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Gorman Bros. Lumber purchases Federated Co-op plant
December 6, 2012
As lumber and timber prices begin to rise, one of the Okanagan’s larger lumber producers is expanding. Gorman Bros. Lumber of Westbank has completed its purchase of the Federated Co-operatives forest products operation in Canoe.
“The purchase agreement provides that all employees will be offered employment by Gorman Bros. Lumber on substantially the same terms and conditions as their present employment,” states the news release announcing the acquisition.
The sale includes Federated’s plywood plant, sawmill and log harvesting and forestry operations within the Okanagan Timber Supply Area surrounding Shuswap Lake.
Although rumours have circulated that the planer might re-open, Rick Scott, Gorman Bros.’ chief financial officer, says no.
“We’re not planning on expanding the operation. The planer will not be operated. Possibly the kilns will be used, but they only take one or two people.”
The sawmill hasn’t operated since Dec. 21, 2007, due to unfavourable market conditions.
Scott said the words ‘substantially the same’ in the news release referring to the terms of conditions of employment, means people are receiving the same wages as before.
“Yes, definitely. Things are 99 per cent the same.”
Gorman Bros. Lumber operates lumber production facilities in Westbank and Revelstoke and a pole division in Area D in rural Lumby.
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DCT Chambers Trucking receives safety award
November 25, 2012
A trucking company with its roots in the Monashee has received a major safety award despite a recent history of road incidents on Highway 6.
Vernon’s DCT Chambers Trucking Ltd. has received the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering’s (CSSE) Achievement Recognition Award for TruckSafe Organizational Excellence.
The large white chip trucks are well known to local motorists, they log thousands of miles on Highway 6 and have encountered a few mishaps over the years. It still hasn’t stopped the company from proving a good safety record.
Sponsored by WorkSafeBC, the award was given at a banquet in Langley in October.
DCT Chambers specializes in hauling wood residuals across the Pacific Northwest and is the first B.C. carrier in its class to earn WorkSafeBC and the Trucking Safety Council of BC’s Certificate of Recognition (COR) – the highest honour in the industry – in 2011.
This certification, along with a comprehensive occupational health and safety program for all staff and an excellent track record, caught the CSSE’s attention.
“This is a significant achievement,” said DCT safety consultant Paul White, of E.H.S. YSafety Consulting Inc.
“DCT Chambers trucking has committed the time and recourses necessary to ensure that these safety goals could be accomplished and should be commended for their efforts.”
Some of DCT’s unique safety initiatives include: weekly tool box talks with a supervisor’s safety committee; satellite technology systems to monitor driving practices; safe-driving rewards; driver involvement in the development of the driver’s handbook; and dispatch and area managers in constant contact with drivers.
“We have hundreds of trucks on highways every day, so we really value the safety of our drivers and the communities they pass through,” said assistant general manager Ryan Chambers. “It’s a huge honour for DCT to win this award.”
With hundreds of trucks, the latest in transportation technology, and a team committed to customer service, safety and environmental protection, DCT Chambers has been one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading wood fibre and commodity carriers for nearly 50 years
The Chambers family has been in residence in the Monashee for many years.
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Innovation:
Mill site to be turned into privately-owned port and industrial park
August 16, 2012
Note from MVS: Lumby needs to find a progressive developer to develop an industrial park. Lumby is rich in industrial land which is sitting idle, the land parcels are too large and some of them require environmental cleanup. Campbell River has been faced with a similar situation. This article explains how that community has moved forward in dealing with a 400 acre site vacated by Catalyst Paper.
A deal has been reached to sell the Elk Falls Mill site to a company that will create 400 jobs in Campbell River as a result.
On August 16th Catalyst Paper announced that it has reached agreement with Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals Incorporated on the sale of its Elk Falls site in Campbell River.
The $8.6 million sale of the 400-acre industrial site and adjacent properties is expected to close September 5, 2012. It completes Catalyst’s comprehensive bid review process which began earlier this year.
“We are very pleased to have attracted an experienced developer with the capacity and an industrial concept that will fully utilize the site’s infrastructure and bring new business and jobs to the region,” said Kevin J. Clarke, Catalyst President and Chief Executive Officer.
The former pulp and paper site was indefinitely curtailed in 2009 and closed permanently in 2010. Since then, equipment has been decommissioned and demolition work has been completed to prepare the site for sale and redevelopment to other industrial uses. The Elk Falls mill began operation in 1952, and at its peak, produced 784,000 tonnes of pulp, paper and kraft paper annually.
“The site is strategically located to serve a variety of marine, light manufacturing, clean energy and distribution uses,” said Pacifica Owner and Director Harold Jahn, “and we intend to transform it into a dynamic industrial park and port facility with the goal of creating 400 full time jobs in the Campbell River region over the next three years.”
Jahn is the director and owner of numerous Canadian private firms launched in a range of industries over the past 20 years. He is currently developing three industrial parks in northern Alberta. Within the new Pacifica Industrial Park, Jahn plans to base his companies that are presently developing algae based solar cells, a lithium battery manufacturing facility, ocean wave energy equipment fabrication and an electric vehicle assembly plant.
Catalyst Paper manufactures diverse specialty mechanical printing papers, newsprint and pulp. Its customers include retailers, publishers and commercial printers in North America, Latin America, the Pacific Rim and Europe. With four mills, located in British Columbia and Arizona, Catalyst has a combined annual production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes. The company is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada and is ranked by Corporate Knights magazine as one of the 50 Best Corporate Citizens in Canada.
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Lumby continues to be off-course with economic development
Aspenware celebrates its new home in Vernon - not Lumby
May 18. 2012
Lumby’s loss has become Vernon’s gain as Aspenware moves from rural Lumby to Vernon.
Since 2009, Aspenware had begun to make noises that it needed to expand operations.
The business had been located in rural Lumby for a number of years, taking over the former Silver Hills Bakery manufacturing facility on Mabel Lake Road after that company moved operations to the Fraser Valley. Aspenware has received some notoriety from its appearance on CBC’s The Dragons Den, but for the most part it’s not much different from other manufacturing start-ups – seeking investment, struggling to brand itself and open new markets while dealing with bricks and mortar issues with very little capital.
Today, the Aspenware plant in rural Lumby is vacant, but company owners continue to be excited about the future – as they claim that business is booming. Last week, Aspenware unveiled its new, multi-million dollar facility in Vernon. Its utensils are biodegradable and offer an environmentally friendly alternative to disposable plastic cutlery.
Lowry Lund told CHBC, “This is a project that is going to change the way that everyone in the world thinks about disposable cutlery.” North Americans use 100 billion disposable plastic utensils every year; most of the products end up in landfills. The wooden utensils are made out of timber that forest companies reject.
“We use salvage wood, mostly aspen and birch,” said co-founder Terry Bigsby. Aspenware has been making the products for more than a decade but low production levels hampered growth. It was never able to produce more than 35,000 wooden forks, knives and spoons a day. In order to increase production, the company decided to develop its own technology, a $3 million machine that allows Aspenware to produce ten times as much cutlery as before.
“We are talking with three or four of the largest fast food chains in the world,” said Doug Frankiw of Aspenware. “We have shipped to Chile and we’re also in Europe right now. Our biggest challenge is we can’t meet the production demands.”
Aspenware’s goal is to eventually produce one billion wooden utensils a year. The company also hopes to expand its workface dramatically over the next few years.
For Lumby area residents, Aspenware’s success should serve as a constant reminder of lost opportunity, and how not to engage in economic development. During Aspenware’s transition, Lumby was trying to chase down a provincial jail, politicians and some community leaders may have completely missed a tremendous opportunity to help a local business grow 100 jobs in the Lumby area.
Last year MVS did a chronology of events linked to Aspenware and the possibility of it moving from Lumby. The warning drew no response from Lumby Mayor and Council, the RDNO Directors, the MLA, nor the Chamber of Commerce.
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Update: Lumby Fields store closure
March 21, 2012
There have been unconfirmed reports since the MVS story was reported that the Lumby Fields store was sold and will remain open under a different name. Those early reports suggested that The Bargain Shop which had just announced the purchase of 10 Fields stores from HBC including a store in Armstrong, had also purchased the Lumby store.
MVS contacted Tracey Mikita, Vice-President of Human Resources for The Bargain! Shop based in Mississauga, Ontario, and she told us that, they are not opening a store in Lumby.
MVS is getting a great deal of feedback from residents who are saying that they will certainly miss the store if it closes.
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Fields to close across the country
Lumby store to join closures?
March 17, 2012
"After careful consideration, Hudson's Bay Company has announced we will wind down our Fields store operations," said Tiffany Bourré, external communications manager.
"In December we announced the closure of 26 Ontario Fields store locations, which will close in February 2012. We will wind down the remaining 141 store locations across the country in phases, with closures complete by Fall 2012," said Bourré.
"This process will be carried out between now and Fall 2012. As more precise dates are available, we will continue to communicate them to all constituents," said Senior Vice President and General Manager, Fields, Hudson's Bay Company Michael Waitzer
"Fields has had a long-standing history with the Hudson's Bay Company and has been an active and highly-regarded member of the communities where our stores are located," said Waitzer.
"Fields was proud to serve the many communities across Canada where our stores were located and would like to thank of all our customers for their loyalty," said Bourré.
At this point it is unknown as to wether the Lumby Fields store will open under another HBC banner or wethere there are any alternative plans. However Bourré is on record as saying that there will be a liquidation period before stores close.
Fields have become an anchor retail outlet in rural Canada, bringing discount “big box store” prices to small towns like Lumby. This valuable retail position retained retail spending in small towns.
The first Fields store was established in Vancouver in 1950 by the chain's founder, Joseph Segal. From there, Fields grew to eight stores by the time it opened a store at Capilano Mall in North Vancouver in 1968, continuing to expand across British Columbia into the 1970s with the acquisitions of several regional retailers (including several small HBC stores in smaller towns). In 1972, Fields purchased a subsidiary chain of hardware stores called Marshall Wells, and after further expansion into Alberta and Saskatchewan, it acquired majority ownership of the Zellers chain in 1976. Zellers would reverse the takeover a few months later and make Fields and Marshall Wells into its subsidiaries, all of which were partly acquired by HBC in 1978, and fully owned by 1981. Marshall Wells was sold by HBC in 1985, and Fields was moved from a Zellers subsidiary into a full division of HBC in 1988.
However, in February 28, 2006, Zellers was taken private when South Carolina businessman Jerry Zucker finalized a takeover bid for the Hudson's Bay Company. Following Zucker's death in 2008, HBC (including Zellers and Fields) came under the ownership of a New York-based company, NRDC Equity Partners, the owner of the Lord & Taylor.
On January 13, 2011 the Target Corporation of the United States purchased the lease agreements of up to 220 Zellers stores which included the Zellers at the Village Green Mall in Vernon which will become a Target Store.
The loss of a great number of Zellers stores has played a role in HBC adjusting its business operations which includes their closure of Fields. "This is a strategic decision by Hudson's Bay Company to focus on growing our other banners: The Bay, Lord & Taylor and Home Outfitters," said Tiffany Bourré.
In contrast with the much larger Zellers stores, the Fields division was intended to be a small format, extreme value retail chain for rural and urban Canadian communities.
Previously, the Hudson's Bay Company announced an aggressive expansion strategy for Fields, adding 53 new stores in 2006-2007, with another 35 locations planned for 2008. Over the next several years, HBC planned on opening around 800 new stores across Canada. New locations feature the successful Field's "Mini Mart" concept, a new format that was also to be rolled out to existing stores.
At this point it is unknown what will happen to the local Fields staff and the store itself in the wake of these cross country closures and as yet no corporate entity has emerged to possibly take over the chain.
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New Auditor General's Report:
Provincial forest plan needed to ensure forests for future generations
February 16, 2012
Management practices are insufficient to offset a trend toward future forests having a lower timber supply and less species diversity in some areas. The audit found that the ministry does not appropriately monitor and report its timber results against its timber objectives.
Auditor General John Doyle has released his latest report, An Audit of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ Management of Timber.
Nearly two-thirds of British Columbia’s 95 million hectares is forested. These forests contribute to employment, tourism and recreational opportunities, as well as generate significant revenue for government to finance public services. However, trends indicate that the future availability of timber will be smaller and less diverse, putting future revenue opportunities at risk. Stewardship responsibility for these forest resources lies with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
"Industry is legally obligated to reforest the areas it harvests, and it does so," says Doyle.
"But government, which is responsible for over 90 per cent of British Columbia’s forests, and whose reforestation decisions have a significant impact on our future forests, is not clear about its own commitments."
The audit found that the ministry has not clearly defined its timber objectives and, as a result, cannot ensure that its management practices are effective. Furthermore, existing management practices are insufficient to offset a trend toward future forests having a lower timber supply and less species diversity in some areas. Finally, the audit found that the ministry does not appropriately monitor and report its timber results against its timber objectives.
"In light of the devastation resulting from such events as mountain pine beetle, the ministry has a window of opportunity to shape our future forests and mitigate the impact with a timely, strategic reforestation plan and cost-effective silviculture," says Doyle. "To do this, government needs to establish a provincial plan that states its long-term timber objectives and focuses its resources in order to foster economic stability and quality of life for British Columbians now and in the future."
The Auditor General will follow up on the six recommendations made in the report in 2013.
To download the full report visit:
An Audit of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations' Management of Timber
About the Office of the Auditor General of B.C.
The Auditor General is a non-partisan, independent Officer of the Legislature who reports directly to the Legislative Assembly. The Auditor General Act empowers the Auditor General and staff (known as the Office of the Auditor General or OAG) to conduct audits, report findings and make recommendations.
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Continued High Speed disconnection
After 150 years residents demand ADSL
January 21, 2012
In the wake of a power and phone outage during one of the coldest days of the winter, rural residents are reminded that a better world of communication and technology continues to be on hold.
It’s been eight months since Telus placed $600,000 on the table to connect Area D and E to Broadband, however the amount needs to be matched from other sources and that’s where a high speed connection has slowed down to a crawl.
In July, supporters for high speed Internet service were dealt a blow when MP Colin Mayes informed them that Area D and E were not eligible for the Connecting Rural Canadians Program.
RDNO had been working with Telus to rush a proposal in so that Internet service could be completed “before the snow flies”. In an email from the Okanagan-Shuswap MP’s office they were told, “The Minister of Industry’s assistant apologizes profusely but he has learned after more follow-up under this program that they cannot accept anymore applications through their office. - I have been in touch with MLA Eric Foster’s office and would like to pass on that the Province of BC has a program called the Connecting Citizens Grant Program which could fund the same projects…of course, Colin would be more than happy to provide you with a letter of support for the projects as well”.
However, upon review of the provincial program it appeared that funding has already been committed and the Lumby and Cherryville areas did not appear on the funding list. Apparently Telus has continued to commit to the partnership required to upgrade ADSL Broadband service and make it available to the majority of rural residents in Lumby and Cherryville.
Presently, trying to secure the balance of the partnership funds continues to be a work in progress. Bobbi Fox a longtime supporter of bringing ADSL service to Cherryville says the Cherryville Broadband Committee, along with Area "E" Director Eugene Foisy continue to work toward obtaining high speed Internet for the maximum possible number of residences and businesses.
“We remain hopeful that we will partner with Telus to bring ADSL to an estimated 425 of our approximately 450 Cherryville telephone connections. Seeking ways and means for this process continues to be a priority with everyone involved,” says Fox.
Fox raises questions about the recent ads in the Lumby Times, with a new company proposing to offer wireless highspeed Internet access, possibly accompanied by telephone service, in the Lumby area.
“We have communicated with representatives of this company recently and they have indicated that they may be willing to sponsor a tower to transmit wireless Internet in our area, if they could achieve 200 Cherryville subscribers for their highspeed wireless service”.
But Fox states that when the Cherryville group began its efforts to bring high speed service to Cherryville dating back to 2007, they investigated numerous similar (2.4 Gigahertz and 900MHz) wireless opportunities for Cherryville and none of those efforts were met with any success.
“We found that we would require an estimated three or more towers to provide service to about half of our residents, and that the proposed wireless services would continue to be hampered by significant 'line of sight with the tower' issues, particularly when utilizing the 2.4 Gigahertz wireless units. The cost of individual receivers at each home for the proposed 900MHz wireless was also a significant deterrent”.
Fox added that the 'line of sight' issue has not been their only concern.
“We have always sought an effective, reliable, widely available Broadband service which would provide truly affordable high speed Internet access to nearly all of our residents”.
River Road resident Larry MacGregor has a similar perspective, he’s been trying to get ADSL service for Area D and he suggests that all the Telus infrastructure is already here, its simply a matter of upgrading it.
“Telus has done exactly what they said they were going to do, they’ve put half the money on the table, now its up to us to come up with the other half and our community leaders should be treating this as priority one – they should be getting that money from the Feds or the Province or figuring out how our community can raise the funds directly”.
MacGregor also outlines how important affordable and dependable Broadband is to the rural community.
“In rural areas we actually use the Internet more, because we don’t have access to information services that people in the city enjoy. Now educational, news, business and government websites carry video and audio streaming which is nearly impossible to download on dial-up”.
MacGregor adds that many residents in Area D are becoming impatient because their constantly faced with renewing their existing service plans, and they would rather sign up for Broadband because it’s more affordable and more effective.
Fox sums the issue up by saying that everyone working to bring better Internet service to the area continues to pursue the best possible options.
“We all understand how critically important this is to the economic and educational future of Cherryville's residents, our children and our talented artisan community. It certainly would be an historic achievement to attain blanket Broadband service for our residents during our 150th Anniversary this year, and we are trying to do just that!”
…..
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Okanagan First Nation:
Constitutional Challenge to the provinces authority over forested land
December 2, 2011
After years of maneuvers by B.C. government, crown’s case tossed by court clears the way for a constitutional challenge to the province’s authority over forested land.
In an unexpected pre-emptive legal move, the Okanagan Nation succeeded on Friday in B.C.’s Supreme Court, in having the Province’s claim dismissed, clearing the way for litigation to proceed to answer the land question: how did the Province get the title and authority it claims to the forested land in the Province in the absence of treaty? Ancestors from Indigenous Nations clear across the Province have asked this question for a century. The answer to this question is urgently needed by everyone.
Under the Province’s forestry legislation, the Province requires that a person must obtain Provincial authorization to harvest “Crown timber”. In 1999, communities from the Okanagan and Secwepemc Nations were granted permits from their respective Tribal Councils to harvest trees in accordance with their laws, and the Okanagan Indian Band, under permit issued by the Okanagan Nation Alliance, commenced logging in the Brown’s Creek Watersheds- an area close to their village at six-mile located south of the Head of the Lake. The Province commenced a Court case to enforce its Stop Work Order. In response, the Nations filed a constitutional challenge to the Province’s legislation.
“The land question, and our efforts as Okanagan to have our Aboriginal title and obligation to make decisions to protect our territories and resources, is what this case is about from an Okanagan perspective. It is a conflict between the Okanagan Nation’s ability to exercise our laws to make decisions about our Aboriginal title lands and the Province’s authority to deny our right to exercise Aboriginal title”, said Dan Wilson, who was Chief of the Okanagan Nation in 1999.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip said, “The Province of B.C. is in the awkward position of having to show how they came into title of Okanagan land and of course they’ve got nothing, no deed, no bill of sale and no treaty.”
“The occupation of land for well over a century under the guise of an unfounded claim of title is neither noble nor heroic. It is simply the act of State sanctioned theft on grand scale and nothing more. The Province does not own our territory - they use it – and sooner or later, the courts in the absence of any meaningful negotiations will have no choice but to recognize that fundamental fact”, concluded Chief Byron Louis, of the Okanagan Indian Band.
Members of OKIB depend on the Watersheds to teach and practice their culture. Yet, the Province has assumed exclusive jurisdiction to manage and allocate the timber over the objections of the Okanagan.
“This is a case which should be of concern to everyone living within our traditional territory”, said Chief Louis. Forty years of industrial logging within the Okanagan Watersheds has affected water quality for native and non-native residents alike. As stewards of the land we will ensure the healing of the forests and the restoration of the creeks that feed our lakes. This in turn will improve the quality of life for all residents of the Okanagan territory.”
In dismissing the Province’s claim, the Court encouraged the parties to negotiate. Chief Louis pointed out that the Province will need to change its negotiation mandates to recognize and respect the title, rights and laws of the Okanagan people. Only through recognition can reconciliation be achieved.
Chief Louis added, “If the Government does not recognize our pre-existing rights in our land and our laws, what is there to reconcile?”
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Mayes: The lumber industry is booming...
Out of touch or not?
November 23, 2011
Are things looking rosy in the forest industry? Hansard has recorded that Okanagan-Shuswap Conservative MP Colin Mayes entered into the debate for the Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act. In a joust between himself and NDP MP Peter Julian, Mayes indicated that the lumber industry in BC is at its peak. Here are Monday’s transcripts from Hansard.
November 21st, 2011 / 12:55 p.m.
Colin Mayes
Okanagan—Shuswap, BC - Conservative
Mr. Speaker, I want the House to know that the hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster is from the city and I am a member for British Columbia from the interior. I have the fifth largest lumber company in the world in my constituency. I constantly speak with the CEO of that company and he tells me about what our government has done to benefit his corporation to be competitive and also all that we have done to help it find new markets for its products. Where it used to send 70% of its product to the United States, now it is sending it to China, with $170 million that our government put forward to help the lumber industry in British Columbia.
The lumber industry in British Columbia right now is at a peak. All the mills are up and running with more than one shift. How can the member say that our policies are not the right policies for British Columbia when that is happening?
November 21st, 2011 / 12:55 p.m
Peter Julian
Burnaby—New Westminster, BC - NDP
Mr. Speaker, I am just flabbergasted. The member should know that we lost 50,000 jobs after the government signed the softwood lumber agreement. The exports to the American market have plummeted.
For the member to stand and say that everything is rosy in the B.C. forestry industry, I am absolutely amazed that he is that out of touch with his own riding.
I will tell the House about my riding of Burnaby—New Westminster, which he referenced. I am very proud to represent the riding. There were 2,000 jobs lost in Burnaby--New Westminster as a result of three mill closures that occurred right after the member's government sold us out and signed the softwood lumber sellout. There were 2,000 direct jobs which means thousands of additional indirect jobs lost when the Conservatives signed the agreement. We told them that would be the impact and just the same they threw away tens of thousands of jobs in the softwood lumber industry. That was probably one of the most irresponsible acts of what has been a very irresponsible government.
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10 surprising stats about small business in Canada
October 17, 2011
Small business has become the backbone of the local economy here in the Monashee, and as local governments reach to find economic solutions for rising infrastructure costs there are additional challenges beginning to emerge as small and micro businesses become somewhat ignored.
Current 2010 statistics provide great insight into how small businesses interact with the economy, and they shed light on emerging issues. How much do these businesses actually contribute to the country's gross domestic product? How many small businesses are there, and how many do they employ across the country? And what exactly is a small business, anyway?
To mark the Oct. 17 start of small business week in Canada, CBC compiled some of the big numbers behind small businesses in this country.
What is the definition of a small business in Canada?
1 to 4 employees: Micro-enterprise
5 to 100: Small business
101 to 499: Medium-sized business
500-plus: Large business
(Source: Industry Canada)
How many small businesses are there in Canada?
The total number of registered employer businesses in Canada (businesses with at least one employee on payroll) as of December 2010, the most recent figure available: 1,138,761
1,116,423 of those were small businesses, comprising 98 per cent of all employer businesses in Canada.
(Source: Industry Canada calculations using data from Statistics Canada)
How many Canadians work for small businesses?
5,137,147 (48.3 per cent of Canada's total workforce)
In 2005, 41 per cent of employed Canadians worked for businesses with fewer than 20 employees.
(Source: Industry Canada calculations using data from Statistics Canada)
How many Canadians are self-employed?
In 2010, 2.7 million Canadians were self-employed.
35 hours: Average work week for employees in 2010
40 hours: Average work week for the self-employed in 2010
31 per cent of self-employed Canadians reported working more than 50 hours per week in 2010, while 4 per cent of employees worked past that threshold in the same year.
(Source: Statistics Canada)
Success vs. failure
Largest number of new Canadian small businesses established in one year: Approximately 115,000 in 2005.
Smallest number of new small businesses established in one year: Approximately 90,000 in 2002.
Largest number of small businesses that disappeared in a single year: Approximately 100,000 in 2006
Net average of small businesses established from 2002 to 2007: 15,000
(Source: Statistics Canada)
How active are small business owners online?
In 2007, the year for which the latest statistics from the Canadian government are available, 85 per cent of small businesses had internet access. 99 per cent of large businesses had internet access.
36 per cent of small businesses had their own websites (compared to 91 per cent of large businesses)
7 per cent sold goods/services online (compared to 22 per cent of large businesses)
(Source: Industry Canada calculations using data from Statistics Canada)
What do small businesses contribute to Canada’s total exports?
86 per cent of Canadian exporters were small businesses in 2009.
Small businesses accounted for $68 billion in exports (25 per cent of Canada's total export value).
(Source: Industry Canada calculations using data from Statistics Canada)
How much do small businesses contribute to Canada’s GDP?
In 2005, small businesses accounted for 42 per cent of the country’s private sector GDP.
(Source: Industry Canada)
In 2009, 28 per cent of the country's total GDP came from businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
(Source: British Columbia Statistical Services)
Are small business owners confident about Canada's economy?
The CFIB's Business Barometer Index fell to 61.7 in August 2011, its lowest reading since July 2009. A score of 50 or higher means more business owners expect a stronger performance in the next year than those who expect a weaker performance.
Provincially, Alberta's index was the highest in the country at 75.
Prince Edward Island had the lowest index at 59.7.
The index bottomed out in late 2008/early 2009 at under 40.
(Source: Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses)
What will happen to small businesses when the owners retire?
With the baby boomers reaching retirement age, a large number of companies will likely change hands in the coming years. According to TD Waterhouse's early October Business Succession Poll of 609 small business owners, just 24 per cent of small business owners surveyed said they had a succession plan worked out for retirement.
Of those polled, whether they had a formal plan or not, 23 per cent said they would simply close their business when it came time to retire; 20 per cent planned to sell their business to a third party; 18 per cent expected to transfer it to a family member; 12 per cent said they'd sell to a partner or employee; and 27 per cent said they were not yet sure what they'd do with their business.
Global warming could alter wine industry in 30 years
October 6, 2011
Should we be taking a different approach to agriculture planning in the Monashee?
A changing climate might mean that vineyards and soft fruit orchards may find their way to the outer edges of the Okanagan – sooner than later. South of the border, recent studies show that higher temperatures could significantly impact California and other premium winegrowing regions of the United States in the next 30 years, according to a new study led by Stanford University climate scientists.
Writing in the June 30 edition of Environmental Research Letters, the scientists report that by 2040, the amount of land suitable for cultivating premium wine grapes in high-value areas of northern California could shrink by 50 percent because of global warming. However, some cooler parts of Oregon and Washington State could see an increase in premium grape-growing acreage due to warming, according to the study.
These results come on the heels of the researchers' 2006 climate study, which projected that as much as 81 percent of premium wine grape acreage in the U.S. could become unsuitable for some varietals by the end of the century.
"Our new study looks at climate change during the next 30 years -- a timeframe over which people are actually considering the costs and benefits of making decisions on the ground," said Noah Diffenbaugh, an assistant professor of environmental Earth system science and a center fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford, who co-authored both studies.
Climate change, from global to local
Most U.S. wine comes from the West Coast. California alone produces on average more than 5 million gallons per year, accounting for about 90 percent of the nation's total wine production, according to the Wine Institute, a trade organization representing California winemakers. The institute estimated the retail value of the state's wine industry in 2010 at $18.5 billion.
The new study focused on premium wines -- the 25 percent most expensive wines on the market -- and how global warming could affect growing conditions in four premium wine-producing counties by 2040: Napa and Santa Barbara counties in California, Yamhill County in Oregon's Willamette Valley and Walla Walla County in Washington's Columbia Valley.
"We focused on these counties because their mild climates have made them major sources of high-quality grapes, and because they represent both cool and warm growing conditions," Diffenbaugh said.
But that could change, and soon.
"There will likely be significant localized temperature changes over the next three decades," Diffenbaugh said. "One of our motivations for the study was to identify the potential impact of those changes, and also to identify the opportunities for growers to take action and adapt."
Climate change for lovers of fine wine
The study was based on the assumption that there will be a 23 percent increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases by 2040, which could raise the average global temperature by about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) -- a conservative scenario, according to Diffenbaugh. "World governments have said that to reduce the negative impacts of climate change, global warming should be limited to an increase of 1 degree Celsius," he added.
To predict how much land area will be suitable for premium wine grape cultivation in coming decades, Diffenbaugh and his colleagues used a very high-resolution computer model that incorporated local, regional and global conditions, including factors such as coastal wind speeds and ocean temperatures. The researchers compared their simulations to actual weather data collected between 1960 and 2010 to see if their model could accurately "predict" past temperatures.
Using the climate model and the historical weather data, the researchers predicted that by 2040, all four counties are likely to experience higher average temperatures during growing seasons, along with an increase in the number of very hot days when the thermometer reaches 95 F (35 C) or above.
In the experiment, the scientists divided premium grape varieties into separate categories based on their tolerance to different temperature ranges. For example, Napa Valley -- widely known for its pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and other premium wines -- has historically experienced growing seasons with an average temperature of less than 68 F (20 C) and fewer than 30 very hot days. Grapes that thrive in that climate have done well there.
According to the study, the average temperature in Napa Valley during the growing season could increase as much as 2 F (1.1 C), with the number of very hot days increasing by 10. As a result, the amount of land with historically hospitable growing conditions could shrink by half over the next three decades, the study found. In Santa Barbara County, the amount of suitable grape-growing acreage with similar climate conditions is projected to decline by more than 20 percent as temperatures rise.
"I was surprised that local temperature changes could have such a big impact on an important industry with only 1 degree Celsius of global warming." Diffenbaugh said.
The study also predicted higher temperatures in Oregon and Washington by 2040, but with potentially different outcomes for winegrowers. Oregon's Willamette Valley could see a slight increase in the amount of total suitable acreage and a large increase in area suitable for more valuable varieties, according to the study. But in Washington's Columbia Valley, varietals that are sensitive to severely hot days could see a 30 percent reduction in suitable land area, the results showed.
Risky business
The researchers also looked at how much land could be available to growers who adapt to warmer conditions, such as by planting heat-tolerant vines or altering their cultivation practices. The study found that suitable acreage in Napa and Santa Barbara counties could actually be increased if growers are able to produce quality grapes that can tolerate up to 45 very hot days and average temperatures of 71 F (22 C) in the growing season.
However, varieties currently grown in those conditions tend to produce considerably lower wine quality and value, the authors noted.
Winegrowers, with their knowledge of which cultivation techniques are most appropriate in a given climate, could benefit from the study's forecasts of temperature conditions, Diffenbaugh said.
"Climate change over the next few decades is of particular relevance for the wine industry," he said. "It's a big investment to put plants in the ground. They're slow to mature, and once they mature they're productive for a long time."
Some decisions growers make now could affect their vineyards in 30 years, he added, whether they consider the potential effects of local climate change or not. Moving a vineyard to a cooler location or planting different varietals could be costly for winegrowers, the study said. But in areas where less drastic temperature change is likely, growers may be able to maintain the quality of their grapes by using existing cultivation and winemaking techniques, Diffenbaugh said. Possible strategies include special trellis systems that shade vines, using irrigation to cool plants and adjusting fermentation processes in the winery.
"It's risky for a grower to make decisions that consider climate change, because those decisions could be expensive and the climate may not change exactly as we expect," Diffenbaugh said. "But there's also risk in decisions that ignore global warming, because we're finding that there are likely to be significant localized changes in the near term."
"Humans are amazingly resilient, and individual growers will of course make decisions as they read the signs on the ground," he added. "We're trying to understand how the climate that works so well for growing great wine grapes right now might be affected by even modest global warming. We can't know the future before it happens, but if we don't ask the question, we may be surprised when reality unfolds."
Other coauthors of the study are Michael White of Utah State University, Gregory Jones of Southern Oregon University and Moetasim Ashfaq of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a former postdoctoral researcher at Stanford.
The study was supported in part by a National Science Foundation CAREER award to Noah Diffenbaugh. This article was in-part written by Sascha Zubryd, a science-writing intern at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.
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Monashee economy negatively impacted by prison proposal
BC Corrections has coated the jail proposal with financial figures that sheds a positive light on the attributes of the incarceration industry, however the equations are very one sided and represent an unfiltered sketch of reality.
For tourism and lifestyle related businesses there is a different side of the fiscal story. From informal interviews conducted up to April 2011, it has been discovered that these business sectors have been negatively impacted to the tune of nearly $4.5 million and that these losses are directly linked to the jail proposal process and the stigma that it has created. These losses could remain constant every year until the prison stigma is removed which may take 5-10 years.
By 2016, Lumby area businesses and the local economy may have paid over $20 million to cover the losses caused by the prison proposal.
Many rural home-based businesses rely on their property values in order to leverage working and expansion capital from lending institutions on an annual basis. In rural areas like Lumby access to business capital has always been strained since many lenders only appraise a house on five acres even though the number of acres and outbuildings might be much greater. Often lenders then cap the lending value at a percentage of the appraisal – but they take the entire property as security.
Some businesses have found that the jail proposal has made lenders nervous believing property values and business revenues will fall thus impacting financial security. There have already been reports of higher interest rates and reduced access to working capital. Estimated impact to date: $600,000
The jail proposal has interrupted individual business strategies. Some businesses have been in the process of selling off real estate assets that were secured by mortgages that supported their business operations. The sales of such assets were to contribute to expansion plans or provide further operating capital. These businesses have been unable to sell these assets because of the jail proposal and the unwillingness of buyers to invest in a prison town. Estimated impact to date: $1 million.
Tourism businesses and other operations that depend on the “image” of an area have been seriously impacted by the jail proposal. Tourism is a highly competitive industry and some operators believe that they will lose visitors to other areas of the Okanagan or Kootenay as a result of the bad press that the jail proposal has brought to the area. A 10 percent direct loss of revenue this year alone would translate into an estimated $500,000. If this trend remains constant the losses would add up to an estimated $5 million over ten years.
Real estate may experience similar losses as the tourism sector. Higher-end real estate sales particularly to overseas markets depend on the image that the “Monashee” (The Mountains of Peace) has projected successfully as a place where you can “Refresh Your Life”. This image has been deeply impacted by the jail proposal and the negative and false messaging that Lumby Village Council has been projecting about failing infrastructure. High-end buyers are looking elsewhere which lowers the total number of potential buyers which then causes lower property values. These lower property values then impact the appraised value of properties across the local real estate landscape. Further to this event is the loss of new residents and the wealth that this particular high-end segment brings to the area. For one year alone, because of the jail proposal, the estimated loss in property value on high-end properties for sale may be as high as: $1.5 million.
Marginal business operations that depend on tourism traffic may not be able to absorb a 10-20 percent loss in revenue and may have to sell or even close and liquidate assets. Given the nature of such businesses, potential buyers would be few because of the “prison town” stigma that they would have to overcome. This market environment would deeply impact the price that sellers could expect. If the business is attempting to sell as an operating business with real estate assets they may experience a loss in asset selling strength of an estimated 30 percent on the business portion. If five businesses are forced to sell over the next year this could mean losses of $800,000 depending on the size of each business.
The reduction of tourism value chains will negatively impact the entire tourism sector in the North Okanagan. Because it is still a new industry, the Lumby area has been challenged with trying to attract visitors. Tourism businesses have been engaged in a twenty year effort to support each other and to engage with individuals seeking to start new tourism businesses. In tourism – more is better; the more experiences an area has to offer the better chance it has of attracting visitors. The jail proposal has impacted many of the smaller businesses and if they shut down operations the total number of tourism services will decline which may lessen the total number of visitors that come to the area. If so, the negative financial impacts will be long-term or until new tourism businesses start-up – if they do.
In the past, as a one-industry town, Lumby could not diversify its economy. Once mills shut down it required an investment of about $4 million to adjust the local economy, this occurred in two waves 1992-1997 and 2000-2002 in each case positive results were not felt until a decade later. Investment was primarily driven by small family owned businesses which borrowed money to rebuild the local economy. The present jail proposal process will require a 5-10 year long healing effort within the community and that is only if the jail is rejected and not constructed. If the jail is constructed it will turn Lumby back into a one industry town and economic diversification may decline indefinitely.
Every spring, rural and backcountry tourism operators in Lumby are faced with a 1-3 month preparation period from when the snow disappears to when the first visitors arrive. In this period, there is rigorous site activity and its when a great deal of money is spent in order to open the doors for the coming season. The jail proposal has impacted that preparation period. Operators are accustomed to organizing their finances and adjusting their business strategies during the winter months, the jail proposal has caused uncertainties which has negatively impacted business confidence and in some instances prevented businesses from having financing in place so that the preparation period can begin. It is uncertain what these ramifications will be, but revenues will most likely fall because some businesses will not be ready for the upcoming season.
The laws of unintended consequences may place further financial pressures on the community and business. Extra costs for policing, fire protection, paramedic services and even increases in insurance premiums may impact the local business environment. These added costs may happen incrementally as taxes and premiums increase to deal with these unplanned events. Such increases to the expense column of businesses could add up to an additional average of $500 annually per business. Based on 150 businesses such added costs could total $75,000 annually.
Fixing the problem
The lion’s share of investment to heal the process will come from business operators and they can collectively expect to spend approximately $1.2 million annually within a 5 year readjustment period which would seek to reestablish their lost revenues. Depending on the level of success within that 5 year period, they may have to spend an additional $600,000 annually for an additional 5 years.
A common result from a politically inflicted “local depression” is an outcry from businesses for support from government. Local governments including the regional district as well as the provincial and federal governments would be expected to support planning and provide assistance which could possibly amount to an additional $500,000 annually for a 5-10 year period.
There should be a common recognition that a small community will not have the capacity to battle the prison stigma and that a prison will turn a community like Lumby into a prison town because it will overshadow all other forms of local industry. There’s also a lesson to be learned about the damage that can occur by subjecting a small community to a proposal that has never been properly vetted through an Official Community Plan process.
Governments wanting to build prisons should be required by law to present the real impacts that the incarceration industry can have on a small rural economy. For this reason big governments should engage in independent research that can uncover the truth about whether prisons are economically, socially and culturally beneficial.
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My Valley Sun
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October 17, 2013
Bullish on the real news in the Monashee
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Online Community News for Lumby, Cherryville, Rural Coldstream and Highway 6
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