Business Examiner Victoria April 2018

» BOATING & MARINE

APRIL 2018

– PAGE 8

SIDNEY Titan Boats serves an international market with its rigid hull inflatable boats

Victoria

WWW.BUSINESSEXAMINER.CA

LlamaZOO Interactive Competition Finalist Victoria Tech Firm Platform Used To Create A Virtual Reality Mine

BY DAVID HOLMES

PAGE 10

VICTORIA Totem Towing currently operates a fleet of more than 30 vehicles

PAGE 16

INDEX News Update

2

Esquimalt 4 West Shore

5

Saanich Peninsula

5

Greater Victoria

6

Tourism 7 Who is Suing Whom 19 Movers and Shakers 20 Opinion 22 Contact us: 1-866-758-2684

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ICTORIA – A Victoria technology firm successfully made it to the final four in a national competition organized by one of the country’s largest mining companies. LlamaZOO Interactive Inc., a developer of interactive and immersive 3D communications, training, and digital twin visualization software for industry, was vying for a $1 million prize being offered by Goldcorp Inc. a leader in the Canadian mining sector.

“We recognized that BC has a very large resource sector, industries that could benefit from the type of systems that we were developing,” explained Charles Lavigne, LlamaZOO’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

“We reached out to a number of companies, testing the waters to see if industry would be interested SEE LLAMAZOO INTERACTIVE805 | PAGE 18

Charles Lavigne (right) and Kevin Oke are the co-founders of Victoria’s LlamaZOO, a developer of interactive 3D projects

Clinic 805: Cosmetic Surgeons Providing Experience And Excellence Private Surgical Clinic Specializes In Skincare & Plastic Surgery Procedures

BY DAVID HOLMES

V

ICTORIA – Whether for aesthetic reasons, health concerns, emergency reconstruction or just because you want to feel better about yourself, modern plastic surgery offers a world of options. For Dr. Kenneth Smith the founder and owner of Victoria’s Clinic 805 the reason a person undertakes a procedure like cosmetic surgery can be as varied as the patients themselves.

Trained at the University of Toronto in both trauma and cosmetic plastic surgery, Dr. Smith has been a working plastic surgeon for more than 20 years and currently operates Vancouver Island’s largest and most up to date private surgical clinic. He is a fully-certified specialist and a member in good standing with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. “Yes, cosmetic surgeons are real doctors,” he joked.

“Sometimes people see things on some reality TV show from the States and get an entirely wrong understanding about what cosmetic surgery is all about. But in Canada to operate a private surgical clinic you have to adhere to strict rules and a level of scrutiny that is likely even greater than what you would find in your local hospital.”

Located at 805 Fairfield Road in Victoria (hence the 805 in the clinic’s name) Dr. Smith shares

his practice with anesthesiologist Dr. Gary Townsend as well as the clinic’s newest associate, plastic surgeon Dr. Jennifer Robinson.

“The training required of a plastic surgeon in Canada is set at a very high standard across the board, upwards of a dozen years of post-secondary education to get to that point, so it’s not something you pick up over a weekend course,” he explained.

SEE CLINIC 805 | PAGE 14

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2

NEWS UPDATE

APRIL 2018

LANGFORD Westhills Expansion to 8,000 Seats

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Langford, home to Rugby Canada, Golf Canada and Tennis Canada, is planning to Increase the seat capacity of Westhills Stadium from 1,718 to 8,000 seats. This would put it in the running for BC Lions exhibition CFL games as well as other International g a m e s w i t h Ca n a d i a n teams.

Mayor Stew Young would like the growing community of about 400,000 to be known as the sport capital according to Times Colonist.

The expected cost of the expansion would be approximately $5-million and would provide for a basic facility. The power poles at the perimeter of the field pose the greatest challenge and would need to be moved to accommodate the development.

This is being addressed with BC Hydro and the province.

Cu r rent ly U V IC provides the largest outdoor sports facility with seating of 5,000 at Centennial Stadium.

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Seaspan Shipyards has been awarded the Frigate Systems Upgrade project a s a sub cont ractor for Lockheed Martin Canada on the Roya l New Zealand Navy’s ANZAC Class frigates.

The project will upgrade the surveillance, combat and self-defence capabilities of the ANZAC frigates to match current and future threats and address obsolescence of some of the frigates’ cu rrent systems.

“Seaspa n Sh ipya rds is proud to be work i ng w it h L ock heed M a r t i n Canada and the Government of New Zealand in upgrading the Royal New Zealand Navy’s ANZAC Class frigates,” said Brian Carter, President & CEO of Sea spa n Sh ipya rd s.

“S e a s pa n’s s u c c e ss i n winning this work demonstrates the capabilities of Canada’s shipbuilding and marine industries and builds on our company’s reputation for providing

world-class ser v ice on complex projects.”

Lockheed Martin Cana d a i s N e w Z e a l a n d’s Prime System Integrator, responsible for the supply of the Combat System upgrade on both ships as well as a new shore-based trainer. This includes the Combat System integration of new weapons and sensors, as well as Ship Design and Installation.

The new Combat Management System (CM S) i s based on Lockheed Martin Canada’s CMS 330.

“This Project from Lockheed Martin Canada, in addition to our existing contracts with both gover n ment a nd com merci a l cu stomers, mea n s that Victoria Shipyards is now more than 90 per cent booked through until 2020,” said Joe O’Rourke, Vice President and General Manager of Victoria Shipyards. “T h is is a n important achievement for Seaspan and ensures that we can continue to offer well-paid, skilled jobs here in the greater Victoria area.”

T he Project bu i lds on Seaspan’s highly successful subcontract work with Lockheed Martin Canada and the Halifax class modernization project which is nearing completion both on time and on budget.

In addition to its work on Canada’s frigates, Victoria Shipyards has performed work on a number of government and commercial contracts.

SIDNEY 2018 World Rowing Coastal Championships

Sidney will play host to the world’s best coastal rowers from October 11-14 when the World Rowing Coastal Championships take place along their shores.

The World Rowing Federation, FISA, announced that the 2018 World Rowing Coastal Championships will take place from 1 1-1 4 O c to b e r 2 018 i n Sidney. The event Organizing Committee, which includes several Olympic medalists, have worked with the Town of Sidney to secure use of Tulista and Lochside Parks as the location for the Championships, ensuring a beach sta r t for the fi rst ti me ever at this international competition.

There will be 48 coastal

b oats s uppl ied for t he championships and approximately 400 athletes from around the world.

Rowing Canada is hoping that this will help extend the reach of coastal rowing around Canada.

Coastal row ing is described by World Rowing as the extreme and adventurous side of rowing. It involves rowing along a coast, often out into the open water. Coastal boats are also used on lakes and rivers with windy, wavy conditions.

Last year over 600 competitors took part in the 2017 World Rowing Coastal Championships in Thonon, France. Held on a lake for the first time, Lake Geneva, the 2018 championships return to the sea. In October the average day time temperatures are around 14 degrees Celsius with water temperatures around 12 degrees Celsius.

VICTORIA Safety Facility Planned A new Victoria public sa fety bu i ld i ng w i l l be built downtown under an agreement reached with local developer Dalmatian Developments Li m ited Partnership, a Jawl Residential and Nadar Holdings Ltd. venture.

T he state-of-the-a rt, post-seismic rated facility will be located on Johnson Street as part of a new mixed-use development adjacent to Pacific Mazda.

The 41,700 square-foot facility replaces the current 26,700 square-foot fire headquarters building that has served Victoria since 1959. The new facility will house fire and rescue services and Victoria’s first purpose-built Emergency Operations Centre. In addition, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) has agreed to lease 3,200-square-feet of space from the City to operate a stand-alone facility for paramedics and four ambulances under a planned 20-year co-service agreement.

T h e p rop o s e d p u bl i c sa fety bu i ld i ng w i l l be built to meet the upcomi n g ch a n ge s to t he B C Building Code standards for bu i ld i ngs desig ned to remain operable post disaster, which means it will be built to a seismic design load that is 50 per SEE NEWS UPDATE | PAGE 3

NEWS UPDATE

APRIL 2018

NEWS UPDATE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

cent higher than typical commercial buildings that will be built under the new code’s increased seismic requirements.

After an earthquake, the new building will be able to be safely re-entered and used to deliver emergency services.

Subject to Council approval, the City will pay $33.7 million to purchase and own the turnkey facility as part of the broader development. Additional costs to the City will include off-site servicing, sidewalk improvements, equipment and project management, bringing the total cost for the project to $35.9 million. This will be paid for through available funds in the City’s Debt Reduction Reserve In February 2016, Council approved in principle using up to $30 million from the City’s Debt Reduction Dalmatian Developments is working with HCMA Architecture + Design, who has designed a number of recently constructed fire halls in British Columbia. Dalmatian’s vision for the site, which includes lots on Joh nson, Cook a nd Yates Streets, is a master-planned, mixed-use development.

VICTORIA Victoria Shipyard Meets Growing Demand Victoria Shipyards (VSL) was selected by TOTE Maritime Alaska to carry out the yard production work and docking necessary for the conversion of their two TOTE Orca class vessels to dual-fuel systems, a process which is being carried out in four phases and will enable the two ships to use LNG as fuel.

The ‘North Star’, the first of the two 839-foot-long roll-on, roll-off cargo ships which carry cargo between Anchorage, Alaska, and Tacoma, Washington, arrived at VSL in December, 2017 kicking off the process of converting the diesel engines to dual-fuel systems.

The first of the two vessels slated for conversion, the ‘North Star,’ has now completed a 60day visit to the shipyard, which along with ‘Midnight Sun’ will provide employment for 300 to 400 people working six days a week.

Over the next four years, three more conversion periods will be required to finalize the transition of TOTE Maritime Alaska’s vessels to LNG. Each of these conversion periods will take place in the winter to minimize the impact to customers and consumers alike.

The conversion of both ships is scheduled to be complete in Q1 of 2021. The completion of the first phase of this project at Victoria Shipyards is a clear

indicator that Seaspan’s workforce has the necessary skills to successfully complete LNG conversion projects, in addition to a broad range of vessel repairs TOTE Maritime was the first maritime shipping company in the world to announce its intention to convert their fleet, enabling the engines to use both LNG and diesel.

VICTORIA Real Estate Market Adapts A total of 545 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this February, 19.3 per cent fewer than the 675 proper t ies sold i n Febr u a r y l a st year. The sales of condominiums were down 15.5 per cent from last year in February with 174 units sold. Single family homes were 2 4.4 per cent down from the year previous, with 260 sold this February.

“We certainly anticipated that we would see some lower numbers this year compared to last,” says Victoria Real Estate Board President Kyle Kerr. “Right now prospective home buyers are met with many hurdles as they start shopping for their new home.

They’re in a market that’s experienced long-term low inventory, which means more price pressure and competition on homes. Buyers are navigating increasing interest rates and the new mortgage stress test.

T hese factors all combine to constrain our market. Like any changes to consumer experience, there is a period of response before consumers adapt to the new rules. We saw an increase in buyers in November and December who bought early to avoid the mortgage stress test, and this likely means less buyers in the current market.

However, with continued historical low inventory levels, demand is still outpacing supply.”

There were a total of 1,545 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board MLS at the end of February 2018, an increase of 3.6 per cent compared to the month of January and 0.5 per cent more than the 1,537 active l isti ngs for sa le at the end of Februa ry 2017.

T he M L S Home P rice I ndex benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in February 2017 was $771,100, while the benchmark value for t he sa me home i n Febr u a r y 2018 increased by 9 per cent to $840,300, slightly higher than January’s value of $831,900. The MLS HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core area in February 2017 was $394,400, while the benchmark value for the same condominium in February 2018 increased by 19.85 per cent to $472,600, which is slightly higher than January’s value of $460,500.

VICTORIA Federal Funds for Indigenous Endeavours Indigenous businesses and programs across the West will h ave s upp or t to g row t hei r operations and create jobs in Indigenous communities with the $27-million in funding recently announced.

T he f u nds w i l l prov ide for 45 proje cts i n B C, A lb er ta , Saskatchewan and Manitoba through the Western Diversification Program (WDP).

The announcement was made

at the Songhees Innovation Centre, a co-working space that received funding through WDP to help Indigenous entrepreneurs in Canada’s growing tech sector.

The Songees First Nation received $93,410 that will support the new Innovation Centre. The Centre has also been helped by the South Island Prosperity Project, Animikii Indigenous Technology, the Victoria Foundation and the Community Micro Lending Society.

The University of Victoria received $567,000 to aid in the Aboriginal Canadian Entrepreneurship Artists pilot program in BC and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation received $500,000 for

3 clean energy infrastructure.

“We are witnessing the emergence of a growing number of impassioned Indigenous graduates and business people for whom the co-working environment is a natural catalyst for launching and growing entrepreneur-driven enterprises,” said Chief Ron Sam of the Songhees Nation.

T he f u nd i ng a n nou ncement follows an investment of $2,250,000 to the Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia. T hat i nvest ment was also made under WDP and is supporting over 400 Aboriginal cultural tourism businesses in BC.

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APRIL 2018

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T

he BC Chamber has recently taken the p o s it ion t h at B C should stop switching back and forth between Pacific Standard time and Daylight Savings Time… and stay on Daylight Savings time all year long! This makes so much sense I just had to talk about it!

There are some measurable problems associated with the switch back and forth – especially the March forward-shift which reduces your sleep by an hour. Heart attacks increase between 7 per cent and 25 per cent (depending on the study), there are also more traffic accidents and workplace injuries during

the first few days after the forward shift. I dislike the time shift but I sure do welcome the light evenings! I have a few “morning-person” friends that would like it to be lighter in the morning, but even they like the light evenings also!

The reason that Daylight Savings Time came about to begin with (in the early 1900s) was to reduce energ y con su mpt ion… something that has not been definitively shown to happen. W hat ma ny people don’t know is that there was also a huge lobby by US retailers pushing the US federal government to keep, and even extend, Daylight Savings Time, recog n i z i ng t h at more people would be out spending money at the stores later into the evening if it were lighter. In fact, a recent shift of the autumn switch in the USA was the result of lobbying by US candy producers to allow children an extra hour of trick-or-treating – this resulted in a massive increase in confectioner’s revenue.

In short, later lighter is lucrative! People are out

later, they are participating in their communities later, they are out playing sports and going for walks later. Businesses that support outdoor activities do particularly well with Daylight Savings Time, these include home improvement, hiking, barbecuing, sports, ice cream, and a personal favourite of mine – geocaching. Is this a bad thing? It’s certainly not bad from a retailer’s point of view! As a member of the general public (as well as a business owner) I can attest to loving the light evenings also, they energize me to get out and do things… and yes spend money doing so.

In conclusion, I’m a big fan of Daylight Savings Time and applaud the BC Chamber’s stance of staying on DST all year long!

There is one big downside though… it might be a little expensive to move all the Sundials ahead an hour.

Chris Edly, CD P.Eng is President of the Esquimalt Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at chris@ edley.ca

VICTORIA TOURISM INDUSTRY GEARS UP FOR BUSY SUMMER

TOURISM VICTORIA PAUL NURSEY

T All entrants must be members of VRBA Deadline: June 11, 2018 For more information, visit www.vrba.ca

raditionally at this time of year, hundreds of local tourism-related businesses are working hard to prepare for the upcoming tourist season. Greater Victoria has been long known as a desirable destination in the spring and summer months.

Our bright, sunny weather is a draw for many. Cruise ships arrive in port and our iconic hotels fill with guests – many experiencing for the first time what Greater Victoria has to offer.

What local residents perhaps are less aware of is the tourism economy in Greater Victoria is coming off a

very successful shoulder and off-season as well. In the past few years Tourism Victoria identified this period in the calendar as an opportunity for growth.

Promotional campaigns for romance and LGBTQ travel, Chinese New Year and the Dine Around culinary promotional campaign brought many visitors to Greater Victoria that otherwise would not have visited.

Greater Victoria is diversifying its tourism product and the sector is thriving.

Businesses are confident and have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years for hotel renovations, new ferry services and other infrastructure.

This in turn helps other sectors in the economy such as construction and trades.

Although we have made strides in in our shoulder and off-season, we have much to look forward to in our upcoming spring and summer months. We are anticipating another busy year. New flights to Victoria International Airport were announced recently, including direct flights

from Montreal and Edmonton. Last year Victoria was named by Conde Nast as its #2 destination in the Readers’ Choice list of best small cities outside the U.S. Word is out about Greater Victoria as a tourism destination – and not just regionally or nationally, but internationally as well.

Lastly, as Greater Victoria’s tourism product evolves, so must our brand.

Our organization in the process of re-branding our destination to better reflect what we are and what we have become. Greater Victoria was once a regional tourism brand but is now a t r u ly g loba l tou r i sm brand. These changes will be unveiled in the next few months. The future of tourism in Greater Victoria is exciting and ever changing.

Tourism Victoria will continue its hard work to attract visitors to our region, and doing its part to support the local economy and community in the process.

Paul Nursey is the President and CEO of Tourism Victoria.

WESTSHORE/SAANICH PENINSULA

APRIL 2018

APRIL OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED

WEST SHORE JULIE LAWLOR

O

n April 27th 2018, the WestShore Chamber of Commerce is holding its second annual Viva La WestShore event.

This is a fun-filled evening of dressing to the nines to enjoy casino games, prizes, silent auction, live music, cha mpag ne a nd photos on the red carpet, all at Olympic View Golf Club.

In 2017 our members let us know that they’d like more opportunities for social interaction and to support the local community and Viva La WestShore does both.

This year, a portion of the proceeds will support the Pacific Centre Family Services Association’s (PCFSA)

Youth at R isk programming. PCFSA provides vital services to support families, children and seniors in the West Shore and we are delighted to support their work with our 2018 event. Tickets are $60 for Chamber members, $75 for non-members, and can be purchased by contacting t h e C h a m b e r of f i c e a t 250-478-1130.

Viva La WestShore is by no means the only show in town in April. If you are a supporter of the arts you will want to check out Arise, a fundraising event celebrating arts and culture.

Put on by the West Shore Arts Council, the evening will include guest artists Maureen Washington and Daniel Cook, live painting, silent auction, interactive art including the “Registroid,” appetizers, and a DJ for dancing. It all takes pl ace at the Royal Colwood Golf & Country Club on April 21 st. Go to westshorearts.org to purchase tickets, which are only $25 each!

April is also the month where registration opens for Best of the West Shore

Awards (BOWSA). From the end of April to the end of May, organizations will be able to register with the WestShore Cha mber so that their business name appea rs on the BOWSA voting platform against a preferred category.

In 2017 there were over 20,000 votes across 43 categories, so this means immediate name recognition for those who register.

Both WestShore Chamber members and non-members are invited to take part.

L o o k o u t fo r t h e a nnouncement of the registration process at the end of April on Twitter, Facebook and via our e-news. Public voting for Best of the West Shore Awards will open in July and run through to Labour Day, and the winners and finalists will be announced at the Awards Gala at The Westin Bear Mountain Resort Community on October 25th.

Julie Lawlor is the Executive Director at the WestShore Chamber of Commerce.

You can reach her at jlawlor@ westshore.bc.ca

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INTRODUCING THE BUSINESS LEADERS OF THE SAANICH PENINSULA

SAANICH PENINSULA DENNY WARNER

O

ur organization gets things accomplished thanks to the hard work and dedication of a small staff and a large number of volunteers. We hosted our 106th AGM recently and when I heard our incoming President say that out loud, I felt immense appreciation for the community members who believed in this organization and stepped forward to volunteer in support, year after year since 1912.

That we have endured is a clear demonstration of the power of the chamber movement and of this organization in particular. We have changed and grown with the times. And while some of these changes were met with varying levels of approval, ultimately we evolved to serve our members and the community more efficiently and effectively. The signs are overwhelmingly positive for our future. We

have a record number of volunteer directors.

Our membership retention rate is high. Our events are better-attended than ever before.

The mood is overwhelmingly positive around the board room table and in our office.

We have strong leaders at our back and the following community influencers raised their hands to lead us through 2018 and beyond.

I am pleased and proud to present our new board of directors and look forward to seeing where they take us!

• Dan Adair, Island Savings Credit Union • Ron Basi, Jencam Transport • Gordon Benn, Pearlman Lindholm • Andrew Bradley, Itty Bitty Sign Shop • Art Finlayson, Finalyson Bonet Architecture • Richard Flader, Flader Chartered Professional Accountant • Don Gulevich, Coastal Heat Pumps • Sheila Henn, Paterson Henn • D’Arcy Hipwell, The Bottle Depot • Andi Hook, Hook & Hook Renovations • Joe Jansen, Wilson’s Transportation • Tara Keeping, Tiger Lily Events • Reg Mooney, Penta Resources Corp.

• Fraser Sim, BMT Group Services • John Treleaven, The Treleaven Consulting Group • Doug Walker, Cambium Leadership • Doug Wedman, Portfolio Strategies Denny Warner is the Executive Director at the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at execdir@peninsulachamber.com

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GREATER VICTORIA

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owntown Victoria has a great reputat ion a s a compact, walkable city. It’s a wonderful place to bike to work or explore from your hotel, which is great.

What isn’t great is the lack of a plan from the City for addressing a growing shortage of parking. The City continues to own and run its trusty parkades and surface lots and to put a priority on preserving on-street parking in the city centre. What has been lost is parking on private property. There have been 1,800 parking stalls lost to development in the last decade. Another 400 will be lost over the next few years.

Having more residents in the condos that now occupy these lots means downtown business have more potential customers within walking distance.

But the building boom has also directly contributed to a drastic reduction in parking stalls.

T h is is not news to Victor i a City Cou nci l, which in March urgently approved 38 temporary spots in Old Town. That

• Thursday, March 8 Prodigy Group Mingle 5 to 7 pm @ Vista 18 – Chateau Victoria Hotel & Suites • Thursday, March 15 Marketplace Mixer 5 to 7 pm @ Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort &

decision was cer ta i n ly welcome, but Victoria’s business community needs to know there is a multi-year strategy — not just one-off serendipitous solutions. And yes, we u ndersta nd that, in an ideal world, this problem would have a regional solution since most of the cars arriving downtown come f rom outside the city. But we can’t wait for that.

We’re not looking for a miracle, we just need to know there is a plan.

After all, other modes of transportation have the ear of the city’s planning department and decision makers. People who once felt i nti m idated rid i ng a bike downtown are on their way to enjoying a much friendlier cycling experience thanks to the City’s approach of making biking accessible for all ages and abilities.

That same principle of accessibility needs to be appl ie d to p e ople who drive downtown by necessity or choice, as well as to the many delivery vehicles that supply businesses, offices and homes.

Can the City assure us that, after every private lot is built on, downtown

Spa • Thursday, March 22 So ci a l Med i a Ser ies: Creating Video Content with Steve Dotto @ The Chamber

will still be accessible for all ages and abilities?

Does the City have any i d e a h o w m a n y v e h icles are expected on our streets in the near future?

Will the number increase or decrease, and by how much? A re there pla ns for more park and rides in concert with B.C. Transit?

Has the City considered making public parking a requirement of new development? How about leasing city-owned land to a private firm to run as a public service? Such a partnership makes sense to us as it keeps valuable real estate in the public realm while embracing the efficiencies of private business.

T he future of parking is a public concern. We ca n’t a fford to d isr upt our region’s economy by discouraging those consumers, employers and employees who need to drive downtown. At least until we figure out a real alternative to cars and delivery vehicles.

Catherine Holt is the CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce. 250-383-7191, CEO@victoriachamber.ca, www.victoriachamber.ca

7

APRIL 2018

Medical Cannabis Producer Making European Inroads

N

A NA I MO – Med ica l cannabis producer Tilray may be a Vancouver Island based firm, but the quality of its expanding product line has attracted the attention of medical practitioners and clients from across the globe. Recently the firm signed deals to sell cannabis products, in dried form or as extracts, to clients in the Czech Republic, Germany and in South Africa, and that’s just part of the firm’s international reach.

Currently the company sells medicinal cannabis products to literally tens of thousands of patients in 10 different countries and on five different continents.

In addition to those mentioned, Tilray routinely serves clients in Argentina, Australia, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, New Zealand and of course all across Canada.

Tilray’s recent entry into the Czech market was considered a strategic milestone for the firm as it had put a great deal of time and energy into making its presence felt in Europe. “We are proud to be increasing access to medical cannabis across the EU (European Union) and pleased to be able to serve patients in need in the Czech Republic,” explained Tilray’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brendan Kennedy at the time of the Czech announcement.

Tilray has been actively pursuing the European marketplace for many years, achieving its first success about two years ago when it became the first company to legally import medical cannabis into the EU when it started serving patients in Croatia. This was followed by its first sales in Cyprus in May 2017, followed by the founding of a $29 million state-of-the-art EU Campus in Portugal in September of that year. The facility was set up to produce, package and ultimately distribute medical cannabis all across Europe.

“Tilray’s EU Campus is another strategic milestone as we aim to build the world’s most trusted and admired medical cannabis brand. For the past two years we’ve been working hard to find the right location for cultivation, processing, and research facilities to serve the rapidly growing demand for high-quality medical cannabis products in Europe,” Kennedy said.

value in business initiatives. Tilray and its expanding range of medicinal cannabis products fit perfectly with the philosophy of the science park, as it was created to bring business and science together in a common setting.

Tilray is in the process of constructing a greenhouse and a processing facility on property, with phase one expected to be finished this spring. The development will include an indoor laboratory and genetics bank, outdoor cultivation sites, a 10,000 m2 greenhouse, and a 1,500 m2 processing facility.

T he compa ny’s f ut u re

expansion at the site will add 15,000 m2 of greenhouse cultivation space and another 1,500 m2 for processing. Over the next three years, the project is expected to create 100 direct jobs, including highly skilled positions by the time the project is fully developed by 2020.

The company’s second Canadian facility is located in Enniskillen, Ontario, on a 100-acre property with 13 acres of existing greenhouse space. The facility is expected to increase Tilray’s current production capacity fivefold by the end of 2018. www.tilray.ca

Medical cannabis producer Tilray has more than 40,000 marijuana plants in production at its Nanaimo facility

“Tilray’s EU Campus is another strategic milestone as we aim to build the world’s most trusted and admired medical cannabis brand.”

BRENDAN KENNEDY CEO, TILRAY

Brendan Kennedy is Tilray’s Chief Executive Officer, and a driving force behind the company’s European expansion “Portugal has the ideal climate to cultivate cannabis, a highly skilled health care workforce, and a vibrant research community. It’s more environmentally-friendly and cost-effective to supply European patients from Portugal than from northern climates.”

Opening its Nanaimo operation in April 2014, Tilray currently has more than 200 employees, working in four different Canadian provinces and in seven countries around the world. The Island firm was one of the first companies to ever receive a federal license from Health Canada to cultivate process and distribute medical cannabis in Canada.

The company’s 60,000 square

Opened in 2014, Tilray’s Nanaimo 60,000 square foot production facility is located at the Duke Point Industrial Park

foot, $30 million state-of-the-art research and production facility in Nanaimo is home to 31 cultivation rooms, 10 manufacturing and processing rooms and three research laboratories. The Nanaimo operation produces 50 distinct cannabis strains and 36 cannabis extract products. There are currently 40,000 plants in cultivation at the Vancouver Island facility.

Tilray is the first company to legally export medical cannabis from North America to Africa, Australia, Europe, and South America. And is also the first firm to be federally licensed to cultivate cannabis in multiple countries, Canada and now in Portugal. It was also the first company in the world to have its production facility Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certified in accordance with European Medicines Agency (EMA) standards, one of the highest levels of accreditation possible.

Tilray’s European operation is located at the innovative Biocant Park in Cantanhede, Portugal.

A science park entirely devoted to biotechnology, the venue has from its inception been devoted to advanced life sciences knowledge where technology is developed and applied creating

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8

APRIL 2018

BOATING & MARINE Sponsored By

Industry Leaders Buoyant Over 2018 Boating Season Boating BC Association Is Anticipating Increased South Of The Border Traffic

BY DAVID HOLMES

W

hile all of the statistics haven’t yet been tabulated, the early indicators show the 2017 boating season was one of the most successful on record. Now into a New Year, and based on the number of bookings and other indicators, 2018 promises to be even better!

“We did an economic impact study in 2016, with the one prior to that taking place in 2012, and there were some great increases during that period of time.

So all I can say right now is that 2017 was probably stronger than 2016 based on the reports I’ve received from operators all along the coast,” explained Don Prittie, the President of the Boating BC Association.

The voice of recreational boating in the province since 1957, the Boati ng BC A ssociation routinely works with industry, communities, all levels of government and other stakeholders to promote the appeal and to grow and enhance the boating experience in British Columbia.

The Association’s work includes

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Held each January the Vancouver Boat Show is the largest event of its type held each year in Western Canada being actively involved in the promotion of recreational boating and in the delivery of member services and benefits. The group is also a major advocate for boating industry issues while being a supporter of environmental stewardship.

“As president of Boating BC where I normally get most of my information is from the boat brokers and dealers as well as the

province’s repair yards. Those businesses are my barometer for finding out how things are going on. The general feeling from talking with those groups is that 2017 was a good year,” he said.

Last summer the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) Canada, the recreational boating industry’s national umbrella organization, completed work on a nationwide

economic impact study. The research showed that in Canada recreational boating generated more than $10 billion in revenues, and was directly responsible for more than 75,000 jobs coast to coast.

The study indicated that the industry included nearly 4,800 marine companies, generated SEE BOATING & MARINE | PAGE 9

BOATING & MARINE

APRIL 2018

9

BOATING & MARINE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

nearly $3 billion in salaries and that the boating sector contributed $5.6 billion toward Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“T his new economic impact data reinforces the importance of recreational boating in Canada and the significant contribution our industry makes to the Canadian economy,” explained Sara Anghel, executive director of NMMA Canada at the time of the report’s release.

“Boating is a favourite pastime of millions of Canadians and the 8.6 million boats on the water in Canada stimulate jobs, revenue and taxes. Findings from this study provide vital boating data we can deliver directly to Parliamentarians to illustrate the important role recreational boating plays in the Canadian economy, and lends further support to our industry efforts to protect and grow recreational boating in Canada.”

NMMA is the leading association representing the recreational boating industry in North America. NMMA member companies produce more than 80 per cent of the boats, engines, trailers, accessories and gear used by boaters and anglers throughout the US and Canada. The association is dedicated to industry growth through programs involving public policy advocacy, market statistics and research, product quality assurance and promotion of the boating lifestyle.

In British Columbia recreational boating generated more than $2.2 billion in revenues last year, and was directly responsible for more than 17,000 jobs, according to Boating BC’s Prittie, who when not working with the Association is the General Manager of the Canoe Cove Marina near Victoria.

In that capacity he reported a marked increase in vessels coming into the area from the United States last year, a trend he expects to continue this year.

“US business coming into Canada remains strong. It certainly took a bit of a hit a while back when the passport rules changed and things like that but it has

Marine tourism is an increasingly important part of the BC economy, last year generating more than $2.2 billion

“All of the indicators are that this is going to be a strong year.”

DON PRITTIE PRESIDENT, BOATING BC ASSOCIATION

Don Prittie is the President of the Boating BC Association, the voice of the province’s recreational boating industry continued to grow back again, increasing each year,” he said.

“Over time people adapt to the new system and requirements.

When you add to it where the dollar is right now coming to Canada offers great value for American visitors which certainly works in our favor. The other thing that works in our favour quite frankly is the fact that we have some very capable people here and many of my customers say they feel they are getting better advice for a better price.”

Another of Boating BC’s industry bell weathers is the level of interest generated by the Vancouver Boat Show, which is owned and operated by the group. The largest boat show in Western Canada, the annual extravaganza is held at BC Place and on Granville Island each January. During the 2017 event more than 30,000 visitors were

Nationwide recreational boating is a $10 billion dollar industry, and one employing more than 75,000 Canadians

Recreational boating is certainly not limited to salt water, as the province’s lakes also attract a myriad of boaters record setting year, industry leaders are buoyant about the prospects of the coming recreation boating season in British Columbia. “All of the indicators are that this is going to be a strong year. Despite anything going on south of the border the American economy remains strong and people from the US like to travel to Canada so boating traffic is very likely to be coming north,” Prittie said.

“Their dollar is going to be getting them further, the weather in the past few years has been good, so in all likelihood 2018 is going to be a great year.” www.boatingbc.ca and www. nmma.ca

in attendance. This year, which is the event’s 56th anniversary, will feature more than 250 exhibitors, with the organizers anticipating an even greater public turnout.

“The Vancouver Boat Show is to me a great indicator of the health of the sector. All of the exhibition spaces at this year’s event have been sold out which tells you that dealers are optimistic and are expecting good results,” he said.

Fo r P r i tt ie one of t he real strengths of the recreat i o n a l b o a ting industry is its variety. He points out that there is literally something for everybody in the sector. Whether on fresh water or salt, or using power, sa i l or paddle, there is a boating niche to satisfy every taste, talent or budget – with Real growth comes from doing vendors available to service what matters. every aspect of the activity.

We specialize in retirement “It’s not and estate planning and all about big yachts. You can employee benefits for go boati ng on small business. a paddleboard, or a n a lu mContact us today to get inum ‘tin boat’ it’s all about the started on your real growth. t a s te s, n e e d s a nd budget of Phone: 250-475-1108 the users. That’s the great thing Toll-free: 1-866-611-1171 about boating, there’s someEmail: info@mcgltd.ca thing for everyo n e ,” P r i t t i e Website: www.mcgltd.ca explained.

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10

APRIL 2018

TITAN BOATS STILL POWERING FORWARD AFTER 20 YEARS Serving The International Market With Its Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats

S

IDNEY – Beginning as a home-based venture two decades ago, award-winning Titan Boats has grown into a leading Canadian manufacturer with a client list that spans the continent and beyond. While its skills, technology and business acumen has grown dramatically, what hasn’t changed is its unwavering dedication to quality.

From the design and construction of a complete vessel, to the fabrication of a metal component to fulfill a contract, Titan Boats believes the best isn’t just a good thing, it’s the only thing!

“It really is all about quality.

There’s no mass production here, when we build someone a boat it’s always a custom, one-off. It’s a premium product and customers purchasing a premium product expect and deserve outstanding quality. That’s the focus we’ve had right from the beginning,” explained Titan’s Founder and President John Stanners.

Today Titan Boats operates out of a 27,000 square foot state of the art fabrication and administrative facility located at 2011

John Stanners is the Founder and President of Titan Boats, specialists in the construction of rigid hull inflatables

“It’s a premium product and customers purchasing a premium product expect and deserve outstanding quality.”

JOHN STANNERS

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is just one of the many law enforcement agencies to use Titan Boats

FOUNDER / PRESIDENT, TITAN BOATS

Malaview Avenue West in Sidney, but its origins were much humbler. The company actually began in 1998 as a home-based enterprise, where Stanners first brought together his love for metal working and boating.

“Yes, it certainly began out of our house, in the basement, in the backyard and even in the garage.

So it was definitely a home-based business when it started. My background was steel fabrication. I’d been building boats and a range of other things for other people and companies for a long time. But when I got laid off in the ‘90s I figured I’d put my talent and skill to use to build my own business,” he explained.

Titan Boats produces two basic lines of vessels, a wide range of Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB) and aluminum catamaran vessels. Each craft designed and produced by Titan Boats is custom built to meet the exacting needs and the specific requirements of the client. While high end pleasure craft such as sport fishing boats have been built over the years, the core of the company’s business is in the design, construction and outfitting of commercial grade working vessels.

T y pic a l ly t he R H I Bs constructed by Titan have hulls m ad e of a lu m i nu m a nd a re equipped with inflated collars

Congratulations to the Titan Boats family on your FBA Award

Titan Boats is also an experienced metal fabrication firm, working for a variety of clients across North America that add buoyancy and stability, even under the most adverse sea conditions. The standard hull design produced by Titan Boats is available in sizes ranging from 16’ to 40’ plus – boats that can be readily adapted to suit a wide range of demanding applications.

Titan’s boats have amassed

an impressive record for durability, seaworthiness, stability and performance over the years and as a result have been sought out by law enforcement and other government agencies, as well as commercial clients all SEE TITAN BOATS | PAGE 11

Congratulations to Hook & Hook Congratulations to Titan BoatsRenovations Ltd. for & Design Inc. onBusiness your prestigious award! receiving the Family Excellence Award!

From your friends at Michell Excavating Ltd., another family owned and operated business for over 60 years.

Providing Excellence Corporate We are proud to bein a part of the and Stanners family’s team of trusted Commercial Law for over 40advisors.

Years 201 - 2377 Bevan Avenue | Sidney, BC Dir: (250) 656-7231 | Fax: (250) 656-0937 www.henleywalden.com

11

APRIL 2018

The crew at Titan Boats is one of the company’s greatest assets, with many having been with the firm for years

John shares a moment with his daughter Jennifer Michell, as they check one of the company’s newest vessels

TITAN BOATS

are built out of fibreglass so you don’t see too many aluminum ones. But the needs of the client are such they require a very robust design as it will be used on this coast as well as in Mexico.

Catamarans are certainly a specialty project for us, as perhaps as much as 90 per cent of the vessels we build are inflatables, our aluminum-hulled RHIBs.” Despite its boat-building expertise, Titan Boats is often called upon to undertake specialty fabrication assignments.

This is due in no small part to its design experience and to the availability of its CNC (Computer Numerical Control) water jet cutting machine, one of the largest of its kind on Vancouver Island.

The company’s water jet cutting

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

across North America and even in Europe.

Titan Boats are routinely deployed doing any number of challenging tasks including Search and Rescue, police and fire patrol, environmental protection duties and even such commercial jobs as whale watching and as water taxis.

“A RHIB is an extraordinary design, very rugged with excellent sea keeping capabilities. That’s why the RCMP, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and others buy them. These are the boats that are going out when others are coming back in, they keep going,” Stanners said.

Titan Boats’ Sidney operation features approximately 5,400 square feet of fabrication space with 1,600 square feet of shop space set aside for the outfitting and custom rigging of the boats before they are shipped to the customers. The company also has just over 21,000 square feet of fenced yard space to store materials and finished boats.

The company has a current staff count of about 30.

In addition to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the DFO, Titan Boats has produced vessels for law en forcement agencies in the United States, such as the Los Angeles County’s Sheriff’s Department and the Washoe County Sheriff Department in Nevada to name just

two. One recent contract saw the company design and build a pair of patrol vessels for the Slovenian Police Department, two Titan 290 Pilot Cabin RHIBs presently at work in the Port of Koper in Slovenia.

“There have been a number of recent assignments, such as a private client who has ordered a 39’ T-top catamaran, which is going to be a really neat build that will likely be finished in April.

This one is very different as it’s a tuna fishing vessel which is a first for us,” explained Jennifer Michell, Titan’s Organizational Development Manager (and daughter of company founder Stanners).

“This will be an all-aluminum vessel. Most often catamarans

machine, operating with a cutting envelope of 6’ x 28’ of cutting capability, provides Titan with the precision and in-house cost control needed for it to operate competitively in a global marketplace. It also increasingly makes the company the go to place for any fabricator needing precision metal cutting services.

“We do get away from boat b u i ld s somet i mes when we undertake specialty fabrication projects. The amount of work like this we do varies from year to year but we’ve definitely been doing a lot more since getting the water jet,” Michell said.

“With ou r crew a nd ou r equipment we can do virtually SEE TITAN BOATS | PAGE 12

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12

APRIL 2018

TITAN BOATS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

anything from building a fuel tank to basically creating anything the clients need. We’ve been involved in a number of projects where we made the components for large ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles). Essentially we built the whole frame unit, with the client adding the electronics. These can be very interesting projects. While we’re a boat builder we’re also a metal fabricating shop for a variety of different clients.”

Stanners says the non-boat assignments can be both challenging and satisfying. “We definitely do a lot of outside work.

Quite often we’ll be involved in building the aluminum structures for other companies. We like the opportunity to work on things like the ROVs as it helps to diversify us a little bit, so it’s not always just about boats,” he said.

For Stanners being diverse and adaptable is a key to the company’s success and longevity, especially in times of uncertainty in the marketplace. “If you want to survive you really can’t have all of your eggs in one basket. In this day and age you need diversity.

Working on these other projects is an important part of our workload,” he said.

“We’re still all about boats, with maybe something like 75 per cent of everything we do is

With a state-of-the-art metal fabrication shop, Titan Boats has the ability to build just about anything devoted to that market. But that still leaves 25 or even 30 per cent of what we do devoted to that diversified market. In essence we’ll work as a sub-contractor, doing custom fabrication for a wide range of clients.”

A recent fabrication assignment Titan Boats completed was the construction of an ROV unit for the Schmidt Ocean Institute in San Francisco. A private non-profit fou ndation, the Schmidt Ocean Institute was establ ished to adva nce

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oceanographic research, discovery, and knowledge while serving as a catalyst for the sharing of information about the oceans. For Stanners the Institute’s ROV project was especially interesting.

“We created the entire aluminum structure of the ROV for them, as well as fabricated a number of other component parts. Basically in a case like that we serve as a sub-contractor, we build the hardware and they do all of the software elements. They are the ones who ultimately put it all together and make it do what they need it to do. I really find jobs like this to be very interesting,” he said.

Titan Boats, thanks to its reputation for quality and its extensive marine experience has also become the go-to place for vessel refurbishment and updating – often for boats constructed by other builders.

“We’ve done a number of boat refits on other commercial vessels. This is all part of the effort to move forward in a diversified manner. We’ve worked with other clients and agencies to refit their boats, allowing them to continue to use and enjoy them as boats of this type are a considerable investment. We replaced the floats, painted them, rewired

them, added new equipment and things like that – it’s all about allowing the client to get the most out of their investment,” Stanners said.

With more than 20 years of experience, and with literally hundreds of completed vessels of all types in operation around the world, family owned and operated Titan Boats is a success by any measure – and it now has the award to prove it. Earlier this year it was announced that the company was the co-winner of the Family Business Excellence (FBE) Award for Vancouver Island.

Orga n ized annually by the Family Business Association (FBA) of Vancouver Island, the coveted top prize ended in a tie this year, with Titan Boats sharing the honour with DriveWise BC which is considered the largest driving school in British Columbia and a sector leader in driver training in the province.

Created with the mission of promoting the sustainability and growth of Vancouver Island business families by providing education and support through community and shared experience, the Family Business Association bestowed its accolades on those family-owned firms that are not merely commercially

Congratulations to

TITAN BOATS

Congratulations Titan Boats!

Looking forward to working with you for many more years to come.

Unit B-2071 Malaview Ave W, Sidney

778 426 0847

|

www.foremancnc.ca

on all of your success.

From all the staff at Western Marine

successful, but those that aid in creating better communities as well.

“Winning the award was especially satisfying. It really is a testament to all the work Dad has put into this business. It’s interesting, with all of our clients from all over the world, they know that Titan builds the best.

So for someone to come from the family basement to a global marketplace in 20 years is pretty amazing,” Michell said.

“So for him and the company in general to be recognized by that organization it’s pretty incredible. I guess really the key to it all is that despite our reach or how big we’ve become, it’s still all about being a family business.

It’s all about never losing that personal touch. You don’t have to be a massive corporation to do good work, or to be recognized for your efforts.”

For Stanners, despite the accolades and having been involved in producing something like 400 boats for clients from across the globe, there’s nothing more important to the ongoing success of his firm than delivering a quality product and outstanding customer support.

“It’s always quality first for us.

That’s something that has never changed. We want the customer to know that we’re there for the long haul not the short term. We have customers that call us, who we built a boat for 15 years ago, and ask about adding something to their boat we can say sure we can make that part for you. They know we’re always here to offer support” he said.

“Quality has always been our key business philosophy. We say that we build serious boats for serious work, that’s been the case for the past 20 years and it will continue to be at the heart of everything we do for the next 20 as far as I’m concerned. While I can see some growth in our future, including bringing all of our activities under one roof, I never want to grow the company so much we lose that personal feel.

The customer would lose and so would we, so that’s not going to happen.” www.titanboats.com

PAYNES MARINE GROUP

Congratulations TITAN BOATS On Your Incredible Milestone!

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CONSTRUCTION

APRIL 2018

13

RDH BUILDING SCIENCE WORKS WITH BUILDING OWNERS TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY Building Enclosure Remediation Helps To Save Costs & Energy

V

ICTORIA – Ever since the ‘leaky condo crisis’ hit the province a few years ago many low-rise and high-rise multi-family buildings in BC’s coastal climate have undergone renewals of exterior walls, windows and doors - not due to choice but due to necessity.

Those crisis years demanded that the construction industry develop higher performing building enclosure assemblies to resist the impact of wet coastal weather.

As a result, windows and doors that formed part of the building enclosure went through modifications to achieve a higher resistance to wind-driven rain. The improvements to water-tightness in glazing improved airtightness and thermal performance – however, they are just one component of the overall building enclosure. “ T o d a y, t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e m u l t i-f a m i l y b u i l d i n g stock has progressed through

rehabilitation programs to address rainwater leakage. Owners are now looking at existing buildings that due to lower levels of exposure to wetting from rain have not been as severely affected so they can plan for building enclosure renewals with the help of Depreciation Reports,” explained Robin Breuer an Associate, Senior Project Manager with RDH Building Science.

“The recent introduction of the BC Step Code and Passive House development, a mong other building standards has increased general awareness regarding energy performance in buildings, as well as the desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

However, many of the existing standards favour new building construction. So what do building owners with existing aging structures do to improve energy efficiency and reduce their carbon foot print?”

RDH Building Science has seen a steady increase in strata corporations that are keen to improve the performance of their aging building enclosures - not just from a water resistance standpoint but also to achieve higher energy standards. There are many different means and

“So what do building owners with existing aging structures do to improve energy efficiency and reduce their carbon foot print?”

ROBIN BREUER SENIOR PROJECTS MANAGER, RDH BUILDING SCIENCE

Robin Breuer is an Associate, Senior Project Manager with RDH Building Science, based in the firm’s Courtenay office methods to implement energy improvements.

“An effective approach is to address two primary building systems: the building enclosure and the heating and ventilation system. When planning for renewals to the building enclosure, simply adding new cladding and windows is not taking full advantage of potential energy performance improvements,” he said.

“The increased airtightness achieved during building enclosure renewals reduces the original design and coincidental fresh air supply. Therefore, modifications or adjustments to the mechanical systems should be incorporated to maintain a well-conditioned living space and increase the fresh air supply.”

Breuer pointed out that enclosure renewals provide an

opportunity to incorporate insulation upgrades to existing walls or roofs which may include several inches of exterior insulation.

The resulting benefits include a reduction of the heating loads compared to what was required during original construction to maintain a comfortable level of heating or cooling.

It also follows that improvements to building insulation values and airtightness should incorporate an optimization of the mechanical system to reduce inefficiencies and take advantage of potential energy cost savings. Having a well-planned and well-designed renewals program can identify and incorporate energy improvements such as higher insulation values and an optimized mechanical system “As a building science engineering firm RDH has routinely provided design services to clients looking to reduce their carbon footprint and increase occupant comfort during their building enclosure renewal program. In the firm’s experience, the best gains are achieved by not just looking at the building enclosure but the mechanical system as well,” he explained. www.rdh.com

14

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CLINIC 805 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Clinic 805 regularly provides its patients with a wide range of medical procedures, all delivered in-house by employing some of the most up to date surgical technologies and facilities found anywhere in the country. A partial list of the Clinic’s routine procedures include tummy tucks, eyelid surgery, arm lift and reductions, breast augmentations including implants, brow lifts, buttock lifts, excision of moles, chin lifts, facial contouring and much more.

“While these services are beneficial for any gender, the reality is that perhaps 90 per cent of our patients are female. Women for example who want their figure back once they’re through their child bearing years, or who remain healthy and active, but Nature has left its impact on their bodies.

Cosmetic surgery can fix what Nature has affected, boosting the patient’s confidence and in many cases providing them with an entirely new lease on life,” Dr. Smith explained.

In addition to its expertise in cosmetic surgery, Clinic 805 is also the right destination for the latest in skincare products and procedures.

surgery can fix what Nature has affected, boosting the patient’s confidence.”

DR. KENNETH SMITH

Dr. Kenneth Smith is the founder and owner of Clinic 805 which is one of Victoria’s largest private surgical clinics This includes BOTOX cosmetics, the use of dermal fillers, scar treatments, leg vein and vascular therapies, lasers and many other specialized treatments.

A finalist for the Vancouver Island Business Excellence Award, Clinic 805 opened for business in 2009 as a purpose-built, 7,000 square foot cosmetic surgery practise and has a current staff count of 14, including its three resident doctors.

Featuring a pair of state of the art operating theatres Clinic 805 has the in-house capacity to handle virtually any appropriate procedure.

“We have the latest in computerized imaging equipment, ideal when used to educate our patients about

FOUNDER / OWNER, CLINIC 805

the procedures they’re going to be undertaking,” he said.

Experienced, equipped, compassionate and forward thinking the Physicians and staff at Clinic 805 have the skills and the technology to truly make their patients look, and feel their very best.

“We’re also blessed to have an incredibly credentialed and experienced staff many of whom have been with me for a very long time. That expertise only adds to the overall quality of service we can provide,” Dr. Smith said.

“We’re very much a community business. We’re located downtown and are very active in our community which is very important to me. We’ve been here a long time we’re working hard and are looking forward to continuing to serve our patients in the years to come.” www.clinic805.ca

GENERAL CONTRACTING | PROJECT MANAGEMENT SINCE 1996

✦ Ted Lapshinoff, President

Office: 250 590-2458 | Mobile: 250 812-5260 Email: ktbuilders@shaw.ca

The staff of Clinic 805, many of whom have been with the clinic for years are among its greatest assets

15

APRIL 2018

West Coast Heeler Pack Built On Puppy Love

Dog Hikes Helped In Accident Recovery

S

OOKE - The road to entrepreneurial success can start anywhere: for Alicia Erskine of So oke’s West Coast Heeler Pack, it began with a vehicle accident, followed by support from her two best friends.

In late 2013, Erskine was struck by a car while in a crosswalk. The accident left her with difficulty walking and chronic damage to her neck and back Eighteen months of treatment followed.

Erskine regained much of her mobility and returned to work but discovered her lingering injuries made it painful for her be at a desk for eight hours a day.

Relief came on weekends when she took her two dogs on long hikes. Erskine’s two best friends, blue heeler Kona and red heeler Cali, inspired her to keep moving. Keeping active was the best prescription possible.

“It was easier to stay active when I had the dogs to take care of and to encourage me to get out and walk and hike,” Erskine said.

Friends started asking her to take their dogs hiking as well.

I n 2016, Ersk i ne took stock. She loved her office job and the company’s support, including installation of a standing desk. But she was still in pain, which would continue as long as she did office work.

But when she spent her days being active with her dogs, the pain was gone. In June, supported by fiancé Colten, she took the bold step i nto sel f-employment, leaving her job and founding West Coast Heeler Pack. “I dove right into the world of dogs.”

The company was named for the two dogs who had been by her side throughout her recovery. Friends became her first clients.

She also drew on her other skills: dog training and care, agility, photography, a nd blogg i ng to create a unique, multi-faceted business.

This year, West Coast Heeler Pack was a finalist in the Entrepreneur category of the Vancouver Island Business Excellence Awards.

Erskine says the accident was “a blessing in disguise” that led her into a new life and a business she

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Alicia Erskine wilderness hiking with her best friends, blue heeler Kona and red heeler Cali. She named her business, West Coast Heeler Pack, after the two dogs loves. Her business also coincides with emerging research into dogs, which supports dog-oriented activities and classes.

“Pets are now very much a part of the family,” Erskine said. “They’re not just dogs.”

She is now a Certified Trick Dog Instructor who has taken her own dogs to the Expert and Champion s h ip level s i n t he international Trick Dog program. She does both private training and group classes and also offers dog boarding.

A sideline is promoting quality sport products, p o s t i n g e y e-c a tc h i n g photos of her dogs and their shared adventures on social media.

“We won’t promote just a ny th i ng. I f it is not a product we would use, we just won’t showcase it,”

she said.

The affiliations grew out of her popular postings.

Companies approached her after she mentioned products in her posts. Readers seek her product advice.

But her core business is dog hiking: taking small canine packs of four to six dogs on daily ninety minute to two-hour adventure hikes through the beautiful wilderness of the island. Owners trust her with their dogs, perhaps because they can see Erskine’s commitment to dogs in the care she gives Kona and Cali.

Erskine also gives owners advice on anything she learns about their dogs during the hikes.

“I care for all the dogs that come to me and I think that shows,” Erskine said. www.westcoastheelerpack.com

16

APRIL 2018

TOTEM TOWING HAS BEEN HAULING VICTORIA FOR 45 YEARS Vehicle Rescue Company Currently Operates A Fleet Of More Than 30 Vehicles

V

ICTORIA – For more than 45 yea rs the sight of a truck from Totem Towing has been brightening the day for stranded motorists all across the Greater Victoria area, a tradition of service and excellence that company owner Dan Bird anticipates will continue to happen for the foreseeable future.

“Our company slogan is “Doing It Right” and that’s really what it’s all about. While we have done work with the police, such as at accident scenes, the bulk of what we do is to provide emergency service. We’re dealing with people at one of the worst times for them, so we always go that extra mile to make the experience as painless and positive as possible,” he explained.

Chance, opportunity and the needs of a growing community have all been keys to the growth and development of Totem Towing. Company founder Neil Clarke purchased his first tow truck in 1973, as an added service he could provide from the trio of service stations he then owned. While fuel sales and mechanical services were Clarke’s mainstay it soon became apparent that there was a demand for the towing services his fledgling venture could provide.

First catering to the needs of his own clients, he soon began taking service calls from other service stations, which quickly outstripped the capabilities of his lone vehicle. The towing firm began its expansion efforts in 1976 when Clarke purchased an existing towing company, Tolmie Towing – operating briefly under the banner Totem-Tolmie Towing.

By 1989 the towing fleet had expanded to an even dozen vehicles, servicing clients throughout the region. Joining the firm in 1982 as a tow truck driver (at the age of 21) Bird was promoted to the manager of the company’s towing division

in 1990, setting him on a path that would see him eventually purchase the firm outright in 2013.

“While working on tow trucks hasn’t been my entire career, as I started out in a family-owned wholesale business, I’ve certainly made it a career now, but it’s not anything I regret,” Bird said.

“The company has definitely grown over the years. Today we’re strictly a towing service as there are no service stations anymore. Presently we employ about 40 people and between all of the trucks and trailers we have about 30 pieces in the fleet. While our focus and the bulk of what we do is to look after cars and light trucks, we have the tools and the equipment to respond to virtually any emergency need – right up to busses and big rigs. We can deal with any vehicle you’re likely to see rolling along local streets.”

Over the decades Totem Towing grew by both hiring more employees and purchasing its own equipment, and by acquiring smaller towing firms. By 2000 Totem Towing was the largest contractor for the British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA), serving the Greater Victoria area exclusively for 27 years and was actively responding to more than 50,000 customer calls per year.

That ongoing expansion continued through the early years of the new century leading to the development of the company that serves the community today.

One of the real strengths of the firm, aside from a local presence that dates back nearly half a century, is the depth of skills and experience of its staff, many of whom have been with Totem Towing for decades.

“I’m lucky to have such an experienced crew. One of my guys started here in 1987, a couple of other guys joined us in 1989 a bunch from the 1990s and the list goes on. You just can’t buy that kind of experience. Their knowledge and skills are irreplaceable,” Bird explained.

“We have about 40 bodies now and every year there’s a certain amount of turn over as people

No two days are alike in the towing business - Totem Towing’s heavy unit is seen here hauling a double decker bus

“If I were to define the role Totem Towing plays it would be to rescue people in distress.”

DAN BIRD OWNER, TOTEM TOWING

move on to other opportunities, but there are a lot of guys who have made a career at Totem Towing.

The towing business is not an eight hour per day job, the hours can be demanding and it can be competitive, so it’s not for everyone.

We basically never close, there’s always going to be that 3:00 AM call, but for those who adjust to it they can do well.”

Located at 3333 Tennyson Avenue in Victoria, Totem Towing is housed in a 5,000 square foot shop and administrative centre where drivers are dispatched and company vehicles are serviced.

Having its own mechanical team, Totem Towing’s rolling stock is SEE TOTEM TOWING | PAGE 17

Dan Bird (left) and company founder Neil Clarke received the CAA / AAA Gold Award for Canada in 2015

Congratulations Totem Towing!

Here’s to another 45 years.

www.bcaa.com

17

APRIL 2018

One of the keys to the success and longevity of Totem Towing is the skills and experience of its staff

TOTEM TOWING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

scrupulously maintained to allow them to be available around the clock.

“Certainly the guys who have made a career out of this have worked hard to get to where they are in life. In our world 90 percent of our business is rescue business, dealing with someone stranded on the roadside. We do all of the BCAA work in Victoria for example. So you need people who are good at working with the general public, at putting people at ease when they’re probably upset or even scared. It really helps when I have a crew with that amount of experience,” he said.

While the company does work directly with regional police forces, Totem Towing’s primary focus today is on serving the emergency needs of individual vehicle owners.

“Emergency roadside assistance is our main focus. We don’t do any private impound work, we never have and we never will. We’re not going to cruise parking lots looking for people to tow. Even if people deserve to be towed that’s simply not a business I want to be in.

I much prefer to be the one who helps people when they need help the most,” Bird stated.

“If I were to define the role Totem Towing plays it would be to rescue people in distress. We’re out there helping people get their vehicles to where they need to be. That’s not to say we don’t do police work, we do, we regularly work with the police in Saanich and in Oak Bay, towing cars from accidents and things like that. It’s never fun when someone gets into an accident so we’re out there to make people’s day better by providing the best and most professional service possible.”

With decades of experience behind it, and with a fleet of equipment capable of handling virtually any assignment, Bird devotes a considerable amount of time in providing training his crews.

Thanks to the nature of modern vehicles, such as light-weight materials in the construction and increased amounts of electronics,

an improper towing job could potentially cause damage – a situation he always wants to avoid.

“Training is very important to us. There is no universal training system in place for tow truck drivers, which is something I would certainly advocate for. But like most companies we provide our own in-house training. Vehicles keep changing and how to work with them changes right along with it, so we put a lot of effort into keeping our guys up to speed,” he said.

Another concern of Bird, and any professionals working along busy thoroughfares, is the importance of drivers to be cautious when approaching an accident scene, or anywhere a tow truck is in operation. “The safety of my guys and the customers they’re working with is very important to me. The ‘slow down and move over law’ hasn’t gotten through to everyone yet, and that’s a big concern,” he said.

“People go whizzing by us at 100K up the Pat Bay Highway or along the Thetis Lake stretch with no regard for the safety of these people that are working along the highway. I sometimes really worry about it and if I could get one message out it would be to use caution when passing a working tow truck – I don’t ever want to a see a service call become something much worse.”

The issue of driver and public

safety is such a concern for Bird and other roadside workers that the tow truck sector is actively lobbying the provincial government to allow tow trucks to be equipped with blue and amber lights – in an effort to better capture the attention of passing motorists.

“People seem to have tunnel vision, they don’t even seem to see the truck working on the side of the road until they’re right on top of it and then just go whizzing by. It’s scary and the statistics point out that every week in North America a tow truck driver is killed in the line of duty. That’s the kind of statistic I never want to see my business, or one of my guys included in,” he said.

“It’s scary as you have to rescue the car on the side of the road, but you’re putting your life on the line to do it. It’s getting to the point where we have to put blocker vehicles out there just to protect our drivers.”

While no immediate expansion plans are in the works, Totem Towing expects to continue to service the Greater Victoria area as it has for the past 45 years. “It’s all about having the right people, the right equipment and being there all the time – it’s like our slogan says: Doing it Right – doing it right the first time so you don’t have to do I a second time,” Bird said. www.totemtowing.com

Active in the community, this Totem Towing truck was pressed into parade service hauling Thrifty’s big cart

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18

APRIL 2018

LlamaZOO Interactive Software A Mining Innovation Competition Finalist CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

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in the sort of technology we were developing, with Teck Resources being the first to see the potential value. We started working with them about a year ago and that’s how we developed our software for the mining industry MineLife VR.” In an effort to spur innovation in the sector while serving as a catalyst for the development of new ideas, Vancouver-based Goldcorp Inc. has for the past two years sponsored an innovation expo called #DisruptMining. A key component of the Canadian resource sector, mining is an increasingly important part of the nation’s economic mix. But as with virtually every other industry in the country emerging technologies and contemporary methodologies are changing how the industry operates.

T he #D i sr upt M i n i ng Innovation Expo was created to help encou rage the fostering of new ideas - developments that in turn will help to empower the mining industry as it moves forward. “Our goal was to uncover the next revolutionary concept that will truly disrupt our industry. We were incredibly impressed by the caliber of submissions we received this year and look forward to engaging in discussions with all the semi-finalists and finalists,” Goldcorp’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Todd White recently explained.

“The four finalists represent the innovative thinking and collaboration our industry needs to ensure mining stays relevant and does its job to fuel the 21st century economy efficiently

and responsibly.”

Launched in 2014, LlamaZOO currently has a staff of about 18 and maintains offices in both Victoria and in Vancouver, creating a wide range of interactive 3D software applications. A tech start up and one of the true success stories of the VIATEC (Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council) community, LlamaZOO has carried out ground-breaking work using interactive technology to help solve real world problems.

“We essentially developed a platform for distributing interactive 3D content, initially for veterinary medicine. But the technology platform that we developed is now being used for the mining sector, through a product we called MineLife VR, which is what got us into the #DisruptMining competition,” Lavigne explained.

MineLife VR is a software platform which enables companies to represent a mine plan throughout its existence, from exploration to reclamation, in an interactive 1:1 scale using virtual reality. This technology allows its user to create greater efficiencies (and ultimately cost savings) across a full spectrum of factors such as resource management, mine planning, reclamation, exploration, community engagement as well as business development.

From Goldcorps’ point of view, for a company to even make it to the finals in the #DisruptMining competition means they must already be an industry leader in their own right. “Every year we run this competition and it’s our way to look into companies that we

don’t normally do business with, while opening new opportunities for people t h at m i g ht not ot herwise have access to a firm our size,” explained Luis Canepari, Goldcorp’s Vice President of Technology.

With more than 15,000 employees worldwide, and assets of more than $21 billion, Goldcorp is one of Canada’s largest mining enterprises. “There’s a lot of innovation coming from the smaller firms, so this competition provides them with a forum for exposing their new ideas to a much bigger audience.”

While LlamaZOO didn’t actually win the competition (Newfoundland-based Acoustic Zoom Inc. did) merely being part of the process has dramatically increased the company’s industry exposure. “Being a finalist in this competition definitely has some weight to it. We’re already using the MineLife VR system with multiple Tier One mining companies, and have about five projects on the go right now all over the world,” Lavigne said.

From Ca nepa ri’s perspective his company’s sponsoring of the #DisruptMining competition will ensure the mining industry’s expansion and perhaps even its survival in the years to come. “I believe that we need to be a catalyst for innovation in the industry. As a major mining company we have the responsibility to lead the way for the smaller mining companies to follow. For us to be relevant in the next 10 years we need to make an investment today to ensure a positive future tomorrow,” he said. w w w.goldcorp.com & www.llamazoo.com

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Youthful and bright, the team at LlamaZOO were finalists in a major national innovation completion organized by Goldcorp Inc.

WHO IS SUING WHOM

APRIL 2018

WHO IS SUING WHOM The contents of Who’s Suing Whom is provided by a third-party resource and is accurate according to public court documents. Some of these cases may have been resolved by publication date.

DEFENDANT 0555653 BC LTD 360 Harbour Rd, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Owners Strata Plan VIS 6763 CLAIM $35,000 DEFENDANT Brad Squire Plumbing & Contracting 3200 Arrowsmith Rd, Nanaimo, BC PLAINTIFF Beringa Communications Claim $32,176 DEFENDANT Coast RV Sales & Service Ltd 1458 Industrial Way, Parksville, BC PLAINTIFF Yanen, Marina CLAIM $36,029 DEFENDANT Dockside Green LTD 183 Terminal Ave, Vancouver, BC PLAINTIFF Owners Strata Plan VIS 6763 CLAIM $ 35,000

DEFENDANT Kubica Family Trust PO BOX 336, Shawnigan Lake, BC PLAINTIFF Elk Ridge Estates Ltd CLAIM $ 250,000 DEFENDANT Mueller Industries INC 2021-800 South Gay St, Knoxville, TN PLAINTIFF Zhou, Qingru CLAIM $ 35,296 DEFENDANT Parker Johnston Industries LTD 837 Burdett Ave, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Owners Strata Plan VIS 6763 CLAIM $ 35,000 DEFENDANT Payless Cabinets LTD 880 Van Isle Way, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Matte, Michelle CLAIM $ 15,056 DEFENDANT Q Academy LTD 302-771 Vernon Ave, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Mandrusiak, Ernest CLAIM $ 29,763 DEFENDANT Q College Elearning INC

302-771 Vernon Ave, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Mandrusiak, Ernest CLAIM $ 29,763 DEFENDANT Q College LTD 302-771 Vernon Ave, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Mandrusiak, Ernest CLAIM $ 29,763 DEFENDANT Reid 777 Holdings LTD 201-467 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC PLAINTIFF Glacier Valley Homes LTD CLAIM 18,728 DEFENDANT Renew Building Services INC 3059 Glen Lake Rd, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Nickell, Paul CLAIM $ 23,936 DEFENDANT Rose Bank Gardens 1125 Blanshard St, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Trigg, Christopher CLAIM $ 25,236 DEFENDANT Sawiras General Trading INC 236 Cilaire Dr, Nanaimo, BC PLAINTIFF

0838778 BC LTD CLAIM $ 21,559 DEFENDANT Strata Plan VIS 4078 1125 Blanshard St, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Trigg, Christopher CLAIM $ 25,236 DEFENDANT Summerhill Kitchens 880 Van Isle Way, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Matte, Michelle CLAIM $ 15,056 DEFENDANT TNT Industries LTD 3RD Flr 612 View St, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF K5 Contracting LTD CLAIM $ 37,996 DEFENDANT Totem Plumbing LTD 6171 Werners Way, Nanaimo, BC PLAINTIFF Zhou, Qingru CLAIM $ 35,296 DEFENDANT Travelers Insurance Company Of Canada 2500-650 West Georgia St, Vancouver, BC PLAINTIFF Owners Strata Plan VIS 6763

19 CLAIM $ 35,000 DEFENDANT Urban Bee Supplies LTD 200-931 Fort St, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Pure Engineering LTD CLAIM $ 10,174 DEFENDANT WCGP Nova Scotia CO 1200-200 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC PLAINTIFF McCallum, Barbara CLAIM $ 31,570 DEFENDANT Westcoast Taekwon Do INC 3-4011 Quadra St, Victoria, BC PLAINTIFF Norris, Andrea CLAIM $ 7,094 DEFENDANT Western Watershed Designs Inc 103A-8275 92nd St, Delta, BC PLAINTIFF 0873373 BC LTD CLAIM $ 45,604 DEFENDANT Whirlpool Canada Co 1200-200 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC PLAINTIFF McCallum, Barbara CLAIM $ 31,570

20

MOVERS AND SHAKERS The Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame announced a new executive and the addition of three new board members at their recent AGM. Doug Jennings will take on the role of president while Jim Swanson, Fern Johnson and Louis Hodgson-Jones join the board of directors. Jennings has been a board member since March 2010, and worked for IBM Global Business Services for 35 years before retiring. Swanson is the managing partner of the HarbourCats Baseball Club.

Johnson is appointed to the board as treasurer and has held positions with NEPTUNE Canada at the University of Victoria and acted as the controller of Greenlight Power Technologies Inc. Louis is a communications consultant who works with the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon, PISE, Vancouver Island Race Series, Frontrunners Footwear, and the Pacific Cycling Centre.

Rusco Window & Screen has opened a new showroom at 3 – 477 Boleskine Road.

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Clipper Vacations added a new vessel, Clipper V, to their fleet of ferries. The new 52-metre catamaran has the capacity for 579 seats and can travel up to 36 knots, the fastest yet for their vessels. The new ship has a galley that can serve hot food, has a gift shop, duty-free service, and three different classes of seating

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to accommodate guests travelling from Victoria to Seattle.

Ledcor Properties broke ground on a new $200-million development on the site of the former Belmont Secondary School in Langford.

The plan calls for the construction of seven buildings in six stages over five years. A total of 440 housing units are planned with 146 designated as rentals, while the remaining spaces will be condominiums. The residences will be across the street from what will be the Belmont Market shopping centre, currently being developed

by Crombie REIT. Construction is already underway on the new shopping centre, which will have Thrifty Foods as one of their tenants once completed.

The Times Colonist has named Dave Obee as their new publisher.

Obee was previously the editorin-chief of the publication, a role he will retain while also serving as publisher. He has been with the publication for 21 years and previously held positions in the industry in Calgary and the Okanagan Valley.

Rugby Canada officially opened a world-class training complex at 3019 Glen Lake Road in Langford.

The training centre is named the Al Charron Rugby Canada National Training Centre, after one of Canada’s legendary rugby players. The facility will be used by national rugby team players as well as other Olympians and international sports players who want to train in the region.

Camosun College’s Interurban Campus celebrated the grand opening of the Lionel Houle Electrical Shop. The shop is named after Houle Electric’s founder, in recognition of the company’s $75,000 contribution towards the school. Camosun’s electrical program trains 100 foundation students and 600 apprentices each year, and has doubled the size of their shop.

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Barb’s Fish & Chips, the floating restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf, has replaced their old structure with a new prefabricated steel building. The new structure was designed in Victoria, largely constructed in Montreal then completed with a concrete floatation device in Delta. Opening day for the restaurant is expected to be in the first week of April.

Windsor Plywood Westshore is celebrating their 30 th anniversary at 888 Van Isle Way.

Ross McLean The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) has presented Ross McLean with the 2017 CCA Trade Contractors Award.

Ross is a partner and regional manager for Houle Electric who has served as chair of the Vancouver Island, Prince George and British Columbia Construction Association’s (BCCA). He is also a past recipient of BCCA’s Distinguished Service Award and has served as industry co-chair on the deputy minister’s Industry Infrastructure Forum.

Brad and Dennyse Harris will hold the inaugural Craft Beer & Wilderness Retreat in June at the Nootka Sound Resort near Tahsis. The five-day event will take place from June 9 – 13, 2018 at the resort where participants will get to brew beer with top BC brewers, and enjoy craft beer and food pairings, rare beers, tapside chats and formal seminars.

This year’s brewers include Brent Mills, the co-founder and head brewer of Four Winds Brewer in Delta; Michael and Karen Kuzyk, co-founders of Category 12 Brewing on the Saanich Peninsula; and Cédric Dauchot, brewer and owner of Powell River’s Townsite Brewing. The all-inclusive fiveday retreat is $1,999 (plus taxes) per person, though an early bird discount that can be redeemed before April 15 brings the total to only $1,599 (plus taxes).

Congratulations to the top salespeople of the month at dealerships across Victoria. The top salespeople include Bryce Metzger of Galaxy Motors, Wes Harrison of Harris Auto, Don Rusk of Jim Pattison Toyota, Robin Haggar of Jim Pattison Lexus, Edward Daniel of Pacific Mazda, Ted Sakousky of Wheaton, David Vollet of Audi Autohaus, Brent Moroz of Volkswagen Victoria, Josh Rockwell of Victoria Hyundai, Matt Kennard of Porsche Centre, Dave Bercovitz of Three PT Motors, Noaln Balfe of BMW Victoria, Eliah Marthyman of Volvo, Chris Hoeg of Wille Dodge, Wayne Isbister of Jenner, Rick Bell of Campus Honda, Richard Haughn-Thomas of Campus Infiniti, Frank Percorreli of Campus Nissan, Phil Hines of Jim SEE MOVERS & SHAKERS| PAGE 21

The United Way Spirit Awards will be presented to donors, volunteers, community partners and businesses in Greater Victoria at a ceremony held on April 11.

David and Darryl Jensen have opened Shai’s Diner for business at 910 Esquimalt Road in Esquimalt. The new Canadian food diner will hold a grand opening celebration on April 6th at their location.

Ines Hanl Ines Hanl, principal of The Sky is the Limit Design, was recently presented with a prestigious award at the 2017 Design Competition for the BC chapter of the National Kitchen and Bath Industry Association (NKBA). The company won the Design Excellence Award in the Best Kitchen Transformation category.

The Sky is the Limit Design is at 780 Humboldt Street in Victoria.

Shirley Niven Origin and Cause, a forensic engineering and fire investigation firm, has opened their fourteenth office and first in Victoria. Shirley Niven, a Mechanical Engineer of 15 years will run the BC operations. They provide cross-disciplinary forensic expertise to insurance companies, law firms, independent adjusters and corporate risk managers.

NVision Properties has proposed a 46-unit

Connect Hearing is celebrating their 40 th year of serving Vancouver Island residents. The company has numerous locations throughout Victoria.

Trillium West Shore Village is a new senior’s housing project that is slated to open this fall at 333 Wale Road.

The facility will be an active home for seniors that assists them in maintaining their independence and wellbeing. The amenities will include having a five-star chef, a pub and café, a full activity schedule and group outings. The facility is over 50 per cent leased though there are a range of onebedroom homes available.

Saanich Commonwealth Place is replacing their natural gas boilers for biomass boilers after the District of Saanich secured a $4-million contribution from the federal gas tax.

The new boilers will reduce the recreation centre’s carbon footprint by 90 per cent and are expected to be completed in 2021. The installation is part of the District’s goal of becoming a 100 per cent renewable energy community.

The Town of Sidney and the BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) have entered into a lease agreement that will see the local ambulance service move into the new Community Safety Building.

The building which is expected to be completed in early 2019 will see the ambulance service provider move from its current Third Street location into the new space. The new safety building is located south of the Mary Winspear Centre and is visible from the Pat Bay Highway.

Curious Comics Books & Games is celebrating their 30 th year in business. The company has three locations across the Island, two of which are in the Victoria region.

The BC Association of Farmers’ Markets has awarded Esquimalt Farmers

D E T N E C -S D Katrina Dwulit Market the 2017 BC Farmer’s Market of the Year. Katrina Dwulit, the executive director was also honoured as Marketing Manager of the Year.

Quinn and Jay Forsythe have reopened Windsor Café at 2450 Windsor Road.

The couple took over the cafe from previous owners and have since given the business a facelift. The reopened shop includes new equipment and furniture made from repurposed forest fire cedar. The café is currently open from 8 am to 5 pm and features graband-go items and dine-in options. The café plans on expanding their hours to include the evening once they are more established.

High Tide Energy Inc. of Victoria recently installed 132 solar panels on top of the Town of Sidney’s main public works building. The installation, which came at a cost of $120,000, saw the installation of a 30 kilowatt system capable of producing roughly 42,000 kilowatts per year.

R

The IMAX Theatre in the Royal BC Museum is celebrating their 20 th anniversary at 675 Belleville Street. This summer the theatre will be playing Mysteries of Egypt, Pandas: The Journey Home, America’s Musical Journey, and more.

A

Pattison Subaru and Eddie Lee of Campus Acura.

apartment complex at 1301 Hillside Avenue. The 13,400 square-foot property would be a mix of studio and two bedroom suites. NVision is also planning to build a 78-unit building in Saanich at the corner of Shelbourne and McKenzie and has begun construction at 433 Boleskine Road on a 5-storey rental building consisting of 95-units.

W

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

APRIL 2018

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Beacon Drive-In Restaurant is celebrating their 60 th anniversary at 126 Douglas Street.

A redevelopment plan has been proposed for the corner of Patricia Bay Highway and Sayward Road in rural Saanich. Site-plans call for a new Chevron gas station to replace the existing Fas Gas Plus outlet, an A&W drive-thru restaurant and an attached On-theRun convenience store.

The District of Saanich is currently reviewing the proposed plans.

Congratulations to the top producers and top lister of the month for Re/Max Camosun Peninsula. The top lister was the Gower/ Smith Team, while the top producers were Debbie Gray, Jeff Meyer, Craig Walters and Daniel Juricic. Re/Max Camosun Peninsula is at 14 – 2510 Bevan Avenue in Sidney.

The Esquimalt Farmer’s Market (EFM) and Katrina Dwulit (the market’s SEE MOVERS & SHAKERS| PAGE 23

DOWNTOWN | WESTSHORE | SAANICH

OPINION

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APRIL 2018 A division of Invest Northwest Publishing Ltd. 200-3060 Cedar Hill Road, Victoria V8T 3J5 Fax: 1.250.642.2870 Toll free: 1.866.758.2684 Website: www.businessexaminer.ca

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NDP IDEOLOGICAL WAR ON BUSINESS IS UNNECESSARY

MARK MACDONLD

W

hen the NDP unveiled its first budget recently, it took awhile to realize the devastating impact it would project upon the provincial economy.

It set calculators abuzz, as accountants and industry experts began to calculate what damage NDP inventions like the “speculator’s tax”, the expansion of the foreign buyers’ tax and the most devastating of them all, as far as small business was concerned, introducing a payroll tax for business owners to cover the complete cost of Medical Service Plan fees.

T he beh i nd the scenes response? Plans are being made to sell secondary properties, which could flood the market. Some business owners are consulting lawyers to check the legalities of recouping the MSP downloading

by eliminating existing benefits.

T hen there’s the minimum wage hike. Watch what happens in the restaurant business. Either there will be a boost in business to operations like Skip The Dishes, which delivers meals from local eateries right to the customers’ doorstep, or there will be a rapid expansion of buffets, which would lessen the need for table service in establishments.

It’s not the owners’ moral obligation to provide employment while they lose money. T hat won’t happen; restaurants will close first. But I digress. . .

All of these moves were really unnecessary. The NDP could have done what the BC Liberals did to spur the economy under Premier Christy Clark.

Nothing.

Look back over the last term of the BC Liberals. What did they do to stimulate the provincial economy? Major projects? Resource development? They stalled out on Liquefied Natural Gas, and moved at a glacial pace to start Site C Dam in northern BC, eventually leaving it up to the NDP to decide its fate.

Are we missing anything else?

It was the real estate and construction industries that propelled BC’s economy over the past number of years, filling

government coffers. British Columbia had been re-discovered, and people wanted to invest and live here. If one were to take those revenues out of the budget, the province would be in deep financial hardship.

The economy basically ran on autopilot during the last term of BC Liberal government. Surely the NDP can do the same, and reposition the revenues to the projects they deemed most worthy, right?

The NDP’s ideologically based taxes are unnecessary. T hey could have changed absolutely nothing tax-wise, and still managed to pay for what they say they want, namely affordable housing.

There is one way the NDP government can make housing more affordable: More supply. Get their municipal farm teams to take their feet off the brakes and make it easier for new housing to be built. Simple, right? Not so fast.

Just weeks ago, a developer shared the NDP’s Request For Proposal (RFP) process for building affordable housing, noting there’s been an indication they are asking builders to target around $350 per square foot for completed projects. If that’s the case, it’s a true indicator of government waste and excess.

Several years ago, a successful

builder told me he built a “very nice home” - what some might dub a Canadian mansion - for about $160 per square foot. It had everything they could think of in what was their dream home.

His company won a government bid to build a low-income housing project, for over $300 per square foot – roughly double what he built his own dream home for.

We l c o m e t o t h e w o rl d o f government.

The NDP arrived in government greeted by a healthy surplus, which they’ve obviously already spent. Then they start scrambling for more revenue with ill-advised, made-on-the-fly policies that have sent tremors throughout the business and investment community.

The reality is, there really is “more” where that revenue came from, and here’s how they could get it: Leave the economy alone. Don’t tinker with it.

Maybe NDPers just can’t allow themselves to do that. Either their anti-free enterprise ideology won’t allow them to do it, or their never-been-in-successful-business-for-themselves “experts” can’t admit they don’t understand the basics of economics.

Remember the federal Liberals under Prime Minister Jean

Chretien? Paul Martin, a very successful businessperson in his own right, was beloved as Finance Minister, and performed admirably in the portfolio. Liberals typically lean to the left side of the political spectrum, but Martin understood what a strong economy was all about, and for the most part, succeeded.

To Chretien’s credit, he didn’t allow party ideologues to tamper with something they really didn’t understand. Martin did “get it”, and Canada benefited.

I sha red th is thought w ith NDPers in the past, including directly in a lengthy interview with former NDP leader Adrian Dix – and presumptive Premier - just prior to the 2013 election. I challenged him, asking why they wouldn’t get experts from outside the party to look after the economy? If you don’t have them within, then find them without, and glean the success. If their advice led to failure, then the NDP could blame them, as if it wasn’t their fault.

Dix didn’t win the election, so I didn’t get to see whether he’d take the advice or not. Yet here they are, one cycle later, with the NDP doing exactly what they’ve always done. Those who refuse to learn from history are bound to repeat it.

RAISING MINIMUM WAGES: GOOD INTENTIONS, BAD POLICY

THE FRASER INSTITUTE

BY HUGH MACINTYRE AND CHARLES LAMMAM

A

s the old saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. But good intentions alone aren’t enough to justify government policy.

Real-world evidence matters.

BC P rem ier John Horgan nonet hele ss re c ent ly a nnounced plans to raise the province’s minimum wage by 34 per cent over four years, from its current hourly rate of $11.35 to $15.20 by 2021.

Horgan made clear his good intentions when he spoke of lifting “people out of poverty.”

We certainly applaud this sentiment and share the premier’s goal. Unfortunately, the evidence shows that raising the minimum wage is a flawed strategy for achieving this critically important social objective.

For starters, the minimum wage does a poor job of targeting the people we want to help: the working poor. According to data from Statistics Canada, the vast majority of BC’s minimum wage earners don’t live in poverty. In fact, 89 per cent are not part of a low-income household.

W hile this may sound counterintuitive, it makes sense once you realize that the overwhelming majority of minimum wage earners aren’t the primary or sole earner in their households. They are mostly teenagers or young adults working their first jobs or working part-time while in school. In BC, 54 per cent of

minimum wage earners are under the age of 25, with the vast majority living at home with parents or other relatives.

Another 19 per cent of all minimum-wage earners live with an employed spouse who often earns more than the minimum wage. So even older minimum wage earners tend not to be the sole breadwinners in households.

T hankfully, a single parent struggling to get by on minimum wage is pretty rare - only 2.1 per cent of minimum wage earners are single parents.

The fact that the minimum wage ineffectively targets the working poor helps to explain why Canadian research finds that past hikes have failed to reduce poverty. To the extent that some people do gain, 70 per cent of the income gains go to non-poor households.

In fact, one study found that raising the minimum wage can increase poverty because job losses associated with a higher minimum wage are

d isproportionately felt by the poor. Specifically, 47 per cent of job losses are felt by the poor or near-poor (those with incomes less than 50 per cent above the low-income threshold).

But the problem is not just that the minimum wage ineffectively targets the working poor. It also makes it harder for less-skilled workers in our society to find work.

When employers are forced to pay higher wages to young workers with little work experience and skills, they tend to cut back on the number of people they employ, work hours, and other forms of compensation such as job training and/or fringe benefits.

I n some cases, they pass along the higher labour costs of the minimum wage to their customers in the form of higher prices, which, perversely, has a disproportionate impact on the poor.

Fortunately, there are better policy options available to help the working poor with fewer

negative consequences.

The government could help the working poor by topping up their wages.

The Working Income Tax Benef it (W I T B), a federa l program, represents one important example. First implemented in 2007, the WITB provides a cash subsidy to low-income workers. At a certain point, the WITB begins to phase out with additional income, but only gradually.

The WITB more efficiently increases the income of the working poor without making it harder for employers to hire less-skilled workers.

When it comes to helping the working poor, good intentions aren’t good enough. Evidence should guide policy. Raising the minimum wage doesn’t provide the desired results.

Charles Lammam is director of fiscal studies and Hugh MacIntyre is senior policy analyst at the independent non-partisan Fraser Institute (www.fraserinstitute.org)

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

APRIL 2018

MOVERS AND SHAKERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

executive director) were recipients of awards at the recent Growing Together conference held in Victoria and hosted by the BC Association of Farmers Markets. The EFM was named the 2017 BC Farmers Market of the year, while Dwulit was named the market manager of the year.

Three different architects were presented with awards in recognition of their work in the Oak Bay region at the recently held 2017 Allan Cassidy Awards. The awards are presented every three years after a nomination process which takes in nominations from members of the community. Among this year’s recipients was Bruce Wilkin Design in the home renovation category for work on a house at 2670 Cranmore Road. DH Moore Architect Inc. received an award in the new home category for their work on a house at 39 Maquinna Street. Cascadia Architects took home the award for the commercial/institutional/ multi-family buildings category for design work done on at 1510 Clive Drive.

Carmanah Technologies Corp has acquired a portfolio of patents and patent applications from Stop Experts Inc. and R.D. Jones for US $2.4-million.

The patents are all related to traffic control devices, including rectangular rapid flashing beacons deployed in mid-block crosswalks. The acquisition of the patents will result in a dismissal of patent infringement claims and litigation made against the company which were disclosed in 2013.

Re/Max Camosun recently announced their top producers of the month. They are Jason Leslie, Jennifer Bruce, Don Burnham, Roy Banner, Kevin Koetke, Shannon Jackson and Glenda Warren-Adams. The real estate agency is at 101 – 791 Goldstream Avenue.

Cameron Ballendine has joined the Victoria Golf Club as their new executive chief, succeeding Nathan Waters, who departed in January for a new position as the executive chef of the BC Legislature. Ballendine was appointed executive chef of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and has worked in China, Egypt, France and the United Arab Emirates.

FortisBC has received approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to keep the cost of natural gas stable for their customers. As of April 1, FortisBC customers will see no fluctuation to the cost of natural gas on their billing statement. FortisBC reviews the cost of gas rates with the BCUC every three months.

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul announced their Social Concern office will shift operations to their Yates Street location this summer. The service centre will include an additional 2,000 square-feet of space to include a food distribution centre, and turn their existing thrift shop into a free store. The expansion has been made possible by grants from the United Way and Victoria Foundation.

The 2018 executive team for the Auxiliary of Peninsula Hospital was recently announced. The board includes Iris Fowler as second vice-president, Anni Jakubowski as president, Kathy Carter as treasurer, Jean VanWyk as first vicepresident and Dorothy Sly as secretary.

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