December 2008 - Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce

DECEMBER 2008
BUSINESS View
eboardoftrade.com
GREATER SASKATOON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RBC Saskatoon Business
Hall of Fame
In The Community
Dakota Dunes Community Development Corporation
Thomson’s Delivery Ltd.
A Family Run Business Proudly Serving Since 1946
Airport Check-in
Passengers Prevail; Airport Enhances Experience
Saskatoon Housing Outlook
Contents
December 2008
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8
5
10
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PHOTOGRAPHY:
WWW.FREEIMAGES.CO.UK
12
RBC Saskatoon
Business Hall of Fame
In The Community
Dakota Dunes Community
Development Corporation
In the Spotlight
Thomson’s Delivery Ltd, a
Family Run Business Proudly
Serving Since 1946
7
Experience
Downtown
The Good, the Bad and the
Ugly
The River Landing
9
11
Canadian Chamber
Annual General Meeting 2008
Airport Check-in
12
14
Board on Business
Abroad
17
Campus View
Market19 Saskmade
place
18
Committee Updates
22
Members in the
News
23
Calendar of Events
Ukraine and Egypt
Cover Picture
RBC Saskatoon Business
Hall of Fame
Courtesy of Picture Perfect Portraits
BUSINESS View­is a bi-monthly publication of the
Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce
104-202 4th Avenue North, Saskatoon, SK S7K 0K1
Phone: (306) 244-2151 Fax: (306) 244-8366
Email: chamber@eboardoftrade.com
Website: www.eboardoftrade.com
Reproduction of any material contained in Business View is permitted provided credit is given to
the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce.
Articles and criticisms are invited, but views expressed in Business View are those of contributors
and are not necessarily endorsed by, or are policy of, the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce. We encourage you to support the business leaders whose names and products you see
advertised in this issue as well as throughout our entire membership. The Board reserves the right
to edit submissions.
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
President’s View
Saskatoon Housing
Outlook
Homegrown Gift Baskets
19
4
Passengers Prevail; Airport
Enhances Experience
David Sutherland appointed
to U of S Board of Governors
STAFF
Kent Smith-Windsor, Executive Director
Derek Crang, Membership & Marketing Director
Terry Lawrence, Administration
Judy Chudskov, Membership Relations Officer
Roz Macala, Executive Secretary
Linda Saunders, Bookkeeper
Adam Cook, Research Officer
Breanne Frie, Committee Activity Co-ordinator
Alex Tempier, Communications & Special Events
Officer
3
PRESIDENT’S VIEW
If you think we have a labour problem now – welcome to a dream world!
Where businesses used to find labour
plentiful and just marketed for customers, they now find that reaching both
customers and labour requires a concerted marketing effort. For businesses
to thrive in this new era, they will have
to make dramatic changes – and take
on new roles in the community.
The statistics show that there are only
about half the number of gen ‘X-ers’ and
‘Y-s’ as there are baby boomers because
of a dramatically lower birth rate. This
means that we are just feeling the start
of the retirement process – with the real
numbers expected to kick-in 3 years
from now when the boomers start to
hit age 65. This is “bad.”
We can always hope that some of
those boomers will stay on a few years
to continue to build their retirement
nest egg, pass on that knowledge bank,
or maybe just hang around for the social networking. But we will have to
remember that they will be reducing
their hours and commitments.
Unfortunately the next generations,
for their own reasons, are limiting their
work hours. The ‘gen-Xers’ are pushing
for more work/life balance and restrict-
ing their work hours to spend more time
with family, and the ‘gen-ys’ (millennials) don’t want to work unusual hours
including evenings and weekends.
With workforce numbers in the decline, there is an opportunity to include
those members of society who have
been marginalized. Saskatchewan’s
aboriginal youth population is a prime
example, as well as the mentally and
physically disabled. Businesses can gain
new support staff by taking the lead on
providing extra training and accommodations. This is “good.”
HR departments will not only be
spending time on managing schedules
for the groups of boomers, “X-ers” and
millennials, and designing and implementing training programs for that
marginalized component of our workforce, but they will also be working with
English as a second language (ESL)
training and settlement organizations to
support our growing immigrant workforce. And it won’t end there either,
as their employment retention efforts
will also include supplying more training, education, support and mentorship
programs.
The education system itself is struggling with its current role. Some teach-
ers state that the educational system
may be compromised because they are
not allowed to follow through with appropriate consequences in grading, for
missed classes or late work, and have
to allow many time extensions to complete that late work. When parents and
administrators can pressure teachers to
raise failing marks and teachers cannot
impose consequences for excessive absences, our students can be graduating
without the basic skills and they are illprepared to meet the expectations at the
next level. Many universities are having
to test first year students to determine
those that need extra remedial help in
basic math and writing skills to enable
them to be successful in graduating.
(Continued on Page 22)
PRESIDENT
Marion Ghiglione
Building The Best Business Climate in Canada. Thereby Creating a City of Opportunity.
2008-09 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT
1ST VICE-PRESIDENT
2ND VICE-PRESIDENT
PAST PRESIDENT
EXECUTIVE
Marion Ghiglione
Handy Special
Event Centre
Jamie McIntyre
Cameco
Corporation
Brian Chalmers
Concentra Financial
J. Blair Knippel
Deloitte &
Touche LLP
Monica Kreuger
Global
Infobrokers Inc.
Lana Binning
RAVE
Gerry Bonsal
SIAST
Kelsey Campus
Christian Braid
Braid Flooring &
Window Fashion
Troy Davies
M.D. Ambulance
Care Ltd.
Fred Farrell
TD Canada Trust
Grant Isaac
U of S - Edwards
School of Business
Ken McFarlane
CJWW / Magic 98.3
/ The Bull
Gail Shivak
U of S - University
Advancement
Calvin Sonntag
Novozymes
Biologicals Limited
Melanie Stroh
Saskatoon Inn
Tammy
Van Lambalgen
AREVA Resources
4 December 2008
BUSINESS View­­­­
PROFILE RBC SASKATOON BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
Saskatoon’s Home for
Business Excellence
The Chamber Ushers in the New Year with the RBC
Saskatoon Business Hall of Fame
A
brief recap of 2008 depicts
a memorable roller coaster
ride, and quite possibly
a year that will have academic research and political argument scratching heads for the
years to come as the credit crisis gets
untangled. Meanwhile, in Saskatoon’s
scope of things, this will have been a
year fraught with unprecedented growth
and—if you have been reading Business
View—success stories galore! A timely
occasion for the Greater Saskatoon
Chamber of Commerce to introduce
the new permanent home for the RBC
Saskatoon Business Hall of Fame.
Unveiled at Saskatoon’s Vecima Centre, the Chamber’s new office space, in
November 2008, the permanent exhibit
showcases the city and province’s most
outstanding achievements in business
and the community. It goes beyond the
typical plaque and picture format, and
into the future by delivering content on
a series of large widescreen flat panel
LCDs. The long corridor housing the
Hall provides visitors with an enticing
and unrivaled experience more akin to
a Hollywood movie than your typical
Chamber of Commerce.
Inductees to the Business Hall of
Fame will include the SABEX (Saskatoon Awards in Business Excellence)
winners from the past thirteen years,
along with the Saskatchewan Chamber
of Commerce’s ABEX laureates. This
will provide a unique medium to learn
about their achievements and inspire
entrepreneurship by and large.
The location is also home to SREDA
(Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority Inc.), Tourism Saskatoon and Tourism Saskatchewan, who
will also use the promotion vehicle to
inform of their happenings. This will
include the Saskatoon Region Tourism
Awards, as well as imagery and information publicizing the area.
Of course, an ambitious project of such
a scale and nature would not be possible
without the help of a major backer. The
Chamber would like to thank and acknowledge RBC Royal Bank’s significant contribution towards making the
RBC Saskatoon Business Hall of Fame
a reality. The bank has agreed to be
the one-time hallway sponsor and
additionally the
benefactor of this
year’s SABEX Hall
of Fame.
The Chamber invites you to come
and view the RBC
Saskatoon Business Hall of Fame
for yourself, to
discover and encourage the entrepreneurial leaders
who have raised
the standards for
the community,
industry at large
and even the world
The RBC Saskatoon Business Hall
of Fame welcomes you, at the Vecima Centre.
in the quality of their products, services
and economic and community accomplishments. Who knows, you may be the
next recipient to grace the Hall!
Happy Holidays
From the Greater Saskatoon
Chamber of Commerce Staff
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
5
FOCUS TAXES
Governments Urged to
Slash Business Taxes
The Conference Board of Canada urged
federal and provincial governments to
use their budget surpluses to continue
cutting business taxes. The prominent
think tank proposed six measures for
business tax reform, including the complete elimination of capital taxes on investment and cutting corporate taxes to
one of the lowest rates in the Group of
Seven industrialized countries.
“Extensive Conference Board research demonstrates that Canada is
slowly being pushed to the back of the
developed class of nations,” the organization said in a briefing paper by Glen
Hodgson, senior vice-president and
chief economist. Canada is lagging in
productivity growth and its companies
are stunted by a strong currency, hindering investment and putting them at
a disadvantage abroad, it said.
The Conference Board also endorsed
a proposal put forth by the Liberal Party
to impose a “green tax” on carbon dioxide emissions, saying the revenue could
finance the cuts. The think tank praised
the Conservatives for scrapping the corporate capital tax as of 2007 but said the
provinces need to do more so that all
jurisdictions and all sectors are free of
the tax, which it says is inefficient and
inequitable. So far Ontario, Quebec and
Manitoba have agreed to eliminate the
capital taxes for manufacturers only.
The federal government should also
speed up its four-year plan to cut the
corporate tax rate to 15 percent in 2012
from 22.12 percent in 2007, it said.
The cuts need to be accompanied by a
broader package that could include the
carbon tax and incentives to invest in
environment technology.
To help companies compete internationally, the board urged Ottawa to
reverse a controversial policy denying
an interest payment tax reduction for
companies carrying out foreign investment when that deductibility is available in two countries.
Finally, the government could do more
to encourage small business growth by
adjusting tax rates and credits, the Conference Board said.
Source: Reuters
6 39.3
BILLION
19.9
$
BILLION
250,000
KILOMETERS
35.6
%
35.3
%
In Numbers
Saskatchewan’s conventional oil in place is currently
estimated at 39.3 billion barrels. There are 20,000 active
wells and an estimated 25 billion barrels of heavy or oil
sands oil. “Approximately $2.8 billion was invested in
exploring and developing oil and gas in Saskatchewan
last year,” notes the Minister of Energy and Resources
Bill Boyd.
Source: Alberta Venture
Market receipts of Canadian farmers from the sale of
crops and livestock totalled $19.9 billion between January and June 2008. Revenues for the period stood 25.7%
above the previous five-year average (2003 to 2007).
Receipts for crop producers climbed to $11 billion in the
first half of 2008, exceeding livestock receipts for the
first time in 12 years. Crop receipts were up 30.8% and
stood 56.9% above the previous five-year average for
a January-to-June period, largely due to higher prices
resulting from tight world grain supplies and strong
demand.
Source: Statistics Canada
Saskatchewan has over 250,000 kilometres of roads—
enough to circle the earth over six times. In fact, more
road surface than any other Canadian province. Comprised mainly of 197,000 kilometres of dirt roads and
26,000 kilometres of highways and divided highways.
Source: Alberta Venture
The number of older workers is increasing rapidly in
Saskatchewan as it is elsewhere in Canada. The employment rate for those 55 and older in Saskatchewan
was 35.6% for 2007 and has been growing annually at a
rate of 5.5%. Evidence suggests the increase is because
the oldest of the baby boomers have decided to work
longer.
Source: Sask Trend Monitor
Western Canada’s share of Canada’s total economic
output rests at 35.3% and exceeds its share of the total
population (30.4%).
Source: Canadian Western Bank
Wind Farm for Saskatchewan Reserve
A Toronto company is teaming up with a Saskatchewan reserve to create a massive wind farm.
The Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation and SkyPower plan to build five wind
towers on land currently being leased out to farmers.
Chief Rick Gamble said the farmers will not be affected by the project because
the towers will only take up minimal space on the land near Dafoe.
It is estimated the wind farm could add as much as $300,000 annually to the
band’s revenues when the power that is generated is sold to SaskPower.
Source: Business Edge
December 2008
BUSINESS View­­­­
EXPERIENCE DOWNTOWN
River Landing will become another aspect of the
Downtown Experience
“
Terry Scaddan, The Partnership Executive
Director
When early work on the
River Landing concept plan
started it was clear that it
had to be easy for people to
flow from downtown.
W
”
Saskatoon was incorporated as a city in 1906,
there was only one bridge
connecting the east side of
the city, Nutana, to the west side, Downtown and Riversdale.
Downtown and Riversdale were divided by the Canadian National Rail
yard and the only connections were two
“subways” at 19th and 23rd Streets and a
walkway over the CN yards.
Saskatoon was a city divided with the
three district business areas flourishing individually. The University and
Broadway bridges improved connections between Downtown and Nutana,
but Riversdale remained relatively sepahen
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
rate from the rest of Saskatoon until the mid sixties, when CN moved its
operation out of town.
As a result the yards
were redeveloped, resulting in Midtown Plaza
being established with
people able to now connect to Downtown from
the growing west side at
19th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd and
24th streets.
For a city to flourish
there has to be good connectivity, even within areas and neighborhoods connection is important.
When the early work on the River
Landing concept plan started it was
clear that in order for what were then
called Phase I and Phase II to be successful it had to be easy for people to
flow from one to the other.
It became very apparent that easy
east-west travel was going to be a challenge, because of the Idylwyld freeway
1st Avenue on ramp and the deep dark
19th Street subway. Removing the rail
trestle and raising 19th Street was a relatively easy solution but the freeway on
ramp from 1st Avenue still impeded eastwest pedestrian access and limited how
much 19th could be raised. The ultimate
solution was to realign the 1st Avenue on
ramp creating an at grade intersection
at 19th Street.
There is no doubt this has been one of
the most misunderstood and maligned
aspects of the whole River Landing project because many thought there would
be limited access to the freeway from
Downtown.
When the roadwork is completed this
fall, there will again be freeway access
from 1st Avenue, vehicles will be able to
enter the ramp at 19th Street, plus there
will be another opportunity to get onto
19th Street from 1st Avenue.
Pedestrians will find it much easier
to traverse the area and with the trestle
and freeway ramp removed the area is
much more open to the sky. The net
results will be better traffic flow, River
Landing will be connected and pedestrians will move more freely between
River Landing and Downtown.
As more businesses and residential
opportunities develop, River Landing will become another aspect of the
Downtown Experience.
7
IN THE COMMUNITY DAKOTA DUNES COMMUNITY DEV CORP
Supporting Community Success Through
Innovative Partnerships
The Dakota Dunes Community Development Corporation has been met
with an overwhelming response from
charitable organizations and groups
in Saskatoon and surrounding areas
since announcing the first public disbursement of grant funds in April of
this year. Our vision is “supporting
community success through innovative partnerships.” That vision has
been supported by our contribution
of over $1.65 million dollars towards
many worthwhile community-based
initiatives. By sharing our success we
believe we support community success
and in doing so many people will benefit and many positive relationships will
be established.
The Saskatoon Tribal Council is host
to the Dakota Dunes Community Development Corporation and as members
of the Corporation, select appointments
to the Board of Directors in accordance
with the Gaming Framework Agreement. As a not-for-profit corporation,
the Dakota Dunes Community Development Corporation’s mandate is to
distribute twenty-five percent of the
Myles Heidt, Susan Lamb, Don Somers, Dwayne Eagle and Wilma Isbister
donating $40,000 to the Meewasin Valley Authority on behalf of Dakota
Dunes Community Development Corporation.
net profits generated from the Dakota
Dunes Casino to First Nations and nonFirst Nation charitable organizations
and groups within a 75 kilometer radius
(the catchment area) from the Whitecap
Dakota First Nation.
The Dakota Dunes Community Development Corporation supports, by way of
grants and sponsorships, economic development opportunities, social development, justice initiatives, educational
development, recreational facilities operation and development, senior and
youth programs, cultural development,
community infrastructure development
and maintenance, health initiatives and
other charitable purposes.
Our business is strategic grant-making, that is, grant-making that will make
a significant difference to First Nations
people. This does not mean we grant
only to First Nations, but that our grantmaking is driven by a vision of strong
First Nations. We cannot accomplish
our vision without external support the right partnerships are integral to
our success and to community success. The Dakota Dunes Community
Development Corporation recognizes
its opportunity to influence the future
of First Nations in the catchment area.
Thoughtful, responsible and innovative
policy directs our actions and decisions
and achieves the outcomes we desire.
For more information on the Dakota
Dunes Community Development Corporation, please visit our website at
www.dakotadunescdc.com or contact
our office at 956-1799.
Willard Ahenakew, Senator George PeeAce, Dwayne Eagle and Joe Quewezance donating $100,000 to the Saskatchewan Western Development Museum on behalf of Dakota Dunes Community Development Corporation.
8 December 2008
BUSINESS View­­­­
CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
CANADIAN CHAMBER ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2008
In October, Quebec city played host to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Annual General Meeting. A flurry of themed
presentations were offered in fields including: competitiveness, fiscal policy, skills/labour, small and medium enterprises,
the manufacturing sector, and the energy sector. Visit the Canadian Chamber’s website under AGM 2008, in the Events
section, to view the presentation slides and to learn about the speakers.
the canadian chamber of commerce
la chambre de commerce du canada
Canadian Competitiveness: Setting our Sights on Canada’s 2020 Prosperity
How Canadians Feel About Agenda
our Ability to Compete
Canadians generally agree that competitiveness is in everyone’s best interest.
However, we are less competitive with
the United States, Germany, China, India and Japan; while remaining fairly
competitive with the United Kingdom
and France; and competing well with
Russia, Brazil, Italy and East Europe.
Provincially, there is a shared sense
of shifting economic strength with
British-Columbia and Alberta stronger than Central Canada. In Atlantic
Canada, Newfoundland is the leader.
Saskatchewan fares fifth in terms of
having a strong competitive position,
with Alberta, British-Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, respectively on top.
Sectorial analysis yields a strong
competitive position in oil, gas and
mining; middling in forestry and aerospace; and struggling in manufacturing,
with deeper problems in the automotive industry.
Isolating a single cause to our deteriorating competitive environment is
difficult but taxes, red-tape and skilled
worker shortages are some of the prime
reasons. As are divergent attitudes. But
solutions do exist.
The top five solutions to revitalize
competitiveness:
• Tax cuts
• More money for education and training
• Ending internal trade barriers
• Promoting entrepreneurship
• Increased venture capital for small
firms.
Source: Bruce Anderson, Chairman and
CEO of Decima Research
The prosperity agenda, tabled for 2020, stems from the current gap between
American and Canadian GDP per capita. We currently trail the U.S. by $8,000
and by 2020 it will to swell to $17,400 if the status quo remains. The achievable
target of $3,000 is proposed, effectively returning to a 1981 prosperity gap. To
do so, will require a change in the attitudes precipitating investment, along with
smart taxation, and structures in place that encourage creativity and growth.
Canada has much to gain from narrowing the divide, most notably, increased
federal, provincial and local government revenue totaling $68 billion annually
which could be used to afford higher public benefits. Effectively translating into
potential annual tax reductions of $47 billion all while making significant contributions in terms of annual expenditure increases applicable to such areas of concern
as the Kyoto protocol, health care, infrastructure, education, etc.
Productivity is a key component to prosperity growth. The principal sources
of productivity growth are through value added activities (creating unique products, services and features) and gains in efficiency (reducing costs and improving
processes). Studies confirm that a higher productivity is associated with higher
earnings.
Some other reasons why Canada’s GDP per capita lags behind the U.S.—despite
ranking among the world’s highest—are: an underinvestment of businesses to
support workers; a lag of public investments on education vis-à-vis health; and
taxation rates on business investments that remain among the highest.
Nonetheless, Canada has managed to retain 77 global leaders which include
Cameco, headquartered in Saskatoon. For us to go even further and reach the
2020 goal, the following four areas need to be continually addressed:
Attitudes
Investment
Motivations
Structures
• Government, business,
labour and community
leaders need to overcome complacency by
promoting the importance of prosperity and
productivity.
• Invest in focused and innovative ways to attack
poverty.
• Raise awareness among
all Canadians of the benefits of education.
• Continue investments in
post secondary education.
• Assess the tradeoff between university research
and teaching.
• Step up investments in
information and communication technology.
• Remove the capital tax immediately.
• Reduce statutory corporate
tax rates.
• Institute value added provincial taxes, harmonized
with the federal GST.
• Continue attacking high
marginal tax rates for lower
income Canadians.
• Eliminate disparities in taxation of manufacturing and
service sectors.
• Align Capital Cost Allowance rates with economic
life of assets.
• Focus venture capital
efforts on quality, not
quantity.
• Continue to expand innovation policy to include
building management
capabilities.
• Pursue the reduction of
barriers to investment
and trade.
Source: James Millway, Executive Director, Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity (ICP)
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
9
IN THE SPOTLIGHT THOMSON’S DELIVERY LTD.
Thomson’s Delivery Ltd, a Family Run Business
Proudly Serving Since 1946
Carol (Thomson) Murphy, Thomson’s
Delivery Ltd.
“
Professional Dependable
Service; family owned and
operated since its inception;
a Saskatoon fixture since
1946.
”
Jack and Louise Thomson established
Thomson’s Delivery Ltd. on September
9, 1946.
Jack owned and operated the company with one truck. He later grew the
company and purchased four additional
trucks to manage the increased demand
for service. Louise Thomson dispatched
the drivers from their home during their
early years in business.
Thomson’s provided personal 24hour service on all deliveries and light
moves.
In 1947, the company supplied all of
their drivers with green uniforms; carrying on that tradition to this day.
Thomson’s Delivery Ltd. has been a
family owned and operated company
since its inception.
Many of their drivers have been with
the company for over 30-years.
The company has a reputation for
handling jobs that require very special
10 Thomson’s Delivery Ltd’s moving trucks, a common sight in the Greater
Saskatoon area.
care and expertise, from moving commercial water heaters and boilers, to the
personal side of moving senior citizens
and other local residents to their new
places of residence.
The slogan “Professional Dependable
Service” has been the company motto
for over 60 years.
When Jack and Louise Thomson retired, their son-in-law Monty Murphy
along with his wife Carol (Thomson)
purchased the company to continue the
family legacy.
If you see a Thomson truck during your travels, it will always be the
cleanest in the city. The drivers pride
themselves on looking neat and doing
a professional job. It continues to be
a family run business and has been a
visible presence in Saskatoon’s history
for 62 years. We hope it will continue
for many more years to come.
December 2008
BUSINESS View­­­­
AIRPORT CHECK-IN
Passengers Prevail; Airport Enhances Experience
The Saskatoon Airport Authority (SAA)
continues its growth pattern in 2008
with year-to-date traffic 8.9% ahead of
last year. Growth has been continuous
since January of 2004, and in particular, experiencing more than 25% in the
past three years.
Travelers continue to set monthly
records for air travel with 97,849 passengers in August (up 8.3%) and 95,682
in September (14.8% increase) through
the terminal. Airlines have responded to
the strong traffic growth and economy
in Saskatoon with a record number of
flights and seat capacity in our marketplace. We anticipate reaching our One
Millionth passenger of the year in late
November!
United Airlines twice daily flights to
Denver and twice weekly to Las Vegas
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
with WestJet brings a total of 246 departing and 246 arriving scheduled
flights every week. The winter schedule
for sun charters has expanded with 15
flights weekly to 16 destinations!
A number of customer service initiatives have been implemented to enhance
the total experience of the Saskatoon
Airport.
The Airport Ambassador program has
grown to a team of over 40 volunteers.
These individuals are visible throughout the airport and available to answer
questions, provide directions and offer
assistance when needed.
Comfortable seating has been installed on the public side of the terminal
complex.
Smoking shelters have been located in
the front row of the public parking lot.
Smoking restrictions have also been put
into practice, restricting smoking within
20 meters of the terminal building, away
from high pedestrian traffic areas.
Complimentary WiFi service is available throughout the terminal building.
Short-term parking has been made
available in the front two rows of the
public parking lot. As well, to help you
remember where your vehicle is parked,
parking lot section banners have been
installed.
Flight information for all scheduled
service out of the Saskatoon Airport
can be found at:
www.flysaskatoon.ca
11
SASKATOON HOUSING OUTLOOK
A
Saskatoon housing market
goes through a correction stage,
home sale numbers and prices
will soften for a short period of
time and will likely begin to increase again
in 2009 at a much slower rate than experienced in the last two years.
As we go through this correction period
home owners will have to recalculate their
expectations when pricing their homes
and expect a longer period of time for their
home to sell.
2007 saw housing prices make a much
needed correction. Price increases also
resulted from a significant increase in
demand for property provincially. Many
ex-pats moved back to Saskatoon with
many investors coming to Saskatoon from
Alberta, British Columbia, England, eastern Canada and numerous locations in
the USA.
The December 2006 year to date average
residential selling price was $160,577.00.
By year end 2007 the average selling
price increased 45% to $232,754.00.
The average selling has continued to increase in 2008 reaching an all time high
in June with an average selling price of
$310,386.00 that number up 23% from
June 2007 when the average selling price
was $ 252,703.00.
Year to date the average selling price
remains strong at $289,399.00 up 26%
from October 2007 when the average selling price was $229,929.00. The higher
average selling price verifies significant
activity in the mid to upper price range
homes.
The average residential price is derived
by taking the month’s dollar volume of
homes sold and dividing that number by
the unit sales number. The percentage of
s the
12 change should not be used unilaterally as
prices vary from area to area. Consumers
wishing an accurate estimate of value for
their home should contact a REALTOR®
member to do a comparative market analysis for their specific property.
Year to date Saskatoon REALTORS®
have sold $920,867,000.00 of residential
real estate that number up 2% from 2007.
Total MLS® sales exceed 1.1 billion dollars
down 1% from last year at this time
October 2008 inventory levels continued to provide buyers with excellent
choice. Saskatoon REALTORS® listed 695
homes in October that number up 30%
from October 2007 when 535 homes were
placed on the market for sale. Year to date
7,467 properties have been placed on the
market for sale.
The significant increase in listing inventory is due to several factors. The market frenzy of 2007 saw much speculation
with many investors purchasing numerous properties to renovate and flip. Many
individuals built several new homes to sell.
Local investors and builders also stepped
up to the plate and purchased homes and
apartment blocks for conversion to condominiums.
Some local buyers, who traditionally
would have sold their current home and
then bought a new one, bought a new
one but did not sell their existing home
speculating that the market would go up.
These and other reasons are why so many
properties have been placed on the market
at this time. It will take a few months for
this inventory to return to a more normal
level. In the interim some property owners
are renting their homes with the intention
of placing their homes back on the market
in spring.
The Saskatoon and Saskatchewan economy is very strong. All indicators point to
significant economic growth for our area.
SREDA recently reported corporation and
business commitment to invest in excess
of ten billion dollars in the Saskatchewan
resource sector and general economy over
the next ten years. Labor shortage continues to be the greatest challenge for corporations and businesses verifying the need
for skilled workers all of which require
housing.
Consumers should be reminded that
markets are cyclical. When we look back
at markets that we have been through, we
can look at the late 1980’s when we had
roughly the same number of properties on
the market. We had fewer buyers as our
population at that time was only around
185,000 people. We also had roughly the
same number of REALTORS® in the industry.
An additional factor to consider during
the 80’s was we had double digit interest rates versus single digit interest rates
that we enjoy today. For example in the
80’s a $50,000 mortgage at 19 ¾% had
a $934.00 PIT payment. Higher interest
rates made servicing the debt somewhat
difficult. Markets are cyclical and we are
again going through a correction period
and following that the market will resume,
maybe not at the exact same level but it
will rebound again.
Saskatoon and all of Saskatchewan will
be impacted by the recent global financial
situation but when compared to other areas in Canada or North America going
through this period of time in our history,
Saskatchewan is likely to be one of the best
places to live.
Harry H. Janzen, CAE
Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®
December 2008
BUSINESS View­­­­
MEMBER BENEFITS
Special Low Rates
Exclusively for members of the
Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce
1.68%
on Visa® credit
receipts with
electronic deposits
$.09
On Interac® Direct
Payment receipts with
electronic deposits
$1.79%
On MasterCard®
credit receipts with
electronic deposits
For more information, or to apply,
Call Rachelle L’Heureux
at (306) 281-3932
E-Commerce Solutions:
Preferred Rates for Web Payment Processing!
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
13
BOARD ON BUSINESS ABROAD
SIAST Works Towards Improving Foreign Worker
Integration
T
Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science
and Technology (SIAST) has had a long history of
providing guidance, assistance and leadership to
countries overseas in the development of programs,
services, management practices and institutional
development. Working through and with agencies like the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and
the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC),
SIAST has lent its expertise to Vietnam, Ukraine, Jordan,
Ghana, and India to name a few.
I had the privilege and opportunity to be involved in an
international project in Ukraine over the past 2 years. The
project entitled Decentralized Management of Skills Training
in Ukraine was initiated in 2005 by the Ministry of Labor
and Social Policy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and
Science of Ukraine, along with ACCC and SIAST.
The main purpose of the project is to improve the efficiencies of training for the unemployed in Ukraine. The project
involved the implementation of decentralized financial and
administrative management mechanisms and the establishment of active partnerships between training institutions,
he
14 Gerry Bonsal, SIAST Kelsey Campus
employers and
the community
at large in order to support
more efficient
and marketoriented skills
training programs.
Another SIAST project that
has generated a
fair amount of
interest is the
Foreign Credential Recognition project (FCR). Funded by
Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC)
and in kind contribution by SIAST, the main goal of this
project is to lend support to the labour market needs in Saskatchewan. The project is designed primarily to complement
the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP).
Accordingly, the project focuses on markets where the mandates, capacities and key interests of the SINP and SIAST
intersect.
Employers are reluctant to hire immigrants based on unfamiliar skills standards. Potential immigration applicants
are sometimes refused by governments when employment
potential is not able to be clearly assessed. Likewise, immigrants do risk a very significant investment of their time
and financial resources based upon sometimes unrealistic
employment expectations. The lack of a cost-effective foreign
credential recognition (FCR) capacity results in increased
costs for employers in terms of applicant skill assessment
and a potential disconnect between the skills of approved
immigrants and the changing needs of the Canadian and
Saskatchewan labour markets.
As a result SIAST has developed the FCR program and is
presently establishing a network of partner institutions overseas to assess immigration applicants vis-à-vis Canadian and
Saskatchewan labour market demands. Immigrants will be
assessed on both technical and non-technical (i.e. ‘workplace
essential skills’) and language skills against Saskatchewan
and Canadian standards. In addition, partner institutions
could provide “gap” training to applicants in order to upgrade
skills to the required Canadian labour market standards prior
to arrival in Canada. Those applicants certified by SIAST as
meeting labour market standards would be more easily assessed by potential Canadian employers and the CIC (and
affiliated programs such as the SINP).
Presently SIAST is working with partner institutions in
Ukraine and the Philippines. Other target countries may
include the Balkans, South Africa and Korea.
For more information contact: David Harvey, Director of
Business Development & International Partnership at SIAST.
Telephone: (306) 933-6273. E-mail: harvey@siast.sk.ca
December 2008
BUSINESS View­­­­
BOARD ON BUSINESS ABROAD
Egypt: Full of Diversity and Extremes in Every
Aspect of Life
M
any would say that Egypt was the birthplace
of business. One of the oldest civilizations in
the world, it is home to approximately 75M
people in a land mass 1.5 times larger than
Saskatchewan although 99% live in about
50,000 sq km (8% of our province’s land mass) along the
fertile Nile while the rest live in the many deserts. With that
many people, it is hard not to bump into people and exchange
goods and services!
But forget about GST and PST, or a return policy, or labour
standards or minimum wage, or zoning or regulations or
any of the things that we know as norm in our country. We
conducted transactions on the side of the road in the Sinai
desert where Bedouin women walked several miles from their
camp to sell their beaded wares and where the best negotiator
got the best price; or on the Nile cruise where small boats
with eager salesmen plied their wares by tossing them up
to us where we could look at them, shout a price, toss them
back and forth until an agreement was made and we finally
tossed our money back in a plastic bag where they caught
it like an expert ball player. I love to barter so I thoroughly
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
Monica Kreuger, Global Infobrokers Inc.
enjoyed the real “trade” that was virtually everywhere in the
country. Of course, they have been doing this much longer
than us so any semblance of a “good deal” was really only in
my head!
The hotel and restaurant industry is also diverse – as basic
as sleeping on the sand of the white desert after consuming
way too much lamb cooked underground, wildly flavourful
soup, fresh pita breads and tea. Thinking nothing could possibly live in the 50°C+ heat, we were surrounded by desert
foxes at night, careful to put our shoes out of sight or have
them scurried away by morning. We also stayed in the luxury
of the resorts on the Red Sea where people from around the
world step away from the rigid code of dress adopted in many
other places, and walk around in the skimpiest of clothes
along the beaches. Pampered and waited on hand and foot,
you could buy virtually anything you wanted.
And don’t get me started on the construction industry!
I love Egypt – it is full of diversity and extremes in virtually
every aspect of its life from styles of dress, accommodations,
retail trade, economic class… it is a new adventure around
every corner and isn’t that what business is all about?
15
HOMESTYLES 2009 SASKATOON & REGION HOME BUILDERS’ ASSOCIATION, INC.
DON’T MISS HOMESTYLES 2009
PRAIRIELAND PARK MARCH 19TH – 22ND
HomeStyles 2009 is coming to Prairieland Park on March 19 – 22. The home show in 2009 will
be especially popular given Saskatoon and Central Saskatchewan’s incredible market activity.
Covering over 200,000 square feet, over 250 exhibitor displays will allow the public to interact
with each of the companies’ products and learn about the services that each has to offer.
HomeStyles 2009, Saskatchewan’s premier home show, promises to educate and entertain
audiences in Saskatoon and provides one of the best venues for companies to advertise their
products and services to crowds of over 35,000 people in the province.
HomeStyles 2009 will include a large variety of exhibits from companies that can meet the needs
of anybody wishing to upgrade or renovate their homes. The numerous exhibitors in attendance
at the home show will be displaying the newest innovations for consumers’ homes, including a
wide variety of flooring, countertops, cabinetry, furniture, décor, fixtures, and appliances.
Feature Presenters at HomeStyles 2009
HomeStyles 2009 features a number of experts in home improvement and design. This year
HomeStyles welcomes back Cheryll Gillespie, Canada’s Design Diva,
Jim Caruk, star of Real Renos, and Shell Busey the House
SmartGuy.
The 2009 home show will also feature a second stage
where The Duct Tape Guys will be performing
prop-comedy. The Duct Tape Guys recently
celebrated their tenth season of entertaining and
are in the process of publishing their eighth book.
The Saskatoon & Region Home Builders’ Association HomeStyles events always draw an
impressive crowd of Saskatchewan residents looking to build a home or renovate their current
homes. Do not miss out on the opportunity to participate as an exhibitor in HomeStyles 2009.
To register as an exhibitor in Saskatchewan’s premier home show, or for more
information, contact the Saskatoon & Region Home Builders’ Association at 955-5188,
email events@saskatoohomebuilders.com or visit www.homestylesonline.com
16 December 2008
BUSINESS View­­­­
CAMPUS VIEW
David Sutherland appointed
to the U of S Board of Governors
David Sutherland, a commerce gradu- Calgary and Regina. In 1988, he took
ate from the U of S and retired presi- over responsibility for the company’s
dent and chief executive officer of first American pipe mills in Nebraska
IPSCO, has been named to
and Iowa, returning
the university’s Board of
to Canada in 1992.
Governors.
Sutherland is a
Sutherland’s appointformer chairman of
ment was made by the prothe American Iron
vincial government, which
and Steel Institute,
also
reappointed
Nancy
and served on the
Hopkins to another term on
board of the Steel
the board. Hopkins
Manufacturers Assoserves as viceciation, the Internachair.
tional Iron and Steel
A native of
Institute, the CanaMoose
Jaw,
dian Steel Producers
Sutherland
Association and the
joined IPSCO
National Association
in 1977 as
of Manufacturers. In
a
senior
2005, he received
Nancy Hopkins
manager
in
the Gary Memorial
employee and indus- Medal from the American Iron and Steel
trial relations before Institute in recognition of his service to
moving into manu- the steel industry. Sutherland currently
facturing
manage- resides in Waterloo.
ment roles with the
The appointment fills the vacancy
company in Van- left by Gail Appel whose term on the
couver, Edmonton, board expired in the spring.
David Sutherland
School of
Environment
Great minds
meet
at the
and Sustainability
University
of Saskatchewan
building on a 100-year tradition of
serving Saskatoon, the province
and the world with knowledge,
innovation and expertise.
The University of Saskatchewan—
proud to be educating the next
generation of great minds.
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
17
COMMITTEE UPDATES
COMMITTEE
CHAIRS
Agribusiness Development
Bert Sutherland
- BERT radio online.com
nd
Meetings: 2 Monday of the month - 3:30-5:00 pm
Business Growth
Christian Braid - Braid Flooring
Meetings: last Tuesday of the month - 3:30-5:00 pm
Celebrate Success!
Monica Kreuger - Global Infobrokers
Troy Davies - M.D. Ambulance Care
Meetings: depending on need - more closer to event
Future Opportunities
Bill Brooks
- Eclecthink International
rd
BUSINESS GROWTH
COMMITTEE
It’s no secret that small business has been a staple of this province for many
years. Our economy and job growth are strongly supported by the success of
small business. In October, the Chamber celebrated Small Business Week by presenting our “Small Seminar for Big Success” featuring the President and CEO of
Great Western Brewing Company, Mr. Ron Waldman. The event was aimed at
providing a glimpse into the key challenges businesses face during periods of
growth. The main themes included were strategic planning,financial planning and
understanding personal strengths and weaknesses. Trevor Friesen (Meyers Norris
Penny), Lorelei Nickel (Meyers Norris Penny) and Cliff Weigers (Weigers Financial)
were also guest speakers who each present these diverse topics. The Business
Growth Committee looks to continue on the momentum of this successful event
as we examine creating a learning series based on these three themes.
Meetings: 3 Thursday of the month - noon-1:30 pm
Government Affairs
Brian Chalmers - Concentra Financial
Meetings: 1st Wednesday of the month - 3:30-5:00 pm
Health Care Opportunities
John Hyshka - Phenomenome Discoveries
Meetings: on hiatus
Membership Development
Mauricio Vizconde - BMO Bank of Montreal
Meetings: depending on need
More information available online
at www.eboardoftrade.com under
Committees.
CELEBRATE SUCCESS!
COMMITTEE
Starting in January 2009 we will be looking to celebrate success all year round.
Success stories occur in Saskatoon everyday and we will be looking at highlighting these stories on a monthly basis. Businesses, community groups, charities,
etc. can qualify; all of the stories highlighted during the year will also be recognized at this year’s 2009 SABEX Awards. Doug Osborn and Laura Small did such
an excellent job chairing the previous SABEX awards; we know we have big shoes
to fill but with the fantastic people who have stepped up to help Monica and Troy
with the planning we expect to have much fun and nothing but success. Nomination forms are now available on the website for anyone who wants to nominate
a business in Saskatoon.
Small Business Week
Many small business owners and first
time entrepreneurs were present for
“Small Seminar for Big Success” presented by the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with TD
Canada Trust. Ron Waldman received
overwhelming applause after delivering his inspirational speech, entitled
“Preparing for Success: Steps Learned
the Great Western Brewing Way.” Like
many successful small businesses within
Saskatoon, Ron Waldman attributed the
success of Great Western Brewing Co.
Ltd. to strategic planning, understanding
the financial numbers, as well as managing his own strengths and weaknesses.
Mr. Waldman’s motivating speech
began in the afternoon, which was then
followed by three highly intense breakout sessions. Trevor Friesen from Saskatoon’s Meyers Norris Penny helped
explain how to manage a business’ current cash flow while funding growth at
18 the same time, he explained how this is
crucial to small business success.
Cliff Wiegers from Wiegers Financial
helped participants understand that
to successfully run a company you
must realize where your own talents
lie and where you need to source out
the knowledge and skill sets of others.
He explained how utilizing the skills
and expertise from other players within
your team will enable you to be more
successful and on top of the competitive edge instead of struggling to keep
up with day to day business.
Finally, Lorelei Nickel from Meyers
Norris Penny explained to participants
that a strategic plan is a road map for
a business. In order to be successful, a
business must know where it is, where
it wants to go, and how it is going to
get there. Similar to a traditional road
map, the strategic plan must be revisited on a regular basis to ensure that it
has maintained its course.
The Chamber was pleased to see a variety of new and long-standing Chamber
members at the “Small Seminar for Big
Success.” The Chamber would like to encourage those businesses who were able
as well as unable to participate to attend
our Member Expert Series. The Member Expert Series will be a sequence of
small sessions directedat small business
within Saskatoon, these sessions will
help businesses understand the complicated skills required to run a successful
business within our city. The Member
Expert Series will begin in 2009, please
check our website for more information.
The Chamber invites you to access the
Business Growth Committee webpage
in order to print off the breakout sessions speech topics as well as power
point presentations.
December 2008
BUSINESS View­­­­
SASKMADE MARKETPLACE
Gift Baskets With a Unique Homegrown Touch
T
he Saskatchewan Made Marketplace opened in October
2004 as a temporary Christmas store, with the goal
of promoting locally-made products. The venture was
very well received, leading the Saskatchewan Food
Processors Association to make the operation permanent and provide greater marketing opportunities for
its members. The store has since grown to carry over 1000
products, including gourmet foods, gift baskets, art, crafts,
books, music, and souvenirs.
As part of their ever-growing line of products and services,
the Saskatchewan Made Marketplace is pleased to announce
the launch of “A Taste of Home” gift basket program. Saskatchewan Made gift baskets are the perfect gift for clients,
staff, family and friends this holiday season. Shoppers can
choose from a large selection of designs to suit any budget.
In addition, these made-to-order baskets can be customized
with your company’s business cards, promotional materials,
and/or personal notes.
The gift baskets are filled with an assortment of gourmet
foods produced right here in Saskatchewan, giving them a
uniquely homegrown touch. The baskets feature products
ranging from delicious fruit spreads, syrups, honey, fudge,
and tea, to flavourful mustards, chutneys, bison jerky, and
wild rice. Always-popular Saskatoon berry products are a
highlight! The different product combinations have been
carefully selected to appeal to a variety of tastes, ranging
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
from those with a sweet-tooth to office snackers, to those
who love to create new recipes in the kitchen.
Not only are the gift baskets an excellent choice for holiday
gift-giving, they are available throughout the year and can
enhance any occasion. They make great gifts for conference
speakers, new staff, visiting clients, and retiring colleagues.
The Saskmade Marketplace also offers a wide array of products that make a great addition to delegate bags at meetings
and conferences. Whether recipients come from within the
province or around the world, Saskatchewan Made gifts are
a great way to say welcome or thank you, while also showing
pride in our province and supporting local producers!
The Saskmade Marketplace is also pleased to offer its shipping service to customers. Upon request, they will pack and
ship gift baskets to individual recipients, both locally and
across the globe, giving you one less hassle and allowing you
to focus on running your business.
In addition to the traditional retail store, the Saskatchewan
Made Marketplace also operates a wholesale program. This
program allows retailers to purchase local products and goods
from multiple vendors at the same time, on one invoice, and
with one shipping fee – saving you both time and money. It
is a great opportunity for
retailers to try
out new product lines with
little risk, as
there are no
minimum
quantity restrictions on
wholesale orders.
For more
information
or to place an
order, please contact the Saskmade Marketplace at (306)
955-1832 or toll free at 1-888-955-1832. You can also visit us
in-store at 1621 8th St. E. in Saskatoon or view our catalogue
online at www.sasktasteofhome.ca.
19
CHAMBER INTERNATIONAL
Saskatoon, the Responsible World Player
Saskatoon is a great place, and it has even
greater future prospects. The developing
world needs the things that Saskatchewan
and Saskatoon have in abundance. The
city and province have the capacity to
improve the lives of people around the
world. Our people have the character and
creativity to apply cornucopian resources
towards the benefit of others.
Our potash producers help the world’s
people feed themselves. Our farmers
supplement this by providing food to the
world. Agricultural Technology developed
in Saskatoon is helping build sustainable
food supplies and is reducing the risk of
disease for people around the world.
Our uranium companies use Saskatchewan’s uranium resource to supply dependable power for billions of people, and
nuclear medicine uses this same resource
to save and prolong people’s lives. Some
of these same companies, like Cameco,
are helping make the world a safer place
by assisting countries like Russia to decommission nuclear weapons and convert
terrible threats into fuel to be used to pro-
20 duce electricity to help people.
The growth in oil and gas production
in Saskatchewan is providing additional
supply to a world that needs a stable jurisdiction with good environmental policy
to produce additional hydrocarbon energy
as the world’s population continues to improve its quality of life.
While the rest of the world is struggling
with the financial and market crises that
seem to be piled one on top of each other
day by day, it becomes even more evident
how fortunate we, in this city, remain.
We must however remember that Saskatoon’s strong position remains interdependent with those very nations that are currently struggling with political, financial,
and economic challenges. As the nations
of the world recover from the current situation, our community will benefit from the
longer-term trend of developing nations in
need of our help.
A recent visit from the Lithuanian ambassador to Canada brought this point
home in spades. Lithuania is a democracy,
and NATO partner. It lived for two genera-
tions under the oppression of their society, their culture, their language, and their
economy. Lithuania is just now recovering from this dark time. In Lithuania’s
effort to reach out to other democracies
in Europe and around the world, it faces
challenges that are quite different from
our fortunate situation. The importance of
relationships with countries like Canada
became apparent in a surprising and moving way. This nation needs our technology
and our resources for it to continue on its
path of cultural and economic freedom.
In this case, its access to nuclear power
generation technology and dependable
nuclear fuel supplies will allow it to become less dependent on energy resources
that are now only available from its former
oppressor.
Saskatchewan and Saskatoon’s role in
improving the lives of people around the
world was made clear during this meeting,
where one country was asking for our help.
Saskatoon citizens should not underestimate the importance of this city and its
capacity to bring good to the world.
December 2008
BUSINESS View­­­­
New Members
All Brite Industries Ltd.
Distributors / Wholesale
101-134 Robin Cres, Saskatoon
(306) 249-5601
Tim Spithakis
Anderson, Dean
Home-Based Business
(306) 373-8467
Bobcat & Kubota of
Saskatoon (FGI Supply)
Hallman Enterprises
601103 Alberta Ltd.
Home-Based Business
(306) 222-6125
Dusty Edelman
Howes Lang Investments
Inc. (Budget Blinds)
Home-Based Business
(306) 242-5706
Pat Howes
Agricultural Implements
3914 Thatcher Ave, Saskatoon
(306) 931-7880
Tyler Vogelsang / Murray Stein /
Brad Williams
Minetec Sales Inc.
Buttons ‘n’ Bows Children’s
Boutique
Powerflyers.com Saskatoon
Retail - Clothing / Costumes
A5B-116 103rd St, Saskatoon
(306) 652-5437
Shelly White
CFCR Radio
Radio Stations
267 3rd Ave S, Saskatoon
(306) 664-6678
Neil Bergen
Fifth Avenue Collection
Home-Based Business
(306) 242-6607
Sue-Ellen White
Mining Equipment / Supplies
818A 59th St E, Saskatoon
(306) 249-4832
Ron Lewis
WorryFree Bookkeeping Inc.
Accountants / Bookkeepers
(306) 260-3319
Darci Speidel
Greater Saskatoon Chamber of
Commerce Members are entitled to
exclusive BENEFITS. Including:
• Preferential merchant rates on
VISA, MasterCard and Debit.
• Fuel discounts from ESSO and
Petro-Canada.
• Best value for dollar Group
®
Insurance Plan packages.
Visit www.eboardoftrade.com today
under Member Services for more
details, or contact the Chamber Office
at (306) 244-2151.
Advertising / Public Relations
PO Box 878, Martensville
(306) 270-2489
Gloria Winterhalt
SGO Designer Glass
Art Galleries - Dealers / Supplies
96B 33rd St E, Saskatoon
(306) 477-0098
Janet Silzer
Vibrant Health Centre
Health Care - Services / Supplies
(306) 384-2778
Noella Carlick
To refer your leads or for membership
information, please contact:
Derek Crang
(306) 664-0702
dcrang@eboardoftrade.com
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
21
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
New MercedesBenz Building
On October 16th, several
dignitaries including the
Honourable Ken Cheveldayoff, Mayor Don Atchison and the President of
Mercedes-Benz, attended
the ribbon cutting event
for the new MercedesBenz building. Situated
next to the Audi building
on Melville Street, both
represent an investment
in excess of 10 million
dollars.
Source: Vaughn Wyant
Automotive Group
CSAE Annual General Meeting to be Held in
Saskatoon
The Canadian Society of Associations Executives (CSAE)
recognized Saskatoon as the preferred convention and event
destination for their 2011 Annual General Meeting & Showcase, to be held September 14-17, 2011. The CSAE has a total
combined membership of over 2000, with 1,625 executive
members who manage Canada’s leading trade, professional,
occupational, philanthropic and single or common interest
organizations. “This win demonstrates that Saskatoon has
been successful in building a positive image in the national
conventions and events arena,” states Todd Brandt, President and CEO of Tourism Saskatoon.
Source: Tourism Saskatoon
(President’s
To contact any members featured here, visit
www.eboardoftrade.com
and click on the Business Directory.
View Continued from Page 4)
The Conference Board of Canada
recently gave Canada a B average just
behind first place Finland for education and skills training. But stats don’t
capture the real picture. Maybe a better
example of how we actually compare
globally would be the new joint computer science degree program between
Simon Fraser University and Zhejiang
University in China. Because the Canadian students coming out of our high
schools were behind in math and science it has become a five year degree for
Canadians, and for the Chinese without
the need for remedial classes it is only
a 4 year degree.
Here’s a “good” story – an educational
success. Did you know that the Philippines graduate 100,000 nurses each
year specifically for “export” to places
like Canada where they can make a good
22 wage and so, support their home country? Saskatchewan has a good reputation with the Philippines, as our provincial immigration plan to import nurses
also includes a return of knowledge and
training to support their educational
system.
And here’s an “ugly” story. For lack of
a place for a hairdresser we lost a doctor
in Saskatoon two years ago. The immigration bureaucracy decided in their
wisdom that a doctor doing graduate
work in geriatric medicine in Saskatoon
would not be able to bring his fiancé to
Saskatoon from the US because she was
a hairdresser and there were no deemed
places for her to work (even though she
had two businesses willing to hire her).
Within 6 months he had left for friendlier Alberta and our Beauty Salons in
Saskatoon were desperately looking for
– you guessed it – hairdressers!
Where there are issues – either “bad”
or “ugly” – there are also opportunities.
I encourage you all to look at the systems we have in place right now that are
not helping us meet all peoples’ needs
for gainful and rewarding work. On
the “good” side we have the opportunity to become a kinder workplace by
understanding and working with the
needs of the marginalized members
of our society; we can become a better trained and educated workplace by
working with and improving the educational system; and finally we can grow
to be a more welcoming workplace by
encouraging new immigrants to find a
good life here.
Let me know what you think. Call me
at 657-1825.
December 2008
BUSINESS View­­­­
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Board of Directors Meeting
Date: Wednesday, January 21
Time: 7:30am
Location: Chamber Boardroom
Date: Wednesday, February 18
Time: 7:30am
Location: Chamber Boardroom
Committee Meetings
Date: Wednesday, January 7
Committee: Government Affairs
Time: 3:30pm
Location: Chamber Boardroom
Date: Monday, January 12
Committee: Agribusiness Development
Time: 3:30pm
Location: Chamber Boardroom
Date: Thursday, February 5
Committee: Executive
Time: 7:30am
Location: Saskatoon Club
Date: Thursday, January 15
Committee: Future Opportunities
Time: 12:00 noon
Location: Chamber Boardroom
Date: Monday, February 9
Committee: Agribusiness Development
Time: 3:30pm
Location: Chamber Boardroom
Date: Tuesday, January 27
Committee: Business Growth
Time: 3:30pm
Location: Chamber Boardroom
Date: Thursday, February 19
Committee: Future Opportunities
Time: 12:00 noon
Location: Chamber Boardroom
Date: Wednesday, February 4
Committee: Government Affairs
Time: 3:30pm
Location: Chamber Boardroom
Date: Tuesday, February 24
Committee: Business Growth
Time: 3:30pm
Location: Chamber Boardroom
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Window Cleaning
Eaves Trough Cleaning
House/Building Wash
Canopy and Store front Cleaning
Graffiti Removal
Residential & Commercial
Contact Karen Jones 222-1293
or karen@jonese.ca
Saskatoon’s Property Maintenance Professionals!
BUSINESS View­ December 2008
23
askTel has the tools to help my
business grow and grow and grow.
Jack – owner, Jack’s Organic Beanstalks
As your business grows, so do your needs. SaskTel has complete
communications and IP solutions tailored to suit your business.
s
With innovative technology and industry-leading partners such as Mitel, Cisco, Nortel,
RIM and more, SaskTel has the expertise so you can focus on your business.
s
From high speed wireless data and web hosting to internet and data networks,
SaskTel has the tools you need to plant the seeds of success.
s
Benefit from highly trained and certified technical professionals, available 24/7 for
your business communications.
Get more for your business from SaskTel.
1-800-SASKTEL | sasktel.com/business
> ahead by a century
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08STEL2061 Business Positioning Print – Tools
Business View
7.5” x 9.5”
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