Business in Vancouver 2011-07-12 by GLACIER MEDIA DIGITAL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP dba BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Local. Business. Intelligence. July 12–18, 2011 • Issue 1133

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NPA’s Suzanne Anton and the looming municipal election hot button: housing 3

Bank robbery business still booming

A coalition of police, merchants, bankers and prosecutors has reduced local bank heist rates, but Metro Vancouver remains North America’s bank robbery capital: 4-5

Vancouver lands major global digital conference 6 ETFs undermining golden opportunities 6 Insider trading action 9 Tech tips for keeping your business organized 13 Big-name golf returns to Vancouver 14 Peddling green goals in the U.S.A.’s Wild West 36

CONSTRUCTION

IN VANCOUVER Quarterly report on B.C.’s construction industry C1-C12

Log export animosity accelerating Root problems: exporting raw logs to markets like China is keeping forestry workers employed, but local mills say their supply of wood is being eroded as the number of B.C. logs exported jumped 63% in the first four months of this year compared with the same period in 2010

Ken Spencer: Vancouver’s godfather of high tech 39 Biggest construction companies C4 Top trade and consumer shows 30

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>B.C. foresters at loggerheads over rapidly increasing raw log trade with Asia >Log exports are helping to underwrite the coastal forest industry, but they’re also making it difficult for local mills to source the wood they need

Business in Vancouver Issue 1133

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ritics have decried log exports for years, but proponents say shipments to Asia are helping the coastal forestry sector stay afloat. The total number of logs exported from B.C. increased 63% to 1.8 million cubic metres in the first four months of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010, according to BCStats. Much of that wood has been shipped overseas to Asia where Chinese sawmillers slice western hemlock, cedar and fir into boards to feed that country’s burgeoning manufacturing sector. Opponents have for years said the shipments are akin to exporting jobs, undercutting B.C.’s coastal sawmills. But the Truck Loggers Association (TLA) said those exports make it viable for the province’s foresters to hike into the bush

and harvest trees that otherwise would go untouched. As a result, the entire stand of trees becomes economically viable, feeding sawmills with the fibre they need to manufacture lumber, which then create chips and wood waste that support pulp mills and biomass plants. Dave Lewis, executive director of the TLA, said timber harvesting and delivery creates two jobs for every one job in a B.C. sawmill. Given the sorry state of the forestry sector, none of those jobs would be created without log exports, he explained. “More and more people are starting to understand that, regardless of their political stripes, they’re working right now because of log exports,” said Lewis. The incentive to ship logs to foreign markets largely revolves around price. see Mills, 7

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Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

contents Columnists Cascadian Connections Michael Orbach/ Kushal Saha High-Tech Office Alan Zisman Real Estate Roundup Peter Mitham Golden Goals Bob Mackin Public Offerings Timothy Renshaw At Large Peter Ladner Public Eye Sean Holman Leadership Lessons Rosie Steeves

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Now online London Drugs, Urban Fare sign leases at former Olympic Village

Expect more SkyTrain disruptions: light-rail advocate

Vera’s Burger Shack to expand to U.S.

Border barriers hurt small business: CFIB

Mayors back $0.02 hike in gas taxes

Video store closures accelerate

Anton challenges Robertson to on-air debate over riot

Tektronix acquires Veridae to expand Vancouver business unit

B.C. truckers commend regulation harmonization

Majority of B.C. residents approve of carbon tax

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July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

NPA and Vision Vancouver differ sharply over city housing strategy

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BUSINESS TODAY Target to take toll on local retailers With Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) converting Zellers stores across Canada to its own brand, Canadian retailers need to bolster customer loyalty or lose market share, a new survey has found. The SATOV Consultants survey looks at which Canadian retailers are likely to lose market share as a result of Target’s arrival. It found that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) customers showed the least brand loyalty, with 57% indicating they will shop less frequently at Wal-Mart if they have the option to shop at Target.

Anton rejects subsidies for rental housing developers; Robertson defends STIR program

Friday, July 8

By Glen Korstrom

trategies to boost rental housing and end homelessness are likely to spark some of the hottest exchanges during Vancouver’s 2011 campaign for mayor. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson told Business in Vancouver June 29 that, besides staging a successful Olympics and keeping property tax increases low, one of his top three accomplishments as mayor has been to “reduce street homelessness by 82% this term through our housing and shelter initiatives.” But Non-Partisan Association (NPA) challenger and councillor Suzanne Anton immediately attacked the Vision Vancouver leader’s record of reducing homelessness and his main strategy to encourage rentalhousing construction. She also takes credit for initiating laneway and other housing initiatives Robertson has recently championed. “He ran on eliminating ‘homelessness,’ not ‘street homelessness.’ He’s changed his language since he got elected,” Anton said. “Solving street homelessness is moving people into shelters. Solving homelessness is find-

ing permanent housing for them.” Anton differs most from Robertson on the issue of market rental housing, which she says is not a city responsibility. If the city has a role in encouraging rental housing, she said, it should be to provide developers with adequate zoned tower heights so construction is viable in areas such as the Cambie corridor. Council voted May 10 to increase density in the Cambie corridor to 12 storeys, although higher buildings are permitted around Oakridge Centre and near Marine Drive. Anton wants higher tower heights than that and will “absolutely” revisit the building heights in that corridor if she wins the election in November. She complains that Robertson’s short-term incentives for rental housing (STIR) program gives developers subsidies if they build housing that is rented at market rates. Anton said one approved STIR project at the corner of Bidwell and Davie streets grants developer Millennium Development Corp. $5.5 million worth of subsidies to build 49 rental housing units. The project also includes 85 strata units. “That $5.5 million could have gone

Dominic Schaefer

NPA mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton: “why does the mayor want to put city money into rental when we have so many demands on our limited dollars?”

Mayor Gregor Robertson’: “I want to focus on affordable housing and addressing low- and middle-income housing options”

to the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, which is a city responsibility. It could have gone to a new library or new park space. Those are city responsibilities,” Anton said. “Of every dollar that you spend in taxes, only $0.08 comes to the city. $0.42 goes to the province and $0.50 goes to the federal government. We as a city should not be doing the province’s work.”

One of Anton’s bigger beefs is that STIR gives developers subsidies if they build housing that is rented at market rates Anton accepts that the city can step on Victoria’s toes when it comes to helping fund child care. But she said paying developers to build rental housing crosses the line. Instead, Anton advocates a market-driven approach, under which developers are free to build strata developments. Realtors say strata councils increasingly allow suite owners to rent their units because it raises unit values. The 372-unit Capitol Residences

project at 833 Seymour Street was completed earlier this year without STIR subsidies. Its marketer, Rennie Marketing sales associate Danny Chow, estimated that about 45% of the units sold so far have been to investors who rent the suites. Most new developments have a similar proportion of investor-owned units, he said. “The marketplace has created those rental units [at Capitol Residences],” Anton stressed. “Why does the mayor want to put a whole bunch of city money into rental when we have so many demands on our limited dollars?” Robertson counters that STIR is valuable as part of an overall housing strategy. “I want to focus on affordable housing and addressing the lowand middle-income housing options, which I think are crucial for our workforce,” he said. “That means more rental housing and more creative approaches to build rental and affordable ownership models. We’ve tried some pilot projects this term. Laneway housing, secondary suites and STIR, which has about 1,000 units of rental in the works.” • gkorstrom@biv.com

Lululemon shares split as market value skyrockets Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s (TSX:LLL; Nasdaq:LULU) high-flying share prices convinced the company to split its TSX shares July 6. Shares are set to split on the Nasdaq July 12. Lululemon’s Nasdaq shares hit US$121.70 on July 7. That’s up from US$4.50 in March 2009. Founder Chip Wilson, who owns about one-third of the company, has consequently seen his net worth soar to more than $3 billion. Friday, July 8

Mayors back $0.02 hike in gas taxes Metro Vancouver mayors want Victoria to hike gas taxes $0.02 per litre and enact a mechanism to provide long-term funding to pay for regional public transit improvements. Other revenue generators being suggested include a vehicle levy, a regional carbon tax and road tolls. Thursday, July 7

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Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

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Bank jobs Bank bandits continue doing a brisk business in British Columbia

Stick ’em up: the Lower Mainland annually has approximately the same number of robberies as the entire state of New York

espite years of co-ordinated effort, Metro Vancouver can’t shed the dubious title of North America’s bank robbery capital. The Lower Mainland’s bank heist business remains robust. This despite a 54% drop over the past few years in the number of robberies: 217 last year compared with 472 in 2007. But even at that level, the region has almost the same number of robberies as the entire state of New York, which had 219 robberies last year based on a population that’s eight times the size of Metro Vancouver’s. Financial institutions have been increasingly creative in trying to prevent robbers from reaching a teller’s counter, and serial bank robbers are being kept in jail longer. But stakeholders say more resources and broader collaboration are needed to further reduce a systemic crime that’s exacting an increasingly serious psychological toll on thousands of front-line banking employees.

Vancouver’s concentration of bank robberies remains the highest in North America How the Lower Mainland compares with other jurisdictions in number of bank robberies per 100,000 people Metro Vancouver Greater Toronto Orange County Arizona Oregon Colorado Mexico City

9.1 4.5 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.4 1.4

Source: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, BIV research

Your Central City law ﬁrm, in Surrey.

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Trauma of being victimized in multiple bank robberies taking major toll on staff More formal approach to catching robbers and more effective drug prevention and treatment programs are needed to address systemic crime By Richard Chu

ost customers don’t think about their safety when they walk into a bank or credit union. But little do they know that their busy branch in the Lower Mainland has likely been the site of a bank robbery. Many have been hit numerous times over the past few years. Between 2007 and 2010, the Lower Mainland recorded 1,375 bank robberies. While Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is stereotypically thought of as a key area for robberies, the reality is, branches are robbed throughout the region. Robbery trauma can be hidden behind a teller’s smile and cheery voice. But deep down, many have suffered psychologically. “Very often, you hear, ‘My heart stopped beating. I didn’t know if I would make it home. If something happens to me, who’s going to take care of my kids?’” said Daniel Stone, a counsellor who has spent much of his career and practice helping thousands recover and make sense of a robbery. “I worked in banking for a number of years and was on the receiving end of robberies as a teller myself. This kind of robbery is an insult to the population and is a system-wide hit that has the potential to cause [personal] damage.” Greater co-ordination helping to reduce number of robberies Staff and customers of B.C.’s banks and credit unions can feel some satisfaction knowing that the number of bank robberies in the province has steadily declined in recent years. Metro Vancouver now has 9.1 bank robberies for every 100,000 people in the region. That’s a vast improvement over the 35 robberies per 100,000 back in 2004. Much of that decrease has resulted from increased co-ordination and co-

operation among various stakeholders in a bank and credit union network that numbers roughly 1,200 branches in the province. In 2007, an informal anti-robbery coalition was formed. It was the first of its kind in Canada and included representatives from banks, credit unions, merchants, retail associations, police agencies and Crown counsel. Since then, the coalition has met every two months to share information and best practices and help identify suspects and solve robbery cases. Some new strategies employed by financial institutions discussed at these meetings include having bank staff greet everyone who walks into a branch and asking people to remove their sunglasses or hats. “Certainly people coming in that were apparently trying to conceal their features from the cameras oftentimes turned around and left when they were met by greeters,” said Bill Crate, director of security for the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA). “That’s one of the best practices that came out of [the coalition].” Jonas Dow, who is one of two Crown counsels dedicated to dealing with bank robberies, said the informal

“People coming in [who] were apparently trying to conceal their features from the cameras oftentimes turned around and left when they were met by greeters” – Bill Crate, director of security, Canadian Bankers Association

coalition has been instrumental in breaking down the traditional jurisdictional divisions that have defined policing and Crown offices. “Serial robbers don’t obey the same geographic boundaries. People will often rob banks in different jurisdictions like Burnaby, Coquitlam, Vancouver and Richmond, so these, in isolation, can be difficult to investigate. But if you regionalize the process a bit, share this information, then quite often one agency will take up the cause.” Burnaby RCMP Cpl. Justin Abels also told Business in Vancouver that the increased co-ordination has helped police focus on building stronger cases against repeat offenders, who often commit multiple robberies in various Lower Mainland municipalities. “Instead of just looking at an offender doing a single robbery, we’re looking at the individual’s whole criminal experience,” said Abels. “We spend more time investigating a file, which has helped us stack the charges, and the Crown can look at the totality of offences. That’s helped in getting a five-year sentence versus a two-year sentence, for example.” Increased co-ordination has also reduced a bank robber’s success rate. In the Lower Mainland, about 90% of bank robbery suspects are identified and caught. In some jurisdictions, the rate of capture has steadily increased. Burnaby RCMP Cpl. Dean Urquhart said police solved all 26 bank robberies in the city last year, which was better than the 86% solve rate in 2009 and beats the city’s 10-year average of 76%. Robberies remain rampant in Metro Vancouver But despite the reduced number of robberies, the Lower Mainland still has the continent’s highest per-capita bank robbery rate. While B.C.

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July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

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Lions Bay

at least one robbery, not including entry-level staff. Most have been involved in multiple robberies.” But the region remains North America’s bank robbery capital In a report for the CBA, Stone North Capilano Vancouver River cited staff that had been involved District West in as many as six robberies in 11 Vancouver Up pe r Le ve years. Some had been involved in ls Hw y Belcarra four robberies in 21 days. Anmore North “It’s heartbreaking,” said Stone. Vancouver “Most people get horribly exasperIo City Dr. co ria rard Inlet Rd to c i ated that this can happen at someBur V . one else’s whim.” Port Moody Lou Hastings St. NW. Mari Lo u gh St. Johns St. ne D gh 4th Ave. ee r Broadway While banks and credit unions eed dH Hw y Port w y W. 16th Ave. have several services and programs Coquitlam ( K in Maple Hw to Ridge help staff following a robbery, Coquitlam gs y7 ) Pitt Vancouver way Burnaby the number of incidents can take Meadows Dewdney Trunk Rd. New S. W. M arine Dr. their toll. Stone’s report noted that Westminster Ferguson Cr staff members who face multiple a rd All robberies over a short period of 96th Ave. time can develop a chronic feelHw Lo y1 R iv e ug r Rd Richmond he ing of. powerlessness, anxiety, coned Hw Surrey y fusion, vulnerability Hwy 7and anger, . Fra r Rd se Rive rH which in some cases can result in wy their ignoring bank policy and takHwy 10 Langley Langley ing matters into their own hands. Hwy 99 City Township That appeared to be the case in January when two Bank of MontAbbotsford Delta 8 6 real employees chased down and 4 ou caught a serial robber after he fled 2 nd 16th Ave. ary from a North Vancouver branch Bay White Rock 8th A ve. 8th Ave. with an undisclosed amount of Boundar y Bay Road CANADA money. But robberies can also affect staff productivity, even years after •2008 •2009 •2010 Source: rcmp an incident has taken place. “With multiple robberies, perrecorded nine robberies for every given to a teller, some of which may robberies. While these types of formance metrics can very pos100,000 people in the province, simply say, “This is a robbery; give robberies might sound benign, the sibly take a very hard hit,” said impact can be swift and severe for Stone. “The cost to the organizit’s still two-and-a-half times more me all your money.” than Arizona, which was AmerDow said: “That puts the of- the bank staff involved, according ation and the person is a sharp, ica’s bank robbery capital last fence on the lower end of the spec- to Stone, who has been studying cliff-edge drop in productivity, and year with 3.6 robberies for every trum, because there’s usually not the impacts of bank robberies on that often comes out in performance detriments in performance 100,000 residents. a lot of planning that’s gone into staff for more than a decade. While staff are trained to follow reviews.” Longer sentences have helped it. They’ve not made much of an keep more repeat offenders off the attempt to disguise themselves, so certain procedures when dealing with a bank robbery, even a note- Broader co-ordination needed streets longer. Dow said the courts they’re easily identifiable. have increasingly recognized the “On the robbery spectrum, passing robbery can paralyze staff to address cause of crimes While members of the anti-robserious impact bank robberies have while all robberies are considered on the spot. “When you talk to financial in- bery coalition are pleased with the on bank staff and the communities very serious, when you look at the they’re in. But sentences can still individual facts, quite often these stitution staff and they say they drop in Metro Vancouver bank range widely between three and robberies fall in the less-aggravat- are frozen on the spot, that’s the robberies, many said government nine years, largely dependent on ing end of the spectrum. The less core biology of trauma at work. needs to do more to reduce the rethe circumstances of the suspect amount of violence used or threat- Sometimes it can take a long time gion’s drug problem, which is a key for that to get processed [psycho- factor in bank heists. and the crime. ened is important.” “The average offender definitelogically].” Abels said sentences for bank But a growing number of front- ly has a substance abuse problem,” robbers in B.C. remain lower than Repeated robberies can line branch staff are being victim- said Urquhart. “If you take away those handed out for robberies damage productivity the drug problem, you’re likely to committed elsewhere in Canada. But that judicial reality provides ized in multiple bank robberies. “Most front-line financial insti- see a reduction in the number of That might in part be because most little consolation for banking staff robberies here involve notes being that is involved in note-passing tution staff have been involved in drug-dependent crimes.” Capilano Rd.

Bank heist numbers dropping in Metro Vancouver

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Daniel Stone, principal, Daniel Stone and Associates: bank robberies are a serious source of workplace violence for banks and credit unions, potentially affecting staff productivity over time

But even more formal co-operation among stakeholders, such as an integrated investigative team, would further improve the effectiveness of the region’s collaborative work to reduce bank robberies. “The solve rate in this province is very high and one of the reasons is we work together,” said Dow. “We’re currently doing it on an ad hoc basis, but in terms of opportunities, there should be more conversation about the effectiveness of regionalizing these types of investigations to a further extent. File ownership at an earlier stage or an integrated team.” Until the number of bank robberies falls further, such systemic crime will continue to be a primary source of workplace violence for the industry. While Stone says most frontline employees tend to be a “very hearty, very robust” group of people, their resilience to bank robbery trauma can erode with each successive robbery. “Staff who experience a cluster of robberies are robbed of their natural ability to integrate and process the trauma,” he said. “The result is an increasingly disturbed state, physically, mentally, emotionally. It’s very, very nasty.” • rchu@biv.com

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Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

ETFs siphoning dollars from gold companies Precious metals producers ramping up dividends to compete with investors keen on exchange-traded funds By Joel McKay

anadian mining companies rocketed to success last year on the back of stellar metal prices, but the payoff for investors in gold companies hasn’t been so rosy. Len Boggio, a senior partner with PwC’s mining group, said investors who are interested in cashing in on record-high gold prices are increasingly sticking their money in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rather than in gold companies. “That’s put … brakes on the market caps of the gold mining companies,” Boggio told Business in Vancouver. In the last six months, gold companies have seen a pull back in their market capitalization despite record results and strong commodity prices. For example, Goldcorp (TSX:G), the Vancouverbased precious metals giant, has seen its share value fluctuate between $38.99 and $53.34 so far this year. Meantime, the price per ounce of gold has steadily increased to US$1,525 from approximately $1,400 at the beginning of the year. “Certainly, the valuation gap is something we’ve seen over the last year between the gold producers and gold,” said Goldcorp spokesman Jeff Wilhoit. When it comes to choos-

ing between a gold company and an ETF, many investors have gone with the latter option because, quite simply, there’s less to think about. “All you have to do is make a bet on the gold price,

“Fund managers and institutional managers looking at investing are more reluctant to invest in the gold companies” – Len Boggio, senior partner, PwC

you don’t have to bet on the gold price and how is that management team going to execute their plan,” explained Ken Stowe, president and CEO of Vancouverbased Northgate Minerals (TSX:NGX). The ETF provides investors with the ability to make money based solely on the value of the commodity in question. In other words, the investor doesn’t risk exposure to the political, operating and logistical issues part and parcel to mining companies. SPDR G old Sha re s (NYSE:GLD), the most popular gold ETF, has enjoyed a 23% increase in

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value to US$150.99 in the last year. This while Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX), the world’s largest gold mining company, has seen its stock value drop 17% to $42.23 since the beginning of the year. The situation has forced gold companies to think about how they can get investors back to the table. One solution has been dividends, which ETFs don’t offer. “I think that’s the most significant opportunity we have to differentiate ourselves versus the metal,” Wilhoit said. In the last year, Goldcorp has more than doubled its dividend. Denver gold giant Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) increased its quarterly dividend 33% in April. The company has also linked its dividend to the

SpDR Gold shares (ETF) (NYSE Arca:GLD)

goldcorp inc.

Gold Price

(TSX:G)

(One year)

$55

$160

$1,600 $1,500

$50

$150 $140

$45

$130

$40

$1,400 $1,300 $1,200

$120 $35

$110 $100

New York, NY Type: Exchange Traded Fund Sponsor: World Gold Trust Services LLC Custodian: HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Gold in trust: US$59.2b Sources: Stockwatch, NYSE, SPDRgoldshares.com

gold price, promising that its quarterly payout would increase $0.05 per share for each $100 per ounce rise in the price of gold. But hefty dividends might not be enough to change investors’ minds.

$1,100 J

Vancouver CEO: Chuck Jeannes Employees: N/A Market cap: $38.7b P/E ratio: 18.10 EPS: $2.66 Sources: Stockwatch, TSX

The global mining industry continues to face rising political risk as countries around the world install new tax regimes that eat into the sector’s bottom line. At the same time, the demand that has driven commodity prices through the roof in the last year has also increased the cost of every-

$1,000

One-year change: +US$297 Sources: World Gold Council, Kitco

thing from the fuel that powers the trucks that haul ore to the tires they drive on. “They’re concerned that as these companies invest, their capital is going to cost them more and their cost structure is rising,” said Boggio. “As a result, fund managers and institutional managers looking at investing are more reluctant to invest in the gold companies.” • jmckay@biv.com

City lands major graphics “Olympics” Organizers say SIGGRAPH could attract new studios to town and solidify Vancouver’s reputation as a world centre for computer graphics production By Jenny Wagler

eputation-building and deals are in the air as Vancouver prepares to host the world’s biggest computer graphics conference – and what could be the largest conference the city has ever hosted. From August 7 to 11, an anticipated 25,000 attendees will descend upon the city and the Vancouver Convention Centre for the 38th annual Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH). The conference and exhibition attracts a wide variety of digital media and computer graphics players, including those in the gaming, animation and film industries. “On one end we have researchers, technologists who are writing code to display graphics on computers and at the other end we have artists who are using computers who might not be very technologically bent at all but are producing artwork with them,” conference chairman Peter Braccio said. “And we have the entire spectrum in-between.” This is the first year SIG-

GRAPH is venturing outside the United States. Braccio said the top reasons for picking Vancouver as a venue are the city’s beauty – and thus ability to draw attendees – and, more importantly, its thriving computer graphics activity. “There’s a heavy film production and effects community, there’s a gaming community, there’s a research community, there’s a very vibrant arts community – so all our core groups were there.” How much does Vancouver’s graphics community care about landing the conference? “Oh we care – we care a lot,” said Glenn Entis, president of SIGGRAPH’s Vancouver chapter, adjunct professor at the master of digital media program at Great Northern Way and a partner at venture capital fund Vanedge Capital, which invests in interactive entertainment and digital media businesses. “For the week of SIGGRAPH, the host city for SIGGRAPH is the capital of the computer graphics and digital media world,” he said, comparing it to the Olympics. Entis said that while Vancouver has made some nota-

Glenn Entis, local SIGGRAPH chapter president: SIGGRAPH is a great chance for local computer graphics companies “to market globally without leaving their own backyard”

ble gains in the past few years by attracting studios such as Pixar Canada, Sony Imageworks and Digital Domain, the conference will allow the local graphics community to cement its position on the international stage. Entis added that the conference is a great chance for the city to attract new studios. “I think for a lot of people, they may not make the decision in that week, but I think a lot of very valuable seeds will be planted.” He added that the conference is a major business opportunity for Vancouver-based

computer graphics companies to market themselves globally “without leaving their own backyard.” Venture capital funds such as Vanedge, he said, will be on the lookout for investment opportunities. “I expect we will meet companies who are coming to Vancouver for SIGGRAPH but also have an interesting story to tell and may be ‘investable’ companies for us.” Braccio said SIGGRAPH 2011 is being designed to help “hatch” business deals. For example, attendee companies can sign up online for a B2B matchmaking program that will broker meetings between Canadian and international companies. Braccio noted that the B.C. government will also host a session on doing business in Vancouver. City of Vancouver and Vancouver Convention Centre representatives could not confirm if SIGGRAPH is set to be the largest conference Vancouver has ever hosted, but Claire Smith, vice-president of sales and marketing for the convention centre, confirmed that it’s the largest group the centre has hosted to date. • jwagler@biv.com

News

July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Mills: Operators in China able to process B.C. logs far cheaper than mills can in this province A typical B.C. log sold on the export market can command $90 per cubic metre, while the same log could be sold to a mill in B.C. for $50. Russ Taylor, president of Vancouver’s International WOOD Markets Group, said the Chinese are willing to pay a premium for B.C. logs because their labour costs are a fraction of B.C.’s. “The reason why the Chinese are buying our logs and not our lumber is they can process our logs a lot cheaper than we can.” Taylor added that the average sawmill in China is little more than a bandsaw that can be hauled in the back of a pickup truck. The total capital cost of that mill? $10,000. “When it comes to processing logs they have very old technology because they’re using [cheap] labour to offset technology,” Taylor said. Lewis added that, in recent years, a lack of log exports has cost the province jobs. Since 2005, 46 million

Sam Leung

from Log, 1

International WOOD Markets Group president Russ Taylor: “B.C. is much better off with log exports than no log exports”

cubic metres of timber has gone untouched because it’s cost more to harvest the wood than it could be sold for on the market, he said. “That represents more than 2,000 direct jobs in timber harvesting and timber management annually,” said Lewis. “When indirect employment is factored in, more than 6,000 jobs per year were eliminated … by not exporting that timber.” But some B.C. sawmills tell a different story. Su r rey ’s Tea l Jones

Truck Loggers Association executive director Dave Lewis: “the question we need to address is … how do we manage exports so we can provide domestic manufacturers with the fibre they need but still maximize our harvest?”

Group said the run-up in log exports has starved the supply of logs to the domestic market. As a result, the company’s mill has had to take a significant amount of downtime this year, running two shifts even though customers are banging down the doors for more lumber. “Our customer demand would have the ability to go to three or even four

shifts, so there’s a significant amount of volume you could put through, which of course would create more employment,” said Teal Jones CFO Hanif Karmally. “There’s no question there’s an effect on employment.” Lewis, on the other hand, said that as long as B.C. sawmills can pay the cost to harvest coastal timber, there should be no shortage of logs for local mills. He pointed to the fact that B.C. sawmills have an annual capacity of approximately 16 million cubic metres. Meantime, B.C.’s sustain-

“More and more people are starting to understand … they’re working right now because of log exports” – Dave Lewis, executive director, Truck Loggers Association

able coastal harvest level is 24 million cubic metres,

leaving some eight million cubic metres untouched. But Karmally said that when exporters go into the forest they target the bestquality timber, leaving the sawmills with a less desirable product. “So we’re supposed to take lumber from that fall down and sell to the same customers who are getting the better log,” said Karmally. “It doesn’t work; it’s a faulty argument.” Although sawmills and export proponents disagree about how much exporting should be done, they do agree there is a time and place for it. The question is: how does the industry balance today’s jobs with the long-term value of a strong manufacturing sector? Ric Slaco, vice-president and chief forester at Vancouver-ba sed Inter for (TSX:IFP.A), believes his company is a perfect example of that balance. Although Interfor’s coastal log sales volumes tripled in the year’s first quarter, the company remains focused on its lumber business and has embraced new value-

added products and bioenergy projects to diversify its business model. Balance and diversity, said Slaco, is the key to a strong coastal forestry sector. “There’s a bunch of new things that I think collectively will represent a pretty bright future for the forest sector, but you’ve got to survive to get there and log exports, if it’s done in a reasoned and managed way, are a valuable tool for the province to have to keep the industry and jobs intact.” • jmckay@biv.com

Key numbers:

1.8

million cubic metres of B.C. logs shipped to foreign markets in the first four months of 2011

63%

the increase in log exports in the first four months of 2011 compared with 2010

$90

the price per cubic metre for a log in the export market

$50

the price per cubic metre for a log in the domestic market

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Finance

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

BY THE NUMBERS

Losses are shown in brackets. Graph information by Stockwatch.

Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX-V:BGM)

N/A Revenue: $8m Fiscal 2011

New nuggets: 2011 marked a milestone year for the Vancouver-based explorer, which managed to get its QR mine into production. Barkerville sold 5,774 ounces of gold last year. Still, it finished 2011 with an accumulated loss of $83m. Barkerville has tabled plans to spend $10m a year Earnings per share for the next three years on drill programs. The company Fiscal 2011 finished the year with $558k in cash.

($23m) ($0.38) Net income Fiscal 2011

$2.50 $2.00 $1.50 $1.00 $0.50

VRX Worldwide Inc. (TSX-V:VRW)

▼16%

$20k

Revenue: $907k 3 months 2011

Net income 3 months 2011

Photo fracas: The global downturn and unusually harsh weather conditions at the beginning of the year cut into VRX’s bottom line. The company, which specializes in resort and hotel photography, saw its net income plummet 77% in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2010. Earnings per share VRX’s sales and marketing costs were up 27% to $219k. The 3 months 2011 company ended the quarter with $144k in cash.

$0.00

$0.15 $0.10 $0.05 $0.00

Rusoro Mining Ltd. (TSX-V:RML) Figures in U.S. dollars. Cost crunch: The Venezuela-focused gold miner saw its costs exceed the amount it could sell gold for in the first quarter. Rusoro reported an average realized gold price per ounce of $1,292, while it cost $1,294 per ounce to produce the gold. The company said the higher cash cost was mainly due to Earnings per share lower production ore grades, a change in the translation 3 months 2011 rate and an increase in labour costs due to inflation.

▲74% ($1.4m) $0.00 Revenue: $28m 3 months 2011

Net income 3 months 2011

The BC Trucking Association (BCTA) is commending the B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan governments for streamlining trucking regulations that will reconcile vehicle weights and dimensions, operating policies and enforcement. BCTA president Lo u ise Yako said the move will make it easier for B.C. companies that have invested in newer tractors to take their equipment across provincial borders. Monday, July 4

Full stories and other local business news at www.biv.com/businesstoday Daily business news direct to your inbox! Sign-up at www.biv.com/newsletters

$0.20 $0.10

Best ways to position B.C. tech companies for U.S. investment

Tektronix buys Veridae

Truckers back streamling

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Michael Orbach and Kushal Saha

BUSINESS TODAY

Tuesday, July 5

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Cascadian Connections

daily online edition

Beaverton, Oregon-based technology company Tektronix Inc. announced it has acquired Vancouver-based Veridae Systems Inc. Veridae Systems was founded in 2009 to commercialize research from the University of British Columbia.

$0.50

.S. strategic buyers, venture capitalists and growth equity investors have historically had limited insight into British Columbia-based technology companies, resulting in sporadic investment in the region. To remedy this situation and achieve a consistent flow of opportunities, B.C. companies must understand how to best showcase their businesses to U.S. investors and build greater awareness of viable technology companies in the region. First, let’s examine the type of investors looking to enter the B.C. market. The venture capitalists who have experienced successful exits with their portfolio companies over the last several years are looking at the B.C. region as a new investment opportunity. Based on their past wins, these firms will continue to successfully raise capital and evaluate new opportunities across the border. Second, we see widespread interest from growth equity firms looking to enter the B.C. market. Prior to the economic downturn, growth equity investors raised billions of dollars. However, given the state of the market, they have not had an opportunity to deploy those funds. These firms are looking for growth investments and, consequently, are

aggressively competing with each other to make new investments. This has caused a supply and demand gap within the market. As a result of this gap, growth equity funds have been forced to become more flexible to seek out new investments. They have become geographically agnostic, focusing on areas where the high-value companies are located, whether it’s Canada, Europe or Asia. They have also become flexible in terms and more innovative in structuring deals. Based on this shift, growth equity firms are now competing with strategic acquirers for the same highvalue companies. The companies that have become desirable to the corporate acquirers are the identical companies that traditionally sought growth equity investments. The current market makes it an opportune time to be a seller of equity because the competition will drive high valuations and deal terms. To attract the attention of these U.S. investors and take advantage of current market dynamics, B.C. technology companies must ensure they are providing a complete picture of their market potential.

Companies that are leaders in their segment, with large revenue (more than $25 million) and high growth rates (more than 25%) are an obvious choice for investors and are typically the ones creating the most buzz in the market.

Companies that have a unique or niche technology or service are highly valuable because strategic buyers would rather acquire an existing technology versus developing one However, there are many other factors that play into a company’s potential for success from an investor perspective. For example, companies that have a unique or niche technology or service are highly valuable because strategic buyers would rather acquire an existing technology versus developing one. A company can also become a valuable asset to a strategic buyer or of interest to a growth equity fund if it is a differentiated player or if there is a high barrier to entry for new

players in that segment. Companies should also showcase their management team and the group’s past successes. We have seen many companies in the technology sector acquired based on the calibre of their executives. Additionally, B.C.-area companies can increase their visibility with U.S. investors by forming partnerships with U.S. companies, garnering coverage from a U.S. analyst firm or by building relationships with investment banks that have ties with growth equity firms long before they intend to receive financing. By highlighting these characteristics and creating a unique company profile, B.C. companies can quickly build awareness in the region. Cascadia Capital believes the B.C. market presents a fertile ground for growth equity investment and that companies in the region are well positioned to secure funding due to the current state of the market. • Michael Orbach and Kushal Saha are managing directors at Cascadia Capital (www.cascadiacapital.com), a Seattle-based boutique investment bank serving companies in diverse industries, including information technology, sustainability and middle market.

finance

July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver Insider Trading

The following is a list of trades made by corporate executives, directors and other company insiders of B.C.’s public companies filed during the week ending June 30. The information comes from a compilation of required reports filed with the BC Securities Commission within five calendar days of a change in an insider’s holdings. Insider: Aziz Shariff, director Company: Anfield Nickel Corp. (TSX-V:ANF) Shares owned: 3,960,000 Trade date: June 23, 27 Trade total: $2.2 million Trade: Sale of 500,000 shares at $4.40 per share over two trading days. Insider: Barry Olson, senior vice-president, project development Company: Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) Shares owned: 25,000 Trade date: June 24 Trade total: $1,917,377 Trade: Sale of 40,700 shares for $47.11 per share

Hot numbers

following the acquisition of 40,700 shares through the exercise of options at $25.74 per share. Insider: Robert McCallum, chairman Company: First Majestic Silver Corp. (TSX:FR) Shares owned: 120,000 Trade date: June 27 Trade total: $515,696 Trade: Sale of 30,000 shares at prices ranging from $17.17 to $17.27 per share. Insider: Lawrence Talbot, vice-president and general counsel Company: International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (TSX:ITH) Shares owned: 36,700 Trade date: June 16, 17, 20, 21, 22 Trade total: $548,717 Trade: Sale of 83,300 shares over five days at prices ranging from $6.40 per share to $7.04 per share. Insider: Minaz Devji, executive vice-president Company: Orko Silver

Corp. (TSX-V:OK) Shares owned: 845,965 Trade date: June 24, 27, 28, 29 Trade total: $585,984 Trade: Sale of 98,000 shares for $2.83 per share, 20,000 shares for $2.75 per share and 91,900 shares for $2.76 per share prior to the acquisition of 375,000 shares for $0.55 per share through the exercise of options.

shares at $12 per share.

Insider: Bob McFarlane, CFO Company: Telus Corp. (TSX:T) Shares owned: 144,619 Trade date: June 27 Trade total: $431,136 Trade: Acquisition of 17,964 shares at $24 per share through the exercise of options.

Insider: Patric Ouellette, CTO Company: Westport Innovations Inc. (TSX:WPT) Shares owned: 698 Trade date: June 24 Trade total: $157,620 Trade: Sale of 7,400 shares at $21.30 per share following the acquisition of 7,400 shares through the exercise of options.

Insider: Charles Bralver, director Company: Canaccord Financial Inc. (TSX:CF) Shares owned: 20,500 Trade date: June 28 Trade total: $246,049 Trade: Acquisition of 20,500

Insider: Rudinauth Chadee Company: Methanex Corp. (TSX:MX) Shares owned: 0 Trade date: June 29 Trade total: $220,560 Trade: Sale of 7,362 shares at $30 per share following the acquisition of 4,800 shares at US$6.33 per share through the exercise of options.

Insider: Lyle Braaten, secretary and general counsel Company: Alterra Power Corp. (TSX:AXY) Shares owned: 287,368 Trade date: June 22

Trade total: $150,000 Trade: Indirect acquisition via Emerson Holdings Ltd. of 197,368 shares at $0.76 per share as compensation for services. Insider: James McInnes, director Company: Almaden Minerals Ltd. (TSX:AMM) Shares owned: 375,110 Trade date: June 21 Trade total: $125,000 Trade: Acquisition of 50,000 shares at $2.50 per share through the exercise of options. Insider: James Sturgess, senior vice-president, corporate development and governmental affairs Company: Augusta Resource Corp. (TSX:AZC) Shares owned: 88,806 Trade date: June 22, 23 Trade total: $123,265 (sale total) Trade: Sale of 27,700 shares at $4.45 per share and the acquisition of 5,656 shares at $4.25 per share the day after. •

A selection of the latest business stats collected by Ipsos Reid and Business in Vancouver. is the persuasion increase when focusing on single versus multiple products in an online ad.

67%

45%

of Canadians say rising gas and food prices are affecting their daily budget.

23%

of smartphone owners say business makes up more than half their smartphone use.

67%

of British Columbians consider a retailer’s environmental actions when deciding where to shop.

81%

of online Canadians believe online consumer product reviews.

86%

of small businesses view reliable communications technology support as essential. Want more hot numbers? Visit the Ipsos News Centre at www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls.

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Technology

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

Can I quote you on that? Software maker launches web-based application to help companies build quotes for large, complex orders By Nelson Bennett

f your company sells a range of services or products with any degree of complexity, chances are you have a sales team that spends a lot of time just calculating quotes for customers. Likewise for your billing department. Vancouver’s Deversus Software Inc. is launching a new web-based quotation and billing system this week called Socket that it claims will do the work for you. “It’s for companies where addto-cart – traditional e-commerce – just doesn’t work,” said Deversus co-founder Mike Polga. Until recently, Deversus – a small, four-person software company – specialized in developing custom web-based applications. Socket is the first off-the-shelf application the company has designed that will be widely available to any business for a monthly subscription fee ranging from $29 to $750. Twenty-six companies have been testing a pre-release version of Socket for months. Horizon DataSys, one of the first companies to use it, has been using a beta version of the program for more than two years. “I’ve been looking all over for a web-based app where customers and our sales teams could use the same tool to create customized price quotations for customers,” said Horizon DataSys CEO Lyle Patel. Horizon sells PC rollback software, which restores computer systems to previous states in the

Dominic Schaefer

Deversus co-founder Mike Walsh: “we basically built a tool that automated quoting online so their customers or potential customers could build their own quotes”

event of system failures. Because the company’s customers tend to be large organizations placing large, complex orders, coming up with quotes and then billing them was time consuming. In the past, the company’s sales staff spent a lot of time with customers via phone and email creating customized quotations, something that can now be done online, either by the customers themselves, sales staff or both. “People were either doing it manually or building custom solutions, which is very expensive,” said Deversus co-founder Mike Walsh. “We basically built a tool that automated quoting online so their customers, or potential customers,

could build their own quotes. Once they have their quote they have the option to buy online.”

“It’s for companies where add-to-cart – traditional e-commerce – just doesn’t work” – Mike Polga, co-founder, Deversus Software

Far from replacing a company’s sales staff, the automated quotation system frees those employees up to

spend more time drumming up new accounts, Patel said. “They can be on the hunt for new clients or be setting up other customers’ accounts instead of just doing rudimentary or routine work. “Because it’s web-based, they can create the quote anywhere. So if our sales team needs to create a quotation and they’re not in the office, they can do it from any PC that has Internet access.” Applications like Socket are part of a wider trend in which large enterprises have been switching from customized in-house e-commerce programs to licensed or subscription programs, according to a white paper by David Chiu, an e-com-

merce strategist with Vancouverbased Elastic Path Software. “[T]he number of large enterprises with their own in-house ecommerce applications declined by 24% from 2005 to 2009,” Chiu wrote in “The Top 10 Ecommerce Re-platforming Mistakes.” In the past, companies hired software developers to tailor-make applications for their business. “To build one application, what I call a monolithic application … to do that from scratch would be prohibitively expensive,” Chiu told Business in Vancouver. “Major online sellers, from Wal-Mart to Symantec, made the switch to licensed software during this period, while not one of the top 200 Internet retailers in North America moved from buy to build,” Chiu noted in his white paper. But the custom-built approach is what Polga and Walsh built Deversus on. The 26-year-old entrepreneurs founded the company in 2007, fresh out of university. The mainstay of their business-to-business enterprise has been designing custom web-based software applications to solve specific problems for clients. But Walsh concedes that developing software as a service applications and charging licensing or subscription fees may be a more secure approach, because it can be easier to land 1,000 customers paying $100 each than to land one paying $100,000 for a custom program. “For the foreseeable future we’re going to continue to do both,” Walsh said. “I think the longerterm vision of our company is to go down the route we’re going with Socket, simply because the market for $100,000 custom systems isn’t that big and it’s high risk.” • nbennett@biv.com

High-Tech Office

Alan Zisman iPad a good travel companion for business or pleasure

just got back from several weeks’ holiday travels; lucky me. As many of you do, I take my high-tech office with me, putting a premium on portability and usability. In past years, I’ve written about travelling with a MacBook Air and with a netbook. This time around, I took a tablet. While I’ve recently reviewed tablets from Motorola and RIM in this column, both of those had already gone back to their manufacturers. Instead, I took my own iPad – not the new iPad 2, but last year’s original model. And I was glad I had it. While both the Motorola Xoom and RIM BlackBerry

Playbook models I’d had for review (and previous years’ MacBook Air and Dell Mini 9 netbook) have Wi-Fi networking, iPad models optionally include 3G networking. It’s easy to get the sense that Wi-Fi is readily available – that hasn’t been my experience when travelling. A few moments in a Florence Vodafone storefront in Italy got me an iPad-compatible micro-SIMM good for a month’s wireless data access. The cost: EU20. The account automatically cancelled itself at the end of the month. No muss, no fuss and online access pretty much everywhere – on the train, hiking in the Tuscan

countryside and in the several hotels we stayed at with limited or no Wi-Fi connectivity. At its best, 3G networking is slower than Wi-Fi, and I never figured out whether there were limits to how much bandwidth my 3G account provided. As a result, I avoided things like watching online video or downloading apps and updates. But email and everyday web browsing was fine. (Over three weeks, I used about 500 megabytes of data.) That always-available connectivity also let the iPad double as a GPS, handy both when hiking in rural Tus-

cany and in the medieval maze of cities like Venice. In addition, I had an Android smartphone – without a data plan, the phone’s GPS was unable to download and display maps. The iPad’s tablet form factor made it a nice travelling companion – smaller and lighter than a notebook or netbook, easier to use on an airplane seat-back tray table. I easily carried it in my backpack while hiking, something I wouldn’t consider doing with a notebook computer. The tablet screen worked well for watching video (in horizontal landscape mode) and reading books (in vertical portrait mode). Before leaving, I loaded it with movies, TV shows and novels – avoiding any need to pack pounds of paperbacks. A consortium of B.C. libraries offers eBooks on loan,

downloadable and readable on iPads and other portable devices. The 10-hour battery life let it remain usable throughout the long flight from Vancouver to Italy, though carry-

The 10-hour battery life let the iPad remain usable throughout the long flight from Vancouver to Italy ing any sort of eBook reader means not having anything to read during takeoff and landing. (And yes, even my older iPad continued to really have 10 hours of battery life; I checked usage on the ninehour Venice-to-Vancouver flight, and it dropped by 10% with every hour of use.) Instant-on was also a plus, letting the iPad be available as

needed. (It’s not really instanton, but rather, resume from suspend. However, given the iPad’s long shelf-life when suspended and little need to be shut down or restarted, that’s a technicality.) I didn’t find myself regretting having last year’s model. The iPad 2 is thinner and a tiny bit lighter, but my older model is thin and light enough. The new model has a faster processor and more RAM, but the older model never seemed sluggish. And the current iPad has built-in cameras lacking in mine, but the one time I saw someone using an iPad 2 to take photos it looked pretty clumsy. More on how I did take photos next time. • Alan Zisman (www.zisman. ca) is a Vancouver educator and computer specialist. His column appears weekly.

Real estate

July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

real estate roundup

Peter Mitham City’s downtown office space rising; Recreational properties action up Oxford start Construction of the first new office tower in downtown Vancouver since the completion of the second phase of Bentall 5 in 2007 will occur by the end of September. Several new towers have been discussed for the downtown core, but Oxford Properties Group will be the first to make good on its plans when it breaks ground on 1021 West Hastings Street in the third quarter. The 35-storey development is a joint venture between Oxford and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). It will offer 270,000 square feet of office space with an average floor plate of approximately 8,000 square feet when it completes in summer 2014.

“We’ve had great feedback from the tenant community on the project” – Dave Routledge, vice-president, real estate management, Oxford Properties Group

The announcement follows a year of speculation as to which downtown property would be the first to feel the shovel’s point. Plans for Bentall Kennedy LP, long a favourite with its planned development at 745 Thurlow Street, has been followed by announcements regarding new office developments as part of a mixed-use complex Reliance Properties Ltd. and the Jim Pattison Group plan for Burrard and Drake streets as well as Westbank Projects Corp.’s Telus Gardens at West Georgia and Richards streets. Telus Gardens was tipped as a potential front-runner given Telus’ presence as an anchor for the office component, but rezoning of the site remains in progress. And, despite being well ahead in civic processes, 745 Thurlow will require a significant commitment from tenants prior to construction.

“The privately owned sites are going to need construction financing to get those off the ground, and they’re going to need preleasing. And preleasing in this city is difficult,” CB Richard Ellis executive vicepresident Jim Szabo told commercial real estate association NAIOP last fall. Oxford’s project, while backed by CPPIB cash, hopes to attract tenants on the strength of its smaller floor plates (Vancouver is predominantly a small-tenant market) as well as being first to market in an environment where CB Richard Ellis reports triple-A office vacancies sit at 1.6% (down from 5.6% a year ago) and 4.3% overall. “Vancouver is a very healthy market,” said Dave Routledge, vice-president, real estate management, for Oxford. He added that vacancies at Oxford’s own properties are running at 1%. “We’re very comfortable making a commitment to Vancouver. We’ve had great feedback from the tenant community on the project.” Discussions with potential tenants are ongoing, and Routledge expects an announcement of the first tenant might be possible within six to 12 months. “But it’s a dynamic market, and it’s hard to call these things,” he said. “So it’s a little bit hard to make that call.” Recreational survey Recreational property is a good long-term investment, according to 87% of current owners and prospective buyers surveyed in B.C. for Royal LePage Real Estate Services. Sure, owners and folks looking to buy might be biased, but the semi-annual recreational property report Royal LePage produces suggests that pricing is probably now in buyers’ favour. “Now is the time to buy, whether you’re looking to get into the market for recreational purposes, as an investment or both,” Steve

daily online edition

Detached homes, not condos, driving up Vancouver housing prices Overseas buyers and strata owners seeking detached properties are continuing to drive up prices for Vancouver’s detached homes, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast. “Vancouver was a condo market a few years ago, but now more people are moving into houses,” said Bill Binnie, broker and owner of Royal LePage North Shore. Nearly 10% of the market moved from strata properties to detached homes in May 2011, but he said only 5% moved from a house to a condo during that same period.

term leases at the Village on False Creek, SEFC Properties Ltd. receiver Ernst and Young Inc. has announced. The two anchor tenants have renegotiated their lease terms since the project went into receivership in November 2010; both companies are slated to open stores in late spring of 2012. Wednesday, July 6

Video store closures accelerate

London Drugs, Urban Fare sign leases at former Olympic Village

Most video stores in Vancouver will close by the end of the year, according to German Camacho, who has owned Applause Video on Commercial Drive for 24 years. Camacho planned to stop renting videos on July 8. Commercial Drive lost another video store, Alpha Video, earlier this year, and Videomatica owners Brian Bosworth and Graham Peat to announce in May that they would close this summer.

London Drugs and Urban Fare have signed long-

Tuesday, July 5

Thursday, July 7

Full stories and other local business news at www.biv.com/businesstoday Daily business news direct to your inbox! Sign-up at www.biv.com/newsletters

EcOasis acquired 26 as part of the deal. It has sold eight of those to date and released the final 18 lots at the end of June. Keith McIvor, vice-president of sales with EcOasis, said the property has year-round appeal, but the summer months are best for viewing the topography of a project that bills itself as a ski-in-ski-out community with its own private gondola. Fifteen homes are complete at Kadenwood, with a further six under construction and three more ready to rise later this year. McIvor said offshore buyers have shown the strongest interest in the project, followed by purchasers from the Lower Mainland.

Small plates: Oxford Properties Group hopes to feed tenants’ hunger for space with a new 270,000-square-foot tower in downtown Vancouver serving up floor plates of just 8,000 square feet

Gray, managing broker of Royal LePage Kelowna, said in the report. “Be cautious about waiting, because prices are as competitive as they’re going to get.” Waterfront properties in the Kelowna area, in short supply relative to demand, have been stuck in the $650,000 to $1.5 million range for the past three years. Meanwhile, in Whistler, EcOasis Properties Ltd. recently released the final 18 lots in Kadenwood, a project it acquired late last year from Intrawest. The project has a total of 60 home sites;

Moneyed makeovers Vancouver tops the country when it comes to spending on renovations, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) reports. Renovators in Vancouver spent an average of $15,709 per household in 2010. This was up from an average of $13,457 in 2009. The percentage of local homeowners renovating in 2010 was 41%, a point below the national average of 42%. Renovations, for survey purposes, include anything from largescale makeovers to painting and repairs. CMHC expects renovation projects in Vancouver will average $13,112 apiece this year. The expense is one reason why Vancouver trails the country in home makeovers, with just 35% of homeowners planning renovations. CMHC’s findings echo an RBC Royal Bank survey last fall that found B.C. homeowners will lag behind the country when it comes to renovations in 2011 and 2012. CMHC nevertheless expects B.C. homeowners to spend $7.8 billion on renovation this year, up from $7.3 billion in 2010. • pmitham@telus.net

Through a generous gift made by Maria Logan, a long-time Arts Club supporter, all new or increased gifts to the Arts Club Theatre Company will be matched up to $35,000.

Maria Logan Photo by Claude Biron

Deadline August 31, 2011

Make your donation today Online: www.artsclub.com Phone: 604.687.5315 x261 Mail: 1585 Johnston Street Vancouver, BC V6H 3R9 The Arts Club Theatre Company is a not-for-profit registered charity and all gifts $20 and more will qualify for a tax receipt. For more information, contact Sheila Kearney Miller at skmiller@artsclub.com or 604.687.5315 x261

Now is the time to give

Small business

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

The Tutor Doctors are in With 15 years of professional experience under their belts, two Abbotsford moms find success as franchise owners All tutors go through a rigorous application process, which includes a criminal record check.

By Jennifer Harrison

aving worked for years helping others build successful businesses, longtime friends Margot Bartsch and Jennifer Meyer decided they wanted the opportunity to go into business for themselves. As vice-president of business development at Holiday Trails Resorts, Bartsch noted, “I had hit a place professionally where I had brought them to a point where I felt they were rebranded, everything functioned well and I had helped increase the profits substantially over a two- to three-year period.” The first of the women to venture out on her own in 2009, Bartsch sought out franchise opportunities with one very strict requirement: she did not want to buy a job. “When I did my due diligence, that was in my list of questions, discussing with them the scalability of the business. I came in with every intention of building a business,” said Bartsch. She ultimately purchased a Tutor Doctor franchise. Launched in Toronto in 1999 and now with international offices, Tutor Doctor is a one-on-one, in-home tutoring business. Bartsch became a franchisor and area manager of Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack. One year later, Meyer joined her friend and bought her own franchise, now covering the North Fraser, Burnaby, Tri-Cities, Coquitlam and Maple Ridge area.

Dominic Schaeffer

Jennifer Meyer (left) and Margot Bartsch, franchise owners of Tutor Doctor: “the franchise route is a good choice for someone who is entrepreneurial but doesn’t want to exist in a void”

Bucking tradition Having worked together years earlier in an ESL study tour business, the women had experience in the educational realm and saw an opportunity to use their skill sets where they could make a difference. They balk at the idea of a traditional tutoring model where there are three or four students in a room working independently with one tutor.

Reader Profile

Amanda Mungal subscribers

Owner / executive ASSiStAnt extrAOrdinAire

Business lines

Goals: To have a plentiful veggie garden in my back yard, turn It’s Your Time into a franchised Business/Organization Name: It’s Your Time company and live a positive and happy life. Business Focus/Specialty: Executive Support Passions and Interests: travel, learning, Services for the busy small business and meeting new people, nurturing potential consultant Current Read, Author: a variety of new Business Advantage: Personal one-on-one parenting books service provided virtually, face-to-face or a bit of both to suit your needs. Someone I Admire/Why: My dad. He never Website:www.ItsYourTime.ca stops dreaming up plans and is always willing to explore my crazy ideas along with me. Foundation Five people (of all time) I would invite to my Name: Amanda Mungal dinner gathering: Agnes MacPhail, Russell E-mail: Amanda@itsyourtime.ca Brand, Tina Fey, Laura Secord and my husband Occupation/Position/Title: Owner / Executive (the best dinner companion I’ve met). Assistant Extraordinaire Business Tip or Motto: Being nice is back in style – it’s not “just business” – always look to What I do: I help business owners and how you can assist others and you can’t help but professionals crawl out from the administrative burden of their business so that they can focus on succeed. building their business. Favourite TV Show: Almost anything on HBO – Professional Background: Over 15 years’ guilty pleasure: Apprentice experience as an Executive Assistant/Office Favourite Holiday Destination: If it’s a quick Manager in industries ranging from notholiday – somewhere hot. With a bit more time, for-profit, municipal government, travel, Paris. environment and more. Favourite Community Organization or Charity: Semiahmoo House Society Favourite stuFF Favourite Reason for Subscribing to BIV: Favourite Achievements: Successfully start Finding out what’s happening in the city’s and grow my business while nurturing and growing my family. business world

See you in print! Each week we pick a subscriber to profile. For consideration, email profiles@biv.com. Another way that Business in Vancouver pays off.

“People are paying $55 to $60 an hour, and that’s not even [for people who are] teaching. It makes no sense,” said Bartsch. Working with autistic students, highachieving students looking to get into Ivy League schools and student athletes seeking scholarships, Bartsch and Meyer make it their number 1 priority to assess the specific needs of each individual student and to understand his or her goals. They then create an individualized plan and send in a tutor who is a good match for that student in terms of academic background, personality and teaching style. “Our hourly rate starts at $39 per hour,” said Meyer. “We offer discounts for families who require ongoing tutoring. Most families pay about $43 per hour. This makes us $10 to $15 per hour cheaper than the study centre model. We don’t charge for an assessment or a membership fee.” Each office has more than 100 tutors on its roster, including subject specialists and special-ed instructors. Meyer says there are a lot of teachers out there who can’t get work, so there is no shortage of talent. “Ultimately these people are looking for their own classrooms, but they have a passion for what they are doing and we provide them an outlet, and the students reap the benefits of their expertise and training.”

Environmental Cleaning

Successful mentors Both women also employ four or five fulltime employees in their offices, including a manager of tutor services, a manager of family services, a bookkeeper and administrative support. Meyer noted, “We both started our companies with the intention of bringing on staff as soon as feasible. Our goal with the company was not to buy a job, but to create a company that we wouldn’t necessarily have to be involved with on a day-to-day basis if that is what we chose to do. It is one thing for Margot and I to iterate our values, it’s another thing to build a team that agrees and carries it through.” Bartsch and Meyer have been so successful at growing their businesses that Tutor Doctor established a mentoring program out of the women’s experience starting up the franchises. Before Meyer bought her own business, she helped Bartsch in her office and got an inside look at what was important. This allowed Meyer to get up and going quickly when she was starting out. According to Bartsch, “Jennifer won Rookie of the Year last year. She started up in January and they had never seen anyone get up and running and become profitable anywhere as fast as Jennifer did and it was because we worked together. In her first month she had 25 students.” In fact, as both women’s franchises have flourished, with revenue over $1 million in 2010, their husbands have joined the company. Both Bartsch and Meyer credit their ability to work together, along with an established professional background, as fundamental to their achievements. “Neither Margot nor I could have been as successful starting from scratch with the franchise if we did not have the collaborative experience that we both brought to the table to begin with,” said Meyer. “Business skills can’t be fabricated, you need to have that trial and error. We just did ours elsewhere. By the time we got to Tutor Doctor, we had more skill and insight than many people starting up.” • jharrison@biv.com

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Business tool kit

July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

BizPharmacy

Cyri Jones and Ivan Surjanovic Technology prescriptions to help you stay organized in an increasingly complex workplace Symptom This new cloud computing and “app culture” is exciting, but I’m finding it more difficult than ever to stay organized and on top of things. In the past, I just had my personal planner in “good old-fashioned paper” and my desktop and laptop computers for working on files, and it worked pretty well. Now, there is the addition of web apps, a smartphone and tablet devices like the iPad. The list keeps growing! How do I stay organized across these multiple platforms?

How-To

Recommended medications Ivan: This is a typical case of “disorganizitus” and “platform non-integrate phobia.” I am seeing a lot more cases of this, some really serious where patients have had a complete information breakdown, losing all their data when synching their iPhone. In other cases I have seen a hard drive crash lead to hospitalization after realizing how many years of work had just been lost. Luckily there are some excellent medications that will keep this dan-

gerous condition at bay. The two I would recommend starting off with are Evernote (www.evernote.com) and Instapaper (www.instapaper. com). Cyri: Evernote is my personal favourite. Its slogan, “remember everything,” is a good description. You can very easily add in all your tasks, notes and even take pictures of meeting notes and business cards. Evernote makes it simple to tag up your information so it’s easy to access and search. The best part is that you can synch it so that you can use it just as easily from a computer, smartphone or other device. Ivan: I like how it’s easy to record ideas from your head and capture them in Evernote. It’s also very cool how you can search words that are stored within images, like business cards you have taken a picture of or whiteboard notes. You just have to make sure you don’t forget to write the note in Evernote.

Cyri: I heard an excellent presentation on time management by Greg Campeau (www.campeaulearning. com) at a recent Vancouver event. He said there are four essentials you need to have accessible at all times to stay organized: 1) a calendar; 2) a place to write notes; 3) a contacts database; and 4) project lists. Evernote enables integration between your computers and your phone so you don’t need multiple lists, calendars, contacts databases and notes. It really does simplify your life. Ivan: I like Instapaper, the “save and read later” app. I’m constantly needing to surf the web for research projects I’m working on, but when I find something good, I don’t often have time to read the article right away. With Instapaper, I get a “read later” button I can add to my browsers. When I click on this, Instapaper saves to a format that can be read anywhere, on my computer, paper if I

organize a company retreat

By Lynsey Franks

ou show up at work, gather with colleagues around the coffee-maker and prepare your warm mug of java to take to your desk, cubicle or office. There you remain for the duration of the day, answering phone calls, responding to emails, writing reports and assisting customers. You interact – but minimally – with fellow employees through intermittent conversations and maybe a weekly brainstorming meeting. Planning a company retreat may renew communication and help to build and strengthen inter-office relations. Here are some things to consider. Building relationships Victoria Anderson, the regional sales associate for Prestige Hotels & Resorts, says that the sole purpose of a company retreat is to facilitate the building of relationships among departments. This ultimately increases the company’s morale. “It’s a time for relaxation and sharing of ideas,” said Anderson. “It offers a less stressful atmosphere and supports

an environment for work and play.” Getting everyone together from every department promotes camaraderie: an act that Anderson says stimulates productivity and the ability to brainstorm by helping people get their “creative juices flowing” in an unguarded environment. For the purpose of forming connections, Anderson said a retreat can often create a better understanding of a company’s priorities, inner workings and goals, providing attendees with insight and a new sense of belonging. Picking a location Depending on the message you’re trying to convey, Anderson said that in planning a retreat consider accessibility, corporate image, recreational opportunities and quality. While picking a location may seem difficult, Anderson notes that desirable space can fill up quickly. She recommends booking one year in advance. Consider the number of guests, the banquet-room size and the desired amenities, as well as guest accommodations. “We don’t usually give or get input [on location] from

our employees,” said Anderson. “The surprise aspect of it provides the wow factor.” Striking a balance All work and no play makes a company retreat a dull occasion. In an ideal setting, a retreat offers a 50/50 balance of work-related and recreational activities. Depending on the distance travelled, a retreat should not exceed five days in duration; for the necessary material to be covered, it should be no shorter than two. Preparing your employees An itinerary should tell employees what to expect, allowing them to pack the appropriate balance of casual and formal wear. Managers should hand out reading material beforehand to familiarize employees with the topics of discussion. You can measure the success of your retreat by positive changes in employees’ attitudes about your company’s services. You can gauge these by increased sales or productivity. • Originally published in BIV’s How~2 magazine – expert advice on essential business products and services.

want to print it out, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch or the Kindle. Prognosis Ivan: These medications should help you overcome disorganizitus. Commit to the tools for at least one month to see true transformation. If you pick the right tools and are disciplined enough to use them consistently, you’ll have more of your most valuable resource: time. Future management of this condition Cyri: We just gave you some of the initial tools to get organized. There are some other important aspects of this condition that we will soon cover, such as cross-platform backup and work collaboration services. Cost Instapaper is free to get started with and has a premium subscription option. Evernote also has a free option and a premium subscription option at $5 per month or $45 per year – a great value.

Generic and alternative medicine Ivan: The generic medication is really just “personal organization.” Other alternatives include Pinboard (www.pinboard.in), Microsoft OneNote (office.microsoft. com/en-ca/onenote) and Springpad (www.springpadit.com). Precautions Cyri: Try out a few tools and then stick to one main one and possibly a few more for specialized tasks. Cyri and Ivan’s medication rating ★★★★★ Cyri Jones teaches entrepreneurship, project management and information technology at BCIT and Capilano University and is the co-founder of ZedPress.com, a lifelong learning publishing platform and social network. He blogs at 24posts.com. Ivan Surjanovic is a marketing faculty at Capilano University and CEO of iPower Lab. He blogs at whereispuck. com and at bizpharmacy.com.

>”The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavour upon the business known as gambling” – Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

>”Capital isn’t that important in business. Experience isn’t that important. You can get both of these things. What is important is ideas”

– Harvey Firestone, American businessman and founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber

>”In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product and profits. Unless you’ve got a good team, you can’t do much with the other two” – Lee Iacocca, former Chrysler chairman and CEO

Book Reviews Kuypers is an entertaining storyteller and manages to be instructive without sounding pedantic. He will transform how you see and share power within your organization. • Who’s the Driver Anyway? By John Kuypers Thomson Reuters Canada, 2011

ho’s the Driver Anyway? will be helpful the first day you read it – and a year later when you inevitably turn to it for reference. Logical, easy-to-understand tools help you assess and improve your business’ communications and productivity.

Zombie Economics: A Guide to Personal Finance By Lisa Desjardins and Rick Emerson Avery (reprint), 2011

ombie Economics could be titled “How to Look Like a Cool Kid and Still Offer Something to Learn.” Using down-to-earth lan-

guage, authors Desjardins and Emerson talk you through surviving a financial apocalypse. Don’t be fooled by the gimmicky title and cute chapter headings; Zombie Economics offers practical advice for anyone in the midst of financial uncertainty. The authors avoid the “Iknow-best” guru approach and the pompous financial tome advice, and lay out clear and concise planning skills. Besides, who can resist a financial how-to book that includes Brain Food and Biohazard icons? • Donna Kaye is an assistant trade buyer at UBC Bookstore.

14 News

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

BREAKING GROUND

Golden Goals

Bob Mackin Big-name golf returns, with big names; RBC the Canadian title sponsor but PGA gives Bell a boost

f you think the 99th Grey Cup in November is the next national sports championship to be decided in Vancouver, think again. Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club is celebrating its centennial with the 2011 RBC Canadian Open July 18 to 24. Shaughnessy was actually founded in 1911 as the Shaughnessy Heights Golf Course, but moved to 162 acres of land leased from the Musqueam Indian Band in the fall of 1960. A lot has changed since the tournament was last played there in 2005. “The breadth and depth of the sponsors have changed and improved for the better,” said Golf Canada chief commercial officer Larry Thomas. When Mark Calcavecchia won, he raised the trophy on September 13, after the peak of the PGA Tour season. This time the Canadian Open is the first tournament after the British Open and three weeks before the last major of the year, the PGA Championship, in Johns Creek, Georgia. BMW has signed on as a luxury automobile partner. Previous title sponsor Bell is a premier sponsor and, thanks to a new PGA Tour policy, has a new on-course activation opportunity. Shaughnessy club rules include a blanket ban on cellphones and laptop computers. That will be lifted during tournament week. The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, introduced the first PGA Tour phone zones in February. The six areas, sponsored by Verizon, permitted voice calls. Elsewhere on t he course, phones set on silent could be used for texting, emailing and tweeting, except when the marshals raised their authoritative “quiet” paddles. Audio and video recording were both banned, but still photography was allowed on the

Wednesday. Golf Canada is expecting 90,000 to 100,000 attendees and is opening gates for free to children under 17. Despite the market dominance of the Vancouver Canucks, the Vancouver Whitecaps ascension to Major League Soccer and this fall’s Grey Cup, Thomas is satisfied with the corporate hospitality sales. Of the 25 catered ninth-green tables for $20,000 each, one remained last week. The inventory

“We have six million golfers in the country, 21% of the country golfs at some point of the year” – Larry Thomas, chief commercial officer, Golf Canada

of 24 $65,000 catered skyboxes on the 18th green is sold out. “There are great properties within the Vancouver marketplace people can use for hospitality and entertainment, but they all bring different elements to the table,” Thomas said. “The wonderful thing about golf, and particularly a national championship, we have six million golfers in the country, 21% of the country golfs at some point of the year, so many people are engaged with the sport personally.” That interest may be sparked by the likelihood of seeing top golfers compete. “Who’s that man?” instead of “you the man!” was the knock against the Greater Vancouver Open/Air Canada Championship PGA Tour stop from 1996 to 2002 at Surrey’s Northview Golf and Country Club. The Canadian Open was once considered golf’s fifth, unofficial major. RBC sought a solution by signing bag sponsorships with the

likes of top world-ranked golfer Luke Donald, 2006 and 2007 winner Jim Furyk, Canadian contenders Stephen Ames and Mike Weir, PGA Tour mainstays Ernie Els and Fred Couples and Matt Kuchar, who led the PGA Tour with $4.91 million in winnings last year. They were also declared Team RBC ambassadors. Of course, convincing U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy to play would be a major coup. “He may want to spend some time at home after he finishes (the British Open),” said Thomas, who joined Golf Canada in February after 30 years with Readers Digest. “Our fingers are crossed.” Golf Canada is also hosting the CN Canadian Women’s Open August 20 to 26, 2012, at Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam. Korean connections During the Vancouver Olympics, PyeongChang 2018’s bid team won the hospitality battle with Annecy and Munich by hosting hospitality events at Korea House in the Hyatt Regency. The glitzy show that included scantily clad dancers and magicians was a small part of the campaign to sway the International Olympic Committee members who ultimately voted July 6 in Durban, South Africa. The mastermind of the winning South Korean strategy was Mike Lee of Vero Campaigning Communications. Lee also was behind London 2012, Rio 2016 and Qatar 2022. On the road to 2018, the global sidebar will be about relations between South Korea and North Korea, which suffers under dictator Kim Jong-Il. For Canadians, it could speed up negotiations for a free-trade deal. Ottawa and Seoul have been talking since 2004. • 2010goldrush@gmail.com twitter.com/bobmackin

Resource industry in brief

Resource rise

The old economy is new again as mining, forestry and oil and gas are expected to drive economic growth in B.C. this year and next. This according to Scotia Economics, which released a provincial trends report last week. The report found that B.C.’s economy is expected to outperform the Canadian average in the near future. Scotia said development of the province’s mining activities would continue to be a key source of growth through 2011 and 2012. “Significant investment is planned and the industry continues to see [merger and acquisition] activity from both domestic and foreign firms,” the report said. Scotia also pointed to the province’s burgeoning shale gas sector and the planned development of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Kitimat, which would also help drive investment and growth. And despite an ongoing downturn in the U.S. housing market, Scotia said the province’s storied forestry sector has shown a “remarkable turnaround” in recent years. “Demand from China has led to a surge in exports, as wood is starting to comprise a greater share of housing construction materials,” said Scotia. The bank added that forestry production is expected to climb 8% in 2011 and 2012. The average provincial GDP growth rate for 2011-12 in B.C. is 3%, said Scotia, compared with a Canadian average of 2.7%.

Court conduct

Selwyn Resources (TSX-V:SWN) has won a legal battle in a Yukon court against the Liard First Nation regarding the development of a mine. The Vancouver-based zinc and lead explorer said last week the Supreme

Human ResouRces QuaRteRly

Court of Yukon had dismissed an application by the First Nation to “quash, suspend or stay” an earlier decision document that allowed the company to advance its project toward licensing and permitting. The legal wrangle began last November when the Liard applied to have the document voided after it determined the Yukon Environmental and Socioeconomic Assessment Board had issued a deficient evaluation report for the Selwyn project. On top of that, the Liard claimed the territorial government had “failed in its duty to consult” with the band. But a Yukon judge found that the territorial government had reasonably considered the environmental effects of the Selwyn project and had adequately addressed its duty to consult with the First Nation. The project under question is in the Howard’s Pass zinc-lead-silver district and contains some 41.6 billion pounds of zinc and 13.6 billion pounds of lead in indicated and inferred categories. Selwyn said the court decision would allow the company to implement a 200,000-tonne underground exploration program. In other legal news, the Manitoba Court of Queens Bench has issued an interlocutory judgment allowing Callinan Mines (TSX-V:CAA) to access documents related to its net profits interest in HudBay Minerals’ (TSX:HBM) 777 mine, located near Flin Flon Manitoba. The court action dates back to 2007 when Callinan filed a statement of claim seeking an order to compel HudBay to make available to Callinan all books, records and accounts regarding the 777 mine. Callinan derives its revenue from royalty agreements with two mines in Manitoba and uses it to fund exploration work elsewhere. The Vancouver-based venture claims the calculation of payments due to it under its net profits interest agreement with HudBay needs to be audited annually. This latest court ruling is the first since the suit was referred to “case management,” which is a process the company said was designed to expedite the pre-trial process. jmckay@biv.com

SponSored by

Coming July 19th employee related issues can be some of the most crucial and time consuming issues that business owners and their managers deal with. The Human resources Quarterly report will feature advice from industry experts who will help you bring out the best in your employees and provide some of the answers to becoming a better people manager.

www.biv.com

CONSTRUCTION July 12–18, 2011

CLIENT:

604.988.1407

VRCA news supplement

Federal and provincial environmental assessments are underway

Photo: “Cam podmore”

It appears British Columbia is preparing to go ahead with the massive Site C hydroelectric project on the Peace River. Estimated cost would be $8 billion

period. In addition, Hydro estimates Site C would create up to 35,000 direct and indirect jobs through all stages of development and construction. Site C, Hydro says, would gain what it calls “significant efficiencies” by taking advantage of the Williston

Inside

construction in vancouver

VRCA strikes deal with Reed Three associations join forces to provide extended benefits —C3 BCIT students win big School of Construction nets five first-place awards —C3 List: Biggest construction companies in B.C. —C4 Government policies Does Wood First legislation hurt concrete “families”? —C5 Victoria announces short list Three teams in running for Kelowna heart and surgical centre —C5

Around the Industry

—C6

Constructive Comment

—C7

Hospital construction in B.C. Millions of dollars in projects around the province —C8 VRCA new members list —C9 Construction projects compete Awards of Excellence nearing decision point —C10 Legal Specs

—C10

New green certification —C11 Provincial View

—C12

Reservoir behind the original WAC Bennett Dam, built in the mid1960s. This means that Site C would generate approximately 35% of the energy produced at the WAC Bennett Dam but have only 5% of the reservoir area. The Site C reservoir would be

Scott Construction SCT-09-011

DoCkET:

ITEM: SIZE:

Business in Van Earlug – 2.125

www.vrca.bc.ca

Hydro’s Site C project inches through approval process fter decades of debate, it appears the provincial government is now serious about pursuing Site C. Site C would be a third dam and hydroelectric generating facility on the Peace River a few miles west of Fort St. John. It would provide up to 1,100 megawatts of capacity and produce about 5,100 gigawatt hours of electricity each year. That amounts to enough energy to power 450,000 homes for 100 years. The project has recently moved to the federal/provincial environmental review stage. Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, points out that if Site C were to get the go-ahead, it would, at approximately $8 billion, be the largest mega-project in the history of the province. “It is hard to imagine any other single project that would give a bigger boost to the B.C. construction industry,” he said. “If any further incentive to increase trades training were needed this is it,” he said, pointing to the expected skilled manpower shortages the industry may well face in the coming decade. BC Hydro estimates the project would provide 7,000 person-years of direct construction employment over a seven-year construction

scottconstructiongroup.com

IN VANCOUVER

83 kilometres long and, on average, two to three times the width of the current river. “Site C has been in the planning stages for about 30 years,” Rich Coleman, minister of energy and mines, said in a recent statement. “Not surprisingly, the design

needed to be upgraded to meet current seismic, safety and environmental guidelines. Through design changes we have been able to add 22% more generating capacity, as well as improve foundation stability, seismic protection and spillway safety. The revised estimated cost is $7.9 billion.” He went on to say that Site C is a cost-effective resource and will produce electricity at between $87 and $95 per megawatt hour, compared with other resources at $129 per megawatt hour, helping to keep BC Hydro rates “among the lowest in North America.” The minister said First Nations people in the area will be part of the planning and consultation activities. Hydro says it estimates that B.C.’s need for electricity will increase by approximately 40% over the next 20 years. “As extensive as BC Hydro’s hydroelectric assets are they will not be enough to meet this future demand,” the Crown corporation said. “With Site C, BC Hydro is planning now so British Columbians will continue to enjoy the benefits of safe, clean and reliable electricity in the future.” Hydro also said Site C will produce among the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per gigawatt hour when compared to other forms of electricity generation. Hydro says preliminary study results indicate that Site C would produce significantly less GHG per gigawatt hour than fossil fuel sources such as natural gas, diesel or coal. Emissions for Site C, it says, would fall within the ranges expected for wind, geothermal and solar energy sources. u

$2.5 billion for smelter upgrading Kitimat Project to be largest in many years

hat is being described as the largest privatesector mega-project in a very long time is about to get underway. Rio Tinto Alcan announced in late June that work is about to start on a $2.5 billion upgrade to its Kitimat smelter. The announcement was made to a gathering of 300 contractors in Vancouver.

The project, which has been in the planning for several years, was stalled during the 2008-09 recession. However, project manager Michel Lamarre said in an interview with the Vancouver Sun, “The project is serious. We are about to start.” Lamarre is a longtime professional with Rio Tinto Alcan. In

2009, the company named him project director in charge of business development and growth at Kitimat. Originally from Quebec, Lamarre was project manager for Rio Tinto Alcan’s Coega smelter in South Africa prior to his Kitimat appointment. “This is outstanding news,” said Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction see Target, C2

C2 VRCA News Supplement

Business in Vancouver July 12–18, 2011

Beware the silent killer By Don Schouten, WorkSafeBC Manager of Industry and Labour Services – Construction

ou may have heard it said that what you don’t know can’t hurt you. Well, in the case of asbestos, the opposite is true: what you don’t know could actually kill you — slowly and painfully. Asbestos is odourless, tasteless, often invisible, and above all… deadly.

airborne easily; are light enough to stay in the air a long time; and can be inhaled without you knowing, it’s in your best interest to be informed about your worksite and make sure you and your workers are protected. WorkSafeBC has formed a team of officers that will be focusing on the renovation and demolition industry. These officers will be checking to make sure the proper surveys have been completed and proper procedures are in place. WorkSafeBC is more than just enforcement, though, we’re here to answer your questions and provide resources that can help you and your workers stay safe.

Since the year 2000, more workers in B.C. have died from asbestos-related disease than any other workplace injury. Not from falling off roofs or getting caught in machinery, but from tiny asbestos fibres that are inhaled and get lodged in lung tissue. Over Since the year time, these fibres cause scar tissue to form in 2000, more the lungs, resulting in workers in permanent damage that can lead to asbestosis B.C. have died and numerous cancers, from asbestoslike mesothelioma.

related disease

Also, be sure to check out WorkSafeBC’s new website: HiddenKiller.ca, launched in early June. This site is part of a broader campaign to raise awareness and educate people about the dangers of asbestos exposure. It provides information on what asbestos is, where it’s found, and how it should be handled. It also offers real life stories of workers and their families dealing with the consequences of exposure to this deadly mineral.

The harmful effects of than any other asbestos exposure happen over years and can workplace often go undetected. By injury the time workers notice the symptoms and are diagnosed with asbestosis or mesthelioma, it’s been three to four decades since they were exposed. For more information on asbestos, By then, it’s too late. look up the following resources on WorkSafeBC.com: It can take years to feel the full impact of asbestos so those suffering from • Safe Work Practices for Handling asbestos-related diseases tend to be Asbestos booklet older workers. But it’s not a hazard only mature workers need to be concerned • Ten Steps to Compliance with asbeswith; the truth is that the workers who tos abatement requirements of section are now dying were young workers 20.112 for a pre-1990 house/building when they were first exposed. demolition A real area of concern is in the home • Construction Toolbox Meeting and commercial renovation sectors, Guides: Health Hazards of Asbestos where many of the new exposures can (Meeting Guide #TG 07-26), Asbestos take place. As employers and building Removal (Meeting Guide #TG 07-27) owners, you are responsible for getting hazardous materials surveys done by a Don’t let this silent killer decide the fate qualified surveyor to determine if there of your workers or your business. Plan is asbestos on your worksite. If asbesfor safety and protect yourself against tos is detected it must be removed by asbestos. a qualified and trained remover. (See Section 20.112 of the Occupational Please let me know what you think of Health and Safety Regulation for more this topic or any construction safety information.) issue. Call me at 604 214-6989 from Buildings built before 1990 may contain the Lower Mainland or toll-free elsewhere at 1 888 621-7233. Or email don. some asbestos materials — that’s a lot schouten@worksafebc.com. I’d like to of potentially dangerous workplaces. hear from you. And given that asbestos fibres become

Target: First aluminum production in 2014 from $2.5 billion, C1

Association. A project of this size sends o ut r i pp l e s to e ver y s e g m en t of t h e construction industry, from the design professions, to the contractors, to the suppliers.” The development of the original smelter resulted in the creation of B.C.’s first modernday “instant town” – Kitimat. The development of the Alcan smelter and the town of Kitimat drew workers from across Canada and had a major impact on the provincial economy. Many industry observers expect the upgrade project will have much the same impact. Already reports are that there is not a single house to be rented in Kitimat. A year ago the opposite was true. “This is huge,” said Paul Henning, Rio Tinto Alcan’s vice-president of B.C. operations and strategic projects for Western Canada. He said the project is really about growth in the provincial economy. He also said that if Rio Tinto Alcan were not to rebuild the smelter, its life span would be measured in years rather than decades. The rebuilt smelter, however, will be among the most efficient and cost effective in the world.

On hand for the meeting was Pat Bell, minister of jobs, tourism and innovation. “The Rio Tinto Alcan project is the largest private-sector investment in the province in a long, long time,” he said. “The investment is significant, but it is just the spark that will light a long-term economic fuse that I think will build huge prosperity in this province.”

“It is hard to imagine any other single project that would give a bigger boost to the B.C. construction industry” – Keith Sashaw president, Vancouver Regional Construction Association

The company has budgeted $300 million in Kitimat this year alone. Work is already underway to create a contractor village that will hold the 1,500 workers who will be needed during construction. The aim is to have the smelter produce its first aluminum in 2014. u

Combined effort promotes work safety

Don Schouten, WorkSafeBC manager of industry and labour services, kicks off new safety program at BCIT work site

hen it comes to the importance of injury prevention in construction, the word is out. And soon that word will be hard to miss thanks to a new joint project set up recently. The program’s goal is to remind construction workers and employers to stay safe at work. The project, a combined effort between WorkSafeBC, Preventable and employers was unveiled recently in Vancouver at BCIT’s Broadway Tech Centre. Preventable stands for a group called the Community Against Preventable Injuries. It is a provincewide multi-partner organization designed to raise awareness, transform attitudes and ultimately change behaviours. Its goal is to significantly reduce the number and severity of injuries in B.C. “We’re working with employers to remind everyone on the construction sites to take safety precautions,” said Don Schouten, WorkSafeBC manager of industry and labour services. “We’re also expanding the message into the community by placing signs on external areas, such as perimeter fencing, so it’s visible to the general public. We want to remind everyone – no matter where they work – to stay safe on the job.” Construction is a high-risk industry. In 2010, 14,405 WorkSafeBC claims came from construction work sites across B.C. Thirty-two of those injuries led to worker deaths – 19 due to occupational disease – representing the highest number of work-related fatalities in any industry sector in the province. Stuart Olson Dominion’s Broadway Tech

Centre #4 construction site joins a total of eight pilot sites involved with the construction safety sign campaign. Five are in the Lower Mainland, and the others are in Esquimalt, Kamloops and Prince George. The other employers are ITC Construction Group, Kindred Construction Ltd., Lafarge Aggregate & Concrete and PCL Construction. “Preventable injuries are the number 1 killer in B.C.,” said Ian Pike, spokesman for Preventable. “Workplace injuries can be prevented. Our goal in this partnership is to bring the issue of workplace safety to the forefront in order to change people’s attitudes and behaviours on the job, on the journey to and from the job and at home.” Preventable is a registered, non-profit organization governed by a board of directors comprised of representatives from such organizations as Telus, the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation, the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, London Drugs, WorkSafeBC, Pacific Blue Cross and the B.C. Ministry of Labour. WorkSafeBC (formerly known as the Workers’ Compensation Board of BC) serves approximately 2.3 million workers and more than 200,000 employers in the province. WorkSafeBC is also an active participant in the annual Awards of Excellence program run by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association. With the awards WorkSafeBC recognizes B.C. construction companies that have developed innovate safety equipment or programs. u

VRCA News Supplement C3

Business in Vancouver July 12–18, 2011

VRCA strikes deal with Reed Construction Data Agreement to increase information access for construction owners, bidders and designers

he construction and design industries in B.C. will soon have increased access to construction information. Reed Construction Data (RCD), the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) and the Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA) have announced they are significantly expanding their alliance to deliver what they call “unprecedented benefits” to construction owners, bidders and design professionals. The expanded partnership will involve integrating content and services through RCD products and BidCentral, the associations’ digital system that offers a wide variety of bidding and construction documentation services to owners and contractors. Included in BidCentral are document management,

prequalification, invitation to bid, project bidding and an audit report for owners. Through the expanded agreement VRCA and VICA will combine their BidCentral plans and specifications with RCD’s powerful Connect project news service and with the plans and specifications from RCD’s private owner network. As a result, association members and RCD customers will receive unparalleled access to multi-stage opportunities while construction owners will benefit from leveraging the widest possible audience of potential bidders. “We are very excited about this latest enhancement to our partnership with RCD and pleased to work with VICA,” said Keith Sashaw, president of the VRCA. “We have

had a great relationship with our two partners for a number of years, and the construction industry has benefited significantly.” Mark Casaletto, vice-president and general manager of RCD Canada, was equally enthusiastic. “Expanding our partnership with these two well-established organizations helps RCD provide the best content and services to the North American construction industry,” he said. VICA president Greg Baynton said the combined effort gives the group unparalleled reach. The partners have signed a letter of intent and are currently implementing the “functional aspects” of the agreement with an eye for a market launch later in 2011.

The Vancouver Regional Construction Association was founded in 1928. It is the largest regional construction association in the province and represents both union and open shop industry members. The VRCA plays a similar role on the island and is even older, having been formed in 1912. Reed Construction Data is a leading North American provider of construction information. Its portfolio of services includes national, regional and local construction data, building product information, construction cost data and market analytics. In addition to those products in Canada, RCD also owns two construction newspapers – the Daily Construction News in Toronto and the Journal of Commerce in Vancouver. u

BCIT students big winners in national construction contest

Five teams from BCIT’s School of Construction and the Environment recently managed to win big in a national competition. Front row (l-r): Sam Honchuruk, Tyler Spence and Michael Stannard. Back row (l-r): Scott Oliver, Max Bader, Jeff Shouldice, Cody Wanner, Sean Ang, Tamara Oljaca, Drew Fisher, Sheldon Saruk, Sara Riordan, Mark Meerstra, Kirsten Slade, Ben Faber, Anthony Slivinski, Quinton Bugiera, Justin Norton, Jason Howlett and Chris Makela, their instructor

ive teams of students from the BC Institute of Technology’s (BCIT) School of Construction and the Environment have scored major hits in a national competition. Three of the teams hit “home runs” in fact. The competition is staged by the Construction Institute of Canada (TCIC), an affiliate of the Toronto Construction Association. The idea is to give students a simulated “real life” experience in bidding successfully – or unsuccessfully – on a construction project. The competition is to construction somewhat like Monopoly is to real investment – but considerably more complex. Teams from institutions across Canada act as general contractors. They are provided with “bid” information regarding a project. In this case, it was a medical facility. They are also provided with a series of sub-trade tenders. Some of the trade tenders are correct; others contain errors. It is up to the student general contractors to weed the faulty trade bids out from the legitimate ones. The TCIC says the purpose

is to help students understand the real-life challenges that are present within the construction bidding and estimating process. The challenge of the simulated bid competition is for students across Canada to submit complete bids based on a set of contract documents. The bids must contain quantity takeoffs for own forces work, a sub-trade analysis and selection, as well as an overhead and pricing sum-

mary. The bids are judged based on three criteria: most outstanding professional conduct, most accurate and complete bid package and the bid that is closest to the target price. The competition is open to third- and fourth-year students in construction and related diploma programs. Teams from seven institutions took part. They were: Holland College, P.E.I.; La Cite, Ottawa; Ryerson Univer-

sity, Toronto; George Brown College, Toronto; Niagara College, Niagara; Red River College, Winnipeg; and BCIT in Vancouver. To say BCIT waxed the competition doesn’t really cover it. BCIT walked off with five prizes in the three possible categories. The team won first in all three categories – being closest to the targeted budget, having the most professional bid and having the most com-

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CONSTRUC TION MANAGEMENT & GENERAL CONTRAC TING Residential Commercial Institutional 658 Evans Avenue Vancouver, BC 604 298 3303 | O n the R ise w w w.syncraconstruc tion.com

plete and accurate bid. BCIT also won second place for being closest to the budget and third place for most complete and accurate bid. First-place winners for closest to the budget were: S a m Hon ch a r u k , Ty l er Spence and Michael Stann a rd . F i r s t - p l a c e t e a m for most professional bid included: Anthony Silvindi, Quinton Bugiera, Justin Norton and Jeff Shouldice. Winning first place for most complete and accurate bid were Mark Meerstra, Jason Howlett, Sean Ang and Sara Riordan. Second place for closest to the budget were: Cody Wanner, Scott Oliver, Max Bader

and Tamara Oljaca. Third place for most complete and accurate bid went to the team made up of Kirsten Slade, Drew Fisher, Ben Faber and Sheldon Saruk. The BCIT instructor who organized the students’ participation was Christopher Makela. The Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) was an active participant and acted as the depository for the bids. As the bids were received, they were stamped by the VRCA and sent on to Toronto for evaluation. The local winning teams also won modest cash awards that were matched by BCIT. u

C4 VRCA News Supplement

Business in Vancouver July 12–18, 2011

Biggest companies in B.C. in B.C. Biggestconstruction construction companies

It’s your career. Get it right.

Ranked by 2010 B.C. billings Company

Top local executive(s)

Head office/ Total Union/ % of work Year B.C. open subfounded staff shop contracted Specialty

Ledcor Group of Companies 1067 Cordova St W Suite 1200, Vancouver V6C 1C7

Ron Stevenson, COO Dave Lede, chair and CEO Cliff Lede, vice-chair

Vancouver/ 1947

2,043

Open shop

50 - 100%

Diversified construction company

The Shangri-La, BCIT Aerospace Campus, Two Harbour Green, YVR Link Project, Holt Renfrew, Cross Roads, Western Canadian Coal, Ashlu Creek power project

$482,000 $389,0001

PCL Constructors Westcoast 13911 Wireless Way Suite 310, Richmond V6V 3B9

Anibal Valente, vice-president Sean Brock, district manager

Edmonton/ 1906

Open shop

General contracting and construction management

BMO Concourse & Pavilion, Okanagan College Centre for Learning, River Rock South Parkade, Sparkling Hill Resort and YVR Pier C Expansion

$268,080 $260,085

Stuart Olson Dominion Construction Ltd 13777 Commerce Pkwy Suite 300, Richmond V6V 2X3

Arthur Atkinson, vice-president, B.C.

Calgary/ 19392

200

Open shop

90%

General contractor, design-build and construction management

UBC Museum of Anthropology, Discovery Green building 12, Cloverdale Recreation Centre, Penticton Aquatic Centre, UBCO Arts & Sciences

$217,500 $96,600

Graham Construction & Engineering Inc 7216 Brown St, Delta V4G 1G8

Bill Frost, director of business development Wayne Henderson, vice-president, commercial

Calgary/ 1926

Union and open shop

75%

General contracting, construction Vernon Casino, Whitehorse Airport Expansion, management and design-build River Rock Casino expansion, Vernon Hospital

$180,000 $220,000

John Scott, CEO Don Nishimura, president and COO

Vancouver/ 1984

150

Union

85%

Industrial, institutional, commercial, residential and special projects

CBC Vancouver Broadcast Centre, Coast Hotels, UBC Sauder School of Business, Cariboo School

$169,970 $192,300

Rank 2011

P: 604-681-7500 F: 604-681-9700 www.ledcor.com

P: 604-241-5200 F: 604-241-5301 www.pcl.com

P: 604-273-7765 F: 604-273-7719 www.sodcl.com

P: 604-940-4500 F: 604-940-4502 www.graham.ca

Scott Construction Group 1818 Cornwall Ave Suite 100, Vancouver V6J 1C7 P: 604-874-8228 F: 604-874-0273 www.scottconstructiongroup.com

Total B.C. billings '10/ '09 (000s)

Notable projects

Mainroad Group 17474 56th Ave, Surrey V3S 1C3

David Zerr, president and CEO

Surrey/ 1988

500

10%

Highway construction and maintenance

$98,000 $106,000

Western Pacific Enterprises Ltd 1321 Ketch Crt, Coquitlam V3K 6X7

David Fettback, president

Coquitlam/ 1973

230

Union

Electrical contractor providing utility, commercial, industrial, security and data services

BC Place roof, Royal Jubilee Hospital, Vernon Hospital, Mica Dam

$90,000 $126,000

B&B Contracting Ltd

19429 54th Ave Suite 100, Surrey V3S 7X2 P: 604-539-7200 F: 604-539-7230 www.bbcontracting.com

Gary Bailey, president

Surrey/ 1948

250

Union

30%

Utility works, subdivision preparation, road building, aggregate sales and trenchless construction

Morgan Creek, four-laning Highway 7, Highway 15, 141 lot subdivision (Maple Ridge), Highway 10 widening, Coast Meridian overpass

$89,000 $91,000

LMS Reinforcing Steel Group3 6320 148th St, Surrey V3S 3C4

Ron McNeil, co-chair and founder Ivan Harmatny, co-chair and founder Norm Streu, COO

Surrey/ 1999

350

Open shop

Supply, fabrication and installation of reinforcing steel

Woodwards, Shangr-La Hotel, Fairmont Hotel, Vancouver Convention Centre

$73,550 $60,186

Don Voth, president

Surrey/ 1985

Open shop

General contractor, residential highrise, commercial, value engineering

L'Hermitage Twin Towers, Olympic Village high rises, Tandem III Tower

$65,000 $270,000

Doug Scott Kevin Armon Jim Skirda Sonny Wong Tony Vigini, vice-president, development Janis Freeman

Burnaby/ 1971

Open shop

General contractor design build, commercial, industrial, retail, institutional

Kingswood Distribution Centres, FedEx, Ridge Meadows Emergency Centre, Carter Automotive, $65,000 SmartCentres, Gloucester Estates, Madison Pacific, $90,000 QuikSilver, Weatherhaven, IKEA, Hopewell, EuroAsia, Made Rite Meats, Advance Wire

Mike Ridley, president

Langley/ 1977

268

Open shop

A 100-room lodge and 20 unit townhome complex Custom design and manufacturing $63,655 for the 2010 Winter Games, located in the Athlete's of modular buildings $66,867 Village in Whistler

Kindred Construction Ltd 2150 Broadway W Suite 308, Vancouver V6K 4L9

Richard Reid, president Bryan Reid, vice-president Louise Harder, HR and admin director Laurence Glancy, controller

Vancouver/ 1980

Open shop

90%

Construction and project managers for residential, commercial and institutional projects

The BMW Store, Mini Cooper Store, Rolls Royce dealership, Delta Hospice, Riverlands Equestrian Centre, Thrangu Monastery, Fraser Health CTR's, Cypress Lodge, private residences, Mountain West Studios

$40,000 $50,000

Beedie Group

Keith Beedie, CEO Ryan Beedie, president

Burnaby/ 1954

126

Open shop

50%

Integrated industrial and residential land development, construction and property management

Completed 1.4 million sf of new industrial distribution centres in Greater Vancouver for end users including Home Depot, Brewers Distributors Ltd., Tree of Life and OK Tire.

$33,000 $95,000

Task Construction Management Inc. 4405 Canada Way, Burnaby V5G 1J5

John Hiebert, CEO John Bowser, COO

Burnaby/ 1988

Open shop

Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex, Coquitlam, New Public recreation facilities, hotels, $32,362 West Youth Centre, New Wesminister, Poirier schools and aviation cargo $40,000 Library, Coquitlam, Beban Park, Nanaimo.

Roland Haebler, president

Vancouver/ 1959

Open shop

80%

Commercial, residential and institutional construction

Boundary Bay Airport Terminal, Crofton House ECE $30,350 Centre, West Point Grey School Renovations $29,290 Chetwynd Recreation Centre, Buick Arena, Lake $28,200 Cowichan Sports Arena, Ravensong Aquatic Centre $20,000

P: 604-575-7020 F: 604-575-7045 www.mainroad.ca

P: 604-540-1321 F: 604-540-1390 www.wpe.bc.ca

P: 604-598-9930 F: 604-598-9931 www.lmsgroup.ca

Metro-Can Construction Ltd 10470 152nd St Suite 520, Surrey V3R 0Y3 P: 604-583-1174 F: 604-583-3321 www.metrocanconstruction.com

Wales McLelland Construction 5489 Byrne Rd Suite 166, Burnaby V5J 3J1

Britco Structures4 21690 Smith Cres, Langley V2Y 2R1

P: 604-638-1212 F: 604-638-1211 www.walesmclelland.com

P: 604-888-2000 F: 604-888-2086 www.britco.com

P: 604-736-4847 F: 604-736-9614 www.kindredconstruction.com

3030 Gilmore Diversion, Burnaby V5G 3B4 P: 604-435-3321 F: 604-432-7349 www.beediegroup.ca

P: 604-433-8275 F: 604-433-3759 www.taskcm.com

Haebler Group 46 3rd Ave E, Vancouver V5T 1C3

P: 604-874-0777 F: 604-874-0841 www.haeblerconstruction.com

Venture Pacific Construction Management Ltd 9440 202nd St Suite 117, Langley V1M 4A6

Mark Van Ek, president

Langley/ 1991

Open shop

100%

Construction management, recreation, commercial, retail, light industrial, office

EW Hamilton Ltd 3939 Braemar Pl, North Vancouver V7N 4M8

Ted Hamilton, president

North Vancouver/ 1980

Construction project management The firm is a consulting company rather than a and architectural specification construction company writing plus quality surveying

$25,000 NP

Metro Testing Laboratories Ltd 6991 Curragh Ave, Burnaby V5J 4V6

Harry Watson, president Neil McAskill, vice-president

NP/ 1987

175

Open shop

Materials testing and engineering services, geotechnical, environmental, geoscience, NP infrastuction evaluation and rehabiliation

$21,500 NP

Penfolds Roofing Inc 1262 Vernon Dr, Vancouver V6A 4C9

Ken Mayhew, president Larry Bieber, group sales manager

Vancouver/ 1937

130

Open shop

20%

Residential, multi-family and Ridgeview School in North Vancouver commercial roofing replacements

$18,000 $20,000

KDS Construction Ltd 16250 20th Ave, Surrey V3S 9M8

Kelly Shannon, president Marvin Kale, vice-president

Surrey/ 1984

Open shop

75%

Health care, institutional, commercial and light industrial

VCH - North Shore Hospice Robson Square Emergency Generator Upgrade Vancouver Urban Search & Rescue

N. Wallace & Company Ltd 17675 — 66th Ave Suite 8, Surrey V3S 7X1

Brent Baxter Kelly Klassen, partners

Surrey/ 1985

Open shop

Construction management of commercial, retail, institutional, industrial projects

Wing Sang heritage renovation, Chinatown East, Mainroad Contracting head office, The Zone $15,000 Entertainment Centre, By-Law Impound Lot, Siddoo $25,100 Holdings CRU's, Pottery Barn Kids, Scott72 Shopping Centre Renovation

UPA Construction Group 1000 3rd St W Suite 300, North Vancouver V7P 3J6

Keith B Anderson, president and general manager

North Vancouver/ 2005

Open shop

85%

Multi-unit residential and commercial developments

The Madison, Kelowna, BC Paloma II, Richmond, BC Invue, Kelowna, BC

$9,000 NP

Eyco Building Group Ltd 1529 75th Ave W, Vancouver V6P 6Z7

Trevor Eyford David Eyford

Vancouver/ 2006

Open shop

70%

Residential renovations, custom millwork, commercial projects

$8,550 $4,700

EJM Construction Management Ltd 18428 53 Ave Suite 205, Surrey V3S 7A4

Ed Mocnik, president

Surrey/ 1999

Open shop

75%

Commercial, health care, seniors housing, multi-family residential highrise and lowrise

UBC School of Population and Public Health

$4,500 NP

P: 604-888-3005 F: 604-888-3023 www.venturepacific.ca

P: 604-924-4858 F: 604-924-5587 www.ewhamilton-ltd.com

P: 604-436-9111 F: 604-438-5317 www.metrotesting.ca

P: 604-254-4663 F: 604-254-7663 www.penfoldsroofing.com

P: 604-535-8152 F: 604-535-8132 www.kdsconstruction.ca

P: 604-576-0999 F: 604-576-0982 www.nwallace.ca

P: 604-987-5500 F: 604-988-4424 www.upagroup.net

P: 604-263-1337 F: 604-263-1339 www.eyco.ca

P: 604-575-7780 F: 604-575-7790 www.ejmgroup.com

Sources: Interviews with above companies and BIV research. Other companies may have ranked but did not provide updated ranking criteria information. NR Not ranked NP Not provided 1 - 2008 figure 2 - Stuart Olson was founded in 1939; Dominion Construction was founded in 1911 3 - Also known as Lower Mainland Steel 4 - Acquired by WesternOne Equity Income Fund in a $93 million deal that closed in June 2011

Do not miss the Book of Lists, a compilation of lists featured in BIV, including biggest law firms, construction companies, biotech firms and many more. Free to subscribers ($79.95 plus HST for one year) or $35 plus HST as a separate purchase. Purchase lists as Excel files at www.biv.com/listsforsale

$17,500 NP

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in The List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Richard Chu, lists@biv.com

bcIT cONSTRUcTION MANAGEMENT DEGREE Learn more at bcit.ca/cm

It’s your career. Get it right.

VRCA News Supplement C5

Business in Vancouver July 12–18, 2011

Industry says gov’t is discriminating

Shai Gal

Wood First legislation hurts concrete “families” employed in the ready-mixed industry

Award-winning concrete structure at Langara College By Brian Martin

rank Antonio is a family guy. He runs F&F Concrete, a Vancouver firm founded in 1972 by his father, Francisco. These days, he’s worried about a much larger family, however. As president of the BC Ready-Mixed Concrete Association, he’s worried about the concrete “family.” That family involves 9,300 men and women employed in the ready-mixed industry. There are 120 local concrete plants scattered across the province. It is an industry that annually generates approximately $1.4 billion. Antonio feels the income and fiscal health of all 9,300 are in danger or have already been damaged by the Wood First Act the provincial government put through in 2009. The Wood First Act demands that wood be a primary construction material in any project that involves provincial funding – projects such as schools and hospitals, for example. The act was brought in as an attempt to help the ailing provincial forest industry, which has been badly damaged by the collapsed housing market in the United States. The pain was being felt particularly in several sensitive provincial Liberal ridings in the central Interior. Since it was introduced, more than 30 municipalities have also signed on to it. Traditionally, some 90% of B.C.’s dimension lumber was shipped to the U.S. for use in single-family wood-frame houses. Only a small amount was ever absorbed by the local provincial market. Antonio says, however, that in attempting to help forestry “families” the government, under then-premier Gordon Campbell, ignored the concrete “families” for purely political reasons. He said the concrete industry’s objections at the time were ignored. “They were going to do it and that was that,” he said. Not long after the Wood First Act became law Victoria changed the provincial building code to allow six-storey wood-frame buildings. Previously the limit had been drawn at four storeys. Antonio is careful to emphasize that he has nothing against the wood industry. He insists,

however, the decision on what construction material should be used for which project should depend on professional architectural, engineering and safety decisions – not on political decisions. “It should be the best product for the job,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s wood. I don’t care if it’s concrete. I don’t care if it’s steel. We want the best product for the job. Architects and engineers have been doing this forever. Do you mean to tell me some government officials are smarter than they are?” The Ready-Mixed Concrete Association isn’t the only group upset by the way the Wood First business was handled.

“I don’t care if it’s wood. I don’t care if it’s concrete. I don’t care

A concrete highrise in Vancouver. Is wood frame coming?

Association and the Architectural Institute of BC, have also expressed concern. Balanced design seems to be the consensus of most groups – concrete elevator shafts, concrete fire escape routes and concrete floors. At this point, however, the tide seems to be moving against them. In Europe builders are experimenting with wood frame buildings up

to seven storeys. Far beyond that, however, Vancouver architect Michael Green told a recent Green Cities conference in Australia that a study funded by the BC Government will conclude that buildings as tall as 30 storeys could be made almost entirely out of wood. The concrete industry obviously has good reason to be concerned. u

if it’s steel. We want the best product for the job” – Frank Antonio, manager, F&F Concrete

The British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) has also let its feelings be known. At the time the policy was announced, the group issued a statement saying that although it fully supports the provincial forest industry, it does not support government mandating what building materials should be used above others. “Government should provide fair and equitable assistance to its constituents,” said the BCCA, “not impede the marketplace and give unfair advantage to one industry over another.” There is another contentious area of consideration – fire safety. “Wood burns,” said Antonio. “Concrete doesn’t burn.” Underlining these worries, the first six-storey wood-frame apartment block being built in Richmond went up in smoke while under construction. Not only the concrete industry, but other groups such as the BC Fire Chiefs’

Victoria announces short list for private partners

he provincial government has settled on a short list of three teams in its search of a private partner to create a heart and surgical centre adjacent to Kelowna General Hospital. The short list follows the government’s call for a request for proposals (RFP). In all, six teams replied to the RFP. The estimated cost of the project is $448 million. The teams it is considering are: Alliance Health Group, which includes Graham Design Services and Stantec Engineering; Jade Health, including Ledcor Design/Build (BC) Inc. and VINCI Construction as well as Kasian Architecture Interior/Design Build Services; and Plenary Health, which involves PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. along with HOK Architects and CEI Architecture Planning Interiors. Construction of the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre will begin in the summer of

2012 and is slated to open in 2016 with the final phase to be completed in 2017. The final capital cost will be confirmed once the procurement process is complete and a contract is signed with the successful proponent. The building will be a state-of-the-art facility designed to accommodate cardiac and inpatient surgical suites, support space and a new medical device reprocessing department. The facility will also be designed for future expansion. Over the life of the project, some 2,800 construction-related jobs are expected to be created. The new building will be designed to LEED gold standards. It will maximize the interior and exterior use of wood in keeping with the province’s Wood First Act. Renovations are currently underway to allow for heart surgeries to be done at the current site by 2012. u

C6 VRCA News Supplement

Business in Vancouver July 12–18, 2011

Around the Industry

tudents from the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape (SALA) have made building with concrete into a new Vancouver art form, while at the same time creating an innovative new display at the Vancouver Archives. The exhibit is a series of individual concrete models, drawings and material studies. They will be on display at the City of Vancouver Archives galler y at 1150 Chestnut Street in Vanier Park until September 2. With an empty lot at 177 West Pender Street as their creative canvas, the students were asked to imagine the kind of building they would create for that site. They were encouraged to explore new frontiers for concrete as a building material and as a sculptural medium. Under the direction of SALA instructor Bill Pechet, the students were asked to design and create non-traditional forms of concrete. The winning piece, Cascading Biospheres, is the work of two students – Pat Danielson and Sam Ostrow – from

Contractors

Brian Martin

Pechet’s heavy studio class. A life-sized portion of their work has been specially cast to be the centrepiece of this exhibit. The UBC students participating in this project won the first North American Ductal Design competition, sponsored by SALA and Lafarge. Ductal is a new concrete formulation.

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Light House appointment

The UBC students

Jackie Kanyuk has joined the Light House Sustainable Building Centre as a green project building co-ordinator. She brings three years of consulting experience on institutional, commercial and multiunit residential projects. Light House is both an industry-sponsored and selffunding operation. It provides sustainability and project management services to the real estate and construction industry. It operates from an office on Pine near West 4th Avenue. Kanyuk has a background in research, policy project experience from her previous career in international development and community economic development.

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June 9 marked the 100th birthday of the Journal of Commerce, Western Canada’s well-known construction industry newspaper. A remarkable reception was held exactly 100 years to the day at the Stanley Park Pavilion. Fittingly, the pavilion is also celebrating its centennial this year.

participating in this project won the first North American Ductal Design competition On hand were many construction industry and association leaders, including two former surviving publishers – Phyllis MacMillan of Nanaimo and myself. The newspaper is now owned by Reed Construction Data of Atlanta. Presiding over the event was John Richardson, director of operations

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in Western Canada for Reed (Canada) Mark Casaletto, vice-president and general manager for Reed Canada, attende d from Toronto decked out in a Canucks jersey and Steve Ritchie, vice-president of Reed Construction Data flew in from Atlanta. Among those attending were Dee Miller, vice-president of JJM Construction of Delta as well as the current president of the Canadian Construction Association (CCA); Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Reg ional Constr uction Association; and Warren Perks, vice-president of the BC Construction Association in Victoria. Sending greetings by a video presentation was Phil Hochstein, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association.

Busy person Besides all her other duties, Dee Miller has been hosting the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) here in Vancouver and during a retreat and planning session on Vancouver Island. The CCA is the umbrella group representing provincial construction associations from all Canadian provinces. It is always very active representing industry views to the government in Ottawa where it maintains its head office. u

Construction industry preps for labour shortages By Brian Martin

he question of employment or unemployment is always a fluid topic. Construction employment has recently taken a bit of a dip. It was, however, only a couple of years ago when employers were scrambling to find workers. Those days, according to all industry observers, will soon be with us again. The longerterm outlook is particularly challenging. Some half of all skilled construction workers are expected to retire within the coming decade. This, according to Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA), could make the manpower shortages of the recent past “look like a cakewalk.” It is not something the industry is taking lying down, though. It is very active in recruiting and training new skilled workers. Among those leading the charge is the Skills Training

Employment Program (STEP). It is owned and operated by the BC Construction Association (BCCA) – the umbrella organization that unites four major regional construction associations: the Vancouver Island Construction Association, the northern and southern Interior construction associations and the VRCA, the largest of the groups. Under a slightly different name, STEP was started five years ago with the very specific aim of attracting underemployed or unemployed people into construction trades training. It was aimed directly at newly arrived immigrants. Three years ago, its mandate was broadened. It now directs recruits into all 143 apprenticeship trades in British Columbia ranging from bakers to electricians. The lion’s share of trades, though, still remain within the construction industry. Heading the Lower Mainland reg ion for STEP is Matthew Stevenson. He has see STEP, C7

VRCA C7 VRCA News News Supplement Supplement C9

Business in in Vancouver 12–18, 2011 Business Vancouver July January 11–17, 2011

Major construction projects in British STEP: Remarkable success Constructive Comment pace Columbia continue record-setting from Construction, C6

been at his post since the program’s inception. To say he is enthusiastic put itprojvery he listisoftomajor mildly. ects either under “Theactive manpower shortconsideration ageinand the or the particularly process of being skills shortage has not gone built continues to hit record away,” he told Construction in levels. Vancouver. The projects are tracked by ain’t going away. In the“It provincial government’s my observation, we are going Major Projects Inventory. It into crisis mode. We ain’t seen lists all projects over $20 milnothin’ goingMainland to be very lion in yet. the It’s Lower difficult. are going and overThe $15trades million elseto be in huge demand where in the province. across theThis board but particularly in represents “continthe construction trades.” ued good news” for the conSTEP, industry, he says, acts struction said“like Keitha bus.” STEP doesn’t actually do Sashaw, president of the Vanany training. It knows where couver Regional Constructhe potential recruits are. It tion Association. knows training T h where e S epthe tem b er 2facil010 ities are. Its job is to gather up report showed 956 major the recruits and deliver them construction projects planned to the trainers. the highest or underway, “STEP is aThe ‘connector number ever. projects model program,’” had an estimatedStevenson value of said. “We connect a man or a $197.7 billion. The provinwoman with a situation that cial government points out allows themistofour either get a job, the figure times the get training or get both.” value of construction projs u c c The e s s number h a s b e eofn ectsI tins 2001. re m a r k a b l e . In the last projects planned or underway 12-month Lower was up 8% period, and the the value was Mainland STEP operation up almost 5% over Septemprovided ber 2009. 700 students with a “trip” to trades training. Provincial Finance MinisSTEP is now three months ter Colin Hansen said it was into its currentto fiscal and encouraging seeyear strong it appears the demand has major construction numbers done nothing but grow. given the current economic

Promotion for the STEP program is totally by wordof-mouth. It doesn’t spend a cent on advertising. It’s a case of people telling their friends and families. The participants come from across the social h e d e a d l i n e f o r HST, as it is currently struc- will not be applied. spectrum. returning your bal- tured, together with the The last few years have “Predominantly they are lot on the HST refer- recent changes announced by been challenging for B.C.’s unemployed,” said Stevenson. endum is just days away, and the provincial government, construction industry. Low “It could be somebody who the results of the outcome will is good for the construction margins and a lack of conis an unemployed labourer or have significant impact on the industry. It has been estiwho dropped out of school. future of B.C. mated that the construction It could be an immigrant or it If the “Yes” side is success- industry alone will save more The VRCA believes could be a woman who wants ful, we will all be faced with than $800 million as a result to get into the trades.” that the HST, as the consequences of dealing of the HST. The STEP offices “practise with the fact that the provinFor the const r uc tion what they preach” when it cial government will have to industry, there is no doubt it is currently comes to women in the workreturn billions of dollars to that the elimination of the place, Stevenson points out. the federal government as old PST is a positive move. structured, together In the Lower Mainland, per the previous agreement. Many of our members have some 40% of STEP employThere is no doubt that this been able to streamline their with the recent ees are female. Provincewide is going to severely impact operations as they no longer it is slightly less than that. our provincial government’s have to deal with parallel tax changes announced STEP employs close to 30 budget process as it attempts regimes. people spread across British to find funds to mitigate the Under the PST, B.C. busi- by the provincial Columbia. impact. nesses paid sales tax on the “We’re very proud the is among the record-setting number of major construction projects underway in British New Port Mann Bridgeofproject If the “yes” side is success- materials, equipment, energy government, is good fact we walk the talk regardColumbia ful we will return to an archaic and other goods and services ing women,” he said, “and that tax system that is complicated used in business. The PST for the construction we’ve had another successful between July and Septem- Pharmaceutical Science by the $80 million Osprey circumstances. and expensive for small busi- was paid at every step in the year“Major of notprojects only achieving like the nesses ber of to 2010, the highlights Buildingproduction at the University master planned community maintain, fraught creation, and dis- industry our statistics but overachievproposed $43 million West with included: of British of Columbia; idiosyncrasies and con- tribution a product and in Pitt Meadows; and ing them.”rapid bus expansion •twenty-two major proj- •the capital cost of all major •since September 2006, all Kelowna fusing interpretations. built into the price of goods is jointly funded by ects started construction. projects under construction regions have experienced andSTEP the start of construction If the “yes” side is suc- or services sold by the busi- st r uc t ion pro je c ts h ave grants the provincial on the from BC Cancer Agency cessful, The largest of these the ness. in B.C. at $61.7 increases inloss total we will havewere to deal Aswas oneestimated can imagine, in resulted in job andproject uncergovernment and federal Centre for the the North in with $500 hiring million River Green numbers, with increases additional tax abillion; complex process such as tainty in construction. By government. Prince GeorgePersons supportinterjobs collectors residential development •twelve major projects com- implementing of 114% in the Nechako, to implement and the construction of a buildan improved ested in taking advantage of i n Ri ch m on d , t h e $ 1 7 0 pleted construction, the larg- 100% in the Cariboo, 73% and investment throughout administer the new regime. ing with thousands of inputs tax regime that fosters investthe STEP programs should our province,” said Hansen. million Mount Regional Lehman and est of which was the Canexus in the Northeast and 34% in The Vancouver complex equipment, this ment, is competitive with contact 778-840-1016 www. Shopping Mall in Abbots- manufacturing plant upgrade the Thompson-Okanagan According to theorlatest Construction Association was especially burdensome. other jurisdictions across stepbc.ca. Major Projects Inventory, (VRCA) ford and believes the $133that million in North Vancouver, followed region. the Under the HST, these costs North America and lowers the

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cost of business, we expect the recovery in the construction capitalwillcost of allrobust. sector be more Readers of Construction projects under inmajor Vancouver know full well the importance of a healthy construction insector. BritishOur construction members provide jobs, create excitingwas workspaces and Columbia estimated deliver the schools, hospitals and other billion buildings on which at $61.7 our society relies. In order to do this effectively, our indusThe Major Projects Inventry needs to have the best and tory efficient also included 47 clean most tax system in technology projects with an place. estimated value of friends, $17.2 bilYou and your lion, such as the proposed family and co-workers have $500 million received their Metro ballotsVancouon this ver waste-to-energy incineraissue. You now have the oblition facility and a proposed gation of ensuring they are $120 million Fort St. James all aware of the benefits of green energy project. keeping the HST, and suggestThe inventory feaing to them that theyalso should tures 101toprojects that are vote “no” increasing their certified or are aiming to be taxes, vote “no” to reverting certified a recognized back to anunder archaic and cumgreen building rating sysbersome tax regime and vote tem to like LEEDjob-creating (leadership “no” driving in energy and investment outenvironmenof British tal design)Vote or Green Columbia. “no”Gables, in the such as the Kelowna General u referendum. Hospital and Vernon Jubilee Hospital expansions withofa Keith Sashaw is president total estimated cost ofCon$433 the Vancouver Regional million. Association. ◆ struction

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C8 VRCA News Supplement

Business in Vancouver July 12–18, 2011

Hospital construction is a mainstay in all areas of British Columbia By Brian Martin

ew hospital buildings in British Columbia are currently a mainstay of the construction industry. In late spring, the $237 million Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre, built by Bird Construction, opened in Surrey. It was on time and on budget. Change orders were effectively zero. It was a public-private partnership. The architecture firm was Kasian. The centre is the only one of its kind in Western Canada. It offers day surgery, diagnostic procedures such as lab, x-ray, CT and MRI scans and biopsies all within one building. Outpatients are those who receive scheduled medical care and do not require an overnight stay. Full operation of the centre started on June 14. Jim Pattison, well-known B.C. business leader and philanthropist, donated $5 million toward the outpatient centre to help raise funds for additional equipment to attract leading physicians to Surrey. The community matched his gift through donations to the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation’s 100 Days to Give campaign, which wound down on May 31. Designed to improve the patient experience for outpatients, many programs and services are moving over from Surrey Memorial Hospital to relieve congestion in that very busy facility. Some of the innovative steps at the Jim Pattison Hospital include express check-in kiosks where patients with scheduled appointments

Ellis Don is now at work on a massive $512 million rebuilding and renovation of Surrey Memorial Hospital

can check in upon arrival. The kiosks, which will be used throughout the centre, confirm the patient’s arrival and provide directions on where to proceed, while alerting the clinic to prepare for the patients, creating workflow efficiencies. The kiosks’ information is available in English and Punjabi with more languages to come. Bird Construction has entered the hospital in the annual Awards of Excellence program hosted by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association. Meanwhile, only a few blocks away, EllisDon is hard at work building B.C.’s largest-ever health-care expansion – a $512 million expansion of Surrey Memorial Hospital. This, too, is

a public-private partnership. The project includes an eight-storey criticalcare tower and a new, larger emergency department about five times the size of the existing one. It will also include a new perinatal centre of excellence for high-risk newborns, a larger adult intensive care unit and an expanded clinical academic campus. In total, 151 new patient beds will be added to Surrey Memorial Hospital. It is expected the project will provide more than 3,200 construction jobs. The expansion at Surrey Memorial will also include renovations to the existing hospital. Those renovations will add inpatient beds and create an expanded family birthing unit,

including a second dedicated maternity operating room. The renovations will also expand the pharmacy and sterile processing unit. The emergency department will be completed in 2013 and the critical-care tower will open to patients in 2014. At the same time, maternity service facilities at Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock have been expanded. The activity in the hospital construction area is not confined to Metro Vancouver. In the North Peace area, Stuart Olson Dominion construction is continuing work on a new $298 million general hospital in Fort St. John. It is slated to open in 2012 and is a P3 project. In Prince George, the $70 million BC Cancer Centre for the North recently passed a key construction milestone as the final concrete pour took place for the linear accelerator vaults. PCL Westcoast Constructors is the general contractor on the project, which is also a P3. It is set to open in September of next year. The cancer centre will include two linear accelerators, which are used in the delivery of radiation therapy. The facility will also include a computerized-tomography simulator; a chemotherapy treatment unit; a pharmacy; and a general outpatient clinic. With the concrete pour complete work remaining at the centre includes the building envelope and interior finishes. In the southern Interior, the scene has also been busy with Graham Construction handling two P3 projects – one at the Vernon General Hospital and the other at the Kelowna General Hospital. The combined package is worth $433 million. Stantec handled the design for both. Vernon is now complete and will be handed over in September. It involves an eight-storey acute-care facility. The Kelowna portion is larger. Recently the staff, the physicians and the builders celebrated “one year to opening.” Two buildings are involved – the Centennial Building and see One, C9

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VRCA News Supplement C9

Business in Vancouver July 12–18, 2011

The Vancouver Regional Construction Association is B.C.’s largest construction association, representing more than 700 union and non-union construction companies in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Member benefits include networking, access to construction opportunities, education, industry news and advocacy and access to the Construction Job Centre.

The VRCA welcomes the following new members Allied Service

We specialize in the renovation of large grocery stores.

Computer Guidance Corp. Victoria Satran 15035 75th St. North, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 P: 480-444-7000 F: 480-444-7004 vsatran@computerguidance.com www.computerguidance.com Founded in 1981, Computer Guidance Corp. is the trusted provider of construction management software for architecture, engineering and construction companies.

Final Choice Construction Inc. Edmond Law 8495 Ontario St. Unit 302, Vancouver V5X 3E8 P: 604-324-1101 F: 604-324-1106 edmondlaw@finalchoice.ca www.finalchoice.ca Our company focuses on commercial and high-end residential construction and renovation projects.

Associate Level 5 Consulting Ltd. Brenda Shaw, P.Eng. 324 8th St. East, North Vancouver V7L 1Z3 P: 604-929-9693 F: 604-929-9683 brendashaw@level5.cc www.level5.cc Building-envelope consulting for new construction and older building retrofits. Master Municipal Documents Association (MMCD) Neil Nyberg 211 Columbia St. Suite 102, Vancouver V6A 2R5 P: 604-681-0295 F: 604-681-4545 admin@mmcd.net www.mmcd.net

General Contractor Canada CIBS Investment and Trade Inc. Bo (David) Zhong 1066 Hastings St. West, 20th Floor, Vancouver V6E 3X2 P: 604-601-8518 F: 604-601-8526 lf_cibs@hotmail.com A three-year-old global construction company. Our main business in China, the Middle East and Africa and we are now offering services in Canada. EarthCo Underground Ltd. Chris Webb 19892 Silverthorne Pl., Pitt Meadows V3Y 2W4 P: 604-460-1885 F: 604-460-1884 earthcoltd@shaw.ca Civil contractors, storm sewer water, plumbing and piping. Elias Tkachuk Contracting Ron Tkachuk 1168 Hamilton St. Suite 304, Vancouver V6B 2S2 P: 604-662-8822 F: 604-662-8820 ron@elicontracting.ca www.elicontracting.ca

Julnes & Sons Constructors Inc. Tristan Julnes 1859 Stainsbury Ave. Suite 116, Vancouver V5N 2M6 P: 604-537-5773 F: 604-697-0821 tristan@jandsconstructors.com www.jandsconstructors.com Julnes & Sons Constructors Inc. is a multiservice company that provides project management, carpentry, millwork and stone/ tile installations in the high-end residential market. Pacific Coast Civil Works Inc. Sunny Bhangu PO Box 410, 7231 120th St., Delta V4C 6P5 P: 604-537-4212 pacificcoastcivil@hotmail.com Specializing in roadwork, utility construction, earth works, site services, trucking and land clearing. SimplexGrinnell - a Division of Tyco International of Canada Ltd. Mike Abbey 1485 Lindsey Pl., Delta V3M 6V1 P: 604-515-8872 ext. 110 jpetersen@simplexgrinnell.com www.simplexgrinnell.com We serve over one million customers in the United States and Canada, providing a comprehensive array of fire alarm, fire sprinkler, fire suppression, integrated security, sound and communications and nurse call systems and services. Tasa Construction Denis Brunet 8557 Government St. Suite 106, Burnaby V3N 4S9 P: 604-522-8212 denis@tasaconstruction.com Turner Construction Co. Darin Postma 13955 Bridgeport Rd. Suite 400, Richmond V6V 1J6 P: 604-244-7343 dpostma@tcco.com www.turnerconstruction.com General contractor focusing on sustainability, commercial interiors, health care, data centres, life sciences, higher education and commercial buildings. Whistler Excavations Ltd. Paul Boulanger Box 1145, Whistler V0N 1B0 P: 604-932-6143 F: 604-932-8748

paul@whistlerexcavations.com www.whistlerexcavations.com Commercial or residential site servicing installation work specializing in difficult sites as well as ski run work. We also maintain a fleet of heavy duty highway trucks.

M&S Guillevin International Co. Randy Martel 5344 Lougheed Hwy., Burnaby V5B 2Z8 P: 604-438-8661 F: 604-434-6210 rmartel@guillevin.com www.guillevin.com Electrical wholesale distribution. Icon Agency Dan Cramer 1525 Broadway St. Unit 114, Port Coquitlam V3C 6P6 P: 778-285-4288 F: 778-285-2776 dan.cramer@iconagency.ca www.iconagency.ca Representing: Belanger, Brymer Brass, Cheviot Products, Giant Water Heaters, Jaga Water Radiators, Laing Pumps, Maax, Onex Stainless Steel Sinks, Weil-McLain, Wilkins Backflow and Zurn products. K.M. Roberts & Associates Brian Le Cappelain PO Box 74030, RPO Fraser Heights, Surrey V4N 5H9 P: 604-882-8488 F: 604-882-8678 blecappelain@kmroberts.com www.kmroberts.com Manufacturer’s representative for B.C. of electrical metering, heating, lighting, power factor capacitors, transformers, tray and support systems and ventilation fans. Moen Inc. (Canada) Jerry Fairborn 2816 Bristol Circle, Oakville, ON L6H 5S7 P: 905-829-3700 F: 905-829-3008 jerry.fairborn@moen.com www.moen.ca Meaningful innovation is the goal of Moen’s commercial division. Providing superiorperforming faucets, shower systems and washroom products that exceed the end users’ needs while delivering lower lifetime costs for today’s facilities. Sanderson Concrete Inc. Jan Arntorp 12665 116th Ave., Surrey V3V 3S6 P: 604-580-4108 F: 604-580-4111 jan@sandersonconcrete.com www.sandersonconcrete.ca Custom precast concrete: windowsills and lintels, wall panels, signage, coping caps and stair treads. Site furnishings: steps, bollards, treegrates, planters benches, tables and garbage cans.

SouthCoast Petroleum Ltd. Terry Dyck 8027 Enterprise St., Burnaby V5A 1V5 P: 604-945-4391 F: 604-945-7107 tdyck@southcoastpetro.ca www.southcoastpetro.ca SouthCoast Petroleum Ltd. is a lubricant, fuel and related services provider throughout southwest British Columbia with facilities throughout the Lower Mainland. We offer a wide variety of services including on-site refuelling, fuel delivery into tanks, lubricant technical info and fuel tank rentals/sales.

Trade Contractor Action Electric Ltd. Willy Disler 1277 Georgia St. East, Vancouver V6A 2A9 P: 604-734-9146 F: 604-222-8575 action@actioncom.ca www.actioncom.ca The Action Group of Companies is locally owned and operated, providing clients with technology systems integration and network infrastructure. We stay focused on technology developments and increased client requirements to meet the demands of global competition. Alpha Contracting & Tile Inc. Zelimir Visekruna 281 Holdom Ave. Suite 328, Burnaby V5B 3T9 P: 778-887-4410 zelimirv@yahoo.ca Alpha Contracting & Tile is responsible for the installation of tile (ceramic, porcelain, marble and granite) and all kinds of natural and cultured stone and wooden floors. Crystal Image Ent. Ltd. J.P. Waraich 6301 180A St., Surrey V3S 4L7 P: 604-727-4299 F: 604-575-8406

Interested in becoming a member of the VRCA? Join now by visiting www.vrca.bc.ca or call 604-294-3766.

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Luktor Lighting Inc.

Elpol Electrical Services Peter Pawelec 2844 Binbridge Ave. Suite 84014, Burnaby V5A 4T9 P: 604-760-4493 F: 604-737-4833 peter@elpol.ca www.elpol.ca

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Exact Drywall Systems Ltd. Eric Stenersen 20171 92A Ave. Suite 109, Langley V1M 3A5 P: 604-455-1230 F: 604-455-1231 estenersen@exactdrywall.com www.exactdrywall.com Exterior and interior steel studs, insulation, drywall, acoustic ceilings and wall panels, stucco and EIFS.

Luktor Lighting is the first B.C. distributor

Garnees Dev-Ex Cont Ltd. Garnet Janus PO Box 3069, Mission V2V 4J3 P: 604-826-7752 F: 604-826-7209 ghjanus@shaw.ca All aspects of civil works including bulk excavations, watermain, sewer main, storm main, retaining wall structures, hydro and tell raceway, vaults and other related works. Groundforce geoDrilling Solutions Inc. Barry Milner 4611 Viking Way Unit 260, Richmond V6V 2K9 P: 778-879-1518 bmilner@groundforcedrilling.com www.groundforcedrilling.com Groundforce geoDrilling Solutions is a comprehensive drilling contractor that specializes in geothermal (geoexchange) drilling operations. Taking our extensive experience, equipment and oilfield work ethic, we bring a new professional approach to the commercial geothermal drilling sector.

24985 32nd Ave., Aldergrove V4W 2A1 P: 604-626-0871 F: 604-856-9868 tracyg@luktor.com www.luktor.com to incorporate BPL data networks into commercial energy management systems. Precisionwerkz Architectural Woodwork & Cabinetry Jay Wu 4155 McConnell Dr., Burnaby P: 604-422-8920 F: 604-422-8921 jwu@precisionwerkz.com www.precisionwerkz.com Precisionwerkz Inc. is an architectural woodwork and cabinetry company servicing the commercial, hospitality, institutional and residential industry across North America. River City Electric Ltd. Steen Rasmussen 408 East Kent Ave. South Suite 121, Vancouver V5X 2X7 P: 604-210-4383 F: 604-210-4390 steenr@rivercityelectric.ca www.rivercityelectric.ca

One year: Buildings fully operational East Pandosy building will be a three-storey, the East Pandosy Building. The Centennial 84,500-square-foot building connected to KelBuilding provides a new patient-care tower owna General Hospital by an enclosed bridge as well as space for the UBC faculty of medi- across Pandosy Street to the 360,000-squarecine and Interior Health Clinical Academic foot Centennial Building. Campus. The East Pandosy Building is part of “It’s exciting to know that in a mere year the $448 million Interior Heart and Surgical from now these buildings will be fully operaCentre project. Its construction will support tional, adding to the exceptional service prothe relocation of existing hospital departments vided here at Kelowna General Hospital,” said to allow for the state-of-construction building Steve Thomson, MLA for Kelowna-Mission. in 2012. The East Pandosy Building will house In addition, the provincial government has laboratory and clinical support departments. just announced it has short-listed three teams Construction of the six-storey Centen- who are competing to build a $448 million MT_VAN-constrution 12/16/10 4:36 PM Page 1 nial Building began in November 2008. The cardiac centre at Kelowna. u from Hospital, C8

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Business in Vancouver July 12–18, 2011

Construction projects compete Awards of Excellence nearing decision point By Brian Martin

he contest for this year’s Awards of Excellence in the construction industry is now well underway. Within days, the judges will be meeting to decide the gold and silver winners in an array of categories. The names of silver winners will be released later this month. After that, one will be chosen in each category as the gold winner. Those names will be announced at an awards dinner at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre on October 19. Normally between 600 and 700 construction industry leaders attend. The awards program is sponsored annually by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA). It is by far the largest construction awards program in Canada. It was founded jointly 23 years ago by the association, which was then known as the Amalgamated Construction Association and the Journal of Commerce. At the time it began, there was only one award and it was for a general contractor. Since then, it has expanded to a series of awards to general contractors in three categories, depending on the dollar value of their entry, and to trade contractors. In addition, there are specific awards for mechanical and electrical contractors as well as awards for suppliers. In some years, the judges take it on themselves to hand out a Landmark Award. This is given to a project that is so fundamental that it has impacted the city’s built environment. Only rarely are Landmark Awards given. Previous winners have included PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. for the new Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre on the waterfront and ITC Construction for the vast Woodwards redevelopment project in the Downtown Eastside. Not all projects are in the Lower

New school district headquarters building in Surrey built by Ledcor is among many projects entered in this fall’s VRCA Awards of Excellence program

Mainland. As long as the contractors involved are members of the VRCA, their projects are eligible to enter the competition. There are often projects entered from areas such as Vancouver Island, both the southern and northern Interior and Yukon Territory. The most far-flung project to win an Award of Excellence was in West Africa. In determining award winners, the judges look particularly for innovative contributions contractors have made to projects. Often these are innovations that saved the project owner both time and money. Other considerations involve how contractors dealt with adversities such as poor weather conditions, challenging site conditions or difficult manpower availability. WorkSafeBC also sponsors a series of gold and silver awards for companies that create innovative safety programs or equipment. The Journal of Commerce, now owned by Reed Construction Data, remains an important player in the awards program and sponsors the gold award for a general

contractor on a job worth more than $40 million. John Richardson, director of operations for Reed in Western Canada, pointed out the Journal of Commerce celebrated its 100th birthday in June. “It is almost a quarter of a century that we have been supporting the VRCA, awards program,” he said. “It’s something we’re very proud to be involved in. The Journal has been an integral part of the local construction industry for a very long time – and expects to be playing a role for a long time to come.” Keith Sashaw, president of the VRCA is enthusiastic about the program. “Over the years, the construction industry has really embraced this awards program,” he said. “Members of the industry have come to learn the commercial value of winning an award and have learned how to use it in their marketing activities.” He pointed out that a VRCA Award has become known as an indication of excellence and can be extremely beneficial to a company. u

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onstruction disputes are an unfortunate reality on projects ranging from home renovations to the largest infrastructure project. How can you best prepare for a firsthand encounter with this reality? First, contract documents should be carefully reviewed, prepared and negotiated before the commencement of the project. Both parties and their project personnel should know the contract and, in particular, the assumptions and the project approach so that deviations can be detected early on in the project and investigated at once. Second, bid documents should be preserved, including those documents evidencing the assumptions the bid is based

on. Most claim situations will involve comparisons between the conditions expected at the time of bid and what was actually encountered on site. The failure to preserve bid documents and the assumptions upon which a bid was based inevitably leads to scepticism about the claim. Third, construction must be properly documented. Parties that have instituted procedures to document project conditions, costs and problem areas will be able to address what specific costs were encountered due to what specific conditions. The absence of such information leads to vulnerability in the prosecution or the defence of a claim. An underused record of construction is a daily photo-

graphic or video diary of the progress of construction. It is important to keep in mind that photographs and videos must be accompanied by a narrative documenting the time, location and significance of what is being recorded so that they can be used later when reconstructing claim events. Project participants should also document important notices, project developments and claims in letters and memoranda. Those documents should also be carefully and permanently affixed and organized chronologically in a sensible filing system. Cost accounting records are also critical. Contractors presenting claims are required to prove the material, labour and equipment costs arising from

a claim. Accordingly, a successful claim will more often than not be supported by an accurate accounting of all costs incurred. Conversely, owners are well advised to monitor contractors’ activities, labour, equipment and materials when a claim is on the horizon. Finally, maintaining scheduling information is crucial. Both owners and contractors are well advised to keep accurate, thorough and regularly updated schedules as to the progress of construction. Analyzing what actually happened during the project is almost always the first step in a claim. Reconstructing the schedule after the fact is an extremely difficult and time-consuming process in the absence of detailed scheduling information properly maintained during construction. u Norm Streu is the chief operating officer of the LMS Reinforcing Steel Group and former chair of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association. Chris Hirst is a partner and the leader of the construction and engineering group, Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP.

VRCA News Supplement C11

Business in Vancouver July 12–18, 2011

Construction industry emphasizes environment New certification program to promote sustainability in the built environment

ociety’s emphasis on the environment has cer tainly not been lost on one of our oldest industries. The Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) may be more than 80 years old, but there is nothing old-fashioned about its approach to business. One of the latest programs the VRCA is offering to its members is a certification program called Excellence in Sustainable Construction (ESC). ESC covers both practices on construction sites as well as practices within a construction company’s own office. The VRCA is just now in the process of launching it. To handle the program, the association has hired Lisa Wolfe as associate director of education. Until recently Wolfe worked as a consultant for the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association. ESC is largely the brainchild of Susan Hildebrand, director of sustainability with Scott Construction. Sustainable building practices are something that have been a real cause in her life for some years, she told Construction in Vancouver. She began researching the subject and found very little information in North Americ,a unlike the U.K., which, she said, is “years ahead of us.” Building design and construction can be dictated by green rating systems such as LEED and similar environmental programs. What ESC is designed to do is educate, support and promote members of the building industr y to improve their own business and construction practices. The ESC program encourages its business members to realize improved profitability through addressing their environmental and social responsibilities. At the most basic levels, however, the construction industry has some distance to go. Everyone wants to do the right thing, Hildebrand says, but until now there has not been a program in place to support the vision. Being environmentally responsible can improve the bottom line. For example, after Hildebrand analysed the $600,000 Scott incurred over six projects she was able to show them a 40% saving by adjusting its disposal programs and procedures.

When it comes to the immediate environment Hildebrand points to the amount of potable drinking water that gets used during construction processes and questions how the industry can be more innovative and use alternate water services. Scott is currently measuring the carbon footprint of a construction site that includes the amount of water used. From this it can share with the industry its findings and innovative ways to reduce greenhouse gases during construction. ESC puts emphasis on how businesses treat their people and how they relate in a socially responsible way to their own communities. In the area of social responsibility and giving back to the community, Scott is currently building a 12-storey project in East Vancouver for the Lookout Society and BC Housing. As funding is short to furnish the units, Hildebrand is launching a fundraising drive within Scott and with the other players in the project to purchase startup kits. On a broader scale, members of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association have contributed more than $1 million in cash and kind toward the construction of Honour House. It is a facility for first responders who need to come to the Lower Mainland for medical attention. Energy usage is also very important. It could involve reviewing the vehicles supplied to a construction firm’s employees. Is it necessary to have a fully loaded V8 pickup or would a four-cylinder compact be able to do the job just as well? Some other typical areas would be training staff to practise on-site conservation, such as turning off unused lights and power sources in cranes or other operating equipment. Within the office, opportunities abound when it comes to choosing suppliers and environmentally sensitive products. The benefits can be many, the VRCA’s Wolfe says. When a company is able to advertise itself as environmentally responsible, it is able to use that as a marketing tool. Government ministries and Crown corporations put particular emphasis on that when making purchasing decisions.

Naturally, any changes that result in using less electricity, gas or diesel drop wonderfully through to the bottom line where they produce a happy result.

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Scott Construction is leading the way when it comes to sustainable construction. This is a 12-storey public-housing development being built by the company

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Wolfe also says companies should not underestimate the importance environmental responsibility plays when it comes to hiring and retaining good employees. Today’s generation of workers, she points out, puts a lot of importance on that. They want to be part of a firm that takes the environment seriously. The first big step in the ESC project will come this summer when the VRCA puts on a pilot training program for a small number of firms to iron out the wrinkles and discover ways ESC can be a standard for the industry and recognized at the municipal and provincial levels.

Southern Interior Construction Association

Architect’s model of the public-housing development

“Our plans right now,” said VRCA president Keith Sashaw, “are to be ready to

proceed full steam ahead with ESC next fall.” Anyone wanting more

information can check the ESC website at www.sustainableconstruction.ca. u

C12 VRCA News Supplement

Business in Vancouver July 12–18, 2011

Provincial View Manley McLachlan

f e w ye a r s b a c k , the Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) put together a task force made up of stakeholders from across the residential construction industry to consider the cur rent residential builder licensing requirements. Out of that task force came a number of recommendations that, until fairly recently, seemed to be caught in suspended animation. However, actions are now underway both within industry and government to bring some, if not all, of those recommendations to fruition. One of the most evident actions is the creation of the Professional Builders Institute (PBI) (pbibc.ca). For those of us in the institutional, commercial, industrial (ICI) and multi-family residential sector of the industry, this institute will have little impact from a regulatory standpoint. However, if you happen to do some single-family residential building or anything up to a four-plex, you need to pay attention.

The PBI was developed as an independent society by industry to work with the HPO to create processes in order to implement proposed new qualifications for the licensing of residential builders in B.C. in the business of building and/or selling residential buildings that contain from one to a maximum of four homes per building. The mission of the PBI is to increase the professionalism of that category of residential builder through education, training and certification with a mandate to ensure that the B.C. residential building industry will be recognized by industry, government and consumers as professionals. The idea for developing the institute came directly out of the findings of the HPO industry task force. It was determined that there should be a division between one-to-four-unit residential builders and those who build five-unit-or-greater multi-family residential buildings. The task force agreed that those who build the larger

buildings have greater professional oversight and more checks and balances in place to ensure that the ultimate consumer is protected. If anything, the task force proposed a lessening of regulations for those builders. However, there was a strong push from the singlefamily residential builders represented on the task force to have greater professionalism instilled into their sector by adding some mandatory educational and training requirements to the process of getting an HPO residential builder licence. It was also the task force’s recommendation that the industry needed to take the lead in proposing to government what those educational and training benchmarks and certifications should look like. In response to those recommendations, the industry set up the PBI. It is not happening tomorrow. Regulations still need to be passed by government setting out the qualifications to be required by the smaller homebuilders and the broader

industry continues to be involved in that consultation process.

The PBI is a newly minted organization, governed primarily by residential builders of one to four units, that is eager to see a new level of educational expertise being achieved by its sector Over the next year, the PBI, using its industry expertise, will work collaboratively with the HPO, to develop a set of educational benchmarks that new entrants seeking their

residential builder licence will have to achieve through courses and potentially work experience in order to satisfy the HPO’s future requirements for licensing. It is also anticipated that, down the road, there will be requirements for continuing education in order for all licensees in this one-to-fourunit category to keep their licence each year. In addition, the PBI and HPO will develop a process to identify and approve training providers for the courses that will teach to those benchmarks. The HPO will continue to approve and issue the residential builder licence. The anticipated regulations will provide appropriate lead time before the new licence requirements are in force. This will allow licensed residential builders of one to four units and new entrants to be advised of the new requirements and prepare for any education and training that might be necessary to obtain and maintain a licence in the future.

The PBI is a newly minted organization, governed primarily by residential builders of one to four units, that is eager to see a new level of educational expertise being achieved by its sector. While many in the industry may view with some trepidation the onslaught of new regulatory requirements, the PBI will undoubtedly work hard to communicate the process for increased education and professionalism in the homebuilding industry and hopefully achieve a high level of acceptance from home builders around the province. The ICI and multi-family sector of the construction industry has always been a strong supporter of Red Seal trades training, Gold Seal management training and the litany of technical and professional diplomas and degrees related to building ICI and multi-family projects. So for us, it is great to see the home builders getting on board! u Manley McLachlan is president of the BC Construction Association in Victoria.

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Law

July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Firm longevity a bonus, not core asset A long history won’t guarantee a legal firm’s ongoing success, however it may provide a crucial edge in talent attraction By Jenny Wagler

’s oldest law firm, Richard Buell Sutton LLP, celebrates 140 years this year, with a rich history that includes founder Albert Norton Richards going on to become B.C.’s second lieutenant governor. Yet managing partner Jeff Lowe said that while the firm’s longevity has helped shape its culture and client base and plays into talent attraction, the firm’s age plays a fairly peripheral role in its ongoing success. “It is nice that we go back to 1871, but the reality is from a day-to-day perspective and our business model, it’s really focused around how do we maintain and enhance these [client] relationships, which we’ve had for years and years and years?” Warren Smith, B.C. managing director for legal recruiting firm the Counsel Network, agreed that older firms can’t depend on a long history to deliver ongoing business results. “My sense is that law services in the end are professional services firms, and professional services invariably turn on the professional providing the service,” he said. “I see it time and time again: good talent attracts good clients.” Yet to attract that top talent in the first place, Smith said, firm longevity can be a selling point. “I’d say lawyers probably prize the longevity, the brand and the history more so than clients do,” he said, “because it says something about the ability of that firm to project and persist and stay with a block of clients, and that’s the value.” Lowe noted that an ancillary factor to firm age – long-standing clients – may even trump pure longevity for talent attraction. In Richard Buell Sutton’s case, he said, longstanding clients such as the University of British Columbia may be the big draw for some lawyers. “I’m not sure that being the oldest [law firm] in B.C. is the draw as much as that they [lawyers]

Jeff Lowe, managing parter of Richard Buell Sutton: “I’m not sure that being the oldest [law firm] in B.C. is the draw as much as that [lawyers] understand perhaps who some of our clients are”

understand perhaps who some of our clients are.” Whether the talent attraction edge comes from longevity or the ancillary benefit of long-standing clients, it’s an edge younger firms need to work hard to compete against.

“I’d say lawyers probably prize the longevity, the brand and the history more so than clients do, because it says something about the ability of that firm to persist and stay with a block of clients, and that’s the value” – Warren Smith, managing director, B.C., the Counsel Network

Local boutique firm McCullough O’Connor Irwin LLP, still a younger player on the city landscape after 17 years in business, is facing some of the recruiting challenges associated with being relatively young, small and unknown outside the arena of

corporate and securities law – the firm’s practice focus. “People who practise in that area know us very well and people outside of that area have no idea who we are,” said founding partner Jonathan McCullough. “So for attracting junior lawyers, it’s a challenge for us and, quite frankly, we have to use recruiters heavily in order to identify people and we have to work hard to communicate to them who we are.” But if firm longevity can help attract talent, it can also present challenges. Lowe said that Richard Buell Sutton pours a lot of time into maintaining its long-standing client relationships – an approach that may not suit lawyers who’d rather focus on building new business. “We want to make sure that people are aligned with our overall business model and our overall strategy, because for me, where the angst comes from in law firms is when you get people who are not aligned with your strategic objectives.” For Richard Buell Sutton, this is an approach that has paid off before.

Jonathan McCullough, founding partner of McCullough O’Connor Irwin, says the 17-year-old boutique firm uses recruiters to attract junior lawyers because people outside the firm’s practice area “have no idea who we are”

Lowe credits a common focus on long-term client relationships for the success of the very 1985 merger that created the firm out of parent firms Buell Ellis, Sutton Braidwood and Richards Underhill – and continued the firms’ legacies. “What was driving the merger at the time was that all of each firm had very long-standing clients, which were quite large clients for the size of each individual firm, and there was concern that they did not have the resources to support the full client needs,” he said. “What worked so well was they were all very old, very long-standing firms that I think were like-minded in the sense that they were very focused on these long-term client relationships.” As to how the historic firm is planning for the future, Lowe said it’s following a course set five years ago through a strategic plan that deemphasized performance statistics such as billable hours. “We basically created a model whereby we said, ‘How can we

Warren Smith, B.C. managing director for the Counsel Network: firm longevity can help attract good talent and “good talent attracts good clients”

build the best business we can, provide the best service we can and create a good work environment?’ and ‘Let’s get away from worrying exactly who’s doing what,’” he said. That strategic plan, he said, is working well and gets tweaked annually. “We continue to try and stay light on our feet,” he said. “Because obviously, the business environment over the past few years has impacted many of our clients and we have to be able to adapt and change to meet their changing needs and requirements.” • jwagler@biv.com

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28 Law

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

Trouble

DISCIPLINE •British Columbia

Securities Commission

A BC Securities Commission (BCSC) hearing panel has fined and ordered a five-year market ban against a man who illegally distributed securities and personally benefited from his illegal activity by receiving over $14,000 from investors’ funds, the regulator announced June 28. Robert Douglas Collins and his company, Blue Lighthouse Ltd., raised $317,636 by distributing securities to 22 investors without being registered and without filing a prospectus. The majority of the investors were residents of British Columbia. The panel also found that Collins used Blue Lighthouse as a vehicle to illegally raise funds from investors, and that Collins benefited from his illegal activity by personally receiving $14,607 from investors’ funds. For his misconduct, the panel banned Collins from trading in securities, purchasing securities or exchange contracts and from becoming or acting as a director or officer of any issuer, registrant or investment fund manager for five years. He is also prohibited, for the same period, from becoming or acting as a registrant, investment fund manager or promoter, from engaging in investor relations activities and from acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with the securities market. The panel also ordered Collins to pay to the commission the $14,607 he obtained as a result of his illegal activity, as well as an administrative penalty of $20,000. In addition to the orders against Collins, Blue Lighthouse was permanently cease-traded by the panel. The decision is related to an April 29, 2011, panel decision concerning John Arthur Roche McLoughlin and MCL Ventures Inc., in which the panel banned McLoughlin from the securities market for 15 years and ordered him to pay an administrative penalty of $50,000. The panel permanently cease-traded MCL. A BCSC panel has fined and ordered a permanent market ban against a man who fraudulently obtained over $500,000 from four investors, the regulator announced June 29. Adam Keller, a B.C. resident, raised approximately $523,100 from two B.C. and two Alberta investors, claiming that he would execute trades in the foreign exchange market or invest funds in unique investment opportunities on their

behalf. At the time, Keller was the sole director and signing authority for Great White Capital Corp. (GWC), a company headquartered in West Vancouver, B.C. The panel found that Keller perpetrated a fraud when he lied to investors, provided them with false account summaries, and failed to protect, secure or return investors’ funds as promised. Additionally, Keller did not invest the funds solicited from investors, but instead used the funds for personal purposes. For his fraudulent actions, the panel permanently banned Keller from trading in securities, purchasing securities or exchange contracts and from becoming or acting as a director or officer of any issuer, registrant or investment fund manager. He is also permanently prohibited from becoming or acting as a registrant, investment fund manager or promoter, from engaging in investor relations activities and from acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with the securities market. The panel also ordered Keller to pay to the commission the $523,100 he obtained as a result of his illegal activity, as well as an administrative penalty of $1.6 million. In addition to the orders against Keller, Great White Capital was permanently cease-traded by the panel.

Penticton Edge Truck Repairing Inc., Richmond Empire Vehicle Solutions Inc., Surrey Fast Income Pro, Vancouver Finest Goldsmiths, Surrey Ford’s Moving Ltd., Vancouver From Scott to Finish Custom Kitchens & Fine Cabinetry, Richmond Harmony Bay Management Inc., Kelowna Henderson Plumbing & Heating, Langley Imperial Parking Canada Corp., Vancouver Malibu Investments, Richmond Marios 2 for 1 Pizza, Prince George Michelle Smith Design Inc., Kelowna Nor Pac Marketing, New Westminster Oxygenergy Electronics, Richmond Perfect Match, Burnaby Personal Mobility, Surrey Qualico Developments Vancouver Inc., Surrey Swoopo Entertainment Shopping Inc., Vancouver Synergize International Inc., Richmond TD Canada Trust, Vancouver VRC Fitness Gym, Abbotsford Weston Luggage Ltd., Vancouver Zara Canada, Montreal The following companies have responded to the BBB subsequent to being published: Come Clean Naturally, North Vancouver Duet Introductions, Surrey Trinity Floors, Surrey

BUYER’S ALERT Who’s Companies listed below, which are not members of Getting Sued the Better Business BurThese corporate writs were eau, have failed to respond, as of June 30, 2011, to Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C.’s efforts to mediate complaints from June 20 to June 24, 2011. In some instances, the company may have taken care of the complaint and considered the matter closed, or may believe the complaint is unjustified; however, if the BBB has not received a response, records cannot reveal either position. Please note that BBB members must respond to customer complaints that are brought to their attention. Source: BBB. Adultsensations, Coquitlam Alpine Motor Inn, Clearbrook Astro Guard Alarms Vancouver Ltd., Port Coquitlam Blackcomb Snowmobile, Whistler Cana Creek, Vancouver Canadian Time Systems Inc., Vancouver Citi Financial, Terrace CitiFinancial Canada Inc. Delta, Delta C.T.L. Logging Contractor Ltd., Prince George Deal Direct Inventory Liquidators, Port Coquitlam

filed with the B.C. Supreme Court registry in Vancouver. Information is derived from notices of civil claim. Civil claims have yet to be proven in court. Defendants: South Point Station Pub Ltd. and Garry T’s Neighbourhood Pub & Restaurant Ltd. and Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of British Columbia 5668 Manitoba St., Vancouver and 3rd floor, 1001 Douglas St., Victoria Plaintiff: HSBC Bank Canada 1600–925 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Claim: $1,193,545 for debt related to a general security agreement against South Point and Garry Pub; a declaration the agreements are in default; a declaration of entitlement to a charge upon the assets; enforcement of the charge; an inquiry; an accounting; and appointment of a receiver. Defendants: Tyam Construction Ltd. and 2300 Kingsway Properties Ltd.

Langley and 3502–1088 Burrard St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Canadian Soil Management Ltd. 89 Rogers St., Vancouver Claim: $385,557 for debt related to a soil removal contract. Defendant: Fuseforward International Inc. 25th floor, 700 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Bal Global Finance Canada Corp. 1600 Cathedral Pl., 925 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Claim: $305,316 for debt arising from two payment plan agreements. Defendants: PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. and Chet Construction Ltd. and Brent Burdeyny aka Raymond Brent Burdeyny and the City of Surrey 900–808 Nelson St., Vancouver and 22695 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford and 2150 Mirus Dr., Abbotsford and 14245 56th Ave., Surrey Plaintiffs: Emco Corp. and Emco Corp. dba Emco Waterworks dba Sandale Utility Products Box 10424, 1300–777 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver Claim: $288,648 against PCL and Chet for pipes and materials and equipment for the construction of the Bridgeview Pump Station, or, damages, an accounting, and a tracing; damages against Burdeyny; an accounting; and a tracing; $285,052 in lien claims against lands owned by the City of Surrey; a declaration Emco is entitled to a claim of lien against any holdback in the total sum of $284,952, an order, and damages. Defendants: TBU Security Solutions Inc. and Terry Glenn Bradshaw and Martine Bradshaw 202–1433 St. Paul St., Kelowna and 1725 Dolphin Ave., Kelowna Plaintiff: Royal Bank of Canada 3rd floor, 650 W. 41st Ave., Vancouver Claim: $159,663 against TBU for debt arising from a credit agreement; $150,000 against Terry Bradshaw as guarantor of the debt; $155,000 against Martine Bradshaw as guarantor of the debt. Defendants: Hornby Residences Ltd. and Brendan James Schouw 1251 Homer St., Vancouver Plaintiffs: Lien Tran and Michael Tang and Dana Wong and Timothy Matthew Wong and Annette Albanese-Wong 1015–885 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Claim: $152,478 in favour of Tran and Tang arising from an investment certificate; $152,314 in favour of Dana Wong, Timothy Matthew Wong and Annette AlbaneseWong, arising from an

Defendant: Maximum Steel Detailing Inc. 6957 198th St., Langley Plaintiff: Royal Bank of Canada 6880 Financial Dr., Mississauga, ON Claim: $150,416 for debt related to a credit agreement. Defendant: Dr. Uday Jobanputra 264–4820 Kingsway Ave., Burnaby Plaintiff: Al Heaps & Associates Inc. 2525–1075 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Claim: $89,320 arising from a breached sale agreement for a dental practice, or, damages. Defendants: 0879873 B.C. Ltd. and Stephen Cole and Rick Bone 4095 Mt. Lehman Rd., Abbotsford and 507–819 Hamilton St., Vancouver Plaintiffs: Asian Concepts Franchising Corp. and 1185662 Alberta Ltd. 216–54555 152nd St., Surrey Claim: $69,350 for debt arising from unpaid franchise fees for a franchise of Wok Box Fresh Asian Kitchen; and damages for breach of the franchise agreement and sub-lease agreement and the guarantees. Defendants: Westwood Floors Ltd. previously known as Westwood Carpets Ltd. aka Westwood Carpets and the said Westwood Floors Ltd. and Westwood Carpets Ltd. and Jeff Henig aka Jeff Hennig 211–1015 Austin Ave., Coquitlam and 117–2200 Panorama Dr., Port Moody Plaintiff: Mohawk Servicing LLC formerly known as Mohawk Servicing Inc. and Mohawk Carpet Corp. 200–3071 No. 5 Rd., Richmond Claim: $59,808 for debt related to flooring and flooring products. Defendants: Reid Taylor Construction Ltd. and Kevin Reid Lafreniere and Natrisha A. Lafreniere and Jevco Insurance Co. Addresses unavailable Plaintiff: Doka Canada Ltd. 1500–1055 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Claim: $27,565 for debt against Reid Taylor for material used for construction at Capilano University; and damages; $27,565 against Jevco under the provisions of a bond; damages for breach of trust against Kevin Lafreniere and Natrisha Lafreniere. Defendants: British Columbia Timberframe Co. Ltd. and Parkwood Construction Ltd. and Britannia Beach Historical Society 600–1090 W. Georgia St., Vancouver and 1200–925

and Box 155, Britannia Beach Plaintiff: Jansen Burslem Contracting Ltd. dba New Leaf Contracting 217–4368 Main St., Whistler Claim: $25,226 in damages related to debt for the construction of a train pavilion. Defendants: Capital Wave Marketings Services Ltd. dba Capital Wave Marketing Ltd. and Ronny Kadarishko Addresses unavailable Plaintiff: WS Leasing Ltd. 2900–595 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: $20,791 for debt related to a BMW sale. Defendants: 494743 B.C. Ltd. dba Flame Engineering & Construction and Kamran Zamanpour 3131B St. Johns St., Port Moody and 621 Kenwood Rd., West Vancouver Plaintiff: Lynnmour Glass & Aluminium (2000) B.C. Ltd. 107–2455 Dollarton Hwy., North Vancouver Claim: $15,225 against 494743 for the supply and installation of aluminum curtain wall glazing; and a builder’s lien against lands owned by Zamanpour for $15,225. Defendant: Planet Organic Health Corp. 1000–840 Howe St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Maria Czabor 58–1370 Riverwood Gate, Port Coquitlam Claim: Damages arising from injuries sustained when Czabor tripped over a broom at a Planet Organic store. Defendant: Hush Communications Canada Inc. 1177–1100 Melville St., Vancouver Plaintiffs: Lachlan Wealth Management Ltd. and Lachlan Partners Pty Ltd. and Lachlan Partners Advisory Services Pty Ltd. and Lachland Partners Corporate Services Pty Ltd. and Lachlan Partners Property Advisors Pty Ltd. Level 35, 360 Collins St., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Claim: An order requiring the defendant to disclose information necessary to obtain the identity of the sender or senders of emails, including the IP addresses from which the emails were sent, arising from false, defamatory, threatening and harassing emails sent to the plaintiff and its employees. Defendants: Edward Ball and Christine Ball and Coast Industrial Maintenance & Machine (Canada) Ltd. 7–13101 78A Ave., Surrey and 200–8120 128th St., Surrey and 1321 Johnston Rd., White Rock

Law 29

July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Trouble

Lawsuit of the week

Province sued over Delta land deal Vancouver’s Gracia Financial Corp. has filed suit against B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure over a land expropriation in Delta. According to a May 13 B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claim, Gracia is the former owner of two sections of land along River Road in Delta. Last year, the province notified Gracia that it planned to expropriate the two chunks of land to make way for a highway project. The land was subsequently expropriated last July, and the province allegedly paid Gracia $728,000 for the land. Gracia claims the payment was “insufficient” and did not “adequately reflect the true market value of the properties.” Gracia is seeking compensation over and above the payment, according to court documents, plus legal and appraisal costs. A notice of response had not been filed by press time.

Synergetic Search Inc. 1350–885 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Claim: An accounting arising from a misrepresentation about a line of credit that was made to Luft, causing him to provide a personal guarantee of the debts of Coast Industrial to Royal Bank; judgment against Edward Ball and Christine Ball for the embezzled funds; a tracing and accounting; damages against the Balls; and orders.

Defendants: Robert Allison and Corrine Allison and Wide Open Welding Ltd. and ABC Co. 1-3 and John Does 1-4 7332 Fitzsimmons Dr. S., Whistler and addresses unavailable Plaintiff: Thomas John Charron 3200–650 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Claim: Damages arising from injuries suffered when the plaintiff was struck by a steel handrail and knocked to the ground.

Defendants: James Becker and Skeena River Ranch Ltd. and Carl Whitehead and Carl Whitehead carrying on business under the name and style B.C. Coast Host Box 800, Sutherland, NE, U.S. and 101–990 Cedar St., Campbell River and 1001 Kozier Rd., Terrace Plaintiff: Upstream Adventures Guiding Services Inc. 8060 Coleman St., Mission Claim: A declaration the defendants have been unjustly enriched to the detriment of Upstream, arising from a business expansion plan that was disclosed in confidence before it was breached; a declaration that 0887804 B.C. Ltd. holds title to the Kozier Farm in trust for Upstream, or, that Upstream has an interest in and to the Kozier Farm; a declaration the defendants hold the competing business and the revenues generated in trust for Upstream; an injunction; an order; damages; and an accounting.

Defendant: Katharine Johnston 75 Gengarry Cres., West Vancouver Plaintiffs: Buckhead Holdings Ltd. and Gordon Muir 410–1333 W. Broadway, Vancouver and 200–3753 Howard Hughes Parkway, Las Vegas, NV Claim: A declaration the agreements are void arising from the fraudulent transfer of Buckhead shares to the defendant; a declaration that Buckhead is owner of Buckhead shares; and damages.

Defendant: Aerospace & Defense Partners SL 2500–700 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Cantronic Systems Inc. 2600–595 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: Damages for breach of the LongWave agreement for the manufacture of 25 custom high-sensitivity long-wave infrared cameras.

Defendants: British Columbia Hydro International Ltd. and Provincial Rental Housing Corp. previously named British Columbia Housing Corp. Addresses unavailable Plaintiff: Michael Barron 220–3701 Hastings St., Burnaby Claim: Damages arising from injuries the plaintiff suffered after an electric shock from a high-voltage cable near a fire escape. Defendant: Ratcliff & Company LLP 500–221 West Esplanade, North Vancouver Plaintiff: Joyce Mary Bunn 300-145 W. 17th St., North Vancouver Claim: An injunction enjoining the defendant from disposing of the material documents without first making and retaining material copies, related to the plaintiff’s refusal to provide the

documents concerning the plaintiff’s affairs; and an injunction. Defendants: RateMDs Inc. doing business as ratemds.com and John Swapceinski and Joanne Wong and John Doe and Jane Roe 110–5716 Corsa Ave., Westlake Village, CA and 8–1260 Parkington Ave., Sunnyvale, CA Plaintiffs: Grant M. P. Chernick and Dr. Grant M. P. Chernick, Inc. 290–889 Harbourside Dr., North Vancouver Claim: Damages for libel arising from a defamatory posting on the ratemds.com website; an injunction; and an order. Defendants: Elaho Logging Ltd. and Norman Richardson 5–21183 88th Ave., Langley Plaintiff: Garibaldi Forest Products Ltd. 1124 Enterprise Way, Squamish Claim: Loss, costs and expense arising from a fire; loss of profits; and damages. Defendant: City of Abbotsford 32315 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford Plaintiffs: Judith Margarite Ellis and Donald Arthur Ellis 4290 Wright St., Abbotsford Claim: Damages for property damage caused by floods or contributed to by the development of lands upstream from Clayburn Village; injunctions; and a declaration the that city is liable to indemnify the plaintiffs for future damages and repair and remediation costs. Defendant: Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of British Columbia as represented by the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Address unavailable Plaintiff: Cariboo Road Christian Fellowship Society 300–31935 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford Claim: Compensation for the value of the property taken by way of a temporary statutory right of way and an expropriation; and further compensation. Defendant: Delco Fireplaces Ltd. 15245 16th Ave., White Rock Plaintiff: Gerald Thomas Sillers and Margery Carol Sillers 2819 Greenbrier Pl., Coquitlam Claim: Damages for negligence related to the installation of fireplaces and resulting fire damage. Defendant: Value Village Stores Inc. 1200–200 Burrard St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Patricia Johnston

116–3085 Primrose L., Coquitlam Claim: Damages for injuries suffered when the plaintiff slipped and fell on a metal hook on the floor. Defendants: Loblaw Co. Ltd. dba Real Canadian Superstore 1200–200 Burrard St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Rickey Jimmy Simmonds 7017 Elwell St., Burnaby Claim: Damages for illness related to Alaskan king crab legs.

Your Central City law ﬁrm, in Surrey.

Defendant: Vedder Steel Ltd. 400–628 6th Ave., New Westminster Plaintiff: Norson Construction Ltd. 215–8171 Cook Rd., Richmond Claim: Damages for breach of a steel supply construction. Defendants: Wai Shing Lo aka Kenny Ko and Shing Wai Lo and Amanda Siu Ling Ko and Ding Ko and Kam Sheung Chow and Shiu Fun Amy Yau 101–3373 Kingsway, Burnaby Plaintiffs: Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A. and Louis Vuitton Canada Inc. and Burberry Ltd. and Burberry Canada Inc. 2 Rue Pont Neuf, Paris, France and 25–199 Bay St., Toronto and Horseferry House, Horseferry Rd., London, U.K. and 1600– 100 King St. W., Toronto Claim: A declaration the land transfer is void related to the sale of counterfeit products; and an order.•

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Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

Top trade shows in the Lower Mainland Ranked by attendance at most recent event Rank 2011

Show manager

Trade show

Show host

Interior Design Show West

MMPI Canada Inc

www.idswest.com

1185 Georgia St W Suite 510, Vancouver, BC V6E 4E6 www.mmpicanada.com

Buildex Vancouver

MMPI Canada Inc

www.buildexvancouver.com

1185 Georgia St W Suite 510, Vancouver, BC V6E 4E6 www.mmpicanada.com

Pacific Dental Conference

www.pdconf.com

1505 2nd Ave W Suite 305, Vancouver, BC V6H 3Y4 www.pdconf.com

Pacific Agriculture Show

JGS Events

www.agricultureshow.net

1155 Pender St W Suite 708, Vancouver, BC V6E 2P4 www.agricultureshow.net

BC Log Home, Timber Frame and Country Living Show

Square Feet Northwest Event Managment

6 7

Jason Heard

Venue

Nature of exhibit

Recent event date

Vancouver Convention Centre West

Residential design event connecting consumers and trade professionals with the latest designs for the home

Oct. 14-17, 2010

Sept. 29 - Oct 2, 200 2011 150

One of Canada's largest trade expositions welcoming design, construction and real estate management professionals

Feb. 23-14, 2011

Feb. 8-9, 2012

Paul Maryschak Vancouver Convention Centre

Next show date

Exhibitors: recent/ previous

Attendance: recent/ previous 30,000 28,000

404 423

12,796 12,304

295 295

12,147 12,080

Jan. 26-28, 2012 216 250

7,500 7,500

Vancouver Convention Centre West

Conference for professionals and students March 10-12, March 8-10, 2011 2012 in the dental profession

Jim Shepard

Tradex Trade and Exhibition Centre

Agriculture industry trade show

Jan. 27-29, 2011

Les Trendall

Tradex Trade and Exhibition Centre

For clients interested in building, upgrading cottages, country homes, outdoor lifestyles at it's best!

March 12-13, March 10-11, 2011 2012

100 85

6,137 6,482

Spa International Esthétique Spa International 2011 Esthetique 104-14056, Curé-Labelle, Mirabel, QC J7J 1L6 www.spa-show.com

www.spa-show.com

Vancouver Convention Centre

Spa industry conference

March 20-21, Feb. 26-27, 2012 385 2010 385

4,670 4,670

BC Hospitality Industry Conference and Exposition

Executive Event Production Inc

George Acs

Vancouver Convention Centre West

A showcase of the latest products and services available to the hospitality industry

Nov 22-23, 2010

4,356 4,724

www.bclogandcountrylivingshow.ca

www.bchospitalityexpo.com

PO Box 688 STN. A, Abbotsford, BC V2T 6Z8 www.squarefeetevents.ca

901 Station St, Vancouver, BC V6A 4J8 www.eat-bc.com

Nov 7-8, 2011

221 225

Sources: Interviews with representatives from the above events and BIV research. Other shows may have ranked but did not provide updated information by deadline. NR Not ranked NP Not provided

Top consumer shows in the Lower Mainland Ranked by attendance at most recent event Rank 2011

Trade show

Show host

Show manager Venue

New Car Dealers Association of BC

Vancouver International Auto Show www.vancouverinternationalautoshow.com

10551 Shellbridge Way Suite 70, Richmond, BC V6X 2W9 www.newcardealers.ca

Circle Craft Christmas Market

Pacific Canadian Craft Shows

www.circlecraft.net

1537 8th Ave W Suite 203, Vancouver, BC V6J 1T5 www.circlecraft.net

Vancouver Home + Design Show

Marketplace Events

www.vancouverhomeshow.com

1788 5th Ave W Suite 314, Vancouver, BC V6J 1P2 www.marketplaceevents.com

Vancouver Motorcycle Show

Canadian National Sportsmen's Shows

www.vancouvermotorcycleshow.com

800-15355 24th Ave Suite 178, Surrey, BC V4A 2H9 www.sportshows.ca

EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

Executive Event Production Inc

The Wellness Show

New Rave Productions Inc

Boat Shows Inc. Vancouver International Boat Show Canadian 14 McEwan Dr W Unit 8 , Bolton, ON L7E 1H1

BC Boat and Sportsmen's Show & BC Square Feet Northwest Event Managment PO Box 688 STN. A, Abbotsford, BC V2T 6Z8 Hunting Show www.squarefeetevents.ca/sportsmen

www.squarefeetevents.ca

One of a Kind Show and Sale

MMPI Canada Inc

www.oneofakindvancouver.com

1185 Georgia St W Suite 510, Vancouver, BC V6E 4E6 www.mmpicanada.com

West Coast Women's Show

Encore Exhibitions Inc

www.westcoastwomen.net

833 Huntingdon Cres, North Vancouver, BC V7G 1M1 www.westcoastwomen.net

EPIC Sustainable Living Expo

GLOBE Foundation of Canada

www.epicexpo.com

999 Canada Pl Suite 578, Vancouver, BC V6C 3E1 www.globe.ca

BC Classic & Custom Car Show

Richardt Scholz

www.bccustomcarshow.com

Nature of exhibit

Exhibitors: Recent Next show recent/ event date date previous

Attendance: recent/ previous

Paul McGeachie

Vancouver Convention Centre

Industry automotive new models and related products

March 29 April 3, 2011

April 3—8, 2012

200 90

101,000 80,777

Paul Yard

Vancouver Convention Centre

Arts and crafts from across Canada

Nov. 17-21 2010

Nov. 9-13 2011 276 265

45,000 43,0001

Jill Proseilo

Vancouver Convention Centre West

Home, interior design and renovation

Sept. 9-12, 2010

Oct. 13-16, 2011

304 NP

42,512 40,0001

Nanette Jacques

Tradex Trade and Exhibition Centre

New motorcycles, ATVs, mopeds and related services, motorcycle demonstrations, stunt riding, learn-toride school

Jan. 20-23, 2011

Jan. 19-22, 2012

185 200

34,978 35,611

Heather Angeard

Vancouver Conventilon Centre West

Consumer food, beverage, cooking and kitchen show

June 10-12, 2011

May 25-27, 2012

302 275

32,341 38,972

Complementary, traditional and alternative health therapies, healthy eating, fitness and healthy aging

Feb. 18-20, 2011

Feb. 17-19, 2012

290 254

32,068 30,005

West Convention Centre and False Creek Yacht Club

Canoes, kayaks, fishing boats, sailboats, motor yachts, accessories, marine services, seminars and new boating products

Feb. 9-13, 2011

Feb. 8-12, 2012

250 NP

31,106 NP

Les Trendall

Tradex Trade and Exhibition Centre

Boats, marine and hunting accessories, fishing tackle, manufacturers and retailers, lodges and resorts

March 4-6, 2011

March 2-4, 2012

214 221

30,828 30,618

Ally Day

Vancouver Convention Centre West

Holiday craft show

Dec. 7-10, 2010

Dec. 8-11, 2011 220 300

30,000 32,000

Murat Olcay

Tradex Trade and Exhibition Centre

The largest and most successful women's event in Canada showing products and Oct. 22-24, services for women, with fashion and 2010 cooking shows, celebrity speakers, health and home decor

Oct. 21-23, 2011

414 400

26,315 26,216

Nancy Wright

Vancouver Convention Centre West

Sustainable living expo

May 13-15, 2011

May 11- 13, 2012

300 300

18,473 16,891

5678 - 199th St Suite 218, Langley, BC V3A 1H8 www.bccustomcarshow.com

Tradex Trade and Exhibition Centre

Classic and custom car exhibition

April 29-May April 27-29, 1, 2011 2012

290 275

17,980 18,550

Education & Career Fairs

Diana Klingner

www.educationcareerfairs.com

1177 Hastings St W Suite 2101, Vancouver, BC V6E 2K3 and Cheryl Grenick www.educationcareerfairs.com

Six locations across assisting students, adult learners and B.C. career changers

Nov. 28, 2011 347 401

14,548 14,719

Early Bird RV Show

MTD Promotions2

www.rvshowsbc.ca

30440 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC V2T 6L4 www.rvshowsbc.ca

Snowbird RV Show

MTD Promotions2

www.rvshowsbc.ca

30440 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC V2T 6L4 www.rvshowsbc.ca

West Coast Christmas Show

Executive Event Production Inc

www.westcoastchristmasshow.com

901 Station St, Vancouver, BC V6A 4J8 www.eat-bc.com

Eat! Fraser Valley Food + Cooking Festival

Executive Event Production Inc

www.eat-vancouver.com

www.thewellnessshow.com

www.vancouverboatshow.ca

www.eat-fraservalley.com

901 Station St, Vancouver, BC V6A 4J8 www.eat-bc.com

4252 Madeley Rd, North Vancouver, BC V7N 4C9 www.thewellnessshow.com

www.vancouverboatshow.ca

901 Station St, Vancouver, BC V6A 4J8 www.eat-bc.com

Sources: Interviews with representatives from the above events and BIV research. NR Not ranked NP Not provided 1 - Previous show figure 2 - Division of Fraserway RV

>Next week: Biggest accounting firms

Jeannette Savard Vancouver Convention Centre

B.C.'s largest career planning events

Jan. 14, 2011

Trade and Amanda Henschell Tradex Exhibition Centre

Show dedicated to the recreational vehicle lifestyle, camping and traveling

Feb 3-6, 2011 NP

60 60

14,500 14,500

Trade and Amanda Henschell Tradex Exhibition Centre

Consumer show dedicated to the recreational vehicle lifestyle, camping and traveling

Sept 23-26, 2010

50 68

13,749 14,300

Dec. 2-4, 2011 176 165

13,185 13,247

Sept 16-18, 2011

12,822 10,726

Heather Angeard

Tradex Trade and Exhibition Centre

Western Canada's leading holiday season show incorporating holiday decor, gifts, Nov 26-28, food, personal services, festive seminars 2010 and celebrity stage appearances

Heather Angeard

Tradex Trade and Exhibition Centre

Consumer food, beverage, cooking and kitchen show

Sept 17-19, 2010

Sept. 22-25, 2011

112 98

Business in Vancouver makes every attempt to publish accurate information in The List, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Researched by Richard Chu, lists@biv.com

Daily news to your inbox.

Fresh. Local. Business.

July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Event overload hits Vancouver’s fifth-largest consumer show Canucks’ Stanley Cup playoff run, plethora of competing events eat into food show numbers by 54%, and the West Coast Women’s Show, which has grown more than 75%. Executive Event’s Eat! Fraser Valley show, which is held at Tradex in Abbotsford, has also grown nearly 20% over the past three years since its launch in 2008. It is hoping to grow further this year with new additions being brought over from the Vancouver show such as the CityTV master chef competition, which includes

By Richard Chu

an Vancouver have too much going on at once? It can if you manage a consumer show. Eat! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival was hit with a perfect storm this June that resulted in the first drop in attendance in the event’s nine-year history. Total attendance for the show fell 17% this year to 32,341. The drop occurred even though Eat! Vancouver had a 10% increase in its number of exhibitors and was hosting a major international chef competition along with its traditional lineup of cooking stages, cheese seminars and wine and spirit tastings. The consumer show had to compete with a number of events that were running over the same weekend this year. They ranged from the mixed martial arts expo held next door at the Vancouver Convention Centre to the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival in False Creek. But Eat! Vancouver was hit hardest by the Stanley Cup finals. The show opened on the same day as Game 5 between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins. That forced show managers to change the event schedule to include the game on a bigscreen TV they brought in for the day. Heather Angeard, partner at Executive Event Production, which manages the show, said her firm decided to spend the money to bring in a big screen and run special ads telling people they could watch the game from the show floor. “We had questions from people who wanted to come, but wanted to make sure they could watch the game,” Angeard said. “It was top of mind for people, so if you

“You can’t continue to go out every other night to cheer on the Canucks and still have a chunk of change in your pocket to go to other events” Eat! Vancouver: suffered a 17% drop in attendance this year, but changes are coming as it moves back to BC Place in 2012

can’t beat them, join them.” While Game 5 dampened attendance on the first day of the show, the Stanley Cup finals were also blamed for the decline in per-person spending at Eat! Vancouver. “I think people were all spent out. A lot of die-hard fans were going out to bars each night, or you were spending it on pizza and so on, sitting in front of the TV watching the game,” said Angeard. “You can’t continue to go out every other night to cheer on the Canucks and still have a chunk of change in your pocket to go to other events.” Despite the lower attendance, Eat! Vancouver remains one of the fastest-growing consumer shows in the region. According to historical data from Business in Vancou-

UBC/SMEI Diploma Program in Marketing & Sales Management Outstanding curriculum • Acclaimed faculty • Industry recognition

Canada’s most advanced training program for sales and marketing professionals offers a three-year curriculum leading to the prestigious UBC Diploma in Marketing and Sales Management, with the option to become a Certified Sales Executive and/or Certified Marketing Executive. Program starts September through March. Classes meet Monday evenings.

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for more information, call 604.822.8346 or download a 2011/2012 program brochure at: www.smeivancouver.org Rolling registration: apply before august 15, 2011 for current session. Online applications accepted. Act now – enrolment limited.

ver’s annual list of the biggest trade and consumer shows in the Lower Mainland, Eat! Vancouver is the third-fastest growing show in Metro Vancouver (up by 30% in attendance over the past five years). It is second only to the EPIC Sustainable Living Expo, which has increased its attendance

a chocolate contest and displays of edible show pieces. “It’s Tradex’s 20th anniversary later this month,” noted Angeard, “so we’re hoping to get some energy going earlier, because it’s a big deal for Abbotsford.” • rchu@biv.com

20 years

120,000sqft facility 5 million visitors friendly customer service

1000+ events

We welcome you to experience our great space, people and events! the university of british columbia

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/Tradex20th

Visit us online at fvtradex.com

Call us tollfree at 1-866-853-1533

For the record

People on the Move Email your For the Record information to: fortherecord@biv.com. Please include a high-resolution, colour headshot where possible.

•Architecture

Ingolf Blanken, Carla Figueiredo, Linda Quinn, Al Bushby and Enrique Robles have joined ABBARCH Architecture Inc. as technicians. Figueiredo was previously a technician at Perkins + Will Canada, Quinn was previously a technician at RKD Architects, Bushby was previously a technician with Busby Perkins Will and HCMA and Robles was previously a technician at Musson Cattell Mackey and Omicron.

•Communications/PR

Bridgitte Anderson has joined Edelman as vicepresident in the corporate affairs and public group. She was previously director of marketing and communications at Crofton House School, press secretary to B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and national anchor for CTV News.

•Education

Jay Notay has joined BCIT as dean of the school of transportation. He was previously dean and associate dean with Georgian College and Mohawk College managing the marine, aviation and

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

automotive programs.

•General

Shirley Stocker has stepped down as executive director of the CKNW Orphans’ Fund and Jen Schaeffers has been appointed her replacement. Schaeffers was previously director of marketing and communications for Sport BC and marketing manager at Canucks Sports and Entertainment.

•Hospitality/

Tourism/Convention

Brian Skinner and Sonja Muller have joined Bistro 101 at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts as restaurant chef instructor and restaurant service instructor, respectively. Skinner was previously development and head production chef for Otarian Restaurants and a chef at Sketch and Viajante. Muller was previously at Araxi and the Hart House Restaurant. Mark Pacinda has been appointed president and CEO of Boston Pizza International Inc. (BPI), director and CEO of Boston Pizza GP Inc., managing general partner of Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership and administrator of the Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund, replacing BPI chair and owner George Melville in that role. Pacinda was previously executive vicepresident, president and COO of BPI. Ken Otto and Wes Bews have been promoted to COO and CFO, respectively, at BPI. Otto was previously

Bridgitte Anderson joins Edelman as vice-president in the corporate affairs and public group

Angela Thiessen is art director at Red Rocket Creative Strategies

Jay Notay is dean of the school of transportation at BCIT

Greg Bobolo is president of SendtoNews Video

executive vice-president, operations, and Bews was previously vice-president, finance, and interim CFO at BPI.

Suite Inc., board member of Rainmaker Entertainment and was previously president of Lionsgate Films and founder, president and CEO of THINKFilm.

appointed CFO of Capella Resources Ltd., replacing Barbara Wolanski. McCleave was previously operations manager for Capella.

senior vice-president, projects–technical development, at Placer Dome Inc., and president and CEO of Placer Dome Africa.

Jose Velazquez has been appointed chief geologist at El Tigre Silver Corp. He previously managed projects for El Dorado Gold Corp., Manhattan Mining Corp. and Minera Frisco SAB. Eugene Schmidt has stepped down as El Tigre’s vice-president of exploration but will continue as a consultant and adviser.

Colin Sutherland has been appointed CFO of Timmins Gold Corp., replacing Eugene Hodgson who remains as director. Sutherland is a chartered accountant and was previously president and CEO of Nayarit Gold Inc.

•Legal

Kenneth Affleck has been appointed as judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia (Vancouver). He is a partner with Affleck Hira Burgoyne LLP. Thomas Wachowski has joined McMillan LLP as associate counsel in the capital markets and mergers and acquisitions group. He was called to the B.C. Bar in 2000.

•Media

Jeffrey Sackman has been appointed to the board of Digital Shelf Space Corp. He is co-founder of Hollywood

•Real Estate

David Taylor, James Lang and Courtney Markle have joined Colliers International as associate broker, financial analyst and team leader, research, respectively. Taylor was previously a financial analyst with the investment division of Colliers. Lang was previously director of research with Colliers and an appraiser at Johnston, Ross and Cheng Ltd. Markle was previously a research associate for office leasing with Colliers.

•Resources

Mike McCleave has been

George Paspalas has joined Aurizon Mines Ltd. as president, CEO and board member, replacing David Hall, who will continue as chair of the board. Paspalas was previously COO at Silver Standard Resources Inc., executive vice-president and

Kevin Drover has retired as CEO of Gold Hawk Resources Inc. Paul Eagland, a director and member of the audit committee, has been appointed interim CEO. Alex Langer has been appointed vice-president, corporate communications, at Gold Hawk. He was previously an investment adviser with CanaccordGenuity.

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for the record 33

July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Alan Jones is vice-president of global sales at Atimi Software

Carla Figueiredo and Linda Quinn join ABBARCH Architecture as technicians

Brian Skinner and Sonja Muller join Bistro 101 at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts as restaurant chef instructor and restaurant service instructor, respectively

Christopher Hebb, Dwayne Melrose and Ronald Lang have been appointed chair, and board directors, respectively, at Cream Minerals Ltd. Hebb is president and CEO of Cavell Capital Corp. Melrose is vice-president, exploration, for Minco Silver Corp. and Minco Gold Corp. Lang is an independent mining consultant. Jon Starin k ha s been appointed non-executive director of Macarthur Minerals Ltd. He is a director of Gippsland Ltd. and was previously a consultant to SBC Warburg’s corporate finance department. Irfan Shariff has been appointed CFO of Cassius Ventures Ltd., replacing Savio Chiu. Shariff was previously corporate secretary of Cassius, an independent consultant and an accountant in the mergers and acquisitions group of Citigroup. Robert Brown, president, CEO and director of Calibre Mining Corp., has stepped down and Edward Farrauto, a director of Calibre, has been appointed interim president and CEO. Greg Smith and Adrian Newton have been appointed vice-president, exploration, and country manager, Nicaragua, respectively at the company. Smith is vice-president, exploration, at Edgewater Exploration Inc. and Newton was previously senior project geologist with Calibre. Ian Pirie has been appointed to the board of International PBX Ventures Ltd. He was previously vice-president, projects, and general manager, Latin America, at Inmet Mining Corp. Randy Reichert has been appointed COO of Yukon-

Nevada Gold Corp., replacing Graham Dickson, who has been appointed senior vicepresident, acquisitions and corporate development, at the company. Reichert was previously president and COO of Colossus Minerals Inc. andCOO of Oriel Resources plc and Orsu Metals Corp. Matthew O’Kane has been appointed CFO of SouthGobi Resources Ltd., replacing Terry Krepiakevich, who remains a senior adviser to the company. O’Kane was previously vice-president, commercial operations and investor relations, at SouthGobi and finance director and executive director of Volvo Car Australia Pty. Ltd. Luc y Zhang has been appointed CFO and secretary of Goldstrike Resources Ltd. She is CFO at Petro One Energy Corp. and was previously corporate controller at Kodiak Exploration Ltd. Stephen Gledhill and Leslie Haddow have been appointed CFO and corporate secretary, respectively, at MBMI Resources Inc. Gledhill is a partner in RG Mining Investments Inc. and a principal of Keshill Consulting Associates Inc. He was previously CFO of Borealis Capital Corp. Haddow is corporate secretary of Southern Andes Energy Inc. and was previously corporate secretary of Homeland Uranium Inc., Cornerstone Capital Partners LLP and Avotus Corp. and assistant corporate secretary of the Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust. John Icke, David McAdam and Christina Boddy have been appointed executive chair, CFO and corporate secretary, respectively, at Teslin River Resources

David Taylor, James Lang and Courtney Markle join Colliers International as associate broker, financial analyst and team leader, research, respectively

Irene Forcier and Rene D-Aquila, chair and executive director, Reach Child and Youth Development Society; and Ladner Rotary Club co-presidents Linda Ottho and Guillermo Bustos

Kris Bulcroft, president and vice-chancellor, Capilano University; Chris Catliff, president and CEO, North Shore Credit Union; and Ranae Miller and Cameron Dunster, Capilano University musical theatre alumni

Corp. Icke is president and CEO of Resinco Capital Partners Inc. and was previously president of Accenture Business Services for Utilities Inc. McAdam is CFO of Resinco. Boddy is corporate secretary of Resinco.

Slawomir Smulewicz has been appointed CEO of Carbon Friendly Solutions Inc., replacing Stan Lis, who was interim CEO. Smulewicz was previously director and vicepresident of the company.

TD Bank donated $250,000 to the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation to support the campaign to build the Greta and Robert H.N. HOpe Psychiatric and Education Centre.

Hats Off Business in Vancouver wel-

The National Bank Easter Seals WAVES Regatta at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club raised $190,000 for Vancouver Easter Seals House.

•Sales/Marketing

Angela Thiessen has been appointed art director of Red Rocket Creative Strategies. She was previously a senior and junior designer with the company.

•Technology

A la n Jone s h a s b e en appointed vice-president of global sales at Atimi Software Inc. He was previously an account manager at Apple Canada. Greg Bobolo has been appointed president of SendtoNews Video Inc. He was previously a strategic adviser to the company, vicepresident of sales and marketing for Seeker Solutions, managing director for the Mergis Group and founder of BPG – Bobolo Publications Group Ltd. and Dream House Publications Ltd. Chip Winslow has been appointed vice-president of field operations at Elastic Path Software. He was previously group vice-president at the Art Technology Group, director of sales at ADP TotalSource and vertical sales at J.D. Edwards. Daniel Ryan has been appointed to the board of Absolute Software Corp. Ryan is the entrepreneur-inresidence at Split Rock Partners and was previously CEO for Pareto Networks, executive vice-president and general manager for McAfee, CEO and director of Secure Computing, senior vicepresident of enterprise content management at Oracle and COO at Stellent.

comes submissions from local small businesses and large corporations alike that demonstrate examples of corporate philanthropy and community involvement in the Vancouver area. High-resolution images are also welcome. North Shore Credit Union donated $1 million to Capilano University to establish the North Shore Credit Union Centre for the Performing Arts at the school’s North Vancouver campus. The Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon raised over $600,000 in support of 40 local charities. The Lions Gate Hospital Foundation raised $386,500 at its annual golf classic to go toward the campaign to build the new Greta and Robert H.N. HOpe Psychiatric and Education Centre at Lions Gate Hospital.

Careers

Robert Lee donated $50,000 to Junior Achievement of BC in support of strategic business education programs for B.C.’s youth. Deloitte and its green dot riders of the Vancouver office donated $45,000 to the Ride to Conquer Cancer benefiting the BC Cancer Foundation. The Rotary Club of Ladner donated $20,000 to Reach Child and Youth Development Society in support of its work with children who have special needs. G&F Financia l Group Foundation donated $6,900 toward the Royal Columbian Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. Pizza Hut donated $6,179 to the JDRF Telus Walk to Cure

Diabetes through customer donations in the months of May and June. Plum clothing stores raised $3,500 for Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland during an in-store fundraiser. Semiahmoo Secondary School donated $2,083 to Peace Arch Hospital and Community Health Foundation. Funds were raised through the international baccalaureate art program’s art show in April. Natu’oil donated $2,000 to support SHARE Family and Community Services. The Tyee won the Edward R. Murrow Award for best news website. David Groves, director of project development in Tanzania for Canaco Resources Inc. was awarded the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits SGA-Newmont Gold Medal. •

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Spirit of Giving July 13, 2011, 10:00 AM: Spirit of Vancouver invites you to our annual Spirit of Giving luncheon on-board the majestic ms Volendam cruise ship to experience the incredible food, wine, hospitality and service of Holland America, and hear from a special guest speaker. $69 members and guests/$96

future-members (+HST). Holland America Line’s ms Volendam, Cruise Ship Terminal Level, 999 Canada Place. Vancouver, BC. www.reser vations@ b o a r d o f t r a d e . c o m . w w w. boardoftrade.com.

Conferences, Conventions, Tradeshows 20/20 SMART Session: Market Research and Assessment Au g ust 18, 2011, 8:00 AM: Effective market research will

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Showcase your non-profit to B.C.’s business and philanthropic leaders Business in Vancouver Media Group, publishers of Business in Vancouver newspaper, Western Investor and more than a dozen business-related magazines, are delighted to launch an exciting new print and digital publication called Giving Guide – Regional Philanthropic Opportunities. This informative glossy, full-colour magazine will showcase to B.C.’s business community the diverse range of non-profit organizations that have a presence right here in the region. Giving Guide provides non-profits with a great opportunity to share their story with the region’s business leaders. Non-profits play a huge role in improving the quality of life of residents throughout the region. This new essential reference tool – with year-long presence in print and online – will showcase a non-profit’s compelling mission, progress, governance and many other initiatives.

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increase the probability of a successful product launch. This session will introduce tools and techniques for conducting effective market research and assessment in the produc t d evelo p m ent p ro ce s s . $ 25 members; $35 non-members. Hampton Inn & Suites, 19500 Langley Bypass (Route 10). Surrey. Kimberly Hall: 604-7137809, kimberly.hall@cme-mec. ca. http://bc.cme-mec.ca/. The World MoneyShow Vancouver September 19, 2011, 8:30 AM: Learn how to best position your portfolio for profit in 2011 and beyond. As this new era of investing unfolds, smar t investors know it’s imperative to stay informed and educated. Free admission. Vancouver Convention Centre, 1055 Canada Place. Vancouver. 800-9704355. http://www.moneyshow. com/tradeshow/vancouver/ w o rl d_ m o n ey S h o w/m a i n. asp?scode=023199. APEGBC Annual Conference & AGM October 13, 2011, 8:00 AM: Join us as we celebrate accomplishments in the professions of engineering and geoscience. A s BC ’s p re m ie re e n gin e e r in g a n d geoscience event, the Annual Conference and AGM are sure to offer participants valuable opportunities to network with leading professionals in the industry. Prices vary. Delta Grand Okanagan Resort and Conference Centre. Kelowna, BC. Shirley Chow: 604-412-4865, ac2011@apeg.bc.ca. http://www. apeg.bc.ca/ac2011/.

Courses, Workshops, Seminars 20/20 SMART Session: Product Management for Product Development July 21, 2011, 8:00 AM: I n n ova tio n c a n of te n l e a d businesses into unexplored territory when product developers have to cope with varying levels of uncertainty regarding the product development process. Join us to learn how to manage your p ro du c t develop m ent . $ 25 members; $35 non-members. Hampton Inn & Suites, 19500 Langley Bypass (Route 10). Surrey. Kimberly Hall: 604-7137809, kimberly.hall@cme-mec. ca. http://bc.cme-mec.ca. HR Metrics Service - Demo & Overview: Manufacturing July 21, 2011, 9:30 AM: Come join us for an overview of the HR Metrics Benchmarking Service with a special focus on the Manufacturing Sector No charge. Online. 604-6946946. http://www.bchrma.org/ co n te n t/eve n ts/ls/d e ta i ls. cfm?EventID=035-237.

www.bivdatebook.com HR Metrics Benchmarking Service - Demo & Overview J u ly 22 , 20 11, 8: 30 AM: If you are looking to learn more about the HR Metrics Service, sign up for this 1-hour demo. No charge. Online. 604-6946946. http://www.bchrma.org/ co n te n t/eve n ts/ls/d e ta i ls. cfm?EventID=035-222. Finding Love Online July 27, 2011, 6:30 PM: Online dating is a huge industry and there are a multitude of options out there. Join us for a free online seminar to hear what we’ve learned from our research into online dating sites. Free. Go to www.dating4boomers.com and click EVENTS to register. Online event. admin@dating4boomers. com. SharePoint 2010 as a Records Management and Retention Solution A u g u s t 1 9, 20 1 1, 1: 3 0 P M : Attend a free seminar on how SharePoint 2010 can be used for records management and retention. The presenter is Marcel Roy, SharePoint Specialist and Records Manager. Free. BCIT Downtown Campus, RM 281, 555 Seymour Street. Vancouver. pat@ tracrecords.ca. www.tracrecords. ca/events. Foundation in Sustainable Community Development S e p te m b e r 15, 20 11, 9 :0 0 AM: This course addres ses the confusion surrounding sustainability and presents the certificate’s vision of sustainable community development and related principles. $900. 515 W. Hastings St. Vancouver. Joshua Randall, 778-782-5254. http:// www.sfu.ca/city/course1popup. htm. CTT+ Train the Trainer Course September 19, 2011, 8:30 AM: Anybody who needs to train groups of people in an effective and efficient manner can benefit from this course. Those looking to show instructional presentation skills for their MCT designation. $995/person. 555 Seymour Street. Vancouver. Bart Simpson: 888-480-1629, bart@ trab.com. www.trab.com. HR Metrics Benchmarking Service - Demo & Overview September 28, 2011, 9:00 AM: If you are looking to learn more about the HR Metrics Ser vice, sign up for this 1-hour demo. Complimentary. Online. Liz Whalley, Metrics Specialist, lwhalley@bchrma. org. http://www. bchrma.org/ co n te n t/eve n ts/ls/d e ta i ls. cfm?EventID=035-252. Applications in Sustainable Community Development September 30, 2011, 9:00 AM: Through field trips and presentations by sustainability project champions, you will explo re the applic atio n of sustainability principles in a variety of programs, projects and business ventures. $ 6 0 0 . 5 1 5 W. H a s t i n g s S t .

Datebook 35

July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Golf Tournaments

Sustainable Economics for the Real World November 4, 2011, 9:00 AM: This course provides an overview of the emerging field of sustainable economics, as well as the tools for building the business case for sustainability. $600 - 515 W. Hastings St. Vancouver. Joshua Randall, 778-782-5254. http:// www.sfu.ca/city/course3popup. htm. Communicating Sustainability for Awareness, Accountability and Action N ove m b e r 2 5 , 20 1 1, 9 : 0 0 AM: This course provides tips and tools for effective communications practice and examines how sustainability is perceived by the public. $600. 515 W. Hastings St. Vancouver. Joshua Randall, 778-782-5254. http://www.sfu.ca/city/sust906. htm. HR Metrics Benchmarking Service - Demo & Overview November 30, 2011, 9:00 AM: If you are looking to learn more about the HR Metrics Ser vice, sign up for this 1-hour demo. Complimentary. Online. Liz Whalley, Metrics Specialist, lwhalley@bchrma. org. http://www. bchrma.org/ co n te n t/eve n ts/ls/d e ta i ls. cfm?EventID=035-253.

Festivals Agassiz Slow Food Cycle Tour July 23, 2011, 9:00 AM: This tour provides an educational and culinary experience exploring many farms, some that are open to the public on these days only. This is an event that is suitable for families of all ages. $20/person, children 12 and under are free. Meet at the corner of Cameron and McCallum Road. Agassiz. www. slowfoodvancouver.com. Chilliwack Slow Food Cycle Tour July 24, 2011, 9:00 AM: This tour provides an educational and culinary experience exploring many farms, some that are open to the public on these days only. This is an event that is suitable for families of all ages. $20/ person, children 12 and under are free. Tourism Chilliwack Visitor Centre, 44150 Luckakuck Way (Exit #116 from Hwy 1, in front of Heritage Park). Chilliwack. www. slowfoodvancouver.com. Dances for a Small Stage 24 Au g ust 10, 20 11, 8:00 PM: A wildly energized, cabaretthemed evening of cuttingedge choreography. Tickets: $20 cash at door. Doors open at

Vancouver CREW 6th Annual Golf Tournament and Silent Auction Fundraiser July 21, 2011, 11:00 AM: Join us at the 6th Annual Vancouver CREW Golf Tournament. The tournament includes 18 holes of golf with a golf cart, the West Coast Classic Buffet dinner, and prizes. Members $225; nonmembers $250. Mayfair Lakes Golf & Country Club. Richmond. Vancouver CREW: 604-601-510, office@vancouvercrew.org. www. vancouvercrew.org. Business Leaders Golf Tournament August 23, 2011, 12:00 PM: Play golf with the Vancouver business community including senior executives, deal-makers and professionals involved in corporate growth, development, and mergers and acquisitions. A full day event including golf, dinner and great prizes! $175 BIV Subscribers, ACG or TMA members/$200 general public. U n i ve r si t y G o l f C l u b , 5 1 8 5 University Blvd. Vancouver. Azadeh Hollmann: 604-6085 1 9 7, a h o l l m a n n @ b i v. c o m . https://www.eplyevents.com/ BusinessLeadersGolfTournament.

Networking functions Mature Women’s Network Annual Bus Trip August 6, 2011, 8:45 AM: an invitation to women over 40 years to our annual summer day bus trip. Includes lunch, museum tours, farms, historic sites and gif t shops in the Harrison area. Our bus trips are always a highlight of the year for an enjoyable social day. $30.00 non-members (includes membership for balance of th e ye a r). 4 1 1 D un sm uir Street. Vancouver. Prepay to register. Call 604-681-3986 or m_miller77@hotmail.com. http://upcoming.yahoo.com/ event/8149717/BC/Vancouver/ Women39s-Annual-SummerBus-Trip/Mature-Women39sNetwork/. •

Deadline for Datebook listings is noon Tuesday for the following week’s paper. Listings are published on a guaranteed basis for $50 per week, plus gst . Free listings will run in print as space permits. Go to www.bivdatebook.ca to post your listing. Published Datebook listings are at the discretion of BIV.

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Comment

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 12–18, 2011

Public Offerings

Timothy Renshaw Decisions multipyling math miscalculations

chool might be out for summer, but remedial math classes are in full swing. And for good reason: too much misguided addition and subtraction yielding too many duff answers, especially for business. Here are a few examples worthy of class assignments. In the what’s-adding-up category, some good news. The provincial government has committed $7.5 million to a $15 million project to rehabilitate Vancouver Island’s E&N Railway line. If Ottawa kicks in the other $7.5 million, the rail corridor between the province’s capital city and Nanaimo could be hauling freight, commuter traffic and tourist passengers from Inside Passage cruise ships and elsewhere (“Province to fund Vancouver Island Rail” – issue 1132; July 5-11).

BCTF demands attest to the wealth of fiscal fiction peddled in our school system Passenger rail transportation in this province, as illustrated by the dismantling of BC Rail and such ambitious services as the Whistler Northwind, continues to get no respect. Cultivation of its use, especially on rail corridors threatened with abandonment or redevelopment, needs support. Unlike a lot of green PR exercises, rail offers a viable and energy-efficient alternative to rubber tire traffic. Elsewhere, however, numbers are less positive. Who, for example, is on the natural gas file in this province? When you get the name, please forward the message his or her way that we have a lot of the stuff but next to no domestic market for it (see “Gas peddling push on” – issue 1129; June 14-20). You should also mention that we have companies spearheading its use to run vehicles but again their technology is drawing little support in B.C. This is a head-scratcher, because using natural gas to fuel transportation would be cheaper and leave smaller carbon footprints across the land than gasoline. The successful developers of natural gas technology would also be sought after by an inter-

national market eager to lower carbon emissions and reduce its dependence on oil from politically volatile regions. Some of that market revenue might stick around here. So news that Vancouver-based Westport Innovations Inc. has inked a deal with General Motors to develop a light-duty natural-gas-powered engine but continues to have a tough time quickening any pulses in the local market for its technology underscores B.C.’s difficulty with common-sense business equations. Also on the negative side of the ledger: North Vancouver City council nixing a $57 million project to upgrade port transportation via the port’s Low Level Road (“North Shore kills Gateway project” – issue 1132; July 5-11). Little wonder the decision, which pretty much stalls any near-term opportunity to streamline freight movement along the North Shore waterfront, had steam coming out of local chamber of commerce ears. Citizen opposition to the plan turned council’s head on the project. But too many Metro Vancouver residents have too little appreciation of how much the port and the trade that runs through it support their lifestyles. Most of aforementioned remedial math students are in class to brush up on the realities of wealth generation, which, along with entrepreneurialism, money management and financial literacy, is not taught in the province’s public schools. Current BC Teachers Federation wage and benefits demands attest to the wealth of fiscal fiction peddled in local classrooms. An efficient port retooled to take advantage of the current trade windfall from Asian enterprise is fundamental to building wealth in B.C. Ignoring that opportunity will shortchange current and future generations. That’s as basic as math gets for B.C.’s economy, and we’re still failing to put two and two together on that score. • Timothy Renshaw (trenshaw@biv. com) is the editor of Business in Vancouver. His column appears every two weeks.

What’s your opinion? BIV welcomes readers’ opinions. All letters, including those sent by e-mail, must include the author’s name, address and daytime telephone number. Business in Vancouver, 102 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V5T 1G2. Fax: 604-688‑1963. E-mail: news@biv.com. We reserve the right to edit for brevity, clarity and legality.

Cartoon by Rice

At Large

Peter Ladner On the road to green economic awareness in the Wild West

ust back from three weeks in the western states, starting and ending in Las Vegas, with a six-day mass bike ride in Colorado in-between; I can’t stop talking about the weather. In Vegas it’s the same climate everywhere – air-con with acrid tobacco overtones – although the economic climate is unseasonably chilly: the state of Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the U.S. and Las Vegas led the nation in foreclosures last year. We got hot, even as we drove our rented Leaving LasVegas Eurovan through the biggest recorded June snowpacks in the mountains of Utah and Colorado. Brown rivers raged everywhere, barely contained, making it hard to believe the stories of unprecedented wildfires and drought in New Mexico, just half a day’s drive away. As I write this, the biggest fire in New Mexico’s history is still burning out of control. (Some evacuees are taking refuge in a converted banquet hall at the Pojoaque Pueblo’s Cities of Gold Casino.) New Mexico is having its driest year in the last 100, Texas its driest since 1895. Phoenix just had its highest temperature ever: 48 degrees F. Farms are drier than during the dust bowl of the 1920s; golf courses have turned to dust. Farmers and natural gas frackers are fighting for water that is running at 18% of normal flows. Back home, I met a friend who fled Vancouver’s head-butting rains

and took her bathing suit to the desert city of Moab, Utah, in late May. She landed in a week of cold, steady rain – that town’s entire year’s average in one week, more than in Vancouver that week.

The clash of shapes, sizes and cultures is crystallizing all over the U.S. Amid these extreme weather events came the steady drip drip drip of news reports that no one will be seriously considered for the Republican presidential nomination if they profess to believe in climate change. They’re running out of water; we ran out of gas, 10 kilometres from the next station – the van had a very unforgiving empty gauge. I hitched a ride into town with a retired U.S. Army officer, his rugged 4x4 plastered with American flags and freedom-fighter stickers. Then a convenience store distributor spotted me at the gas station with a full gas can and gave me a ride back to the van. “We’ve got the lowest crime rate, the safest city in the nation here in Blandings, Utah,” he told me as he drove out of his way to help me. “How do you manage that?” I asked. “We’re all LDS [Latter Day Saints/Mormons] and we all know each other from church and look out

for each other.” Impressive. He insisted on filling my tank for me. “We depend on tourists enjoying our hospitality.” He was very big, wheezing heavily as he squeezed himself into his Ford Focus. Many people are very big in the U.S., creating a whole new class of disability in stark contrast to the lean, rich “coyotes” (also known as MAMILs: middle-aged men in lycra) who made up most of the 2,400 riders on our Ride the Rockies six-day mountain tour. Barb, a United Airlines gate attendant riding on the tour, told me her job now involves telling very large people they have to buy an extra seat before they can get on the plane. The clash of shapes, sizes and cultures is crystallizing all over the U.S., as here, around bike lanes. One town in Colorado has banned bikes entirely (it’s a gambling town with narrow streets and cyclists apparently don’t gamble enough), while the new mayor of Chicago has pledged to add 160 kilometres of protected bike lanes to city streets. That’s the equivalent of 100 Hornby Street bike lanes. Toronto plans to rip up its Jarvis Street bike lanes. Colorado will be quite happy to keep hosting destination bike tours like ours, which dropped $250,000 into every town with an overnight layover. That kind of green doesn’t depend on the weather. • Peter Ladner (pladner@biv.com) is a founder of Business in Vancouver and a former Vancouver city councillor. His book, The Urban Food Revolution: Changing the Way We Feed Cities, will be published by New Society in October 2011.

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comment 37

July 12–18, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Public Eye

Sean Holman Key Christy Clark backer lobbies for controversial carbon storage projects

ne of the premier’s most vocal right-wing backers appears to be lobbying the government about carbon capture and storage laws for a firm whose parent company is a major greenhouse gas producer in British Columbia. Carbon capture and storage projects are meant to stop those gases from being released into the atmosphere by storing them underground. But they’ve also been criticized by environmentalists because of questions surrounding their cost and effectiveness, as well as the potential health and safety risks associated with them. On June 16, former federal Conservative government house leader Jay Hill registered to contact elected officials about setting up a “workable” framework for those projects on behalf of Westcoast Energy Inc., a top donor to Christy Clark’s successful Liberal leadership campaign. Its parent company,

Houston, Texas-based Spectra Energy Corp., has been angling to build a carbon capture and storage facility near its Fort Nelson gas plant – which belched out more than a million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2009. A government spokesman said there aren’t presently any legal barriers to building those facilities, which could theoretically qualify for funding from the province’s Pacific Carbon Trust. But the spokesman confirmed the government is working on policies that will address some of the “special issues” related to those projects, including their “longterm stewardship and liability.” Indeed, liability – including who is responsible for the sequestered gases and for how long – is one of the biggest issues for companies that are eyeing carbon capture and storage facilities. According to the government, that policy work is pro-

ceeding as Spectra continues to investigate the feasibility

Former federal Conservative government house leader Jay Hill registered to contact elected officials about setting up a “workable” framework for (carbon storage) projects on behalf of Westcoast Energy Inc., a top donor to Clark’s Liberal leadership campaign of its proposed Fort Nelson project – a study that is being funded by a $3.4 million grant from the province. But that support pales in

comparison with the $2 billion fund Alberta created in 2008 to subsidize the construction of such facilities. The money has since been allocated to companies like Shell Canada Ltd., Chevron Canada Ltd., TransAlta Corp. and Enbridge Inc. Neit her Spectra nor Westcoast, which donated $20,500 to Clark’s successful leadership campaign on March 1, responded to repeated requests for comment on Hill’s lobbying. According to the lobbyists registry, that activity began on January 4. Hill, who served as Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government house leader and chief whip before stepping down from national politics in August 2010, also didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment. But Hill hasn’t been shy about speaking to the media regarding his support for Clark when questions were being raised about whether someone with federal

Liberal credentials could keep the centre-right BC Liberals coalition together. Invited by the premier to her swearing-in ceremony in Victoria, Hill – who now lives in Calgary and operates under the company name Hon. Jay Hill Consulting Inc. – told reporters, “I think she’s going to do a great job.” Hill has also criticized his former caucus colleague John Cummins for taking over the leadership of the BC Conservatives – a move that could split the province’s right-wing vote. Cummins dismissed that criticism back in April in an interview on a Victoria radio

station stating, “I guess that’s what you’d expect a lobbyist to say who may be looking to get some government money at this point.” At the time, Hill wasn’t signed up to represent anyone in British Columbia. But, two months later, Hill – who is barred from lobbying at the federal level until 2015 under a law introduced by the Harper administration – signed up to represent Westcoast. • Sean Holman (editorial@ publiceyeonline.com) is editor of the online provincial political news journal Public Eye (www.publiceyeonline.com).

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