SaskBusiness Magazine - June 2013

Moose Jaw Mayor Deb Higgins

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June 2013 Saskatchewan Business Magazine 3

THE FRONT DESK 4e season changes also bring forth challenges and opportunities in the days ahead.

DRIVE: PORSCHE 40SaskBusiness was feeling a little spoiled with this car.

LAW 42Alternate forms of dispute resolution have arisen over the years.

FINANCIAL PLANNING 43Keep in mind the fundamental approaches when investingmoney in a company.

PHILANTHROPY 44There’s a better alternative than trying to distribute yourwealth to charities from the grave.

CALIBRATION 45Fullfillment is about the discovery and alignment of purpose,promise and posture through partnership.

BACK PAGE 46Investors buy into a company because it has found a way to attract customers.

UNIQUELY SASKATCHEWAN 6Tourism Saskatchewan has recently undergone some changesand new CEO Pat Fiacco wants everyone in the province tobe ambassadors for all the great things there are to see and do.

COVER From business.getting

THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE 24With over 1,600 airshows under their belt, the Canadian ForcesSnowbirds are the only jet aerobatic team in the world thatdoesn’t rely on a support aircraft.

COURTESY PROVED 28Deliberately avoiding major centres might seem like a strangebusiness plan, but for Canalta Hotels the quest to become thebest in the nation is rurally driven.

A CAUTIONARY TALE 32Opportunities created by growth can outstrip city budgets,erode infrastructure investment and hinder future growth.

SASKSENSE 35Teenwork.ca is blazing the trail for youth to find jobs that areright for them.

FEATURES

COVER STORY: MOOSE JAW 14From entreprenuership to big industry, Moose Jaw runs the gamut of business. There has been a noticeable transformation in the city and it’s getting some international attention.

Volume 34 Issue 4 June 2013Saskatchewan Business Magazine Volume 34 Issue 4 June 2013

COLUMNS

Front cover and contents photos: Keith Moulding

4 Saskatchewan Business Magazine June 2013

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Rolling into summerAmazing what a difference six weeks can make. The last time I sat down to write forthe magazine, I was staring out the window at the snow on the ground. It was coldand thoughts of spring were very distant. Fast forward six weeks and spring has rolledin, rolled out and for the most part we have summer temperatures. Most places haveembraced summer and life is good.

At one point there was much talk of flooding in the province – in areas that areprone to flooding and those that might experience it for the first time. Everyone wasworried, but at the same time, hoped spring would finally show itself so we could geton with all things Saskatchewan. The weatherman delivered us a very slow melt andmany got through the spring with few water concerns, which was truly amazing con-sidering what was being predicted for the middle of March.

Agriculture is entrenched in almost all of us in some way, shape or form. Springwas looking to not co-operate at all. But now, after putting in some very long hoursfarmers have seeding under way, are well on their way to being finished or, in thepast week, have wrapped it up all together. There is a silver lining to the summer-typeweather, of course, but now, there is talk of drought. Where did all that water go? Ihave often said that with opportunity and change comes challenge. The weathermandelivered that in spades these past few months. Hopefully we will see the perfectsummer setting and a very long fall to make up for what we missed out on in spring.And that perfect setting would include moisture where needed, wind where requiredand a whole lot of sun. Not a tall order at all! Things will turn around; they alwaysdo here in our great province. We are built tough and can withstand the weather andmost anything thrown at us. Personally though, I had reached my limit with winterby the end of February.

My ramblings lead me to one of our topics in this issue – tourism. Tis the seasonthey say. Tourism is big business here – as it should be. We have one of the mostbeautiful provinces in the country and something to offer everyone. TourismSaskatchewan has undergone some changes but its mandate is still the same: to pro-mote the province we all call home. Moving down the highway to Moose Jaw, onceknown for the antics of gangster Al Capone and home to the famous Snowbirds, thecity is now known for much more. Temple Gardens and The Tunnels of Moose Jawhave put them on the world map as a tourist destination, but once there, visitors arevery pleasantly surprised by the diverse businesses in this once sleepy little city. Theaverage age of residents is dropping as many young entrepreneurs set up shop and callthis city home.

Regardless of where you are travelling this summer, be an ambassador and tellpeople about everything we have to offer. One piece of advice: do not discuss thispast winter. It could be a hard sell. But do get out and enjoy our summer season – weall know that things can change in an instant and that the warm sunshine will departfor parts unknown.

The Front DeskTwila Reddekopp

Publisher

Twila Reddekopp, [email protected]

PUBLISHER/EDITORTwila Reddekopp

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Paul Martin

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Glen B. DaviesPenny EatonNathan HurshDavid E. White

COLUMNISTS

Daryn G. FormMichael Krawchuk

Paul MartinDavid E. WhiteW. Brett Wilson

PHOTOGRAPHY

Keith Moulding

PRODUCTION

Nathan HurshTrevor Sellar

PRINT LIAISON

Lyle Boulton

REGIONAL SALES

Matt Josdal

NATIONAL SALES

Twila Reddekopp

OFFICE MANAGER

Sandra Billinsky

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6 Saskatchewan Business Magazine June 2013 Photo: Tourism Saskatchewan/Greg Huszar Photography

“We all need to be saying the same message. Notonly the CEOs and politicians, but every one of us:it’s all about the experience, a magical and memo-rable experience.”

That’s Pat Fiacco, the CEO of TourismSaskatchewan, speaking of the need for all thoseinvolved in tourism to be ambassadors of all thegreat things there are to see and do inSaskatchewan. In fact, it’s a message that all of us,tour operators or not, should be delivering: this isan awesome place we’ve got here.

Lots of us don’t stop to think about Saskatchewanas a tourist destination. We need to start. For onething, tourism is a huge opportunity for us. Already,more than 11.8 million visits are made each yearwithin the province and more than 58,000 people’sjobs depend on tourism. Travellers spent more than$2 billion on tourism in 2011. For another thing,we’ve got some incredible stuff here. Think of it: dogsledding in northern Saskatchewan, the SummerInvasion sports and music festival in Regina, cattledrives in the Cypress Hills, the giant statue of ahorse anklebone (bunnock) at Macklin...

There’s no doubt that we’re a proud province(seen much Rider gear around?), but it seems wedon’t sing the praises of our great land all thatmuch. “I think we are a humble people,” Fiaccoobserves. “That’s fine, but the first thing we’ve gotto do is talk about ourselves. The second thingwe’ve got to do is get everybody else talking.”

UNIQUELYSASKATCHWhile its structure may have changed, Tourism Saskatchewan


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Photo: Tourism Saskatchewan June 2013 Saskatchewan Business Magazine 9

MAJOR CHANGESMany were talking last March when theprovincial government announced thatTourism Saskatchewan would transitionfrom a membership-driven organizationto a Treasury Board Crown Corporation.The move followed the completion of theSaskatchewan Tourism System Review, areport generated after an eight-monthconsultation with stakeholders and analy-sis by third-party consultants.

Back in 1996, Tourism Saskatchewancame together as an amalgam of theSaskatchewan Tourism Authority, theTourism Industry Association ofSaskatchewan, the Saskatchewan TourismEducation Council (STEC) and the indus-try development branch of the provincialgovernment. It was the only organizationwith this kind of structure in Canada. TheTourism System Review noted the need fora shared long-term vision for tourismbetween government and industry, indi-cating that the industry “does not feel gov-ernment policy recognizes or valuestourism as an economic sector to the

extent it should.” One recommendationwas that “Tourism Saskatchewan couldincrease effectiveness by executing a morefocused mandate.” (Source: Review of theTourism System in Saskatchewan – Analysisand Recommendations, 2010)

Proclaimed in July, the new Crownnow has seven government-appointedmembers on its Board of Directors and itno longer has an advocacy role.

Despite concerns that the new agencywould have difficulty acting nimbly, couldnot do Saskatchewan promotions duringan election, and might have trouble try-ing to leverage funds from other govern-ment programs, the province reassuredcritics that the Treasury Board Crownwould preserve many of the advantages ofthe corporate model. Plus, it was notedthat every other jurisdiction in Canadaoperates tourism either directly througha Ministry or as an agency of the Crown.

Shortly after the announcement wasmade, Bill Hutchinson, Minister ofTourism, Parks, Culture and Sport at thetime, explained the government’s ration-

ale in a letter to The Southwest Booster.“We heard clearly from industry that gov-ernment needs to decide if it is in tourism,or not. We are in, and we believe thesechanges will make the industry stronger.”

Not long after he retired as mayor ofRegina in November 2012, Pat Fiaccocame on as the new CEO of TourismSaskatchewan. “It’s been wonderful,” hesays of the job so far. “In some ways, it’san extension of what I was doing [asmayor of Regina], except for the wholeprovince. I’ve learned a lot and I’ve stillgot a lot to learn, but I’m having fun.”

Fiacco goes on to explain some of theobjectives of the new Crown. “We havefour specific items that we’re working on:to better coordinate the provincial image;to lead in creating a long-term vision fortourism in Saskatchewan; to develop anevent-hosting strategy for the province;and to conduct a functional review of theorganization.”

One of the first things Fiacco did uponjoining Tourism Saskatchewan was intro-duce four new distinct departments.

Pat Fiacco, CEO of Tourism Saskatchewan, speaking at the HOST Saskatchewan Conference in Saskatoon, December 2012.

Photo: Tourism Saskatchewan/Eric Lindberg June 2013 Saskatchewan Business Magazine 11

One of the largest is Marketing andCommunications, which is responsiblefor developing promotions and cam-paigns. This division includes staff inRegina and Saskatoon, as well as in fivefield offices across the province, and looksafter marketing, industry research, visitorservices, corporate communications andmanaging Tourism Saskatchewan’s exten-sive collection of images and videos.

A second department is Industry andCommunity Development, which leadsthe provincial event-hosting strategy andmanages a sponsorship program to assistcommunities with hosting events. Thedepartment is also responsible for creat-ing a Quality Assurance Program for theprovince and for overseeing theSaskatchewan Tourism Education Council(STEC), which provides training andhuman resource services to the tourismsector.

A third branch at TourismSaskatchewan is Corporate Services,which handles all the financial work,develops annual operating and capitalbudgets, ensures legislative compliance,manages contracts and administershuman resources with the organization.Corporate Services is also in charge ofmajor events, such as the HOSTSaskatchewan conference and the annualTourism Saskatchewan Awards ofExcellence Gala.

Lastly, the Executive Office divisionoversees the strategic plan, supervises alloperational activities, and acts as themain liaison between the Board ofDirectors, staff and government.

Each division has an executive direc-tor (Fiacco, as CEO, leads the ExecutiveOffice). “They’re in constant communi-cations with each other and with otherministries that have an impact ontourism, whether that’s highways, envi-ronment, parks, or with other Crowns,”Fiacco reports.

Early in 2013, Tourism Saskatchewanbegan work on a strategic plan that laysout specific goals and objectives to reachby 2020. The planning has involved anextensive consultation process with otherindustry groups and municipal tourismagencies, some of the top tourism busi-nesses in the province, and the TourismSaskatchewan Board and executive man-agement. “We wanted to see what wewere doing well, what we needed to stop

doing, what we need to do more of andwhere we see the growth opportunities,”Fiacco says.

One of the strategic goals was todevelop a provincial plan for hostingmajor events. That process is still under-way, but a key component is a one-stoponline shop for event information. In February, Tourism Saskatchewanlaunched saskatchewan2013.com (it willchange to saskatchewanevents.com nextyear). “We have amazing events that hap-pen in this province that not everybodygets to hear about,” Fiacco notes. “Just letting people know about them is a bigbenefit, because a lot of those organiza-tions do not have the resources to promote what they have. That’s our job.”

Previously, the membership-drivenorganization supported two city market-ing organizations, Tourism Saskatoon andTourism Regina, along with five ruraltourism regions. However, following achange in funding in 2011, the tourismregions disbanded. To maintain continu-ity, Tourism Saskatchewan hired five fieldrepresentatives with offices across theprovince who act as links between localoperators and Tourism Saskatchewan.They ensure that the organization is keptabreast of events and attractions through-out the province, while operators in theirareas are made aware of TourismSaskatchewan services and programs. Thefield representatives work together todeliver on a province-wide strategy.

“It’s important for us to be consistent,”Fiacco says. “If we’re going to deliver aSaskatchewan message, it has to be thesame. There can’t be an advantage of oneregion over another because we’re all init together.”

HELPING TOUR OPERATORS EXCELSaskatchewan’s tour operators are in thebusiness of offering memorable, incredi-ble experiences. For Jori Kirk, founderand president of Cypress Hills Eco-Adventures Ltd., “it’s really just abouthelping people have fun.”

Kirk’s operation offers zipline canopytours through the treetops in CypressHills Interprovincial Park. It completelyblows away the stereotypical image of theSaskatchewan wheatfields. “We’re in thetrees and we’re all about height,” helaughs. Zipline canopy trips, mini-zips


for kids, a slackline park, outdoor climb-ing wall and a treetop adventure park –it’s all part of the package at Cypress HillsEco-Adventures.

Kirk says Tourism Saskatchewan pro-vides several valuable services to touroperators in the province, not least ofwhich is the knowledge of the people thatwork there.

“I don’t think people realize the mag-nitude of the expertise they have,” heobserves. “They can assist with sugges-tions that can help your business. Thingslike social media, website optimizationand also plain old trends in the industry:what people are looking for.”

It’s true. Tourism Saskatchewanadministers a host of advisory services,both for established tour operators as wellas for individuals who want to establishnew businesses or residents wanting todevelop tourism capabilities in theircommunities.

Established tour operators benefitfrom Tourism Saskatchewan’s marketintelligence on Saskatchewan, Canadianand U.S. travel trends in outdoor activi-ties, culture, entertainment, sports, din-ing and a host of other categories. It alsooffers information about online market-ing and statistics on visitor traffic on theTourism Saskatchewan website, as well asthe microsite featuring fishing inSaskatchewan and the mobile websitedesigned for hand-held devices.

Obviously, online marketing and socialmedia are becoming increasingly impor-tant methods of promotion. “People aremore educated and they’re more able toget information instantaneously than everbefore. There are more choices for them.We need to be one of the choices for themto consider,” Pat Fiacco points out.

Providing provincial coordination ofmarketing is one of the main servicesTourism Saskatchewan offers. Advertis -ing campaigns with radio, print, outdoorand online components are offered totour operators on a cost-shared basis,allowing for promotion of specific attrac-tions, events and experiences – all withina coordinated provincial message.

The provincial tourism agency alsocoordinates “familiarization tours” formedia and travel trade professionals.Tourism Saskatchewan organizes its own tours and can assist with costs andlogistics for others. These expeditions

provide media people, tour operators andtravel agents firsthand experience so that they can spread the word of what wehave to offer.

Those connections often lead to addi-tional opportunities. It worked forSturgeon River Ranch, a working ranchand tour operation on the southwest sideof Prince Albert National Park. They offerday trips and multi-day horseback ridesto view the local wildlife and Canada’sonly completely unfenced and free-rang-ing wild plains bison herd. There’s noshooting on these outings; Sturgeon RiverRanch offers a kind of boreal forest safariled by cowboy conservationists.

“We like to ride horses and we like totake care of wildlife. It has a real authen-tic feel,” explains Gord Vaadeland,founder and ranch boss.

It was on one of those familiarizationtours that a Tourism Saskatchewan staffertook note of the great experience on offerat Sturgeon River Ranch. When the producers of the reality television seriesMantracker inquired about potentialfilming locales in the province, TourismSaskatchewan said “you need to talk to Gord.”

Sturgeon River has now hosted twoepisodes of the series, in 2008 and 2010.“That was obviously a big deal for us. It

really put us on the map as a tourismbusiness and created a lot of awarenessthat we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise,”Vaadeland says. They’ve gone on toexpand their business throughout Canadaand now have a growing clientele fromEurope. In April, Sturgeon River Ranchtook home Tourism Saskatchewan’s Landof Living Skies Award for achieving excel-lence in tourism while preserving the nat-ural environment.

Another important service at TourismSaskatchewan is in the areas of trainingand human resources. The SaskatchewanTourism Education Council is responsiblefor education and training, humanresource management, employee recruit-ment and retention, and increasing aware-ness of tourism as a viable career choice.

“We provide accredited training at anational standard that ensures employeesare doing the best possible job in theservice sector,” Fiacco notes. “Things like:what do I say to a customer, how do Ilook, what does the place of business look like, how do I treat my employees?Really, it’s ultimately about the customerexperience.”

It’s important that those experiencesmatch customer expectations, says JoriKirk at Cypress Hills Eco-Adventures.“Tourism Saskatchewan needs to

Gord Vaadeland of Sturgeon River Ranch


provide programs that encourage opera-tors to strive to get better. Plus, TourismSaskatchewan can trust that these attrac-tions and experiences are going to be ofquality.”

This year, Tourism Saskatchewan isofficially launching its new QualityAssurance Program. To start, it will focuson four program streams: hotels andmotels; professionally-managed muse-ums; private and municipal campgrounds;and outdoor adventure attractions. Theprogram will be entirely voluntary.

PROVINCIAL FOCUSWith a province as big and diverse asSaskatchewan, developing representa-tive, yet inclusive, marketing can be achallenge.

“Obviously, we’re all proud of our own areas,” Pat Fiacco says, recalling thefierce rivalry between the fictionalSaskatchewan towns of Dog River andWullerton on the hit TV series, CornerGas. “There’s nothing wrong with havinggood, friendly competition among eachother, but ultimately, we want visitors towalk away from Saskatchewan and talkabout this memorable, incredible experi-ence – whether it was on the ChurchillRiver or whether it was in the Qu’AppelleValley.”

Until recently, Jori Kirk acted as themarketing coordinator of the CypressHills Destination Area, one ofSaskatchewan’s three operating destina-tion marketing organizations (DMOs). Inthese organizations, tourism-related busi-nesses work together to coordinate mar-keting efforts, plan events and promoteregional attractions. “[The DMOs] arereally good sources of information for theregion that they operate in,” he says. “Bybeing online, people will have anotherplace to get trip planning resources, tobuy tickets to events and so on. There aremore avenues now to plan your trip inSaskatchewan than there used to be.”

Gord Vaadeland chairs the WaskesiuWilderness Region. Despite the fact that heis an unabashed booster for Saskatchewan’snorth, he says it’s still just one part of whatmakes Saskatchewan great.

“I really believe in marketing theprovince as a whole and the destinationareas as a whole as opposed to each of ustrying to market our own piece of it,” hesays. “Yes, you promote the regions, butnot in a competitive way. You try to havethem working with each other to show thediversity that we have in Saskatchewan.”

It’s that diversity in Saskatchewan thatour tourism industry needs to emphasize,Vaadeland insists. “For a long time,

tourism in Saskatchewan was all aboutour individual small towns and we eachseparately promoted our little museum orour summer festival. Nothing was collab-orative. It became very centric to thesouthern Saskatchewan image, whicheventually has become the image that therest of Canada and the rest of the worldhave seen. Don’t get me wrong; I love theprairies and I love the grasslands, but wecan’t have a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Jori Kirk, who won the Fred HealTourism Ambassador Award at TourismSaskatchewan’s Awards of ExcellenceGala in April, points out that there’s morehere to see and do than many are awareof. “Saskatchewan people have a lot ofpride in what we do. That’s why it hurtsour heart when you hear someone say,‘there’s nothing to see there.’ Every singleperson that works in TourismSaskatchewan, they’re all there becausethey care about the province and becausethey believe that we have experiences andofferings that people will love.”

INTO THE FUTUREIn keeping with its new focus, TourismSaskatchewan will launch a new brandidentity this fall. “We’re going to put outa very aggressive provincial and nationalawareness campaign about Saskatchewanand tourism in Saskatchewan,” Pat Fiaccopromises.

Meanwhile, Fiacco is working hard toget around the province and becomemore familiar with more of the operatorsand attractions in Saskatchewan. Thisspring, he began spending a week eachmonth out on the road. “It’s important forme to be out and understand what’s outthere in Saskatchewan. What are the chal-lenges for some of our operators? What isour inventory – what do we have?”

Tourism Saskatchewan the organiza-tion has been through some majorchanges in the past year, but tourism inSaskatchewan is going as strong as – orstronger than – ever. The bottom line isthat there is a lot going on here, lots to seehere, lots to do here. Let’s get out andexperience it, and bring some friends.

Fiacco sums it up. “One thing we havehere is great people: knowledgeable andvery passionate about what they do. Whatwe’ve done is created an organization, astructure that allows them to do evenmore.” n

Jori Kirk of Cypress Hills Eco-Adventures


A perfect storm is brewing in the southern part of Saskatchewan.Various elements are rapidly shifting into place causing an economicwave of activity, the likes of which could only happen in our fairprairie province.

Surprisingly Unexpected is Moose Jaw’s slogan and no other wordsring so true to describe a community of big business, innovativeexpansion, entrepreneurial genius and unrivaled tourism initiatives.The sleepy little city near Regina is a thing of the past as Moose Jaw’svast variety of resources and strategic positioning makes it a leader inthe province and a model for growth in the country.

What’s the BIG Deal?The Moose Jaw–Regina Corridor is where big business is happening.Accounting for 25 per cent of Saskatchewan’s GDP, this area is hometo heavy hitters Mosaic, Yara Canada, Windsor Canadian Salt, andAlpine Plant Foods. Natural resources are in abundance with oil, gasand potash combined with an incredibly strong agriculture industry.To export these resources there’s the recently-established GlobalTransportation Hub, which continues to grow and, located in theheart of Moose Jaw, is Canadian Pacific Railway whose roots in thecity stretch back to 1888.

As global demand for these products increases, so does the out-put, leading to expansions and new players. Nitrogen fertilizer pro-ducer Yara International has been in discussions to approve theexpansion of their corridor-located facility to double capacity by thesecond half of 2016. While the deal has yet to be finalized, the factremains that there is a demand for Yara’s products and they, alongwith other companies, are heavily investing in skilled workers, creat-ing a healthy growth rate for Moose Jaw and area.

Major companies in Moose Jaw are enjoying the growth of the localeconomy and going through significant expansion, for example,

by Nathan Hursh

MooseJawA city full of surprises

Photo: Keith Moulding

Moose Jaw Mayor Deb Higgins

16 Saskatchewan Business Magazine June 2013 Photo: K+S Potash

Moose Jaw’s trucking services sector has experi-enced dozens of expansions and new companiesin the city. Agriculture continues to breathe lifeinto the city with companies such as SimpsonSeeds exporting product all over the world. Otheragricultural-based companies, such as Young’sSeeds are also growing, and large corporate farm-ers are taking advantage of some of the most fer-tile land in the world near Moose Jaw. Thediversity of local major employers is important –from Moose Jaw Refinery to Thunder Creek PorkPlant…to CK Plastics and NATO Flying TrainingCentre (NFTC) offering a spectrum of jobs toand occupations to the local workforce.

“Moose Jaw’s population stands at just over35,000 with the working population age group of15- to 64-year-olds growing by two per cent lastyear,” explains Mayor Deb Higgins. “In some areaswe’ve outpaced provincial growth and when welook at economic development numbers in the city,if the rate of growth continues we would see the citypopulation at 40,000 by 2020 and 67,000 by 2050.”

An important factor contributing to the con-tinued expansion of big business in the city is theprograms being offered at SIAST’s Palliser Campusin Moose Jaw. Courses in business, hospitality,industry trades and engineering technology per-fectly complement the industries located in andaround Moose Jaw. The quality of the courses has

brought in students from across the province andcountry who see the opportunity in the city anddecide to remain and find work upon completionof their classes. City council and SIAST officialsare working hard to launch a student housing proj-ect attached to the campus that they hope willattract more international students and provide forother opportunities and jobs in the community.

Moose Jaw is at the heart of the boom andneeds to attract new workers to the city to helpfill the workforce demand for all types of occu-pations – ranging from highly-skilled trades inthe mining sector to production line labourersand tourism-related service staff.

The New Kid in Town“We’ve been working hard to develop good rela-tionships as well as creating opportunities for ourlocal businesses with Mosaic and Yara at BellePlaine and, more recently, with the Legacy Projectnear Bethune,” states Mayor Deb Higgins.

Potash has been a major force in drivingSaskatchewan’s economy and there are no signsof that trend drying up. Yes, there may be halts inproduction as other areas of the world feel thecrunch of an economic slowdown, but potash willstill be vital for years to come and there is no timelike the present to become part of the $3 billion/year industry.

Work continues at the Legacy Site near Bethune.

Photo: Keith Moulding June 2013 Saskatchewan Business Magazine 17

One company seizing the opportunity as aplayer in the Saskatchewan potash industry is theGerman company, K+S, the only commodity com-pany to be listed on the European Stock Exchange.After acquiring the junior exploration company,Potash One, for $434 million in a friendlytakeover, K+S Potash Canada’s Legacy Project willbe the province’s first new potash mine in nearly40 years and, once full production is achieved, itwill have a mine life of about 55 years.

As the nearest city to the Legacy Project, MooseJaw is in a position to benefit greatly. “We currentlyhave about 130 employees, which doesn’t includethird-party contractors,” explains Christine Jefferiesof K+S Potash Canada. “At its peak we’ll be employ-ing about 400 people, but there will be over 1,100people working between our Saskatoon office andthe mine site. We try to procure from local busi-nesses when it’s financially feasible and when theservice or contractor is available locally.”

There are currently about 70 employees at theLegacy Project site with approximately half com-ing from Moose Jaw and K+S hopes to attractmore skilled workers as the mine site progresses.Whether those people settle in Moose Jaw,Findlater or Bethune remains to be seen, but boththe company and the city of Moose Jaw are opti-mistic that the area and way of life will be veryattractive to potential employees.

Recently, K+S did a reassessment of the projectcosts to get the Legacy site up, running and pro-ducing by 2017, with production capacity beingreached in 2023. “The budget was increased from$3.25 billion to $4.1 billion,” explains Jefferies.“The reason for the increase can be attributed toa number of factors, one of them being the obvi-ous labour shortage in Saskatchewan, which is nobig secret in the province as it is driving up theprice of skilled labour. The capital expenditurecost for equipment has gone up and another bigcontributing factor is that we will have a tempo-rary construction camp on-site, which was notincluded in the original production plans. Andfinally, we will own our port facility instead ofleasing it and that’s essentially where the addi-tional expenditures came from.”

Both Moose Jaw and the province are alreadybenefitting from K+S Potash Canada’s commit-ment to community development and their worktowards being a good corporate citizen. There arethree areas that they support in the realm of com-munity development that focus on youth: any-thing that progresses culture, health initiativesand research and sports. They also support thingsthat focus on environmental sustainability, whichincludes health initiatives because they believethat in order to have a sustainable communityyou need to have a healthy community.

Continuing their trend of focusing on youth,and in a capacity of contributing to help createtomorrow’s workforce, K+S Potash Canada is alsosupporting employment skills training. “We havejust announced that we are partnering withSIAST’s mining engineering technology program.Part of that announcement is that SIAST will bereceiving financial support of $25,000 in scholar-ships over five years and the ministry is match-ing that,” explains Jefferies. “Scholarships aregoing to not just mining engineering technologystudents, but also to trades programs and sup-porting programs that feed back to roles that willbecome available with K+S Potash Canada downthe road.”

“We’ve received very good community feed-back and the village of Bethune has been extremelywelcoming to our project and to our people andthe same goes for Moose Jaw,” concludes Jefferies.“Moose Jaw has been a tremendous host city whenit comes to offering a welcoming environment to anew company in the area.”

Executive Director of Tourism Moose Jaw,

Candis Kirkpatrick stands in front of one of the many displays at the

Visitor Centre.

The Little City that Could!

MOOSE JAW, SASKATCHEWANTHINK OF MOOSE JAW AS A PLACE YOU COULD CALL HOME… Moose Jaw o� ers job opportunities, attainable housing and a fantastic quality of life. Moose Jaw is one of the top entrepreneurial cities in Canada with a “CAN-DO” attitude that makes it a great place to live and do business. Venues like the new Mosaic® Place, YaraCentre and Moose Jaw Cultural Centre/Mae Wilson Performing Arts Theatre enhance the city’s vibrant sports, arts and cultural community.

MOOSE JAW NEEDS WORKERS Moose Jaw needs more workers to meet the growing labour demand being created by new and expanding businesses in the city, including the servicing of two potash mines in the area. More workers are needed to � ll skilled and less skilled jobs within our mining, manufacturing and processing, agriculture, trucking, and tourism service sectors. SIAST Palliser Campus also o� ers engineering, technical and trades training.

MOOSE JAW IS BOOMING The value of the city’s building permits in 2012 was six times those recorded in 2001! The Moose Jaw-Regina Industrial Corridor is helping drive that growth, and is home to world-class industries such as Mosaic Potash, Yara Belle Plaine Inc., Terra Grain Fuels and K+S Potash Legacy Project. A new $100M hospital and $27M Civic Centre Plaza are now under construction in the city.

…at the Heart of the Boom!For more information contact:

Deb ThornMoose Jaw Economic Development ServicesPhone: 306.693.7332 Email: [email protected]

88 Saskatchewan Street East, Moose Jaw, SKCITY OF MOOSE JAW

Economic Development Commission

www.moosejaw.ca

www.moosejaw.ca


Transforming into an InternationalVacation DestinationMoose Jaw has character; there is no denying it.With its old downtown buildings, unique resi-dential architecture and a 10-metre-tall moosenamed Mac, the city exudes a warm and friendlyvibe that filters through its people and businesses.

One local building that demonstrates that vibeis the Tourism Moose Jaw Visitor Centre, one of thefew Saskatchewan visitor centres that is open year-round. Executive Director, Candis Kirkpatrickexplains, “It’s tough for travelers to find a place tostop for information or help and we provide that tothem. Once they come in, we have the opportunityto convince them to extend their stay in the city. Atight budget makes it challenging, but we intend tocontinue to provide this essential service.”

Tourism Moose Jaw incorporated as a not-for-profit membership organization in 1991 after 20years of various organizations trying to spearheadsimilar initiatives with varying degrees of success.One of the milestone moments for the companywas the construction of a new building in 2003,fashioned after Temple Gardens Dance Hall, onceknown as The Home of Rock and Roll. This newbuilding is strategically placed on the corner ofHighway 1 and Thatcher Drive East, one of thecity’s main thoroughfares.

As a member-driven organization, TourismMoose Jaw looks for ways to create value for their

members. While not everyone fits into the tradi-tional tourism-based business, those who don’thave come to see the value of tourism to the growthof the city and all see the benefits of belonging.

“Tourism Moose Jaw has a very strong tie toall the major tourism components,” explainsKirkpatrick. “The beauty of being in a small cityis that we can not only answer questions aboutany aspect of the city but, because we’re constantlyin touch with our members, we can add infor-mation that will enhance the visitor experience.We also look for opportunities for the members.As an example, I was working on the script forour trolley tours and decided to take it throughWakamow Valley, a beautiful in-city park area. Ipicked up the phone and called one of our foodand beverage members, told them about thechange in the script, and suggested that it mightbe worth their while to offer bag lunches to thoseriders who wanted to go back for a picnic oncethe tour was over. The owner was intrigued. Tome, that’s also our role, identifying what could beand what could work and putting it out there andasking, ‘Hey, what do you think?’”

Moose Jaw has a number of must-see attrac-tions, but the two flagship operations are TempleGardens Mineral Spa Resort Hotel and TheTunnels of Moose Jaw. In marketing their ownincredible product, they have been instrumental ingetting the city’s name out to the rest of the world.

A display at the Moose Jaw Visitor Centre depicting

some of the city’s aviation history.

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Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort Hotelshowcases pools of geothermal mineral-richwaters drawn from ancient seabeds far below thecity of Moose Jaw. The business, which opened in1996, offers a full spa experience and boasts aCanada Select 4-star rating. With $13 million insales annually, Temple Gardens has become a pre-mier vacation destination attracting people fromall over the world. “Temple Gardens is a uniquedestination for Saskatchewan. People come backyear after year to enjoy the waters, especially in thewinter,” says Kirkpatrick. “They cater to a diversegroup – bus patrons, conventioneers, ladies’ get-aways and adult sports groups. While staying atthe spa, guests can take a short walk through thecity’s historic downtown to The Tunnels of MooseJaw, a multi-award-winning attraction.”

The Tunnels of Moose Jaw offers two phe-nomenal tours, each as unique as the city itself.The Chicago Connection tells the story ofAmerican gangster, Al Capone, and his visits tothe city late in the 1920s, while The Passage toFortune chronicles the life of a Chinese immi-grant to Canada during the building of the rail-way. Both are interactive and are led by actorguides through amazing spaces under the streetsof Moose Jaw. One of the busiest times happensbetween the middle of May and the end of Junewhen over 8,000 school children go through the tunnels. “We often see many of those samechildren back with their families later in the year.That’s the value of a well-done, well-run attrac-tion. People just keep coming back.”

Small Business is Big BusinessCorporate industry may be a huge part of MooseJaw, but the entrepreneurial spirit is really theheart of the city. As tourism brings visitors intothe city, small business owners are finding ways ofoffering them unique products to match theirunique experiences. “In a 2012 KPMG study,”explains Mayor Higgins, “Moose Jaw placed firstin having the lowest business costs among 33western and midwestern Canadian cities. I thinkthat speaks volumes to the opportunities here.”

Moose Jaw’s downtown core is made up ofbuildings that have either reached their centen-nial or are just a few years short and retail stores,boutiques and small cafés have made their homeshere. Many of these stores have tailored theirbusiness models to accommodate tourists look-ing for other ways to enjoy their vacations after along day at the spa. “Clothes Encounter is a greatexample,” says Candis Kirkpatrick. “The businessis located in the original Merchant Bank build-ing, which was built in 1918, and they sell high-end clothing. In a city the size of Moose Jaw, withour demographic, it would seem like it may not

be successful. But, they know their product andthey market to the tourist crowd and have beenvery successful.”

Part of the success for Clothes Encounter hascome from modifying business hours in peaktourist times to allow this crowd a chance to shoplater in the evening. “They recognize that this is atourist town and as a tourist, there is nothingworse than leaving your hotel room at 8:00 at nightand there’s nothing open,” concludes Kirkpatrick.“Our small businesses are beginning to respond tothat and realize this is what they have to do to fitinto the tourist feel of the city.”

With a strong entrepreneurial environment,Moose Jaw is attracting a lot of attention fromimmigrants and young people who had left thecity to pursue a career in a larger centre. “Thereally exciting part about this is that many ofthese new entrepreneurs are young entrepre-neurs,” explains Mayor Higgins, “young men and

The historic downtown districthas seen a resurgence

with many entrepreneursopening retail and

fine dining businesses.


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women who have been to Calgary, Vancouverand Toronto, that had a few years away anddecided to return to Moose Jaw. These youngentrepreneurs are bringing fresh ideas, new atti-tudes and are changing the face of Moose Jaw!”

To help with the entrepreneurial spirit in theMoose Jaw, the city sponsored a pilot project inthe Grayson Business Park on the northeast out-skirts of the city. Tax incentives with the lots,which were pre-priced and serviced, made forone-stop shopping. The goal was to attract newbusinesses that were looking to relocate to MooseJaw and the program proved to be very success-ful. Phase two of the project has just opened with24 lots for sale and interest is high.

Finding SpaceAs with many other areas of the country, MooseJaw is looking for answers to providing attainablehousing. “Young families and people who are justentering the workforce are finding that it’s prettydifficult to access housing. We all know howimportant good housing is for families,” saysMayor Higgins. “We’ve been working hard todevelop a number of projects with some privatedevelopers and ensure city lots are available.While we haven’t seen substantial movement invacancy rates, those numbers will shift as moreunits come on the market. It’s seen all over theprovince but we are making headway.”

Housing developers in Moose Jaw focus on thefull spectrum of housing – from high-end toattainable, affordable and rental. That spells goodnews as hundreds of new homes are now underconstruction and expected on the market soon to

meet the housing needs for workers moving toMoose Jaw for work opportunities.

With an increasing population there’s alwaysa demand for more entertainment and when thehome of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, the infa-mous Crushed Can, was in a state of disrepair, anopportunity arose for a facility that would com-plement the growing city. “Mosaic Place wasexactly what we needed in order to prove that weare the place to be,” explains Kirkpatrick.“Fortunately, the Warriors had a winning seasonwhen it was built in 2011 and it brought a lot ofpeople into the building, which created an imme-diate appreciation of what we now had. Therehave been a lot of acts that have performed in thebuilding – bands that would never have comehere had we not had this facility.”

Mosaic Place is host to conferences, concerts,weddings, hockey, curling and trade shows, com-plemented by the nearby YaraCentre that boastsa wide range of activities to keep the communityhappy and healthy.

“I think we’ve experienced many of the samechallenges as cities across Saskatchewan andCanada,” Mayor Deb Higgins answers whenasked about potential challenges to the city’sgrowth. “The big challenge in Moose Jaw is mak-ing sure that we are renewing and rebuildingexisting infrastructure while also building fornew growth that is happening right now. That’sthe challenge. Otherwise, it’s keeping up with theneeds of families that are moving to our commu-nity to make sure not only housing is available,but that our recreational and cultural activitieskeep pace with our growing population.” n

Mosaic Place opened its doorsin August 2011 and has since

hosted performances by Mötley Crüe and

Carrie Underwood.


T H E P U R S U I T

Photo: Department of National Defense June 2013 Saskatchewan Business Magazine 25

O F E X C E L L E N C EB Y D A V I D E . W H I T E

Canada’s most recent military aerobatic team, the Snowbirds,formed in 1971 at CFB Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan where theystill call home today. The team consists of nine CT-114 Tutoraircraft, including two solo aircraft. In their 29th season, theSnowbirds have flown 1,600 airshows for over 87 million spec-tators across North America. The Canadian Forces Snowbirdsare the only jet aerobatic team in the world that does not relyon a support aircraft. The Snowbirds (canadianwings.com) area fully self-contained unit of only 75 personnel.While the Snowbirds are well known for their skill, they

are not immune to tragedy. Seven Snowbird pilots have losttheir lives in the performance of their duty. Every missionflown by a CFB pilot poses a risk to life, so the pursuit ofexcellence may never be more meaningful.“We’re always pursuing excellence,” confirms Major

Wayne Mott, Snowbird 1, Team Lead. “I think at the point intime where we reach excellence, or can’t get any better, thenit’s time to quit.”Mott went on to articulate the importance of uncovering

imperfections in mission execution and how it all starts withthe Team Lead. “If I dive into the ground, they all go into theground with me,” states Mott. “There is a tremendousamount of trust there. That has to be kept.”“I’m as liable as they are,” Mott continues. “If there’s some-

thing that I screwed up on the tape, I say, ‘Hey, you knowwhat, I screwed that up.’ You’ve got to come out and say it;you can’t hide anything. If you don’t come out and say it, ittakes away your credibility… it starts to erode the trust thatthey have in you.”At this point in our discussion I confessed that I had heard

of a debriefing process that the Snowbirds use to facilitatethe discovery of what the team needs to improve on andwhere a pilot cannot not hide behind rank to cover mistakes.I further confessed that I felt there might be a great analogyand potential practice here for leaders of other organizationsand businesses.Mott described a process where the team meets in a “san-

itized” briefing room with a long table, and about 10 chairsaround it, as well as chairs around the outside wall. The dooris closed before the debriefing begins so that there are noexternal distractions or interruptions.“We’ll go through our mission step-by-step,” explains Mott,

“from walking out to the airplane, to starting the airplane, totaxiing out, to the takeoff, and then what we did in the air.Right now, we are filming the process down in Mossbank, sowe wait for the film to come back and then we look through

that and debrief. We set objectives for ourselves on what wewant to accomplish on each mission, and then we go throughthose objectives and each person individually answers to:‘These were my objectives and did I meet them?’ It is either‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ and if ‘No,’ then they address what they are goingto do to improve. Sometimes there’s a bit of conflict, but it isresolved before we walk out the door, that’s for sure.”I wondered about the degree of conflict and whether or

not pilots would be ready to admit to mistakes.“You have to be a little thick skinned,” admits Mott,

“because you can’t hide anything on the tape, and when wewatch it on the film and you tell the guy, ‘You did that wrong’or ‘You’re out of position there,’ there’s no backpedaling orexcuses. [Pilots] have to admit their mistakes. It’s a bit harshsometimes in debriefing, but that’s the way it has to be.”Mott further explained that there is a two-on-two debriefing

after the initial one, where the team splits up to work outimprovements in greater detail. He also spoke to the impor-tance of consistency and immediacy. “We try not to have toomuch of a delay between the time we brief and go through whatwe’re going to do on the mission,” explains Mott. “I don’t wantguys to start thinking about something else like what’s goingon at home. I want them to stay focused on what we are doing.I was still wondering whether or not there was any recog-

nized rank during the meeting and how it played out. “Thereis no rank,” confirms Mott, “but in the end, if a decision hasto be made, I will make the final decision before we walk outthat door on what we’re going to do or what we’re going todo differently.”The Kamloops Blazers and the Moose Jaw Warriors have

sat through past Snowbird briefings and been inspired toadopt the process. “They came and sat through our process,”confirms Mott. “Following the experience, the coach says,‘Wow, you guys are so transparent and everything is so open.We need to brief and debrief like that.’”Through the discussion, it became clear that this process

is an intrinsic part of Snowbird culture – a “how we get atwhat we need to get at to be the best we can be” process,wherein there are no artificial barriers. Mott was quick toconfirm, “Absolutely.”In recent years, the Snowbirds have helped Canadians cel-

ebrate our national heritage and history. In 2009 theSnowbirds were highly involved in celebrations surroundingthe 100th anniversary of Canadian aviation. 2010 marked anhistoric step for the team with its 40th anniversary of airdemonstration. n


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It’s that time of year again – we’re starting to collecting data for the 2013 edition of Saskatchewan’s Top 100 Companies™.Don’t be left out! Please return this information by July 12, 2013. Thank you for your participation and please look for Saskatchewan’sTop 100 Companies™ in our September 2013 issue.IT’S TIME!

S A S K A T C H E W A N ’ S

TOP 100 COMPANIES2 0 1 3

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Phone: 306-244-5668 Toll-Free: 1-800-247-5743 Fax: 306-244-5679 Email: [email protected]

COMPANY NAME: _____________________________________________________________________________________

HEAD OFFICE ADDRESS:________________________________________________________________________________

CITY: _____________________________________________ POSTAL CODE: _________________________________

PHONE: ___________________________________________ FAX: __________________________________________

GROSS SALES (LAST YEAR OR FISCAL YEAR): _______________________________________________________________

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SAVE THE DATE This year’s Top 100 Gala is September 4, 2013 in Regina. Invitations and further details to follow.



It was not so long ago that people joked about Saskatchewan and how “the lastperson to leave should turn the lights out.” I am not sure that the leadership atCanalta Hotels has heard the joke, but if they have, they have chosen to ignore

it. About five years ago, Canalta decided it was time to expand into Saskatchewanfollowing a 30-year history in Alberta, and has been turning lights on ever since.

Canalta’s first Saskatchewan property was the Ramada Hotel in Weyburn(2007). Within a year they decided to build again beside the Ramada, and openedtheir first Canalta-branded hotel (2009). Canalta had been building Ramada andSuper 8 hotels for years, but decided it was time to do more. “We felt that it was agood time for us to really break out and begin our own brand,” recalls Gary Hoffert,“and we really haven’t looked back. The Canalta brand has been the focus of prettymuch all of our energy going forward.”

Hoffert is a Regional Vice President for Canalta, joining them in 2007 to leadthe development of the Saskatchewan market. “We’ve been running at a break-neck pace, but every year is a new highlight for me,” describes Hoffert. “2010 washectic, but we opened three hotels that year so while that was very challenging, itwas also great to see it happen!”

Canalta is in the process of opening their ninth Saskatchewan location inAssiniboia this fall. In addition to Assiniboia and Weyburn, they have locations inShaunavon, Moosomin, Humboldt, Tisdale, Melfort and Esterhazy.

Introducing a new brand of hotels to a province is trickybusiness, but by forging great partnerships and takingcustomer advice on how to improve, Canalta Hotels

are finding traction in Saskatchewan.

COURTESYPROVED

BY DAVID E. WHITE

Photos: Canalta Hotels June 2013 Saskatchewan Business Magazine 29


Hoffert recalls that people had beenunfamiliar with the brand, saying, “Whatthe heck is a Canalta?” That seems to bechanging. “We have forged good sponsor-ship partners with the SaskatchewanRoughriders,” explains Hoffert. “We’responsoring the SJHL and we now have theCanalta Cup named after us for their play-offs. All of this has really shaped our brandand people now know who we are. Withanyone who travels within Saskatchewanfor business or leisure, we’re really startingto get a lot of traction in the name.”

The core of Canalta’s market focus is inrural properties and they are deliberatelyavoiding major centres. “You’ll find us inthe natural resource areas,” explainsHoffert, “but you’ll also find us in areaswhere tourism is the main market, bring-ing a hotel to some communities thathaven’t had any new supply of hotel roomsor any type of construction on the hotel oraccommodation side for 30 or 40 years.”

Canalta is setting its sights highenough for significant future growth.“We’ve got a broad stroke when it comesto that,” states Hoffert. “We don’t want tojust be in western Canada, we don’t wantto just be the best in any particularprovince, we are really shooting to be thebest in all Canada. So, to that [end] we’vegot a number of things that we focus on.”

Hoffert went on to describe the strat-egy of how they will become the best inthe nation and it boils down to threefoundational elements: communities,employees and customers. “We really arefocused on being the best place to workin the communities that we do business,”explains Hoffert. “In addition to this, wewant to supply a legendary experience toour customers and we’ve got a number ofways to test that.”

One way that Canalta measures cus-tomer experience is through TripAdvisor.TripAdvisor is a travel website that cus-tomers can go to and, in an unsolicitedmanner, enter information describingtheir experience at various hotels. “We’vedone very well on TripAdvisor,” reportsHoffert. “Right now, five of our hotels,four for sure, are ranked in the top 10 ofall the hotels in Saskatchewan.”

In addition to customer feedbackthrough TripAdvisor, Canalta has been gar-nering awards to affirm their efforts, suchas an ABEX New Venture award (2011) andthe Tourism Saskatchewan Business of the

www.affinitycu.ca

www.lloydminstereconomy.ca

Photo: Canalta Hotels June 2013 Saskatchewan Business Magazine 31

Year Award (2012). “We were also nomi-nated as the Tourism Industry Associationof Canada’s Air Canada Business of theYear Award,” continues Hoffert. “We didn’twin that one, unfortunately, but we wereone of the three finalists. It reaffirmed withus that we were doing the right things inthe right places.”

I wondered if return clientele wouldbe the ultimate test of customer satisfac-tion, and so I enquired. Hoffert was quickto confirm, “Yes! With eight of themopen now, and the ninth on the ground,people are looking for us. They are ask-ing where we have locations. We evenbrand our other products Ramada byCanalta so people know…that it’s a littledifferent and Canalta’s involved. We’regetting a good following of folks thatknow they can find a very, very clean andwell-run establishment.”

Canalta Hotels has two main divi-sions: construction and operations. “Webuild the hotels and we operate thehotels,” explains Hoffert. “We don’t justbuild them to flip them; we’re in the com-munities to form partnerships and tostay, so we’re really committed to being inthe communities and you’ll see that

through the number of things that we’llsponsor. We get involved with simpledonations and other initiatives such asMothers Against Drunk Driving or peo-ple raising money for breast cancerresearch to use a room to raffle…up tosupporting new construction of rec facil-ities within that community or sponsor-ship of a team. We’re really trying toconnect our company and the communi-ties that we do business in.”

I sensed a correlation betweenCanalta’s involvement in communitiesand their employee recruitment strategy,so I inquired further. “Yes,” confirmsHoffert, “labour in rural Saskatchewan isa challenge. There is not a large labourpool to draw from, and then when youstart to look in the natural resource areas,some of the jobs are very high paying. Toattract employees can be very difficult. Itsure has helped for us to add programsand incentives for our staff, so that theyreally want to be with us and want towork with us. We believe in treating themvery well, and [employee recruitment andretention] comes in return.”

Given that Canalta is challenged to beon a level playing field for wages, what are

the benefits and incentives that wouldattract? “Well, you’re not even in thegame if you’re not offering a competitivewage,” counters Hoffert. “I think that goeswithout saying, but we also offer a verygood benefits package for our employ-ees…plus we have a number of incentivesthat we offer when they’re performingwell and doing what they need to do onthe customer service or cleanliness sideof things. They also have the opportunityfor a bonus…which can be for dollars.”

In addition to monetary bonus andbenefit programs, Canalta offers a pointsprogram. “We developed our own loyaltyprogram for our guests,” explains Hoffert,“but our staff can collect points as well. It’ssimilar to any loyalty program that youcan be part of, [employees and guests]collect points and they’re able to [spend]those points on a number of differentthings, on everything from fun vacation-type things to individual products.”

So, what’s on the current planninghorizon for Canalta? A new location inMartensville. “We hope to be breakingground soon in Martensville,” reportsHoffert, “and plan to be open for businessin 2014.” n


Saskatchewan is in a period of tremendous growth. Over thelast five years, Saskatchewan’s economy has outperformed thatof other provinces and the nation (see Figure 1). There aremore people living here than at any other time in our historyand unemployment has been the lowest in the country since2009. Those impressive trends are equally true for Regina.

Resource extraction (mining, agriculture) still drives theprovince’s economic growth. These industries are largelylocated outside of the province’s population centres; however,these industries have located their head offices in larger centres,and need a strong and thriving service sector to support themalong with places for their employees to live.

Cities in Saskatchewan are key to the sustainability of theprovince’s economy. In Saskatchewan, Regina and Saskatoonaccount for 46.3 per cent of the province’s GDP and GDPgrowth in these cities has outpaced the province (see Figure 1).But growth in population and the economy is putting pressureon cities’ ability to provide the basic public services requiredto ensure economic sustainability in the province.

THE CAUTIONARY TALEThere is no question that growth is positive; it generates wealth,lowers unemployment, and increases diversity and opportu-nity. However, for cities, the opportunities created by growthcan easily outstrip and cripple city budgets, erode infrastruc-ture investment, and hinder future growth.

THE UNSUSTAINABLE FINANCIAL STRUCTURE OF MUNICIPALITIESQuite simply, the financial structure that municipalities must

A CAUTIONARYTALEEconomic Growth and Saskatchewan’s Cities

operate within can be exposed during periods of rapid economic growth. The reasons are three-fold:

Growth in the local economy does not translate into moreproperty tax revenues. Property taxes are inelastic. In otherwords, they generally do not grow in proportion to the growthin the economy. Changes to property values simply result inredistribution of the existing tax base. To increase revenues,municipal councils must increase taxes.

Growth does not pay for growth. Developers generally payfor the initial costs of new infrastructure to service land (water,sewer, roadways, etc.). However, new property taxes generatedby development generally do not cover the long-term, life-cyclecosts to service that development. This contributes to the pattern of deferral of infrastructure renewal.

Increases to property taxes do not necessarily translateinto better or more services. Roughly half of the City ofRegina’s revenues come from property taxes. For Regina, a oneper cent mill rate increase translates to about $1.7 million on a$560 million budget. Meanwhile, the costs of growth areincreasing well above the general consumer price index (CPI).For Regina, additional revenues from property tax increasessimply allow us to maintain existing services.

BUT THE CITY’S BUDGET REMAINS BALANCED?It is true, that despite these challenges, the city’s budget remains balanced year after year. Cities in Saskatchewan, by law, are not allowed to incur a deficit. Now, to be clear, there isno overwhelming desire for cities to begin incurring deficits.But historically, to avoid overburdening taxpayers withincreases, stay competitive, and keep the budget balanced,

by Glen B. Davies City Manager, City of Regina


municipalities have chosen to defer long-term infrastructurerenewal and rehabilitation.

INFRASTRUCTURE COSTSWe know, from work done by the Canada West Foundation,that cities are responsible for the greatest proportion of publicinfrastructure (see Figure 2). The deferral of investment in therenewal of infrastructure is something we can’t ignore. Risk ofinfrastructure failure could threaten key public services and,ultimately, economic growth. It requires smarter planning sothat we can better utilize existing infrastructure investments.Many cities are working to increase their population density,thereby minimizing the growth of their geographic footprintand the need for more infrastructure (water, sewer, roadways,parks, transit, etc.)

RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES OF RAPID GROWTHAddressing the challenges of growth requires us to look at arange of policy responses, including:

Reducing costs. We must look at delivering services moreeffectively and efficiently. Regina’s Core Services review realized$8 million of ongoing cost reductions. In 2012, Regina identi-fied approximately $21 million in potential future savings.

Alternative service delivery. We need to explore alterna-tive ways of doing business, like public private partnerships anddelivering existing services in new and different ways. In 2012,

Regina set in motion two public private partnership initiatives,one to replace Mosaic Stadium and the other to renew theWastewater Treatment Plant.

New and enhanced revenues. The change to the provincialMunicipal Operating Grant (MOG) has provided citiesincreased fiscal capacity. We need to build on that success andexplore new taxing authorities for cities to respond to increaseddemands from growth.

Regulatory Frameworks. We need to collaborate with theprovince, regional partners, and the private sector to develop atransparent, controlled, and sustainable regulatory framework.Growth that takes place in an ad hoc, uncontrolled environ-ment can increase costs and negatively erode business confi-dence and future investment.

Cities and the public services they provide are ultimately akey lynchpin in economic growth. If we are not careful, growthcan lead us on a path where we are reactive, ad hoc, short-termfocused, and ultimately unsustainable. But with care, we canharness the benefits of this growth to create cities that attractbusinesses and people, and are sustainable into the future. n

FIGURE 1 Regina’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth compared toSaskatchewan’s and Canada’s (from The Conference Board of Canada)

FIGURE 2 Shifting responsibility for Canada’s infrastructure (from Canada West Foundation)

The Saskatchewan Forum 2013, which took place onMay 14 and 15, featured “investing in cities and communities” as a major theme. For additional information please visit www.conferenceboard.ca/si


Strategy Mapping Measurement Enabling Calibration

synergysg.net306-492-4909

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saskSENSE � 1

Saskatchewan’s publication for entrepreneurs, organizations and aspiring young people Volume 1 � Issue 4SENSEsask

STEP #1GO TO TEENWORK.CA

STEP #2POST YOUR RESUME

STEP #3FIND THE JOB THAT’SRIGHT FOR YOU

0

IntroductionI can’t imagine what it would be like to be a teenager in this day and age. Everything isforeign, everything is different; the way information is given and received has changed sodrastically that I couldn’t possibly keep up. And with this realization, it occurs to me thatif there is this much of a gap between the way I think and the way that teens of todaythink, then maybe the way that things like advertising and job postings directed at themis incorrect.

My first job (if you don’t count the farm) was on the Odd Job Squad with my olderbrother the summer after he got his first car. The basic premise of the job was to call themain office between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Monday mornings to give your availability forthe week. If anyone called the office with a task, you were contacted with the informationand given the option of taking the odd job or not. We worked a plethora of jobs rangingfrom trash collecting and household painting to full-on landscaping jobs. For the mostpart they weren’t pleasant jobs, but it allowed us to experience different employers, tryvarying degrees of physical labour and, most importantly, learn what it takes to get paid.

One employer was an elderly couple that wanted their fence sanded and repainted.As the little wife was inside making us lemonade, the husband sat outside and told usstories about his past and how he was legally blind. As the day progressed, a light rainshower started and we inquired of the old gentleman if we should stop for the day as theraindrops were leaving little imprints in the fresh paint. Being young, I was fearful thatour employer would be perturbed by the rain and that it was making a mess of the fence,but he simply chuckled and said, “I’m blind! What do I care if there are dimples in thepaint? If you boys don’t mind working in the rain, just get the rest of this finished up asbest you can and we’ll call the project complete.”

As a bit of a perfectionist, even at that age, this mentality blew my mind. It made mereflect on the whole day’s work and how we could have been done in half the time hadwe realized the low standards of our employer. On the other hand, I thought back to pre-vious jobs where the employer demanded that the task be done to the highest standardsand if it wasn’t good enough you went back to do it again. My 13-year-old brain waslearning lessons about the future job market first-hand.

Back to the opening paragraph. Clearly things have changed and a large portion ofthe teenage demographic is a lot more introverted and dependent on technology. That’snot to say all of them are like that, but delivery methods to them may need to be alteredto get the correct message across. The work that Evelyn Morett has done (and continuesto do) with teenwork.ca is a great step towards creating an avenue that speaks to teenagersand engages them in the workforce. As the website expands locally and nationally, it hasthe potential to be the premier outlet for hiring teenagers and getting them into the work-force.

Nathan [email protected]

@NateSask

Understanding a new generation of employees

2 � saskSENSE

0

saskSENSE � 3

TEENWORK.CA

Two years ago Evelyn Morett had a problem and like most entrepreneurs, instead of sitting around waitingfor someone else to solve that problem, she took matters into her own hands and created a solution. “I waslooking for a new job and I found it really hard to find something online and I thought that it really shouldn’tbe this hard for young people to find a job,” Evelyn explains. “I had to filter through loads of jobs that didn’tapply to me and my experience.”

article/photos by Nathan Hursh Evelyn Morett, founder of Teenwork.ca

Creating an answer for youth unemploymentin Saskatchewan and across the nation

4 � saskSENSE

The answer to her quandary was to create something to helpother teenagers avoid the trap of using Google to try and narrow search fields to something that was applicable. Thusthe idea for Teenwork.ca was born.

Since the end of the recession, Canada has created morethan 900,000 new jobs, double what was lost, but for youngworkers there has been no rebound whatsoever. The recessioncreated a loss of over 250,000 jobs for the 15- to 24-year-olddemographic and since then, an additional 3,000 have beenlost. This is not as severe as European nations, but it does havefilter-down effects like increased crime rates and wage-scarring,which occurs when a young person gets his/her first job later inlife and because of a lack of experience, starts at a lower wage.

Evelyn approached her parents with her website idea and itbecame a family collaboration, but they had to find a startingpoint. Should they find the employers for the job listings firstor create a network of students looking for jobs to show theemployers? From there it was a question of pricing the jobpostings, trying to corral additional content and resources forthe students and keeping up with the demand on the website.Needless to say, the budding entrepreneurial family had a loton their plate, but they took it in stride and did their due diligence to get the work done properly.

Evelyn quickly realized was that she didn’t have the skills tofully program the website and make it as user-friendly as possible, so she outsourced the work. From there she decidedthat it was the students she had to go after first. “Our issue wasthat we needed enough students to sell it to the companies andat the same time the students needed jobs so it was kind of thechicken before the egg dilemma,” explains Evelyn. “What wedecided was that we would get the word out to as many students as possible and then go to the companies with a definite number of students and our idea. We proposed thatthey try us out free for a year or six months to see if we filled theneed and the companies hopped on board. We got the jobs outand we had the students for the jobs.”

Getting the word out to more students was the next challenge. Getting on the high school job fair circuit was theanswer, allowing for interaction with teenagers to get arenewed sense of what they were looking for and how theywere looking. “You go to the events to see job seekers; you talkto them and they want to work,” says Evelyn’s mother anddirector of operations, Louise Morett. “They are keen to get ajob to make money, but they don’t know what they want to door where to apply. This demographic is going to need a lotmore than an ad on kijiji. It’s a generation without workplaceadvice. They often see a scenario portrayed on television and inmovies and it causes them to think that they can live in a down-town apartment on the wage they make at a coffee shop; theyhave unrealistic expectations and don’t know what jobs entail.We’re the liaison between the employer and these young peoplewho don’t know enough about working yet.”

Teenwork.ca attracted some heavy hitters right from thebeginning: Walmart, Red Lobster/Olive Garden, AmericanEagle Outfitters, London Drugs and the City of Saskatoon to

name a few. Not only did these companies support the initiative,they gave validity to the project and encouraged other companiesto join.

In addition to the teenager-focused job listings, there is alsoa section of the website devoted to workplace education andtools to help someone find employment. Articles outlining different policies and safety standards have been written byteenagers so that other teens can understand and there’s alsoresources for résumé writing and advice for job interviews.

Despite these great resources, Evelyn acknowledges that thereis more that they can do to match customer demand.

Another encouraging aspect of the types of companies thatTeenwork.ca was attracting was that most of them werenational brands and as the teen job shortage isn’t exclusive toSaskatchewan, the Moretts were able to look towards expansion.Initially, the website was directed at Saskatoon, but Evelyn’stwin sister was attending university in Edmonton and was ableto find free time to attend job fairs and start spreading the wordabout the website. Teenwork.ca now has marketing studentsdoing work-term placements attending job fairs across theprairies to let people know about the value of the website.

Plans to expand the website to the west coast where Evelynis taking geography at the University of British Columbia areunderway. “We want to expand much more,” says Evelyn. “I’mutilizing my time in B.C. to integrate the site out there and wewant to head east as we’ve had inquiries from the Toronto andOttawa regions wondering when we’ll be out there. We couldalso help with employing foreign workers as some of them havethe same needs as teens.”

One of Evelyn’s first jobs instilled the value of customer service and she is applying that to Teenwork.ca with both theadvertisers and the job seekers. With Teenwork.ca she haslearned the value of leveraging her resources and the importance of creating a strong support system. The trans-ferrable skills she is constantly learning are ones that she hopesothers can learn through the experiences they gain after usingthe website. Her goal is to continue to provide for the teenagedemographic. “We have plans for the future and a lot of theminvolve students and creating a student ambassador programwith each willing high school to answer questions for job seekers in a place that they feel comfortable,” concludes Evelyn.“That way we can be there to help people out and we can alllearn so much more.” ◆

It really shouldn’t be this hard for young people

to find a job– Evelyn Morett

”

“


In an era when the speed of change in business is rapidand as hard to capture as Fraulein Maria’s “wave uponthe sand,” it can be valuable to take a step back, breathe a little, and reassess what isn’t changing. The principlesof strong leadership are enduring, and the same qualitiesof a good leader can be seen throughout history.• Over the long-term, character is more important than

competence. The qualities of authenticity, wisdom andcourage have the greatest impact.

• Arrogance – including the failure to listen to others andself-promotion – is at the root of many leaders’undoing. A deep respect for others is critical to the long-term success of any organization.

• Leaders with strong awareness in self and others findbetter success individually and draw better performancefrom their teams.

• Attention to ongoing personal growth and developmentprovides enduring strength and authority to a leader.

Perhaps the most important quality for successfulleadership, and one that underpins all of those listedabove, is humility, a much misunderstood word and aquality too often undervalued in our competitive society.

The derivation of the word humility is from theLatin, humus, meaning earth, and originally it meant tobe so psychologically grounded, to be so firmly anchoredin one’s own identity as to be able to clearly recognizeone’s own weaknesses and strengths, as well as the

HUMILITYThe keystone of good leadership

business profile

To learn more from successful and experienced business professionals please visit the TECCanada website. The site features an extensive database of business-relevant articles, blogpostings, interviews, success stories and listings of current TEC events held across Canada.

WWW.TEC -CANADA .COM INFO@TEC -CANADA .COM

weaknesses and strengths of others. The leader whoacts with humility, alongwith courage, wisdom,authenticity, and respect(which often come as by-products of humility) are bestable to sustain the health andlongevity of their organizationover the long term.

It is important for a leader to develop enough self-awareness and self-management to build a foundation ofpersonal and professional respect and authenticity, toplace themselves in the position to interact with othersfrom a position of humility.

To run a successful business – and the associated high-functioning teams – leaders must be able to admitmistakes and weaknesses, readily ask for help, acceptquestions and input, give fellow team members thebenefit of the doubt, take risks in giving constructivefeedback and assistance, and offer and accept apologieswithout hesitation. Leaders need to be able to trustthemselves and their teams to engage in purposeful,constructive conflicts and to emerge from such conflictswith no residual negative feelings or collateral damage.

High-functioning leaders have the ability to make clear,bold decisions while at the same time remaining alert,receptive and ready to change course (just as boldly)when evidence proves otherwise. They hold themselvesaccountable for the outcomes of their decisions, andfoster mutual accountability amongst their teams.

So take a step back from trying to keep up with thewarp-speed of technological, societal and politicalchange that creates external pressures on your business.Instead, take a step inside yourself and see how you canbuild strength in your leadership to support yourbusiness, your teams and yourself. As Max Brown writesin The Character-Based Leader, “Humility isn’t timidityor weakness. It is confidence, wisdom and gracecombined with an acknowledgment that we are allimperfect.”

Leaders need to be able to trust themselves

and their teams to engage in purposeful,

constructive conflicts and to emerge from

such conflicts with no residual negative

feelings or collateral damage.

Catherine Osler, President,

TEC Canada

http://www.tec-canada.com

DRIVE

S P E C I F I C A T I O N S

3.4L 6-cylinder engine350 horsepower @ 7,400RPM390 Nm torque @ 5,600RPM

7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) transmission

Rear engine / Rear wheel drive

Length: 4,491mmWidth: 1,852mmHeight: 1,304mm

Wheel Base: 2,450mm

›››››››››››››››››››››››››››››››


I’ve been drivin’ all night, my hands wet on the wheel...When I think about driving songs, that’s the one that always

pops into my head. Everyone knows Radar Love and how itseems to accompany a nice fast drive along the highway, but thebrass at Porsche seem to want to change my perception of howI visualize myself listening to that song and, in particular, thatopening line. Firstly, I’ve been driving all night isn’t likely to bethe case in a vehicle that comfortably cruises along at speedsexceeding 300 km/hr. If you were to drive all night in thePorsche 911, you would go very far indeed. Secondly, my handswet on the wheel is a likely scenario, but not for reasons youwould expect. Albeit, if you are going as fast as this car can han-dle, you might sweat a little bit, but that could easily be blamedon the heated steering wheel. I think someone should find outwhere Golden Earring is now and get them to write an equallycatchy song, but to the tune of Porsche.

My first experience driving a Porsche was in 2010 at an eventkicking off the opening of the Porsche of Saskatchewan dealer-ship. I had the opportunity to test a wide selection of Porschemodels and push them to the limits...within a controlled envi-ronment. Taking this beauty out on the streets and highwayscame with a word of caution from Porsche Sales Manager, BruceDuguay: “Any speeding ticket you get is your own problem.”With a grin I accepted the keys and after a very informativewalkthrough of the car I was able to hit the streets.

One thing that separates a luxury sports car from a musclecar is the attention to detail that makes the car not onlydynamic, but also economical. Available in all Porsche 911Carrera models is the 7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK),

which besides being one of the greatest words I’ve ever tried to read, is an amazingly innovative part of the car. The mostbasic description of what PDK does is that it makes forextremely fast gear changes that make accelerating seamless andresults in a constant powerful push. The 7-gear system reachestop speed in 6th gear and uses 7th gear’s long ratio to reducefuel consumption.

Porsche makes vehicles designed for driving and the 911Carrera is a perfect example of the ingenuity in making the driving experience the primary focus. The technology in the caris exceptionally laid out to allow the driver to adjust the climatecontrol or tune the satellite radio with ease. The gauges are perfectly detailed and easy to read and there’s GPS navigationto the right of the speedometer for easy referencing. Everythingin the car has been expertly crafted and thought-out from theseatbelts to the Porsche logo pressed into the leather seats to thepowerful Bose® or Burmester® sound system.

Have you noticed the trend in our province yet? People arebuying high-end vehicles at an unparalleled rate. Never beforehave we seen so many BMW, Audi and Porsche vehicles on theroad and that trend is expected to continue. With a salesincrease of 35.6 per cent, Porsche Canada sold 3,003 vehicleslast year and while that may not seem like a whole lot, take intoaccount that the median price on these luxury cars is around$120,000. With a Porsche dealership in our province, we are a major part of those vehicle sales and that is a trend that isanticipated to continue to grow.

My suggestion: go test-drive a Porsche today; you won’tregret it. n

PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 4

Nathan Hursh

SaskBusiness Staff Writer

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Here’s your “Duh” tip of the day: litigation is expensive. Startinga lawsuit and seeing it all the way through to a trial can takemany years and require spending tens of thousands, if not hun-dreds of thousands, of dollars in legal fees and expenses. Thecourt system can also seem like a byzantine process to non-lawyers, with its timelines, multiple pretrial procedures andlegalese.

So it is not surprising that alternate forms of dispute resolu-tion such as arbitration have arisen over the years. All sorts ofcontracts commonly contain an arbitration clause. Those aresimply agreements by parties to refer a dispute to arbitrationinstead of resorting to the court system.

In the arbitration process the parties present their case to anindependent decision-maker at a hearing. Arbitrations involvesome of the trappings of the court systemsuch as testimony, argument and a deci-sion, but without a lot of litigation’s pre-trial procedures.

In many cases arbitration achieves thedesired result: solving a dispute fasterand with less cost than through the courtsystem. This is especially true in largecommercial or construction contracts. Inindustrial relations, employers andunions with collective bargaining agree-ments have successfully used the arbitra-tion model of dispute resolution foryears. Arbitrators can also be chosenwith specific knowledge of the industryor problem at hand.

One thing to keep in mind in these cases is that they ofteninvolve contracting parties that are experienced with the legalsystem. The parties are aware of the cost and time involved withusing the court system and want to avoid it for the mutual pur-pose of reaching a resolution. They also have some knowledgeof legal procedures. In short, the parties “know the rules of thegame.” Matters of process such as who will be the arbitrator,timelines, procedures for scheduling and conducting the hear-ing and determining how the arbitration will be paid for areworked out between the parties fairly smoothly, if not alreadydecided in advance.

Arbitration is less useful, if not problematic, for the unin-formed. Individuals creating their own contracts will ofteninclude an arbitration clause because it seems like the right

thing to do. If they are put in agreements without consideringwhat they mean or what the consequences could be, they cancreate more problems than they prevent.

Problems can arise because arbitration relies heavily on theconsent of the parties. Each side must agree on an arbitrator(or more than one in some cases), agree to a process and agreeto pay for it. If one party is being difficult and refuses to co-operate in organizing the arbitration, this can derail the processfrom the beginning. The only recourse may be to apply to thecourt to have a judge impose an arbitration route. This is ironicgiven that the point of an arbitration clause is to avoid the courtsystem.

Before including an arbitration clause the parties shouldthink about why they believe they need it. If they intend to have

a long-term relationship it might beimportant to have an arbitration clause.For instance, businesses entering into ajoint venture that will tie them togetherfor a long period of time might preferarbitration over court proceedings.When there is this common set of goalsthe parties will usually agree to organiz-ing the arbitration; it will likely lead to aquicker decision and less will be spent byeach side on legal fees.

However, in other cases an arbitrationclause may not only not be useful, itmight exaggerate the dispute between theparties. This can be especially so in an

isolated contract between parties that have little experiencewith the legal system. The effort and potential legal costs inforcing agreement between two already-warring parties toorganize an arbitration may outweigh any benefits receivedfrom the process. In these situations, instead of including anarbitration clause in the contract it might be more practical toresort to the court system. While potentially more expensive,the court system does provide an existing process and coercivemeasures that can ensure the dispute will receive attention andresolution.

Litigation lightArbitration is a useful court alternative, but it’s not for everyone

LawMichael Krawchuk

Lawyer, WMCZ Lawyers

Michael is a lawyer with WMCZ Lawyers in Saskatoon. Questions and comments on this article can be sent to him at [email protected]

Before including

an arbitration clause

the parties should

think about why they

believe they need it.


If you are the owner of a business who, like many in ourprovince, has enjoyed financial success and generated signifi-cant profits, you have to make ongoing decisions about how toput those profits to the best use.

It will seem self-evident that the most prudent use of profits,particularly for a growing business, will be to pump them backinto your company where they can support research and devel-opment, expansion, human resource needs and paying downdebt. Certainly, from an investment perspective, the greatestexpected return is offered by the option of returning your moneyto your company so it can fuel continued growth, develop oppor-tunities and increase the company’s underlying value.

Whether you are investing your money in your own companyor someone else’s, it is wise to keep in mind the fundamentalapproaches to successful investing. For example, proper diversi-fication reduces risk of catastrophic lossbecause it ensures your assets are held indifferent areas, each of which wouldrespond differently to the same event.Diversification is a risk management toolthat is very broadly used: countriesensure that they have multiple sources ofenergy, farmers grow a strategic range ofcrops, companies strive for a resilientmix of services and products.

Within your own business, you couldachieve the benefits of diversificationthrough developing product lines orservices that would react differently tochanges in the market or economicenvironment. You might diversify thecapital inside your business by owning your own real estate.

However, truly effective risk management involves steppingback and taking a bird’s eye view of your entire financial pic-ture, with its commingled personal and business assets, inter-ests and financial goals. From this broader perspective, youmight see the need to further mitigate risk and diversify outsideof your operating business assets. As with all your strategicbusiness decisions, this critical step requires careful thought,analysis, planning and execution. Clearly, investing some of theprofits of your company in areas outside your business imme-diately takes some of your operating company’s risk off thetable. At the same time, it also lowers your expected return oncapital. On balance, it works to manage your overall risk as partof your long-term wealth management strategy.

There are many outside investment opportunities for thesuccessful business owner, both globally and locally. You couldinvest in other local small businesses, in commodities, in othercommercial properties, or in shares of companies around theworld. Purchasing shares in global companies can achieve sig-nificant diversification of assets away from your operating com-pany and across global boundaries.

Within Saskatchewan itself, there are many opportunities topurchase shares in other businesses. Obviously, owning sharesand real estate in another company brings issues of control,expected returns and risk to the equation. The risk you assumevaries depending on where these companies are in their growthtrajectory, the resilience of their products and services, and theexperience and integrity of their management. On a small busi-ness level, as Dragon’s Den has so entertainingly demonstrated,

if you have the time, energy and appetitefor risk, you might invest in a fledglingbusiness that shows promise. Alongwith your capital, you could bring a sig-nificant value-add to the deal with yourskill set, experienced advice and guid-ance, and your mentorship abilities.

A common diversification strategyfor business owners is the purchase ofadditional real estate assets. Althoughthis is a viable strategy, it requires a greatdeal of capital to buy enough propertiesto properly diversify some of the riskaway.

Given the complexity of these diver-sification decisions, business owners

often seek our advice on how to proceed. Typically, we suggestthat you set aside enough liquid financial capital in shares ofglobal companies and bonds issued by governments and cor-porations around the world to provide a type of pension foryour retirement. Professional advice on properly structuringand building the investment portfolio that will provide thisincome flow is strongly recommended.

Proper diversification reduces

risk of catastrophic loss

because it ensures your assets

are held in different areas,

each of which would respond

differently to the same event.

Financial PlanningRETHINK THE WAY YOU INVEST

Daryn Form is a Senior Financial Advisor with Assante Capital Management Ltd. providing wealthmanagement services to principals of family-owned and privately held companies. The informa-tion mentioned in this article is for general information only. Please contact him to discuss yourparticular circumstances prior to acting on the information above. Assante Capital ManagementLtd. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and is registered with the InvestmentIndustry Regulatory Organization of Canada.

Daryn G. Form

Senior Financial Advisor, Assante Capital Management Ltd.

Diversification is your buddyHow to protect your capital while growing your business


If you haven’t bought the argument I’ve made in my last sev-eral columns – that, rather than being treated as an obligationor responsibility, philanthropy is really an opportunity that canbring huge returns to your business, your community, yourfamily, friends, and – most of all – yourself, then here’s some-thing else to consider: there are a variety of initiatives that offernew ways – and new reasons – to give.

Rather than guiding from the grave, which many peoplechoose to do, why not plan to make a difference right now, oralong the way? I would encourage more donors to work withtheir lawyers and wealth advisors to find a better balancebetween giving today and giving tomorrow – after death. I alsobelieve the charitable sector would greatly benefit from achange in tax regulations that would require foundations to dis-burse more of their assets annually. Currently, foundations areonly required to allot a minimum of 3.5 per cent of their totalassets each year – this is maybe a third of what I would like tosee forced out every year! Changing theworld takes cash – today, and tomorrow.Quality projects always find funding –eventually – so don’t worry about theday after tomorrow.

On the other end of the spectrum,those just starting out in their careers,or those with young families, often delaydonating cash until they feel they canafford it. But as Mother Teresa said, “Noact of charity is too small.” There areroles for everyone in charity – and gov-ernment plays a key role.

First, consider the government-driven tax incentives.Imagine Canada, a national organization representing chari-ties, has indicated that more than half of Canadian donorswould increase their giving if there were better tax incentives.A “Stretch Tax Credit for Charitable Giving” proposal isdesigned to encourage more Canadians to engage in philan-thropy, and for those already giving, to give more. According toImagine Canada, a five per cent increase in giving over $200 –distributed directly to the charities rather than through a foun-dation – could generate over $400 million of new investment inCanada’s charities and the communities they serve. That is goodbusiness to me, Mr. Flaherty.

There are other tax incentives as well. Donors can donatepublicly-listed stocks and exchangeable shares without payingcapital gains on those contributions. Registered investmentplans can be transferred to a surviving spouse on death, with-

out tax liability. But few people realize that when the survivingspouse dies, the estate may then face an enormous tax liability.With planning, everyone has the ability to be voluntary phi-lanthropists and direct their estates in ways that they care about,rather than being involuntary philanthropists who let the gov-ernment redistribute their wealth.

Another new and compelling initiative is the social impactbond. These bonds are designed to help projects with a socialgood component access capital from private sources. One ofthe better known pilot projects to date began in the U.K., targeting the reoffense rate of ex-prisoners. Three thousandshort-term prisoners serving less than 12 months are partici-pating in programs, both in prison and in the community, tohelp reduce their chances of re-offending. The programs arefunded by private investors and delivered by non-profits witha history of success. The British government has promised topay dividends based on the savings realized from the reduced

costs of incarceration of these prisoners.These bonds are used in multiple otherjurisdictions, and are under serious con-sideration here in Canada.

More than two years ago, TheCanadian Tax Force on Social Financerecommended that Canada’s public andprivate foundations invest at least 10 percent of their capital in these kind of mis-sion-related investments by 2020.According to Philanthropic Founda -tions Canada, there are nearly 10,000charitable foundations in Canada with

assets of almost $35 billion. Encouraging foundations to aligntheir investment strategies with charitable purposes couldunlock nearly $3.5 billion in constrained private capital for gen-eral public good.

Some people see many of these initiatives as a not-so-subtleattempt by government to offload its responsibility for socialissues as they reduce spending. I simply disagree. I see theseinitiatives as an opportunity for greater engagement in creat-ing social good. Never before have there been so many positiveways to help create the kind of communities we all want to livein. I hope at least one of these initiatives helps get your moneyout of your wallet – or from under your mattress – so that youcan experience the joy of giving while living.

Make a difference todayHow to do good with your money right now

PhilanthropyW. Brett Wilson

Entrepreneur/Philanthropist

Never before have there been

so many positive ways to help

create the kind of communities

we all want to live in.

W. Brett Wilson, a native of Saskatchewan, is Chairman of Canoe Financial and Prairie MerchantCorporation. His new book, Redefining Success, is available through Penguin Books. Connect: @WBrettWilson.


I make a career out of creating sustainable impact throughchange. Sometimes it is accomplished by returning to equilib-rium when external forces seek to obliterate; at other times it isaccomplished by stimulating reengagement amidst doldrumsor lackluster performance.

Within organizations, the first step is generally a discovery/rediscovery of purpose (mission), promise (values and prac-tices) and posture (personal mastery). These set the foundationfor sustainable impacts through partnership and the engage-ment and support of the passion of all involved.

I believe that the road to FULL-fill-ment in personal life ismuch the same. It is about the discovery and alignment of pur-pose, promise, and posture through partnership, with passion.Clear enough, but how?

There have been several periods in my vocational life whenI felt like I was parked on the side of the road, watching othersrace by. These were seasons when I did not know what I did notknow, times when I often did not evenknow that I needed to know that whichI did not know! In plain language, I lostsight of potential and opportunity, andat times I could not even muster enoughpassion to pursue change.

A Mercer survey of 30,000 workersworldwide showed that between 28 and56 per cent of employees in 17 spotsaround the globe wanted to leave theirjobs. Right Management reports that two-thirds of workers (through a sampling of411 respondents in 2012) in Canada and the U.S.A. are not happywith their career. It is reasonable to assume that people feel stuck,or they would move on to a position they felt better about.

I have written advocating for the employee in these mattersand I have written advocating for the employer; both play apart. Who is ultimately responsible for employee fulfillmentand the discovery of optimal? In this column I am speaking toyou, the reader, as an individual – in whatever role you play.

“We are serving a self-sentence in the cell of self.” – Cyril Connelly

As a consultant, writer, speaker and facilitative change agent, Iam self-employed. I can’t blame anyone else for my lack of ful-fillment; I function as employer and employee in the same skin.I have chosen my path and I wake each morning with the abil-ity to choose a different path if desired. Is it really any differentfor anyone else? Maybe the real question is less about choosingand more about the discovery of the options.

When I was enrolled in the U of S Effective Executive pro-gram back in 1999, one of the instructors suggested that ourcreative ability is directly related to the size of our “library” ofresources. If we desired more creativity, we had to expand ourlibrary. In saying this, she was not referring only to the printedpage, although that would also be valid. She was speakingmetaphorically to all that we had at our disposal. In music itmay be instruments, technical equipment, competencies, cul-tural textures and influences. In visual arts it may be differentmediums, colour palettes and tools. In either, the exposure toother artists and genres can serve to enlighten the musician,sculptor or painter in the area of what they do not know and toinspire them with creative options.

The generation of creativity for options, whether as employeror employee, flows much the same in other areas of vocational life.In order to have real choice, we must know what is available to bechosen. This is simple enough, but not necessarily easy, and if you

are wondering about the relevance, reflecton how often you have heard people sug-gest that they were stumped enough intheir vocational direction to be looking at“pumping gas” or “driving a truck.” Thereis nothing wrong with either of theseoccupations, but there is somethingrevealed in the mind of the speaker whenthey are cited as directions to be resignedto.

In hindsight, I can see that I havemore often reengaged my vocational

vehicle and driven in purposeful direction, as I discovered cre-ative options. The discovery came in varied forms includingMyers-Briggs personality tests and Strong’s Interest Finder, university courses, books, and conversations with others in thesectors I was interested in. I owe much to these conversationsand the people that graciously extended their time to me.

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative peoplehow they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’treally do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them aftera while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’vehad and synthesize new things.” – Steve Jobs

How will you increase your experiences and expand your creative library?

Discover creative optionsExpand your “library” of resources to generate more creativity

CalibrationDavid E. White

Consultant, Synergy Solutions Group

David E. White is a consultant with Synergy Solutions Group. Questions and comments can be directed to him at [email protected].

Our creative ability

is directly related to the size

of our “library” of resources.


The emergence of the activist shareholder may well represent anew threat to plain ordinary investors as the best interests ofthe companies they invest in are overshadowed by the bestinterests of a self-appointed few.

For the average retail investor who does such mundanethings as buy stocks in companies that appear to have a goodbusiness model or fundamentals, their research goes out thewindow because they now have to bet on corporate politics theyare not privy to rather than corporate prospects.

It’s not healthy for the investee companies, for the averageinvestor or, for that matter, even for the gamesters (pardon me,that should read professional fund managers) who think theycan earn a few brownie points that will translate into new con-tributors to their capital pool or raise their profiles by throwingtheir weight around.

The most recent example of a fund disrupting the system wasat Agrium where a head-to-head proxy battle sidelined the actualbusiness being transacted at the com-pany’s AGM. In the end, it sorted itselfout with the company’s slate winning theday but the dissident fund promises toremain a “pain” for the company.

Isn’t that a great way for an investorto view the company he’s put his clients’money into? And therein lies the prob-lem. Here is a professional money man-ager who wants shareholder interests –his fund’s in this case – ahead of theinterests of the company. Perhaps it isfortunate he didn’t win a seat on the board or he would havebeen offside at the opening bell as corporate governance 101dictates directors must hold the interests of the company andstakeholders ahead of their own.

And this is the irony in these stories. A fund manager believeshe’s taking care of his clients by attacking management in a firmhe parks his clients’ money in. Clearly something has gone awry.

Customer FirstThe message lost in these bloodlettings is that the customermust come first. Investors buy into a company because it hasfound a way to attract customers, to satisfy their needs and doit profitably. To see this in spades, a quick trip through the history of Saskatchewan’s co-operative sector is useful.

Does anyone remember Dairy Producers? Once a jugger-naut of the commercial scene in the province it is but a distantmemory, principally because its shareholders got the cart beforethe horse.

The customer for the dairy sector was a little kid who hadmilk for breakfast. But this particular co-op didn’t talk aboutkids and milk consumption. Rather it spent its time on share-holder needs: quotas, supply management and so on. Farmerfirst, kids second, out of business.

Saskatchewan Wheat Pool suffered a similar fate. The prairiefarmer’s customer – a wheat eater in Asia – always played second fiddle to the Pool’s politics of a single desk, three-week-long board meetings and dual CEOs with one responsible foroperations and the other for member politics. Farmer first,wheat eater second, out of business.

Interestingly, retail co-ops and credit unions have survivedwhere the agri co-ops couldn’t because their members and customers are the same person; so by definition, taking care ofthe customer means members’ interests are also in hand.

The demise of venerable institutions such as Dairy Producersand Saskatchewan Wheat Pool should serve as a stark lesson to

investment funds who believe they aretaking care of their shareholders(investors in the fund) while attackingthe companies they invest in. How theycan justify investing in a company whosemanagement they find distasteful is dif-ficult to grasp. If you really don’t like thefolks running the company, how difficultis it to figure out that you shouldn’t investin the company? That’s the beauty ofpublic markets – there are alternativecompanies to invest in.

When professional investors conclude that they are servingtheir customers’ interest by attacking the firms in their portfo-lio, their motives must be questioned. Perhaps it is the lure ofthe headlines that proxies fights can generate they can’t resistbut it is clear they have become confused over fiduciary responsibility.

This would be especially true for any nominee who actuallygot on a corporate board on a dissident slate. No doubt they would feel an obligation to the activist shareholder whomade the nomination but be required by law to consider all stakeholder interests in any corporate decision. Hardlyworkable. It is so much easier for disgruntled investors to lookfor a different place to invest rather than undermine their owncompany unless, of course, the real mission is to get your namein the paper.

The customer must come firstWhen shareholders put their own interests first, trouble is not far behind

The Back PagePaul Martin

Associate Editor

The most recent example

of a fund disrupting the

system was at Agrium.

Paul Martin is heard daily on News Talk 650 and News Talk 980 as well as on the radio stations ofthe Golden West Broadcasting network in Saskatchewan.

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SaskBusiness Magazine - June 2013

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