CAPITAL Magazine Fall 2021

Capital IMAGINE OTTAWA

BUILD BACK BETTER

A green, dynamic world class city

"LETS GET OTTAWA'S SWAGGER BACK" P. 14

LEVERAGING LESSONS LEARNED TO BUILD BACK BETTER

RETURNING TO THE OFFICE:

Issues & Options

OTTAWA'S BOOMING REAL ESTATE MARKET

P M 4 3 1 3 6 01 2

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF

FALL 2021

VISIT OUR WEBSITE! CAPITALMAG.CA

MPP Merrilee Fullerton

A strong voice for local business interests

Your Kanata-Carleton MPP Your voice in the provincial government

613-599-3000

Merrilee.Fullerton@pc.ola.org MerrileeFullerton.ca

Pursuing objectives of the “High Tech and Business Initiative” Proling Kanata and West Carleton business community Working closely with local BIAs and business groups Providing support for economic recovery from the pandemic Promoting the on-going “Shop Local” campaign

CONTENTS

Capital

FALL 2021

16

34

42

FEATURES

16

34

42

Ottawa Businesses Striving to Build Back Better in a Post-Pandemic World

Returning to the office: issues & options

Pandemic Real Estate Boom Affirms Desirability of Ottawa Lifestyle

BY J EF F BUCKSTEIN

BY J E FF BUCKSTE I N L

BY J E FF BUCKSTE I N

TH E BUS I N E S S M AG A Z I N E OF TH E OT TAWA BOA R D OF TR A D E | FA L L 202 1 C A P I TA L 3

CONTENTS

Capital

FALL 2021

6

10

DEPARTMENTS

IN EVERY ISSUE

6

10

12

46

Capital Context "Never let a good crisis to to waste"

C-Suite View The Experts on Building Back Better

Committee Corner New Strategic Plan

The last word

BY JENNIFER CA MP BE L L

On the Cover

Capital REIMAGINING OTTAWA'S FUTURE

p.16 p.42

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A green, dynamic world class city

LEVERAGING OUR LESSONS LEARNED TO BUILD BACK BETTER AND STRONGER

RETURNING TO THE OFFICE: Issues & Options

OTTAWA'S BOOMING REAL ESTATE MARKET

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF P M 4 3 1 3 6 01 2

12

BUILD BACK BETTER

"LETS GET OTTAWA'S SWAGGER BACK" P. 14

FALL 2021

VISIT OUR WEBSITE! CAPITALMAG.CA

p.34

THE OBOT PERSPECTIVE

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

OUR WORLD GOT a forced reset in March 2020 that has now lasted 20 months. It has impacted every aspect of our global community and taught us big lessons about how connected we are and how multi-faceted prosperity really is, mental wellness, public health, the economy, the environment, and equality. These lessons have come at a high price and begs the question, how will we leverage what we learned to build back better?

We are all anxious to get back to normal.

Or are we? In fact, how do we define normal now that so much has changed

and continues to evolve. Collectively, we have demonstrated the highest levels of collaboration, determination, innovation, and resilience. More than we ever thought possible pre-pandemic. And therein lies the foundation for a new way of thinking – that anything is possible when we work together.

We now know what it means to slow down and speed up at the same time. We know that a lack of understanding and acceptance for diversity will keep us from reaching our full potential. And that business success stories that start with people, end with profit. This edition of CAPITAL explores what we have learned and where we can go from the purview of Ottawa business and community leaders.

At the board of trade, we have been advocating for policies and programs to support our business through the pandemic and create an environment in which the private sector can drive our recovery and rebound. We are committed to maintaining and even elevating the level of collaboration with economic and political stakeholders we have come to expect during this time. And we see an opportunity to create a new vision for our Nation’s Capital, one that leads the world in city building.

Enjoy CAPITAL. As always, we hope you are informed and inspired by the insights herein and either realize or become more certain that Ottawa is the best place in Canada to live, learn, work, invest, play, and visit. Canada in one city. Today and in the future.

The magazine about doing business in Ottawa, created by the Ottawa Board of Trade in partnership with gordongroup.

OTTAWA BOARD OF TRADE www.ottawabot.ca President & CEO Sueling Ching PUBLISHER gordongroup 55 Murray Street / Suite 108 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5M3 Phone: 613-234-8468 info@gordongroup.com Managing Editor Terry McMillan Contributors Jeff Buckstein Jenn Campbell Creative Director Louise Casavant SALES For advertising rates and information, please contact: Director of Advertising Sales Stephan Pigeon Phone: 613-234-8468 / 250 spigeon@gordongroup.com OTTAWA BOARD OF TRADE Director of Organizational Advancement, Ottawa Board of Trade Lynn Ladd Phone: 613-236-3631 / 120 Lynn.Ladd@ottawabot.ca www.capitalmag.ca

ISSN 2371-333X. All rights reserved. Any reproduction of the contents without prior written authorization from the publisher is strictly prohibited. PM 43136012.

Capital is published three times a year: winter, spring, and fall.

Printed in Canada.

Sueling Ching, President & CEO Ottawa Board of Trade

TH E BUS I N E S S M AG A Z I N E OF TH E OT TAWA BOA R D OF TR A D E | FA L L 202 1 C A P I TA L 5

CAPITAL CONTEXT

“Never let a good crisis go to waste.”

O

TTAWA BUSINESS AND community leaders are taking

the immortal words of Winston Churchill to heart as we contemplate the post-pandemic future. We have had the unique opportunity to do things we never thought we could do. Creating solutions in this new reality opens the door to accelerating our economic growth plans, as well as our vision to be the best capital city in the world.

The key will be to leverage the lessons we have learned and to grow in the right way.

Ottawa has all the elements of success at our fingertips. We are the heart of Canada’s government with a robust international culture.

We enjoy big city amenities and a strong sense of community. Our economy is diverse, ranging from leading edge tech to a thriving music, film, and festival industry. We can find flourishing, unique, closely knit neighborhoods or miles of green space to connect with

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nature. Our highly ranked universities and colleges are filled with energetic young people with many different backgrounds who will ensure a dynamic future thinking community. And we are a city filled with dedicated, future thinking and passionate business and community leaders.

We are primed to build on the lessons we have learned during the pandemic to build back better from every perspective.

COLLABORATION. In March 2020, our local and international leaders were all in the same boat, uncertain about the best path to mitigate the threat of COVID-19 and minimize the economic and social impact of our countermeasures. New information and opinions were revealed daily and there were more competing and urgent priorities than we have known in recent history. In Ottawa, we immediately banded together, exercising radical communication

and collaboration among our community leaders and throughout our networks at the provincial, federal, and international level. There is a stated desire to maintain this collaboration as we work together for the future of our city and our country. This is our competitive edge.

INNOVATION. We have witnessed more creativity, more willingness to fail, more adaptation in the last twenty months then we may have known in the last twenty years. Digitization has grown ten-fold and we have without question demonstrated our ability to be nimble, prioritizing progress over perfection. The pace and scope of change will continue to accelerate, and our ability to respond is an attribute that Ottawa business leaders and decision makers will continue to build upon. We have proven we can be efficient with our time and energy, taking care of business while reserving thought leadership for big picture issues with long range impacts.

GLOBALIZATION. It is human nature to become myopic, especially when things are going well and have been for some time. One local leader recently said that the great thing about Ottawa is that we have no burning platform. And the bad thing about Ottawa is, also, that we have no burning platform. Ottawa has enjoyed many years of growth with relative ease. However, we now see that what has worked so well before may not always be there in the future. Global events very quickly and deeply disrupted all of our lives, and revealed many fault lines in our businesses, our communities, and our governments.

Policy decisions immediately changed every aspect of our businesses, impacting supply chains and market access. As a result of these experiences, we will not forget that we are all connected, within our communities and around the world.

WELLNESS. We already knew that mental well-being and public health were the foundation of our society. And we already knew that a lack of wellness costs us dearly in primary care, productivity, and creativity. But we now know that it can shut down our entire society with the flick of a switch. And more importantly that sustained economic hardship, uncertainty, and lack of access to basic support leads to diminished health. It is a vicious circle. The health impact of our pandemic counter-measures will be unknown and far reaching for some time to come. Businesses, governments, and institutions around the world must integrate the wellness lens into every decision-making process moving forward. Ottawa’s world-renowned health care leaders will certainly be a part of those key conversations.

The big three. Environment, equality, economy. A recent Ottawa survey of business leaders and citizens revealed a strong desire to urgently address the biggest issues facing us today. In fairness, these issues have been facing us for a long time. However, the pandemic has further highlighted the action gap; the space between what needs to be done and what is actually happening. More importantly, we now know what can be done if we prioritize and work together.

Governments alone cannot achieve our goals. They can create the conditions by which every business and citizen can engage and contribute to environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion and a thriving economy. Ottawa has a role, responsibility and opportunity as the Capital of Canada to set an example and play a leadership role on the most important issues of our time.

Come to Ottawa. Canada in One City. The future is here.

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CAPITAL/Carleton University

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CARLETON UNIVERSITY CO-OP: SETTING THE STAGE FOR CAREER SUCCESS AT KINAXIS ARLETON UNIVERSITY’S CO-OP program, with more than 3,000 students from a wide variety of academic programs and degrees, is at the forefront to supply the next generation of bright, talented and innovative students to local companies.

“Employers are looking to build their talent pipeline, and we help employers do just that,” says Courtney Régimbald, Director of Career Development and Co-operative Education at Carleton University.

“The system we use is similar to a real-world recruitment situation. We work with employers to post specific jobs and our co-op students apply. Employers get a batch of student resumes and then choose who they wish to interview. It’s a seamless process for employers – from post to hire in less than ten days. We take pride in our support of employers, as well as students,” she elaborates.

To prepare students for full-time employment, Carleton requires every co-op student to complete an online program called COOP1000. The course coaches students on resume writing, interview preparedness, and the transition to the workplace so that they can excel in their chosen fields.

Carleton’s Co-op program offers opportunities for local businesses and students to make interpersonal connections – traditionally this was done face-to-face, but the pandemic created opportunities to foster connections virtually.

These opportunities to connect include recruitment sessions where employers highlight their business, their corporate culture and provide insight on the talent they are seeking; career fairs with top employers; industry specific networking sessions; and other ways to engage on campus and on a virtual basis. Carleton University Co-op also partners with community associations such as Invest Ottawa, the Ottawa Board of Trade, the Kanata North Business Association, and Carleton’s new CU@Kanata initiative, in order to develop and promote local talent.

“We actively attend events with community associations in order to foster connections and develop jobs for our students. I’m proud of the relationships my team has been able to sustain in order to support employers and students during this challenging time,” says Régimbald.

Kinaxis Inc., a global leader in supply chain planning since 1984, regularly participates in Carleton Co-op events, including capstone projects, career fairs, hackathons and classroom workshops. In early 2021, the company was recognized both as one of Canada’s top employers for young people, as well as one of the National Capital Region’s top employers.

Robyn Macdonald, Corporate Recruiter, University Relations at Kinaxis, relies on Carleton’s Co-op program to meet many of the company’s student hiring needs. Co-op’s online hiring platform eases that process, by allowing Kinaxis to post multiple jobs. “It’s a really easy system. Just a few clicks and you can get jobs set up fairly quickly,” she says.

CH RIS RO US SAK IS AT PHANTOM PRO DUCTI ONS

C

“The system we use is similar to a realworld recruitment situation. We work with employers to post specific jobs and our co-op students apply. Employers get a batch of student resumes and then choose who they wish to interview. It’s a seamless process for employers – from post to hire in less than ten days. We take pride in our support of employers, as well as students.”

Based in Kanata, Kinaxis recruits software engineering and computer science students. But co-op students from accounting, finance, economics, and communications and media studies have also been hired to fulfill positions in corporate services.

“Carleton has a great setup for co-ops in many different programs that allow us to hire students,” says Macdonald, who also praises the personal touch the Carleton staff provide.

“The liaisons that I work with at Carleton are some of the best and friendliest that I’ve worked with across all the various campuses.

They’re very attentive. They really want your company to succeed in reaching their students, and they’re always very open and collaborative. If we have ideas they’re always really supportive in listening and making things happen,” says Macdonald.

Elyse McGarva, a Communications and Media Studies major, worked three co-op terms at Kinaxis. “I’ve really been able to navigate well, with good, concise communications, tailored to the environment that I’m in and the people I’m with, because of my education. I am very thankful for what I’ve learned in my program,” she says.

McGarva enjoys working with colleagues around the globe, and relishes the opportunities and challenges associated with experiencing cultural and language differences. Now in her final semester at Carleton University, McGarva has been working with Kinaxis part-time as a sales operations co-ordinator, supporting her colleagues in Europe.

“I would not have been able to secure this job without the Co-op program. It has literally started my career. The Co-op program has really helped define what I want in my career and I already have a full-time offer with Kinaxis that I’ll be starting once I’ve completed this semester,” says McGarva.

For more information on Carleton University Co-operative Education, please visit carleton.ca/employers/hire-co-op/

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C-SUITE VIEW

THE EXPERTS ON BUILDING BACK BETTER

BY J E N N IF ER CAMPB EL L

A

S THE CAPITAL rebounds from the adversity of the

global pandemic and as more employees return to the office, local business leaders are looking to build on lessons learned from surviving through these years of challenge and hardship. They’re also looking for ways to harness the talent of their people so they can build an exciting new future together. CAPITAL magazine talked to three community leaders about how to build back better.

Priya Bhaloo, COO for TAG HR and member of the board for the Ottawa Board of Trade, says communication is the most important priority for rebuilding, just as it was throughout the pandemic.

“When you look back, we’re all figuring things out together, trying to make the best decisions we could given what information we had.

A lot of businesses put together a return to work for Sept 1, but [then they started to rethink that.]

Bhaloo, a human resources specialist, says the more flexibility employers can offer their staff, the better.

Meanwhile, integrating technology — such as video calls and virtual meetings — that will help to make people’s lives easier should also be a workplace priority.

“We don’t always need to have a face-to-face meeting to discuss things back and forth,” she says.

She also encourages workplace teambuilding, even if it’s virtual.

“We did happy hours and water cooler talk, which was especially important for young people who are living alone,” she says, adding that it was also important for colleagues who’d been hired on during the pandemic and hadn’t met their colleagues in person.

For the happy hours, Bhaloo always asked questions of staff before the event, and then made co-workers guess the answers, so they might ask, for example, “Whose favourite movie is Goonies?” Again,

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given that some coworkers hadn’t met each other in person, it was important to make it fun and inclusive for all.

When it comes to talent, Bhaloo notes that the pool has expanded because employers can recruit from across the country or even the continent, partly because Ottawa is an attractive city, especially compared to larger centres that saw more crises in COVID. Similarly, Shawn Hamilton, vice-president of business development at Canderel Group, says the pandemic has brought about the realization that businesses are nothing without their people.

“Businesses that are struggling are those that aren’t able to find people in terms of talent,” Hamilton says. “How do we future-proof in terms of lessons learned? At this point, it’s all about catering to human capital. The conversation about attracting talent used to be on the pointier end of the paradigm, but now we see that’s across all levels, to people entering the workforce and people in less skilled fields.

Hamilton was talking to some New York colleagues and they told him that restaurants are having difficulty finding dishwashers, even when they advertise an hourly wage of US $40.

“It’s not just a question of paying people more,” Hamilton says.

“It’s a quality-of-work experience. The days of harsh working environments or being insensitive to workers across all elements is a thing of the past.”

He says Ottawa has a lot of things going for it in terms of pandemic recovery and future economic growth.

“We’ve got education, and, on a national basis, we’ve got affordability and quality of life,” he says. “We have the ability to churn out talent and a nice balance between public and private sector employers and global recognition as we’ve now become a top10 tech hub in North America.”

In conclusion, Hamilton said: “We’re in the age of humanism.

Profits will be the byproduct of fostering people.”

Tim Boock, VP of sales at Ad Caffeine says his advertising and marketing firm has learned a lot about the company’s employees and the kind of person it wants on staff.

“In the last year and a half, we’ve learned a lot of lessons and we’ve also determined who’s on our team. You’ve got people who will run

Priya Bhaloo, COO for TAG HR

He says he used to manage a few meetings a day, but in working from home, he can do as many as eight. He says he has better worklife balance working from home while others like to come into the office a couple of times a week, either for the opportunity to interact with coworkers or for a quieter place to concentrate.

Shawn Hamilton, vice-president of business development at Canderel Group

into the fire and others who will run away from the fire. We’ve found those who are prepared to do whatever it takes to make us successful despite the adversity. Those are the people on our team now.”

He says as Ad Caffeine faces “a new normal,” he can take advantage of the new ways of doing business — where videoconferencing is king.

“We’re a small company so we can make quick changes,” he says, adding that he can envision virtual operations all over the country, even if most staff members still live in Ottawa. “One of the things for us going into this new world is to understand that what got us here won’t get us there.”

Tim Boock, VP of sales at Ad Caffeine

“From a hiring perspective, we’re looking for people who fit our culture,” he says. “There is no such thing as ‘not my job’ or ‘I don’t feel like putting in a little extra effort.’ They need to be prepared to move quickly and not get bogged down in red tape and bureaucracy.”

And from a work perspective, Boock expects to be travelling less.

“We used to do client marketing presentations across North America,” he says. “I’d fly out, ask people to drive across the city, park, get out of their car, sit through a presentation and then drive home again. That doesn’t work in a pandemic so we had to adjust our business model. We used to say we should look into doing virtual presentations.

Now we do. I can do it in five different markets on the same day. It was a necessity, but it’s made us better and stronger and faster.”

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COMMITTEE CORNER

New Strategic Plan

T

HE OTTAWA BOARD of Trade was recently cre-

ated from the consolidation of three local Chambers of Commerce whose advocacy work dated back to over 160 years. This legacy move was inspired by the desire of local business and community leaders to increase the impact of the business community during a time of unprecedented change and challenge in the global economy.

The global pandemic amplified the need for a strong voice of business and during the last twenty months, the Board of Trade stepped fully into its role to advocate for programs and policies to help local businesses survive and thrive. Meanwhile, work has continued to lay a strong foundation for a economic recovery and rebound including the first strategic plan of the new organization.

This plan is designed to follow through on our promise to elevate the influence of the business community with decision makers, create a competitive business climate and position business success to drive economic growth.

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Our VISION is to be the voice of business and key advocate for economic growth in our Nation’s Capital. Our MISSION is to cultivate a thriving world class business community in Ottawa by influencing economic development through leadership and partnerships. Our VALUES are: • Collaboration – play to our strengths, partner • Determination – be nimble, results oriented • Future Thinking – leverage leading edge opportunities • Integrity – independent, nonpartisan, transparent • Passion – engage business and community leaders Our STRATEGIES are: • UNITE: Clarify, enhance, and communicate the OBoT identity and brand.

• INFLUENCE: Advocate key priorities for the Ottawa business community at three levels of government.

• GROW: Expand and diversify the OBoT membership and elevate overall engagement.

We intend to hone our focus on the most impactful opportunities for economic growth and we invite every Ottawa business to add their voice and shape their future. We invite every Ottawa business, every size and sector, to join us, shape the future of Ottawa and be a part of its success.

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CAPITAL/EY Warren Tomlin

W

ARREN TOMLIN WAS recently named as Office

Managing Partner for EY Ottawa. “EY’s commitment to Ottawa speaks to our delivering on the changing needs and demands of our clients - as all our clients grapple with modernization and reinvention,” he says. “Many businesses are looking to leverage data, AI and machine learning – we know this because we’re doing the same inside our own business.”

The long-time Ottawa resident spoke with Ottawa Board of Trade president and CEO Sueling Ching about his vision for Ottawa.

Sueling Ching: Warren, you’ve been part of Ottawa’s tech scene for some time. What’s different now compared to our tech bubble in the late ’90s?

Warren Tomlin: I came to this role after several years at Accenture and IBM, where I had the benefit of being a global partner. One year, I visited 17 countries - I would travel and return to Ottawa and wonder where our edge, - our swagger had gone. I had started my career at Corel and when I think back to what was happening in Ottawa at the time — it was an exciting time. Quite honestly, something’s happened, and I’m not sure it’s all for the best. The question I have, as we look to 2022 and beyond, is how does Ottawa get that excitement - that swagger back? How can we regain that footing of our Silicon Valley North status? Shopify, Telesat, Kinaxis, MDS Aero, Calian, Mindbridge, etc. – they are the current and 14 C A P I TAL FAL L 2021 | T HE BUSINES S MAG A ZINE OF THE OT TAWA BOA R D OF TR A D E

future technology leaders of our city. I think EY is well positioned to be a trusted partner of our clients, to give them solid financial advice, differentiated business strategy and to have the services deep enough to make it all come together. I’m excited at the opportunity to play our part to get that swagger back and EY is looking to partner with like-minded business and community leaders to succeed in these efforts.

SC: What cities should we emulate?

WT: I’m not sure we want to emulate anyone – rather, we need to be inspired by other world class cities. Pre-COVID, the last trip I took was to Singapore. Singapore thinks very big. I wonder if we need to think bigger than whether we invest in light rail east-west or north-south. These are important enough, however, Singapore thinks “city 3.0” big. You don’t need to look much further than Sparks Street or parts of our core to say, ‘we can - and need to think bigger and bolder.’ It’s time to continue to attract investment and talent – time for us to get our confidence back.

SC: How do you propose doing that?

WT: As a business leader, I want to work with the Ottawa Board of Trade, Tourism, Invest Ottawa, and others — the right groups to say, ‘how do we get the great companies we have here, our passionate leaders, together to re-embolden our vision for the city?’ The answer may be that we need to do exactly what we’re doing and we’ll get

PHOTO : OT TAWA TOURISM

‘LET’S GET OTTAWA’S SWAGGER BACK’

philanthropic and ever more present. We’re at a scale where we can there over time, or the answer may be we need to materially rethink fully serve our clients, but our clients need more complex help than some things. I can say that at EY, we are incredibly committed to the perhaps ever before. They need help from multiple service areas. city and the agenda that Ottawa has put forward. We are probably They need tax help, innovation help, strategy help, capital markets investing in Ottawa more right now than any other place in the country. help — they need help end-to-end as they recover and reinvent SC: It is refreshing to hear a business leader talk about a bigger coming out of the pandemic. vision for Ottawa. Ottawa has so much more to offer than I first SC: Then it becomes a circle of success. You’re supporting your realized, but the gap between our potential and where we are is clients and in turn, they are contributing to the productivity and so much bigger than most people realize. To me, Ottawa’s No. prosperity of the city as well. Now, let’s 1 competitive advantage is that we just review what services you offer. have the ability to communicate and WT: We are probably best known collaborate and optimize our collective for our tax and audit/assurance services resources in a way that other cities – promoting trust and confidence in might not. How can a full-service firm business and capital markets - but we like yours help make that happen? also have an array of technology and WT: The idea of ‘We’re all in this business consulting services to help together’ is an important theme we businesses transform, and a transactions need to carry out of the pandemic. As services group that drives corporate business and community leaders in strategy, capital allocation, and M&A and Ottawa, it really is up to us and - we divestments. So a mix of foundational really are all in this together. The reality services like accounting, married with is yes, we’re individual businesses new services to support clients through and we can collaborate and, in some all the changes they’re facing. So, we’re instances compete, but we are also a everywhere in the city, including doubling team that can make Ottawa the most down on tech in Ottawa. Personally, I competitive city in the country. And I think there are many more stories to be agree it’s there for the taking. I think told about tech in this city, and the ones there’s still a lot of headroom in Ottawa I want to be able to tell next are about to still be that much more competitive.

Ottawa being scrappy, bold, and working Our ambition over the next three together to get our swagger back. EY is years is to double our size and we Warren Tomlin, EY Ottawa Managing Partner ready to help play our part. are committed to being ever more .

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OTTAWA BUSINESSES STRIVING TO BUILD BACK BETTER IN A POSTPANDEMIC WORLD

By Jeff Buckstein

restrictions started to ease up people were really wanting to explore OCAL BUSINESS LEADERS are confident that Ottawa’s their own backyard,” says Callary. economy is not just on the mend from the devastating In the summer of 2020, #MyOttawaPass, a digital passport effects of COVID-19 emergency measures, but also on that included savings and discounts available at various tourism a trajectory that will accelerate the city’s international attractions around the city, was launched, attracting almost 10,000 presence to new heights in a post-pandemic world. people. “We received a BOBs award for the #MyOttawaPass for best “Our economy is very well positioned to play a long range role in performance in marketing in 2020,” Callary says. the digital and data world,” says Michael Tremblay, president and In the summer of 2021 Ottawa Tourism launched its #Invite2 chief executive officer of Invest Ottawa. campaign, which encouraged residents to invite two friends or He notes, for example, that the local high tech industry features relatives to visit and stimulate the local economy through spending some 1,800 well-diversified companies and 80,000 employees in at attractions, in retail stores, at restaurants and hotels, and on telecommunications, life sciences and biosciences, and clean tech. transportation.

“A lot of the underlying technology that we In the summer Another initiative, ThinkOttawa.com, launched produce at an R&D level and at a company prior to the pandemic, continues to be an important commercialization level is extremely relevant of 2020, way for the city to mobilize around bringing right now. I believe that’s the benchmark for #MyOttawaPass, a conferences and events to Ottawa that are spurred determining how well an economy is going to digital passport that by our knowledge-based industries, research, do over time. The technology we have finds its way in broad world markets connected to deep, included savings and education, and local professionals, says Callary.

Ottawa Tourism also expanded its local entrenched supply chains,” says Tremblay. discounts available marketing focus to become more regionally based “This was one of the reasons why we created at various tourism in 2021.

Area X.O. a couple of years ago,” he adds. “It is a attractions around the “One trend we saw is that rural and countryside facility to demonstrate, prototype and train in the attractions and destinations suddenly became of area of autonomy, whether drones, cars, tanks – city, was launched, much greater interest to a much broader base,” you name it. It is an opportunity for us to showcase attracting almost says Callary, citing Saunders Farm campfire nights some of the very best capabilities that Ottawa is 10,000 people. for families and couples, and the wagon rides at really credible and strong at in world markets.”

Stanley’s Olde Maple Lane Farm as examples of This is the best time in history to take advantage events that were perceived by many as being safer of the capability Ottawa has, he stresses. because they were outdoors and allowed for greater distancing.

Other key local industries are also poised to reap the benefits of “These rural attractions offer so much. I think we’re going to be post-pandemic growth after having persevered and innovated in the able to build on that,” she says. face of unprecedented adversity.

There continues to be a lot of uncertainty around being able to Tourism was one of the hardest hit local sectors, losing about plan and organize a business conference or event involving hundreds a quarter of its 43,000 pre-pandemic workforce. The local travel of people, says Ross Meredith, dual general manager of The Westin industry had been earning $2.2 billion in annual revenue as a result Ottawa & Delta Hotels by Marriott, Ottawa City Centre. But “the of visitor spending all around the city. It lost about $2.8 billion over good news is that we’re starting to see meeting and event planners the first 20 months of the pandemic, says Catherine Callary, vicetaking some risk and making some commitments for 60, 90, 120 president of destination development at Ottawa Tourism. days, or six months out,” he notes.

Today “we’re on a better path,” says Callary, who expects that During the pandemic the hotel emphasized the importance of vaccine passports will help provide some clarity to allow businesses continuing to remain in direct contact with key customers. “We’re to remain open. benefiting from that strategy. Because we built and maintained those “We saw momentum this summer from leisure travel that came relationships through very difficult times, we’re getting the first call back. But we’re anticipating a challenging fall and winter in Ottawa when it comes time for new business that they want to put back on because those months are typically pretty dependent on conference the books,” says Meredith. travel and business events. And that is a sector of tourism that’s To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, Meredith’s sales team going to take longer to rebound,” she elaborates. focused on attracting smaller groups than would be required for Ottawa Tourism adjusted to the various travel bans when COVIDbusiness conferences. For example, professional and amateur sport 19 was at its worst by focusing more on a local audience. “Once the

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Because revenue from in-person ticket sales generally comprises were one of the earliest market segments to get back to business. between 80 per cent and 100 per cent of all budgeted festival “We are fortunate to have the Ontario Hockey League teams staying revenues, the pandemic caused earned revenue for festivals to take at one of our properties. And we have all the Canadian Football a major hit in 2020 and 2021, says Carole Anne Piccinin, executive League teams staying at the other,” he says. director of the Ottawa Festival Network.

There has also been a significant increase in family events like The industry was also hard hit by workforce and logistical issues. milestone birthdays and wedding anniversaries held at local hotels.

Some festivals were unable to retain staff. Delivery models changed.

And when leisure travel bounced back this past summer, more time “The festivals suddenly needed digital production expertise, which and attention was focused on enhancing that experience. wasn’t really there before the pandemic struck. So different skill sets Local attractions such as the Byward Market, Parliament Hill, a had to be sought quickly, which posed challenges,” Piccinin explains. concentration of national museums, and Gatineau Park also provide “Our industry has super-resilient, creative people, but it was truly “lots to like about coming to downtown Ottawa as a summer leisure remarkable to see that in action when the pandemic struck. We saw getaway,” says Meredith. major festivals move to different delivery models within weeks,” Meredith expects several key business lessons to endure into the she says, noting how, for example, the Canadian Tulip Festival, future and strengthen the operations of his hotels.

Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, Ottawa These include an enhanced understanding of the importance of teamwork, as employees often had to find new skill sets to support other Jazz Festival, Ottawa Race Weekend and the Ottawa International Animation Festival were able to deliver valuable content online. departments in different ways. The importance of COVID protocols Ottawa Festival Network has maintained strong and open for both employees and guests was paramount, and enhanced safety dialogue with the City of Ottawa, including Ottawa measures will be carried forward. And management Public Health and Event Central. “We supported teams examined ways to operate more efficiently, “Because many producers by helping them access information to such as whether budgeted funds previously allocated of our members find smart reopening strategies while addressing for third-party vendors could be re-allocated health risks. This support continues to be essential in-house to create cost savings, he notes. are musicians who to help build consumer confidence to return The local arts sector, which often depends on didn’t have paid to live events. We saw the results of that work live, in-person events to survive – was also hit opportunities, we this summer as some events made the decision badly by the pandemic.

“We had to get very innovative to find ways to created performance to produce live. There were some impressive successes for our hardest hit industry, which is support our members who make up the live music opportunities for really encouraging,” says Piccinin. sector. We had to change how our programming them. We didn’t do Ottawa Festival Network has been supported by was delivered and offered,” says Jamie Kwong, any live events in all levels of government and its strategic partners, executive director of the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition (OMIC).

2020 because of the including the Canadian Live Music Association and the Festivals and Major Events organization.

“Because many of our members are musicians pandemic. Instead “And shout-outs to our city partners, Ottawa who didn’t have paid opportunities, we created we filmed everything Tourism, Ottawa Board of Trade, Ottawa Film Office, performance opportunities for them. We didn’t do so that artists still the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement any live events in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Areas, and the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition.

Instead we filmed everything so that artists still had an opportunity Our conversations were critical to support not only had an opportunity to perform. We did preto perform. We did the festival industry, but the ecosystem that festivals recordings,” says Kwong. pre-recordings,” operate within,” stresses Piccinin.

In 2021 pre-recorded Capital Music Awards were Festivals make up a valuable part of the regional held virtually, and then broadcast across Rogers economic system and “we will continue to work TV and on YouTube. closely with Ottawa Public Health and Event Central to ensure that OMIC also worked to create more educational opportunities for event safety continues to go hand in hand with entertainment, to INDIE artists and music businesses to create potential new revenue help build consumer confidence as we go along in recovery from the streams. pandemic,” she adds.

In addition, OMIC nurtured its community partnerships, and Industry leaders and city officials now have the satisfaction of has participated alongside other local organizations in the Mayor’s seeing their hard work during trying times pay off and bear fruit.

Economic Partners Task Force. “We need to make sure that our For example, says Tremblay, during the depths of the pandemic music sector is collaborating with our local business sector. In the Invest Ottawa leveraged strong relationships with funders at all end it’s all about supporting local,” says Kwong. levels of government and industry to assist local companies. That “As governments try to recoup from all the COVID spending, it’s included an $11.6 million Digital Main Street ‘futureproofing’ going to be at the forefront of all arts organizations to make sure investment from Fed Dev Ontario, a federal agency that delivers that arts are not cut from the importance of budgets and priorities. programs and services to support innovation and economic growth They’re a key part of any economy. They bring in tangible numbers.

And so OMIC will be advocating on behalf of the economic benefit of across southern Ontario.

“We had over 30 coaches and mentors and over 300 students help the music sector,” she adds. us touch 1,700 companies across Eastern Ontario – of which 1,400 Despite an estimated $28 million in lost revenues since the start plus were in Ottawa,” he says. of the pandemic, “in no way do I get the sense of defeat from any Today, the recovery of so many of those businesses right across musicians or artists,” Kwong says. “They are so optimistic and Ottawa puts the local economy in a strong position to pull ahead of excited to be getting a sense of normalcy back, like being able to go where it was prior to the pandemic. to the studio to record, getting to rehearse with their band mates, “We will be successful quite quickly as a city, and I think there’s and getting touring gigs once again. lots to be confident about,” predicts Meredith.

“They’ve just been so resilient,” she says proudly.

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CAPITAL/Hydro Ottawa

AT HYDRO OTTAWA, VR TRAINING IS THE NEW REALITY I

N THE FALL of 2019, Lyne Parent-Garvey, the Chief

Human Resources Officer at Hydro Ottawa attended an HR technology conference. What she learned during a single session at that conference – and the plan that she brought home with her – is now dramatically changing the way Hydro Ottawa educates and trains its employees.

The host for that one session was a firm hired to develop virtual reality (VR) training tools for major corporations like Walmart and UPS. Those tools, session attendees were told, had proven to be extraordinarily successful. Walmart, for example, reduced the time required to train employees to handle an online order kiosk from eight hours to just 15 minutes. And it did so with no loss of efficacy.

Lyne was confident that Hydro Ottawa could enjoy similar results.

“After what I saw and heard during that session, I was convinced that

VR training would be a faster, safer, more efficient and more costeffective way to train and educate Hydro Ottawa employees.”.

Even before that, training at Hydro Ottawa was evolving rapidly, propelled to some degree by the pandemic, says Donna Burnett Vachon Director, Change and Organization Development. “Gone were those days when employees would attend two- or three-day classes to learn new techniques or to upgrade their skills. Learner expectations have changed and continue to change. Today, our employees want easy access to information, preferably on their mobile device, and they want it to be on what they need or can use in the moment.”

For Hydro Ottawa, that means making information accessible to its employees anytime, anywhere and on any device.

Recognizing that VR training would be ideal in that kind of

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environment, Lyne acted immediately. She connected with the two Hydro Ottawa employees who would be instrumental in introducing a successful VR training program – Burnett Vachon and Bruce Lang, Director of Health, Safety and Environment.

“I said to them ‘we’re doing this’, this is the next level in our commitment to modernizing our approach to learning and development,” says Lyne. Donna and Bruce needed no convincing.

And, like Lyne, were anxious to get going immediately.

In fact, says Lyne, in many ways it was imperative to move quickly. “Hydro Ottawa, and the power industry as a whole, is undergoing major changes and disruptions,” she says. “We’re seeing that in the rapid evolution in technology, in what our

customers expect, and in changing regulations. Plus, our grid is now a two-way grid, with some homes and businesses producing their own energy and selling it to back to us.” In response to this rapidly shifting environment, it was only natural that Hydro Ottawa should emphasize modernization in learning.

Ironically, the first challenge for Lyne, Donna and Bruce was how to make virtual reality a ‘real’ reality. For that, Hydro Ottawa would require the services of a VR development company. While there are many well-qualified VR development companies across Canada and in the U.S, Bruce says they saw no reason to go beyond the National Capital Region. “Ottawa is a high-tech hub, for decades a recognized global leader in telecommunications technology. Surely, we could find a local company that could deliver what we needed.”

There was. Kanata-based Simwave had an impressive resume, delivering VR training tools to clients across North America. They embraced the Hydro Ottawa challenge, visiting various Hydro Ottawa work sites and closely inspecting the different equipment and tools that Hydro Ottawa workers use to do their jobs, so they could make the VR training experience as realistic as possible.

“We felt that VR training could help us in a number of ways, and decided to start with our trades training” says Bruce. “First, it would enhance our apprentice training, giving them the opportunity to practice and learn tasks safely before doing them in the field. And, second, it would allow our experienced tradespeople to refresh their knowledge of specific activities they might come across only every couple of years or so.”

Hydro Ottawa chose to start with one scenario, says Bruce, a 30-minute VR training module on how to install a new residential electricity meter. Like the gamers who made virtual reality so popular, the user wears a VR headset to look around or approach and interact with computer-generated objects and items. But instead of picking up a laser weapon to obliterate an invading army of aliens, the Hydro Ottawa trainee uses the tools of their trade to install the meter correctly and safely.

A second VR training module is in the works, says Bruce, and two more will come after that. Each will be limited to 30 to 60 minutes.

“It will be a new and different experience for many employees, so it’s important to keep the VR activities short with breaks when needed.”

For Hydro Ottawa, the decision to embrace VR training is only the beginning in its commitment to continue to modernize learning.

VR training programs with interactive coaches are almost certain to follow, says Bruce, as are virtual sessions where participants can practice other types of skills and engage in conversations in areas such as management and leadership development. VR is quickly becoming a learning experience for everyone.

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CAPITAL/Aventine Group

Wülf HR Project Management.

Reimagined.

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Wülf HR is a hybrid between a traditional recruitment agency and an external Project Management Office (PMO).

We are a solution provider for all of your organization’s project management needs.

As project managers ourselves, we take a slightly different approach to staffing PMs (Solution Architects, Developers, Project Co-ordinators etc.) for projects. We perform an assessment of the project needs and then we provide a capacity and staffing plan with corresponding resources.

Projects by their very nature are nuanced with ever-changing constraints, timelines, unknowns and risks.

In a world of grey, let Wülf HR be your

black & white. wulfhr.com

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CAPITAL/Royal Ottawa

Dr. Florence Dzierszinski, President of the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research and Vice-President, Research at The Royal

THE ROYAL: WHERE RESEARCHERS AND CLIENTS ARE A TEAM S

OPHIE IS A 51-year-old woman who had suffered from

treatment-resistant depression, and anxiety for years.

“Besides having medication and an awesome medical team, I still just wanted to drop dead,” Sophie says. “I knew I needed help.”

When she was referred to The Royal for treatment, she signed up for a study looking into the relative benefits of ketamine, a fastacting anesthetic and painkiller used to address treatment-resistant depression in research settings. It’s administered by intravenous during 40-minute outpatient visits.

For Sophie, who, like 30 per cent of people with depression, doesn’t respond to more conventional treatments, it was life-changing.

“We think ketamine may require less health-care resource use and may work faster,” says Dr. Jennifer Phillips, who is conducting the study with her colleague, Dr. Pierre Blier.

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new Strategy for care aims to “co-create access, hope and new possibilities.” And to do that, it makes sure clients are involved in the research from the word go.

Dr. Florence Dzierszinski, president of University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, and vice-president of research at The Royal, views the new strategy as inclusive and innovative.

“When I think about our research, I think about the hope that new possibilities can generate for people,” Dzierszinski says. “When they realize we’re doing a study on something that can make a huge difference in their lives, our clients will often say they had no idea this was possible. Our approach is to provide access to care through research, to bring the research to our clients, and to develop clientand family-oriented research.”

It’s a novel approach to mental health medicine: research scientists, clinicians, and their teams and staff work alongside clients, incorporating their experiences and lived expertise to guide the research they undertake. To bring clients into the research in

The Royal is in the Top 40 research hospitals in Canada (ranking combine acute and mental health hospitals)

Dr. Sara Tremblay demonstrates the use of a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation rTMS with Dr. Lisa McMurray, seen at far right

The Royal's Brain Imaging Centre PET-MR scanner

a meaningful way, The Royal has struck a committee of clients and families to work on outcomes that matter most to them. “Research shows that when clients are involved in their care, outcomes are always better,” Dzierszinski says.

clinical research in geriatric psychiatry. For instance, a collaboration between physicians, scientists and technicians in the Brain Imaging Centre investigates dementia and catatonia.

Underlying The Royal’s research approach is its determination to

Translation research into care: “There are academic studies that show it takes up to 17 years to bring research into practice,” Dzierszinski says. “We want to accelerate that pipeline and to do that we are building interprofessional teams — teams with clients, families, scientists, clinicians, physicians and health-care professionals - so we have built-in knowledge transfer right within the teams.”

Access to care through research Dr. Blier’s ketamine clinical trial mentioned above is one of the many trailblazing treatments The Royal is developing to treat patients with depression. Its neuromodulation research clinic, led by Dr. Sara Tremblay, offers a non-invasive, non-drug therapy for symptoms of depression that has shown promising results in those for whom little else has worked. In five 30-minute sessions, researchers stimulate the formation of new brain cell connections using magnets, or repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).

Of course, there are challenges. Neuromodulation was approved

by Health Canada in 2002, but it’s still not covered by OHIP in spite of clear evidence-based results. This is why this care is only available through research streams at this time. And there’s a general lack of resources. “At this stage, we have two rTMS machines,” Dzierszinski says. “If we had four machines and the personnel to operate them, we’d be able to tackle our wait list pretty quickly.”

In another innovative program, The Royal hosts the first “regional coordinated access hub in the province.” AccessMHA is an online portal that connects health-care providers and clients so the latter can go to one point of access to get help.

“Our team is now talking about connecting research right at that portal, which has never been done before,” Dzierszinski says. “It’s about using digital technologies as an enabler to care for clients. This is going to be a major area of focus for us in the future.”

In its Brain Imaging Centre, The Royal is also starting some

Dr. Pierre Blier, Director of Mood Disorders Research Unit and Dr. Jennifer Phillips, Scientist in Mood Disorders Research Unit at The Royal

consider the whole person living with mental illness — including the biological, psychological, social and spiritual facets of the individual.

For instance, Dr. Kaminsky leads a multidisciplinary team working on military mental health, including PTSD. This team focuses on the determination of PTSD dissociative sub-types by looking at different markers — inflammation, levels of the stress hormone cortisol, neuromelanin in the brain, sleep markers — clinical scales and demographic data, and then they build an AI algorithm to be able to predict whether someone living with PTSD has a dissociative subtype.

“This speaks to making the leap from a direct behaviouralbiological signature approach to looking at the integrated biological, psycho-social and spiritual aspects of the whole person,” Dzierszinski says.

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CAPITAL/Perley Robertson

GLOBAL PANDEMIC PLACES UNPRECEDENTED LEGAL CHALLENGES ON EMPLOYERS S OTTAWA OFFICES reopen, local business leaders have been forced to make difficult, once-in-a-lifetime decisions, often with no legal precedent to refer to. A rapidly shifting landscape is further complicating matters.

The most perplexing question facing employers today is whether to mandate vaccines for their employees.

Under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act employers must take every reasonable precaution for the health and safety of their workers, says Karin Pagé, a partner with Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP in Ottawa.

“Traditionally however, we weren’t talking about infectious diseases.

So this has required an adjustment, and we really don’t know what the scope of that is in terms of dealing with COVID-19,” she adds.

During the early days of the vaccine rollout last spring, “most employment lawyers probably would have said ‘be careful, because that could be seen as a constructive dismissal. That’s a fundamental change to the terms and conditions of employment.’ There’s still a risk of that. But there’s also a risk on the other side - that if you’re not requiring proof of vaccination, are you taking every reasonable precaution for the health and safety of your staff?” says Pagé.

The situation has also changed considerably in recent months as governments in Ontario and several other Canadian provinces, including Quebec, have moved rapidly to require businesses providing non-essential services to demand proof of vaccination from their customers.

“But, apart from the federal transportation sector, it doesn’t mandate they must require that of their employees, so there’s still a lot of choice for employers to decide what is necessary and appropriate for their own staff,” says Pagé.

A

Employers must decide what constitutes a reasonable request under the circumstances. However “this hasn’t yet been considered by the courts, so we’re really in novel times here, waiting for judicial decisions on what is going to be considered reasonable,” says Pagé.

The decision that employers make will need to be expressed in a formal written policy that contains exemptions for individuals who have a valid reason, such as medical or religious, under Ontario human rights legislation not to be vaccinated.

Employers who decide to implement a proof of vaccination policy for their employees must also consider the consequences they are willing to impose for non-compliance.

The safer route is to consider imposing a non-disciplinary sanction. For example, some employers are choosing to only limit the attendance of unvaccinated employees at in-person meetings or social events where physical distancing may be more challenging to maintain.

“That is probably a reasonable compromise because they’re not going to lose their job. They’re going to be able to continue to do their work in a different way,” says Pagé.

Another potential alternative for employers is to require regular testing for COVID-19 in lieu of a mandatory vaccination policy.

However, some employers are willing to go further and say the consequences of a failure to get vaccinated or show proof of vaccination are to put employees on an unpaid leave or terminate their employment.

“It’s a risk as to what the courts will see with that,” says Pagé, who notes that such action by employers might now be viewed more amenably in light of public health guidelines and vaccine passport systems that restrict people from entering certain public spaces without proof of vaccination.

“It’s a decision that needs to be carefully considered,” she stresses.

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CAPITAL/NAqC

COMING SOON!

naqc.ca

THE NATIONAL AQUATIC COMPLEX PROJECT T

HE NATIONAL AQUATIC COMPLEX (NAqC) PROJECT DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES TO MATERIALIZE.

The NAqC has entered into a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the National Capital Commission.

29 acres of land directly north and adjacent to the Hurdman Road LRT station and south of the Rideau River, will be the home of the National Aquatic Complex. The parent company, the National Aquatic Institute Inc., is a not-for-profit company that is establishing and owns this project and the facility.

This prominent location is an investors dream. With a height specific to house the world’s first indoor High Diving sport platforms, the structure will be seen from all directions as you travel highway 417. With direct access to transit and situated in the center of the National Capital Region at Hurdman Park, National Sport Organizations are hailing the strategic location of our new facility.

A rendering, indicative of our vision, by Mr. Douglas Cardinal, an internationally renowned Ottawa architect.

The President and CEO, Mr. Peter Lawrence, backed by a strong Board of Directors, led by our Chair, Mr. Greg Kells, President of Sunbelt Business Brokers Canada, are together furthering the development of technological advancements in lighting, broadcasting, digital media, and spectator capacities. Sport organizations will enjoy the absolute best this enviable state-of-the-art facility has to offer.

Mr. Greg Kells, Chair, National Aquatics Institute

Interest is pouring in from around the world through our personal contacts and social media platforms. Excitement is building. The world, the country and the City of Ottawa want and need a facility of this magnitude.

The renowned phrase, “build it, and they will come” is what we are hearing from around the globe. We want you to be apart of that voice.

Join us on social media!

NATIONAL AQUA TIC COMPLEX - NA Q C @NATI ONALAQUATICCOMPLEX @NA Q COMPLEX

Further development of the property proposes; a hotel, restaurants, and sufficient parking. Event planners can advertise the ease of access and accommodations to use for hosting teams, clubs, and visitors to compete and train at the NAqC.

Many thanks to our valued supporters. For more information and how you can support the National Aquatic Complex Project , please visit naqc.ca An introductory video about the complex, narrated by Carolyn Waldo, is on YouTube.

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CAPITAL/NAqC

Transition of ownership of Small and Medium sized privately owned businesses What is happening?

BY GR EG KELLS, PR ES ID E N T O F S UN BE LT BUS I N E S S BRO K E R S The top 10 factors influencing this: 1. Covid has affected small businesses with many having the busiest years they have ever seen while others are barely surviving. The busy ones a struggling to keep up with delivery.

Some are struggling to pay their bills.

2. We have an ageing population of business owners. Ten years ago, a massive number of transitions was predicted. It is beginning now.

3. Technology and market changes are forcing changes in marketing and operations for many businesses 4. Interest rates are low, and financing is available to purchase small businesses 5. Covid has prompted many people to reconsider what they want from life resulting in an increase in the number of purchasers

seeking to buy small businesses.

Real estate values have increased dramatically making home equity loans available to potential purchasers 7. Difficulty in supply chains, recruiting, and retaining staff is making business ownership more challenging 8. Growing immigration of entrepreneurial people is increasing demand for small businesses.

9. Govt. programs have propped up many businesses allowing them to survive however these programs will end soon so business owners are taking action to address life after CERB, CEBA, CERS, etc.

10. Well trained professional Business Brokers are doing a much better job of providing options and help for Business Owners and potential purchasers.

6.

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It is the Best of Times for some, and it is the Worst of Times for others. We are seeing a significant increase in the number of Business Owners wanting to retire. For the owners whose business is booming it is becoming more work than they want, and the market and technology changes are further increasing demands on them. Their business is prospering, and they think it is a good time to sell – They are right. For the business owners who are struggling and worried about survival, they are looking at a few years of hard work to get back to where they were, and they do not want to do it – they want out. Keep in mind most of these business owners are getting on in years. They do Greg Kells, President of Sunbelt Business Brokers not have the energy they had 10 years ago.

Businesses only coast one direction.

At the same time there is an increasing number of competent buyers with access to funds to purchase a business.

I have trained most of the Business Brokers in Canada and have participated in the evolution of our profession. Standards have improved, training has improved, technology has improved, marketing has improved and importantly the skills in analysis and packaging have improved, resulting in a much-increased close ratio (we sell almost

all businesses we take as clients), higher values for the sellers (a good broker adds around 30% to the value of the business), better structuring of transactions, and a much higher success rate for purchasers (over 98%). Business Brokers are doing a better job resulting in win/win transactions. They arrange financing for the purchasers on terms that work for success, and they overcome the vast number of hurdles that kill deals.

To sum up, it is currently a sellers’ market and a great time to sell however we are expecting this to shift over the next couple of years to become a buyers’ market as an increasing number of Business Owners decide to exit. If you are thinking of selling your business, now is a great time to act and that action should begin with meeting the best Business Brokerage you can find in your city.

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PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR HEART IS.

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BUILDING BACK BETTER: STRUGGLING SECTORS

BY J E FF B U CKST EI N

A

S THE NEW decade dawned, the hospitality industry in

Ottawa was soaring, buoyed by the winds of a healthy economy. Business conventions filled the coffers of local businesses. Leisure travel abounded as Canadians and international visitors flocked to the capital. Sporting events drew large crowds, creating positive financial spin-off for nearby restaurants, hotels and motels.

In 2018 and 2019 there were more tourists coming from overseas than ever before from countries like the U.S., Mexico, China and India, says Tony Elenis, president and CEO of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association (ORHMA), headquartered in Mississauga.

All of a sudden COVID-19 delivered an unexpected global shock.

“By March 2020 the whole industry hurt badly, and continues to be, although we’re trying to pick up the pieces,” says Elenis. “We’re an industry whose strengths are meeting people, having fun, and celebrating. But those became our impediments when this pandemic came,” he adds.

Restaurants, whose core revenue comes from indoor seating, were hit hardest because unlike hotels and motels they were subject to complete lockdowns. “Revenue to every seat is so critical in a food and beverage operation because of the low margins,” says Elenis.

Some restaurants adapted well with takeout and delivery, but that operational model did not work for all. Hotels and motels continued to operate, but at lower capacity, and with a greater need for costly safety spending, at much smaller revenue margins than they were used to, he adds.

To mitigate the damage, right from the beginning, and at the direction of governments, hospitality businesses implemented

expensive safety protocols, such as installing plexiglass. Various employees were given sanitization tasks as cleaning became a priority. Distancing rules were put in place.

“I really compliment the industry for stepping up to the plate and installing and implementing the various protocols that were needed.

Frontline employees especially have played a key role over the last 20 months of working and enduring in hotels, motels and restaurants under totally different conditions and structures than hospitality has been noted for,” Elenis says.

The good news for restaurants is that capacity limits were lifted this autumn. For hotels and motels, occupancy was buoyed by an increase in leisure market travel, says Elenis.

But the fall and winter business season and booking of meeting rooms is going to require many changes to convince people that it is safe to start traveling again, including confidence in open borders and the health status of visitors, he adds.

“We need every tourist we can get, especially from the depressed business market,” Elenis stresses, noting that while the COVID-19 variants lead to unpredictability, there is hope that the vaccination program will be successful in preventing further spread of the disease, and further lockdowns.

The hospitality industry plans to build back to an even stronger position than before, in part by carrying forward pandemic-related initiatives that emphasize safety as a number one priority. In fact, says Elenis, hospitality venues that can innovate best in this field, such as embracing technology to alleviate touching, will earn themselves a competitive advantage.

“That will build consumer confidence,” he predicts.

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CAPITAL/NCC

80 Elgin Street (left) will soon become the NCC headquarters, which is currently located at 40 Elgin Street (right) in Ottawa.

NATIONAL CAPITAL COMMISSION: STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE T

HE NATIONAL CAPITAL Commission (NCC) is embrac-

ing the best of innovation and sustainability as it prepares for the move to its new headquarters. Reflecting the NCC’s excellence in city building, as well as its drive to be forward-thinking and accessible, this modern workspace and public gathering place will enhance the NCC’s employee experience and its connection with the public.

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Future headquarters: 80 Elgin Street The NCC is actively preparing for the relocation of its headquarters from 40 Elgin Street in Ottawa to 80 Elgin Street — the former British High Commission.

This past summer, the NCC successfully negotiated the purchase of this prized real estate asset on Confederation Boulevard. Designed

by British architect Eric Bedford, whose most famous work is the British Telecom Tower in London, 80 Elgin Street is one of the

National Capital Region’s iconic mid-century modern buildings.

In addition to enabling the NCC to fulfill the promise of the 2017–2067 Plan for Canada’s Capital by securing ownership of assets of national interest along Confederation Boulevard, this investment will only grow in value, representing both a strong return on investment and significant savings to taxpayers.

Connecting with the public As the NCC works toward moving into 80 Elgin over the next 18 to 24 months, it will strengthen and modernize its approach to public engagement by creating accessible public gathering places at street level, thus enhancing opportunities for in-person interaction with the NCC and its staff.

This could include access to initiatives such as the NCC’s Urbanism Lab series, a public speaker series that brings together leaders in urbanism, design, heritage, conservation, sustainability and placemaking, to imagine the future of Canada’s Capital Region.

Return to the workplace Over the past 18 months, NCC staff have demonstrated how productive, flexible and creative they can be in the way they work and deliver projects – all while managing record-breaking public use of outdoor NCC assets.

As we prepare for a gradual return to the workplace, the NCC has gathered data from staff, as well as industry best practices, and is working to implement a hybrid model with tools that will provide employees with the right balance between flexibility, productivity and well-being.

Working with the NCC As a top employer in the National Capital Region, the NCC employs a wide range of experts — including biologists, landscape architects, heritage managers and conservation officers — all working to build Canada’s Capital Region.

The NCC welcomes the opportunity to work with new suppliers and contractors. If you are interested in offering your services, please visit https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/business/contracting-with-the-ncc.

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RETURNING TO THE OFFICE: ISSUES AND OPTIONS

BY J E FF B U CKST EI N

AVING ENDURED ENORMOUS hardships imposed by COVID-19, and with the global pandemic still a clear and present danger, Ottawa’s employers are now hard at work planning their strategy for how best to reopen their offices. Far from being a pure business decision, there are many human elements, and legal repercussions to also consider.

Karin Pagé, a partner with the law firm Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP in Ottawa, notes that company officers are obligated to observe various requirements pursuant to the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 and the regulations associated thereto.

“For one, businesses are required to have a safety plan in place that describes the measures and procedures that are being implemented to reduce the transmission risk of COVID-19, including screening procedures, physical distancing, masks or face coverings, cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and objects, and the prevention of over-crowding,” Pagé says.

Moreover, the Ontario government’s mandated vaccine passport affects certain businesses, like restaurants, bars, gyms, concert, and sport venues, etc., which are required to ensure that any guests to the premises have proof of vaccination. However, this doesn’t apply automatically to the business’ employees. In most circumstances, the employer has the choice to decide what is necessary and appropriate for its own staff, she explains.

Beyond that, “your return-to-work plan can be quite varied. It can be suited to the nature of your own workplace and what you as an employer deem is necessary and appropriate,” says Pagé.

Employers have a general obligation under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act to take all reasonable precautions for the protection of its workers.

Pagé explains that “for some, this may mean requiring vaccination against COVID-19. But until now, employers would normally have had little control over an employee’s off-duty conduct or what they choose in terms of medical treatment. This is a strange and unique situation where employers may be presented with conflicting obligations and considerations.

“Mandating vaccinations in the workplace is a decision that needs to be carefully considered,” she stresses.

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Karen Brownrigg, founder and CEO of iHR Advisory Services, says that as offices reopen, human resources professionals and other senior members of management have multiple responsibilities to ensure the safety of their employees.

Employers who take the position that employees must be fully vaccinated in order to continue gainful employment must think through the worst-case scenario that could arise – namely that an employee, or several employees will decide for personal reasons outside of an accommodation covered by human rights legislation they will not get vaccinated.

“It’s really problematic to write a policy that you haven’t thought through and that you are not in a position to enforce, because a policy that pays lip service that you’re not prepared to enforce damages your credibility and the future credibility of any policy that you ever write again,” Brownrigg warns.

“Whenever there are competing human rights, you always want to consider going to a common ground solution,” says Brownrigg. For example, a reasonable common ground solution might be to allow people who aren’t client facing to work from home, while stating that others who do meet clients must go into the office, she adds.

Building back better To help an organization ‘build back better’ in the wake of the pandemic, “the best thing any human resources practitioner can do is conduct a deep analysis around ‘What is our culture now?

And how do we define our culture?’ What that really means is ‘how do we behave in our workplace?’” says Brownrigg, who notes that understanding that workplace tenet is important to be able to attract and retain the employees needed for the future.

Another issue today is that many low paying industries such as retail and restaurants are having difficulty hiring and retaining employees. Human resources officers need to look at the total compensation program they can offer those individuals that might allow them to attract and retain them for longer.

This isn’t just about money, says Brownrigg. Employers need to understand the needs of their employees. For example, if the employees are students in school, employers should examine whether there is a way to help with tuition. Or perhaps there is a health and

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there was a very unhealthy pattern that I’ve seen over the past two decades, where the burnout rate is really high. We have never been able to give ourselves permission to…take time for wellness, to be with people and be doing things that were recharging our personal wellness batteries,” says Brownrigg.

“This pandemic has, in a very strange way, forced us to do that, and people aren’t willing to part with that. We need to find ways to continue along that path, and look at work in a more balanced fashion,” she adds.

dental program that can be offered to employees, she suggests.

“This is not a one-size fits all approach. You need to figure out what that targeted audience wants, and whether your organization can sustain that over a certain period of time, and then go for it,” says Brownrigg.

Employers also need to take into account that the pandemic has considerably altered what the work environment is expected to look like over the next several years.

“As a human resources professional and an executive coach,

COVID-19 Has Inexorably Altered The Future of Work STEPHEN HARRINGTON, a partner in Human Capital Consulting at Deloitte Canada and national leader for the firm’s Future of Work Advisory in Ottawa, believes the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the future of work by advancing the question of where people should work.

When employers examine the lives of people who currently have to report to a work location the question needs to be asked whether, if there is no flexibility about where to work, employers can at least be more flexible about when and how those people work, he notes.

“There are trade offs in all of these design decisions, but if people have flexibility about when they apply themselves to work, it will go a long way in helping them integrate parts of their lives that matter to them that had previously been difficult to integrate, like their family life or social life,” he says.

In order to ‘build back better,’ human resources professionals, along with other senior members of the management team, also need to address the future skills crisis. “There is no end in sight for the reskilling of technical skills. Because of the pace of technology and changing appetites in customers and citizens, that

need for reskilling is going to be constant,” says Harrington.

This puts pressure on HR professionals to drive a serious conversation about what future skills are going to be needed within their organization. The company’s business strategy over the next three to five years, including how that differs from today, and whether it has the personnel in each department and/or function to match the skills required, must all be taken into account.

HR professionals can also contribute to the discussion about how jobs can be redesigned and modernized in conjunction with current technologies to make them appear more human, attractive and sustainable to employees and prospective employees, says Harrington.

“Employees have a ton of choice. They can see there are jobs out in the market that have really advanced. They’re really attractive. And they can also see jobs in the market that haven’t advanced at all. I think job design is an area that isn’t examined enough in terms of how we make ourselves competitive to win talent,” he elaborates.

This is an excerpt from the 2021 Ottawa Talent Summit. Full presentation found at ottawabot.ca.

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CAPITAL/ Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association

RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION – OTTAWA’S QUIET ECONOMIC ENGINE

Photo Credit: Greystone Village: eQ Homes with Hobin Architecture Incorporated, Winner of 2020 Housing Design Award for Best New Community

ERE’S WHAT THE residential construction and renovation industry means to the City and people of Ottawa: jobs, economic growth across the city, and, most importantly, homes for our families.

Building and renovating homes is a significant engine of Ottawa’s economy – it means 43,000 on-site and off-site jobs and $2.8 billion in wages.

It also means $5 billion worth of economic activity across the capital.

Housing construction numbers have seen year over year increases since 2017 (COVID being a mere two week hiccup), and 2021 is on track to be strongest year for new housing activity in Ottawa since 2002.

The strength in housing since 2017 is largely coming from pent-up demand. Between 2002 and 2016 the average number new home starts was 1,000 units lower than current production.

Even with these increased rates though, demand for new homes continues to outstrip supply. Consider that Ottawa has had a fully functional housing market over the past year and a half with no immigration and no international students – basically with no external demands on housing.

H

Residents know that Ottawa is experiencing the impacts of an insufficient housing supply, but a recent Scotiabank report elaborates on the decline - the number of housing units per 1000 residents in Ottawa-Gatineau decreased from 421 in 2016 to 412 in 2020.

In order for us just to get back to that 2016 number, we’d have to build 9,000 new homes now – over a year’s worth of activity – and that’s without considering our future population growth.

Over the next two decades there will be tremendous pressure to build enough homes to meet Ottawa’s growing population while significantly increasing intensification.

Housing supply has been in sharp focus recently - not only was it a significant issue in the federal election, but it is the subject of a new report from Mike Moffatt, Senior Director of Policy and Innovation at the Smart Prosperity Institute.

Moffatt notes that the Ontario Ministry of Finance projects the City of Ottawa’s population to grow by 192,510 persons over the next 10 years. It grew by 118,448 from 2006-16. Over the next 10 years, Smart Prosperity Institute projects an additional 82,409 households, on net, living in Ottawa, occupying 17,651 high rise apartment units

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and 64,758 low and medium density housing units, on net.

The number of new homes added each year is also important because it’s a significant factor in keeping prices reasonable. It is critical that Ottawa provide a range of housing and lifestyle options for residents if it wants to attract and retain talented people, businesses and economic development opportunities.

Our housing affordability is an economic competitive advantage for employers compared to Toronto, Montreal and elsewhere, so we need to protect it.

GOHBA and its volunteer members work closely with City of Ottawa staff with an eye to ensuring that housing policies and/or development application requirements be considered through a housing affordability lens.

Having affordable housing is also critical to the residential construction industry as it faces a significant shortfall in skilled labour in the coming years. According to BuildForce Canada, our industry will have to hire over 100,000 new skilled workers in the coming decade across the country to address mass retirements as our workforce ages – or 20% of the entire skilled workforce.

As part of our efforts to promote skilled trade careers GOHBA is forging partnerships with educational institutions like Algonquin College, who are the largest source of training in the Greater Ottawa area. We’re also working with organizations like the YMCA-YWCA of the National Capital Region, who have a strong history of working with underrepresented groups so that they can have better access to skilled trade careers.

Over 2020 and 2021 the provincial government declared residential construction and renovation an essential industry – allowing most building and renovation sites to stay open during the wider lockdown. It did this in large part because professional builders and renovators maintain high health and safety standards, and were quick to adopt stringent COVID protocols.

Those working in the industry remained safe and employed throughout the pandemic.

Residential construction in Ottawa will continue to be a sector of growth, bringing with it a demand for jobs at all skill levels.

The Greater Ottawa Home Builders' Association is the proud voice for excellence in the home building community. Our 320+ members represent the best of Ottawa's new home construction and professional renovation industry.

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CAPITAL/MNP

CYBER RISKS IN REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION

WHY YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS TO BOOST CYBER SECURITY NOW

BY P E TE R BA N G S

VERY DAY YOUR real estate or construction company becomes a more tempting target for cyber attackers.

The rewards that appeal to cyber criminals include proprietary information such as proposals, engineering drawings and building designs; intellectual property such as design rights; financial information; personal identifiable information of customers and vendors; email accounts; ransom of files for money and much more. Cyber criminals are motivated not only by money, but also by espionage, extortion and even simple notoriety.

For real estate and construction companies, protecting operations, assets and people calls for effective cyber defences. Industry insiders refer to this as establishing a "strong security posture" and it necessitates adopting a proactive enterprise risk management approach to mitigate the most dangerous risks.

The size of an enterprise does not matter. Nearly half of all cyber attacks globally are committed against small businesses. Small- to mid-sized real estate and construction companies are seeing more cyber attacks for one simple reason: inadequate defences.

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The failure to detect and respond to security incidents could cause severe impact to the reputation of the industry and can lead to more than just theft of data. It can also result in physical harm, safety issues or operational interruption.

Every real estate and construction company needs a comprehensive, dynamic enterprise risk management approach to security that focuses on identifying and mitigating the likeliest and most dangerous risks to protect vital operations, assets, infrastructure and people.

Protecting your company from cyber catastrophe first requires acknowledging a damaging cyber breach can happen to your organization. Then it requires building a strong security posture.

MNP ‘s industry-leading Cyber Security and Real Estate and Construction teams work together to develop a tailored approach to address your Cyber Security needs.

Contact Peter Bangs, CPA, CA, Leader of MNP’s Real Estate and Construction practice for Eastern Ontario at 613.691.4212 or peter.bangs@mnp.ca

BUILDING BACK BETTER: NEWEST THRIVING SECTORS

BY J EF F B U CKST EI N

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AVING JUST COME off a record year for live action

production in 2019, Ottawa’s film and television industry seemed poised for another boom year in 2020. The first month got off to a blazing start, but by the end of that quarter, the shock of the COVID-19 global pandemic had hit with full force. The industry, like much of Ottawa, went into lockdown.

Behind the scenes, however, much was happening. Animators developed a process whereby they could work remotely. “They quickly pivoted and were able to get back up running,” says film commissioner Bruce Harvey of the Ottawa Film Office.

Industry officials also worked diligently with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to develop guidelines about how to safely proceed. The entire structure of how the crew and equipment flowed on set was altered to protect against COVID19. Personal protective equipment was obtained for use on set. Social distancing rules were put in place.

“Whole new departments were created to deal with safety on set, including full-time people using foggers to disinfect entire locations before the crew was allowed to go in because actors are unmasked when they’re on camera,” explains Harvey.

All of this resulted in a 10 to 25 per cent increase in budgeted production expenses. But the diligence – and extra expense - paid off.

“When production was able to resume again in July, even after having the shutdown, we came close to matching in 2020 what we did in 2019. As soon as we were able to get up and running, the appetite for streaming during COVID went through the roof. People were consuming product in a voracious way,” says Harvey.

In 2021, the local film industry has surged far past where it was pre-pandemic. Local spending for live action drama production so far this year has been $37.2 million with a total of 28 feature-length films, plus several TV series filmed between January and the end of October, compared to $28.5 million and 25 feature length films, plus several TV series in 2019.

Moreover, “we’ve had no outbreaks on sets in Ottawa. That has really helped us with the international community, as actors and producers know they’ll be safe when they come here,” Harvey notes.

Harvey is “very bullish” on the future of Ottawa’s film and television industry.

“The producers here are doing a great job. The crews are developing quickly. Both La Cité and Algonquin College have made modifications in their film and television programs to alter the type of training to meet the demand for the industry,” says Harvey.

Both academic institutions are also working hard to keep the local workforce up at a time when finding crew is the biggest restriction to allowing the industry to maintain its healthy growth, he adds.

Pandemic modifications have also improved workflow, and the enhanced sanitization measures will better protect the local film and television industry against viral outbreaks, which often set back local production in the past.

As a result, “I can go to a producer or a studio and say ‘bring your next production to Ottawa because we have the locations, the crew, the cast, and all of the infrastructure to fit your needs,’” says Harvey.

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gordongroup is pleased to announce the release of

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Using the evidence-based Orton-Gillingham structured literacy approach, this suite of 'decodable readers' (aka storybooks) and support materials are aimed towards emergent readers, reluctant readers and dyslexic students.

This is a proven "building-block" approach to reading that is systemic, sequential, structured, direct and accessible for struggling and new readers - as well as ESL students.

TruePhonics Box Set A includes phonetic flashcards, non-phonetic "red word" flashcards, two gameboards with a card deck, a student workbook, six colourful and engaging decodable readers (that review the sounds and non-phonetic words that have been learned via the flashcards, workbook and games), a guide note to parents/teachers, and last but not least, a certificate of achievement.

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CAPITAL/Performance Plus

WORKING ON PURPOSE T PERFORMANCE PLUS Rehabilitative Care Inc. (PPRC), we strive to optimize employment opportunities to improve the lives of our clients, our employers, our team and the community. We are a private rehabilitation company providing bilingual return-to-work services for people who identify as living with a disability. Our professional employability processes support our job seekers and employers to achieve consistent positive outcomes.

In assisting job seekers who self-identify as having a disability, the employer brand has a great impact on recruiting from this talent pool. According to Rich Donavan, Founder and CEO from The Return on Disability Group: “1.3 billion people around the world identify as having a disability.

When you include their family and friends, the disability market touches 53% of all consumers. It’s the world’s largest emerging market.”

As you watch Microsoft, one the world’s leading brands, it is attracting people with disabilities as customers and employees. Their approach: “Helping bridge the Disability Divide: We are making a new 5-year commitment to help decrease the gap in education, employment and access to technology for people with disabilities around the world.”

As we all recover from the pandemic, communities need to work together to help bridge the gap with a diverse workforce that supports an inclusive culture. The Microsoft brand is making a commitment to its customers around the world with their Accessibility Evolution Model. They are telling their customers that they will deliver on their promise. Employees don’t want to be associated with a company that does not deliver.

Did you know that 75% of our job seekers at PPRC will consider your brand before they even apply for a job with your company, organization or government? Just like Microsoft, the positive brand of disability inclusion in employment will help you attract top candidates. As a disability inclusive employer, you create value in your business and in return you will attract employees with education, experience and talent.

At PPRC, what makes us different from other service providers, is that we have over 41% of our professional consultants on our team

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who self-identify as having a disability. We recognize that we need to tap into the talent pool of persons with disabilities to be better able to serve our clients and employers.

Our value proposition is “Let us be the gateway supporting your company to be more inclusive in your community. We provide gainful employment for our clients often resulting in life-changing outcomes as they benefit from improved health, lifestyle and careers.” Your value proposition and positioning as an inclusive employer is critical to today’s environment. If you adhere to the principles of leaving no one behind in our society, you will become more creative in accommodating all employees and reduce the costs of disability and injuries in your workplaces.

When we think about customer satisfaction over the past 27 years of being in business, we know that our brand plays an important role in keeping customers. Our team at PPRC is committed to our core values and our purpose. To make your business attractive to job seekers you need to ensure that you create a recruitment process where everyone will feel that they belong. Make certain that all your processes are inclusive, and accessible to every job seeker. PPRC can assist you to identify talent for disability employment. We provide employer supports at no cost. We assist with recruiting, onboarding and accommodation planning, if required. At PPRC, you will be guided by a team of consultant’s who understand disability and are willing to collaborate with you to meet your hiring needs.

Just like the global brands that strive to be attractive to customers and employees, their inclusive culture has been key to attracting top talent. In this pandemic recovery you need to continue to provide these new employees with psychological safety, an inclusive culture and opportunities to learn and grow. Remember, the disability market touches 53% of all consumers including job seekers, their family and friends.

When your team is on board with your purpose, you increase engagement and performance and deliver the most satisfying customer experience. Connect with us at www.pprc.ca to reach untapped talent.

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PANDEMIC REAL ESTATE BOOM AFFIRMS DESIRABILITY OF OTTAWA LIFESTYLE

BY J E FF B U CKST EI N

HE OTTAWA RESIDENTIAL and industrial real estate markets have illustrated amazing resilience against severe headwinds caused by the global pandemic’s devastation, which included sudden lockdowns, social distancing requirements, and unprecedented economic shocks.

Debra Wright, president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), says the local real estate boom in sales and prices during the pandemic was totally unexpected in the profession.

“When things first shut down I was very concerned,” says Wright, who is also a real estate broker and brokerage owner. “I really thought the market was going to completely slow down. So it was a surprise when, in the first few days of shutting down, I had clients calling me saying ‘I’m not working. I want to go look at houses.’”

Initially there was a sense, particularly among investors and other buyers, that this was going to be an opportunity to seek bargains because a drop in demand could lower prices. But “as the economy opened up a little bit and it became clear that REALTORS® were going to become essential workers, the market just seemed to take off,” says Wright.

The Ottawa real estate market has appeal because it is backed by a strong insulated economy. The federal government is located here.

The city also has a strong tech sector, and various spin-off businesses that support the main industries. As a result, many people have high

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incomes. Furthermore, outside investors find Ottawa’s historically low prices, in comparison to other major investment centres, appealing. Residents have traditionally been conservative purchasers of homes, purchasing well below their price range, Wright says.

But Ottawa had also experienced a low housing supply for many years, which led to a pent-up demand. And during the pandemic, people started to develop a desire to have larger yards for family recreation. Swimming pools, which had never previously been a major attraction locally, suddenly became very desirable, she adds.

Sales have been strong in nearly every neighbourhood in the central part of the city. Some less developed areas in the core, such as Little Italy, Chinatown and Vanier, are also becoming more attractive to investors and are starting to see redevelopment, which will continue into the future. Areas in the far west end in Stittsville/ Kanata, the east end in Orleans, and Barrhaven to the south, that have potential for more development, are also “growing in leaps and bounds,” says Wright.

She notes that prior to the pandemic, average annual growth in house prices was about six to seven per cent. But year-to-date through to the end of October 2021, residential homes, including townhouses, semi-detached and detached homes, increased by an average of 24 per cent. Condominiums, which can include apartments, townhouses, semi-detached and sometimes detached

homes, increased by an average of 16 per cent.

The year-to-date average price on a condominium through the end of October is currently about $419,500, while the year-to-date average price of a residential property is about $720,150, says Wright.

“Affordability is something that we’re always concerned about. We need governments to look at the issue of affordability and a part of that is going to be looking at providing resources to increase supply.

As long as we have a supply shortage affordability’s going to be an issue,” she notes.

Over the next couple of years, “we expect and hope that home prices will level out a bit as the economy stabilizes, and then go back to continuing with annual moderate growth,” says Wright. “But it’s hard to know at this point. There are so many other factors going on in the economy that we’re not sure what’s going to happen.”

Louis Karam, senior vice-president and managing director of CBRE Limited in Ottawa, says the pandemic has had a large impact on the local office real estate market.

Unlike residential real estate, the office market was hard hit. “We have seen a major slowdown, with most of our towers being emptied out and shut down during the pandemic. In Ottawa the vacancy rate went from 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 to 9.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2021,” says Karam.

Net rental rates for offices have remained stable over the pandemic. The vacancy rate in downtown Ottawa is currently at 10.5 per cent, which is comparatively low – the third lowest in North America behind Toronto and Vancouver, he says.

But on the industrial side, including manufacturing, storage and distribution properties, local vacancy rates, in response to accelerated e-commerce growth during the pandemic, are at an alltime low, having dropped from 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, to two per cent in the third quarter of 2021.

This has driven an increase in net rental rates for industrial real estate in Ottawa. At the end of the third quarter, the average rates were $11.94 a square foot, the second highest average net rent in Canada after only Vancouver, says Karam.

“We are seeing two sectors that are faring very well. The tech sector continues to grow and the e-commerce logistics tenants have done well,” says Karam.

CBRE’s 2021 North American tech talent report, issued in July 2021, ranked Ottawa as the tenth best tech talent market on the continent.

“We are expecting the tech sector to help lead the way to recovery in the next few quarters,” says Karam. “The office market has been hit across the board. It’s encouraging to see the tech sector faring well.”

As more employees begin to return to the office, vacancy rates are showing a slight improvement. The third quarter of 2021 is the first quarter since the end of 2019 - before the pandemic - that has seen a drop in vacancies. The vacancy rate of 9.7 per cent represents a minimal 0.1 per cent drop from 9.8 per cent, says Karam.

As local vaccination rates increase and corporate vaccination policies are rolled out to coincide with a return to office, “we feel that in 2022, we’re going to see an overall rebalance and increase of momentum. Tech will be at the front of the pack, because we’re seeing firms with large growth there,” he adds.

Although the hybrid working model that already existed prepandemic was abruptly accelerated by the pandemic, and will definitely be here to stay, “our view is that the office is still going to be a major part of how companies run. In general, companies with a high growth rate want their people together. So we believe the office will be a part of our future, but the way we use it will also change,” predicts Karam.

“On the industrial side, we’ve seen Ottawa’s potential as an industrial hub become increasingly apparent over the last year, and growth is expected to continue. We’re expecting e-commerce and logistics to continue accelerating. We’re also expecting to see grocery companies looking for space to expand home delivery services that became popular during the pandemic,” he says.

However, on the industrial property side Ottawa “is in dire need of new supply and new construction. And we’re seeing great concern right now over rising inflation and construction costs. That can put a hold on and delay future and even ongoing projects,” Karam warns.

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OTTAWA’S REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK Downtown

Q2 2021

Q3 2021

Q/Q

Net Rentable Area

18,741,965

18,741,965

-

Overall Vacancy Rate

10.6%

10.5%

10 bps

Direct Space

1,586,267

1,569,843

1.0%

Sublet Space

391,658

391,400

0.1%

Sublet % of Vacant Space

19.8%

20.0%

20 bps

Current Quarter Absorption

26,034

16,682

9,352

Year-to Date Absorption

-199,429

-182,747

Stats supplied by CBRE. Download the full report here: 4 4 C A P I TAL FAL L 2021 | T HE BUSINES S MAG A ZINE O F THE OT TAWA BOA R D OF TR A D E

IN THE OFFICE MARKET Suburban

Q2 2021

Q3 2021

Q/Q

Net Rentable Area

22,438,987

22,438,987

-

Overall Vacancy Rate

9.1%

9.1%

-

Direct Space

1,903,692

1,839,038

3.4%

Sublet Space

143,985

199,191

38.3%

Sublet % of Vacant Space

7.0%

9.8%

280 bps

Current Quarter Absorption

-115,666

9,448

125,114

Year-to Date Absorption

-251,755

-242,307

cbre.ca/research-and-reports/Canada-Office-and-Industrial-Quarter-Stats-Q3-2021 TH E BUS I N E S S M AG A Z I N E OF TH E OT TAWA BOA R D OF TR A D E | FA L L 2 02 1 C A P I TA L 4 5

THE LAST WORD

HE HONOURABLE PERRIN Beatty, PC, OC, is the President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada’s largest and most representative national business association.

Before joining the Canadian Chamber in August 2007, Perrin held the same role at Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME). He is currently a member of the board of directors of Mitsui Canada. In 2018, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

In 2020, the Government of Japan awarded Perrin the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star.

Perrin has been a true and tireless leader for our national business community during the pandemic. CAPITAL magazine met with him to ask a few questions about our city’s future.

T

businesses were able to reinvent themselves during the pandemic.

They developed new products and services and delivered them in new ways. It is going to be critical for businesses to be even more entrepreneurial and inventive in terms of how they respond to changing circumstances in the future.

Do you see unique opportunities for Ottawa as a city and as the nation’s capital?

Being Canada’s capital, we are very cosmopolitan. Our city combines amenities like a top notch international airport, first rate restaurants and entertainment, renowned educational institutions, great sports and recreational facilities, and a diversified economy, with all of the benefits of being a smaller community.

One of the lessons the pandemic taught us is that people are going to put a higher priority in the future on quality of life. Ottawa excels in terms of quality of life. There is not a more livable capital city anywhere in the world. And because of that, Ottawa has a great competitive advantage both in terms of attracting business and also in attracting top-notch talent.

What priorities should our business and political leaders be focused on moving forward to reach our full potential in terms of economic growth?

The federal government needs to continue to safely get us through the COVID-19 pandemic.

We also need to have a strategy for growth at the private sector level, driven by investment. There is a global competition for investment and it is very important to send a message that business is wanted, and will be supported in Canada.

The government also has an important leadership role in areas like regulatory reform, taking down interprovincial trade barriers, and in managing the relationship with our trading partners like the United States. All of this is critical to investment and growth in Canada and needs to be a priority.

Both business and political leaders need to understand the changes that have taken place as a result of COVID-19. The nature of work has changed.

For example, with respect to digitalization - we’re more online than ever before.

It was encouraging Honourable Perrin Beatty, PC, OC President and Chief Executive Officer Canadian to see how many local Chamber of Commerce

46 C A P ITAL FAL L 2021 | T HE BUSINES S MAG A ZINE O F THE OT TAWA BOA R D OF TR A D E

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the role of our business leadership organizations?

We learned that while our traditional role of being a voice of business remains central to what we do, the business community has a wide range of other needs as well.

During the pandemic we formed coalitions with a wide variety of other business leaders. A local example is our partnership with the Ottawa Board of Trade, to distribute rapid test kits for COVID19, supplied by the federal government, to small and medium-sized businesses.

Our role today is also to provide leadership within the business community on issues like diversity, and best practices related to environmental, social and governance goals. Business has a key leadership role to play that goes well beyond bottom line considerations.

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Emond Harnden est un cabinet d'avocats en droit du travail et de l’emploi qui représente exclusivement les intérêts des employeurs, dans les deux langues officielles, depuis 1987.

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