Douglas magazine Aug/Sept 2022 by Page One Publishing

THE DEVELOPMENT ISSUE

AUG/SEPT 2022

REVITALIZING

CHINATOWN

UNDER CONSTRUCTION B.C. COMPANIES LEADING THE WAY ON SUSTAINABLE BUILDING

PM41295544

THE STATE OF THE

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Robert Fung, President of The Salient Group

CLEAN INNOVATION COLDSTAR’S FIRST ELECTRIC TRUCK HITS THE ROAD

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2 9 4 4 T U D O R AV E N U E , V I CTO R I A

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N EW P R I CE

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2801 Tudor Avenue, Victoria

Norway Island, Gulf Island

BEDS: 4 BATHS: 8 7,434 SQ.FT 1.60 ACRES

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BEDS: 4 BATHS: 4 4,115 SQ.FT 1.99 ACRES

BEDS: 8 BATHS: 4 6,000 SQ.FT 30 ACRES

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« UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES

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SO LD

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Brayden Klein

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Connect with your local experts.

Alenzo Winters

Andrew Maxwell

Victoria 250.380.3933

Andy Stephenson

Beth Hayhurst

Brad Maclaren

Salt Spring Island 250.537.1778

Brayden Klein

Brett Cooper

Vancouver 604.632.3300

Cheryl Barnes

Christine Ryan

West Vancouver 604.922.6995

D’Arcy Harris

Dave Hatt

White Rock 604.385.1840

Dean Innes

Don St Germain

Georgia Wiggins

Whistler 604.932.3388

Glynis MacLeod

Grace Shin

Kelowna 250.469.9547

Harley Shim

Jacob Garrett

Sun Peaks 250.578.7773

Move Beyond Your Expectations S O T H E B Y S R E A L T Y. C A 5 0 6 4 C O R D O VA B AY R O A D, S A A N I C H

« UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES IN T RO DUCI N G

N EW LI STI N G

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Lot 17 Lighthouse Point Road, Sooke

561 Dobson Road, Duncan

BEDS: 3 BATHS: 4 4,308 SQ.FT 1.10 ACRES

BEDS: 4 BATHS: 4 6,625 SQ.FT 0.24 ACRES Cheryl Barnes 250.413.7943

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C O N D O S & TO W N H O M E S »

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« C O N D O S & TO W N H O M E S R EC E N T LY SO L D

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59-14 Erskine Lane, View Royal

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SOL D

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5064 Cordova Bay Road, Saanich

868 Dalewood Lane, Saanich BEDS: 5 BATHS: 5 4,932 SQ.FT 0.35 ACRES

BEDS: 7 BATHS: 7 3,926 SQ.FT 0.17 ACRES

Kirsten MacLeod 250.686.3385

Shaelyn Mattix 250.908.0184

RECEN TLY SO LD

Dean Innes

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$1,925,000

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3-1190 Rhoda Lane, Esquimalt

BEDS: 4 BATHS: 4 3,649 SQ.FT 0.19 ACRES Dave Hatt 250.888.0204

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« S I N G L E FA M I LY H O M E S RECE NTLY SO L D

IN T RO DUC IN G

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1220 Starlight Grove, Sooke

3151 Carman Street, Saanich

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Toronto

Kris Ricci

Lisa Williams

Paris

Andy Stephenson PREC

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New York

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Tokyo

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Peter Crichton

Hong Kong

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960 Cowichan Street, Victoria

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Robyn Wildman

Montréal

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Sandy Berry

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S OT H E B YS R E A LT Y.C A

Independently Owned and Operated. E.&O.E.: This information is from sources which we deem reliable, but must be verified by prospective Purchasers and may be subject to change or withdrawal. PREC is Personal Real Estate Corporation.

AUG/SEPT 2022

CONTENTS FEATURES 18 Land Legacy

Cathy Armstrong, executive director of The Land Conservancy of British Columbia, shares the story of TLC’s transformation and the important work they do to protect habitats and other properties. BY SHANNON MONEO

22 Construction Junction

How does the Island compare with the rest of the country? The state of the construction industry. BY JENNIFER HARTLEY

24 Honouring Heritage, Building for the Future

Preserving Chinatown’s history while creating a space for development. Visionary entrepreneurs are working together to honour the past and the future. BY MICHAEL JOHN LO

32 Under Construction

Cutting-edge B.C. companies are revolutionizing the construction industry to be more sustainable and climate resilient, creating higher performing buildings and safer worksites. BY ERIN SKILLEN

42 Five Tonnes of Greener and Cleaner Technologies ColdStar’s first new electric truck is delivering 800,000 pounds of groceries every day on the Island. It is a leap of faith and a dream come true for Kelly Hawes. BY ANDREW FINDLAY

DEPARTMENTS 8 FROM THE EDITOR 13 IN THE KNOW UDI celebrates four

Vancouver Island projects; The Old Hat Hair Shoppe is turning heads; Nature’s Path’s success story; TOPSOIL’s farm in a box; Kinetic Construction’s lean transformation; heat up in HAVN Saunas; read about the Metaverse

54 POINT OF VIEW

Rebecca Beauchamp, Pearson College’s first director, Indigenous Initiatives and Engagement BY ALDYN CHWELOS

INTEL (BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE) 48 LEADERSHIP

Easing recruitment struggles with co-op students. BY TOBYN SOWDEN

50 MARKETING

Good design: good branding is good business. BY ROSS CHANDLER

52 MONEY

Inflation, stagflation or normalization BY STEVE BOKOR

6 DOUGLAS

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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Building Back: Better Together

For your family, business and future. A team-based approach for a total wealth strategy that addresses the entirety of your life. C.P. (Chuck) McNaughton, PFP Senior Wealth Advisor 250.654.3342 charles.mcnaughton@scotiawealth.com themcnaughtongroup.ca

The McNaughton Group ScotiaMcLeod®, a division of Scotia Capital Inc.

VIBRANT, INNOVATIVE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL. These are the qualities I have encountered over and over again talking with local business owners, across multiple sectors, including, most recently, the construction industry. They are the ingredients that have been critical to the resilience of our economy, especially in these difficult times. And let’s face it: we face unprecedented challenges. The world’s economic landscape is changing with dizzying speed. First, there was the pandemic that threw a wrench in our lives, and now there is the inflation rate (the highest in decades) mixed with international events such as the war inflicted upon Ukraine and disruptions to supply chains. All are wreaking havoc. However, no country is better placed to have a softer landing than Canada. We have recovered 117 per cent of jobs lost during the pandemic, compared to 96 per cent in the U.S., and we have had the strongest recovery in the G7. Real GDP predictions for B.C. are still strong and, Here we are, in the locally, we are recovering well. But it hasn’t been easy. midst of uncertainty, Since moving to Victoria, there is another trait I have and yet we are living seen that I believe has been instrumental to the success and resilience of our local entrepreneurs: collaboration. in a community that Here we are, in the midst of uncertainty, and yet is brimming with we are living in a community that is brimming with imaginative ideas and imaginative ideas and visionary entrepreneurs who visionary entrepreneurs are discovering solutions to some big picture issues by who are discovering working together. I think of our city’s construction industry. We have solutions to some companies answering the call to adopt more climatebig picture issues by friendly building practices by partnering with other working together. businesses with the technology to help them do it (page 32). First quarter numbers for construction value from the City of Victoria are encouraging and are 57.1 per cent higher compared to Q1 2021. So far this year, 7,623 business licences have been issued, already surpassing prepandemic levels. Other industries are showing a rebound, including film and hospitality. While talk of recession continues, it is not a foregone conclusion. Our city is attracting innovative developers looking to preserve history and culture, both contributors to the local economy. We have entrepreneurs with the drive to succeed in different sectors of the economy, from the service industry to innovative urban farms in a box (page 15) to the Island’s first fully electric grocery delivery transport truck (page 42). We have more established businesses winning awards, imparting their wisdom to newer businesses. While we have unprecedented labour force challenges, together we will find human resource solutions, maybe even by hiring back co-op students (page 48). The point is, we have innovative business leaders and entrepreneurs in our community. That is worth celebrating. As the new editor of Douglas, I am excited to embark on delving into the important issues of our local industries, and meeting the faces behind the businesses that make our city thrive.

® Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. Scotia Capital Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. For more information visit www.scotiawealthmanagement.com. McNaughton Group is a personal trade name of C.P. (Chuck) McNaughton.

— Jennifer Hartley 8 DOUGLAS

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Find out more in our 2021/22 Impact Report, available online. https://sipp-impact-21-22.ca

MUNICIPAL MUNICIPAL SUSTAINABLE SUSTAINABLE COLLABORATION COLLABORATION SOLUTIONS MUNICIPAL SOLUTIONS MUNICIPAL SUSTAINABLE SUSTAINABLE COLLABORATION MUNICIPAL COLLABORATION SOLUTIONS SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS Hosted90 90attendees attendeesat atLocal LocalLeadership Leadership COLLABORATION Hosted Committed to the United Nation’s 17 SOLUTIONS Day,including includingmayors mayorsand andcouncillors, councillors,to to Day,

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C C Co g Ch gov

where innovation happens. WHETHER YOU ARE AN EXISTING BUSINESS IN LANGFORD LOOKING TO EXPAND, NEED ASSISTANCE ATTRACTING TALENT OR NEW TO LANGFORD LOOKING TO PURCHASE LAND, OR MOVE YOUR BUSINESS, CITY STAFF ARE HERE TO ASSIST

From initial fact finding conversations in regard to Langford’s demographics, business district mix, retail gaps, upcoming projects, or if you are ready to start looking at lease spaces, our staff can help you every step of the way. After your lease is signed and your business is open, our support does not end there. The City of Langford takes a hands-on, collaborative approach to supporting the business community – we want you to thrive, not just survive! From marketing campaigns, professional development seminars and cooperative advertising opportunities, the City is here to ensure your success. After all, a successful and thriving business community is important to the entire community.

Plexxis Software | LakePoint Place Tower

830 McCallum Road

734 Goldstream Avenue

For up-to-date listings on commercial spaces available in Langford, visit: langford.ca/commercial-space

TO OPEN A BUSINESS IN LANGFORD, CONTACT: DONNA PETRIE, MANAGER OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

dpetrie@langford.ca 250.391.3403

Learn more at: langford.ca/edc

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Discover year-round arts and culture in

13 Murals

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douglasmagazine.com VOLUME 16 NUMBER 5

We believe the ultimate measure of our performance is our clients’ success. It has guided our approach for over 30 years.

PUBLISHERS Lise Gyorkos, Georgina Camilleri EDITOR Jennifer Hartley CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Carla Sorrell DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Jeffrey Bosdet PRODUCTION MANAGER Jennifer Kühtz DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Amanda Wilson LEAD GRAPHIC DESIGNER Caroline Segonnes ASSOCIATE GRAPHIC DESIGNER Janice Hildybrant MARKETING COORDINATOR Claire Villaraza ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Rebecca Juetten ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES D oug Brown, Cynthia Hanischuk, Brenda Knapik CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Steve Bokor, Ross Chandler, Aldyn Chwelos, Andrew Findlay, Michael John Lo, Shannon Moneo, Erin Skillen, Tobyn Sowden, Riley Webster PROOFREADER Paula Marchese CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES Getty Images p. 15, 22, 23, 50

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[IN THE KNOW]

WALK THIS WAY

UDI recognized The Salient Group's Sawyer Block with the best Purpose Built Market Rental Building Low Rise award in the region.

Urban Development Institute (UDI) names four Victoria developments with awards for excellence BY RILEY WEBSTER These awards are meant to recognize and celebrate those that have had a positive impact on both communities and the urban landscape, as well as those that have demonstrated strategic planning and efficient land use. “It’s important that our developers are recognized for the work that they do,” says Kathy Whitcher, UDI’s executive director. “They’re there to create livable spaces, not just to make money.” Chosen on a biannual basis, developers from the Lower Mainland, the Okanagan and

Vancouver Island submit their projects for review, and UDI chooses winners based on 17 categories. Vivid at the Yates by Chard Development won the award for Non Market Housing; Esquimalt Town Centre by Aragon took home the Best of Vancouver Island; Tiny Homes Village by Aryze Developments won for Innovations in Affordability; and Sawyer Block by The Salient Group was honoured for Purpose Built Market Rental Low Rise. Whitcher says this last decade has seen a considerable push to

create rental housing. However, with interest rates, labour and material costs increasing— as well as the supply chain issues — Whitcher believes that this window of opportunity is closing. “We’re in a housing crisis,” she says, “and we have been for years. If this window is closing, that’s going to cause problems; we’re not going to get the housing that we need, and we need it.” UDI is working with different levels of government to help incentivize rental properties. With so many people now working

from home, Whitcher says that the UDI is recognizing the need to create more compact communities where people can live, work and play — all within a 15-minute walk. She calls this the “15-minute neighbourhood.” “This will help to lessen the strain on climate change and help people rely less on their cars,” she explains. This year’s Capital Region winners were all featured in walkable communities, and Whitcher says that Victoria residents can expect to see even more 15-minute neighbourhoods. DOUGLAS 13

LEAN MACHINE The construction industry is one of the last sectors to embrace lean thinking and practices: Kinetic Construction is changing that.

BY CLEMENS RETTICH

he reasons range from the culture of construction to the enormous complexity of most construction projects. Nonetheless, the slow pace of change results in waste, stress and financial costs that would be unthinkable in other industries. There are, however, companies taking the lead in doing things differently. Vancouver Island’s Kinetic Construction is one of them. Kinetic began its journey to lean when president and CEO Tom Plumb attended the Lean Construction Institute of Canada’s inaugural Lean Convention in Calgary in 2015. He saw the potential to transform the way the organization worked with other stakeholders in the complex multi-stakeholder environment of construction projects. Lean thinking encompasses a variety of concepts: increased communication; collaboration or autonomy; reduced inventory; more efficient process and flow; the drive for continuous improvement; but, above all, it is about reducing waste. In lean, waste is understood to take many forms. John Hurrell, Kinetic’s

Increasing productivity and collaboration combined with more efficient processes minimize waste and are part of the lean approach adopted by Kinetic Construction.

lean field integration manager on the Island, describes one of the greatest wastes in construction: “Work waiting for workers, and workers waiting for work.” In Kinetic’s framework, the hallmarks of a lean project include:  A rethinking of the relationship between all the stakeholders. The level of collaboration, risk and benefit sharing, is remarkable. Kinetic refers to the sub-trades they work with as trade partners. Site meetings are collaborative and kept highly effective through a “one version of the truth” framework called the Last Planner System that provides direct line of sight information on every aspect of a project, for all stakeholders.  A measurable reduction in waste, especially wasted time. Using a metric, PPC (Percentage Plan Complete), Kinetic and its

DOUGLAS READS

suppliers and trade partners manage schedules with greater reliability, resulting in less stress and better margins.  The ability to navigate unpredictable impacts on a construction project. The realtime monitoring, communicating and collaborating allows Kinetic and its partners to see issues sooner, and work collaboratively to find solutions. A typical North American construction site usually only sees 50 per cent of the tasks promised for completion in any week actually completed. In the current phase of its lean journey, Kinetic’s lean projects are at 65 per cent and climbing. Hurrell credits the success of the company’s lean thinking to president and CEO Plumb’s unshakable persistence in executing a vision through daunting challenges. Hurrell also credits his team, especially Ritu

BY RILEY WEBSTER

It seems that everyone is talking about the metaverse, and the way in which it’s revolutionizing society. For those who want to dive deeper into the topic — and gain a practical understanding of how this new medium is changing lives on a global scale — look no further than THE METAVERSE by Matthew Ball. As a venture capitalist and theorist, Ball breaks down — and demystifies — the complex, interconnected network of the 3D world. As approachable as it is practical, The Metaverse combines the

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Ahuja, Kinetic Construction’s lean integration leader, and the growing number of site superintendents in the firm leading lean projects. He acknowledges Kinetic’s trade partners for trusting Kinetic to lead them all through this uncharted territory. For recommendations to other companies wanting to start their own lean journeys, Hurrell points to committed leadership as being non-negotiable. He also shares that the lean practice community is supportive and accessible through social media and other channels. Finally, he says, “You have to start at the coal-face.” You have to start where the work is done: on the job site, with your site supers and key trades partners. The employees and trade partners are Kinetic’s ultimate source of success on the lean journey.

philosophy of this medium with technical and strategic advice. It provides a thought-provoking view of this emerging phenomenon shaping the digital world, and gives readers tangible tools to embark on an open system journey that brings opportunity for all. An insightful analysis that helps readers discern between hype and what will actually cause revolutionary changes in the future, this book acts as the foundation for those that want to better understand the possibilities — and warnings — that lie ahead.

FARM IN A BOX

TOPSOIL SHIFTS FROM PRODUCER TO CONSULTANT.

KEEP CALM and Get Your Sauna On HAVN SAUNAS: HEAT UP AND CHILL OUT IN THE DOWNTOWN CORE. By Riley Webster

Imagine: It’s 5 p.m. on a Friday night. You’re ready to unwind after a busy week, but drinking alcohol at a busy bar sounds far from relaxing. Instead, you get into a comfy robe, grab a cup of herbal tea and enjoy indoor and outdoor downtime at HAVN Saunas — a floating park with saunas, hot and cold pools, and lush green space proposed for Ship Point in Victoria’s Inner Harbour. In other words, you get a Friday night — or any night — that feels truly restorative. According to Emily Deslaurier and Nick Van Buren, cofounders of HAVN Saunas, there’s a growing appetite for wellness experiences in the City. With establishments like RITUAL Nordic Spa opening last year, the pair believe that locals are looking for ways to slow down and connect with others, themselves and the environment — mindfully. “We have such a cluttered life with phones and screen time,” says Van Buren. “People are realizing the value of slowing down and being more present.” “People are tired and burnt out,” echoes Deslaurier. “HAVN is a place to restore.” HAVN — pronounced haw-vin — means “harbour” in Norwegian, and is a nod to the sauna’s Nordic roots. While saunas are increasing in popularity in more remote destinations across Vancouver Island like in Cumberland and Tofino, the HAVN team wanted to create a downtown sauna experience, a place of calm within the city. Plus, the experience helps people incorporate wellness as part of their regular life, rather than something they solely prioritize on vacation. So far, the team has received seed funding, secured a barge and are in the rezoning process with the City of Victoria to gain use of the space. If all goes according to plan, construction will begin September 2022, and the establishment will be open for business in late 2023.

By Aldyn Chwelos

When Chris Hildreth launched TOPSOIL in 2015, his quest was to create a modular farm that could be dropped into any community, on any surface — no arable land needed. Seven years later, he has succeeded in creating just that and wants to give others the tools and support to create their own agricultural ventures, regardless of location. Hildreth also set out to make farming appealing to a new generation. “How do you entice a younger generation to look at farming as a viable career opportunity when most people think farming is backbreaking labour and not profitable?” he asks. However, instead of growing TOPSOIL’S production, the company wants to focus on providing communities, organizations and individuals with the tools and expertise to manage their own farms. “It’s turning into an implementation consulting business,” Hildreth says of TOPSOIL’s rebrand. “We will give them the infrastructure and then give them the support systems they need to run it.” The resulting product will be a farm in a box: a 20-foot shipping container packed with everything that Hildreth and his colleagues have found key to running a successful agricultural business. They are aiming to have units available in 2023. Ready to go — Each shipping container will include hundreds of round fabric containers that, once filled with soil, create the growing space. This will allow a farm to be built anywhere, even on a gravel pit. It will come equipped with a commercial kitchengrade, post-harvest operation centre, complete with a full walk-in cooler and a salad spinner. A greenhouse will attach to the side of the container, creating a space to start plants. Command Centre — The 20-foot shipping container will become the farm’s operation command centre. Hildreth found he spent a lot of time post-harvest. Growing, planting and harvesting were much less labour intensive in comparison. “It’s all about what happens after. That’s where the bottleneck happens,” says Hildreth. Without an efficient washing, packing and storage system set up, production slows. His command centre concept will create efficiency, thereby increasing the profitability of the farm. Technology Integrations — TOPSOIL is dreaming up a variety of technology integrations for its modular farming units. There’s the possibility of having solar panels on the roof to power the units in remote settings. As well, they are working on connecting the systems to a smartphone app, allowing for everything from the irrigation systems to the cooler temperature to be managed and monitored from a phone. DOUGLAS 15

The Old Hat Hair Shoppe, built on customer satisfaction and a happy staff, has expanded to include more physical space to accommodate more customers.

A FEATHER IN THEIR CAP ASMUS OSAURUS

The Old Hat Hair Shoppe: One of the businesses bringing new life to Chinatown. BY ALDYN CHWELOS

mid vintage furniture and décor that ranges from gramophones to top hat-clad skeletons lies a vibrant culture at the heart of the hair salon, The Old Hat Hair Shoppe. From the returning customers and their smiles in the chairs, it’s clear that quality service makes up the other half of that equation. “I was trying to build a place where you could be comfortable and a bit weird, and you could have something exceptional,” says owner Piper London. They opened the salon in 2015 when they were just 25 years old. The name comes from a little pub in London, U.K. They discovered it while they were there, completing Red Seal training at one of the world’s top hairdressing schools. Since its inception, London has poured most of the shop’s earnings back into the business, working long hours to keep it all running. “My philosophy since day

one has been take care of your people and the money will come,” says London. As part of this philosophy, London pays their staff more than they can make at most other salons. “It’s my job to make it a place that they want to be and can thrive,” London says. This has also contributed to most of the original hairdressers remaining at the salon. With low staff turnover, The Old Hat can afford to invest in a longer, more rigorous training program than most salons. “It means that the people who finish are serious,” says London. “They also respect the shop and themselves differently because they’ve done something quite challenging.” Though London initially fell in love with hairdressing for the technical aspects and the human connections it facilitated, lately it’s the business aspect of the job that inspires this business owner. “I feel I

have more value to the business and the community by building and sustaining this space that facilitates 12 people.” London credits the success of the shop to the “hub of really rad humans” that make up the team. The Old Hat’s culture is not only the result of its loyal staff but of the clientele as well. The shop is constantly evolving as fashions change and they learn more about the needs of their clients. They’ve always offered gender-neutral pricing but have recently hired a barber to fulfill the requests of more people. Though still young, London is already succession planning and feels confident and excited about a team member some day taking over. “My long game is for it to keep growing without me,” says London. “Not that I want to leave, but if you build something wonderful, it doesn’t need you anymore.”

ASMUS OSAURUS

THE OLD HAT HAIR SHOPPE EXPANSION

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While Piper London has worked long hours for years running The Old Hat Hair Shoppe, they recognize this isn’t a sustainable model. To build a business that would last, London found security in owning their building. “The motivation was first to find a place that felt permanent so that we didn’t have to move a bunch,” says London. “Financially, moving a hair salon is very costly and super disruptive to the function of the business.” The Old Hat found a new home on Lower Pandora, chosen for its old town atmosphere, and moved in last October. It’s a fairly modern building, but it still has downtown Victoria’s classic brick, which they exposed during a renovation that took 12 weeks of 10-hour days, seven days a week. “Other than where we had

to have electricians and plumbers, it was elbow grease, buddies, pizza and beer,” says London. Having sacrificed square footage for location, the new salon had no room to grow. The two rows of salon chairs divided by ornate hanging mirrors are near full every day of the week. But three months after they moved in, the space next door came up for sale, and London felt it was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up. The renovation process will commence again soon, at a slightly slower pace this time around. Despite the cost and the hard work ahead, London feels grateful. “It’s one of the most privileged experiences of my life,” says London. “To see something that you have grown, [evolve] into a place that you can permanently build for yourself but also to be a part of actually building it is very rewarding.”

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Arran Stephens

Celebrating NATURE’S PATH

Organic snack food company wins Distinguished Entrepreneurs of the Year award from UVic’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business. BY RILEY WEBSTER

Founded by husband and wife team Arran and Ratana Stephens, Nature’s Path is the largest independent, certified-organic breakfast and snack food company in North America. It is known for giving back, donating over $2M a year in food to those in need, and contributing 1 per cent of its sales to support endangered species, habitat restoration and environmental education for children, worldwide.

How did your early years on Vancouver Island impact your career? Arran Stephens: My dad inherited a berry farm in Duncan ... [Then] in 1951, we moved just south of the Malahat to Goldstream, where we established another farm. My dad always told me to leave the soil better than I found it, which became the mantra for Nature’s Path.

Whether your goal is retiring comfortably, maximizing your legacy, or spending more time on the golf course or boating (like me), planning and executing the right investment strategy to achieve your goals is fundamental, and part of my role in supporting you and your family. If you would like to discuss your investment strategy and whether it aligns with your life goals, please contact me today.

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What’s been the key to Nature’s Path’s growth?

AS: Our growth wasn’t an overnight success; it took over 25 years to get to where we are now. We wanted to build something together as a family and pass on a truly living, breathing entity that can be a benefit to thousands of people. Our family understands that the business is built on three legs: people, planet and, last but not least, profit. We’re not in the food business. We’re in the people business. If we ever forget that, then we pay for it.

Why is philanthropy important in business?

AS: If a business becomes successful, it has an obligation to give back to society. We’re in this world temporarily. While we’re here, we should do the most good that we can. Visit douglasmagazine.com for the full interview.

WWW.LALIMO.CA | INFO@LALIMO.CA 250 391 9000 DOUGLAS 17

IN CONVERSATION CATHY ARMSTRONG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE LAND CONSERVANCY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

LAND LEGACY BY SHANNON MONEO | PHOTO BY JEFFREY BOSDET

The Land Conservancy of British Columbia’s debt-beating, land-saving executive director is making a difference, one property at a time.

t’s fortunate that Cathy Armstrong has a well-stocked toolbox. When she took on the role of executive director of The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC) in December 2014, the organization had been in creditor protection since the fall of 2013, owing more than $8-million for lands it had bought to protect. By early 2017, TLC had sold or transferred properties or had some loans forgiven, emerging from the dark days of debt and infighting. Today, TLC’s bank balance shows a surplus, even as the organization continues to tackle everything from illegal tree chopping to brokering deals with developers. “This job has taken every tool out of my toolbox,” says Armstrong. “I come from an eclectic, varied background, but I didn’t have conservation experience.” Born and raised in Abbotsford, she was a school trustee for 12 years and the president of the advocacy group Canadian Parents for French (BC/Yukon). From 1996 to 2000, she was an event coordinator for the city of Surrey, a realtor and the owner of Magnolias Bistro & Meeting in Abbotsford. She holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology from UBC.

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In 2005, she and her husband moved to Victoria where Armstrong decided to contact a former political opponent, John van Dongen. (She had been an MLA candidate and ran against van Dongen.) He got her a job, first with the ministry of agriculture, then with the solicitor general’s office. After the change in government, Armstrong had to dust off her résumé. “I was swept out with a bunch of people,” she recalls. Hired as an office administrator at the TLC to cover a maternity leave in 2014, eight months later she had already moved into the role of executive director. As property is devoured to feed the house hungry, Armstrong’s appetite is focused on the land. “I touch trees as I walk,” she says. Being surrounded by wilderness is her balm. Widowed in February, the mother of a daughter and son, Armstrong says camping with her family was a big part of her family’s life and somewhat of a balance to her work and volunteering. And while turning the TLC around has been a challenge, it has been extremely rewarding, allowing her to make a difference. “TLC has become a place for me to pursue things that are part of a bigger picture,” Armstrong explains. “It’s so enriching, actually saving land. I feel so honoured.”

Cathy Armstrong, at the Millstream Creek Watershed, one of TLC's largest projects.

DOUGLAS 19

How did you eliminate TLC’s $8-million debt within four years? The board chose creditor protection. It is enormously complex, enormously difficult. We had to develop a plan on how we would address the debt and show it to the creditors. The B.C. Supreme Court oversees the process and appoints a monitor, a Vancouver accounting firm, who then reports back to the court. They can turn you into bankruptcy if, at any point, they decide this is not going to work. We had to analyze every property. I feel my ability as a creative problem solver, thinking up weird and wonderful ways to get things done, in addition to my ability to convince people, and just be professional, were helpful. In 2017, the court gave us our certificate of completion, meaning we satisfied the creditors to the extent that we could.

One important part of TLC’s work is the covenant program, where property owners can protect their land in perpetuity. Does it work? We have 150 covenants. They were put into law in 1997 when we started, part of why we became what we are. They are an effective tool, in addition to land purchases. However, last summer, for the first time, a covenant was challenged in court, by a landowner. He’s older

now. He still lives there, but the people who are going to inherit his property realized that without the covenant, they would get a lot more money for the property. So, the family was trying to get us to remove it — in many ways trying to coerce us — threaten us into it. We just kept saying no. In court, we gave all our reasons why the covenant should not be extinguished. The justice gave a very scathing judgment that was 100 per cent for us. Another effective mechanism we have are levies and fines, built into the covenants. For example, if someone says they’re going to mow all the trees down, they are going to get hit hard financially. Every infraction is $10,000 and it’s per year. So, if you cut down 25 trees, it’s at least $10,000 per tree, and we can also go after you for damages. We’re in a situation right now on Salt Spring with a covenant. A neighbour wanted to improve their view and cut down a massive amount of trees on our covenant. The neighbour thought nobody would care because the person who owned the property had just gone into a nursing home. The week after she went into the home, all the trees were cut. We will win. We’re going full bore on it. They’re going to have to pay. It’s going to be several hundred thousand dollars.

TLC protected the 27-acre Millstream Creek Watershed in 2021. How do you keep it as an island of green in an everencroaching environment? We tend to get involved with smaller pieces, more unusual pieces. The science would show you little pockets matter. So, the little urban green spaces do have significance, ecologically, system-wise and health-wise for the people who have access to them. They are also a refuge for birds. For Millstream, we’re trying to protect the salmon-bearing creek. So, we’re cleaning up the creek on our property, and we released coho [salmon] in there this past year.

Tell me about baby boomers and TLC. There are moments of opportunity, and I think right now we’re in one. Boomers are now focusing on their legacy. Calls we’ve been getting are from people in their 60s and 70s who hold property of various kinds. Their kids don’t want to continue their parents’ stewardship. These people want to find a place to make sure that their property doesn’t get damaged in the future.

What is the story about Halibut Island/ SISȻENEM, a 9.67-acre island off the east coast of Sidney Island and its ownership?

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It’s a beautiful, pristine place. The owner, Hilton Burry, passed away and gave it to his kids, but they had no interest. They just put it on the market. Burry lived there for 50 years. He had a small travel trailer and he had his own workshop. He lived very lightly, with little paths that he stayed on. He didn’t trample plants and never moved anything. There are things sitting on the surface like fossils. That place is so valuable on so many fronts.

How was it decided to give Halibut Island to the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council? Dr. Tara Martin [professor of conservation decision science in the faculty of forest and conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia] came with her vision for the property. She wanted it conserved for research purposes because it has high significance, but that also it be returned to the [ SÁNEĆ] First Nation. Our board and staff decided to support that, and Dr. Martin also had donors. This whole thing came on a silver platter for us. We also had people who wanted to give money for the acquisition. Dr. Martin went to the SÁNEĆ and shared her idea, and they were all over it. From the time she knocked on the door and we were buying an island, it was about 30 days. It cost $1.5 million.

What are the environmental threats facing the area, the province? The crisis right now is the loss of green space; the encroachment upon natural areas where we’re building out. I’m talking provincially. We’re building out to the edges so we’re impacting those ecosystems. We’re destroying wetlands. They’re the most important thing. They’re the highest biodiversity. They’re where everything happens, and we just fill them in and pave them over, ad nauseam, and build singlefamily homes or small complexes, deeper and deeper into our forests. Then our forests start to burn, and then our slopes start to degrade and then the water starts to go. It’s catastrophic. So we have to stop. If it’s your property, get a conservation covenant on it. Make sure what exists can continue.

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What does the future hold for TLC? The last five years have been about getting back on our feet. We’re about to start the next phase of our strategic planning and where the energy is coming from is around reconciliation. I see some big opportunities on that with land trusts, because land trusts have interests in so many places, on so many properties and lands, and I think that we could be a fulcrum for providing some access. So, it might be for hunting. It might be for harvest. It might be for ceremony. It is about finding ways that we can give opportunities for First Nations to get connected to their lands in a meaningful way, rather than just the treaty process. 

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DOUGLAS 21

Construction Junction State of The Industry BY JENNIFER HARTLEY

The industry builds our roads, highways, bridges, office towers and our homes, and it rebuilds when disaster strikes. It is one of the most important economic engines of our economy: construction. How does the Island compare to the province? The rest of Canada? All in all, at every level, it is big business. Here are some of the numbers.

How iT’S going

In Canada

Nationally, the industry generates about $156-billion (Stats Can); this accounts for 7.5% of Canada’s GDP and employs 1.4 million people. It ranks in the top five goods-producing industries nationwide.

The industry has been experiencing a 79% increase in the value of current projects over the last five years and a 17% increase from pre-pandemic levels, even as labour shortages continue and the cost of goods are at all-time highs. (British Columbia Construction Association)

IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

In B.C., there is a similar story: it is big business. The industry accounts for $25-billion and 11.3% of the provincial GDP. More than 227,000 people rely directly on B.C.’s construction industry for a paycheque and it ranks in top five goods-producing industries in B.C.

VANCOUVER ISLAND

2022 so far is strong. Victoria alone has seen a 57.1% increase in the industry’s value over last year. First quarter 2022 numbers clocked in at $168-million. Local GDP is 11.4% and 33,500 people don a hard hat to work on the Island (BuildForce). Vancouver Island accounts for approximately 18% of the industry’s overall employment in the province.

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What’s to come

On the Island the construction industry remains stable.  After declining by 2.2% in 2021, real output in Victoria’s construction industry is forecast to grow by 3.71% this year and 2.4% in 2023. (BuildForce)  Projects such as construction of the $100-million Telus Ocean building in downtown are expected to start this year and be completed in 2024 as well as rapid housing projects in the CRD.

how much it pays Wages are up in B.C.

 Average yearly wage of B.C. construction employees (as of June 2022) is $68,888.56 This is up 9% since the pandemic.

 As Canada decarbonizes its economy and aims to double the number of new homes built over the next 10 years, wages are expected to remain well above the national average.

What it looks like Construction in B.C. is predominantly small businesses: approximately 90% of companies in the industry employ less than 20 workers.  There are currently 26,262 construction companies in B.C., which is an 11% increase over five years.  The average company size has decreased by 7% over the last five years to an average of losing 6.53 workers.

why it’s Going to be challenging Shrinking demographics indicate the industry is heading for labour force difficulties. In addition, youth are not exploring the trades. There are other issues the industry will have to work through.  19% of Canada’s population is over the age of 65; 16.3% is under the age of 14.  Projects are taking more time and money to complete.  Supply chain issues continue.

DOUGLAS 23

Honouring Heritage,

Building for the Future Full Speed Ahead for Chinatown’s Revival BY MICHAEL JOHN LO PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY BOSDET

forward-thinking B.C. developer is bringing fresh energy to Canada’s oldest Chinatown. Robert Fung, the visionary founder and president of the Vancouver-based The Salient Group, is renovating two significant blocks on Fisgard and Pandora, focused on preserving the area’s historic Chinese influence. “I’ve always liked Victoria,” explains Fung. “It has a great vibe and strong sense of community. I also have a penchant for historic buildings, and Victoria has some of the most important, standing history in our young country.” The Salient Group, also involved in several developments across Greater Victoria, is committed to preserving and honouring the ever-developing cultural heritage of what is one of Victoria’s most treasured neighbourhoods.

24 DOUGLAS

The Case for Culture Doing so is important for cultural and historical reasons, but it also makes good economic sense. Chinatown is a tourist destination for visitors to the city. Based on pre-COVID data, Greater Victoria hosts approximately 4.2 million visitors each year, infusing almost $1.5-billion into the local economy. A good number of heritage buildings on Victoria’s northern side with Italianate exteriors (and Guangdong-inspired interiors, alleyways, and courtyards) were commissioned by wealthy Chinese entrepreneurs over a 100 years ago, including some of the buildings that Fung has bought. “We’re doing a lot of work to our buildings, putting in sprinklers and fire alarm systems and some minor seismic work,” Fung says.

Tony Yang (left), owner of Cathay Living, a home décor shop located at 545 Fisgard Street, shares a chuckle with developer Robert Fung, who is investing in Chinatown.

DOUGLAS 25

It’s expensive work — and he’s also doing his best to retain current tenants during the process, some who have been there for more than 30 years. (He made a promise to the previous owner, who kept the properties in the family for three generations, to never evict someone because of late rent payments.) Fung is no stranger to working on heritage properties and understands well the delicate balance of building for the future while respecting the past, and honouring those who remain there. The Salient Group was instrumental in the award-winning urban renewal work in Vancouver’s Gastown district. So far, Fung’s investments are welcomed. “Fortunately, we have a lot of people in our community that are enthusiastic and willing to do the work to preserve our Chinatown,” says Victoria city councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe. Thornton-Joe has been a long-standing advocate for Chinatown. She’s hoping to move back into the neighbourhood at some point. “I’ve always wanted to eat, breathe, smell and be part of the Chinese community again because my childhood was spent so much here.”

“The history here is tangible and tactile, and you can touch it. It’s real, and it exists.” — Robert Fung, President of The Salient Group

Robert Fung (left), with Construction Manager Lorne Gavinchuk, in the “Lee Mong Kow” building (ca. 19011902), standing in the home of the original Shon Yuen Herbalist shop, which was connected to the Shon Yuen Opium Factory.

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Chinatown’s Past Victoria’s Chinatown can trace its origins to the wealthy Chinese merchants of San Francisco, who built the first workers lodgings in the 1890s, forming the core of what would become Canada’s largest and most vibrant Chinatown for half a century. Faced with a hostile and unfriendly white population that dumped garbage in the Johnson Street ravine that physically separated Chinatown from the rest of the city, Chinese workers banded together to survive the discriminatory labour and social conditions of the day. As the first port of call for virtually all Chinese arriving on the West Coast, within two decades Chinatown would become a thriving, self-contained city: six blocks teeming with business, societies, theatres, schools and clubs, catering to the more than 3,000 Chinese residents who lived here. For half a century, Victoria’s Chinatown was Canada’s largest and most vibrant Chinatown, and in 1995, it was designated a National Historic Site, recognized as the country’s oldest and most intact Chinatown.

Although Victoria once boasted the largest concentration of Chinese Canadians in the country, that is no longer the case. Large swaths of the neighbourhood were demolished for projects such as Centennial Square and the CRD building; meanwhile, most of Victoria’s Chinese population moved out of Chinatown. But some, particularly low-income seniors, still call it home. “Some of the people, they can’t survive outside Chinatown,” says Daniel Low, a secondgeneration Chinatown advocate. “They don’t drive. They don’t speak the language. That’s all they have.” Low contends that the character and heritage need to be protected. He continues to honour his culture by sharing his knowledge of Kung Fu, lion dancing and being involved in Chinese associations. “Culture is the people. The art, the food — that’s culture. Not the buildings, not the colours,” he says. Low — whose parents owned a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown — spent much of his childhood there — has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Chinatown stores that have changed names, relocated and shifted owners

“Some of the people, they can’t survive outside Chinatown. They don’t drive. They don’t speak the language. That’s all they have.” — Daniel Low, second-generation Chinatown advocate

over the years. He believes that Chinatown needs the energy of the next generation for it to continue to thrive. Fung agrees. “If the whole Chinese identity gets diluted out of the character of the shops, then all we have is the pastiche, a bunch of lanterns,” he says. Making sure that businesses such as the Loy Sing Meat Market remain is important. The 133-year-old char-siu (barbecued meat) shop is North America’s oldest continuously operated Chinese business. Shelly Rong and Daniel Zheng have operated it, seven days a week, for the past 28 years. Rong bought into the Loy Sing business in 1994 from one of her uncles, a longstanding employee of the original Sum family, who started the business in 1889. The owners of Loy Sing don’t do any advertising. The store’s status as a Chinatown fixture and the strength of its products is what has kept Loy Sing going all these years, and it’s what drives people from all over the Island and Vancouver to keep coming back for it. Elders — some who Zheng says are even from before his time — come in to reminisce about their childhoods spent in and around the shop. Workers are no longer housed upstairs, and they’ve stopped keeping live chickens and ducks in the back, but that’s about it. Not much has changed since the shop opened more than 130 years ago. Keeping rents low has let keystone businesses, such as the Loy Sing butcher shop, continue its operations to this day. Even though Rong talks about finding a new business partner or selling the store off completely, her tone turns wistful when she remembers what Chinatown has meant to her over all these years. “We’ve made a lot of friends; met a lot of dear customers. It’s what fed my family, paid for my expenses,” Rong says. It’s businesses like Loy Sing that make Chinatown what it is. That culture is fully celebrated in the recently opened temporary Chinese Canadian museum exhibition gallery, located in Fan Tan Alley. One of the exhibits touts the butcher shop as a piece of living

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history. involvement.) Thornton-Joe is the visitor experience and “In Victoria and B.C., we have provided facilities coordinator, but that title does not social, political and economic growth for this even begin to describe the multi-decade effort province and in Canada,” says Wong Sneddon. that she has put in to realizing her dream of a “Just remember and appreciate the work that museum that chronicles we’ve done, despite Victoria’s Chinatown horrific setbacks and history. challenges. Some of us “It’s important that have triumphed, but many we don’t forget the have not.” past,” says Grace Wong For Fung, this is all Sneddon, vice-chair of critical to his development the Victoria Chinatown plans. “The history here Museum Society. Not is tangible and tactile, and that we have to keep you can touch it,” Says reliving it,” she adds, Fung. “It’s real, and it “but it’s important to exists.” As he’s renovating remember how the buildings, he’s uncovering past shapes our future, layers of Chinatown so that we can take history hidden within the responsibility in how walls: yellowing Chinese — Grace Wong Sneddon, vice-chair of we go forward.” language newspapers the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society A permanent with Communist party Chinese museum in propaganda, used as wall Victoria would be a insulation: old logging step in honouring and supporting our Chinese boots and spittoons, left in an old gambling den communities and our people today, she and what might perhaps be the last remaining adds. (Fung is also on the museum society’s wall of an opium factory. board that’s advocating for this to happen. Fung is dreaming up restaurant layouts that It’s a testament to his extensive community will open up formerly gated alleyways and

“It’s important that we don’t forget the past, but it’s important to remember how the past shapes our future, so that we can take responsibility in how we go forward.˝

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unused courtyards for residents and tourists visiting Chinatown. He’s hoping to highlight the building’s past in the new redesigns. “I’m not a fan of the UNESCO thing, where you lock it in time,” says Fung. “We have a Chinatown that is evolving. It’s economically relevant. This Chinatown isn’t exclusive to the Chinese.” The story of the Chinese cultural contribution is important to our story, and to our Canadian identity.

New Kids on the Block Chinatown is constantly evolving. Fan Tan Alley, Canada’s narrowest street, was once a place of entertainment and pleasure for Chinese workers who couldn’t go anywhere else, limited by racebased restrictions. But since the 1970s, the alley has welcomed a vibrant new throng of artist studios and independent shops. “You go to many Chinatowns around the world or across North America, and there’s a lot of boarded-up windows,” Thornton-Joe says. “But in our Chinatown, it’s very vibrant.” Chinatown still serves as a landing point and a place of promise for new immigrants starting new businesses. One of those new successful entrepreneurs is Israel Álvarez Molina, founder

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CHINATOWN TODAY  City councillor Thornton-Joe says Chinatown is home to over 90 businesses, ranging from restaurants to hair salons to architects and accountants. The CRD Building is also located in Chinatown.  Chinatown is also home to a Chinese exhibit, a seniors’ care centre, a community centre for the Chinese community as well as at least seven Chinese associations.  The municipal government of Suzhou in mainland China is one of Victoria’s sister cities. It donated a pair of stone lions for the Gate of Harmonious Interest, erected in 1981.

of the MAiiZ Nixtamal Tortilleria, who has built his entire career in Chinatown. He was previously named as one of Douglas magazine’s 10 to Watch in 2021 and was a winner of YAM magazine’s Best Restaurant Awards 2022. “A lot of people are surprised that there’s a Mexican shop in the middle of Chinatown,” chuckles Álvarez. MAiiZ came into being in Fan Tan Alley but when Álvarez’s lease was running out, he found a new home on Fisgard Street. Just by doing business in Chinatown, he was able to tap into the community and met his current landlord when he stopped by on a casual visit at the shop. “He came to try the tortillas. And he said, ‘I think this is a great product that I want you to stay in Chinatown.’ ” Álvarez was able to expand his wholesale business with the additional space, bringing in custom-ordered machines and grinders from Mexico. In addition to being served in restaurants across the city, his products are now sold in 87 stores all across the Island. Álvarez’s success underscores how savvy property owners can bring in businesses that positively contribute to the community. Many of the buildings that make up Chinatown today are owned by established Chinese families and the Chinese associations that supported and provided a place of refuge for some of the city’s first Chinese workers. Now, they welcoming new businesses. As for Fung, he is adamant that whoever moves into his company’s buildings has to understand and continue to honour the history of Chinatown, irrespective of

whether they are Chinese or what their business will be. “We’ve had to reject a lot of different groups,” says Fung. “When you have a sizable building, it doesn’t matter how big it is, how pretty you make the units; the character of the building will forever be defined by what you put into the ground floor.” He’s seen too many cases where a developer has put a lot of thought into a building and planning a space, only for the commercial ground space to go to whomever can pay the highest rent. He’s not going to let that happen in The Salient Group’s Chinatown properties. “You have to put businesses in places where it makes sense for them to be,” Fung says. “For the little pieces we control, we’re going to try and insist on people honouring the culture here, irrespective of what their concept is.” While Fung himself isn’t historically connected to Victoria’s Chinatown — he’s lived in Toronto and Vancouver and his Chinese heritage traces back to Trinidad — he’s committed to keeping Victoria’s Chinatown vibrant. “I’ve spent my whole life not really being connected to my Chinese roots as much as I should. So I feel a bit of an obligation to make sure we don’t lose this Chinatown.” Protecting and respecting the heritage but building for the future with new ventures is the winning combination to maintaining a vibrant Chinatown in Victoria. It is an exciting time with new visionaries coming forward who are bringing new life to one of Victoria’s most treasured neighbourhoods. 

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30 DOUGLAS

previously named as one of Douglas magazine’s 10 to Watch in 2021 and was a winner of YAM magazine’s Best Restaurant Awards 2022. “A lot of people are surprised that there’s a Mexican shop in the middle of Chinatown,” chuckles Álvarez. MAiiZ came into being in Fan Tan Alley but when Álvarez’s lease was running out, he found a new home on Fisgard Street. Just by doing business in Chinatown, he was able to tap into the community and met his current landlord when he stopped by on a casual visit at the shop. “He came to try the tortillas. And he said, ‘I think this is a great product that I want you to stay in Chinatown.’ ” Álvarez was able to expand his wholesale business with the additional space, bringing in custom-ordered machines and grinders from Mexico. In addition to being served in restaurants across the city, his products are now sold in 87 stores all across the Island. Álvarez’s success underscores how savvy property owners can bring in businesses that positively contribute to the community. Many of the buildings that make up Chinatown today are owned by established Chinese families and the Chinese associations that supported and provided a place of refuge for some of the city’s first Chinese workers. Now, they welcoming new businesses. As for Fung, he is adamant that whoever moves into his company’s buildings has to understand and continue to honour the history of Chinatown, irrespective of whether they are Chinese or what their

business will be. “We’ve had to reject a lot of different groups,” says Fung. “When you have a sizable building, it doesn’t matter how big it is, how pretty you make the units; the character of the building will forever be defined by what you put into the ground floor.” He’s seen too many cases where a developer has put a lot of thought into a building and planning a space, only for the commercial ground space to go to whomever can pay the highest rent. He’s not going to let that happen in The Salient Group’s Chinatown properties. “You have to put businesses in places where it makes sense for them to be,” Fung says. “For the little pieces we control, we’re going to try and insist on people honouring the culture here, irrespective of what their concept is.” While Fung himself isn’t historically connected to Victoria’s Chinatown — he’s lived in Toronto and Vancouver and his Chinese heritage traces back to Trinidad — he’s committed to keeping Victoria’s Chinatown vibrant. “I’ve spent my whole life not really being connected to my Chinese roots as much as I should. So I feel a bit of an obligation to make sure we don’t lose this Chinatown.” Protecting and respecting the heritage but building for the future with new ventures is the winning combination to maintaining a vibrant Chinatown in Victoria. It is an exciting time with new visionaries coming forward who are bringing new life to one of Victoria’s most treasured neighbourhoods. 

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Cutting-edge B.C. companies are revolutionizing the construction industry with new technologies and strategies, resulting in safer, more efficient sites and higher-performing buildings.

e’re living in a complex time of competing crises, where far more housing is needed as rapidly as possible, but building and construction are already responsible for 39 per cent of global carbon emissions. As we continue to experience the challenges and uncertainty posed by climate change, it’s time to consider whether standard construction materials and methods are enough to meet the housing demand while also prioritizing the health of our climate. “Construction is probably one of the oldest industries there is and it’s incredibly inefficient,” says Allanah Brown of Nexii Building Solutions. “We build what we know, with what we've always used: concrete, wood, steel and conventional construction methods.” Traditional methods aren’t just slow. Creating them uses significant resources and while their waste is filling up finite landfill space. “The question is what isn't inefficient. It’s an industry that really hasn't had a lot of innovations over the last 100 years,” says Alexzi Building Solutions CEO Amber Simpson. “It's very traditional; and it needs to be innovated; it needs to be scalable; if we want to bring down the cost, if we want to be able to supply for the demand. And we need to do it in a sustainable way.” Leading-edge B.C. companies are at the forefront of revolutionizing the construction industry with new technologies and strategies that are making processes on construction sites more efficient and safer for workers. At the same time, they’re increasing environmental sustainability while decreasing energy consumption and costs. Here’s how they’re doing it.

Reinventing the tried and true

B.C. technology and building talent came together to create the 180,000-square-foot Google MT1 office building, located in Sunnyvale, California. It is the company’s first mass timber project and Mill Bay’s Kinsol Timber Systems was the builder.

Sometimes it’s a waste of time and effort to reinvent the wheel. Other times, it’s exactly what’s needed to meet unprecedented challenges. As the engineering team lead at Nexii Building Solutions, Allanah Brown is visibly passionate about her work and its positive impact. “Nexii is a green construction technology company,” says Brown. “We’re committed to accelerating a reduction in the climate impact construction has and creating more sustainable and cost-efficient buildings. Nexii’s proprietary building material, Nexiite, is a sustainable alternative to concrete that retains many of the same characteristics and behaviour of its predecessor at about one-sixth of the weight. Nexiite enables easier heating and cooling of buildings to reduce the average energy consumption to one-third of a traditional build. It’s also created with climate resilience in mind, developed to be resistant to increasing instances of floods and fires. Early adopters have included major brands like Starbucks, Walmart, McDonald’s, Popeyes and more who look to Nexii to help them to hit their environmental OKRs (objectives and key results). Brown is encouraged by their ability to look ahead and envision what can be produced, which has led to the creation of Nexii’s first ninestorey building — a Marriott hotel in Nanaimo. Mass timber is another creative twist on a traditional material. Kinsol Timber Systems CEO Mike Marshall is excited about the positive impact of using previously undesirable lumber in lieu of old growth and other vulnerable forest resources. “When you go to the Interior, the trees are much smaller, they’re at a higher altitude, they've got less water, they've got harsher conditions, they've got shorter growing periods,” says Marshall. “The species that thrive are a smaller tree.” These trees are smaller in diameter with a denser concentration of branches that create more knots in the wood. Problematic for traditional lumber, these smaller trees provide a highly productive, rapidly renewable product that’s ideal DOUGLAS 33

At 250 metres above sea level, the Malahat Skywalk is a Kinsol Timber Mass timber project. Kinsol was a design-assist contractor and its work included the installation of all mass timber components of the 2.2-kilometre winding climb to the top.

for creating large format, cross-laminated mass timber panels.

the biggest construction efficiency leverages — prefabrication. Bringing as much of the building process indoors as possible helps improve Moving indoors worker health, safety and efficiency while also Driving past the plethora of construction increasing the speed of installation. projects underway on many Vancouver Island Alexzi CEO, Amber streets provides a Simpson’s background glimpse of what it’s in real estate made it like to build outside clear to her how much in a range of weather housing was needed and conditions. When how quickly, leading working on site, her to acquire the Nexii workers and building licence. materials are exposed “When you're to the sun, wind, snow manufacturing versus or the relentless west building on site, you coast rain. have the ability where “Building with you can create a lot of timber in the rain is efficiencies, so that it can a slow process,” says be a lot more scalable,” Marshall. “You can get says Simpson. swelling and shrinking “You've just got to —Allanah Brown, Nexii Building and twisting. And get the adult brain to Solutions, engineering team lead because it's an organic think from the child's material, you have the imagination,” says possibility for mould Brown. “Have a constant growth.” vision to look beyond the Kinsol, Nexii and its Vancouver Island boundaries that we know.” licensee Alexzi have all moved the bulk With Nexiite, each architect creates designs, of construction off job sites and into which are then put through a system at the manufacturing facilities to maximize one of manufacturing plant to precision cut all of the

“We’re committed to accelerating a reduction in the climate impact construction has and creating more sustainable and cost-efficient buildings.”

34 DOUGLAS

alternative concrete panels needed to assemble most of a buildings structure. Simpson is also excited about the innovation within the panels. “We’re working with brilliant tech companies to put innovations in the panels to make the buildings themselves more like smart buildings as they’re coming together,” says Simpson. At its simplest, Brown likens it to adult LEGO. “You bring in panels, you put them together, you form your building and then you can have it ready to seal and take occupancy in a much shorter timeframe,” says Brown. Kinsol Timber Systems doesn’t manufacture their own panels, but they are using prefabrication to expedite the building process. Like Nexii, mass timber is designed and fabricated into panels off-site. A small team of timber framers put it together at the building site in tandem with other services and technologies. “The off site, dry prefabrication of these panels keeps the structure drier for longer,” says Marshall. “And because we're reducing the building cycle on site, we're also narrowing that window of exposure to the elements down quite a lot.” The process also allows for finishing to be completed while the building is still being erected. “In the conventional concrete construction, they go all the way [to the top], and then they have a topping out ceremony,” says Marshall. “When that's done, then other people can come in. We go up, floor by floor. We can close in a floor, and follow-on trades can come in and be working directly behind us. So it’s really compressing the construction cycle.” Marshall credits the education and promotion efforts of industry organizations for helping mass timber gain the attention and trust it needs to reach mainstream adoption. “It has caused B.C. to be a national and international leader when we talk about North America; the supply, the design, the construction and all of the ancillary components that go along with that … B.C. uniquely stands out as a bright spot for Google's very first mass timber project [in Sunnyvale, California],” says

Marshall. “The lineup of people that designed it — from the architect to the engineer to the 3D specialists to the fastener supplier to Kinsol who was the builder — we were all from B.C.” Beyond prefabrication, new efficiencies are also being integrated into the job site itself. On a typical building, the exterior needs to be wrapped to create as much of an air barrier as possible, with the allowable air transfer limited by the building code. It’s akin to gift wrapping an oddly-shaped gift that has lots of frustrating bends and curves that can be tricky to navigate, especially in bad weather. Once the wrapping is done, tests are run to see if the code regulations have been met. “The challenge in doing it manually is that you never knew the results until you’d already spent a lot of time and energy doing it,” says Paul Moquin, President of Island AeroBarrier. “Sometimes you were like ‘Whoa, awesome. We nailed it.’ And then other times, there was a lot of disappointment. And then the fingerpointing starts. And it's expensive at that point to try to rectify those issues, typically using old methods.” The BC Building Code has an energy step code that measures a building’s level of airtightness. The required code level is currently determined by each municipality, but in 2023 a minimum of step three or higher will be required across the province. This will rise to step five in 2032 when new construction must be net-zero ready. One way to achieve higher step levels is by increasing the airtightness of a building, preventing as much air leakage and transfer as possible. Instead of relying on extensive and complicated exterior gift wrapping, Moquin’s Island AeroBarrier can boost a building’s airtightness in only two hours by working from the inside. “There's a control system that pumps the sealant to these nozzles, where it gets blasted with air and it atomizes,” says Moquin. “It looks like smoke in a dance club, a thick, thick fog … as the air escapes through all those unwanted holes, it carries the sealant and forms a seal in those areas. Little particles start KinsolPlay, part of Kinsol Timber Systems, is building playgrounds out of salvaged timber.

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Nexiite, the proprietary building material of Nexii Building Solutions, is a sustainable alternative to concrete that is just as strong at about one-sixth of the weight.

The Scotiabank project in Abbotsford, built by Nexii Building Solutions for the developer Esposito Group. A Popeyes and Starbucks, both located in the same complex, are also Nexii’s handiwork.

to form around the edges and basically form a bridge to seal it completely.” The tightness of a building doesn’t just increase its energy efficiency. It can also prevent humidity and moisture from entering and becoming mould, while also minimizing the transfer of sounds and smells. This decreases operating costs while improving the livability of dense residential complexes needed to address the housing crisis. Moquin is excited by the innovation at AeroBarrier but acknowledges that being a game-changer comes with its challenges. “The construction industry is typically slow to change,” says Moquin. “Everybody wants to see somebody else do it first. They have

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their comfort zone, and this is what they've been doing. They don't want to mix it up. Because anytime you change something, it typically slows you down a little bit. There's a learning process to it.” “It's definitely hard to come into an old industry and disrupt it,” agrees Brown. But the challenges are well worth the reward for her. “Building something like Nexii, and just becoming a company that embodies those future values, it's a really nice way for us to increase the sustainability of one of the largest markets for climate pollution.” Marshall is also encouraged by the demand for his business and what it means for the industry overall. “I think that some builders will still say, ‘Oh, I know, tilt up concrete. And I'm going to just continue to tilt up concrete because it's what I know.’ But I'm blown away by how adopted and accepted it's been,” says Marshall. He’s been inspired by his work with tech clients and their approach to design and product evolution.

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“We think that we're pretty cutting edge, and we are for our industry,” says Marshall. “But you get down there with these tech wizards, and they're just like ‘Man, you guys are idiots. Why do you do it like this?’ And it's offensive initially because we all have ego. But then when you can put that thing down and put it away, there's great wisdom.” Alexzi’s Simpson is inspired by the potential to develop further innovations. “[Nexii is] perfecting the exterior of a building,” says Simpson. “But then, the owner of that building will probably want the same efficiencies in the interior. This will open up business opportunities for construction on interior spaces, and how to make that more efficient, sustainable and resilient.” 

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Business Profile

GREEN ISLAND BUILDERS GREEN ISLAND BUILDERS Re-Create Your Space Re-Create Your Space

S S

ince 2002, Green Island Builders has operation, incebeen 2002,inGreen Islandmaking Builders goodbeen on the “green” in its name. has in operation, making This building company good boutique on the “green” in its name. focuses This on residential light company commercial boutique and building renovations, offering general contracting focuses on residential and light commercial services with strong project coordination renovations, offering general contracting and very skilled who work under the services withcarpenters strong project coordination and company vision to “… reimagine recreate very skilled carpenters who workand under the spaces that allowtopeople to live their company vision “… reimagine and best recreate life in athat healthy and highly home spaces allow people tofunctional live their best environment.” life in a healthy and highly functional home In order to deliver on that mission, environment.” Director Martin Scaiaon says Green Island In order to deliver that mission, Builders employs “... simple, everyday Director Martin Scaia says Green Island practicesemploys which use knowledge and skills Builders “...our simple, everyday to reduce which waste,use preserve existing structures practices our knowledge and skills as much aswaste, possible, eliminate hazardous to reduce preserve existing structures practices —possible, and do better. We hazardous utilize our as much as eliminate resources wisely in the belief a cleaner practices — and do better. Weofutilize our and greener future.” resources wisely in the belief of a cleaner

For years, Green Island Builders has helped homeowners who not only want For years, Green Island Builders has things like a better layout, more space helped homeowners who not only wantor a more home, but space also those thingsenergy-efficient like a better layout, more or a who understand that well-managed more energy-efficient home, but alsourban those density is a key quality for sustainability. who understand that well-managed urban Therefore, they have also in density is a key quality forspecialized sustainability. adding secondary suites performing Therefore, they have alsoand specialized in garage laneway suites house and conversions. adding or secondary performing Beingoran industry leader both in social garage laneway house conversions. capital conservation, Beingand an resource industry leader both in they social have not limited theirconservation, efforts simplythey to the capital and resource planning and execution of residential have not limited their efforts simply toand the commercial Green Island Builders planning andprojects. execution of residential and diverts almost all their wasteIsland products from commercial projects. Green Builders the landfill andall donates used materials and diverts almost their waste products from goods to Habitat for Humanity. the landfill and donates used materials and All proceeds from the sale of goods to Habitatgenerated for Humanity. used goods goes two local Allmaterials proceedsand generated fromto the sale of organizations, used materialsand andGreen goods Island goes toBuilders two local is doing what itand canGreen as an Island organization organizations, Builders

to contribute toward Reconciliation and Decolonization by choosing to contribute to contribute toward Reconciliation and money and resources to support two incredible Decolonization by choosing to contribute Indigenous female-led the money and resources toorganizations: support two incredible Matriarch Resistance the Culturethe Den. Indigenous female-ledand organizations: Green Island Builders making a Den. Matriarch Resistance andisthe Culture difference in theBuilders construction industry. Green Island is making a It is a small organization where each person difference in the construction industry. It within it has a role in ensuring localperson business is a small organization where each actively more within itinvites has a role indiversity ensuringinto localthe business workforce. The more company hires into individuals actively invites diversity the regardless their race, gender, religion, workforce. of The company hires individuals sexual orientation, gender identity or regardless of their race, gender, religion, expression, age or disabilities. sexual orientation, gender identity or “Together,age weorbuild successful projects expression, disabilities. because we put work in to build diverse, “Together, wethe build successful projects inclusive teams Scaia because we put of thecommitted work in topeople,” build diverse, says. “These relationships based on trust inclusive teams of committed people,” Scaia and this workrelationships built on purpose how Green says. “These basedison trust Island Builders’ culture is transforming the and this work built on purpose is how Green construction industry.” Island Builders’ culture is transforming the

and greener future.”

is doing what it can as an organization

construction industry.”

38 DOUGLAS

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Business Profile

PARAMETRIC PROPERTIES INC. Smarter Real Estate Investments for Canadians

arametric Properties Inc. is a real estate investment company providing smarter real estate investments for Canadians. Offering a unique RRSP and TFSA-eligible investment opportunity, the company finds and acquires undervalued condominiums by using a proprietary algorithm that mines MLS® data in real time. Condominiums are then renovated to flip or held for cash flow and appreciation, maximizing return on investment. Parametric Properties is bringing an alternative to traditional funds to provide a more highperforming path to retirement. The Vision Standing in downtown Vancouver, CEO Nic Green had the first vision for Parametric Properties. “I was surrounded by four high-rise condominiums, all built by the same developer, constructed within ten years apart, and offering similar views and amenities. Despite being nearly identical, the rates dramatically fluctuated from one building to the next.” While completing his Executive MBA at Cornell-Queen’s, Nic developed a proprietary algorithm to take advantage of the market. Using MLS® data, the algorithm compiles and analyzes properties such as location, square footage, and days on market to extrapolate the true value of a listing. By comparing the property with its true value, Parametric Properties can pinpoint undervalued properties for acquisition. The Ideal Market Based in Victoria, B.C., Parametric Properties is taking advantage of one of

Parametric Properties’ algorithm, built using MLS data to determine the true value of a listing.

Canada’s most stable and profitable housing markets. “The city contains a wealth of outdated condominiums, providing a valuable investment opportunity through short-term renovations,” says Nic. Before hitting this market, the algorithm was rigorously tested, iterated, and peerreviewed for over three years. Three smallscaled opportunities with investors were also conducted, each producing substantial returns. After validating the investment strategy, Parametric Properties opened the opportunity to outside investors in 2020. Commitment to Investors and Community Parametric Properties is helping Canadians achieve an earlier and wealthier retirement. Removing the volatility of the

stock market, and management fees that plague traditional portfolios, the company is helping investors get the wealth they deserve — a 6% preferred return. All profits in excess of 6% are split 50/50 between investors and management. This structure ensures that if investors don’t make great returns, the company doesn’t either. Parametric Properties is also striving to ‘Go Big to Give Big’. To inspire people to go bigger with their visions, the company is donating $10 per door each month to KidSport Victoria. Looking Forward In 2022, Parametric Properties will expand its multi-million-dollar investment opportunity by launching a development division. Modern methods to secure your future.

301–3450 Uptown Boulevard, Victoria | 778.677.7939 | parametricproperties.com

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BUSINESS PROFILE

MAYFAIR OPTOMETRIC CLINIC Live Your Life With Happy Eyes

roviding optometric expertise and excellent patient care, Dr. Trevor Peddle joined the team at Mayfair Optometric Clinic in 2009. Dr. Peddle’s love for hiking the backcountry brought him out to the West Coast Trail in 2006. After receiving a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences and an Optometry degree from the University of Waterloo, Dr. Peddle relocated to Victoria permanently. Outside the office, you will find Dr. Peddle hiking, rock climbing, mountaineering and always planning his next adventure. Dr. Peddle, along with Mayfair Optometric Clinic’s Dr. Taylor and Dr. Genereux, welcomes new and past patients for routine eye care, glasses and contact lenses. Open by appointment to serve you better.

3196 Douglas Street | mayfairoptometric.com | 250-361-4444 | 9am–5pm, 6 days/week

BUSINESS PROFILE

WES-TECH IRRIGATION Vancouver Island’s landscape lighting experts

omplete your backyard oasis and light up your landscaping! Landscape lighting lets you enjoy your patio late into the evening and increases your property value and improves safety and security. Wes-Tech Irrigation is Victoria and Langford’s supplier of 12-volt landscape lighting. We carry the best fixtures from premium brands such as Kichler and Alliance and have the largest in-stock selection. Wes-Tech Irrigation specializes in everything to make a lush and beautiful garden, including landscape lighting, ponds and waterfalls, irrigation supplies and tools.

WES-TECH irrigation.ca 893 Van Isle Way, Langford | 5-625 Alpha Street, Victoria | orders@irrigation.ca | irrigation.ca | 250-361-1573

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BUSINESS PROFILE

MONOLITH SYSTEMS High-performance concrete homes, built to last

onolith Systems was founded on the principle that there is a more sustainable way to build homes in the Pacific Northwest. The company delivers full-service planning, design, manufacturing and installation support to architects and general contractors for custom homes using tilt-up concrete insulated panel (CIP) technology. CIP homes are airtight, energy-efficient, healthier and more durable than other mainstream building styles. Monolith Systems provides a unique solution to a complex problem. By developing a complete home system that is fully customizable, the sky is the limit.

monolithsystems.ca | 1-888-592-6444

BUSINESS PROFILE

BAY CENTRE Now accepting offers from new and established eateries

arlene Hollstein, General Manager of the Bay Centre, is seeking offers on high-profile locations within the centre’s newly upgraded food terrace. This exciting new space includes access to a 450-seat food terrace rich with natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows, a 120-seat outdoor heated patio, state-of-the-art washrooms and 24-hour security — all centrally located in the heart of the business, shopping and tourism districts. As a boutique shopping centre under global management, the Bay Centre offers a seasoned team of market leaders to support your restaurant. Whether you’re launching a new concept or are an established eatery looking to increase sales, the Bay Centre is the ideal place to be.

2-1150 Douglas Street, Victoria | thebaycentre.ca | 250-952-5699 | darlene.hollstein@cushwake.com

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ColdStar and the New

ELECTRIC TRU Five Tonnes of Greener and Cleaner Technology BY ANDREW FINDLAY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY BOSDET

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UCK

ColdStar’s first fully electric, made-inCanada truck on its inaugural run in May. The $475,000 five tonnes of green technology will change the way food makes its way to your table.

IN LATE MAY, Kelly Hawes watched as a fivetonne reefer truck left a Langford warehouse, loaded with groceries for delivery throughout Greater Victoria. Though it was early in the morning, a tiny piece of Hawes probably felt like popping the cork on a bottle of champagne. Normally, the coming and going of trucks would be mundane footnotes in a routinely hectic schedule that sees his company, ColdStar Solutions Inc., delivering between 800,000 and 1 million pounds of groceries every day to stores throughout Vancouver Island. But this delivery was different; it marked the flagship run of ColdStar’s first fully electric delivery truck, and the culmination of more than a year

of online searching, working with engineers to troubleshoot problems, wading through red tape for government grants and subsidies and flying back and forth across the country. Hawes’s excitement was tempered with trepidation, natural for anyone with skin in the game. “I’m into this truck for about $475,000,” Hawes told Douglas magazine in an interview at the company’s Ladysmith distribution centre where workers were tying up loose ends in a newly renovated, 72-000-square foot cold storage warehouse. And that doesn’t include the $77,000 he invested to build his own charging station at ColdStar’s Langford headquarters. DOUGLAS 43

Without risk, there is no reward. Kelly Hawes, owner of ColdStar Solutions, knows that more than anyone.

But financial responsibility is part of being an innovator, and without risk, there’s rarely reward. ColdStar is a growing Vancouver Islandbased trucking company and grocery wholesaler with 175 employees. Whether it’s bacon, eggs, canned soup, or lettuce, cheese and pretty much anything else in your pantry or fridge, chances are your groceries passed through a ColdStar warehouse and truck before hitting the shelves at your local store. It’s go time, all the time, at ColdStar and Hawes likes it that way. Being slightly ahead of the curve has been his modus operandi since launching ColdStar with his wife Jennifer, more than 20 years ago.

From the Forces to Food Before trucking, Hawes was in the Canadian Armed Forces, trained to shoot missiles at tanks as a master bombardier. In 1994, he retired from the military, after a tour of duty serving at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Shilo, and the nowmothballed bases at Chatham, New Brunswick and Baden-Soellingen, West Germany. Hawes wasn’t sure what was next. His dad owned a small trucking company in Victoria and needed a driver. It seemed like an easy option, so he got his commercial truck driver’s licence and started running the long haul from B.C. to California. “I hated it,” he says bluntly. Not the truck driving, but the long hauling. However, it wasn’t a total loss. Hawes saw a gap in grocery delivery in B.C. In particular, he noticed the lack of oversight in how perishables were handled by the trucking industry between the strictly regulated producer, wholesaler and retailer stops on the supply chain. “I wanted to do a better job at delivering groceries on Vancouver Island,” he says, 44 DOUGLAS

summing up a business idea that in hindsight seems general and unfocused.

The Road to a Greener Journey But his instinct was right. In 1999, he and Jennifer started ColdStar, intending to be the first trucking company in western Canada to be food safety certified. It turned out to be an eight-year process, but they got there

Operating costs for the new truck are coming in at around three cents per kilometre, or $4.50 to drive a 150-kilometre route. A diesel truck doing the same route at today’s fuel price would cost at least $125. eventually. As the trucking company matured, Hawes turned his attention toward ColdStar’s fuel bills and emissions, which led to the 2014 purchase of 10 CNG (compressed natural gas) trucks, his first big step toward a greener truck fleet. Compared to conventional diesel-burning tractor trailers that pump out nasty toxins like nitrous oxide and volatile organic compounds, CNG motors are more efficient, burn cleaner,

and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 per cent. CNG trucks also require less maintenance over the long term. Today, more than half of ColdStar’s fleet of 45 trucks (10 of which are driver-owned) are CNG-powered. But in recent years, when Hawes went shopping for more CNG trucks, he found delivery wait times in the 16-months to two-year range. In some cases, manufacturers wouldn’t even provide a ballpark delivery date. “Part of the issue is that none of the original equipment manufacturer companies, such as Freightliner, manufacture trucks in Canada anymore,” Hawes says. In 2001, DaimlerChrysler closed its Western Star Trucks assembly plant in Kelowna. PACCAR, a Bellevue, Washington-based company that owns the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF trucking brands, operates an assembly plant in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec. Otherwise, most transport trucks for the North American market are built and assembled in the United States. Given current exchange rates, it puts Canadian truckers at a price disadvantage when shopping for a new rig.

Making the Vision a Reality Hawes was restless and impatient to continue the green conversion of his fleet. Early in 2021, he and Kyle Granger, ColdStar’s fleet and logistics manager, started thinking seriously about electrification. They felt mass conversion to electric power was still on the distant horizon for the trucking industry but nonetheless coming eventually. The fact that these days truckers are facing some of the highest fuel prices at the pumps that North America has ever witnessed, added wind to their sails in the search for cleaner transportation options.

“We’ve always wanted to be early adopters of green tech,” Hawes says. However, there was a problem: nobody in North America was making a marketready, five-tonne fully electricpowered reefer truck, exactly the vehicle Hawes — Kelly Hawes, needed for making ColdStar short-haul deliveries on Vancouver Island. On the plus side, the technology and expertise existed. It was just a matter of finding partners and assembling a team. It would turn out to be an all-star Canadian team. ColdStar’s quest first took them to the doorstep of Lion Electric Company, a publicly-traded, Quebecbased pioneer in the electric-powered school bus and cube-style commercial truck market. “I flew out to Montreal late last year, and we basically sat down and designed a truck,” Hawes explains. Ron Mearns, Lion’s national business development manager, joined the company in November when Lion was already a year into discussions with ColdStar. In February 2022, ColdStar ordered a Lion cab and chassis, powered by an electric motor with a 200-kilometre range. “I have to commend ColdStar for taking the leap. They were very proactive,” says Mearns, adding that there are currently 550 Lion trucks and buses on the road in North America. The ColdStar collaboration comes at a time when Lion is set to scale up production with a new plant on the outskirts of Chicago. Scheduled to open at the end of 2022, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 25,000 vehicles — 10 times the capacity of Lion’s Montreal facility. For the next step in the process, an insulated box, Hawes turned to another Quebec company, Fourgons Leclair, a family-owned business that manufactures specialized truck bodies. Once Fourgons Leclair fitted the truck with a box, Lion loaded it onto a flatbed, trucked it across Canada to Vancouver and delivered it into the hands of the third partner in this project — and another Canadian green tech pioneer — Volta Air Technology Inc. Engineers Peter Johnston and Steve Zaari founded the company in 2014. Funded by a $1.2-million federal government grant, the partners worked with engineers at the University of Waterloo and Simon Fraser University to develop North America’s first fully electric reefer system as a green alternative to

“This is a completely Canadian story and that’s something I’m very proud of.”

conventional diesel burning refrigeration units. Zaari says their intention was to dovetail Volta Air’s reefer technology with the development and commercialization of fully electric-powered commercial trucks. But that market has proven more sluggish than Zaari expected. For example, Mosaic Forest Management, which manages private timberland on Vancouver Island, made a minor splash in 2021 when it announced plans to test Tesla logging trucks in its operations, but those trucks have yet to be delivered. With electrification slow to arrive to the trucking industry, Volta Air made a minor pivot and focused on installing electric refrigeration units on trucks with diesel engines — kind of a cup

half-full win for green transportation. That’s why Zaari says he was especially excited to partner with ColdStar and work with Lion Electric Company, which he refers to as the “Tesla of trucks.” He also gives Kelly Hawes kudos for being “adventurous and not afraid to try new things.” “This is a completely Canadian story, and that’s something I’m very proud of,” says Zaari, whose other company, Cool-It Group, has been in the business of refrigeration maintenance since 1989. “I believe that we’ll see this truck as a production vehicle in the future.” Ron Mearns also hopes new business will result from the project. “We’re not quite there in

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Turn your business challenges into_ growth opportunities

terms of price point. But I think if we can scale up and start manufacturing more of our inputs, we can get the cost down.” Batteries are key to reducing production costs. They account for 40 per cent of the cost of every truck and bus that comes off Lion Electric Company’s assembly line. The company has been at the mercy of third-party suppliers, forcing them to design trucks around the battery producer’s specifications, rather than the other way around. This will change at the end of 2022 when Lion opens its own battery manufacturing facility in Montreal. It’s a similar story at Volta Air Technology in Vancouver. Battery technology is the critical component and is the reason the company is working with a local partner, Richmond-based Discover Batteries. “We enjoy the lower cost, easy access and quick software updates on either side to match. We also trust the batteries inside out, unlike those we don’t know,” Zaari says.

Electrifying and Electric

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For now, this is a one-off experiment for Hawes. He’s obviously proud of the project but doesn’t let pride get in the way of practicality. He has no proprietary interest in the technology or any interest at all in patents. And he’s under no illusion that electric power is beyond reproach

“We enjoy the lower cost, easy access and quick software updates on either side to match. We also trust the batteries inside out, unlike those we don’t know.” — Steve Zaari, Volta Air Technology

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when it comes to environmental impact; their manufacturing process has a carbon footprint and so does the mining of lithium for batteries. But between electric and CNG-powered trucks, he’s determined to wean his fleet off diesel completely. As for the inaugural fully electric grocery deliveries, Hawes says, “So far, so good.” He’s looking forward to crunching a few months of operational data, but initial numbers are more than promising; they’re actually electrifying. Operating costs for the new truck are coming in at around three cents per kilometre, or $4.50 to drive a 150-kilometre route. “A diesel truck doing the same route at today’s fuel price would cost at least $125.” But at more than twice the manufacturing cost of a comparable CNG truck, this electricpowered blend of Lion Electric, Fourgons Leclair, and Volta Air Technology needs to come way down in price. To help soften the financial investment, Hawes is hoping ColdStar will be approved for a grant from the provincial Specialty-Use Vehicle Incentive Program, in addition to a CleanBC grant. With or without the grants, he says he would have taken the electrification leap. Hawes is a straight-shooting character, trained in the military and the school of life.

He likes military metaphors for their simple, if sometimes, brutal honesty. Nearly 40 years ago, as a fresh recruit, he asked his battle school instructor what makes a good leader. The sergeant told him that leadership is being the first one out of the trenches when the bullets are flying and knowing that everyone is right behind you. Hawes pressed him.“I then asked him, ‘So how do you make that happen?’ and he just smiled and said that it was up to me to figure that out,” Hawes says. “I think about that all the time.” Years later, Hawes is living that truth. He was the first one out of the trenches in B.C. to get a

fully electric commercial transport truck on the road, and frankly hasn’t had time to look in the rearview mirror to see if any other truckers are following him over the top. The last year has been a whirlwind for Hawes. If nothing else, the electrification journey has connected ColdStar with some innovative leaders in Canadian green tech to find a made-in-Canada, forward-thinking solution to a trucking problem. And who knows, “One day that little fivetonne electric reefer truck that could, might end up on an assembly line? “If we can get the cost of this truck down to $250,000, I think we’ll be on to something,” Hawes says. 

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INTEL

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

LEADERSHIP

BY TOBYN SOWDEN

Hiring Homegrown Talent Supporting co-op programs can ease your recruitment struggles, but only if you commit to doing it right.

same freedom, resources and responsibility so they feel empowered and supported. Co-op programs allow you to pick from some of the brightest new minds within your community, scouting talent before it enters the workforce. This is an opportunity for you, as much as it is for them. Don’t waste that opportunity by handing off busy work.

The Key Ingredient

Fully welcoming co-op students into the fold and giving them real, meaningful experience benefits everyone.

ecruiting new team members is highly competitive right now, across every industry. My advice to other employers: take on co-op students to fuel a vibrant company culture and secure the next generation of talent. I’ve seen both sides of co-op programs, as an employer at Redbrick and as a student. During my own co-op term, I was a mechanical engineering student placed at a nuclear power plant and tasked with building a specialized lock for fuel basket operations. It took our team eight months to develop what was essentially a fancy combination lock because of all the approval hurdles we had to jump through. In the meantime, I built software for the scheduling team that organized employee availability. It immediately eliminated countless hours of manual data entry. Needless to say, I wanted to transfer into software engineering as soon as my co-op job was completed. I discovered a love for coding during my placement, but that’s not why I left mechanical engineering. I didn’t want to continue because my co-op term didn’t make me feel excited about the industry. 48 DOUGLAS

Now as a CEO, that insight guides how I manage our co-op students and how I use the program to find talented individuals for our teams. For both parties to truly benefit from co-op placements, employers have to cultivate an authentic, dynamic experience.

Getting it Right Having enthusiastic, emerging talent on your payroll is invaluable, especially in a job market where that’s in high demand. But when co-op placements feel like a drain on resources or just part of employee churn, it’s a warning light for how you’re running your program. If you’re not seeing the benefits of having co-op students on your team, it’s likely an indicator that you’re not letting them work up to their potential — and that’s a disservice to them and your company. Relegating co-op students to admin tasks and side projects will only slow down your full-time team while leaving your co-op students feeling uninspired. That’s why impact — what I felt was lacking from my term as a co-op student — is such a crucial factor in the success of co-op strategy. Plan a co-op’s workload as if they’re a new team member, offering the

Forty per cent of our co-op students return to us full-time after completing their degrees. They’re ready to work, already acclimated and have a proven track record of great ideas. I believe we have such a high recruitment rate out of our co-op program because of our “one week to value” approach, meaning students are working on real projects or committing their first lines of code before their first week is up. We want them to feel inspired — that’s the energy that nurtures new employees and infuses our full-time teams with optimism. To confirm this feeling, I reached out to our previous co-op student and asked them to reflect on their terms whether that was ten years ago or just last month. The responses were consistent: our co-op student return as employees or recommend our program because they were given meaningful work. “I wasn’t siloed away on a pet project, or given something that was designed to be replaced in two months. I was given real tickets, from the real backlog, and if I look at Redbrick’s websites today, I can see changes that I made persisting throughout these years since my co-op,” says Jonathan Bezeau, one of our co-op student from 2020. This is the next generation of talent, bringing you energy, ideas and passion. Support them, give them room to grow and a safe space to fail because their success is your success as well. The richer you make their experience, the more likely they will return as employees — and they return more qualified because you spent that time on their professional development.

Community Matters

Regardless of whether your co-op students return for full employment, your investment

4 STEPS

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HOW DO YOU UNWIND?

Spend some quality time with friends or family listening to music, drinking wine, relaxing in each other’s company — and painting!

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Respect your full-time team

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doesn’t go to waste — it’s an opportunity to make your own impact as well. When I was a co-op student, it gave me the opportunity to experience what postgraduation life looked like in my industry, and, more importantly, it showed me that I needed to change course. I know first-hand that co-op terms are invaluable to students, allowing them space to discover new passions, accelerate their progress and gain confidence in their abilities. “Working in a co-op bridged the gaps between a school environment and becoming an effective software engineer, solving real problems,” says Aleksiy Kudelsky, a co-op student from 2017. “My favourite memory was being given ownership of a piece of the product and delivering it end-to-end to real customers. At this moment, I realized I was no longer

MARKETING

just a student but had meaningful skills that allowed me to impact other people for the better.” Reading the responses of our previous co-op students, like this one from Aleksiy, makes me proud of the commitment we have to our program. It’s a privilege to provide that kind of opportunity and have an impact on one of the most critical periods of their careers — and to cheer them on as they take that experience and accomplish amazing things. Beyond an individual level, hiring co-ops can strengthen your connection to the community while keeping homegrown talent within local companies. Victoria is an amazing place to live but it’s also an expensive one. Many young professionals are forced to leave this city, but co-op programs offer a foothold in their industry,

helping families stay in Victoria. We’re also fostering a reciprocal relationship with the hubs of new talent, cutting-edge research and great ideas: our local colleges and universities. Those partnerships pay off, opening so many doors to resource-pooling and shared projects. And remember, your impact as a company isn’t just tied to the success of your product. It’s the impact you can have on your community and your people. Investing in those things fosters endless positive opportunities and makes you an employer worth working for. 

working together, like a finely tuned machine) to communicate what the company represents to its customers, employees, partners and suppliers. With all of that in mind, let’s resolve one more very important question: What makes a design good? Design, like food and art, is among the most subjective topics available. What one person finds attractive can just as easily repel another. Accepting that people have different tastes is an important point to understand because it means that it is almost impossible to create a design (the look and feel of your business, for example) that will appeal to everyone. The good news is that not everyone needs to like it. The design just needs to do its job. Yes, applied design has a job. When design is done well, it can do its job effectively.

Four Key Elements of Good Design

Tobyn Sowden is the CEO and founder of Redbrick, the parent organization to a portfolio of software technology companies based in Victoria, B.C.

BY ROSS CHANDLER

Good Design Understanding these four key elements of good design will help you create a competitive advantage for your brand.

t’s no secret (or is it?) that informed and well-planned design can have a direct and positive effect on your business’s bottom line. Before we get started, let’s define a few key things. Design has become a ubiquitous and elastic word that continues to evolve to suit any number of contexts. From fashion, hair and user interfaces to landscape and game design, the list of design disciplines is almost endless, with many sharing common processes or techniques.

Applied Design for Business Design for business relates to a company’s visual brand and communication materials (posters, website, merchandise, etc.). It is the creation of a cohesive visual system that communicates a company’s purpose, personality and position. That includes a logo, use of typography, colours, imagery, tone of voice and choice of media (all 50 DOUGLAS

Good design is the culmination of several critical parts, which typically must all be present when we’re talking about designing for business. Good design is informed and contextual; it is relatable to the end user and often becomes a (functional) workhorse for the company. In other words, it serves as a broad toolkit of visual assets that can be applied to things like advertising, social media, product packaging, website, stationery or vehicle wraps. These four key elements of good design (informed, contextual, relatable and functional) must be identified and defined before you start to create a visual identity or any type of designed communication for your company. A good design partner can lead you through these steps toward a strategic design solution.  INFORMED — relates to a company knowing why they exist, how they are

different from everyone else, what they do, how they do it, who they do it for and who their competitors are. Being informed sets a foundation for understanding the goals of the business and the nuances of the target customer or end user.  CONTEXTUAL — knowing what the hallmarks of your competitive marketplace are. This will help set some parameters around what sort of visual language is going to make you look like you belong in your competitive category. Understanding these parameters allows a good design partner to make you look like a leader among your competitors.  RELATABLE — understanding your end user and designing a visual identity (or an asset like a poster or website) that resonates with them. Ultimately, this is something that they can relate to and that is attractive to them.  FUNCTIONAL — the unsung hero of a welldesigned visual identity. Having a functional design system makes the act of doing business smoother and will produce professional and good-looking results. For example, you’ll want a logo that will reproduce well regardless of where you stick it (embroidered on a hat or super small on a piece of packaging). A successful system is akin to a perfect toolkit, equipped with all the tools you need to do the job easily and effectively.

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Engaging Professionals

One last piece of advice is to hire a professional designer or design agency who possesses the skills you require to be successful: They should be interested in your business; customize their processes to suit the unique aspects of your project; and exhibit confidence and leadership to guide you through the process. Investing in the visual brand of your business will pay you back in dividends (ask any business owner who has found the right design partner and undergone a proper design process). The outcome is an informed and effective design solution that serves both the needs of the business and the desires of the end user. It gives the company a competitive advantage, a unique voice and a visual identity that sets it apart, and ahead, of its competitors. If you’re unsure that your brand is working as hard as it could for you, a good first step is to hire a design studio to run a brand audit and a competitive audit. This often inexpensive and quick health check will reveal what steps can be taken to make improvements to your brand.  Ross Chandler is the founder and creative director at Becoming Design Office whose clients include BC Parks, Modo, Hoyne Brewing Co., KWENCH and The City of Victoria, among others.

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MONEY

BY STEVE BOKOR

Inflation, Stagflation, or Normalization As inflation rises, and uncertainty with it, understanding what it all means is an important step to decision-making.

he Canadian Consumer Price Index — a commonly used measure of Canadian inflation — continues to climb, reaching 8.1 per cent in June. This was the largest yearly increase since January 1983 and up from a 7.7 per cent gain in May. Statistics Canada reported that the price of gasoline was a major factor. Gas prices rose by 12 per cent in the month of May alone, and are up by 48 per cent compared to where they were a year ago. Inflation has surged, thanks to disruptions to supply chains and pent-up consumer demand for goods that emerged when local economies reopened in 2021. Plus, the unprecedented government cash handouts probably added fuel to the inflation fire. Much of that extra cash injected into the financial system had to go someplace, and in our corner of the world, it moved into real estate and the stock market. Naturally, both assets skyrocketed, but as prices rose, that extra cash produced a domino effect in the housing markets, creating blind bidding wars and possibly squeezing out local buyers. The Bank of Canada Raising Interest Rates The Bank of Canada (BOC) has started to raise short-term interest rates, after holding

them at record low rate levels during the pandemic. The question that has everyone on pins and needles is: How much will rates end up being raised? Prices and inflation are driven by three factors: producer prices, employment and disposable income. Producer prices are related to the costs of construction, manufacturing and agricultural inputs; think copper, iron ore and fertilizer. Unfortunately, with supply disruptions affecting primary industries, many producers have been forced to raise prices. Given the horrific war in Ukraine and changing climate conditions affecting farmers globally, expect higher food prices. On the employment front, Canada is facing a labour shortage and it’s a Catch-22 situation. Boomers are retiring in record numbers, and millennials and Gen Zs seem to prefer a better work/life balance. To compound matters, governments are already running record negative budgets and are reluctant to add to future deficits. Two solutions are possible to solve the labour shortage. The first is higher wages; the second is increasing skilled immigration, both of which will exacerbate the housing crisis and, by extension, inflation. Disposable income is tied to employment

and retirement assets; you just have to subtract ever- higher taxes on income. Nominally, the number is on the upswing, but with inflation running hot, Canadians are losing ground. The question is: Where will it go from here? History may provide some clues. Hold on: Could be a Bumpy Ride The inflation rate in Canada averaged 3.11 per cent from 1915 until 2022 but reached an all- time high of 21.60 per cent in June of 1920 and then a record low of -17.80 per cent in June of 1921. That was a century ago, but these figures clearly indicate rapid and potentially violent swings. Today’s inflation rate stands at a 39-year high of 8.1 per cent. Not quite as bad as some historical periods, but these are rates many Canadians have not experienced in their lifetime. Furthermore, the BOC has a mandate to keep medium-term inflation within a range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent with a midpoint of 2 per cent averaged over six to eight quarters. We are not even close. For business owners, with rates of inflation growing faster than personal income increases, customers are worse off. This usually leads to lower levels of consumer

CANADA’S INFLATION HISTORY

+21.6% the all-time high inflation rate in Canada was reached in June 1920

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-17.8%

the lowest inflation rate ever recorded in Canada was reached in June 1921

+8.1% The highest inflation rate in Canada in 39 years was recorded in June 2022

+48% The rise of gas prices in Canada from May 2021 to May 2022

spending and a fall in sales for businesses. But it takes time, and when input costs like oil, gas, lumber or steel rise, it becomes entrenched into the products we buy. It’s very difficult to bring them back down without causing the economy to crash. Or worse yet, prices remain stubbornly high and economic growth falters, a.k.a. “stagflation.” But with current inflation above 6 per cent, the BOC has started to drain liquidity from the financial system by raising short-term rates to help cool demand and steady the economy. Unfortunately, we are in the early innings of the inflation game. But, as rates rise, the cost of capital will erode profit margins. And, as we all know, banks tend to reduce credit lines and/or increase their lending rates or demand more collateral to secure their positions. Remember back in 2008 when secured lines of credit went from prime” to prime plus one? Business owners will likely reduce inventories to lower their finance costs, but if the BOC moves too aggressively, businesses already struggling from COVID shutdowns could go bankrupt. If they don’t, the implied value of their businesses will naturally fall. One could argue we are in a new paradigm, and supply disruptions will be short-lived as countries including Canada abandon global trade in favor of domestically produced goods. Both businesses and consumers would also adjust to higher–but not rising–interest rates leading to stable prices and a safe investment environment. In this case, the decline in value of small businesses would likely not be as severe. The big question that remains centres around how long the inflation period will persist and whether it becomes a precursor to a recession. Central banks will have to thread the needle very carefully if they intend to keep the economy recovering but not allowing inflation to erode that growth and set us back into an economic slowdown … in other words “stagflation.” Historically, central banks have not fared well during inflationary cycles, especially when hit with exogenous factors beyond their control. In this case, the combined effects of COVID are hamstringing supply chains coupled with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both could last much longer than current estimates, which will only serve to increase inflationary pressures. Business owners tend to reduce and protect. Or, we could adopt a Serengeti-like philosophy, especially if local businesses are to survive. Automate as much as you can and train and retain what you cannot. 

Steve Bokor is a Chartered Financial Analyst® and licensed Portfolio Manager at Ocean Wealth. He has over 30 years in the industry and hosts the Bokor in the Morning podcast and Your Money on Chek News.

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POINT OF VIEW

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

By Aldyn Chwelos

Ko Panekire tōku maunga.

RELATIONSHIP-DRIVEN LEARNING

Ko Mataatua tōku waka. Ko Tūhoe te Iwi. Ko Rebecca Beauchamp tōku ingoa. My pepeha highlights the interconnectedness of land and people; I am my mountain, my river, my lake, and they are me. — Rebecca Beauchamp The above is Beauchamp’s ‘pepeha,’ which is a way of introducing oneself in Māori.

This role is somewhat groundbreaking on the Island. Is this something that could be adopted at other institutions? This reconciliation action plan is very specific to Pearson College. It speaks of the relationship that we have to the land; it speaks to local nations; it speaks to the many voices of those that are from here. It was written by many voices. There were students, elders, Indigenous communities, Scia’new, faculty, staff. It was a collective whole that created this beautiful action plan. It took many years and a careful thought process to incorporate many different Indigenous cultures into this plan, and I am honoured to be implementing it.

What is your vision for this role?

My vision for this role is a woven basket that is made up of many different strands. I think community-driven thought is really crucial. When we keep all the faculty and staff really grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being [it is] because these values have so much depth to them. Really unpacking the destruction that colonization has had upon the education system and creating avenues for Indigenization through curriculum and staff/faculty training will be woven into this role.

With Pearson College being an international campus, how does that affect the approach you take? An Indigenous approach is about inclusivity and understanding, acknowledging that each student is coming from their own culture, their own identity and bringing with them their own stories. A lot of what’s guiding my work with the college is holding students accountable to self-location and really unpacking that. That creates a platform for them to then project themselves into the world.

What is your hope for the future?

JEFFREY BOSDET

For me, what I’d want the next five years to look like would be building such strong relationships with local nations that it’s completely intertwined. Supporting the staff, faculty and student body to understand their responsibility in reconciliation. Transforming our current Pearson College into an Indigenous led, experiential learning space that is guided by elders and knowledge keepers from across Canada. There is much work to do; however, if everyone is leading with their heart and mind, positive change will happen.

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Ko Waikaremoana tōku moana.

Ko Waimako te marae.

Rebecca Beauchamp is Pearson College’s director of Indigenous Initiatives and Engagement, a new role developed to guide the implementation of the college’s reconciliation action plan. Beauchamp is Māori from Aotearoa, New Zealand, and moves to Pearson from the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, where she ran the childcare centre for six years.

Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua — I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on the past.

Ko Waikaretāheke tōku awa.

PHOTO: KAT CRAATS, BCOM ’20

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