Business in Calgary - November 2018

NOVEMBER 2018 | $3.50 BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

Murray Cobbe

Lorenzo Donadeo

Dr. T. Chen Fong

David E. Mitchell

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2018 Alberta Business Hall of Fame Celebrating exceptional business leaders

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Supporting the visions of entrepreneurs one story at a time.

Volume 27 | Number 11

CONTENTS

REGULAR COLUMNS

COVER FEATURE

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018 Alberta Business 2 Hall of Fame Celebrating exceptional business leaders

By Melanie Darbyshire

ON OUR COVER:

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Opposition to the Carbon Tax Grows in Canada

By Frank Atkins

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The Inductees of the 2018 Alberta Business Hall of Fame: Murray Cobbe, Lorenzo Donadeo, Dr. T. Chen Fong and David E. Mitchell

Occupational Health and Safety Rules Pose a Hazard to Small Businesses

By Amber Ruddy

14

The Olympic Project Needs the Calgary Business Community

By Brad Field

16

Activists Need to Come Clean on Facts, Process

By Cody Battershill

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68 97

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

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Marketing Matters

By David Parker

STORY TITLE // SECTION

Supporting the visions of entrepreneurs one story at a time.

Volume 27 | Number 11

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THIS MONTH’S FEATURES

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CONTENTS 34 COMPANY PROFILES

76 79 84 87 91

Goodfellow

49

Celebrates 120 Years

NORR

Celebrates 80 Years

ComPro Cleaning & Restoration

Celebrates 25 Years

Durabuilt Windows & Doors

Celebrates 30 Years

CorMac Projects Inc.

Celebrates 10 Years

NOVEMBER 2018 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

Planning Makes Perfecty An entrepreneur’s business is always for sale

By Jamie Zachary

Tall Order High inventory levels and tougher lending rules challenge Calgary’s condo market

By Jamie Zachary

Alberta Slowly Climbing Out of Recession

By Rennay Craats

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mall Business = Risky S Business?

Even for businesses that are considered “small,” the challenges loom large

By Nikki Gouthro

58 63

Alberta’s Health System The impact and importance of privately-donated dollars

By Erlynn Gococo

To Automate or Not To Automate The new manufacturing

By John Hardy

86 8

Inclusionary Housing

By John Hardy

Consumer Choice

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ART DIRECTOR

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REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Amber Ruddy Frank Atkins David Parker Brad Field Cody Battershill

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OPPOSITION TO THE CARBON TAX GROWS IN CANADA // FRANK ATKINS

Opposition to the Carbon Tax Grows in Canada

BY FRANK ATKINS

T

here was an interesting juxtaposition of events in early October of this year. The Nobel Prize in economics was announced. The prize was shared

by Paul Romer from New York University and William Nordhaus of Yale University. Professor Nordhaus has been urging governments for years to implement wide-ranging carbon taxes to fight the effects of climate change. Upon winning the award, Nordhaus stated, “The policies are lagging very, very far – miles, miles, miles behind the science and what needs to be done. It’s hard to be optimistic. And we’re actually going backward in the United States with the disastrous policies of the Trump administration.” The same week this prize was announced, the United Nations released the opinion of yet another panel on climate change saying, “Large changes in public policy were urgently needed to limit the catastrophic consequences of rising temperatures.”

The United Nations has never been an organization to understate its case.

While all of this was going on, newly-elected Ontario Premier Doug Ford came to Alberta and had a public meeting with Opposition leader Jason Kenney. At a standing room only election-type rally at the BMO Centre, both Mr. Kenney and Mr. Ford railed on against the imposition of Ottawa’s carbon tax, calling it a job-killing tax. Opposition to the carbon tax in Canada is not limited to Mr. Ford and Mr. Kenney.

On his way to Alberta, Mr. Ford met with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, and the two premiers announced they would continue to fight the carbon tax together. In addition, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced his province will not go ahead with a $25-a-tonne levy that was to come into effect in December of this year.

So, all in the same week in October, we had a Nobel Prize winner and a United Nations panel telling us if we do not implement drastic policies like carbon taxes, we are basically doomed to catastrophic consequences, while in Canada we have premiers lining up to oppose Ottawa’s imposition of carbon taxes. How un-Canadian of some of us. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Trudeau displayed his usual grasp of public policy by stating, “Pollution should not be free anywhere across this country.” Another in-depth policy discussion by our prime minister.

Throughout all of this, Premier Notley did not have much to say, apparently delegating Education Minister David Eggen to be the spokesperson on this one. Predictably, Mr. Eggen said Albertans should be disturbed by Ford and Kenney working together. Towing the party line, Mr. Eggen concluded, “Our climate action plan is very effective up to now in creating jobs, helping to diversify the economy and quite frankly is helping to reduce pollution as well.”

Interestingly, Mr. Eggen cleverly avoided actually using the words “carbon tax.” It is not clear to me how any policy called a climate action plan implemented by an NDP government would actually create any meaningful jobs.

Mr. Eggen is probably more disturbed by the likely outcome of next year’s provincial election than he is by the meeting of Mr. Ford and Mr. Kenney. The winds of change are in the air.

Frank Atkins is Research Chair of Finance & Capital Markets at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY RULES POSE A HAZARD TO SMALL BUSINESSES // AMBER RUDDY

Occupational Health and Safety Rules Pose a Hazard to Small Businesses

BY AMBER RUDDY

D

id you know that although new Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) rules have been in effect since June 1, 2018, the Alberta government still hasn’t released sufficient details for businesses to be in compliance?

The new onerous policies require mandatory health and safety training for employees. However, the province has yet to release a full list of accredited training providers. Business owners may even face penalties for not following the letter of the law.

According to a spring survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), only 12 per cent of Alberta business owners indicated they received adequate information about how changes to health and safety regulations affect their business. In addition, three-quarters (77 per cent) noted they are worried they may be unfairly penalized by health and safety authorities.

The government is moving so fast on their complete legislative overhaul in the labour department, they don’t even have time to get the required details together five months after these rules became mandatory.

The question remains: will the Alberta government commit to focusing on education to help businesses comply before resorting to punitive ticketing? Officers investigating contraventions of the OHS Act have a wide variety of fines and administrative penalties at their disposal.

The new policies require the appointment of a health and safety representative in businesses with five to 19 employees. That representative is required to take additional employee training on workplace safety for a

minimum of 16 hours (or two shifts worth, whichever is greater) per year.

Businesses employing 20 or more people must establish a joint worksite health and safety committee. This committee must have at least four members, half of which must represent workers and must meet at least quarterly. The joint worksite health and safety committee either has to meet during regular work hours or be paid for additional time spent on their duties in this role.

In Alberta, 94 per cent of entrepreneurs surveyed believe employment laws should be more flexible for small employers to better support small businesses. Small business owners are well placed to understand the unique needs in their workplace and act accordingly.

When new policies are introduced, we need to ensure entrepreneurs are better accounted for. That is why CFIB is asking the government to implement a small business lens to mitigate the impact on business owners. The lens would require thorough consultation with small business owners, followed by transparent economic analysis of how the policy will impact local business. The government would also be required to consider implementing measures to help protect small businesses if they may face hardship.

If something is made mandatory, the supporting details must be available – or else it’s just another regulatory obstacle to overcome. It’s time the Alberta government considered the health of the business community in their policy pronouncements.

Amber Ruddy is the director of provincial affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. She can be reached at amber.ruddy@cfib.ca. Follow her on Twitter @aruddy.

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THE OLYMPIC PROJECT NEEDS THE CALGARY BUSINESS COMMUNITY // BRAD FIELD

The Olympic Project Needs the Calgary Business Community

BY BRAD FIELD

C

algary is fast approaching a decision that will impact our city for the next 30 to 40 years to come. On November 13, Calgarians will vote in a plebiscite on whether we support bidding to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

After the Calgary 2026 team revealed its draft hosting plan in early September, the media and public debate became narrowly focused on the $5.2 billion price tag ($3 billion when revenues are netted out), and questions of affordability and opportunity cost.

As the November 13 vote looms, I would like to see more discussion on the positives of becoming an Olympic host city. I see at least three benefits that should resonate with the business community.

First, there can be little doubt that winning the rights to host the 2026 Games would provide Calgary with a much-needed economic shot in the arm. Interestingly, the bid for the 1988 Games was also an effort to kick-start the economy in the wake of the disastrous national energy program. The bulk of the spending on any Games, which in this case would include over $1 billion from the IOC and about $1.5 billion from the federal government, is spent in the local host region.

Second, building for the Olympics would allow the City of Calgary to use leveraged dollars to refurbish the legacy sport facilities that were built for the 1988 Games, maintaining Calgary’s position as Canada’s winter sports capital. Several Canadian winter sports organizations, including Hockey Canada, Alpine Canada and Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton are all headquartered in Calgary, a legacy of 1988. Calgary has hosted any number of international competitions at Canada

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Olympic Park and the Olympic Oval. Without the Olympics, we will soon be facing difficult decisions as a city regarding whether to decommission these facilities, which remain well used by families and competitive athletes alike.

Third, hosting the Olympics and Paralympics would give Calgary a unique opportunity to define the city we want and to showcase it to the world, attracting talent and innovation in the process. This is the intangible benefit of the Games – Olympics is about much more than sport. Some of Calgary’s best arts infrastructure is a legacy of ’88. Badly needed affordable housing is another important consideration. To quote former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell, hosting the Olympics is a launching pad, not a landing pad.

All that said, I have some serious concerns about how Calgary’s Olympic project has been managed to date.

Our city council has appeared disorganized, divided and petty at times, not demonstrating the level of leadership, transparency and accountability that Calgary would need to credibly bid and host the Games.

On balance, I support an Olympic bid. Winning the Games and delivering a best-in-class global event will counter a worrying emerging narrative that it has become impossible to build big, ambitious projects in Canada. But I doubt our current city council’s ability to oversee the Olympic project effectively. If we decide to do this as a city, it’s time that Calgary’s business community steps up to ensure it’s done extremely well. If Calgary bids and wins, we should and will set a high bar for clean, inclusive, responsible and disciplined Games planning and operations, delivering not only exceptional Games events, but a new legacy that will define Calgary for decades to come.

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ACTIVISTS NEED TO COME CLEAN ON FACTS, PROCESS // CODY BATTERSHILL

Activists Need to Come Clean on Facts, Process

BY CODY BATTERSHILL

I

n the bigger discussions around sustainability, there’s been a trend away from single, inflexible decision-making models toward a multiparty cooperative approach.

In cases where all parties are willing to stick to a process and be honest about their principles, that approach can work really well. But when one interested party demonstrably misleads the public – the approach simply can’t work.

When I’m asked why some energy companies seem hesitant to commit to mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with their key opponents, I simply point to career activist Tzeporah Berman, who recently claimed on CBC radio that “demand for oil is falling.”

Berman, a self-described energy expert, must be aware the International Energy Agency forecasts that, by 2023, oil demand will reach almost 105 million barrels per day, up almost seven million barrels from the current year, driven mainly by demand from China and India. She must also know current demand is up 10 million barrels per day since 2010.

And I’ve pointed out in the past what Berman told Californians recently about Alberta energy – via a brochure from her latest activist group Stand.earth: “Everyone agrees – tar sands [her words] is by far the dirtiest type of oil. It has an outsized climate impact, is terrible for air quality, and when it spills it’s significantly harder to clean up than conventional crude oil.”

But it’s not true that “everyone agrees.” If this is how Berman and her anti-oil activist lobby approaches multi-stakeholder processes, then we obviously have a problem.

Each of her above-noted claims has been proven wrong over and over again. The “dirtiest oil in North America” comes

PERHAPS IT’S TIME FOR THESE ACTIVIST OPPONENTS TO DROP THEIR POSITIONS, COMMIT TO TRANSPARENCY AND JOIN THE MODERN MOVEMENT TOWARD COOPERATION ON KEY PROJECTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF CANADA. from Placerita, just outside L.A. At least six other countries have dirtier product.

Further, Nigeria produces the world’s dirtiest oil, while fully 96 per cent of California’s imported oil is non-Canadian, and much of it originates in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Ecuador and Mexico. There’s no outsized climate impact associated with Canadian product, and it’s no harder to clean up.

But Berman’s not alone. The Pembina Institute – selfdescribed fighters of climate change – continues to oppose even LNG Canada, the largest infrastructure proposal in Canadian history, even though it would reduce global GHG emissions and has the lowest emissions of any major LNG facility worldwide.

Perhaps it’s time for these activist opponents to drop their positions, commit to transparency and join the modern movement toward cooperation on key projects for the benefit of Canada.

But I won’t hold my breath.

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

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Brookfield Residential YMCA Many companies talk the talk about the importance of community. Some companies walk the walk.

The Brookfield Residential YMCA, currently under construction in Seton, will not only be a 330,000-squarefoot state-of-the-art recreation facility, it will be the latest dynamic example of committed Calgary businesses boosting the community.

With Brookfield’s $3.5-million support, the Brookfield Residential YMCA represents an exceptional example of giving back to the Calgary community.

“One of Brookfield Residential’s core values is community,” says the enthusiastic Trent Edwards, COO for Brookfield Residential Alberta. “It is also a cornerstone of Brookfield Residential Seton community vision. It’s a good example of helping connect residents with neighbours and helping build a community that empowers a better life.

“Seton is developed to be the heart of the south, equipped with all the facets of a modern urban core. The facility will provide attractive amenities and empower area families to enjoy a better life.”

As the millions of details come together for the 2019 opening, Seton’s Brookfield Residential YMCA will feature meticulously planned and vital community amenities: a 50-metre, 10-lane competition pool with dive towers; an elaborate leisure pool with a play structure, water slides, a surf simulator, hot tubs and steam rooms; two NHLsized rinks; three full-sized gyms; a three-lane, 200-metre indoor track; two multipurpose fitness studios; a 250-seat performance theatre; and two unique outdoor “sparking lots” – curved cement structures serving a dual purpose for parking and street hockey rinks.

“We believe that when we make a positive contribution to the quality of life and well-being of members in the community,” Edwards adds, “it benefits many generations to come and in turn benefits the communities that we build.”

In many significant ways, the Brookfield Residential YMCA will set a recreation benchmark for contemporary Calgary families.

“Calgary communities are changing. The role of the Y is constantly changing. The Y has always been known as a healthy centre of community,” explains Ken Lima-Coelho, vice president of community engagement for the Calgary YMCA. “We provide opportunities for all ages and abilities and financial backgrounds to participate in our programs and services which are designed to help develop a healthy spirit, mind and body, and to ultimately build healthy communities.

“Through an involved needs assessment, the City of Calgary determined that the growing southeast communities were in need of a multifaceted recreational facility as well as a competitive aquatic facility for Calgary’s amateur sport community.”

Since Brookfield is celebrating its 60th year in business as one of North America’s leading land developers and homebuilders, it is adding a personalized, special touch to the exciting grand opening. “We will also give away 60 memberships to 60 Calgary-area children, to underscore the importance for children to get at least an hour of exercise and play that their bodies need each day, creating the base for a healthy future,” says Edwards.

“After all, this is all about encouraging healthy living, promoting strong community connections and providing access to lifelong amenities that support health and vitality for generations to come.”

The Y’s Lima-Coelho emphasizes that corporate support means so much more than “writing a cheque.”

“Having corporate support from organizations like Brookfield Residential makes it possible for Calgarians to be healthy – physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.”

ABOVE: THE $3.5-MILLION, 330,000-SQUARE-FOOT BROOKFIELD RESIDENTIAL YMCA IN SETON.

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OFF

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The Competitiveness Slump The nature of news is that only big stories (good or bad) usually get most of the attention and it’s often after the fact.

There are countless recent and vintage examples that subtle and gradually developing issues are relegated to hit-and-miss regarding the garnering of news attention – until something big happens.

While it may not be the motive, CAPP (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers) published an important and proactive report urging the Government of Alberta to take action to close the competitiveness gap for the province’s oil and natural gas industry.

According to the report, “Global energy demand is on the rise and the world will need more energy in all forms, including oil and natural gas.”

McMillan, CAPP president and CEO, explains to Business in Calgary. “In order to improve competitiveness, the regulatory process needs to be streamlined by reducing timelines, modernizing current regulations and improving efficiency.

The Canadian energy industry has a long history of innovation and technological advancements that have improved efficiency and environmental performance, while growing production. The report makes the case that Canada has an opportunity to become the world’s preferred energy supplier, generating economic benefits and minimizing the environmental impacts at home and around the world.

“Market access is a key factor driving industry competitiveness, but it is only part of the equation.

Government needs to address regulatory efficiency and certainty, climate policies, fiscal terms and resource access challenges that make Alberta less competitive compared to other jurisdictions,” he adds.

But the report also emphasizes that in order for Alberta to take advantage of this opportunity, it is imperative the province competes on the global stage.

CAPP facts and figures show the oil and natural gas industry has faced significant hurdles to development in recent years – none more challenging than the struggle to maintain competitiveness and attract international investment.

At a time when both global energy demand and oil and natural gas investment are on the rise around the world, CAPP states investment in Canada’s upstream oil and natural gas industry is expected to decline. While U.S. investment is increasing by approximately 15 per cent, Canada’s unconventional oil and natural gas investment is expected to be flat.

“Capital investment in the oilsands has been decreasing for a fourth consecutive year since 2014 when it was $81 billion and is now expected to drop to $42 billion in 2018,” Tim

A key focus of the CAPP report is Alberta. It recommends the Alberta government create an overarching vision for future development with a specific long-term direction and strategic focus on competitiveness, including specific goals and performance metrics such as investment, production and project approval-related targets.

“Canada has an opportunity to ensure growing energy demand will be met by the most responsibly-produced oil and natural gas possible. However, government costs, regulatory barriers, inefficient policies and lack of market access are standing in the way of Canada meeting global energy demand, making it harder to grow our industry and support employment for Canadians,” McMillan warns.

CAPP represents companies, large and small, that explore, develop and produce natural gas and oil throughout Canada.

CAPP’s member companies produce about 80 per cent of Canada’s natural gas and oil.

ABOVE: TIM MCMILLAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CAPP.

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INCLUSIONARY HOUSING // URBANOMICS

INCLUSIONARY HOUSING REPUTATION IS EVERYTHING

BY JOHN HARDY

I

n some Canadian real estate markets, including Calgary, inclusionary housing is misunderstood. Community groups and building sector professionals emphasize that what inclusionary housing “is” can be equally as important as what it is “not.”

Inclusionary housing programs rely on development regulations and approval processes that require private developers to earmark a portion of their new market projects as “affordable housing.”

Misunderstandings are common, partially due to the different ways affordable housing can be provided based on conventional social housing programs. Industry insiders point out that while not all affordable housing programs are the same, the concept has key common aspects: it provides affordable housing on a permanent basis to a wider mix of incomes in all new residential developments and creates a more affordable range of housing across the entire community; it engages private developers to build and provide the units at a price or rent well below what the market would otherwise provide; and it establishes fixed and non-negotiable rules regarding the affordable housing obligation so that all developers are treated in a consistent and equitable way.

Advocates for inclusionary housing cite studies and stats to underscore that communities benefit when people – whether they drive the bus or work in a bank, hotel, school or retail store – can afford to live in the communities where

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they work. They note that more than 200 North American municipalities are proving that one of the fastest and fairest ways to create stable, equitably accessible, affordable housing is to ensure that it is built in any new developments.

In Calgary, the Community Housing Affordability Collective (CHAC) – a committed network of individuals and organizations like BILD Calgary Region (BILD CR) – is working together to make housing more affordable while educating citizens about inclusionary housing so that it is a better understood and embraced Calgary-housing norm. To achieve its vision, CHAC is guided by an ambitious action plan with three key outcomes: an integrated approach to housing, a stable and diverse housing mix, and stable funding.

One aspect of the misunderstanding is the faulty assumption that inclusionary housing is subsidized or free. “It is definitely not!” says the plugged-in and adamant Brooks Barnett, manager of government relations and policy with the Real Property Association of Canada (REALPAC), Canada’s national industry association for owners and managers of investment real estate. “It is generally thought of as free by some municipalities, because it is technically free to them.

“It’s not free housing to everyone else. Developers do not just provide free or subsidized units. They must recoup the affordable unit costs into the market units that are part of the same development project. It tends to drive prices higher than they otherwise would be. So, it might be ‘free’ (or subsidized)

INCLUSIONARY HOUSING // URBANOMICS

“MUNICIPALITIES SEEM TO UNDER-ZONE MANY AREAS OTHERWISE SUITABLE FOR INCREASED DENSITY, SUCH AS AROUND TRANSIT STOPS AND ON MAJOR ARTERIAL ROADS, SO THEY CAN EXTRACT EXTRA CHARGES FOR THE UP-ZONING.” ~ BROOKS BARNETT

for some but that’s because the neighbours are essentially paying for the units through the price of their units.”

Many planners and housing industry professionals emphasize three common obstacles to achieving inclusionary housing: land costs, regulations and zoning. It’s already difficult to make development work in markets without inclusionary housing, given slow approvals, excessive development charges, land transfer and related taxation.

Zoning is invariably a speed bump. “Municipal zoning is always a challenge,” Barnett points out. “Municipalities seem to underzone many areas otherwise suitable for increased density, such as around transit stops and on major arterial roads, so they can extract extra charges for the up-zoning. Zoning is also a problem for affordable housing development because under-zoning means that developers have to fight for every square foot of density in order to make their margins work.”

He echoes the sentiments of other housing insiders who caution about achieving inclusionary housing. “Imagine having to deal with high land costs, lengthy development timelines, taxes, development charges and parkland requirements and then being told that a significant portion of the units must be affordable.”

Compounding the issue is the reality that land is extremely

expensive in Calgary, as it is in most Canadian cities. “It would be improbable that inclusionary housing could work in areas where land is very expensive. The obvious way around this is to raise prices which, as the industry has experienced, is a major problem for all major municipalities, making all housing less affordable.”

Inclusionary housing advocates and many housing industry professionals agree the concept has definite merits. “One major benefit is social mobility. The idea being that the large social housing portfolios generally concentrate units together, usually in ‘depressed areas.’ And many of the areas generally become low income and vulnerable to many social and economic challenges.

“In some places in Canada, the social housing concentrations have led to slumification of some areas. Inclusionary housing is meant to disperse affordable housing across a wider area, basically spreading it, and allowing access by lower-income residents to areas otherwise not accessible to them.”

CHAC gets to the point about inclusionary housing in Calgary. “The group’s vision aims for a future where Calgary has housing that supports choice along the entire housing spectrum; is safe, appropriate and in suitable locations; allows Calgarians to meet their lifetime needs; and is affordable to all Calgarians across all income levels.”

ABOVE: BROOKS BARNETT, MANAGER OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AND POLICY WITH THE REAL PROPERTY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA (REALPAC).

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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OFF

THE

Burn Brighter at Ignite’s 2018 Summit Financial hurdles, HR issues and managing time and productivity are some common challenges confronting today’s business community – particularly for female business leaders in Calgary.

This month’s (November 22) Ignite: Burn Brighter summit will proactively shed light on various business challenges.

“The Ignite focus will look at money, people and time management,” explains the enthusiastic Katie Phillips, associate partner at event organizer, Tricon Solutions – a Calgary-based collective of over 100 top-tier professionals, providing highquality services to help businesses across a range of industries achieve outstanding business outcomes.

“We have found that the main obstacles facing business leaders today are: how to make your money work for you; how to effectively work with the people in every business transaction; and how to get things done in the limited amount of time each day.”

The dynamic Phillips, respected as a savvy business transformation expert, adds that while time management and access to capital are the two most common business speed bumps for most business leaders – male and female – they have different nuances for men and women.

“Business leaders, regardless of gender, often face many of the same challenges,” she says, “but there seems to be a larger societal expectation that women need to wear multiple hats in their lives; to be everything and do everything for everyone, to be more nurturing than focused on the bottom line, and to be successful in all of these roles.

“This adds a layer of complexity to the challenges facing female business leaders.”

The various Ignite 2018 speakers, seminars and sessions will include an ATB financial panel (moderated by Shannon Pestun, director, Women’s Entrepreneurship at ATB Financial), leading industry and financial expert discussion about the role that money plays, and how to achieve financial clarity to get the most out of business and personal life.

“Access to financial capital is still the greatest barrier that women face, preventing them from starting and scaling their companies,” Pestun points out. “The investment gap

is real: women raise smaller amounts of financial capital than men.”

She underscores with positivity that the business landscape has changed and that more women are entering entrepreneurship.

“In Alberta, the rate of women entrepreneurs is among the highest in Canada. Women-led companies represent 50 per cent of all new startups and have ownership in approximately 38 per cent of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

“It is partly driven by the rise of millennial entrepreneurs, high female enrolment in post-secondary entrepreneurship programs and a growing newcomer demographic,” says Pestun.

“There is also a rise in mompreneurs – those who participate in side hustles – and retirees who are looking for more options.”

Phillips accentuates the uniqueness of the Calgary business community. “Calgary is a rapidly growing city with a smalltown heart. Most people here don’t do business exclusively on a handshake anymore but for many, the sentiment still remains. We’re also a city that has experienced booms and busts and many Calgary businesses embody the hardworking, entrepreneurial spirit.”

She emphasizes the Ignite 2018 focus will bring together symposium speakers and partners from Calgary and Canada “with local and regional knowledge, understanding how business best works in Calgary and the unique obstacles we face.”

Ignite: Burn Brighter will be a special one-day opportunity for information and networking. For details, tickets and registration, visit www.ignitesummits.com.

ABOVE: KATIE PHILLIPS, ASSOCIATE PARTNER AT TRICON SOLUTIONS.

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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PLANNING MAKES PERFECT // SUCCESSION PLANNING

PLANNING MAKES PERFECT

AN ENTREPRENEUR’S BUSINESS IS ALWAYS FOR SALE

BY JAMIE ZACHARY

T

he good, bad and ugly – Jeff Cook has seen it all.

Yet one case stands out for the partner of Calgarybased professional chartered accounting firm Cook & Company as to why entrepreneurs always need to plan for the future.

In this case, Cook’s clients were aging. Over the years, they’d spark the occasional conversation about putting the business up for sale or turning it over to their children. Yet times were good and the children were not interested in running the business, so the clients didn’t see any urgency in selling.

When the economic downturn hit, the business was impacted hard. The clients were eventually forced to surrender their assets and client lists for next to nothing.

“If we had paid it a bit more attention four or five years ago, we might have avoided that from happening,” Cook says. “Entrepreneurs need to be aware that it takes years of planning to maximize the value of their businesses. It’s not a quick process, and it’ll need constant improvement, constant maximization and maintaining of value, and constant years of preparation.”

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NOVEMBER 2018 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

PLANNING MAKES PERFECT // SUCCESSION PLANNING

MAKING A BUSINESS ATTRACTIVE FOR SALE AT ANY STAGE IS A LENGTHY PROCESS, SAYS THE EXPERTS. ARE OWNERS LOOKING TO HAND THE BUSINESS DOWN TO A SUCCESSOR? ARE THEY LOOKING FOR A FULL SALE BECAUSE IT’S A TIME IN THEIR LIFE TO MOVE ON? DO THEY WANT TO STAY INVOLVED IN THE BUSINESS THROUGH A PARTIAL SALE? ARE THEY LOOKING FOR AN AVENUE TO ACCESS CAPITAL TO DRIVE FORWARD THE BUSINESS?

Making a business attractive for sale at any stage is a lengthy process, says the experts. Are owners looking to hand the business down to a successor? Are they looking for a full sale because it’s a time in their life to move on? Do they want to stay involved in the business through a partial sale? Are they looking for an avenue to access capital to drive forward the business?

“Business goals could also be related to whether they have planning concerns around group benefits for employees, employee retention or what corporate structure is in place,” says Wayne De Boer, wealth and estate planner with Three60 Wealth & Estate Solutions, a company that specializes in working with business families on wealth and succession planning.

While seemingly obvious, planning is a piece of the puzzle that experts say most owners today are missing until it’s often too late.

“They think someday someone is just going to walk in and offer them a bunch of money for their business. That usually doesn’t happen,” adds Jason Nagel, director of advanced planning with Three60 Wealth & Estate Solutions. “And even if it does happen, owners might be leaving money on the table unless they’ve taken the proper steps to ensure the highest evaluation for the business.”

Grant Brown, a Calgary-based partner with KPMG, says an easy way to think about an evaluation is through capitalization and earnings, which is business earnings multiplied by evaluation multiples.

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BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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PLANNING MAKES PERFECT // SUCCESSION PLANNING

“THEY JUST NEED TO KNOW IF THEY HAVE REDUNDANT ASSETS THAT THEY NEED TO GET RID OF, DO THE ASSETS THAT I CURRENTLY HAVE GENERATE ANY GOODWILL FOR ME THAT I CAN GET ON THE SALE?” ~ WAYNE DE BOER

The real task of achieving this is balancing each of these factors. On the one hand, you want to optimize the earnings of the business at a given time, but on the other hand, you want to ensure the robustness of those earnings and that there’s tangible growth going forward.

Also, what is the company’s growth plan? Are there any lowhanging fruit that can be put into practice prior to the sale that increases the evaluation? Brown says for businesses at any stage, there are often things that can be incorporated to increase the value of future initiatives.

“It’s really the stability of earnings and growth of those earnings that drive higher evaluation multiples,” says Brown.

And don’t neglect to maximize after-tax proceeds. Brown urges owners to invest in a structure that maximizes their tax position ahead of any sales process.

In addition to having up-to-date three-year financial histories, income statements with cash flows and current balance sheets, Brown says business owners should pay special attention to unsustainable costs. For example, any one-off costs that are not ongoing, yet can devalue a business’ evaluation. The same goes for the salaries of owners or stakeholders, which are typically higher than market value and, therefore, can skew overall costs.

Depending on how an owner is using the assets in their business, they may have tremendous opportunity to increase the value of their offering prior to retirement, says De Boer.

“They just need to know if they have redundant assets that they need to get rid of,” he says. “Do the assets that I currently have generate any goodwill for me that I can get on the sale?”

Another step experts urge owners to take is to make themselves redundant. While seemingly counter-intuitive, owners should be able to walk away and still have the proper structures, procedures and staff in place to continue the business’ success.

Purchasers don’t want the value walking away with the vendor, says Cook.

“It’s the largest challenge facing business owners – making themselves redundant. They’re very proud they built these businesses, and it’s usually because of them they’ve been successful. To tell them they need to make themselves redundant is a tough sell,” he says.

Nagel adds if a business can run smoothly once the owner steps away, then the market for sellers also increases.

ABOVE: WAYNE DE BOER, WEALTH AND ESTATE PLANNER WITH THREE60 WEALTH & ESTATE SOLUTIONS. PHOTO SOURCE: WEALTH & ESTATE SOLUTIONS

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NOVEMBER 2018 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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PLANNING MAKES PERFECT // SUCCESSION PLANNING

“SURE, ONE FACTOR IS GOING TO BE THE MARKET. BUT ANOTHER FACTOR IS YOUR READINESS TO SELL. ARE YOU READY TO WALK AWAY FROM YOUR BABY? AND EVEN IF THAT’S THE CASE, DO YOU HAVE THE ASSETS PUT ASIDE TO DO SO?” ~ JASON NAGEL

“They don’t have to be an expert in what that business does,” he says. “But if the owner is vital in that business, when the next person comes in, they’re going to have to be an expert in that particular industry.”

Often, the problem is being able to walk away at all. Nagel says it’s a question he asks all his clients: are you ready to sell your business?

“Sure, one factor is going to be the market. But another factor is your readiness to sell. Are you ready to walk away from your baby?” asks Nagel. “And even if that’s the case, do you have the assets put aside to do so?”

Some owners may want to sell their businesses, but retain the building if they own it. Because of Calgary’s depressed commercial real estate market, many entrepreneurs are creating arm’s-length market-based rental arrangements and becoming landlords until prices pick up again, says Brown.

One thing most experts in the field agree on is Calgary’s business landscape is poised to change once again. Cook points to a generation of retiring baby boomers who are already creating an overflow of “For Sale” signs on the lawns of local businesses.

“There’s a population bump with the boomers, and they are all very close to retirement age if not already there. So, yes, there’s a glut. Take the chartered accountant industry as an example. There are a lot of businesses for sale,” he says, noting, however, it’s not yet having a downward effect on asking prices.

His final piece of advice: “An entrepreneur’s business is always for sale. There might not be a sign up saying that, but you always have to be mindful of growing value and maintaining it in advance of a sale, whether that’s 10 years down the road or next week.”

“We often see owners who want a continued income stream from their real estate properties,” he says.

ABOVE: JASON NAGEL, DIRECTOR OF ADVANCED PLANNING WITH THREE60 WEALTH & ESTATE SOLUTIONS. PHOTO SOURCE: THREE60

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NOVEMBER 2018 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

31

New Leadership, Same Quality Service at Kenway Mack Slusarchuk Stewart LLP By: Rennay Craats

F

or more than 30 years, Kenway Mack Slusarchuk Stewart LLP (KMSS) has offered something different to its Calgary and Bow Valley entrepreneurial business owners. KMSS meets the wideranging needs of its diverse client base with everything from general accounting and bookkeeping to complex tax solutions and business advisory; from succession planning and corporate reorganizations to purchase/sale assistance and compliance services. Since 1986, KMSS has grown to include 15 partners and 60 team members making it one of the largest mid-market independent CPA firms in the province.

the new strategies fuelled by technology. The wellrespected senior partner is poised to carry KMSS into its fourth decade in business as the industry around them evolves and changes. The firm’s robust tax department is growing thanks to its recent addition of tax partner Rob Finnigan, further positioning KMSS to have the best team to navigate the ever-changing tax landscape for its entrepreneurial clients.

For each of its 33 years, KMSS has adapted to changes and developments in the industry in order to provide the best service to clients. And now it is embracing the latest change – one of firm leadership. Bryce Eidsness, who has been managing partner for the past 18 years, announced his retirement earlier this year and has been working to ensure the transition is a smooth one ever since. KMSS is a tight-knit group of professionals and the best option for them was to fill the vacancy with an existing partner who has an impeccable skill set, leadership experience and the detail-oriented mindset that allows for an efficient highperforming firm.

“There is a technology element that is hitting our profession that we have to be on top of so I think having Scott in the leadership role will allow the firm to be better positioned given his interest in technology,” says Eidsness.

“I think the firm is ready for Scott and his leadership style.”

Scott Timson was the obvious choice to fill Eidsness’ shoes. Timson has been with KMSS for 20 years, been a partner for 15 years and has sat on the executive committee for 10 years so he has a great understanding of the firm, how it works and how it can continue to prosper. Eidsness couldn’t ask for a better person to take his seat.

“I want the firm to be well equipped to continue after I leave. I’m 100 per cent confident that will happen with Scott as leader of the firm,” Bryce Eidsness says.

Timson is a smart, organized professional who straddles the line between traditional accounting practices and

Timson brings a new level of efficiency and structure to the position and he keeps his finger on the pulse of what is happening to ensure KMSS remains on the cutting edge.

The outgoing and incoming managing partners may have different styles but the core values and ethics they apply to running a successful business are the same.

They both value corporate culture, mutual respect among team members, fostering a strong work ethic and encouraging professional development through training, all the while going above and beyond to ensure clients’

Having roots as a client service partner, Timson truly understands the importance of quality service. Quality service starts with a good team and in his new position, Timson will continue to recruit high-calibre team members who fit with the corporate culture of quality service.

Scott Timson and Bryce Eidsness. Photo by Riverwood Photography.

needs are satisfied. KMSS understands the issues faced by its entrepreneurial clients because the firm is an entrepreneurial business itself. And as it moves forward, the firm will continue to be driven by relationships in order to meet its clients’ changing needs.

Having roots as a client service partner, Timson truly understands the importance of quality service. Quality service starts with a good team and in his new position, Timson will continue to recruit high-calibre team members who fit with the corporate culture of quality service.

“I’d like to think it is going to be a seamless transition and as much as our approaches are different, the underlying principles of what’s important to the partnership are the same,” says Scott Timson. “First and foremost, it’s providing a high level of service to our entrepreneurial clients. And it’s remaining independent, especially with all that’s happening today.”

KMSS is proud of its history and is excited about its future as a local firm providing world-class results. Timson and his team pride themselves on providing compliance and advisory services in an increasingly complicated business environment. Whether it involves the firm’s core services of tax, accounting and assurance or specialty services such as acquisition advice or succession planning, clients know that KMSS is there for them every step of the way.

With so many mid-market CPA firms moving toward greater consolidation, KMSS is proudly independent and intends to remain that way. Timson is also dedicated to building on what is already working well, expanding into new areas as the industry and clients dictate, and providing support and counsel to meet the changing needs of today’s clients.

Read more about the firm at kmss.ca.

TALL ORDER // REAL ESTATE

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Tall Order

C

algary’s housing market has bore the brunt of ongoing turbulence in the economy – yet none more so than the condo sector.

Once a haven for first-time buyers, downsizers and investors alike, these diminutive units have taken it on the chin like a St-Pierre super kick amid a perfect storm of oversupply, tougher lending rules and weak employment conditions.

“There’s just too much product based on the demand,” says Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at CREB, which represents more than 5,600 real estate professionals in the region. “Sales activity continues to fall, albeit not at the same pace as some of the other markets.”

Year-to-date sales at the end of September were down 5.6 per cent to 2,096 units, well below long-term averages. New listings declined over the same period slightly by 5.5 per cent, but active listings remained high and stayed on the market longer – up by more than 12 per cent to 64 days.

As a result, the year-to-date average benchmark price for apartments at the end of September was $257,578, 2.9 per cent below the same period in 2017 and 14 per cent below the peak.

SMWL.CoM 34

NOVEMBER 2018 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

TALL ORDER // REAL ESTATE

High inventory levels and tougher lending rules challenge Calgary’s condo market

HASKAYNE

Executive

BY JAMIE ZACHARY

“This is clearly a buyer’s market – and not just for apartments,” says Lurie. “You have an economy that’s still not doing well, employment pushing back up against eight per cent and changes in the lending environment. All of these are weighing on the real estate market.”

New mortgage rules that came into effect at the start of 2018 mean borrowers must now meet the Bank of Canada’s five-year benchmark rate, or their contractual rate, plus two percentage points to qualify for a mortgage.

“That’s having a massive impact on the real estate market, especially because incomes haven’t grown. We think this is one of the reasons sales are down across all product types,” says Lurie, adding, not surprisingly, Calgary’s rental vacancy rate has declined to under four per cent from 20-year highs set in 2017.

New condos represent more than one-third of all housing starts in the Calgary metropolitan area in 2018, up slightly from 2017, yet lower than the near peaks of 50 and 58 per cent seen in 2014 and 2008, respectively, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).

Meanwhile, the number of condo units under construction has decreased significantly since Calgary headed into the recession in 2014. As of August, it sat at

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ABOVE: THE 34-STOREY PARK POINT TOWER IN CALGARY’S BELTLINE IS 85 PER CENT SOLD OUT WITH FIRST HOMEOWNERS ALREADY TAKING POSSESSION. PHOTO SOURCE: PARK POINT

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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TALL ORDER // REAL ESTATE

just over 5,800 units, above longterm averages, yet still not at the peaks set during previous downturns.

James Cuddy, Calgary-based senior analyst of economics and market insights for CMHC, attributes the decline in the number of condo starts to lower demand from buyers. He adds completions are also down, which suggests condo builders are also adjusting to the current reality.

“Some of the units that were under construction are taking longer to get to the completion stage, which I see as a sign that builders are slowing down due to market conditions,” he says. “They are taking longer to complete these units.”

The reason why? Builders don’t want them to sit empty, suggests Cuddy. At the end of this past

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NOVEMBER 2018 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

TALL ORDER // REAL ESTATE

summer, the number of units sold upon completion was down – only 57 per cent of completed multi-family units, which includes condos, were sold. The historical average trends around 85 per cent.

“Especially within the last months, the number of absorptions at completion was relatively low, which is a good indication demand is low for a given amount of supply,” he says. “And that absolutely puts downward pressure on prices.”

Cuddy also points to economic conditions behind new condo activity. He, like Lurie, notes the unemployment rate in Calgary ticked up to 8.2 per cent in August, which is well above the provincial average. He also points out that the number of Calgarians between the ages of 25 and 34 continues to decline.

“These individuals are first-time buyers, and will generally look at condos as ways to enter the market.

The fact this segment of the population has recently started to trend downwards has implications on the demand for condos,” he says.

Despite these adverse conditions, Qualex-Landmark vice-present of sales Jordan Beach says his company’s Park Point tower in the city’s beltline district has seen sustained buyer interest since it broke ground over three years ago.

“We have closed over 90 per cent of the units that have sold since the launch,” says Beach.

While he admits tougher lending rules are challenging some condo buyers, he feels home prices in Alberta are still relatively low compared to other major Canadian cities, making affordability for young or first-time buyers less of an issue.

“Condos certainly seem like a better alternative financingwise, so we are still seeing regular interest in our product,” says Beach.

Park Point is the sixth condo development in Calgary’s beltline by Qualex-Landmark, following Aria, Mark on 10th, Calla, Luna and Stella.

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Construction on the 34-storey skyscraper was completed in August, and Beach says almost all its buyers have already taken possession. He estimates only 15 per cent of the 289 condos in the building are still available for purchase.

ABOVE: THE 34-STOREY PARK POINT TOWER IN CALGARY’S BELTLINE IS 85 PER CENT SOLD OUT WITH FIRST HOMEOWNERS ALREADY TAKING POSSESSION. PHOTO SOURCE: PARK POINT

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BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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BELLS WILL BE RINGING FOR THE SALVATION ARMY’S KETTLE CAMPAIGN // DONATIONS

Bells Will Be Ringing for the Salvation Army’s Kettle Campaign

I

t’s that time of year again, and as the Christmas season starts up there will be a familiar ringing in the air from one of the many volunteers putting in their time to help support the Salvation Army’s Kettle Campaign. To a lot of people, the Christmas kettle is part of the holiday tradition, and a chance to donate either money or time to a good cause.

Since 1891, the Salvation Army Christmas kettle has been a symbol of hope for children and families who otherwise would have nowhere else to turn for help.

For almost 130 years, the Salvation Army has been providing support around the city – impacting the lives of over 70,000 Calgarians annually by offering programs to fight poverty and build community while ensuring everyone has the basic necessities of life. The Kettle Campaign is the major fundraising effort for the Salvation Army with a goal to raise $1,000,000 this year.

Funds raised through the Christmas Kettle Campaign go directly to Salvation Army programs operating in Calgary to

provide toy and food hampers to families at Christmas, free employment assistance for those out of work, support for new Canadians such as ESL classes, and programs for children, families and adults. With the economy still uncertain, the demand for services has not diminished as Calgarians continue to turn to the Salvation Army for hope and help.

The 2018 Christmas Kettle Campaign kicks off in Calgary with the 28th annual Hope in the City Luncheon on Friday, November 23, featuring guest speaker General (Ret.) Rick Hillier. As the former chief of the defence staff, Canada’s highest-ranking position in the Canadian Forces, General Hillier is one of the country’s most celebrated leaders. He continues to inspire pride in being Canadian, all while sharing his trademark Newfoundland charm and humour.

Tickets are available by calling 403-410-1112.

The Kettle Campaign will run from November 16 to December 24 at locations throughout Calgary, Cochrane and Airdrie.

Donations can also be made online at FillTheKettle.com.

Volunteer a few hours at a Kettle and help us provide year-round programs that fight poverty and homelessness.

Becoming a Kettle volunteer is also a great way to introduce helping others to your kids and grandkids, so sign-up today!

tsacalgarykettles.com 38

NOVEMBER 2018 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

HOPE IN THE CITY Help us raise our annual $1,000,000 Christmas Kettle Campaign goal!

Kettle funds are used to support our year round programs and services in Calgary. Emergency food hampers, ESL classes, toys, camp for kids, school supplies and more.

Date: November 23, 2018 Location: The Hyatt Regency 700 Centre St S Calgary, AB Time:

12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Featuring Guest Speaker

General (Ret.) Rick Hillier

Former Chief of the Defence Staff for Canadian Forces For more information or to purchase tickets contact:

The Salvation Army Ph# 403-410-1112 events_ab@can.salvationarmy.org www.salvationarmy.ca/alberta

Presented by

2018 ALBERTA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME - SOUTHERN ALBERTA // COVER

2018 Alberta Business Hall of Fame Southern Alberta Celebrating exceptional business leaders

BY MELANIE DARBYSHIRE

F

or the 15th consecutive year, Junior Achievement (JA) of Southern Alberta is inducting four business greats into the Alberta Business Hall of Fame - Southern Alberta. While this year’s laureates boast varying achievements in a number of businesses, their stories share a common characteristic: humble leaders who put people first.

“We have such a rich history of entrepreneurship and innovation and it is good to remember and celebrate it,” says Melissa From, president and CEO of JA Southern Alberta. “Even when times are a bit tougher, there are good things happening.

At JA, we take great pride in bringing these stories forward to the community and to our students. Each of our inductees, present and past, serve as incredible role models for the youth in our programs.”

This year’s laureates are Murray Cobbe, chairman and former CEO of Trican Well Services Ltd., who grew the small company into the largest oilfield services corporation in Western Canada; Lorenzo Donadeo, co-founder of Vermilion Energy Inc., a highly-successful international energy producer lauded as one of the best places to work; Dr. T. Chen Fong, a retired radiologist and former head of diagnostic imaging for the Calgary Health Region who has funded and mentored no less than 60 startups; and, David E. Mitchell (1926-2010), a man known as much for his contributions to Alberta’s energy industry as to the social fabric of the province.

“Inductees for the Alberta Business Hall of Fame - Southern Alberta are selected by an independent selection committee that is overseen by Marnie Smith and the team at Korn Ferry, a global consulting

firm,” From explains. “The selection criteria include success in business, entrepreneurial thinking, being a role model for our youth, and being a community builder and philanthropist.”

In addition to their business achievements, this year’s laureates have given much to the community’s youth. “Mr. Cobbe has invested a great deal into SAIT,” says From. “Mr. Donadeo continues to support the University of Alberta and youth initiatives through the United Way; Dr. Fong was instrumental in bringing the Creative Destruction Lab to Calgary; and Mr. Mitchell was actually one of a group of three or four businessmen who are responsible for bringing JA to Calgary from south of the border.”

JA Southern Alberta works with over 30,000 students each year, teaching them financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurial skills. “These are things that are not being taught in school and these are the things that ultimately bridge the gap between education and the workplace,” From says. “Students who participate in JA programs are more likely to start their own business, create jobs for others, rise to the top of an existing business, stay out of debt, and far less likely to ever rely on social assistance.”

JA has been offering programs such as these in southern Alberta for nearly 60 years. “We see increased demand for our programs every year,” From says, “so we know that parents, teachers and students see the value in what we bring to the table.”

The induction ceremony took place at a gala dinner on October 25, 2018 at the Calgary Hyatt Regency.

ABOVE: MELISSA FROM, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF JA SOUTHERN ALBERTA. PHOTO SOURCE: JASA

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2018 ALBERTA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME - SOUTHERN ALBERTA // COVER

Murray Cobbe With over 40 years of experience in the oilfield service industry, Murray Cobbe knows a thing or two about success. As CEO of Trican Well Service Ltd., Cobbe grew the company from a fleet of a few cement trucks into the largest supplier of fracturing, cementing and associated services in Western Canada. This was after spending almost 20 years with Nowsco Well Service Ltd., where he grew that company’s Southeast Asia, Middle East, European, Canadian and U.S. operations.

Success, he concludes, comes down to people. “It’s really important, in any endeavour, to have a good team. Don’t be afraid to hire people smarter than you, or play with people better at the game than you, because that’s what will make it successful.” It’s an attitude derived from Cobbe’s youth, when he played many team sports, including junior hockey.

Born and raised in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Cobbe was involved in business from a young age, working on his grandfather’s farm and at his father’s mechanical contracting business every summer and during holidays.

“I came out to Alberta for the opportunities,” he recalls.

“The petroleum industry attracted me.” After completing a diploma in petroleum engineering (reservoir) at SAIT in 1970, he accepted a job at Shell Canada.

“I did a lot of offshore work there,” he says, “in the Arctic, Quebec and East Coast. It was great training.” He joined Atwood Oceanics in 1974, working in Australia and throughout Southeast Asia, overseeing the drilling of offshore wells. He joined Nowsco in 1977. “I moved around with Nowsco a lot,” he says. “It was a tremendous place for training. It had great leadership.”

Soon after settling back in Calgary with wife, Connie, the opportunity to take Trican – a private Lloydminster company at that time – public, arose. After putting together a team that included many ex-Nowsco people, Cobbe took the helm in 1996.

In addition to domestic growth, Cobbe oversaw Trican’s success in Russia, where it became the largest supplier of well-site services in that country, eventually employing over 2,000 people.

While he “retired” in 2009, Cobbe remains busy as ever. He is chairman of Trican, director at Bellatrix Exploration Ltd., lead director at Secure Energy Services Ltd. and chairman of Resource Merchant Capital. “I enjoy working with young people who are in most cases a heck of a lot smarter than I am,” he chuckles.

He’s still involved in the family business – Cobbe’s Plumbing and Heating – in Portage la Prairie, which today employs around 60 people, and is past director and chairman of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.

What is most rewarding to him? “The opportunity to work with tremendous teams of people to build companies that were able to prosper and provide meaningful jobs and growth opportunities for thousands of people,” he says.

His charitable contributions have the same objective. “I don’t give money for the sake of giving money; I want it to help people move forward.” For example, in 2010, he donated $5 million to SAIT’s Johnson-Cobbe Energy Centre. “SAIT was turning away thousands of applicants each year because there was no space,” Cobbe laments. “The centre has had many graduates who have started their own companies, employed other people and been very successful.”

Success in all spheres of life has Cobbe humbled. “It doesn’t seem like it should have all happened. I guess I’m getting old when it’s my 50th wedding anniversary and I’m being inducted into the Hall of Fame, but I don’t feel that way. It’s been fulfilling.”

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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2018 ALBERTA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME - SOUTHERN ALBERTA // COVER

Lorenzo Donadeo Ask Lorenzo Donadeo what’s most important to him, and there’s no hesitation: “Family comes first,” he affirms.

“Strong family values provide the roots to the tree of la dolce vita – the sweet life.”

The co-founder, current chair and former CEO of Vermilion Energy Inc., an international oil and gas producer, Donadeo’s devotion to family is evidenced in Casadona Group (which translates to House of Donadeo), his familyowned investment company started in 2011. “Our focus is to provide competitive market returns with a weighting towards long-term capital preservation,” he explains.

Two of Donadeo’s three sons work at Casadona, facilitating a transfer of his business knowledge to them. “It’s not just about financial transfer of knowledge,” he adds. “It’s also about reinforcing important family values, including the importance of giving back to the community.”

Indeed the Donadeo family gives much to the community.

In 2015, their significant contribution to the University of Alberta’s faculty of engineering was recognized in the creation of the Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering. “The centre allows the university to expand its engineering graduates on an annual basis in a cost-effective way,” he explains. “We wanted to support that.” Other areas of charitable focus include the United Way and several organizations focused on helping to improve the lives of the disadvantaged.

Donadeo didn’t start out so well off. Born to Italianimmigrant parents in Mercoal, a northern Alberta coalmining town long since abandoned, he was raised in Red Deer. “We had a simple childhood,” he recalls. “We didn’t have much but we had all we needed.”

First jobs included paper-boy for the Red Deer Advocate, cement worker and rail lineman. “It was some very physically demanding work and it taught me the importance of getting a good education,” he smiles.

Accordingly, he enrolled in the welding engineering technology program at SAIT. After completing his diploma in 1977, obtained his mechanical engineering degree from the U of A in 1981.

His first job out of university was at Hudson’s Bay Oil and Gas Company, soon acquired by Dome. He eventually

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became area engineer responsible for Dome’s oil production in southeast Saskatchewan and after Amoco acquired Dome, was an area exploitation engineer.

By the early 1990s, Donadeo’s dream of owning his own company was calling and in 1994, he co-founded Vermilion.

“We started out as an acquisition-based company and took a very patient approach,” he recalls. “We didn’t want to get big for the sake of getting bigger. We were focused on adding value on a per-share basis.”

Global expansion began in 1997 when Vermilion acquired assets in France. “International acquisitions added considerable value,” Donadeo says, “and turned out to be a great niche for us.” For his contributions to France, Donadeo received an official appointment to the National Order of the Legion of Honour in 2015, France’s highest order of merit, at the rank of chevalier.

Following France, Vermilion expanded into the Netherlands, Australia, Ireland and central Europe. “We’ve got a very diversified portfolio which has worked out well for us,” he reflects. “Our starting share price was around $0.30 per share. Today, if you take the current share price plus the dividends we’ve paid to date, we’ve delivered total value close to $77 per share.”

Vermilion has been named a Best Workplace for the past eight years by the Great Place to Work Institute. “We worked really hard at building a strong corporate culture,” he explains. “We care about our people and give back to the community, but we also take time to celebrate our successes and have fun along the way.”

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2018 ALBERTA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME - SOUTHERN ALBERTA // COVER

Dr. T. Chen Fong For Dr. T. Chen Fong, business is a second, post-retirement career. After practicing radiology at Foothills Hospital for 25 years – 13 as the head of diagnostic imaging for the Calgary Health Region and as the head of radiology at the University of Calgary – the Chinese-born Dr. Fong embarked on his next job as a “venture philanthropist” in 2006. Simply put: he funds and mentors startups.

“My wife laughs at me,” he reveals with a chuckle. “She says: ‘Oh yeah, venture philanthropy makes perfect sense. If you win, you’re a brilliant venture capitalist, but if you lose you’re a philanthropist. Either way, you’re winning!’”

While he didn’t invent the term, the self-deprecating doctorturned-businessman is intent on owning it. As a venture philanthropist, he has invested in a total of 60 startup companies, mostly in the medical technology field. “During my years as head of the CHR and at the U of C, I became somewhat frustrated because innovation generally wasn’t allowed,” he explains. “I’ve seen a few good things, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy my curiosity. So I dabbled in my spare time and started investing.”

As a rule, he prefers to be a minor investor, remaining below 10 per cent. “What I do well is find a young person with an idea and help them to become a real company,” he explains.

“Validate the science, go to the FDA, those kind of things.

After that, I’m just a passive shareholder.”

Four years ago, he was introduced to the Creative Destruction Lab at the University of Toronto and immediately sold. CDL helps young entrepreneurs shape or pivot their nascent ideas into science-based companies. Dr. Fong was instrumental in launching CDL at the Haskayne School of Business, all with philanthropic dollars.

“I’m a CDL groupie,” the 69-year-old admits. “I go to CDL in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary [he is a fellow in all four cities]. It’s my full-time job right now – going to

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different cities and mentoring young companies.” He has funded a staggering 33 CDL companies to date.

His enjoyment with venture philanthropy is apparent and he highlights just a couple of his past ventures, including a company that invented a wireless, hand-held ultrasound machine and another one that invented a nano-material strip which can be used to test and identify oil and gas varieties. “It’s really cool stuff,” he smiles, “and a lot of fun hanging around with all these young people.”

During his first career too, he was busy in the philanthropic world. He was a prominent fundraiser for the U of C and in 2002 started the Imaging Research Group. “That was all with our own philanthropic dollars,” he says. “The group began with three people and now has close to 300.” Ten years ago he funded the Helios Fellowship for medical specialists to leave Calgary for training. To date, the fund has supported 49 specialists. “That has brought a lot of new expertise back to the city,” he says.

He and his wife are also in the Million Dollar Donor Circle of the United Way of Calgary and Area.

For his work in the philanthropic space and his contributions to the medical device industry, Dr. Fong was invested into the Order of Canada in 2017. “My wife and I don’t seek recognition for our work,” he says. “So to be noticed and given the Order of Canada was huge for us.”

2018 ALBERTA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME - SOUTHERN ALBERTA // COVER

David Mitchell Were David E. Mitchell alive today to be inducted into the Business Hall of Fame - Southern Alberta, he’d probably ask what all the fuss is about. “He was, despite all his great successes, a humble guy,” says his son, David Mitchell. “But if he knew it was helping young people he would be quite happy and proud.”

Mitchell passed away eight years ago, but for his surviving family, including his wife of 60 years Doris, this recognition is special. “Everything he touched turned to gold,” says Mitchell Jr. proudly. “Whether it was business or family or his horse, he just had a way of doing things that very few people have.”

Born in Calgary in 1926, Mitchell held a series of jobs – including as a Calgary Herald delivery boy and digging ditches in Turner Valley – before joining the Royal Canadian Air Force underage at 17.

employees at his retirement in 1993. In 2002, when AEC merged with PanCanadian Energy Corporation to form Encana, Mitchell, who was then officer emeritus at AEC with an office for life, provided advice.

Out of the Air Force, he found a job as a janitor at the Hudson’s Bay Company downtown. “Many years later he became the 35th governor of the Hudson’s Bay,” laughs Mitchell Jr. “It proves you can go from janitor to the big boss!”

When not running his ranch in Priddis, Mitchell used that office a lot. He was a director of 10 companies including Scotiabank, Air Canada and Lafarge Corporation, president of the Independent Petroleum Association (now CAPP), general campaign chairman of the Calgary United Way and chairman of the Calgary Police Commission for two terms, among other things.

After obtaining his petroleum engineering degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1950, he was hired at Great Plains Development Company of Canada Ltd. as a trainee engineer. Fourteen years later, he was appointed president and CEO. “Back then it was extraordinarily unusual to be made president of a big oil company before you were 40,” says Mitchell Jr.

In addition to helping bring Junior Achievement to Alberta, he also founded the Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards in 1980, and ran them for close to 30 years. “He believed Canadians are great innovators but don’t get recognized like they should so they end up going to the U.S. to raise money,” explains Mitchell Jr. “He wanted to encourage them to stay at home and develop their ideas here.”

Great Plains was sold in 1974 and soon after Mitchell was asked by his friend and next-door neighbour, Premier Peter Lougheed, to start an Alberta-owned energy company. In 1975, Alberta Energy Company was born. Mitchell was CEO and had just four employees.

Today, the awards include a network of nearly 3,000 young and adult innovators across Canada with four awards – from $100,000 to $10,000 – handed out each year.

He led the company for 18 years, growing it to over 5,000

To his family, Mitchell remains the wise patriarch. “He said: ‘Try and touch the earth, touch the family and touch the future as often as you can. That way, you’re very well grounded.’”

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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CAN ELECTIONS MAKE YOUR WORKPLACE TOXIC? // CPHR

CAN ELECTIONS MAKE YOUR WORKPLACE TOXIC?

BY DAN BOUCHER

I

s Alberta becoming more politically polarized? Has divisiveness crept into your workplace? With provincial and federal elections on the horizon, and with the tone of discussions corroding, the risk of politics disrupting your organization is growing.

takeaway is that when describing these conversations, words such as respectful, analytical and civil far outweigh words such as confrontational, angry or toxic. Finally, our third takeaway provides some common ground in that over half of these conversations were described as wanting change.

For many in Alberta, politics is never far from business.

A year of NAFTA negotiations, Trans Mountain pipeline wrangling and Brexit are just three examples of highlypoliticized topics that could have broad-ranging impact on many Alberta companies. But while these topics have each become political footballs, and have likely started lunchroom debates, none is more personal to your employees than who they are supporting and voting for in an election.

What are the risks to your organization?

There is a delicate balance between allowing open debate and creating opportunities for conflict. Yosie Saint-Cyr, writing in Slaw, outlined both human rights concerns around how organizations treat these conversations. She cites a 2016 study by CareerBuilder that found a majority of American employees believed their workplace had become too politically correct. However, a similar study by BetterWorks and Wakefield Research found that 49 per cent of employees had witnessed political conversations turn into an argument.

Political beliefs are not specifically defined as a protected ground from discrimination in Alberta, though several provinces have included protection from discrimination against political beliefs in their human rights legislation. Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been suggested as a defence against political discrimination, but it’s unclear how Alberta courts would rule, given the lack of a clear definition of what political beliefs entails.

There’s no escaping that politics is a part of Alberta’s workplaces We asked Alberta’s HR community about political conversations in the workplace in our recent HR Trends survey.

Overall, they told us politics is a topic of conversation in four out of five workplaces; they’re slightly more common in large organizations than in small organizations. It shouldn’t be a surprise that these conversations are most common in the public administration sector, either.

Our HR Trends report also provided three important takeaways. First, the tone of these conversations is far more negative than positive (although four out of 10 respondents described them as neutral). The negative description isn’t necessarily scary, though. This is because our second

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She points out that with so many hot-button issues wrapped up in political discussions (abortion, immigration, LGBTQ rights, etc.), there is obvious potential for spillover comments about protected grounds. These comments can trigger complaints and claims of workplace discrimination and harassment.

There are risks to your employees’ productivity and engagement as well. Ongoing conflict in the workplace has a demonstrated effect of lowering employee engagement. Our recent HR Trends report indicated that up to 11 per cent of Alberta employees are actively disengaged at work. This means that not only are they unhappy in their roles, but they actually undermine what their engaged co-workers accomplish.

If you don’t have a policy that addresses politics in the workplace, you’re not alone Workplace policies can help organizations articulate what office norms are appropriate for your organization. Our HR Trends report revealed that only six per cent of Alberta workplaces have a policy in place around political discussions, though this is expected to increase to just over one in 10 within the next year.

CAN ELECTIONS MAKE YOUR WORKPLACE TOXIC? // CPHR

How can you prepare for these potential conflicts now?

The upcoming federal and provincial elections mean that if you don’t think these conversations are taking place now, then they’re likely to start soon. Taking a few simple steps now will ensure disruptions in your workplace are minimized.

1. How exposed is your organization?

Are your operations dependent on government contracts or funds? Would a different government restrict or loosen regulations tied to your business? Does your executive team have a high public profile? The more exposed your organization is to government, the more you can expect these conversations to come up.

2. What is your office culture?

Every team has norms. There’s a good chance your employees already have an idea of the boundaries of what’s acceptable for office small talk. Ask your employees what they feel is acceptable for discussion around politics, and take a look at how your team talks to each other.

3. Would a workplace policy be useful?

Though only a small minority of workplaces have policies around political conversations, they offer a concrete set of guidelines that can help in some cases. Policies can include

expectations around off-limit topics, how to respond to uncomfortable discussions, and procedures to report inappropriate political discussions. Read up on your existing policies around workplace sensitivity, harassment and behaviour. You may not need a policy that specifies political conversations, but one that reinforces the desired professional tone.

4. Make sure your team is on the same page.

The dates are set – we know there are elections coming, and these conversations will come as well. Once you’ve examined your organization, spoken with your team and reviewed your existing policies, your final step is to communicate with your team. Everyone in your organization should know what’s acceptable, and what to do when these conversations come up. If there’s a significant change from what they’re used to, make sure to allow some time to transition to a new set of expectations.

Your employees are your most valuable asset. By engaging your workforce and establishing a safe, trustworthy environment, your company will see higher productivity and better results. Human resources professionals have the skills and expertise to facilitate these conversations, to put a plan in place and to see it through.

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To register, go here: cphrab.ca/poisonous-politics

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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ALBERTA SLOWLY CLIMBING OUT OF RECESSION // HUMAN RESOURCES

ALBERTA SLOWLY CLIMBING OUT OF RECESSION

BY RENNAY CRAATS

A

fter being mired in recession, Calgarians are eager to leave the past four years behind them. Unfortunately, the unemployment numbers released this September suggest there is still some work to do. While Alberta unemployment was unchanged at 6.7 per cent, Calgary’s August unemployment rate sat at 8.2 per cent, up slightly from July. This gives Calgary the highest unemployment rate outside of Atlantic Canada. But before Calgarians despair, economists argue it’s not as bad as it may seem.

“Just looking at the unemployment rate, it would seem to suggest that things are kind of stalling out because it ticked up a bit but I think it’s more nuanced than that. I think you’re starting to see jobseekers from elsewhere coming back to Alberta and to Calgary in particular because there is the impression that the job market is picking up,” says Todd Hirsch, chief economist at ATB Financial.

So, while the unemployment rate rose so did both the number of quality jobs (with 16,300 net new jobs added to the economy) and the size of the labour pool vying for available positions. More people from other provinces have moved back to Calgary to find work, which is a reflection of job prospects and opportunity in the city.That said, jobseekers may have to adjust their expectations in the post-recession marketplace. The high-paying oil and gas jobs lost during the downturn are not being filled now that the economy has started to recover. With around 2,400 oil and gas jobs lost per month for 18 straight months in Calgary, it is unlikely those numbers will ever return.

“I THINK YOU’RE STARTING TO SEE JOBSEEKERS FROM ELSEWHERE COMING BACK TO ALBERTA AND TO CALGARY IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE THERE IS THE IMPRESSION THAT THE JOB MARKET IS PICKING UP.” ~ TODD HIRSCH

ABOVE: TODD HIRSCH, CHIEF ECONOMIST AT ATB FINANCIAL.

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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ALBERTA SLOWLY CLIMBING OUT OF RECESSION // HUMAN RESOURCES

MINIMUM WAGE HITS $15/HR

A

s of October 1, Alberta can boast the highest minimum wage in the country. The NDP government promised to implement significant increases over four years and they have delivered, hiking wages from $10.20 in 2015 to $15 this fall.

This represents a 47 per cent jump in labour costs for businesses like hospitality, restaurants and retail that employ minimum wage employees. In many of these industries, 25 per cent of business expenses come from labour. In a sluggish post-recession economy, that can be a tough pill to swallow.

The minimum wage increase is a polarized issue. One side predicts massive job losses and questions if hikes are the best tool to combat poverty while the other contends that higher wages offer a solution to the labour shortage in lower-paying jobs and encourages more spending which revitalizes the economy. The reality is likely somewhere in the middle. Previous hikes didn’t significantly disrupt the economy and in fact service companies created thousands of jobs over the past two years despite a 33 per cent increase in minimum wage. Regardless, hikes can create real hardships for impacted businesses.

“What we’ve heard from members is it’s having an opposite effect of what the government wants,” says Zoe

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Addington, director of policy and government relations for the Calgary Chamber.

After last year’s increase, the Chamber surveyed members and found that 55 per cent said they laid people off because of minimum wage hikes and 36 per cent said they will lay off more once the wage hits $15. Other businesses are reducing employees’ hours, limiting youth hires and raising prices to offset the extra costs.

Bonnie Bend can relate to all these measures. As a small retail business owner, she has felt the weight of increasing labour costs and has had to cut back on staff and work more herself to make up for the increases.

“All the promised benefits to small business owners have not materialized. Our wages will have increased by over 40 per cent in five years but we’re not seeing any increase in productivity nor are customers spending more because of the wage increase,” says Bend, owner of Cochrane’s Great Things in Store.

In addition, changes to the employment standard and labour code, increased property taxes and federal taxes for small business, and the carbon levy have increased business costs overall. While the hike is good news for the small number of Albertans earning minimum wage, businesses are faced with finding ways to manage the extra expense.

“Recovery is gradual not heroic,” says Derek Burleton, vice president and deputy chief economist for TD Bank Group.

“We’ve seen hiring improve in the oil and gas sector since the lows of the recession but it’s hiring that isn’t one-for-one the same types of jobs we had heading into the recession.”

recovery in Calgary and these are the sectors generating more new jobs. Those jobs typically don’t pay as much as the lost professional oil and gas positions but the high-calibre candidates are alleviating labour shortages in these other sectors previously overlooked due to wage disparity.

As a result, displaced oil and gas employees are looking at other sectors that are rebounding more robustly to find work. Areas including manufacturing, technology, professional services, financial services, and agriculture and agri-foods are more actively driving the economic

There are opportunities out there and businesses are cautiously optimistic about the momentum the Alberta and Calgary economies have been gaining. As proof, many of the staffing agencies in Calgary are busy meeting corporate demand for skilled and specialized talent in a variety of

NOVEMBER 2018 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

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ALBERTA SLOWLY CLIMBING OUT OF RECESSION // HUMAN RESOURCES

“HIRING MANAGERS ARE BEING VERY THOROUGH AND THOUGHTFUL WITH THEIR HIRING DECISION-MAKING, THAT SAID, THEY’RE NOT AFRAID TO GET NEW HIRE APPROVALS AND ASK TO HAVE THAT BENCH STRENGTH AND BUILD THAT INFRASTRUCTURE AGAIN IN THEIR TEAMS.” ~ NICOLE PARROTTA

sectors. Robert Half, a national employment agency and professional staffing and recruitment company, is seeing more confidence in the market as businesses are again staffing their offices with permanent as well as flexible or contract personnel.

“We feel the tide is shifting. Is it going to be different?

Absolutely. But there are a lot of jobs out there,” says Nicole Parrotta, Calgary branch manager for Robert Half.

As a specialized agency, Robert Half is placing professionals in areas including administrative, human resources, procurement, technology, purchasing, accounting and finance and while those markets are improving, businesses are being more careful with their hiring.

“Hiring managers are being very thorough and thoughtful with their hiring decision-making,” she says. “That said, they’re not afraid to get new hire approvals and ask to have that bench strength and build that infrastructure again in their teams.”

This rebuilding is critical for the economy to recover.

Companies have been operating on skeleton staffing and are slowly rehiring as the economy picks up. At the height of the recession, Alberta experienced a nine per cent unemployment

rate compared to 4.5 per cent in 2014. As the recession loosens its grip, those numbers are expected to continue to drift down below six per cent over the next few years.

“That would mean that the recovery of the unemployment rate is a good four years in the making from the peak. It comes back to the point that it’s a more prolonged recovery than we’ve seen in most of the other recessions over the past few decades,” says Burleton.

The recovery is happening, although perhaps too slowly for some people’s liking. Even as oil and gas prospects look up, Calgary’s economy is changing and diversifying away from having such an oil and gas-centric focus. The nature of jobs and type of job market will look different by 2020 as Calgary finds its new normal post-recession. And Calgarians shouldn’t expect it to happen quickly. Economists are predicting around two per cent growth per year – a far cry from the four or five per cent growth Alberta enjoyed earlier in the decade.

“It’s a moderate rate of growth. It might feel sluggish to a lot of people but we think that a moderate pace of growth is the best opportunity we have to see greater diversity in our economy,” says Hirsch.

ABOVE: NICOLE PARROTTA, CALGARY BRANCH MANAGER FOR ROBERT HALF.

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SMALL BUSINESS = RISKY BUSINESS? // RISK MANAGEMENT

SMALL BUSINESS = RISKY BUSINESS? Even for businesses that are considered “small,” the challenges loom large

BY NIKKI GOUTHRO

E

ntrepreneurs are often referred to as “risk takers.” And for good reason. Running a business is a risky proposition and not for the faint of heart. As every resilient business owner knows, the entrepreneurial world is not about being prepared to take risks; it’s about mitigating and managing them. Successful entrepreneurs are those who make calculated and mindful decisions.

In today’s litigious society, there are seemingly endless options for coverage that provides optimum protection. While insurance won’t reduce a business’ risks, it can be used as a financial tool to protect against loss. Business policies have evolved and expanded over time to cover virtually any risk a company could face and provide some financial compensation when the unimaginable happens. Solopreneurs working from home and leaders with a full-time staff must consider all facets of risk – operational, strategic, financial and compliance.

A business owner’s best bet for decreasing what the business stands to lose is smart risk management. A tailored insurance plan put in place once potential hazards such as natural disaster, lawsuits, damage and theft are properly assessed. Anything that could cause an interruption in day-to-day operations must be covered.

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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SMALL BUSINESS = RISKY BUSINESS? // RISK MANAGEMENT

But navigating the insurance landscape can be a challenge in and of itself.

While many small business owners know they need the basics – property, liability, workers’ compensation – there is no one-size-fits-all. The reality is that many entrepreneurs rely on personal experience and intuition to manage risks. However, an effective risk management plan is more than simply spotting the common hazards and implementing the obvious preventions.

That’s where an insurance broker can help navigate the right direction.

“Protecting your biggest asset is ultimately most important and that’s your ability to earn an income,” says Lachele Wickens, associate, World Financial Group. “Personal life insurance is key for any household income earner with dependants who rely on them. Once that is established, the next step is to get ‘key person’ and ‘buy-sell’ coverage to protect the business partner(s), if applicable.”

Partnership insurance allows a business partner to purchase the shares of another if he/she passes away. Wickens stresses that it’s critical if the company requires each partner to be actively involved in order to earn revenue.

“Buy-sell can often be included in the same policy,” she says. “If there is a key person (who is not a partner) and the business relies on that income, it’s smart to take out and pay for policies on him/her as well.”

Beyond the basics, other factors must be considered when purchasing insurance for a business, namely the industry it operates in, the location and the appetite for risk. Although there are commonalities across the board, the risks a coffee shop faces are vastly different from those of an engineering firm or HVAC company.

Down The Drain is a new plumbing and heating business based in Calgary.

Owner Mike Giesbrecht worked with an insurance broker to choose the right coverage for his services and equipment. One of the four options he opted for is general liability which will protect against property damage, injury and being sued for faulty installations.

“We opted for life insurance, general liability, disability and critical illness,” says Giesbrecht. “Since we are a small business just starting out, we went with what we need. Some things just didn’t apply to us right now.

“Our business insurance is roughly $3,500 per year. I anticipate that as we grow, we’ll require more coverage, specifically for our equipment.”

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In the case of consulting and engineering firms, insurance requirements can get a little more complex. Typically, policies are project-specific and require additional coverage for things such as employee or contractor site visits.

Phoenix AMC, a plant asset management consulting firm, has operated in Calgary since 2004 and employs three full-time staff as well as 16 contractors. Registered with APEGA (Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta), its insurance requirements are common amongst oil and gas consultants.

“In this type of business, we have to tailor our coverages to meet the requirements of each of our contracted clients,” says Eduardo Neira, director of corporate operations at Phoenix AMC. “The most common are general liability, professional liability, errors and omissions, permanent disability, intelligent property-copyright infringement and employee life insurance.

“Eighty per cent of the work we perform is done in the office,” explains Neira. “But for those projects that require field visits, we’ve had to acquire such things as dishonesty of employees, contingent bodily injury and property damage policies.”

For small businesses like Phoenix AMC, keeping up with both industryrequired and project-specific insurance policies can be costly. On average, Neira pays $12,000 per year to protect his business, but is confident he has all the coverage he needs.

That’s not always the case with entrepreneurs, many of whom don’t fully understand the risks and don’t have disposable capital. In these situations, anything that isn’t mandatory often gets missed.

“The most overlooked policies by far are critical illness and disability insurance, based solely on the fact that people never picture themselves getting sick and feel that it’s not worth the money. A lot of insurance companies have recognized this and have come up with a solution,” advises Wickens. “There is now an option to have your premiums returned if a client doesn’t get sick, which I think is huge in the industry because it makes a product that often gets overlooked a little more attractive and brings awareness to the need.”

In terms of cost versus coverage, there are options for lower rates out there.

And while the cost savings could translate into more capital to spend on other essentials, choosing an insurance company based solely on the price may cost an owner more in the long run. That new “affordable” policy won’t offer the same level of protection and the onus could put a dent in personal coffers in the event of an incident.

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ALBERTA’S HEALTH SYSTEM // HEALTH CARE

Alberta’s Health System THE IMPACT AND IMPORTANCE OF PRIVATELY-DONATED

BY ERLYNN GOCOCO

A

ccording to albertacanada.com, Albertans are ensured equal access to the best medical services available, which is a top priority for the government. Leading-edge research, technology and clinical skills contribute to maintaining a sophisticated health-care environment in Alberta.

But in order for Albertans to have “the best medical services available,” adequate funding is necessary. So where exactly does this funding come from? The provincial health system is publicly administered and funded (one-third of the entire provincial budget). But it also relies heavily on privatelydonated dollars. Without the generosity of individuals and corporations, hospitals would not be able to offer the services that they do. Charities, such as Calgary Health Trust and Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, exist solely to fundraise for public hospitals in Calgary.

The various charitable initiatives can vary wildly in scope and influence – from large-scale professional fundraisers that can generate millions each year to smaller volunteer groups that collect hundreds or thousands of dollars.

“Alberta Health Services (AHS) is incredibly grateful for our foundation partners, including the Calgary Health Trust and Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, for funding

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CURRENTLY, SAYS HUBAND, THERE ARE 69 AHS-AFFILIATED HEALTH FOUNDATIONS, INCLUDING THE CALGARY HEALTH TRUST AND ALBERTA CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION, WHO COLLECTIVELY RAISE AN ESTIMATED $250 MILLION ANNUALLY IN SUPPORT OF HEALTH CARE ACROSS ALBERTA. health-care advancements across the province. Their support is essential to providing the best possible quality of care to Albertans,” says Brenda Huband, vice president and chief health operations officer, central and southern Alberta.

Currently, says Huband, there are 69 AHS-affiliated health foundations, including the Calgary Health Trust and Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, who collectively raise an estimated $250 million annually in support of health care across Alberta.

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“Through donor support, our foundation partners fund enhancements to health-care delivery including equipment, programs, renovations, research and education across the province and raise funds for a variety of AHS-operated health-care facilities, including hospitals.

Each foundation raises funds many different ways, including charitable donations, events, community-hosted fundraisers and capital campaigns.”

Calgary Health Trust is a Calgary-based charity focused on fundraising that will “transform health care in Alberta.”

The incredible generosity of the foundation’s donors has helped to raise more than $450 million for health care since 1996. They fundraise for Foothills Medical Centre, Peter Lougheed Centre, Rockyview General Hospital, South Health Campus, Carewest, and hundreds of community-based programs.

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ABOVE: BRENDA HUBAND, VP AND CHIEF HEALTH OPERATIONS OFFICER, CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ALBERTA, AHS. BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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ALBERTA’S HEALTH SYSTEM // HEALTH CARE

PRIVATELY-DONATED DOLLARS ARE IMPORTANT TO ALBERTA’S HEALTH SYSTEM AS THEY ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF CARE AND SERVICES PATIENTS RECEIVE WHILE HELPING TO LEAD THROUGH HEALTH-CARE INNOVATION. According to the foundation, in the 2017-18 fiscal year, Calgary Health Trust’s net fundraising was $24,313,551 with $11,156,400 disbursed for equipment, research, programs and education. Money is raised through lotteries, major gifts and bequests, events, and annual giving programs.

Recently, Calgary Health Trust contributed $2.9 million towards the Maternity Care Unit at Peter Lougheed Centre.

This new space will accommodate 1,000 more families per year, with 60 care spaces. Thanks to private donations through Calgary Health Trust, the unit also brings stateof-the-art technology and innovative space design that enhances the overall patient and family experience from prenatal straight through to post-partum care. The foundation’s current priority fundraising project is looking to address, through research and education, why a statistically high one-in-eight newborns in southern Alberta need the care of a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), while concurrently building a world-leading NICU facility at Foothills Medical Centre.

Privately-donated dollars are important to Alberta’s health system as they enhance the quality of care and services patients receive while helping to lead through health-care innovation. With the knowledge that public funding can only go so far, Calgary Health Trust embraces the Good to Great motto in their approach – providing private and community funding through private donors, many of whom are grateful patients and families who have been impacted by the system, endowments, legacy donors as well as events and two major lotteries – Foothills Hospital Home Lottery and Hospital Home Lottery.

“Calgary Health Trust works in partnership with Alberta Health Services to fund initiatives that enhance patient care, and provide world-class health care in our community.

This allows us to zero in on investments that will have the greatest impact today and over the long term for Albertans and their families,” says Dr. Chris Eagle, president and CEO of Calgary Health Trust. “I have always been impressed

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by the tremendous generosity of Calgarians and southern Albertans. This community has shown time and time again that it wants to fund innovations that create change.”

Calgary Health Trust states, “Over the years, the generosity of the community has raised more than $450 million to fund projects that are creating world-class care facilities and improving the quality of life for many patients and their families in this province. Such projects include the Interventional Trauma Operating Room, Cardiac Hybrid Operating Room, Vascular Disease Centre for Excellence, Southern Alberta Institute of Urology and funding for hundreds of community and long-term programs.”

Tiny Footprints Gala raises funds and awareness for pregnancy and infant loss programs as well as provides a safe space for families to share, talk about and honour their losses. Those who attend are the families who have suffered a pregnancy or infant loss as well as members of Calgary’s generous corporate community.

Kristina Oriold, Tiny Footprints Gala co-chair, lost one of her twin daughters seven years ago at birth and used the pregnancy and infant loss programs offered through AHS for many years. Oriold says she is very grateful for the support she received during her difficult experience and wants to ensure the pregnancy and infant loss program has the support necessary to maintain current services, while also improving and expanding for the future.

“I recognized there was a gap in the system in getting the information of these programs to the families who have had a loss. I knew there was a need to raise money for these programs as there was a void in Calgary in support of this cause. This idea turned into a plan with the help of my best friend, Jen Woods, and an incredible formed committee.

Together, we planned a gala to honour and recognize these precious lives,” says Oriold.

The funds raised at the gala have had a significant impact on the pregnancy and infant loss programs. “In

ALBERTA’S HEALTH SYSTEM // HEALTH CARE

addition to providing resources for families, the majority of these funds were used to complete a much-needed renovation to the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Clinic at the Foothills Medical Centre,” says Oriold. “This renovation consolidated the services of the clinic into a single space on a wing of the Women’s Health Centre. This new space provides a private, professional and compassionate environment for families to receive the counselling so necessary to honour and celebrate the precious lives and find healing through the grief.”

Oriold explains that before the renovation, services were scattered through the hospital, making them difficult to access or identify thus leaving families feeling alone and unsupported.

“We hope to continue working toward meaningful and tangible support by funding counselling services,

informational booklets and memorial materials for families to help them through the hardest moments. As well as raising funds, we are also raising awareness for pregnancy and infant loss.”

Over the last couple of years, Tiny Footprints Gala has raised just over $150,000, with the majority being donated to the renovation. Oriold says the goal is to continue to expand the department in every capacity, including education for staff, and supports in the emergency department and other departments.

Regardless of their size and wealth, all the fundraising efforts made by the foundations and smaller groups provide an essential contribution to the local health system with the goal of transforming health care in Calgary and provincewide.

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SLEEP: THE ULTIMATE PERFORMANCEENHANCING DRUG Rick Tiedemann

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hile we often think of sleep as a period of inactivity, it is nevertheless a very productive use of time. A kind of physiological piggy bank, sleep aids rejuvenation, allowing us to sustain happiness and productivity during our working hours. If you want to be at the top of your game, you need to enjoy great sleep, night after night.

How much sleep do we really need?

Too many professionals are in a constant state of feeling tired or perhaps even wired. Sadly, these people have come to accept a substandard level of wellness and actually rationalize the behaviours that cause their discomfort. Frankly, we all deserve better.

It’s important to clearly understand what constitutes great sleep. Research suggests that we require 7.5 hours of undisrupted sleep for good health and that we should achieve this between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In the words of Arianna Huffington, author of The Sleep Revolution and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, “If you are having a lot of trouble sleeping, your body may be trying to tell you something about the way you are conducting your life.” Understanding the incredible restorative and health-enhancing processes that take place while we sleep can help us make conscious decisions to prioritize sleep in our busy lives.

What happens when we sleep?

Typically, we cycle between rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. The cycles vary but are roughly 90 minutes each. Five of these cycles will give us 7.5 hours of undisrupted sleep.

The NREM part of the cycle is also referred to as deep sleep, while the REM part is known as light sleep. Each cycle sequentially adds to the restorative efforts of previous cycles, which is why it’s better to achieve five cycles per night than three.

According to Dr. Karen MacNeill, registered psychologist at Copeman Healthcare, sleep is essential for our physical, emotional and mental health. It enhances our immune system, helps our muscles and bones heal from daily wear and tear, purges metabolic waste from our brains and even recalibrates our emotional navigational system.

For example, during the REM part of the cycle, our brains work on our emotional stability. If we don’t get enough REM sleep, our emotional navigation system starts to falter and our sense of direction and sensibility decreases. This is why with too little sleep we can feel highly irritable or make irrational decisions.

Senior Director Rick Tiedemann believes in helping businesses develop leadership wellbeing programs that help teams optimize all areas of their health, including sleep, to improve performance.

Studies have shown that effective sleep can improve your memory and decrease your risk of illness. During the NREM part of the cycle, our hippocampus is activated which is responsible for short-term memory which can be thought of as your brain’s USB key. The inputs of the day go through a relevancy filter and are consolidated in our neocortex which is responsible for longterm memory which is like your hard drive. “If we don’t get enough NREM sleep, the USB key doesn’t get emptied out,” explains MacNeill. “As a result, our capacity to absorb new information the next day is impaired.”

Additionally, we can’t recall information from the past as readily because it is not in the hard drive for retrieval. Over time, the net effect is clouded thinking and a reduced memory. Research also suggests that during NREM sleep, our cerebral cleanser revs up and our glymphatic system purges our brains of the metabolic waste generated during the day. One of the waste products is beta-amyloid, which is associated with dementia, highlighting the significant cognitive benefits of sleep.

If you don’t have any problem getting 7.5 hours of shut-eye at least five nights a week, then that’s fabulous. However, if you struggle with suboptimal or fragmented sleep, then you may want to consider making some simple lifestyle changes to improve your quality of sleep.

You should first ensure there is no medical basis to your poor sleep and consult with your health practitioner if you have any concerns. With a strong focus placed on disease prevention and early detection, the Copeman Healthcare team works across disciplines to ensure the best health outcomes.

Sleep is one of the four pillars of recovery and an essential component of Copeman’s leadership wellbeing program. Contact Rick Tiedemann at 587-402-1286 or email rtiedemann@copemanhealthcare.com

TO AUTOMATE OR NOT TO AUTOMATE // MANUFACTURING

TO AUTOMATE OR NOT TO AUTOMATE T H E N E W M A N U FA C T U R I N G

BY JOHN HARDY

A

ccording to the most recent Alberta stats, manufacturing is 6.3 per cent of the provincial GDP and a 5.2 per cent share of Alberta’s total employment, with 9,129 manufacturing companies –more than 22 per cent refined petroleum and coal products, 19.6 per cent chemical products and 19.6 per cent food products with total sales in excess of $71.3 billion.

No doubt about it, manufacturing matters for Alberta business and the Alberta economy. And the new manufacturing is a key Calgary business indicator.

“Alberta’s manufacturing sector has grown significantly over the past five to 10 years, despite the oil and gas downturn,” says David MacLean, Alberta vice president of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), Canada’s largest industry and trade association focused on promoting the competitiveness of Canadian manufacturers and the success of Canada’s goods and services exporters in markets around the world. “Many Alberta manufacturers have made significant investments in scaling up their operations and improving productivity, so they should benefit from those investments in the coming years.

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TO AUTOMATE OR NOT TO AUTOMATE // MANUFACTURING

“Also, manufacturers are much more export savvy, particularly in the oil and gas sector. The local drilling scene isn’t what it was, but there is significant growth in other parts of the world. Alberta companies are in the mix, internationally.”

The growth, success and potential of manufacturing, particularly in Calgary is, of course, driven by various key factors like the economy, global markets, the right strategy and technology.

Calgary’s – and Alberta’s – manufacturing sector continues to change, some say drastically. “Undeniably the focus is toward the integration of technology into manufacturing,” explains Jim Szautner, dean of the SAIT School of Manufacturing and Automation. “Alberta has a young and well-educated workforce. Over the past five years, we are starting to see many great local examples of manufacturers instilling automation and tech sector analytics into the manufacturing process.”

The trending echoes the forecast. A recent North American business study showed that automation is already a popular manufacturing process, but with advances in AI and remote communication, it is about to explode in the coming years.

Automation in terms of manufacturing basically means taking rote tasks and designing a system that performs them in a fully automatic way, providing numerous business benefits including mechanical precision and consistency, greater safety and decreased operating expenses.

MacLean underscores the importance of technology in manufacturing. “New technologies are driving modern manufacturing by lowering production costs, increasing productivity, quality and agility, while allowing for the creation of new innovative products.

“For Canadian manufacturers to prosper and compete, they need to be at the forefront of technological changes, investing in new machinery and equipment, and

ABOVE: ALEXANDER WILKINSON AND LAINE VAN HARDEVELD, MEMBERS OF SAIT’S MECHATRONICS TEAM.

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TO AUTOMATE OR NOT TO AUTOMATE // MANUFACTURING

THE GROWTH, SUCCESS AND POTENTIAL OF MANUFACTURING, PARTICULARLY IN CALGARY IS, OF COURSE, DRIVEN BY VARIOUS KEY FACTORS LIKE THE ECONOMY, GLOBAL MARKETS, THE RIGHT STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY.

incorporating new digital technologies and advanced manufacturing capabilities into their operations.

“Technology is changing both the type of workers being used – a shift from general labour to specialized work – and the type of skills that are needed, from single-skilled and repetitive to multi-skilled and flexible.

“Technology is also impacting the type of products and services being offered, as well as how manufacturers operate,” he adds with expertise. “Instead of merely building

and selling a product in a local or regional market, businesses are now offering a range of customer services that are anchored around a manufactured product.

“Jobs are becoming more multi-skilled and specialized, and they are growing more valuable and less interchangeable,” MacLean cautions. “As a result, workers are becoming more difficult to find and harder to replace.”

Business insiders and analysts emphasize the changes that technology triggers but caution not only about the

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stereotypical replacing of workers with machines but also the qualifications, skills and job-readiness of the next generation of manufacturing workers.

A recent research report from RBC Economics forecasts that half of all jobs in Canada will be disrupted by automation in the next 10 years. While that is bad news for many working Canadians, it’s a far worse predicament for millions of Canadian youth who will be transitioning from education to employment during that time and are unprepared for the rapidly-changing workplace.

“The largest generation of young people are coming into the workforce at the very same time technology is starting to impact most jobs in the country,” states the report.

“Canada is on the brink of a skills revolution and we have a responsibility to prepare young people for the opportunities and ambiguities of the future.”

The research also suggests that Canada is shifting from a jobs economy to a skills economy, and young people will need a portfolio of “human skills” to remain competitive and resilient in the future labour market.

“We are moving towards an integration of skills workplace,” Szautner says. “Employers stress that hard skills are a basic expectation for all their employees. But they have a greater demand for people with superior soft skills such as creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking.

“Automation is a good thing for manufacturing,” he notes with much expertise and professional enthusiasm. “It levels the playing field for local manufacturers and improves the quality. But we do have to be mindful of the people whose occupations may be automated.” He explains the situation as positive possibilities where sources such as SAIT can be major contributors to help reskill an existing workforce.

SAIT offers several courses that are brief but focused on developing or enhancing skills sets, such as for an increased demand for robot operators and programmers.

“It’s almost paradoxical that, as technology and automation have increased in the workforce, the need to better work together as humans has increased. We still need the critical thinking capacity to ask ‘just because we can do something should we do it?’”

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Despite the predicted negative manufacturing impact of automation, there was some positive news from a recent World Economic Forum global forecast. While the WEF projections show that machines and automated software will be handling fully half of all workplace tasks by 2025, the analysis states technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and precision medicine could create more jobs than they threaten.

The RBC guesswork about Canadian manufacturing supports these findings, underscoring that Canada’s economy is on target to add 2.4 million jobs over the next four years – virtually all of which will require a different mix of so-called human skills such as critical thinking, coordination, social perceptiveness, active listening and complex problem solving.

RBC adds Canada shouldn’t simply train a nation of coders; digital literacy – the ability to understand digital items, digital technologies or the Internet fluently – will be necessary for all new jobs.

Manufacturing sector experts echo and urge industry acceptance of technology, automation and job-ready skills as the challenges facing the sector are many.

“There is concern about the possibility of declining competitiveness of our business environment,” MacLean points out. “A competitive business environment is critical to the long-term success of the Canadian economy.

Good tax and regulatory policy encourages capital spending, attracts foreign direct investment and drives export growth.

“In terms of investment in new capital and equipment, Canadian manufacturers have lagged behind other countries, especially the United States. We need to look at how we tax investment in Canada and how competitive we are as a jurisdiction.”

SAIT’s Jim Szautner emphasizes that automation in manufacturing can definitely be a positive. “It should be at the forefront of manufacturing conversations. Technology’s impact on manufacturing is an enabler. With the integration of technology into manufacturing, the playing field is levelled.”

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

W

e are a team who begins and ends each day with purpose. Our purpose is to build a business community that nourishes, powers and inspires globally. It is with this purpose in mind that I congratulate all the winners of our Calgary Small Business Week Awards. All of the finalists and winners are inspirational companies creating ripples of opportunity in our economy. With that said, we congratulate Fiasco Gelato, which scooped up this year’s Small Business of the Year award Fiasco Gelato is a purpose driven company that is anchored in paying it forward. We look forward marveling in your future growth and impact.

Congratulations to the entire team at Fiasco!

Our Grow Time rally cry to the business community was made last month to come together under one tent as one business community one voice. It’s Grow Time means to move, act, be inspirational and contagious. We have not defined the word growth as that’s for each business to determine. Our role is to create the environment for growth, effectively. Thank you to the companies that have already answered the rallying cry, like Nutrien, TransCanada, Imperial and RGO Office Products.

Critical Mass shared their inspiring success story of making one critical decision after another. Tool Shed helped spread the It’s Grow Time message. And WestJet was lockstep with the Chamber, demonstrating with its exciting announcement last month and throughout its history, exactly the spirit of “It’s Grow Time” Growth requires long term thinking as this is the tie that binds all the great business success stories as we have experienced in Calgary. Long term thinking is not about five years, or 10-year plans; long term thinking is about, putting aside your ego, and your social conditioning to be able to clearly see untapped opportunities in your business model. We are a smart, highly motivated business community that is capable. We need to solve problems that are sector agnostic. How do we do that? We Nourish, Power and Inspire more of our community to follow the lead of the businesses we celebrated at Calgary Small Business Week Awards to answer the rallying cry. Come join the movement. It’s Grow Time.

What does long term thinking mean for Calgary’s bid to host the 2026 Olympics? Long term thinking means to negotiate a permanent circuit for the Winter Olympic Games where Calgary is the flagship host city. Think Bigger! Think Long Term!

Can we negotiate a permanent circuit, I don’t know? I do know a reoccurring hosting every 8 years increase the economic value of investments into infrastructure spending.

Sandip Lalli President & CEO Calgary Chamber

Cannabis Legalization in Canada On Oct 17, 2018 recreational cannabis will be legal in Canada. By ending the prohibition on cannabis in Canada, the government has created a new industry that has the potential to provide significant economic benefits to the country.

Provincial and municipal governments across the country have been preparing for legalization, and businesses have been trying to understand how legalization will impact them, and taking steps to ensure that they are prepared.

BACKGROUND City of Calgary - The City of Calgary’s role and responsibilities include developing bylaws and policies that regulate operations within city limits, regulating public consumption, educating Calgarians, and enforcing each level of government regulations.

The City has developed separation distances for cannabis retailers, similar to those governing liquor stores. Cannabis retailers must be at least 300 metres from each other, and at least 150 metres away from schools and emergency shelters, with possible reductions as set out in the cannabis guidelines.

The bylaws also ban public consumption. The City considered designating four potential areas for outdoor public consumption but after feedback from the public backed off this proposal. Without cannabis lounges, this may limit some Calgarians from using cannabis recreationally.

The City is accepting and processing retail applications. Once an application has been approved there is a 21-day period where affected people can file an appeal. A map of current and proposed retail locations can be found on the City’s website.

Government of Alberta - The province’s role in regulating the recreational market is developing and overseeing wholesale and distribution, regulating sales and consumption, providing tools for law enforcement, and developing a framework for business to ensure safety on roads and in workplaces.

In line with the Calgary Chamber’s recommendations, the Alberta Government announced the province would be implementing a private retail store model.

The AGLC, who oversee Alberta’s cannabis industry, will limit the number of licences any one business can obtain to prevent monopolization of the industry; one person, group, or organization cannot hold more than 15% of licenses in Alberta.

Retail stores will need to meet a number of provincial regulations, including certified staff, hours of operation, and implementing security measures.

The Alberta Government announced that they would be taxing licensed producers 10% of the retail price. This will be in addition to the federal government’s excise tax.

Government of Canada - The federal government’s role in the legalization process is developing the legal framework that provides laws for controlling the production, distribution, sale, and possession of cannabis across the country.

According to the 2018 budget, the Government of Canada will apply an excise duty on cannabis, applying to federally-licenced producers. The tax will either be a flat tax – $1 per gram – or a percentage of the sale price – 10% – whichever is higher.

The federal government will keep one quarter of the tax revenue, transferring the rest to the provinces. All revenue exceeding $100 million per year will also be transferred to provinces.

PREPARING YOUR BUSINESS While governments have been preparing for legalization, businesses have also had to adjust to a new reality. Below are some basic steps that should be taken to prepare your business for cannabis legalization.

1. Updated Drug and Alcohol Policy: First, it is recommended that all business develop, or update, their drug and alcohol policy.

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have released workplace policies around cannabis that take different approaches. The CPS has banned all members who are qualified to use firearms and are able to be operationally deployed, from using cannabis, even on their days off. The CPS expects that the “zero-tolerance” policy will be challenged, and they have not ruled out changing the policy once further research is conducted into the effects of cannabis use.

The CAF policy states that all members of the military are barred from using cannabis within eight hours of being on duty. This is increased to 24 hours prior to being on duty for medical response and firefighting personnel, along with anyone handling weapons and ammunition. The prohibition is further increased to 28 days prior to duty for those in designated “safety sensitive” positions, and finally there will be a prohibition on use while members are conducting operations, or training.

These different approaches demonstrate the uncertainty that remains around how cannabis will affect the workplace.

a positive test does not necessarily mean an employee is impaired. While these are some things to consider, make sure that your updated drug and alcohol policy is developed in consultation with a lawyer.

2. Training and Education Once you have an updated policy, it is important to implement a training and education program. It is important to communicate the new policy with your employees.

Informing your staff about disclosure and duty to accommodate for medical cannabis can prevent issues down the road, and it’s important that all parties understand what their responsibilities are when it comes to the use of cannabis.

Making sure that workplace policies are clear and establishing a dialogue with your employees will help establish expectations around cannabis in the workplace.

This can be an opportunity to talk about overall impairment awareness. While usually viewed through the lens of drugs and alcohol, other factors like stress, trauma, and fatigue can lead to impairment as well.

3. Prevention and Awareness Finally, it is also important that prevention and awareness remain a part of your company’s corporate culture. Remind employees about the importance of workplace safety and promote the requirement that all staff be fit for duty. Delivering consistent and on-going training will help to minimize liability, but more importantly, will ensure that everyone at the workplace remains safe.

MOVING FORWARD

While you may not think that your business has the safety considerations of the CAF or CPS, it is still important to institute a drug and alcohol policy if you do not have one, or update your current one to include cannabis. You may also want to define and designating “fit for duty” standards, that extend beyond typical roles commonly thought to be “safety sensitive.”

There are many moving pieces involved in creating a whole new industry in Canada and there will be undoubtedly be some uncertainty in the coming months. However, there will also be significant opportunity created given the current estimated size of the cannabis market and the potential for growth following legalization.

Ensuring the distinction between medical and recreational cannabis is another important aspect, as there are different rights and responsibilities for both employers and employees, depending on whether cannabis use was medicinal or recreational.

The Chamber commends both the City of Calgary and the Alberta Government for creating a set of regulations to govern this industry. Compared to other jurisdictions, Calgary and Alberta offer a relatively business-friendly environment for cannabis retailers.

Drug testing presents another challenge as cannabis use can show up on a test weeks after consumption, which means

Congrats to all the winners of the 2018 Small Business Calgary Awards!

Every year the Calgary Chamber recognizes the hard work entrepreneurs and small business owners put into their businesses. This year we honoured 8 business in various awards at the Small Business Calgary Awards Gala: ATB SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

KPMG PEOPLE’S CHOICE

INDIGENOUS BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Fiasco Gelato

Doodle Dogs

Grey Eagle Resort and Casino

BDC EMERGING GROWTH

INNOVATION

HOMETOWN HERO AWARD

Canadian Virtual Gurus

VizworX

Zedi

COMPANY CULTURE

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

BRITT Land & Engagement

CMNGD Linens

Congrats to all our finalist and winners of 2018!

Chamber members signing the It’s Grow Time flag.

Fiasco Gelato powers Calgary as a Chamber member.

It’s like having your own Department of Going from Good to Great.

Whatever Calgary businesses need to grow – from attracting investment, finding new clients, dealing with government to staffing – we have people and programs to help.

Join us. | Find out more at calgarychamber.com

Chamber Member Spotlights The Chamber is proud to represent many Calgary businesses, large and small; this month we are highlighting some of our industry leading members.

Air Canada is on of Canada’s largest airlines and a large provider of scheduled passenger services in the Canadian market, the Canada-U.S. transborder market and in the international market to and from Canada. In 2017, Air Canada together with its Air Canada Express regional partners carried over 48 million passengers, offering direct passenger service to more than 200 destinations on six continents. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance™, providing the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network.

To learn more visit: www.aircanada.com

With assets of $53.3 billion, ATB Financial is Alberta’s largest home-grown financial institution. Established in 1938, ATB is a network of 175 branches, 144 agencies, a Client Care Centre, four Entrepreneur Centres, along with mobile and online banking. ATB’s more than 5,000 team members help more than 750,000 customers in 247 Alberta communities.

To learn more visit: www.atb.com

Baker Hughes, a GE company is the world’s first and only fullstream provider of integrated oilfield products, services and digital solutions. Drawing on a storied heritage of invention, BHGE harnesses the passion and experience of its people to enhance productivity across the oil and gas value chain. BHGE helps its customers acquire, transport and refine hydrocarbons more efficiently, productively and safely, with a smaller environmental footprint and at lower cost per barrel.

To learn more visit: bhge.com

ENMAX Corporation (ENMAX) is a utility company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Through our predecessors, they have more than 100 years of experience delivering electricity to Calgarians and, more recently, throughout Alberta. ENMAX is involved in all areas of the electricity value-chain. Through their subsidiaries, they make, move, and market electricity.

To learn more visit: Enmax.com

For over 50 years, H&R Block Canada is Canada’s tax leader, with over 1,200 locations across Canada, and free do-it-yourself Tax Software. H&R Block’s comprehensive education program, Tax Academy, trains experts and continually updates their skills.

To learn more visit: hrblock.ca

Pattison Outdoor Advertising is one of Canada’s leading Out-of-Home (OOH), Transit and Digital display advertising company. With the widest variety of products in over 200 markets coast to coast, their advertisers benefit from unparalleled advertising opportunities. Based in Toronto, we are powered by over 400 sales professionals and support associates across the country, providing clients with unmatched service, insights and campaign innovation.

To learn more visit: www.pattisonoutdoor.com

Qualico is on of the largest fully integrated, privately owned real estate companies in Western Canada. Each year more than 3,000 Canadian families choose Qualico as their homebuilder. With offices in Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Austin, their activities span the entire real estate spectrum, including: single-family and multi-family building, residential land acquisition and development, commercial and industrial development, property management, building supply and manufacturing.

To learn more visit: www.qualico.com

RGO Products provides diversified and complete office solutions including: Office furniture, flooring, window coverings, and technical equipment. They work to offer everything needed to efficiently operate a modern office no matter the size or company.

To learn more visit: www.rgo.ca

Thank you The Chamber thanks the following long-standing member companies celebrating anniversaries this month for their years of support to the Calgary Chamber, and their commitment to the growth and development of Calgary.

Congratulations to BMO Bank of Montreal for celebrating 45 years as a Calgary Chamber Member.

Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $765 billion as of July 31, 2018, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

To learn more visit: www.bmo.com Member

SAIT provides students with practical experience and theoretical knowledge in a real-world context. Students benefit from hands-on learning in unique labs and classrooms, participation in applied research on campus with industry partners and, in many programs, workplace practicums that enable them to apply their learning to meet current industry needs. SAIT;s close partnerships with industry, government and other post-secondaries help to give students the skills and connections they need to succeed in national and global economies.

To learn more visit: www.sait.ca

Years of membership

BMO Bank of Montreal

45

Carriage House Inn Ltd.

20

Enersul Inc.

20

Inland Audio Visual Ltd.

15

Intuitionworks

15

Black Diamond Group

10

CN Rail

5

Mawer Investment Management

5

Mobility Quotient Solutions

5

Muttley Crue Organics

5

The Talent Pool Development Society of Calgary

5

Village Brewery

5

Weedman

5

Photo by BOOKSTRUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY

GOODFELLOW STILL THRIVING AT 120

By Nikki Gouthro The year 1898 was a significant one in Canadian history. In those early days of the gold rush, Yukon became a territory unto itself, a first attempt at federal alcohol prohibition was made, and a young entrepreneur by the name of George C. Goodfellow began his foray into the world of lumber.

Despite recessions and depressions, wars and technological advancements, the wholesale business that started 120 years ago in a lumber yard in Montreal has maintained its status as Canada’s largest distributor, processor and importer of specialty wood products. Goodfellow’s legacy has stood the test of time.

Since the opening of its Calgary branch 23 years ago, Goodfellow has expanded its footprint substantially. To adjust to market demands and the need for additional space, the company recently relocated in November 2017 to a more suitable premises with ample square footage for inventory storage. In addition to construction-related products, the wholesale distributor also distributes hardwood

lumber, composite decking, wood / composite sidings and a complete range of plywood and specialty wood panels.

General manager of the Prairies region, Wes Clifford has been with Goodfellow since 2006 but is no stranger to the industry. “I’ve been in the wood business for more than 30 years now,” he says. “My father was in the building materials business, so I grew up in a lumber yard.”

Longevity seems to be the underlying theme at Goodfellow. Since its very beginning, it has continuously extended its product lines and adjusted to the needs of the market.

“We supply the industrial segment which includes cabinet shops, moulding manufacturers and commercial millworks shops,” says Clifford. “We also distribute to building supply outlets – RONA/Lowes, Home Hardware, to name a few.”

Although Goodfellow’s niche is flooring and siding, the company is strong in panels, lumber and

composite decking. With an in-house paint shop, customers are given custom finishing options for fibre cement, engineered siding and real wood.

Mike Tschumi has been with the company for 16 years and is proud of the evolution. “When I started, we were primarily just a flooring wholesaler mostly due to space restrictions,” he says. “When we moved to this site, we were able to expand our inventory. Now we stock composite decking, hardwood lumber, industrial panels and so on.”

“Relocating to this current warehouse was 4-5 years in the making. Our ultimate wish list items were downsize the warehouse and add outside storage in order to accommodate our exterior products,” says Clifford. “With the downturn in the economy this facility became available.”

Having room for growth means the 120-year-old company can continue to introduce new and innovative products to keep up with the demands of the market. With the ever-changing residential design trends and engineering advancements particularly in the flooring world, keeping up is more important than ever.

“Right now, demand is strong for vinyl,” says Tschumi. “It’s easy to maintain and install, and comes with a reasonable price tag. Part of the beauty of this company is that we have easy access to stock across the country. If we need to transfer something in, there are trucks running across our branches on a weekly basis.”

Convenience, flexibility and expertise are at the core of everything they do at Goodfellow. The team of 18 in the Calgary office work hard every day to

prove it. With a culture of advancement and promote-from-within, the hard work is recognized and rewarded.

“We have a really strong team, from operations and administration to sales and management,” says Clifford. “It’s a close-knit group of people who genuinely want to see others succeed. A lot of our employees have been with us for 10-plus years.”

It’s safe to say the company culture plays a large part in Goodfellow’s ability to ride out stormy weather. The team as a whole is focused on the overarching business goals and the success of the company. And likewise, the company is dedicated to setting its people up for role development and career growth.

With roots going back to 1898, Goodfellow has learned a bit along the way. It takes resilience and a willingness to change to weather more than a century. Showing no signs of slowing down, the industry-leading wood specialist is trailblazing into the next 120 years.

GOODFELLOW Calgary Office

2600 – 61st Ave. S.E. Calgary, AB T2C 4V2

Tel: 403 252-9638

goodfellowinc.com

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Photo by BOOKSTRUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY NORR Executive Team from left to right: Don Dessario, Hilde Ver Eecke, Tiffany Whitnack, Don Surphlis, Adrian Todeila, Carmen Kubrak, Bruce Mckenzie, Craig Abercrombie and Bretan Baumgardt.

NORR PUTS ITS STAMP ON

by Rennay Craats

Calgary Architecture

W

“After the competition, NORR got a bit of an insight into our firm and asked if we’d like to join their global organization, so we joined in 2007,” says NORR Architects Engineers Planners vice president Bruce McKenzie.

Poon McKenzie teamed up with award-winning architect César Pelli and Toronto firm NORR Ltd. to put together a submission. They didn’t win the competition but what Poon McKenzie got was far better.

It was a good fit at the right time. Poon McKenzie had significant market share in the multi-family arena, senior living and hospitality but was seeking to find ways to achieve continued growth in Calgary. McKenzie and Poon were looking for a way to create exciting opportunities, offer share ownership to staff and achieve more of a global presence.

NORR had it all. As an employee-owned organization, staff are rewarded for their collective success and hard work, which

hen Bruce McKenzie joined Poon & Associates to create Poon McKenzie in 1990, the local architecture firm was a small operation of eight. By 2006, it had grown to include a staff of 80 and its architects were vying for some of the biggest projects in the area. When Encana announced an international design competition for its headquarters, Poon McKenzie decided to throw their hat in the ring for a chance to design The Bow building.

• 80 YEARS

79

appealed GROSS AREto A McKenzie. The reputation and experience of the Air Head 81,000 sf (7,525 sm) global firm’s architects openedEngineered the door to great opportunities.

ENGINEERED AIR

COMPLET ION DATE February 2018

while it continues to do GROSS significant ARE A projects with developers, it

Office has branched into public sector projects as well.

355,000 sf (30,000 sm) COMPLET ION DATE 2014

CALGARY, AB

Centre 10

CENTRON GROUP OF COMPANI CALGARY, AB

Whether the branch is in Cambridge or Calgary, Abu Dhabi “We have created three studios in our office in Calgary – our COST our mid-rise mixed use and loworCOST Detroit, NORR firms are linked by the same philosophy highrise commercial studio, $120,000,000 $22,000,000 Engineered Air Head Office Building is planning 4 storey office building, which includes a and vision: to create new standards of design that engage rise studio, and our public studio,” says McKenzie. Centre 10 is a 10-storey mixed-use half court gymnasium, fitness area, and an underground parkade adjacent to their already parkade — that offers a 36,000-squa SERV ICES PROV IDED SERV ICES PROV IDED the lives of existing Theuse new office is intended to support already existing services people and enrich thoseoffice. who thedevelopment buildings. excavated with seven storeys of ex Architecture, Interior Design Architecture, Landscape Architecture, on site, relocate off site services to a central location, as well as provide flexibility of future That said, each of the nearly 20company locations NORRthird team was challenged to work The first two are primarily residential projects, while the Interior Design, Structural, Mechanical, growth. has its own strengths foundations.

Electrical KE Y STAFF and specialties and operates specific toof the needs of thewithlocal The office is a contemporary design, its use of glass, spandrel, and metal panels includes institutional projects often incorporating in-house B. McKenzie, Project Executive This development is designed in a t materiality. The entrance area has a unique geometry to provide curb appeal as well as act market.

The Calgary location has diversified its business and Aristi, Project Manager interior design. There areF.teams of professionals who different add value KE Y STAFF hues of glass with anodiz as a medium to tie in a large pedestrian canopy that runs parallel to the street and ties in B. Baumgardt, Contract Administration R. Poon, Project Executive facade. The building base repeats th both entrances to the building. Using the concrete structure to its the from façade programming and master planning to toadvantages, projects, interiorinteraction. The seco N. Mackenzie, Project Manager for pedestrian cantilevers at the 2 and 3 level, creating an intergraded pedestrian canopy at the ground C. Kubrak, Landscape Architect for tenants design anddynamic landscape architecture, making NORR Calgary theamong an urban landsc and a strong level. On the 4 floor the façade cuts back to provide articulation A. Pearson, Structural sides of the building. Additional bu shadow line/illumination line to further emphasis these cantilevers. true definition of an integrated office.

Five years ago, the NORR L. Yang, Mechanical room, operations and a staffed conc D. Hider, Electrical office in Calgary added structural, mechanical and electrical B. Baumgardt, Contract Administration engineers to its roster to further diversify in the market. nd

rd

th

REFERENCE Brian T. McIntyre, Vice President Airstate T 403 648 4483 C 403 560 7830 E bmcintyre@airstate.ca

“The idea is to present a multidisciplinary practice to our clients so they can choose the services they want to have. Our clients are really happy to be able to one-stop shop in-house, however based on what is best for both the project and the Client, we also enjoy and support working with outside engineering firms,” he says.

Having an architecturally-led office with an engineering component is unique in Calgary, but it’s something NORR Ltd. has done in Ontario for decades. John Parkin started what would become NORR in Toronto in 1938 and by the 1970s

Congratulations NORR on your 80th Anniversary!

We are proud be a part of your success.

Creative Thinkers, Cleverly Disguised as Engineers.

Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers #1025-808 4th Avenue SW P: 403.930.2100 | info@glotmansimpson.com www.glotmansimpson.com

• 80 YEARS • 2

IES

From left to right: Engineered Air with CANA Centre 10 by Centron SoBow with Glotman Simpson

ARE A sf (13,536 sm) the

SoBow

firm had new owners and restructured as Neish, Owen, The Calgary office employs a diverse workforce made up of Rowland & Roy Architects Engineer (later shortened to NORR different cultural backgrounds and ages, fostering innovation Ltd.). This too was an integrated practice with one of the and creativity by leveraging different viewpoints and solutions. named partners being a structural engineer.

Theirs was, and Some of the firm’s talent hail from countries like Peru, House (Phase I) 2010 ss (Phase II) 2015 remains, a different kind of organization based on creativity, Colombia, China and Australia. It also boasts 50 per cent true neomodern international style, layered with seven zes aluminum frames to create a visually interesting professionalism, and attracting the best people. women in the office. his overall aesthetic with an emphasis on transparency NORR was the master planner, architect and landscape designer for this 14-acre industrial

e (office and retail) building — 17 floors including the 6 ha) M2I DEVELOPMENT CORP. are-foot floor plate. It was designed on a site previously xisting underground parking already completed.

The AB CALGARY, ET ION DATE k within the established building footprint and existing

nd level roof-top terrace creates a serene environment brownfield site located in the trendy and historic area of Inglewood. The plan combines cape that features patios on both the west and south live, work, shop, and play in a sustainable and vibrant community set on the banks of the uilding features include a fitness facility, common mail Bow River. The community features a variety of building-styles and abundant leisure and ES PROV IDED cierge.

000

ture, Planning, Landscape, ment Approvals

AFF nzie, Project Executive rio, Project Manager ti, Technical Lead

property amenities. Floor plans range from approximately 700 sf to 2,000 sf. Also included are 76 townhouses with maximized views of the Bow River. The development achieves Alberta “Built Green” Silver, one of few “Built Green” certified projects in Calgary. As such, the development’s carbon footprint is greatly reduced and features increased energy and water efficiency, a reduction in energy usage, and healthier indoor air quality.

The uniqueness of the project is the inclusion of many leisure amenities which create value for residents in a community-focused development. The SoBow has it’s own private Health and Fitness Club, Owner ’s Lounge, and Bistro.

NCE an, Development Program r elopment Corp.

18 7791

Centre 10

We congratulate them on a tremendous 80 years of greatness.

Happy Anniversary.

Fountain Court Business Park

Hull Services, Secure Services Facility

Centron is proud to have completed many successful projects over the years with NORR.

Stoneridge Mountain Resort

3 • 80 YEARS •

From left to right: Wing Kei with BIRD The George on 17th by Truman Fish Creek Exchange with Jubilee

Wing Kei Greenview Phase II

GROSS ARE A 61,573 sf (5,720 sm)

CHINESE CHRISTIAN WING KEI NURSING HOME ASSOCIATION “I’m super proud of it, but it didn’t happen on purpose. We just CALGARY, AB COMPLET ION DATE 2018 hired good people,” McKenzie say. “Out of ourAprilthree studios, COST Due toof the success of Wing Kei Greenview Phasewomen.”

I, the addition of 69 units will be added to two them are led by the already existing 95 unit facility. The development is intended to support long-term senior residents who do not require specialized care, yet would like more support in performing their daily activities. Wing Kei’s comfortable environment enables residents to maintain their independence and privacy, while providing access to health and personal care under the direction of a Registered Nurse.

$15,000,000

SERV ICES PROV IDED

Landscape Architecture, NORR Calgary is made up of 110 of the finestArchitecture, people in the Structural, mechanical, Electrica, Interior Design The new facility is anand extensionit of each floor. dedication Beginning on the main level, the addition of business, is existing their and expertise that has a covered promenade, adjacent to the street front, and a rear landscape deck provide convenient KEthe Y STAFFcompany outdoor accessibility.

The landscape area will as a continuation of the care walking As made the company a actgo-to firm inmemory Calgary.

R. Poon, Project Executive paths, and also present as a visual buffer between the residents and their adjacent neighbours.

C. in Abercrombie, Project Manager grew, earned the toandparticipate larger, more Levels oneit through three will house largeopportunity amenity spaces for the residents the lower level C. Gallant, Architectural Designer will act as amenity space for Wing Kei staff, traveling doctors, dentists, and other health care high-design projects. routinely designs multi-family services. In addition, a covered parkade and 56NORR stalls will accommodate the staff parking needs.

REFERENCE Walter Yu, Director of Finance & residential projects with hundreds of units that also require Hospitality, Wing Kei T 403 769 3741 master planning and landscaping.

E: walteryu@wingkei.org

“You’re creating a community. It’s not just designing a building,” he says.

OVER 95 YEARS OF CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE IN CANADA

NORR has also become active in large-scale rental projects as well as smaller boutique rental properties like The George on 17 Avenue. While most rentals favour durable design, others like The George exude luxurious and high-end finishing specs.

NORR caters to the individual needs and vision of each client while ensuring their wish lists are possible given regulations, market conditions and budget.

“We keep an eye on the market economically to see what is viable so when we’re working with developers we’re up to date and can build a cohesive team that speaks the same language as them,” says McKenzie.

Continued success and best wishes to all the Staff & Management Team at NORR.

Congratulations to NORR on 80 years!

We wish you many years of continued success.

BIRD Construction Suite 350, 1200 – 59th Avenue SE T: 403.319.0470 | W: www.bird.ca • 80 YEARS • 4

Municipal Engineering | Project Management | Infrastructure Design Storm Water Management | Erosion and Sediment Control p: 403.276.1001 |F: 403.276.1012 | jubileeengineering.com

With its experience and knowledge, NORR’s team of professionals are a valued resource who guide clients through the design process no matter how large or small the project.

They have a trusted network of trade and professional partners who support the mandate to provide quality service and projects. NORR’s resumé is proof of the high standards and quality output for which the firm is known.

Cidex Group is a regular client, and NORR is working with them on the Hat in the East Village and a sister project, West Village Towers, in the west to bookend the core. It is also working on several seniors’ projects including Wing Kei with construction powerhouse Bird, Revera’s Scenic Acres development with 156 independent living units and 64 memory care units, as well as Westman Village in Mahogany, an impressive aging-in-place community with two levels of seniors’ housing along with apartment-style units, villas, lowrise buildings and single-family homes.

“We call it an inter-generational master-plan community. It’s a beautiful community that has been thought through and carefully planned,” says McKenzie.

Since the beginning, NORR has tackled challenging projects by thinking outside the box and being creative. Centre 10 was slated as residential before Centron Real Estate Development & Construction took over the site. NORR helped them redesign the space, adding a core and creating huge floor plates for commercial use. It also designed a

purpose-built LEED building for Engineered Air’s head offices with CANA Construction.

NORR has worked with developer M2i and engineering firm Glotman Simpson to design the sleek and sustainable inner-city project SoBow (South of the Bow) in Inglewood.

Repurposing the once-forgotten or underutilized spaces into something that enhances and enriches communities excites the firm. This was the case with Shawnee Slopes golf course which was repurposed to create the town homes and condominiums at Fish Creek Exchange in conjunction with Graywood Developments and Jubilee Engineering.

As NORR moves forward it will continue to grow and evolve to better meet clients’ needs without compromising its high service and quality standards. Whether university residences or Calgary Courts Centre, Banff Hot Springs building renovations or affordable housing developments, NORR Architects Engineers Planners has impacted the Calgary landscape and is proud to design iconic buildings that create a lasting legacy for each client’s brand.

411 1 St SE #2300, Calgary, AB T2G 5E7 (403) 264-4000 • norr.com

Congratulations on 80 years!

5 • 80 YEARS •

ComPro Celebrates

25 YEARS C

algary has been blessed with a number of successful business people who chose to move here from Prince Edward Island.

Following business administration courses at UPEI in 1979, Michael Dowling decided to take some time off university and work in the Alberta oilpatch.

After three days, he got a job with a seismic company but a year later enrolled at SAIT to continue his business education majoring in management.

He says due to the NEP program in the early ’80s, jobs were scarce but thanks to Lou MacEachern, another relocated and generous P.E.I. businessman, he was offered a position with Servpro – the start of a wonderful career in the cleaning and restoration business.

Three years later, he was president of Servpro’s Residential & Commercial Cleaning Division and over the next seven years, he was able to travel throughout North America to industry conventions with what had become Western Canada’s largest cleaning company to further his education in the business.

In 1992, he made the decision to be his own boss. He purchased the assets of Proclean and launched ComPro Cleaning & Restoration in 1993, now proudly celebrating 25 years in business.

84

Photos by Dynamicimages.ca

Michael Dowling, Owner

Cleaning up Calgary since 1993

Dowling was able to hire trades while investing in office furnishings and new equipment without receiving a salary himself.

Over the next 10 years, ComPro was transformed into a full-service cleaning business offering carpet cleaning, restoration and other specialty services to commercial and residential customers.

Then in 2002, the new owner of Servpro Group of Companies approached Dowling to buy his carpet cleaning division, including its equipment, vehicles and extensive customer list. Along with Dowling’s own customer base, the acquisition propelled ComPro to one of the 10 largest firms of its kind in Calgary.

Dowling applied for the federal government’s new entrepreneur SEA (Self-Employment Assistance) program and after submitting a business plan and showing financial stability, he was one of 35 individuals selected to benefit from the program.

Dowling understood the benefits of owning your own building and in 2009, he was offered the opportunity to purchase what had been the original Servpro building on 41 Avenue NE. It was soon rebranded and is now recognized as the ComPro cleaning facility.

It offered monthly training at various professional firms, such as law, accounting, banking and safety – and thanks to the grant, over the next year,

Today, the 8,000-square-foot building houses 18 full- and part-time employees and runs 12 vehicles.

Its commercial cleaning division maintains ap-

proximately 1.8 million square feet of carpet every month and services 1,400 residential jobs yearly with carpet cleaning, upholstery, maid service and furnace cleaning.

ComPro’s boutique restoration services are for both “insured” and “non-insured” representing the homeowner, landlord or tenant. The company represents all insurance companies – refer to www. comprorestoration.com for more information.

Michael Dowling’s success, boosted by the efforts of the staff he is so proud of, has allowed him to support many local charities and be an active member of the Millennium Rotary Club.

Pro

Cleaning & Restoration

403-289-7008

323 41st Avenue NE Calgary AB T2E 2N4

403.225.8894

www.handyco.ca

PROUD TO BE A BUSINESS PARTNER WITH

COMPRO CLEANING & RESTORATION

“CONGRATULATIONS!”

To Mike and ComPro Cleaning & Restoration -Bob & Claudette Coutts

403-714-9294 www.teamcoutts.com

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RENTALS

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403-371-7836 www.albertamoldpro.com

403-245-5774 www.anaffair.com Congratulations on 25 Years

CONGRATULATIONS ON 25 YEARS!

Prestige Railings and Stairs Ltd. Prestige Railings and Stairs continues its “rise and run” to the top of the stair and railing industry in Alberta as we once again have received the Consumer Choice Award for Business Excellence in both Calgary and Edmonton. For well over a decade, Prestige has been privileged to receive these awards – a constant reflection of our dedication to quality and a sincere effort to exceed customer expectations – every step of the way.

achieve the goals and visions of each individual customer.

Whether it be a starter home with a feature railing or a commercial property with 10 stories of interior railing that needs retrofitting, Prestige is the only call you need to make.

For well over 25 years, Prestige has been pleased to set the highest standards in the industry and will continue to raise the bar and focus on improving the product and the process. While the customer doesn’t realize it in most cases, Prestige is the only stair and railing company to be a member of the Architectural Woodwork Manufacturers Association of Canada.

Prestige continues to build the highest quality stairs in the industry and we pride ourselves on helping our customers realize their dreams in creating a focal point in their homes with unique designs and extraordinary craftsmanship.

This speaks to the Prestige commitment to constant evaluation and improvement in an industry where we already set the bar for quality. The Company’s vision of being the most respected, reliable and sought after provider of all things stairs and railings to the residential and commercial construction industry, is the focus of everything we do.

While the awards are a nice pat on the back and a huge morale booster, we know the work to improve never stops.

Prestige offers an extensive variety of quality products, all the way from glass stair treads and stainless steel components to spindles featuring Swarovski crystals; from LED accent lighting to interior and exterior spiral stairs.

Prestige continuously works with architects and designers, builders, contractors, and building and home owners to

Consistency, Quality, Craftsmanship Photo by Jean Perron Photography

Come in and talk to us about your project!

86

Our showroom is open from Monday - Friday 8am - 4:30pm | www.prestigerailings.com “We’re passionate about bringing spaces to life. Together with you.”

www.sunik.com

2777 Hopewell Place NE Calgary (403) 250-1020 • Toll Free: 1-800-382-8502

403.280.2803

NOVEMBER 2018 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM

Durabuilt: Innovative, Resilient, Forward Thinking & Customer Focused The company known for its windows and doors turns 30

by Nerissa McNaughton with photos by Rebecca Lippiatt

A

t that moment, 19-year old Harry Sunner didn’t have anything nice to say to his father. He had just stepped off the plane with his family, transplanted from his friends and life in England. The plane rolled onto the tarmac and deposited the Sunners in Edmonton’s -34oC November weather. The teen, whose father thought Canada would offer a brighter future, was not impressed.

That was in the mid ’90s. Did Sunner ever warm up to his new country? “I love Edmonton. It was the right decision to immigrate to Canada, but I will never accept the cold,” he laughs.

Durabuilt Window Systems launched in Edmonton in 1988.

In 1994, after going through a partnership with the previous owners, the Sunners became the sole owners of the company and promptly began the production of PVC windows, which were tooled by hand with 12 employees in a 10,000-squarefoot shop.

“At the time there was not a lot of interest in PVC,” says Sunner. “Everything was wood and aluminum.” However,

as the Sunners would prove time and time again, looking to the future, not the status quo, was the key to success. As the PVC market gained traction, the innovative company that knew very minimal about manufacturing – more so, were not fully equipped with the necessary tools to meet the growing demands – took on the great opportunities to allow their dreams to become realities simply with just their determination, vision and ambition.

By 1998, the company outgrew its location and evolved into Durabuilt Windows & Doors. The third facility (which included manufacturing of doors) boasted a whopping 26,000 square feet.

The growth never did slow down. A fourth move in 2002 brought the square footage to 60,000, and a second design gallery was opened on the south side of Edmonton. A fifth and final move took place in 2004, establishing a head office to oversee what would become several locations across Western Canada, and bringing the production space to 190,000 square feet to date.

Durabuilt Windows & Doors | Celebrating 30 years

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All the while, Durabuilt kept focusing on innovation, pushing the envelope to produce stronger windows and doors with better performance. As leaders in the industry, Durabuilt continues to initiate new projects and launch new concepts – adding fashion/ flair to products and engineering while educating and inspiring consumers in their progressive and interactive design gallery space.

In 2007, Durabuilt infiltrated the southern Alberta market, by opening a design gallery in Lethbridge.

Another design gallery followed in Calgary in 2009, and in 2015, Durabuilt’s Alpha sliding windows series earned a Calgary SAM Industry Innovation Award.

In 2014, Sunner’s hard work and persevering commitment earned him a move from vice president to company president (his father’s former role), while Joe Sunner continued as CEO. Today, Durabuilt employs more than 400 people and pushes the industry to capitalize on automation, robotics and tech-driven products while never forgetting the value of the people who make these systems run.

As Sunner points out, it’s not the windows and doors that makes Durabuilt successful; it’s the people behind them.

“Understanding the importance of relationships, we have proactively cultivated connections and networks with key industry stakeholders and forged relationships in the industry and the community. Our unique personal connection and daily involvement in the business puts us on the leading edge, in addition to being homegrown and privately owned,” he says. “Our core values, the principles that guide our internal performance and our relationship with the external world, are unwavering and unchanging.”

However, the road for Canadian manufacturers right now is not an easy one.

“The manufacturing industry in Canada has continually lost opportunities to other global players, but it is a vital component to the country’s wealth and success,” Sunner stresses. “I want to take things to another level – take leaps and bounds in tech, manufacturing and innovation, not just windows.”

As Sunner looks back on 30 years, he knows that at Durabuilt’s core, resilience is what started everything and what continues to be a major company driver.

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“When employees feel that they are being heard, that they are part of the bigger picture, it motivates them. Fostering a culture of co-workers helping each other grow, empowering employees to own their growth and seeking feedback from others is vital.”

“People think I inherited the company, or that I was an engineer and joined. That’s not true. My father and I had no manufacturing history and no background in the business.

It was our vision, fortitude, hard work, along with a growth mindset; having to grow my abilities and leadership skills, and learning how to become a good steward for the team are the main ingredients to what got us here today.”

Sunner’s lifelong learning and leadership engagement is kept active by his participation in TEC Canada, an organization focused on growing strong and capable decision-makers. He has also recently joined MacKay Group, who develop the skills of high-performing, action-oriented CEOs. “My father was a low-risk business entrepreneur, but at 19 I was more willing to take chances and had lofty goals,” Sunner continues. “High risk is dangerous, low risk doesn’t grow. Having the two of us in a partnership brought us to middle ground. His experience and my youthful exuberance were complementary.

When we started we had to make it work; we had put everything into the company and were fully maxed out on lending. There was no exit but success. Failure was never an option.”

ensures our team feels like they’re progressing and learning, while helping them to do their job even better.

“When employees feel that they are being heard, that they are part of the bigger picture, it motivates them. Fostering a culture of co-workers helping each other grow, empowering employees to own their growth and seeking feedback from others is vital.”

To the team, Sunner says: “The great entrepreneur is limited by their own ideas until they can find people who believe in them with great passion. YOU are the heart and soul, the breath of life that enables this business to be something more than an idea. YOU are the mechanism that makes the company what it is at today. For that, we are truly grateful.”

Durabuilt has rigorous safety standards from the office to the production floor.

Sunner sees that resilience in every team member and fosters it across the company’s divisions.

“We are proud to be honoured with silver from the Canada’s Safest Employers Awards for the third consecutive year! This is one of the most prestigious awards in Canada, recognizing the manufacturing employers who have demonstrated their commitment to implement and practice higher safety standards,” Sunner smiles.

“I feel it is the culture of transparency, respect and continuous development that raises us up, along with education and training. Training and development are a win-win as this

Durabuilt Windows & Doors cares passionately for its product, its ability to lead the way in innovation and technology, and its people. However, it always makes time to give back.

Congratulations to all the staff at Durabuilt for 30 great years!

Vitro Architectural Glass 1-800-289-6912 www.vitroglasshub.com Durabuilt Windows & Doors | Celebrating 30 years | 3

brought the team together with 400 industry leaders, company suppliers, customers, dignitaries and others who have helped the window and door manufacturer grow.

Harry Sunner and his father Joe Sunner are proud of the family business.

“We care about the community and encourage our employees to be active and visible through volunteerism and charitable activities,” Sunner explains. “The company’s humanitarian efforts can be felt throughout Western Canada and are often collaborative between corporate matching and staff donations.”

Some of the non-profit initiatives Durabuilt supports include: CASA Foundation, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, and many more.

Knowing the company did not achieve success on its own, Durabuilt celebrated 30 years with a two-day event that

Today, despite never getting used to Edmonton’s weather, Sunner couldn’t be happier about coming to Canada and creating, with his father, family and team of employees, a company that would go on to give back tenfold in innovation, job creation, and to the community.

Humbly, he admits, “This is no small feat, but we have successfully remained on Canada’s Best Managed Companies list since 2012. We owe this honour to our winning team of industry talents.”

Looking forward, it’s all about growth – not just for Durabuilt, but for manufacturing in Canada.

“We will be taking the business to the next level,” Sunner concludes. “Vertical integration will be our focus, bringing products on board to help add value to our current client portfolio. In alignment with this, there will be organic leadership growth while recognizing and inspiring the talent in our team.”

Through it all, the company’s foundation of innovation, resilience, forward-thinking and customer focus will never change.

To your continued success

2105, 6027-79 Avenue S.E, Calgary, AB T2C 5P1 Tel: (403) 723-0410 | Fax: (403) 724-0234 | Toll Free: 1 (877) 464-4699 www.durabuiltwindows.com

Congratulations Durabuilt Windows & Doors on 30 years in business.

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Durabuilt Windows & Doors | Celebrating 30 years | 4

Safety and Service Define CorMac Projects Inc.

by Rennay Craats

M

any people warn that you should never go into business with friends, but sometimes it’s the smartest decision you can make. Good friends Corey Hanson and Christopher MacKenzie decided to do just that and created CorMac Projects in 2008. A decade later – a successful general contracting business with a real estate arm and a hazardous materials division – it’s clear the decision was a good one.

“I think the whole reason we’re here today is we were best of friends and still are today. We both have strengths in different areas and come from different backgrounds so we don’t step on each other’s toes,” says Christopher MacKenzie, co-founder of CorMac Projects.

Before CorMac, MacKenzie studied architectural drafting

and design and civil engineering technology and worked for years in general contracting and project management; Hanson studied psychology and worked in corrections while maintaining side businesses in asphalt, concrete and sandblasting. In 2008, the time was right to venture out and the two pooled their networks and skill sets to attract clients. The company may have been small but the founders ensured the results were anything but. Clients quickly came to realize they could count on CorMac for quality service and commitment to every project.

“From the beginning, we tried to be that one-stop shop that would look at pretty much anything,” says co-founder Corey Hanson. “We are proud of our reputation for doing what we say and meaning what we say and getting it done.”

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ballasts and transformers, and then there are the ODS devices and radioactive smoke detectors, refrigerators and air-conditioning units. It’s a wide range,” says Jeremy Rogers, director of hazmat operations and CorMac’s health and safety adviser. “The older the buildings, the more you find.”

“We are proud of our reputation for doing what we say and meaning what we say and getting it done.”

And CorMac has certainly got it done. It has grown from the two founders operating out of a friend’s tiny back office to a dynamic firm serving Western Canada with between 30 and 50 employees. The company offers general contracting services on everything from small interior renovations to base building for clients in sectors including retail, industrial, financial, commercial and government. No matter the size of the project, CorMac prides itself on exceeding expectations and leaving clients satisfied. This has led to the company’s growth over the past decade, fostering strong long-term relationships while bringing new clients into the fold.

It has also diversified its business with an environmental contracting division that specializes in identifying, assessing and safely removing hazardous materials from sites.

“We focus on asbestos and mould. We also do a lot of lead abatement, mercury light tubes, PCB oil that’s in light

Ta k i n g

P e r s o n a l

The team of specialized technicians is certified and registered with the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration to complete hazardous materials removal, site testing, air sampling and pre-demolition assessments as well as water damage restoration and microbial remediation. CorMac is a go-to hazmat company for many environmental consultant firms and it has done numerous projects as part of these longstanding partnerships. Whether it’s a commercial property, school or government building, residential property or oilsands base, CorMac is dedicated to abatement and disposal to ensure sites are safe.

While the company ensures contaminants are contained and the environment is protected on these job sites, it ensures its workers are protected too. All abatement workers undergo health assessments that involve pulmonary examinations and chest X-rays.

“We want to make sure our workers are safe. Every two years they go in and get a medical exam done to make certain we’re doing our due diligence in keeping everyone safe at work,” says Rogers.

Safety is a big part of the culture at CorMac. It strives to achieve an injury- and incident-free workplace through stringent adherence to its safety program. The company is COR-certified and maintains in-house certified safety auditors and National Construction Safety Officers to keep the program current and compliant.

“We have a very detailed, comprehensive safety program that keeps our workers safe,” says Rogers. “And for some clients, you can’t even bid on their jobs unless you have the COR certification. It gives us a chance to work for the

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We are proud to be a part of your success.

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“Whatever the mind can Conceive and Believe, it can Achieve.” larger clients because they know that we’ve put the time and resources into creating a safe program.”

CorMac’s safety program is constantly being updated to keep in step with changes in regulations, industry practices and client expectations. Safety is a way of life for the company, and the founders feel it is their responsibility to do everything necessary to prevent safety incidents.

The focus on safety is only part of the corporate culture that attracts employees to CorMac. The founders value

their employees and want them to succeed and be happy, and they do all they can to create a positive work environment in order to make that happen. Over the past decade, CorMac has attracted, and more importantly retained, a skilled group of loyal employees, subtrades and construction partners and together they’ve helped the company prosper. Their diverse skills, which range from construction and design to finance and project management to safety and business, come together to create an integrated and successful organization.

The entire staff has bought into CorMac’s philosophy of

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reliability, integrity and professionalism, and despite its growth continues to operate with the small-company priorities of individualized service, personal relationships with clients and partners and adherence to schedules and budgets.

“We have a strong foundation based on knowing where we came from, where we are and where we want to be – and maintaining that vision moving forward,” says Corey Hanson.

The company’s business is summed up by its tag line: Conceive, Believe, Achieve. Hanson and MacKenzie know what they want and have the confidence in themselves and their team to push forward, take action and achieve those goals.

The partners’ goals are expanding and evolving, including embarking on more LEED projects. A base building project called McKenzie Towne Park Site B that CorMac completed for First Capital Reality achieved official LEED Silver Certification in 2018. While it now excels in a variety of construction areas, CorMac has started to specialize in large-scale hotel and resort renovation and has completed several such projects in Alberta and British Columbia. The team recently completed – on budget and ahead of schedule – a hotel renovation in Canmore that included 119 suites, common areas, and mechanical and exterior upgrades.

“We took a floor at a time and were turning over anywhere from 10 to 12 rooms and a common area in 10 days. It’s a really tight schedule but we excel with that kind of pressure and planning,” says MacKenzie.

Photo by BOOKSTRUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY

Above: Founding Partners Chris MacKenzie and Corey Hanson

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level of service and return to CorMac with future projects, regardless of where they are located.

“We’re establishing more of a permanent footprint in B.C. and eventually will be following some of our coast-tocoast clients that have interests across the country to be able to service them across their market,” says Hanson.

Hanson and MacKenzie are excited about CorMac’s future growth but are determined to control the expansion to ensure they never compromise their quality standards.

They continue to diversify the business, introducing a real estate division that is a complementary addition to

CorMac. This arm of the company owns four commercial properties in the Calgary area, and the founders are aiming to eventually expand into real estate development.

With how far CorMac Projects has come since it opened its doors 10 years ago, the sky is surely the limit for the next 10.

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CREATING THE SPACE FOR BIG BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGHS. It’s the right space that fosters the right environment that leads to the right kind of breakthroughs. Whether it be an improvement that leads to enhancing your business model or a dramatic leap forward in helping shareholders clearly understand the value of their investment, Calgary TELUS Convention Centre (CTCC) provides you with the space you need to break through and beyond.

It’s the space to reflect on the year passed and to celebrate and share in all that’s been accomplished.

More importantly, it’s the space to jump ahead to a new year of capitalized opportunity and sought after growth.

Working with Calgary’s corporate community, we provide the space to help them create the right experience that fosters corporate collaboration and big business breakthroughs.

We’ve introduced new spaces, including the CoLab and Ideation Centres, to foster discussion and improve collaboration through integrated working groups.

These rooms are newly appointed with furnishings and technology that encourages personal interaction and provides the space for effective teamwork.

We’ve created the perfect environment for business leaders looking to present the right image to their valued teams and stakeholders. Our newly renovated boardrooms are inviting spaces equipped with all that is needed to improve communication with stakeholders near and far.

And for those needing to present their organization in the right light at the annual AGM, our grand halls and team of industry experts help to provide everything you need to put your team, your organization and your stakeholders at the centre of it all.

calgary-convention.com BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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Summer 2018: Another Successful Season of Growth for Calgary’s Tourism Industry PASSENGERS THROUGH YYC CALGARY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND HOTEL STAYS BETWEEN JUNE AND AUGUST SHOW YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH

BY BRIDGETTE SLATER

S

ummer is known as the busiest time of year for Calgary’s tourism industry, and the summer of 2018 was no exception.

With the draw of seasonal festivals, events, experiences and beautiful weather, the YYC Calgary International Airport saw 5,004,127 passengers travel through its gates between June and August – an increase of 8.2 per cent over 2017. Calgary also saw 1,028,441 hotel rooms sold between June and August – an increase of 4.7 per cent over 2017 – with August marking the 15th consecutive month of yearover-year growth.

As the city’s official destination marketing and development organization, Tourism Calgary works to promote Calgary as a destination of choice and advance Calgary’s Destination Strategy: Ultimate Hosts. Ultimate Host City.

These positive tourism numbers affirm that visitors are choosing Calgary for their leisure experiences, which contributes to the economy, pride of place for residents and Calgary’s reputation as the Ultimate Host City.

To support these visitors, Tourism Calgary mobilized its AMMY Award-winning #AskMeYYC roaming team for the third year. The Calgary experience specialists promote the city as a welcoming, innovative and experience-rich destination by offering itinerary planning and experience suggestions. This year, the team also increased its capacity to help visitors and Calgarians by extending its services through to the end of September and offering online tour booking. Between the Victoria Day long weekend and

September 30, the #AskMeYYC roaming team provided destination counselling services to more than 15,000 visitors and Calgarians, conducted over 38,000 industry partner referrals and booked 136 experiences with Calgary-based tour operators.

In 2017, Calgary saw 6.9 million visitors contribute $1.6 billion in spending to the local economy. This year, the Conference Board of Canada’s Travel Markets Outlook predicts 2018 will be another significant year for tourism in Calgary with forecasted travel numbers anticipating upwards of seven million total visits and $1.7 billion in visitor spending.

To learn more about Tourism Calgary, see visitcalgary.com.

PHOTO SOURCE: KELLY HOFER

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MobSquad Named First Company to Qualify for OCIF Funding

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obSquad became the latest addition to Calgary’s tech ecosystem in early October thanks in part to the city’s new investment attraction initiative.

It is the first company to qualify for support from the $100-million Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund launched by the City of Calgary in April. MobSquad was among the 150 applications received since the fund was launched and more announcements will follow in the coming months as others progress through the onerous evaluation process.

“This is one of the most rigorous review processes I’ve been involved with in terms of ensuring there is benefit for Calgary and alignment with the city’s economic goals,” says Barry Munro, chair of the board of directors for Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF). “Everything is earned. All of the financial support is contingent on the company or institution achieving targets set out in the agreement and then getting the funds.”

The fund is similar to investment attraction tools used effectively by other jurisdictions in Canada and the United States.

The applications to date have come from a mix of local and out-of-market companies. About half are in core industries that have been identified for growth in the city’s economic strategy Calgary in the New Economy – energy, agribusiness, transportation and logistics, creative industries, and life sciences. The remainder are concentrated in tech and many focus on commercializing technology across all sectors.

The 10-member volunteer board includes prominent business leaders in the city’s key economic sectors as well as civic leaders; including Mayor Neheed Nenshi, who is an ex-officio member.

Calgary Economic Development serves as the administrator.

The fund has its origins in the 2016 Downtown Economic

Summit. Business and community leaders urged city council to take action to address high unemployment and office vacancy rates of more than 25 per cent in the wake of a historic recession.

Business-as-usual, it was acknowledged, wouldn’t resolve the challenge.

Funding is open to private-sector companies, non-profit organizations and public institutions that will be a stimulus for projects that drive sector development and innovation in key industries. Its intention is to support catalytic investments with potential to help transform the city’s economy.

MobSquad, for example, provides clients in Silicon Valley with teams of top software engineers and data scientists who work from satellite offices across Canada. It will employ 150 people in Calgary in tech and head office functions. It will receive $1.5 million from the fund paid in instalments as it achieves specific employment numbers.

All of the applicants are subject to a multistage review by industry professionals and financial experts to assess the business plan against specific criteria: • Economic benefits to Calgary (investment and revenue growth).

• Number and quality of jobs created for Calgarians.

• Alignment with key industries and sectors.

• Impact on the innovation and sector ecosystems.

• Leveraged funding and alignment with strategic initiatives.

• Social benefits to citizens of Calgary.

The city’s investment is returned through higher business and property taxes as well as playing an influential role in supporting initiatives to propel key sectors as part of a diverse and prosperous economy.

BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // NOVEMBER 2018

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Is Everybody an Entrepreneur? …the overused word

E

very generation of business has buzzwords.

Some are valid and some are hype. It’s widely accepted that “entrepreneur,” “entrepreneurial” and “the entrepreneur spirit” are potent contemporary examples.

They are also buzzwords invariably linked to hard work, risk taking and success – which triggers questions about the real makings of an entrepreneur: is the word becoming overused and is it possible that everyone is an entrepreneur?

“Most people perceive starting a business differently,” says John MacInnes, CEO of Print Audit (the Print Management Company) and an EO Calgary member. “I have heard entrepreneurship referred to as ‘exuberant delusion,’ suggesting we see things with rose-coloured glasses and are not as affected by perceived risk.

“Starting a company is very different than everyday business risk. Any job has risk in it and how an individual reacts will be both nature and nurture. Entrepreneurs likely will not see risks as severe as others, because they have already taken a huge risk in starting their company.”

According to Dave Bell, owner of Calgary Stamp & Stencil Corp. and an EO Calgary member, “Entrepreneurship may not be overused but certainly has increased its cachet in the past 10 years or so. Reality is that these skill sets are becoming more and more important to survive in a marketplace that has shrunk drastically due to technology. There are two sides to the coin.

The market is immense but so is the competition. We are in the middle of a major issue: retiring baby boomers who own great small businesses and nobody to sell to. We risk losing all of these skilled jobs if we don’t help this transition of knowledge.

Contributing Members:

“More than ever we need Canadians to embrace entrepreneurial skills and feel confident using those skills out in the marketplace.”

Rich Waller, president of Foothills Industrial Products and an EO Calgary member, explains the Calgary business climate is an ideal place for entrepreneurs to succeed. “There are business people who constantly think about a better future and better ways of making and doing things. Many have great ideas. Not many act on them. The most important aspect is walking the walk. People who actually do something. They are entrepreneurs, and we are fortunate that Calgary is full of them.”

There’s consensus that risk taking is a predictable and routine fact of entrepreneurial life. “Entrepreneurs have a kind of blind faith in themselves,” Bell emphasizes. “They see past all the reasons why something won’t work and figure out ways to make it work.”

Waller adds risk is relative for all business leaders and entrepreneurs. “Success often only comes after failure and a degree of failure is part of the success. Resiliency is so incredibly important and a key aspect of being an entrepreneur. To take a step back but not give up or lose sight of the vision.

“Entrepreneurs expect adversity along the way and it is challenging. But nothing can replace hard work.”

“Entrepreneurship is a great and clear descriptor that has really come into its own,” MacInnes adds with enthusiasm.

“Entrepreneur was a word used to mean ‘doesn’t have a job’ and frankly, it was not a respected vocation. Today entrepreneurs are celebrated and regarded as an important part of society.”

Upcoming Events:

John MacInnes

Rich Waller

Dave Bell

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Nov 6

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Nov 7

• Leadership Breakfast Series

Nov 15

• Global Student Entrepreneur Awards

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

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MARKETING MATTERS // DAVID PARKER

Marketing Matters

BY DAVID PARKER

The Calgary Foundation published a printed version of its Vital Signs report but also launched a website that allows quick and easy access, showing this city’s progress to a healthy, vibrant, giving and caring community.

Freshwater Creative launched the descriptive, interactive and responsive online version; one of several interesting projects the agency completed recently for its growing list of clients.

Creative director and partner Neil Devine reports that Freshwater has redesigned the Calgary Chamber website; began work with TransCanada PipeLines on an explainer video; is supporting Dr. Nancy Markley at MPowrx as she brings scientifically-proven health products to market; and has become the agency of record for Craft Beer Market.

The newest account in its portfolio is PK Sound, a Calgarybased designer and manufacturer of powerful loudspeakers, to reach a wider world market.

WAX Partnership has enjoyed a relationship with the Calgary Farmers’ Market since its inception some 13 years ago. It is now eagerly waiting the market’s first foray on the north side of the Trans-Canada with the announcement of a new location in the Melcor development Greenwich, across from WinSport.

WAX created the market’s logo and attention-grabbing advertisement, but none quite like the introduction of the birth of a new site by a boar and sow resulting in laughter and outrage on social media.

WAX has also struck a partnership with Miami Ad School, a worldwide leader in advertising education with 15 campuses in eight countries including a location in Toronto.

Dan Wright, president of WAX, says he reached out to the Toronto campus and invited two well-known creative directors from that city to attend an inaugural event in Calgary to introduce the benefits of developing skills for students and young advertising professionals.

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His own creative staff has been busy with new account Honda producing pre-roll online videos that boasted 70 per cent viewer acceptance. And WAX also built a new website for STARS Air Ambulance.

Martin Cej, formerly with CP Rail where he served as assistant vice president of communications and public affairs, has joined Longview Communications & Public Affairs as a partner in its new Calgary office.

Cej is assisting Slate Office REIT in the repositioning of its Calgary portfolio which includes the 606,000-square-foot Scotia Centre and retail podium being transformed into Stephen Avenue Place.

I see too many advertising agency websites that remind one of a cobbler with holes in his shoes, but Forward Level Marketing’s is an enjoyable and convincing promotion.

Partners Amish Morjaria and Jon Holden are pros in front of the camera and it was interesting to read of the agency’s involvement in promoting yyc, representing “a community of entrepreneurs, moving our community forward.”

One of its initial campaigns was to collect much-needed towels for the Mustard Seed. Thanks to ATB Financial donating 1,000 and a huge response from revellers at the Calgary Folk Music Festival, it was able to give more than 1,500. And its community partners like Westcor Construction, Moodys Gartner and Stawowski McGill continue to collect.

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