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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS JUNE 2012
New VP External Relations is a Dynamic Advocate BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Thunder Bay BUSINESS Lakehead University is pleased to introduce Deb Comuzzi as its new VicePresident, External Relations.
In her new role, Comuzzi will focus on five areas: alumni relations, community relations and government relations, as well as Advancement and communications. "As VP External Relations, Comuzzi will use her impressive competencies in strategic management, philanthropy, volunteer growth and development, and staff performance management to strengthen Lakehead and to reach out to our alumni," says Dr. Brian Stevenson, President of Lakehead University. "She has a rare ability to navigate complex issues and be responsive to stakeholder groups."
ence at major Canadian not-for-profit organizations. She started her career at 16, teaching swimming to children at the YMCA. Since then, she has held such high-level positions as National Executive Director of The Sunshine Foundation of Canada, and Director – Planning, Development and Field Operations with the Canadian Cancer Society.
While at London’s Children’s Health Foundation, Comuzzi and her team of volunteers and staff raised more than $48 million for the London Children’s Hospital and Children’s Health Research Institute. Other career highlights include negotiating the merger of the Children’s Health Research Institute with the Lawson Health Research Institute, and dramatically enlarging the Sunshine Foundation’s volunteer chapter base. Deb Comuzzi
A master strategist and passionate advocate for young people, Comuzzi is currently President and CEO of the Children’s Health Foundation in London, Ontario. She begins her new role in August, and will be responsible for philanthropic and outreach initiatives to the University’s many donors and partners
Comuzzi was raised in Thunder Bay and returns to her hometown with more than 30 years of senior management experi-
“ This position is a new position for Lakehead University. It will not only be about philanthropy but we are going to raise the brand of Lakehead University and make sure that not just the community understand the uniqueness of this university but the world will understand.” “We want to raise the profile of Lakehead University and talk about the good things that are happening. This is a new role and era and fundraising is different today. We have to find new ways
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to raise money. There is going to be a new way we go about our business and to raise money for the students. Coming home is surreal after saying I would never come back. This is my home. The job is amazing and a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve worked all my life for this job. Secondly I want to be close to my family as roots are very important.” “ We are going to create a strategy that will outline why students want to come to Lakehead University and will meet a lot with the alumni to find out those answers.We will then ask the alumni to be ambassadors to start to spread the word. A small alumni staff and the presi-
dent can’t do it themselves. We need the masses.” “ Every university has to rethink their brand from time to time.” “ It is not easy to raise money out there and secure government funds. To refresh and go forward with a new approach is important We are going to create cases for support on why you would give money to Lakehead University.”
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Ontario is improving Highway 614 to Manitouwadge and Highway 627 to Pic River to strengthen the northern transportation network and create about 45 jobs. The work includes 25 kilometres of pavement reconstruction on Highway 614 as well as 12 kilometres on Highway 627. The work will repair the road bed, improve drainage and decrease maintenance demands. The project will improve the driving experience and make the roads safer for families and businesses. Investing in Northern Ontario’s infrastructure is part of the McGuinty government’s Growth Plan for Northern Ontario . A strong northern economy creates local jobs and protects the services that mean the
most to families – health care and education. QUOTES “This work will complete the resurfacing of Highway 614 from Highway 17 right to Manitouwadge which began in 2010. This highway is a critical link to the TransCanada Highway for the people and industries of the Manitouwadge area.” — Michael Gravelle, MPP Thunder BaySuperior North “The Northern Highways Program invests in infrastructure for the benefit of residents, visitors and industries while creating jobs for northerners.” — Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Northern Development and Mines “Our government is improving infrastructure across the province, while creating jobs and strengthening our economy. Projects such as the rehabilitation of Highways 627 and 614 help to ensure our roads are safe and in good condition for years to come.” — Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Transportation
THUNDER BAY BUSINESS JUNE 2012
Publisher’s Note Scott Sumner
It was fun to see an artist I had grown up listening to here in NW Ontario- Bryan Adams. The 52 year old hadn’t been in Thunder Bay for some 27 years but his 20 cities 20 year Canadian Tour made a stop at the venerable Fort William Gardens for a sold out show. In fact Bryan sold out almost all of the event tickets the day it was first placed on sale and I was only
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Bryan Adams Performs In Thunder Bay Bryan Adams is really a Canadian music icon and enjoyed extreme success, especially in his early years. He has recorded 12 albums and as he told the adoring crowd he’s got lots of material so is prepared to stay awhile! As a concert goer it was refreshing to see such a high profile artist spend almost 2 1/2 hours on stage non stop and spend quite a bit of time interacting with his audience. Bryan brought a local girl up on stage to sing a song with him and these moments were a
Thunder Bay. In many ways this show reminded me of U2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto last summer. It was on a smaller scale but very, very good. If you see the touring schedule of Bryan Adams in a typical year you know he is a world-class artist. Lets hope we get more world-class artists coming to Thunder Bay. If we get a larger events centre it might lead to more private jets landing in Thunder Bay. It makes for a fun evening!
Prosperous Future
lucky the promoter released a few extra seats just before the show.
definite high lite of the show. She went home with a memory of a lifetime and 14 tee shirts to boot!
His trip to Thunder Bay was by way of private jet with a quick stop at a local hotel and then on to the venue. My afternoon had been spent golfing the weekly men’s night at Whitewater Golf Club and noticed the private jet flying over. You see more coming to Thunder Bay, but it is not a common occurrence
The sound of the event was just great as well. Often times when I go to rock shows in other venues the music is so loud it really takes away from the artist and makes the experience less than it could be. Bryan definitely had his sound dialed in and produced a great evening. Yeah, we were lucky to get a performer the stature of Bryan Adams right here in
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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS JUNE 2012
Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life Chairman Wins Battles Good afternoon, my name is Lawrence Badanai and I am this years Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life Chairman. Life ever after. Sounds like a fairy tale. I am the beginning of that part of life that is redefined forever. It has been several months since my last chemo treatment. My scars are showing new colours as they fade into the landscape of my body. Now, as I manage with the fact that my doctor appointments are spreading further apart, I am on that other side of life. I have learned that a part of healing is sharing and exposing one self. Being vulnerable has offered me the opportunity to meet many supportive people and know we all go through some of these moments. Risk is a part of loving and embracing life! In 2008 I discovered a lump on my right testicle and I could tell it was definitely not ordinary. Now we all tend to think we’re invincible. Our egos don’t want to believe we could possibly have something wrong with ourselves. That’s when the brain pops in and says things like, “Oh, maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it’ll go away. I’m too young for this...” And eventually I had enough common sense to listen to my family and went to see a doctor. An ultrasound determined that the lump was in fact abnormal. Next followed an urologist that told me all signs point to cancer. Now, they don’t really give you a choice with this type of cancer, and the
next step is removal of the entire thing.
every few hours.
Since I didn’t exactly have a choice I said, “Sign me up! Let’s get this out!” I was hoping that if it were cancer, then it would be caught early enough. Indeed I was facing the best case and they were confident that the situation was handled nicely and I joined a surveillance plan after surgery.
Today, I am in remission. I have survived two successful battles with cancer. We all face challenges in life and its how we deal with those challenges that define who we are. This has definitely made me a stronger person. I learnt that you never know what life is going to throw at you, but no matter what, you can overcome it and make it positive. I also told myself that somehow I’d have to use this experience as something positive. Instead of asking “Why me?” I asked, “What can I do with this?”
I’ve never hated the fact that I had cancer. It has now become a part of who I am. But at that time in my life, I was not ready to share and embrace that experience with others. I simply put my life back on track... graduated that spring and got married to my wife Candi come summer. However, this tale is far from finished, as last winter I learned that cancer decided to schedule another dual. A scan showed that it had quickly returned and lit my body up like a Christmas tree. The doctors worked swiftly and I was sent back and forth to Toronto for consultations and a second surgery to remove my abdominal lymph nodes. The Canadian Cancer Society quickly stepped in and assisted my wife and I with our travel arrangements and accommodations. Once discharged from the hospital I returned home to Thunder Bay to recover. My doctor then signed me up for series of chemotherapy cocktails. When I wasn’t being kept company by friends and family at the hospital, there was always a smiling volunteer from the Canadian Cancer Society. I also enjoyed the tea and toast that would come wheeling by my chair
The Canadian Cancer Society was there for me when I needed someone. I learned later that all those fine ladies and gentlemen were volunteers who also were giving back. With that I took a page from my late father’s manifesto of “Service above self” and followed suit. Today I stand here as a member of a wonderful leadership committee for the Relay for Life. It is a team of many talented and dedicated volunteers that are working hard to bring our event to life. Thank you to all of you who are working steadily to make our event a success. Relay for Life is more than just a fundraiser. It is an opportunity to get together and celebrate, remember and fight back with family and friends. This will be my first attendance at a Relay for Life. I am personally looking forward to enjoying this fun and inspirational 12-hour overnight event.
June 15th at the Fort William Historical Park. Last year we raised over $155,000 dollars. And with the support of fighters like you I know that we can reach our 2012 goal of $200,000. We’d also like to see 200 survivors walking the Survivors’ Victory Lap. I am especially looking forward to the Luminary Ceremony and seeing hundreds of bags around the track with your messages beautifully decorated on them. This year we’d love to see 3000 of those luminaries lighting our way. We need to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer and those that were there with us during those dark moments. We need to remember those loved ones lost to it. I myself never knew my grandmother as she died of cancer and desperately want to put an end to it. Every three minutes another Canadian is faced with fighting this disease. Relay for Life us that opportunity for all of us to make a personal contribution and take action against cancer. Through my journey I have learned that cancer is not just about a disease... it’s about the people that it affects. It’s about the memories and stories that have yet to be shared with each other. It’s about celebrating life as we know it or have yet to discover. We are leading the way towards creating a world where no one has to fear cancer. That’s why I am relaying this year... and we hope you will join our fight. Thank You.
This year’s Relay for Life takes place on
Ontario Freezing Doctor Pay To Invest In More Community Care For Families and Seniors McGuinty Government Updating OHIP Fees To Improve Patient Care Ontario is moving toward a real wage freeze for doctors in order to invest more precious health care dollars in community care for families and home care for its many seniors. Patients will get better, frontline patient care including more community care nurses, expanded home care services for at least 90,000 seniors, and 1,100 more doctors as the province updates fees paid to physicians for services under the $11-billion Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Ontario’s doctors are the best paid in the country, with the average doctor billing $385,000 and many specialists billing twice that much. The government is updating and rebalancing OHIP fees to better reflect current medical practices and new technologies and to avoid double-payments. Best practices demonstrate that doctors are now often able to work more quickly and more effectively yet many fees have not changed to reflect these advances. Among the fee changes are: • The province currently spends $88 million on self-referrals – the practice of referring a patient back to a doctor’s own practice for an additional procedure and, consequently, additional billing. The payment for certain diagnostic tests such as X-rays and ultrasounds will
be reduced by half when the same physician orders and performs the test. • New technology has greatly reduced the time needed for 250 diagnostic radiology tests including Xrays, CT/MRI scans and ultrasound. To reflect this, fees paid for these tests will be reduced by 11 per cent over four years. • New technology has reduced the time needed to perform cataract surgery from two hours to as little as 15 minutes. Fees paid to doctors for this procedure will be reduced from $441 to $397.75. • The time taken to perform eye injections for retinal diseases now takes five to 30 minutes, down from two hours a decade ago. The fee paid to doctors for this service will be reduced from $189 to $90 over four years. • Evidence shows that echocardiograms before routine non-cardiac surgery do not improve patient outcomes. Doctors will perform fewer of these tests. • Best practices for CT scans and MRIs for lower back pain reveal that more targeted use of diagnostic tools helps to better support those patients with serious medical conditions such as infections or cancer and leads to earlier treatment for those patients with less serious symptoms by eliminating unnecessary diagnostic tests. • To ensure more timely access to care, a new fee will be added for doctors to consult with each other through secure email. The combined changes, effective as of April 1, 2012, are expected to result in
savings of $338.3 million in 2012-13, allowing the government to invest in more home care and expanded health care services. The government will continue to negotiate with doctors to improve access to patient care, including same day/next day appointments and after-hours care to reduce pressure on emergency rooms. Improving patient care by getting better value for our health care dollars is part of the McGuinty government's Action Plan for Health Care and builds upon the gains made in health care since 2003. QUICK FACTS § 93 per cent of Ontarians now have access to a family doctor. § The average doctor in Ontario bills $385,000 – 75 per cent more than in 2003 and ten times what the average Ontarian earns. § Many specialists bill twice that amount and over 400 Ontario doctors now earn more than $1 million a year. QUOTES
“Our doctors are the best paid in Canada. Instead of another raise for doctors, we need a real wage freeze so we can invest in more home care. To hold the line on doctor pay, we’re making changes to fees for physician services to reflect advances in technology and the latest medical evidence on what helps patients most.” – Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
THUNDER BAY BUSINESS JUNE 2012
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Do You Need a Lawyer in Small Claims? ©2012 Brian Babcock The Small Claims Court limit increased to $25,000.00 on January 1, 2010. This is a significant step towards increasing effective access to justice. Although serious disputes have already been heard in Small Claims Court, this is becoming increasingly common. The significance of cases now heard in this court is illustrated by the fact that prior to September 1990 cases up to $25,000.00 were heard by fulltime District Court judges. Though lawyers are not required in Small Claims Court, serious disputes are what lawyers are trained to handle. Do you need a lawyer for YOUR case? You might need a lawyer if: · You find the simple, excellent
self-help guides confusing. Although process is less formal in Small Claims than in Superior Court, there are still
Legal Matters Rules to follow and forms to complete properly. · You cannot describe your claim, or what your defence is about, both in writing and verbally. · Your case involves specialized issues like wrongful dismissal; product liability or professional negligence. · The other side is raising technical issues of law. · You do not know how to cal-
culate or prove your damages. · There are expert witnesses, or to find out if you need an expert. · You do not understand the rules of evidence as written, or as explained at a settlement conference. · The other side has a lawyer. · There are seriously conflicting versions of crucial facts; effective crossexamination of the opposing witnesses may make the difference in winning or losing. Few self represented people are skilled in cross-examination. It is not necessary to hire a lawyer to run your whole case, though many people do. You might just pay the lawyer to give you procedural advice; or to help write your claim; or to help prepare for trial; or to attend trial.
There are many good lawyers, at all levels of experience, who will charge fees that reflect the amount in issue as well as the time required and complexity of the case. If you win, some of the cost of your lawyer may be recovered from the other side. I am a lawyer who sits part time as a deputy judge hearing cases in Small Claims Court. These are just my views, not official, and meant for general guidance -you need to decide how they fit your case. Do you need a lawyer for your Small Claims case? Ask yourself, or ask a lawyer.
Speed-Networking with SHIFT Many young-minded professionals really understand the power of networking. This was proven true as nearly 90 guests attended SHIFT’s Annual General Meeting and Speed-Networking event on Thursday May 10th at the Travelodge Hotel Airlane.
nificantly over the past year and we now represent over 1000 members. In addition to hosting unique monthly events, SHIFT is providing new opportunities for SHIFTers to make positive contributions to our community focusing on our 5 pillars, Business, Social, Community, Environment and Personal & Professional Development.
This exciting event presented by Investors
SHIFT is Thunder Bay's home for youngminded professionals who understand that moving their community forward means more than just doing business. It's the big picture, from social and environmental concerns to personal and professional development. Together, we can move forward. SHIFT was created to offer young professionals in Thunder Bay a forum to network to make social connections and business contacts. For further information join us on Facebook or visit our website at www.shiftnetwork.ca to become a SHIFTer, stay current and get involved with stimulating events and activities!
Group Financial Services Inc. drew in an array of various attendees including business owners and entrepreneurs, health care professionals, artists, doctors, lawyers, financial advisors, insurance brokers, real estate agents, students and much more. The idea of gaining new social and business contacts in a time efficient manner really appealed to this diverse group of guests. Even Greg Sanders, a 17 year old entrepreneur and business owner made the trip from Atikokan to gain new contacts while promoting his beef jerky production company “What’s Your Beef?”. More and more individuals as well as employers are recognizing the importance of attending networking events and SHIFT Thunder Bay’s Young Professionals Network is thrilled to offer unique networking opportunities in our community. While email and social networking tools are great, people still see the value in making those face to face connections, even if it is only for two and a half minutes at a time during the speed-networking shuffle. As you may know, SHIFT has grown sig-
We continually take part in many different community initiatives and we strive to encourage our demographic to get involved and voice their opinions on important issues in our city. During our Annual General Meeting, we held an election where attendees helped vote Barbara Gauthier, Jon Hendel and Willow Lem to our Board of Directors for a two year term. As a result, we had to say good-bye to three of our long-withstanding board members and founding members of SHIFT Jennifer Cleaveley, Sherilyn Krentz and Kobi-Lynne Perry. Although they are leaving the board they will still remain actively involved with SHIFT sitting on various committees and more. Our current SHIFT President, Nathan Lawrence is very excited for the year ahead and has many great ideas to keep moving our organization forward. Nathan along with fellow SHIFT Board members really pride themselves in engaging our membership to help to strengthen the future of Thunder Bay.