Business in Calgary - April 2021 by Business in Calgary

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VIRTUO’S CASEY KACHUR ON HOW HIS COMPANY IS TRANSFORMING THE HOME OWNERSHIP PROCESS

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Leasing Information: Peter Stack 403.571.2532 peter.stack@cadillacfairview.com

Grow your Business with our Experience Cadillac Fairview offers a diverse real estate portfolio complemented with comprehensive property management services. Through the strength of ownership, strategic acquisitions, and development, Cadillac Fairview provides innovative, sustainable and functional facilities that are able to deliver exceptional solutions to tenants. SHELL CENTRE

CALGARY CITY CENTRE

400 4TH AVENUE SW

215 2 STREET SW

A LEED Gold building serving a global tenant. Shell Centre is connected to the core via +15 walkways and blocks from Eau Claire and Calgary’s extended bike lanes. • LEED Gold Certified • Class A Office • 33 Floors • Retail Space Available • Close to Eau Claire • Global Tenant • Energy Star Certified

This LEED Platinum building opened the doors in 2016. Calgary City Centre is anchored in Calgary’s remarkable Eau Claire area. The building has a first-class fitness facility, professional conference centre and more. • LEED Platinum Certified • Class AAA Office • 36 Floors • 26,695 sf Floorplate • Fully Connected to the Core via +15 Walkways • Breathtaking Finishes • Energy Star Certified

ENCOR PLACE

635 8TH AVE

645 7TH AVENUE SW

635 8TH AVENUE SW

Unbeatable location with easy access, in and out of Calgary’s core. Encor Place offers an efficient floorplate providing prominent layouts for all sized tenants. The building’s lobby is finished with stunning marble and granite making it bright and welcoming. • Class A Office • 29 Floors • BOMA BESt Certified • Located on Calgary’s LRT Line • Connected to the Core via +15 Walkways • Energy Star Certified

This vibrant building has a premier location offering effortless access, in and out of Calgary’s core. 635 8th Avenue is situated on Calgary’s intricate bike lanes. The building offers efficient floorplates and an energetic atmosphere. • Class B Office • 25 Floors • BOMA BESt Certified • Cogeneration System • Located on Calgary’s bike lanes • One block from the LRT Line • Energy Star Certified • +15 Connected

STORY TITLE // SECTION

Supporting the visions of entrepreneurs one story at a time. Volume 31 | Number 4

REGULAR COLUMNS

Revitalizing Calgary’s Economy is Job ‘1’ By Shane Wenzel

43 47 62

Calgary Chamber of Commerce Hit your Drives Farther Technology, your ball’s spin rate and longer drives By Scott Orban

Parker’s Pen By David Parker

CONTENTS COVER FEATURE

Welcome Home Virtuo’s Casey Kachur on how his company is transforming the home ownership process By Melanie Darbyshire

ON OUR COVER: ABOVE: CASEY KACHUR, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, VIRTUO. PHOTO SOURCE: EWAN PHOTO VIDEO

FIND US ONLINE! B US I N E SS I NCALGARY.COM BUSINESS IN CALGARY

@BUSINCALGARY

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APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

LOVE IT OR... CUSTOMIZE IT With Shane Homes, you can love your new home, or customize it! Shane models are flexible so you don't have to compromise on your wish list. Plus, customization is more affordable than you think! From condos to estate homes, and every style in between, there's a floorplan, price and community that's just right for you.

THE BETTER WAY TO BUILD.

info@shanehomes.com shanehomes.com #YourShaneHome

STORY TITLE // SECTION

Supporting the visions of entrepreneurs one story at a time. Volume 31 | Number 4

CONTENTS THIS MONTH’S FEATURES

COMPANY PROFILES

Bon Ton Meat Market

Celebrates 100 Years

14 20

The Delicate Balance Business vs. Personal By John Hardy

mployment in a Post-Pandemic E World Looking ahead to a brighter future By Erlynn Gococo

50 39 48

ealth, Safety, Dignity and H Independence By John Hardy

A Market on Fire Full steam ahead for recreational properties amid pandemic restrictions By Jamie Zachary

uch! Readying Fore the O 2021 Season Muscles, joints, long drives and perfect putts By John Hardy

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

2814 26 STREET SW A1061302

$739,900

KILLARNEY/GLENGARRY

2164 VIMY WAY SW C4296020

$999,900

GARRISON WOODS Beautiful 3+1 family home on a tree-lined street in desirable Killarney with many families & kids, offering over 2,400 sq ft of living space! The sun-drenched open main level presents white oak hardwood floors & high ceilings, showcasing a spacious foyer, casual dining area & beautifully appointed kitchen finished with quartz counter tops, large island/breakfast bar, an abundance of storage space & Dacor stainless steel appliance package. Adjacent to the kitchen, is the living room with floor to ceiling feature fireplace, bordered by built-ins.

Beautiful family home with over 3,300 sq ft of living space located in the heart of Garrison Woods. The main level presents durable tile flooring, 9’ ceilings and is illuminated with pot lighting showcasing a front formal dining room, open den/office and lovely kitchen which is finished with granite counter tops, island/eating bar, plenty of storage space and stainless steel appliance package.

2221 24A STREET SW A1070839

$1,219,900

RICHMOND

3620 8 AVENUE NW A1043386

$1,749,900

PARKDALE

A sleek and sophisticated home in the heart of soughtafter Richmond, offering 3 + 3 bedrooms and over 4,900 sq ft of luxurious living space. The main level presents hardwood & marble flooring and is illuminated with recessed lighting and chic light fixtures showcasing a dramatic foyer with soaring ceiling, formal living room and chef inspired kitchen appointed with large island/eating bar with prep sink, granite countertops accented with marble backsplash, an abundance of storage space and informal, yet elegant dining area.

Built by Hudson Fine Homes, situated in the mature community of Parkdale. Offering over 3,900 sq ft of developed living space, spacious bedrooms and superb finishing and painstaking attention to detail throughout. The main level presents Canadian made Mirage white oak flooring, 10’ ceilings and is illuminated with an abundance of natural light, recessed lighting and chic custom light fixtures showcasing the living room with floor to ceiling feature fireplace flanked by built-ins which flows effortlessly into the casual dining area and beautifully appointed kitchen finished with spectacular book matched countertops and backsplash, massive island/ eating bar, an abundance of storage space.

“Selling Calgary's Most Beautiful Homes"

Each office is independently owned and operated.

www.tanyaeklundgroup.ca | Direct (403) 863-7434

PUBLISHERS

Pat Ottmann & Tim Ottmann

EDITOR

Melanie Darbyshire melanie@businessincalgary.com

COPY EDITOR Nikki Mullett

ART DIRECTOR

Jessi Evetts jessi@businessincalgary.com

ADMINISTRATION

Natasha Walz natasha@businessincalgary.com

ACCOUNTING

Nancy Bielecki nancy@businessincalgary.com

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Shane Wenzel David Parker Scott Orban

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS Melanie Darbyshire Rennay Craats John Hadry

PHOTOGRAPHY

Cover photo courtesy of Ewan Photo Video

ADVERTISING SALES

Evelyn Dehner 587-774-7615 evelyn@businessincalgary.com Chris Miller 587-774-7614 chris@businessincalgary.com

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REVITALIZING CALGARY’S ECONOMY IS JOB ‘1’ // SHANE WENZEL

Revitalizing Calgary’s Economy is Job ‘1’ BY SHANE WENZEL

he time has come to move on from talking about diversifying and into action mode, reviving jobs, and creating new opportunities. We need to move beyond the ugly job numbers and COVID doom and get started revitalizing our economy. With the flood of facts and figures that rush by each day, it is easy to lose sight of the call for action, but we can’t let that delay us. While the job market continues to cast a dark shadow, we have young people graduating with hopes and plans for their future in various fields. The opportunities are there for our making, but we have to get working on it. So, let’s do it cowboy style: ‘Stop talking about it and just get things done.’ We recognize. It isn’t up to governments to create jobs. Their role is to offer industry assistance by providing logical business incentives, make introductions to people we don’t already know, and present welcoming policies that create an environment that will encourage investors to feel comfortable and excited to come back to Alberta. We also need more support, fewer regulations, and less restrictions from the ‘far East.’ From an industry lens, a shift in approach has become obvious it is up to us to step up and help rebuild our own economy. On the ground, a shift in thinking is underway for modernizing and looking at ways to diversify within our own industries and strategize ways to work with others within industry pods. Who knows our industries better than us? We have all invested in technologies over the years and are looking for new advancements to take us to the next level. We know our key fossil fuel industry is not going away, nor is the demand, so that door is wide open to

WE ALSO NEED MORE SUPPORT, FEWER REGULATIONS, AND LESS RESTRICTIONS FROM THE ‘FAR EAST.’ FROM AN INDUSTRY LENS, A SHIFT IN APPROACH HAS BECOME OBVIOUS IT IS UP TO US TO STEP UP AND HELP REBUILD OUR OWN ECONOMY. also reinvent themselves by diversifying within. A growing number of companies are also taking this opportunity to invest in each other. What are some of these industries, you might ask? Construction and home building, which I know well, have several new endeavours underway that are firsts to the province. Both are based on feedstock from our key resource. Calgary and area has become an ever-expanding distribution hub with new technologies being implemented with each new building. Artificial intelligence is playing a major role in this growth. Healthcare is another huge opportunity beyond hospitals and medical clinics. Expansion into private surgical facilities are on the drawing board. If nothing else, COVID has shown we have the base and talent to be a leader in producing an endless array of needed medical products. Skeptics of a quick recovery point to everything that could go wrong. So, let’s be masters of our own destiny, prove them wrong and get started. Shane Wenzel is president of the Shane Homes Group of Companies. Follow him @ shanewenzel on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Istagram and YouTube.His column is written for the Alberta Enterprise Group, @AEG on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

KAYDEN INDUSTRIES HELPS ENERGIZE THE PROVINCE KAYDEN INDUSTRIES REMAINS INNOVATIVE, AGILE AND GROWING THROUGH TRANSFORMATION

ayden Industries has always known what they do well, solids control. And they also knew that diversification was necessary to bring them continued success. Kayden Industries LP launched in 1995 as a decanter centrifuge manufacturer supporting the energy sector. In 2015, Kayden diversified to offer solids-liquid separation products to clients in civil construction, lagoon dredging, municipal work, agriculture, and industrial water. The company further expanded to fabricate and custom build a variety of solids removal skids, septage receiving systems, pumps, tanks, and other equipment. Today, the company continues to manufacture, sell, operate, and service one of the largest, most reliable and most effective decanting centrifuges in the oil, gas and environmental dredging industries. President Brent Morrice explains what a centrifuge is, and its significance, “While drilling oil and gas wells, drilling fluids are used to lubricate the downhole tools, eliminate damage to the drill strings and mitigate formation damage. When you drill a well, small cuttings are created, and they need to be removed or problems will occur. We have manufactured a large bowl centrifuge that spins at a high rate which creates G-force to remove solids from fluid, making the drilling fluid reusable, saving our clients a considerable amount of money while mitigating the environmental impact of their drilling operations.” Kayden is visionary as well as innovative. Morrice explains, “During the downturn in 2015, our management team understood that diversification to other industries would strengthen our company. We knew that many other sectors required solid separation expertise. Working with private equity support from TriWest Capital Partners, we strategically moved a portion of our focus to solving desludging challenges in a variety of sectors by adapting our centrifuges. With support from ATB, we also invested in a fleet of electric and diesel dredges. Now, we are currently the only centrifuge manufacturer in North America that offers dredging and desludging services.” The centrifuges built by Kayden are incredibly durable – so much so that they are relied on in Canada’s far north, in the

sands of the Middle East, and in the outback of Australia. “The first Kayden centrifuge built 25 years ago still operates today and is a testament to Kayden centrifuge’s design and quality,” adds Morrice. “We’re proud that our centrifuges have operated on five continents.” As with all operators in the energy sector, Kayden faces industry challenges, but they are happy to move forward in confidence, knowing adaptation helps build a better province. “The world needs oil and gas, but we also recognize that there is a growing focus on cleaner air and cleaner water,” says Morrice. “We are part of that movement, and we are very proud of the fact that we are successfully helping clients right here in Alberta and across North America manage their produced water and appropriately deal with wastewater to minimize the environmental impact of their operations on the local environment.” ABOVE: BRENT MORRICE, PRESIDENT, KAYDEN INDUSTRIES.

Kayden continues to innovate across all sectors. Morrice notes, “We have designed and custom built receiving systems for municipal clients to track the amount and type of waste being received by municipal waste ponds, ensuring no pollutants harmful to the environment are dumped into municipal lagoons. We have also recently developed and manufactured in-house H2S mitigation equipment for certain environmental lagoon applications. Kayden is currently focusing on remote monitoring and automation on drilling rigs while teaming up with other companies to ensure more beneficial reuse options are made available for the waste we recover from dredging and desludging ponds.” Kayden is proud to rely on ATB as a financial partner. “We chose ATB because ATB understands what Albertans face each day,” says Morrice. “ATB understands why we think and how we think as we move into alternative verticals to ensure we continue to grow our company right here in Alberta and around the globe.

ATB was there for us. We were able to expand our fleet of centrifuges to the largest size in our 25-year history to keep up with customer demand, as well as invest in a fleet of dredges with ATB providing necessary equipment financing options to help us grow.” Morrice’s advice for companies seeking success in transformative times is, “Look for opportunities to satisfy a need or requirement that is not currently being met. Continue to search for opportunities that you know your company can compete at and demonstrate leadership in.” He concludes, “Working with ATB, we made the pivots required to be successful in both oil and gas extraction and many types of environmental pond reclamation. The oil and gas industry in Alberta has many years of prosperity to come, but we must always be looking for alternatives to energize our company and this province.”

Morrice champions ATB as a partner for progressive Alberta entrepreneurs of all sizes. “ATB understands Albertans’ business challenges and works collaboratively to find solutions. ATB has been our lender since 2013 and the best word to describe Kayden’s relationship with ATB is ‘partnership.’ During the downturn of 2015/16, ATB provided us the flexibility to navigate our business through some very challenging times. I am not convinced other lenders would have been as supportive. Coming out of that, we saw growth in our oil and gas business in 2017 through 2019.

ATB is pleased to present a 2021 profile series on the businesses and people who are facing challenges head-on to build a strong Alberta.

ABOVE: KAYDEN REMEDIATES PONDS WITH THEIR SOLIDS REMOVAL PROCESS.

OFF

THE

MNP’s Exciting, Good Business News Calgary-based MNP – one of the largest national accounting and business consulting firms in Canada, serving the needs of clients in the private, public and notfor-profit sectors – is growing. Last month, the iconic Canadian professional services firm announced that it has acquired a subset of Deloitte’s Canadian business. MNP’s established and respected business model is designed to support its clients, team members and communities with a local-focused approach. The Calgary headquartered MNP is national in scope and local in focus, has served individuals and public and private companies for 63 years and operates under an integrated national and local model where team members across Canada take advantage of national resources to deliver whatever professional services clients may need. “MNP is a homegrown Canadian organization,” said Jason Tuffs, chief executive officer, MNP. “With the addition of the new offices, we will have 126 offices from coast to coast, including in the largest urban centres, mid-sized cities and the smaller rural cities and towns across all provinces.” According to Trevor Winkler, MNP’s regional managing partner in the Calgary region, “The deal involves MNP acquiring approximately 70 partners and senior leaders, 900 team members and 25 offices in Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. There will be two new partners and 16 new team members added to the Calgary region.” Jason Tuffs points out that acquiring the Deloitte subset will substantially increase MNP’s footprint in Quebec, adding approximately 20 offices across the province, building on the firm’s existing presence in Montreal and Laval. New Ontario locations will also be added in Windsor and Hawkesbury. He enthusiastically outlined that MNP invests time and resources to fully understand its clients’ industry sectors across Canada and, by working with clients across the economic landscape, MNP consistently studies and adapts to innovation, trends and changing legislation and added that

MNP’s core values reflect how the firm sees the world, define who MNP is and where it is going. “Rooted in history, our core values describe our entrepreneurial spirit and they are the touchstone for every decision we make about our future. We hold true to our culture and work hard to protect and preserve our values. They set us apart and are the foundation of our client service approach. “Our service offerings reflect an ever-changing regulatory environment and marketplace” he said. “Every service is tailored to meet client needs, take advantage of opportunities and minimize risk. Our partners and teams deliver insights, strategies and solutions that add value throughout the client’s business’s journey. We enable our clients to succeed, wherever business takes them.” This latest example of dynamic growth is also part of MNP’s evolution and success, “It is a very strategic addition for MNP and reflects our commitment and focus to helping clients in the private, not-for-profit and public sectors across Canada,” he noted. “Our specialized services, expertise and experience will be enhanced by the Deloitte partners and team members who are joining us. We are thrilled to welcome these professionals to our firm.” ABOVE: JASON TUFFS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MNP.

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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THE DELICATE BALANCE // SUCCESSION PLANNING

THE Delicate BALANCE BUSINESS VS. PERSONAL BY JOHN HARDY

ometimes the successful leaders of successful businesses are not quite so successful when it comes to one critical aspect of planning for the business’ future: a smooth and effective succession. Of course, the reams of numbers-crunching are a key part of the process. According to Calgary succession planning experts, not as vital (and delicate, touchy and awkward) as the personal, emotional family part. “There isn’t a family out there that doesn’t have some feelings of resentment or jealousy amongst its members,” notes the experienced Jim Rea, family enterprise advisor with MNP Calgary. “A skillful facilitator can help set the tone for open family discussions, providing a framework

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

for dealing with sensitive issues and bringing intense discussions under control. As with all relationships, better communication leads to improved interactions. “We often find that the heated arguments or shutting down witnessed in early family meetings is replaced by much more collaborative discussions and decision-making once the dust has settled and feelings have been shared.” Effective succession planning acknowledges the reality that, while personal and family aspects are essential, it’s not easy. “Approximately 60 per cent of business transfers fail due to a breakdown of communication and trust, while 25 per cent fail due to inadequately trained successors,” explains Bill McLean, Canada family enterprises and business leader with

THE DELICATE BALANCE // SUCCESSION PLANNING

REA UNDERSCORES THAT, WHILE MOST BUSINESS OWNERS ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT KEEPING THE BUSINESS IN THE FAMILY, THEY NEED TO EVALUATE THE SUITABILITY OF FAMILY MEMBERS FOR SENIOR MANAGEMENT POSITIONS. “Often, the more technical aspects of succession planning such as valuing the business, estate planning, and tax planning can’t proceed because the personal aspects have not been dealt with.” PwC Canada. “Professionals with the skills and experience to support the continuity and succession planning process can help bridge the gaps that can cause the transition to de-rail.” Rea underscores that, while most business owners are passionate about keeping the business in the family, they need to evaluate the suitability of family members for senior management positions. “Do they have the appropriate education, experience and drive to lead the teams and develop strategy? Every family business of a reasonable size should have a family employment policy, which guides the hiring and development of family members,” he says. “Such a policy provides transparency to non-family employees so that there is less resentment and frustration over family members seeming to get advantages not available to nonfamily members.” According to Lynne Fisher, national team leader of EXITSMART at MNP, “True succession planning includes consideration and planning for the future of the business and its leadership. Who will be the owners of the business in the future and how will it impact the owner and the family – not only from the financial, legal and tax aspects, but also from the various personal and emotional aspects?

One of the really tough calls, even for savvy business owners who have successfully dealt with their career share of business speedbumps, broadsides and crises, is objectively evaluating and determining the leadership transition of passing the torch. “Many successful family-owned businesses recognize that key talent will come from both within and outside of the family,” McLean points out. “The business world continues to evolve rapidly. Non-family employees often bring an array of critical skills to the go-forward success of the business.” He suggests that key contributors (both family and non-family) should be considered within the overall continuity and succession planning efforts of the business. Jim Rea emphasizes that trust in the successors’ abilities is paramount and best built up over time, rather than handing the baton and hoping for the best. “Ideally, the successor would take on increasing responsibilities with the owner supervising and eventually becoming confident that the business can run without their involvement.” From much experience consulting on all sizes of succession planning, he says the easiest business to transition or sell “is the one where the owner is able to take a two-month vacation and find everything humming along beautifully when they get back.”

ABOVE: JIM REA, FAMILY ENTERPRISE ADVISOR WITH MNP CALGARY.

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THE DELICATE BALANCE // SUCCESSION PLANNING

SOME SUCCESSION PLANNING EXPERTS POINT OUT THAT THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF AN EFFECTIVE SUCCESSION ARE A BIT LIKE DOMINOES. BUSINESS IS BUSINESS. PERSONAL IS PERSONAL. EACH IS SEPARATE BUT IMPACTS THE OTHERS. McLean stresses that communication is key. No matter what stage of succession planning you’re in, he says it’s essential to the prosperity of the family enterprise to begin the discussion with the family as soon as possible. “Establishing a communication approach that encourages openness and sharing will form the foundation for the important discussions that lie ahead. Building a framework that contemplates all of the critical success factors for the plan and ensuring that this is clearly communicated across all participating family members, ends up assisting the family in managing the emotional realities of the transitions to come.” Some succession planning experts point out that the various aspects of an effective succession are a bit like dominoes. Business is business. Personal is personal. Each is separate but impacts the others. PwC Canada’s recent report shows that 70 per cent of private business owners are planning to sell or pass on their businesses in the coming years. There is also significant demand for mergers and acquisitions from domestic and international buyers and investors. And it all works out to a very complex consideration for succession planning both financially and personally. In fact, a recent business survey by the American National Bureau of Economic Research Family Business Alliance found that 43 per cent of family-owned businesses don’t have a succession plan while three quarters do plan to pass ownership to the next generation. Other North American business surveys have shown that, whether it’s the cliched being too busy, putting out fires and managing crises (like the COVID and lockdown effects on business operations and bottom lines), succession planning gets shuffled to the bottom of the deck and gets procrastinated on. “For some, it’s personal. Where the owner’s identity and purpose are attached to the business and they worry about filling the days and having a life which doesn’t include the

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

title of ‘president and owner.’ For others, the day-to-day operation of the business is all consuming, especially in times like now, when so much is changing. Practically and realistically, they really don’t have time for future planning. “Getting out of this cycle,” she adds, “requires a shift in thinking. From thinking day-to-day to building value.” One frequent but resolvable sticking point on the personal side of succession planning is that “fair” doesn’t necessarily mean “equal.” Bill McLean explains that “Emotions and anxieties can run quite high. One critical aspect of a welldesigned continuity and succession plan is to ensure as much clarity as possible with respect to both rights and responsibilities. Differentiating between matters that are specific to the family versus those that are specific to the business, often require expanded consideration and ensuring clarity of understanding across all involved.” And despite how very complex planning for succession can get, experts caution about the pesky but crucial little detail called ‘legacy.’ “For some business owners, legacy is very much an issue,” Fisher admits. “Particularly those who have businesses which are third generation or older. There is a desire to be the one who keeps the family business intact for the next generation, and not be the one who breaks the chain. More commonly, the priority is stewardship. Owners want to ensure that whatever their succession plan works out to be, their employees, customers and the reputation of the business will continue to be taken care of and thrive.” The experts caution that building a solid legacy and having an effective succession plan is vital but rarely ever cookiecutter. “Each business is unique and each family dynamic is unique,” McLean says. “Yet, more often than not, owners want the same things: what’s best for their business and what’s best for their family while creating a legacy they can pass on to future generations.”

CALGARY: OPPORTUNITY-RICH IN THE NEW ECONOMY As COVID-19 vaccinations roll out around the world, communities continue to navigate the reopening of businesses, while protecting the most vulnerable. A return to pre-pandemic normalcy remains uncertain, but many major cities, including Calgary, are hedging their bets on technology as a path towards economic recovery. In fact, meeting the opportunity in a digital future is the focus of Calgary in the New Economy, the community’s economic strategy created over two years ago. With a vision to become the destination of choice for the world’s best entrepreneurs who embrace innovation to solve global challenges, Calgary is doubling down on technology – across established and emerging industries – for future growth. With the restructuring of the energy sector that began a half a decade ago, Calgary started down the path to a digitally-transformed economy ahead of other cities. From cleaner energy and safe and secure food, to the efficient

CALGARY IS DOUBLING DOWN ON TECHNOLOGY – ACROSS ESTABLISHED AND EMERGING INDUSTRIES – FOR FUTURE GROWTH.

movement of goods and people and better health solutions – the city is at the dawn of new opportunities with home-grown companies leading game-changing advancements. The pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of industry around the world, which makes it clear – we’re on the right path forward. The proof is in the record volume of venture capital flowing into Calgary, with several billion-dollar “unicorn” deals across diverse sectors. New research for Calgary Economic Development by IDC Canada also reveals Calgary companies will lead the approximate $20 billion digital transformation spend across all industries in Alberta by 2024.

To learn more, visit calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com/the-new-economy

Signs of a long-term recovery are present and there’s space to grow in our opportunity-rich city. Calgary’s affordable downtown core is open for the taking by the burgeoning innovation ecosystem. The heart of the city can become a hub for any and all industries – think vertical farming, micro-distribution centres and green building conversions – the future is what we make it. As a city of problem solvers with a signature entrepreneurial spirit, Calgary will rise to the challenge time and time again. We will remain a global energy centre and leaders in the energy transition. A top tech talent city with a STEM-skilled workforce and a low corporate tax rate. An inclusive population with an enviable lifestyle. The disrupters – not the disrupted. The future will look different, but our people and the community have what it takes to expand our legacy as a world-class city solving global challenges.

EMPLOYMENT IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD // HUMAN RESOURCES

EMPLOYMENT IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD LOOKING AHEAD TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE

BY ERLYNN GOCOCO

hen Alberta declared a pandemic just over a year ago, the province’s labour market suffered tremendously. Fast forward 13 months later and Alberta’s unemployment rate sits at 10.7 per cent, the second-highest in the country behind Newfoundland and Labrador at 12.8 per cent, according Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey released Feb. 5, 2021.

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

The survey revealed that in January 2021, part-time jobs increased by 21,100, a big shift from December when thousands of jobs were lost. This was the first employment rate increase since October of last year. However, this increase was somewhat offset by a decrease of 300 full-time jobs. Alberta’s hospitality and food service industries took the largest hit at the beginning of 2021 with 17,900 jobs lost.

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EMPLOYMENT IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD // HUMAN RESOURCES

The biggest gains were seen in the construction industry, which added 15,300 jobs. Human resources experts say that trades and sales positions, while not recession-proof, tend to be the first place that the market sees growth. The reality is that the pandemic has affected all industries and all Albertans. Calgary-based Real HR Founder and president Eleanor Culver says, “It’s not news that COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the Calgary job market. Every single Calgarian has been personally affected, whether by job modifications or job loss. We do, however, see reason for hope.” According to Culver, rather than dwelling on the doom and gloom, we must recognize the benefits that COVID-19 has had on small businesses in Calgary. These include increased adaptability, reprioritization of goals and work tasks, embracement of technology, improved staff cohesiveness, personal growth and resilience. Culver adds, “Businesses have pivoted to accommodate the pandemic situation. Think about the breweries who are now producing hand sanitizer, high-end restaurants expanding to take out, clothing manufacturers producing non-medical masks and millwork companies now creating custom acrylic panels. As well, individuals and businesses have had to revise their priorities to focus on what is most important–the people factor.” She also points out that because businesses had to shift to remote work, employees quickly learned how to be more productive while working remotely and to be accountable for results, not effort. “Even after we get the all-clear to return en masse to offices, we believe that workplaces will retain a portion of their workforce in a remote capacity,” says Culver. Krista Sloan associate partner at Klopp Richards and Associates agrees with Culver and is optimistic about the future. “We have noticed a steady increase in recruitment demands over the past six months and will likely see this continue. Due to the diversity of our client base, we are often able to present candidates with multiple opportunities. The legal, accounting and residential property management

“EVEN AFTER WE GET THE ALL-CLEAR TO RETURN EN MASSE TO OFFICES, WE BELIEVE THAT WORKPLACES WILL RETAIN A PORTION OF THEIR WORKFORCE IN A REMOTE CAPACITY,” SAYS CULVER. industries have been extremely active with newly created positions.” Sloan is optimistic about what the future holds for both job seekers and employers. “What excites me the most coming out of this pandemic is how employers and employees alike are embracing remote working environments.” Who are companies hiring, if at all? Klopp Richards and Associates managing partner Dina Klopp explains that job seekers who are flexible and possess a positive mindset will fare better than those who are negative and unwilling to accommodate ever-changing work environments. “Skilled candidates who are flexible and have a great attitude are always in demand and this year has been no exception. Particularly in the legal, public accounting and tax, property management, and tech sectors. We are seeing competing ABOVE: ELEANOR CULVER, PRESIDENT, REAL HR. RIGHT: DINA KLOPP, MANAGING PARTNER, KLOPP RICHARDS & ASSOCIATES.

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

EMPLOYMENT IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD // HUMAN RESOURCES

DINA KLOPP EXPLAINS THAT JOB SEEKERS WHO ARE FLEXIBLE AND POSSESS A POSITIVE MINDSET WILL FARE BETTER THAN THOSE WHO ARE NEGATIVE AND UNWILLING TO ACCOMMODATE EVER-CHANGING WORK ENVIRONMENTS. offers and counter offers despite the higher than usual unemployment rate. We have also witnessed highly-skilled individuals successfully transition careers and sectors. These individuals have self-identified transferable skills and are willing to embrace change and are open to learning.” Culver believes that finding a job in one’s particular industry is not impossible. “It may, however, require some creativity on the job seeker’s part. For example, it’s possible to create a full-time position by shopping their skills to several

companies as opposed to just one. One organization may not need a full-time communications person, but several may need 10 to 15 hours per week.” When it comes to looking for a job during a downturn, Culver says contrary to popular belief, job seekers have opportunities. “Businesses are trying their best remain open, this means that jobs in steady growth industries and re-opening jobs can be found. Companies, now more than ever, are taking the time to be cautious with their money and taking hiring decisions seriously. This is the opportunity to tune your resume to show off your best skills. That means, before firing off a resume, do some research on the target company and tailor your cover letter and resume to ensure you

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2021

EMPLOYMENT IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD // HUMAN RESOURCES

SLOAN IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR BOTH JOB SEEKERS AND EMPLOYERS. “WHAT EXCITES ME THE MOST COMING OUT OF THIS PANDEMIC IS HOW EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES ALIKE ARE EMBRACING REMOTE WORKING ENVIRONMENTS.”

demonstrate how you can fit the corporate culture while delivering value.”

businesses and restaurants begin to re-open, those who were laid off will be going back to work.

When it comes to teamwork, the power of cohesiveness and unity has never been stronger than in this last year. “We have seen an increase in adaptability, teamwork, accountability and unity in many of our clients’ workforces. Even after 12 months of COVID-19 restrictions, employees have a sense that we are in this together and appreciate the extra efforts their employers have expended to ensure they are safe at work,” says Culver.

In just a few short months, Culver points out it will be patio season, which is thrilling for many Calgarians. She believes that the service industry will boom as people get excited to get out and hit the town again.

With all that Albertans have gone through, what does a post-pandemic world look like on the job front? For many, COVID-19 has forced a slower pace of life – a time to pause and reflect and re-examine priorities. It has created the opportunity to focus on self-development as well as take inventory of what is important in life. This, says Culver, is called personal growth.

Looking at the bright side of things, Klopp explains that this is a good time and opportunity for companies that are looking to grow. “There are some very talented individuals out there who typically would not make a move, but are now open to exploring new roles, companies, industries and even locations. We feel this is an exciting time in Alberta as we continue to diversify, build and develop our talent pool. We definitely still have that entrepreneurial ‘can do’ attitude that will see us through the rough patches and bring opportunity our way. I am personally excited to see how the next few years will unfold for all of us.”

As more Albertans are vaccinated and public health restrictions are slowly lifted, more jobs will open up, putting people back to work. Many in the service sector opted to lay off employees versus terminate. This means that as

Culver concurs and adds, “Both businesses and individuals have come to recognize that they are stronger, more adaptable and much more resilient than they assumed before they were faced with the challenges COVID-19 has brought.”

ABOVE: KRISTA SLOAN, ASSOCIATE PARTNER, KLOPP RICHARDS & ASSOCIATES.

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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WELCOME HOME // COVER

WELCOME HOME

VIRTUO’S CASEY KACHUR ON HOW HIS COMPANY IS TRANSFORMING THE HOME OWNERSHIP PROCESS

BY MELANIE DARBYSHIRE

ypically the largest purchase in a person’s life, buying a home should be a joyful occasion. A new beginning, setting down of roots, a place to call one’s own; a newly purchased home, whether single family, townhome, condominium or apartment, should be cause for celebration. Anyone who has lived through the experience, however, knows all too well that this is hardly the case. Buying a home is never easy. From home search, finance, purchase, and legal, to packing, cleaning, moving, unpacking plus relocating utilities and services – there is much to manage, schedule and shop around for. Rarely does everything occur without a hitch. And even after you settle in, the pain continues: seasonal maintenance, home repairs and then renovations as your needs and dreams change, all to ensure the value of your most significant asset. Casey Kachur and his team at Virtuo are out to prove there is another way. Their home concierge platform was built to make home purchase, moving, and subsequent home living stress-free. The Virtuo Concierge platform connects the endto-end journey through a seamless mix of human support

and technology, leaving their clients raving about the most pain-free new home experience they’ve ever had – and wondering why it hasn’t always been this way. “At our core, we are a customer experience company,” Kachur explains from Virtuo’s Calgary offices. “We’ve redesigned what has traditionally been a difficult and often frustrating series of tasks and events into a seamless experience. With their own human concierge to talk to, the client feels confident their needs are being met and that everything is being managed, nothing forgotten.” Virtuo builds and incorporates technology into its platform to support a streamlined experience and create huge time savings for its clients. “For example, we use computer vision to detect, categorize and estimate the size and weight of objects in a room,” Kachur explains, “so movers will get a detailed packing list for a move – allowing them to more accurately quote and plan, and saving our clients hours of time getting multiple quotes. Not to mention shock, which occurs far too often, when the final price differs from the quote. It is a human-driven experience, but technology allows us to scale and deliver it to more people. From a client perspective, it’s peace of mind because everything is taken care of.”

ABOVE: CASEY KACHUR, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, VIRTUO. PHOTO SOURCE: EWAN PHOTO VIDEO

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2021

WELCOME HOME // COVER

Originally launched in July 2016, Kachur, who had spent most of his life working in his family’s moving business, started Virtuo as a solution to what he viewed as a broken process. “It’s super fragmented,” he laments. “The biggest purchase of your life which is supposed to be so exciting, but in today’s day and age of convenience and ease it’s still an aggravating purchase? That doesn’t make sense.” Part of the third generation in his family’s Edmonton-based moving and relocating business – Highland Moving and Storage Ltd., founded by his grandparents in 1938 – Kachur worked his way around the business from the age of 14: in the warehouse, as a mover and on the road. It was truly where his journey with Virtuo started. “I got to see firsthand our customers’ troubles,” he says, “working with them, being in their homes for days. I was also in operations and saw the logistical issues the service providers experienced, the lack of trust and the mess when something went wrong. It was a pretty interesting view of the industry.” “We started working with Alberta-based energy companies, helping them build relocation programs for their teams,” he recalls. “We were delivering this amazing end-to-end, seamless relocation service to executives and their families. And yet, on the moving side, for you and I and the average person, it was still so terrible.”

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER, VIRTUO SIGNED A SIMILAR DEAL WITH A LARGE PRODUCTION HOME BUILDER. “THAT WAS THE MOMENT OF ‘OK, LET’S REALLY FOCUS ON DELIVERING THIS WONDERFUL MOVE-IN EXPERIENCE FOR THESE HOME BUILDERS’,” KACHUR REFLECTS. “THAT’S WHERE GROWTH REALLY TOOK OFF.” the journey – for example, the final experience in buying a brand-new build was this aggravating move-in experience,” Kachur says. “We had interest from some of the largest home builders in Alberta and quickly signed a pilot project with Brookfield in Calgary.”

This was the gap that Kachur set out to fill with Virtuo.

Almost immediately after, Virtuo signed a similar deal with a large production home builder. “That was the moment of ‘OK, let’s really focus on delivering this wonderful move-in experience for these home builders’,” Kachur reflects. “That’s where growth really took off.”

He started the company as a business-to-consumer venture, focusing on individual homeowners and their home purchases. “We were like every other startup – really optimistic,” he recalls. “The few clients we had told us they loved the service, so we just threw a bunch of marketing money into it and thought we’d be successful overnight. That wasn’t the case.”

As a service provider for the homebuilder’s customers, Virtuo acts as the concierge for new homeowners. Once a home is purchased, the team gets to work. “We’ll get on the phone at the beginning to get an understanding of the client’s situation and pain points, what their budget is, and build out a plan for them,” Kachur explains. “Then we get to work. The pre-planning is key and the rest is smooth sailing.”

For a year, Virtuo struggled to find its fit in the market. “We were more on the upstream real estate side,” he reflects. “Similar to the relocation model. We were complementary to agents and brokers, but we really struggled to get the message of our value proposition to the consumer.”

Virtuo’s concierge matches the homeowner with trusted service providers and manages the delivery of everything. “We’re accountable right to the end, we take them through the journey,” he adds. The services are provided on behalf of the builder or developer at no cost to the homeowner.

Then in 2017, everything changed: “We realized that this experience reflected poorly on all the individual players in

Since 2018, Virtuo has grown rapidly throughout Western Canada, predominantly through partnerships with

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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WELCOME HOME // COVER

homebuilders and community developers. Growth has also seen the company open operations in Los Angeles, and they have interest from partners in Toronto and Texas. While the company counts the majority of Alberta-based large home builders as clients, listening to those who are more focused on truly delivering an amazing customer experience uncovered a new insight: the move-in is just one part of the story. “There is a larger ecosystem around both the new home journey and the ongoing ‘living’ phase,” Kachur explains. “And those same challenges that make it an irritating experience for the consumer exist from the fragmented and disconnected

journeys. So we thought ‘What if we could transform this entire experience the same way we did for the move?’” With this vision in mind, in late 2020 Virtuo formalized a partnership with Qualico Communities to deliver an elevated experience to seven of their Calgary communities. It expects to sign similar deals this year. Over time, Kachur sees the service being adopted into older, more established communities as well, to drive more connectivity and engagement in them. “2020 was actually the best year for us so far,” Kachur marvels, “despite it being a weird and challenging year. We were coming off a year of growth in excess of 100 per cent ABOVE: CASEY AND THE TEAM MANAGE ALL OF THE MOVES AND HOME SERVICES THROUGHOUT CANADA AND THE USA OUT OF THEIR DOWNTOWN CALGARY OFFICE. PHOTO SOURCE: EWAN PHOTO VIDEO

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

WELCOME HOME // COVER

ONE NATURAL TRANSITION VIRTUO IS CURRENTLY FOCUSED ON IS GREATER VERTICAL INTEGRATION WITH INDUSTRY PARTNERS, PARTICULARLY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, INSURANCE COMPANIES, BUILDERS, DEVELOPERS, AND UTILITIES, TO SUPPORT THE ENTIRE LIFECYCLE OF HOME OWNERSHIP. year-over-year, so we had big plans. But even we couldn’t imagine what was possible. We continued to grow over 50 per cent during COVID-19, with a growing team often working remotely, as we were re-positioning the company and built out the platform to solve this huge consumer issue and turn it into the first-class experience it should be.” A successful seed round to fund this growth opportunity was also completed. “We had originally planned to raise in early 2020 – and opened up a round in March 2020,” he says, “which was pretty scary given the pandemic. But we ended up oversubscribed. We received a lot of Alberta-based interest and capital, which was great.” One such investor is Maggnum Ventures Inc., a familyowned private real estate investor and developer based in Calgary. President Matthew Grieve was attracted to the unique startup tech company and is so far very happy with the investment. “Virtuo has made natural transitions to become what it is today,” Grieve notes. “They are bringing in lots of new clients that are best in class and are expanding quickly. People will always need to move and this makes it much more simple.” One natural transition Virtuo is currently focused on is greater vertical integration with industry partners, particularly financial institutions, insurance companies, builders, developers, and utilities, to support the entire lifecycle of home ownership. “We’re helping these businesses provide end-to-end solutions to their customers, and a way they can maintain their customer relationships beyond the transaction.” Kachur explains. “It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

Another difficulty in the live phase is finding trusted home services providers to provide hassle-free preventative maintenance around the home. “People want to just set it and forget it,” Kachur offers. “Pay your monthly fee for the peace of mind that it’s all managed – yard maintenance, snow removal, furnace servicing, house cleaners. We get you better deals at scale and by bundling services together, with the Virtuo Home Concierge as the single point of contact who facilitates it all for the customer.” For his part, Grieve is optimistic about Virtuo’s future: “With the size of the opportunity they are solving, they are prime to grow exponentially – and maybe one day even go public,” he ventures. “I grew up with Casey and have followed his career. He is one of the brightest and most determined people I know.” A big proponent of his adopted home-city, Kachur sees Calgary as increasingly tech-friendly. “It’s full of smart, ambitious entrepreneurs – and lots of really nice people,” he says. “And the tech ecosystem is growing fast. There’s a lot of talent and exciting companies here.” Grieve agrees: “Maggnum likes to invest in Alberta and we hope to be a part of the diversification of new and established industries that look to the future. We have a great place to live and want to retain the great entrepreneurial spirit and help it grow.” Looking forward, Kachur is confident that Virtuo will play an important role in a more diversified, tech-friendly, Calgary. His focus, for now, is upwards: “We’re growing fast. And as a startup, at the end of the day if you’re growing, then you’re going in the right direction.” But it’s not just growth that is on his mind. “From years of experience in this industry, and being homeowners ourselves, we know firsthand the frustrations people experience,” he muses. “People deserve better – and we’re building the platform to connect the experience, but no one party can solve it alone. It will take a collective effort from all sides of the industries involved to make a difference.” And if it is successful? “We will have positively changed one of the most painful yet significant experiences in people’s lives today – and people will wonder how it didn’t happen sooner.”

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2021

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COVER 3 • Business of Energy • April 2021

David Yager | Post-Pandemic, Alberta is the Place to be

POSTPANDEMIC, ALBERTA IS THE PLACE TO BE by David Yager

s Albertans cope with lockdowns, restricted travel and vaccination delays, their views of the future are understandably short term. This is no surprise. We’ve been living for a year on an endless diet of bad news. Even a U.S. election that seemed positive for those really tired of Donald Trump turned sour when incoming President Joe Biden’s first order of business was to cancel Keystone XL. Again. Prognostications about our post-COVID future have been dominated by those with an agenda and a soapbox. Build Back Better. Great Reset. Energy Transition. Resilient Recovery. Green New Deal. If slogans were money, we’d be rich. They all claim that returning to a pre-pandemic world would be failure, not success. There are the same folks who so capably managed the pandemic. Hardly a confidence builder. The most important macro-economic driver deserving much more attention is the reduced ability of governments to use deficit spending and ultra-lower interest rates to stimulate the economy. Governments have been on a borrowing binge since the last great downturn of 2008/09. Using the fancy term “quantitative easing,” governments have been spending continuously and borrowing heavily to increase the money supply, stimulate liquidity and encourage higher corporate and personal debt through very low interest rates.

The combined effect has been to mask declining productivity and low levels of business confidence and investment. As a consequence, not enough growth has come from true wealth creation, the sale of goods and services at a value much greater than the total cost of production. Like primary resources. Oil. Natural gas. Agriculture. Minerals. Forestry. The things that built Canada and Alberta. The bread-and-butter industries that urban dwellers and millennials don’t understand; the essentials of life that are taken for granted because there has never been a shortage. Modern society increasingly questions resource development because it disturbs the land and contaminates the atmosphere. Post-pandemic, Canada will be forced back to the basics. Blessed with a disproportionate share of what modern civilization cannot live without, Alberta’s economy will rise once again. G7 countries had accumulated a ton of debt before the pandemic. Using government debt to GDP ratios, prior to the 2008/09 world economic crisis the average debt/GDP ratio for Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and U.S. was about 55 per cent. When major financial institutions began collapsing in the fall of 2008, central banks responded with tremendous injections of liquidity to prevent a run on the world’s financial system. It worked. Coined a “bazooka” by central bankers, the combination of massive injections of liquidity and ultra-low interest rates got the economy

4 • Business of Energy • April 2021

Post-Pandemic, Alberta is the Place to be | David Yager

Unemployment rates stayed low, inflation was under control, and stock markets were strong. What a beautiful thing. What politician would dare spoil this story? Public debt no longer seemed to matter to anyone but fiscal conservatives and businessmen. From the same voices increasingly branded as incapable of managing the modern economy the way it should be run. Just noise. After all, corporate social responsibility was much more important than profits, shareholders and customers. Economic activity was also stimulated by rising personal debt, now at record levels. In 2007 total Canadian household debt was about 70 per cent of GDP. Thanks to very low interest rates and a seemingly robust economy, by 2019 this rose to 100 per cent, about 50 per cent higher. This was supported by growing “current transfers received,” defined by Statistics Canada as income without labor or product sales. Canadians received $204 billion in transfers in the third quarter of 2008, about $6,182 for each of 33 million Canadians. By the end of 2019, this figure was $355 billion for 38 million Canadians, $9,342 or 50 per cent more. Cash from the Crown. What a beautiful thing. And “progressives” want to give us all much more. Then along came COVID. When governments locked everybody in their homes, they had to keep the economy functioning. So central banks cranked up the printing presses and really started dispensing the cash. By the end of 2020, the G7 debt/GDP ratio was 110 per cent, double that of 13 years earlier. In Canada, instead of the balanced budget by 2019 that Prime Minister Trudeau promised in the 2015 election, in his first five fiscal years in office the total debt increased by $92 billion, or an average of $18 billion per year. Now the estimated deficit for the 12 months ended March 31, 2021 is a staggering $380 billion. Canadians have not seen a federal budget since 2019. How much of Canada’s prosperity is supported by deficit financing? More importantly, what happens to the economy when it stops? On January 29 economist Jack Mintz wrote in a column in the Financial Post titled, “Per Capita Economic Growth Has Stalled.” It examined Canada’s financial performance in the past five years. In 2015, the year the Liberals were elected, real per capita GDP (in 2012 dollars) was $51,158. Five years later in October of 2020 it was $50,510, a decline of 0.75 per cent. Obviously, the pandemic hurt. But the problem was much deeper. Since 2015, the only year per capita GDP grew materially was in 2017, 1.9 per cent. The other years were flat. Under the increasingly vilified leadership of Donald Trump, the U.S. did much better. From 2016 to pre-pandemic 2019, the U.S. grew at an average of 1.7 per cent annually using this measure. Canada averaged only 41 per cent of that figure. According to Mintz, Canada’s average real GDP per capita in 2016 was about $11,300 below that of the U.S. By 2019 this was up to $14,000. Mintz concluded this was the worst five-year performance in modern history.

5 • Business of Energy • April 2021

Post-Pandemic Alberta is the place to be

back on its feet very quickly. But it was so effective they never stopped. Choosing not to wait for a recovery driven by productivity, profits and savings, they kept borrowing money. By 2011 the debt/GDP ratio was up to 80 per cent, 45 per cent higher than before the crisis. From 2012 to 2019 this rose another 10 per cent to 90 per cent, 64 per cent more than before the meltdown.

David Yager | Post-Pandemic, Alberta is the Place to be

Blazing trail. Backwards. These five years overlay perfectly with the collapse of oil prices in late 2014 and the election of the Justin Trudeau Liberal government. Not only has Canada chased away capital as international investors bailed out of the oil sands, but we’ve also created a significant investor chill through pipeline cancellations and delays, tanker bans, and increasingly complex and uncertain major project approval processes. Business across Canada has complained about the country’s lack of competitiveness for years. The Liberals are not listening. Some of the last financial news to come out of Ottawa in 2020 was the plan to raise carbon taxes from $30 per tonne today to $170 per tonne in 2030. That will surely get global investors ringing our doorbell. How can the foregoing summary of runaway debt, profligate public spending and proenvironment, anti-fossil fuel policies possibly be good news for Albertans? Because it is unsustainable. Out of necessity, the economy will be forced back to the basics, and that includes agriculture and primary resources like oil and gas. Governments must raise taxes and cut spending to get the debt under control. This will reduce disposable income. Consumers cannot afford a five-fold increase in carbon taxes over the next nine years, rebates or not. They will be forced to reprioritize spending on the basics of food, transportation, clothing, heat and shelter. Three are in Alberta’s sweet spot. The significant rebound in Alberta’s oil industry in the past few months has been clouded by the pandemic misery dominating the headlines. During the February cold snap, natural gas reached high prices not seen in years. By midFebruary crude oil was at pre-pandemic levels. ARC Energy Research Institute’s February 9 report estimates 2021 revenue from oil and gas

production back at 2017 levels at $104 billion and free cash flow from production at $42 billion. The figures for 2020 were only $76 billion and $23 billion respectively. Big bucks. Real cash flow from resource extraction, not governments handouts or stimulus programs. When people opine about “sustainable” business models, surely this is what they really mean! The world may be experiencing another commodity “super cycle”, with prices for copper and iron ore reaching levels not seen in a decade. This means that cost-of-living essentials are going up. Tax increases to cover deficit spending or Canada’s 2030 Paris climate change commitments will further erode personal disposable income. If interest rates rise, as they may if inflation returns, everything related to debt will cost more. The entire energy transition concept from fossil fuels to renewables is a pre-COVID phenomenon, conceived and funded during a period of significant economic growth supported by government spending. It will cost many trillions more to finish the job. Paid by whom? Debt ridden governments or economically squeezed consumers? Who can really afford to pay more for energy? Who can really afford to pay more for anything? The pre-COVID economic playbook will not survive in the post-pandemic world. Domestically produced resources will again be recognized as an asset, not a liability. Alberta is very well positioned to be a winner in Canada’s B economic future. OE

David Yager is a Calgary oil service executive, energy policy analyst, writer and author. He is President and CEO of Winterhawk Well Abandonment Ltd., a methane emission reduction technology company. His 2019 book From Miracle to Menace- Alberta, A Carbon Story is available at www.miracletomenace.ca.

6 • Business of Energy • April 2021

Let’s Celebrate our Successes, and Take Pride in our Energy Sector | Cody Battershil

LET’S CELEBRATE OUR SUCCESSES, AND TAKE PRIDE IN OUR ENERGY SECTOR by Cody Battershill

ere’s to Steve Major, a Calgary-based partner at the law firm Bennett Jones LLP.

Last month at the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Bar Association, a member reintroduced a resolution that proposed the CBA adopt a definition of “Climate Justice” that would then help shape law reform policies in Canada. (The resolution, defeated a year earlier, was reintroduced as a result of a technical voting glitch.) Steve’s opposing view was that “Climate Justice” means different things to different people. For example, in Steve’s view – and mine as well – climate justice means supplying MORE Canadian energy to the globe, not less. He further argued the CBA, as a national organization representing the legal profession, should not be used for politically divisive issues like this one. In his previous submission against the resolution in the spring of 2020, he described his opposition as follows: “To certain lawyers, ‘climate justice’ may really mean ‘leaving all fossil fuels in the ground’ and interpreting any pro-energy development as something against which to rally, legislate, rule and, if the resolution passes, then also enlisting the CBA to advocate such an agenda.” “To others, ‘climate justice’ actually means something at the opposite end of the spectrum, that is doing everything possible to facilitate getting Canadian oil and natural gas to the rest of Canada and specifically, to tidewater to ultimately replace the (higher emission) coal-burning in China. After all, global CO2 emissions know no border.” More recently, Steve put it this way: “The main point remains that the proponent’s definition of ‘Climate Justice’ is nebulous, verbose, and open to a multitude of interpretations

and meanings that are largely dependent on the viewpoint of the lawyer who happens to be reading it. While this open invitation for political discourse may be appropriate for other organizations, the CBA should not be subject to the political pressures of the day.” Steve added that he acknowledges some CBA members might advocate that Canadian hydrocarbons should be kept in the ground, despite Canada’s better performance when measured against environment, social and governance (ESG) metrics. “Many of our competing jurisdictions have failed to make any improvements to environmental performance, social leadership, process or governance,” Steve argued, “during a period where Canadian producers have led the charge on what it means to be a progressive energy producer.” Steve reports that with the assistance of a half dozen other opposition speakers, the “NO” vote ultimately carried the day. While it may seem like a small, obscure win, it’s the kind of critical victory that sometimes goes unnoticed. That’s unfortunate because, when taken together, small successes often add up to something much larger. So, thanks to you, Steve and your colleagues in the legal profession who spoke out responsibly and brought intellectual rigour to the B conversation. We celebrate your win. OE

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

7 • 7Business • Business of Energy of Energy • December • April 2021 2020

Cover | Digitally Transforming Frac

DIGITALLY

TRANSFORMING FRAC COLD BORE’S BRETT CHELL ON BEING AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION OF WELL COMPLETIONS by Melanie Darbyshire

Brett Chell, co-founder, president & CEO of Cold Bore. Photo by Bookstrucker.

iven the state of the hydraulic fracturing (also referred to as ‘fracing’, ‘frac’ and ‘well completions’) industry over the past five years, one might assume it’s a tough business to be in today. In the last year alone, everything that could have gone wrong for the industry seemingly did: oil fell to negative $37/barrel; a surge of bankruptcies and consolidations swept North American oil and gas companies; the COVID-19 pandemic caused a seesaw in the demand for energy; and, a newly-inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden banned fracking on U.S. federal land. If there has ever been a difficult time to be in the well completions business, now seems to be it. In fact the opposite is true for Calgary’s Cold Bore Technology. Founded in 2014, the company’s SmartPAD - the world’s first and only completions master control system, which allows for truly autonomous frac has transformed the fracing operations of producers across North America, making Cold Bore a singularly valuable ally to an industry working through turbulent times. It’s been a slog to be sure, as many tech startups can relate. But, having emerged stronger than ever from a challenging 2020, with the price of oil stabilized and forecast to continue a slow and steady rise, and given the push towards greater automation in the hydraulic fracturing industry, Cold Bore is now capitalizing. “We’re a survival story,” says Brett Chell, cofounder and president of Cold Bore, proudly. “There’s a triple recession, oil and gas gets crushed, we pivot, we refinance - all of it. We started as two guys and now we’re 65 people. Last year our revenue was $6 million - almost double the year before - during what was

conceivably the worst year possible. And we are on track to pass $25 million this year.” The core of the business is SmartPAD, a completions master control system. “SmartPAD acts as a centralized nervous system,” Chell explains of the made-in-Canada product, “to connect all of the control systems from different service companies on site. It’s a network, a platform that universally brings the whole operation together. Literally brings the whole pad together - from a physical and data perspective.”

8 • Business of Energy • April 2021

Digitally Transforming Frac | Cover

Using sensors on the frac trees, the system autonomously tracks workflow for the entire pad, then provides an auditable baseline. “It’s the first time a company thought to track the entire pad itself, rather than a single service,” Chell points out. “The result is a one-second accurate workflow that connects control systems and enables zero-human interaction, fully autonomous frac operations.” All users working on the pad, from oil companies to service companies, have access to the dashboard, which has every service screen on location consolidated into one place. Indeed, Cold Bore has partnered with most major service companies who connect their automated control systems to the “central hub,” so they too can be part of the autonomous frac evolution. Whereas the traditional method is to manually track frac operations by hand using Excel spreadsheets at the wellhead (each service company tracking and formatting its own data), SmartPAD replaces this inefficient, inaccurate and dangerous job by digitally tracking all of the data from sensors on the frac trees. The data is formatted into the 100 per cent accurate workflow and accessible to all service companies and the operator. “Everybody on the pad sharing one platform and one database that is fully audited in real time,” Chell says. “All while still being able to use their own control systems on location.” SmartPAD also provides a full real-time analytics platform, with the ability to set alerts and alarms on any service company’s raw data feeds, or share raw data between service companies. This allows them to feed each other’s algorithms and drastically improve operations in dozens of different areas. “Once we’ve connected all the services with a master control system and made them visible to everybody,” Chell explains, “we then implement automation. We automate all of the inefficiencies and cut unnecessary human interactions out. There is a massive operational efficiency gain, which equates to faster completions.” “We’re selling informational efficiency gains,” he continues, noting SmartPAD is a giant step above an analytics platform. “Once you fix your information, the visualizations from your analytics are going to be infinitely better and it will be obvious how your operation must change.

9 • Business of Energy • April 2021

Digitally Transforming Frac

SmartPAD™ Dashboard displaying frac tree and pressure data.

Cover | Digitally Transforming Frac

You’ll see what you’re missing and can change it automatically. You’ve affected infrastructure, safety, operations, automation - and all of the services will define best practices jointly.” That operational efficiency also helps operators ‘green’ their completions. “Less time on the pad means less water and chemical usage,” Chell points out, “but also less time that pumps are burning fuel and creating emissions.” Most importantly, because there is a single timestamp of operations on location, operators can provide audited proof of reduced consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and ESG improvements. All of this means money to operators, more and more of whom are using SmartPAD. “We have clients in Canada and all over the U.S. now,” Chell says. “Eastern Pennsylvania, Pittsburg, Dallas, Houston, Colorado and North Dakota. We’re also inbounded by companies in Australia, the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Argentina.” Not bad for a guy from Lethbridge who started his career on a drilling rig. “After high school I went to art school in Vancouver, and then dropped out because I decided I wanted to make money,” he laughs. “All my friends were going out to the oil rigs and I figured I could spend one, maybe two years there.” Seven years later, Chell had worked his way up the chain, from leasehand (scrubbing the outside of the shacks) to getting offered a drilling job. Wanting a change, he joined Xtreme Coil Drilling in 2005, where he was involved in building drilling rigs and technology development. A couple of years later he joined a group of Calgary entrepreneurs involved with various tech startups. “That’s where I learned finance from a startup perspective,” he says. “I learned the game of private equity, venture capital, how to raise money, how to build financial narratives, when, how and what you can raise money for in Canada versus the U.S.”

Brett Chell & Engineer Permian.

However, by the end of 2015 the price of oil collapsed, bringing drilling activity down with it. “We had actually been working on a side project digitizing wellheads, so we thought why not take the acoustic tool we have and go to completions,” Chell explains. “We pivoted,” he continues. “We were basically broke. We’d spent the first $2 million we’d raised from friends and family but had no product, nothing. The industry was down, nobody liked oil and gas. But we bootstrapped another million bucks together, a hundred grand at a time, just keeping it alive, and went to completions.” To refine the product, Chell spent many hours on completions pads testing the digitized wellheads. Coming from the drilling world, where all of the sensors send data to a centralized computer, he quickly realized there was no centralized control system in frac. “The data was all over the place,” he says, “unformatted and a mess. Some was used, some went to the cloud, some just disappeared. I had nothing to plug into and it became obvious that that was the big opportunity.”

He co-founded Axial Energy Tech in 2014, to fund and build energy startups, one of which was Cold Bore. In time, it became his (and CFO Blair Layton’s) sole focus.

The initial idea for SmartPAD was a centralized control system: “Plug everyone in and show the data, then automate the processes. Network the entire pad. But the original concept is nowhere near what we have today.”

Their original concept for the company was to build directional drilling tools out of acoustics.

Convincing operators to use SmartPAD in the beginning (when still in development) required

10 • Business of Energy • April 2021

Digitally Transforming Frac | Cover

Digitally Transforming Frac

A control station for monitoring fully autonomous frac on-premises. This view is replicated in the cloud for remote ops as well.

thousands of air miles logged by Chell, who, prior to the pandemic, spent almost every week in Houston, Dallas or Pittsburg. “About two years ago we got to the point where six major companies were using the product and we met up with the Rices (of the Rice Investment Group (RIG)). When I showed it to Toby Rice, he saw the opportunity right away and was in.” With a cheque for $4 million from the RIG – one of the largest names in U.S. private equity – Cold Bore was well on its way. “We’ve spent the last year-and-ahalf selling and maturing,” he says. “We’ve spent $300,000 to $400,000 a month on software development for two years. We’re now at the point where we’re rolling over. We’re now profitable.” The company is currently raising a large growth equity round of $14 million in the U.S. “Cold Bore very much has come through its shit kicking,” Chell reflects. “We’ve built into

a sophisticated software company. We really now stand in a league of our own.” It’s that league, Chell believes, which is prime to meet the needs of today’s operators, who spend 60 per cent of their costs on completions: “While a lot of the focus is on controls and automation, it also needs to be on informational efficiency, which will give operators a tenfold uptick in their operational efficiency.” Having come into itself, Cold Bore is now comfortably leading the digital transformation of the hydraulic fracturing industry. At the company’s helm, Chell does not lack confidence: “This is the space to be in. This is where all the money’s going to be for the next few years. SmartPAD at its core is an automation platform. It follows the same path and methodology Amazon did when it implemented a standard platform for e-commerce, which completely changed B how that industry did business.” OE

11 • Business of Energy • April 2021

Scott Crockatt | Let’s Lean into the ESG opportunity for Canadian Energy

LET’S LEAN INTO THE ESG OPPORTUNITY FOR CANADIAN ENERGY by Scott Crockatt

s we begin to see some light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, more attention is returning to climate change as one of the greatest global, environmental, and economic challenges of all time. There was a time when that reality looked like a threat to Alberta’s and Canada’s energy sector. But Alberta is potentially Canada’s epicentre of emissions reductions efforts and innovative clean energy investment and activity.

This is the way the world is going, what society and customers are asking for, and what Canada has committed to. Canada has staked out a global leadership position committing to reduce carbon emissions by more than 30 per cent this decade, and to work toward net zero by 2050. This is not just a challenge, it’s a huge opportunity. We can be the best on earth at the energy, food and resource systems of the future.

• A dramatically greening electrical system. Alberta’s largest power generator has already reduced emissions by 50 per cent – 21 Million tonnes of CO2. This is more CO2 reduction by a single company than most nations

Alberta, its companies, and innovators, are poised to play a central role in achieving these goals. People don’t realize this, but Alberta is an emissions reduction and environment, social and governance (ESG) leader. Consider that the province is already home to: • The largest carbon capture project in the world: the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line • Canada’s largest hydrogen blending project • Many of Canada’s leading Indigenous partnerships in reconciliation,

economic opportunity and environmental stewardship, including Canada’s largest off- grid solar project, in partnership with three First Nations

• Alberta Solar One, which supplies Canada’s largest pipeline with renewable power • Utility-scale battery storage with WindCharger

• A 30 per cent reduction in emissions intensity from oil sands production; •

Innovative companies working to repurpose CO2 into products like soap and pens, developing green lithium extraction from innovating geothermal approaches

• Countless more innovations, investments, and projects working to reduce emissions and help Canada achieve its climate goals All that just scratches the surface. In fact, natural resource companies account for 75 per cent of all the clean energy investment in Canada. Most of these are based in Alberta. The reality is humanity has a big problem, and Canadian energy is a big part of the solution.

12 • Business of Energy • April 2021

“

Let’s Lean into the ESG opportunity for Canadian Energy | Scott Crockatt

Canada’s largest energy companies want to do more. Many have set their own net zero targets, along with other ambitious goals around emissions reductions, Indigenous partnerships, environmental performance, diversity and inclusion, and other aspects of economic and ESG leadership. Dramatically reducing emissions, getting to net zero, and building a new energy future; this is the new vision for Canada. So how do we achieve that vision? Canada has a huge resource bounty, and a strong start in areas like carbon capture, hydrogen, and renewables. Other countries are moving quickly in these areas and we risk being outpaced in places where we could lead. To reach the scale and scope necessary to reach net zero Canada will need to create the right conditions and accelerate the pace of greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. To succeed, however, Canada must dramatically increase its efforts. We must make and attract major investments to realize net zero opportunities. We must foster innovation and innovative systems and find ways to de-risk the investments needed in early-stage technologies. In order to attract the investment capital required, it is also imperative that we dramatically increase the pace and certainty of regulatory approvals. Today, our country’s own regulatory systems are too slow to reach our climate goals – we need faster and more agile regulation. All this will require strong leadership and collaboration amongst Canada’s business community, people, and governments. If we do this right, we’ll not only achieve our environmental objectives, but we’ll also enhance the competitive position of Canada and everything Canada produces. As we lower the emissions of our energy systems, we also lower the emissions of every other industry that uses those systems. That means that it’s possible for every product Canada exports to have a competitive climate advantage over similar products made elsewhere. The ESG Opportunity Capital and our global reputation are critical elements of this, especially as the global ESG movement continues to grow and direct massive amounts of capital around the world. Canada’s energy sector can already stake a strong claim to having world-class ESG performance in areas like environmental regulation and monitoring, human rights, Indigenous partnerships, and excellent governance. But efforts to divest from Canadian energy continue globally.

13 • Business of Energy • April 2021

Let’s Lean into the ESG Opportunity for Canadian Energy

“

Scott Crockatt | Let’s Lean into the ESG opportunity for Canadian Energy

That’s partly because we’ve done a poor job of globally marketing Canadian energy. It’s also because the one area of ESG where we still lag, is unfortunately also the one area that the world is most focused on: GHG emissions. Yes, our most modern projects have similar or lower carbon emissions than the average barrel from elsewhere. Yes, we’ve taken 30 per cent of emissions intensity out of oilsands over the last decade. Yes, we are one of the few large energy producing nations investing aggressively in emissions reduction. And yes, Canadian natural gas has the lowest lifecycle emissions of any LNG on earth. Even with all that, we still have room to go to improve the emissions performance of Canadian energy production. This is a huge opportunity disguised as a challenge. If we can undertake a strategic, ambitions, and material effort to truly “break the logjam” of the emissions challenge, Canada can market ourselves unreservedly as the best producer and exporter of energy on earth, now and for decades into the future.

This has the potential to take our energy products beyond being a simple commodity and into a territory of having a unique point of differentiation, a competitive advantage, to our customers. Forestry, fishing, mining, and diamonds have all done a version of this. It’s time for this to come to Canada’s energy sector. The reality is that neither industry nor government can do that alone. The kind of decarbonizing super-initiatives we’re talking about here are generally not economic today – or else companies would be doing them – and they often involve major unsolved engineering, market, or technology challenges. Here’s a few to give you an idea: carbon capture (CCUS), small modular nuclear, hydrogen, and even direct air capture. We would argue that Canada should be THE world leader in CCUS – it will be vital for oil and gas emissions reduction and for blue hydrogen – a future fuel that the Government of Canada is placing a lot of importance on. To make these possible, governments and business are going to need to come, together, to the table and figure out how we get this done. It will involve adjusting some perspectives. Including a shift to focus on reducing GHG emissions, rather than reducing the fossil fuel industry. But it is possible – for what could be more aligned to our climate

Canada can market ourselves unreservedly as the best producer and exporter of energy on earth, now and for decades into the future.

ambitions than projects resulting in less carbon being emitted into the global atmosphere? A recipe for success To achieve our Albertan and Canadian climate goals, and enable economic recovery, the path is clear, we must do two things: First, we must accelerate reductions in the carbon emissions from the energy produced and used domestically today, and that are our largest exports. In doing so, establish Canada’s brand as the world’s leading producer of ESG-focused products, services, and energy. This includes rapid investment in proven areas such as carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), natural gas and electrification. Second, we need to act boldly to achieve Canada’s 2050 net zero goals by harnessing Canada’s natural resources and human assets to build the next generation of energy and technologies, including hydrogen power, small modular nuclear, nature-based solutions, direct air capture and other technologies. None of that scares Albertans. This is the place where we’ve figured how to get oil out of sand, how to drill sideways and hit a tiny target kilometres underground, and how to mix vodka, celery, horseradish, clamato and Worcestershire B into a single drink. Let’s get after it. OE

14 • Business of Energy • April 2021

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HEALTH, SAFETY, DIGNITY AND INDEPENDENCE BY JOHN HARDY

espite the notorious and stale stereotype about seniors dreading and resisting change, Calgary seniors are resounding proof that, in so many ways, they not only embrace change much more than they are given credit for. With determination and necessity (or a bit of both) today’s seniors are dealing with pre- and post-pandemic challenges and the fact-of-life realities of getting older. Unfortunately, in addition to the broadsides of physical and mental health, seniors must also deal with the limiting and negative social stigma of ageism. According to a survey done by Leger Marketing for a major Canadian senior residence developer, on the radar of social prejudices like racism and sexism, ageism has become the most tolerated form of social discrimination in Canada. The stats track the caution that, by 2050, one in four Canadians will be a senior. “Sadly, we are an ageist society and tend to consider older people collectively as having less worth than younger

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

people,” admits Dr. David Hogan, a specialist in geriatric medicine and professor of Medicine at UCalgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. “Seniors are often referred to as if they are a separate group and we tend to plan for their care, rather than plan with them.” It is also widely acknowledged that contemporary seniors are much different than a generation ago. “The wants and needs of seniors have actually been changing over a long time,” notes the experienced and personable Carla Amthor, owner and president of Calgary’s Focus on Caring, specializing in the many aspects of senior home care. “They are typically more active, in every sense of the word. They are involved in social events, in their community, with their grandchildren’s activities, even if it’s by social media.” Medical and community professionals are unanimous. In addition to the vital aspect of health, seniors are more independent than ever before and opting for aging-in-place

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HEALTHCARE AND HOSPITALIZATION STUDIES SHOW THAT AN ESTIMATED lifestyle scenarios that allow independence and still provide the required health and safety support options in order to remain in control of their lives. Amthor emphasizes that there is a vast need for home care in today’s society. “Seniors deserve to retain their independence and autonomy, to be treated in a dignified manner at all times and be safe and secure in their homes. She explains the Calgary-based and unique Focus on Caring concept, specializes in various home care services for Calgary seniors, with the emphasis on enabling seniors to continue living in the comfort of their own home. “Personal care services are client specific to take over or assist in the activities that seniors need to be able to stay at home safely and with dignity.” “There is a struggle understanding ageism and the desire to age-in-place. So much is lacking in the understanding of a seniors needs and when factoring in what the senior would want,” she adds. “We have an innate trust for the medical profession. When a senior is in need of support, the stock response is that you should look at facility care. I understand that this is an obvious option but it is often presented as if it is the only option. “Just as the emotional aspects of aging are often missed, so is respecting the desires of the senior. Statistics indicate that an estimated 90 per cent of seniors prefer home care over institutional care and that people remain happier and healthier in their own homes or wherever they choose to live. “After all,” Amthor says, “a lifetime of achievements, memories and personal belongings of importance are in a person’s home. To be uprooted and placed in a senior care facility often entails separation from most of the important things and can have devastating effects on a person’s physical and mental well-being.” While she recognizes the value of senior residences and assisted living facilities, she acknowledges that since seniors are living longer today, it often comes with degrees of physical and mental decline. Home care services may include personal care, medication management, transfers, meal preparation and light housekeeping, although she points out that the needs of today’s seniors are invariably individual and the aging-in-place support required can be

APRIL 2021 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

ONE OUT OF EVERY 11 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISITS BY SENIORS IS FOR A CHRONIC CONDITION THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE MANAGED IN THE COMMUNITY. OF THE SENIORS IN THE STUDIES, NEARLY HALF WERE HOSPITALIZED. minimal or as comprehensive as 24-hour care. “Care needs of every individual are entirely different. There is no one size fits all. It’s why Focus on Caring offers customization as an important aspect of what we do and how we do it. “Beyond the care needs, we learn about our clients, from them, their families, their stories. With the knowledge, we match personalities along with level of care support required. We ensure a transition to having someone in the home is easy and comfortable. We introduce change in as easy a manner possible so things don’t feel pressed upon the individual. And we listen! This is often the key to creating the best private care result.” Healthcare and hospitalization studies show that an estimated one out of every 11 emergency department visits by seniors is for a chronic condition that could potentially be managed in the community. Of the seniors in the studies, nearly half were hospitalized. Stress (when a person is not able to handle things effectively) has been shown to alter the immune response and can influence the onset and progression of physical illness. Amthor explains, “Access to health services is necessary not only in emergency situations but as a means of preserving good health. Seniors often require care from different providers across various settings, including a family doctor’s office, a specialty clinic, a home care service, a pharmacy, a hospital and/or a long-term care facility.” She underscores that the teamwork of ensuring continuity of care between all providers not only leads to a more efficient use of resources, it can potentially lead to better care and in turn a better quality of life for seniors. Support and

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HEALTH, SAFETY, DIGNITY AND INDEPENDENCE // SENIOR LIVING

care in the community includes key aspects such as living arrangements, transportation, caregivers, family support and the often-insidious dilemma of relieving social isolation and loneliness. While isolation and loneliness have plagued seniors in residences as well as the more recent ageing-in-place lifestyles, UCalgary’s Dr. Hogan notes that the past pandemic year have been extra difficult for seniors. “Although many older people have and do experience social isolation and loneliness, the recent steps that had to be taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 – social distancing, restricted or outright banned family visits – just aggravated the already bad situation. “It was not an issue limited to older people but it more pronounced and common in the lives and routines of seniors. Of course, communication technology helped

address the issue but it could never replace in-person contact.” Hogan is a booster of home care, mentioning the ageing-inplace preference of many seniors and the often-impersonal option of some large facilities. “As a community, we have under-invested in community-based care and we also need to reform how it is offered, so it is more flexible, easier to access and navigate based on the unique needs and wishes of the older person. “We have to strive to keep people at home if that’s their wish and stop building large, continuing care facilities,” he says. “When we do need facility-based care, it should be offered in smaller, more intimate home-like facilities.” As some geriatric professional point out: “With any luck, one day we will all be seniors.”

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A MARKET ON FIRE FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR RECREATIONAL PROPERTIES AMID PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS

BY JAMIE ZACHARY

REAL ESTATE EXPERTS SAY THE

he phrase, “a new normal” has been repeated ad nauseam when discussing life during and after COVID-19. Yet for the recreational real estate market, it’s been anything but normal.

PANDEMIC HAS BROUGHT WITH IT

Real estate experts say the pandemic has brought with it sweeping changes to the second-home market, with pent-up demand and limited inventory leading to record sales activity, drastic price increases and a dream scenario for sellers.

DEMAND AND LIMITED INVENTORY

Alberta Real Estate Association chief economic AnnMarie Lurie says recreation hot spots such as Canmore are seeing an overwhelming resurgence in interest from homebuyers over the past year. She notes sales activity in the popular Rocky Mountain town continues to outpace available inventory, which has been trending below historical levels, around two months of supply, for consecutive quarters now.

DREAM SCENARIO FOR SELLERS.

“As a result, conditions are pretty tight,” says Lurie. “And this is already in a high-priced market. In 2020, they actually saw a one per cent price gain in prices.”

SWEEPING CHANGES TO THE SECONDHOME MARKET, WITH PENT-UP LEADING TO RECORD SALES ACTIVITY, DRASTIC PRICE INCREASES AND A

She notes the benchmark price, which represents the selling price of a typical home in a given area, to start the year in Canmore is around $780,000. Lurie primarily attributes increased demand in recreational properties to historically low interest rates. Yet she also acknowledges the pandemic’s impact, which has derailed many people’s vacation plans and had many people looking at other options.

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A MARKET ON FIRE // RECREATION & INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE

“If you weren’t impacted by the pandemic and you were just working from home, chances are you weren’t spending as much. And that’s been one of the rationales as to why we’re seeing improvements in the recreational property market. People want an alternative place to go,” she says. Still, Lurie’s quick to point out that these purchases are less spur-of-the-moment than it would appear. Rather, she says these buyers have likely been testing the recreation property market waters for some time. They’re just now being encouraged to take the plunge. “They probably were already considering something like this. The low rates likely pushed them into it,” she says. For Brad Hawker, he’s never seen anything like this during his 29 years in real estate. “We’ve had an incredible turnaround from the lockdown in March last year when sales went down 80 per cent to where, since May, sales have taken off,” says Hawker, broker/owner of Royal LePage Rocky Mountain Realty, pointing to nearly 100 sales in February, compared with just over 20 during the same period in 2020. “I’ve honestly never seen it like this.” For his part, Hawker attributes demand to a combination of factors, ranging from people accelerating their retirement plans to professionals now having the ability to work anywhere. He says this is on top of those who are now spending less, saving more and want to switch where they spend their free time. “The pandemic has made people re-evaluate their lives on many different levels, and many are choosing to make changes. And one of those things is purchasing or selling real estate,” he says, noting many of the buyers he’s come across are not financing, but instead making cash purchases. It’s been a similar story in British Columbia where key recreation hot spots popular among Alberta buyers have also seen peak levels of activity for the past several months. In the Kootenay Rockies – which includes popular recreational property locations such as Cranbrook, Kimberly, Fernie, Invermere, Radium and Golden – annual sales activity was up 35.1 per cent to kick off the new year, with 219 residential unit sales.

FOR HIS PART, HAWKER ATTRIBUTES DEMAND TO A COMBINATION OF FACTORS, RANGING FROM PEOPLE ACCELERATING THEIR RETIREMENT PLANS TO PROFESSIONALS NOW HAVING THE ABILITY TO WORK ANYWHERE. HE SAYS THIS IS ON TOP OF THOSE WHO ARE NOW SPENDING LESS, SAVING MORE AND WANT TO SWITCH WHERE THEY SPEND THEIR FREE TIME. The Kootenay Association of REALTORS (KAR) reports the average residential price in the region during this time was $427,543, a 28.2 per cent rise from $333,331 recorded in the same month last year. KAR vice-president Bruce Seitz notes this is a continuation of a theme that played out for much of 2020. Annual sales activity increased by 20 per cent, paced by a 26.5 per cent

ABOVE: BRAD HAWKER, BROKER/OWNER OF ROYAL LEPAGE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REALTY.

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// RECREATION & INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE

IN THE KOOTENAY ROCKIES – WHICH INCLUDES POPULAR RECREATIONAL PROPERTY LOCATIONS SUCH AS CRANBROOK, KIMBERLY, FERNIE, INVERMERE, RADIUM AND GOLDEN – ANNUAL SALES ACTIVITY WAS UP 35.1 PER CENT TO KICK OFF THE NEW YEAR, WITH 219 RESIDENTIAL UNIT SALES. hike in the East Kootenay region. Meanwhile, the average residential price in the region increased by 11.5 per cent for all residential property types. “Demand for housing types through all price ranges continues to be strong, but the most active continues to be the $350,000 to $450,000, which generally represents a three-bedroom, two-bathroom 2,000-square-foot single-family home,” says Seitz. He acknowledges a lack of inventory is behind the months-long upward trend increase in housing prices within the Kootenays. At the end of February, 525 single-family homes were on the market, which is trending toward historical lows. “There’s just not enough homes for sale. With the spring market here, we’re hoping to see more listings come onto the market as sellers take advantage of low inventory as a way to drive prices,” he says. Seitz says it’s mixed as to where buyers are coming from due to so much diversity within the region. “In the Fernie and Invermere region, we’re continuing to see a steady migration of Albertans into the community. Meanwhile, large industries such as mining are bringing in a lot of skilled labour in places such as Sparwood,” says Seitz, noting the Canadian Rockies International Airport in Cranbrook is a significant driver when looking to attract workers – and, in turn, homebuyers – to the region. “And, of course, we have some of the best recreational opportunities in the world. The fact you’re never far away from ski hills, lakes and beaches is a driving force behind many people’s homebuying habits … as is the fact that working from home is a real option now. With many companies allowing their employees the flexibility to work from anywhere, many are now looking to the Kootenay region where home ownership is fairly affordable and the recreational opportunities are at their doorsteps.” In the B.C. interior, residential real estate sales similarly hit record highs throughout 2020 and into the first month of 2021, reports the Association of Interior REALTORS.

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A MARKET ON FIRE // RECREATION & INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE

With the Association of Interior REALTORS continuing to cite a “chronic shortage” of available inventory throughout the region that dates back to mid-2020, these persistent sellers’ conditions have, in turn, led to significant increase in prices. The benchmark price increased upward of 14 per cent to start the year, depending on the property type and region. For example, the benchmark selling price of a single-family home in the first month of 2021 ranged from $496,800 in the Shuswap/Revelstoke area to $752,900 in Central Okanagan, an annual jump of 14.5 and 14.4 per cent, respectively.

SARAH JOHNSTON IS SEEING THIS PLAY OUT FIRST-HAND. THE ASSOCIATE BROKER FOR CIR REALTY RECENTLY RELOCATED FROM CALGARY TO KELOWNA EARLIER THIS YEAR TO HELP SET UP THE BROKERAGE’S FIRST OFFICE OUTSIDE OF ALBERTA, AND SAYS IT’S AS HOT OF A REAL ESTATE MARKET AS SHE’S EVER SEEN. Overall sales across the area – which extends from Revelstoke to Eastgate Manning Park and into the South Peace River region – in January were up 60 per cent, with 796 units sold compared to 497 in January 2000. Specifically, the Shuswap and Revelstoke region saw sales activity increase 50 per cent from 40 units in 2020 to 60 in January 2021.

Sarah Johnston is seeing this play out first-hand. The associate broker for CIR Realty recently relocated from Calgary to Kelowna earlier this year to help set up the brokerage’s first office outside of Alberta, and says it’s as hot of a real estate market as she’s ever seen. In general, Johnston says high demand and lack of inventory is, incredibly, pushing some prices north of 20 per cent from what they were just a couple years ago. “Kelowna is the epicenter right now and it’s extremely expensive. So therefore, people are finding it much more economical in places such as Vernon, Peachland and West Kelowna. All of a sudden Penticton looks like a downright deal,” says Johnston, who sees the multi-family market growing moving forward – especially in Kelowna where city council is currently reviewing applications for condominium towers upward of 42 storeys. On the other side, Johnston is seeing many Albertans take advantage of the current situation and make the leap fulltime to the region. “Alberta has always had a connection with the Okanagan, but now, the pandemic has encouraged many of them to reevaluate their situations and go after the life they’ve always wanted. And a lot of people are deciding that lifestyle is their ultimate goal,” she says.

ABOVE: SARAH JOHNSTON, REALTOR AND ASSOCIATE BROKER WITH CIR REALTY.

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The Calgary Chamber is the voice of the business community. We double down on commerce and work with businesses to create catalysts for growth.

Energized and leading the way: A bright energy future for Canada and Alberta

s a global energy player, Alberta is no stranger to the peaks and valleys of the energy market, and few years can compare to 2020 in terms of challenge and change. As global demand for low-carbon technologies increases, investment follows, with business economics becoming increasingly tied to innovation and decarbonization. Herein lies the promise of a bright energy future for Alberta and for Canada. By leveraging our abundant natural resources, advanced skillset, and innovative spirit, we can

lead and benefit from the low-carbon economy, within and beyond our traditional sectors of strength.

CANADA’S ROLE IN MEETING GLOBAL ENERGY DEMAND Like many aspects of our daily lives, our demand for energy significantly changed this past year. According to the International Energy Agency, energy demand declined by an estimated average of five per cent in 2020 overall, BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // APRIL 2021

with key fuels that Alberta produces also hovering around that mark: Energy demand shifts due to the COVID-19 pandemic •8 per cent decline in oil demand •3 per cent decline in natural gas demand •7 per cent decline in coal use While the COVID-19 pandemic is a significant shock and the road ahead may still be bumpy, the arrival of vaccines signifies that an eventual end point is in sight. Nevertheless, global energy demand will continue to shift into the future. The International Energy Agency has modelled the following overall global energy demand scenarios: 1. A world where COVID-19 is gradually brought under control in 2021 and the global economy returns to precrisis levels; or 2. A world where the pandemic persists and delays our recovery, and our existing climate policies remain; or 3. A world where COVID-19 is gradually brought under control in 2021 and the global economy returns to

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pre-crisis levels and ramped up and more serious clean energy policies and investment achieve sustainable energy objectives, including the Paris Agreement, energy access and air quality goals. The predictions for these scenarios are similar – over the next few years, global energy demand will increase, but oil demand will remain relatively flat or decline. These predictions speak to the global need for a wide variety of energy sources. Canada is well-positioned to meet this demand, given the breadth and depth of our energy industry: The Importance of Canada’s energy industry •Broadly defined, Canada’s energy sector directly employs 282,000 people and indirectly supports over 550,500 jobs •Canada is the sixth largest energy producer, the fourth largest net exporter, and the eighth largest consumer in the world.

CANADA’S ENERGY INNOVATION STORY

Innovation in technology

Canada’s energy industry has always been innovating. It is driven by companies and leaders who are constantly adapting, transforming, and innovating to grow their business and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) performance.

Carbon Upcycling Technologies has pioneered a carbon utilization technology that creates solid materials from CO2 waste emissions, particularly from coal ash. Turning to electricity and heat, ADC Technologies is shaking things up too – they’ve trailblazed unique ways to develop cooling systems for data centers that focusses on re-using and recycling existing heat and energy.

These companies are changing the game as we know it – in how we network, the technology we use, how we think, and who is at the table.

Innovation in thinking Biome Renewables is a design and engineering firm that is thinking differently when it comes to renewable energy. Biome Renewables focusses on building solutions to renewable energy using the natural world, referring to this approach as biomimetic design philosophy. Others, such as Havelaar Canada, are turning current energy solutions on their head – Havelaar’s suite of technologies is attempting to make obsolete the current initiative to build fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicle (EV) batteries by improving the battery design themselves.

Here are just a few examples of this innovation at work. Innovation in networking Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN) brings together oil and gas industry professionals, innovators, financiers, policy makers, incubators and accelerators, academics and students with the aim of fostering and developing a successful hydrocarbon energy sector that is a critical part of a diversified Canadian economy. CRIN seeks to spur innovation by connecting those stakeholders they see as innovators – researchers, investors, SMEs, government, NGOs – with resources such as funding opportunities, talent, labs and facilities.

Innovation in Participation

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presence, development, and leadership for women currently in Calgary’s energy industry. Through a variety of initiatives, YWE strives to further the interests of women through creating community networking and connections.

RISING STARTS IN ALBERTA’S ENERGY FUTURE With a growing need for energy and businesses innovating on all fronts, Alberta has an important role to play in the future of energy. We have multiple opportunities – from natural resources, to investment, to technology – that enable us to lead now and into the future. Solar and wind resources: The Canadian Renewable Energy Association and the Alberta Electricity System Operator have collected data that confirms what most Albertans see out their front doors – we have a lot of sunlight and wind in Alberta, and almost half the province has enough resources to develop these renewable energy sources at a high rate. Hydrogen: As a fuel source, hydrogen’s unique advantage is that it significantly reduces industrial emissions and provides longterm energy storage at scale which, so far, few technologies have been able to do. As a leader in natural gas production and a province with higher industrial emissions, Alberta is well-positioned to harness this opportunity and be at the forefront of the economic and environmental benefits of this growth. Proton Technologies is a Calgary-based of a company that is taking advantage of this opportunity. Proton Technologies’ patented process has developed the methodology and techniques to capture hydrogen for use while leaving hydrocarbons underground. Small modular nuclear reactors: Alberta has scaled up its investment in small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) by joining Canada’s SMR Roadmap through Alberta Innovates, and through Memorandum of Understanding with other provinces on development. These investments and development could

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mean the production of clean energy to meet our climate goal, while costing less. Carbon capture and storage: Carbon capture technology provides a means of removing carbon from the atmosphere, thereby decreasing our emissions. The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line provides large scale transport of CO2 from industry to mature oil fields in Central Alberta for use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) before permanent storage.

HARNESSING THE FUTURE OF ENERGY IN ALBERTA As the voice of the Calgary business community, we have a few ideas on how to position Alberta to continue its energy leadership: 1. Our province must invest in the diversification of its industries, both within and outside of our traditional sectors of strength. 2. We must strengthen and diversify our skill set through education and innovative immigration policies. This will further ensure Alberta is a player on the national and global stage. 3. We must support commercialization of both projects and technologies, while simultaneously expanding access to new markets. These goals should both have a focus on leveraging the sustainable technologies Alberta has invested in to date. 4. The development of a federally funded Natural Resource Innovation Supercluster would expand ongoing innovation efforts and networks, particularly in terms of clean technology and contribute to the low-carbon economy of the future.

HIT YOUR DRIVES FURTHER // SCOTT ORBAN

McKenzie Meadows Golf Tip: Hit Your Drives Farther

Technology, your ball’s spin rate and longer drives BY SCOTT ORBAN, PGA EXECUTIVE PROFESSIONAL, MCKENZIE MEADOWS GOLF CLUB

cKenzie Meadows Golf Academy added Flightscope technology back in 2015. Flightscope and Trackman are the leaders of this specialized radar technology that provides analysis of the ball’s flight and the golfer’s swing. PGA Tour players have been using this to optimize their effectiveness and improve their game and now this is available to all of us. How does this data help you hit it farther? The less a ball spins the further it will go. So we use Flightscope to capture and measure this spin rate. If it measures 4,000 RPM’s this would not be optimal and if we can help you reduce this spin rate to 2,800 RPM’s you would gain a significant amount of distance; even with the same swing speed. Your PGA Instructor will look at the data provided from the ball’s flight, then look at the data provided by your swing to determine the solution of lowering your ball spin rate to help you increase distance. The solution may be trying a different loft or shaft in your driver, but it may also be a simple swing change. Flightscope provides 26 swing data parameters assisting your PGA Instructor in making a proper diagnosis. The data may tell your instructor that your angle of attack is the cause of the spin, not your equipment. When we hit down on a drive this will produce more backspin and more RPMs. Thus your instructor might suggest a different ball position or another adjustment to change your angle of attack allowing you to hit up on the ball at impact, reducing the spin rate and resulting in longer drives.

IMAGE 1

Here is an example (image 1) from one of my students’ FlightScope sessions last summer. Similar swing speed, but with a small adjustment to his driver’s loft

and a change in ball position he received a significant improvement in his drives. Feedback is paramount to improvement. Flightscope allows you to see your data with each swing. So if you are making the change to your swing or your equipment you can see the results and the effect the ball’s spin rate had on your distance and your ball flight. This real time feedback is in encouraging to the golfer’s progress and leads to more success and more fun on the golf course. Book a session and see the difference.

*Video at: https://www.mckenziemeadows.com/academy/golf-tips

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OUCH! READYING FORE THE 2021 SEASON // GOLF

OUCH! READYING FORE THE 2021 SEASON MUSCLES, JOINTS, LONG DRIVES AND PERFECT PUTTS BY JOHN HARDY

hen it comes to this year’s Calgary golf, getting ready for the season is more challenging and different than ever. “After a cold and snowy long winter combined with the COVID commotion of isolation, social distancing and lockdowns,” says the upbeat and anxious Terry Carter, owner of the National Golf Academy/The Golf Dome, twice PGA of Alberta Teacher of the Year and visiting golf pro at Calgary’s Shaganappi, Confederation Park and McCall Lake, “hopefully it’s nearing the end and we are ready, overready, to get on with Calgary’s 2021 golf season. “It’s almost spring and, for most of us, our whole golf game will need work. Like simple stretching exercises and a few lessons will help get our game back on track quickly. Since our body is the motor of our golf swing, we need to make sure it is tuned up and ready to go for the season. First, lots of stretching is important. Muscles will tighten up and will make it difficult to move the body properly after such a period of inactivity. Stretch the back, hamstrings, hips, shoulders, arms and wrists. Okay, okay. Stretch the whole body.” According to a recent PGA survey, 60 per cent of low handicapper players and 40 per cent of high handicappers suffer one or more golf injuries every season. The survey also suggests that the high injury rate is traceable to the repetitive nature of the golf swing, with the risk increasing due to the fact that most golfers appear not to participate in off-season strength training or sufficient pre-game warmup,

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essential for developing the specific golf flexibility required for the repetitive swing. It is estimated that the golfers’ body has to absorb a compression force of up to eight times their body weight on each swing. And the swing happens between 70 and100 times (maybe more) over an 18-hole course. Medical experts and golf professionals agree on specifics: back pain is the most common golf injury. The diagnosis is straightforward. Golfers spend four to five hours in a bent position while applying pressure to the spine and back muscles. The repetitive movement of the golf swing during those hours puts considerable strain on the back. Tendinitis is the most common injury of the elbow. Commonly referred to as golfer’s elbow, it is soreness and inflammation of the outer or inner tendon of the elbow. It happens when routine activities require repetitive movements – such as hitting golf balls. Putting strain on a weak knee to stabilize the hip rotation at the beginning of the swing can cause severe knee pain and extreme force applied on the knee can cause torn or sprained ligaments and kneecap injuries. A golfers’ most common wrist injury is tendinitis, from the repetitive movement of the wrist during the swing and the force applied to the tendons responsible for wrist movements. Personable Greg Nikirk, head pro at Calgary’s Mickelson National Golf Club agrees that getting the body ready is a

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OUCH! READYING FORE THE 2021 SEASON // GOLF

crucial aspect of enjoying the Calgary golf season. “Glutes. Quads. The pelvic girdle. They are key areas that have to be worked on.

could never replace a sunshiny round at a favorite Calgary course, simulators constantly evolve to provide a realistic golf experience.

“The average golfer swings the club up to 200 times a round. Practice swings do add up! So, the base in the golf swings needs to be strengthened and maintained all season long,” he points out. “A dynamic, athletic swing includes a loading sequence in the backswing, stability in transition and firing in the downswing, which all rely on larger, lower body muscle activation.”

Calgary’s Terry Carter enthusiastically embraces simulator technology and admits to having used them for more than 25 years. “Simulators have evolved from just playing golf with buddies to sophisticated club fitting and teaching tools,” he explains. “Infrared sensors and radar technology tracks the persons clubhead, ball speed, spin rates, launch angle and much more. It’s also a great way to fit equipment and a helpful tool for teaching pros to identify problems and how to fix them.”

With more than 25 years of being a teaching pro in Calgary, Carter grins and shakes his head about probably seeing it all, especially the quirky and crazy things and unorthodox golf swings. Despite all those golfy aspects, he admits that the most common problem he notices is – bad posture. “It’s much more common and problematic than even a bad grip. “I understand it, I get it and it does make sense. Why would a golfer think about their posture when they are busy looking at a little white ball on the ground, have a club in their hand and are trying to hit the ball as hard as they can towards a target 200 yards away? But to execute a proper and effective golf swing, you need to swing the club around your spine to create a consistent arc and circular motion to hit the ball consistently,” he emphasizes. “Bending over from our hips to get the club at approximately 90 degrees to our spine, then coiling back and through will allow the club to swing around our spine. If you round your back or do not bend the correct amount you will lose your angles and ultimately lose your golf swing. So, posture is important.” For Alberta’s weekend warriors, the transition between hibernation and a new golf season hasn’t been as drastic and severe since the popularity of indoor driving ranges, chipping areas, putting greens and other features of indoor golf, and particularly the tremendous evolution of sophisticated golf simulator technology, providing virtual rounds of golf on courses 24/7 while winter is howling outside. Simulator technology is bridging the gap between virtual golf and the real thing, and although indoor simulators

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Indoor golf, aside from pandemic lockdown interruptions, is already a popular way for off-season Calgary golfers to ready for a new season. This year, Windmill Golf Group is building two state-of-the-indoor golf-art LaunchPad locations – at Mickelson National in late spring and Heritage Pointe in the fall. The facilities will have a heating system and retractable screen setup that will allow the two Calgary-area complexes to be open year-round, the latest technology, two floors with 40 hitting stalls, dining, an open-style kitchen and fullservice bar. Indoor or (soon) outdoor, the Calgary golfer is the most important aspect of being ready for the golf season. “Make sure that the clubs are the correct length, flex and have the proper grip size,” Carter cautions. “An average size male or female will likely be okay because manufacturers make equipment for the masses, not the 5’ or 6’5” golfer. Existing clubs can typically be altered for about $10 per club plus the cost of a grip.” As many Calgary golfers know, other than the focus on the swing and the accuracy of the drive, there are so many other golf details to get ready. “Three things to work on,” Greg Nikirk counts down on his fingers. “Short game. Short game. And short game. Most golfers have mental patterning to swing the club the same way for many years. Change is hard and requires many proper repetitions, time and dedication. But emphasis on putting, chipping, pitching and sand play. It’s easier on the body, yields immediate results and makes it more enjoyable to play golf. The best lesson that money is spent on is for improving for 60 yards and in.”

Photo by Riverwood Photography.

Celebrating 100 Years: The Lasting Legacy of A Calgary Tradition since 1921 All In Good Taste. by Rennay Craats

Bon Ton Meat Market

Bon Ton Meat Market || 100 Years

n a business world dominated by online shopping and social media, Bon Ton Meat Market stands out for its lack of both. Instead, the market embodies the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” There is clearly nothing broken at Bon Ton. For the past 100 years, Bon Ton has conducted business in the same way as did the founders: putting customers first. And that is something that Greg Keller credits for the success of Bon Ton over the past century. “We haven’t changed our business model. Sure, different products are selling and the location has changed and some of the equipment has gotten more modern, but we’ve never changed,” Keller says. And he will never deviate from the service-centric business model that helped establish Bon Ton as the landmark institution it is today. Ed Roberts started that institution in 1921 in a 900-square-foot storefront on 7th Avenue and Centre Street SE. He built the meat market into a trusted butcher as well as a Calgary lunch-time destination. At a time before fast food, Bon Ton Meat Market had people lined up down the block during their lunch break to grab a quick and delicious meat pie before heading back to work. Jack and Norm Middleton bought Bon Ton from Roberts in 1940 and the two, along with partners like Bill Fodor and Martin Kuhn, ran the market until 1976 when they sold to their nephew John Middleton. John carried on

Greg Keller. Photo by Riverwood Photography.

the tradition of great quality meat delivered by friendly and knowledgeable staff, and the business grew. Bon Ton moved to Stadium Shopping Centre in 1994 and added Greg’s father, Fred, as a new partner. Fred’s extensive experience and expertise in the meat business made him a natural fit for the Bon Ton business model. After a few years, John knew Bon Ton was in good hands and sold the rest of his shares in the market to Fred and Ruby Keller in 1997.

Bon Ton Meat Market || 100 Years || 2

THE BENCHMARK COMMITMENT

The only operation in Canada with their own cowherd, feedyard, inspected beef production facility, and distribution network!

• Hormone-Free beef • We are true Environmentalists; the land is our home. We care for it, and care about it • Through our research we can deliver better beef • Beef cut by a person; not a machine • We only offer beef to you that our own families eat

“DON’T ASK WHERE YOUR BEEF COMES FROM;

WE ARE PROUD TO SUPPLY AND WORK WITH THE GREAT PEOPLE AT BON TON!

ASK WHO YOUR BEEF COMES FROM.”

CONGRATULATIONS On your 100th Anniversary

What an Accomplishment!

Proud to be your electrical service provider.

Photos by Riverwood Photography.

1725 - 27th Avenue N.E., Calgary Alberta, T2E 7E1 403.291.3303 | info@customelectric.com

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“It’s humbling to think of all these guys before us. They built a business on quality products and personalized service. Nothing has changed,” says Greg Keller. “I’m grateful for all John and the others did before Dad because without all of them we wouldn’t have the store today.”

HAPPY 100 YEARS! Congratulations to the Keller family and Bonton employees on this amazing milestone. It has been a pleasure working with you.

Box 555, Okotoks, Alberta T1S 1A7 (403) 938-4333

These previous owners guided Bon Ton through the Great Depression and several recessions, World War II, an ever-changing political landscape, economic booms, and the astronomical growth of Calgary. They evolved with the times but continued to sell only the highest quality products with the highest levels of service. Still today, customers are greeted by an employee who stays with them throughout their stay to ensure they are completely satisfied. Greg, who started working alongside his father in Fred’s grocery store at the age of 13, had been working in management positions for a large chain supermarket but always dreamed of being self-employed and operating a business selling only the finest products combined with a family atmosphere and old-fashioned values. He joined his father at Bon Ton in 1996, working side-byside to realize Fred’s dream of running a boutique meat market. When Fred retired in 2006, Greg assumed all the operational and management duties.

Bon Ton Meat Market || 100 Years || 4

“I have been blessed to have four men I consider to be strong mentors in my life who have all had a deep impact on my life and career. First of all, my father, who taught me the trade and gave me this opportunity along with instilling a strong work ethic, a commitment to real customer service and as always doing things properly the first time,” says Greg. work ethic, a commitment to real customer service and as always doing things properly the first time,” says Greg.

“The second was a man named Fidel Stephenson who was a family friend as well as my boss during my corporate career. He was very grounded, highly respected and a great man. I saw his career end due to corporate politics which truly opened my eyes as to how big-business is often conducted and how fragile careers can be. Third was

Congratulations Bon Ton Meat Market

100 Years of providing incredible products and amazing customer service! We are proud to be one of your partners and equally as proud to be your friend. Spolumbo’s Fine Foods & Deli 1308 - 9 Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 0T3 Phone: (403)-264-6452

www.spolumbos.com

Bon Ton Meat Market || 100 Years || 5

Photos by Riverwood Photography.

Coming from the heart of a youngster, 26 years of service, to the admired senior, Congratulations! What an amazing milestone, 100 years! Although we specialize in providing the care seniors deserve, it would appear that you’re still going strong! One of the amazing things we share is this quote; “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” ~ Douglas Adams

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a man named Ken Crump who was also one of my bosses. Ken is the most honest, decent and well-respected man I have ever worked with. He spoke softly, always showed respect and compassion for everyone he dealt with and is a man of integrity. Lastly is “The Peach.” Ian Peachey was truly the best friend any man could ever hope to have. We lost him five years ago to cancer and there’s never a day I don’t think of him, his friendship and his legacy.” The people in a business are critical, and those who came before Greg Keller shaped how he approached those who followed. He knows that great people are the key to success, and he surrounds himself with the best people every day. As most employees have been with Bon Ton for a long time, they have immense knowledge about the products and are happy to share all they know with customers, whether that is advising on the best cut of meat, cooking instructions or suggesting a new recipe. Employees are the number one asset at Bon Ton. The enthusiastic and dedicated team works hard every day to ensure they maintain and exceed the standards set by Keller and the owners before him. This dedication to great service is what attracts customers to Bon Ton as well as retains suppliers. Harvest

Bon Ton Meat Market || 100 Years || 6

This dedication to great service is what attracts customers to Bon Ton as well as retains suppliers. Harvest Meats has provided deli products to the market for 25 years and is still impressed by Bon Ton’s approach. Meats has provided deli products to the market for 25 years and is still impressed by Bon Ton’s approach. “It’s the way they do business: one-on-one individual service. It’s the way things used to be,” says Peter VanderMeulen, key account manager at Harvest Meats. This service level paired with the best products available led to Bon Ton’s significant growth and success over the years, going from a small downtown shop with a few employees to a 7,000-square-foot shop in Crowfoot Centre run by 30 fantastic staff. While it has changed with the times, Bon Ton still uses the same 70-year-old cast iron meat pie machine. The feel is that of a time gone by, and this is by design. Keller resists the push to go online and embrace social media; he would rather invest in his staff and the lost art of personalized customer service.

celebrating 100 years

www.stonebrookfoods.com

Proud to be Bon Ton's Primary Supplier of Premium AAA Alberta Beef and Milk Fed Veal

Bon Ton Meat Market || 100 Years || 7

“You wouldn’t be able to buy the beef that Quality signs since 1947

you buy at Bon Ton at any other store in Calgary. Greg is very specific about what

Neon Sales congratulates Bon Ton for achieving this milestone anniversary.

his beef has to be. He doesn’t just buy AAA

Happy to be their sign supplier for over 40 years!

the very top-end of AAA beef and then he

beef, he buys a grade within a grade. He buys ensures it is aged to perfection,” says Barry Reimer of Stonebrook Foods.

Serving the Community and area for 48 years.

Congratulations on your th 100 Anniversary! 1423 – 9th Avenue SE 403-266-6274 mail@watsonrefrigerationltd.com www.watsonrefrigerationltd.com

“We’re not just selling meat here. We’re selling an experience. You’re getting looked after from start to finish, with smiling faces. I learned a long time ago that I am nothing without my staff. They are truly valued, appreciated and a part of my family. I’m very humbled and blessed for their dedication. It isn’t ever taken for granted,” he says. Customers have a lot to smile about, too. There is very little that Bon Ton Meat Market doesn’t have in stock. The boutique market stocks high quality local products that rival the meat in the best restaurants in town. “You wouldn’t be able to buy the beef that you buy at Bon Ton at any other store in Calgary. Greg is very specific about what his beef has to be. He doesn’t just buy AAA beef, he buys a grade within a grade. He buys the very top-end of AAA beef and then he ensures it is aged to perfection,” says Barry Reimer of Stonebrook Foods.

Congratulations on your 100th year of business Bon Ton! What a milestone of achievement.

Congratulations to Greg and his dedicated team at Bon Ton Meat Market for 100 years in business!

Stonebrook has provided Bon Ton with quality beef for decades and is proud of their relationship. The counter showcases the most popular cuts of meat, but it is in no way all that’s on offer. Bon Ton will custom package any meat products. With the rise of TV cooking and barbeque shows along with the increasingly multicultural population, Bon Ton is the first stop for many Calgary foodies looking for quality cuts of meat to test out the new smoker, attempt a celebrity chef’s recipe, or cook a dish from across the world. Tastes and habits have evolved and Bon Ton evolved with them, keeping up with what customers want. And it will always treat the more than 2,000 customers it serves each week like part of the Bon Ton family.

We are proud of our relationship that has spanned over three generations and honoured to be Bon Ton’s supplier of turkey.

Bon Ton’s suppliers are just as much a part of the family as employees and customers, and Keller has strong relationships with many local Alberta suppliers.

You are truly a leader in the industry who always and consistently reaches a helping hand back to local farmers like Bear and the Flower Farm!

Jessica Fasoli - 403-472-4456 www.bearandtheflower.com

WINTER’S TURKEYS

Free Range and Organically Grown www.wintersturkeys.ca

“Every business owner has gone through good as well as difficult times. I learned a long time ago that you are nothing without your employees and suppliers. Trust and loyalty are everything and they deserve to be treated with honesty, fairness, respect and integrity,” he says.

Bon Ton Meat Market || 100 Years || 8

The market features decadent cheesecakes and cakes from Alberta’s WOW Factor desserts, naturally raised pork products from Bear and the Flower Farms, and the unbeatable sausages, lasagnas and cannelloni from Spolumbo’s Fine Foods & Deli. “They are one of those great local companies that you find in Calgary. They are incredibly grounded, have the best

quality, and community is everything to them. They are unbelievable to the community and the partners they help to promote in the city,” says Tony Spoletini of Spolumbo’s, who has enjoyed a relationship with Bon Ton for 20 years. Bon Ton enlists partners to support a variety of community and charity initiatives including Ronald McDonald House, Alberta Children’s Hospital, a number of cancer

Bon Ton Meat Market || 100 Years || 9

Bon Ton’s customer focus has served it well over the past 100 years and Greg Keller, who has led for 25 of those years, doesn’t intend to mess with a winning strategy. He will build onto his predecessor’s foundation to continue the store’s success into the future. It’s a responsibility to carry on the Bon Ton Meat Market legacy and it is one he will proudly carry into its second century. fundraisers, and children’s sports. It’s important to Greg that Bon Ton is a good corporate citizen and gives back to the community that gave him so much. By both sponsoring public events and quietly supporting those in need, giving back is an important element in the Bon Ton story.

will build onto his predecessor’s foundation to continue the store’s success into the future. It’s a responsibility to carry on the Bon Ton Meat Market legacy and it is one he will proudly carry into its second century.

Bon Ton’s unique business approach makes suppliers proud to be associated with the market. Jonathan Kielstra of Mountain View Poultry has provided Bon Ton with its chicken products for more than 30 years and attributes the market’s success to that model.

Proud to be Calgary’s Consumers Choice Award for Best Meat and Deli and Business Excellence for 19 consecutive years.

“They are straight-up, honest and the customer always comes first. That’s what I know about Greg and Fred before him. They are straight shooters. The customer is always number one,” says Kielstra.

28 Crowfoot Circle NW Calgary, Alberta T3G 2T3

Bon Ton’s customer focus has served it well over the past 100 years and Greg Keller, who has led for 25 of those years, doesn’t intend to mess with a winning strategy. He

We welcome Phone-in orders and can be reached at: Phone (403) 282-3132 • Fax (403) 284-4875 www.bontonmeatmarket.com

Bon Ton Meat Market || 100 Years || 10

Always enjoy our Monday calls. Happy 100th! Keep smiling. From all of us at Meadow Creek Sausage & Meat Ltd. Congratulations Bon Ton on your amazing milestone of 100 years! meadowcreeksausage.ca 130 Bowridge Dr. NW, Calgary, AB • Ph: (403) 247-9800

www.windsorplywood.com

PRE PAK MEATS CALGARY LTD. Servicing the Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Trade

Congratulations Greg on your amazing milestone!

Involved in the community with pride. Congratulations Greg and Family on your 100th Anniversary!

4818 – 32 Street S.E. Calgary, AB Tel: 403-272-4114 | Fax: 403-272-1207

prepakmeats.com

Congratulations Bon Ton on your 100th Anniversary!! Proud to be a partner for over 25 years.

www.veritivcorp.com

Congratulations

CONGRATULATIONS ON 100 YEARS OF BUSINESS

BRED AND FED TO BE THE BEST BRANTLAKEWAGYU.CA CONGRATULATIONS BON TON MEAT MARKET FOR 100 YEARS!

Bon Ton Meat Market on

100 YEARS! www.BusinessInCalgary.com

We’ve been selling barbecues for 200 years. Just kidding, 42 years. BARBECUESGALORE.CA

Bon Ton Meat Market || 100 Years || 11

PARKER’S PEN // DAVID PARKER

Parker’s Pen BY DAVID PARKER

ost of us enjoy reading Letters to the Editor, giving us an idea of other people’s genuine interests and concerns. They also give us a current temperature reading of feelings towards governments, and ours on all levels don’t seem to be faring too well. Booking vaccinations online brought plenty of frustrations as seniors became very frustrated by wait time. But more important was a statement in one letter that reported AHS had tweeted that 6,000 had access on the first day, and sadly she just didn’t believe the statement. And that’s a big concern – we are at the point where we don’t believe what governments tell us.

underpass, the Grain Exchange Building and a house on land where the Palliser Hotel was later built. Another, addressed simply to Mrs. R.M. Smythe, Revelstoke, B.C., shows the original St. Mary’s Cathedral and hall. Postcards were a pleasant way of sending greetings and letting people know where you were; emails, text and the telephone are the way today. And if you do send a view of where you are holidaying it probably arrives after you are back home. So, I applaud Canada Post for the nice surprise of the offer of a postage-paid postcard to share special moments with friend and family. A great marketing piece that just might encourage me to use more.

No more Rocky Mountain coal mines?

It’s almost a year since I questioned in this column when we would be back to ‘normal’ with people returning to their downtown desks. There will be those willing to stay working from home although I hear from more and more who are anxious to be amongst colleagues. Good, I think, for companies who will benefit from creativity fostered by in-office relationships, and good for retailers and restaurants who have been hurt so badly. And what about all those office plants? Hope they have been cared for by somebody, or I know of plant companies more than willing to freshen up welcoming space with new exotics that can be so pleasing and help provide a healthy environment.

It’s amazing how a small idea can grow into a big and successful operation, aided by inspiration and commitment. Back in 1963 Calgary businessman Art Jenkyns met Dr. Ben Gullison who had been working at a mission hospital in India. Jenkyns said he’d like to help raise funds for the work and Operation Eyesight was formed. Little by little, without the aid of our modern communication tools, it grew until today the Calgary-based charity is a world-renowned leader in the global eye care sector. “You can’t change the world, but you can change some people’s world,” is a quote he lived by.

Lots of people collect postcards, but few send them.

Final Words

Mine include photos of Simla in India, tea plantations and old Calgary. One of my favourites shows the 1st Street

A rich person is nothing but a poor person with money. – W.C. Fields

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