird’s-eye view of project sites and modular yards. It has implemented virtual reality technology that can be used for training purposes, and for project design (putting the user directly into a virtual plant or workspace to see how the pieces fit prior to delivery to the field for construction). There is even an internal business group called Business Transformation & Innovation (BT&I) which is tasked with constantly developing and enhancing Fluor’s innovative offering to the marketplace.

Mark Brown, vice president and general manager for Fluor Canada

construction, construction management, commissioning, start-up, operations and maintenance.

As one of the world’s largest EPFCM companies, a global execution platform provides Fluor with the reach and ability to pull resources and expertise from a wide array of execution centres around the world.

Mark Brown, vice president and general manager for Fluor Canada, started in construction engineering with Fluor two decades ago. “Fluor’s value proposition is that we bring the certainty of project delivery.

Backed up by our global expertise, we can tap into an enormous amount of capabilities and still keep it local,” he says.

That scope of expertise continues to grow as the company evolves. In 2016, Fluor welcomed Dutch maintenance and service company, Stork, to the Fluor family. Its new director of Canadian operations, Paul Holah, has been with Fluor for 29 years. “The diversity of skills we can tap into without going outside the company is unique. Being able to offer both engineering and construction means there’s continuity of project management tools and a single schedule across the project phases.”

With extensive experience in executing complex projects and its innovation capabilities in developing new processes with clients, the company consistently focuses on areas where it can share that added value.

The company’s commitment to innovation is not reserved solely for the field – it also resulted in a two-year multimillion-dollar renovation and optimization project in the Calgary office which not only increased occupant density, but also enhanced Fluor’s technological capabilities with the addition of model review rooms, tech tables, collaboration stations – even a centrally-located and dedicated innovation space called EPiCentre.

“Though Fluor’s primary office is in Calgary, we have people across the province and the country.

From petrochemical complexes here in Alberta, to power generation and the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Ontario,” says Brown. “We are advocates for transparency and ethics, for energy reform and the construction business. We provide innovative solutions and our clients trust us.”

THE CORE VALUES: SAFETY, INTEGRITY, TEAMWORK AND EXCELLENCE

Fluor’s core values are the base upon which all other corporate strategy is built.

Being the first of the company’s core values, Fluor prides itself on achieving and maintaining a pristine safety record. It is committed to developing a caring, preventive safety culture across the organization and drives the actions of every employee at every location, every day. In alignment with this, the company recently launched a movement called Safer Together which serves to unite and empower employees under a common pledge to work safer and to be hazard aware at all times – in the office, at site or otherwise.

That enduring commitment to safety operates in concert with other core values by which the company governs itself:

Fluor Canada Ltd. | 70 Years | 2

Mariki Mackenzie, manager of engineering, joined Fluor in South Africa in 1995. “Excellence to me is truly being the best I can be and it combines safety, teamwork and integrity,” she says. “We are committed to maximize the value we give to our clients.”

THE DIVERSITY OF SERVICES

“We have incredible resources, both locally and nationally/internationally,” says Adam MacKay, director of business development and a 17-year veteran at Fluor. “We are securing EPC project opportunities from across the country and executing from our Calgary talent pool and leadership.”

Mariki Mackenzie, manager of engineering for Fluor Canada

Fluor’s Canadian office provides cost-competitive solutions by leveraging local and global subject matter experts, innovative tools and data analytics.

“Fluor has a legacy of big projects,” says Brown.

“We are known as the people who can design and build large, complex projects anywhere in the world, but we can also help you build a greenhouse or develop a sustainability plan.”

Fluor Canada has a long-standing history of excellence in the areas of gas processing, upgrading, refining and utilities and offsites.

Over the years, the company has continued to expand its core competencies to include insitu, petrochemicals, LNG, pipelines and GHG emissions management.

David Mercer is director, process technology, and the go-to on Fluor Canada’s market literacy effort. He just celebrated 20 years with the company. “There’s a tremendous number of assets in the country in oil and gas, power, infrastructure and they have to be maintained,” he says. “Fluor operates in this space and has demonstrated our capability through our 20year strategic alliance with Irving Oil in Saint John, New Brunswick and our relationship with Enbridge in Edmonton.”

Charles Gibney, project operations leader (POL) for energy and chemicals in Canada and a 24-year employee of Fluor

Integrity – A promise to conduct business with the highest standards of ethics.

Teamwork – Treating all people with dignity and respect, as well as the sharing of knowledge and resources to achieve excellence, deliver value and grow (individually and as an organization).

Excellence – Striving to deliver quality solutions that not only meet/exceed the needs of clients, but deliver unparalleled value.

Deepening the diversity of services at Fluor is a dedicated multi-project group that delivers solutions designed for clients with sustaining capital needs.

“Our multi-projects group allows us to be flexible and nimble. We can execute a small EPC project, or we can take on a complex engineering study, or develop an economic model for a facility to help a client assess project viability,” says Charles Gibney, project operations leader (POL) for energy and chemicals in Canada and a 24-year employee of Fluor. “The beauty of it is that we can do all these things with just the right mix of specialized resources. And we can be pretty competitive in that space.”

In 2018, Fluor Canada executed 240 sustaining capital projects for 15 different clients.

Fluor Canada Ltd. | 70 Years | 3

“We have a unified focus at Fluor. People are looking out for what’s good for the company – Fluor first and the business line second,” says Holah. “Our employees care about doing the right thing for the client and we are known for that.”

Further to that, the company’s management team is known to lead by example and exemplify the core values of safety, integrity, teamwork and excellence.

“I’ve always believed that one of the most important skills of a good leader is being a good listener, as it affects every element of your team’s productivity. Understand team members’ motivations and feelings,” says Mercer. “And always remember to focus on solutions, not problems.”

THE FUTURE

With exciting Canadian opportunities on the horizon, all signs point to a continued legacy of exciting projects and innovative solution delivery at Fluor.

David Mercer is director, process technology for Fluor Canada

THE CULTURE

The culture is driven largely by the core values.

It’s one of safety, compliance and integrity; a positive working environment in which people are treated with dignity and respect. Professionals of all ages, from new grad to the most seasoned, can be found collaborating on the task floor or participating in any one of the company’s familyfriendly social events.

“There’s a liveliness and diversity to our people – diversity of thoughts, of backgrounds, of culture.

It creates this energy that is truly palpable,” says Brown. “We provide careers, challenges and excitement and we empower our people to achieve great things.”

The values define how employees do their work, which fosters a cohesive and supportive environment where superior integrated solutions are born.

“I’m proud of the diversification of our business, and I’m excited to be a team member here in Calgary,” says MacKay. “We have incredible resources here and a wealth of technical expertise.”

“As we go into new spaces, like the nuclear work or the LNG work that we’ve been engaged in, we know we have that experience we can tap into anywhere in the world and still execute the project with Calgary people,” says Gibney. “And our history, capability and personal and corporate resumés say, ‘we know what we’re doing here, and we will execute well.’”

“The Calgary office is diverse, dynamic, vibrant and a hub for innovation. We are challenging boundaries to come up with better solutions and to expand our offerings,” says Mackenzie. “The office has a buzz and the passion is obvious. By bringing in and developing top talent, we are continuing to build our legacy.”

www.fluor.com Fluor Canada Ltd. | 70 Years | 4

David Yager | Some Really Good News About Alberta’s Oilsands

SOME REALLY GOOD NEWS ABOUT ALBERTA’S OILSANDS

“

by David Yager

T

here cannot be another resource that has created so much wealth and opportunity while generating so much dissent, controversy and regional polarization as Alberta’s massive Athabasca oilsands, the world’s third-largest oil deposit.

Former premier Ralph Klein once called Alberta’s oilsands the “eighth wonder of the world.” This massive crude deposit helped make Canada the planet’s fifth-largest oil and gas producer while providing Canadians with enormous economic benefits.

Meanwhile, critics have surely used every possible combination of derogatory nouns and adjectives in the English language to describe the oilsands.

The discussion is patently absurd. Powered by fossil fuels and moral self-righteousness, famous people like Neil Young, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jane Fonda have travelled to Fort McMurray to trash everything in sight then leave behind a lasting legacy of disparaging quotes and dire predictions for the Earth’s future. All this was done with private jets and a carbon footprint equivalent to the lifetime emissions of billions of the world’s poorest people.

For Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, sacrificing Alberta oil jobs attracts votes in Quebec.

Cancel pipelines. Ban tankers. Gut the NEB.

Meanwhile, critics have surely used every possible combination of derogatory nouns and adjectives in the English language to describe the oilsands.

Tax carbon. These are all part of “phasing out of the oilsands” which has been underway since the last election. Oilsands jobs are clearly expendable.

Quebec jobs are different, like the ones at risk if the Liberals don’t protect SNC-Lavalin. Recent events have proven the Liberals will do whatever it takes to protect certain segments of the economy, but only where people vote appropriately.

15 • Business of Energy • April 2019

David Yager | Some Really Good News About Alberta’s Oilsands

A study by the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) indicated that in 2014 and 2015 – which were still strong years for investment – the “oilsands supply chain” did business with 3,400 companies across the country spending $738 million in B.C., $462 million in Saskatchewan, $1.57 billion in Ontario, $385 million in Quebec, and $145 million in the four Maritime provinces. More recently CAPP stated, “In 2017, the oilsands supported and created more than 205,000 direct and indirect jobs across Canada.”

SNC-Lavalin’s website reported on January 8, 2018 the company had 8,762 Canadian employees. Don’t chew your arm off.

Capital expenditures in the oilsands are down but keeping the oil flowing is big business. ARC Energy Research Institute reported on February 26, 2019 that capital spending in the oilsands was $12.5 billion in 2018 and estimated at $12 billion for 2019. That’s only $2 billion less than the provincial budget for Saskatchewan.

Oilsands production continues to grow. It reached three million barrels per day in 2018 and will stay there for 2019. This is more than double that of 2010. According to CAPP, oilsands operating costs alone in 2017 (the last year for which figures are available) were $18.6 billion.

That’s big money in Canada. If oilsands operating costs were a company, it would be about the 20th largest in the country.

SNC-Lavalin is, by comparison, insignificant.

According to its financial statements for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, SNCLavalin’s Canadian revenue was $2.1 billion.

Annualized this would be $2.8 billion – about the same as capital investment and operating costs for the oilsands in 1996, 23 years ago.

While the challenges are understood and the debate is frustrating, one very positive aspect of the oilsands that gets no publicity is the increase in future provincial royalty income as more of the existing projects reach payout after capital recovery.

The oilsands have a two-phase royalty regime.

When production starts the royalty is about five per cent. But after costs have been recovered, it jumps to 25 per cent. So long as things don’t get worse or nobody stops producing, future

revenue for the provincial treasury and Alberta’s public services looks promising.

For the full year 2017 (last figures available), the Alberta government reported the status of 119 oilsands operations of which 107 produced one billion barrels of bitumen. This averaged 2.75 million barrels per day (b/d). The royalty rate is stated on a project basis. Only 35 of the 107 on production paid the higher royalty rate, reported in most cases as 27.41 per cent. The numbers read that only 36.7 per cent of the production paid full royalties in 2017, about one million b/d.

Many of these projects are relatively new. When they all reach payout, total bitumen royalties collected by the Crown should more than double, depending on the oil price of course.

The data reports total royalties for 2017 of $2.48 billion. If all projects paid the full rate, this would be closer to $6 billion, a handsome lift for Alberta’s treasury.

While lower oil prices will extend the time to capital recovery and full royalties, tough times have forced laser focus on operating costs.

According to CAPP, the average production cost per barrel in 2014 was $31. By 2017, this was down to $19 – $12 or 39 per cent lower.

This will contribute significantly to the longterm viability of investment and shorten the time to project payout.

It gets better. Shale oil, the flavour of the day, has high decline rates requiring continual investment. Oilsands reserves are so enormous the decline rate is low or flat. Many projects will produce as much oil in 10 years as today.

CAPP forecast in mid-2018 that based on planned investments, production could rise by another 1.4 million barrels per day by 2035.

Teck Resources is pursuing a major new mining operation between Fort McMurray and Fort Chipewyan. Called Frontier, this will cost $20.8 billion and will add up to 260,000 barrels a day for 41 years after production begins in 2026.

Imperial Oil is considering another 150,000 b/d project called Aspen.

All this production growth needs is pipelines.

Fortunately, they’re not all dead yet.

Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement is intended to ship an additional 370,000 b/d sometime this year.

16 • Business of Energy • April 2019

On February 22, the National Energy Board re-approved Trans Mountain, although resumption of construction will again require federal cabinet approval. Whether this occurs prior to the October 2019 federal election is an open question considering the SNC-Lavalin debacle. Its capacity is an incremental 500,000 b/d.

Keystone XL is still alive despite the interference of an activist Montana federal judge. It will carry 830,000 barrels daily if it is ever completed.

The point is that forecast oilsands production growth is still being accompanied by enough pipe to underpin expansion’s economic viability.

The reason Albertans should be at least somewhat optimistic about the future of the oilsands is if the private sector is left alone, in the next 10 years oilsands production could be 50 per cent higher than today and provincial royalties will be much greater than current levels.

On February 27, Alberta’s NDP government issued an update for the 2018/19 fiscal year ended March 31. The government stated the forecast deficit has been reduced to $6.9 billion from $8.8 billion, the earlier estimate, despite the softness in crude prices in the fourth quarter of 2018. The main source of funds was higher-thanplanned bitumen royalties because of higher prices and lower differentials for most of the year.

That’s it for good news. Total financial liabilities on the province’s balance sheet are now estimated at $105 billion on March 31, resulting in net financial assets of -$28

17 • Business of Energy • April 2019

Some Really Good News About Alberta’s Oilsands

“

The reason Albertans should be at least somewhat optimistic about the future of the oilsands is if the private sector is left alone, in the next 10 years oilsands production could be 50 per cent higher than today and provincial royalties will be much greater than current levels.

David Yager | Some Really Good News About Alberta’s Oilsands

billion (after deducting $77 billion in assets including the Heritage Fund). When the NDP took office in May of 2015, Alberta closed the 2014/15 fiscal year with net financial assets of +$13 billion. Under the NDP, the province’s balance sheet has seen a $41 billion decline. The government borrowed $15 billion in the past year.

Regardless, the government assures Albertans the province will be deficit free by 2023/24, five years from now.

Brian Jean knows all about the oilsands. He is an entrepreneur and native son from Fort McMurray who spent 10 years in Ottawa as a Conservative MP, three years in Edmonton as a Wildrose MLA, and was the leader of the Wildrose Party of Alberta from 2015 until it disappeared through a merger with Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party in 2017.

An unabashed oilsands supporter, Jean offers the following comment on “black gold” and Alberta’s finances. “I have so much confidence

in the oilsands because there’s nothing else on God’s green earth that will get us out of this financial mess.”

If Alberta could figure out how to cut spending by even a modest amount; if oil prices stay high; if all the new oil pipelines on the table were built so the province’s oilsands could fetch something near the world price; if the planned expansion projects proceed; if LNG exports could pull natural gas prices out of the dumpster; then the hydrocarbon resources that have paid the freight for Alberta since Leduc could work their monetary magic one more time.

That’s a pile of “ifs.” But incredible as it may seem, the light at the end of Alberta’s economic tunnel may not be a train. It is, however, a very B long tunnel! OE

David Yager is an oil gas writer and energy policy analyst. His first book, From Miracle to Menace – Alberta, A Carbon Story, will be released in 2019.

18 • Business of Energy • April 2019

Chuck Bean | Innovation, Do It Now, But Don’t Get Attached To It

INNOVATION, DO IT NOW, BUT DON’T GET ATTACHED TO IT

by Chuck Bean

C

algary and Alberta have been leading global innovators for decades. There is not an oil-producing region worldwide that isn’t benefiting from some innovation that was developed in the skunkworks and sandboxes of Alberta. We still own this space and should be thinking globally. Opportunities outside of Canada abound and are potentially 20 times greater than we have here at home.

Let me sidestep for a moment.

I just returned from my third year of participation at the World Strategy and Innovation Forum in the U.K. Attended over the years by C-suiters from Google, Twitter, BP and this year British Gas, Universal Pictures, Credit Karma, The Economist and YouTube, these strategists take innovation very seriously.

In Fortune 500 corporations, innovation and strategy have a chair at the boardroom table.

The title “chief innovation officer” is everywhere.

Rather than hoping for or stumbling into innovation, these players see innovation and strategy as profit centres and focus on both game-changing and incremental innovation as an ongoing business function.

Our oil and gas space requires regular innovation to stay relevant and world class, and one thing I

have learned over the years is that if you want to improve your position, start innovating.

A pioneer is someone face down in the dirt with his back full of footprints.

Inventing from scratch is difficult beyond belief.

Marc Emmer, author and strategic thought leader, wrote recently that 95 per cent of the 30,000 new products introduced every year fail. I would add the reason is twofold. First the invention is just too difficult to bring to market from scratch and, more commonly, the idea is a solution looking for a problem, rather than a true solution. This is a defining challenge.

To be clear, inventing is not innovating.

Most failed products are inventions. Innovation on the other hand is taking already available offerings and recreating them to be better. This is the description of a game-changer. Want to create a game-changer, you need a game first.

The best place to find your game is to look out in your market space and see what is trending.

Stay close to home and start with what you know. Take your target, break it down and rebuild it with new innovations. This is the perfect strategy. Inventors often get stuck in a rut while an innovator surpasses them. It’s like

20 • Business of Energy • April 2019

owning a stock all the way to the bottom. The inventor invests and can’t let go. The innovator has no investment and can change on the fly.

If your chosen path is to be an innovator, agree to keep going. When you have your new concept proven, immediately start anew. Version 2, 3 and 4 can stay in the locker until you need them; but get them. Feeling comfortable about your current state? That is a perfect time to get moving on the next version. Remember: if you have a good idea, don’t think in terms of “if” people will copy you, think in terms of “when.”

When should you release the next version?

When either the hype stops, the price drops or the growth stalls … or a combination of all three. Don’t get attached to it. It is yesterday’s news. But also, don’t release the next version too soon. If you are not seeing hype stall, price drop or growth interruptions, stay put. The oil and gas industry is notoriously bad at releasing new versions too early, often letting out new products well before the old ones have hit their prime. This creates excess inventory, price drops and waste. The rule of inventory is to respect capital.

If you can’t think of anything to innovate with a trending product or service then time is up. Get out and move on to the next project. Remember, don’t invest too much.

Finally, get the word out. If you have something disruptive, start disrupting. Think in these terms: if you have IP, you have five years. No IP, you have two or maybe three before you get copied or leapfrogged. Move fast! As Clayton M. Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, states, “Disruptive technology should be framed as a marketing challenge, not a technological one.”

We all know the rate of change in our oil and gas space is remarkable these days.

B Get in, get going and get out are wise words. OE

21 • Business of Energy • April 2019

Innovation, Do It Now, But Don’t Get Attached To It

“

Feeling comfortable about your current state? That is a perfect time to get moving on the next version.

Remember: if you have a good idea, don’t think in terms of “if” people will copy you, think in terms of “when.”

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BREAKING THE CYCLE OF ADDICTION // BRAD FIELD

Breaking the Cycle of Addiction

BY BRAD FIELD

M

y wife, Sheryl, and I were downtown recently for a dinner. A light-hearted evening out became an opportunity to reflect on the toll addiction takes on our city. Up and down the block, I saw men and women old beyond their years because they were in the grips of that terrible disease.

It was equal parts heartbreaking and frustrating – heartbreaking because each person is someone’s son or daughter, a person with dreams and aspirations, and frustrating because our social and health-care systems are so clearly failing these people.

My views on addiction have evolved over the years. I used to think addicts could turn their lives around through willpower alone. That if they just tried harder, they could break free from the destructive cycle. I have learned the desire to recover must be backed by the necessary supports to empower people to reclaim their lives.

Nearly three years ago, I became involved with the Terminator Foundation, an organization that works with youth who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

Started by Vanisha Breault, the foundation takes a novel approach to battling addiction: transforming lives through the sport of triathlon. Youth learn to trade a destructive addiction for a healthy one.

The Terminator Foundation is personal for Vanisha. A single mother of four and in long-term recovery herself, she tried for years to get help for her own daughter, Eden.

Eden’s life was slowly being eaten away by an addiction to heroin and fentanyl. Homeless and destitute, her future looked bleak. As Eden says, “My plan was just to use until I

overdosed.” Thankfully, she didn’t. She went into recovery, has been substance-free for more than two years and is now a mother herself.

During my time on the board, I’ve seen similar powerful transformations – young people who had previously given up on life, and who have gone on to achieve things they never thought possible. I count Vanisha as a good friend. I’ve learned so much about this heartbreaking issue from her, including the gaps in our social and health-care systems and the unrelenting stigma surrounding addiction and mental health. This problem affects all of us in some way and every business in the city. We need to pull together to do better as a community.

In the debate over safe injection sites, it feels like ideology is creeping into the addictions issue. I support safe injection sites because they reduce potential harm to vulnerable people. But I wonder whether we have shifted resources too far towards harm reduction, at the expense of treatment for metal health and addiction in hospitals and recovery programs. Let’s agree that better balance is needed.

There are amazing organizations doing admirable work in Calgary. They do miracles with the resources they have; coordinating with similar organizations is challenging when the current system necessitates competition for funds instead of collaboration. I’m not suggesting there is a simple solution. But we need a more collaborative approach, one that brings together government, addiction experts and private sector agencies. Coming together with open minds and compassion is what Calgary needs now.

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

9

TAXES AND THE ALBERTA ELECTION // FRANK ATKINS

Taxes and the Alberta Election

BY FRANK ATKINS

T

raditionally, Canadian elections degenerate into a sort of a silly season, when the major parties start handing out goodies in order to buy votes. It is not just the parties that are to blame. It appears this strategy must work, or it would not be continued. Canadians seem to be willing to be bought with their own money. I was recently reminded of an old saying, which seems applicable here: if the mouse actually understood the true nature of “free” cheese, it would never get caught in the trap. So, to state what should be obvious: there is no such thing as government money; any money the government has control over comes from taxpayers.

Given the above, I was somewhat presently surprised by the United Conservative Party (UCP) tax platform for this election. It must have been very tempting for the UCP to look at the personal tax increases implemented by the Notley government over the last four years and simply say “we will roll them all back.” Instead the UCP is saying that government finances are in such a mess with huge deficits and debt, that lowering personal taxes will have to wait until balanced budgets are restored. Even then, the UCP is not promising a return to the 10 per cent flat tax. Rather, once fiscal sanity is restored, the UCP is promising to appoint a Tax Reform Commission to seek a tax policy which is pro-growth.

This tax policy is based on the simple idea that, if a government can set a policy environment which helps the private sector create jobs, this will be good for the economy, and also good for government finances. So, if the government has no room to manoeuvre on personal taxes, how can the tax system be used immediately to set a progrowth policy environment? The answer here is the UCP is proposing to kill some other taxes the Notley government has either introduced or meddled with during the last four

THE UCP IS ALSO ADVOCATING ANOTHER PRO-GROWTH TAX POLICY IN THIS CAMPAIGN BY PROMISING TO KILL THE CARBON TAX, IF ELECTED. QUITE FRANKLY, ANY ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS COMING OUT OF A CARBON TAX ARE OUTWEIGHED BY THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON THE ECONOMY CAUSED BY THIS TAX. years. In early March, Jason Kenney announced that, if elected, the UCP would lower the corporate tax rate from 12 per cent to eight per cent over the next four years. There is much literature on the economic effects of lowering corporate tax rates. This move would be pro-growth and it would create jobs in Alberta.

The UCP is also advocating another pro-growth tax policy in this campaign by promising to kill the carbon tax, if elected.

Quite frankly, any environmental effects coming out of a carbon tax are outweighed by the negative effects on the economy caused by this tax. We are currently living this nightmare. Of course, the NDP, and all the other greenies, will argue the opposite. The problem here is that the left wing never sees a trade-off between economic growth and environmental policies.

It is quite refreshing to see a party that does not want to give out goodies during an election, but rather is taking a sane, sober look at the tax system and its impact on economic growth.

Frank Atkins is a Senior Fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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The Importance of Releases It used to be as simple as “getting the word out.” And then the Internet happened.

In today’s world, boosting a brand, mandated financial reporting and increasing online presence is essential.

Efficiently developing and wording the information and distributing effective releases to a wide range of business, financial and news outlets is vital.

The extraordinary business impact of technology – mobile options, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and limitless search possibilities – are invaluable for contemporary business but the warp speed presents challenges for companies and their communications professionals.

In today’s business, “releases” are not only an intricate and specialized necessity, but a contemporary art and science.

For most businesses, exposure, coverage and maintaining a digital presence is crucial. For others, it is legally required.

“Because publicly-traded companies are mandated and required to distribute and disseminate vital and timely shareholder and market information, there are strict legal standards, rules and requirements for the press releases to use a TSX-approved newswire service,” explains Pat Beechinor, business development manager of TheNewswire (TNW), the respected Calgary-based distributor and filing agency for hundreds of business clients – regionally, domestically and internationally.

TheNewswire has been creating and distributing releases for clients since 2004 and Beechinor is proud about a recent good-news development: TheNewswire has been approved with accreditation and is now just one of two Canadianowned newswire agencies permitted to provide the vital service. He points out the legalities, intricacies and the hoops that must be jumped through for the all-important accreditation to provide the invaluable (and required) business service.

“There are more than 800 publicly-traded companies based just in Calgary,” he says. “And accreditation is very difficult to

achieve. It took TheNewswire about 15 years of providing the specialized services and proving itself as a solid and reliable disseminator for the TSX Venture Exchange, Canadian Securities Exchange and OTC Markets.”

He explains with the warp-speed and state-of-the-art efficiency of technology, the business art and science of releases has not only been transformed but has become dramatically cost efficient for businesses. “Most public companies would like to put out a press release about every three weeks,” he says. “The cost factor used to be prohibitive.”

The release-preparing, newswire industry used to charge per word. There’s consensus that it was a financially punitive hold over from “the good old days” when news agencies literally rewrote news and transmitted endless announcements via telecopiers. And the companies paid for the time-consuming finger-work.

“It’s 2019 – nobody actually rewrites anything and telecopiers are long gone,” Beechinor points out.

“Unfortunately, many TSX issuers are still billed as if that is still the process for doing and disseminating releases.

TheNewswire’s accreditation could cause a major upheaval in the newswire industry, because TNW is the only newswire service that does not charge per word.

“Mostly because technology has redefined the mandated financial reporting and release process, TheNewswire’s rates are set and simple for unlimited press releases, unlimited words and unlimited press release frequency.”

ABOVE: PAT BEECHINOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER OF THENEWSWIRE

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

LEADERSHIP HAS A LASTING LEGACY.

Building community is something we love to do. West Campus Development Trust is proud to be awarding the first Legacy Leadership award at this year’s Business in Calgary Leadership Awards on June 26, 2019. The award will be presented to a deserving alumnus that has demonstrated a sustained impact on the fabric of our city.

To be a great leader and demonstrate business excellence with changing tides requires discipline, problem-solving ingenuity, generous community commitment, ambitious spirit that inspires and an unwavering desire to collaboratively move the needle. We hope you will join us to celebrate the leaders that make Calgary a great place for all of us.

wcdt.ca

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Fraser Institute to Present Founders’ Award to Al Monaco On Thursday, October 3, 2019, the Fraser Institute will honour Al Monaco, president and CEO of Enbridge Inc., with the institute’s highest honour – the Founders’ Award – at its annual tribute gala dinner. Presented each year to an individual in recognition of their exceptional entrepreneurial achievements, generous philanthropy and dedication to competitive markets, this year’s event will feature camaraderie, congratulations, celebration and some goodnatured fun.

“Mr. Monaco, or Al as he prefers, is perhaps the perfect choice to receive the Fraser Institute’s Founders’ Award this year,” says Andrew Judson, the event’s MC. “The recipients, across the country and over the years, personify the values and attributes of the Fraser Institute: the highest demonstration of integrity and excellence in the execution of their organization’s business plans, dedication to freemarket principles and a commitment to their community philanthropy through participation and leadership. It’s hard to imagine a more worthy recipient in Calgary in 2019 than Al.” Monaco was appointed president and chief executive officer and a director of Enbridge in 2012. Prior to his appointment, he served as the company’s president, gas pipelines, green energy and international. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the energy business including upstream oil and gas exploration, development and pipelines. Since joining Enbridge in 1995, he has held positions across the company’s energy infrastructure businesses including executive vice president, major projects and green energy, and as president, Enbridge gas distribution; senior vice president, corporate planning and development; and vice president, financial services and treasurer for Enbridge’s U.S.-based master limited partnership.

Monaco has an MBA (finance) from the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, holds a CPA, CMA designation and is a member of the Chartered Professional

Accountants of Alberta. He also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

“This year more than ever, it is crucial for the Alberta business community to recognize and honour those leaders at the forefront of our most pressing ongoing battle – getting Alberta’s resources to market,” Judson says. “Al has been a champion of the province’s resource sector for many years, and the company he leads so successfully is committed to building the pipeline infrastructure we need to improve prosperity for all Albertans – indeed all Canadians.

“The Fraser Institute’s tribute dinner is an opportunity for the Calgary business community, both the ‘downtown’ crowd and the bigger, broader ‘enterprise’ community we all depend on, to gather and acknowledge and celebrate the contributions made by a great Calgarian, Al Monaco, the great enterprise he leads, Enbridge, and the great pipeline and energy industries they engage in that support our prosperity and quality of life,” Judson says. “This is a leader, a company and industries to be proud of.”

Past Founders’ Award recipients include iconic Albertans such as Mac Van Wielingen, Fred Mannix, Ron Mannix, Nancy Southern, Clay Riddell, Hal Kvisle and Gwyn Morgan.

In 2016, the institute honoured Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall for his significant contributions to Western Canada.

ABOVE: AL MONACO, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF ENBRIDGE INC.

14

APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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The Gold Standard of Upside What does it take to be one of Canada’s Best Managed Gold Standard Companies? “Clear vision. Investment in capability. And commitment to talent.”

Calgary’s dynamic and respected Upside Engineering is a superb example of what it takes. Upside, the privately-held engineering firm with a full spectrum of engineering, design, procurement and project management services, was recently cited for excellence in business performance.

In its 26th year, Canada’s Best Managed Companies is one of the country’s leading business awards programs, recognizing Canadian-owned and managed companies for innovative, world-class business practices. The 2019 Best Managed program award winners are amongst the best-inclass of Canadian companies with revenues over $15 million.

Nominated companies are assessed by an independent judging panel comprised of representatives from program sponsors in addition to special guest judges.

Aside from the honour and the positive Canadian business feedback, Upside can now enjoy the bragging right of being a “Gold Standard” organization. It’s the sixth year the company has qualified.

Upside’s secret to success is relationships. “In this constantly changing environment, the key has been to maintain focus on our clients’ needs and the relationships we have built,” says the upbeat Chris Read, president of Upside Engineering. “Our intermediate size provides us with the ability to work with large companies on major projects, but the flexibility to modify our approach and adapt quickly to changing requirements.

“We have developed a reputation of being a respected and loyal partner to our clients in the energy sector,” he says with pride. “In fact, over 80 per cent of our clients are repeat customers who return to Upside because of their positive experiences.

“Our primary goal has always been to deliver high-quality engineering at best overall value to our clients, and we accomplish this by engaging and empowering exceptional individuals. We are fortunate,” he adds. “The Upside team is made up of some of the industry’s most talented and dedicated people. Their combination of experience, expertise and enthusiasm creates a unique work environment.”

As most Calgary-based business leaders, Read admits the economic speed bumps of the past few years have been a challenge. “When energy commodity prices started to drop in late 2014, the entire energy industry came under tremendous pressure to reduce cost and improve productivity. We, like many others, saw a decline in our business as a result of capital restraint in the energy sector.

“Through this difficult period, we maintained high levels of client satisfaction on existing project work, which has allowed us to navigate the difficult environment.”

With a positive outlook and much industry expertise, Read is cautiously optimistic about the Alberta, and Calgary, recovery.

“Through most of last year, we witnessed a steadying of the price in oil, which brought back a semblance of confidence to the energy companies that operate in Alberta.

“This stabilization may be a sign of a starting recovery, but I feel that there still is a great deal of uncertainty in the marketplace. I am not alone in saying that one of the biggest challenges we face, and must solve, is finding market diversity for our natural resources. I remain confident that we will continue to persevere as an economy.”

ABOVE: POUYAN BEHROUZI, KEVIN WIGGINTON, JIM ONTKO AND CHRIS READ.

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

WEBBER ACADEMY IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE APPOINTMENT OF

IRENE BESSE TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Irene has spent 60 years immersed in the world of music, expanding her love for music into many exciting journeys. As an entrepreneur, Irene has an Advance Business certification from the University of Calgary, leading her to start Irene Besse Keyboards– a one-of-a-kind music centre that included a retail piano store, music academy, and concert hall seating 325 people. e success of her store soon expanded into the global piano wholesale business. Calgary’s First Lady of Music just can’t leave the n supports her daughter, Nicole and son-in-law, Michael business and now at Michael Lipnicki Fine Pianos.

Irene is also known as a sports organist, playing for the Calgary Flames for over a decade and being the first live organist to play for the Olympics in 1988. Additionally, she had multiple performance opportunities with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra including acting as a guest conductor and performing a duet with Marvin Hamlisch. Irene has even performed on the Mighty Organ at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.

Notably, Irene is an active member of the community, participating on many boards including CPO, Calgary Civic Symphony, Better Business Bureau, Calgary Performing Arts Festival, Calgary International Organ Festival and is a founding member of the Honen’s Piano Competition. She played the carillon at the Calgary Tower for 14 years and has gifted many pianos to families and spaces, including a specially designed piano for the new Alberta Children’s Hospital, to carry on the passion for music.

LEARN MORE AT WEBBERACADEMY.CA

SOLAR PANELS ARE HEATING UP // ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE

SOLAR PANELS ARE HEATING UP WHERE WE LIVE AND WORK IN CALGARY

BY DANYAEL HALPRIN

T

he future is now.

In the fall of 2014, Jayman BUILT was constructing homes that included a rough in for solar panels to be installed at a later date. That date arrived; in February 2019, the company announced that all new single-family homes will include rooftop solar panels as a standard feature. It is the first Alberta builder to include this; other Calgary homebuilders such as Excel Homes and Homes by Avi install solar panels as an add-on.

Jayman estimates it will build 450 homes with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Calgary and 300 in Edmonton in 2019.

The positive experience with its multi-family southeast Westman Village, the roof of which is essentially a solar farm, coupled with other favourable factors, allowed the company to proceed full on with the solar panel launch. “The provincial government’s rebate program provided incentive,” says Jayman BUILT president and COO Dave Desormeaux,

“and the technological improvements in solar panel efficiency led to costs plummeting over the last few years, making it a feasible technology.”

ABOVE: TELUS SPARK SOLAR ARRAY BY ENMAX PHOTO SOURCE: TELUS SPARK

BELOW: DAVE DESORMEAUX, PRESIDENT AND COO OF JAYMAN BUILT

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SOLAR PANELS ARE HEATING UP // ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Launched in 2017, Energy Efficiency Alberta – the provincial government’s residential and commercial solar program – incentivizes solar installation to reduce the consumption of utility power. And Jayman’s solar PV system qualifies for the rebate program, reducing the system’s cost by 35 per cent, the savings of which are reflected in the house price.

Additionally, solar can save a homeowner $200/year on average in electricity costs, says Desormeaux. This includes credit from a home’s excess solar energy that’s exported back to the grid by a bi-directional meter and purchased by the electrical retailer.

Solar panels produce about 33 per cent of a house’s typical power requirements, and up to 50 per cent the more outfitted it is with energy-efficient features, such as LED lighting, triple-pane windows, high-efficiency furnaces and

instant hot water. “We were happily surprised to see uptake right out of the gate,” says Desormeaux. “We include six panels standard and we’ve seen some customers adding more for a total of eight to 10.”

Jayman BUILT contracted the Calgary-headquartered SkyFire Energy as its official installer of solar panels. Since 2001, SkyFire has designed and installed more than 600 grid-connected and off-grid solar power residential systems in the territories and eight provinces as well as many commercial solar PV systems in Western Canada.

In favour of green energy and reduced power bills, many of Calgary’s major building rooftops gleam with SkyFireinstalled solar panels, including the 8.61 kW Calgary Zoo’s ENMAX Conservatory; 30 kW West LRT; 60 kW Seton Mall; 10 kW Bishop Pinkham School; and 43.4 kW Child Development Centre.

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SOLAR PANELS ARE HEATING UP // ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

“While larger corporations tend to buy an energy package from a utility scale solar farm,” says SkyFire founder and CEO Dave Kelly, “isn’t it more fun to generate energy on site with these pretty panels on your roof?”

The Tier 1 solar modules on the Jayman BUILT homes are manufactured by Hanwha Q-Cells headquartered in Seoul.

Another reputable manufacturer is the Chinese company Canadian Solar with most operations occurring in Vietnam.

At this time, there are no solar cell manufacturers in Canada.

SkyFire “is committed to helping Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from their solar projects.” It recently completed a 397-kW ground-mount project for Cowessess First Nation in Regina and is currently working on the 1.3-MW ground-mount Sundancer project for Ermineskin Cree Nation in the Wetaskiwin area.

Since 2018, SkyFire is a certified installer of the Tesla Powerwall, the backup battery that stores excess solar energy generated by a solar roof to power a home after sunset and ABOVE: DAVE KELLY, FOUNDER AND CEO OF SKYFIRE ENERGY PHOTO SOURCE: SKYFIRE ENERGY

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SOLAR PANELS ARE HEATING UP // ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

during a power outage. Only a handful of homes in Alberta boast the Powerwall, says Kelly, due to its exorbitant cost.

The same luxury price tag applies to the Tesla solar roof tiles, of which some homes in California have been outfitted, that can also be paired with the Tesla vehicle. This feature is not ready for the Canadian market due to more frigid winter temperatures.

While RVs don’t have the same cachet as Tesla, their owners are similarly green-minded. Many are solar powering their vehicles for emergency backup power, off-grid adventuring, reducing generator use and saving money.

What’s on the cusp, or shoreline, rather, for solar panels in Canada is floating solar (FPV). In 2017, Layfield Canada Ltd. ventured into this market, inspired by Japan’s floating solar on ponds, reservoirs and, most recently, golf courses. Experts in the design and installation of pond liners and floating covers

since 1978, the B.C.-based umbrella company Layfield Group saw FPV as a natural extension of its business.

Floating solar is advantageous where land is unavailable for ground-mount solar and where energy demands for municipal or industrial sites are located near man-made ponds. Power is brought to shore using floating conduit and converted to AC power with an inverter on the shoreline.

Layfield won projects in California but a number of factors, including Trump’s tariffs, halted the work, says Layfield’s Andrew Mills, the Edmonton-based product manager of special projects. Layfield was working with the state’s municipal water districts on reclaimed water projects, to reap FPV’s secondary benefit of evaporation prevention.

And on waste-water treatment lagoons, FPV also screens the sunlight from the water preventing the build-up of algae that can clog the pumps and impede the pond’s operations.

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A // ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

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No projects have been secured to date from interested customers in Alberta and Saskatchewan, due to the high cost, which Mills is reticent to provide. The polyethylene floats, manufactured by France’s Ciel & Terre, are more expensive than the metal frames for ground mounts and rooftops. Ciel & Terre has been producing floats for the past seven years for floating solar systems in Europe, Japan, China and Malaysia. “People will have to work out the economics, if the value of the water makes it worthwhile to do floating solar,” says Mills.

“This is really brand new in North America and hasn’t happened on a large scale.

But I’m confident it will take off in time,” he says. “When you’re first, there are big challenges to correct and that’s what makes it interesting.”

One of the 225 solar installation businesses in Alberta, ENMAX Energy Corporation has been operating in solar power for the past decade. To date, it

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

// ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

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MBA Realize your leadership potential. has installed about 50 per cent, or 20 MW, of the installed solar in Alberta. In Calgary, the ENMAX solar dealer for residential installs is GreenLight Power, which primarily uses the southeast Asian-manufactured LG panels.

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“While the silicon solar cells – the electronic goods – typically come from outside of Canada,” says John Rilett, ENMAX’s director of energy solutions, “half the value of the distributed solar system – the design, installation and commissioning – flow through the local businesses into the Alberta economy.”

ENMAX’s solar customer portfolio is varied, from Calgary fire stations to the roof of the Harley-Davidson dealership in Red Deer to net zero solar installations on seven major buildings in the town of Raymond. Upon completion of a few more projects, the town’s municipal buildings will be powered entirely by solar, making it one of the first net zero municipalities in Alberta.

Ranked among the top BETTER WORLD MBAs by Corporate Knights.

ABOVE: GLENMORE WATER TREATMENT PLANT WITH JOHN RILETT AND MINISTER SHANNON PHILLIPS PHOTO SOURCE: ENMAX

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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SOLAR PANELS ARE HEATING UP // ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

“WHILE THE SILICON SOLAR CELLS – THE ELECTRONIC GOODS – TYPICALLY COME FROM OUTSIDE OF CANADA, HALF THE VALUE OF THE DISTRIBUTED SOLAR SYSTEM – THE DESIGN, INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING – FLOW THROUGH THE LOCAL BUSINESSES INTO THE ALBERTA ECONOMY.” ~ JOHN RILETT

One of ENMAX’s agricultural projects is a ground mount at Nelson Family Ranches near Stirling, Alberta. The solar system powers some of the livestock operations and is hugely beneficial in the summer months for powering the irrigation pumps and pivots.

Another good local example is the 300-kW rooftop system that ENMAX installed on the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant in January 2017. Since water treatment is a big user of electricity, Rilett says this project aligns with the City of Calgary’s energy strategy for its facilities to meet 100 per cent of its operational electricity needs through renewable energy.

Says Rilett, “We’re going to see more distributed energy resources, solar being a key part of that. This is the evolution of the electricity industry.”

ABOVE: JOHN RILETT, DIRECTOR OF ENERGY SOLUTIONS AT ENMAX ENERGY PHOTO SOURCE: ENMAX

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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DECISION TIME // COVER

Decision Time BRAD WALL ON THE ELECTORAL CHOICES ALBERTANS AND CANADIANS WILL MAKE THIS YEAR

H

aving spent almost 20 years in Saskatchewan politics, Brad Wall knows a thing or two about public policy. From his early days as MLA for Swift Current, to his tenure as leader of the Opposition, to the over 10 years he served as premier of the province, Wall has analyzed, negotiated, implemented and experienced countless policy decisions, at both the provincial and federal level. He’s seen what works, and what doesn’t.

ABOVE: BRAD WALL PHOTO SOURCE: BOOKSTRUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY

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BY MELANIE DARBYSHIRE

DECISION TIME // COVER

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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DECISION TIME // COVER

Fundamentally, he’ll tell you, policies matter.

And that is his message for Albertans. Four years into the downturn, with provincial and federal elections imminent, Wall, who is still based in Swift Current, is forthright. “We have to recognize that it’s not just the oil price that has caused the length and depth of this particular downturn for Alberta,” he says from the Calgary offices of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, where he is a special adviser. “It actually began with the march towards policies that seem to be, by definition, opposing the oil and gas sector.”

Wall enumerates several at the federal level: the carbon tax, Canada’s agreement with the U.S. to reduce methane emissions (which, after signed by the Obama administration, was walked back by the Trump administration while Canada remained committed to its targets), Bill C-69 (changes to the National Energy Board’s framework for evaluating pipeline projects) and C-48 (the West Coast tanker ban). “All of these lower the competitiveness of Alberta’s oil and gas industry vis-à-vis the U.S.,” he laments.

“It’s a long list of things,” he continues. “Just in the last year or so, approximately $55 billion has been lost from the Canadian energy sector. Principally from the province of Alberta, principally from Calgary. And not necessarily to other economic sectors. It’s to other energy sectors in other countries. That’s policy. We’re doing this to ourselves.”

The motivation behind these policies, Wall believes, lies in the federal government’s dislike of the energy sector. “Look at the evidence,” he urges, “Gerald Butts [previously the prime minister’s principal secretary] talking about how he would like to see the end of the hydrocarbon industry in Canada by 2050. The prime minister talking about phasing out the oilsands. Conclusions can be reached. The policies they have implemented have exacerbated the price problem.”

Alberta’s NDP government, he says, is likewise no friend to the sector. “I can’t imagine a situation where I would call my province and its people and its job creators an embarrassing cousin of the federation,” he says, referring to a comment made by Premier Rachel Notley in September 2015 in regards to improving Alberta’s environmental reputation.

“I still can’t get over the fact that those words were said.

It’s reasonable for Albertans to conclude that the provincial

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THE RESPONSE, WALL CONTINUES, HAS BEEN POLICIES THAT HAVE SERVED TO FURTHER UN-LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR ALBERTA’S ENERGY SECTOR IN RELATION TO THE ENERGY SECTORS IN THE U.S. AND OTHER CANADIAN PROVINCES, INCLUDING HIS OWN. government had a view that Alberta wasn’t contributing like it should to Canada’s fight against climate change.”

The response, Wall continues, has been policies that have served to further un-level the playing field for Alberta’s energy sector in relation to the energy sectors in the U.S. and other Canadian provinces, including his own.

“It imposed a carbon tax on itself because it was tempted to believe in the notion of social licence,” he marvels. “Some of us said ‘it’s never going to work.’ If you’re that protester in a kayak protesting ‘dirty’ Canadian oil – the kayak, by the way, likely made from plastics – your mind is not going to be changed no matter how much Alberta punishes itself.”

When Notley announced the carbon tax in November 2015, Wall says it was essentially an admission to all those who had branded Alberta oil as “dirty oil” that they were right.

He acknowledges the change of tune Notley has had of late, casting herself and her government as champions for Alberta oil and gas. “The question Albertans have to ask themselves before the provincial election is if the incumbent government is successful, which version of them shows up after re-elected?” he urges. “The first version that seems uncomfortable with Alberta as an international fossil fuel leader or the new champion-of-pipelines version? It’s a pretty big risk to bet on the latter.”

This is not to say Alberta and Canada cannot or should not be global leaders in the fight against climate change, Wall says. Rather than imposing carbon taxes with the aim of helping Canada, which accounts for 1.7 per cent of

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DECISION TIME // COVER

global GHG emissions, meet its Paris Agreement targets – to reduce its emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 – governments need to think differently.

“Reducing 30 per cent of 1.7 per cent of worldwide emissions will do precisely what?” Wall asks. “Other than pose a threat to our economic competitiveness and exacerbate a problem that we already have with lower oil prices. What if, instead, we recognized the leadership that already exists in this country around carbon capture and sequestration as it relates to the oil industry but also as it relates to coal?”

He notes the Boundary Dam Power Station near Estevan which, in the fall of 2014, became the first coalburning power station in the world to successfully use carbon capture and storage technology. The previous Conservative federal government partnered with Wall’s provincial government on the project. The Trudeau government has since walked away from it. “It’s now burning coal two times cleaner than natural gas,” Wall says. “The problem is, it’s too expensive right now as it’s a first-generation technology.”

The federal government, he opines, has squandered the opportunity to work with the private sector and the provinces to find a solution to drive down the cost of that plant so that they can help clean up the 1,600 coal plants currently being built around the world.

“That would be Canadian leadership,” he urges. “It would be much more robust and innovative than a carbon tax, and would put us in a leadership position.”

Other policy decisions too, Wall says, would be helpful to Alberta. He believes the Trans Mountain pipeline will be completed, but Bill C-69 threatens to likelihood of future pipelines. “Can you imagine the dissonance of the federal ABOVE: BRAD WALL PHOTO SOURCE: BOOKSTRUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY

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DECISION TIME // COVER

government proposing a brand-new regulatory approval process – one the industry is saying will kill the chances for new pipelines – plus a tanker ban, in the middle of this downturn? All while it’s moving heaven and earth to save SNC-Lavalin jobs. It’s shocking and if these policies stand, western alienation will grow.”

Another federal policy – equalization – could also do with change. Unilaterally renewed by the federal government for a five-year term last year, Albertans now pay approximately $3 billion per year into the program (a portion of the approximately $20 billion in federal net transfers out of Alberta this year) while Quebec – a 400-year-old economy and the second most populous province in the country – receives two-thirds of the roughly $19 billion total. Wall’s government, in 2016, proposed to the federal government that it get back a portion of the approximate $500 million that Saskatchewan tax-payers contribute to the equalization program, in order to put frontline workers back to work completing abandoned wells. The idea was a $156-million federal investment that would complete 1,000 wells and create 1,200 front-line energy sector jobs.

“Our economy was reeling, people were out of work and we wanted to put them back to work doing environmentally important work,” he recalls. “The answer was a flat no.

But it’s something the federal government could do, for Saskatchewan and Alberta.

“It’s particularly frustrating because the equalization formula really depends on natural resources capacity,” he continues. “Yet some recipient provinces in Canada, including Quebec, have policies in place to not develop their natural resources. If you have resources but are unwilling to develop those resources, why should you be eligible for the full equalization payment?”

Wall supports the idea of a referendum on equalization in Alberta, suggesting it wouldn’t go unnoticed by the rest of Canada. “It’s unfair,” he says plainly. “Even if the economy was firing on all cylinders, it’s unfair. Nevermind this lengthy downturn in our two provinces and in other places like Newfoundland and Labrador.”

A vocal supporter of Jason Kenney, leader of the United Conservative Party of Alberta (who has said he would hold a referendum on equalization) for premier, Wall is optimistic change is coming to Alberta. “It feels like there’s a resolve,” he says. “It feels like many people have made up their minds. I don’t know if there’s a harder working guy in politics than Kenney, so I know he and his team will work like they are way behind.”

At the federal level too, Wall thinks Andrew Scheer, leader of the Opposition and Conservative Party, should not be underestimated. “People have made that mistake with Scheer before,” he warns. “He is thoughtful in terms of policy development, he’s bilingual, he has a sense for the centre of the country where he was born and for the Prairies where he and his family call home, which gives me hope. He has a track record of winning and that takes a lot of hard work.

“And he supports the Canadian energy sector,” Wall adds. “I can’t say the same about the current federal government.”

Election projecting aside, Wall believes Alberta’s oil and gas industry has a strong future. “When Canadians are presented with the facts, even if they were previously unaware of the energy sector and all that it does and all that we do in the West to make sure our resource sector is sustainable and responsible, they begin to support it even if they didn’t already,” he says. “Look at what happened with Kinder Morgan. It became a national issue and Canadians became more aware and began asking pragmatic questions around the fact that if we don’t build a pipeline and export our oil, it will simply be replaced by oil from places like Nigeria or Saudi Arabia. Everyone recognized that that’s not better for the world, the climate or human rights.”

He also points to the mainstream media’s coverage of Vivian Krause’s work on the foreign-funded attack on Alberta’s oil and gas industry as evidence of increasing national awareness.

With no plans to re-enter politics, Wall will continue to voice his opinion on the policies affecting his home province, Alberta, Canada, modern agriculture and the energy sector, whenever given the opportunity. A proud Saskatchewanian to the core, his last word runs deep: “Go Riders.”

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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REVVED UP FOR CALGARY AUTO SHOW // CALGARY AUTO & TRUCK SHOW

BELOW: CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ICONIC MOVIE BULLITT AND ITS FAN-FAVOURITE SAN FRANCISCO CAR CHASE, FORD INTRODUCES THE NEW COOL AND POWERFUL 2019 MUSTANG BULLITT PHOTO SOURCE: FORD

REVVED UP FOR CALGARY AUTO SHOW

2019 EDITION TO FEATURE MORE THAN 250 VEHICLES, INCLUDING $3.5-MILLION SUPERCAR

BY JAMIE ZACHARY

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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REVVED UP FOR CALGARY AUTO SHOW // CALGARY AUTO & TRUCK SHOW

I

t won’t take long to get motors running this spring as the 2019 Calgary International Auto and Truck Show rolls into the BMO Centre later this month.

More than 250 of today’s top vehicles from 30 manufacturers across the globe will occupy more than 250,000 square feet on the Stampede grounds from April 17 to 21.

This year’s edition takes place a month later and coincides with the Easter long weekend, which Calgary Motor Dealers Association executive manager Jim Gillespie says could benefit attendance numbers that topped 84,000 in March 2018.

“Other than the real cool cars you will never see again, truly it’s the benefit of having all of these vehicles under one roof,” says Gillespie. “It’s a one-stop shop. You don’t have to drive all over the city. If you’re in the market for a vehicle, we have everything from a $20,000 entry-level vehicle up past $3.5 million.”

New this year will be a first-ever electric/hybrid display featuring upwards of 16 vehicles from participating manufacturers. Gillespie expects “consumers will really like” the 12,000-square-foot exhibit space in Hall B, which will provide a glimpse into the future of green auto technology.

“We also have 44 accessory exhibitors this year with a number of new participants, as well as a pit stop for visitors to rest and refuel. It’s going to be a real good draw,” says Gillespie.

The crown jewel of this year’s show will undoubtably be the $3.5-million Bugatti Chiron – a manufacturing masterpiece by the folks at the Volkswagen Group. Featuring a quadturbo 8.0-litre W-16 engine, this automotive marvel generates 1,500 horsepower and 1,182 lb.-ft. of torque en route to an eye-popping 0-100 km/h time of just 2.4 seconds. Top speed is reported at, gulp, 420 km/h.

Thankfully for auto show patrons, it’ll be in one place long enough for plenty of photos.

The appropriately monikered “brute in a suit” Aston Martin DBS Superleggera will also be on hand. Translated into “light weight,” the 2019 version is a modern-day carbon-fibre marvel that is quick and nimble thanks to its 5.2-L V-12.

Riding shotgun with Bugatti and Aston Martin in the luxury category will be Acura’s next-gen NSX supercar, Bentley’s new

TOP: THE LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR SVJ COUPE IS ONE OF ONLY 900 IN THE WORLD PHOTO SOURCE: LAMBORGHINI

MIDDLE: THE 2019 ACURA NSX IS THE FIRST SUPERCAR POWERED BY A SPORT HYBRID SUPER-HANDLING AWD 573-H.P. POWER UNIT PHOTO SOURCE: ACURA

BOTTOM: VALUED AT MORE THAN $3.5 MILLION, THE BUGATTI CHIRON HAS A TOP SPEED OF 420 KM/H PHOTO SOURCE: BUGATTI

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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REVVED UP FOR CALGARY AUTO SHOW // CALGARY AUTO & TRUCK SHOW

Continental GT grand tourer and the appropriately named Ferrari 812 Superfast. Lamborghini will also turn heads with the Aventador SVJ Coupe. The V-12 supercar that will be displayed is one of only 900 units produced in the world.

Proving that functionality doesn’t have to come at the expense of style, the Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga, Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Lincoln Aviator luxury SUVs while also all be front and centre at this year’s show.

Joining them in the SUV category will be the new mid-sized Kia Telluride, the three-row Hyundai Palisade, the rugged Honda Passport and the fan-fav Cadillac XT4 Crossover.

For Calgarians looking for a bit of North American muscle, they’ll be able to fill their cup with the Dodge Challenger

Hellcat Redeye, a cataclysmic machine that replaced the limited-run Demon and is rated at nearly 800 horsepower and 707 lb.-ft of torque.

Not to be missed is the Ford Mustang Bullitt – a homage to the pavement-eating behemoth made famous on the streets of San Francisco by Steve McQueen a half-century ago. This special edition muscle maniac features a thundering 480-h.p.

V-8 engine.

And because Alberta is truck country, Gillespie says the Calgary auto show will be no different. The “Big Three” will roll into town with the top lines, including the 2020 Ford Super Duty, 2020 Chevrolet Silverado and 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon – the latter of which is the brand’s first pickup truck in nearly two decades.

ABOVE: THE ASTON MARTIN DBS SUPERLEGGERA FEATURES A 5.2-L V-12 PHOTO SOURCE: ASTON MARTIN

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

YYC Welcomes Western Canada’s First Standalone Cadillac Store Our cutting-edge facility includes a virtual reality room, two showrooms and a state-of-the-art Service Shop.

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REVVED UP FOR CALGARY AUTO SHOW // CALGARY AUTO & TRUCK SHOW

Other highlights include the redesigned Porsche 911, Subaru BRZ Raiu edition and Genesis G70, voted as the 2019 North American Car of the Year.

Auto show-goers will also have a chance to meet Volkswagen’s Bumblebee – inspired by the 2018 Hollywood hit featuring Hailee Steinfeld.

The 2019 show will feature several daily specials, including a seniors’ promotion on Wednesday, women and heroes (i.e. military, first responders) on Thursday and an Easter Sunday event for children 10 and under. Kijiji and Subaru will also be running special promotions over the five days.

The annual Vehicles and Violins gala celebrates its 20th

anniversary this year. Attendees will be treated to an exclusive preview of the auto show, accompanied by live music played by musicians from the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, international cuisine and complimentary drink tickets. The event will also feature a silent auction and raffles.

Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. Over the past two decades, the gala has raised more than $4 million for local non-profit organizations.

For more information on the 2019 Calgary International Auto and Truck Show, including how to purchase advanced tickets, visit autoshowcalgary.com or follow on social media @AutoShowCalgary.

ABOVE: THE 2020 JEEP GLADIATOR RUBICON IS THE BRAND’S FIRST PICKUP IN NEARLY TWO DECADES PHOTO SOURCE: FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE // HUMAN RESOURCES

Focus on the People MANAGING MENTAL HEALTH DISABILITY CLAIMS

BY ERLYNN GOCOCO

W

ith more than 300 million people affected, the World Health Organization (WHO) says depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. The impact is ricocheting in the workplace, resulting in an increased number of disability claims.

“In our experience, short-term mental disability claims are on the rise,” says Eleanor Culver, president of REAL HR. “With our clients, we are seeing younger employees that are not only more aware of their needs, when it comes to mental health hygiene, but also more willing to speak up about those needs.”

Culver adds that employees with a more “old-school approach” to mental health do not always necessarily know when there is something going on with them. More often than not, these employees will try to ignore and/or hide any symptoms. This, says Culver, is likely one of the main reasons we are seeing an increase in the probability of longterm disability claims for mental health reasons.

In response to the rise in mental health disability claims, Manulife’s head of global benefits and wellness, Maria Fraga, says the company launched a $10,000 fully-paid mental health benefit for employees and their family members in Canada in 2017.

“Since that benefit launch, we have seen a reduction in the number of mental health-related disability claims compared to data from 2016 and earlier. We have also seen return-towork cases increase during this period.

ABOVE: MARIA FRAGA, HEAD OF GLOBAL BENEFITS AND WELLNESS, MANULIFE PHOTO SOURCE: MANULIFE

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE // HUMAN RESOURCES

ONCE A TABOO TOPIC, MENTAL DISABILITY HAS BECOME MORE WIDELY ACCEPTED IN THE WORKPLACE AS A LEGITIMATE REASON FOR TAKING TIME OFF WORK. disability insurance benefits owing to them because they are unable to work.

“I will say that if the mental health issues the employee is experiencing could be due to the workplace or the employee’s job, and the employee has Workers’ Compensation coverage, then it may be that a claim needs to be submitted to the WCB. An employer may benefit from legal advice on that point.”

“At Manulife, we have removed any real or perceived cost barrier so that employees and their families can get the care they need, when they need it. Getting help often comes with a hefty out-of-pocket price tag, which can keep care out of reach for those who really need it.”

Fraga adds, “Early detection of mental health issues and minimizing the impact through treatment by a mental health specialist can make a big difference in a person’s life and can lead to less relapse of the illness, when compared to using medication only. Employees who have a mental health issue can get the help they need and stay at work. If they need to go on short-term disability, they are able to return to work more quickly.”

In some instances, an employee suffering from a mental disability and consequently needing time off work will consult a personal injury lawyer. Depending on an employee’s situation at work, hiring a lawyer can help ensure fair treatment and entitled benefits. Calgary lawyer Peter Cline, a member of the Personal Injury Group at McLeod Law, says, “I have seen an increase in these claims over, say, the last five years in my short- and long-term disability insurance legal practice. This is true whether the employee’s mental health is the primary disabling condition or the secondary disabling condition to a primary ‘physical health’ condition.” Cline’s practice is focused on assisting ill and injured clients in recovering the compensation they are entitled to for the damages suffered in an accident, and

Once a taboo topic, mental disability has become more widely accepted in the workplace as a legitimate reason for taking time off work. Employers have a responsibility to ensure the workplace is a safe environment for their employees, both physically and emotionally. Adequate training on mental health issues and how to address them in the workplace is recommended for all management and HR staff. Offering an Employee Family Assistance Program (EFAP) with free and confidential services is beneficial too.

Fraga says work culture plays a huge role in how an employee deals with mental health issues. “I believe the biggest challenge is culture. Employers need to have a culture that makes it safe and acceptable to discuss mental health in the workplace and provide on-site programs that foster that.”

Culver echoes Fraga’s comments and adds, “By building a culture where talking about mental health is encouraged, this in turn provides opportunities for companies to have open discussions about factors in the workplace that cause anxiety, stress and/or nervousness for employees.”

One big challenge, says Culver, is where to draw the line when it comes to employers’ responsibility for employees’ mental well-being. “Where does the employers’ responsibility stop and the employees’ responsibility for their mental health begin?”

With employees having the ability to say connected to work 24-7, Culver says everything seems to blend together.

“Employees bring personal matters to work and work issues

ABOVE: PETER CLINE, PARTNER, MCLEOD LAW PHOTO SOURCE: MCLEOD LAW

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE // HUMAN RESOURCES

home. As a result, we’re seeing that employees are treating their supervisors and managers more like parental figures.

This complicates the workplace dynamic significantly.”

There are, however, benefits to being connected to work 24-7. “It is important to provide work tools to help people stay connected. For example, with Manulife’s WorkSmart program, we provide all the tools so employees can have face-to-face meetings even when not physically in the same space,” says Fraga. “Manager support is also important as is encouraging regular team get-togethers.”

Fraga adds popular campaigns like Bell Let’s Talk and Manulife’s own benefit program have done a lot to reduce stigma and to encourage employees to seek help.

Since the implementation of Manulife’s mental health benefit, Fraga claims the company has seen positive results concerning the mental health of its employees. “We encourage other organizations to increase mental health benefits for their employees, either through health benefits or by implementing a workplace mental health and wellness program like the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.”

insurance benefits with an insurer, making a WCB claim, or both.

A recent article that appeared in the Canadian HR Reporter notes, “Employers should shift their mindset to focus on a concept of disability prevention rather than simply disability management.

Adopting a two-pronged strategy around both prevention and support will need to be a part of any employer response.”

The topic of mental health in the workplace is challenging and Culver says communication is key. “Employers should always be attuned to what is going on in the work environment. If you see someone who appears to be struggling, talk to them. Whatever you do, this is not a one-and-done situation. Just because someone says they are ‘fine’ doesn’t mean you are off the hook. Pay attention to anyone who appears to be struggling and let them know that you are willing to talk.”

Fraga says Manulife regularly monitors the number and percentage of mental health-related issues presenting in disabilities, medical claims and EFAP usage.

This data is then used to influence the strategy of their programs, enhancing or changing their designs where necessary.

When it comes to managing mental disability claims, Cline says from a legal standpoint, HR/ benefits personnel should assist the employee with the disability claim process – whether it is applying for short/long-term disability

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE EVOLVING, IS YOURS? // CPHR ALBERTA

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE EVOLVING IS YOUR COMPANY KEEPING PACE?

BY DAN BOUCHER

I

f you were to Google “Trends in Performance Management,” your search results would inevitably list a plethora of articles discussing how several well-known companies have moved away from the standard annual performance review and performance ratings. This includes companies like General Electric, Adobe, Microsoft and Deloitte – to name just a few. However, only a minority of companies in Alberta are following this trend.

According to the most recent HR Trends survey of HR professionals, conducted by CPHR Alberta, 68 per cent of employers have annual performance reviews, whereas just four per cent have monthly performance review meetings. Another 10 per cent use informal and ongoing coaching conversations in place of a formal performance management program.

Performance reviews can provide valuable data to an organization’s HR team. The data can contribute to the predictive people analytics, but only if there is a high rate of compliance so that there are minimal gaps in the data and, most importantly, if the right data is being collected.

Unfortunately, around a quarter of survey respondents said they are achieving less than a 75 per cent compliance rate with their performance review program. Half of respondents said they are achieving compliance above 75 per cent, but they are not yet seeing full compliance. The remaining quarter said they achieved full compliance with their performance review program. Clearly many employers are struggling to gain full buy-in from managers for their performance review programs, despite the fact 71 per cent of survey respondents reported

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that compliance with their performance management program is a priority for their organizations.

Perhaps it is the lack of full participation in performance review programs that is leading to less-than-effective results.

Just 22 per cent of respondents agreed or completely agreed that their performance management program is effective at managing the performance of employees, 39 per cent somewhat agreed, 15 per cent somewhat disagreed, and 20 per cent disagreed or completely disagreed with the statement. Or perhaps, there is a need for employers to alter their approach towards performance management.

Performance management doesn’t just have to be about managing performance. A performance management program can be harnessed as a tool to increase employee engagement. In this context, performance management should feel less formal, happen more frequently, be forward looking and align the employee’s development with the organization’s strategy.

The formality of the once-a-year review and accompanying performance rating lends to creating a process that is uncomfortable for both managers and employees alike.

Managers struggle to evaluate and rate their direct reports’ performance in a comprehensive and fulsome manner that is based on more than just what is fresh in their mind – the past few months preceding the review. Likewise, employees can feel blindsided if the constructive criticism contained in the review has not been raised before. By encouraging managers to have more frequent check-ins (quarterly, monthly or even

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE EVOLVING, IS YOURS? // CPHR ALBERTA

weekly) with their team members, areas for improvement can be identified and challenges with performance can be addressed in a timelier manner. Similarly, accomplishments can be recognized closer to when they are achieved. Briefly documenting these conversations throughout the year will help managers put together more objective annual reviews – if the organization chooses to retain them as part of the performance management program.

Improving the timeliness of performance conversations isn’t enough to improve engagement, but it’s a move in the right direction. Engagement will grow the most when each team member understands how the work they are expected to do contributes to achieving the organization’s business plan and strategy and feel supported in that work. With this understanding, the employee, with the guidance of their manager, can set individual performance goals and expectations knowing they will be supported when barriers to success arise. Having a forward-looking focus to performance conversations will also help to identify development opportunities for team members that are aligned with future

and current needs of the organization. It will make developing an internal pipeline of future leaders easier.

It appears the shift away from annual performance reviews and the accompanying rating system will continue as our workplaces transform to keep up with the rapid rate of change. The demographics of the workforce are changing and the new generation of workers bring with them new expectations for their employers. If you, as a business leader, are considering adopting a new approach to performance management, reach out to your human resources team. They can assist you in evaluating how to proceed in a way that is consistent with your organizational culture. If you don’t have internal HR support, you can find a listing of HR consultants on CPHR Alberta’s website.

The workplace is undergoing transformation. Maybe its time to transform how we manage performance as well.

Dan Boucher is CPHR Alberta’s director of regulatory affairs and research. He leads the semi-annual HR Trends survey, and is committed to delivering high-quality research and information for Alberta’s HR community.

Research, Trends and Information CPHR Alberta provides insight on current and emerging human resources, trends, and issues.

Alberta HR Trends Report

New data is released twice a year on hiring confidence, retention, policy changes and more.

Western Canada HR Trends Report

This report compares data between Canada’s Western provinces and Yukon and ten industry sectors to provide a broader perspective of the labour market for Canada's HR professionals.

Hiring Confidence Index

The index forecasts how confident HR professionals are about hiring over the next six months; and incorporates views on growth or decline in the number of positions.

www.cphrab.ca/research BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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C EN ER A - Posi t ione d for G r ow t h S TE V E C U TLE R

Is now a Senior Consultant

A valued member of our Career Transition team, Steve brings a warm, kind and thoughtful approach to working with clients including facilitating the achievement of results-oriented goals, finding the next opportunity, experiencing one of life’s “transitions”, developing self-awareness, or just plain finding peace “in the moment.”

Connect with Steve at www.cenera.ca or on LinkedIn today.

SHERI BR AKE

B.Comm, MIR, CPHR

Is now a Director

Throughout her extensive HR career Sheri has developed expertise in legislation and policy development, workplace investigations, talent management, leader and employee development and organization design. She incorporates her project management and facilitation skill and experience in all aspects of her work.

Connect with Sheri at www.cenera.ca or on LinkedIn today.

J OA N D U N LO P

B. A ., LLB

Is now a Director

Joan makes the complex worlds of Workplace Investigation and Privacy and Information Management accessible and understandable to all kinds of organizations with her enthusiasm, confidence and experience. Joan’s consulting work includes multijurisdictional access and privacy training, privacy gaps assessment, privacy impact assessments, and workplace investigation casework.

Connect with Joan at www.cenera.ca or on LinkedIn today.

J a nice M a cP he r son

C PH R

ha s joine d ou r te a m

Janice is a Senior Consultant with over 15 years of HR and leadership experience to Cenera. In additional to her B.B.A. and HRM Certificate she is a certified professional coach. Her previous experience has spanned not-for-profit organizations, technology companies and our very own professional association CPHR (formerly HRIA).

Connect with Janice at www.cenera.ca or on LinkedIn today.

Follow Cenera on LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more from our subject matter experts!

Cenera is an employee owned and locally operated HR consulting company. We are proudly celebrating our 23rd year of business leadership, and know first-hand the challenges of operations, succession planning, and attracting and retaining talent within a cyclical business climate.

We relish the opportunity to share our expertise: Executive Search & Recruitment Business & HR Consulting HR Advisory Services Strategic Planning Facilitation Leader & Employee Development Executive & Leadership Coaching Workplace Investigations Respectful Workplace Training Career Transition Retirement Planning Privacy & Information Management Partners (left to right): Jennifer Doiron, Glenn Tibbles, Pam Corbett, Rick Klumpenhouwer

C e ne r a we lco m es a new Pa r t ne r J E N N I F E R DO I RO N

B.A.

Joining Cenera in 2006, Jennifer has over 10 years experience building sustainable relationships with corporate clients and providing best in class career transition service. Working collaboratively with Human Resource professionals and business leaders, Jennifer offers guidance, coaching and support for restructuring initiatives to ensure the implementation of effective best practices and to develop processes that reflect organizational culture and goals.

Connect with Jennifer at www.cenera.ca or on LinkedIn today.

11 0 0 , 1 0 1 5 - 4 S t r e e t S W C a l g a r y , A l b e r t a P h: 4 03. 29 0.0 4 6 6 • w w w.ce ne r a .c a

T 2R 1J4

Doing Business in Tough Times

Peter Legge with

O.B.C.

CSP, CPAF, HoF SPEAKER I AUTHOR I CEO PHILANTHROPIST

TURN ADVERSITY INTO OPPORTUNITY!

Date: May 16, 2019 8:30am: Registration & Networking Reception 9am:

Speaker Presentation

10am:

Coffee Break

10:30am: Q & A with Peter Legge Venue:

Pattricia A. Whelan Perfomrance Hall New Central Library 800 - 3 Street SE, Calgary, AB

Tickets: workplacespeakernetwork.com

Presented by

Peter Legge, Chairman and CEO of Canada Wide Media Limited, Western Canada’s largest independent magazine publisher and digital media company, will share with us his lessons learned in building a successful company while navigating a disruptive market. Hear his personal stories and tips gleaned from interviews from his successful BCBusiness TOP 100 series with past heavy-hitter business leaders such as David Foster, Jimmy Pattison and Joe Segal.

In Partnership with

GENERATION GAPPING RECREATIONAL PROPERTIES // RECREATION & INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE

GENERATION GAPPING RECREATIONAL PROPERTIES

BY COLLEEN WALLACE

BOOMERS AND MILLENNIALS DRIVE THE MARKET

W

eekend or vacation getaways to “the mountains” or “the lake” are still popular with Calgarians but shifting demographics, generation gapping, the economy and technology are having a significant impact on recreational properties.

Although consumer confidence and lifestyle choices drive most real estate markets, the past few years have made the Alberta situation challenging compared to other regions in Canada.

The 2018 Re/Max Recreational Property Omnibus Survey highlights: • 58 per cent go to relax with friends and family • 46 per cent consider recreational property a getaway home • 41 per cent enjoy activities (like hiking and fishing) they can’t do in the city • 33 per cent consider it an investment property The wants and needs of specific demographics, particularly boomers and millennials, are important influencers of recreational property perspectives.

There is consistent demand for recreational properties, for generationally different reasons.

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

49

GENERATION GAPPING RECREATIONAL PROPERTIES // RECREATION & INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE

Regardless of age-specific quirks, likes and dislikes, more than 68 per cent are willing to travel up to two hours, and fewer than 30 per cent are willing to travel three or more hours. In addition to affordable purchase price and maintenance costs, desirable features include waterfront access, proximity to town and a reasonable distance from their primary residence.

Although the Re/Max survey crunched national recreational property numbers, it highlighted consistently popular Western Canada hot spots like Sylvan Lake, Canmore, the Shuswap in B.C. and Saskatchewan’s Qu’Appelle Valley.

For Calgarians, Sylvan Lake (less than a two-hour drive and halfway between Calgary and Edmonton) boasts one of Canada’s Top 10 beaches, water activities, spectacular northern lights watching, golf, great restaurants and icefishing and snowmobiling.

Heading west, Canmore is stunningly beautiful and popular in summer and winter. And the Shuswap (500 kilometres from Calgary) is well known for its lakes and water sports, vibrant music festivals, luxurious houseboats and golf courses. The communities dotting this region are becoming increasingly popular amongst retirees looking for an active lifestyle.

At a time where seniors are outnumbering children for the first time in Canada, older generations are also holding most of the purchasing power – and driving a surge – in the recreational real estate market. The Re/Max survey indicates that recreational properties are experiencing a spike in pricing, with 78 per cent of regions surveyed showing a higher median price in 2018 compared to 2017.

The median price of recreational properties, driven primarily by boomers – including waterfront, non-waterfront, water access and ski-in properties – has increased by 13 per cent across Canada. The survey also shows that while overall demand and prices are surging, the economic slowdown in the Prairies – combined with stricter mortgage qualifications – has made the recreational property market a bit more sluggish, although there are signs of gradual, post-downturn recovery-mode positivity.

A quarter of the survey respondents indicated they would consider purchasing a recreational property as an investment

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

vehicle to help finance retirement. And despite irresistible options like Airbnb for generating rental income, money experts are urging a 2.0 version of the standard caution that recreational properties are risky and poor investment choices.

Most financial planners and investment consultants, like Douglas Gray, a retired lawyer and respected author of 25 books, including The Complete Guide to Buying and Owning Recreational Property in Canada, are unanimous that, in terms of dollars and cents (unless a person’s situation allows the use of a cottage on a lake or a condo in the mountains as a primary residence), a recreational property doesn’t make much investment sense.

“A recreational property purchased specifically for investment purposes implies a rental revenue plus capital gain objective,” Gray warns. “Careful research has to be done to ensure that an investment goal can be realistically achieved. There are many variables. Whether it’s buying a vacation home for rental purposes only, a combination of personal use and periodic or seasonal rentals, or personal use with a long-term hold plan, there are key aspects to consider and the projected financial numbers have to work.”

Gray emphasizes that after pleasure factors are weighed, there are tax, legal and estate planning issues that must be dealt with.

Generations Elton Ash, regional executive vice president, Re/Max of Western Canada, is a plugged-in real estate insider on Western Canada’s recreational property market.

Although he is an expert on stats, analyzing market trends and sales-to-listings ratios, he also has unique expertise regarding shifting family dynamics, human factors, consumer trends and the various social and lifestyle aspects that impact real estate – and, in this case, the recreational property market.

“In their own ways, retiring boomers and driven millennials are both redefining the supply and demand of recreational properties,” he notes. “There are new consumer trends and

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GENERATION GAPPING RECREATIONAL PROPERTIES // RECREATION & INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE

“MILLENNIALS ARE SOMETIMES MALIGNED AND OFTEN STEREOTYPED ABOUT OUTLOOKS, ATTITUDES, INSTANT GRATIFICATION AND CHASING MULTIPLE JOBS. REALITY IS THAT THEY ARE AS MOTIVATED A GENERATION AS WE HAVE SEEN.” ~ ALTON ASH

maligned and often stereotyped about outlooks, attitudes, instant gratification and chasing multiple jobs. Reality is that they are as motivated a generation as we have seen.” attitudes about recreational properties. Of course, it is still very much about family and enjoyment, but it’s also about contemporary life and lifestyles.”

He explains that when it comes to recreational properties, what makes the two distinct generations different also makes them similar: lifestyles.

“On one hand, retired or retiring boomers are still driving the market. About 10 years ago, it was all about legacy and opportunities for their kids and grandchildren. In the past year or so, especially younger boomers were recovering from the Alberta recession and many started to re-evaluate their own lives and lifestyles.

“The senior population is the largest ever and many retired or almost-retired boomers are selling their city homes and using the equity for the purchase of a recreational property they will use as their primary residence.”

On the flip side, Ash is enthusiastic when it comes to tracking the subtle but significant impact of millennials on recreational property trends. “Millennials are sometimes

He adds technology is a key factor in the millennials’ interest in recreational properties, citing how mobile communications has bridged the divide between city offices and working by remote.

However, the issue of urban affordability is trickier. “For millennials, it’s more about opportunity and ability. They have a fresh approach and a drive for life balance. It’s about working hard but also about getting out, being active and getting the kids away from the computer screen.”

He notes the popular millennial concept of “the sharing economy,” in which tech-savvy millennials leverage their assets (cars, parking spaces, condos) to offset costs and make extra money to buy a recreational property. Others are renting in the city and purchasing their primary residence out at the lake or in the mountains.

Whatever the draw to purchase a recreational property, the Re/ Max report confirms: more than a quarter of Canadian families (28 per cent) say they would consider selling their primary homes in the city to purchase a cottage, cabin or ski chalet.

ABOVE: ELTON ASH, REGIONAL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, RE/MAX OF WESTERN CANADA

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

GOING THE DISTANCE // COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Going the Distance Downtown office sector sparked by renewed sales activity

BY JAMIE ZACHARY

C

algary’s embattled downtown office sector may have beat the 10 count following several recent transactions that experts say could be a sign of things to come.

Yet, they also warn it will still be a long battle back after years of economic downturn have emptied towers and increased vacancy rates to near historic highs that at one point peaked around 30 per cent.

Altus Group, a leading Canadian commercial real estate services and software company, recently reported that 589 transactions took place in Calgary in 2018 worth $3.7 billion, which was up 16 per cent from $3.17 billion the previous year. The office sector was the most active, up 21

per cent year over year with 43 deals worth $960 million that were focused primarily downtown.

“The activity you’re seeing downtown is a sign of confidence, especially if you look at one of the big buyers in 2017 and 2018, which is Slate (Asset Management LP),” says Ray Wong, vice-president, data operations, data solutions at Altus Group. “They look at assets that will grow in returns and value over time.”

Late last year, Slate finalized a series of purchases along Stephen Avenue: the Kraft and Venator buildings at 222 and 232 Eighth Avenue SW, respectively. The Toronto-based private real estate firm also acquired the 235,000-square-

ABOVE: AN ARTIST RENDERING OF THE NEW RETAIL PODIUM AT STEPHEN AVENUE PLACE PHOTO SOURCE: CNW GROUP/SLATE ASSET MANAGEMENT LP

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

53

HORIZON NORTH

MODULAR SOLUTIONS MADE IN ALBERTA, FOR ALBERTA For the past four years, Calgary-based Horizon North Logistics Inc. (TSX: HNL) has been steadily growing its Modular Solutions division – a division that was born out of the downward cycle for oil prices that began in 2014.

“We had a choice at that time,” says Rod Graham, President and Chief Executive Officer of Horizon North. “With few new remote camp builds on the horizon, we could either close our manufacturing facility in Kamloops and eliminate the 300 jobs that it provided or pivot our business by leveraging our existing infrastructure to serve a different client base. We chose the latter option and have seen steady, incremental growth for that division while maintaining our presence in workforce accommodations, access solutions and other industrial services.”

Steady growth along with the increasing interest in modular as a method of construction led to the purchase of additional manufacturing space in Aldergrove, British Columbia in May of 2018 and now to Horizon North’s November 2018 purchase of 86,000

square feet of manufacturing space 20 minutes east of downtown Calgary.

“Our acquisition in Aldergrove was about providing increased labour efficiency and reduced transportation costs for our clients in the Lower Mainland area,” says Joseph Kiss, President of Horizon North’s Modular Solutions division.

The addition of this Calgary-area facility allows us to export the model we have built in British Columbia to the Alberta and Saskatchewan markets as a next step in our vision of panCanadian growth.

In modular construction, components of a building are constructed as modules in an off-site manufacturing facility at the same time as foundational work occurs on the final site. When the modules

are complete, they are transported to their destination, installed by crane and then integrated, eliminating any distinguishing characteristics from a traditional site-built project.

While controlled off-site construction produces advantages in structural quality and overall environmental footprint, the greatest appeal of modular construction to developers is the speed of project delivery. “It is disruption for construction,” says Graham. “Having foundational work and construction take place simultaneously reduces timelines by up to 50 per cent when compared to site builds.” For single- and multi-family residential developers or commercial developers including hoteliers or office/retail, this means the opportunity to generate a quicker return on investment. It also means timeline and cost certainty – the result of few weather delays and no concerns about the availability of skilled trades.

Another application where modular is proving to be a disruptor is affordable housing, and Horizon North has

built a reputation in the market as a design-builder of choice. “When the Government of British Columbia announced their commitment to solutions for the province’s housing crisis, it served as a tremendous growth accelerator for us,” says Kiss.

“In the last two years, we have been contracted for design, manufacturing and installation of more than 600 units of supportive housing for the Vancouver Affordable Housing Agency (VAHA) and hundreds of other units across the province for BC Housing.”

“Affordable housing is an endemic issue across Canada,” adds Graham. “There is a need that is vastly outpacing supply for everything from supportive housing for homeless individuals or those fleeing violence, to student, senior and First Nations housing, to below-market single- and multi-family homes. The National Housing Strategy and funding commitments at the provincial and local level, including here in Alberta, have opened a conversation on courageous and creative solutions to the situation.

Our methods have found a place as a rapid response solution.”

While Horizon North’s supportive housing projects have seen timelines as short as four months from development permit to residents moving in, the timeline to delivery for a modular structure varies depending on the requirements. A new hostel Horizon North is constructing in Jasper for Hostelling International will take approximately nine months from ground breaking to handover. What each project has in common, however, is the time savings over traditional construction. “The same hostel in Jasper could take 18 to 24 months if built through traditional methods,” says Kiss. “That difference in time represents a large chance at revenue that wouldn’t otherwise be available.”

Now established as a leader in turn-key modular construction in BC, Horizon North’s goal is to move its model to Alberta and Saskatchewan through the new manufacturing facility, and to areas beyond in the future. Affordable housing is one market where both Graham and Kiss see a need for their product, however they want to be clear

that it is just one need of many that their company can meet.

“Our capabilities stretch across the housing continuum from supportive housing to luxury homes, into commercial applications like hotel, office and retail space, and finally into custom industrial buildings, including control centers, remote offices, and laboratories,” summarizes Graham.

“We specialize in modular construction for any need.”

To learn more visit horizonnorth.ca or contact us at 1-866-305-6565.

GOING THE DISTANCE // COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

“IT’S A POSITIVE MESSAGE THAT A CANADIAN COMPANY IS INVESTING IN ARGUABLY ONE OF THE HARDEST HIT MARKETS IN CANADA.” ~ ALY LALANI

foot Life Plaza at 734 Seventh Avenue SW in the downtown west end, as well as the 107,000-square-foot Joffre Place at 708 11th Avenue SW in the beltline district.

The four transactions come several months after Slate finalized the purchase of the former Scotia Centre office tower at 700 Second Street SW, recently renaming the 620,000-square-foot space Stephen Avenue Place.

Overall, Slate has made a considerable splash in Calgary over the past two years, acquiring 25 properties, including 12 in the downtown area, totalling 2.5 million square feet of commercial space. Slate is estimated to now own more than five per cent of Calgary’s downtown office space.

“Slate is no stranger to Calgary,” says Aly Lalani, a Calgarybased executive vice-president with Colliers International who is managing office leasing for Stephen Avenue Place.

“They invested here back in 2005 and held assets until 2011.

They’ve always liked Calgary. They know Calgary has some volatility, but are long-term believers in the city.

“It’s a positive message that a Canadian company is investing in arguably one of the hardest hit markets in Canada.”

Slate is not alone, either. Earlier in 2018, Spear Street Capital completed a $98-million deal with Dream Office REIT for IBM Corporate Park at 227 11th Avenue SW in the beltline.

The six-storey office building includes 107,000 square feet of class A space.

“These are good signs that outside investors are taking a long look at Calgary,” says Greg Kwong, executive vice-president and regional managing director, Alberta for CBRE. Kwong also points to private and local investors who are realizing opportunities that didn’t exist previously. He notes last year was characterized by more private investors looking at getting back into, or increasing their portfolio, in Calgary.

“If you believe in the old adage of buy low, sell high, people were trying to buy low,” he says.

Wong agrees, noting a lot of private and local investors were priced out of the market during the oil boom as institutional players picked up much of the available property.

“What we’ve seen in the past year is those institutional players have refocused on core assets and core values, which

ABOVE: ALY LALANI, A CALGARY-BASED EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT WITH COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL. PHOTO SOURCE: COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL

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GOING THE DISTANCE // COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

in turn has led to them trimming their portfolio,” he says.

“And that’s creating opportunities for private and local investors to get back into the market, which is a positive.

“There’s an anticipation, especially on the office side with the market and employment numbers starting to improve, that there could be higher returns – even in the short term as the vacancy rate comes down.”

Another positive sign for the downtown office market is an uptick in the number of businesses moving back into the core.

CBRE’s Calgary Downtown Office Q4 2018 report signalled out recent moves such as Golder’s decision to leave the suburbs and take up 70,000 square feet of space downtown.

Sublease space in the core has also decreased for six consecutive quarters – down to 28 per cent at the end of last year. As that space continues to decrease from the five-year average of 40 per cent, landlords will have additional space to lease in a stagnant market, notes CBRE. While price and optimism are fuelling much of that investment, so too is the creativity of landlords, says Wong.

To encourage companies to set up shop downtown, many building owners are getting creative with their spaces. Slate, for example, is giving Stephen Avenue Place a significant renovation that includes a complete restoration of the ground-floor, second-floor and third-floor retail and restaurant spaces.

“Tenants are using real estate to attract skilled labour,” says Wong. “They are looking for flexible workspaces, games rooms, bike lockers, coffee shops and other types of amenities to attract talent.

“So, landlords are focusing on how to make their spaces more attractive. It’s key that they invest in their properties, offer different types of amenities and attract the best tenants in the market.”

Yet, until the “sell-high” time arrives, landlords will still need

to weather the storm, notes Kwong. While CBRE reported 48,709 square feet of positive net absorption in 2018 – the first time since 2014 that the downtown office market experienced year-over-year gains – vacancy rates still remain at 26.4 per cent.

Colliers International reported similar numbers in its fourth quarter report, with positive net absorption levels in the downtown office sector to close out the year yet vacancy levels remaining “stubbornly high,” fluctuating around 26.5 per cent.

That said, Lalani feels renewed interest from investors outside of the city, combined with some businesses reentering the core, is a sign “the worst is behind us.”

“We expect to see positive absorption yet again this year, with the wild card being any mergers and acquisitions that create duplication of staffing could lead to excess office space in the market,” he says, adding the best deals for office space in the city are still downtown.

Lalani also doesn’t expect to see any new developments coming on stream in the foreseeable future after Telus Sky was added to Calgary’s office vacancy inventory this past quarter.

While CBRE acknowledges the pace of companies downsizing is showing signs of slowing, it expects that, with depressed pricing for Canadian oil and gas, 2019 will be another year of layoffs, bankruptcies, mergers and resulting excess space.

Calgary has an estimated 45 million square feet of total office space. With typical vacancy rates around eight per cent, that means another nine million square feet would need to be leased before the city returns to optimum conditions – which could take upwards of 10 years, says Kwong.

“Long term, Calgary always bounces back,” he adds. “A bad sign would be if investors weren’t looking at us. That’s not the case here. Good value always comes back.”

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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EYE ON THE PRIZE // HEALTH CARE

EYE ON THE PRIZE

MAINTAINING VISION FOR LIFE

BY ERLYNN GOCOCO

A

s a natural consequence of aging, many adults will experience a change in their vision. Attributed to a number of factors, including genetics and lifestyle, these changes can vary from mild to extremely severe. Eye health is an important issue that needs to be taken seriously.

Just like visiting the dentist on a regular basis for checkups, making an appointment with an eye doctor is equally important, and even more so as you get older.

A recent study conducted by the Canadian Association of Optometrists concluded that “Vision loss is the most feared disability for Canadians (69 per cent) and the prevalence of vision loss in Canada is expected to increase nearly 30 per cent in the next decade. Vision loss has the highest direct health-care costs of any disease with the financial burden of vision loss expected to double, reaching $30.3 billion by 2032. The time to act is now, given that over 75 per cent of vision loss is preventable or treatable.”

Ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon Dr. Patrick Mitchell explains the majority of eye issues become more prevalent with age. “Many issues are fixable, such as cataracts, but some problems can cause irreversible

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damage, if left untreated for too long. Examples include glaucoma, macular degeneration or retinal detachments.

These conditions are treatable, but outcomes are better if treatment is started early.”

Mitchell sees many different types of cases in his patients.

“If the cornea develops serious problems it can sometimes require transplantation with a new one. If the lens becomes a cataract, it can be replaced with a new artificial lens. If the retina develops bad macular degeneration, damage from diabetes or high blood pressure, these conditions are often treated with injections of medication into the eye or laser treatments. The retina can also detach, and if this occurs, usually surgery is required.”

Dr. Riaz Ahmed, optometrist with Mission Eye Care, Centre for Dry Eye and Corneal Disease, echoes Dr. Mitchell’s comments on eye issues related to age. “Perhaps the most concerning of these is glaucoma, a silent and progressive disease with no symptoms until the end stage when almost all peripheral vision is lost. It is caused due to an imbalance between the fluid pressure in the eye and the blood flow into the eye, and results in blindness, if untreated.”

// HEALTH CARE

Family genes increase susceptibility, especially with age.

“There is often a genetic component, with up to seven times increased risk in those with an immediate family member with the disease,” Ahmed says. “It can only be detected during an eye exam where eye pressure is measured along with examination of the nerve at the back of the eye. If glaucoma is suspected, a number of imaging tests are performed over time to confirm the diagnosis.

The good news is that glaucoma can be treated, usually quite simply, using eye drops to lower the eye pressure.”

A more serious type of eye disease for individuals over 50 is macular degeneration. According to Ahmed, fairskinned, light-eyed individuals are most at risk for this particular disease. Macular degeneration is caused by a buildup of metabolic waste under the central retina, ultimately causing cell death, vision loss and, in some cases, bleeding under the retina. Ahmed cautions, “Smoking increases an individual’s risk of developing this sight-threatening disease by as much as six times.

Prevention of this disease is important, since the most common form has no cure.”

ABOVE: DR. RIAZ AHMED, OPTOMETRIST, MISSION EYE CARE, CENTRE FOR DRY EYE AND CORNEAL DISEASE BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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EYE ON THE PRIZE // HEALTH CARE

Another common, but often ignored, eye condition is known as dry eye. Dry eye affects the front surface of the eye and is extremely common in places like Calgary, where the humidity is generally low.

“With our increasing use of digital devices, we have seen an increase in dry eye over the past few years,” notes Ahmed.

“This is at least partially due to a decrease in blink rate that occurs when we are on digital devices. Studies show that the average blink rate drops from 12-15 times per minute down to three to four times per minute when we are concentrating on near tasks.” That means individuals who work with a computer most of the day will be extremely susceptible to dry eye.

Patient Charlotte D. suffers from dry eye, a condition diagnosed after she was experiencing red, itchy eyes causing constant discomfort, especially when wearing contact lenses.

After visiting her eye doctor, tests indicated she was not

producing the oils necessary to keep her eyes hydrated and healthy. Charlotte was prescribed iLux treatment, which directly target a patient’s blocked Meibomian glands through the application of light-based heat and compression under direct visualization. Charlotte claims, “It worked great because now my glands are producing oil. But I still need to do home care which includes warm compresses and lid massage. I also use eye drops every day for relief when my eyes get dry.”

Cataracts – a clouding of the lens inside the eye – is another common eye condition. As people age, this condition is, unfortunately, inevitable. However, it can be delayed with proper UV protection, such as wearing sunglasses. “UV protection is important, especially in the early years of life.

The young eye has almost no protection from UV rays, so sunglasses outdoors for the little ones are important to help prevent this disease later in life,” advises Ahmed.

DID YOU KNOW:

• • •

All Albertans are covered by Alberta Health for medically necessary and urgent care appointments with their optometrist.

No referral is required, and most optometrists will see patients the same day if the matter is urgent.

Optometrists have the proper knowledge and specialized equipment necessary to diagnose, treat and prescribe medications for visual health issues. If needed, they can refer to a specialist.

THIS INCLUDES:

Your SIGHT is a gift that deserves protecting!

• • • • • •

Dry eye Infection, injury or inflammation of the eye and eyelid.

Foreign objects in the eye.

Sudden changes in vision.Monitoring for diabetes and glaucoma complications.

Retinal detachment, defects and diseases.

Pre and post-operative care for cataract patients.

www.optometrists.ab.ca/urgentcare BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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EYE ON THE PRIZE // HEALTH CARE

Mitchell notes there are things people can do to reduce their chances of having eye problems, or at least forestall them. “Smoking is extremely hard on the eyes, as the toxins released into the bloodstream can accelerate macular degeneration and also cause early cataract formation.

Smoking cessation and avoiding second-hand smoke are one of the most important steps in preventing eye problems.

Eating a well-balanced diet, high in lutein and omega-3 fatty acids, can also help keep the eyes healthier. For patients with moderate or advanced macular degeneration, vitamin supplements can slow the progression of this condition.

Reducing UV light and wind exposure, and avoiding eye trauma, are also helpful.”

In the past, an eye exam consisted of several tests to check for blurry vision. Today’s eye exams are much more sophisticated, thanks to advanced technology. According to Ahmed, one in seven Canadians has an undiagnosed eye condition, a statistic largely preventable if more people had routine eye exams.

Modern technology has completely changed eye care over the last few years. “We now have diagnostic imaging equipment that can see and analyze parts of the eye that could not be seen before. This leads to earlier detection and treatment of not just eye disease, but also systemic diseases that can manifest in the eyes,” says Ahmed.

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

“Opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists are the main sources of eye care in North America, working together to screen and treat patients. As technology has advanced and treatments have expanded, there has been a growing need for some ophthalmologists to further specialize to provide more complex care. In addition to general ophthalmologists, there are ophthalmologists who specialize in pediatrics, cornea, glaucoma, uveitis, retina, pediatric retina, oculoplastics, orbit and ocular oncology. Calgary is fortunate to have specialists in all of these fields, albeit in limited numbers,” says Mitchell.

Chamber members champion Calgary, powering the growth that drives our city. Thousands of members work together to help make Calgary one of the best places to live and work in the world.

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T

his month, as I come upon my first anniversary at the Calgary Chamber, I am most pleased with the willingness of business leaders to unite around the Chamber’s one-voice purpose to build a business community that nourishes, powers and inspires the world. This inclusive approach will provide the momentum to push through this time of economic instability and re-establish the strength, certainty and collective swagger to propel Calgary businesses forward into new and exciting markets.

Starting this month, the Chamber will take the message of unity across the country as we partner with chambers and boards of trade to drive discussions about the importance of Canada’s natural resources to our country’s collective future. Spearheaded by the Calgary Chamber, this national energy dialogue will see big-city chambers carry the powerful message to their communities, helping households understand that responsiblyproduced energy is a bond that helps weave together each unique region of Canada.

We can be a world leader in both natural resource extraction and renewable energy technology. By uniting around the strength of Canada’s energy sector, we can achieve world prices for our resources, help reduce global emissions by offsetting higheremitting fuel sources globally, while at the same time driving forward technologies and innovations to continue the growth of renewable energy technology in Canada.

This balance of getting world price for our natural resources and a concrete path towards a lower carbon economy domestically is what we want Canadians to vote for when this campaign concludes after this fall’s federal election.

Speaking of elections, we will soon know the results of Alberta’s provincial election. Working with colleagues at the Edmonton Chamber, we will continue to advocate on behalf of business communities in Alberta’s two largest cities. Business-forward policies are needed from all levels of government to give us the investment certainty and market stability to drive cities that thrive. Please continue to share our provincial policy recommendations, found at calgarychamber.com/ABelection.

Speaking of cities that thrive, the Chamber has been working with the business community on its policy to relieve the growing property tax burden on the Calgary business community. As the 2019 tax rates are finalized this month by city council, the Chamber intends to continue its efforts for long-term policy that will lead to a fair and equitable distribution of the city’s overall tax burden.

Finally, we are gearing up to nourish, power and inspire the next generation of Calgary entrepreneurs with Lemonade Day, a community-wide program that teaches youth entrepreneurial and life skills as they learn to start and run their own business – a lemonade stand. You can get involved through mentoring a child, sponsoring the event or hosting a safe stand location.

Thank you for the privilege of representing this incredible business community for the past year. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.

It’s grow time!

Sandip Lalli President & CEO Calgary Chamber

The Importance of a National Energy Dialogue (Canadian Energy Leadership)

W

hether it is oil and gas, hydro, nuclear or wind and solar, energy is a foundational piece of this country’s economic fabric from coast to coast.

Missing, however, is a full appreciation and understanding of the vital direct relationship between Canadian energy and the well-being of households and communities, not only in Canada but around the world.

That’s why beginning this month, and leading up to the federal election in October, chambers of commerce and boards of trade from eight of the largest urban centres across the country are working together to bring a pan-Canadian focus to Canada’s energy industry. The goal of the Calgary Chamber-led energy conversation is to be a unifying voice in all regions of Canada, highlighting that we can be world leaders in both resource extraction and renewable energy.

In doing so, not only will the Canadian economy grow, but we will also be able to amplify the impact that responsibly-produced Canadian energy can have on reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We want Canadians to vote for Canada’s fabric economy and will be advocating that all federal parties develop platforms and policies that focus on the importance of Canada’s energy at home and around the world.

As Canadians, we have a vested interest in ensuring all industries, across all regions, are healthy and performing well. The high quality of life loved by Canadians is a direct result of our interdependence.

However, in many cases, we have become our worst enemy in speaking about the benefits the energy industry currently brings to our economy and the potential it offers for a clean energy future around the world. Whether it is advocating against government policy that creates barriers to growth or seeking resolution to cross-provincial tensions that are delaying the construction of major energy projects, as Canadians we haven’t done a very good job speaking to one another about the vital relationship we have with energy. Our inability to have frank and direct kitchen-table discussions about our energy future puts jobs and healthy communities from coast to coast at risk. The Calgary Chamber and Canadian Global Cities Council (CGCC) want to change that.

Getting Canada’s resources to market at world prices is an issue impacting all Canadians. We need to work together to ensure there is a Canada-wide push for all governments at all levels to understand the importance of this industry, the gravity of the current situation, and the importance of this industry to all Canadians.

But this conversation with Canadians will go well beyond the importance of oil and gas. It will speak directly to how this country’s diverse energy mix and its technological and environmental prowess can be a global game-changer.

Our country is quickly becoming a leader in wind, solar and hydro energy. We are already ninth in the world for installed capacity for wind turbines. We have seen a 2,344 per cent growth in solar electricity generation between 2005-2015, and we already produce over 59 per cent of our electricity from hydro. This gives us a unique opportunity to look holistically at our entire energy sector and devote the country’s efforts to becoming a world leader in a diverse energy mix.

While this would clearly provide positive economic benefits, it also presents an opportunity to meaningfully reduce global emissions. Canada’s natural resources sector already holds itself to some of the highest standards in the world when it comes to environmental stewardship. This has resulted in continued reduction of emissions intensity as resources are extracted in Canada. By exporting Canadian technology and natural resources globally, we can offset higher-emitting fuel sources like coal and increase the impact we have on global GHG emissions.

With proper regulations and infrastructure and a united voice, Canada can lead the responsible development of energy to meet growing global demand, while continuing to develop and adopt new and innovative technologies to further reduce GHG emissions at home and abroad.

This balance of getting world price for our natural resources and a concrete path towards a lower carbon economy domestically is what we want Canadians from coast to coast to vote for when this campaign concludes after this fall’s federal election.

Calgary Chamber Upcoming Events - 2019 At the Chamber, our business is connections, and it’s at our Calgary business events that the most personal and most meaningful connections are made. Because in the digital age, there’s just no substitute for actual face time.

From government leaders and policy-makers to industry-leading CEOs and business leaders, Chamber events bring together some of the world’s brightest minds to keep you current with the latest business trends and fresh ideas needed to overcome the challenges of running a business.

Leaders Classic Golf tournament - June 27, 2019

The Calgary Chamber’s annual Leaders Classic is more than just a golf tournament. It’s an occasion that brings our city’s top executives, influential community leaders, and politicians together in a fun and relaxed setting to build business relationships and contribute to the work that makes our city a better place.

Unrivaled in its fantastic food, prizes, and superior golf, the Leaders Classic is all about escaping the confines of the office, having some fun, and making connections on a off the green. To learn more about the Leaders Classic Golf Tournament visit Calgarychamber.com/golf

Business Before Hours Event Series

The Calgary Chamber has partnered up with Postmedia to host a new event series in 2019; Business Before Hours. This event series is a breakfast event with a focus on digital marketing. Leveraging talent from the likes of Google, Facebook and Postmedia, you will leave with a stronger understanding of Remarketing, SEO, display ads and microsites.

To learn more about Breakfast Before Hours or to register go to calgarychamber.com/BBH

Lemonade Day - June 8, 2019 The Calgary Chamber and Junior Achievement Southern Alberta have teamed up to bring Lemonade Day to Calgary!

On June 8, 2019 youth in Calgary will have the opportunity to open a business, and for some, earn their own money for the first time.

Lemonade day is a community-wide program that teaches youth entrepreneurial and life skills as they learn how to start their very own business – a lemonade stand. Through the generous support of local sponsors, youth are provided with free materials (youth entrepreneur workbook and backpack) that equip them with the knowledge required to start a successful business.

Lemonade Day sets them on a path of learning and goal setting and for many, allows them to see a different future than they ever imagined.

Youth learn to set goals, develop a business plan, create a product, create a budget, seek an investor, choose a location, design a marketing plan, and provide customer service. They keep the money they earn and are encouraged to spend some, save some for the future, and share some by giving to a local charity of their choice.

Lemonade Day continues to increase children’s skills in the areas of financial literacy and mathematics.

The results and impacts include: • 88% of participants increased their financial vocabulary • 86% of participants increased their ability to set financial goals •87% of participants increased their understanding of saving and philanthropy •88% of participants increased their correlation between math and the real world You can get involved in Lemonade Day three ways; mentoring a child, sponsoring the event, or hosting a ‘safe stand’ location at your business. To learn more about the ways to be involved visit lemonadeday.org/Calgary.

Small Business Week - October 21-25, 2019

Happening in the third week of October (October 21 – 25), Small Business Week Calgary is the largest celebration of small businesses across Canada. This week encompasses city wide events, workshops, and keynote speakers with the flagship event of the week being the Calgary Small Business Week Expo.

The Expo is a full day tradeshow with breakout sessions and keynote speakers- it’s the largest B2B tradeshow in Canada! This is the place to be to network with potential clients, gain business advice, and learn from colleagues.

To close out the week, we host the Small Business Calgary Awards Gala, where the Small Business Awards are given out.

Shinning a light on the unsung heroes of our small business community, we celebrate their achievements in exponential growth, innovation, social entrepreneurship and company culture. The awards program is currently accepting applications in eight categories.

To learn more about Small Business Week, go to sbwyyc.com.

Applications Now Open for the Small Business Calgary Awards The Small Business Calgary Awards program is designed to recognize small businesses in Calgary that are doing big things in their sector, whether innovating with new products or simply running successful businesses.

The following awards will be given out at the Small Business Calgary Awards Gala on October 25, 2019.

ATB Small Business of the Year Award The ultimate hardware at Small Business Week, the ATB Small Business of the Year Award is presented to the Calgary small business that has demonstrated significant business achievement, has sustained growth with a pathway for future growth, and shows the potential to become a true pillar of our city; a leader in Calgary’s business community.

BDC Emerging Growth Award The BDC Emerging Growth Award is presented to the new emerging small business that has shown rapid growth and profitability in its first one to three years of operations and demonstrates the potential for future growth and commercial success.

KPMG People’s Choice Award The KPMG People’s Choice Award is presented to the Calgary small business that can demonstrate they have engaged the loyal support of their community. This award is determined by a public vote.

Innovation Award The Innovation Award is presented to the Calgary small business that is pushing conventional boundaries, disrupting and reshaping their industry through groundbreaking achievements in bringing innovation to market. This could be done in the following ways: a creative business concept that brings innovation to market, product creation or an innovative approach that improves productivity or work processes.

Company Culture Award The Company Culture Award is presented to a company leading the way in employee engagement, satisfaction and retention. Proving to be an industry leader in company culture, this business is innovative in the way it attracts and retains employees.

Social Entrepreneurship Award The Social Entrepreneurship Award is presented to the Calgary small business that has been a leader in finding ways of doing business while doing good for the larger community and environment. Whether this is through monetary contribution to local charities or finding innovative ways to be resourceful and respectful of the environment, these businesses truly look out for the triple bottom line – people, profits and planet. Please note this award is open to businesses in all industries; applicants do not have to work exclusively in community engagement or the environment.

Better Business Bureau Ethical Business Award The Better Business Bureau Ethical Business Award is presented to the Calgary small business that can demonstrate a commitment to advancing marketplace trust through ethical business practices.

Calgary’s Business Reputation T

he dynamics of doing business in Calgary involves dealing with variables out of each company’s control: those factors related to Calgary’s overall business profile and reputation.

“It’s hard to talk about a positive reputation when Calgary holds the highest unemployment rate of any city west of Newfoundland!” he says.

Because it matters, a lot.

Kosowan is also concerned about Calgary’s profile. “Many Calgary workers are now seeking opportunity in more favourable business environments outside Alberta and sometimes outside of Canada. It’s disappointing that many of our best and brightest are now sending their investment, time and creativity elsewhere.”

Calgary business insiders and entrepreneurs must be realistic about the city’s business perception and competitive business edge.

According to Grant Kosowan, president of Orange Group Commercial Real Estate and an EO Calgary member, “One of the advantages of doing business in Calgary is that the business community is energetic, entrepreneurial and accessible. There are so many great leaders who look for innovative ways to grow their business while also helping others.

“Calgary is facing some very difficult conditions, yet Calgary’s reputation for innovation and hard work has certainly contributed to a level of resilience that we should be proud of,” he says with enthusiasm. “Most entrepreneurs I know have just ‘put their heads down’ and worked harder, smarter and been creative.”

When it comes to Calgary’s reputation and profile, Troy Ferguson, an EO Calgary member and president/CEO of the Redrock Group – a turnkey modular accommodations, construction and hospitality provider in Western Canada and southwest U.S.A. – is blunt and realistic.

“Frankly, I see a tough road travelled until our national culture adjusts in favour of Canadian energy as a responsible option for global consumption. We can talk about diversification away from energy, and the work that has been done so far shows great effort, but our reputation on the national and global stage seems somewhat bumpy and unsettled for our businesses, national and international investors, and our country’s youth.

Contributing Members:

EO Calgary member Kham Lin, CEO of KPrime Technologies – the largest chromatography sales and service provider in Western Canada – says Calgary’s business profile is in transition.

“Calgary business is diversifying and the impact of oil and gas is shrinking. But when it comes to our business profile, there are still shades of ‘hard times.’ As entrepreneurs, we measure everything on results.

“Although I’m a cup-is-half-full kind of guy, I honestly think that when it comes to reputation, we don’t execute as well as we could. I’m not sure why,” he says with enthusiasm and positivity.

“We have a young and well-educated workforce and terrific resources like the U of C’s Hunter Centre of Entrepreneurship.

Young people understand entrepreneurship and what business is all about. But Calgary is a high-cost business environment, especially for taxes and labour.”

Despite the obstacles, Kosowan has confidence about Calgary’s entrepreneurial spirit. “I believe the biggest advantage is that our business community is hard-working, entrepreneurial and creative. There is a ‘never give up attitude’ and over the last four years, I have seen resiliency in the face of substantial obstacles – and I’m proud to be a part of that.”

Upcoming Events: April 1

• Membership Information Session

April 4

• Miki Agrawal-Disruptive Innovation & Positive Change

Grant Kosowan

Kham Lin

Troy Ferguson

president of Orange Group Commercial Real Estate

CEO of KPrime Technologies

president and CEO of the Redrock Group

April 8

• Leadership Breakfast Series with Franc Godri

April 16 • Strategic Traction -Are Bad Meetings a Pain in Your Butt?

The international Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is the respected, world-wide business networking group — with more than 10,000 members in 35 countries — where business leaders meet informally to brainstorm, compare notes, learn and share relevant discussions about business.

EO has 122 chapters around the world, including the Calgary chapter which is the fifth largest and one of the most active EO chapters in the world.

www.eocalgary.com

|

For membership inquiries: membership@eocalgary.com

INGLEWOOD GOLF AND CURLING CLUB BETTER THAN EVER

by Rennay Craats

S

pring in Calgary finds golfers eager to hit the links. Inglewood Golf and Curling Club is a favourite and welcomes golfers to the 2019 season with some impressive improvements to an already great facility.

“Since the flood of 2013, we are fully restored,” says general manager Jason Stanier. “We replaced three of 18 greens, expanded some of the water hazards, re-sodded a few fairways, and added some new bunkers.”

Golfers will be thrilled with the experience of playing this traditional tree-lined par-71 course situated on the banks of the Bow River. Upon arrival, they can warm up at the driving range and practice facilities before teeing up on the first hole. Once there, golfers can choose from four tee boxes according to their experience and skill level; yardages range from 6,575 from the back tees to 5,061 yards from the forward tees.

“It’s a great course for all skill levels of golfers, from the experienced to the beginner,” he says.

It’s a fun course to play, as it challenges golfers’ accuracy to stay between the tree-lined fairways, while rewarding them with some of the best putting surfaces in the city. Inglewood Golf Club is a comfortable, welcoming course that offers great city views nestled within an inner-city natural oasis.

“The greens and tees are close together making the course a great walk,” Stanier says. “And it’s centrally located 10 minutes from downtown so you can meet friends here after work and then go to your separate quadrants of the city after.”

Jason Stanier

The convenient location is one draw for members but there are other perks that make Inglewood Golf Club an attractive place to call home. Members can book six days in advance and have priority for weekend morning tee times. Also, members can participate in ladies, men’s and senior leagues as well as numerous club tournaments and social events throughout the year.

Now is a great time to join Inglewood Golf Club. The course is offering a limited number of memberships for $5,000, which includes the first year’s annual fees. Inglewood has everything a golfer could need – well-kept greens, great dining options, a diverse and welcoming membership with a fun social atmosphere and an incredible escape just minutes from the downtown grind.

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IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO BUILD SUCCESS

V

illage Honda is a story of success and confidence. Three Calgary entrepreneurs took a chance on their community and won. Partners Gerry Wood, Peter Finch and Ken Stephenson worked together to make Village Honda one of the best Honda dealerships in all of Canada.

Dealer Principal Peter Finch

Dealer Principal Gerry Wood

It started in 1987 when Wood and Stephenson were looking for a new business opportunity. Wood’s southeast dealership, Woodridge Lincoln Mercury, had record sales every year, and Stephenson was a successful businessman with the perfect piece of land, just off Crowchild Trail NW at Motel Village. The idea of Village Honda was born.

Wood recalls, “Honda was an up-and-coming manufacturer that people were paying attention to. We were a domestic dealer but considered ourselves students and still do. We were aware of what was going on across the street so there was a little intrigue there about pursuing Honda. It was a well-respected name although just starting out.”

Village Honda’s first General manager (left) Joe Chiarizio and current General Manager Barry Jordan

In 1988, Honda offered just four models: Civic, Accord, Prelude and CRX, but sales and popularity were growing and Honda saw the opportunity for a new Calgary dealership. “They [Honda Canada] saw that we were selling a lot of cars and hitting it out of the park and I think they knew that we could make it happen,” says Wood.

VILLAGE HONDA || 30 YEARS

73

LOOKING FOR A HOME Honda was on board with the proposed site off Crowchild Trail NW, but the residents of Banff Trail were not. The community did not want another car dealership in the neighbourhood, and opposed the project. While the rezoning application made its way through the red tape of city hall, Village Honda opened a temporary location in trendy Kensington on Kensington Road and Crowchild Trail NW. It was a unique arrangement with Calgary engineering company, Underwood McLellan and Associates.

“UMA was an engineering firm that was positioned on some neat retail space so we were able to negotiate with them to get part of their office for the showroom, which had room for about two or three cars, and part of the parking lot. It was small but it worked,” says Wood.

Joe Chiarizio was the first general manager at Village Honda.

“We had an architect that was quite artsy and built the showroom boutique style with Tivoli lighting, rounded corners and for colours there were green and orange and black floors. It made a striking first impression.”

The village Honda showroom has floor to ceiling windows and room for 15 vehicles.

Wood recalls that finding a temporary location for the Village Honda service department turned out to be an even bigger challenge. “We looked around and really had to beat the bushes and ended up finding a city-owned property that was under the bridge on 10th Avenue. It was far from ideal but we didn’t have a lot of choices.”

Gerard Leclerc was hired on as the new service manager at Village Honda, “Support beam poles were everywhere and we had to manoeuvre around them and then make sure not to hoist the cars too high or they would hit the ceiling.”

On top of that, Leclerc thought criminals were targeting the service shop. “We had a mud lane way at the back to park cars and in wintertime, the snowplows would go over Bow Trail and shoot snow and slush and rocks onto our vehicles, sometimes

The Village Honda Service Department has 28 bays and $1 million in technology and diagnostic equipment.

It’s been a pleasure working with you providing flowers.

Congratulations! Best wishes with many more years to come.

CROWFOOT PANDA FLOWERS (403) 239-7673

VILLAGE HONDA || 30 YEARS || 2

smashing out windows. We thought it was vandals and even called the police until we realized it was the snowplows all along.”

THE FLINTSTONE’S RESIDENCE In the meantime, with the ongoing neighbourhood resistance, the Motel Village re-zoning was turned down and Village Honda had to find a new permanent location – and fast. At about the same time, a new partner came on board. Dr. Peter Finch was Gerry Wood’s neighbour and – after years of operating a successful dental practice – was looking for a new challenge. He always had an interest in the automotive industry and so the two neighbours teamed up and began the search for a new location.

There were few options so Wood and Finch took a chance, and built the new dealership north of Crowchild Trail near Nose Hill Drive, renaming it Crowfoot Village Honda.

“It was in the middle of nowhere,” recalls former service manager Gerard Leclerc. “We used to sit there in the morning and watch the deer come over the ridge and where there are houses and businesses now, it was just open field with lots of coyotes.”

“It certainly got quiet after dark,” says Wood. “It looked like a lonely outpost on the edge of town so we were

continually priming the pump by offering service specials, no appointment oil changes and opening longer hours. That was one of our fortes since day one, providing the best service to bring people back.”

Finch played an active role in the design of the building and to make the dealership stand out, they decided to paint the entire building purple. “So, when you drove up Crowchild Trail heading west there was this purple building,” says former general manager Joe Chiarizio. “It was conversational. Everyone said ‘wow what a colour,’ but they sure found the place.”

Adds Finch, “The building actually took on the name the Flintstone residence after the ’60s animated TV series. It did get a lot of attention, especially from the people at Honda who initiated new criteria for dealership colours after we painted our store purple.”

The new dealership had its share of growing pains as Wood recalls. “It did take longer than we thought and it was painful financially at first so it was good to have Peter there as a partner and we could talk to each other and remind each other that with hard work it was going to get better, and it did.”

VILLAGE HONDA || 30 YEARS || 3

Indeed, things did get better and sales kept improving. When the service department became so busy that it outgrew the store, Village Honda opened a separate service centre across the road on Crowfoot Rise NW.

MOVE TO THE NW AUTO MALL By 2011, Village had outgrown its Crowfoot location and needed more space. Construction began immediately on its current location in the Northwest Auto Mall. “It was another six or seven kilometres up the road,” says Wood, “but there were other dealerships in the mall, all import manufacturers, so it became a destination, which really helped, and today it’s working like a charm.”

Peter Finch had a keen eye on what the new store should look like. He had been in the dealership daily since 2002 and talked to hundreds of customers about what they liked and didn’t like about their car shopping experience. “Car dealerships can often be intimidating for people to walk into and surveys show that’s particularly true for women, so we wanted to change that,” says Finch.

Indeed, the attention to detail is evident immediately upon entrance. Featuring floor-to-ceiling windows for plenty of natural lighting, the showroom is uncluttered with room for 15 vehicles. The customer lounge offers comfort and luxury. “We actually modelled it after an Air Canada Business Lounge,” says Finch. “We paid close attention to the colours, the fixtures and the furniture. There’s always freshly-brewed coffee and healthy snacks. Our aim is to give our customers the best possible experience while waiting for their vehicle.”

The Village Honda service department is equipped with 28 service bays and close to $1 million in technology and diagnostic equipment, but according to Barry Jordan, the general manager at Village Honda, it’s the employees who really make the dealership stand out.

Congratulations

Calgary Flames players Mike Vernon, Brett Hull and Tim Hunter join Village Honda GM Joe Chiarizio at the dealership grand opening in 1988.

“Some of the best people in the industry are working in this building; some of the top performers are here; some of the best technicians are here; some of the top service advisers are here. We have amassed 115 people who are the best in the business and that’s a full stop. Our detailer has been with us over 30 years. That’s amazing and you just don’t get to see that anywhere else.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Honda has grown along with Village. From four models in 1988, the Honda lineup now features 13 different models including cars, SUVs, vans and trucks. The brand has experienced tremendous growth, and for more than 20 years, the Honda Civic has been the bestselling car in Canada.

Village Honda is a multiple winner of the Consumer Choice Award, and in 2018 was the only Calgary dealer to receive the prestigious Honda Driving Excellence Award for top quality service. It’s also a winner of the Honda President’s Challenge Award for sales volume.

Village Honda

We wish you many more years of continued success.

Proud to do business with you for the last 30 years!

(403) 243-3082

grcollin@telus.net VILLAGE HONDA || 30 YEARS || 4

Congratulations to Village Honda!

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Village Honda is committed to excellence. Ongoing staff training is a constant. The company boasts an industry-leading website and has embraced digital technology to provide today’s savvy consumer with the information they want, whether it’s online or in the store.

“We’ve had success for more than 30 years and the Honda products are exceptional and just keep getting better. We’ll be around for another 30 years serving our customers.”

Good people, a friendly inviting dealership and tremendous products have all come together for success at Village Honda.

“It’s always about the people,” says Finch. “We are a team of strong, ambitious people ready to grow, adapt to industry changes and better serve our customers,” Gerry Wood concurs.

Take time to reflect on past success, as you look forward to more...

On the Road Ahead.

7663-110TH AVE. NW, CALGARY, ALBERTA, T3R 1R8 403 239-3900 | WWW.VILLAGEHONDA.COM

Congratulations Village Honda on your 30+ years in business!

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unifirst.ca VILLAGE HONDA || 30 YEARS || 5

SUNIK ROOFING an Industry Pioneer

N

by Rennay Craats

ick Sims takes roofing seriously and has dedicated decades to improving the industry that he’s helped to shape. Since cutting his teeth as a young roofer in 1973 during the Texas building boom, he has become something of a pioneer.

“I didn’t know what I was doing at first but I learned. In a couple short years, I went from having seven guys on a roof doing a house a week to two crews of us doing three or four a week,” says Nick Sims, president of Sunik Roofing.

He picked up tricks that made his crews more efficient and profitable, and he was one of the first to introduce staple guns and later nail guns. He developed a new system for quickly shingling a roof that involved the steady passing of shingles that were lined up and nailed down as the next shingle was en route. This cut down the time it took to shingle a house and established Sims and his crew as the pinnacle in the industry.

When Sims and his family moved back to Canada in 1986, he wasn’t sure how he was going to make his living. He soon heard the call of roofing and he answered it in 1987. He established Sunik Roofing (a combination of his and wife Sue’s names) in 1989, first as a proprietorship and then as a limited company. He was one of the first to introduce the Calgary marketplace to power crews, which allowed him to complete three houses a day Sunik Roofing • 30

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From the beginning, Sims focused on achieving total customer satisfaction by training the best people to ensure the company not only produces quality work but also has professional and friendly crews. If there are any issues, Sunik vows to make it right for customers. with the help of power tools. The key was to surround himself with good people and work hard to build his brand.

“My goal was to build a name and find market share to earn it,” he says. “My smartest move was to bring in my partner, Lowell McNichol. He is an exceptional person, strong in areas where I am weak, and I’ve relied on him for a lot of things. Now we’re in our 23rd year together.”

And in the 30 years that Sunik has been operating, it has grown to become the standard by which others are evaluated. From the beginning, Sims focused on achieving total customer satisfaction by training the best people to ensure the company not only produces quality work but also has professional and friendly crews. If there are any issues, Sunik vows to make it right for customers. This high level of expertise and service explains why Sunik enjoys so much repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.

It also explains the growth and reputation of Sunik both in the industry and in the community.

What started as a home-run business soon outgrew the basement and necessitated office space. The company expanded and moved twice more before finally settling into their new offices near CrossIron Mills. There, the staff of 12, including Sims’ sons Nicholas and Nathan and wife Sue, operate as the go-to company for sloped roofing as well as siding, soffits, fascia and eavestroughs in Calgary.

Sunik Roofing • 30 • 2

SUNIK ROOFING

Nick Sims is also working to ensure roofers have the training and education necessary to provide a quality service. He was president of the Alberta Allied Roofing Association (AARA) for three years, he and McNichol each served six years on the Provincial Apprenticeship Committee, and he has been a director and later chairman of the board for the Better Business Bureau of Alberta.

We would like to congratulate Sunik Roofing on this tremendous accomplishment. All the best in 2019 & your continued success in the future.

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Congratulations to Sunik Roofing on your 30th Anniversary.

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Sunik Roofing • 30 • 3

SUNIK ROOFING “I’d like to think I’ve made some significant changes in the industry,” Sims says. “I’ve spent a lot of time giving back to the roofing community, which benefits everyone.”

“It has long life, good looks, is made from over 70 per cent recycled rubber and it is eco-friendly. It keeps your house quiet from external noise and it stands up – the guarantee against hail is next to none,” Sims says.

Whether behind a desk or on a roof, Sims is dedicated to making the industry better for employees and customers. His hard work has certainly paid off. In 2000, Sunik won the Torch Award for Ethics from the BBB and in 2009 was awarded the first Consumer Choice Award for excellence in roofing and has defended the title for 10 years running. Sims was also featured in the Leaders issue of Business in Calgary magazine in 2015 and Sunik won the Reader’s Choice Award for roofing in 2017 and 2018.

Sims partners with companies that share his dedication to quality and service to ensure Sunik always leaves customers happy. For the past 30 years and into the next 30, the company’s strong reputation, expertise and service will ensure that Sunik Roofing’s customers remain completely satisfied ones.

Sunik has great rapport with clients while at the same time enjoying solid, long-term relationships with suppliers, some of which have been cultivated over decades. The company recommends Canadian products and supports innovative, quality products like Euroshield’s rubber shingles. This Calgary product is now used worldwide and is popular for its durability and green appeal.

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Sunik Roofing • 30 • 4

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Photo by Riverwood Photography

AV Solutions at the

TOUCH OF A BUTTON WITH

Matrix Video Communications

by Rennay Craats

W

hen Matrix Video Communications started out in 1994, it provided broadcast video products to the local film industry and independent television content producers. As technology changed, the market shrunk and prices for equipment dropped drastically, and founders Glenn and Shelly Burgess saw the writing on the wall. They embraced the adapt-or-die philosophy of tech companies and branched out.

Matrix Video Communications • 25th Aniversary • 1

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University of Calgary Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning

Rogers Place

“We morphed into something new,” says Glenn Burgess, CEO of Matrix Video. “We were always on the periphery of the corporate, education, government markets so we decided to get more aggressive in those areas.”

It was a great decision. Matrix has grown into a national leader in the area of consultation, design, integration and installation of audio, video and multimedia systems for Canadian companies across sectors. Specialists across the country are on hand to design, install and service sophisticated broadcast, production and audiovisual systems that are easy to integrate into a company’s everyday operations. There are experts in different areas working out of all eight locations in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg and Toronto and these specialists are shared between offices to ensure clients receive the best solutions to their communications challenges from the best people.

“We have to find out the client’s requirements, what they want their equipment to do, what they

want to accomplish and then we design a system around that,” Burgess says.

Whether it’s a small huddle room, a sophisticated boardroom or a university lecture hall, Matrix has the right people on the job to integrate the best equipment to meet and exceed the client’s expectations – which is to have a sophisticated system operated with the touch of a button.

By using only the best technology from the top manufacturers including Sony, Sharp, Samsung, LG, and NEC, Matrix’s projects are designed to deliver.

Matrix has a diverse portfolio with incredible projects across the country and across industries.

For the Calgary Tower’s 50th anniversary, Matrix created a video wall to celebrate the history of the iconic building and the city. The custom installation features 21 55-inch screens wrapping around the curved wall, providing visitors with a unique viewing experience.

The company is also proud to be part of various educational projects in Calgary. Matrix supplied,

CONGRATULATIONS Matrix Video Communications on 25 years in business!

We wish you continued success in the years to come.

From your friends at Sony Electronics

25

© 2019 Sony Electronics Inc. All rights reserved. Sony and the Sony logo are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

Matrix Video Communications • 25th Aniversary • 2

Calgary Tower

installed, programmed and trained clients on the technology incorporated in the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning at the University of Calgary.

Collaborative spaces equipped with the latest technology instruct in-training teachers on how to use technology for 21st century education. Matrix also completed the teaching lab at the Foothills Medical Centre that allows practitioners to learn about and train in new methods of treatment.

“They can break into small groups or have all 18 stations on one case at the same time, and stations have individual monitors, microphones and

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Remarkable growth is inspirational.

Congratulations to our client Matrix Video Communications on 25 years of success!

grantthornton.ca

Audit | Tax | Advisory © 2019 Grant Thornton LLP. A Canadian Member of Grant Thornton International Ltd.

Matrix Video Communications • 25th Aniversary • 3

speakers embedded,” says Burgess. “It truly was a custom design.”

The largest of Matrix’s projects was Rogers Place in Edmonton. This $11-million contract involved designing, providing and installing the state-ofthe-art video production as well as digital signage screens throughout the arena. There are roughly 1,300 displays supported by around 850 signage players that can either be programmed to all show the game or be customized to broadcast individualized messaging.

The technical sophistication of these custom systems requires specialized staff, and Matrix has the best in the business. Many of the company’s 78 employees have been with Matrix for a long time and have helped it evolve, grow and adapt in the market. And unlike many AV integrators, Matrix’s growth has not come from mergers and acquisitions.

“Our growth has been all organic. I think that allows you to better manage the expansion and maintain the corporate culture. Matrix’s growth

has focused on the company’s strengths and has been steady and controlled,” says Shelly Burgess, Matrix CFO. The team is enthusiastic about the growth potential moving into the future as well. There are exciting possibilities for corporate applications as well as more creative areas including using projectors to display art on nearly any surface. The company is also considering opening additional offices in Eastern Canada to further establish Matrix as a truly national player and to encourage opportunities for such projects as sports arenas and federal government projects.

Matrix Video Communications has been on the cutting edge of the business for 25 years, often outselling large American competitors in some product lines, all the while creating the perfect communications and presentation systems for longtime clients. As technology continues to evolve and change, the Matrix team will be there to provide solutions for every need, every time, every step of the way.

Congratulations Matrix Video Communications on 25 years of excellence!

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Samsung Electronics Canada extends its congratulations to Matrix Video Communications Corporation on celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Best wishes for continued success.

Matrix Video Communications • 25th Aniversary • 4

NEXUS EXHIBITS CELEBRATING

FOUR DECADES OF

SUCCESS

BY NIKKI GOUTHRO

PHOTOS BY BOOKSTRUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY

I

n 1979, Nexus began as a startup with a single focus – to set up and dismantle trade show exhibits for its Calgary clients. Having built a reputation early on for seamless coordination and outstanding service, the company was awarded a contract with the Government of Alberta to build an exhibit that could be moved across the country to educate the masses about the potential for Alberta’s energy.

In the often-cacophonous exhibit environment, being able to offer innovative and quality products and services is paramount. When Nomadic Displays invented and then patented what we know today as a pop-up display, Nexus knew the technology would forever change the exhibit industry. Soon after, Nomadic granted the company exclusive rights as a premier partner in Alberta, Saskatchewan and N.W.T. As technology evolved, Nexus began to add services to its repertoire to stay at the forefront and better serve its clients. Graphic production evolved into full trade show coordination into storage and shipping. Today, the team offers event show services, rentals and decor planning; visual branding decor solutions for corporate offices, health-care facilities and retail spaces; as well as promotional products and business gifts.

Above: Company President Milena Radakovic

Company president, Milena Radakovic, was a client of Nexus for more than 20 years before joining as an employee.

“I knew it was very family oriented with a great culture and a lot of creatives,” says Radakovic.

“I had no reservations in leaving the sales and marketing world to be a part of this team.

“When I started out, given my background, I was looking at the business from a marketer’s perspective,” says Radakovic. “With Nexus, I wanted to be known for not selling a product, but for providing solutions that will prove cost-effective for our clients for years to come.”

With her keen eye, marketing wisdom and strong leadership, Radakovic honed in on the needs she saw in the clients she served and from that transformed the company into one that provides full-spectrum services through four designated divisions: Exhibits, Events, Environments and Essentials.

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NEXUS EXHIBITS Custom, portable, interactive, educational, impactful, purchased and rented exhibit products is what Nexus has built its reputation on. It offers all aspects of trade show coordination from concept to completion and through their custom-built proprietary order system, provides clients with the convenience of viewing and ordering their inventory with the click of a button.

NEXUS EVENTS From golf tournaments and corporate AGMs to full conference productions, Nexus specializes in creating temporary environments that transform spaces into virtually anything imaginable with its rental stock, custom fabrication, technology partners, banners, lighting, signage, set-up services and more.

NEXUS ENVIRONMENTS The Environments division of the company, Nexus Décor, focuses on branding of interior environments. To fit with clients’ overall vision of their company, Nexus brings in just the right elements.

“Nobody was filling that niche when we started in 2015,” says Radakovic. “When clients understand the

importance and benefits of bringing a company’s brand essence into the working environment – motivation, increased productivity, staff loyalty, etc. – we provide solutions and are able to give a 3D view of how it would look in their space.”

NEXUS ESSENTIALS Just this year, the company kicked off the fourth division – Essentials. Now being a one-stop shop for promotional products and business gifts, Nexus offers an extensive range of branded merchandise to its client base.

“When we launched, our mandate was to save clients 40 per cent of their administrative costs,” says Radakovic. “And we began offering small printing service as well.”

Throughout the 40 years in business, some things have remained the same – the core values that still serve as the guiding principles for the team: Serve the customer

Help first

Feel the spark

Strive for perfection

NS ITS! O I T A UL EXHIB T A R CONTGO NEXUMSORE CESS. C Y MANTINUED SU U O ISH YOF CON S WE W YEAR

MENT TREAT R E T INGS WA BUILD RS & E & L I S O L B ANE ICAL P ION ELECTR ME DETECT TROLS A FL & CON N O I GAS & TAT UMEN VES INSTR & DRI S R O TION MOT CTUA A & S E VALV

E S.E. VENU 3X1 A 8 1 1 3200 RY, AB T2Z A G L CA

2

222 5 5 5 2 (403) .CA TIONS LU

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Radakovic devotes much of her time to both her daughters’ soccer teams and to a cause that is dear to her heart – supporting women in leadership. She’s received several accolades for her contribution to the cause and has been named Canadian ambassador of the UN’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Day for the international campaign that empowers, celebrates and supports women in business worldwide. She is also an active member – and former board member – of EO, the global thought leader on entrepreneurship.

So, what’s next for Nexus? “Two things: we want to be the leading and largest display solution provider in Western Canada by 2025,” smiles Radakovic.

“And through incorporating augmented reality into our event products, we want to be the Google of visual displays.”

NEXUS EXHIBITS LTD

Congratulations Nexus Exhibits!

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Congratulations Nexus Exhibits Ltd on your 40 year celebration.

ANDY STRANGEMANN

403.277.7066

May you have many more milestones and successes in the future.

We look forward to our continued working relationship.

Aurora Holdings Inc.

CHARLES W. STARKE CIM

403.374.2546

All the best, Andy Strangemann and Charles Starke

We are proud to support Milena and her team in their continued success as they celebrate 40 years!

Elyshia Cheung & Beverly Salt and team at CRS/Merrill Insurance #15 - 5080 12A Street SE Calgary, Alberta T2G 5K9 (403) 221-9000

cminsurance.ca

3

THE ELEMENTS OF A GREAT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Consider the last time you had a great customer experience… a truly great customer experience! What happened? What was going on at the time that made it such a great experience for you, and what was it about the experience that made it occupy that memorable part of your mind?

If you’re like most people, the experience that left such a favourable impression with you was a combination of both what you experienced along with how you experienced it. It was likely more than just a single event.

It was the culmination of a series of events or actions you received throughout the entire experience, from beginning to end. It was more than a single event—your great customer experience likely occurred as a result of everything being looked after for you.

Forbes magazine recently published an article on great customer experiences, stating:

“Customer experience measures how customers feel about a company overall, and includes the emotional, physical, psychological connection customers have with a brand. It isn’t a one-off interaction, but rather includes the entire customer lifecycle and every touchpoint a customer has with [...] service.”

For Calgary TELUS Convention Centre (CTCC), creating a peak level of experience for our guests remains our goal. By providing the best services you could expect— accompanied with a higher-end facility located in a boutique, downtown location—we strive to create the great customer experiences that will be remembered as part of the coprorate board meeting or industry event.

For us, it’s about looking after more than just physical needs. It’s about ensuring our guests emotional and psychological desires are met as well.

calgary-convention.com

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APRIL 2019 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

Talent Pipeline Critical to Calgary’s Economic Growth

P

ipelines have long been the lifeblood of a vibrant energy industry but these days the “talent pipeline” is equally as critical to a growing Calgary economy.

Our challenge as a city will be to fill this pipeline with people possessing the skills required as innovation and unprecedented technological advances create new employment opportunities across all sectors of our economy.

At a time when data is considered to be “the new oil” – a transformative force in society – Calgary needs a workforce to take on the jobs emerging in today’s information economy.

Innovation will be the driving force for growth in energy, agribusiness, logistics, and all of our major industrial sectors.

The urgent need to develop this talent pipeline was the focal point for Mary Moran, Calgary Economic Development’s president and chief executive office, in her address to business and community leaders at the annual Report to the Community.

There is a “skills gap” to be addressed if Calgary wants to take its rightful place in the new economy and lead the industrial transformation.

Whether helping local companies to grow, assisting major industries to embrace digitalization, pitching companies to locate here, or luring back digital divisions of local companies that have had to set up elsewhere in Canada, there is a common theme for employers.

“They all cite the same issue – talent, talent, talent,” Moran says.

Tech talent is a global challenge but Calgary lags other cities in Canada and the world. We have one of the highest municipal unemployment rates in the country and yet there are almost 2,000 jobs open for software developers, data scientists and other tech jobs.

The digitalization of energy and other sectors is making Calgary companies increasingly big players in big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence and other technologies.

Talent is critical in this environment, which is why it’s one of the four pillars of the economic strategy, Calgary in the New Economy, along with place, innovation and business environment. The goal of the strategy is for Calgary to be the destination for talent in Canada.

The three “Rs” of the talent strategy are recruit, retrain and retain.

Calgary Economic Development is working to recruit top talent and key companies to drive the growth of our ecosystems. The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute’s announcement it will open a new office here is the type of investment that is a magnet for talent and companies.

We must also grow our skill sets through changes to post-secondaries and continuous learning to keep up with technology. The $50 million from the Alberta government for 3,000 new tech spaces at post-secondaries in Alberta is a start to building a sustainable pipeline.

Calgary Economic Development is also helping to facilitate retraining of people for tech jobs through post-secondary institutions and private initiatives like EvolveU, InceptionU and Lighthouse Labs.

We are also focused on ensuring this is a city where people want to live so we retain our top talent – the people in the workforce and graduates from our post-secondaries all need to see Calgary as a place to make a living and a life.

The opportunities for Calgary are in the pipeline.

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2019

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57th Annual Calgary White Hat Awards Celebrate Our City’s Ultimate Hosts Individuals and organizations in Calgary’s tourism industry receive recognition for their service excellence

BY BRIDGETTE SLATER

I

n 1948, former Calgary mayor (then alderman) Don Mackay started the tradition of presenting a white Smithbilt hat to visiting dignitaries as a symbol of the city’s legendary western hospitality. Today, the White Hat is recognized across North America as a symbol of Calgary and the hard-working Calgarians who make the city a great place to live and to visit.

For over half a century, the Calgary White Hat Awards have paid homage to this tradition and celebrated members of Calgary’s tourism industry who go above and beyond to make their guests’ experiences memorable. On May 15, Tourism Calgary will proudly host the 57th annual Calgary White Hat Awards Show and Gala at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium where 20 individuals and three organizations will be recognized for their customer service excellence, leadership and performance.

Service excellence is recognized through 18 different categories which span the accommodation, airline, attraction, culinary, event, ground transportation, guest services and shopping facets of Calgary’s tourism industry. Five honorary Calgary White Hat Awards are also presented in recognition of individuals and organizations that have shown long-term commitment to Calgary’s vibrancy, brand and reputation as the Ultimate Host City. These include the Mayor’s White Hat Award, Doug Johnson Service Award, Calgary White Hat Legacy Award, Calgary White Hat Restaurant Award and Calgary White Hat Festival/Event Award.

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This year, Tourism Calgary received a record 902 Calgary White Hat Award nominations, submitted by guests, co-workers or managers of individuals in the tourism industry. The nominees distinguished themselves by promoting Calgary as a welcoming, innovative and experience-rich destination.

Each nominee was invited to interview with industry professionals who evaluated their enthusiasm, professionalism and dedication to Calgary’s tourism industry based on a pre-established adjudication system.

Nominees were also scored on whether they exemplify the four Ultimate Host service pillars: kind, proud, genuine and resourceful. Following the interviews, final scores were tabulated and verified by a third-party auditor before being reviewed by members of the Calgary White Hat Awards selection committee.

This annual event is second to none. It’s an opportunity for Calgarians to come together to celebrate our city and the Ultimate Hosts who perpetuate our reputation for western hospitality. With over 6.9 million visitors contributing $1.6 billion in visitor spending to the economy annually, the mentality and efforts of these Ultimate Hosts contribute significantly to Calgary’s vibrancy and growing reputation as the Ultimate Host City.

To learn more about the Calgary White Hat Awards, or for ticket purchase details, view visitcalgary.com.

Sometimes the best services are the ones unseen.

They’re the ones where everything’s taken care of for you and your event.

That’s our promise to you.

calgary-convention.com

MARKETING MATTERS // DAVID PARKER

Marketing Matters

BY DAVID PARKER

Good to see so many Calgary advertising/communications firms winning new clients while still serving ones they have been working with for some time.

WAX continues to provide award-winning work for University District on behalf of West Campus Development Trust – surely one of this city’s most exciting developments – and helped Servus Credit Union launch its Big Share campaign where the financial institution is giving away $1 million to a lucky Albertan who banks with them.

The campaign featured a 30-second TV commercial launched during the Super Bowl and is supported by digital, social media tactics and in-branch collateral.

Wax president Dan Wright has always shown a commitment to the arts and is happy to have been awarded AOR status for Contemporary Calgary. Wax is responsible for producing exhibit marketing collateral, fundraising support and membership campaigns, all working towards Contemporary Calgary’s move into the refurbished Centennial Planetarium.

The Calgary Marketing Association (CMA) has formed an agency forum of seven of the top agencies in the city, meeting quarterly to collectively address industry challenges and opportunities.

Calgary agencies are busy, but would always appreciate more work. So, I was disappointed to learn the logo for ACAD’s transition to Alberta University of the Arts – that upsidedown thing – was awarded to Vancouver-based Will.

Saving grace is that art director/designer for Will, Allison Chambers, is an alumna of ACAD.

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ZGM’s acquisition of Edmonton agency Calder Bateman has brought added strength in public relations, public engagement and crisis communications to it services. Staff count is up to almost 90, making it surely the largest fullservice agency in Alberta, a benefit to its clients too. ZGM has been selected agency of record for AGLC’s cannabis work, both on the retail and social responsibility side. The work will be split between the two offices.

ZGM president Dan King also reports the Calgary office has been awarded the Theatre Calgary account that was previously split between two agencies in Vancouver and Toronto.

Continuing partnerships say a lot about an agency and Calgary-headquartered Clearmotive has entered its sixth year as agency of record for Honda Canada and its second with Valvoline, now under the direction of Cam Finlayson, new managing director of Clearmotive’s Toronto office.

Closer to home, it continues doing a great job for accounts such as Alberta Credit Unions and Egg Farmers of Alberta in its campaign to increase awareness of the quality of Alberta eggs while supporting work with new clients, iugoWerx, ActionKPI, McDaniel & Associates Consultants, and Virtuo.

Daughter Creative has launched two new brands – Hoopla and Cabin Brewing – and won AOR for the Calgary Farmers’ Market which is planning a big presence in Melcor’s Greenwich community across from WinSport.

Parker’s Pick McCann’s strategy and creative for WCLC’s new Big Spin game.

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• Class A Office • 29 Floors • BOMA BESt Certified • Located on Calgary's LRT Line • Connected to the Core via +15 Walkways (April 2017)