Marketplace Magazine - May/June 2012

Vol. 4, Issue 3 May/June 2012

BUDGET

2012 also inside:

Chamber Reaction Budget Impacts PM40787580

The official publication of The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Asper School of Business

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Summer Contents

Cover story

Budget 2012 Chambers comment on Manitoba’s latest budget

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4 From the publishers

UP FRONT 5 MB Biz Report

3530, boulevard Saint-Laurent, bureau 400, Montréal (Québec) H2X 2V1 t 514 844-2624 tc 514 844-5041

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20 New Dividend Tax

8 Five Best Practices

16 Two Decade Battle

When Letting an Employee Go

28/2/12

infographe : Marc Bilodeau

10 Budget 2012

Chambers comment on Manitoba’s latest budget

BACK PAGE 21 At the Desk of...

L arry McIntosh, President & CEO, Peak of the Market

Rates Will Impact Business

CHAMBER

cation : manitoba fucus mag anglais

« togeter corporate» (Coal)

Key Benefits to Manitoba Business: Struthers

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Columns and Features

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Manitoba business movers and shakers

15 Budget 2012 Offers

Over Sunday Shopping Nearing End?

18 AROUND THE CHAMBER

ONLINE All of our magazine content and more is available online at

www.marketplacemagazine.ca.

May/June 2012

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From the publishers... b) What is the long-term strategic plan for Manitoba Hydro? As a clean energy source that many provinces and states would like access to, are we truly operating it as a business that can reinvest in its future? A lot of the profit that Hydro generates (if not all) is being added to the general revenue stream of the Province, which means that when new infrastructure and dams are required, all of the money has to be borrowed at interest to taxpayers. It may be time to really take a look at Hydro and see what the plans are.

For some light summer reading, we wanted to provide you with a full recap and opinions of the Provincial Budget that was recently introduced by the Selinger government. There are varying degrees of opinion, as was to be expected. We are told that the economy is seemingly progressing along at a fairly reliable pace. On the other hand, there is much opinion about things like federal transfer payments and the fear of reduction which would have a major impact on provincial revenues.

On both sides of this argument is the fact that housing and commercial construction don’t seem to be slowing down. Businesses seem to be doing well and generally people seem positive.

My questions for you to ponder over the summer are: a) Is enough being done to promote business growth in the province? My concern is that too much of it (mainly construction) to date has been government spending related and when this goes away, as it inevitably will, what will fill it in? Are the programs in place getting results and adding new businesses and attracting people to fill new positions?

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c) What is the future for P3 projects in Manitoba? Recently, the City, and specifically Mayor Katz, sent a public letter to the Premier (a copy is on our website) in relation to P3 (Public, Private Partnerships) and the passing of legislation (full disclosure - I have not read the full legislation details yet) that would eliminate P3‘s. The Mayor has gone on record, during an interview with myself that you can see at marketplacemagazine.ca, that they would go to the courts to fight this. His opinion is that these P3 arrangements have benefitted taxpayers by saving millions of dollars, access to Federal funding for infrastructure that we would not have received and allowed projects to happen that the City and Provincial governments could not have afforded to do. The release from the Province states that they want full transparency and accountability in the process. What do you think? Do they work? Give us your comments on our website.

Have a great summer and stay tuned for a busy remainder of the year. We are working on a speakers series to start this fall that will be truly fantastic. Look forward to seeing you there.

Vol. 4, Issue 2 • May/June 2012 Studio Publications is a division of Studio Media Group.

Editor Alison Mintenko editor@mediaedgepublishing.com creative design James T. Mitchell Contributors Paula Havixbeck, Celia C.S. Fergusson, David A. Simpson, Jim Peters, Gloria Taylor, Greg Huzel Published in collaboration with:

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May/June 2012

Information and announcements from businesses in our province

Security Company Offering Customer Service Courses

Kevin Cheveldayoff featured at Luncheon The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce hosted a luncheon featuring Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff on June 14 at the Delta Winnipeg.

Service Advantage for Customer Service and Non-Violent Strategies for Managing Crisis Situations are two new courses being offered to the public through Commissionaires Manitoba.

Fillmore Riley LLP’s Fillmore Riley LLP’s Wayne Leslie (right) introduced the featured speaker Ambassador Gary Doer (left) at a special luncheon presented by The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and Fillmore Riley on May 10, 2012.

Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP (TDS Law) As we celebrate our 125th anniversary, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank our clients and the community that we serve. Without you, we wouldn't have become one of Manitoba's trusted names in law. Learn more about our history at: www.tdslaw.com/125

Taylor McCaffery LLP Congratulations to Kara Bashutski, Sam Gabor, Kyla Pedersen, Jessica Schofield and Ryan Turner on successfully completing the articling program, and upon receiving their Call to the Bar. Four of these talented young lawyers have accepted articling positions with Taylor McCaffrey in Winnipeg.

“It’s a natural fit to extend these two courses to the public. All of our commissionaires are trained in these two courses and some of our clients have requested to have their own staff trained to the same courses our security guards are trained in,” says Tom Reimer, CEO. “All of the courses can be customized for the client and can be held at our training academy or at the client’s location. We can work with them to best suit their needs,” says Pat Sylvester, training and development manager.

Email training@commissionaires. mb.ca to register today!

Make It Happen Once you've decided to pursue your dream of business ownership, the next step is writing a business plan.

Wondering where to start? The Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba has two options for you to consider.

The interactive, six-part Business Plan Development Workshop Series takes place at the Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba. It is facilitated by members of our very skilled Business Advisory Team who provide in-depth instruction on preparing each section of the plan.

The classes run from 9 a.m. to noon on the following dates:

July 24: Operations Planning, Risk Analysis and Sales Forecasting

If timing or location prevent you from joining us at the Centre for the series above, our four-part Online Business Plan Development Workshop Series contains presentations by experienced facilitators, hands-on exercises and interviews with local entrepreneurs.

Each module allows you to capture your thoughts in a downloadable business plan outline that forms the basis of your final plan.

July 25: Financial Planning and Management

For more information or to register, please visit www.wecm.ca

July 16: Research and Exploration July 17: Analysis and Evaluation July 18: Marketing Part I July 23: Marketing Part II

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May/June 2012

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Impacts of the 2012 Provincial Budget

By Paula Havixbeck

Fresh off an electoral victory last October, many observers believed the provincial NDP government would present a bold and fiscally responsible budget designed to reign in wasteful spending and cut into our ever-expanding deficit. Instead, government spending went up 2.9 per cent and hard-working Manitobans have been asked to shoulder the costs through a myriad of tax increases.

Most notable is the gas tax increase of 2.5 cents per litre. Not only will this new tax place a significant drain on the competitive edge many companies previously possessed, it will also negatively impact small business by creating a pinch on their resources. As fuel and energy have been outlined as some of the top cost pressures on Manitoba businesses, it is understandable that gas taxes often hit small businesses by directly affecting their day-to-day operations. Business owners and consumers are already struggling because of the rapidly rising cost of fuel and I do not believe a gas tax increase is the appropriate answer for the province’s fiscal matters.

I had hoped that more funding in the budget would be committed to infrastructure spending without implementing a tax increase, as infrastructure, in Winnipeg especially, is essential to successful business.

Although the increase will bring in more revenue for infrastructure projects, the costs to small businesses and the 6

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local economy will be high. Revenue generated from the gas tax increase will be used to fund infrastructure projects in Manitoba, but will be spread out across the province. Businesses need wellmaintained transportation systems to be successful. Improving roads, bridges and expanding transportation networks will create positive economic spinoff and more jobs in the long-run. If businesses want to remain economically competitive, we need to be able to provide wellmaintained and efficient road networks.

I had hoped that more funding in the budget would be committed to infrastructure spending without implementing a tax increase, as infrastructure, in Winnipeg especially, is essential to successful business.

It is apparent that our roads are crumbling, and Winnipeg, like other major cities, is facing a crisis in infrastructure. At a meeting of Winnipeg City Council in May of this year, myself and my fellow Councillors were unanimous in calling upon the Province of Manitoba to transfer revenue generated from the gasoline

tax directly to municipalities to address infrastructure. We need to work towards fixing the issues now before they become too large to contain.

The other main criticism I have about this budget is related to indexing our taxes. Manitoba continues to be one of only three provinces in the entire country that does not index its tax system for inflation. As a result, people are pushed into higher tax brackets without gaining additional purchasing power. This essentially creates a hidden tax - known as bracket creep - that falls hardest on low and middle-income taxpayers and costs taxpayers millions in personal income taxes.

What people really wanted to see in this budget, and what would have made a difference in the long-term plan for our economy, would have been creating a long-term tax-cut plan that includes indexing our taxes, increasing the small business threshold, and diverting more funding towards infrastructure projects.

None of these three measures were addressed, and while it is commendable that the small business tax rate remains at zero, the provincial government needs to do more to support entrepreneurial enterprises and ensure businesses can reinvest more of their profits into their employees and communities.

Unfortunately at the end of the day, I believe this budget missed an important opportunity to support business and, inturn, boost profits for our economy.

4 8 We See More Than Numbers.

www.cga-manitoba.org

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Five Best Practices When Letting an Employee Go

By Celia C. S. Fergusson and David A. Simpson

It is never an easy decision to let someone go, but there are measures you can take to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible. As employment lawyers, we receive hundreds of inquiries from employers who are about to terminate or have just terminated an employee. In some cases, a more proactive approach when hiring would have saved the employer time and money. We have brought together some best practices to help you avoid some of the common legal pitfalls when letting an employee go.

1. Be proactive and execute a thorough employment contract at hiring.

The best way for any employer to protect themselves from the expenses associated with termination is to be pro-active. Set out the obligations at the very beginning of the relationship, before the employee starts working. An employment contract, which is clear in its terms and in compliance with the law, can set out the rights of the employee and employer on matters such as notice periods upon termination, post-termination obligations (restrictive covenants) and entitlement to overtime. In dealing with any termination, 8

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the first thing your counsel will ask is whether there is an employment agreement. If the answer is yes, it saves time and more importantly, money.

Although it is best to enter into an employment contract at the beginning of the employment, the contract can be implemented after the commencement of employment provided that the proper process is followed.

If implementing an employment contract after the employee is already working, we recommend contacting legal counsel to set up these types of employment contracts in accordance with the principles outlined in the Ontario Court of Appeal decision of Wronko v. Western Inventory Services Ltd.

2. U nderstand the distinction between

minimum notice in the Employment Standards Code and the Common Law.

In Manitoba, The Employment Standards Code sets out the minimum notice that must be paid to an employee on termination without cause. The most common misconception of employers is that this is the only amount that must be paid to a terminated employee. The

amounts set forth in the Code are the minimum protections and will not limit an employee from claiming entitlement to greater notice according to common law principles, in a lawsuit.

Determining the reasonable notice period in accordance with the common law is often considered to be an art rather than a science; thus, it cannot be calculated with exact precision. The determination of the courts is based on an analysis which includes an examination of the following factors: • Age of Employee • Length of Service • Character of Employment • Availability of Similar Employment • Bad Faith Discharge • Inducement

3. Protect the employer’s intellectual property.

During the course of their employment, many employees work on projects that would be considered intellectual property. From software development to restaurant recipes to manufacturing equipment or machinery, intellectual property is present in a wide variety of workplaces and businesses.

Intellectual property is the property of the employer and NOT the employee.

Anything created or conceived by the employee, derived from their work for the employer, whether done during or outside regular business hours, will be the property of the employer. Employees are well advised to seek intellectual property advice for any ideas conceived or realized, prior to commencing employment and to document the origin of any ideas conceived or created after termination.

4. Understand what happens to the

employee’s benefit upon termination.

Unlike dental or health benefits, group long-term disability benefits are not usually extended to terminated

5. Know what a former employee

can do with respect to customers and contacts.

The question often arises as to what employees can do after they are terminated, in terms of competing or soliciting clients of their former employers. All employees owe their employers a general duty of good faith and fidelity. This is an implied term in every employment contract.

A regular employee (i.e. not a fiduciary) after leaving the employment of the employer is entitled to compete against the employer and even solicit customers provided the employee does not do so “unfairly”. This has been held to mean that the employee cannot use the former employer’s trade secrets or confidential information, including contacts lists, to solicit clients.

There are different rules, however, for a terminated director/officer/key management employee or fiduciary.

Although these terminated employees are allowed to accept business from former clients, they may not directly solicit business from former clients or risk facing lawsuits, damage payments and possible injunctive sanctions.

good causes

by Rick Frost | CEO The Winnipeg Foundation

Growing Our Circle Over nine decades, The Winnipeg Foundation has been built by contributions from donors of all walks of life. To me, this is best demonstrated by looking at the first two gifts ever made to our Foundation.

The first was $100,000 from William Forbes Alloway, a Winnipeg banker and entrepreneur who established our Foundation in 1921. Three years later, an anonymous contribution of three gold coins, each worth five dollars, arrived at the Foundation. This story illustrates that it’s not the size of the gift, but the act of giving that’s important. This is what makes our organization a community foundation.

Our Foundation continues to offer one of the lowest fund thresholds among our peers across the country. We strive to make giving accessible and dispel the notion that philanthropy is only for the wealthy.

Last year we launched a new program, which we call “Sharing Circles.” The idea is to engage groups of like-minded people (friends, colleagues, associates) to contribute to a fund and share in grantmaking decisions. In turn, the Foundation provides support and augments the Circle’s granting. It’s a great idea and, with four new Sharing Circle funds established at the Foundation last year, we’re pleased to see it gaining momentum and supporting local charities.

good

Be sure to contact legal counsel to determine the appropriate amount of reasonable notice where the employment contract does not limit the notice period, before terminating an employee. The potential exposure is often greater than employers expect, especially for longterm employees.

employees during his/her of notice period because the wording of the policies does not allow for it. It is important for employers to understand the specific provisions of the group policy and timeframes within which group benefits can be extended for terminated employees. Group benefits usually terminate once the employee ceases to be “actively at work”. Employers are often required by the policy provision to provide the group insurer notice of the termination in order to extend benefits, however, this is rarely done in practice.

The employer should also set out steps in the termination letter for converting the group policy to an individual policy for the employee to continue coverage within the policy time period; otherwise the employee may be disentitled to coverage, forcing the employer to step into the shoes of disability insurer and be responsible for the long-term disability benefit payments for the duration of the employee’s disability.

To make a gift or for more information, visit our website at www.wpgfdn.org.

Celia C. S. Fergusson and David A. Simpson practice employment and labour law at Fillmore Riley LLP. If you have any questions, please contact them at cfergusson@FillmoreRiley.com or davidsimpson@FillmoreRiley.com.

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BUDGET

2012

By Jim Peters

Chambers comment on Manitoba’s latest budget The well-worn mantra of under-promising and overdelivering is usually a prudent strategy—not only for governments unveiling their budgets. But from the point-of-view of both Winnipeg and Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, the province’s latest forecast appears to be under-promising and under-delivering.

Unveiled on April 17, Manitoba’s 2012 budget had few surprises. The usual suspects—vices and vanities—were some of the predictable casualties.

For example, a tax increase on tobacco (2.5¢ per cigarette to a total of 25¢) is already in effect and on July 1, PST will be charged on manicures, pedicures, spa treatments, tattoos, piercings and haircuts (over $50). Always a contentious issue, gasoline and diesel fuel has increased 2.5¢ a litre (to a total of 14¢) and farm fuel will rise 3¢ a litre.

The government is tightening its collective belt around departmental spending (down by 3.9 per cent) and 10 government agencies and departments will see a freeze or reduction to their operating budgets. Still on the subject of vices—the merging of the liquor and lotteries corporations seems aimed at creating synergies and streamlining the business practices of the two Crowns. The big winners appear to be in health, education, and family services—all enjoying spending increases.

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But the elephants in the room (or should that be bisons?) is the forecast of a spending deficit of $460 million and the expectation that the government will drain its rainy day fund by almost $200 million.

broad themes and sub-sets of policy recommendations in each. We presented the document to all of the political parties and challenged them during the election to either support it or come up with their own alternatives.”

Winnipeg Chamber chair Brian Bowman says, “Generally speaking, we would have liked to see a greater display of confidence from the government and less aversion to risk.

We feel that the city and province are well-positioned to take a much bolder approach to their future—but we need strong leadership to get us there.” Bowman, a partner with Pitblado Law, was elected to the position in the fall of 2011.

Bowman says, “One of our main criticisms with this provincial budget is that it didn’t have a clear vision as to how economic prosperity is going to move forward. One of the themes that the Winnipeg Chamber has long argued is the need for economic development to be a greater priority for all levels of government. There’s no question that the flooding issues of last year have affected the government’s strategy. But the overall increase in budget and debt levels was going on long before last year’s flood crisis.”

One of the tools used by the Winnipeg Chamber as a reference point against the budget is a policy document called Manitoba Bold. The template is essentially the Chamber’s manifesto for evaluating and comparing the Chamber’s vision to the government of the day.

To a degree, the document is also aimed at educating the electorate by describing what the Chamber feels are the critical issues facing all Manitobans.

So what’s missing?

“The government didn’t release specific goals and objectives and how to get there,” says Bowman. “The federal budget, for example, and some other provinces have been better at doing that. Just look at Saskatchewan. Our neighbours to the west used to be the butt of good-natured jokes across the country— but they sure aren’t now. They’ve made some very difficult and prudent decisions over the years. My sense is that the electorate in Saskatchewan expects “Generally speaking, we would have liked more of its politicians than we do.

to see a greater display of confidence from the government and less aversion to risk. We feel that the city and province are well-positioned to take a much bolder approach to their future—but we need strong leadership to get us there.”

-Brian Bowman

Bowman explains, “After the last provincial election there was some introspection on the part of the Chamber and the realization that there were many groups who had been more effective at getting their issues before the electorate and the politicians. So there was a concerted effort on our part to try to work together with as many people in the business community and elsewhere to draft a comprehensive plan to challenge ourselves and our politicians to be bolder. The end result we called Manitoba Bold.

“The Chamber held a series of public policy, day-long conferences and invited people from all walks of life to put forward one bold idea for Manitoba’s future.

Through the process we had some truly creative ideas and then boiled them down to about 28 pages of specific policy recommendations. The document consists of six

“There are, of course, some specific things we applaud in this budget— such as the relaxing of the Sunday shopping laws and the government’s ongoing support for the world trade centre initiative. The impact on smalland medium-size business may be felt in the relaxing of Sunday shopping hours—giving them greater flexibility. It’s certainly a step in the right direction.

“But the overall size of the debt and deficit is going to hinder businesses of all size in Manitoba simply because resources are going to become increasingly scarce. Everybody should be mindful of that—it’s not just a business issue. We need more robust government support for young entrepreneurs.

If money is being paid to service the debt, then money for economic development just isn’t available.”

Bowman is quick to point out that the relationship between the Chamber and the provincial government is open and frank.

“We have a diversity of views on the Chamber, which is where it should be. We don’t want to be partisan. The Chamber works with groups and organizations that may be perceived as centrist, left-wing, or right-wing—but that just doesn’t matter.

It’s the merit of the ideas that are important. The challenges we have with the reigning administration are some of the same challenges we’ve had with other political parties.”

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Technology solutions tailored to your business How you use technology in your business can make the difference between surviving and thriving in today’s competitive climate. With in-depth understanding of technology and the market you operate in, MNP’s Technology Consulting team will help you identify where technology can make the biggest impact for your business and achieve measureable business goals.

MNP Technology Consulting is a leader in solving business challenges through technology innovation. From front-end strategic consulting to collaborative application development, we deliver solutions that drive competitive advantage.

To find out more about technology solutions that fit your business, contact Brian Beveridge, Partner, Technology Consulting at brian.beveridge@mnp.ca or Scott Greenlay, Partner, Technology Consulting at scott.greenlay@mnp.ca.

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Technology Solutions Winnipeg businesses turn to technology to stay competitive.

To stay competitive in a complex marketplace, businesses need the ability to put the right information into the hands of decision makers so they can make strategic choices based on facts rather than intuition. The right technology can help you turn the mountains of data within your business into useful, accurate information, so you will not only have a better idea of where your business is today, but also be able to make better decisions about what direction you should be headed in the future.

“In today’s environment, businesses that effectively use technology in key areas can outperform their competitors by significant margins. Today’s winning organizations recognize that the optimal use of technology is critical to their success,” says Brian Beveridge, Partner, MNP Technology Consulting, from his office in Winnipeg. “The optimal use of technology includes all of the people, process and tools involved to help your business be effective and efficient.”

MNP’s Technology Consulting team is made up of professionals who are thought leaders in their fields and have a strong understanding of the local market. They provide local expertise and solid methodologies to clients in Winnipeg, helping them develop and maintain IT strategies that allow them to overcome challenges and embrace new opportunities.

“We don’t come into your business focused on ‘Ok, what technology do you need?’ Our approach is a strategic business approach, in which we look at your goals, examine your challenges, and develop the most cost-effective, productive ways of getting you where you want to go,” says Scott Greenlay, Partner, MNP Technology Consulting.

The team’s services include technology strategy, systems selection, project management, software development and implementation, and geographical information systems (GIS). They’ve also helped many Winnipeg clients with business analytics projects.

Business analytics is a solution that helps optimize business performance.

It helps companies answer three key questions: What is happening with the business? Why is it happening? And what will happen if we change

By Tricia Radison

things? It allows for continuous exploration and investigation of past performance and models of future scenarios to gain new insights and aid in business planning.

Business analytics can improve organizations by sharing business insights with all employees, leading to better, faster, more relevant decision making.

Rather than responding and reacting to business situations, the organization moves to predicting and acting on the predictions, resulting in a more proactive approach to business.

“I refer to predictive analytics as transformational technology,” says Beveridge. “It allows you to predict outcomes, demand and more, giving you the competitive advantage of being able to, in a manner of speaking, tell the future.”

MNP’s consultants work closely with clients to ensure that business analytics meets the organization’s goals. Some clients have used analytics to enhance their understanding of customers, while others have used it to optimize real-time decisions, foster collaborative decisions and enable enterprise visibility.

Whether working with public sector organizations, retailers, manufacturers or financial services organizations, MNP’s Technology Consulting team follows a process that includes building measurement tactics into each project to ensure objectives are met. When required, local consultants also bring in specialists from MNP’s national network.

“Information and increased efficiency—that’s the real power of technology,” says Greenlay. “It’s satisfying when we put that power into the hands of businesses in our community.”

For technology solutions tailored for your business, contact MNP’s Brian Beveridge, Partner, Technology Consulting at brian.beveridge@mnp.ca or Scott Greenlay, Partner, Technology Consulting at scott.greenlay@mnp.ca.

Graham Starmer, current president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, shares many of the same opinions as his colleague, “Unfortunately, we were totally underwhelmed with the budget.” Starmer, whose bio includes stints with the RCMP and CSIS, has served as president of the Manitoba Chambers since 1998. The umbrella organization serves 74 Chambers of commerce throughout the province, with a total of about 9,000 members and 250 corporate members.

“At our last AGM we did something different. We all know that life is becoming more complicated and issues are becoming more complicated. One year is becoming inappropriate for managing

“Our biggest concern is the deficit.

A lot of people incorrectly believe that the flooding conditions last year had a big impact on the budget. It did, but $460 million was over budget on operations.”

-Graham Starmer

some of the more critical problems in this province. So we created a new policy called Strategic Directions which focuses on what we feel deserves the most attention over the long term. Strategic Directions describes four things: Lake Winnipeg water conditions; health care; northern economic development; and bold directions.

The last item ties in with what the Winnipeg Chamber has been trying to do. There were a lot of great suggestions that came out of the Manitoba Bold process but we felt some of those ideas needed to be refined before sending on to government.

“Our biggest concern is the deficit. A lot of people incorrectly believe that the flooding conditions last year had a big impact on the budget. It did, but $460 million was over budget on operations. The premier has explained that education and health care costs came way above budget. But one of the things we do is challenge those statements and assumptions. For instance, our health committee has discovered that budgets for hospitals are not being enforced.

The government doesn’t seem to recognize the fact that health care budgets are being unrealistic when they’re being presented.”

Both the Winnipeg and Manitoba Chambers agree on many of the same strategies, such as Manitoba Hydro. Starmer says, “We feel Hydro should be set up to be more of an economic driver. We’re saying there needs to be a review of Hydro’s capacity. If water is supposedly Manitoba’s oil, then we feel the company needs to re-shape itself to do what the politicians say it could do.”

Starmer adds, “Credit should be given to the government for holding the course related to tax relief for small- and mediumsize businesses. But we’re already seeing a pullback on funding for the province’s five regional development corporations and some agreements with municipalities are being terminated.

The government appears to be looking at areas where they can withdraw money to balance the budget. But these agencies are all developmental arms around the province that help Manitoba make money. We can’t see the rationale and we’ve had discussions with the ministers about this.”

If there’s an overarching complaint about the current government and its operational style it’s in their overall strategy, or lack thereof. Starmer says, “There’s no northern strategy, there’s no energy strategy, there’s no deficit strategy.

They’re in the process of developing some of these strategies but these should have been in place years ago.”

The places people should be talking about Bowman concurs, “We think the biggest gap in the budget is the ‘vision’ piece. We need to see a vision of where this province is going to be 10 to 15 years from now and we need to see a vision of how we’re going to deal with the debt and deficit. Budgets are the one time of the year that you can really demonstrate what you are going to do. There are so many good things going on in the province right now that we should see better leveraging. Twenty-five years from now, Manitoba and Winnipeg are the places people should be talking about.”

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Budget 2012 Offers Key Benefits to Manitoba Business: Struthers

WHAT DOES EVERY TRAVELLER NEED?

One Less Worry.

WHAT DOES EVERY Custom House Currency Exchange WHAT DOES EVERY TRAVELLER NEED? – A Western Union Company, NEED?exchange, offers fastTRAVELLER and convenient currency One Less Worry. as well as other helpful

By Gloria Taylor

A balanced approach to budget 2012, a reduction in the number of times business owners must file GST, a move toward more liberal shopping hours on Sunday and the development of an Energy Opportunities office to help Manitobans take advantage of energy initiatives in the province.

These are some of the key strategies in this year’s budget designed to benefit the province’s many businesses, said Finance Minister Stan Struthers in a recent telephone conversation.

While a 2.5 cent per litre increase in the price of gasoline (part of $184 million in tax increases) and a reduction of 3.9 per cent in core spending grabbed some of the headlines following Struthers’ budget speech in April, the finance minister said he worked with local business representatives to deliver a budget that is also meaningful to the province’s business sector.

“With the meetings I had in the business community, they’re very keen on returning to a balanced situation, which is what we’re going to do in 2014,” said Struthers, referring to an NDP election promise to go from a $1-billion deficit this current fiscal year to a $23-million surplus in 2014.

The 2012 budget projects a $460-million deficit at the end of this fiscal year.

“And (the business community) are very keen to let me know that we should come back to balance without throwing health care, education and services for kids, infrastructure under the bus,” said Struthers.

“They want to have a fair, balanced approach to expenditure management and a fair, balanced approach to revenue opportunities,” he continued, noting that the budget delivers a balanced approach: decreasing core spending

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by 3.9 per cent while increasing spending in some key departments such as the Health Department by 3.5 per cent, to more than $5 billion.

Asked why the Province is exploring more liberal hours for Sunday shopping, Struthers said, “It’s something that Manitobans have talked to us about in the past. We wanted to respond to the amount of cross-border shopping that we see happening in Manitoba.”

He said the government also wants to counteract an increase in online shopping.

He said the Province is a working with both business and labour to ensure a fair framework that also takes into consideration the needs of workers.

An Energy Opportunities office, meanwhile, will bring people together, said the finance minister. “We don’t want the provincial government working in one area, Hydro in another, First Nations in another. We want to be able to bring people together, the chambers of commerce, different groups to ensure that Manitoba businesses do well.”

The minister agreed that energy projects should result in stronger employment and “a lot more economic activity” which will continue to strengthen the Manitoba economy.

“We’re building on an approach in which we’ve eliminated the small business tax; we’ve reduced the corporate percentage as well over the last number of years.

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May/June 2012

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Two Decade Battle Over Sunday Shopping Nearing End?

T

o shop or not to shop on Sundays – that is the question.

In 1994, for the first time, Manitobans were allowed to shop on Sundays, but with strings attached.

Stores could not open before noon or remain open past 6 p.m. For close to two decades now, such restrictions have remained in place.

However, in Budget 2012, the Government of Manitoba recognized the competitive challenges posed by such Sunday shopping regulations and suggested it was time to change. That has caused many of the old debates to resurface.

Even The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, back in 1990, found itself asking the question whether or not there should be Sunday shopping.

The debate raged – theologians maintained Sundays should continue to be a day of rest, while businesses were split on whether it should be a day off versus an opportunity for them to do business.

Chamber board members couldn’t come to a consensus.

A motion in support of Sunday shopping was defeated.

By the following year, however, the mindset had changed.

The board gave its support to Sunday shopping, saying the government should allow retail outlets to be open for business, at the discretion of the business owner, without governmentimposed restrictions.

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May/June 2012

Determined to persuade the powers that be that the public was also behind Sunday shopping, The Chamber, in 1993, arranged for a newspaper article with a clip-out ballot in support of Sunday shopping.

“We got bags and bags of mail (ballots) coming in just before Christmas, so someone dressed up as Santa, took all the bags and delivered them to City Hall,” said then Chamber President Terry Cristall.

The same year, The Chamber made a presentation to the City’s Executive Policy Committee, stating that the issue was a matter of rights and freedoms.

“Consumers and retailers – not governments – should decide who shops and who does not on Sundays, just as they do every other day of the week. We note that every industry in Winnipeg has the right to be open on Sunday except the retail sector,” The Chamber said.

The Chamber also commissioned a survey by Angus Reid, which showed that 84 per cent of respondents believed retailers should be able to decide for themselves if they are open or closed for business on a Sunday.

Jumping forward to October 2010, a provincewide poll conducted by Prairie Research Associates revealed that 63 per cent of Manitobans favoured expanded Sunday shopping.

“The whole concept of shopping has changed,” said one retail organization.

“No longer is it about getting one’s necessities, it’s become an experience. People see shopping now as a form of recreation.”

The process of buying has also undergone a paradigm shift. People now are able to shop online 24/7.

“It’s time for the government to get away from the current prescriptive, archaic measures in retail and allow retailers to determine their own hours of operation.”

According to Statistics Canada, in 2009, Canadians used the Internet to order goods and services valued at $15.1 billion, up from $12.8 billion in 2007.

In commenting about the proposed Sunday shopping change in Budget 2012, Manitoba’s Labour Minister Jennifer Howard alluded to the Internet and crossborder shopping as some of the factors affecting the decision to be made.

“Businesses want the flexibility to compete,” Howard said, referring to concerns about cross-border shopping in light of the federal government’s decision to increase the duty-free limit for out-ofcountry travellers.

Effective June 1, 2012, the duty-free limit on stays longer than 24 hours rises to $200 from $50, while the limit on stays longer than 48 hours rises to $800.

Howard also indicated that other provinces have “modernized” their Sunday shopping legislation.

Manitoba remains the only province west of the Maritimes that has restrictions on retail store hours on Sunday.

Chamber Policy Vice-President Chuck Davidson said: “You’re not going to have 24/7 shopping. That’s not what consumers are looking for. They just don’t want to wait until noon.”

What The Chamber has always asked for is to let retailers decide what their hours will be, Davidson said, adding he is concerned that proposed legislation might not go far enough, that hours may be extended, but will still be restricted.

For The Chamber, it’s been a hard-fought battle over the past two decades, but there have been some victories along the way.

When the Junos and the Pan Am Games came to Winnipeg, the province relaxed the rules and allowed extended Sunday shopping hours.

And in November 2010, after lobbying by The Chamber, the province introduced and later passed legislation that would amend the Retail Business Holiday Closing Act to allow retailers to extend their hours when Boxing Day falls on a Sunday.

“Boxing Day is the biggest retail shopping day of the year and with it falling on a Sunday, there would be a huge economic loss for Manitoba retailers,” Chamber President and CEO Dave Angus said at the time.

“This is simply about giving Manitobans more choice and added convenience.”

It’s hard not to sound like a broken record, but this spring Angus again said: “It’s time for the government to get away from the current prescriptive, archaic measures in retail and allow retailers to determine their own hours of operation.”

The Chamber won’t stop lobbying until it can claim yet another victory unrestricted Sunday shopping.

May/June 2012

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AROUND THE CHAMBER Innovation Survey

B

uilding on the Spirit of Winnipeg Awards, The Chamber wants to develop a deeper understanding of the process of innovation in Winnipeg and to educate, strengthen and inspire its members. To do that, The Chamber has partnered with Work Systems Associates Canada to conduct a study: • To learn best practices for creating an innovative culture • To understand the challenges Winnipeg executives face in order to innovate • To see where The Chamber can help address these challenges and deliver support

Leadership Winnipeg Book Launch

Skills Roundtable “A skills shortage in Canada is well on the way to becoming a skills crisis. It is an exceptionally damaging hurdle that undercuts business success,” Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, told about 20 people attending a roundtable discussion hosted

by The Winnipeg and Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.

“The challenge is we’ve heard this all before. There is no silver bullet, no law that we can pass. Skills are an ‘unowned’ issue … a societal issue,” Beatty said.

The clear message that came out of the roundtable was that one size does not fit all, that there’s a need for community-based solutions, whether around Aboriginal, immigrant, female or older workers. A key component was also access to learning and a focus on modularized, just-in-time delivery.

T

he Leadership Winnipeg class of 2011-2012 is looking forward to the official unveiling of its book The Heart of Winnipeg – A Profile of Community Leadership, a collection of interviews with 41 Winnipeggers, whose wisdom, vision and passion became a catalyst for change.

The book, available at http://www.blurb.com/ bookstore/detail/3241257, is the result of a 10-month class project, in which program participants identified and interviewed community leaders, then wrote and edited profiles and provided input on the book’s design.

Included among the profiles are: Mark Chipman, Dr. Dhali Dhaliwal, Paul LaPolice, Roz Prober, Sister Lesley Sacouman, Barbara Bowes and Ed Schreyer.

Team Manitoba – Centrallia 2012

W

ith still nearly five months to go, almost 100 local companies have signed on to be part of Team Manitoba, a select group of Manitoba business leaders who will help represent local business to the world during Centrallia 2012, a business-to-business forum being held in Winnipeg Oct. 10-12.

On May 10, a reception for Team Manitoba was hosted at McPhillips Station Casino, featuring Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. Gary Doer; Gail Asper, Centrallia’s honourary president; and Centrallia co-chairs Mariette Mulaire and Dave Angus.

During Centrallia, local businesses will meet one-on-one with up to 14 of their counterparts from more than 40 international economic regions, plus they’ll have a chance to attend a special dinner and hear from Malcolm Gladwell, the inspiring best-selling author of Outliers, Blink, The Tipping Point and What the Dog Saw.

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May/June 2012

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New Dividend Tax Rates Will Impact Business

By Greg Huzel, Taxation Services, MNP LLP

An increase in eligible dividend tax rates will have an impact on Manitoba business owners On April 17, 2012, the Manitoba provincial government released its annual budget. And while many elements of the budget received media coverage, one component that will have a significant impact on many local business owners may still come as a surprise next tax season. The tax credit on eligible dividends paid by corporations to shareholders resident in Manitoba decreased from 11 per cent to 8 per cent, as of January 1, 2012. The result of this change is that the effective tax rate on eligible dividends has increased from 28.12 per cent to 32.26 per cent retroactive to January 1, 2012 (all rates referenced are the top marginal rates).

A brief explanation of eligible dividends and the purpose that they serve is useful in understanding the effects of this increase. One of the main policies of the taxation system in Canada is integration.

The theory is that a taxpayer who earns income through a corporation should pay the same rate of tax as a taxpayer who earns the income personally (as a sole proprietor). In the past, however, integration wasn’t achieved because the tax rate on dividends was the same regardless of the rate of tax within the corporation. To provide for integration, the concept of eligible dividends was implemented in 2006. On active income earned in a corporation, there is a high and a low rate of tax. Generally, a corporation may pay an eligible dividend if it is taxed on its active business income at the high corporate rate. The tax rate on eligible dividends is lower than the rate on regular dividends.

Prior to the new budget, Manitoba was close to achieving integration as the effective tax rates of earning income personally and earning income through 20

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May/June 2012

a corporation were close to being the same. With the increase in the dividend tax rate and no corresponding decrease to the high corporate tax rate, Manitoba is now significantly underintegrated. The combined effective tax rate of earning income through a corporation (that pays tax at the high rate) is now 50.55 per cent as compared to a rate of 46.4 per cent for income earned personally.

Perhaps the most significant result of this change is the extra tax that Manitobans will have to pay on the receipt of any eligible dividends. For every $100,000 earned in eligible dividends, it will cost an extra $4,140 in tax. The increase doesn’t only affect business owners. Retirees who rely on eligible dividends from public companies to fund their day-to-day living expenses will see a reduction in the after-tax funds available to them.

The increase to the eligible dividend tax rate also significantly increases the gap in personal tax rates between Manitoba and the rest of the country.

In the past, Manitoba was only slightly behind other provinces (see

sidebar). In the future, however, the province will not fare as well.

Although the combined corporate and personal tax rates are now significantly higher in Manitoba, the increase is not enough to justify a rule of thumb policy of bonusing down annually to the small business deduction limit (as was the policy prior to the implementation of eligible dividends in 2006). The personal tax deferral can still provide a significant benefit if corporate earnings are retained in the corporation and payment of dividends are deferred for several years. When making the salary versus dividend decision, it is important to consider several factors, including the Manitoba payroll tax on salaries and bonuses which remains unchanged at 2.15 per cent.

The increase to the tax rate on eligible dividends in Manitoba will likely not affect the salary versus dividend decision for most business owners. However, when compared to other provinces, the increase will have a significant impact on both the taxes that local business owners pay and the province’s overall competitiveness from a tax perspective.

Top Marginal Eligible Dividend Tax Rates 2011

2012 and Beyond

British Columbia

23.91%

25.78%

Alberta

17.72%

19.29%

Saskatchewan

23.36%

24.81%

Manitoba

26.74%

32.26%

Ontario

28.19%

31.69%

At The Desk of…

Larry McIntosh, President & CEO, Peak of the Market

Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head photo – a photo of Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head on top of a wedding cake – this was a wedding gift for Shelley and I

Winnipeg Harvest Bowl – a thank you gift from Winnipeg Harvest for Peak’s contribution to the food bank

Queen’s Jubilee framed recognition hanging on the wall – I was fortunate to receive the Queen’s Jubilee medal – the medal is safe at home!

Elvis Mr. Potato Head – Elvis Mr. Potato Head Collector’s item (a potato that’s not from Manitoba but still cool)

Inukshuk statue – Award for Best Booth at Canadian Produce Marketing Association 2012 (the booth was a pyramid of fresh vegetables that took 120 man hours to build)

Red painting – A painting that was painted by my daughter, Brittany, and given to me for Father’s Day

Old fashioned produce truck – designed and built by Heinz Kurz for Peak of the Market

Peak of the Market tractor/ trailer – a custom built collector die cast tractor/trailer

Golden Carrot statue – Golden Carrot Award for Community Food Champion – this award recognizes a business person who has worked towards a more just and sustainable food system

May/June 2012

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Vol. 4, Issue 3 May/June 2012

Index to Advertisers AAA Alarms.................................. 22 www.AAAalarms.ca

Meyers Norris Penny LLP....12 & 13 www.mnp.ca

CGA of Manitoba............................ 7 www.cga-manitoba.org

Payworks....................................... 5 www.payworks.ca

CN....................... Inside Front Cover www.cn.ca

QNet............................................... 7 www.qnet.ca

Custom House/ Western Union.....15 www.customhouse.com

Red River Co-op............................14 www.rrcoop.com

Grand & Toy........Inside Back Cover www.grandandtoy.com

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T.E.C. (The Executive Committee) Ltd.. .................................................... 7 www.tec-canada.com The Winnipeg Foundation.............. 9 www.wpgfdn.org Thompson, Dorfman, Sweatman LLP ......................... Outside Back Cover www.tdslaw.com

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After 125 years,

some things have only gotten better.

In 1887, construction of the Eiffel Tower started in Paris, Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee in London and two lawyers founded a law firm in Winnipeg that would become known for reliability. As we celebrate our anniversary, we want to take this opportunity to thank our clients and the community that we serve. Without you, we wouldn’t have become one of Manitoba’s most trusted names in law. The world around us has changed significantly since we were founded, but it’s safe to say that after 125 years, some things have only gotten better.

201 Portage Avenue, Suite 2200 Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 3L3 Phone 204.957.1930 Learn more about our history at:

www.tdslaw.com/125