March 2019 Inside this issue: General Managers Report New Members Events Review Member Spotlight Sponsor Shout Out Zomaron Partnership 5 Minutes For Business
CHAMBER at a glance
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a publica on of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce
Message From the President Well, I’d love to say that spring is just around the corner but based on the last month and a half of deep freeze, I’ll believe it when I see it. Throughout this deep freeze we’ve had, the Chamber has been keeping warm with events and mee ngs to keep Brandon moving forward.
was encouraging, discussing the importance of our area to the provincial economy and that further ac on is in process, such as the development of a Rural Economic Ac on Plan that provides growth for our region and the rest of our Province.
We have also had good discussions In December, the Government of with the Manitoba Chambers of Manitoba released their Economic Commerce, who play an integral role Ac on Plan for our Province. There in the implementa on of this plan. were many valid points and The Brandon Chamber will ensure strategies in this that we are there plan, however it to assist them, and currently lacks a will be highly ...The use of tax defini ve answer involved in moving dollars to for Brandon and this plan forward. Western provide the Manitoba at A bit closer to necessary large. home, we’ve also services been in the midst We were then of government required by a lucky enough to budget season. government is have Dave Angus, We appreciate that co-author of the both the City of very important. Growing Brandon and Manitoba’s Brandon School Economy Report that shaped the Division encouraged discussion with Economic Ac on Plan, speak to our their own senior management to Board and then to our membership discuss the issues they are facing in at our January luncheon. His insight the budgetary process.
Jeff Hood 2018- 2019 Chamber President
Both en es have come out with, I would say, favourable rate changes for business owners and tax payers alike. However, the Chamber con nues to stress needing value for money being paid. The use of tax dollars to provide the necessary services required by a government is very important. The juggle is spending money on what helps us grow as individuals and as a community to allow for more opportuni es for everyone. Finally, at the end of January 2019, we held our Board of Director Strategic Planning session. We are (Con nued on page 6)
FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER’S DESK
GM REPORT
What Membership Means to you
W
hat does Chamber membership mean to your business?
needs of any given business can change over me. What ini ally drew you to the Chamber may s ll be important, but another service or Members are the lifeblood of our program is now more valuable. organiza on. In fact, it’s what drives us Maybe you joined to get access to to grow and improve. It is extremely affordable member only adver sing, sa sfying to know when we have done a but now find our cost savings good job that resonates with our programs essen al. Maybe there is members. And when we fall short? Well, something you u lize that is good, but at the end of the day if our members with a suggested tweak could be great. aren’t sa sfied with the programs and services we deliver, we are not doing By now, our membership survey has hit our job as an organiza on. your inbox and/or your social media feed. To be er serve you, we need to The landscape of the business understand your needs and how we can environment is ever evolving, and the be er provide support. Your feedback will help determine our priori es, shape the development of our programming and overall improve our services.
of our current members and if not, how to improve them or create addi onal benefits, that not only be er serve our members, but provide value for nonmembers to join. We invite you to par cipate in our membership survey (available on our website or via our social media). It should take you less than tenminutes complete.
Surveys are just one of many ways that we gather input. Through in person calls and visits, stakeholder roundtables and forums, and by your engagement in exis ng services we learn about the chamber benefits that are most We want you to important to you. Feel free to contact us think about what any me to share new ideas on how we your membership can provide more value for your means to you and membership investment. If you are your business. We interested in hearing more about our want your opinion programming and advocacy work, on what is working please let us know! I can be reached at well and what may gm@brandonchamber.ca. need some adjus ng. Like your We look forward to hearing from you! business, the Chamber is constantly developing and looking for ways to improve. We need to know if we are Carolynn Cancade mee ng the needs General Manager
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www.brandonchamber.ca
MEMBERSHIP ZONE
W LC ME N W M
BE S
Bison Fire Protec on
Expedi on League, Inc.
Knight Archer Insurance Brokers
Full Service Fire Ex nguisher and Automa c Suppression Provider.
Elite Summer Collegiate Wood Bat Baseball League
Insurance Broker
830 S ckney Avenue Brandon, MB bisonfire.com
1043 Rosser Avenue Brandon, MB wheatcitywhiskeyjacks.com
Prairie Wealth Planning Consultants
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Cer fied Psychotherapist
Wealth Management Consultants
Car Rental and Fleet Management Company
927 - A 26th Street Brandon, MB prairiewealth.ca
1850 18th Street North Brandon, MB enterprise.ca
Unit 4 Office 10 - 940 Princess Avenue Brandon, MB tlc6203290.wixsite.com/mysite
Med2020 Health Care So ware Inc.
Supplement King
2404 Park Avenue Brandon, MB knightarcher.com
TLCsupports
Ci es Church Local Chris an Church
Company Specializing in So ware for the Health Care Industry
1043 Rosser Avenue Brandon, MB med2020.ca
March 2019
Locally Owned & Operated Retail Supplement Store.
Suite A - 1240 - 18th Street Brandon, MB supplementkings.ca
205 20th Street Brandon, MB www.ci es.church
Flynn Canada Ltd. Commercial Roofing Contractor
1850 18th Street North Brandon, MB flynncompanies.com
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EVENTS
First Friday Coffees January 4th & February 1st Our Friday Coffees are a great way for Chamber Members to meet somebody they may not normally meet in their day to day business life, which can lead to new and exci ng opportuni es for them and their business.
Canada-Manitoba Job Grant Info Session January 30th
Business for Breakfast—Diversity in the Workplace February 13th
A endees got up a li le earlier for breakfast and a great panel discussion on Diversity in the Workplace, which included lessons from local businesses. The discussion revolved around a more diverse workforce, including newcomers, an aging For our February Coffee, we had almost all With businesses being eligible for up to popula on, individuals with disabili es, and of the Brandon School Division Board of $100,000, par cipants appreciated the in the Indigenous popula on. Laurie Cox from Trustee members join us for a discussion on depth analysis of what cons tutes training, RBC, Spencer Day from Progressive the upcoming school budget! and some op ons as to what is available for Sanita on, and Greg Crisan from Tim their employees. Another workshop is Hortons were the panelists at this event. Chamber Luncheon—Provincial planned for April 10th!
Economic Growth Strategy January 17th The Brandon Chamber welcomed Dave Angus, previous President & CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and current President of Johnston Group Inc., to our January luncheon. Dave spoke about Manitoba’s Provincial Economic Growth Strategy, which was informed by his report that is based on several consulta ons of businesses in Manitoba, and then discussed what the ini a ve means for businesses in Brandon.
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In conjunc on with the Government of Manitoba, the Chamber held a workshop for members interested in finding out how to access the Canada-Manitoba Job Grant to help fund ongoing employee training.
Business A er 5 @ CW2 Construc on and Design/Guardian Fencing January 31st
Chamber Luncheon—We Are All Leaders February 21st
Kevin Chief, Vice President of the Business Council of Manitoba visited the Brandon Chamber for lunch in February to speak on Our latest Business A er 5 was hosted by two members this me: CW2 Construc on his experience growing up being raised by a single parent, the lessons he’s learned, and and Design, as well as Guardian Fencing. how he applies them in his life now. His Members of the Chamber were pleased with their brand new facili es, and enjoyed tales of leadership and overcoming adversity inspired and connected to many wonderful catering and door prizes from a endees throughout his speech. their supporters!
www.brandonchamber.ca
SPONSOR & MEMBER APPRECIATION
Thank You to our Sponsors for the Following Events! Luncheon Sponsors
Friday Coffee
Lunch & Learn
member
SPOT LIGHT
BA5 Sponsors
Booth Sponsors
Supplement King
What are the goals of your business? The main goal of our business is to help the people of Westman “Fuel Their Goals”. It doesn’t ma er what stage of life you are in, we all have certain fitness goals. Whether it be a body composi on goal, an athle c goal, compe on, or just overall health, we are commi ed to providing Brandon and area with a welcoming environment to help you succeed. Our employees are not trained to push products, but to help educate customers on what supplements may help them along a certain path to achieve whatever goal they are looking to obtain!
What does your business offer to customers? There are li le surprises in what we carry with a name like Supplement King! We carry a large variety of supplements. Anything from Protein Powders, BCAA’s, Crea ne, Glutamine, Pre-Workouts, or even items such as health food products, we have got you covered!
What are you most proud of about your business? Community Driven! As local owners, we are very focused on being heavily involved in our community.
What is something your business does that most customers don’t know? Supplement King will price match any compe tors' adver sed price, in-store or online. We also offer the best loyalty program around, giving you up to 10% back in Royalty Bucks with every purchase and exclusive monthly offers. You can check your balance online and are free to redeem your Royalty Bucks when you want, on what you want - no redemp on caps. It's free to sign up in-store or online!
March 2019
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President’s Message (Cont’d from page 1) fortunate to have a great team of staff which led to engaging dialogue throughout the day. One common trend that came out from our discussions was the ever relevant issue of comba ng red-tape. The Chamber has tackled this in the past and in the coming months there will be a redoubled focus of efforts to help make Brandon a be er place to do business. As always, we welcome your feedback on this or any other topic that the Chamber can assist on.
Jeff Hood Brandon Chamber President
New Chamber Partner Announcement: Zomaron! Brandon Chamber of Commerce would like to welcome our newest partner, Zomaron. Since 2008, Zomaron has been an award-winning fintech company providing payment processing solu ons and POS so ware to thousands of businesses and registered chari es across North America. Zomaron is offering a free cost savings analysis along with guaranteed preferen al rates, services, and products to all Brandon Chamber of Commerce members. Take the Statement Challenge: Submit your current monthly merchant service statement and let a Zomaron Payment Expert show you how you can save on your merchant fees and find the right so ware solu on. If they cannot meet or beat your prices, you'll be gi ed with $500 gi card!
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www.brandonchamber.ca
5 Minutes For Business
5 Minutes for Business: A Royal Commission for a Royal Pain Wri en by experts from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
50 years of cu ng and pas ng has le Canadian taxa on uncompe ve, cumbersome and inefficient. Now more than ever a Royal Commission on taxa on, with everything on the table, is needed to align Canada’s tax system with the economy of today and tomorrow. Much has changed since the Carter Royal Commission created the basis of our tax system in the 1960s. New technologies, global supply chains and interna onal compe on have disrupted en re industries. Governments worldwide are compe ng to harness innova on by trying to understand how new developments like ar ficial intelligence and the sharing economy will reshape how we live and work, including how we tax. The pace of change in today’s economy requires capital investments, investments in talent and skills as well as organiza onal agility to keep up and compete. According to our report on Canadian tax compe veness, which was released today, our tax system
March 2019
falls flat on all three counts. The Canadian business community believes the accelerated capital cost allowance measures announced in last year’s Fall Economic Statement lack what is needed to spur the necessary investments. Our daun ngly byzan ne federal tax system ranks 41st in the world in the me it takes to prepare and pay taxes. Canadian businesses are concerned the personal tax bracket structure on high incomeearners will drive highly skilled workers elsewhere. It is clear Canada’s outdated tax system has real costs—both in terms of money and me—for Canadian business. It has real implica ons for strategic, tac cal and opera onal decisions. The changing global tax environment not only provides an excellent opportunity for Canada to rethink its own system but prac cally requires it. If we look at G7 and OECD countries, there is a prolonged trend toward greater tax compe veness. The OECD has encouraged Canada to “[r]eview the tax system to ensure that it remains efficient—raising sufficient revenues to fund public spending without imposing excessive costs on the economy—equitable and supports the compe veness of the Canadian economy.” Similarly, the IMF execu ve board of directors has suggested Canada conduct “a careful
and independent review of the overall Canadian tax system, weighing the pros and cons of incremental versus more radical approaches, and assessing their revenue implica ons and poten al spillovers to other countries.” A Royal Commission’s terms of reference should be guided by the principles of tax compe veness, simplicity, fairness and neutrality. The inquiry should explore the following aspects of Canada’s tax system through a comprehensive review: • Broadening the tax base to explore the most effec ve tax policy solu ons • Adjus ng the tax mix to be er promote business investment and economic growth • Bridging the digital tax divide to ensure a fair and equitable tax system • Simplifying the tax filing experience with digital filing solu ons • Legisla ng a Taxpayer Charter of Rights to hold CRA accountable • Providing a representa ve for small business to resolve conflicts with CRA • Conduc ng regular comprehensive reviews to keep the tax system up to date If Canada is serious about enhancing its compe veness, we need to focus on how governments can use tax policy to harness disrup on and new global business models. It is crucial we recognize a modernized tax system can be a key driver of Canada’s business innova on and economic growth. See more ar cles like this on the Canadian Chamber of Commerce website: chamber.ca
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Chamber at a Glance is published six mes per year by the Brandon Chamber of Commerce 1043 Rosser Avenue | Brandon, MB R7A 0L5 Phone: (204) 571-5340 | Fax: (204) 571-5347
info@brandonchamber.ca www.brandonchamber.ca
EDITING & DESIGN PRINTING 2018-2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHAMBER STAFF
Who we are: The Brandon Chamber of Commerce is an independent, membership funded, non-proďŹ t organiza on that represents Brandon business from the grassroots level.
Our Mission: To encourage growth in the Brandon community by fostering a progressive business environment favorable to enhancing exis ng and a rac ng new business.
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www.brandonchamber.ca