Business in Vancouver 2011-07-19 by GLACIER MEDIA DIGITAL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP dba BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Local. Business. Intelligence. July 19–25, 2011 • Issue 1134

BIV.COM $3.00

INSide

full disclosure

Coal boss quits amid takeover speculation 3

Broadway transit battle lines drawn

Marching to the civic funding parade 6

The congested business and city transportation artery is likely next up for transit overhaul, but merchants and residents are torn over which option to support: 4-5

Avcorp’s fight for survival 7 Friedland hits platinum jackpot 7 Insider trading: who’s buying what and for how much 9 Wineries seeking to reap vintage real estate harvest 10

Cashing in on the Outgames >North American Outgames festival promises to brighten summer business prospects with $13 million infusion into local economy

Vancouver tech firm aiming to address urban alienation 12 Companies tackle summer team-building opportunities 15 Who’s getting sued 22-23 Objective housing price impact assessment needed 28 Calculating the cost of cultivating a city’s sports culture 29

>Games to coincide with annual pride parade, which could be best-attended event in Vancouver history By Glen Korstrom

Lesley Stowe: The queen of crisps looking for another recipe for success in B.C.’s food industry 31 Biggest accounting firms in B.C.

Subscriber details

Business in Vancouver Issue 1134

71114 78312 PM40069240

R8876

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Department: 102 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. v5t 1g2.

he GLISA North America Outgames are projected to pump more than $13 million into the Metro Vancouver economy next week as the city hosts its first major international gay festival since the 1990 Gay Games. The 4,500 athletes, coaches and relatives who visit the Outgames are also expected to boost attendance at events in the Vancouver Pride Society’s annual festival given that both festivals cater to the gay community and overlap between July 25 and 31. Depending on the weather, the result could be nearly 700,000 coming downtown for the July 31 Vancouver Pride Parade – the largest crowd of people for a single event in Vancouver’s history. “If you wanted to take in all of our events, you couldn’t, because there’s 60 events happening. You’d be quite tired if you tried to go to most of them. I know I would be,” said Outgames chairman John Boychuk. “We have people coming from Africa, Europe, the Asia Pacific and South America who are coming to our festival as participants.” The festival includes a raft of sporting events, which are all free to attend, as well as a human rights conference that has ses-

Richard Lam

Vancouver Pride Society chairman Ken Coolen: expects to host the largest pride parade in Vancouver’s history on July 31

sions on hate crimes, bullying and gender identity. It will also have a cultural component. Local theatre groups, such as the non-profit Raving Theatre Co., would not have produced its Confessions of a Mad Drag Queen were it not for the boom in gay tourists likely to buy tickets, Boychuk said. “These events have either been stepped up or introduced because of their appeal to

USTHE RX 350:TOP TOP OFRX THE CLASS INVENTED. E 350: 2011 LEXUS 350: TOP OF THE CLASS¥¥IT INVENTED.¥ US RX OF THE CLASS ITIT INVENTED. THE E 2011 LEXUS RX 350: TOP OF THE CLASS IT INVENTED.¥ 3.5L 275 HPV6V6engine engine• •6-speed automatic 3.5L 275 HP V6 engine • 6-speed automatic 3.5L 275 HP automatic THE E 2011 LEXUS RX6-speed 350: THE IT INVENTED.¥ 3.5L 275 HPTOP V6with engine OF ••6-speed automaticCLASS transmission• •Dual DualVariable VariableValve Valve Timing transmission Dual Variable Valve Timing with transmission Timing with

RX RX

528 528 528 528 RX 3.3 528 3.3 RX RX LEASEFOR FOR LEASE

LEASE FOR

MSRP MSRP

49,000 49,000 49,000 3,000 3,000 3.3 3,000 46,000 46,000 46,000 $ $

† † MSRP

$ transmission Dual Variable Valve automatic Timing with 3.5L 275speaker HP•V6 engine • 6-speed † intellicence (VVT-i)• •10 10airbags airbags intellicence (VVT-i) • 10 airbags • 9 speaker ** LEASE FOR LEASE OR FINANCE *CASH PURCHASE MSRPLEASE OR FINANCE ‡ intellicence (VVT-i) • •99speaker $ LEASE*OR FINANCE LEASE OR FINANCE intellicence (VVT-i) 10 airbags • 9Timing speaker transmission • Dual• Variable Valve with CASH ‡‡ PURCHASE $ $ CASH PURCHASE FOR UP TO 48 MONTHS FOR UP TO 48$ MONTHS PURCHASE Lexus premium audio Lexus premiumaudio audiosystem system• •Blue Bluetooth tooth INCENTIVE INCENTIVE CASH $ FOR UP*TO 48 MONTHS FOR UP TO 48 MONTHS MTH Lexus premium audio system • Blue tooth intellicence (VVT-i) • 10 airbags • 9system speaker• Blue tooth Lexus premium INCENTIVE MTH INCENTIVE LEASE OR FINANCE OR OR ‡ $ MTH OR MTH CASH PURCHASE% * OR % * $ capability • Double rear suspension FOR UPPAYMENT TO% 48 * MONTHS capability Doublewishbone wishbonerear rearsuspension suspension capability • Double suspension Lexus premium audiowishbone system • rear Bluewishbone tooth INCENTIVE ** $8,715* OR **DOWN DOWN PAYMENT $8,715*DOWN PAYMENT $8,715* ** capability • •Double MTH% * 3.3 CASH PURCHASE CASH PURCHASE CASH PURCHASE ** DOWN $8,715* 2011 RX 350 %DEPOSIT *** $ $ CASH PURCHASE 2011PAYMENT RX 350 capability • Double wishbone 2011rear RXsuspension 350 PRICE DEPOSIT PRICE SECURITY DOWN PAYMENT $8,715* PRICE SECURITY DEPOSIT SECURITY 3.3 2011 RX 350 CASH PURCHASE $ PRICE SECURITY DEPOSIT $ INCLUDES FREIGHT/PDI WAIVED 2011WAIVED RX 350 PRICE WAIVED SECURITY DEPOSIT WAIVED INCLUDES FREIGHT/PDI ♦Upgraded package shown. WAIVED INCLUDES FREIGHT/PDI ♦Upgraded package shown.

♦Upgraded package shown.

LEASE FOR

MSRP

†

INCLUDES FREIGHT/PDI

Outgames athletes and visitors.” Gay festivals have come a long way since Vancouver hosted 7,300 athletes and 1,500 cultural visitors for the third Gay Games in 1990 – the first tournament held outside San Francisco. The Gay Games grew to include more than 12,000 athletes in Sydney in 2002 before a schism took place. see Games, 6

49,000YOUR NORTHSHORE LUXURY STORE NORTHSHORE LUXU YOUR NORTHSHORE LUXURY STORE YOUR NORTHSHORE LUXURY YOUR STORE $ YOUR NORTHSHORE LUXURY STORE Northshore Auto M 3,000 Northshore Auto Mall Northshore Auto MallAuto Mall Northshore $ Northshore 848 5844 A5 u5toA m atto lol m Draiavllell D •DrNrAuto or8th4•Mall V5aA nocu otuovm era,aaB 46,000 llCCcDcoroiuvuvevee•r,r,N u BBoCCrth V A u m 845 Automall Drive • Niivovree th •VaNN ncorortuthvheVV r, Bnn 604-982-0033 604-982-0033 604-982-0033 604-982-0033 604-982-0033 www.jplexus.com

†

‡

INCLUDES FREIGHT/PDI

package shown. ♦Upgraded package shown. †MSRP is $49,000 for a ♦Upgraded new Lexus 2011 RX 350 Sfx ‘A’. Upgraded RX 350 package shown: $57,100. MSRP include freight and PDI ($1,950). License, insurance, registration (if applicable) and taxes are extra. ‡$3,000 Cash Purchase Incentive may not be combined with special lease and finance rates offered through Lexus Financial Services as part of a low rate interest †MSRP is $49,000 for newfinance Lexus 2011 350rates. Sfx ‘A’. Upgraded RX 350offer package shown: MSRP(if include freight and ($1,950). License, (if applicable) and taxes are jurisdiction.*Lease extra. ‡$3,000 Cash Purchase may not beFinancial combined with on special lease and finance rates offered Lexus Financial Services as part of a low rate interest All advertised leasea$57,100. and rates areRX special Cash Purchase Incentive takes insurance, place at the$57,100. time of delivery. See your Lexus dealer forPDI whether tax applies beforeinsurance, or afterPurchase the registration application of Cash Purchase in your and and finance offersIncentive provided through Lexus Services, approved credit on new Lexus 2011 RX 350 through Sfx ded RXprogram. 350 package shown: MSRP freight and PDIpackage ($1,950). License, registration and taxes are extra. ‡$3,000 Cash Incentive mayCash notIncentives be combined with special lease finance ratesand offered through Lexus Financial Services as part of aoflow rate †MSRP is $49,000 for a $57,100. new Lexus 2011 RXinclude 350include Sfx ‘A’. Upgraded RX 350 shown: $57,100. MSRP include freight and PDIapplicable) ($1,950). and License, insurance, registration (if applicable) and taxes are extra. ‡$3,000 Purchase Incentive may not be combined with special rates lease financethrough rates offered through Lexus Financial Services as of parta a low rateinterest interest RX 350 package shown: MSRP freight andrate PDI License, insurance, registration (ifatMonthly applicable) taxes areyour extra. ‡$3,000 Cash Purchase Incentive mayor not be combined with lease finance offered Lexus Financial Services as part low rate interest ‘A’ models. All Lease example based on a 48 month term at an annual of($1,950). 3.3% andPurchase MSRP of $49,000 andoffer includes freight/PDI. payment is $528 with $8,715 down payment equivalent trade $0 security deposit and first monthly payment due at leaseand inception. Totalinlease is $27,722. Taxes, license, registration (if applicable) andLexus insurance are extra. program. advertised lease and finance rates are rates. Cash Incentive takes place theyour time ofafter delivery. See Lexus dealer forororwhether tax applies before after the application ofspecial Cash Purchase Incentives yourobligation jurisdiction.*Lease and finance offers provided through Financial Services, on approved credit on new Lexus 2011 RX 350 Sfx Cash Purchase offer takes place atare the time ofspecial delivery. See your Lexus dealer whether tax before or the for application Cash Purchase inin,your jurisdiction.*Lease and offers provided through Services, onServices, approved credit on new 2011 RX program. All Incentive advertised lease and finance rates special rates. Cash Purchase Incentive offer takes for place at the time ofapplies delivery. See Lexus dealer whether taxofapplies before afterIncentives the application of Cash Purchase Incentives in yourfinance jurisdiction.*Lease and finance offers Lexus providedFinancial through Lexus Financial on approved credit onLexus new Lexus 2011 RX350 350Sfx Sfx 72,000 kilometre allowance; charge of $0.20/km for excess kilometres. ** Finance example includes taxes and is based on 48 month term after at annual rate of 3.3% and ofPurchase (excludes taxesdown andyour includes freight/PDI). Monthlyand payment is$0 $1,431. Costdeposit of borrowing isfirst $2,533 for aFinancial total obligation ofat $51,533. License, registration (if applicable) andisinsurance are extra. h Purchase Incentive offer takes place at the time of delivery. See your Lexus dealer for whether tax applies before the application ofMSRP Cash Incentives in jurisdiction.*Lease finance offers through Lexus on approved credit on new Lexus RX 350 Sfx license, registration (if applicable) and insurance are extra. ‘A’ofmodels. models. Lease example based a includes 48term month at rate an Monthly annual of 3.3% and MSRP of $49,000 andpayment includes freight/PDI. Monthly payment is$49,000 $528 $8,715 payment or equivalent trade in,payment security and monthly payment due lease inception. Total lease obligation $27,722. ‘A’ Lease example on a 48on month at anterm annual of 3.3% rate and MSRP of $49,000 and freight/PDI. Monthlyorpayment is $528 with $8,715 down payment orwith equivalent trade in, $0 security deposit and at firstlease monthly due provided at lease lease inception. Total obligation isServices, $27,722. Taxes, license, registration (if applicable) and2011 insurance areTaxes, extra. ual rateLexus 3.3% ofbased $49,000 and withincludes $8,715 down or equivalent trade in, $0 security deposit and Offers first monthly payment obligation islease $27,722. Taxes, license, registration (if applicable) and insurance are extra. Dealersand are MSRP free to set their own prices. Limited timefreight/PDI. offers only apply to retailpayment customersisat$528 participating Lexus dealers. May require factory order. Offers are subject to change without notice. expire at month’s enddue unless extendedinception. or revised. Total See your Lexus dealer for complete details. ate of72,000 3.3% and MSRP of $49,000 and includes freight/PDI. payment isincludes $528 with $8,715 down oratequivalent trade in,and$0 security deposit and first monthly payment dueMonthly at lease inception. obligation ispayment $27,722. Taxes, registration and insurance extra. 72,000 kilometre allowance; ofand $0.20/km for kilometres. Finance example includes taxes and isterm based on 48rate month term at annual rate of(excludes 3.3% and MSRP of $49,000 (excludes taxes and includes freight/PDI). Monthly is $1,431. Cost of borrowing is (if $2,533 forapplicable) a total ofare $51,533. kilometre allowance; chargecharge of $0.20/km for excess kilometres. ** Finance example taxes and isand based on 48payment month annual of 3.3% MSRP of $49,000 taxes and includes freight/PDI). is $1,431. Costlease of for borrowing isobligation $2,533 for aoftotal obligationlicense, of $51,533. License, registration (if and insurance areextra. extra. License, registration (if applicable) and insurance are extra. metres. ** Finance example includes taxes is based onexcess 48Monthly month term at**annual rate of 3.3% MSRP of $49,000 (excludes taxes and includes freight/PDI). Monthly payment is $1,431. Cost ofpayment borrowing isTotal $2,533 a total $51,533. License, registration (ifapplicable) applicable) andobligation insurance are Lexus areare freeincludes to settotheir own Limited time offers only apply retail customers at participating Lexus dealers. require factory order. Offers are subject to change without are notice. Offers expire at is month’s end notice. unless or revised. See yourfor Lexus dealer for complete LexusDealers Dealers free settaxes theirprices. ownis prices. Limited offerstoonly apply to retail customers atMSRP participating Lexus(excludes dealers. May require factory order. Offers subject to change without Offers expire month’s end unless extended revised. See your Lexus dealer (if forapplicable) complete details. es. ** apply Finance example and based 48 time month at annual 3.3% are and of May $49,000 taxes and includes payment $1,431. Costyour ofextended borrowing isat$2,533 a total obligation ofordetails. $51,533. License, registration and insurance are extra. only to retail customers at participating Lexuson dealers. May term require factory rate order.ofOffers subject to change without notice. Offers expire at freight/PDI). month’s endMonthly unless extended or revised. See Lexus dealer for complete details. y apply to retail customers at participating Lexus dealers. May require factory order. Offers are subject to change without notice. Offers expire at month’s end unless extended or revised. See your Lexus dealer for complete details.

D01130 www.jplexus.com www.jplexus.com www.jplexus.com D01130 www.jplexus.com

D01130 D01130

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

contents Columnists True Wealth Thane Stenner Real Estate Roundup Peter Mitham High-Tech Office Alan Zisman HR Strategies Dennis Wolff Workplace Solutions Sandra Miles Partners Podium Karl Gustafson At Large Peter Ladner City Business Gordon Price Sales Moves Jeffrey Gitomer

Subscriber information

Now online

8 10 12

Study warns of risk of rushing into natural gas

Wild weather puts damper on logging

Bear Creek files legal action in Peru

Hogtown beats Vancouver as Canada’s most expensive city

Interest rate moves are past due: C.D. Howe

Rich Canadians getting richer: Conference Board

Goldsource lands coal gasification technology through merger

22 28

BIV Business Today Daily Online Edition

Pacific BioEenergy breathes new life into northwest forestry Big pharma goes back to school days for R&D resources Scan with your QR reader app to get daily business stories!

Local business news at www.biv.com/businesstoday 30

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.

Daily business news direct to your inbox! Sign-up at www.biv.com/newsletters Email newsletters • Daily news updates

Departments

next issue

By the numbers 8 Insider trading 9 BIV list 20 Trouble 22–23 Lawsuit of the week 23 People on the move 24–25 Datebook 26–27 Letters 28

profile Christopher Krywulak’s entrepreneurial success dates back to 1989 when he launched a car-phone installation business. iQmetrix, his latest venture, employs more than 200 people and generates over $50 million in annual revenue.

Sections Finance Real estate Technology Sustainability Small business Human resources Law Comment Profile

Business in Vancouver is published by BIV Media Limited Partnership at 102 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5T 1G2. Telephone‑604-688-2398; fax: 604-688-1963; New subscriptions are $79.95 for one year, $135.00 for two years, $189.00 for three years. Payment required with order. All prices are subject to 12% Harmonized Sales Tax. HST #831496872. Copyright 2010. Articles may not be reprinted without permission from the publisher. Reprint info: Veera Irani 604-608-5115. Publications Mail Agreement No: 40069240. Registration No: 8876. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Department: 102 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5T 1G2. E-mail: subscribe@biv.com US POSTMASTER: Business in Vancouver (USPS 009-409) is published weekly by BIV Media Limited Partnership. Our U.S. subscription rate is $95.95 Canadian per year. Payment required with order. C/O US Agent–Transborder Mail: 4708 Caldwell Rd E., Edgewood, WA 98372-9221. Periodicals postage paid at Puyallup, WA. and at additional mailing offices. US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Business In Vancouver, c/o Transborder Mail, PO Box 6016, Federal Way, WA 98063-6016 Retail distribution by Globe Distribution Services.

8–9 10 12 13 14 15–18 22–23 28–29 31

Top 100 paid executives in B.C.

• Weekly preview e-newsletter

Full disclosure Carbon copy: LaFarge Cement’s Richard Gue is one among many business people keenly interested in B.C. government carbon cap and trade plans after California’s recent decision to hit the cap-and-trade pause button. Meanwhile, a homegrown carbon offset market is coming under fire for creating a market in which cash-strapped schools and hospitals are being forced to subsidize private enterprise for energy efficiency initiatives.

• BIV event notices Sign up at www.biv.com/newsletters.

Benefits of your subscription • 10% off list databases: www.biv.com/listsforsale • Discounts on BIV events: www.biv.com/events • Industry-specific magazines: www.biv.com/publications Ten publications filled with sector and company information are included with your subscription.

604-688-2398 Subscription inquiries: subscribe@biv.com Press releases and news tips: news@biv.com Advertising inquiries: ads@biv.com

Fuel-efficient. Family-efficient. Now, budget-efficient.

2011 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI quattro®

Finance from

1.9%

It’s the Audi Q7 you’ve always dreamed of for your family. And now, while quantities last, you can get your very own 2011

‡

APR FOR UP TO 72 MONTHS

3.0 TDI quattro Audi Q7 at a low 1.9% APR for up to 72 months. The 2011 A5 cab, TT and A8 are also available at 1.9% APR ‡

‡

for up to 72 months. Visit vancouveraudidealers.com today for full details.

Audi of Richmond Richmond Auto Mall, 5680 Parkwood Way, Richmond 604-279-9663 | www.audiofrichmond.com

Capilano Audi 813 AutoMall Drive, North Vancouver 604-985-0693 | www.capilanoaudi.com

OpenRoad Audi 2395 Boundary Road, Vancouver 604-293-2834 | www.openroadaudi.com

©2011 Audi Canada. Offer ends July 31, 2011 and is subject to change or cancellation without notice. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Vehicle selection is subject to availability. Visit your dealer for details. ‡Limited time finance offer available through Audi Finance on approved credit on new and unregistered 2011 Audi Q7 models (from 1.9% APR) and new and unregistered 2011 Audi A8, A5 Cabriolet, and TT models (also from 1.9% APR). Finance example: Base MSRP of 2011 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Tip quattro with automatic transmission, is $58,900 which includes freight and PDI ($1,995). License, insurance, registration, options, and other applicable taxes are extra. Dealer may sell for less. See your dealer for details. If you were to finance a 2011 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Tip quattro at 1.9% APR for 72 months, you would make payments of $765 per month. $8,888 down payment required. The total finance obligation, then, would be $63,957, and the cost of borrowing would be $3,062. European model Audi Q7 shown with optional equipment that may not be available at the time of purchase. “Audi”, “A5”, “A8”, “TT”, “Q7”, “quattro”, “TDI”, “Vorsprung durch Technik”, and the four rings emblem are registered trademarks of AUDI AG. The Bluetooth word mark and logos are registered trademarks of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. To find out more about Audi, visit your Audi dealer, call 1-800-FOR-AUDI or visit us at www.audi.ca

News

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Walter Energy’s Vancouver-based CEO bows out amid takeover speculation After three months on the job, coal boss Keith Calder has called it quits citing differences in “management philosophy” By Joel McKay

ne of B.C.’s biggest coal bosses has thrown in the towel just months after a major promotion and a $3.3 billion takeover deal. On June 30, Tampa-based Walter Energy (NYSE:WLT) announced the resignation of CEO Keith Calder, the former president and CEO of Western Coal, which operated three steel-making coal mines in northeast B.C. before Walter bought it in April. The sudden departure of the Vancouver-based executive surprised many in the industry who, just months before, were happy to see the leader of the smaller B.C. company take the helm at the much larger U.S. firm. Calder said he resigned due to “differences of opinion concerning management philosophy.” Days before his resignation, Calder sat down with Business in Vancouver for a one-on-one interview to discuss his plans for the company. At the time, the 50-year-old executive said he had no plans to leave the company. “I’m happy with where I am … this is the role that I should be in,” Calder told BIV. His departure followed an extensive search and interview process for a new chief executive after Walter’s previous CEO, Victor Patrick, retired in March 2010. The resignation comes at a critical time for the company as it attempts to integrate its Canadian, U.S. and U.K. operations under one banner. Davenport & Co. LLP, a Virginia-based research firm, downgraded its Walter Energy rating to “neutral” from “buy” following Calder’s resignation. Analyst Christopher Haberlin

Walter Energy CEO Keith Calder days before resignation: “this is an opportunity to mentor an entire organization”

said the downgrade was a result of Davenport’s outlook on coal prices, Walter’s ongoing production challenges and a “lack of stability” at the CEO level. Haberlin told BIV there had been some speculation in the market that Calder’s exit was related to a potential sale of the company, though there’s no evidence to support that claim.

“In our view, stability at the CEO position is needed now more than ever ” – Christopher Haberlin, analyst Davenport & Co.

Calder, who’s known for his nononsense approach to business, told BIV in June the company has plenty of growth opportunities through its existing line of projects. “One of the great things about where we are right now is we don’t have to make an acquisition …

Florida’s Walter Energy took control of the Brule coal mine in northeast B.C. earlier this year following a $3.3 billion takeover deal

which is a fantastic situation to be in,” said Calder. He later added that his threeyear goal for the company was to transform it into a major global metallurgical coal producer. He said there are four “aces” a company needs to become a major global met coal producer – Asia, South America, Western Europe and India. Each ace represents a market for coal products. Calder said Walter already sells in Asia, South America and Western Europe. “We are not in India yet … it would be great to get the India ace but only if it makes sense,” he said. Haberlin suggested Calder’s departure opens Walter up to hostile takeover bids. “In our view, stability at the CEO position is needed now more than ever as Walter integrates the acquisition of Western and moves forward on its plan to grow met coal production,” Haberlin wrote in a research note. Jackie Przybylowski, an analyst

with Scotia Capital, agreed that Calder’s exit creates risk that the integration of Walter and Western Coal could be delayed, but she didn’t change her rating for the company. “We do not expect any material alteration to Walter Energy’s operating strategy at this time,” Przybylowski wrote in a note to investors. During his time at Western Coal, Calder adopted an aggressive growth strategy that saw the company re-open its Willow Creek mine in B.C. two months ahead of schedule, among other things. Prior to Western, Calder was managing director of global mining giant Rio Tinto’s (NYSE:RTP) copper portfolio. Allen Wright, president and CEO of the Coal Association of Canada, said Western had been one of the “rising stars” in this country’s coal sector. “I’ve watched Keith over the last little while and I think he’s brought some stability to the company,” said Wright. “I’m sorry to see him go.” Calder is expected to stay on as

walter energy inc. (NYSE:WLT) Tampa, FL $150 $130 $110 $90 $70 $50

CEO: Keith Calder Employees: 4,000 Market cap: $6.5b P/E ratio: 14.30 EPS: $7.95 Sources: Stockwatch, Google

CEO until July 31, when Joe Leonard will, for the second time, be named interim CEO. Walter has already hired executive search firm Spencer Stuart to find a new CEO. Walter spokeswoman Nina Ng said Calder’s departure wouldn’t affect the company’s operations. “It’s business as usual and that’s how we’re working,” said Ng. At press time, Walter’s shares were valued at $111.56. • jmckay@biv.com

Selling your business? You’ve got one shot! Your company is your greatest asset and represents years of dedication, sacrifice, pride and commitment. If it’s time to sell and you want to maximize shareholder value, select Capital West to strategically position, market and negotiate the sale of your business. You’ve got one shot – make sure it’s a bull’s eye.

Western Canada’s Independent Corporate Finance Advisor 604 718 6800

www.capwest.com

News

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

full disclosure

On Broadway: The city’s next transit-line battle Dominic Schaefer

The Evergreen Line’s likely approval this fall is prompting activists and politicians to lobby for their preferred rapid-transit link to be next in the queue. The Broadway corridor is atop the list, but construction of SkyTrain or other transit option on the route will have a major impact on the transportation artery and area businesses

Vancouver mayoral candidates push for Broadway tunnel By Glen Korstrom

ancouver’s mayoral candidates are pushing for a SkyTrain tunnel link under the Broadway corridor to be the region’s top transit priority once Evergreen Line financing is confirmed. The proposed link would connect with the Millennium Line and go as far west as Arbutus – a route that will inevitably cause friction given that many Broadway business owners fear any type of tunnel construction along their corridor will kill their enterprise. TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie told Business in Vancouver that TransLink’s board has yet to determine the top regional priority after the Evergreen Line. “Everything from Surrey rapid transit to Broadway rapid transit to gondolas going up Burnaby Mountain all fall into the queue,” he said. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and his Non-Partisan

Association challenger Suzanne Anton agree that reducing congestion on the Broadway corridor is vital for the region. “It’s crucial that we have the SkyTrain technology through the Broadway corridor,” Robertson told BIV in an exclusive interview June 29. “The growth and population and the traffic challenges in the Broadway corridor are unsustainable, so we’ve got to see the Broadway corridor served by the big pipe.” Anton described the proposed link as a “regional line with regional importance.” The Broadway corridor is the second busiest employment centre outside the downtown core, and TransLink estimates that there are 110,000 trips along the Broadway corridor each day. “In central Broadway, the only way you can manage the number of trips is with SkyTrain technology,” Anton said. Anton and Robertson’s mutual

belief that SkyTrain is the only viable technology in the Broadway corridor worries business owners and frustrates light-rail advocates. Ray’s Beauty School for Hairdressing owner Gina Law told BIV that she will close her 12-year-old business if regional politicians approve any form of tunnel along Broadway. She likes the idea of a burrowed tunnel but fears that construction will cause more disruption than authorities say. “I don’t trust them,” she said. “On Cambie Street there were so many businesses that went bankrupt or had to close. They did not expect to have the cut-and-cover [construction method].” Indeed, Hazel & Co owner Susan Heyes suffered a drastic drop in customers for her maternity wear store when the Canada Line construction consortium dug a tunnel outside her store. She lost a B.C. Court of Appeal

Local mayors expect the province to confirm Evergreen Line financing this fall By Glen Korstrom

etro Vancouver mayors are confident that Victoria will enact legislation this fall to hike gas taxes $0.02 per litre to fill the funding void for the long-stalled Evergreen Line. T he c h a nge wou ld g ive TransLink $0.17 from each litre of gas, or enough to provide $43 million annually to pay for the borrowing cost to build the Evergreen Line and finance: •improvements to the Metrotown, Main Street, Surrey Central and

New Westminster SkyTrain stations as well as the Lonsdale SeaBus terminal; •B-Line buses along King George Highway from White Rock to Guildford; and •more bus routes in south Surrey and Langley. In addition to the gas tax, the mayors are lobbying Victoria to create a funding framework that will pay for future regional publictransit improvements. “We really want to get to longterm funding solutions,” West Vancouver Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-

Jones told Business in Vancouver earlier this month. “That’s where we’ve been stuck for a while.” She said the new revenue structure might also include: •a vehicle levy; •a regional carbon tax; and •road tolls. Goldsmith-Jones and other mayors believe Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Blair Lekstrom and long-time Evergreen Line champion Premier Christy Clark will support the mayors’ requests. • gkorstrom@biv.com

Dominic Schaefer

But business owners, pointing to Cambie corridor’s Canada Line experience, fear business loss if subway option approved

West Broadway Business Improvement Association director Donna Dobo: her association opposes a rapid transit tunnel along its corridor

judgment after she sued to recover $600,000 in damages from the consortium for business losses. Her only hope now is for the Supreme Court of Canada to agree to hear the case. The West Broadway Business Improvement Association (WBBIA) officially opposes a tunnel. Its directors have examined TransLink’s seven options for improved transit in the Broadway corridor and decided that at-grade transportation, whether it involves more buses or a light-rail system, is preferable. “We don’t want a SkyTrain tunnel. Whether it is cut and cover or a bored tunnel doesn’t matter to us, because bored tunnels take longer and construction would cut off all the east-west traffic on West Broadway for a number of years,” said WBBIA director Donna Dobo, who owns the West Broadway costume store Just Imagine. Light-rail advocate Malcolm Johnston has been lobbying to build

light rail on Broadway for decades. Light rail would not require construction of a tunnel. It would instead run at grade along the existing corridor.

“TransLink’s planning is arcane. I wouldn’t trust them to build an outhouse” – Malcolm Johnston, adviser, Rail For The Valley

Now part of Rail For The Valley, Johnston spends much of his time lobbying to have light rail in the Fraser Valley. But he still thinks light rail on Broadway is the more practical and a better value than building a subway. “TransLink’s planning is arcane,” Johnston said. “It’s dated, and they misinform the public. What else can I say? I

News

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

full disclosure TransLink’s seven proposals for improving travel times and decreasing congestion on the Broadway corridor:

75,000

Travel time from Commercial Drive to UBC 33 minutes

Travel time from Commercial Drive to Cambie Street 9 minutes

(a) about $3 million; (b) about $6 million.

(a) 99,000 (b) 109,000

(a) 26 minutes (b) 29 minutes

(a) 7 minutes (b) 9 minutes

(a) 1.3 billion (b) $1.4 billion

(a) $3 million; (b) $2 million.

(a) 107,000 (b) 116,000

(a) 26 minutes (b) 29 minutes

(a) 7 minutes (b) 9 minutes

(a) $3.2 billion (b) $2.9 billion

(a) $3 million; (b) $7 million.

(a) 137,000 (b) 146,000

20 minutes

6 minutes

$2.4 billion

under $5 million.

145,000

27 minutes.

6 minutes

$1.9 billion

$4 million.

138,000

32 minutes

6 minutes

$325 million

$18 million

75,000

30 minutes.

6 minutes

Option

Explanation

Capital Cost

Annual operating cost

Projected daily ridership (2021)

Option 1 Bus rapidtransit alternative

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) uses articulated buses that can run on diesel, compressed natural gas or electricity. TransLink evaluated both diesel and trolley options. The buses would operate primarily in the middle of the street in designated, separated lanes. This alternative does not include the signal priority that is included in the light-rail and best-buy options. This driver-operated, electrically powered option operates primarily in the centre of the street in its own separated lane. Green traffic lights stay green slightly longer when it is approaching. It includes two scenarios: •the line will follow Broadway from Commercial Drive (a); or •the line will go from Commercial Drive along Great Northern Way and then turn up to meet Broadway at Main Street (b). Same driver-operated, electrically powered technology as alternative No. 1. It also has two options: •the line will follow Broadway from Commercial Drive (a); or •the line will go from Commercial Drive along Great Northern Way and have one link that then turns up to meet Broadway at Main Street. A second link would go along West 1st Avenue past Olympic Village Station and then along an abandoned rail line near West 6th Avenue to meet Broadway at Arbutus (b). This automated rail technology is powered by electricity and would go either (a) from Commercial Drive along Broadway all the way to UBC or (b) from VCC Clark station via a short elevated guideway and then a tunnel to Broadway at Main Street. Both routes would primarily be made with a bored tunnel. The tunnel along University Boulevard would be built with the cut-and cover method. Combines light-rail transit (LRT) and rapid rail transit (RRT). RRT would operate between VCC Clark Station and Arbutus Street primarily in a bored tunnel with an elevated section between Great Northern Way and VCC Clark Station. LRT would operate between Main Street–Science World Station primarily in the middle of West 1st Avenue and then along an abandoned rail line up to Broadway at Arbutus Street. Combines bus rapid transit (BRT) and rapid rail transit (RRT). RRT would operate between VCC Clark Station and Arbutus Street primarily in a bored tunnel with an elevated section between Great Northern Way and VCC Clark Station. BRT would run from Commercial Drive along Broadway to UBC following current B-Line bus routes. Bus service is improved on Broadway and parallel corridors, such as 16th Avenue, 41st Avenue and 49th Avenue, through a range of measures, including increasing bus frequency on existing routes, adding new express routes and having technology synchronize with traffic signals to prolong green lights when the buses approach. Buses would also have designated bus lanes to speed service.

Diesel: $350 million; trolley: $450 million.

less than $1 million; trolley: less than $2 million.

$1.1 billion

Option 2 Light-rail transit alternative No. 1

Option 3 Light-rail transit alternative No. 2

Option 4 Rail rapidtransit alternative

Option 5 Combination alternative No. 1

Option 6 Combination alternative No. 2 Option 7 Best bus alternative

wouldn’t trust them to build an outhouse.” Johnston, who is familiar with TransLink’s seven proposals, believes the transportation authority has skewed its figures to make rapid transit appear to be a more viable option than either light rail or buses. He believes TransLink pulls numbers out of the air, such as its assertion that 110,000 bus trips are made daily in the corridor. Despite BIV’s repeated requests for details about that figure and estimates, TransLink was unable to provide that data. “TransLink says SkyTrain attracts more ridership than light rail. This is absolutely unproven,” Johnston said. “Sit down for this. Light rail has a bigger capacity than SkyTrain. This is contrary to the spin that TransLink has. De facto, a streetcar or even light rail has proven to have higher capacity than a subway unless you build a London-style metro [with multiple lines and longer trains].” • gkorstrom@biv.com

Vancouverites remain wary of light rail But expense of SkyTrain technology making it a hard sell elsewhere in the world By Glen Korstrom

ancouver’s automated rapidtransit system has captured residents’ imaginations enough that many believe anything less would be a substandard solution. Many who attended TransLink public hearings in April on proposed options to reduce congestion along the Broadway corridor told Jeff Busby, TransLink’s manager of infrastructure planning, they were concerned that light rail and other options that ran along the street would reduce parking. The Lower Mainland’s 68.7-kilometre metro is one of the world’s longest automated people-moving networks. Other similar-sized cities around the world, however, have no similar infatuation with SkyTrain technology.

The core of the transit system for the 2.2 million people in Portland, Oregon, is at-grade light rail. Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts is so enamoured by Portland’s transit system that she mentioned it in an April speech as a shining example of a more efficient use of taxpayer dollars than SkyTrain. She made light rail the centrepiece of her 2008 election campaign, arguing that spending $1 billion on a six-kilometre SkyTrain was an inefficient use of taxpayers’ money when that same amount could pay for a network of light-rail lines connecting several communities south of the Fraser River. If TransLink proceeds with a network of light rail into the Fraser Valley, Metro Vancouver will be following in the footsteps of Copenhagen, Denmark. That 1.9-million-resident city

completed a 21-kilometre driverless metro system in 2002. Residents learned June 29 that they will next get a 28-kilometre light-rail transit system that will link suburban municipalities with the city centre. The cost is estimated at $745 million, with the Danish government chipping in $298 million. The rest will be paid by the Capital Region of Denmark, which includes Copenhagen and 11 suburban municipalities that have agreed to the project. Despite its popularity in Vancouver, Bombardier Inc.’s proprietary SkyTrain system in Vancouver has failed to achieve much traction elsewhere in the world, even though many other driverless metro systems are in existence. Vancouver built its Expo SkyTrain Line in 1985, which was around the time Scarborough, Ontario, com-

pleted a shorter line using the SkyTrain technology. Detroit, Michigan, completed its SkyTrain line using Bombardier cars in 1987, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, followed suit in 1998. Since Vancouver completed its Millennium Line in 2002, however, no other major city has built a transit line using Bombardier’s SkyTrain technology, according to transportation blogger Malcolm Johnston. TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie confirmed that Hyundai built the cars for Vancouver’s Canada Line. Other SkyTrain systems are either in airports (John F. Kennedy International Airport; Beijing Capital International Airport) or amusement parks (Everland in South Korea). • gkorstrom@biv.com

News

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

Vancouver urged to follow Toronto and New York and pay parade policing costs Advocates say the civic events stimulate tourism and create business for merchants, hoteliers, restaurateurs By Glen Korstrom

s Vancouver prepares for the economic stimulus of hosting the GLISA North America Outgames next week and what could be the largest-ever Vancouver Pride Parade July 31, civic politicians are squabbling about who should pick up the tab for police and garbage collection costs at large civic events. The City of Toronto provides about $200,000 to cover police and clean-up costs at the largest parade in Canada – the Toronto Pride Parade, according to Pride Toronto interim executive director Glen Brown. “That’s a significant part of our budget. I don’t know what we would do without it,” he said. New York City also picks up the tab to cover police and sanitation costs for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is the largest parade in the U.S., Macy’s spokesman Orlando Veras told Business in Vancouver. The Vancouver Pride Parade drew about 640,000 people last year, and organizers expect that, because the city is hosting an international gay sporting and cultural festival in the lead-up to the parade, this year’s attendance could be closer to 700,000. That’s a fraction of the nearly one million people who watch the Toronto Pride Parade or the 3.5 million who watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

But the economic impact for merchants, hoteliers and restaurateurs in Vancouver is just as significant given Vancouver’s smaller economy. The City of Vancouver provides a $10,000 cash grant and a $10,000 service grant to the Vancouver Pride Society for its parade, but Non Partisan Association (NPA) council candidate Sean Bickerton said his party’s policy is to change the status of the Vancouver Pride Parade, the Sikh community’s spring Vaisakhi Parade and the Chinese community’s winter Chinese New Year Parade to make them official civic events. That means the city would

“We should define a process and create a set of standards for what can be a civic event. What exists now is ad hoc and arbitrary” – Sean Bickerton, candidate for city council, Non-Partisan Association

pay both police and clean-up costs to host the events: •about $58,000 for the pride; •$15,000 for the Vaisakhi; and •more than $10,000 for the Chinese New Year parade. That money would come from the city’s $600,000 carfree budget, which covers

costs involved with closing Main, Commercial, Granville and Denman streets as well as various streets in Kitsilano during the summer, Bickerton said. “These [parade] events were the original car-free days,” Bickerton said. “[The Vision Vancouver-dominated council] shuts down Main, Commercial and other streets, and it really hasn’t helped business. Sometimes it has hurt business. We could cut back on some of these

MCQUARRIE.COM

he doesn’t understand how the NPA could just award civic event status to three new events, particularly because the Vaisakhi and Chinese New Year parades attract about 50,000 people, or one-tenth the audience of the pride parade. Granting only the pride parade with new civic status might be justifiable because of its size, he said, but granting that same status on some smaller events means that size alone is not the criteria.

“If a motion comes forward, we would ask staff to look at what are the possibilities. Should we be sponsoring any public events?” Stevenson told BIV. Bickerton said the NPA is open to including other events after a staff review. “We should define a process and create a set of standards for what can be a civic event,” Bickerton said. “What exists now is ad hoc and arbitrary.” • gkorstrom@biv.com

Games: Attendees projected to spend $385 each per day from Cashing, 1

Montreal was awarded the 2006 Gay Games, but the Federation of Gay Games then stripped the city of its right to host because of concerns over its organizers’ fiscal accountability. Organizers of the Montreal event created their own World Outgames, and later that year filed for bankruptcy protection, owing $5.3 million. The Outgames, however, survived to be hosted in 2009 in Copenhagen. Confusingly, a continental Outgames offshoot was organized. So, Vancouver is hosting the North America Outgames

four months after Wellington, New Zealand, hosted the AsiaPacific Outgames. The regional Outgames take place in-between World Outgames, and the Gay Games still exist. The result is a spate of competing gay-themed festivals around the world, all of which court the lucrative gay tourist dollar. The 4,500 visitors at Vancouver’s games are expected to spend about $385 each and stay eight days. Athletes pay 70% of the Games’ $1.2 million budget, while sponsors such as the provincial government, Shaw

Media Inc. and the Vancouver Park Board combine to pick up the remaining $3.6 million, Boychuk said.

“Events have either been stepped up or introduced because of their appeal to Outgames athletes and visitors” – John Boychuk, chairman, North America Outgames

Dozens of small business

owners have combined to give discounts to athletes worth $350 each. The discounts kick in when athletes show a card in their orientation package. In contrast, the Vancouver Pride Society’s (VPS) annual festival has a $738,000 budget that includes $500,000 cash and the balance in in-kind donations. About half of that budget comes from parade fees and other revenue; 40% comes from sponsors such as Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD), Telus Corp. (TSX:T) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and 10% comes from public grants. • gkorstrom@biv.com

YVR lands second all-cargo flight By Jenny Wagler

Your Central City law ﬁrm, in Surrey.

days and devote the money to the days that are car-free and really help business.” He added that making the pride, Vaisakhi and Chinese New Year parades official civic events is also an equality matter given that the city long ago agreed to pay the costs for Grey Cup parades, as well as the three Celebration of Light fireworks nights July 30 and August 3 and 6. Vision Vancouver councillor Tim Stevenson said

ecuring the second-ever all-cargo flight to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is a key win for the airport and the B.C. economy, according to the Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA). T h is mont h, China Southern Airlines Co., Ltd. launched an all-cargo flight, which will carry luxury B.C. fresh foods from YVR to Shanghai four times a week. The return trip will bring China-made goods, particularly electronics, back to the West Coast. Tony Gugliotta, VAA’s senior vice-president of marketing and business development, said that while an all-

cargo flight doesn’t yield as much revenue for YVR as a passenger flight because it generates no terminal fees, it’s a business area the airport is keen to develop. He added that the flight will boost B.C.’s economy. “[The flight] facilitates trade,” he said. “When trade is facilitated, obviously there’s an economic impact, which is pretty positive and results in the creation of jobs locally.” YVR estimates that the flight will generate about 41 jobs. This is only the second all-cargo flight YVR has secured; the first, operated by Cathay Pacific since 1993, travels to Hong Kong three times a week. Dora Kay, VAA’s senior policy adviser for Asia,

said YVR’s crucial competitive advantage over its North American competitors in attracting Asia-bound all-cargo flights is its ability to fill the “back haul” – the flight back to Asia. “Normally, large cities in North America take in a lot through imports but don’t have much to export,” she said. “Whereas in the Pacific Northwest, we can satisfy that demand in that we’ve got products to export back to Asia.” She said the new China Southern flight goes from Shanghai to Los Angeles, then up to Vancouver to fill remaining capacity before heading back to Shanghai. Goods being shipped to

Shanghai, she said, include Dungeness crabs, geoducks, blueberries, strawberries and cherries. Kay said YVR is looking to attract other carriers to operate flights to other cities in China. As for other Asian destinations, Gugliotta said those countries’ cargo demands have thus far been met with the cargo capacity of passenger aircraft. “But obviously as the business opportunity arises that supports an all-cargo freighter I think you’ll see them to other points in Asia as well.” In June, China Southern announced its first service with YVR: a passenger service to Guanghzhou, China. • jwagler@biv.com

News

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Avcorp’s flight for survival Delta-based aerospace company battling to return to profitability after being hit hard by recession By Jenny Wagler

t has been a tough stretch of late for Avcorp Industries Inc. (TSX:AVP). The Delta-based aerospace company’s stock has plummeted from more than $15 in 1997 to approximately $2 since late 2002 and flatlined to below $0.10 since late 2009, but it maintains that brighter times are ahead. “We’ve got shareholders who are confident in what we’re doing,” Avcorp president and CEO Mark van Rooij said. “We’ve got a path laid out for the coming years, and I think in the longer term, this company will be profitable.” Avcorp designs and builds airframe structures for companies such as the Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA), Bombardier Inc. (TSX: BBD.B) and Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) subsidiary Cessna Aircraft Co. But it has posted only two profitable quarters in the past eight. Since the recession struck, the company’s

Mark van Rooij, president and CEO of Avcorp Industries: “we’ve got shareholders who are confident in what we’re doing”

annual revenue fell from nearly $129 million in 2008 to just over $69 million in 2009; for 2010, its revenue increased slightly to just over $77 million. On June 14, the company released its first-quarter 2011 results. Despite achieving revenue of just under $21 million compared with around $17 million in the same per-

iod a year prior, Avcorp posted a loss of just over $1 million. However, van Rooij said that after re-financings in 2009 and again this year, Avcorp’s balance sheet “looks good” and isn’t his top challenge right now. Top challenges, he said, are to keep the company delivering highquality work and to be more aggressive in building sales, particularly in the defence sector. “We want to get our fair share of that procurement pie.” As an example of Avcorp’s recent success in that area, he pointed to the company’s $500 million contract signed last year with BAE Systems Operations Ltd. to deliver joint strike fighter (JSF) wing tips for the F-35 Carrier Variant Outboard Wing (CV-OBW) over 10 to 15 years. But van Rooij noted that the defence “pie” is shrinking for the aerospace industry generally and pointed to Canada’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and the U.S. winding

down its presence there as reasons for that shrinkage. Van Rooij said Avcorp is therefore offering new assembly technologies and partnering with other suppliers to integrate their offerings

“[Avcorp] has been bleeding cash on a pretty regular basis” –Steven Hansen, equity analyst, Raymond James

into Avcorp’s products. For 2011, van Rooij said the company’s top priorities are to produce its first JSF products and to keep a tight focus on producing quality work. He said the aerospace industry is “at the beginning of an up cycle,” citing the dramatic improvement in the mood at last month’s Paris Air Show compared with what it was in 2009, when it was last held.

“That [2009] was a little bit of a funereal feeling; this year it was much more upbeat,” he said. “There was a lot of opportunities and a lot of people thinking again about improvements and about growth.” Van Rooij said he’s confident that Avcorp will return to profitability. Steven Hansen, an equity analyst with Raymond James Ltd., said the release of Avcorp’s 2011 firstquarter results shows that it’s making progress. But he added that returning the company to profitability depends in large part on the willingness of a large Avcorp strategic investor to fund its existence. “[Avcorp] has been bleeding cash on a pretty regular basis. There have been intermittent periods where they’ve been showing positive cash flow, but they’re not quite there yet, they haven’t turned the corner entirely, although the market is showing good signs of turning. “And so I think it’s going to be a matter of time, but as the cycle is evolving in business jets and as the company has also positioned itself to win a lot more military and commercial work, I think they will eventually achieve that profitability.” • jwagler@biv.com

Younger Friedland strikes it rich in Argentina Rookie explorer Peregrine Metals sold to platinum miner for US$487 million By Joel McKay

he Friedland name was again in the limelight last week after Montanabased Stillwater Mining (NYSE:SWC) agreed to buy Peregrine Metals (TSX:PGM) for US$487 million. The deal was a windfall for Eric Friedland, who, as chairman and CEO, has a 12% stake in Peregrine and is the younger brother of Robert Friedland, one of the mining industry’s best-known financiers and the man behind Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN). For Eric, the deal to sell

Peregrine Metals CEO Eric Friedland has stepped out of his brother’s shadow with copper in Argentina and diamonds in the Canadian arctic

Peregrine is vindication that the Friedland name continues

to strike success in the oft-hazardous junior mining sector. “The Friedland name is very well known within mining, and I’m happy for Eric with this transaction because he’s worked very hard on this project,” said Mike Westerlund, a Peregrine spokesman. The deal comes barely a year after the junior miner completed a $20 million initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Since then, the company has filed an updated resource estimate that revealed some 11.7 billion pounds of copper sitting in the ground beneath

its flagship Altar project. Altar, which is in Argentina, is also believed to contain 2.4 million ounces of gold. Westerlund said it’s extremely rare for a junior company to own such a large deposit. Peregrine had yet to complete a preliminary economic assessment of the project before Stillwater launched its bid. The cash and share deal represents a 279% premium for the early stage explorer, and even more if you consider that Peregrine has invested only $50 million to $60 million in Altar to date.

Westerlund said the key to landing such a good deal for the company is its understanding of the rocks in the ground. “The work we’ve done brings confidence for people to move a little earlier to buy it,” said Westerlund. “This deal also reflects the value that these deposits in juniors are very rare … they realized if they want to win it they’re going to have to aggressively go after it or someone else will.” Peregrine’s stock soared 221% to $2.60 after the deal was announced, but Stillwater investors haven’t taken so well to

the transaction. The Montana company’s shares were down 22% $18.46 after the takeover was announced. Stillwater operates two platinum group metal mines (PGM) in Montana and carries a reputation in the market as one of the few significant PGM producers outside of South Africa and the Russian Federation. J.P. Morgan analyst John Bridges said most investors bought into Stillwater for its palladium exposure, and the Peregrine deal seems to “bring too much base metal into the company.” The deal is expected to close September 30. At press time, Peregrine Metals’ shares were valued at $2.57. • jmckay@biv.com

Now Open in Calgary!

Finance

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

BY THE NUMBERS

Losses are shown in brackets. Graph information by Stockwatch.

China Education Resources Inc. (TSX-V:CHN). Figures in U.S. dollars

▲29% $444k Revenue: $2.2m 3 months 2011

Net income 3 months 2011

Textbook tales: The China-focused education company saw a significant increase in net profit in the first quarter, posting a profit of $444k compared with a loss of $289k during the same period in 2010. Meantime, the company’s online teacher training revenue was up 50% in the first quarter to Earnings per share $426k, and textbook sales increased 24% to $1.8m. China 3 months 2011 Education finished the quarter with $479k in cash.

$0.01

$0.70 $0.50 $0.30 $0.10

Belvedere Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:BEL). Converted from Euros.

N/A

$1.7m

Revenue: $7.7m 3 months 2011

Net income 3 months 2011

Nickel numbers: Belvedere’s Hitura nickel mine resumed production in 2010, helping the junior explorer produce 547 tonnes of nickel in the first quarter of 2011. Although production rates were 4% below the company’s forecast, Hitura milled 2% more tonnes than planned. Still, the Earnings per share company’s net income decreased 56% during the quarter, 3 months 2011 though its cash position increased significantly.

$0.01

$0.40 $0.30 $0.20 $0.10 $0.00

Leading Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:LBIX)

▼3%

$448k

Revenue: $ 3 months 2011

Net income 3 months 2011

Juiced up: The healthy brand beverage company saw its revenue decline in the first quarter due to colder than average weather, but gross profit margins increased to 40.3% from 39.2%. That helped the company post a small increase in net income when compared with the first quarter Earnings per share of 2010. Leading Brands finished the quarter with $2.1 million 3 months 2011 in available cash and credit, a decline from 2010.

$0.13

$5 $4 $3 $2 $1 $0

True wealth

Thane Stenner Emotional rescues: Taking a hard look at your emotions is key to protecting personal wealth

ealth management can be an emotional process. Just because you’re a successful high-networth (HNW) individual doesn’t mean you’re immune to fear, greed, pride or other emotions that can sabotage sound financial decisions. If you want to build and protect your wealth, you must become familiar with scenarios where emotions can get in the way of reasoned investment analysis. More importantly, you’ll need to step “outside your mind” and consider the life experiences that lead to these emotions from an objective, emotionally neutral point of view. Here are four typical situations. Sticker shock The scenario: The market suffers a correction, and your portfolio shows a 10% paper loss. You know that corrections are normal and common-

place, but you can’t help but feel anxious. What to understand: HNW individuals often have difficulty getting comfortable with their new financial circumstances. They may relate fluc-

Investment decisions require more analysis than instinct tuations to the past – a correction may result in a paper loss greater than their previous liquid net worth. Others, such as former business owners, may not have been completely aware of their wealth prior to selling their business, but now that they track it regularly, they become anxious. What to do: Ask your adviser to review statements in person if possible. Establish reasonable expectations and benchmarks when building your portfolio, and discuss perform-

ance in percentages, not dollars. Chasing performance The scenario: You have lunch with a colleague who has a close contact in the energy sector. Based on his insight, you consider opening a large position in XYZ Inc., even though most advisers (including your own) believe valuations in the sector are rich. What you need to understand: Business owners and executives are used to making quick decisions. Many have developed a keen sense of intuition about opportunities and feel comfortable going with their “gut” when investing. Some may mistrust detailed analysis as “fence-sitting,” or believe a bad decision is better than no decision at all. What to do: Understand the difference between business decisions and investment decisions – invest-

ment decisions require more analysis than instinct. Remember your primary goal: to protect wealth. Loss of control The scenario: You feel vaguely uneasy about your portfolio. You call your wealth adviser several times in the same week to ask pointed questions about recommendations – despite the fact that your portfolio is in positive territory. What to understand: Many HNW individuals find it difficult to relinquish control of their financial affairs. This is especially true of business owners, executives and highly trained professionals. Because investment performance is largely out of their control, these investors can feel anxious about not being able to affect change, even when there’s nothing “wrong” with their portfolios. What to do: Discuss big-picture decisions, but leave day-to-day management to your adviser and/or portfolio managers. Establish a partnership with your adviser, rather than treating him/her as a subordinate who simply executes orders.

Over-concentrated portfolio The scenario: You recently sold your operating business to a former competitor in exchange for a large block of common stock. You want to hang on to this position because you’re excited about the company’s (and the industry’s) prospects. This position represents more than 95% of your net worth. What to understand: Entrepreneurs are used to keeping the bulk of their wealth in concentrated positions. Many enjoy thinking of themselves as “risk takers.” Many have an intense loyalty to the industry in which they made their money and might be reluctant to move on to other opportunities. What to do: Emphasize the shift from wealth-building to wealth preservation. Investigate hedging strategies with your adviser and ask for back-tested examples of how they work. • Thane Stenner (thane.stenner@richardsongmp.com) is the founder of Stenner Investment Partners within Richardson GMP Ltd. His column appears every two weeks.

Get on BIV’s Fastest List > BIV's Fastest Growing Companies list ranks by highest percentage revenue growth between 2006 and 2010. > Include total revenue 2006, total revenue 2010, company name and contact information > Companies that make the list will be invited to a celebration awards dinner hosted by Business in Vancouver in October 2011.

Issue: September 13, 2011 Sponsored by:

> Submission deadline: 5pm, August 5, 2011 to rchu@biv.com

finance

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

b.C. prices climb 3.1%

Insider Trading

Soaring energy prices drive inflation

▲11.4% ▲0.9% ▲5.2% ▲6.6% 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 July 7. 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: Clive Johnson, president and CEO Company: B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO) Shares owned: 9,347,610 Trade date: July 6 Trade total: $5,558,600 Trade: Sale of 1.7 million shares at prices ranging from $3.25 to $3.50 per share.

Company: B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO) Shares owned: 6,492,500 Trade date: July 5 Trade total: $3,250,000 Trade: Sale of one million shares at $3.25 per share. Insider: Robert Cross, board chairman Company: B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO) Shares owned: 3,831,660 Trade date: July 5 Trade total: $1,625,000 Trade: Sale of 500,000 shares indirectly owned by Paloduro Investments Inc. at $3.25 per share.

Insider: Thomas Garagan, senior vice-president of exploration Company: B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO) Shares owned: 6,498,750 Trade date: July 5 Trade total: $3,250,000 Trade: Sale of one million shares for $3.25 per share.

Insider: Connie Lillico, corporate secretary Company: First Majestic Silver Corp. (TSX:FR) Shares owned: 0 Trade date: June 29, July 5 Trade total: $727,950 Trade: Sale of 40,000 shares at prices ranging from $17.90 to $18.98 per share following the acquisition of 40,000 shares for $4.15 per share through the exercise of options.

Insider: Mark Corra, CFO

Insider: Leonard Harris,

metallurgical engineer Company: Endeavour Silver Corp. (TSX:EDR) Shares owned: 50,000 Trade date: May 6 Trade total: US$649,600 Trade: Sale of 70,000 shares at US$9.28 per share following the acquisition of 100,000 shares for $2.85 per share through the exercise of options.

and CEO Company: Coastal Contacts Inc. (TSX:COA) Shares owned: 6,779,277 Trade date: June 30 Trade total: $367,500 Trade: Sale of 150,000 shares at $2.45 per share following the acquisition of 150,000 shares through the exercise of options.

Insider: Sheldon Inwentash Company: Western Potash Corp. (TSX:WPX) Shares owned: 8,040,200 Trade date: June 29, July 5 Trade total: $594,159 Trade: Sale of 400,000 shares over two trading days at share prices ranging from $1.46 to $1.50 per share.

Insider: Richard Haslinger, vice-president, exploration Company: Keegan Resources Inc. (TSX:KGN) Shares owned: 65,850 Trade date: July 4, 5, 7 Trade total: $341,400 Trade: Sale of 45,000 shares for prices ranging from $7.53 to $7.62 per share.

Insider: Bob McFarlane, CFO Company: Telus Corp. (TSX:T) Shares owned: 127,170 Trade date: June 27 Trade total: $462,770 Trade: Sale of 12,349 nonvoting shares at prices ranging from $49.80 to $50.02 per share, plus the gifting of 5,100 shares for $50.82 per share.

Insider: Charles Brown, COO Company: Great Panther Silver Ltd. (TSX:GPR) Shares owned: 412,000 Trade date: July 6 Trade total: $175,000 Trade: Sale of 50,000 shares for $3.50 per share following the acquisition of 50,000 shares for $0.70 per share through the exercise of options.

Insider: Roger Hardy, founder

B.C. May inflation (energy)

B.C. May inflation (shelter)

B.C. May inflation (food)

B.C. May inflation (transport)

B.C.’s year-over-year inflation rate climbed to 3.1% in May as soaring energy prices (11.4%) put upward pressure on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Excluding energy, the province’s inflation rate would have been 2.4%. Shelter (0.9%) and transportation (6.6%) costs were affected by climbing fuel prices. Motorists spent 20.7% more to fill up their tanks, while residents saw even bigger increases (22.1%) in the cost of oil and other fuel. Travellers were also impacted, with air, ferry, bus and other intercity transporation fares jumping 8.8%.

B.C. sawmill production grew despite local declines Production at B.C. sawmills was 5% higher in April than in the same month of 2010. Although mills in coastal regions of the province posted a decline (-3.2%), ramped-up production from the Interior (6%), where most of the province’s mill activity occurs, managed to offset the decline.

-BC Stats Infoline, Issue 11-26, June 30

National inflation higher than B.C.’s The Canadian inflation rate (3.7%) was higher than B.C.’s and May marked the largest increase in the CPI since March of 2003. Nationally, energy prices surged 16.6%, while the cost of other goods and services was up just 2.4%. Among the provinces, inflation rates ranged from 2.8% in Alberta to 4.6% in Nova Scotia.

-BC Stats Infoline, Issue 11-26, June 30

Vancouver median family income dropped in 2009l According to income data derived from personal income tax returns, total median census family income in B.C.’s largest city was $67,550 in 2009. This was lower than the previous year (-1.9%) and below the national figure of $68,410.

-BC Stats Infoline, Issue 11-26, June 30

Real estate

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

Real estate roundup

Peter Mitham Mid-year dealing boosts development prospects; vineyards cultivating investment opportunities Growing interest B.C. grape growers are looking for a little more heat to draw their vineyards along this summer, after a cool, wet spring delayed the start of the growing season two to three weeks. Vineyard real estate, on the other hand, is starting to feel some decent warmth that owners believe makes offerings ripe for the market. Black Hills Estate Winery on Black Sage Road south of Oliver recently announced its first offering of limited partnership units in four years. Black Hills, whose red-blend Nota Bene has garnered a cult following, saw significant buy-in from North Shore investors in 2007. The latest share offering is meant to garner funds for further investment in its vineyards and operations. Painted Rock Estate Winery, meanwhile, is seeing renewed interest from developers in a 14-acre parcel adjacent to its winery and

Harry Dent

Larry Berman

John Stephenson

Gavin Graham

David LePoidevin

Benj Gallander

Vintage advantage: John Skinner is seeking a buyer for a 14-acre development site above Painted Rock Estate Winery’s vineyard in Penticton

vineyards overlooking Skaha Lake just south of Penticton. The property was listed with Cushman & Wakefield Ltd. in spring 2010 for $4.25 million, but owner John Skinner wasn’t in a rush to sell. “I wanted to put it out there to see who and what

was interested,” he said. “If I sell it to someone, it has to be what the market is ready for at that particular time.” The parcel is contiguous with a 15-acre tract, Skinner said, creating an opportunity to develop a comprehensive plan for the site that complements the winery and

Growing global turmoil, recent changes to Parliament, and heightened interest in natural resources leave me asking how I can best position my portfolio for profit and safety. I’ll ask leading experts at The World MoneyShow Vancouver this September where thousands of investors will gather to create a plan to invest smarter. Will you?

Interest rate hikes are past due: C.D. Howe

www.WorldMoneyShowVancouver.ca

Discover complete show details, learn how to attend, and register free online. Or, call 800/970-4355. Mention Priority Code 023196

Vancouver Convention Centre

a Production of

Gold Sponsors

Media Partner MoneyShow | Githler Center 1258 N. Palm Avenue Sarasota, FL 34236-5604

Mounting interest While critics continue to mobilize opposition to Rize Alliance Properties Ltd.’s planned 19-storey tower at 180 Kingsway, a number of smaller projects are being discussed that also promise to give the so-called Uptown district at the heart of Mount Pleasant a higher profile. C o n c o r d P a c i f i c ’s eponymous Uptown condo project at Kingsway and Prince Edward is on the go, while the existing threestorey office building at 133 East 8th Avenue is slated to be replaced with a six-storey building with commercial at grade and 45 residences. A rezoning application is afoot across the back lane for 138 East 7th Avenue, which seeks to allow a building of up to 60 feet, accommodating offices and a school for “arts or self-improvement.” The projects come on the heels of residential projects by Amacon and Onni on the east side of Main Street, both of which predate adoption of the new Mount Pleasant Community Plan in November 2010. Completion of the plan coincided with an upswing in transaction activity. According to RealNet Canada Inc., there were no deals in Mount Pleasant in 2009,

Suite interest Strong investor demand has bumped up apartment sales in Vancouver for the first six months of 2011 versus the same period last year. David and Mark Goodman of HQ Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. report that 52 buildings changed hands in Metro Vancouver versus 40 in the first half of 2010. The balance shifted in favour of

“If I sell it to someone, it has to be what the market is ready for at that time” – John Skinner, owner, Painted Rock Estate Winery

the suburbs, with 28 transactions in the ’burbs totalling $193.2 million – a 207% increase over the first half of 2010. Vancouver, on the other hand, saw 24 sales valued at just $109 million – a decrease in dollar terms of 18%. The Goodmans said demand for suburban properties is linked to cheap financing, overseas demand and developers securing older buildings on sites with good redevelopment potential. • pmitham@telus.net

BUSINESS TODAY

Take Home Actionable Investing Advice to Profit in Any Market

If you have a smart phone, scan this Tag to find out more & register free for The World MoneyShow Vancouver. Get a free mobile app at http://gettag.mobi

eight deals last year and two in the first five months of this year.

daily online edition

Roger Conrad

VANCOUVER | Sept. 19-21, 2011

vineyard operation, which is separate. Proceeds from the sale would support further development of the winery business. “It would make great sense for whoever I do a deal with on the other property to work on some comprehensive plan,” he said. Penticton council supports some form of housing for the site; Skinner is also discussing the possibility of a boutique hotel with another group that’s been active at the south end of the valley.

“But there’s got to be a market for it,” he said. “We can’t push against a string.”

The C.D. Howe Institute is recommending the Bank of Canada raise interest rates. In a new report, monetary economist Michael Parkin warns that delaying interest rate hikes poses risks and the prospect of “ugly policy choices” ahead. “If more ‘no-change’ decisions are made by the Bank of Canada regarding its interest rate policy, inflation expectations might begin to slip loose of their 2% anchor,” said Parkin. If the Canadian dollar moves with the greenback because the Bank of Canada keeps its interest rate close to the U.S. federal funds rate, the high inflation rates of energy and other commodity prices,

which currently are seen as temporary, might start to look permanent, Parkin warns.

is the least expensive city in Canada. Tuesday, July 12

Wednesday, July 13

Hogtown’s cost of living surpasses Vancouver’s Toronto has surpassed Vancouver to become the most expensive Canadian city, according to Mercer’s 2011 Cost of Living Survey. The global ranking covers 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. Toronto, ranked at 59, rose 17 points to overtake Vancouver at 65, due to higher rents. Montreal ranked 79, Calgary 96. Ranking 114, Ottawa

Tomato restaurant may return to Cambie Street The iconic Cambie Street eatery Tomato is likely to return somewhere near its old location at West 17th Avenue, says owner Christian Gaudreault. Gaudreault was a vocal critic of the way Canada Line developers used the cut-andcover method of building the tunnel underneath Cambie Street. He moved his restaurant to the corner of West Broadway and Bayswater Street in 2007, but the building that he moved to is now slated for demolition. Tomato officially closed on Bayswater on May 30. Monday, July 11

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

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver Daily email edition: www.biv.com

Colliers International RETAIL 838 West Hastings Street Jameson House Vancouver

Smithe Street & Richards Street Dolce Vancouver

1208 West Pender Street The Ritz Vancouver

Great exposure to West Hastings and many complimentary retailers.

Stunning street-front retail space at brand new Dolce.

Prominent location in the prestigious neighbourhood of Coal Harbour.

$7,000,000

Sherman Scott Ted Mildon

$55.00/SF

Sherman Scott Ted Mildon

123 Carrie Cates Court Lonsdale Quay North Vancouver

845 Marine Drive North Vancouver

Three large retail opportunities in popular Lonsdale Quay Market & Shops.

CRU retail units in ideally located centre with strong anchor tenants.

Lease

Doug LePatourel Brent Heed

$45.00/SF

Sheldon Scott* Casey Pollard

Sherman Scott Ted Mildon

$27.00/SF 2121 160th Street Grandview Pointe

Surrey

Freestanding pad building available in Fall 2012 in South Surrey.

$35.00/SF

Brent Heed

984 West Broadway Broadway & Oak

Vancouver

Brand new mixed-use building with great exposure.

$40.00-65.00/SF

Doug LePatourel

Unit 11 32451 South Fraser Way Fraserway Place Abbotsford

Freestanding pad space with great exposure across from Safeway.

$28.00/SF

Sean Ogilvie

INVESTMENT West of Denman High-Rise Vancouver

3718-3730 & 3732 Canada Way & 3300 Boundary Road Burnaby

6588 Royal Ave. & 6483 Bruce St. Horseshoe Bay Motel Horseshoe Bay

Fort Nelson Hotel Court Ordered Sale

Fort Nelson

ced

edu eR Pric

Concrete high-rise “crowned” with a two-storey penthouse. 12,327 SF of Class A retail space and 28,300 SF mixed-use development site.

$13,498,000

John Gee*

Sale

Simon Lim* David Taylor

In the Know METRO VANCOUVER RETAIL MARKET OVERVIEW Metro Vancouver’s retail market experienced short bursts of leasing and investment activity in the first half of 2011. The transactional volume for retail investment was down from this time last year as investors were eager to place their money in 2010 following the end of the recession. This year has proven to be more challenging for investors as the lack of supply continues to restrict high volumes of capital from entering the market. From a leasing perspective, landlords will be happy to see that vacancy rates have dropped from 3.3 percent in Q4 2010 to 2.8 percent this quarter. Rental rates remained stable across the Metro Vancouver region and should continue to be steady throughout the rest of the year.

High quality 23-room motel asset and adjacent family residence.

Cecilia Tse* Tom Andrews

$5,018,000

12 acres in downtown core. Hotel, motel, restaurant and more.

$5,950,000

Mark Lester* Alan Johnson

OPEN FOOD ANCHORED SHOPPING CENTRE SURVEY - 50,000 SF OR GREATER Number of Centres

Anchor Rates

CRU Rates

Pad Rates

Abbotsford

$10-25

$ 15-40

$35-45

825,135

19,079

Burnaby/New Westminster

$ 8-32

$ 28-40

$22-40

1,461,755

27,362

1.9%

Chilliwack

$ 14-18

$ 19-30

$24-32

433,935

56,844

13.1%

North Delta

$ 12-20

$ 22-30

$ 15-25

220,814

3,099

1.4%

South Delta

$10-20

$ 23-30

$25-30

468,501

6,986

1.5% 2.5%

City

GLA (SF)

Vacancies Vacancy Rate 2.3%

Langley/Aldergrove

$ 11-23

$ 22-46

$24-36

1,466,586

36,164

Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows

$15-20

$ 25-30

$30-35

782,716

8,467

1.1%

Mission

$ 14-16

$ 18-30

$25-32

422,562

5,459

1.3%

North Shore

$10-30

$ 24-65

$35-60

954,502

15,339

1.6%

Richmond

$ 9-20

$ 18-45

$23-49

727,286

24,203

3.3%

Squamish

$ 11-22

$ 22-35

$25-32

203,952

7,350

3.6%

South Surrey/White Rock

$15-35

$ 18-55

$28-40

1,685,529

87,175

5.2%

Surrey - North

$10-25

$ 12-38

$25-35

1,587,307

44,284

2.8%

Tri-Cities

$ 12-25

$ 22-55

$22-40

989,154

23,289

2.4%

Vancouver (Open) Vancouver (Urban mixed-use) Total

$15-20

$ 25-35

$35-55

406,930

6,580

1.6%

$18-28

$35-100

N/A

561,500

16,590

3.0%

13,198,164

371,680

2.8%

106

*Survey excludes closed food anchored and non-food anchored shopping centres due to the large amount of gross leasable area and vacancies.

This document/email has been prepared by Colliers International for advertising and general information only. Colliers International makes no guarantees, representations or warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, regarding the information including, but not limited to, warranties of content, accuracy and reliability. Any interested party should undertake their own inquiries as to the accuracy of the information. Colliers International excludes unequivocally all inferred or implied terms, conditions and warranties arising out of this document and excludes all liability for loss and damages arising there from. This publication is the copyrighted property of Colliers International and /or its licensor(s). © 2011. All rights reserved. This communication is not intended to cause or induce breach of an existing listing agreement. Colliers Macaulay Nicolls Brokerage Inc. (Vancouver). *Personal Real Estate Corporation. PO #11060.

200 Granville Street, 19th Floor, Vancouver, BC, V6C 2R6 | 1 604 681 4111 | www.collierscanada.com

Technology

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

Local tech company aiming to address urban alienation New social media site links people with similar interests within a 20-minute walk of each other By Nelson Bennett

ne of the paradoxes of big-city life is that the more people a city has, the more isolation its citizens often experience. “It’s pretty much a global phenomenon that happens around high-density cities around the world, and the Internet’s actually contributing to it,” said Emir Aboulhosn, founder and CEO of Kinjoe.com, a new social media site designed to lessen urban alienation by bringing strangers together through common interests. Kinjoe (Japanese for “neighbourhood”) officially launched last week with 500 Yaletown subscribers. The new free site is similar to Meetup.com in that it brings strangers together based on common interests. The big difference is that users’ social spheres are limited to a 20-minute walking radius. Two years ago, Aboulhosn founded Ryzoe Technologies with his own money specifically to develop Kinjoe. An angel investor and a $100,000 research grant has helped the company develop the site over the last 18 months, and Blenz Coffee has signed on as a partner to help promote the site. Aboulhosn and his team of five decided to limit the social network to a 20-minute walk because they determined there’s a

Nelson Bennett

Emir Aboulhosn, founder and CEO of Kinjoe.com: “[isolation] is pretty much a global phenomenon that happens around high-density cities around the world, and the Internet’s contributing to it”

higher chance of meeting someone who lives within that radius. The project was originally intended as a communication tool to help people living in highrise apartments get to know their neighbours. Subscribers either sign up on the site or through Facebook Connect, which will pull their name, photo and email, although email addresses are never published. Neither are residential addresses. The site has a “me too” button that can be used to reply

to comments posted on the site. This tags users’ interests and allows the site to build their social graph. Once the company has built social graphs around members, it will start generating revenue through advertising. Tennis enthusiasts, for example, who have met other tennis players on Kinjoe might start getting recommendations for sports stores in their area that sell sporting goods. Because no one wants to join a social media network that’s a virtual ghost

town, the challenge for Kinjoe’s developers has been to build a critical mass of users – something made more difficult by the network’s narrow geographical reach. And unlike Facebook, which connects people who already know each other, Kinjoe is more like a dating site in that it connects strangers. The one advantage Kinjoe has is that people living in cities like Vancouver can be desperately lonely. A 2010 Angus Reid poll found Van-

couverites among the loneliest city dwellers in Canada. It also found them to be among the most heavily connected to social media. Origina lly from Ontario, Amanda Schwartz moved to Vancouver two years ago. A couple of months ago, a neighbour in her building posted information about Kinjoe, so she signed up. “I think Vancouver’s much like any other city,” said Schwartz, who lives in a 36-storey highrise. “It can be difficult to meet new people. Things like this are really great for breaking the ice. In a highrise building you don’t have a chance to meet neighbours on other floors.” To help build an initial critical mass, Aboulhosn approached Blenz Coffee president George Moen to help promote a beta version of the site in Yaletown, which now has 500 members. “Blenz is very active in social media,” Moen said. “The Blenz brand has always been very neighbourhood focused … so Kinjoe’s format of building a social media platform based on neighbourhoods was very appealing to us. We felt by aligning ourselves with a Kinjoe product it was a good business move because where do people typically meet when they meet for the first time? Often in coffee shops. It was an easy fit.” Blenz will be helping Kinjoe build its base in B.C. by advertising it with its own internal digital television in 65 coffee shops around the province. Over the next six months, Aboulhosn plans to launch the site in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Toronto and Montreal. The company will use community managers based in each city to help build membership. • nbennett@biv.com

High-Tech Office

Alan Zisman Focusing on new camera options for business travel

hen I was travelling this summer I noticed something that I haven’t seen commented on. Lots of people had digital SLR (DSLR) cameras around their necks. That’s nothing new. What was new, I think, is that a lot of those necks were female. In the past, while popular, DSLRs seemed to be a guy thing. Apparently that’s no longer the case. They’re not my thing, however. The other popular picture-taking option, using the camera built into a mobile phone, also doesn’t appeal to me. I like – especially when I’m travelling – a DSLR’s ability to go from wide angle to close up, but otherwise find

them too big, too complex, too heavy. Camera manufacturers offer “ultra zooms” lacking a DLSR’s detachable lenses, with zooms up to 36 times, but they’re still too bulky for my taste. More recently, we’ve started to see “compact zoom” models – not as powerful as the ultra zooms, but much smaller. Both Nikon and Canon loaned me current models to take on my trip. Nikon’s Coolpix S9100 packs an 18x optical zoom, going from the equivalent of a traditional SLR’s wideangle 25mm lens up to supertelephoto 450mm. It has very good close-up (macro) capabilities and is very easy

to use. Some users (not me), however, will be put off by its lack of manual controls. Like the Coolpix S9100, Canon’s PowerShot SX230 HS takes 12-mega-pixel images. Both cameras include image stabilization (a musthave at high zooms), multiple shooting options, including night modes, and 1080p high-definition movie recording. Neither camera offers a high-end RAW image mode. Also on each: the flash pops open manually – a feature that I like, making it easy to control whether the flash fires or not. While Nikon’s model comes in black or silver, Canon offers its PowerShot in your choice of black, red

(actually hot pink) or blue. It’s also a bit slimmer than Nikon’s model, perhaps because its lens is a more modest 14x zoom (ranging from SLRequivalent 28mm to 390mm). Unlike Nikon’s model, it offers manual exposure options but delivers less powerful macro abilities. The PowerShot includes GPS, which makes it possible to tag shots with their loca-

For someone on the road with a laptop making sales presentations to small groups, it could be handy tion. Your photos can then display where they were taken on a map in software like Apple’s iPhoto or uploaded to a website like Flickr. The downside: leaving the GPS on dramatically reduces battery life.

Both cameras start up and are ready to fire quickly – about two seconds after pressing the power button. Nikon’s camera produces sharper images in low-light settings and offers smoother 1080p video (30 frames per second compared with the Canon’s 24 fps). It can also refocus while shooting video. A plus for the Canon, however: its settings dial stays put. The Nikon’s dial didn’t when popped in and out of pocket or carrying case. The resulting incorrect modes ruined some of my shots. With both cameras listing for the same $380, each will have its fans – the Nikon for its larger zoom and better macro and low-light picture taking; the Canon for its manual options, GPS and slimmer body in cuter colours. Another Nikon model has a feature that might appeal to some: the Coolpix S1100pj

(about $450). While offering a more modest 5x zoom, it has a built-in projector, can be used to project the images (or video) on the camera and can be connected to a Windows PC or Mac – after installing software on the computer. It can also be used to display PowerPoint presentations and the like. While it won’t replace a dedicated projector for large presentations, it delivers an image of up to a metre-anda-quarter wide that is surprisingly bright. For someone on the road with a laptop making sales presentations to small groups, it could be handy. I wish it could connect to a smartphone or tablet, though, for real minimalist presentations. Maybe the next model. • Alan Zisman (www.zisman. ca) is a Vancouver educator and computer specialist. His column appears weekly.

Sustainability

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Stay green with toothbrush or purse

SponSor’S MeSSage

Entrepreneurs capitalize by making everyday products from reclaimed and biodegradeable materials By Glen Korstrom

Chris Lynch, Sales Director Waste Management

Zero waste is the new goal

Dominic Schaefer

oncern that consumer products will end up in landfills and that society is manufacturing products in an unsustainable way has prompted innovative entrepreneurs to produce everyday products that are either made from reclaimed materials or that will easily decompose. These companies tend to fall into one of two categories: •businesses that make useful products out of items that would otherwise be thrown away; or •businesses that put biodegradeable materials in products that would otherwise contain plastic as a way to reduce the product’s half-life. Saakori Lifestyle Inc. co-owner Tanuja Dabir believes her Vancouver-based company, which makes dinner plates out of palm tree leaves that have already fallen to the ground, is doing more for the environment than companies that simply aim to replace plastic. “The leaves that go into our plates would have been burned normally,” she said. “That’s unlike corn, which is being diverted from being a food resource to being made into products.” Dabir said she also uses much less energy than if her plates were made from potato or corn resin. The only time that she needs to use energy is when the leaves go into a heated mold at the factory in India that she subcontracts to produce them. Other than that, workers craft the plates from hand. “If we used bamboo or corn, it would have to go through a highenergy process,” she said. Vancouver’s Earthen Trading also produces bowls and plates from fallen palm leaves. And ventures such as Manitoba’s U.S.E.D. Recycled Seatbelt Bags similarly push the boundaries of innovation by making purses and handbags from seatbelts that were once in condemned vehicles. Were the seatbelts not reused, they would simply be trash.

Locin Industries president Andrew Horembala last year launched sales of toothbrushes and dental flossers made from potato resin

Locin Industries, Ltd. president Andrew Horembala, however, believes it is wrong to think that in order for a product to be considered sustainable it must be made from reclaimed ingredients. His company manufactures and distributes toothbrushes and dental flossers out of a compostable bioresin that comes from potatoes. The resin meets international standards for bioplastics and compostability and biodegrades within 180 days in a commercial compost facility. Unlike petroleum-based plastics, Horembala’s toothbrushes will decompose into organic materials even when they are thrown into a regular garbage. His products are similar to the cups, plates and cutlery that Oregonbased Biodegradable Food Services Inc. produces under the brand Taterware. “We started making the compostable dental products because dental products are our heritage. It’s something that we know. It was also

because of the disposable nature of dental products,” Horembala said. Critics, however, question how environmentally less burdensome flossers are given that rolls of floss require only a small amount of plastic whereas individual dental flossers, which are meant for one-time use, have a tiny amount of floss held rigid by a plastic or potato-resin handle. “Flossers have become big business because there are advantages over floss,” Horembala explained. “There’s the convenience of flossing with one hand. You can do it while travelling in a car. “You can keep it in your desk and do it discreetly. Try using string floss discretely and it’s next to impossible It’s also the easiest way for kids to floss. Their mouths are too small for parents to get their hands in.” Horembala, wife Jane Nicol, Nicol’s sister Sue Collins and Collins’ husband, Brad Collins, bought Locin in 2005 for an undisclosed amount from the sisters’ parents, who founded the company in the 1970s.

The company had morphed from being primarily a sheet-glass company to now being primarily a manufacturer and distributor of vitamins, mineral supplements and cough and cold immunity products. About 40% of sales are for dental products, most of which continue to be made out of petroleum-based products. Only about 5% of sales are for the compostable dental products that the company launched last year and sells through both Shoppers Drug Mart and London Drugs. “This year we project that sales for [potato-based products] will be only slightly higher than 5% of sales,” Horembala said. “The reason is that when you start shipping out a product, you get the pipeline effect. The following year it starts to flatline and then you can start ratcheting up.” Only when customers deplete current inventory will they order more product, Horembala added. • gkorstrom@biv.com

Our job is making sure waste no longer goes to waste Let us help you reduce waste and make your business greener.

Food Waste Collection Sustainability Audits Innovative Recycling Programs wmcanada.com 866-967-6546

“Businesses and communities choose Waste Managaement because they know we can help them achieve their sustainability goals,” said Chris Lynch, Sales Director for Waste Management-Pacific Northwest. “We listen to customers and deliver innovative, cost-effective solutions that reduce waste and increase recycling,” he said, noting WM’s most popular services: • Sustainability Audits help businesses streamline operations, increase waste diversion and often reduce garbage costs • Food Waste Collection turns food waste into compost for healthy gardens • Property Management Services deliver custom-built solutions for every property and every tenant • The Bagster® “Dumpsterin-A-Bag”® is an economical, “ready-when-you-are” option for construction and clean-up projects • New Clean-Air Trucks reduce greenhouse gases and make for quieter streets How can we help you achieve your sustainability goals? Property Managers and Commercial Customers 604-520-7954 Municipalities Alex Limongelli 604-520-7865 wmcanada.com

Sustainability sponsors:

Small business

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

Business plan

By Glen Korstrom

Company Name: Organic Lives Principals: Preet and Amarit Marwaha Location: 1829 Quebec Street, Vancouver Business venture: Organic, raw vegan, sustainable, fair-trade restaurant and food manufacturing business Business lesson: Be clear what kind of business you want to run and then don’t be afraid to stick with it without compromising principles or values for the sake of growing the business. History: Co-founder Preet Marwaha believes that it was his poor diet as a teenager that prompted him to get colitis when he was 19 years old. “I changed my diet radically. It was from one extreme to the other,” said Marwaha, who is now 40 years old. He completed a diploma in computer

engineering at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology then studied psychology before opening a couple of convenience stores in Calgary. A few years later, he passed the stores to his family and pursued a career in telecommunications working at various Calgary companies before moving to Vancouver seven years ago to work at Radiant Communications Corp. Soon, however, he realized that his passion was organic, healthy food so he pumped about $500,000 of his own money and that borrowed from family and friends to launch, in 2008, what was originally an online food seller. It then morphed into a warehouse and a restaurant and food manufacturer. Challenges: The Marwahas had several challenges, including: •how to get funding to expand the business to a size large enough to boost economies of scale so that prices could come down and the customer base could grow; •how to reliably source organic, fair-trade, sustainable ingredients; and •how to attract customers to eat vegan raw food.

TD Canada Trust

Proud Supporters of the Burnaby Business Community We offer businesses a range of innovative, specialized products and services. Our specially trained and dedicated Small Business Advisors are committed to helping you by: • Discussing your banking needs • Offering borrowing and investment solutions • Delivering excellent personal service Inder Powar 4994 Kingsway (604) 818-8501 inder.powar@td.com

Carol Cummings

Charn Sangha 7565 Market Crossing (604) 654-3930, ext. 222 charn.sangha@td.com

Raymond Wong 4630 Kingsway (604) 654-3935, ext. 236 raymond.wong2@td.com

Call us today for an appointment and find out how we can help your business succeed.

4298 Hastings St. 6710 Hastings St., #105 (604) 360-8314 carol.cummings@td.com

Dominic Schaefer

Billionaire investor helps pioneering food manufacturer expand

Organic Lives co-founder Preet Marwaha has landed funding for his raw vegan, fair-trade, sustainable restaurant and food manufacturer from billionaire Frank Giustra

Solutions: The Marwahas spent a lot of time seeking sources of capital but the task was made doubly difficult because of their own high standards for whose funding they would accept. “We went down the path of exploring vulture capital and that kind of thing. It just wasn’t enough,” Marwaha said. “We needed a partner that understands the business, understands what we’re doing and understands the importance of organic, sustainable food. It took us a long time to find that.” Networking led to billionaire philanthropist Frank Giustra, who made his money from mining and movie ventures but is best known for creating the ClintonGiustra Sustainable Growth Initiative with former U.S. president Bill Clinton. Giustra donated US$100 million plus half of what he makes in the resource industry for the rest of his life. Giustra instinctively understood the need for organic sustainable food and shared the same values as the Marwahas. Giustra agreed to inject capital into the Marwahas’ business so the couple has the capacity to build a new facility to manufacture products. They are currently seeking that facility in Vancouver. Current wholesale customers include Whole Foods Market, Capers Community Market and Lifestyle Markets. “A new facility will enable us to meet the demand we’ve created in the marketplace for our products. Prices will absolutely be able to come down,” he said. The cash injection will also help the Marwahas source a direct supply for their ingredients. “In Thailand, we have our own macadamia nut farm going now,” Marwaha said. “We are also going to start growing a supply of vegetables in the [Fraser] Valley.” A solution to overcoming the challenge of luring people scared of eating vegan food has been to put more attention on the fact

that the food is healthy and organic, not that it is vegan. “Most people don’t know what they eat. They buy things in packages or cans and simply don’t know what is in their food. We have a whole educational focus around food and helping people understand what food is and how important it is to their health and well-being.” Analysis: Organic Lives could one day be the Lululemon Athletica Inc. of food, according to Ray Leung, who is CEO of Hon’s Wun-Tun House and formerly headed juicemaker Happy Planet. He believes that the key is to first grow slowly by serving its core vegan customer base well enough that word of mouth will attract nine people for each core customer. Those additional customers will not be as close to the hard-core vegans or vegetarians but serving that next group well will make that group be the company’s “ambassadors,” Leung said. It is a much better strategy than trying to target mainstream customers first, he added. “That smaller group is who they need to focus on, not the million people first. When they service those 1,000 people well, then those 1,000 people become their ambassadors and then it becomes 10,000.” Lululemon CEO Christine Day, however, has explained to Business in Vancouver that Lululemon does not actually target its core customer. The first customers Lululemon aims to sell to in a new market are those whom Day calls “attractors” – healthy and active women around 32 years old. “We know that when we build and design our stores toward her and around her, that the brand is attractive to the core customer who is slightly older and a bit more affluent, but who wants to be that 32-year-old,” Day told BIV in 2009. • gkorstrom@biv.com

Human Resources

Inside Investing in human assets — 16 Companies turn to consultants to be an integral part of their management teams Dennis Wolff — 17 Why top talent still chooses Vancouver

Quarterly News Report

Sandra Miles Hiring and managing temporary staff

July 19–25, 2011; issue 1134

— 18

Building teams with interactive events By Glen Korstrom

ffices can be more relaxed in summer thanks to human resources teams organizing activities such as staff barbecues, baseball games and social events on Friday afternoons. Those events help employees in different departments get to know each other – something that builds morale and has intangible benefits. Effective team-building, however, often requires that employees not only socialize but also complete a task. That task could be a volunteer project or an activity such as dragon boating where rowers soon realize that the boat glides across the water much more quickly when everyone paddles in unison.

“Team-building events are a physical way to get a team focused on a single outcome” – Andrew Reid, owner, Big Fish Interactive

“[Team-building initiatives] allow people to play different roles than they would regularly play in the workplace,” said Telus Corp. senior community investment manager Katie Gove. “Someone who might be more in an administrative role can take on a management role in a volunteer setting.” Effectively showing those skills can build trust and may even prompt a manager to promote an employee or give him or her different tasks. Gove’s company designates a day each spring that it calls the Telus Day of Giving, when employees are encouraged to use work time to volunteer together and complete tasks such as building a playground. These kinds of events may particularly help employees who normally work independently, doing something such as installing Internet wiring. In the volunteer activity, they are forced to rely on Telus coworkers to hold up a beam or to hammer nails. They learn to trust other employees while the lesson is enforced that a task can be completed much faster when more people pitch in. “Team-building events are a physical way to get a team focused on a single outcome,” said Big Fish Interactive Inc. owner Andrew Reid. Reid founded his executive coaching and team-building venture 16 years ago in Toronto. Now Vancouver-based, the company generates about one-third of its nearly $1 million in annual revenue from team-building events.

About one-third of the 12-employee company’s revenue comes from executive coaching, and the remainder comes from customized leadership or management events. Reid’s team-building events are sometimes all-day sessions that involve some classroom work as well. Many of his clients are national companies. “We find that a lot of national corporations give more attention to their Ontario staff versus western staff, simply because that’s where the bigger teams are,” he said. “Now that Big Fish is here [in Vancouver], it’s easy for us to extend the work we do with national head offices to the Vancouver local offices.” One effective team-building activity, Reid said, can be scavenger hunts. Sewell’s Marina’s calls its version of a corporate scavenger hunt Sea Quest. It created Sea Quest 15 years ago as a way to train its own employees to be more familiar with Howe Sound. Employees are broken into groups and given a list of either questions to answer or things to find. For example, one question might be to identify the flag flying on a pole next to a blue house. Groups might also be asked to bring back a pine cone or a birch leaf. Last year, about 50 groups booked scavenger hunts, and general manager Eric Sewell said a similar number of trips are already booked this year. Fortis Inc., Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort and Telus are some of the companies through the years that have booked these excursions.

“When you bring your company out and do a boating adventure and usually a dining experience afterward, I think it’s a reward for your team members” – Eric Sewell, general manager, Sewell’s Marina

Often, however, corporate executives do not want it known when they take their staff on a day of scavenger hunting or dragon boating. Reid said one of his clients had endured severe layoffs recently and “heads would roll” if it were reported in the media that they had gone dragon boating. Sewell agreed that executives at struggling companies may not want it known when they spend money on something that many would consider a pat on the back for a job well done. “When you bring your company out and do a boating adventure and usually a dining experience afterward, I think it’s a reward for your team members,” he said. • gkorstrom@biv.com

Dominic Schaefer

Completing a task together, where employees take on different roles, enhances kinship more than attending a staff barbecue

When Big Fish Interactive owner Andrew Reid takes corporate groups dragon boating as a form of team building, he helps them understand how much faster a boat can go when everyone is synchronized

16 Human Resources Sponsored by BC HRMA

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

Sponsor’s Message

s a business owner, you understand the value of people. Great staff can drive the success of your business. In fact, people are your biggest asset but they can also be one of your biggest challenges. Whether you have one employee or a staff of 50, people practices play a vital role in your day-today business. How do you hire the right people? What wage do you pay for the right person? How do you handle the employee who calls in sick every Monday? What benefits will help your employees manage work-life balance? The BC Human Resources Management Association can provide the answers to your questions. Specializing in all things people, BC HRMA has numerous resources that are a perfect fit for small businesses: participate in a roundtable discussion, attend a networking mingle, read HRVoice.org or login to a webinar. In addition, become a member and gain access to added benefits such as an online peer community and PeopleTalk magazine. As a non-profit association with a small staff complement, we ourselves understand that managing people can be challenging when you have limited time and resources. BC HRMA can provide the information needed to create and maintain successful, time-efficient and cost-effective people practices.

Investing in your human assets Many companies are turning to specialized consultants who become an integral part of their team By Jennifer Harrison

ompanies often state that their employees are their most valuable assets, however many of them talk the talk but fail to walk the walk. Neil Belenkie, COO of Growth Point Group, a Vancouver-based organization of senior business leaders who work with company owners to build their companies when they can’t do it on their own, echoes this sentiment. The GrowthPoint Group typically works with companies that have $10 to $50 million in annual revenue, are owner-operated and privately held. These companies are generally not achieving their goals or have a material event planned and think they won’t achieve it. For example, company owners may want to sell their company and think its not worth what it could be; or they are trying to achieve revenue growth or a profitability margin and can’t figure out how to do it themselves. What makes GrowthPoint different from other business consultants is that once it completes its discovery session and creates a roadmap or strategic plan for a company, it stays on and sees that plan to fruition. The roadmap is projectbased and easily identifies the necessary skills required to complete each project. The ownership group of the organization looks at the roadmap with GrowthPoint and says, “OK, we have the resources and expertise to take on the following projects, but we can’t handle or

Neil Belenkie, COO of the GrowthPoint Group: “we develop a strategic roadmap for a company and that is typically where the consulting model would end, but it’s where we begin”

even know how to handle project.” GrowthPoint then takes responsibility for all aspects of that strategy and its implementation, matching the skill sets required with members of its seasoned team of experts, which includes former executives from Vodafone and WestJet. The experts then go in to complete the project. Belenkie noted, “We have yet to encounter an organization where human capital isn’t a problem or even the problem keeping them from achieving their goals.” That means clients haven’t been able to develop an organization that can support the growth they’re looking for, they haven’t been able to put the people together who represent enough credibility and proven experience that investors will trust them and they don’t have the people who are skilled enough to bring new people on board to support the organization’s growth.

“Essentially you are investing in your human capital when you bring the GrowthPoint Group in,” said Belenkie. Belenkie was responsible for the human resources portion of a project with Kamloops-based home-builder and developer the Mibroc Group. He developed the organizational chart to support the company’s growth, then had to phase in that growth and hire according to that phasing. “I actually took care of the hiring of all the different positions to support their organizational growth to support their objectives,” said Belenkie. “So before we could really build the revenue portion of the business we had to build the infrastructure to support the business growth.” Since May of 2010, the GrowthPoint Group has helped Mibroc hire 15 employees. President and CEO of

Mibroc Darryl Caunt exclaimed, “They’ve been excellent in helping me create the opportunity to attract the right people. And retain the right people. And that is the magic.” Caunt noted the significantly unique aspects of the Growth Point Group are that it has a truly hands-on approach and the expertise within its partnership allows it to come in at a moment’s notice with the ability to execute. “I’ve gone through two other business consultants in the past five years,” said Caunt. “They had good ideas but it wasn’t as in-depth or integrated as the GrowthPoint model.” The private sector is not the only one that can benefit from this hands-on approach to business development. Belenkie said an added benefit of Mibroc’s work w it h t he Grow t hPoint Group is the fact that four of GrowthPoint’s partners are

Staffing to build successful companies since 1974 ❘ Permanent ❘ Temporary ❘ Contract ❘ Outsourcing ❘

Visit us at www.bchrma.org to learn more. Sincerely, Simon Evans, CHRP

Vice-president of Ketchum Canada Rose Terzariol helps ensure the future success of non-profits by providing new skill sets to in-house employees

Dominic Schaefer

HR: A Big Difference for Small Business

www.hunt.ca Banquet patron sponsor

For great companies looking for talented people and skilled candidates looking for the perfect job. Suite 760-789 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC Hunt Personnel: 604 688 2555 Temporarily Yours: 604 689 8558

represented on the organizational chart of Mibroc’s website, showing where the expertise is and what they have access to. This expertise can be leveraged for future investments. This type of foot-in-thedoor consulting often takes place in the non-profit sector when charities can’t afford the full-time specialists they need. Rose Terzariol, vicepresident of Ketchum Canada Inc., a fundraising consultancy in Vancouver, works exclusively with not-for-profits that need some kind of expertise or service that is not provided in-house. She says that because the business of fundraising has changed and become more sophisticated, these organizations need someone with expertise in the short term for the duration of a campaign or initiative. “If they are doing a capital campaign and don’t have the resources internally to do it and they don’t want to hire because the campaign will be over in a year or two, we come in and provide more intensive counsel, whether it be two, three, four or five days a week,” said Terzariol. She also noted a trend she has seen in recent years toward not simply providing human capital on an asneeded basis, but creating long-lasting legacies within a specific non-profit. “We can come in and work with them intensively to help build their organization and leave employees with a specific skill set. So next campaign down the road they have that experience in house. We are working intensively to build capacity in the shorter term.” • jharrison@biv.com

Sponsored by BC HRMA HUMAN RESOURCES 17

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

HR Strategies

DENNIS WOLFF Why top talent continues to choose Vancouver

derNoah Jim Ry wen hO Alexander Sara Joh adja Ava n Ja eyN uniper alerieHan FélixArianneaBtrhen n n e t w O our enoardJ wenV dwickRobert mSony ianPat C L amesO oeCha ine J r OdessaCNhaerdyliLnieaNeishaaNEoraihnJElizabettihLPeestter ad ham lexis lor Mon ay Mia rica eterAllisonJody LorraineSu imNat er a A Gr es sonT rick s a P E i d llan salie MauriceSarahMarciLor anAmyMliaJo J d r a in Fre maAEmmaRo AdamFlorenceEmma an e u e n J og o o l s e m yr dJe lorenc Maria sNathanie Jessica E hua eToddS rray m T f i s a F an ma tal elle ric L an h an As liss li Yo h e ho abri duardoLeonardoOwe a iam Crysta l

gory Gre

el en

na lDon Sandra JanetlK a Caro Donn iciaM

alieh

Hea the r

ril

aitlynE mily Jack Jess icaJi m

Nic

iz El

Patricia L

Jen an

ara Barb inda

osh u

David T

aitlyn

RosalieJ Natha J adAe e n lexand Cam Cr erE illeG ys nLucCahseArlleyxanderJ ria

Ab iga ilK

iley

Ha an ff

LiamMichaelA

ney ourt

rystal

M a am

ielaA

nE atherLillyCo N Al a bertHe Gaburrtney

ayAg tr ra illia W lSand e u entSallyPa JunePhill nesStanl i e p o y Car naldS orVinc edro Ava d P C ricaSamantha Ti

Noah miliano lixKaitl yn

a o sic R ndaAndrea es dJ Am a

nT L Alex om nEthan anderW iamL as la i L og a o l l mmedAnd Moha reaStep iamOw ganEthEmilySaNat n Li e ha nieM nJack anN m aur ice Ryan oah Oliv lorencdedEmma F e ie o J in T s d i l l a e a lex naAlanisIsab Emma uliett Jos rT

illiamOwe

Jos hu a

Leon usanV a t ard inc h e JaquelineJo Crys oAva entS ew d ta Ow an A aJ ckRyanAlejandroyE lFé e dr

asAlex hristopherA a

Emma

Kim ber

rdZoe

JulianneHe

ha eben The o

Sim on

m Em kaMiaOlivia

leMa i

icha

MichaelnMdraickSim Ro ly pn

a res

lejand

OliviaSandraYola

uric

NathanJosh

EricaSamanthaNadineJohn

Lily

CrystalL

ieM a

rice

iaK aler

e Nath

Sa m

an aAll ssic

all

S om

EllahaelGregamCirlaaCigSaammantha i

ndreaStephanieM

eC am ille Gabr iel

Fél ix

JimTimothySandraYolan JackR d iaChloeMadis Soph yJeanM on V Mia

ammed A

iett

nLuc

nM oh

JadeJul

xa nde r

Owe

Cry sta l

Allan

Rosalie

aMia M a ik

oE lian mi ey ll e h S

Clay

ick Er tha

EmmaRosa lie

In her career as an HR professional, Sabeeha Pardhan, now HR manager at Molson Coors Canada, would routinely connect new hires with real estate agents, invite potential candidates to events in Vancouver and offer assistance in finding work for their spouses. “You really have to spend time with them to find out what they want,” Pardhan said, recalling situations where new hires were offered regular flights home and exceptions were allowed to vacation and education reimbursement policies. In one case, a paid golf club membership did the trick, registered as a taxable benefit. Other than meeting candidates’ unique needs, some companies have understood that building extraordinarily strong corporate brands can withstand the challenges of a place where many think only the rich can afford to buy. Lululemon is a great example.

le nA

– Stephanie Corker-Irwin, head of recruitment, Lululemon

an Sus

Floren ce

beautiful experiences

antha S am

who will embrace the here in Vancouver”

m Willia

nA caThe ya Moni

lifestyle, but rather

Jermaine Chlo Allan

sica ntha ma landaJeslleyJimTimothySean o Y d a r n a Sa S y SimoneJoeLily She th Lucas mo Ti resaNathanEmm e h T n a y R ter Jack iaOliviaSusan ShivaA a Hu n kansha aM gan o M a ik OliviaRosalie L Sally w abrielle uelKaren e t H e e a therCindy mJermain MatkRyanG TillyTo Sam ahLewis c

mR ce u Willia FlorenEmilianoLiamLoganEthRauntNhoahAlexand o e

to replicate their NYC

Dennis Wolff is a recruiter with Futurestep, a Korn/Ferry company. Futurestep’s solutions range from recruitment process outsourcing to talent acquisition consulting, project-based recruitment and mid-level recruitment (www.futurestep. com). He can be contacted at dennis.wolff@futurestep.com and 604-609-5151.

i c a ey J e s s Pierre Jo eJim

ndreaS t e

for people who want

have two choices: they can complain about how the housing market prevents them from recruiting top people to Vancouver or they can start to think what unique value they can offer to meet their employees’ non-financial needs. Which option will your company pick? •

however, is their brand as employers of choice. Companies like Lululemon know exactly who fits their culture. They have mastered the art of attracting the right talent by focusing on all the things that truly matter to their people outside of basic monetary needs. In this market, employers

u ria S

“We are not looking

The same goes for organizations such as the BC Cancer Foundation, which is known as one of the top fundraising organizations in the province. Vancouver’s hot housing market and high cost of living is a reality companies have little control over. What they are in control of,

Jennifer Ma

him they would much rather live in a society that values inclusivity and has a strong social culture. That said, Perez is still cognizant of the fact that financial concerns are a reality for hiring managers looking to bring people to Vancouver. But if companies can’t ease the pain by maxing out their budgets and paying newcomers top dollars, what else can employers do? Perez suggests that recruiting managers are forced to really understand their candidates much better. “This is a great opportunity for companies to see what else they can do to accommodate their candidates’ personal and family needs.”

a Eth

n the story “Home truths hurt talent search” (issue 1127; May 31-June 6), several executive recruiters warned that Vancouver-based employers lose out on recruiting top talent due to our red-hot housing market and high cost of living. While this is true, there is also no denying the fact that a lot of people have deliberately chosen to make Vancouver their home, despite the challenges of the city’s affordability. When asked about the origin of applicants to the BC Cancer Foundation, Cindy Dopson, director of human resources, said that only 50% of all resumés actually come from B.C. A large number are being received from Alberta, followed by other provinces, mainly Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. On top of that, quite a few resumés come from the U.S. When screening those applicants, it turns out that most of them are keenly aware of what they are getting themselves into. To avoid surprises later on, recruiters at Lululemon Athletica cover the home truths right off the bat. Most importantly, though, they stress what still makes Vancouver such a desirable place to move to. “We tell them, ‘Yes, your place will likely be smaller, but it might only be a few blocks away from the ocean. Your commute might be 10 minutes by ferry as opposed to two hours in traffic. Thirty minutes and you’re in the mountains,’” said Stephanie Corker-Irwin, head of recruitment at Lululemon. All this is part of a welldeveloped recruitment strategy as the company purposefully looks to hire people who embrace the West Coast lifestyle, which is also part of Lululemon’s corporate culture, states Corker-Irwin. “We are not looking for people who want to replicate their NYC lifestyle, but rather who will embrace the beautiful experiences here in Vancouver.” Eric Perez, HR director at WorleyParsons, remembers discussions with candidates from places like Texas, where taxes and cost of living are substantially lower compared to Vancouver. Surprisingly, some have told

ab eth

rye

Ros llanErica Grego H e tima l Courtne e a n F J a a m r ieJennife y Peter atim BilianaZaraF Will iamJ u l i a S s Greg Jim yRdon e y Cosa er l o Jea b R ice nSamuelAl nde

Alexi sJ

anet

a Samanth

CamilleZara

YOUR BENEFIT PLAN SHOULD BE AS UNIQUE AS YOUR COMPANY’S IDENTITY. It’s your employees that make up the identity of your company. At TRG, we understand that no two companies or employees are alike. Their individual qualities, needs and goals make that identity unique. By rewarding and retaining your employees with a flexible and comprehensive benefits plan, you’re actually safeguarding the character and identity of the company itself. If you are looking for employee benefits or a retirement program specifically suited to you and your people, give us a call. Together we can build a program that’s sure to leave a distinct and lasting impression. For more information visit TRGGROUP.COM

18 Human Resources Sponsored by BC HRMA

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

Workplace solutions

Sandra Miles Attracting and managing temporary workers for tourism and hospitality

ith the constant ebb and flow of events, seasons and celebrations in hospitality and tourism sectors, “staffing up” at certain times of the year is critical, but often left to the bottom of the to-do list. Being on the front lines of staffing and employment, I am often approached for help with HR needs at a point of urgency or confusion about where to look, how to hire and how to manage temporary or seasonal workers. All of this at the risk of spoiling best-laid plans, events or promotions due to a lack of the right team to represent or execute effectively. There is no doubt about it – an essential ingredient of successful events, promotions or celebrations is the quality and management of the front-line staff. The importance of effective staffing strategy continues to grow within tourism and hospitality, as organizations discover that temp workers allow them to adjust easily and quickly to fluctuations and unexpected demands.

Staffing, especially on a temporary basis, however, can prove difficult due to the relatively short-term offer of employment. Based on the increasing demand for temporary workers that we are seeing through our employment agency, I have recognized that those in seasonal or event-based businesses such as hospitality and tourism could use some tried, tested and true tips for hiring and managing staff during those times where they are faced with the task of staffing up. First, determine the exact staffing requirement for your event or promotion and decide what percentage of the staff could be comprised of temporary workers. Can you bring in promotional staff, kitchen staff, administrative staff, etc., on a temporary-only basis? Will this actually save you time and money? Remember to expand your estimate number of temporary workers (particularly

Old School

event or promotional workers) by about 10% to account for no-shows, cancellations or unexpected issues.

Host an official orientation to communicate the details, goals, event branding, schedule and employee expectations to ensure smooth operation on event day or during peak season Next, focus on the basics and consider the style of your event, promotion or seasonal need as well as your overall brand. How can you work to ensure staffing will also reflect this vision or feel? This may be as simple as uniforms for temp workers or as complex as putting together a desired personality profile or attitude to look

Adler School

for in workers. Job descriptions provide clarity of mind for your management team and also for candidates. It is best that everyone be on the same page about expectations and duties from the outset. Even in a rush situation, time spent on a brief job description is well worth it. Descriptions should include responsibilities, tasks, expectations, hours of work (including any overtime), dress code and necessary experience for recruitment purposes. Noting these details ahead of time will save you time in the long run and serve to attract the best-fitting candidates. When examining the actual act of recruitment, staffing agencies can help delineate the line between temporary and permanent workers to avoid any legal issues. But ensure that you get to know the agency, its approach and culture, and allow it to do the same, acting as a joint employer to ensure a smooth working

relationship. Job boards or other recruitment methods should be adhered to using the same careful approach. Understand that even after you have rounded up job descriptions and posted the jobs or worked with a staffing agency to fill your temporary needs, your work in hiring and management is not complete. Particularly when time is an issue, we see companies hoping that employees will learn on the fly or jump into action as needed. It is better to be safe than sorry on this note and host an official orientation to communicate the details, goals, event branding, schedule and employee expectations to ensure smooth operation on event day or during peak season. Beyond orientation, some training for temporary staff may still be required. During training, ensure you include all employees (even your 10% overflow staff), no matter how skilled and experienced, to

Information Session Saturday, August 13th 1:00–2:30pm RSVP to vanadmissions@adler.edu

Leading Social Change

Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology Master of Arts in Organizational Psychology Master of Arts in Community Psychology

SUITE 1200 1090 WEST GEORGIA STREET VANCOUVER, BC V6E 3V7 604-482-5510 VANADMISSIONS@ADLER.EDU

Flexible weekend, day and evening formats and scholarships available.

Sandra Miles is president and CEO of Miles Employment Group and can be reached at sandra@miles.ca.

Western Canada top for relocation E

One-on-one dialogue is a start, but it’s not enough to tackle society’s most complex problems. Powerful solutions require multiple perspectives. That’s why the Adler School is training tomorrow’s psychology practitioners to bring more voices into the conversation. Apply today—and empower communities to speak up. adler.edu

ensure they can perform and meet your company or rolespecific needs. Provide temporary staff with as much structure as possible. Tools such as timesheets to document hours and checkout times provide materials for your records but also help keep staff organized, accountable and on track. Where possible, assign in-house managers to ensure workers are fulfilling specified job duties. Peak season and special events in tourism and hospitality can be a trying time. All of the moving parts necessary to produce a memorable celebration or meet the demands of a certain time of year can be overwhelming. Easing the pain, implementing structure and ensuring smooth presentation of your brand can be executed through temporary staffing. •

mployees and their families are far more likely to move to Western Canada than to other areas of the country, according to a survey released by the Canadian Employee Relocation Council (CERC). According to CERC CEO Stephen Cryne, “Those numbers are expected to grow as employment activity picks up in the oil and gas and natural resources sectors, particularly in Western Canada.” On the international front, survey results also found that Canadian firms are assigning employees around the globe in increasing numbers. The top five destinations are the U.S., the EU, China, Australia and South America. The survey included several B.C.-based organizations with operations in Canada, such as the BC Government, UBC and organizations with international activities such as Methanex Corp. and QLT Inc. For organizations moving people to B.C. – and typically Vancouver – housing costs were cited as a major concern for transferring employees, followed by concerns about spousal career issues.

Stephen Cryne, CEO, Canadian Employee Relocation Council: the typical profile of a transferee is a married professional

W hile t he recession has impacted the number of people companies have moved since 2009, there’s little doubt that volumes will strengthen with the business cycle. The survey found that employers have a far more optimistic outlook than they did in the 2009 survey published by CERC. Over the next year, 25% of firms responding to the survey expect relocation volumes in Canada to grow, 20% expect activity between Canada and the U.S. to grow and 40% expect international moves to increase over the next year. Other key findings in the

survey continue to show that spousal and family issues are the most likely reason why an employee will reject a transfer. Not surprising, with the continued growth of two income households in Canada. “The typical profile for a transferee is a married professional in that 26 to 40 age range earning about $95,000,” said Cryne. “It’s very likely that the spouse is also a professional with similar income and so decisions to move are made as a family unit. The spouse is very likely to ask, ‘What does the move mean for my career and what are the options?’” The average cost to relocate an employee in Canada is in the $57,000 range, although some organizations shell out twice that much. The average cost of a move between Canada and the U.S. is in the neighbourhood of $77,000 and can be more like $150,000. For international transfers the average cost is about $97,000. CERC (www.cerc.ca) is a not-for-profit association that represents the interests of leading organizations across Canada that relocate their employees for employment purposes. •

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Accounting firms turn to peddling advice as new business growth area Consolidation continues among smaller firms in the province

dvice is a growing business for B.C.’s largest accounting firms. Based on staffing figures provided by the biggest companies, the total number of advisory staff has increased 23% over the past year alone. Deloitte & Touche LLP, MNP LLP and Ernst and Young LLP were among the largest firms with growing advisory staff in the past year. Mackenzie Kyle, regional managing partner for advisory services at MNP, said many accounting companies are trying to capitalize on the opportunities to expand their range of services to complement accounting and tax-related services. MNP has been aggressively expanding its expertise and geographic reach over the past three years by merging with a dozen different firms across the country. Nearly half have been

Percentage of advisory staff in B.C. accounting firms growing Advisory staff 12%

Accounting staff 69%

Mackenzie Kyle, MNP regional managing partner of advisory services: accounting companies are trying to capitalize on opportunities to expand their range of services

5,600

“There are tonnes of opportunities outside of the accounting firms if you have your CA. They fill the finance groups of a lot of companies out there.” •

5,500

rchu@biv.com

Source: BIV research

Total staff numbers up slightly 5,700

5,400 5,300 5,200 5,100

“There are tonnes of

5,000

opportunities outside

4,800

of the accounting firms if you have your CA” – Roopa Dave, manager of talent attraction, KPMG

advisory-focused mergers, although its three Lower Mainland mergers were primarily accounting practices. In April, it merged with Vancouver’s Chang Lee LLP; last November, it merged with Richmond’s Doug Wootton CA; and in January 2010, it closed the merger with HLB Cinnamon Jang Willoughby. While mergers bring in new clients, Kyle noted that the expanded range of services from those mergers has also contributed to the firm’s organic growth, “because we now can provide clients with more services.” Despite the growth in advisory services, audit and tax services remain the bread-and-butter business for B.C.’s largest accounting firms. On average 70% of the staff from the top 23 firms

A Certified Credit Professional (CCP) can help your business distinguish the good apples from the bad

Support staff 19%

($ millions)

By Richard Chu

4,900 4,700

2008

2009

2010

2011

Source: BIV research

but any decline in staff could are accounting-focused. However, the number of also be due to professionals accountants at the largest taking advantage of privatefirms has remained rela- sector opportunities as the tively flat over the past few economy improves. Roopa Dave, manager of years. Total accounting staff of talent attraction at KPMG, the largest 23 has hovered said that while many new around 4,000 for the past chartered accountants (CAs) grow within the firm, some three years. choose OF to leave public pracHiring at some firms has THE MARK dropped since the recession, tice.

PROFESSIONALISM

When you seek an uncompromising commitment to clients’ financial interests and demonstrable dedication to the investment industry, look no further than the CFA® designation.

THE MARK OF PROFESSIONALISM This gold standard credential is recognized When you seek an uncompromising commitment around the world for professional mastery, a to clients’ financial interests and demonstrable to excel, and a deep and abiding dedication tomotivation the investment industry, look no devotion to the integrity of the investment further than the CFA® designation. profession.

This gold standard credential is recognized around the world for mastery, ainmotivation Toprofessional find CFA charterholders the Vancouver to excel, andarea a deep and abiding devotion to the and to learn more about the CFA integrity of designation, the investment profession. visit www.cfavancouver.com. To learn more about the CFA designation, visit www.cfavancouver.com. ETHICS TENACITY RIGOUR ANALYTICS

If your Credit Manager isn’t a Certified Credit Professional (CCP) they should be.

bc@creditedu.org www.creditedu.org

888.447.3324

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

Biggest accounting firms in B.C. Ranked by number of staff in B.C. in 2011 Year No. of B.C. locations/ founded National head office

Rank 2011 Rank 2010

Company

KPMG LLP

$1.1 bil.

Elio Luongo, managing 128 partner

223

777

145

1,149 1,143

1912

2/ Toronto

764/ 154

$1.1 bil.

John DeLucchi, managing partner, B.C. 79 region

152

586

124

862 853

1845

3/ Toronto

670/ 140

$1.5 bil.

Paul Fletcher, managing partner

143

496

221

860 811

1945

15/ Calgary

0/ 1

$313.6 mil.

Ron Miller, regional managing partner, Vancouver region

122

251

427 430

1945

1/ Toronto

700/ 140

Fiona Macfarlane, managing partner

302

422 412

1921

13/ Toronto

1,138/ 110

$393 mil.

Don de Jersey, Vancouver office managing partner

313

412 407

1919

4/ Toronto

489/ 93

Dave Rickards, managing partner

182

267 275

1952

2/ Vancouver

384/ 89

$19.3 mil.

Michael Corney, managing partner

121

142 131

1969

3/ Vancouver

0/ 1

$39 mil.

Hugh Livingstone, CEO 23

111

135 128

1978

3/ Vancouver

0/ 1

James Carr-Hilton, managing director

1283 128

4/ Vancouver

245/ 125

Larry Vicic, managing partner

128 109

1973

2/ Surrey

300/ 86

Joint committee

105 99

1984

1/ Vancouver

590/ 100

Grant Block, partner

101 100

1962

1/ Vancouver

150/ 120

$12 mil.

John Smiley, managing 15 partner

82 92

1952

1/ Vancouver

0/ 1

Bruce Macfarlane, managing partner

77 74

1979

8/ Maple Ridge

0/ 1

$39.2 mil.

Paul Walker, president 13

72 81

1989

1/ Vancouver

0/ 1

$7.9 mil.

Patrick Mangan, managing partner

58 58

Rolfe, Benson LLP Chartered Accountants

1958

1/ Vancouver

467/ 89

Robert Watts, managing partner

53 48

Reid Hurst Nagy Inc, Certified General Accountants

1964

1/ Richmond

0/ 1

Leo VanWensem, managing director

39 41

1972

1/ Vancouver

200/ 90

Management by committee

34 35

NP/ Waterloo, ON

NP/ NP

Gordon Duff, managing 4 partner

34 34

1978

1/ Vancouver

NP/ 1

Kelly Lohn

30 30

2009

2/ Vancouver

0/ 1

$1.2 mil.

Mao Sun Jonathan Ronkai

16 9

1055 Dunsmuir St Suite 2800, Vancouver V7X 1P4 P: 604-669-4466 F: 604-685-0395 www.deloitte.ca

1055 Dunsmuir St Suite 2300, Vancouver V7X 1J1 P: 604-685-8408 F: 604-685-8594 www.mnp.ca

700 Georgia St W Suite 2300, Vancouver V7Y 1C7 P: 604-891-8200 F: 604-643-5422 www.ey.com

No. local No. Total no. Total no. Total partners support accountants advisory staff '11 staff '11 '11 staff '11 '11/'10

695/ 151

Local managing partner

9/ Toronto

National revenue '10

1897

No. of int'l offices/ Countries

777 Dunsmuir St, Vancouver V7Y 1K3 P: 604-691-3000 F: 604-691-3031 www.kpmg.ca

PwC1

250 Howe St Suite 700, Vancouver V6C 3S7 P: 604-806-7000 F: 604-806-7806 www.pwc.com/ca

Deloitte & Touche LLP MNP LLP2

Ernst & Young LLP

BDO Canada LLP

600 Cathedral Pl, 925 Georgia St W, Vancouver V6C 3L2 P: 604-688-5421 F: 604-688-5132 www.bdo.ca

Grant Thornton LLP

333 Seymour St Suite 1600, Vancouver V6B 0A4 P: 604-687-2711 F: 604-685-6569 www.grantthornton.ca

Manning Elliott LLP

1050 Pender St W Suite 1100, Vancouver V6E 3S7 P: 604-714-3600 F: 604-714-3669 www.manningelliott.com

MacKay LLP Chartered Accountants

1177 Hastings St W Suite 1100, Vancouver V6E 4T5 P: 604-687-4511 F: 604-687-5805 www.mackay.ca

Dale Matheson Carr-Hilton Labonte LLP

1140 Pender St W Suites 1500 & 1700, Vancouver V6E 4G1 P: 604-687-4747 F: 604-689-2778 www.dmcl.ca

Smythe Ratcliffe LLP

1980 355 Burrard St Suite 700, Vancouver V6C 2G8 P: 604-687-1231 F: 604-688-4675 www.smytheratcliffe.com

KNV Chartered Accountants LLP

15300 Croydon Dr Suite 200, Surrey V3S 0Z5 P: 604-536-7614 F: 604-538-5356 www.knv.com

Davidson & Company LLP

609 Granville St Suite 1200, Vancouver V7Y 1G6 P: 604-687-0947 F: 604-687-6172 www.davidson-co.com

Wolrige Mahon LLP Chartered Accountants

400 Burrard St Suite 900, Vancouver V6C 3B7 P: 604-684-6212 F: 604-688-3497 www.wolrigemahon.com

D&H Group LLP

1333 Broadway W Suite 1000, Vancouver V6H 4C1 P: 604-731-5881 F: 604-731-9923 www.dhgroup.ca

EPR Canada Group Inc

Box 21148, Maple Ridge V2X 1P7 P: 604-476-2009 F: 604-467-1219 www.epr.ca

Berris Mangan

1827 5th Ave W, Vancouver V6J 1P5 P: 604-682-8492 F: 604-683-4782 www.berrismangan.com

900 Hastings St W Suite 1400, Vancouver V6C 1E3 P: 604-684-1101 F: 604-684-7937 www.rolfebenson.com

13900 Maycrest Way Suite 105, Richmond V6V 3E2 P: 604-273-9338 F: 604-273-9390 www.rhncga.com

Nordahl Craig Cumming & Gares

1285 Broadway W Suite 512, Vancouver V6H 3X8 P: 604-736-2571 F: 604-736-4280 www.nordahl.bc.ca

Collins Barrow

1030 Georgia St W Suite 800, Vancouver V6E 3B9 P: 604-685-0564 F: 604-685-2050 www.collinsbarrow.com

Lohn Caulder LLP

1500 Georgia St W 3rd floor, Vancouver V6G 2Z6 P: 604-687-5444 F: 604-688-7228 www.lohncaulder.com

SunRonkai LLP

1188 Georgia St W Suite 1440, Vancouver V6E 4A2 P: 604-688-6191 F: 604-688-2052 www.sunronkai.com

Sources: Interviews with representatives of above firms and BIV research. NP Not provided NR Not ranked 1 - PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 2 - Formerly known as Meyers Norris Penny LLP 3 - 2010 figure

>Next week:

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

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

Get your assets in gear! 604-516-9379 inquiry@assetscanada.com

n Recent changes to accounting standards allow for a one time revaluation of your business assets. n Turn your company’s undervalued assets into performing assets. n Talk to your accountant and then CALL US.

Our business is appraising business assets. And we know what they’re really worth.

• ENHANCE YOUR BALANCE SHEET • ACCESS NEW CAPITAL • GAIN COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver Daily email edition: www.biv.com

Customized solutions The right fit Deloitte works with you to get the results you want with strong, innovative ideas and practical strategies for any business venture. As the largest private professional services ﬁrm in the world, named one of Canada’s Best Workplaces for 2011 by the Great Places to Work Institute, we offer over 40 services including, corporate social responsibility, consulting, private company advice and inbound/outbound Chinese investment guidance, in addition to tax, audit, accounting and ﬁnancial advisory services. No matter what you need, our professionals are here to help. For more information on how we can help you reach your business goals, contact Paul Fletcher, Managing Partner, at 604-669-4466 or visit www.deloitte.ca.

Law

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

Partners Podium

Karl Gustafson Possible pitfalls of offering warranties in British Columbia

ompanies that offer warranties as part of their product and services packages may be surprised to learn that they are actually selling insurance, as that term is broadly defined in British Columbia’s Financial Institutions Act. This is particularly alarming when one considers that it is an offence under the act to sell insurance without authorization – an offence that can lead to fines of up to $200,000. Therefore, it is crucial to fully consider any warranty offering to determine whether it falls within a permitted exception under the act and, if not, to consider the potential consequences of failing to obtain the appropriate authorizations and licences required for the sale of “insurance.” Warranty or insurance? The act contains a broad definition of “insurance business,” which includes “undertaking … to indemnify another person against loss or liability for loss in respect of a certain risk or peril to which the object of the insurance may be exposed.” It is easy to see how a warranty might be caught by this definition since, in essence, a warranty is an assurance to replace or repair a good, or to indemnify in the case that goods or services result in some loss to the purchaser.

While one does not commonly think of warranties and insurance as interchangeable, the act treats them that way in many circumstances. Under Section 75 of the act, in order to carry on “insurance business,” a company must be an “insurance company” (usually meaning a corporation incorporated for the purpose of carrying on insurance business). Further, Section 59 provides that an “insurance company must not carry on insurance business unless authorized to do so by a business authorization” issued to it under the act. The requirement to obtain a business authorization to carry on insurance business applies to companies located in British Columbia, as well as companies from other provinces that offer warranties in British Columbia. The process of obtaining the necessary business authorization to carry on “insurance business” is likely more involved and restrictive than those in which most companies offering warranties would be willing to engage. For instance, the act requires that insurance companies maintain both adequate liquid assets and capital base. What constitutes “adequate” is determined by reference to “the class of business that it proposes to carry

SAVE THE DATE! October 19, 2011 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm A Fun, Sassy, but Classy event in support of KIDS UP FRONT

Rocky Mountaineer Station • Unique golf & spa event • 14 fun Activity Stations • Silent/Live Auction • 3 course sit down dinner

on, the expected volume of its business and the restrictions on its business.” Further, the Insurance Company Reserves Valuation Regulation contains certain reserves requirements that not all warranty-offering companies may be willing or able to meet. Finally, it may also be important to remember that the Financial Institutions Commission may order in-depth investigation and disclosure, further complicating the process. Some exemptions Thankfully, the Insurer Exemption Regulation contains exemptions that provide relief, but only in certain circumstances. The two most important exemptions apply to “product warranty

insurance” and “vehicle warranty insurance.” Under the act, “product warranty insurance” is defined as “insurance … against loss of or damage to personal property, other than a motor vehicle, that is contracted between the purchaser of the property and an insurer whereby the insurer undertakes for a specific period to assume the cost of repairs or replacement.” “Vehicle warranty insurance” is defined as “insurance … against loss of or damage to a motor vehicle arising from mechanical failure, that is contracted between the purchaser of the motor vehicle and an insurer whereby the insurer undertakes for a specific period to assume the cost of repairs or replacement, towing fees, car rentals and accommodation as a result of a covered mechanical failure.” The first main limitation on these exemptions is that the sale of the warranty must be “solely incidental to the sale

of the vehicle or product by the manufacturer or retailer” (see Section 4 of the regulation). This prevents a third party from offering warranties on products or vehicles without first obtaining a business authorization to do so.

the Vancouver Police Department. It is alleged that Ronald (and to a lesser extent Ella) solicited over a million dollars from 21 different investors between July of 2008 and September of 2010. As a result, Ronald is charged with 119 counts under the Securities Act and 15 counts under the Criminal Code. Ella is charged with five counts under the Securities Act and one count under the Criminal Code. This is the third arrest for Ronald and the second arrest for Ella related to illegal trading in the securities of Follicles, a company involved in the manufacture of a hairrestoration device. Ronald was first charged, arrested and released on bail in May of 2010. Ronald and Ella were then together charged, arrested and released on

bail in October of 2010. These previous arrests stemmed from 20 charges against Ronald and four charges against Ella. Ronald was also sanctioned by the BCSC under the Securities Act in 1997 for his then involvement with a company called Mindoro Corp. As a result of these proceedings, Ronald received a 15-year trading ban and a $50,000 fine. Since the arrests, Ella has been released on bail, while Ronald remains in custody awaiting completion of his bail hearing.

DISCIPLINE •

The British Columbia Securities Commission

Two individuals were arrested following an extensive investigation by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC)’s criminal investigations team, the regulator announced July 8. Arrest warrants were issued for Ronald James Conn and his wife, Sze Man “Ella” Conn, on June 28, 2011. The warrant was in connection with multiple charges under the Securities Act and criminal code, including unlawful trading, fraud and breach of previously imposed bail conditions. The Conns were arrested outside a residence in Vancouver by members of the BCSC’s criminal investigations team, with assistance from

Consultant! le

fi Reader Pro

Please join us at Vancouver’s most fun fundraiser!

Brenda n Crompto

Read the Subscriber Profile in every BIV issue

and BuSineSS ConSultant Ct, Speaker ite ViSion arCh

designed, : Facilitated, ems l Background s syst Professiona lopment core busines ple, deve utilizing peo and led the problems by s 20 years for ines than e bus for mor to solve nitus Busine technology Name: Infi processes and sizes. ganization Business/Or ices Inc. of all ies ses pan ines com Serv bus Enterprise y: Leading ugh FF us/Specialt thro ourite stu Business Foc iencies and profits ng and entation, and Fav ts: Deliveri effic in creating ning, effective implem and led the Achievemen Online on time and t Favourite te their strategic plan gy. I won the contrac if you are ng Corpora rnment met so implementi rd nolo re the gove ensu use of tech of Corporate Online, you are a to Premier’s Awa p t or on budget, achieving the and developmen and operating in BC get for Kids Hel em bud s the syst ing money d balanced . llence. Rais incorporate yer, your company use ernment Year Exce the ice of r ntee law for Serv the gov corporate eve their to report to achieving Volu ed achi and to ne elop rs Pho epreneu ing my team dev challenge Entr help them Stop Leak is summed Goals: To every year. advantage ctives and to antage: Our ing Money: business obje Business Adv of our new book Leak estate, tomers and title Money. Business, real pets. up with the ness is Losing Money, Cus e, Interests: Passions and g, kiteboarding, fine win How Your Busi How To Stop It. s and t, Michael economy, skiin Opportunitie The Go Poin d, Author: www.iesi.ca Current Rea Website: eves on who beli Useem hy: The pers I Admire/W start a business and is Foundation Someone on to mpt ugh Cro eno da self because they assistance in him/her Name: Bren ugh to seek da@iesi.ca ant and confident eno answers. E-mail: bren e: Consult the /Titl my all to ition te /Pos don’t have I would invi e, Occupation ct, Speaker in (of all time) Eckhart Toll on Archite blind spots Five people Campbell, Business Visi see past the ering: Kim ld, Betty White, Stephen I help people the possibilities that the dinner gath What I do: to la Rochefoucau s, through François de in their busines ts for them. g constant of thin esen g ity Kin only repr vers e re “Th futu ics, Uni or Motto: hefoucauld g process, : B.A. Econom Business Tip is de la Roc Credentials nsive experience in usin ologies to ge” ~Franço hod life is chan Waterloo, exte ect, and analysis met workflow, proj business challenges. ld solve real wor

ibers subscr

ss lines

Help change a child’s Life Since 2004, Kids Up Front has provided arts, culture, sports and recreation to local kids in need.

The BIV Media Group is proud to help!

You could be next! For more info: profiles@biv.com

See you in print and online biv.com

on, print! to profile. For considerati ver pays off. See you in s in Vancou scriber that Busines pick a sub

one little ticket, one big lift!

for damage caused to or by anything other than what the company sold is “insurance” Second, both definitions limit potential recovery to replacement or repairs respecting the product or vehicle sold to the customer. Therefore, any offer to indemnify for damage caused to or by anything other than what the company sold is “insurance.” Third, but perhaps least harmful, is that both definitions require the warranty to last only for a “specific

Karl E. Gustafson, QC*, is a partner at McMillan LLP’s Vancouver office. This article was prepared with contributions from Lorway Gosse Jr., an associate in McMillan’s Calgary office. * - Law Corporation

Trouble

BIV readers solve business problems.

Tickets: kidsupfrontvancouver.com or call: 604 266 5437

Any offer to indemnify

period,” essentially preventing lifetime warranties. In this competitive economic climate, it is important for companies to differentiate themselves in any way they can, and a common technique to do this is to offer a warranty to pay for damage caused to or by its products and services. However, companies must be wary of the pitfalls of offering warranties because of the broad scope of the Financial Institutions Act and the limited scope of the exemptions. Because of the potentially onerous fines, it is prudent for any company considering offering a warranty to consult with the regulator or seek legal advice to ensure compliance with the act. •

way we Each week s@biv.com. Another email profile

Click the Subscriber Profiles link

BUYER’S ALERT Companies listed below,

which are not members of the Better Business Bureau, have failed to respond, as of March 18, 2011, to Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C.’s efforts to mediate complaints from June 27, 2011 to July 01, 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. Alberto Moving Express, Delta Eaton’s Commercial & Residential Services Ltd., Burnaby Holiday Trails Resorts Western Inc., Rosedale Jordan Autobody Ltd., Burnaby Katayoon Roohani Notary Public, North Vancouver Kid Supply Clothing Co.,

Richmond Memory Express, Richmond My Next Paycheck, Vancouver Odenza Marketing Group Inc., Burnaby Valley Mobile Mechanic, West Kelowna The following companies have responded to the BBB subsequent to being published: Action Care Carpet & Furnace Cleaning, Coquitlam

Who’s Getting Sued These corporate writs were

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: The Authentic T-Shirt Co. ULC dba Sanmar Canada 1600–925 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Plaintiff: 0726364 B.C. Ltd. 1200–925 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Claim: $1,263,796 for debt related to a shareholder loan. Defendants: Sze Coast Operating Corp. and Robert Lowrey aka Robert Edwin Lowrey and David Lowrey and Rebecca Lowrey and Evelyn Neufeld 37–21928 48 Ave., Langley and 4691 224th St., Langley Plaintiff: Roy M. Terry Jr., receiver of International Fiduciary Corp. S.A. 1100–505 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: US$835,744 against Robert Lowrey and

Law 23

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Trouble Lawsuit of the week

Wedding garland behind tumble, lawsuit A “hazardous” wedding garland and the people allegedly responsible for it are at the heart of a lawsuit launched by a Surrey insurance agent. Kulwinder Kaur Tatla filed suit in B.C. Supreme Court May 11 seeking damages and health-care costs after a wedding garland allegedly caused her to slip and fall at a wedding. Named as defendants are: GKN Enterprises (2004) Ltd., Mirage Banquet Hall Ltd., Moore Wedding Centre Ltd. and Satwinder Gakal. The suit alleges that the incident occurred August 8, 2010, when Tatla was an invited guest at a wedding reception. It states that at approximately 10:20 p.m., as Tatla was in the process of leaving the reception premises, her foot became entangled in a “decorative wedding garland” which was laying on the floor at the top of a staircase. The suit claims that she then slipped and fell down the stairs and sustained “serious harm and injuries” including: shoulder, neck, back, head, arm and leg injuries; headaches; sleep loss; chronic pain; loss of appetite; bruises; and physical disability. The claim states that at the time of the plaintiff’s fall and at all times material to the claim, “the wedding garland was loosely laying on the ground at the top of the stairs at one end and was tied to the banister of the railing descending down the stairs at the other end, creating a trap or hazard for pedestrians, including the plaintiff.” The suit argues that the defendants owed Tatla a duty of care and that they breached that duty. It also cites the Occupiers Liability Act and the Negligence Act. At press time, no statement of defence had been filed. None of these allegations have been proven in court.

Sze related to a ponzi scheme; a declaration the payments were fraudulent conveyances and are void; a declaration Rebecca Lowrey, David Lowrey and Evelyn Neufeld hold the payments as constructive trustees; accountings; and an order. Defendants: Wiltech Developments Inc. and Trisura Guarantee Insurance Co. 202–1433 St. Paul St., Kelowna and Box 48600, 1200 Waterfront Centre, 200 Burrard St., Vancouver Plaintiff: South Cariboo Ventures Ltd. 6993 Levick Rd., Lone Butte Claim: $249,981 for debt arising from a subcontract to crush and supply granular material from a pit; and damages. Defendants: Becker Galleries Inc. and D. Michele Becker 112 E. 42nd Ave., Vancouver and 5757 Dunbar St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Johnston Allen Properties Ltd. 1100–505 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: $176,864 for outstanding rent due and owing; $58,719 for rent; $145,403 for a loan; and damages for breach of the sublease. Defendants: International Road Technologies Inc. and Graham Bradley Gilfillan 300–180 Seymour St., Kamloops and 26–1104 Quail Dr., Kamloops and 1A–1445 McGill Rd., Kamloops Plaintiff: Royal Bank of Canada 3rd floor, 650 W. 41st Ave., Vancouver Claim: $162,281 against International Road for debt; and $145,000 against Gilfillan as guarantor of the debt. Defendants: Jameson House Ventures Ltd. and Jameson House

Properties Ltd. and Jameson Development Corp. and Bosa Properties Inc. and Bosa Properties (J.H.) Inc. and Bosa Properties (J.H. Mgr) Inc. and Axiom Builders Inc. and James Holdings Ltd. and The Bowra Group Inc. and Trustee of the Estate of Advanced Glazing Systems Ltd., bankrupt 920–1055 W. Hastings St., Vancouver and 7–3349 Kingsway, Vancouver and 1800–4555 Kingsway St., Burnaby and 1802–4555 Kingsway St., Burnaby and 1930–1095 W. Pender St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Advanced Glazing Systems LLC 14580 Northeast 95th St., Redmond, WA Claim: $US137,950 for labour and material for installation of glazing works on Jameson House; and a builders lien for $US137,950. Defendants: Apollo Muffler Centres Ltd. and Upstream Investments Ltd. and Ernesto Lopez, administrator of the estate of Frederick Nicholas Chernoff, deceased, and Ray Chernoff 371 W. 2nd Ave., Vancouver and 1550–520 5th Ave., Vancouver Plaintiff: Watson Goepel Maledy 1700–1075 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Claim: $75,909 for debt for legal services; a declaration of a charge, pursuant to the Legal Profession Act, for $75,906 against the property the clients recovered or preserved as a result of the services the plaintiff provided in legal proceedings; and all necessary directions for the purpose of realizing and enforcing the charge. Defendants: Almaval Building Inc. and Jeffrey Karl Wiegel and 0772835 B.C. Ltd. 200–5611 Cooney Rd., Richmond and 102–225 Smithe St., Vancouver and 200–5611 Cooney Rd.,

Richmond Plaintiff: 0734148 B.C. Ltd. 3410 Lynmoor Pl., Vancouver Claim: $64,134 for a promissory note; and orders. Defendant: Kendall Kemp trading as Pinnacle Custom Wood Finishing 34546 York Ave., Abbotsford Plaintiff: The Bank of Nova Scotia 2900–550 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: $63,639 for debt related to a line of credit. Defendant: William Houghton Address unavailable Plaintiff: Anson Industrial Manufacturing (1989) Corp. 7392 Progress Pl., Delta Claim: $61,189 for wrongful appropriation of money; and damages. Defendants: Christian Brule aka Joseph Brule and Chris Brule coba Stockprophet Investments and Stockprophet Investments Inc. 974 Montroyal Blvd., North Vancouver and 1507–1185 Quayside Dr., New Westminster Plaintiff: Jon Lever 2080–777 Hornby St., Vancouver Claim: $35,446 for debt related to outstanding loans; and damages. Defendant: Connex See Services Inc. 70 Valleywood Dr., Markham, ON Plaintiff: Pensionfund Realty Ltd. 1200–200 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: $19,237 for debt related to a lease; and damages. Defendants: M. Jorjezian Investments Corp. and Martiross Jorjezian aka Martiross Sarvarian and Ardineh Sarvarian and Imor Capital Corp. and Envision Financial, a division of First West

Coast Credit Union, and Amarpaul Singh Dhaliwal and Ly Sok and Harji’s Fire Pl. Manufacturing Ltd. aka Marji’s Fireplace Mfg. Ltd. and Varoujan Basmadjian and YCO Corp. Investments Ltd. and Vancity Cabinets Ltd. 220–7565 King George Hwy., Surrey and 503–1311 Howe St., Vancouver and 2165 123 St., Surrey and 220–1040 W. Georgia St., Vancouver and 6470 201 St., Langley and 10325 150St., Surrey and 25th floor, 700 W. Georgia St., Vancouver and 12386 69A Ave., Surrey and 490–1177 W. Hastings St., Vancouver and 1900–1040 W. Georgia St., Vancouver and 205–8388 128 St., Surrey Plaintiff: Dulay Roofing Ltd. 12565 69A Ave., Surrey Claim: $3,225 for roofing; and a builders lien for $3,225. Defendants: Sam Ventures Ltd. and Anwer Lalani and Grace An 1300–999 W. Hastings St., Vancouver and 101– 1871 Marine Dr., West Vancouver and address unknown Plaintiffs: 658140 B.C. Ltd. and Dr. Karim Lalani 700–595 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: A declaration that Anwer and Sam Ventures did not have the authority to sell the property, arising from a previous agreement for Lalani to purchase the property; and orders. Defendant: Ronald Herbert Mitchell dba Ron Mitchell Trucking Leasing (2004) Inc. 9430 204th St., Langley Plaintiff: Equirex Vehicle Leasing (2004) Inc. 1800–1095 W. Pender St., Vancouver Claim: Judgment for the amounts due under the lease agreement, arising from breach of contract. Defendants: Wendy Joan Harvey and Douglas Michael Edgar 102–5555 Yew St., Vancouver Plaintiff: The Owners, Strata Plan VR 390 5555 Yew St., Vancouver Claim: Damages arising from interference with remedial work, resulting in delays and extra expenses. Defendants: Intercity Equity Corp. dba Leaders Insurance Agencies and Rosa Pinto and Economical Mutual Insurance Co. 1200–805 W. Broadway, Vancouver and 1000–840 Howe St., Vancouver and 106–3003 St. Johns St., Port Moody Plaintiff: Diem Thi Kieu Tran dba Four Seasons Nails and Spa 3081 Clark Dr., Vancouver Claim: Judgment against Economical for breach of an insurance contract in connection with a fire; judgment against Leaders

and Pinto for failing to exercise the care that a reasonable insurance broker would exercise in selling or brokering a policy of insurance for the plaintiff, or, judgment against Leaders and Pinto for breach of contract.

by aiding, abetting, assisting, encouraging or authorizing the wrongful conduct of the hackers, have infringed Nexon’s copyright in the MapleStory Program; and/ or injunctions; and/or an order; and/or damages.

Defendant: The Owners, Strata Plan LMS1751 688 Fairchild Rd., Vancouver Plaintiff: Bo Suen Leung Fung A111–688 Fairchild Rd., Vancouver Claim: Injunctive relief requiring that the corporation restore the original lock for the unit, arising from The Owners entering Fung’s unit and changing the locks; and/or, damages or compensation.

Defendants: Coby Electronics Corp. and London Drugs Ltd. 301–1991 Marcus Ave., Lake Success, NY and 3000–1055 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Douglas Fisher and Michelle Fisher 18252 69 Ave., Surrey Claim: Damages for a portable DVD player that caught on fire and caused damage.

Defendants: The Owners, Strata Plan BCS 2196 and Stratawest Management Ltd. 2355 Madison Ave., Burnaby and 202–224 West Esplanade, North Vancouver Plaintiff: Rosalind Chang 307–6330 Fraser St., Vancouver Claim: Damages for injuries sustained when the plaintiff opened a door leading to the parking lot on the property and her left big toe got caught under a low security panel at the bottom of the door; and health-care costs. Defendants: Francisco Dias dba Frantech Solutions and the said Frantech Solutions and John Doe and Jane Roe and other persons unknown who have conspired with the named defendants Addresses unavailable Plaintiff: Nexon Korea Corp. 1200–200 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: A declaration that copyright subsists in the MapleStory Program and that the copyright is valid and owned by Nexon, arising from hackers infringing Nexon’s copyright in the program; a declaration that the hackers have infringed Nexon’s copyright in the MapleStory Program; a declaration that the defendants,

Defendant: Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd. 1200–200 Burrard St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Jody Trainer 2020–650 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Claim: Damages for lacerations to the left eye that were the result of a beer bottle that exploded. Defendants: Island Veterinary Hospital Ltd. and Central Victoria Veterinary Hospital Ltd. and Patricia Rosenstein and Suzanne Smith and Lana Bissett and Sally Moore and John McCleary and Blair Gurney 2010–1055 W. Georgia St., Vancouver and 800–1070 Douglas St., Victoria and 760 Roderick St., Victoria Plaintiff: Robert Anderson 700–595 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: Damages for negligence related to an operation performed on a cat that resulted in death. Defendant: Pakit Inc. 1300–777 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Craig Barton and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. 2600–595 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: A declaration the security interests granted under the debentures are interests charged against the property related to debentures in default; and a declaration the security interests are charged against the property. •

Your Central City law ﬁrm, in Surrey.

MCQUARRIE.COM

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.

•Associations/ Societies

Jeremy Chan, corporate counsel of Methanex Corp., has been appointed president of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association, Vancouver section. Chris Hilliard, chair and managing director of MagPower Systems Inc., has been elected president of the Simon Fraser University Alumni Association. Maurice Poulin has been appointed president of the Insurance Brokers Association of BC. He owns Poulin Agencies. Beth McKercher has been appointed president of the Dunbar Village Business Association. She is proprietor of Splash Toys. Craig Wisehart has been appointed program director of the Electronic Stewardship Association of BC. He was previously on the board of directors of the BC Trucking Association and was on the advisory committee for the Trucking Safety Council of BC.

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

•Biotech/Life Sciences

Michael Aldridge has been appointed a director of Allon Therapeutics Inc., replacing Michael O’Brian ,who has retired. Aldridge is executive director and member of the board of Xenome Ltd.

•Communications/PR

Tamara Little has been appointed director, public affairs, at NATIONAL Public Relations. She was previously communications and government relations director for Partnerships BC and communications director to the Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Transportation and the Treaty Negotiations Office.

•Development/ Construction

Rolf Skala, Darrell Mott and Crystal Kwon have joined Kryton International Inc. as director of marketing; operations manager; and public relations co-ordinator, respectively. Skala was previously director of Brand Visioneering, group director, Canada, for YPartnership and group account director at DDB. Mott was previously the Vancouver operations manager for Vicwest Corp. Kwon is PR manager of Five Hole for Food and was previously PR manager for the Vancouver International Dance Festival.

•Education

John McKendry has been appointed acting president

Justine Greene appointed executive director, Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland

John McKendry is acting president of Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Nicholas Roos is associate at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin

Tamara Little is director, public affairs, at NATIONAL Public Relations

of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, replacing David Atkinson, who has resigned. McKend r y wa s pre v iously special adviser to the president of Kwantlen and provost and vice-president, academic, at the university.

Nicholas Roos and Kareen Zimmer have joined Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP as associate in the banking and finance practice and partner in the securities and M&A practice, respectively. Roos completed his articles at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Zimmer was previously with McCarthy Tetrault LLP.

appointed executive director of the Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland, replacing Shannon Newman-Bennett, who has stepped down. Greene was previously a contract operations professional with the Vancouver Foundation, InspireHealth and AIDS Vancouver.

ously president and CEO of Southern Rio Resources Ltd. Margo Peters has been appointed as the company’s corporate secretary, replacing Mark Achtemichuk, who remains as CFO and director. Peters is corporate secretary for the Progressive Exploration Group.

Brent Rentiers has joined Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP’s Kelowna office as an associate in the litigation group. He was called to the B.C. bar in 2011. Rina Jaswal has joined Miller Thomson LLP as associate in the capital markets and securities group. She was previously with Clark Wilson LLP.

Richard Lyon has been appointed COO of Bellhaven Copper & Gold Inc. He was previously executive director of Angola LNG and CEO and global projects director for Australian-American Energy Co.

Warren Johnstone has rejoined Gemcom Software International Inc. as vicepresident of global services. He was previously regional vice-president at Gemcom Africa and a mining analyst for Edison Investment Research.

Lindsay Bottomer has been appointed to the board of Driven Capital Corp. He is vice-president of business development for Entree Gold Inc. and was previ-

Guy Gi lron ha s been appointed vice-president, environment and community relations, at Cardero Resource Corp. He was previously director, environ-

•Finance

Keith Hill has been appointed director of Denovo Capital Corp. He is president and CEO of Africa Oil.

•Legal

David Claassen, Rahim Esmail, Krista Johanson, Cherie Mah, Robert Wallis and Maria Zeldis have joined Borden Ladner Gervais LLP as associates. Claassen, Esmail, Johanson, Wallis and Zeldis all completed their articles at BLG. Mah was an articling student at BLG Calgary.

•Not-for-Profit

Justine Greene has been

•Resources

Metro Vancouver BMW Retailers

vancouver retailers.bmw.ca

The Ultimate Driving Experience.®

2012 BMw X1 with sport package shown.

ThE all-nEW BMW x1 28i WiTh xDRiVE all-WhEEl DRiVE. PERfoRMancE WiThoUT coMPRoMisE. 6.5 l/100 kM highWay anD 10.2 l/100 kM ciTy.

ThE 2012 BMW x1 xDrive28i lease payMeNt

398

$ only UnTil aUgUsT 2.

$5,900 dOwN payMeNt

lease rate

4.9 48 MONtHs

no-chaRgE schEDUlED MainTEnancE 4 year / 80,000 km†

European model shown. Features and equipment may vary in Canada. MSRP of a 2012 BMW X1 xDrive28i All-Wheel Drive starts at $38,500. Lease rates are those offered by BMW Financial Services Canada only on approved credit (OAC). *Lease rate of 4.9% available for up to 48 months. Lease example based on $398 a month for 48 months. Down payment or equivalent trade of $5,900. Freight and PDI and other additional fees are extra and due on signing. HST and licence fee are extra. Total obligation is $25,021.76. The residual value of the vehicle at end of term is $18,480. Annual kilometres limited to 20,000; $0.15 per excess kilometre. Excess wear-and-tear charges may apply. Additional province-specific fees, taxes, and charges may be extra. Retailers are free to set individual prices and charge administration fees, which may change the APR or the price of the vehicle. Offer expires August 2, 2011. Delivery must be taken by August 2, 2011. Offer requires Retailer participation. Offer is subject to availability and may be cancelled or changed without notice. Certain conditions apply. See your local BMW Retailer or vancouverretailers.bmw.ca for full details. †Certain limitations apply; see Retailer for details. ©2011 BMW Canada Inc. “BMW”, the BMW logo, BMW model designations and all other BMW related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and/or trademarks of BMW AG, used under licence.

for the record 25

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

Brent Rentiers joins Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy’s Kelowna office as associate

Rolf Skala, Darrell Mott and Crystal Kwon join Kryton International as director of marketing; operations manager; and public relations co-ordinator, respectively

Lloyd Oppel, chair, BCMA Council on Health Promotion; Mark Schonfeld, CEO, BCMA; Laurie Forbes, vice-president of administration, Coastal Pacific Xpress; Sally McCarthy, people consultant, Coastal Pacific Xpress

Rina Jaswal has joined Miller Thomson as associate

Beth McKercher is president of the Dunbar Village Business Association

Don Mann, board chair, Canadian Diabetes Association; John Orr, assistant vice-president, B.C. south, CN; and Dan Sibley, vicepresident, human resources, CN

Patricia St. Laurent, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation; Chris Parker, Osoyoos Volunteer Fire Department; and Kara George, burn plastic and trauma unit at Vancouver General Hospital

mental science, for Teck Resources Ltd.

William Woolford has joined the board of GMV Guyana Resources Inc. He was previously senior mining engineer, manager (mines), chief mining engineer, deputy commissioner and commissioner of the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission.

Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP donated $200,000 to the UBC faculty of law building project.

Tayfun Eldem has been appointed president and CEO of Alderon Resource Corp. and Mark Morabito, former president, CEO and co-founder of the company, has been appointed executive chair of Alderon. Eldem was previously vice-president, expansion projects and engineering, and vice-president, operations and engineering for the Iron Ore Co. of Canada. Abraham Jonker has been appointed to the board of EastCoal Inc. He is interim chair of Mandalay Resources Corp. and was previously CFO of Cambrian Mining Plc. and Western Coal Corp. Pierce Carson and Robert Kramer have been appointed to the board of Canamex Resources Corp. and Basil Pantages has stepped down as a director. Carson is president and CEO of Santa Fe Gold Corp. Kramer was previously chair of the audit committee of Silver Bull Resources Inc. Carson Seabolt has been appointed president and CEO of Worldwide Promotional Management Inc. He is an officer of Terra Nova Minerals and partner at Skanderbeg Capital.

James Gibbons has joined International Enexco Ltd. as a member of its board and senior adviser to the company on corporate affairs. He was previously governor of Nevada. Marion McGrath has been appointed corporate secretary of PMI Gold Corp. She is the owner of iO Corporate Services Ltd.

•Technology

James Pratt has been appointed chief business officer of Functional Technologies Corp. He was previously CEO of Sepp’s Food Group and vice-president of corporate finance at Midland Walwyn Capital Inc.

Hats Off Business in Vancouver wel-

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.

Fresh. Local. Business.

Daily news to your inbox.

ICBC employees and family participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer and raised over $157,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation. Nor t h Shore Credit Union’s annual golf tournament raised $54,000 for North Shore Rescue to go toward final construction of the Seymour search and rescue station and nine physio-control automated external defibrillators. Scotiabank donated $50,000 to SFU to support the Scotiabank Graduate Award in Business. The Osoyoos Volunteer Fire Department donated $5000 to VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation in support of the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ burn

ICBC’s Ride to Conquer Cancer team members

plastic and trauma unit at Vancouver Genera l Hospital. Triwest Mechanical Ltd. donated $2,050 to Zajac R a nc h for C h i l d r e n , which prov ides a sa fe

and fun camp experience for children with serious and chronic illnesses and disabilities. Coastal Pacific Xpress was awarded the BC Medical Association’s Council on

Health Promotion Award of Excellence for its staff wellness programs. CN won the Outstanding Corporate Regional Award from the Canadian Diabetes Association. •

Datebook

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

Guarantee the publication of your listing for $50 per issue (plus hst). 604-608-5189 or datebook@biv.com

Breakfast, Luncheon, Dinner Meetings Supporting Canada’s Growth and Prosperity Through Immigration J u l y 19, 20 11, 1 1:45 AM: The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. $79 members and guests/$110 future-members (+HST ). Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle, Pinnacle Ballroom, 1128

Professor Stephen Toope

Conferences, Conventions, Tradeshows

S eptem b er 14 , 20 11, 1 1:45 AM: Professor Stephen Toope, President & Vice-Chancellor University of British Columbia. $69 members and guests/$96 future-members (+HST). The Fairmont Waterfront, Waterfront Ballroom, 900 Canada Place Way. Vancouver, BC. reservations@ b o a r d o f t r a d e . c o m . w w w. boardoftrade.com.

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/.

20/20 SMART Session: Market Research and Assessment Au g ust 18, 20 11, 8:00 AM: Effective market research will 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 . $ 2 5

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. 800-970-

Hastings Street West. Vancouver, BC. reservations@boardoftrade. com. www.boardoftrade.com.

4355. 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.

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.

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 g in 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. Price varies. Delta Grand Okanagan Resort and Conference Centre. Kelowna, BC. Shirley Chow: 604-412-4865, ac2011@apeg.bc.ca. http://www. apeg.bc.ca/ac2011/.

HR Metrics Benchmarking Service - Demo & Overview July 22, 2011, 8:30 AM: If you a re l o o k i n g to l e a r n m o re 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.

Consumer Shows

Giving Guide

2012

Regional PhilanthRoPic oPPoRtunities

Publication Date September 27, 2011

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.

Giving Guide

2012

Regional PhilanthRoPic oPPoRtunities

A guide to British ColumBiA's philAnthropiC Community • Non-profits • Foundations • Cultural organizations

Call today: For more information please contact Katherine Butler at 604-688-2398 or kbutler@biv.com.

www.bivdatebook.com

Rob Schneider Comedy Tour in Vancouver July 22, 2011, 9:00 PM: Rob S ch n eid er C o m e d y To ur in Vancouver: Emmy nominated comedian and star of Deuce B igalow m ovie s b r in gs his stand-up tour to the Vogue Theatre. Tickets starting from $29.99. 918 Granville Street. Vancouver. Call 604-569-1144 or www.funnyfarmcomedy.ca. www.funnyfarmcomedy.ca. Rob Schneider Comedy Tour in Victoria July 23, 2011, 9:00 PM: Rob S ch n eid er C o m e d y To ur in V ic tor ia: Emmy no minate d comedian and star of Deuce B igalow m ovie s b r in gs his stand-up tour to the Royal Theatre. Tickets starting from $29.99. 805 Broughton Street. Victoria. call 250-386-6121 or www.funnyfarmcomedy.ca. www. funnyfarmcomedy.ca.

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.

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. Canadian Securities Course (CSC) September 8, 2011, 8:00 AM: Be qualified to apply for licensing as a mutual funds salesperson. Sign up for the CSC at Ashton College. Contact an Admissions Adviser now. Ashton College. Vancouver. 6 0 4-8 9 9 - 0803/ info@ashtoncollege.com. www. ashtoncollege.com. 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.

Datebook 27

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

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 th e ap plic ation of sustainability principles in a variety of programs, projects and business ventures. $600. 515 W. Hastings St. Vancouver. J o s h u a R a n d a l l , 7 7 8 -7 8 2 5254. http://www.sfu.ca/city/ course2popup.htm. HR Metrics Benchmarking Service - Demo & Overview October 28, 2011, 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. 604-694-6946, lwhalley@ bchrma.org. http://www.bchrma. org/content/events/ls/details. cfm?EventID=035-223. 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 - Nov 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.

Careers

org. http://www. bchrma.org/ co n te n t/eve n ts/ls/d e ta i ls. cfm?EventID=035-253. HR Metrics Benchmarking Service - Jan Demo & Overview January 18, 2012, 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=035-254.

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, 8:0 0 PM: A wildly energized, cabaretthemed evening of cuttingedge choreography at The Legion on The Drive. Tickets: $20 cash at door. Doors at 7pm. 19+ only. 2205 Commercial Drive. Vancouver. http://movent.ca.

Golf Tournaments 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: 604-601-5107, 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, dealm a ke r s a n d p rofe s s i o n a l s 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. University Golf Club, 5 185 Universit y Blvd. Vancouver. Azadeh Hollmann: 604-608-5197, ahollmann@biv. com. https://www.eplyevents. c o m / B u s i n e s s Le a d e rs G o l f Tournament.

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 day bus trip. Includes lunch, museum tours, farms, historic sites and gift shops in the Harrison area. Our bus trips are always a highlight of the year for an enjoyable social day. $30.00 nonmembers (includes membership for balance of the year). 411 Dunsmuir Street. Vancouver. Prepay to register. Call 604681-3986 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.

• www.employmentinvancouver.com • E-mail: employpaper@biv.com • Tel: 604-688-8828 • Fax: 604-669-2154

Work With us & groW a career Glacier Media Group is growing. Graphic Designer Humboldt Journal Closing date: August 19, 2011 Email: journal.admgr@sasktel.net Email Marketing Manager Glacier Media Group Closing date: July 27, 2011 Email: digitaljobs@glaciermedia.ca

Check our job board regularly for the latest openings: www.glaciermedia.ca/careers

Reader Profile

Brenda Crompton

ConSultant and BuSineSS ViSion arChiteCt, Speaker

subscribers

Business lines Business/Organization Name: Infinitus Enterprise Services Inc. Business Focus/Specialty: Leading businesses in creating efficiencies and profits through strategic planning, effective implementation, and use of technology. I won the contract and led the development of Corporate Online, so if you are incorporated and operating in BC or you are a corporate lawyer, your company uses the system my team developed to report to the government every year. Business Advantage: Our advantage is summed up with the title of our new book Leaking Money: How Your Business is Losing Money, Customers and Opportunities and How To Stop It. Website: www.iesi.ca

Foundation Name: Brenda Crompton E-mail: brenda@iesi.ca Occupation/Position/Title: Consultant and Business Vision Architect, Speaker What I do: I help people see past the blind spots in their business, through to the possibilities that the future represents for them. Credentials: B.A. Economics, University of Waterloo, extensive experience in using process, workflow, project, and analysis methodologies to solve real world business challenges.

Professional Background: Facilitated, designed, and led the development core business systems to solve business problems by utilizing people, processes and technology for more than 20 years for companies of all sizes. Favourite stuFF Favourite Achievements: Delivering and implementing Corporate Online on time and on budget, to ensure the government met their balanced budget and achieving the Premier’s Award for Service Excellence. Raising money for Kids Help Phone and achieving Volunteer of the Year. Goals: To challenge Entrepreneurs to achieve their business objectives and to help them Stop Leaking Money. Passions and Interests: Business, real estate, economy, skiing, kiteboarding, fine wine, pets. Current Read, Author: The Go Point, Michael Useem Someone I Admire/Why: The person who believes in him/herself enough to start a business and is confident enough to seek assistance because they don’t have all the answers. Five people (of all time) I would invite to my dinner gathering: Kim Campbell, Eckhart Tolle, François de la Rochefoucauld, Betty White, Stephen King Business Tip or Motto: “The only thing constant in life is change” ~François de la Rochefoucauld

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.

Subscribe now. GET YOUR DATA FIX. The longer you subscribe, the more you save. Choose from: • $25 off any list or database with a 1-year subscription • $50 off any list or database with a 2-year subscription • $100 off any list or database with a 3-year subscription Not familiar with our lists and databases? Check out the options at biv.com/listsforsale and see how your BIV subscription can save you money and give you a competitive edge! To take advantage of this special offer, contact Veera Irani at 604-608-5115 or subscribe@biv.com today!

Comment

Daily business news at www.biv.com July 19–25, 2011

letters

Consumption taxes like the HST are fairer for everyone Re: “Why I’m voting against the HST: the harmonized tax fails the fairness test” (Seth Klein Podium column – issue 1129; July 14-20) Seth Klein writes “… such that upper-income households have seen a much larger drop in their taxes … .” He admits that the HST is a consumption tax. Obviously, the rich are going to spend more and thus will pay more taxes than before, and they will pay more taxes than low-income groups, who will also get HST credits. Income taxes are really a tax on low-income individuals who are trying to save and prosper. Upper-income individuals can afford to pay income taxes. Consumption taxes are fairer for everyone. William Clarke, Vancouver

Restaurant VP credits HST with helping pub open new location The harmonized sales tax (HST) has helped us expand our operations and open a new restaurant in Vancouver. The HST is creating between 40 and 60 new jobs at our new location alone. It’s also helping to protect the jobs of our employees and keep our prices in line for our customers. We are paying less tax and that means we can use those savings to reinvest. Vote “No” to keep the HST. Mark Reid, vice-president at Ceili’s Irish pub and restaurant, Vancouver

On the right road to solar power solutions in North America If there is an award for thinking outside the box then the folks who came up with the idea of converting asphalt road surfaces into clean, solar-energy generators definitely deserve the prize. They’ve made a very imaginative connection between the need for clean, green energy and the miles of paved asphalt road surfaces all around us that absorb sunlight day in and day out. According to the people who came up with the solar road idea, there are 25,000 square miles of parking lots, driveways and road surfaces in the lower 48 United States alone. And if those 25,000 square miles of road surface were covered with solar panels (at a mere 15% efficiency) it would produce three times more electricity than the United States uses annually, or almost enough to power the whole world. Such an ambitious undertaking would obviously be expensive, but the technology already exists to make it happen: it just needs to be used in new ways. For example, glass can apparently be made as strong as steel and could be adapted for use as a road material, which would allow solar panels embedded underneath to absorb sunlight. The solar road idea may sound a bit out there, but when you consider the pressing need the world has for finding new sources of clean, green energy, thinking that comes from outside the box is what it’s going to take to get us there and allow us to leave a cleaner, greener world for our grandchildren. And when you look at the ever-increasing price of non-renewable petroleum (which is needed to make asphalt), solar roads and highways may ultimately prove to be one of the less expensive options for creating the greener world we want for future generations. Trudy Gordon, Burnaby

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 Objective assessment of city’s housing price impact needed

hat price fame? I have been honoured to be recognized in new ways in real estate circles in recent months, since speaking out on the need to address unaffordable housing prices and the impact of offshore investors. A homebuyer on the west side says realtor Danny Deng approached her and showed her my picture, saying that because of me, foreign ownership of local real estate may soon be restricted, so she should sign up with him now so she could get a high cash payment from his wealthy overseas buyers. Earlier, in May, I rated a mention in Bob Rennie’s annual talk to the Urban Development Institute, who said my comments about the influence of foreign investors in local housing affordability may contain more speculation than those I accuse of speculating. You have to take out the top 20% of the market to get a clear picture, Rennie said. The average sale price of the remaining 80% is only $313,500, he said, concluding, “Vancouver is definitely not worthy of a ‘least affordable title.’” To which one online commentator said: “Yeah, if you take out the 20% of the people with drug issues in Vancouver, the city is definitely not the drug capital of Canada.” Besides, said Rennie, we can prove there are only a small number of foreign buyers because there are a minuscule number of buyers whose property tax documents are sent to a foreign address. And this proves something?

The Urban Futures Institute, clinging desperately to “proven data” from census figures, shrugged off the whole affordability issue by concluding that the average homeowner in Vancouver spends only 18% of his or her household income on housing costs, so “there is no empirical basis on which to say that B.C. currently suffers from widespread owner-occupied housing affordability problems.”

That puts us at a 9.4 ratio, about three times what’s considered affordable That average homeowner, of course, includes people who have long since paid off their homes, which blithely ignores the load on struggling entrylevel homebuyers. Remember, this all started with a January 2011 Demographia International housing affordability survey that showed for the third quarter of 2010, the city had a median house price of $602,000 and a median household income of $63,100, making us the third most unaffordable city of 325 surveyed, outranked only by Hong Kong and Sydney. Our ratio of house prices to income was 9.5, with 5.1 being considered “severely unaffordable.” Royal LePage seemed to agree, with its latest study showing “the average price of detached bungalows and standard two-storey homes both over $1 million and double-digit yearover-year gains, [even] though the

average price for a standard condominium saw a very modest increase of 2.5 per cent … as investment from outside of the country continues to support higher price levels.” They’re missing the point, counter the deniers. CIBC’s chief economist repeated Rennie’s theme but with wildly different numbers, saying 80% of the market is “normally functioning, consistent with income,” based on an average sale price of the bottom 80% of “just over $590,000” compared with Rennie’s $313,000. OK, so that puts us at a 9.4 ratio, about three times what’s considered affordable. That’s “consistent with income?” Not to worry, it’s only out of whack because we don’t understand the difference between “average” and “median” and we’re not including properties in Abbotsford and Mission, says Central 1 Credit Union economist Brian Yu, pegging the entire Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver average house price at $738,000, 11% below the number cited by the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board, a body I would have thought knew something about calculating housing prices. OK, let’s go with $738,000. That makes the price-to-income ratio a crazy 11.7 to 1. All of this is to say that Greater Vancouver needs a sober assessment of the impact and source of wildly unaffordable housing prices, and real estate industry people should not be leading it. 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.

President and Interim Publisher: Paul Harris; Editor: Timothy Renshaw; News Features Editor: Baila Lazarus; Editorial Proofreader: Noa Glouberman; Staff Writers: Richard Chu, Glen Korstrom, Joel McKay, Jenny Wagler; Art Director: Randy Pearsall; Photographer: Dominic Schaefer; Production Manager: Don Schuetze; Production: Rob Benac, Carole Readman, Natalie Reynolds, Soraya Romao, Annette Spreeuw; Director Sales and Marketing: Cheryl Carter; Marketing & Events: Paige Millar, Aly-Khan Virani; Display Advertising Sales: Janice Frome, Blair Johnston, Michele MacKenzie, Pia Tomlins, Chris Wilson, BIV Magazines Publisher: Paul Harris; Editor: Naomi Wittes Reichstein; Sales Manager: Joan McGrogan; Advertising Sales: Lori Borden, Corinne Tkachuk; Administrator: Katherine Butler; Senior Researcher: Anna Liczmanska; Research/Verification: Caroline Smith; Director, Audience Development: Todd Babick; Subscription Sales Supervisor: Navreet Gill; Circulation Manager: Veera Irani; Subscription Sales: Gerard Veeneman; System Administrator: Les Valan; Accounting: Denise Moffatt; Credit Manager: Yvonne Posch Business in Vancouver is published by BIV Media Limited Partnership at 102 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V5T 1G2. Telephone 604-688-2398; fax 604-688-1963—For reprints: Veera Irani 604-608-5115 E-mail addresses: subscribe@biv.com, ads@biv.com, news@biv.com, letters@biv.com TWITTER@BIZINVANCOUVER • Www.biv.com • www.bivinteractive.com

comment 29

July 19–25, 2011 Business in Vancouver

City Business

Gordon Price Calculating the cost of cultivating sports culture

here does “riot control” fit in when you’re budgeting for the arts? Culture, says Tourism Vancouver, should be the priority for the next decade if Vancouver is to become a truly “world-class” city. Culture is what gives us a global brand that will keep people coming here, and staying around longer, spending more money when they do. And because a city has to express its character in an entertaining way – since that’s really what culture is about as an economic activity – how much should civic government spend to cultivate a thriving cultural scene? Civic-owned institutions like the art gallery, check. Grants for the major arts organizations and dozens of small companies, check. Public art, check. Policing and engineering services … um, not really. For those services, the city bills out on a cost-recovery basis. Even non-prof-

taxpayers pay. Yes, the Canucks are billed for street closures around their stadium, but when it comes to closing Georgia Street for live sites and handling the traffic everywhere else in the city, city hall eats it. Hell, the Canucks didn’t expect to pay for the victory parade in the event they won the Stanley Cup. Though the money spent on jerseys alone was likely greater than the ticket receipts of every arts company in town, the Canucks were not expected to divert a nickel to the city’s coffers. Nor does the city get any sales tax from the economic benefits that shower down on every bar and restaurant and cheerleading media outlet. Property taxes don’t go up in the event the Stanley Cup comes to town; the team gets the silver and the civic taxpayers get the bill. No one minded the public expenses, of course – least of all the politicians, may-

it events like the jazz festival have to cover the costs incurred, from policing to engineering, plus administration. Yes, they get grants, but they’re still expected to put up a big chunk of change. If they can’t, they may not survive. So two questions: is sport culture? And should it pay its way? No doubt sport is a cultural expression – notably when the brand of the winning hockey team is inseparable from the identity of the city for months at a time. “We are all Canucks” is meant to be taken literally. But should Big Sport pay for the costs incurred by its success? Specifically, are professional sports in the same category as, say, the fireworks festival? Apparently not. While the Canucks and Lions may be profit-making entities, when it comes to the costs of handling the consequences of their success, Vancouver

or and councillors of every party, who donned the jerseys and didn’t question the expenditures, except to ask the province to chip in. (Answer: no way.) When the team is winning and the sports jocks are amplifying the tribal spirit, no one in leadership wants to be called out for reinfor-

Should Big Sport pay for the costs incurred by its success? cing the image of “No Fun Vancouver” – just possibly the most intimidating meme ever used to suppress common sense. Who would have dared, in the heat of the playoffs, to have put out a public announcement: don’t come downtown. No more street parties. Turn off the TV screens. Until, of course, three hours after Game 7. So what now for the future management of the playoffs? Will the public shaming by Facebook prevent another e-riot?

Or do we give the police chief a blank cheque, because we can’t afford the risk of burning cars and smashing glass? Let’s assume Tourism Vancouver is right: culture means world-class status – and accept that sports means culture. Then where should the money come from to foster and promote a worldclass cultural scene if Big Sport doesn’t pay, but everyone else does? Do we divert resources that might go to fund the non-profit arts sector, which pays around minimum wage, to cover the ancillary costs for an organization in which every principal is a millionaire? Doesn’t seem quite fair, does it? But the city can’t really

send the Canucks a bill for policing off-site events, can’t stop the media cheerleading, couldn’t prevent people from coming downtown to drink and celebrate and won’t likely get anyone else – region or province – to contribute. Nonetheless, the leadership – whoever is in power – would certainly have to pay the political price for another riot. If Doug Keefe and John Furlong want to be really helpful in their investigation, they will tell us not just who was responsible for the last riot but who should pay to prevent the next one. • Gordon Price (pricetags@ shaw.ca) is the director of Simon Fraser University’s city program and a former Vancouver city councillor. His column appears monthly.

Number Crunching with Flair • Traditional accounting values combined with cutting edge IT • Network of experienced professionals • Proud member of the Certified General Accountants of BC and Canada George Wilson-Tagoe, BSc., CGA

AUDIT TAX ADVISORY certified general accountant

For more information visit: www.wilson-tagoe.com Suite 1000–355 Burrard St. Vancouver Ph: 604-608-6156 wiltagoe@intergate.ca • www.wilson-tagoe.com • Cell: 604-818-0127

BUS NESS LEADERS TOURNAMENT

Registration now open! J

oin us on August 23 for the inaugural Business Leaders Golf Tournament presented by Business in Vancouver and Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Vancouver Chapter. This full day event includes golf, networking reception and dinner. Don’t miss your opportunity to play golf with senior executives, dealmakers and professionals involved in corporate growth, development, and mergers and acquisitions.

When: August 23, 2011

Where: University Golf Club – 5185 University Blvd. Price: $175 for BIV subscribers, ACG and TMA members $200 for non-subscribers/members

Part proceeds go to Powerchair Football Canada, www.powerchairfootballcanada.com

Visit www.biv.com/events to register Presented by