Prairie Manufacturer - Issue 4 • Volume 5

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Prairie Style on Point

Issue 4, Volume 5 • Spring 2021

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Manufacturers and industrial businesses negotiate a constantly evolving competitive and regulatory landscape.

We take pride in helping our clients grow their businesses locally, nationally and internationally, while saving them costly missteps by providing effective legal counsel. We provide advice that is strategic, insightful, and practical to help manufacturers grow and succeed.

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Publisher Ronda Landygo ronda@prairiemanufacturer.ca 877.880.3392

In this issue Prairie Economic Roundup

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Ever wonder where Canada’s hotbeds of manufacturing are, or where the potential is for economic growth? Jayson Myers uncovers some interesting details in regional employment numbers and tells us what they might mean for the ongoing post-pandemic recovery.

Prairie style on point

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The Prairies are home to innovative fashion designers and manufacturers who are taking on the global runways and exhibitions from the heartland of Canada. From clothing to accessories, from footwear to fine millinery, Prairie fashion means business.

Wide Open Spaces

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It’s the smaller towns and rural communities across the Prairies that are home to manufacturers and makers who are showing that you don’t have to be in the big city in order to successfully build your business or reach all corners of the globe.

Cleared for takeoff

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In 32 years, Barb Bowen has seen aerospace and defence change in a variety of ways. From her early days at a gas station of the skies, to her latest work in helping under-represented populations enter the industry, Barb shares her experiences working with Manitoba Aerospace and its members.

COVID-19 Conversation

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Dr. Jason Kindrachuk is back with more insight and answers to some big questions about COVID-19. Dr. Kindrachuk will help you understand why this might have been a case of ‘right place, right time’ for tiny strands of genetic code to turn our entire world upside-down.

Next issue It’s getting hot in here - When it seems like winter lasts half the year, you’ve got to stay warm somehow. Meet some homegrown manufacturers serving a distinctly ‘adult’ market, and discover how they challenge the stereotypes that abound even in modern society when talking about S-E-X. Size definitely doesn’t matter - Manufacturers come in all sizes. And it’s often the smaller manufacturers flying under the radar with some rather cool products! We’ll introduce you to some Prairie manufacturers who are thinking big and making an impact in the market that outpaces their small stature. After all, it’s not about how big it is; it’s about what you do with it!

Booking deadline: August 6, 2021 Material due: August 13, 2021

Editor Jeff Baker jeff@prairiemanufacturer.ca Special thank you to our editorial advisory committee.

Creative Director Dana Jensen dana@titaniumgraphicdesign.ca Sales info@prairiemanufacturer.ca © Copyright 2021 Prairie Manufacturer MagazineTM All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher.

Publications mail agreement #43155015 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Prairie Manufacturer Magazine 207 Hugo St. North, Suite 3 Winnipeg, MB R3M 2N1 To change your address, or to be removed from the mail list, email info@prairiemanufacturer.ca.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in and the reliability of the source, the publisher in no way guarantees nor warrants the information and is not responsible for errors, omissions or statements made by advertisers.

Opinions and recommendations made by contributors or advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher, its directors, officers or employees.

Cover photo courtesy Adan Ballou Proudly printed by Quantum Graphics & Consulting Printed in Canada | 3/2021

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Editor’s Notebook

Ups, downs, and in-betweens What have we seen, and what can we look forward to, as we mark one year of weirdness

By Jeff Baker

W

ell, dear reader… we’ve made it. Through it; to it; despite of it. Whatever ‘it’ is, it just feels like a moment when everyone in this world needs some reassurance that things are still progressing; that we’re not stuck in some sort of mobius strip of time and space.

But, boy, doesn’t it feel like we’ve just experienced both a blur of a year and the longest single day ever in the history of the planet?!

March again?!

It’s early-ish March, yet again, and it was around this time last year when I was sitting down to write my Editor’s Notebook for the spring 2020 issue.

It was also when I was still holding a reservation for my flight from Abbotsford to Winnipeg to attend the Dare to Compete conference.

The news was starting to become more urgent as COVID-19 steadily made its presence known right across Canada.

I was becoming more concerned about travelling across the country to attend a large gathering, but I thought I’d be careful and just not shake hands or get too close to people who were coughing or sneezing.

You know… the usual precautions for influenza season and/or winter.

Then the shutdowns started. Sector by sector, province by province, city by city. We were living with so much uncertainty and so much fear about what might (or might not) lay ahead.

But through the months, we found our way to some semblance of order and safety, and we carried on as best we could.

We discovered just how interconnected we all are to people, businesses, and places in every corner of the globe. We also discovered exactly what ‘essential’ meant in terms of employees, services, businesses, and products.

Looking back Since last March, we’re a year wiser, a year older (maybe more), and a year into what is possibly (and hopefully) the most discomforting existence many of us will ever experience.

However, with all that said, I think there’s another word to describe what’s been uncovered since last spring: resilience.

Over the last year, I’ve had the immense privilege of getting to connect with manufacturing sector leaders and supporters across the Prairies.

I’ve had amazing conversations with dozens of people who are living proof of the resilience that exists not only in manufacturing folk, but in Prairie folk

It was 2016 when Prairie Manufacturer first hit mailboxes across the region and country with the inaugural issue, but that was only the culmination of months and years of work behind the scenes to develop what has become a premier industry publication.

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

generally. I’ve been honoured to be entrusted with their stories and to share their wisdom and opinions with the Prairie Manufacturer readers.

What’s in store As we head into another phase of this pandemic, thanks to the shining light of hope that is the various vaccines, it’s time to start thinking in a different way; to look beyond the next day or week and into a post-pandemic future that looks closer than ever to ‘normal.’

That’s what we’re trying to do with the spring 2021 issue of Prairie Manufacturer Magazine.

We’re introducing you to some manufacturers and makers across the region who are unleashing their creativity and love for their crafts, making it known that the Prairies have style that’s absolutely on point. From frocks, to pottery, to award-winning handbags and leather goods, you’ll see just how the Prairies are taking off on the runway.

Barb Bowen, Director of Special Projects with Manitoba Aerospace, shares her perspective on the state of the aerospace and aviation industry and the importance of growing the presence of women in this manufacturing and engineering powerhouse sector.

We’re continuing the conversation around the topic of civility and the need to understand and focus on this area as part of the larger improvements we undertake within our businesses and teams.

We also sat down with Dr. Jason Kindrachuk from the University of Manitoba and VIDO to learn more about the origins of COVID-19, why viruses keep going pandemic around the world, and whether or not we’ll defeat this coronavirus or just have to learn to live with it.

Plus, we speak with NGen: Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster to learn about their mandate, their reach across the region, and how manufacturers and supporting organizations can get involved in this amazing effort to take Canadian manufacturing to the next level.

Last, but definitely not least, we’ve also got all the usual suspects back in this issue to keep you informed on areas including employment law and economic updates.

Sixteen Five candles

In closing

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t make a special note about another auspicious occasion that happens to coincide with the spring 2021 issue: Prairie Manufacturer Magazine’s fifth anniversary!

It was 2016 when Prairie Manufacturer first hit mailboxes across the region and country with the inaugural issue, but that was only the culmination of months and years of work behind the scenes to develop what has become a premier industry publication.

Since the start, we’ve published 18 issues (19 if you include this one!); printed almost 250 articles and columns from and about manufacturing leaders, companies, and supporters; featured nearly 325 Prairie manufacturers in those stories and distributed more than 150,000 copies across the Prairies and beyond.

On behalf of the entire team here at Prairie Manufacturer Magazine, I offer a most sincere ‘Thank You.’

As we continue to feel our way through what might just be a perfectly mediocre year (and I’ll be thrilled with that!), please feel free to reach out to me at jeff@prairiemanufacturer.ca with story ideas, feedback about the issue, or any questions you might have. I always enjoy hearing from our readers.

For now, I leave you with wishes for a safe and productive spring and summer, remembering that despite any feeling of hopelessness or despair, we are in the homestretch of this pandemic. We are so close. We are going to make it!

Until we chat again, I hope you enjoy the read.

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Leadership

Civility and Workplace Culture Introducing the Workplace Culture Continuum

By Christian Masotti

T

hroughout my career in manufacturing, I cannot tell you how many times I have been instructed by a supervisor or manager to “Go out there and change the culture.”

Workplace culture – specifically, how to fix it – has been an ongoing challenge in almost every manufacturing organization I have worked with.

While many leaders do in fact understand that it is people – particularly the people at the top – who set the tone for culture, many do not realize that teaching

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supervisors and managers how to improve the day-to-day experience of the people living and working in the organization can have tremendous impact. Improvement starts with paying attention.

Through observation, I have learned that employees’ behaviours hint at how much they trust leadership, how safe they feel, and how engaged they are.I have also identified specific indicators, including error rates, time to complete tasks, safety, absenteeism, quality, and productivity, which can predict overall accountability.

Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

Generally, supervisors are accountable for managing the peopleside of manufacturing so teaching supervisors how to identify, assess, and address these indicators, and then teaching them the root cause of those indicators and how to address them can help manage performance and change workplace culture.

With the help of my colleague and co-author, civility expert Lewena Bayer, we have been able to devise a tool for tracking and addressing these behaviours.

The Culture Indicator Continuum enables organizations to understand how common behaviours observed on the manufacturing floor (and other workplaces) correlate with overall measures of civility.

Based on previous work completed by our team (and validated by research conducted by Weber Shadwick), it has been established that incivility has direct and measurable impact on retention, safety, productivity, morale, and the bottom line. When trust is low, engagement is low.

Engagement according to our definition refers to intentional, conscious “buying-in” on the part of employees such that because they trust the organization, they choose to come to work, contribute in a meaningful way, do more than they are required to, support their coworkers, and believe in what the organization stands for and is trying to achieve, even when things are difficult.

Combining the Civility Experts research and my field expertise, we have identified that it is possible to move individual employees through the continuum if supervisors and leaders are able to: • Set clear expectations for accountability • Observe the employee on the job • Identify “off-standard” behavior

Through observation, I have learned that employees’ behaviours hint at how much they trust leadership, how safe they feel, and how engaged they are.

• Assess the cause of the behavior • Give feedback (positive or negative) In addition, the organization overall must support and require that leaders have a “learning mindset.” Specifically, supervisors/managers must adopt an attitude whereby they: • assume they can (and will) learn something • are willing to admit when they do not know something • do not make assumptions about why people may or may not immediately help/support them • remember how important it is to earn trust • agree that respect is something everyone deserves • acknowledge the intellect and experience of others • ask how they can help the other person • speak in facts and info • thank people for trusting them and doing the right thing • credit (in presence and/or to others) those who support and help them

Once this civil attitude has been established, and when it is exhibited consistently, leaders build trust with their teams such that they are more successful in their communications and coaching, and they are able to move employees along the continuum.

How to use the continuum as a continuous learning tool 1. The workplace can assess each supervisor’s team, e.g., identify where on the grid the individuals sit and identify a pattern.

2. Based on the pattern (e.g., a cluster around a negative state), supervisors can be made aware of: a. Behaviours or conditions to which they are contributing that are resulting in the indicators b. Behaviours to watch for in individual employees 3. Leaders can be trained in what to watch for, what it means, and how to address it 4. Employees can be trained in specific skill areas that will enable them to move through the stages.

A key message for supervisors and managers is that if your teams are not performing well, this is a direct reflection on you. A supervisor MUST be held accountable for these issues. Specifically, aspects of expectation for people management should be written right into supervisors’ performance evaluations.

Christian Masotti is the leading expert on civility in manufacturing and consultant with Civility Experts Inc. With decades of industry experience with some of the world’s largest manufacturers, he is a continuous learner who combines technical skills in continuous improvement with social intelligence and cultural competence.

He is author of three books: Manufacturing Civility, Social Competence for Manufacturing Supervisors, and co-author of Lean on Civility: Strategies for Changing Culture in Manufacturing Workplaces.

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ECONOMIC ROUNDUP

Manufacturing: an engine of growth for all regions across Canada Sector has largely held its own, but the ups and downs are far from equal across the nation

By Jayson Myers

E

ver wonder where the hotbeds of manufacturing are in Canada? The question takes on even greater significance when looking at the potential for economic growth and opportunities for well-paying jobs across the country.

While production and sales numbers are not collected at a regional level, employment numbers are, and they can tell a lot; not only about where manufacturing activity is located, but where the greatest economic value is being generated.

In 2019, 1,740,200 people were employed in Canada’s manufacturing sector. That represented 9.2 per cent of the country’s entire workforce.

Employment levels dropped dramatically in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Manufacturing employment fell 3.9 per cent to 1,672,900, but, manufacturing jobs did not contract as much as overall employment levels. Last year, 9.3 per cent of everyone employed in Canada held a job in manufacturing.

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Central Canada accounted for almost three-quarters of Canada’s manufacturing workforce in 2020.

There were 737,500 people employed in Ontario’s manufacturing sector last year – 44 per cent of the national total.

Manufacturing jobs in the province were down by 3.2 per cent from 2019, and by 4.3 per cent since 2017. In Quebec, 474,000 people were employed in manufacturing in 2020, accounting for 28 per cent of the Canadian total.

The province shed 4.7 per cent of its manufacturing workforce last year.

Manufacturing employment held up better in British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces. BC accounted for 10 per cent of Canada’s manufacturing workforce – or 167,900 jobs – last year, down by 2.6 per cent from 2019. The Atlantic provinces also experienced a lower-than-average decline in manufacturing jobs in 2020 with 76,700 people employed in the sector, down by three per cent from the previous year.

Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

Prairie manufacturers suffered the biggest employment hit of all in 2020. They employed some 216,800 people last year, a 5.8 per cent decline from 2019. Still, the Prairie provinces accounted for 13 per cent of Canada’s entire manufacturing workforce, while some regions proved far more resilient than others.

Another important aspect of the distribution of manufacturing activity in Canada to take into account is the sector’s prevalence in smaller cities and towns across the country. Canada’s largest metropolitan areas – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa-Gatineau – accounted for well over 40 per cent of the country’s total workforce, but for less than 38 per cent of all manufacturing jobs last year.

Manufacturing in smaller cities and towns has generally proven more resilient in the face of the pandemic as well. With very few exceptions, manufacturing employment held up better outside

Canada’s major urban centres than in the largest cities. Calgary was the only metropolitan area to record growth in manufacturing employment last year.

Manitoba Manitoba is another exception to the trend. Manufacturing accounts for 9.5 per cent of all jobs in the province, with most of those jobs located in Winnipeg.

The city is home to 64 per cent of total manufacturing employment in Manitoba, and just over 10 per cent of jobs there are in manufacturing.

South central Manitoba – extending from Portage la Prairie south to Morden, Winkler, and Altona – is another hotbed of manufacturing in the province.

Almost 12 per cent of manufacturing jobs in Manitoba are located there, and manufacturing accounts for 12.5 per cent of total employment in the region.

Manufacturing is also important for other regions in the province, including southwest Manitoba around Brandon and the southeast around Steinbach.

With very few exceptions, manufacturing employment held up better outside Canada’s major urban centres than in the largest cities.

However, for most regions outside Winnipeg, manufacturing jobs are in decline. Between 2016 and 2019, manufacturing employment in all regions outside the metro area fell by 6.4 per cent, the steepest declines occurring in the southeast, south central, and Interlake regions. Southwest Manitoba is the one region that seemed to have been kicking the trend. Manufacturing jobs there increased by almost 18 per cent, before falling by more than 20 per cent last year. That’s just one indication of how COVID-19 packed a punch outside Winnipeg. Manufacturers outside the metro area shed 3,500 jobs in 2020.

That’s 70 per cent of all job losses in Manitoba manufacturing recorded over the past year.

It has been a different story in Winnipeg, where manufacturing jobs

grew by 8.7 per cent between 2016 and 2019. Even last year, with 38,600 jobs, there were almost five per cent more people employed in manufacturing in Winnipeg than four years previously.

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan paints a different picture. In a province that shed 26,800 jobs last year, manufacturing employment actually increased by 1,300 or 4.3 per cent to 31,000 jobs.

Manufacturing now accounts for 5.7 per cent of Saskatchewan’s total workforce.

Most manufacturing jobs are located in and around Regina (with 30 per cent) and Saskatoon (with 42 per cent of the provincial total). The metropolitan areas have also been hotbeds of manufacturing growth. Manufacturing

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employment in Regina has grown by 17.5 per cent since 2016. It increased by eight per cent last year alone. In Saskatoon, 31 per cent more people were employed in manufacturing jobs in 2020 than in 2016. Manufacturing employment in that city rose by 17 per cent last year.

There are other pockets of manufacturing activity across Saskatchewan – from Frontier to Assiniboia, Moose Jaw to Swift Current, and Yorkton to Prince Albert.

Together these regions employed 8,500

manufacturing workers last year, 1,300 fewer than in 2019, but 800 more than in 2016.

Alberta The situation is again very different in Alberta. Manufacturers in that province had increased employment by more than 16 per cent to 135,400 jobs between 2016 and 2019. However, last year, Alberta lost 9,600 manufacturing jobs (a decline of 16 per cent). In 2020, 125,800 people were employed

Manufacturing: Where the Jobs are in the Prairies

Rest of AB 35,300 16%

Winnipeg 38,600 18%

Rest of MB 21,400 10%

Edmonton 43,100 20%

Saskatoon 13,100 6% Calgary 47,400 22%

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

Rest of SK 8,500 4%

Regina 9,400 4%

in Alberta manufacturing – just less than six per cent of the province’s total workforce. However, the provincial trend doesn’t tell the whole story. There have been significant differences in regional performance.

Last year’s job losses were concentrated in and around Edmonton, where manufacturing employment fell by 9,000 jobs (accounting for almost all of the losses incurred in the province).

With 43,100 currently employed in manufacturing, Edmonton is still home to one-third of Alberta’s manufacturing jobs.

Calgary presents a stark contrast. Last year, 47,400 Calgarians were employed in manufacturing, representing 38 per cent of the provincial total. Calgary added 600 new manufacturing jobs in 2020, and employment in the sector is now nine per cent higher than it was in 2016.

Manufacturing employment also grew last year in the Camrose-Drumheller area, as well as in and around Red Deer.

Other key areas of manufacturing activity, including Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and the region encompassing Athabasca, Grande Prairie, and Peace River, saw a slight decline in jobs in 2020. However, since 2016, manufacturing employment outside Calgary and Edmonton metropolitan areas has increased by 16 per cent or 4,800 jobs. That represents about half of all new manufacturing jobs created in Alberta over the past four years!

Manufacturing on the rebound Manufacturers are found across Canada. This widespread distribution of manufacturing activity gives the sector pride of place as one of the most important engines of economic

development we have for communities outside our major urban areas. The importance of manufacturing as a driver of economic growth takes on greater prominence when its role and that of its employees as consumers of other goods and services is taken into account.

That’s why Prairie manufacturing will be at the forefront of the post-COVID recovery. In Saskatchewan and Alberta, manufacturers have outperformed their respective provincial economies. That’s true over the past four years and for 2020 as well. The same holds for Winnipeg, but unfortunately not for other regions in Manitoba outside that city.

Nevertheless, manufacturing remains a mainstay for local economies across the Prairies, and smaller communities are the real beneficiaries. Just over 36 per cent of manufacturing jobs in Manitoba, 27 per cent in Saskatchewan, and 28 per cent in Alberta are located outside the provinces’ major cities.

2020 was a tough year for manufacturers everywhere, but things look brighter for 2021. Let’s hope it will be the year when manufacturing rebounds and our economies can get back on track. Communities big and small stand to benefit.

Jayson Myers is CEO of Next Generation Manufacturing Canada – the country’s advanced manufacturing supercluster. An award-winning business economist and leading authority on technological change, Myers has counselled Canadian prime ministers and premiers, as well as senior corporate executives and policymakers around the world.

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The Principal Resource

Risky terminations Ending the employer-employee relationship means navigating potential pitfalls

By Ryan Savage and Peter Mueller

E

mployment terminations may not only create significant liabilities to an employer, in some cases the liability comes as a complete surprise. One risk of such unexpected liability may arise when failing to appreciate the statutory protections applicable to employees who may be inadvertently violated by an employer who dismisses an employee.

These statutory protections for employees can be easily overlooked, but are often very significant. The employer will usually be on the hook to fully compensate an employee for all losses, including the possibility of full-back pay and reinstatement.

The stakes are high, so employers should proactively consider the liabilities, mitigate the risks where possible, and seek guidance from qualified human resource professionals and/or legal counsel before terminating employment.

In the real world Let’s explore the case of an employee who claimed to have been terminated because they were allegedly on a statutory leave of absence. We acted as legal counsel for the employer.

While the complaint was dismissed, this case is a reminder of the easily missed but significant liability that an employer may face when dismissing an employee.

In Manitoba, The Employment Standards Code (the “Code”) entitles employees to a statutory leave of absence for longterm illness or injury. To be eligible for the leave, a “physician must issue a certificate providing evidence reasonable in the circumstances that the employee is expected to be incapable of working for a period of at least two weeks because of a serious illness or injury.” The issues at hearing were whether the employee was entitled to this leave and, if so, whether the employer breached the Code by terminating the employee's employment because the employee had taken the leave.

The stakes are high, so employers should proactively consider the liabilities, mitigate the risks where possible, and seek guidance from qualified human resource professionals and/or legal counsel before terminating employment.

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

An employee (AM) was issued a written warning following a respectful workplace incident. AM then asked the employer to produce all interview notes from the investigation. The employer refused and then AM provided the employer with a medical report stating that AM was, for a period of one month, not fit to attend work for medical reasons. The medical report did not provide a prognosis or an expected return to work date.

The employer granted AM a leave of absence, largely because it believed that it had no other option. At the time of the request, AM did not make any specific reference to seeking a statutory leave of absence but the employer also did not ask whether the employee was seeking one.

Before the end of the leave, the employer met with AM to discuss the issues but, by the date of the meeting, the medical report had expired, and AM had not provided an updated medical report. During the course of the meeting, AM couldn't confirm when a new report would be provided, but indicated an intention to seek one the following day. As a result of AM's conduct at the meeting (and prior conduct), the employer lost trust and terminated their employment. The next day, AM secured a new medical report, which confirmed they would be fit to return to work later that same week, and sent it to the employer. The employer refused to reinstate employment and confirmed the termination.

AM filed a complaint with Employment Standards, alleging to have been terminated as a result of taking a statutory leave of absence. Employment Standards determined that AM was entitled to a leave of absence under the Code, based on the medical note provided. Employment Standards took the position that any report evidencing a medical need for a leave of absence of two weeks or more met the Code eligibility requirements for long-term leave for serious injury or illness. However, Employment Standards dismissed the complaint, finding the termination was totally unrelated to the leave entitlement and so not in breach of legislation. AM appealed the decision to the Manitoba Labour Board, and the matter proceeded to hearing.

The law required AM to establish proof they were terminated while on a protected statutory leave, at which time the onus shifts to the employer to prove the reasons for termination were totally unrelated to the leave entitlement. In this case, the

employer successfully argued that AM had failed to establish a statutory right to the leave of absence in the first place, such that statutory protection did not apply (and the employer did not have to prove its decision to terminate had nothing to do with the employee having taken a leave of absence under the Code).

The Board noted that while the employer could have sought additional information on the nature of the leave request, there was no objective evidence to suggest that AM was seeking access to a statutory leave for long-term illness or injury.

Take aways Where appropriate, employers should seek clarification on whether an employee is seeking access to a statutory leave.

Employers should also seek clarification on medical information that is vague, incomplete, or inconsistent. More broadly, this case reminds us of the “hidden risks” employers may face when they terminate an employee's employment at a time when the employee may have statutory protections.

Statutory protections can come in the form of leave protections, prohibitions against reprisals, and prohibitions against discrimination, among others. While AM didn't succeed on this point, it is generally straight forward for an employee

to establish that they exercised a statutory right and also experienced a negative employment outcome, like a dismissal.

The burden then shifts to the employer to prove a negative – i.e., the employee exercising a statutory right had nothing to do with the employer's decision to take action against the employee. This burden, and the associated liability for failing to meet it, should encourage employers to act carefully before taking action against an employee.

The potential liability is significant, so employers should take these issues seriously. Employers should proactively consider the liabilities, mitigate the risks where possible, and seek guidance from qualified human resource professionals and/or legal counsel before terminating employment.

Ryan Savage and Peter Mueller are members of the Labour and Employment Law Practice Group at the Winnipeg law firm, Taylor McCaffrey LLP. They focus on helping employers thrive by finding creative and proactive solutions to the challenges they face. Ryan is also the President of Boxing Canada and Director of the CPHRAManitoba. Peter is a Board member of the Community Respite Service. Both Ryan and Peter are members of the Employment Law Alliance and Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers.

www.prairiemanufacturer.ca

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PHOTO COURTESY: ADAN BALLOU

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

Prairie Style on Point Makers across the Prairies unleash their creativity in fashion, accessories, and homewares

By Jeff Baker

www.prairiemanufacturer.ca

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W

Believe it, because that’s where some of the most creative, innovative, high-quality, and award-winning fashion, accessories, and homewares are coming from. And they’re taking on their own slices of the world in a uniquely Prairie way.

It’s definitely his bag In Manitoba, on a small farm outside Forrest Station, between Minnedosa and Brandon, lives an artist creating and handcrafting internationally award-winning leather goods, including handbags, clutches, briefcases, and belts.

Manitoba artist Adam French, otherwise known as Adan Ballou (which is also the name of his company), has gained recognition

PHOTOS COURTESY: ADAN BALLOU

hen you think of high-end style in the world of fashion, accessories, and homewares, your mind probably goes to places like Paris, Milan, Tokyo, New York, and London. You probably think runways at fashion week, Anna Wintour of Vogue in the front row, and the bright flashes of the photographers trying to get a glimpse of the latest creations from the major fashion and design houses around the globe.

Well, what if I told you that even at those major international and national events, it’s not just the just the big names like Chanel and Dior that make a splash?

Would you believe me if I told you those smaller designers and artisans are coming from places such as Central Alberta, Western Manitoba, and even the Cypress Hills?

“I love the Prairies. It’s beautiful, it’s wide open, it’s the space I need to create, to breathe, to yell. The Prairies give me enough room for all my big f-----g ideas.” (Adam French, Adan Ballou)

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

for his lovingly crafted bags made from leathers he tans himself and metals that he hand-pours in his on-site foundry.

The bags today are the culmination of a continuing journey that has so far taken French from Canada to Morocco, Mexico, to places in between, and back home to Manitoba, with each stop being a source of inspiration and energy for his creative process.

Creating and designing has always been a part of French’s life.

In fact, he’s the nephew of Eldon Hagglund, the first Canadian fashion designer to apprentice with Christian Dior in Paris.

“I sometimes think that ‘Eldon Hagglund’ is the best answer to the question ‘Why is some straight white guy in the middle of nowhere making handbags?” says French.

Throughout high school and beyond, Ballou pursued artistic endeavours and was never without a sketchpad, and his travels around the world exposed him to a wide variety of style, artistry, and aesthetics.

Hands-on handbags Adan Ballou leather creations are far from your typical mass-market handbags available in department stores or high street boutiques. Rather, an Adan Ballou bag is made by the artist himself, ensuring each product is unique and crafted to the highest possible standard.

His journey through Morocco afforded French the opportunity to collaborate with artisans in that country that led to the

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“I like my work being recognized, but ultimately, I’m a functional artist. My creations need to be useful and practical for the customer. After all, what good is a handbag that isn’t really great at being a bag.” (Adam French, Adan Ballou)

development and crafting of a handbag that won the Abury Design Experience 2016 Award in Berlin and was finalist for the most sustainable bag at the Independent Handbag Designer Awards in 2017.

Adan Ballou creations have gained further recognition around the world for their quality, innovation, and design aesthetic.

The Winter Clutch Handbag, inspired by the Prairie winter and featuring a pattern rooted in Art Deco murals, won The Brother Best Handmade Handbag at the Independent Handbag Awards in New York in 2019. The Scheer Bag briefcase,

specially designed and inspired by a friend he made during visits to New York, was a finalist for the 2020 edition of the awards.

“I like my work being recognized,” says French, “but ultimately, I’m a functional artist. My creations need to be useful and practical for the customer.

After all, what good is a handbag that isn’t really great at being a bag.”

Homecoming Ultimately, though, after living and working abroad for a number of years, French found himself moving back to the place of his roots – the Prairies.

“I love the Prairies,” says French. “It’s beautiful, it’s wide open, it’s the space I need to create, to breathe, to yell.”

“The Prairies give me enough room for all my big f-----g ideas,” says French.

“The work I do – the tanning, the metal foundry, and experimenting with different materials and techniques – needs the space that the rural areas afford,” French explains. “Even in the smaller Prairie cities, I’d be hard-pressed to find the space I need to do my creating.

I mean, my workshop here is in a couple repurposed grain bins.”

When asked whether he sees his Prairie surroundings affecting his creative

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

process, French explains that yes, he does; from the aesthetics of his bags to the way he sees his business.

“Some people say they’re building from the ground up, but I see my business and my craft as being deeper than that. It’s really about building from the roots up.”

“I ultimately want Adan Ballou to be an employer, and I want to continue to share my creativity and passion for this work and this place,” says French. “As an artist, I’m spoiled with riches here on the Prairies, and I can’t help but think big when the land just lets me.”

Putting the energy into fashion The career path for Amanda Preston of Blackfalds, Alberta began much like that of many young people in Central Alberta. The energy sector – oil and gas, in particular – was where the job opportunities were, and it was almost expected that you’d be working closely connected to the resource.

But there was history at play in Amanda’s family. She came from a long line of seamstresses that included her mother and her grandmother. Fabric, thread, and patterns were just a part of her childhood, and getting her hands on materials was almost second nature.

“I actually started out doing massage therapy,” says Preston, “and I moved from there into oil and gas, but I was still making things – purses, accessories, and stuff like that.”

Preston shared that she was actually lugging her sewing machine between home and the remote camps she lived at during her shifts.

“I was always making things for people, and they kept coming back!”

Preston says.

Go your own way In her younger years and between jobs, Preston took the leap and headed to Vancouver for fashion school to further her skills and experience in textiles and the fashion arena.

“I ended up staying in Vancouver for only about five months before a series of unfortunate events really pushed me to my breaking point,” says Preston.

“I was in my early 20s, and it was super hard to admit that I had to leave school; I was crushed,” says Preston.

“I remember sitting in the school counsellor’s office basically begging for another chance, saying that I couldn’t go back to Alberta, telling them they wouldn’t regret giving me another chance.”

But Preston was soon Alberta-bound.

Better things to come Preston found herself back in oil and gas soon after returning to Alberta, but the creative fire was still smouldering within. She got back to her old ways making things for people around her, and she found herself headed down a bit of a different path.

Preston decided to start her own business offering alterations, tailoring, and other clothing-related services in her hometown of Blackfalds. Miss Sew It All was born!

With her mum by her side in the business handling the alteration part of things, Preston found that she had the time and space to flex her creative muscle.

“There really wasn’t anyone in our area offering higher-end custom dressmaking for graduations, weddings, and other formal events,” says Preston.

“So, that’s really where my Royal Miss line came from.”

“I love textiles, and I love textures. I love being able to marry the two. There’s just so much emotion that can be elicited from a tactful combination of the textures and fabrics.” (Amanda Preston, Royal Miss)

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“I didn’t know any models! I had a neighbour, and she was very tall, so I asked her.” (Amanda Preston, Royal Miss)

Every line has a process Preston explains that while she doesn’t have a formal education in fashion, she’s a keen learner and she has a knack for figuring out what works and what doesn’t – in both design and fabrication.

“I call myself an intuitive designer,” says Preston. “I created my own workflow, my own process, and it really works for me. I look at the fabric before me, and I’ll look at my subject or client, and I’ll create based off that. I want to create something that’s just beautiful.”

Preston says, “for me, it’s a very hands-on craft, and it can seem a bit ‘backwards’ to some folks who might be formally trained. I don’t necessarily do a lot of planning or patternmaking. I’ll go in there, throw the fabric around, manipulate it and play with it, and I just go from there.”

“I love textiles, and I love textures,” says Preston. “I love being able to marry the two. There’s just so much emotion that can be elicited from a tactful combination of the textures and fabrics.”

Asked from where she draws inspiration for her Royal Miss line, Preston credits her daughter.

“My daughter is five, and she’s a source of a lot of my inspiration. It wasn’t ‘til I had her that I really realized I could pursue my dream full-time,” says Preston. “It’s important to me to show her that she can live her dreams, too, and she can be successful in her own uniqueness.”

“That’s why each dress I make is unique. They need to speak to the uniqueness of the wearer and celebrate whatever it is that makes her an individual.”

For Preston, the Prairie blood in her veins shines through in her creations by the fact they’re all still functional. “I want people to be able to wear the things I create,” she says.

Hitting the runway Continuing to find success in her alteration business and her Royal Miss line, Preston was looking to spread her wings and push herself just that much more.

A web search led her to learning about Western Canada Fashion Week, the preeminent fashion showcase in Western Canada with international runway shows and presentations in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver.

After reviewing the application criteria and speaking with the show’s director, Preston decided she needed to do Fashion Week.

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

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“There were a bunch of rules for entry, so I worked through them,” says Preston. “I needed a model, and I needed a garment, of course. Did I mention this show was only two weeks away?!”

Where do you find a model when you’re an aspiring designer in small-town Central Alberta looking to enter your first runway show?

“I didn’t know any models!” Preston says. “I had a neighbour, and she was very tall, so I asked her.”

“I paid for her to take some model training, and I created the garment for her,” says Preston. “We made it to the show, and we got onto the runway, and I won third place!”

“When she hit the runway, I was standing backstage, and that’s when I knew I was exactly where I needed to be,” explains Preston. “Everything just felt right, like I had arrived at my spot in the world.”

Ready to… where?

The success at Western Canada Fashion Week helped cement Preston’s place in the industry, but a combination of an economic downturn, a skilled labour shortage, and a global pandemic meant changes for Preston and her business.

“I couldn’t find anyone with the technical skills for the sewing and fabrication side of the work. Plus, so much of what I do is driven by special events, and with everything going on in the world, the demand just dried up, and even my supply of imported materials was basically cut-off,” explains Preston. “I’ve ended up pivoting in a big way.”

Preston was recently commissioned for a short-notice custom gown for a project with a modelling agency in Calgary. It was like Fashion Week all over again!

“They sent me the model’s measurements and a photo, and I just created the gown from there in about a week,” says Preston. “It was awesome getting to dive in and just create something from scratch again.”

Homeware from hell In the Alberta city immortalized by writer Rudyard Kipling as having “all hell for a basement” due to the expansive natural gas reserves immediately below, there exists a longstanding history of manufacturing of bricks, pottery, glass bottles, and other earthenware products.

Medicine Hat was a centre for manufacturers that relied on a combination of easily accessible natural resources and the

ready supply of inexpensive natural gas to fire the furnaces and kilns. In fact, one brickmaker – I-XL – was founded in 1880 and remains a mainstay on the city’s industrial landscape.

It’s little wonder then that Medicine Hat native Arne Handley established himself as a maker of fine, functional handmade earthenware products that are finding their way into homes and businesses across Canada.

“I started as a teacher in 1972, and pottery was always a great teaching tool for kids, explains Handley. There’s something about getting your hands in the clay and watching something emerge from the work you put in.”

“It was back in those days and even earlier where, instead of a field trip to Europe or Japan, we’d be walking to the clay deposits, to the cliffs that are just everywhere in this city,” Handley says. “It was just a part of growing up here.”

Retire into what you love After a career in education where he continued to dabble in pottery as primarily a hobby, but also a side hustle that paid for his Master of Education degree, Handley retired into the craft that he loved.

“I’ve always believed that the pottery I make needs to be functional, useful,” explains Handley.

“There’s a Japanese term, mingei, roughly translated as ‘folk art’, that describes how there’s a beauty in stuff that’s usable,” Handley says. “It’s a balance between the aesthetic of a piece and the real-life usefulness of that piece, and it’s something I try to incorporate in everything I create.”

Handley says, “the functionality comes from the fact that if you get a mug, it works well as a mug. It lifts well whether it’s empty or full, and it’s straightforward to drink from.”

Creativity grounded in place Beyond the function, Handley says his design aesthetic is rooted firmly in the Prairies, particularly the region around Medicine Hat and the Cypress Hills of southeastern Alberta.

“The clay I use to make the pieces – the primary physical aspect of my work – is from this region, specifically the eastern slopes of the Cypress Hills,” says Handley. “It’s of this region, it’s processed locally, and I’m working with it locally.”

And when it’s been thrown or formed, the colours that Handley uses on his creations are equally rooted in the geography of his surroundings.

“When you’re on the Prairies, it’s the sky that dominates everything. It’s all around you, no matter where you look. It’s the countless shades of blue of the Prairie sky that drives my colour selection.” (Arne Handley, Arne Handley Pottery)

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

There’s something about getting your hands in the clay and watching something emerge from the work you put in.”

(Arne Handley, Arne Handley Pottery)

PHOTOS COURTESY: ARNE HANDLEY POTTERY

“When you’re on the Prairies, it’s the sky that dominates everything. It’s all around you, no matter where you look,” Handley says. It’s the countless shades of blue of the Prairie sky that drives my colour selection.”

“The particular blue I use can end up doing a million different things when it’s fired in the kiln,” Handley explains.

“There’s something that just happens in there, and there’s a certain emotion that comes through from the firing process.”

“I get to flex my artistic muscle in a real tactile way,” says Handley. “Literally getting my hands into the earth in order to create something both beautiful and useful; that’s a great way to make something of the time we have.

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Letter From A Dream Parent:

Meet Malcolm

September 25, 2018: A day to be remembered. It was the day our little warrior, Malcolm was born. Malcolm was born fullterm without complication, and gained weight like a champ in the first 3 months of his life. I may have struggled as a first time mom, but he was certainly thriving. It was around Christmas time that we noticed a change in our son when we were visiting family in Ontario, as he fought off what we thought was a fairly common flu bug. But when his vomiting continued for days, and then weeks, we knew something was up. By the time Malcolm turned 4 months old, he was no longer keeping any breast milk down and was waking every hour during the night screaming in pain.

As a first time mother, I was reassured many times that this was all “normal” and things would get easier soon. It was hard to tell sometimes whether my mother’s intuition was correct or if I was over-reacting — whether it was a sleep regression, or acid reflux, or cause for concern. It was when we took Malcolm into the ER in our then-home of Churchill for the fourth time in two weeks that we finally got some answers.

Initially Malcolm was diagnosed with an ear infection, but when the antibiotics didn’t change anything and a mysterious red mark appeared on his head the nurses and doctors up north knew it was time to investigate further. The healthcare team we were working with took our concerns very seriously and saw that Malcolm’s condition had worsened in a few short days, so ordered a blood test to see if anything of concern showed up. Unfortunately things did not look good, and within hours we were being flown down to Winnipeg and rushed to Children’s Hospital in an ambulance. We had packed an overnight bag with intentions to return to Churchill in the next few days with a healthy son. We soon learned that we wouldn’t be seeing Churchill again for a LONG time.

Here is an excerpt from my journal during our stay in the hospital: January 26, 2019: The day our lives changed forever. At 4 months + 1 day, our baby Malcolm was diagnosed with Infant Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). We had known something wasn’t right for weeks, but couldn’t find an answer as to why. It was when we reached our breaking point in the ER for the fourth time in two weeks that things started looking more serious.

The night of Malcolm’s diagnosis stretched on and on, and we only managed to catch maybe 30 minutes of sleep each. It was a night I wouldn’t wish upon anyone, but something we had to endure. Our little guy was hooked up to so many machines I could barely recognize him. He slept for most of the first 24 hours as several tests were being completed.

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Fall 2019

Then started the IV chemo. And the lumbar punctures. And the bone marrow aspirates. In went the central line. It took several days for Malcolm’s fever to subside, and during that time he had some troubling reactions to the fluids entering his tiny little body.

I’ll never forget the first time he smiled (and giggled) at us, only 3 days into treatment. It had been weeks since we had seen him smile, but we had been so caught up in everything that we didn’t realize it until we saw him do it again. It was in that moment that I knew we were going to get through this.

A few more days passed, and we were introduced to The Dream Factory, and then to Ronald McDonald House. Between these two incredible charities, we were able to maintain a sense of normalcy during our extended stay in the hospital. For the next few months, my husband and I alternated staying with Malcolm in the hospital room and staying at Ronald McDonald House.

Eventually, we realized Winnipeg was going to be home and moved into a rented house in the city.

After 7 months and 5 rounds of chemo therapy, Malcolm was discharged in September 2019 just before his first birthday. He is now two years old and is THRIVING. He absolutely loves the outdoors, and if he had it his way would live out there 24/7.

We like to think this is because he was cooped up in an isolation room for a good portion of the first year of his life. Malcolm spends much of his time running away from his parents and climbing whatever he can get to. He enjoys playing with cars, helping out in the kitchen and tormenting his pet cat Griffin when he’s at home. Malcolm is the light of our lives, and has taught us the true importance of living in the moment.

Malcolm hasn’t come up with a solid dream yet, as he is still trying to find the words to communicate this to his parents, but we are certain it will involve either something with wheels, something outdoors, or somewhere he can run (or all three)!

Prairie Manufacturer is proud to support The Dream Factory - a Manitoba charity making dreams come true for children in our community who are battling life-threatening illnesses. If you can, please consider making a donation to help make more dreams come true for kids like Malcolm.

You can help make Malcolm’s dream come true - visit www.thedreamfactory.ca/donate to become a dream maker today! www.prairiemanufacturer.ca

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Wide open spaces Limits are for cities, not for manufacturing

By David Quinn

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

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eyond the bright lights and boulevards of the Prairies’ largest cities, lay thriving communities of all sorts and sizes, filled with people who are working to innovate and create products and services that will end up travelling a heck of a lot farther than a country mile.

It’s the smaller towns and rural communities across the Prairies that are home to manufacturers and makers who are showing that you don’t have to be in the big city in order to successfully build your business or reach all corners of the globe.

Meet two Saskatchewan-based businesses who are showing that making it big doesn’t depend on being in the middle of the city.

The side hustle takes over For Watrous’s Geoff Bedard, the COVID-19 pandemic meant his usual travel-heavy work as Senior Vice-President of Supply Chain Management for a Georgia, USA-based renewable energy company took a turn and kept him much closer to home.

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“We’re building the company to export to Japan and the EU, plus domestic markets in North America, so I would normally be travelling quite frequently between Canada and the United States,” says Bedard.

An avid woodworker and creator, Bedard and his wife were also running 306Woodcraft, a small business of refurbishing barn wood and building furniture and home accessories, including game boards and custom signs.

“There’s real sense of community when you’re away from the city. You really know the people you’re doing business with, and there’s a strong connection that binds the people together out here.” (Geoff Bedard)

PHOTO COURTESY: 306WOODCRAFT

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

“We’ve had 306WoodCraft for quite a while,” says Bedard, “but the pandemic forced me to stay close to home, which gave me much more time to work on what normally would be my side hustle.”

Coming from a family where woodworking was a hobby for his grandfather and father, Bedard didn’t really get into the craft seriously until his late-20s.

“My dad’s family has a history of woodworking, for sure,” Bedard says. “My grandpa wasn’t a woodworker by trade – neither was my dad – but he was very handy and just loved doing it. I learned by watching them when I was little, and I eventually just started monkeying around, building some basic stuff.”

Building on the success his wife had with her initial foray into signs and accessories, Bedard was accumulating an array of woodworking tools that would allow the creativity to be unleashed.

“I always wanted to get into the CNC (computer numerical control) side of things,” says Bedard. “With the automated tools and machines, it’s really only your imagination that is the limit to what you can do.”

Being at home over the last year has given Bedard the time to flex his woodworking skills and tackle some interesting projects that normally would have taken a backseat to the work-related travel.

“There’s only so much research and reading you can do from home,” Bedard says, “and these Zoom meetings still keep you pretty cooped up. Between that and working out and maybe checking the mail, the days can be frustrating, so it’s nice to have a bit of an outlet. My outlet is woodworking.”

Keeping it close Asked about the challenges and opportunities he sees as a ruralbased manufacturer, Bedard says it’s generally positive for him.

“There’s real sense of community when you’re away from the city. You really know the people you’re doing business with, and there’s a strong connection that binds the people together out here.”

“You walk into the local farm supply store, and can say ‘Hey, I know you guys, and I know you get asked for donations for a bunch of causes every year… How about I make you some cribbage boards, or Oilers signs, and stuff like that you can donate?”

Bedard says.

“It’s that connection and wanting to support the local folks because they support you. And this pandemic seems to have strengthened that connection.”

But Bedard also admits there are some challenges to being outside the larger centres; some of which us city dwellers might not even think about.

“Take gas stations, for example,” says Bedard. “In the city, they’ll tend to be open early and late into the night – if not 24 hours a day – but out here, they’ll be closed earlier.”

“Even getting supplies can still be a challenge, although it’s a bit easier now with delivery companies servicing more rural communities,” Bedard says. “But even with on-line ordering and express delivery, it just takes more time to get things delivered and shipped, so you do have to keep that in mind.

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

The great enabler… but with a catch Over the last few years, telecom and connectivity companies across the Prairies have invested in expanding access to their broadband internet networks, and high-speed internet connections are finding their way deeper into the small towns and rural areas.

“Facebook, Instagram, and other social media networks are a great thing for rural businesses,” says Bedard. “You can have a virtual storefront that is open all hours and available to the world, so the exposure is a great help.”

“The lady who cuts my hair, she’s also got an online clothing store. She does live videos on Instagram where she’s unboxing the stock she’s received, and she’s getting lots of exposure and attention from her online audience.”

However, even though expanded networks might be available, the service levels and quality in these rural areas can vary drastically from the urban and suburban locales.

“When you’re really out of the towns, the quality of the internet connections is less than ideal, and the speed you can get can be really limited,” says Bedard.

“If you don’t have high-quality and truly high-speed internet, you’re limited in what you can actually do.

Zoom calls or live videos can be out of the question.”

However, Bedard sees a potential shining light – make that hundreds of shining lights – on the horizon.

“I think the Starlink satellite internet project could be a game-changer,” Bedard says. “There’s now real potential for true high-speed internet to be accessible from literally anywhere, so manufacturing and other industry won’t face the connectivity hurdle.”

PHOTO COURTESY: DUCK FOOT PARTS

Like a duck to water For Saskatchewan-based Duck Foot Parts, it’s a bit of a different story when it comes to manufacturing beyond the city limits.

The Duck Foot is the invention of Steve Kastning, a grain farmer in central Saskatchewan, and his wife Chrisa, both of whom have always had a passion for innovation and finding the sometimes elusive ‘better way’ to improve productivity and efficiency in the field.

The Duck Foot is a slip-over paddle tine that attaches to the reel pipe and is designed to clear a combine’s cutter bar and decrease header loss.

Combine operators can slow their reel speed further preventing shelling and stripping of the harvested grain. Compatible with a growing number of harvester brands, the Duck Foot series of paddle tines is a cost-effective and time-efficient way to minimize header loss.

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The Duck Foot started as an idea in 2015, and the first prototype was made in early 2016. In 2018, Steve and Chrisa launched the Duck Foot at Canada’s Farm Progress Show, winning a Sterling Innovation Award.

Since the initial launch of the Duck Foot, Duck Foot Parts Inc. has continued to work on advancing their product line. In 2020, new models of Duck Foot compatible with additional harvester brands were released, as was a newly designed clip system.

Making a go of it PHOTO COURTESY: DUCK FOOT PARTS

“In the end, it almost doesn’t matter if a manufacturer is big city or small town.

It’s just a matter of working with good people and finding the balance.”

(Steve Kastning)

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While Duck Foot Parts isn’t directly manufacturing their product in-house, Steve explains that outsourcing was a business decision that wasn’t taken lightly or quickly.

“The Duck Foot is an injection moulded product, so producing it entirely in-house would be a very expensive and capital-intensive investment,” says

Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

Kastning. “It’s a good number of moulds involved to produce the various Duck Foot models, plus manufacturing them requires an injection machine with 200 tonnes of hydraulic pressure to hold everything together; not to mention those moulds weigh about 900 pounds apiece.”

In the past, Duck Foot Parts contracted with an American injectionmoulding company, but Kastning made the decision to bring the moulds home and relocate production to local Canadian firms experienced in the field.

“When I was starting out, I just Googled ‘injection moulding companies,’ but only a couple in Ontario showed up; only one in Saskatchewan, but they didn’t take on any outside work,” says Kastning. “The company I found in the US was actually already manufacturing agricultural products, so they knew exactly what I needed.”

In 2019, Kastning brought the Duck Foot moulds back to Canada after finding

suppliers who could provide the services he needed much closer to home.

“We use one company in Edmonton, Alberta, and one in Englefeld, Saskatchewan,” Kastning explains.

“They both do very good work on our parts, so it’s more a case of working with the companies who have the time and capacity to tackle our orders when we need them.”

Kastning says, “Working with a couple of moulding companies also gives us the flexibility and capacity that we need, and it ensures we have the coverage if, for whatever reason, something happens to one manufacturer or the other.”

Differences aren’t that big With one supplier based in a large metropolitan market – Edmonton – and the other in a rural-oriented, small-town community – Englefeld – Kastning finds the differences between the two companies not as big as one might expect.

“Our guy in Edmonton is extremely busy,” says Kastning, “so it’s a bit more challenging to have our orders scheduled.

When he gets into our production, though, he just goes. He’ll run 24/7, nonstop ‘til everything is done.”

“Our other supplier is very busy as well but is a bit more laid back,” explains Kastning. “It might take a little longer to get an order finished, but the quality is still top notch. The fact they’re local is really nice.”

“In the end,” Kastning says, “it almost doesn’t matter if a manufacturer is big city or small town.

It’s just a matter of working with good people and finding the balance.”

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PHOTO COURTESY: MANITOBA AEROSPACE

WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

Cleared for takeoff Women’s role in aerospace & aviation has changed, but there’s still plenty of room to grow

By Barb Bowen

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t was nearly 32 years ago when I started my career in aerospace in Manitoba. That first job was great! I started working for a new venture, the Esso Avitat fixed base operator (FBO), at Winnipeg International Airport. It was basically a gas station that served airplanes, and I started by learning the ropes on how to track fuel and other commodities. To start, I was based in the tank yard and I dealt with the drivers who filled up the fuel trucks that directly serviced the aircraft, so I never really saw the pilots themselves.

I started there before it turned it into what it is today! Over the years, the Avitat has transformed into a ‘Ritz Carlton’ of private air terminals for pilots and private aviation customers.

Like the aviation industry in Manitoba, it flourished because of innovation and the sense of integrity that made us a community. I worked there as the Senior Customer Service Representative. I really enjoyed my job and really liked what I was doing, but I soon discovered that I needed to ‘spread my wings’ if I wanted to fly higher in the industry.

Some opportunities would come up once in a while, but I wasn’t in a position to take them on. I didn’t have the means to purchase a local franchise and I had family commitments here in Manitoba, so moving just wasn’t an option.

You know the saying ‘every cloud has a silver lining?’ Well, the best part of aviation is seeing so many clouds

(metaphoric or otherwise!) and finding so many silver linings! In my case, my silver lining was hearing about a job opportunity at Manitoba Aerospace. My friend told me I should apply. I did and I got the position. That was over 20 years ago, and I’ve been there ever since!

The draw to aviation I’ve always loved airplanes and the idea of flying. When I think back, I might have become a pilot, but when I was in high school, it really wasn’t seen as something that women could – or should – do.

Still, I have found a way to get close to the airplanes. If there’s one regret I have, though, it’s that I didn’t consider becoming a pilot or even pursuing my private pilot’s license. Although, I probably couldn't have afforded to do it anyway; it’s very expensive!

Tell the truth, the whole truth There’s another reason I love aviation and aerospace: it’s a very honest industry.

It’s an industry where you can’t cut corners, because if you do, you’re taking the chance of airplanes falling out of the sky all around the world.

When there's maintenance to be done, that maintenance is done, where you might have other industries or businesses that say, ‘Oh, well… the truck might need to be worked on, but we’ll wait for a few weeks.’ If a truck breaks down on the highway, you just pull over

to the side of the road. It’s no big deal. But it’s definitely not that easy when you’re flying through the sky!

In the aviation and aerospace industry, the culture is focused on honesty and integrity; they’re very accountable for errors. If something goes wrong, somebody takes responsibility and owns the mistake. They can say that it was their error, and they’re not penalized for the honesty. They might be corrected for inexperience, but they’re not made to feel that they shouldn’t have spoken up.

Start at the beginning When I started my job, I was responsible for coordinating training; which is still part of my responsibilities today. At that time, we coordinated training programs for individual companies and groups of companies.

For example, if one company needed employees for a specific role or with a certain skill – like TIG welders – they would come to us at Manitoba Aerospace, and I would arrange for training programs to be offered.

Of course, training programs are not cheap, and they usually need a certain number of students (trainees) in order to be financially viable, so that’s where my coordinating efforts would come into play.

I worked with companies, subject matter experts, trainees and funders to provide relevant training and quality employees.

You know the saying ‘every cloud has a silver lining?’ Well, the best part of aviation is seeing so many clouds (metaphoric or otherwise!) and finding so many silver linings!

www.prairiemanufacturer.ca

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New connections Shortly after I started at Manitoba Aerospace, I began to work very closely with the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development (CAHRD), which, in the years since, has really been a rewarding relationship. In fact, it’s probably the longest-standing partnership in my career.

We started helping Indigenous people get the skills they needed for jobs in the aerospace industry, and over nearly 22 years, we’ve prepared more than 230 Indigenous people for careers in all corners of the industry. Many of these individuals had never considered aviation and aerospace as a career path before.

Another partnership I’ve really enjoyed is with Tec-Voc High School in Winnipeg, and we’ve got more than 700 people from our programs now working in the industry.

The Tec-Voc partnership is particularly meaningful for me since it’s right in my community. We’re showing the students there are plenty of rewarding careers that don’t require you to be an engineer, pilot, or rocket scientist, to get a great job in aerospace. There’s room for everyone.

It used to be a boy’s game When I first started in aviation, it was rare to have anyone other than white, male pilots come through our facility.

Today, it’s changed, and it continues to change. Maybe not as quickly as we’d like – but things are still progressing.

I’m a member of an organization called Women in Aviation, International, which is an organization for women who work in our industry. They are not just pilots, but also aircraft maintenance engineers (AME) and professional

engineers. Northern Spirit is the name of the Manitoba chapter, and we work on various projects to encourage girls and women who are interested in becoming pilots and AMEs. There are scholarships, information sessions, and even mentorship opportunities available to young women.

I also find there are more women entering the field as professional engineers, or other positions on the shop floor. There’s lots of opportunity for women to enter the industry.

Culture shift In the last 20-odd years, I find the culture in the industry has changed for the better. Companies are much more welcoming to women. For example, the attitude that young women shouldn’t be hired because they might start a

Women in Aerospace

A career that makes a difference, keeping us safe in the sky!

Would you like to join us?

For career pathways in the aerospace and aviation industry, please contact Barb Bowen at bbowen@mbaerospace.ca

ManitobaAerospace

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

mbaerospace

manitoba-aerospace | www.mbaerospace.ca

PHOTO COURTESY: MANITOBA AEROSPACE

family and have to take maternity leave is changing.

Now, companies just figure out how to make it work, and they see women as valuable members of the team. Truthfully, it’s not necessarily any ‘official’ barriers that keep women out of the industry.

It’s often just perceptions, unintended challenges, and even offhanded remarks that can turn them away.

About 15 years ago, I met a young woman who was in a welding class and the instructor made some comments about women welders. It made the

student feel that he didn’t think her skills were good enough and that she wasn’t valued as a member of the class. She was (rightfully) upset and was ready to quit the program.

She called and spoke to me, and we talked a long while. I went and spoke to

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37

the instructor and he apologized, saying he hadn’t meant to come across ‘that way.’ When I spoke to the student again, I was able to mediate a conversation that helped the instructor and supported the student’s voice, allowing them to sort things out.

Today, this student is now a welding instructor herself and she credits the program from CAHRD and Manitoba Aerospace and the time I took to work with her as not only getting her into welding but keeping her in welding to this day.

It’s situations like this that make me wonder just how many women (and even men) we lose because of these situations? How many really good people are simply walking away because they or others can’t see themselves in the industry or because they didn’t have someone to talk to?

Making a difference PHOTO COURTESY: MANITOBA AEROSPACE

There’s another reason I love aviation and aerospace: it’s a very honest industry. It’s an industry where you can’t cut corners, because if you do, you’re taking the chance of airplanes falling out of the sky all around the world.

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Aviation and aerospace have so many great jobs available for women, but we really need to get the word out in a big way, and we need to reframe the impact that these jobs have on the world at large.

I read an article a number of years ago that stated that women tend to want jobs and careers where they feel they’re making a difference in others’ lives.

That’s why healthcare, education, and

hospitality tend to be seen by women as more ‘positive’ or ‘plausible’ career paths.

Yes, this is a generalization, but there is some amount of truth to this. So, how do we do this in aerospace?

Well, we need to really show that every person in the industry – from the high-profile pilots to the shop floor workers and maintenance people in the background – are working to ensure the safety and security of everyone in the sky; that the industry is about keeping people and aircraft safe which is a powerful way to help others.

Seeing yourself One thing has become super clear to me during my years in Aerospace. It’s been what drives my work that I continue to do with Manitoba Aerospace.

That thing? If you don’t see yourself or someone like you in a job, a career, a business… anything really – you often aren’t going to consider it as a path – or a goal – for yourself.

Putting it another way, if you are a girl or a woman and you don't see women pilots, engineers, or mechanics, when you are deciding what you want to do for a career, then you probably

won’t consider pursuing those careers.

That’s what it was like when I was younger and looking into my future career path.

If I had seen women pilots when I was a teenager, maybe it could have given me more ‘hope’ or ‘possibility’ to think about.

Opening doors… and minds Women in Aviation, International holds regular events where we bring young girls and women behind the scenes of the aviation industry and show them the opportunities that exist for them.

It’s one thing to talk about women in the industry, but when young girls meet the professional women of the industry, possibilities unfold.

We have pilots, aircraft maintenance professionals, engineers, and technicians there, and they're all women. They're in their uniforms, talking to the girls, and they're also taking them through handson activities in different areas. So, the message gets out there. Girls can do this; women can do this!

I think we need to approach the ‘women in industry’ subject in this multi-pronged, multi-faceted way. We need the ‘obvious’, visible messages and

examples but we need to normalize it too. Companies can demonstrate that women in aviation and aerospace is a normal part of business.

It just makes sense It amazes me that we still find ourselves in these discussions about getting more people from specific populations into the industry. I mean, there are smart, hard-working people everywhere, and we just need to be open and willing to give everyone a chance who wants one. The best and the brightest are what we need, and we need more of them everywhere.

Yes, the pandemic has put the brakes on the aviation industry. If people aren’t flying, then you don’t need as many pilots, there are fewer aircraft that need active maintenance, and everything else down the line just follows a similar path. However, once we get through this situation, there is going to be a big recovery.

Before everything changed, there was already a shortage of skilled labour in aviation (and pretty much every other manufacturing sector too), so the recruitment of people into the sector

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It’s been a heck of a journey so far, but even the greatest journeys will eventually have a destination of some sort. However, I’ve still got lots of work to do.

– women, Indigenous people, recent immigrants, et cetera – is continuing.

The downturn for aviation could be a bit longer than for other industries, and that might mean some who have been laid off for almost a year could be facing more time yet without work. Some are going to hang in there, but others might move on to something else or retire.

There is going to be opportunity, but it might just look a bit different.

Looking back to look forward When I look back, the thing I'm most proud of is the work of our team at Manitoba Aerospace does with the Indigenous community through the partnership with CAHRD and other

Indigenous organizations. The positive impact that my relationship with CAHRD has had, not only for the Indigenous trainees in the programs, but for the companies that are finding skilled professional workers from communities they might previously have ignored fills me with pride. We’ve been able to change minds and open hearts across the industry.

It’s been a heck of a journey so far, but even the greatest journeys will eventually have a destination of some sort. However, I’ve still got lots of work to do.

While I can’t yet share the details of some of the projects I’m currently working on, I can tell you that they’re all very close to my heart and are building on the great

work that the Manitoba Aerospace team has delivered over the years.

When these projects take off and start flying on their own, and I can see that they’re changing peoples’ lives for the better, that’s when I’m going to call it a wrap. That’ll be my legacy; my ‘love letter’ to the industry that has been a part of me for so many years.

Let’s not forget, though, people say retirement is when you get to do all the really fun stuff. Maybe that pilot’s license is still waiting for me somewhere. You just never know!

Barb Bowen is Director of Special Projects with Manitoba Aerospace, a membershipbased, not-for-profit organization representing the local aerospace and aviation sector, driving the sustainable worldwide business growth of Manitoba companies through human resource development, collaboration, innovation and supply chain expansion.

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

PHOTO COURTESY: VIDO / UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN

In conversation with…

P

rairie Manufacturer’s editor, Jeff Baker, spoke with Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, and Project Leader at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), to learn more about why diseases like COVID-19 happen, why some diseases run rampant while others don't, and what we can look forward to as vaccines roll-out around the world.

Jeff Baker (JB): Why do these animal-to-human diseases and pandemics happen?

Dr. Jason Kindrachuk (JK): When we look at infectious diseases, about 60 to 70 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases are of animal origin, which means they're moving from animals in into humans (or vice versa).

The reason why they happen is that over the eons of time that viruses and different pathogens had time to develop and evolve, certain ones have become reliant on being in animals, including humans.

For a virus to survive, it has to be able to continue to make copies of itself so that it has progeny, and those progenies go on. It's kind of like us having kids. But the problem is that when we think about animals and higher biological organisms (like humans), we also developed immune systems to counteract those pathogens when we face them.

For viruses and these other emerging pathogens to survive, they have to be able to find a balance with that immune system. They have to be able - in some animal - to balance that immune response so they're able to continue creating copies of themselves and move from animal to animal, but they don't want to overstimulate the animal so much it starts to show signs of disease and ultimately dies.

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The problem is that in nature we have animals that are able to carry these really horrible diseases and show no signs of symptoms or consequences of carrying them.

But we also have to look into our behaviours and things like climate change, and how all these things are combining their effects. Are we making incursions into areas or regions that we never would have previously? That puts us in greater contact with these animals that carry these viruses.

Climate change is even affecting the migratory patterns and behaviours of animals, and that puts us into closer contact in locations that never saw this sort of mixing or animal presence before.

It’s really complex.

JB: Why do some diseases go pandemic, while others don’t? How did SARS-CoV-2 get to the point of causing more than 112 million cases of COVID-19, but other coronaviruses (like the ones that cause SARS or MERS) didn’t?

JK: A lot of it comes back to the transmission patterns of these viruses. I'll use Ebola for comparison because right now we’re seeing an increase in cases. We saw what happened in West Africa in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia (and beyond) from 2014 to 2016.

The Ebola virus is able to move from one infected person to one other person, and you needed to have direct contact between those people. That virus doesn't move through respiratory droplets or aerosols, so it's not an airborne virus. That limits its ability to spread as it's only moved from one person, to one person, to one person.

The coronaviruses behind the original SARS and MERS are similar in the extent that we don't – or we didn’t - see community transmission.

Most of the SARS transmission occurred between people with very close contact - usually within healthcare settings or with people that are caregivers. As long as you can contain those cases, you’re able to limit the virus’ ability to spread through the population.

The virus behind COVID-19 is very different.

We're looking at a virus able to move from one infected person to two or three others, but we also know that in certain situations, that spread can actually be amplified now into dozens of people based on a bunch of different factors, and not just in healthcare settings, but broadly in the community too.

When we when we look at things that become pandemic and those that don’t, it’s just a difference in the nature of each virus and their abilities and methods to spread. We just need to look at smallpox, various strains of influenza, and now COVID-19.

JB: Why do these pandemics keep happening? Are they increasing in frequency?

JK: The fact is that our perception of how long pandemics have been occurring is is very short in in terms of the planet’s whole timeline.

We have some sense that smallpox goes back thousands of years. Influenza, certainly. We’re now looking back into the 1800s and earlier for other pandemics that were occurring then. We’ve also got historical writings that would indicate we’ve been seeing pandemics of some sort throughout history.

Part of it is just the fact that we are, unfortunately, in close contact with animals and nature that are able to pass these viruses on.

Now, are they increasing in frequency?

Certainly, emerging infectious diseases and outbreaks are are increasing in frequency.

Pandemics, it’s tough to say.

For example, we see some type of influenza pandemic about every eight years, but we're dealing with a very short period of time to be able to say how they’ve actually been increasing in the past.

Really, the question over the next few centuries is going to be: are we going to see pandemics actually increasing in frequency, or is this something that just happens very sporadically?

Really, I think a lot of it is, unfortunately, a case of the right virus in the right place at the right time. That’s just what happens.

In China, there’s recently been a study that looked at biological samples for coronaviruses,

I think we’ve seen a shift where people are starting to prepare for the uncomfortable reality that COVID-19 might not be something we’re able to defeat; it may be another virus that we’re facing on an annual basis.

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Let’s keep moving forward.

Together.

Find resources and training at safemanitoba.com www.prairiemanufacturer.ca

45

Vaccination is likely going to help us get close to eliminating COVID-19 in certain regions of the world, but it isn’t going to happen across the globe simultaneously.

and they discovered hundreds of brand-new coronaviruses that were never identified before.

When they looked at villagers who lived in close proximity to some of these bat roosts, they found that those people had antibodies against some of the viruses. That starts to tell us that these viral spillover events and interspecies infections that we often think of as infrequent and sporadic events, well, they’re actually occurring to a much higher degree of frequency than we’ve ever appreciated.

JB: Looking forward, do you see a point where COVID just becomes part of our regular existence and possibly just another less-serious infection?

JK: I think we're certainly starting to see a lot of discussion about that being a likely consequence, and I think part of this comes from when we look at a transmission over the past 14 months.

Transmission has been cyclical for different reasons, so we're seeing ebbs and flows, but we're not seeing massive decreases. We’re seeing the disease being somewhat sustained, even with a lot of restrictions in place.

Vaccination is likely going to help us get close to eliminating COVID-19 in certain regions of the world, but it isn't going to happen across the globe simultaneously. The likelihood is North America and Europe will see their populations vaccinated in large part later this year and into

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

early 2022, but there's a massive percentage of the global population living outside of these areas, in Africa, South America, the Middle East and so on. A lot of these areas – and especially the low- and middle-income countries are probably not going to see vaccines until late2022 or into 2023 What happens during that time is that the virus continues to move into the human population, and as it does, it continues to change or create variants. Ultimately, the virus just wants to be able to move from person to person, and it might just continue to be with us for the long term.

I think we've seen a shift where people are starting to prepare for the uncomfortable reality that COVID-19 might not be something we’re able to defeat; it may be another virus that we're facing on an annual basis.

JB: There’s a lot of focus in Canada on national vaccine procurement and each province’s vaccination plans, but you’ve said before that COVID-19 can’t be seen as just a ‘regional’ problem; that we need to approach it from a global perspective.

Can we really claim ‘victory’ over COVID-19 if only one (or a small handful) of regions or countries get vaccines in arms?

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From an infection prevention and control standpoint, we’re still going be doing physical distancing and masking until we get to a point where transmission rates across Canada are being not only suppressed, but they’re also being sustainably suppressed.

JK: I think we have to look back to smallpox and the smallpox vaccination campaign, where in the 20th century, we saw the eradication of the disease. Smallpox actually killed more people than any of the other infectious diseases combined. It killed more than 300 million people worldwide in the 20th century alone.

We saw a period of vaccine inequality during the smallpox campaigns, where not everyone had access to the vaccines at the same time. While we were able to suppress transmission, it still took decades for us to move the vaccines through different regions of the world where they didn't have the ability to manufacture vaccines, where there weren’t the healthcare settings to do this work.

I look at the situation right now with COVID-19, and we again see this inequality between places like Canada and places I work in Africa. There's just not the same access to healthcare or to vaccines, and that creates a lot of inequality.

JK: First of all, all the vaccines have actually looked really, really good in being able to decrease severe disease and illness, which is important. We want to be able to save lives, and we want people to not get sick, which reduces the stress on the health care system. That’s critically important for us.

We know our long-term care facilities faced a disproportionate burden. Same thing with underserved communities and minorities, so vaccines are going to certainly change that. We will see a reduction in the toll of the disease in these communities.

If you get vaccinated, does that stop you from getting infected and stop you from being able to pass the virus on to other people? It’s likely, but we just don’t know yet for certain, that the vaccines reduce that period of possible transmission. We’re starting to see some data suggesting that, but if it doesn’t stop transmission, it should at least limit it.

From an infection prevention and control standpoint, we're still going be doing physical distancing and masking until we get to a point where transmission rates across Canada are being not only suppressed, but they're also being sustainably suppressed.

JB: Going forward in the next three to six months, maybe further out, what do the vaccines mean for us? What developments are on the horizon?

Manufacturers tackle COVID-19 response

Looking forward…

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What we don’t want to see is a short-term decrease then, as restrictions ease, a going back to an exponential trajectory as we start to make behavioral changes.

JB: What can we learn, or what should we have learned by this point in this pandemic?

JK: That’s such a great question. I think that there's so many of us that are frustrated because we're looking at this and saying, ‘We’ve talked about this for years, about pandemic preparedness for disease X.’ We’ve talked about coronaviruses being a potential pandemic threat, that they were viruses of concern, but what happened? What did we do? What didn’t we do?

We saw it in 2015 with the coronavirus that caused the MERS outbreaks in the Middle East and South Korea.

We always have to appreciate that infectious diseases have had an extremely long time to

move about the globe, to figure us out, and to figure out how to best move from person to person or from animal to animal. This isn’t something we fully understand, but we certainly have to be respectful of these diseases.

There are always going to be bad viruses out there, and we will continue to see them over time.

We know with influenzas that we're probably getting close to that pandemic trajectory again after the last in 2009. We have to be responsive, but we need to understand that being proactive is always better than being reactive.

We certainly saw with this go-round that we had a feeling that we had everything in place we had the ability to do surveillance and identify things quickly. And to be fair, we did. We identified extremely quickly what this virus was.

The problem was that, as a global community, we're also reliant on a lot of the same resources.

In a time of global crisis, we’re all going after the same products for testing, for PPE, and for vaccines. I think we have to figure out better strategies to be able to do that and be proactive.

COVID-19 Safety in the workplace We’ve been living with the COVID-19 pandemic for just over a year, and doing all the things to reduce transmission of the disease can be tiring. Employers and employees need to re-up their COVID-19 safety game to keep themselves, their coworkers, and their friends and families safe.

Workplaces are constantly changing, and employers must continually assess the risk of COVID-19 transmission at their workplaces and apply controls to minimize that risk. Employers need to stay vigilant and ensure their COVID-19 protocols are understood and being followed through effective training and supervision.

The first and most important step to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at any workplace is to implement policies to ensure that those who are sick are not entering the workplace.

Employers also need to apply the hierarchy of controls as an effective approach to COVID-19 safety. The hierarchy of controls is a system for controlling risk in the workplace that involves eliminating or reducing risks through controls ranked from the most effective and highest level of protection to lesser levels of protection.

• Workers need to maintain physical distance of at least 2 metres from other workers and members of the public.

This can be done through work-from-home arrangements, establishing occupancy limits, rescheduling work tasks, rearranging work spaces and movement of people, or other means.

• Where physical distancing is not possible or cannot be applied consistently, the next level of control is the use of barriers if it is appropriate to the work task and the configuration of the workplace. Barriers must be designed, installed, and maintained correctly to be effective.

• Where physical distancing and barriers are not possible or cannot be consistently applied, the next level of control is masks. Masks should be required by workers for work processes and circumstances where they are interacting in close proximity to other workers or members of the public.

Employers must ensure that masks are selected and used correctly.

• All of these measures must be supported by effective cleaning and hygiene practices, including handwashing, cough hygiene, and cleaning and disinfecting.

www.prairiemanufacturer.ca

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NGen: Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster In conversation with Prairie Manufacturer Magazine

P

rairie Manufacturer Magazine is proud to collaborate with NGen: Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster to build awareness across the region of the important work they’re doing with manufacturers and beyond.

In the coming issues, you’ll meet some of NGen’s people and learn more about Prairie-based, industry-led projects they’re supporting.

What is NGen, and what does it do?

NGen is one of five industry-led and supported Superclusters across Canada that was developed in the 2017 Innovation and Skills Plan from the federal government and announced in Budget 2018 when the Supercluster initiative got lift-off.

The Superclusters are a $1-billion initiative to take a different look at innovation policy and action in Canada.

Rather than the government setting the direction in terms of innovation and commercialization, it’s business taking the lead.

NGen works in the advanced manufacturing space to build world leading capabilities in Canada. We do

this by leveraging Canada’s existing technology and manufacturing strengths to accelerate the development, deployment, and scale-up of these advanced technologies in the manufacturing ecosystem. A lot of this work is about partnering companies with other manufacturers, technology suppliers, academia, and funding partners to bring these advanced manufacturing solutions to market.

As part of our five-year strategy, NGen has a number of discrete initiatives underway. One is growing and enhancing the advanced manufacturing ecosystem as a whole; another is promoting Canada’s capabilities in this area on the world’s stage; and a third is around connecting and strengthening the collaboration across the ecosystem.

It’s that connection and collaboration between the various strengths we have as a country and as an industry that really underpins a lot of what NGen does. It’s probably one of the most significant opportunities we see in Canada.

NGen funds business ideas that are: • Collaborative: developing industry relationships, building trust and sharing in knowledge, risk, investment and the resulting benefits.

Collaborations, in and of themselves, tend not to spring up organically very often. They require a good amount of nurturing, care, and feeding in order to come to life, even with funding supports available.

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

• Enduring: leaving a legacy in skills development, tools, testbeds, intellectual property, and/or business knowledge for Canada’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem beyond the partners and timeline of the project.

• Applied: focused on solutions, supporting later stage technology and manufacturing readiness with potential to generate significant long-term commercial and economic benefits.

• Transformative: involving the development of advanced manufacturing capabilities with the potential to confer a significant global competitive advantage to Canadian industry.

Is NGen run by government?

No, NGen is not run by government, but we do receive some government funding.

We’re a private sector-led organization, and we have a board of directors that really reflects Canada’s advanced manufacturing sector, with members from some of Canada’s largest manufacturing and technology organizations.

Membership in NGen is open to any organizations or individual experts who are contributing to advanced manufacturing in Canada. We currently have more 3,300

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A lot of this work is about partnering companies with other manufacturers, technology suppliers, academia, and funding partners to bring these advanced manufacturing solutions to market.

members representing manufacturers, technology providers, research labs, government funding organizations, and other active participants.

We use the financial support from the government to identify those areas where the industry landscape is right for disruption through these collaborative initiatives, and we’ll support projects with funding that bring together participants to pursue things they otherwise wouldn’t.

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What sort of barriers currently prevent or hinder collaboration between organizations?

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Collaborations, in and of themselves, tend not to spring up organically very often. They require a good amount of nurturing, care, and

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Is NGen actually making a difference in the manufacturing sector?

Membership in NGen is open to any organizations or individual experts who are contributing to advanced manufacturing in Canada.

feeding in order to come to life, even with funding supports available.

In the ‘real world,’ there are many considerations at play, especially when you’re looking at larger organizations working with smaller participants such as start-ups or scale-up-type companies.

In many cases, it can be the legal perspective and the intellectual property concerns that will often slow down the collaboration or the initiative.

NGen can play the role of a broker for these collaborative partnerships, and we can help all the participants in a variety of ways that will smooth the integration process and hopefully accelerate the impact.

Whether it’s identifying new partnership opportunities, looking at capabilities and capacities to find complementary matches, or even

bringing funding support to the table, that’s where NGen can step in to make things a bit easier.

How much work is NGen doing in the Prairies?

We currently have about 3,300 members across Canada, and due to the nature of manufacturing in this country, about 2000 of those members are in Ontario.

On the Prairies – and in every region of Canada - though, we’re really working hard to find new participants, projects, and partners. In Alberta we have 208 members; 35 members in Saskatchewan; and 55 in Manitoba.

In project terms, we have about 10 projects across the Prairies, so there’s plenty of room to grow!

Proudly brought to you by:

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

Yes, absolutely, and we have the numbers to show!

Since NGen started its work across Canada, projects have generated: • Approximately $750 million in new purchase orders • More than 315 new intellectual property opportunities • 51 new products currently in development • 36 new products to fight COVID-19 • 64 new manufacturing processes developed and implemented • 1600 new manufacturing jobs in projects underway (and more than 11,200 over 10 years) Plus, we’ve collaborated with 39 funding partners and 65 academic and research partners supporting the projects underway.

How can someone learn more about NGen? The best way to learn more about NGen is to visit www.ngen.ca, email info@ngen.ca, and stay tuned to Prairie Manufacturer for highlights about our work across the Prairies.

Rob MacLeod is Corporate Secretary & Director, Strategic Communications at NGen – Canada’s advanced manufacturing supercluster. Rob holds an MSc in International Business Management from Ivey Business School and previously worked to support the federal suite of business innovation programs as a Strategic Policy Analyst with the Ministry of Innovation Science and Industry.

Saskatchewan Manufacturing Highlights

By Prairie Manufacturer staff

At a glance Manufacturing plays a key role in Saskatchewan, making up more than six per cent of the provincial gross domestic product (GDP).

Saskatchewan manufacturers have achieved many world firsts – in everything from satellite communications technology and dryland farming equipment to in-road scales for the trucking industry.

Saskatchewan's innovative manufacturers are building leading-

edge technology such as continuous mining equipment used in the potash industry, remote-controlled equipment used in uranium mining, autonomous farm equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles and deep-space antenna systems.

With the province's central location in North America, Saskatchewan manufacturers have access to markets of 270 million people within a one- or two-day drive.

Manufacturers in province (2019)

1,888

Key manufacturing clusters include: • Machinery, transportation and industrial equipment • Food, crop and beverage processing • Wood, steel and plastic products • Chemical manufacturing Emerging clusters include: • Aerospace and defence • Specialty automotive products • Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) • Electronics and instrumentation

Manufacturing employment (2019)

30,700

Manufacturing sales (2020)

$13.38 billion In focus Emerald Plastics - Regina With nearly 30 years of combined experience in the water service and delivery business, Chad and Paige Sveinbjornson, owners of Regina’s Emerald Water, know the ins and outs of water bottles and cooler jugs. They knew the challenges that everyone – from water suppliers and distributers to end users – faced with the existing plastic bottles in the market.

Then came their chance to take all the talk and turn it into action. Emerald Plastics came into being in May 2020.

With years of experience in the industry and with handling the standard bottles, they had the foundation that led to a quick turnaround on the creation of their first proprietary bottles.

Chad and Paige share why they choose Saskatchewan for their manufacturing home.

“Being in the middle of Canada, Saskatchewan’s an excellent pivot point to ship, and distribution from the centre makes sense.

Look at the global transportation hub! No matter where we are sending our bottles within the country, we are a midpoint.

We know Saskatchewan is ready for growth and rebound, and the market is craving the opportunity to support local whenever possible. For us, local doesn't necessarily mean in

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Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

your backyard, but maybe Canadian or even North American.

We took this seriously when selecting how we chose to do business. The resin used for our bottles is a globalgrade high-impact quality resin, and it’s made exclusively in North America. Our pallets are custom produced using Canadian lumber in partnership with SaskAbillities to help our community. All of our lubricants proudly support the Canadian oil industry, and our packaging is made in Canada and sold by a Canadian distribution company.

But quite honestly, the most prominent reason we feel Saskatchewan makes sense for manufacturing is that it's home.

We currently have a workforce that's ready and willing to learn an entirely new skill and trade.”

What advice do they offer to others looking to make the leap into manufacturing?

“Honestly, don't think too hard. Just jump in.

Don't delay doing something difficult; do it quick. Adding time doesn't solve the problems, and half the time, you aren't even sure what issues you need to solve yet.

Saskatchewan is ready for more investment. We're prepared for growth, and we're prepared to own the market.”

Saskatchewan Manufacturing and Processing Exporter Tax Incentives Set up your manufacturing and processing operation in Saskatchewan and take advantage of the Saskatchewan manufacturing and processing exporter tax credits.

The Manufacturing and Processing (M&P) Exporter Tax Incentives provide yearly nonrefundable tax credits to eligible manufacturing and processing corporations located in the province that expand their yearly workforce.

Head Office Incentive This incentive offers newly established head offices from eligible manufacturing and processing corporations located in the province of Saskatchewan a $10,000 nonrefundable tax credit per incremental head office job hired in that tax year.

Hiring Incentive This incentive offers eligible manufacturing and processing corporations located in the province of Saskatchewan a $3,000 nonrefundable tax credit per incremental employee hired in that tax year.

saskatchewan.ca |

5

about COVID-19 vaccines with Dr. Jim Kellner

QUESTIONS How did we get COVID-19 vaccines so quickly?

COVID-19 vaccine development has been rapid but not rushed, and the compression of the timeline from the typical 10-15 years for new vaccines to less than one year was accomplished though carefully conducting multiple steps of vaccine development simultaneously instead of sequentially.

The new technology used for some vaccines, notably the mRNA vaccines (i.e., Pfizer and Moderna), has been developed over the last 30 years. Once the SARS-CoV-2 virus genetic code was known in January 2020, the development of experimental vaccines took only a few days. Because the clinical trials were conducted in countries where there were a lot of cases of COVID-19 occurring, it did not take long for enough cases to occur to be able to look at the initial results to see if the vaccine was working.

Canada made advance purchase agreements for multiple possible vaccines, paying for doses to be produced and ready-to-use before it was known if the vaccines would work.

Health Canada adopted a rolling approval process to consider information from the vaccine companies as it became available.

All of this was facilitated by large numbers of scientists and drug companies pivoting their focus to COVID-19 and large amounts of public funding from governments and donors.

Does it matter which vaccine a person receives? Is there one that’s better than others?

The mRNA vaccines appear to have better numbers on the basis of preventing even mild infections, with Pifzer and Moderna each being more than 90 per cent effective in preventing these infections. However, all the approved vaccines in Canada have similar ability to prevent severe disease and death; over 80 per cent at least. Some of the other effects, like preventing asymptomatic transmission or benefit in very frail persons, remain unknown.

What can a person expect after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine?

Many people report a profound sense of wellbeing immediately after receiving their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine!

It is normal and expected to have local or systemic effects for a few days after receiving the first or second vaccine dose and the effects may be more pronounced after the second dose. The

most common effects (which occur in more than 10 per cent of people) include pain at the site of injection, perhaps with redness or swelling, as well as tiredness, headache, muscle and joint pain, fever, and chills.

The most important rare severe side effect after the mRNA vaccines is a severe allergic reaction (4 cases per million doses delivered). There is a current concern in Europe about whether the AstraZeneca vaccine is associated with the rare occurrence of blood clots or bleeding, but the issue is still being investigated.

Overall, these are proving to be very safe and effective vaccines.

Will these vaccines be good for life or will they be yearly like influenza?

This is not known, for two reasons. First, it is not clear how long the immune response will last. Some vaccines, such as measles, usually lead to a lifelong protective immune response.

Others require regular booster doses throughout life, such as tetanus which must be boosted every 10 years. Second is how much the SARS-CoV-2 virus will mutate, requiring revaccination with new versions of the vaccine to protect against new strains. With the development of new variants occurring, it seems revaccination with new versions of the vaccines may be necessary periodically but not necessarily every year as with influenza vaccines.

Are there any risks if a person is vaccinated, but their household members or bubble mates aren’t?

Although the vaccines protect the recipient extremely (but not perfectly) well, and because we don’t yet know how well the vaccine protects against asymptomatic transmission, we don’t yet know how much risk there is for vaccinated and unvaccinated persons to be in close contact without masks. The vaccinated person will still be at some risk of getting sick, and they could also unintentionally (asymptomatically) pass the virus to an unvaccinated person.

Dr. Jim Kellner is Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics; Microbiology, Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases; and Community Health Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary and works with Alberta Health Services. Dr Kellner is also a member of the Leadership Group for Canada’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force.

For more information, visit covid19immunitytaskforce.ca 56

Prairie Manufacturer Magazine • Spring 2021

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INDUSTRY-LED COLLABORATIONS | FUNDING SOLUTIONS | WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT | MARKET INSIGHTS

NGen Canada is the industry-led, non-profit organization that runs Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster.

NGen is founded on the principle that the transformation to advanced manufacturing will enrich the lives of Canadians, delivering better products and good jobs while generating the economic growth essential to a better future.

Advanced manufacturing is about people, processes and technology.

59 Courses Available 17 Education Partners

NGen provides members with discounts on selected training and skills development course.

Enroll today for savings.

www.ngen.ca/upskilling