Douglas magazine Jun/Jul 2023

J U N /J U L 2 0 2 3

TELEHEALTH TAKES OFF

How the pandemic spurred a $4-billion industry

Making the most of

LinkedIn

PENINSULA CO-OP

In conversation with dynamic new CEO Corey Gillon

GROWING

BUSINESS The future of farming

Kyle Michell, Field Five Farm

The all-electric Mercedes-EQE SUV. With the new EQE SUV, cutting edge technology meets seamless versatility. Up to five can experience the future of electrified motoring with world-renowned Mercedes-Benz engineering and luxury. With up to 558km on a single charge[1] and fast charging in as little as 31 minutes[2], every journey is one of serene comfort.

Visit Three Point Motors or Mercedes-Benz Nanaimo to learn more.

Three Point Motors

250-385-6737 | threepointmotors.com

Mercedes-Benz Nanaimo

250-585-8960 | mercedesnanaimo.com

©2023 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. 2023 EQE SUV shown above for illustration purposes only. [1] All electric range up to 558km is based on the 2023 EQE 350 4MATIC SUV. Range based on optimal driving conditions and will vary based on environment, temperature, and battery age. [2] Fast charging time of 31 minutes is based on top up charge from 10% - 80% available range of the 2023 EQE 350 4MATIC SUV utilizing a DC fast charging station with 500 amps. Range and figures are provisional and determined with Euroepan WLTP test procedure certification methods. Please see Three Point Motors or Mercedes-Benz Nanaimo for full details. Three Point Motors DL9818 #30817. Mercedes-Benz Nanaimo DL9808 #30818

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Fourth-year mechanical engineering student Casey Woo shares his knowledge and passion for solving engineering problems with participants at Engineering for Kids.

uvic.ca/hireacoop

CONTENTS

JUN/JUL 2023

F E AT U R E S

16

Peas n’ Carrots Farm — Saanich

Farmers Face the Future, p. 26

In Conversation As Peninsula Co-op's new CEO, Corey Gillon is taking things to the next level by focusing on community.

BY SHANNON MONEO

20

The Virtual Waiting Room Telehealth saved us during the pandemic; now it’s a multi-billiondollar industry that’s here to stay.

BY KEN WINCHESTER

26

Saanich Farmers Face the Future How new techniques and technology are saving the family farm — and the farmers who live and work on it.

BY ANDREW FINDLAY

32

Making the Most of LinkedIn If you think the networking platform is boring, you’re just not doing it right.

BY SHANNON MONEO

D E PA R T M E N T S 8 NOTE FROM THE EDITOR 11 IN THE KNOW

The new TELUS Ocean tower; with Sepura Home, compost meets garburator; UVic’s BioInnovation Hub; Douglas Reads looks at what makes a trend Contagious; why we’re all tipped off; why ESG matters.

38 LIFE + STYLE

What you need to know about office chairs; the cool new whisky bar for hosting your business clients; escape the office by exploring the Pacific Marine Circle Route.

40 INTEL 40 EXPORT AS A SCALING STRATEGY How export grows your business and helps the country. BY MIA MAKI 41 A HUMAN CONVERSATION ABOUT CHATGPT Is artificial intelligence hype or hope? BY SHANNON MONEO 44 B ETTER AT BEING BETTER Why it pays to become a B Corp. BY ERIN SKILLEN Corey Gillon, Peninsula Co-op — In Conversation, p. 16 4

D O U G L AS

46 DID YOU KNOW

Making tech industries compute — we look at technology by the numbers.

I QNUIET IOEPSP»O R T U N I T I E S » U N I Q U E O P P OU RN TU

$11,975,000

$10,500,000

$7,250,000

$5,800,000

377 Seymour Heights, Salt Spring Island

9310 Ardmore Drive, North Saanich

5776 East Sooke Road, Sooke

2230 Chelsea Place, Nanoose Bay

BEDS: 7 BATHS: 8 7,324 SQ.FT. 71 ACRES

BEDS: 4 BATHS: 8 7,804 SQ.FT. 1.40 ACRES

BEDS: 3 BATHS: 3 2,696 SQ.FT. 7.75 ACRES

BEDS: 3.5 BATHS: 4 5,515 SQ.FT. 0.80 ACRES

Victoria Luxury Group 250.588.2466

Victoria Luxury Group

Peter Crichton

D’Arcy Harris

250.857.0609

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES »

250.889.4000

250.686.2375

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES » NEW LISTING

NEW LISTING

$4,100,000

$3,320,000

$2,140,000

3285 Livesay Road, Central Saanich

5118-5120 Brenton Page Road, Ladysmith

BEDS: 4 BATHS: 5 6,009 SQ.FT. 6.50 ACRES

BEDS: 5 BATHS: 4 6,842 SQ.FT. 3.18 ACRES

Dean Innes PREC

6417 Pacific Drive, Duncan BEDS: 4 BATHS: 4 4,011 SQ.FT. 2 ACRES

C O250.686.0279 N D O S & TOWSandy NHOM ES » Berry

250.818.8736

250.710.6844

Brian Danyliw PREC

C O N D O S & TOW N H O M E S » INTRODUCING

$899,000

RECENTLY SOLD

$800,000

UPON REQUEST

305-707 Courtney Street, Victoria

33-258 Lower Ganges Road, Salt Spring Island

BEDS: 1 BATHS: 1 BEDS: 2 BATHS: 2 1,476 SQ.FT. SQ.FT. 0.04 ACRES S I N G L E FA M I LY 882 HOM ES » The Wildman Group

250.818.8522

Jacob Garrett

236.562.7047

$750,000

$715,000

302-738 Sayward Hill Terrace, Victoria

TH02- 38 Front Street, Nanaimo

2006-845 Johnson Street, Victoria

BEDS: 2 BATHS: 2 1,841 SQ.FT.

BEDS: 2 BATHS: 3 1,222 SQ.FT.

BEDS: 2 BATHS: 1 738 SQ.FT.

Beth Hayhurst

250.896.0766

Simona Stramaccioni

250.744.6411

Michael Tourigny

250.514.6457

S I N G L E FA M I LY H O M E S » NEW LISTING

NEW LISTING

$3,490,000

$2,890,000

$2,600,000

3414 Stephenson Point Road, Nanaimo

3975 Munn Road, Highlands

8763 Beaumaris Place, North Saanich

BEDS: 4 BATHS: 4 4,198 SQ.FT. 1.10 ACRES

BEDS: 3 BATHS: 1 1,397 SQ.FT. 42.51 ACRES

BEDS: 3 BATHS: 5 5,039 SQ.FT. 0.35 ACRES

The Wildman Group 250.893.9976

Andrew Maxwell

Thomas Goodman

250.415.6675

250.213.2104

S I N G L E FA M I LY H O M E S »

« S I N G L E FA M I LY H O M E S NEW LISTING

$1,850,000

$1,595,000

$1,399,000 1865 Elmhurst Place, Saanich

227 Heddle Avenue, View Royal

973 Runnymede Place, Oak Bay

BEDS: 5 BATHS: 5 3,102 SQ.FT. 0.24 ACRES

BEDS: 3 BATHS: 2 1,658 SQ.FT. 0.17 ACRES

Dave Hatt

Andrew Maxwell

250.888.0204

Andy Stephenson

Victoria 250.380.3933

NEW LISTING

Anna Sterloff

Kris Ricci 778.966.7441

Beth Hayhurst

Brad Maclaren

Salt Spring Island 250.537.1778

Luke Cameron 778.584.3517

Brayden Klein

Brian Danyliw

Vancouver 604.632.3300

D’Arcy Harris

Dave Hatt

West Vancouver 604.922.6995

Dean Innes

BEDS: 5 BATHS: 2 1,836 SQ.FT. 0.14 ACRES 250.744.7136

Don St Germain PREC

Don St Germain

White Rock 604.385.1840

Georgia Wiggins

Glynis MacLeod

Whistler 604.932.3388

Grace Shin

Harley Shim

Kelowna 250.469.9547

Jacob Garrett

Jon Baker

Sun Peaks 250.578.7773

MoveBeyond Beyond Move YourExpectations Expectations Your 1493PEBBLE PEBBLEPLACE, PLACE, LANGFORD 1493 LANGFORD 3285 CENTRAL SAANICH 3285LIVESAY LIVESAYROAD, ROAD, CENTRAL SAANICH

SSOOTTHHEEBBYY SS RR EE AA L TLY. CA T Y. CA « U QIUQEUO OPRO TU I TNI EI T SI E S «N UIN EPOPP RN TU

$5,199,000

$4,950,000

$5,199,000

$4,200,000

$4,950,000

2695 Lansdowne Road,

$4,200,000

2840 Sea View Road,

2840 Sea View Road, Victoria Victoria BEDS: 3 BATHS: 4 6,697 SQ.FT.

2695 Lansdowne Road, Oak Bay Oak Bay

BEDS: 3 BATHS: 5 4,512 SQ.FT. 0.34 ACRES

BEDS: BATHS: 4 6,697 SQ.FT. 0.79 3ACRES

BEDS: 3 BATHS: 5 4,512 SQ.FT. 0.34 ACRES

ACRES 250.514.1966 0.79 The Wildman Group 250.818.2006

Lisa Williams PREC

250.514.1966

Lisa Williams PREC

« U N I Q U E O P P O R T U N I T I E S C O N D O S & TOW N H O M E S »

The Wildman Group 250.818.2006

6649 Godman Road,

6649 Godman Road, Port Renfrew Port Renfrew

2.06 ACRE WATERFRONT LOT

2.06 ACRE WATERFRONT LOT Jon Baker

250.701.1814

Jon Baker

250.701.1814

« C O N D O S & TOW N H O M E S

« U N I Q U E O PNEW P O RLISTING T U N I T I E S C O N D O S & TOW N H O M E SINTRODUCING »

« C O N D O S & TO W N H O M E S

INTRODUCING

NEW LISTING

$1,625,000

$2,300,000

$1,450,000 889 Cherry Point Road, Cowichan Bay

$2,300,000

889 Cherry PointLOT Road, 2.90 ACRE Cowichan Bay 2.90 ACRE TerryLOT Calveley Terry Calveley

9462 Lochside Drive, $1,625,000 Sidney

301-9115 Lochside Drive, North Saanich

$1,450,000

9462 Lochside Drive, BEDS: 3 BATHS: 3 2,771 SQ.FT. Sidney

301-9115 Lochside Drive, BEDS: 3 BATHS: 3 2,053 SQ.FT. North Saanich

PREC 250.589.6247 Andy Stephenson BEDS: 3 BATHS: 3 2,053 SQ.FT.

250.589.6247

Andy Stephenson

250.532.0888

The Wiggins Group BEDS: 3 BATHS: 3 2,771 SQ.FT.

250.415.2500

« C O N D O S & TOW N H O M E S SThe ING L E FA Group M I LY H O M E S » Wiggins 250.532.0888

PREC

« 250.415.2500

RECENTLY SOLD

« C O N D O S & TOW N H O M E S S I N G L E FA M I LY H O M E S »

«

RECENTLY SOLD

$490,000

$599,900 205-1270 Johnson Street, Victoria

$599,900

$490,000

MacLeod Group

250.686.3385

BEDS: 2 BATHS: 2 1,088 SQ.FT. MacLeod Group

250.686.3385

303-2706 Peatt Road, 891 SQ.FT. Langford Anna Sterloff

BEDS: 2 BATHS: 2 891 SQ.FT. Anna Sterloff

1745 Warn Way, Qualicum Beach

1493 Pebble Place, Langford

BEDS: 4 BATHS: 4 4,133 SQ.FT.

BEDS: 5 BATHS: 5 5,377 SQ.FT. 1493 Pebble Place, 0.26 ACRES

Victoria Luxury Group 250.881.3601

Brad Maclaren PREC

$3,499,000

$3,899,999

BEDS: 2 BATHS: 2

BEDS: 2 BATHS: 2 1,088 SQ.FT. 205-1270 Johnson Street, Victoria

$3,499,000

$3,899,999

303-2706 Peatt Road, Langford

250.514.7214

250.514.7214

1745 Warn Way, 4.99 ACRES Qualicum Beach

Langford

250.727.5448

BEDS: 5 BATHS: 5 5,377 SQ.FT. 0.26 « S I ACRES N G L E FA M I LY H O M E S

BEDS: 4 BATHS: 4 4,133 SQ.FT. 4.99 ACRES

250.727.5448

Brad Maclaren PREC

Victoria Luxury Group 250.881.3601

« S I N G L E FA M I LY H O M E S

$2,500,000

$2,499,000

$1,900,000

2850 Beach Drive, Oak Bay

1952 Runnymede Avenue, Victoria BEDS: 6 BATHS: 5 5,239 SQ.FT. $2,500,000

9927 Panorama Ridge Road, Chemainus

$2,499,000 BEDS: 2 BATHS: 4 3,320 SQ.FT. 0.62 ACRES

0.16 ACRES

$1,900,000 BEDS: 5 BATHS: 4 3,848 SQ.FT. 2.03 ACRES

2850 Beach Drive, 1952 Runnymede Avenue, MacLeod Group 250.661.7232 Sean Farrell Victoria Oak Bay

250.588.2377

BEDS: 6 BATHS: 5 5,239 SQ.FT. 0.16 ACRES

BEDS: 2 BATHS: 4 3,320 SQ.FT. 0.62 ACRES

MacLeod Group

Sean Farrell

250.661.7232

9927 Panorama Ridge Road, Spencer Cao Chemainus

250.732.2267

BEDS: 5 BATHS: 4 3,848 SQ.FT. 2.03 ACRES Luxury Is An Experience, Not A Price Point250.732.2267 250.588.2377 Spencer Cao

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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

All Aboard the Technology Roller-coaster

FOR YOUR F A M I LY, 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.

®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.

8

D O U G L AS

IN THIS ISSUE of Douglas we break out our crystal ball to report on important technology trends for the year ahead, examine the future of agriculture and sit down with the new CEO of Peninsula Co-op.

This may date me, but I remember rotary phones and floppy discs. I’ve done my best to keep up with the changing tech scene, and now the watch on my wrist is 500 times more powerful than my first Apple 128K. The technology industry has not just weathered the pandemic-driven disruptions of the past few years — it has flourished. The crisis prodded many businesses into the future, spurring them to accelerate digital transformation, improve supply chains, pursue e-commerce and strengthen their talent pools.

Here is my list of five key technology trends that will affect your business. They’re all set to snowball, for better or worse, in the year ahead.

AI is everywhere: We already use artificial intelligence every day, from Siri and Alexa to virtual assistants on shopping sites. Rather than replacing human intelligence and ingenuity, AI can be a supporting tool by processing reams of data much faster than a human brain.

Cybersecurity: The e-commerce explosion has led to increased concerns about security and privacy. A survey reports that 34 per cent of retailers believe that cybercrime is their biggest threat.

Rise of the virtual office: A recent Gallup survey found that eight in 10 people are working either hybridly or remotely.

This has led to a new breed of platforms called virtual offices: digital replicas of physical spaces that allow employees to drop by, attend meetings and interact.

Super apps: Ours is a mobile-first world, and we desire apps to do more and more. That is spurring a new application platform called “super apps.” Think of them as a Swiss army knife that can message, shop, stream content and even book a trip, all in one place.

Sustainability: Canada’s net-zero climate goals and environmentally minded consumers mean that companies across all industries will need to step up their sustainability credentials in 2023.

The list goes on, from cloud technology and the proliferation of 5G networks to the rise of influencer marketing. We’ll be covering all of the above in this and future issues of Douglas, in hopes of keeping your business in the know. •

“The technology industry has not just weathered the disruptions of the past few years — it has flourished.”

— Ken Winchester, Editor

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EDITOR IN CHIEF Joanne Sasvari EDITOR Ken Winchester DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Jeffrey Bosdet PRODUCTION MANAGER Jennifer Kühtz DIGITAL MARKETING CONSULTANT Amanda Wilson LEAD GRAPHIC DESIGNER Caroline Segonnes ASSOCIATE GRAPHIC DESIGNER Janice Hildybrant MARKETING COORDINATOR Claire Villaraza ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Lauren Ingle ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Deana Brown, Will Gillis, Cynthia Hanischuk, Brenda Knapik CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Andrew Findlay, Mia Maki, Shannon Moneo, Geoff Russ Erin Skillen PROOFREADER Paula Marchese EDITORIAL INTERN Liam Razzell CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES Getty Images p.32-34 GENERAL INQUIRIES info@douglasmagazine.com SEND PRESS RELEASES TO editor@douglasmagazine.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR letters@douglasmagazine.com

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Every day your Realtor goes to work, for you. vreb.org 10

D O U G L AS

BC

IN THE KNOW

in Glass and Steel How will TELUS Ocean change downtown?

BY GEOFF RUSS

DIAMOND SCHMITT ARCHITECTURE INC

A Soaring Statement

When the TELUS Ocean office tower opens in 2024, it’s expected to bring hundreds of workers into the heart of the city.

READ THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 12

D O U G L AS

11

IN THE KNOW TELUS OCEAN IS expected to bring hundreds of jobs to downtown Victoria, and permanently change the Inner Harbour. Not everyone is thrilled.

Victoria will have a new landmark when the TELUS Ocean centre opens its doors at Douglas and Humboldt streets in 2024. Once completed, it’s projected to bring white-collar jobs to downtown Victoria at a time when the city has seen employees migrate to Saanich and points west like Langford and Esquimalt.

Victoria City Councillor Dave Thompson favours the project as part of a process to reinvigorate Douglas Street and downtown as a whole.

“I’m happy to see any kind of activity and revitalization, and new assets going downtown,” says Thompson.

“I think the street itself is going to get quite a refresh.

It’s going to be a lot more esthetically compelling than it has been.”

Designed by Victoria’s own Aryze Developments, the 158,000-square-foot TELUS Ocean is projected to generate 450 new jobs, with 250 Telus employees occupying much of the office space, and the rest leased to other companies.

After approval by the previous municipal government, thenmayor Lisa Helps lauded the development as a positive step in growing the technology and services sectors of Victoria’s economy.

“It shows that there is still value in locating downtown,” says Bruce Williams, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce. “It’s something that will be, I think, an attraction for businesses because it’s going to be such a modern and innovative building.”

While the arrival of nearly 500 employees will only add to Victoria’s growth as a technology and services hub, some residents are upset about how the building will permanently change the look 12

D O U G L AS

of historic downtown Victoria.

As a soaring, 11-storey glass structure behind the Fairmont Empress, TELUS Ocean will be a departure from the historic ambience of the Inner Harbour. It’s purposely designed as “statement architecture,” in a neighbourhood where smaller, traditional architecture is the rule.

Ian Sutherland, who serves on the board of the Victoria Downtown Residents Association, says the biggest concern he has heard from residents is about the projected size of TELUS Ocean, which he says is massive and approaches a density comparable to Hong Kong.

“It sticks up, [it’s] plainly visible from the harbour … it towers above the Fairmont Empress and there’s a whole bunch of impacts that were concerning to local residents,” says Sutherland.

Even if TELUS Ocean may not fit it with its neighbours the Fairmont Empress or the Union Club, Williams says the glass-faced building will literally mirror downtown’s historic architecture.

“I think it actually reflects it,” says Williams. “Because the reflection of the older buildings in the glass facade of this building provides another perspective.”

Thompson believes city council should not be heavily invested in the traditional esthetics of the city, and says some variety in downtown’s architecture will be a positive.

“You don’t want to see a monotonous downtown where everything looks the same,” says Thompson. “I know that there’s going to be a wide range of opinions on that.”

Williams says TELUS Ocean can only enhance Victoria when it opens in 2024.

“It’s going to transform the neighbourhood. It’s going to be a landmark. It’s going to be an attraction in itself.” •

SEPURA HOME: KICKING Compost TO THE CURB Victoria tech company receives $3.7 million to reinvent kitchen composting.

i

t started with potato peels.

Sepura’s co-founder and CEO Victor Nicolov was hosting a dinner party and loaded his garbage disposal with potato peels.

It didn’t go well. The disposal flung peels all over the kitchen and promptly broke. In researching a The Sepura replacement, Nicolov realized the Home unit does the work of both myriad problems with traditional garbage disposal disposals, and why they’re banned and composter. altogether in some localities.

Thus, the idea for Sepura Home was born. From the first prototype in 2018 to its rollout in 2023, the technology has been tested, retested and tweaked, with feedback from homeowners, plumbers and municipalities.

With Sepura, users scrape food waste into the sink just like they would with a conventional disposal. But when a wireless button is pushed, the machine separates solid and liquid waste, and collects the solids for composting. There’s even a carbon filter system that reduces odours, and an LED light that indicates when it’s time to empty the bin. Sepura replaces traditional garbage disposals, which are environmentally unfriendly, and countertop bins, which can be smelly, take up counter space and require frequent emptying.

The unit sends 99.9 per cent of food waste into the collection bin, Sepura claims, and only liquids down the drain. This makes it safe for septic systems and most local plumbing codes.

Time magazine named Sepura one of the Top 100 Inventions of 2020, which raised the Victoria-based company’s profile and recently led to a $3.7 million seed investment. Sepura is also a Douglas 10 to Watch winner. •

IN THE KNOW

WHERE SCIENCE MEETS Startup

A new front door to the University of Victoria is advancing health sciences innovation.

To paraphrase, many brains make light work. UVic’s new BioInnovation Hub, in partnership with Vancouver Island Life Sciences, is a collaborative workspace housed in an unimposing Saanich mall. Here entrepreneurs and life sciences organizations can connect with UVic researchers, access equipment, share resources and explore

opportunities for collaboration.

Located in the Saanich Plaza across from Uptown and above Soccer World, the hub provides short-term “incubator” space for early-stage startups in the health field. Other occupants of the 1,188-square-foot space include commercial firms such as PharmaBioSource and the Victoria Hand Project. UVic’s Centre for Advanced Materials

UVIC PHOTO SERVICES

UVic’s BioInnovation Hub will be a collaborative workspace for innovators and entrepreneurs.

and Related Technology will also have a presence on site to facilitate university-industry connections and provide access to on-campus resources such as the CAMTEC Biomedical Core for equipment, facilities and research talent.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with the life sciences community,” says Lisa Kalynchuk, UVic’s vicepresident of research and innovation. “The hub will provide a welcoming space for both innovators and entrepreneurs.”

The BioInnovation hub is one of several community-

based hubs connected to UVic’s broader Innovation Network, which seeks to raise the university’s profile as a catalyst for regional, social and economic development and collaborative problem-solving.

The hub expansion builds on the success of the Coast Capital Innovation Centre, a well-known campus resource for entrepreneurship training and support. Since its launch in 2016, the centre has supported more than 1,300 students and 150 start-ups.

Over the past decade, nearly 400 UVic researchers working in life sciences and medicine have published more than 3,000 papers and have been cited over 75,000 times. More than half of these papers were co-authored with researchers in other countries, demonstrating the impact of UVic’s work on a global scale.

Says Kalynchuk, “When we think about where we are now as a society, with all of the pressing challenges that we’re trying to confront, we’re only going to solve these issues if we work together.” •

THE Future OF AVIATION? Harbour Air’s ePlane Buzzes into Victoria.

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he future of aviation is electric, and Victoria’s Harbour Air has become a global leader in its development. Their all-electric ePlane recently made its first appearance at the Inner Harbour. This marks a major milestone in the advancement of all-electric flights and signifies the farthest the ePlane has traveled from its home base in Richmond.

Harbour Air began its ePlane project in 2019 and has since become a pioneer in the electrification of aircraft. The ePlane has successfully completed 25 hours of flight time over 74 flights. Each test flight provides valuable data, critical to the certification process.

The historic de Havilland Beaver was completely retrofitted

in 2019 to operate using 100 per cent electricity, and on its maiden flight flew 72 kilometres in 24 minutes. The aircraft left its terminal on the Fraser River adjacent to YVR and landed in Pat Bay near YYJ, a major milestone in the advancement of all-electric commercial flights.

Harbour Air is North America’s largest seaplane airline, and the first airline globally to be fully carbon-neutral. With a fleet of more than 40 aircraft, Harbour Air plays a vital role in B.C.’s regional transportation network. A trusted west coast experience for over 40 years, Harbour Air offers scenic tours and up to 300 daily flights to 12 destinations across B.C. and to Seattle. • D O U G L AS

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R

COMPOUND ANNUAL RETURNS (Including reinvested dividends, as of April 15, 2023) 1 YEAR

3 YEAR

5 YEAR

10 YEAR

20 YEAR

INCEPTION1

Odlum Brown Model Portfolio

-0.3%

14.2%

9.9%

12.0%

12.3%

13.9%

S&P/TSX Total Return Index

-2.7%

17.3%

9.5%

8.8%

8.9%

8.5%

*

December 15, 1994. *The Odlum Brown Model Portfolio is an all-equity portfolio that was established by the Odlum Brown Equity Research Department on December 15, 1994 with a hypothetical investment of $250,000. It showcases how we believe individual security recommendations may be used within the context of a client portfolio. The Model also provides a basis with which to measure the quality of our advice and the effectiveness of our disciplined investment strategy. Trades are made using the closing price on the day a change is announced. Performance figures do not include any allowance for fees. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

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IN THE KNOW

EA DS

WHAT MAKES THINGS POPULAR? Itʼs more than traditional advertising, says Contagious author Jonah Berger. People don’t listen to advertisements, he writes, they listen to their peers. But why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumours more infectious? And what makes online content go viral?

In Contagious, Berger reveals the science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. He explains how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from consumer products and policy initiatives to workplace rumours and YouTube videos.

Contagious also provides actionable techniques for helping information spread — for designing messages, advertisements, and content that people will share. Whether you’re a manager at a big company, a small business owner trying to boost awareness or a freelancer trying to get the word out, Contagious shows how to make a product or idea catch on. •

TIPPED Off How technology and the pandemic changed tipping forever.

YOUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME. Exclusive offer to join the Club if you call and book a tour today.

Contact Danielle Hind 250-384-1151 (ext. 320) or sales@unionclub.com 805 Gordon Street, Victoria

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UNIONCLUB.COM

Call it tipflation.

Thanks to a combination of technology, social pressure and a pandemic that accelerated the adoption of cashless payments, card machines have become ubiquitous.

Unfortunately, so have tip requests. At a time when the prices of many goods and services are already higher than ever, we’re paying even more to the businesses who provide them.

From oil changes to takeout food, the “tip nudge” has quickly become a wellestablished norm in Canada. Cashless machines have made it simple for

IN THE KNOW

ESG: BUILDING BUSINESSES WITH A Conscience

BDC study finds sustainability is now a “must-do” for Canadian businesses.

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arket forces, social concerns and environmental realities are putting more and more pressure on businesses to shift toward sustainability. ESG (environment, social and governance) standards are a way for businesses to make that shift.

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is committed to helping entrepreneurs rise to meet today’s economic, social and environmental challenges. Call it enlightened self-interest. In doing so, they also want to help businesses improve their bottom line, attract and retain talent, and have a positive community impact.

How do they know where businesses stand on these issues?

BDC recently released a survey of more than 100 major businesses in both the private and public sector, and the results were revealing. Over 75 per cent of Canadian suppliers consider ESG to be beneficial to their businesses. Around the world, the ESG reporting rate for large companies has risen dramatically, from 18 per cent in 2002 to 79 per cent in 2022. Increasingly, companies are requiring ESG standards from their suppliers, a practice called responsible procurement.

The three letters of ESG represent the pillars of sustainable business practices: Environmental: Greenhouse gas reduction, including clean energy, transportation efficiency, and waste and water reduction.

Social: Diversity, equity and inclusion practices, community

investments and employee volunteer programs.

Governance: Business policies and procedures that reflect sustainable practices, both environment and social.

One outstanding local example is DeeBee’s Organics. Dionne Laslo-Baker, the Victoria-based owner of DeeBee’s, is recognized as an ESG pioneer in BDC’s study. Her award-winning practices include supporting charities and initiatives like salmon restoration, LGBTQ+ organizations, and an orphanage in Honduras. Other DeeBee’s sustainability practices include 100 per cent solar-powered factories, composting food waste, reusing rainwater, and offering employees stock options. DeeBee’s has seen an extraordinary 100 per cent annual sales growth since being founded in 2013 and its organic fruit snacks are now sold in 15,000 retail stores across North America.

BDC expects that within a few years, more than 90 per cent of Canadian businesses will be more like DeeBee’s. Their message is that ESG isn’t just good for the planet, it’s also good for business. •

businesses to prompt a gratuity option, even in industries where tipping previously wasn’t part of the cost. Worse, it now seems like 15 per cent is considered rude.

Tipping is supposed to be a reward for excellent service, but studies have shown that the vast majority of people are motivated more by social pressure. They believe that tipping is expected of them, and they don’t want to deviate from the cultural norms — especially if other people are

leaving an amount that the business “suggests.” Businesses can set those amounts, which is why one place might go with 10, 15 and 20 per cent, while another might request 20, 25 or even 30 per cent.

They can also enable “smart tipping,” which switches from percentages to dollars if a purchase is under a certain amount. That’s how you might get a suggestion to leave an extra $2 for a $4 latte, a 50 per cent tip.

There seems to be a tipping point for tipping and that’s where food is concerned. We’re inclined to tip a barista who makes a fancy coffee drink, or an attentive waiter, but not so much to someone who hands you your dry cleaning. A barber or hair stylist? Absolutely. A

watching and possibly judging them.

Digital point-of-sale systems aren’t the only way a business requests tips, but it’s one of the hardest to refuse. Unlike tip jars, which are easy to ignore, tip-bytablet becomes a public affair.

You’re forced to declare your level of generosity or cheapness to anyone within eyesight, including your server.

The tip prompts are also designed to push the customer into not just leaving a tip, but

In 2023, 52% of customers acknowledge tipping 15 to 19% at restaurants.

The BDC recognizes Dionne Laslo-Baker, the Victoria-based owner of DeeBee’s Organics, as an ESG pioneer. DeeBee's is also a 10 to Watch winner.

bellhop who lugs your luggage?

Of course. But a clerk who hands you a bottle of wine off the shelf behind him? Not so much.

Lizzie Post is the co-president of the Vermont-based Emily Post Institute and the author of several etiquette books. She says that if you’re asked to tip for a service that doesn’t traditionally ask for tips, there’s nothing wrong with saying no.

“I think it’s really important not to give into the guilt,” Post says. “I tend to personally say if it’s not a traditional tipping situation, and nobody’s gone above and beyond to create some kind of amazing experience or be extraordinarily helpful, I’m hitting ʻno tipʼ in those moments and not feeling terribly bad about it.” • D O U G L AS

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I N C O N V E R S AT I O N

Corey Gillon, Peninsula Co-op

Next LEVEL After working across Canada and in South Africa for retail giant Walmart, Corey Gillon has returned to the Island to lead Peninsula Co-op by focusing on members and community.

BY SHANNON MONEO PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY BOSDET

MANY OF US have heard the familiar jingle “Moving ahead by giving back.”

Peninsula Co-op’s motto fits. In the last five years the retailer has donated over $2.5 million to various local causes; $500,000 each year is the norm. Since its start in 1977, today the Co-op counts more than 115,000 members. From Sidney to Duncan and in Comox and Campbell River, the Co-op operates 18 gas stations and convenience stores, along with 12 cardlocks. Home heating oil sales and distribution are also part of its petroleum arm. The Saanichton Food Centre and two liquor stores round out Corey Gillon’s new portfolio.

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What is your background?

I grew up in the Vancouver area and spent the better part of my life there before a whirlwind of career moves. I liken it to being a lifelong student of retail. Part of my career — I’ll call it my pedigree — was spent with Walmart. I started as a cart pusher and worked my way up to being a vice-president of Western Canadian business operations, with a multi-billion dollar profit and loss. I also headed Walmart Canada’s e-commerce strategy, spending two years getting my digital chops. Later, I was asked to help integrate an acquisition that Walmart International had made in sub-Saharan Africa, in a

I N C O N V E R S AT I O N

Peninsula Co-op’s new CEO Corey Gillon plans to build on an already successful community model.

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I N C O N V E R S AT I O N

Corey Gillon, Peninsula Co-op

holding company called Massmart, which included five different retail brands. I ended up moving to Johannesburg for a couple of years to help integrate that business.

Later, I was living in Toronto and working for Walmart when I had an opportunity to connect with a founder of a Vancouverbased retailer, Aritzia, Brian Hill. We hit it off and about six months before the company went public, my focus was to help position the business for higher growth; in particular, as the business started to roll out into the U.S., as well as expanding in Canada. That was a chance to return to the West Coast after 15 years away. I was able to balance a large company like Walmart and a more boutique style of retail. After working for a company like Walmart, it’s rare when you can say you’ll never work for a company that large again.

I took a startup company, pre-revenue, and helped build it to a saleable business, which was the board’s expectation. I built the team and business and learned my way around the startup world. When we sold that business in the summer of 2022, it led to my next move, and to a conversation with a recruitment firm about Peninsula Co-op.

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How would you define a co-op?

I think there’s the obvious definition, but I look at how co-ops came to be, whether it was about services or products that did not exist in certain markets, and the groundswell that creates them. People come together as a community and start to build foundations.

Maybe how they started isn’t why they exist today. The more pragmatic question is how co-ops will exist in the future and still carry out all those amazing things that made them community-focused and member-owned.

The second is about strengthening communities. We’ve contributed over $2.5 million in donations in the past five years to the communities we serve. The same reason co-ops came to be still leverages them in the future. That’s the part that interests me.

How will co-ops exist in the future and still carry out all those amazing things that made them communityfocused and member-owned?

What is it about co-ops that first interested you?

There are two pillars and our mission. The first is that we’re here to provide products and services to 115,000-plus members, across the market we serve.

What needs to be fixed or modified at Peninsula Co-op?

I don’t know if I’d use the word “fixed.” That refers to something that’s broken. We’re a business that’s predominantly in a retail environment.

We serve members and customers every day. It’s taking us from our journey of what is a very good company today and transforming it into a great company that can strive and thrive tomorrow.

Are there expansion plans?

Yes. I think in defining expansion, we’ve got to think about our mission as a compass, and make sure it’s at the forefront of our decisions. Several things stand out. First, continue to maximize our member relationships. How do we do that? By aligning ourselves to our services.

The second is really about being a great place to work. In order to focus on our members and our customers, it starts with an employee-centric model. For us, it’s engaging, attracting and retaining top talent.

The third goal is investing in infrastructure. Do we have the right structures in place in order for us to be even better in the next three to five years? Your point about expansion and diversification is important. That’s always been a part of the culture of Peninsula Coop, being able to adapt and thrive.

COMPLETE EYE EXAMINATIONS BY

Tell me about your Harvard education.

DR. JASON MAYCOCK DR. TOBY VALLANCE DR. MANDY LETKEMANN DR. NICHOLAS CATCHUK

Walmart was looking to build global talent, with a focus on global readiness. The company took about eight people within the international side of the business every year and put them through a program at Harvard called PLD (Program for Leadership Development), which was part of a greater Walmart program of readiness for global mobility.

OPTOMETRISTS

Do you have a business degree or are you a natural?

I don’t know how to answer that. I went to business school later in life, through the Harvard program. I don’t think some letters behind your name are necessarily your requirement for intelligence. I came through retail, from the front line. I worked my way through the business. To be successful meant providing results. You get results in leadership by having a pretty good plan, ultimately executing it, but you do that through people. I think we’re in a people business, and if there’s one thing that’s served me well, it’s surrounding myself with good people.

How would you describe your return to the West Coast?

Love the West Coast. It’s home. Where I like to spend time is with my wife and son. Like most West Coasters, we love to be outdoors, enjoy nature, whether it’s hiking or cycling.

How are you finding Victoria?

Love it. Brilliant community. Love the market. Beautiful place. I love the walkability. This may be upsetting to other cities, but it’s probably the best restaurant scene of any market that I’ve seen in a long time. •

1318 Blanshard Street 250.384.4175 maycockeyecare.com

CLIENT: MAYCOCK EYECARE PUBLICATION: YAM MAGAZINE SHIPPING DATE: FEB 2023; AD SIZE: 4.94” x 9.58”

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The Virtual Waiting Roo During the pandemic, telemedicine connected us with our doctors when we were disconnected from everyone else. Now it’s changed health care forever.

BY KEN WINCHESTER

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he pandemic didn’t create telemedicine, but it accelerated virtual health care dramatically by breaking down barriers to accessibility.

By 2020, according to the provincial Ministry of Health, virtual care services in B.C. had reached 684,059 “visits.” This number jumped to 13,946,806 by 2021 when COVID-19 was raging — a 1,900 per cent increase from pre-pandemic times. By comparison, there were 5,735,883 in-person visits that same year.

Telemedicine broadly refers to any type of health care delivered virtually, whether it’s through video, phone call or text. The industry can be further broken down between public-sector platforms, which connect patients to their family physicians, and private-sector platforms, which connect patients to a qualified but random practitioner or private clinic for a one-time or annual fee.

Whether non-profit or for-profit, telemedicine offers such benefits as: Comfort and Convenience — With telemedicine, patients don’t have to drive to the doctor’s clinic, park, walk or sit in a waiting room when they’re sick. They can see a doctor from the comfort of their own living room. Virtual visits can be easier to fit into a busy schedule. Depending on a patient's schedule, they may not even have to take time from work or arrange for child care.

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Dr. Sienna Bourdon, medical director at Shoreline Medical in Brentwood, sees the future of health care as a hybrid model.

JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE

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Better Assessment — Telemedicine can give some specialty practitioners an advantage because they can see patients at home.

For example, allergists may be able to identify clues in a patient’s surroundings that cause allergies. Neurologists, and physical therapists can observe and assess a patient’s ability to navigate and take care of themselves at home. Telemedicine is also a good way to get mental health counselling, its most popular use.

Family Connections — When consulting with a doctor, it’s always good to have a family member who can help provide information, ask questions and take notes of the doctor’s answers. If that person lives out of town, or even across the country, telemedicine can loop the family member in on virtual visits.

Primary Care and Chronic Condition Management — Regular visits with primary care practitioners — such as those specializing in family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics — are essential to a family’s health. Telemedicine makes it easier to connect with a doctor or nurse practitioner. Some systems are set up so that new patients can get an appointment with the next available practitioner, which can save time.

This all sounds rosy, but some experts question the ongoing level of demand for these services post-pandemic, and also call for the industry to be more tightly regulated. Doctors aren’t universally on board either. Some say telehealth dilutes the in-person relationship between provider and patient. Others say it takes away the “easier” visits like prescription renewals and minor ailments that help defray the costs of lengthier visits and diagnosing more complex issues.

The Facts and Figures Capterra, a leading software reviewer, recently sought to survey the state of telemedicine in Canada. Of 1,000 respondents, more than half had consulted their doctor using telemedicine. COVID-19 was the main driver of telemedicine use, as 89 per cent of users surveyed turned to virtual health care for the first time during the pandemic. Interestingly, only 13 per cent of those appointments were related to COVID-19 symptoms.

The majority of telemedicine users from the survey had a positive experience, with 22

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JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE

Control of Infectious Illnesses — To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, flu and other infectious diseases, doctors can use telehealth appointments to pre-screen patients. It also saves sick people from having to come into a clinic. Less exposure to other peoples’ germs helps everyone, especially those who are chronically ill, pregnant, elderly or immunocompromised.

Telehealth has become an essential part of health care for physicians like Dr. Sienna Bourdon.

84 per cent planning to continue using Canadian residents have reasonable access those services after the pandemic. Three to hospital and physician services without of four wanted to continue using telehealth paying out of pocket. with even higher frequency, a sign for the The system is not without its flaws, future of digital health in however, as anyone who Canada. has waited several weeks While two-thirds to see an ophthalmologist Canada's of virtual health care or cardiologist can attest. telemedicine patients say that their Telemedicine has enabled market was health issue was solved doctors and patients to valued at during their consultation, connect over everything telemedicine isn’t without from prescriptions to mental $4.864 billion nay-sayers. In fact, 16 in 2022 and is health to diet. Two distinct per cent of telemedicine business models have estimated to users surveyed chose not developed in response. to continue using it. Most expand at an The Non-profit Model: of those cited the lack of annual growth In the early 2000s, Sidney, physical examinations (40 B.C., had a problem: Many rate of 18.2%, per cent) and feeling more family doctors in Greater reaching comfortable seeing doctors Victoria were reaching in person (51 per cent). $18.532 billion retirement age, traditional in 2030.

The Business of walk-in clinics were shuttering their doors, and Telemedicine younger doctors simply Universal health care has couldn’t afford to live here. been the law of the land in Canada since It took Karen Morgan, then executive 1984 and is considered a fundamental director of the Saanich Peninsula Hospital right in this country. But instead of having & Healthcare Foundation, some 12 years to a single national plan, Canada has 13 raise funds for two clinics on the peninsula. provincial and territorial health care insurance plans. Under this system, all Shoreline Medical clinic opened the doors

of its first clinic in Sidney in 2016. It was a new community-based model using teambased care to ensure that patients receive reliable and timely access to health care. It has proved to be a successful approach for the Saanich Peninsula. Shoreline Medical Brentwood opened in February 2019 with the same model of care, with a team of family physicians and a walk-in clinic.

Shoreline now has 26 family doctors and also operates the only walk-in clinics on the peninsula. “Holistic” is an often overused word, but it applies to Shoreline.

Says Dr. Chris Dowler, medical director at Shoreline Sidney: “The team-based model encourages collaboration between doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and dieticians.”

But then the pandemic struck, and both clinics were forced to reimagine how to care for patients, especially walk-ins without a family doctor. Enter telemedicine.

Rather than abandoning the notion of a physical walk-in clinic, Shoreline created two virtual walk-in clinics.

Dr. Sienna Bourdon is the medical director at Shoreline Medical in Brentwood, which has 13 physicians, a nurse practitioner and a registered nurse. “We were just dabbling in virtual care before the pandemic. Then, within 48 hours, we went 100 per cent virtual. Now we’re about 50/50.” Dr. Bourdon sees the future of health care in B.C. as “hybrid care” that integrates in-person and virtual visits, with symptoms to be triaged by medical staff.

Virtual and hybrid care may also help attract physicians to Greater Victoria. B.C.’s

outdated fee-for-service model, which has people were predicting would happen over the next three to five years happened in a not kept pace with the way doctors practise, matter of six months.” is a key reason why working in primary For-profit, virtual delivery of health care has become less attractive. The new care includes 24-hour access to doctors, provincial model compensates doctors nurses and pharmacies via a computer based on time spent with a patient, the or smartphone app. Practitioners can number of patients in a doctor’s practice diagnose and treat common ailments, and their medical complexity. refer patients elsewhere and connect with “It’s a huge step in the right direction,” pharmacies. Virtual health Dr. Dowler says. “It will help care also includes behind-thephysicians with existing Rates of scenes records and booking practices justify staying in the profession.” virtual care in management systems, which schedule appointments and Canada rose The For-profit Model: bill for services.

Health care is big business from 10% in The two biggest players, in Canada. According both publicly traded and 2019 to 60% to Statistics Canada, the open to investors, are a of all health country’s telemedicine grocery chain and a phone care visits in market alone was valued company. Loblaw and Telus at $4.864 billion in 2022 2020, falling are large, deep-pocketed and is estimated to expand companies that are building back to 40% at an annual growth rate on the expertise of their in 2021. of 18.2 per cent, reaching main businesses to branch $18.532 billion in 2030. Rates out into telehealth. of virtual care in Canada Telus has been involved in this field rose from 10 per cent in 2019 to 60 per cent since 2007 and generates a staggering of all health care visits in 2020, falling back $800 million in revenue from its health to 40 per cent in 2021. As more and more operations. That compares with total private companies are jumping into this revenue of $14.7 billion for the company. market, it begs the question of whether the Loblaw has made two investments that telehealth industry will eventually become it hopes will play to the strengths of its saturated.

Shoppers Drug Mart subsidiary. (It does not There are several big commercial players share the financials of these ventures.) in B.C. “COVID-19 has broken down a lot of Telus created Telus Health with the telehealth barriers,” says Cameron Burke, $763-million purchase of Emergis Inc., a Montreal-based e-commerce and technology managing director, technology sector, at company that was an early pioneer working PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada. “What

STATEMENT ON VIRTUAL CARE FROM THE B.C. MINISTRY OF HEALTH  The Ministry of Health

recognizes the significance of virtual care in our health-care system. As we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was critical to ensuring patients received timely care while maintaining social distancing measures.

Adapting to this significant transformation necessitated a prompt response from both the ministry and health-care professionals, and … the outcomes achieved were commendable.

As we emerge from the pandemic, we understand virtual care may have limitations compared to

in-person visits. That is why we are committed to working closely with the doctors of B.C. and physicians directly to ensure we strike the right balance between in-person and virtual care to ensure we continue delivering highquality public health care to all people in British Columbia.

As part of our ongoing commitment to highquality health care, B.C.’s new physician master agreement, ratified on December 6 by 94.15 per cent of B.C. physicians, includes provisions for the creation of an independent Virtual Care Clinical Reference Group

(VCCRG). The VCCRG will provide detailed guidance on clinical practice and the appropriate balance between virtual and in-person care.

Future fees and rules for virtual care will be determined through extensive consultation with physicians, ensuring that decisions are not made unilaterally by the Medical Services Commission.

Every individual in British Columbia deserves access to high-quality public health care, whether through inperson or virtual means; our work continues.

The province continues to expand access to primary care

services at urgent and primary care clinics through our transformational team-based primary care strategy. Efforts are underway to continue to strengthen primary care networks throughout B.C. and are supported through the new physician master agreement and improvements to the compensation model as a part of B.C.’s Health Human Resources Strategy.

By providing the compensation and practice environments family doctors need, we are ensuring they can focus on providing the best possible care to their patients, all within the public system.

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with electronic health records. Another large acquisition came in 2018, when Telus spent $100 million to acquire Toronto’s Medisys Health Group Inc., which ran 30 high-end health clinics across Canada.

Telus is cross-promoting its Babylon health care services, acquired in 2021, to its 10 million wireless mobile customers, encouraging them to download its health care app, which is free and links patientsʼ to doctors who are available evenings and weekends. These doctors can prescribe drugs by phone or video and help with referrals. The software also helps doctors manage appointments and store patient records. In most provinces, government health care plans cover these costs.

Not to be outdone, Loblaw has been busy building its health care strategy. In 2020, it made a $75-million investment in Maple Corp., a promising telemedicine startup. The investment follows a trial in which Loblaw-owned Shoppers Drug Mart tested a Maple app and related services. This included virtual consultations through the Shoppers website for medical issues such as skin problems, allergies and infections.

Recently, Loblaw announced a partnership with the company League,

a start-up that has developed an app similar to Telus’ Babylon. League's PC Health app enables live chats with nurses, dietitians and others who can refer users to doctors, mental health support clinicians and vision care specialists.

Loblaw’s 2019 annual report talks about its strategy, which includes Medeo, a technology that connects health care providers with patients online. Loblaw also has an electronic medical records platform called Accuro EMR that’s available to more than 15,000 health care providers.

“Care Is Care”

Whether nonprofit or for-profit, we’re fortunate here in B.C., as our provincial health plan covers almost all telemedicine. In other parts of Canada, a televisit may cost $60 and up; more on weekends. Specialists such as psychiatrists or dietitians may cost even more. So, despite budget woes, and a scarcity of doctors, nurses and walk-in clinics, telemedicine is here to stay.

It doesn’t replace in-person care, but it’s as important a tool as an X-ray or stethoscope. Will Falk, a policy expert on digital health, sums it up best: “Care is care. Virtual care is no longer an adjunct therapy.”•

The State of Telemedicine in Canada 5 0% of people had consulted their doctor using telemedicine. 8 9% of users turned to virtual health care for the first time during the pandemic. 1 3% of virtual consultations were related to COVID-19 symptoms. 5 0+% of telemedicine users had a positive experience. 8 4% of users are planning to continue using those services. 3 /4 of users will continue to use telehealth. 2 /3 of patients say that their health issue was solved during their consultation.

Source: Capterra

BUSINESS PROFILE

MAYFAIR OPTOMETRIC CLINIC Introducing the new Clarus 500 Imaging System

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r. Taylor and his associates are excited to announce the latest upgrade to their in-office medical imaging capabilities — the Zeiss Clarus 500 Ultra Widefield Fundus Camera.

This advanced Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) instrument allows quick and painless diagnosis of a wide variety of eye health concerns through capturing high-definition pictures of the vitreous, retina, macula and optic nerve. The 3D images enable doctors to see even subtle changes inside your eyes, including some conditions with no symptoms.

When you combine state-of-the-art technology with the extraordinary expertise at Mayfair Optometric Clinic, you can “live your life with happy eyes.”

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

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BUSINESS PROFILE

DL SOUND Making Vancouver Island’s best events happen since 1984

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ounded nearly 40 years ago by Doug Lyngard, Victoria-based DL Sound is a team of passionate sound engineers, lighting designers, monitor techs and crew with years of local and international experience creating unforgettable concerts, tours, events and festivals. The company’s blend of techs and extensive sound, lighting and LED video wall equipment inventory has fostered its local reputation of outstanding live entertainment production.

“There is a lot of work, precision planning and hours that go into what we do; for some festivals, we start planning and designing months out, but it’s all worth it to see attendees smiling, creating unforgettable memories and adding value to the arts, music and culture scene of Vancouver Island,” says Lyngard.

DL Sound took on their greatest feat to date during the triumphant return of the 2022 Rifflandia Music Festival. With over 40,000 attendees across the 4-day festival, the pressure was on! The crew tackled the six stages and several lighting activations across the massive Electric Avenue site. DL Sound provided all the equipment for the Electric Avenue site, along with crew, sound and lighting technicians that mixed for heavy-weight headliners Dillon Francis, Rêve, DJ Diesel (Shaquille O’Neal), Whipped Cream, The Funk Hunters, Chali 2NA and Cut Chemist (to name a few).

DL Sound’s client roster stretches across the Island, with events such as The Phillips Brewery Backyard, Filberg Festival, Sunfest, the Victoria Ska Festival, Spot Prawn Festival, Colwood’s Eats and Beats Beach Party, Strathcona Hotel, among many others. The company also provides production services for private, civic and corporate events such as Brink Events, 17 Black, The Good Party, Seaspan, Car Free YYJ, expos and conventions.

In addition, DL Sound works with the community to provide internships, mentoring and hands-on experience to develop relevant skills and jump-start future technicians’ and production assistants’ careers in the live entertainment sector.

The team’s dedication to quality as well as its vast inventory makes DL Sound Vancouver Island’s most trusted and reliable full-service production company.

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Learn more about DL Sound on their Instagram and website, or say hello the next time you see them at an event.

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Kyle Michell is a sixth generation farmer, but now he’s adding value to his Saanich Peninsula fields by malting wheat and barley for local craft breweries and distilleries.

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Saanich Farmers Face the Future Family traditions combine with creative land use, innovative technology and sheer grit to keep local agriculture thriving.

BY ANDREW FINDLAY PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY BOSDET

O

nce dirt gets under the fingernails, it stays there — sometimes for generations. Planting season is underway at Field Five Farm in Saanichton. Kyle Michell kicks at a clump of dark brown soil then looks out at roughly 150 acres tilled in arrow-straight furrows. Come late summer, this field will be ripe with wheat and barley ready for harvesting. Then begins the year-long process of malting between 250 and 400 tonnes of grain that will end up in the beer of more than a dozen craft breweries, and the whisky at nearby Devine Distillery and other spirit makers.

“I’m a sixth generation farmer,” Michell says.

“We’ve been farming on the Saanich Peninsula for more than a century.”

In the late 1880s, Michell’s great-great-great grandfather Thomas Michell sailed from the U.K. to North America. In search of opportunity, he eventually landed on the Saanich Peninsula, drawn by the fertile land, sea breezes and the Mediterranean-like climate. He planted wheat and vegetables and raised cows and other livestock. He did what you did to make a living from the land and raise a family.

Like a lot of settlers, the pioneering Michells saw sunny Saanich as a breadbasket. It still is. But a century of land development, urbanization and soaring real estate prices hasn’t made the business of farming any easier.

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“There’s something about growing and creating with your hands that’s very satisfying.”

Farming Ain’t What it Used to Be Even though it’s in his blood, farming hasn’t always been Kyle Michell’s calling. A family excavating business got so busy that they let the fields go fallow for a time. In 2010, Michell dabbled back in agriculture, planting wheat on a 10-acre field. By 2020, he was done with the construction business.

It prompted a full-time move back to the land just when he and his wife Jennifer realized growing wheat alone wouldn’t be enough to pay the bills.

“We knew we’d have to do something value-added,” Michell says.

A meeting a few years earlier with beer guru Mike Doehnel, who would become their business partner, prompted the idea of getting into malting. This is the process of soaking, drying and activating enzymes in grains to create malt, one of the four basic ingredients of beer.

As the economy shut down during the pandemic, the newfound partners got 28

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busy designing a malting machine that would vastly reduce water consumption. At the same time, they leaned on the metal fabricating skills of Jennifer’s family, which owns Saanich boat-building company Titan Boats.

“We invested about $1 million. It was a little scary,” Michell says.

But the pivot was perfectly timed. The craft brewing industry was booming, and, coming out of the pandemic, the demand for locally sourced ingredients was high.

“So far we’ve malted enough wheat to make a million litres of five per cent beer,” says Kyle. “There’s something about growing and creating with your hands that’s very satisfying.”

Food Security vs. Soaring Real Estate

For relative newcomers to farming like Katie Underwood, owner of Peas nʼ Carrots Farm, a two-acre plot of leased land, owning her own chunk of dirt isn’t even a remote dream. Vancouver Island is an expensive

place to farm. By virtue of being an island, it’s remote by agriculture standards. That means farm supplies are more expensive.

So is farmland in such an urbanized region.

Since 2007, the price of farmland has soared in Canada by 132 per cent. In 2019 alone, Vancouver Islandʼs agricultural land prices jumped 13 per cent, the highest per-acre price increase in B.C. Finding farm labour is also a big challenge in one of the country’s least affordable urban areas.

Not long ago, the Island was surprisingly food self-sufficient. As recently as the 1950s, Island farmers supplied 85 per cent of our food needs. Today more than 90 per cent of our food comes from somewhere else. Like elsewhere, Island farmers are aging, and pondering retirement. In 1931, one in three Canadians lived on a farm; today it’s less than two per cent. Nearly half of Canadian farmers say that off-farm employment is their main source of income. This all adds up to a worrisome trend for people

Kyle Michell has already malted enough grain to make a million litres of beer — a boon to craft brewers who want to feature local ingredients.

interested in food security.

It’s planting season and feeding time at Peas n’ Carrots Farm on Prospect Lake Road. A flock of chickens cluck loudly as farm owner Katie Underwood enters the run with a pail of feed. Since 2020, she has been growing up to 35 kinds of vegetables and raising chickens. She sells produce and eggs at her own small farmstand and at the North Saanich Farm Market. In addition, her Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, program is fully subscribed. CSAs enable consumers to pay up front for a weekly box delivery of fresh produce throughout the harvest season. It’s a win-win; small-scale farmers get needed early season cash flow and customers receive a weekly box delivery of locally produced, GMO- and chemical-free food delivered to their front door.

Planting, harvesting, fixing the irrigation system, mending a rickety wheelbarrow, loading the truck to bursting for the trip to the farmers’ market or to make CSA box deliveries — it seems like a farmer’s day is never done. Yet Underwood laughs when asked if Peas n’ Carrots generates enough for her to live on.

“I pull weeds on other farms, clean houses, wash boats and work as a graphic designer,” she says. “I have to supplement my farm with all kinds of work.”

It’s a labour of love and Underwood takes it all in stride with a good sense of humour.

She belongs to a vanguard of young farmers for whom the values of food security and sustainability are at least as important as keeping the farm in the black.

Land-Matching Farmers and Landowners Underwood had to get creative when pursuing her one-woman, small-scale farming dream. She admits she wouldn’t be farming — at least not on the Saanich Peninsula — if not for a land-matching program run by the Young Agrarians, an arm of the Agrarians Foundation that promotes agriculture Canada-wide.

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“I pull weeds on other farms, clean houses, wash boats and work as a graphic designer.

I have to supplement my farm with all kinds of work.”

At Peas n’ Carrots Farm, Katie Underwood grows up to 35 different vegetables and raises chickens, but had to get creative to make her business work.

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Young Agrarians support ecologically minded farmers and one of the most effective ways they do this is through land matching. This program pairs farmers with communityminded landowners sitting on fallow farmland that they’re keen to get back into production. Farmers pay a nominal lease for the land. The landowner gets a property tax benefit, the feel-good factor of supporting small scale farming and often a fresh supply of produce.

“Land access is the number one challenge identified by new farmers. The cost of land and production has increased significantly over the past decades, and new farmers are increasingly coming from nonfarming backgrounds,” says Darcy Smith, who manages the B.C. land-matching program.

“Vancouver Island is our busiest land-matcher region.

One-third of all of our inquiries have come from the Island,” Smith says. “There’s lots of interest in Saanich, both from landholders and farmers. It’s a great location for farmers due to its proximity to markets.”

Since its launch nearly five years ago, Young Agrarians has made 79 matches, totaling 220 acres in the Vancouver Island/Gulf Islands region. Twenty-seven of those matches have occurred on coveted farmland in the Capital Regional District.

Political support for farming and

young farmers like Underwood is getting increasing support on the South Island.

For the past several years CRFAIR (Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable) has been promoting the idea of a Food and Farmland Trust. Public funds would be used to buy and preserve agricultural land and stimulate farming in the Capital Region District. Increasingly, the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), which emerged from the 1973 Agricultural Land Commission Act as a response to the loss of farmland, has proven to be an imperfect solution — great for securing land, but not great for promoting growing and cultivation.

With more than a half-dozen municipalities and a regional district around the table, talks take time.

In the meantime, the District of North Saanich forged ahead unilaterally on an agriculture boosting project after acquiring 205 acres of ALR land. The property on Glamorgan Road was the home of Sandown Harness Raceway for 50 years, which closed for good in the early 2000s. In the fall of 2020, the district signed a 10-year deal with the non-profit The Circular Farm and Food Society to operate the farm. The following year, the property was relaunched as the Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture. The centre’s signature “farmpreneur” program offers new farmers up to two acres of south-facing land, shared

tools, storage, marketing support and mentorship.

A similar story of agricultural renewal unfolded at Haliburton Farm near Cordova Bay two decades ago. At the time, the Capital Regional District wanted to sell the nine-acre former farm to create a dense residential development. The scheme was met with vociferous opposition. It triggered the formation in 2001 of the Land for Food Coalition, a group that partnered with the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs to pitch the idea of converting the land back to agriculture. Their idea for a community-focused farm got traction and the CRD agreed to sell the parcel to the District of Saanich for $400,000. In 2004, farmers started working on this land that had sat fallow for 30 years. Today, five farm businesses, including Teto Farm, Fuller Farm Organics and Heartbeet Market Garden, lease plots of land from the Haliburton Community Organic Farm Society and co-market their produce at farmers’ markets and the Haliburton farmstand.

“I was a tenant farmer, like 90 per cent of the farmers on the Saanich Peninsula. It’s a very different farming community here,” says Shellie MacDonald, a board member with the Haliburton society. “The economics of small-scale farming on an island are difficult.”

MacDonald recently retired from full-time farming but remains actively involved in local agriculture as a consultant for new farm start-ups. She says Haliburton is important for both experienced farmers needing access to land and new farmers looking for experience. Katie Underwood, of Peas n’ Carrots, says she learned a lot about farming working the dirt at Elemental Farm, a former leaseholder at Haliburton, before starting her own small farm.

“Haliburton has been part of the community for 20-plus years. I’d say of the 23 farm businesses that have operated here over the years, 20 are still in business,” MacDonald says.

But not every ag-based business is small scale and traditional. Like Field Five, EIO Diagnostics was born in a barn. A previous Douglas 10 to Watch winner, EIO has successfully married tech and agriculture.

The company developed a solution for the early detection of mastitis, which costs the dairy industry millions of dollars each year. Mastitis is an udder infection in dairy animals: cows, goats, sheep, any creatures that can be milked. EIO uses a combination of imaging and machine learning to do a non-invasive and more affordable diagnosis of these infections.

Says Tamara Leigh, CEO and co-founder: “There’s been this whole realm of precision agriculture technology in crops.” •

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MAKING THE MOST OF LINKEDIN LinkedIn isn't just Facebook for your career. It's the best way to make connections, learn new skills and even find your next job. But it only works if you use it right. Here's how.

BY SHANNON MONEO

W

hether you're a marketing executive at a major company, a small business owner or a college student looking for their first job, LinkedIn is for anybody who's interested in taking their professional life more seriously, by looking for new opportunities to grow their careers and to connect with other professionals.

It’s been 20 years since LinkedIn was launched in California’s Silicon Valley by co-founder Reid Hoffman. Today, it has more than 875 million members in over 200 countries. As remote work becomes a way of life, LinkedIn’s power to reach employers and employees anywhere is worth harnessing.

Where to start? Most of us in business have a LinkedIn profile. Some have hundreds of connections, perhaps adding contacts as they do new clothing. For others, it’s obvious they were told to create a profile and, other than a few connections, their page is nominal. Then there are those who use the application

for a portion of its wide-reaching potential. But why not get truly linked in?

Because LinkedIn is targeted to business professionals and isn’t a socialtype network, its value for job hunters and headhunters can’t be underestimated.

LinkedIn’s mission is basic: connect the world’s professionals to make them more successful.

To do that, LinkedIn offers various tools to cultivate connections. They’re grouped in four categories: Hire, Market, Sell and Learn, where platforms like Recruiter, Jobs, Talent Insights and B2B marketing are also available. Spending a bit of time exploring LinkedIn will reveal just how deep a user can dive.

LinkedIn for Marketing and Recruitment Jelly Marketing in Fort Langley is a shining example. Jelly is a self-described team of high-energy go-getters, storytellers and experts in all things digital. Founding partner Darian Kovacs has been using LinkedIn for roughly a decade and considers it his channel of choice.

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“I’ve made many connections that have helped me in my business,” says Kovacs. Other social channels offer different, not competing, experiences, he says. When Kovacs is weary, he logs onto non-demanding Instagram; TikTok is for entertainment; Facebook is a way to connect with family and friends. But LinkedIn is where he gets a new perspective on business life. It's where he can be challenged, where he learns, where he finds the staff he needs and the experts he respects.ts.

Celebrating 10 years in business in May, Kovacs says that during the last three years Jelly Marketing has evolved in its hiring practices. “We are more apt to check someone’s LinkedIn than a resumé,” he says. The allimportant LinkedIn profile can be created with assistance from LinkedIn itself, which can supply tips and walk one through the process, Kovacs says. And a well-executed profile page can surpass a resumé. Education, job history, special skills and knowledge can all be highlighted.

The profile should be complete, which means a background image, quality headshot, compelling headline, summary, detailed experience and education, skills and other relevant categories are covered. But while it’s similar to a resumé, don’t simply cut and paste your resumé on to a LinkedIn profile. Add that personal touch that will make it stand out and attract visitors.

Show some personality. Bland and traditional won’t get attention.

Kovacs is also a fan of video content, which he posts often. “It’s great if you don’t like writing,” he says. As well, LinkedIn, which was purchased by Microsoft in 2016 for $26.2 billion, puts a lot of value on vibrant video content.

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“LinkedIn Learning is one of its best features. There’s loads of courses.

In fact LinkedIn Learning is one of the largest online content providers, currently offering more than 18,000 courses, in 20-plus languages.”

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An Educational Ecosystem Related to LinkedIn’s video content is LinkedIn Learning, which made a big leap in 2015 when LinkedIn bought Lynda.com, a provider of quality learning videos for professionals. “LinkedIn Learning is one of its best features. There’s loads of courses,” Kovacs says. In fact, LinkedIn Learning is one of the largest online content providers, currently offering more than 18,000 courses, in 20-plus languages. Simulations, evaluations and hands-on training are available. “It’s an educational ecosystem.”

And in a symbiotic environment, when one takes a LinkedIn Learning course, they can add it to their LinkedIn profile. Kovacs says such micro-credentials are becoming increasingly valued by employers. In fact, a list of verified courses is becoming just as important as a university degree, he says.

“Courses are the Lego bricks in learning,” Kovacs says.

But how does one ensure that what’s on a LinkedIn profile is accurate and not falsified? Kovacs says LinkedIn actively counters fraud. LinkedIn Learning courses can only be listed after evaluation by the LinkedIn system. As for claims regarding educational institutions, a LinkedIn user can check their connections to see if they know someone at the institutions in question and obtain verification via their contacts.

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Build Connections, Not Just Traffic Once the profile is shining, build a targeted network. Some users only connect with people they know, but that defeats LinkedIn’s purpose. A user needs to connect with those they do not know so they can make fresh connections that lead to clients or employees, mentors or employers.

To connect with a desired contact, Kovacs advises looking at existing connections to D O U G L AS

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CPAs are your greatest business allies in this changing world.

see if they are connected to the target. If so, get them to assist with an introduction. Each time you see the “2nd” beside a name, that means you share one or more connections with that person.

Prospective connections include former colleagues, classmates, industry peers and, importantly, decision makers and influencers at desired workplaces. Having those connections can also mean a headsup when it comes to job postings. And conversations with connections, however brief, should be ongoing.

Yet one surprising aspect of LinkedIn, according to the Pew Research Center, is that average users spend only 17 minutes on LinkedIn per month. To really make LinkedIn work, one recommendation is to use it at least four days a week for about 20 minutes each day. Many of us spend much more time on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok each day. Kovacs recommends creating at least one post per week. “Get into a habit. Put ideas out there, something you’ve learned, a business thought. Make LinkedIn a healthy habit.”

Activity can include posting an article that adds value to your network, an update that offers advice or asks a question that generates a valuable response, a photo with a clever caption or a shout-out to connections. But don’t share Facebooktype content. This is a professional site.

Published content should amplify your expertise, not diminish it. If you search your name online and have a LinkedIn profile, it’s often one of the top five results. So, a polished profile and postings are a must.

Goofy or insulting posts can be harmful to your prospects. Be graciously bold, but not rudely provocative.

To find employees, Kovacs says Jelly posts jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed. He praises LinkedIn’s jobs section, which uses screening tools to filter and prioritize qualified candidates and reach a vast array of people.

If you are contacted by people or companies you don’t know, in faraway places, don’t be surprised. That’s normal.

Use good manners with those who are professional, but spammers who send automated messages should be deleted or even reported to LinkedIn. There is an irritating aspect to LinkedIn where someone will want to connect and once you do, they will direct message you with sales’ pitches even before a relationship has been nurtured. As well, don’t use the automated messaging tools. They reduce a user to a clone, mouthing the same trite phrases as others relying on automation.

When business professor Brock Smith thinks about LinkedIn, he says that the platform can be very helpful. “These tools are an opportunity to develop a portfolio that better presents an employee. You

LinkedIn is a business. In 2022, its annual revenue exceeded US$13.8 billion, which was a 34% jump from 2021.

can find matches between employee and employer quicker,” says Smith, a marketing/ entrepreneurship professor at the University of Victoria.

Unlike several years ago, when perhaps 50 interviews were conducted for a job, the use of LinkedIn can narrow the choices to 10 or fewer, he says. But because the best jobs out there remain highly competitive, a job seeker needs to be memorable and one way to achieve this is via personal branding.

A LinkedIn profile should answer certain questions. What does the employer want?

What makes you interesting? What can you do for others? How do you work with others?

Who is in your network/connections? What are your core beliefs? “You have to stand out from the rest of the crowd and have clarity of what you stand for,” Smith recommends.

But remember, LinkedIn is a business.

In 2022, its annual revenue exceeded US$13.8 billion, which was a 34 per cent jump from 2021. To get the most out of LinkedIn, consider accessing the user pay model, via LinkedIn’s different tiers.

Canadian users pay around $40 per month for Careers, about $48 per month for Business, $65 per month for Sales Navigator and $100 per month for Recruiter Lite.

If you don’t pay, LinkedIn support is meagre, which is why there are dozens of LinkedIn “specialists” or contractors out there who will help you fill in your gaps.

LinkedIn’s main customers are in the sales, marketing, human resources and recruiting domains. If you’re not in those fields, you are in effect the product that LinkedIn is selling to those customers.

Which is why platform changes serve those customers. When LinkedIn says it’s “improving the user experience,” it’s trying to make users more active, which in turn is good for ad sales.

At Jelly Marketing, LinkedIn is a valued and evolving tool, for hiring, for education, for building connections. “It continues to surprise us,” says Kovacs. •

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LIFE + STYLE

TAKE A SEAT

What to look for in an ergonomic office chair.

If you have a desk job, you know the strain that sitting for seven or more hours a day can put on a body. Cheap office chairs make you feel like you’ve been crammed into an economy seat on a cross-country flight, but quality office chairs upgrade you to first class — they’re designed to support your body for the long haul.

Ergonomics is the study of work design that aims to reduce physical strain on workers while they are completing their tasks.

Ergonomists consider both mental health and environmental factors when designing ergonomic products to reduce injury risk and improve overall comfort levels for employees.

Ergonomic office chairs consider lumbar support, spinal alignment, body pressure points and weight distribution in order to help you feel comfortable. In addition, ergonomic chairs allow natural movement without your body becoming restricted by the seat or armrests.

An ergonomically designed chair can help to reduce the risk of common workplace injuries such as neck, shoulder and back pain, and boost your productivity for improved performance.

According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, an ergonomic chair is defined thus: “A chair becomes ergonomic only when it suits a workerʼs size, their particular workstation, and the tasks that must be performed there.”

Traditional task chairs are designed to help keep you comfortable at a desk for shorter periods, assuming you stand and move around the office. Ergonomic chairs go beyond simple comfort by promoting proper posture for those who sit for long periods of time.

The most important advice, says Caitlin McKenzie of Monk Office, is to try several chairs in person for three things: fit and comfort; quality materials; and a solid warranty. •

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 Backrest. The backrest of an

ergonomic office chair should be 12 to 19 inches wide. It should support the natural curve of the spine, with special attention paid to proper support of the lumbar region. If the chair has the seat and backrest as one piece, the backrest should be adjustable in both forward and back angles, with a locking mechanism to secure it from going too far backward.

 Armrests. Office chair armrests

should be adjustable, up, down and sideways. They should allow the user's arms to rest comfortably and shoulders to be relaxed. The elbows and lower arms should rest lightly, and the forearms should not be on the armrests while typing.

 Lumbar support.

Lower back support in an ergonomic chair is key. The lumbar spine has an inward curve, and sitting for long periods without support for this curve leads to slouching and strains the lower spine.

An ergonomic chair should have a lumbar adjustment (both height and depth) so each user can get the proper fit to support the inward curve of the lower back.

 Material. The material on the seat and back should have enough padding or flex to be comfortable for extended periods of time. A mesh fabric that breathes is usually preferable to a harder surface.

 Swivel. Both conventional and

 Height. Easily reached controls

should allow you to raise and lower the chair depending on your task.

Better chairs have pistons that allow you to adjust the height while seated. A seat height between 15 to 22 inches will fit most people.

ergonomic chairs should easily rotate and roll so the user can reach different areas of his or her desk without strain.

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LIFE + STYLE

A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN A new destination for after-work socials?

Fathom that.

TIRED OF the same old after-work bars and restaurants? Catch a fresh new vibe at the newly renovated Fathom restaurant and lounge, nestled in the iconic Grand Pacific Hotel. The restaurant is modern and airy; the lounge cozy and intimate. Chef Peter Kim’s menu is “seafood forward” and

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Lake Cowichan Honeymoon Bay Duncan

Maple Bay

Sidney

Port Renfrew

Victoria The Pacific Marine Circle Route is a scenic drive that lets you put your car or motorbike through its paces.

Sooke

eclectic. But the real treat is one of the best whisky collections in the city, carefully curated for both curious rookies and seasoned connoisseurs.

Says chef Kim: “There is no such thing as perfection.” But Fathom comes pretty darn close. •

Take your next break on the circle route.

THE PACIFIC MARINE CIRCLE ROUTE meanders from Victoria along the coast to Port Renfrew, north to Lake Cowichan, east to Duncan, then back to the city — a long weekend’s trip. But a popular day trip is the leisurely drive from Victoria to Sooke (about 45 minutes). Take a break to explore “where the rainforest meets the sea,” stretch your legs with a trek to the geological wonder that is the Sooke Potholes or set out on a scenic shoreline walk along Whiffin Spit — a long, beachy finger extending between Sooke Harbour and Juan de Fuca Strait. For something faster-paced, you can go ziplining, set out on a fishing charter, or sample the award-winning spirits at Sheringham Distillery. Sooke is also home to local haunts like the Stick in the Mud Coffee House, the 17 Mile House Pub (its namesake is the distance from Victoria’s City Hall) or the café Shirley Delicious. • D O U G L AS

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BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

PRODUCTIVITY

CAROLINE SEGONNES

INTEL

Mia Maki is an associate dean, faculty outreach, at the Gustavson School of Business at UVic; a professor of finance, accounting and entrepreneurship; and a principal at Quimper Consulting.

Maki has helped raise over $50 million for international initiatives, including acquisitions, strategic partnerships and joint subsidiary creation projects.

Export AS A SCALING STRATEGY Seeking new markets can grow your business — and help your country.

Exporting your product or service can be an effective growth strategy, and the government is here to help.

Why? Because it’s in Canada’s best interest to support you in reaching new markets.

Exporting contributes to Canada’s economy by increasing the amount of goods produced, which in turn leads to job creation, increased tax revenue and a boost to the overall GDP. It facilitates innovation by exposing entrepreneurs to new ideas and best practices from other countries, driving the development of new products that are more competitive in global markets.

Exporting can help raise the profile of a country’s “brand” in international markets, thereby attracting foreign investment, tourism and other opportunities.

It can even have diplomatic benefits by strengthening relationships between countries.  PRO TIP: Export Development Canada (EDC) has excellent resources for business. EDC, a federal Crown corporation, was created in 1944. Its purpose: “Make

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Canada and the world better through trade.”

For entrepreneurs this means that you have a group of skilled and knowledgeable civil servants who are there to support your export goals and dreams. EDC does this through a suite of support tools, including: • Credit insurance: This protects your business in the event of nonpayment by your customers. It helps you access more credit through your bank, and allows you to offer competitive payment terms to customers.

I used this service as a chief financial officer when our company decided to distribute its products directly, all around the world, rather than work through our existing American distributor. It required setting up a network of individual distribution companies and customers in different countries, quickly and without any payment history. EDC insured our accounts receivable for a small fee, which increased our ability to access our line of credit (assurance for the bank for those receivables). Essentially, it was a guarantee to be paid for these shipments, by the customers or by EDC. • Direct lending: EDC has a high tolerance for risk, backed by experience all over the world. This allows them to lend to foreign initiatives more easily than a traditional bank. A great local example is DeeBee’s Organics, which secured $500,000 in EDC financing to expand into the U.S. But it’s not just about the money.

“EDC has been one of DeeBee’s biggest supporters,” says Dionne Laslo-Baker, DeeBee’s CEO. “They took a chance on us in the early days. Now, by guaranteeing a percentage of our loans, our bank has greater confidence in lending higher amounts of money. This has helped accelerate DeeBee’s already exponential growth.”

 PRO TIP: Try the massive market due south.

The United States has approximately 11 times the economy of Canada based on GDP, and eight times the potential consumer market. Whatever measure we choose, the United States represents a significant opportunity. And, geographically, it’s just next door.

Legal, Tax and Other Considerations Before exporting your product, there are several things to consider: • The customer: Your new, foreign customers will be different from your existing customers.

Be prepared to navigate language and cultural differences. This may involve product testing in the new locale, hiring local staff, working with translators and possibly hiring cultural consultants.

• Distribution channels: Rather than establishing your own bricks-and-mortar store, consider working with a distributor, using an e-commerce platform and employing third-party warehouse and shipping services.

• Logistics: Transportation costs, as well as customs requirements, can add up. Do your research and find the right fit for your product or service.

• Legal and regulatory issues: Find a knowledgeable lawyer who can identify risks, including intellectual property rights, safety standards, labelling, hiring practices and banking regulations in the new market. A few hours with an experienced lawyer is your ounce of prevention.

• Accounting and taxes: Similarly, spending some time with a knowledgeable accountant can save you money in the long run. In addition to income taxes, information on duty, transfer pricing, sales taxes, payroll taxes and withholding taxes on dividends are crucial to understand.

Finally, talk to other entrepreneurs. They can help you find the right legal and tax advisers, identify risks and areas for further research, and connect you to the right people, here or abroad.

And remember, when you export, you are also contributing to Canada’s economic growth. It’s a win-win-win for you, your country and your trading partners. •

TECHNOLOGY

• Education and counsel: Access to EDC representatives is free, and their educational programs are practical and worth the time and cost.

Observes Jill Doucette, founder and CEO of Synergy Enterprises: “EDC was fundamental in building our capacity to access international markets. The Trade Accelerator Program, Trade Commissioner Services and CanExport were game-changers for us. We have now received international investment, and work in multiple countries.”

Shannon Moneo is a graduate of the University of Regina’s journalism program and has been writing since 2001. After living in 16 cities, towns and villages in five provinces, she has made Sooke her home since 1992.

Scary Good: A HUMAN DISCUSSION ABOUT CHATGPT Artificial intelligence is infiltrating our lives in ways we realize and don’t realize. Is it hype or hope?

In November 2022, San Francisco-based OpenAI released its first version of ChatGPT, which by the following April had morphed into ChatGPT4. Within five days of its launch, it drew more than one million users and by January became the fastest-growing app of all time, with 100 million active users.

Once you’ve created an account and downloaded the app, it’s disarmingly easy to use. It can generate, edit and interact with users employing both creative and technical writing. It can compose a song, write a screenplay, or teach a course. Just type in a statement or request, and follow the system’s various prompts.

But as something of a rhetorical question, does a business need ChatGPT (an acronym for Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer)? Businesses have already been using AI for years by doing a Google or Bing search, asking Alexis or Siri a question or interacting with an online assistant. One Victoria brewery that used ChatGPT to write product descriptions and social media posts went further, using it to formulate a recipe for a pale ale. And ChatGPT’s value in medical research and health care cannot be ignored.

Yet, this wildly popular app is not without flaws.

ChatGPT itself admits it can give wrong answers: “Yes, language models can generate incorrect answers,” says the app. “However, they can be trained to become more accurate over time.”

The Human Touch ChatGPT uses RLHF (reinforcement learning from human feedback, so ergo, it’s only as good as the guidance it gets via artificial conversations. Crucial to its correctness is the ability, and even world view, of the human trainer: “The accuracy of a language model depends on the quality of the data it is trained on and the skill of the person who is training it.”

OpenAI is already facing defamation lawsuits by those whose reputations have been sullied due to D O U G L AS

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incorrect information. Others are concerned about privacy. And stories of university cheaters and criminal acts, particularly cybercrime, are flourishing.

ChatGPT is not limited to answering questions, such as, “Who is Premier David Eby?,” which, by the way, supplied an incorrect answer because training data stopped in 2021.

Its greater strength lies in its ability to write code that can generate scripts and functions based on instructions. It can supply detailed explanations for complex subjects; it can solve thorny mathematical problems; it can compose musical lyrics; it can write text and even poetry in different styles.

Victoria Realtor Jane Johnston used an artificial intelligence program to generate copy for a golf course listing and amidst the copy was a factual mistake. Johnston, with RE/MAX Camosun, also tested AI by using it to introduce new partners. “I found it a bit generic, lacking the human touch,” she says. “It’s not particularly original.”

The Call for a Moratorium

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D O U G L AS

Johnston notes that if someone is having writer’s block and cannot put words to a page, AI-generated copy provides a great starting point. “But I wouldn’t rely on it,” she says.

In a December 2022 tweet, Elon Musk, who was one of the founders of OpenAI, wrote, “ChatGPT is scary good. We are not far from dangerously strong AI.” But by late March 2023, Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and hundreds of other tech experts called for a stop to the training of AI systems for at least six months due to “profound risks to society and humanity.”

On the flip side, Bill Gates believes ChatGPT can provide workers with more free time by making them more efficient, teaching highlevel math and providing medical guidance. It can make the work of white-collar and health care employees easier.

At the University of Victoria, artificial intelligence expert Homayoun Najjaran likens AI, such as ChatGPT, as the ongoing process to create machines that will make jobs easier.

“Some people may become irrelevant. Some may become more relevant,” says Najjaran, a professor of mechanical engineering. “Maybe in 10 years, I will be irrelevant. So, I have to change the way I teach.”

He admits apps like ChatGPT will likely eliminate some jobs. Research indicates whitecollar work is most at risk, including tasks done by lawyers and computer programmers. So, knowing how to use ChatGPT could be a job saver.

Inventions like ChatGPT are not the first

A Robot WROTE THIS

We asked ChatGPT to weigh in on the question of job security for humans.

“Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to automate certain tasks and make some jobs obsolete. However, it’s important to note that AI is not a replacement for human workers. Instead, it can complement and enhance their work, freeing up time for more valuable tasks and improving productivity.

“While some jobs may become automated in the future, new jobs will also emerge as a result of technological advancements. AI requires humans to develop, maintain, and program it, which means there will be a need for people with the necessary skills and knowledge to work alongside it.

“It’s important to adapt to changes in the job market by learning new skills and staying up-to-date with the latest technological developments. By doing so, individuals can ensure they remain relevant and valuable in the workforce, regardless of changes brought about by AI.”

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tools that generate answers and lighten the load. There was the abacus, then the slide rule, then handheld calculators, then desk computers, then smartphones, all geared to increasing efficiency and, in some cases, freeing people from doing dangerous or menial work, Najjaran says. “Go back 200 years, where a huge building project may have had one engineer and 20,000 workers.

Today, it would be 200 engineers, 200 workers and 3,000 machines.”

And if ChatGPT can allow someone doing a dead-end job to learn new skills that enables them to get a better-paying job, is that not good for society? If efficiency can be increased tenfold or if research can be done faster, is that not beneficial?

Yet, from the waterwheel to Jacquard’s weaving loom to an assembly-line robot, inventions that can be programmed still need a human behind them. “There is no connection between AI and nature. We need a bridge. The first touch has to come from humans, the human connection,” Najjaran says.

As for the chance ChatGPT and its ilk will become like HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Najjaran believes, “Good or evil, it’s in our hands. You cannot say, stop building tools because it’s dangerous. A hammer is a tool, but it too can be dangerous.” •

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Erin Skillen is the founder of content4good, where she collaborates with businesses and organizations to foster employee engagement and well-being, diversity, equity and inclusion, and empathic leadership.

Becoming a B Corp is good for business.

Besides, it’s the right thing to do.

In 1970, American economist Milton Friedman famously declared that a corporation’s greatest social responsibility was to its shareholders and generating the most profit possible for them. This theory, known as the Friedman Doctrine, became the norm for capitalism as we know it today, relegating most social and environmental concerns to the purview of government, nonprofits and charities.

Stakeholders, not Shareholders

• Corporate Re-Organizations

Now, in a time of climate crisis, income inequality and pandemic recovery, a growing movement is doing business differently.

Companies are embedding social responsibility and justice into the fabric of their business, creating a new capitalism culture centred on stakeholders — including our planet and the people who share it.

“The B Corp movement is, in large part, a direct response to the toxic workplace cultures, poor environmental standards, and profit-centred mindsets that have long dominated the corporate world,” says Christopher Marquis, professor at Cambridge University and author of Better Business: How the B Corp Movement is Remaking Capitalism. “People are realizing that, actually, business can play a role in helping resolve and address some of these issues.”

“To me, it felt like a way better way to do business,” says Tessa McLoughlin, the founder and director of KWENCH, which became a B Corp last year. “Your main priority isn’t shareholders; your main priority is society, Mother Earth and the way we govern things within the company.”

B Corp certification is a measurement of business performance, accountability and transparency issued by B Lab. The certification procedure requires companies to complete a meticulous accreditation process that covers five core areas: community, workers, governance, customers and environment.

“When I started my company back in 2014, I used the B Corp framework as a way to create policies,” says Melodie Reynolds, CEO of Elate Cosmetics and Eluma Beauty. She and her team went on to get the company certified in 2020. “Being a B Corp keeps us accountable for the things that we were already doing.

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LEADERSHIP

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BETTER AT Being BETTER

D O U G L AS

Accreditation begins with completion of the B Impact Assessment, an online tool that any business can work through for free to assess where they stand currently and what areas they need to improve on to consider pursuing accreditation.

Companies must reach a minimum verified score of 80 to begin the certification process, with the total available depending on their business sector. This can provide insight into areas of strength and opportunities to make changes to increase their

score. Once certified, companies must be recertified every three years to reassess and measure where they’re at and to ensure they’re continuing to walk the walk.

As CIO and founder of Business 4 Social Good, Deb Alcadinho trains and consults with female entrepreneurs seeking to build and refine the social impact of their companies.

“The whole process of the assessment, through the questioning, and the scoring, is really designed to be educational for the business owner, to improve on their impact to make their business better,” she says.

In 2021, Marquis virtually hosted B Lab cofounder Bart Houlahan in one of his classes.

“When COVID hit, they immediately started thinking of ways of saving money and scaling back the business,” Marquis says. “But they actually found the opposite … a lot of things happening during this time really highlighted many injustices in our working world.”

B Corp certification applications have soared. Starting with only 82 accredited companies when it began in 2007, B Lab has now certified over 6,000 B Corp companies around the world. This includes several Vancouver Island businesses such as Coast Capital Savings, Abeego, Fatso, DeeBee’s Organics, Synergy Enterprises, Animikii Indigenous Innovation and more.

McLoughlin passionately encourages other companies to join her and Reynolds on the B Corp path. “Do it. I think it’s an absolute necessity. If you want to be a business owner in this day and age, you should be a B Corp.” •

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DIGITAL CANADA: THE NEW REALITY There’s no going back. The pandemic proved to be the driving force behind the dramatic growth of Canada’s tech sector.

CANADA’S TECH SECTOR

218.7

206.8

200

($Billions of dollars)

From 2016 to 2021, Canadian tech revenues grew from $180 billion to $242 billion, a 34 per cent boom. During the same period, larger communications services saw their revenues grow by just 10 per cent. It seems the smaller players, like software and computer services, were the most successful, with revenue increases as high as 60.1 per cent.

250

231.2

242.0

190.6

180.1

150

100

50

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

 ICT sub-sector revenues, 2016–2021; Source: Statistics Canada

IS BIG TECH LOSING STEAM? The pandemic proved tremendously profitable for GAMAM (Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft), with revenue increases between 20 and 45 per cent. Now geopolitics, rising inflation, the cloud of recession, and China’s strict zero-COVID strategy have left a dent in the growth spurt of big tech.

GOING ELECTRIC Automobiles account for the highest share of greenhouse gas emissions in B.C. On Vancouver Island, the number of electric vehicles has increased more than fivefold, from 1,800 in 2017 to 10,000 in 2021. In addition, there are more than 16,000 hybrid vehicles on Vancouver Island. This trend is accelerating, says ICBC. It’s a marriage of technology and sustainability.

2020 2021 2022

 +10%

364.8 332.4

 +6%

260.5

254.4

270.4

 +13%

182.3

182.7

133.2 110.2

125.6

Amazon

Apple

 +14%

206.8

Alphabet

151.4

 +0%

10,000

7,800

8,000

Microsoft

Meta

2

1.7%

1.5

1

1.2% 0.9%

2019 2020 2021

D O U G L AS

Tech Concentration

% change over five

14.1% years

A

Tech Talent Growth

Quality of Labour

0

 1. Toronto, ON – 87.6  2. Ottawa, ON – 76.4  3. Vancouver, BC – 72.8  4. Kitchener-Waterloo, ON – 69.9

 7. Victoria, BC – 53.9  8. Halifax, NS – 52.6 2019 2020 2021

 9. Quebec City, QC – 48.4

 E lectric vehicles as a percentage of passenger vehicles in BC

 10. Hamilton, ON – 45.4

Source: ICBC 46

Depth of labour pool

employment

 6. Calgary, AB – 59.5

0.5

 Number

of electric vehicles registered on Vancouver Island

Tech workers

Tech occupation as % of total

 5. Montreal, QC – 67.3

4,000

0

6.6%

10,500

 Scoring Canadian Tech Talent 2020

6,000 5,800

2,000

Tech education and industry continue to boom in Victoria, which is one of the top 10 tech centres in Canada. The smallest city on the list, Victoria has roughly 10,500 tech workers and experienced a 15.7 per cent five-year growth rate, likely stimulated, in part, by Vancouver’s shortage of office space and high living costs.

Global brokerage house CBRE ranked Canada’s top 10 tech cities in its Canadian Tech Talent report. Here are the top 10, and their total score in CBRE’s ranking, which reflects talent availability, quality of labour and competitiveness.

84.2 84.4 57.9

 GAMAM revenuws in billions of U.S. dollars, 2020-2022 Source: company filings, Statista

10,000

VICTORIA: WE’RE NUMBER SEVEN!

Source: CBRE

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