16 minute read
Pipelines Support Canadian Energy Security, Safety, Sustainability
BY CODY BATTERSHILL
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It’s an inescapable fact: Pipelines are vital infrastructure. Whether it’s the TransMountain Expansion project, or
Enbridge’s Line 3 or Line 5, or the Coastal Gas Link, pipelines deliver the product that allows society to power its transportation grid, create electricity, provide heating and cooling and to manufacture chemicals, pharmaceuticals and many other goods.
And yet, protesters who oppose Canadian pipelines will have no impact on global oil production and can only fail in their attempt to keep even one single barrel of oil in the ground, worldwide. The reason is simple.
Petrochemicals are the foundation of thousands of products we enjoy in Canada and around the world. Analysts expect this component of global oil consumption will be the largest source of growth in energy demand through to 2040.
In other words, the world demands more oil. And blocking Canadian product from the world market would only force production to another region where environmental, health, safety and human rights requirements are likely far less rigorous than those in Canada.
As an alternative to blocking Canadian energy, we should maximize the value of our resources and demand Canada be a global supplier of choice, rather than abandon the global supply pool and leave it to another jurisdiction.
The women and men who make up our industry work under labour policies that are the envy of competitor countries. They work in a sector that’s among the largest contributors to the revenues of Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and of every level of government. And they’re constantly evolving. We already have one of the world’s only net-negative emitting oil companies and recently five firms that control 90 per cent of oilsands production formed Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero, and pledged to be net-zero energy companies by 2050.
If our economy or that of any modern country is to flourish in a healthy, safe and principled way, then that progress depends on pipelines, operated to the highest environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. Without well-managed pipelines, communities are left without the safest and most reliable method of energy delivery, potentially impacting all facets of day-to-day life.
There’s no question pipelines have outpaced current trends in safety and monitoring technologies and are the acknowledged favourite in terms of safe energy transmission over long distances of land. A pipeline that was built in previous decades is monitored continually. Improvements are made as required. It’s part of normal operating procedures.
Few people question building or maintaining roads and bridges, or fixing a runway or rail-line in order to extend the safety and service of any of these assets. Let’s continue to build and maintain safe, carefully-monitored, vital Canadian pipelines.
DREAM’S ALPINE PARK
A DYNAMIC NEW URBANIST NEIGHBOURHOOD 30 YEARS IN THE
MAKING By Rennay Craats
Having owned these lands for nearly three decades, the ambitious community builders at Dream have had a lot of time to imagine what Alpine Park could be. With the expansion of the southwest Ring Road allowing for easy connection to the rest of the city, work is well underway to nally realize that vision.
“It’s an unparalleled opportunity,” says Tara Steell, general manager at Dream. “When we were thinking about what the land o ers, its ability to compress the mountains and the city, and provide a lifestyle that’s between the two, we took it to heart. Alpine Park is a distillation of all the things that make Calgary really wonderful.” Alpine Park o ers the best of both worlds; residents can get downtown in a little over 15 minutes or to Kananaskis by a repit in about 35 minutes, and there is easy access to the rest of Calgary via Stoney Trail. The neighbourhood is convenient for drivers but built for people rst. The 476-acre development is a next-generation new urbanist community that boasts walkability, beautiful green spaces woven throughout the development, and a focus on people in every aspect. The charming architecture sees porches replace front garages, keeping cars in the back and families out front to live and safely play in those spaces. With quality builders Calbridge Homes, Cardel Homes, Genesis Builders, and Homes by Dream o ering a place for everyone, residents can choose from a range of home styles and types that complement their tastes and lifestyles.
“It’s a higher calibre of porch-front living across a wide range of needs, right from your rst home to large estate-style residences,” says Michael Tandara, director of marketing for Dream. No matter the style, each home features the same high calibre of quality and design and the same access to the green spaces and pathways that connect homeowners to nature or guide them to the retail amenities of Village Centre. Residents can go grab groceries or meet friends for a co ee at Village Centre while leaving their cars parked at home. Walkability is enhanced by the unique park spaces that encourage residents to linger and enjoy through BBQ picnic areas, Adirondack chairs for lounging, benches, playgrounds, community gardens and a public gas hearth. The showhome neighbourhood reveal will invite Calgarians to experience a slice of that life in Alpine Park, complete with parks and tree-lined boulevards to show what to expect in the 200-unit rst phase of development.
“The showhomes are opening this fall, and they’re key to that experiential feeling,” says Tandara. Dream is excited for Calgarians to experience Alpine Park’s spectacular spaces, beautiful homes, incredible people-centric design and great amenities for themselves this fall. To discover Alpine Park, visit alpinepark.ca.
Porch-front homes facing Central Park
Karen Masuda
KBH Chartered Professional Accountants is a fullservice financial advisory. Karen Masuda joined the firm in 2000.
“I had just written the CA Uniform Final Exam (UFE) and was ready to gain more experience and knowledge in public practice, and more specifically in the area of audit,” says Masuda. “I articled with a small firm in Sherwood Park and KBH was the perfect firm for me to grow and become the CPA I am today. There was opportunity for me to grow within the firm and that was very appealing.”
She became a partner in 2007, a career highlight and a cumulating of skills she developed since grade school.
Masuda explains, “Throughout my grade school years I excelled at math. My plan was to be a high school math teacher. I spent my first year at the U of A in the Faculty of Education majoring in math and minoring in accounting. After taking some accounting courses at the U of A, my career path changed; I knew I wanted to be a Chartered Accountant.
There are plenty of innovations in the accounting space, and Masuda is happy to leverage them to the benefit of clients.
“Technology has always played an important role in our firm. In a business such as ours, you must continue to explore new technology. We have continued to build on this throughout the years including our most recent implementation of workflow management software. Our focus on technology became a key factor in enabling us to continue to service our clients seamlessly when COVID-19 had virtually everybody in our office working from home.”
The transition impacts future innovation in how she and KBH will serve clients.
“We recognized that through the pandemic the safety of our team was paramount,” says Masuda. “When you have a large team, the comfort levels of people working in the office is going to vary. In order to continue to serve our clients but still provide a safe work environment, we fast tracked one of the largest workflow changes in the last 15 years. Moving to a system that allowed an entire engagement to be completed in a remote environment created an opportunity to maintain our high standard of client service while ensuring no one on our team was working in an environment that was not right for them.”
She advises other entrepreneurs regarding innovation, saying, “We have found the key to introducing innovation in our firm is to ensure everybody is well informed, involved in the process, and onboard. Implementing in small steps so people are not overwhelmed is key to the process.”
Masuda advises other women getting into business or entrepreneurship, “Ensure you have an excellent support system and don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
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“The Harvest Hub is a technology-driven, yearround, indoor farm that can grow anything, anywhere in the world, regardless of climate. Our goal is to provide food security and access in areas that are challenging, like in Northern Canada, giving them access to products they are otherwise importing or unable to get,” says Alina Martin co-founder of The Harvest Hub, along with her husband, Sean Fillion.
“Sean is the visionary behind the business, I’m the implementor,” continues Martin. “He deeply understands the issues around food security and availability, along with understanding the challenges of indoor farming. I joined him in 2019. Ultimately, The Harvest Hub is growing system that can grow deep root vegetables in soil, indoors, in a fully controlled environment. We have a unique air flow technology in our pot system, which is one of the reasons we are able to grow vegetables like beets, carrots, saffron, etc. indoors. We are now building our third research and test facility in Crossfield, AB, Canada’s newest agricultural park, which we hope will be the showcase for what’s possible in agriculture as a whole from broad acre farming to craft indoor growers.”
Innovation in agriculture is important to the couple.
“Agriculture is changing, rapidly,” says Martin, “from new farming techniques to a more locally focused food system, improved quality, nutritional density and conflict-free products. Imagine eating fresh vegetables, full of nutrition, grown locally all year long. It’s possible. Our food system has major problems and we want to help be part of the solution.”
For Martin, this is just the beginning.
“Indoor growing isn’t a standalone category. The Ag-Tech industry allows for multiple pieces of agriculture to come together, from traditional growing methods to greenhouses and more all by utilizing technology to push the boundaries of what’s possible. This will radically change food security, access, and the nutritional profile of products. Eating produce that actually tastes good, is fresh and is full of nutritious value for your body has more benefits that we can count. As simple as that sounds, anyone living in a cold climate knows exactly what I’m talking about. Local food is no longer a ‘nice to have,’ it’s going to be a ‘must have.’ In our Harvest Hub farm, we have grown about 40 items including saffron. One day we hope to grow an avocado tree.
“What I love the most about The Harvest Hub is that this business is impactful and brings meaningful change. It’s about feeding people, helping our neighbours, making jam from the local blueberries grown down the street.”
“When it comes to women building innovative businesses” concludes Martin, “I say, just go for it, but do your research first. Not all ideas or businesses are good and/or profitable. You will always regret what you don’t do, more than what you actually do. It may feel scary and that’s ok. Go for it anyway. Life is meant to be truly lived.”
Alina Martin
Co-Founder, The Harvest Hub
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West Canadian Digital Imaging Announces Rebrand of 70-year-old Company to WCD
West Canadian Digital Imaging Inc., a provider of digital print, signage and document management services since 1952, today announced the launch of a new corporate brand identity and name. The organization will now be known as WCD. Among the changes will be its logo, building and delivery fleet signage and website domain: www. wcdconnect.com
Newly rebranded WCD is a Calgarybased digital on-demand print and information solutions company. Leading the rebrand initiative alongside their team of talented executives are president and CEO Karen Brookman, her sister and vice president of marketing Jennifer Brookman, Karen’s husband and CFO Allan Megarry, building upon the legacy of father and company chairman, George Brookman.
The rebrand is part of the company’s strategy to evolve its business and create a foundation for new and emerging opportunities. A review of the corporate strategy began in
late 2019 and was then extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s leadership team used the additional time to thoroughly review the organization’s direction, the growing impact of technology in the field, and how customers were using print and information services in the rapidly changing work environment. Interviews with employees, customer surveys, focus groups and an expert advisory team helped shape the rebrand and new direction for the company.
The branding research determined the company’s current brand identity no longer accurately reflected the organization’s national reach and growing set of digital on-demand print and information solutions. The new WCD identity embodies an organization that is reinventing itself, but is still very committed to its roots and the legacy it has built in its core markets. Traditionally an industry leader in its home province of Alberta, the company has been winning business more recently in new markets including Ontario, the U.S. and Europe.
“This is an exciting change for us that reinforces our direction as a digital company that provides print and information solutions to our business customers, and ultimately to their customers. We are focused on WCD’s value proposition and what our people bring to the market. While our commitment to the customers and communities we have always served will not change, there is now greater potential for us to grow the scale and scope of our operations and show what a proud Alberta-based company can bring to other markets. We believe the new WCD brand positions us perfectly for such opportunities,” said Jennifer Brookman, vice president of marketing at WCD.
The family-run, Calgary-based company had previously announced a new leadership team as George Brookman passed the reins to his daughter Karen Brookman who became president and CEO in November 2019. Karen has assembled a talented leadership team that includes her sister Jennifer, Lindsay Duprey, Allan Megarry, Rob Steed, Thomas Cancilla and Bill Stevens. George has remained active with the company on the rebrand and with corporate strategy as its chairman.
Karen Brookman noted: “Under our father’s leadership, the company grew and evolved successfully over 36 years and earned a sterling reputation for customer service, quality work and innovative thinking. As our leadership team builds the next generation of the company, we want to accurately reflect our history and reputation while pursuing new markets and geographies. The market research we did confirmed that evolving our name to WCD, rather than completely changing it, was the appropriate strategic move for us.”
Orange Door Direct, the company’s in-house design agency, will now be known as WCD Creative Services as part of the rebrand.
WCD is currently updating its building signage, delivery fleet, customer sales materials, website and social media channels to reflect the new branding.
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