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MAGAZINE FOR BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 - $4.95

EXECULINK IS TAKING ON THEGIANTS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

NEW DEVELOPMENT RISES ONFORMER LULU’S PROPERTY

LOCAL ROTARY CLUB SPEARHEADSCHRISTMAS TURKEY DRIVE

INSIDE:Execulink goes

head to head withBell & Rogers

AFTER THEEARTHQUAKEJohn K. Bell leads ATS out of anunprecedented shake-up

Exchnovdec07_pgs01-32 10/22/07 9:44 AM

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FOR DARRELL AND BRAD FRAZER,owners of Cambridge InsuranceBrokers Ltd., size matters. Their goalis to be large enough to meet theinsurance needs of their customers,while never losing their ability to offerone-to-one personal service.

Cambridge Insurance Brokers isexperiencing growth, through a grow-ing customer base and active acquisi-tion efforts, but the Frazer brotherskeep contact with the customers whohave brought them this far. Theybelieve the direction they have set fortheir company will only improvecustomer service, by expanding thenumber of companies whose productsthey can offer, and by boosting theexpertise of their staff.

Today the company has twooffices, 22 staff members occupy6000 square feet in Cambridge and9 employees occupy a 3000 squarefoot office in Mississauga, a brokeragethey acquired last spring.

Brad is President of Personal LinesOperations while Darrell is Presidentof Commercial Operations. Both aresons of Garry Frazer who started thebrokerage in 1975 and he continues tobe their mentor. The brokerage is afamily affair. Rae-Anne Frazer, spouseof Darrell Frazer, is the OperationsManager of the Cambridge location.She is responsible for the daily man-agement of the Personal Lines teamand liaisons with the Operations Man-ager at the Mississauga Location.

Darrell joined the business in 1992and Brad followed two years later.Both attended the insurance course

at Mohawk College. They quicklyrealized that the insurance businessfelt like home. Darrell comments “Iknew this was for me as soon as Istarted in the business. I believe thatthe insurance business is all abouthelping people. People look to you astheir insurance professional.”

Customers always have questionsand the Frazers have the answers.That is no easy task in a complicatedworld of insurance products. Brad andDarrell are keenly aware of the com-petition of on-line insurance, but theybelieve clients will only get what theyneed with the help of professionalbrokers who represent a wide varietyof insurance companies. “When cus-tomers walk away we are confidentthat they have selected the right prod-uct to meet their needs” says Brad.

In 1999, the Frazers acquired abrokerage in Cambridge. Prior to thatacquisition, the company only had5 employees which includedDarrell andBrad! Brad indicates that the purchasegave the company more of a marketshare and more product offering. Healso notes that their recent purchaseof a brokerage in Mississauga hasallowed them to increase theirinsurance company representations.They now offer products from over 14different insurance companies.

Cambridge Insurance Brokers hasa full range of insurance products fromautomobile, home, and commercial tolife and financial services. They alsooffer a special Group Insurance dis-count to Cambridge Chamber ofCommerce members.

Darrell and Brad know that they arein a very competitive market. With thisin mind they have been able to estab-lish a solid team of qualified brokerswho have the knowledge and expert-ise to ensure that the customer is takencare of. The company offers ValueAdded Services such as 24/7 ClaimService, Personalized Services andPrompt Service. Each of these serviceswill lead you directly to the customerservice team, who has received manyhours of in-house training. These serv-ices were created to foster the growingdemand for customer satisfaction andto reinforce the vision that Darrell andBrad have. Take for instance theirclaims service. Darrell says “Often cus-tomers don’t know what to do when

making a claim. When they call ourafter hours claims number they willreach Darrell or Brad directly. We walkthem through the process and then ourcustomer service brokers and companyadjusters help them with the rest.”

Recent trends have shown that in-surance companies are purchasing bro-kerages and the Frazers are committedto the independent broker system andtheir customer. Brad says “How can aninsurance company purchase a broker-age and have the customer’s best inter-ests in mind? We work for ourcustomer. That will never change!”

Darrell underlines the concept:“There is nothingwe can’t offer regard-ing insurance.Whatever it is, we can doit, no matter what the situation is.”

For more information call (519) 653-6072, visitwww.cambridgeinsurance.on.ca or just walk in.

WE HAVE YOUCOVERED

CORPORATE PROF I LE

The right product,with the right service

827 King St. EastCambridge, ON

DARRELL, (left) AND BRAD FRAZER

B E S M A R T • B E S E C U R E • B E C O V E R E D • B E I N S U R E D


6 | w w w . e x c h a n g e m a g a z i n e . c o m

P.O. Box 41030,Waterloo ON N2K 3K0Tel: 519-886-2831 • Fax: 519-886-6409email: [email protected]

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EXCHANGE magazine is a regional business publication published by ExchangeBusiness Communication Inc., CEO Jon Rohr. Eight issues per year are dis-tributed to each company in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, andFergus as determined by Canada Post Business Postal Walks. SSuubbssccrriippttiioonnssaarree aavvaaiillaabbllee ffoorr $$2299..9900.. SSeenndd cchheeqquuee oorr mmoonneeyy oorrddeerr ttoo EExxcchhaannggee,,PP..OO.. BBooxx 4411003300,, WWaatteerrlloooo,, OONN NN22KK 33KK00.. AAttttnn:: CCiirrccuullaattiioonn DDeeppaarrttmmeenntt..Back issues are available for $8 per copy. Phone: (519) 886-9953. Fax: (519) 886-6409. ISSN 0824-457X Copyright, 2007. No part of thismagazine may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

MOVER & SHAKER

After the Earthquake............ 16BY PAUL KNOWLESJohn K. Bell leads ATS out of an unprece-dented shake-up. September, 2007, was amonth of earth-shaking surprises at ATSAutomation Tooling Systems Inc.

FEATURES

Taking on the Giants ........................ 26BY PAUL KNOWLESExeculink is going head to head with Belland Rogers in southwestern Ontario

Lulu’s Reborn .......................... 33Deer Ridge Centre a prime example ofdevelopment near Kitchener’s 401 access

Making a Difference ............ 54BY BRIAN HUNSBERGERLocal Rotary Club spearheads ChristmasTurkey Drive

CONTENTS

SERVING BUSINESS IN WATERLOO REGION AND GUELPH | VOLUME 25, NUMBER 2

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

On the cover: John K. Bell, interim CEO for ATS AutomationTooling Systems Inc.

ATS - John K. Bellleads company out of

shake-up, page 16

PLEASERECYCLE,GIVE TO AFRIEND

CHRISTMAS CHARITY:Jim and Barry help bring

turkeys to the pan, page 54

DEER RIDGE CENTRE:Development near

Kitchener’s 410 access,page 33


N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 7 | 7

It is probably a bit sillyto refer to a 103-year-old company asan “upstart”, but inmany ways, the termfits Execulink Telecom.“Chief Tech Guy” IanStevens – officially thePresident and CEO ofthe southern Ontariotelecom company – isleading his locally-based, family-ownedcompany into head-to-head battle with

communications big boys Bell and Rogers.That’s the approach of a bold upstart,

even if Execulink can trace its roots backmore than a century to a time when acountry doctor arranged for a telephoneline to be strung between two OxfordCounty villages.

The Execulink story is intriguing – itshistory resonates with any of us who havesouthern Ontario roots, but its currentstrategy is cutting edge in an industrywhere “history” is defined in hours.

The “restart” referred to in our headlineis the management revolution at Cam-bridge’s ATS Automation Tooling SystemsInc. The basic story will surprise no one;everyone in the business community fol-lowed the highly unusual developments inSeptember, when the entire board and topexecutives of ATS resigned, to be replacedby a new board named by two investmentcompanies who led the revolt – and byCambridge’s John K. Bell, interim CEO.

This “revolution” may be unprecedentedin Canadian corporate history. Can thenew man at the top bring peace andrenewed focus on growth out of this tem-porary chaos? We at Exchange wanted theinside story from the genial, energetic manwho took over ATS, and we were delightedwhen he agreed to sit down for an exclu-sive interview only days after he took overthe CEO’s office.

We got the goods from John Bell, a fasci-nating man and a true leader. It’s another ina long series of cover articles we are veryproud to share with you, our readers. X

DEPARTMENTS

From the Editor .......................... 7PAUL KNOWLESA Restart for an Upstart

Publisher’s Note ...................... 10JON ROHRThe Sequel Syndrome

Business Monitor .................... 12Lisa LaFlamme honoured; Ontario labourshortage; Google is growing; Rising dollar;Round tripping with Bearskin; Spurning self-employment; Book launch for Hospice; HomeHardware cares; Oktoberfest Media Night;R&D approach threatens research; You shouldhire me because...; XQuarterly; XQuote

Watercooler .............................. 46

COLUMNSGood Governance .................... 36JOHN T. DINNERIn-Camera Meetings

Business & the Law ................ 37MELANIE REISTCLC vs. ESA

Sales Talk .................................... 38WAYNE VANWYCKThe Best Person to Solve Clients’ Problems

Leadership Development ...... 40LINDA GREGORIO2008 - Be Your Own Change Agent

Practical Leadership .............. 42JIM CLEMMERToo Many Trips to the Zoo?

Guest Column .......................... 44DAVID NEILLYHow to Pay Employees “Just Right”

A RESTART FORAN UPSTARTIn both cases, experience matters

PAUL KNOWLES is editor ofExchange Magazine. He is anauthor and public speaker.email: [email protected]

by PAUL KNOWLES

FROM THE EDITOR

EXECULINK: IanStevens is taking

on the giants,page 26

MIXED MESSAGES:Book launch benefitsHospice of Waterloo

Region, page 13

LISA LAFLAMME:Honoured by RegionalCatholic School Board,page 12



THE SEQUEL SYNDROMETime to move on to a new style of leadership

JON ROHR is publisher ofExchange Magazine forBusiness. email: [email protected]

by JON ROHR innovation, and figure out what they can contribute totheir enterprise channel – then market the hell out of it. Itmight not be as sexy as leaders like, but it pays the billsand employs the population.

All the same time thinking of the next product todevelop and sell.

Like it our not, leadership on all levels is required. Butfrankly, most of our acknowledged leaders seem to be insequel mode, living off their past success, few are look-ing hard enough towards the future.

Questions in play remain in play: How many times inone decade can we dance the same step when the beatis completely different?

Where are the unorganized, eager and hungry kids,

with nothing to lose, trying new things, and exploringnew paradigms?

Have we forced them so tightly into a laboratory,that they’ve forgotten how to play? Are we so caughtup with trying to be part of their success that, like anpep talk gone bad, we give them advice because we’rethinking “why not” instead of thinking rationally, “Doesthis have a market?”

The success of the past is in the past. New successoriginates from the peripherals; let’s think outside thebox, gather around some matches, light them andwatch them burn. X

Let‘s get right into it.Are the leaders of our communities so entrenched

with supposedly higher order organizations that theyhave thrown common sense, not just out the window,but out of the lexicon of everyday life?

Have our seasoned pillars of community become soblind-sided by our past success that they’ve reacheda level of mental marginalization, that is destinedto deplete our equity and continue to divide our commu-nity into competing camps.

Are leaders so stuck to their personal preferences thatthey’ve forgotten what broad strokes it takes to innovate?

When does this “Rocky” mentality end? The sixthsequel is never as good as the original. New thoughts,

new shows, new talent are needed. Not only in our lead-ing institutions, but also in our enterprises that are chal-lenged by everyday life.

In a world fraught with economic uncertainty, why dowe continue to look for success in the same place?

We need to act differently; the speech that at one pointtriggered passion and ignited a charge is tired and wornand needs to be tossed. Future leaders need to be actionheroes, marketing gurus; leaders need to focus less oncongratulating the elite and more on helping startupsdevelop and sell product.

Companies need to get beyond just thinking about

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

When does this “Rocky” mentality end? The sixth sequel is never as good as the original


GOOGLE IS GROWING

Lisa LaFlamme honoured by Water loo RC BoardBUSINESS MONITOR

Ontario faces a labour shortage of more than 360,000 people, which threatensmany sectors of the economy, according to a new Conference Board of

Canada report.“We are threatened with an escalating shortage of trained people in a wide

range of areas, from manufacturing to business to social services,” said BarbaraTaylor, president of Canadore College and chair of the Ontario colleges' committeeof presidents.“The challenges in training and retraining sufficient numbers of people are serious

enough now, as the economy suffers from layoffs in major industries such as theauto sector,” said Ian Howcroft, vice-president,Ontario division,Canadian Manufac-turers & Exporters.“In the next few years, the labour market pressures will intensify,as greater numbers of people start to retire and we don't have a supply of qualifiedpeople to replace them. Ontario must address this challenge now.”The Conference Board of Canada report found the approaching wave of retire-

ments in the workforce, matched against Ontario’s slowing population growthand the projected labour demand, will create an escalating shortage of skilledemployees in coming years. Ontario will be short 190,000 skilled employees in13 years’ time, and that shortage will quickly escalate to more than 360,000 by2025 and more than 560,000 by 2030.“Ontario will soon be entering a period where pressures begin to mount signif-

icantly,” the report says. “The projected shortfall is an important indicator of thedegree to which Ontario’s labour market will become increasingly strained, whichcould potentially constrain economicgrowth.”Everything from construction work and

emergency repairs to home-care serv-ices could be affected by a shortage ofqualified employees.The Conference Board of Canada re-

port was commissioned by a new coali-tion of experts, called Ontario’sWorkforce Shortage Coalition, which hasunited to help the province focus on thispotential threat to the province's econ-omy. A copy of the Conference Board re-port, along with a report produced bythe coalition, can be found at the Col-leges Ontario website at www.col-legesontario.orgThe coalition includes the Automotive

Parts Manufacturers' Association, Cana-dian Manufacturers & Exporters, theCanadian Restaurant and FoodservicesAssociation, the College StudentAlliance,Colleges Ontario,CON(*)NECT, the Council of Ontario ConstructionAssociations, theOntarioAssociation of Certified Engineering Technicians andTechnologists, the On-tario Chamber of Commerce, the Ontario MiningAssociation, the Ontario RestaurantHotel & Motel Association, the Power Workers’ Union, Retail Council of Canada,Skills-Canada Ontario, Ontario Environment Industry Association, Ontario GeneralContractors Association, Greater Toronto Hotel Association,Toronto Financial Serv-icesAlliance,Alliance of Ontario Food Processors, and the Ontario Tourism Council.While the coalition acknowledges that some measures have been taken by both

federal and provincial governments, including Employment Ontario, apprentice-ship tax credits and the recently announced Provincial Nominee Program, it’surging that the skills shortage threat be given higher priority.The coalition is callingon Ontario’s political leaders to commit to establishing a comprehensive provin-cial skills strategy. The report points to some potential solutions, such as bettereducation and training of under-represented groups.As a first step, the coalitionsays Ontario must establish a Premier’s Council on Skills that brings theprovince’s experts together to develop a strategy.“Employers throughout the tourism sector are already feeling the labour crunch,”

said Terry Mundell, president of the Greater Toronto Hotel Association. “The skillsshortage is a significant challenge for the hotel industry and tourism as a whole.Since tourism represents 19% of Ontario’s businesses, this is serious.”“Despite efforts to date, Ontario is still facing a labour shortage of crisis propor-

tions,” said Len Crispino, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Com-merce. “It will take a combined effort on the part of all stakeholders, to identifyand implement long-term solutions, learning from successful efforts outside ofour borders and taking full advantage of the people and resources here in On-tario, to ensure that our province continues to be a prosperous place to live andto do business.”

Ontario Faces Labour Shortage


AKitchener native who has made hermark in the national news media

has been honoured by the regionalRoman Catholic school board. Multiaward-winning CTV News correspon-dent Lisa LaFlamme – a graduate ofSt. Daniel Catholic Elementary Schooland St. Mary's High School in Kitch-ener – has been named recipient ofthe 2007 Waterloo Catholic DistrictSchool Board Distinguished GraduateAward.Previous award recipients include

University of Waterloo Professor Dr.Brian Orend (2006) and SuperiorCourt Justice Patrick J. Flynn (2005).The prestigious award was initiated

by the Board of Trustees in 2005 tohonour graduates ofWaterloo Region'sCatholic Schools who have demon-strated outstanding commitment totheir faith and have made significantcontributions to their community.Beginning her news career as a radio

reporter for local news stations CFCA FM/AM109 in 1989, LaFlamme quicklymoved on to become a reporter and news anchor for CKCO TV. She served for sev-eral years as co-host of CTV's flagship morning program Canada AM and since2003 has been National Affairs Correspondent for the CTV National News WithLloyd Robertson – where she has served as a fill-in anchor for Mr. Robertson onnumerous occasions.She has received five Gemini nominations in the Best News Anchor category

and has traveled the globe anchoring network coverage and reporting on storiesranging from the September 11 terrorist attacks to the war in Afghanistan, thesouth-Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the death of Pope John-Paul II.Members of her extended family still attendWaterloo Region's Catholic Schools,

and a statement from the Board said,“The staff and students ofWaterloo Region’sCatholic Schools proudly congratulate Lisa for her many outstanding accomplish-ments and thank her for her continued support.”

At the risk of stat-ing the blatantly

obvious: Google isgrowing. What wasonce a single pur-pose small group of-fice is expandingtheir local presenceat University ofWaterloo R&T TechTown. In a brief inter-view Stuart Feldman– who apologized toa group of Googleemployees for wear-ing a suit – explainedtheir reason for grow-ing in Waterloo. "Wedecided this neigh-borhood is really promising and growing, so we're going to turn it into one of ourgeneral purpose engineering offices, one that will have a number of project areas,that will contribute in a number of directions for the overall company.”“Google is distributed all over the world, “Google bluntly is a talent play – we go

where we can hire people who we can't get to go elsewhere, andWaterloo appearsto be such a place," said Feldman.Shown are (l to r) President David Johnson, President of University of Waterloo

and Stuart Feldman, Vice President, Engineering for Google.



Most execs spurn self-employment

BUSINESS MONITOR

Ahigh Canadian dollar threatens theviability of companies in Canada,

according to 41% of Chartered Ac-countants working in senior executivepositions across Canada, who re-sponded in the CICA/RBC BusinessMonitor (Q3 2007) survey.The quarterly report is based on a

survey conducted by The Canadian In-stitute of Chartered Accountants(CICA), and draws upon business in-sights of CAs in leadership positionsin privately and publicly held compa-nies across Canada.“Our CAs running companies in

Canada are telling us that they aredefinitely feeling the pressure of a ris-ing dollar on their businesses,” saidKevin Dancey, FCA, CICA presidentand CEO.“The federal government canalleviate this stress by reducing cor-porate taxes to foster continuedgrowth of Canadian businesses andhelp ensure our capital markets re-main strong.”When asked in the Q3 survey what

businesses would do if their corporatetaxes were cut by even 10%, half ofrespondents cited capital assets andR&D as areas where they would investthe majority of the tax savings.

“This bodes well for Canada’s in-creasing competitiveness and overalleconomic performance,” stated TracyStevenson, vice-president of BusinessFinancial Services at RBC. “It is alsointeresting to note that only a smallpercentage of those surveyed woulduse the tax savings to repay corporatedebt – which likely means that compa-nies are comfortable with their currentdebt levels.”Added Dancey, “Ultimately, a corpo-

rate tax reduction would put moneyback into the pockets of all Canadians.Businesses pass on taxes to cus-tomers through higher prices, to sup-pliers and labour through lower costsand wages and to those who supplycapital through lower returns.”On the whole, Chartered Accountants

in senior executive positions have in-dicated they are generally positive re-garding economic prospects over thenext year. When asked about the topchallenges facing their businesses, re-spondents cited market competition(42 %); customer demand (35%); andavailability of other professional andtechnical skills (31%) as their mainconcerns.The CICA/RBC Business Monitor (Q3

2007) is based on interviews con-ducted by email and completed by226 CAs of 2,072 identified by theCICA as CAs holding senior positions(CFOs, CEOs and COOs) in publicly orprivately held companies in Canada.

Most executives would decline the opportunity to be their own boss, accordingto a new survey. Fifty-nine per cent of respondents said they feel the average

executive would not choose to be self-employed if he or she had the necessarystartup capital, whereas 33% disagreed.The survey was developed by Robert Half Management Resources. The poll in-

cludes interviews with 100 senior Canadian executives – including those fromhuman resources, finance and marketing departments.Senior executives were asked, “If the average executive could be self-employed

and had the necessary startup capital, do you feel he or she would make themove?”“Some executives may see more opportunity – and security – in their corporate

roles than in venturing out on their own,” said Paul McDonald, executive directorof Robert Half Management Resources. “The failure of a sizable number of start-ups earlier in the decade left many senior managers wary of the risks associatedwith self-employment.”However, McDonald pointed out that for professionals with an independent

spirit, “hanging out a shingle” has its benefits.“The challenge and flexibility of en-trepreneurship can outweigh the uncertainty, but it takes discipline and a com-mitment to being both a visionary and a pragmatist.” He noted that consultingcan be a good alternative for those who seek the advantages of self-employmentwithout the administrative burden of owning a small business.

Rising dollar threatensviability of companies

Book launch benefitsregional Hospice

ROUND-TRIPPING TO OTTAWA, BEARSKIN STYLE

The title of the book is “Mixed Mes-sages”, but the message was very

clear at the highly successful launchof the book, published as a fundraiser.“Mixed Messages” is a new anthologyof literature, organized by ExchangeMagazine editor and author PaulKnowles. Three hundred people pres-ent liked the book, and they liked thecause.Twenty-five Canadian and American

writers contributed storiesand poems, and areabusinesspeople contributedfunds to cover the costs ofpublishing. That means thatthe full purchase price oneach book goes to the chari-table cause – the Hospice ofWaterloo Region.The Hospice is a key local

service carried out largely byvolunteers; its current CapitalCampaign, chaired by BrendaHagey, is raising funds to ac-quire a permanent home forthe staff and facilities of theHospice.The book launch took place

at St. George Banquet Hall inWaterloo, which was donatedfor the event. Half of the con-tributing authors attendedand signed hundreds ofbooks – including JaneUrquhart, Paul Quarrington, Erika Rit-ter, Katherine Govier, Barbara King-stone, Liz Fleming, Anita Hanson,David Hobson, Stan Johannesen, andKnowles.Author Stephen Kimber trav-elled from Nova Scotia for the event;writer Max Gordon flew in from NewYork City.

Waterloo Regional Airport has again landed a passenger carrier to fly to and fromOttawa.Three daily flights on weekdays,and one each on Saturday and Sunday,

us a METRO 19-seat aircraft operated by Bearskin Airlines, out of Thunder Bay.To make it viable, the Airline needs a 50% seat capacity on every flight. Ken

Birch, Bearskin Airline Representative stationed in Ottawa told Exchange on theinaugural landing that they already have six of the nineteen seats confirmed onevery flight from Ottawa. The first flight had eight passengers.

Cliff Friesen, Executive Vice President stated that thenew airline will "benefit the airport and the communityand the businesses located at the airport.We’re ecstatic– we're excited about this new service." Regional ChairKen Seiling said, "It's part of the incremental approachin the development of the airport. I think there is a lotof potential here and it's showing itself early on."

(l to r) Jeff Schelling, Manager Airport Development at Waterloo Regional; Brad Martin, Director ofOperations Bearskin Airlines; Ron Hell, Director of Marketing and Sales, Bearskin Airlines; areapolitical leaders Ken Seiling, Tom Galloway, Bill Strauss, and Jane Brewer; and Cliff Friesen, Execu-tive Vice-President, Bearskin Airlines, also shown above, left.

Knowles said that the book will raise$60,000 for the regional hospice andother related causes. “Mixed Mes-sages” can be purchased at HomeHardware stores, or at local independ-ent book shops, including Wordsworthand Upper Case Books.

Top. Brenda Hagey, chair of the Hospice of WaterlooRegion Capital Campaign, stocks up on autographedcopies of “Mixed Messages”. Bottom, much-honouredauthor Jane Urquhart, a contributor to the book, with PaulKnowles, who organized the publishing project, and is alsoeditor of Exchange.



BUSINESS MONITOR

Home Hardware Cares

PROF WARNS ONTARIO’S R&DAPPROACH THREATENS RESEARCH

Rekindling the “Earth Care” environmental brand was a major theme throughout HomeHardware's 89th Market. Drawing more than 10,000 visitor to the St. Jacobs/ Kitch-

ener-Waterloo area twice a year, the market draws dealers from as far away as Dawson City,Yukon to the north and St. John's Newfoundland to east.Nine hundred vendors and their 4,600 representatives come from equally distant loca-

tions and set up for the week-long event on Henry Street in St. Jacobs.An expanded Natura product line underscores the Earth Care brand, which ranges from

environmental friendly cleaning supplies to cleaning tools made from recycled materials.The Earth Care brand was originally developed by Home Hardware in 1984, 22 years be-

fore Nobel Prize winning Al Gores’ “AnInconvenient Truth” Oscar winningmovie spread throughout North Amer-ica and the developed world.

O k t o b e r f e s t M e d i a N i g h t

Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest cel-ebrations included the popular –

and always well-attended – MediaNight at the Concordia Club. Shownabove is the ceremonial Tapping of theKeg with (l-r) Miss Oktoberfest Nicole

Stuber, Mel Colvin, Neil Aitchison,Bill Madill and Mark Kreller. Left,Oktoberfest President Mark Krellerenjoys one of his more delightful du-ties, escorting Miss Oktoberfest, 23-year-old Nicole Stuber of Kitchener,who is currently a student in Commu-nications and History at York University.The local event – the largest Oktober-

fest in North America – celebrated thespirit of “Gemuetlichkeit” from October5-13 and, as always, includedCanada’s largest Thanksgiving Day Pa-rade with 135,000 spectators.The festival raised over $1.5 million

for local non-profit organizations.

The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations has releaseda research paper criticizing the misdirected approach of the Ontario gov-

ernment’s research and development policies. Ontario's total investment inR&D compares poorly to other industrialized nations, the OCUFA paper,called “The Quality of University Research: Innovation Policy and Funding”,points out. The province’s investment in R&D, as a proportion of GDP, is 14%below the G7 average.Ontario business performance is even weaker, with business R&D spending as

a proportion of GDP lagging G7 counterparts by 16%. But Ontario universitieslead the G7 nations in research expenditures by universities – by 36%.A statement from the organization says, “OCUFA is concerned that Ontario’s ap-

proach, requiring universities to support commercial research projects, divertsfaculty, graduate students, facilities, equipment and money away from basic re-search. Government policy, therefore, seems designed to encourage businessR&D activity and funding on the cheap – and on the backs of universities.“As a result, Ontario's greatest R&D strength – its high level of university R&D

spending – is being threatened by government policy initiatives that would requireuniversities to redirect scarce resources from basic research to commercial re-search.“There is also the even greater danger that commercial criteria will actually hurt

overall R&D results by skewing university research programs increasingly awayfrom basic research – the very research that has led to the greatest commercialinnovations.”“Strength in basic research is a feature of all strong economies,” said OCUFA

President Brian E. Brown. “Even the United States – our main competitor andcomparator, whose universities are cited as exemplars of commercial performance– favours basic research over commercial projects.American business recognizesthe commercial value of independent, university basic research and routinely lob-bies Congress for additional funding for it.To turn this pattern around, OCUFA rec-ommends the Ontario government invest in R&D to the G7 average.”The Quality of University Research: Innovation Policy and Funding can be found

at: www.ocufa.on.ca/research/Innovation_Policy_and_Funding_September2007.pdf.

(photo left): Nancy Dingman, Business Man-ager of Speciality Products, Home Hardwarefeatures environmentally friendly Natura prod-ucts; (top right): Robert Brown of W.C. Brown& Sons supplies Home Hardware with theirfamous red jackets and other uniforms;(right): Wally McTaggert with Salton Canada;(far right) Claire Trainor, Public RelationsCoordinator Home Hardware with the newestline of Earth Care bags.


BUSINESS MONITOR

• The unemployment rate dipped 0.1percentage points to 5.9% in Sep-tember, the first time since Nov. 1974that the rate has been below 6.0%.The decline in the rate occurred asemployment rose by an estimated51,000.

• To date in 2007, employment hasgrown by 1.7% (+283,000), a rate ofgrowth higher than over the first ninemonths of 2006 (+1.3%).

• In September, core-age workers –aged 25 to 54 – experienced their firstsignificant gain in employment(+40,000) since the start of the year.

• Older workers (aged 55 and over) alsoshowed employment strength with anincrease of 23,000 in September. Sofar this year, employment among olderpeople has been growing faster(+5.6%) than in the core age group.

• Employment increased by an esti-mated 30,000 in Ontario, all full-timework. Despite this increase, employ-ment growth in the province over thefirst nine months(+1.2%) remainsbelow the national average of 1.7%.

• Employees, on average, earned 4.2%more per hour in September than theydid in September 2006, while themost recent year-over-year increase inthe Consumer Price Index was 1.7%.This is the largest estimated year-over-year increase in average hourly wagessince the Labour Force Survey begancollecting this information in 1997.

• Investment in non-residential buildingconstruction marked its fourth con-secutive year of uninterrupted growth.Non-residential investment hit $10.4billion in the third quarter, up 4.9%from the second quarter. The third-quarter increase was due mainly toconstruction of major office buildingsin Alberta, Quebec and Ontario.

• Investment in the commercial compo-nent led the way with a 5.2% increaseto $6.2 billion. In the institutionalcomponent, investment rose 5.3% to$2.7 billion, while investment in theindustrial component increased 3.1%to $1.5 billion.

• Canada Mortgage and Housing Cor-poration’s report on Kitchener’s pre-liminary housing starts data for themonth of September shows that con-

struction began on 245 homes in theKitchener Census Metropolitan Area,an increase of 40% from the 175units started in the same month lastyear. 100 single-detached founda-tions were poured in September, up4% from 96 units started in Septem-ber 2006.At 145 units, multiple-fam-ily home starts were up 84% from the79 units started in September 2006.

• With a rebound not expected until2009, Ontario’s economy is poisedfor growth of 1.8% in 2008, accordingto a provincial economic outlook re-leased by RBC. Canada’s economy isexpected to grow by 2.8% in the finalhalf of 2007 and 2.5% next year.

• Canada’s merchandise trade surpluswith the world widened in August inthe wake of a decline in exports andan even sharper decrease in imports,which had hit a record high the monthbefore. Exports decreased 1.8% to$38.5 billion.

• After peaking in July, imports fell 3.9%to $34.4 billion in August.

• National net worth reached $5.3 tril-lion by the end of the second quarterof 2007, or $162,200 per capita. Na-tional net worth expanded by $86 bil-lion (+1.6%) in Q2r, growing less thanin any of the previous six quarters.

• 83% of the 10,826 Canadian Feder-ation of Independent Business mem-bers surveyed say they are alreadytaking steps to conserve energy, in-cluding reducing electricity usage andrenovating their buildings. Over 70%have introduced or expanded recy-cling at work, and about one-third useenvironmentally friendly products.

• The most important environmental is-sues to small- and medium-sized en-terprises are recycling of materials,energy conservation and cleanwater/sewage.

• The numbers of millionaire house-holds globally grew by 14% in 2006from 2005 and now control a third ofthe estimated $100 trillion in wealth.These 9.6 million families, comprising0.7% of world’s households, now con-trol some $33.2 trillion.About half arelocated in the United States andCanada, a quarter in Europe and afifth in the Asia-Pacific region.

• More than half of Canadians (56%)are taking personal steps to reducetheir carbon footprint, despite thatmore Canadians feel that the federalgovernment should take the lead inlimiting climate change than the indi-vidual or businesses (40% versus32% and 14%, respectively.) Canadi-ans topped the list of respondents,according to a global survey by Tand-berg. Australians and Chinese alsoranked high at 55% and 52%, respec-tively.

• Only 17% of Italians and 21% of Rus-sians said they were concerned aboutthe environment and were taking per-sonal measures to be responsible.

• An annual income of $89,000 wasenough to put an individual amongthe 1.2 million Canadians who madeup the top 5% of the country’s taxfilerpopulation in 2004, according to anew study. An income of $181,000was sufficient to put someone amongthe 237,000 people in the top 1% ofthe taxfiler population. But to be partof the richest one-hundredth of a per-cent (0.01%) of taxfilers, Canadianshad to have income of more than$2.8 million, the study found. Thestudy was released in Perspectives onLabour and Income.

• Almost half (46%) of the top 5% of thetaxfiler population lived in Ontario.Quebec was a distant second, at18%, followed by Alberta (15%) andBritish Columbia (13%).

• Among the top 0.01% of the taxfilerpopulation, more than one-half (51%)lived in Ontario. However, Alberta wassecond at 23%, while Quebec wasfourth at just 10%.

• 50% of advertising and marketing ex-ecutives recently polled said theysearch online for information aboutprospective hires at least some of thetime. Among those, 14% have de-cided not to hire someone based ontheir findings.

• Visits made by Canadian travellers inCanada totalled 64.9 million duringthe third quarter of 2006. Canadiantravellers spent $11.8 billion withinthe country during the third quarter of2006.

• After four consecutive months ofgrowth, overnight travel from theUnited States fell to its lowest level inover four years in July. Americansmade only 1.1 million overnight tripsto Canada in July, about 81,000 fewerthan in June. This was equivalent to a7.1% decline, which was the fastestin over four years.

• Trucking companies in Canada withannual revenue of at least $1 milliontransported 66.7 million shipments in2005, up slightly from 2004. Thesecompanies hauled 615 milliontonnes of goods, compared with 609million tonnes in the previous year.

You should hireme because...

XQuarterly – www. xquarterly.ca


Conducting job interviews can betime consuming, but for many em-

ployers these meetings are far from bor-ing. Executives were recently asked todescribe the strangest pitches they’veheard from potential hires. The re-sponses ranged from a person whonoted that he’d be a great addition tothe company softball team to the can-didate who sang her responses to inter-view questions.The poll included responses from 150

senior executives – including those fromhuman resources, finance and market-ing departments. It was conducted byan independent research firm and de-veloped by Accountemps.Executives were asked, “What is the

wackiest or most unusual pitch you’veheard from a job seeker about why he orshe should get the job?” Here are someof their responses:• “An individual told me he was allergic

to unemployment.”• “One job seeker said he should get

the job because he had already ap-plied three times and felt that it wasnow his turn.”

• “One individual said we had nice ben-efits, which was good because he wasgoing to need to take a lot of leave inthe next year.”

• “An applicant drafted a press releaseannouncing that we had hired him.”

• “A person said he had no relevant ex-perience for the position he was inter-viewing for, but his friend did.”

• “A gentleman delivered his entire coverletter verbally as a rap song.”

• “An applicant wanted the position be-cause she wanted to get away fromdealing with people.”

• “One person brought his mother to thejob interview and let her do all of thetalking.”

• “One applicant gave me his resume ina brown paper lunch bag.”While these job search tactics are

amusing, they also indicate that manycandidates need to perfect their pitchesto potential employers,Accountempsof-fers these tips for answering the ques-tion, “Why should I hire you?”:• Look on the bright side. Rather than

viewing this question as an obstacle,see it as a chance to describe thevalue you can add to the organization.

• Tailor your response. The best re-sponses highlight your abilities that di-rectly relate to the position.

• Show enthusiasm.Along with describ-ing how your experience can benefitthe organization,point out what makesyou interested in that particular firm.

• Prepare, prepare, prepare. Before theinterview, plan how you will respond ifyou are asked to describe why youshould be hired.

XQuote"In the global economy, you lead or you lose. Changes in technology and

the explosion in emerging markets like India and China mean the pacewill never again be slow, competition will only get fiercer, and compla-cency will spell disaster. Canada must act now to address skills short-ages, build a competitive tax and regulatory system, and boost ourproductivity. We need to work together so all Canadians can look aheadto a bright economic future. In this new age of doing business – an eraof both opportunity and challenge – Canadian businesses can drivechange and be global leaders."

- PERRIN BEATTY, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE

CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE


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