action!onlineIn this issue...

• Emerging Agriculture - U of S Junior Chamber event• Political Forum• Members in the News

... and more!

The Voice of Business in Saskatchewan

Get in Touch Tel: 306.352.2671Email: info@saskchamber.com

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December, 2014

The University of Saskatchewan Junior Chamber of Commerce recently held Emerging Agriculture, an interactive solution-based event centering on agriculture innovation. Pictured with Saskatoon Greystone MLA Rob Norris (center) are USJCC executive members (L-R) Adam McInnes, Meghan Shewchuk, Jordan Dutchak, Rizza Vaillardo, Colton Wiegers, Mike Barker, Megan Findlater and Emmanuel Ojukwu.

The past year was one for the record books in many ways – good and bad – but considering the season I wish to reflect on the positive things, and that’s a long list indeed.

Canada signed several key trade agreements which will allow Saskatchewan products even greater global access. Our exporters sold over $30 billion in goods, again, and while their record is consistent it is certainly not boring. We remain the most export reliant jurisdiction in Canada and one of its most successful. We owe thanks to many people with names like Lionel and Murad and I especially want to recognize our own ‘James Bond’, Mr. Tim Marshall (STEP’s Senior Director for Asia & Africa) who we lost this year while on a trip …you guessed it, selling Saskatchewan products overseas.

We also saw challenges in the labour front – not a new issue, but this time with a new twist. The media hype that created a political firestorm in Ottawa that led to a radical gutting of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program cost us employees, solely for political reasons. I can’t say thanks to our federal government for their leadership on this file – in fact, it is the opposite. I do however thank all those men and women from other countries who came willingly to Saskatchewan and worked diligently here under the TFW program for their dedicated effort and service to our province’s businesses. I’d like to say to them that I am truly sorry for the manner in which their offer of service to Canada was treated.

The old line “you can’t get there from here’” did not mean products to market when it was first used, but clearly it did this past year. The amazing crop in 2013 meant too much grain for the capacity of the rail service especially when you add in the ever increasing volume of oil we ship on steel. The “pig in the python” has gone but the challenges remain. I thank all the carrier companies for their dedicated effort and believe the current rail study we are working on with the Conference Board of Canada will offer some solutions and greater clarity on the big picture. Thank you to all the partners who have made this study possible.

The big news internally at the Chamber is growth in membership and support from our members. Our new member sales hit an all time high with a 2014 target of nearly $80,000 – way to go, Jesse!! When you consider we sold $28,000 in 2008, we are certainly on the right track and I thank all of the new members. I also thank the renewing members who re-invest every year, for

without you we could do little of what we do. Thanks as well to the businesses who sponsor our events – your funds and advice make the events and activities we do not only possible but fabulous.

Those who serve on the Committees and our Board also receive my thanks for their advice and dedicated effort. They serve the interests of the membership well, and when you add up the time they voluntarily take away from their offices to work on SCC business it is truly a commitment we all should be thankful for.

Finally to my hard working staff I want to say a very big “thank you”. Our list of shared accomplishments this past year is long and impressive. It is with the staff’s commitment and ideas that we see growth and success. Each of them has special skills, and I enjoy seeing them put into practice each and every day. To Dawn M. Barker, Curtis Hemming, Jesse Chatterson, Elissa LaLiberte, Marilyn Leier, Cindy Wright, Ryan Hillstead and the soon-to-be Mom again Kristin McKee, I say a very sincere “thank you”.

To all of you, I wish you the very best over the Christmas season and the very best in 2015.

CEO’s Message

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

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This program is part of the Government of Saskatchewan’s commitment to keep our economy growing.

Funding provided by the Government of Canada through the Canada Job Grant.

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Members in the News

By Elissa LaLiberte, Director of Membership Engagement

The Weyburn Chamber of Commerce officially announced Rochelle Wendt as the new General Manager. Rochelle has been working for the past two years as the Communications and Marketing Director for both the Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Economic Development committee. Congratulations Rochelle!

Gold Eagle Casino in North Battleford is expanding this winter by adding 5,000 square feet to their already 34,033 square foot entertainment facility.

Tourism Saskatchewan’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Mary Taylor-Ash to the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately. She has held the position of interim CEO since June 2014.

Tom Mullin announced that he will retire from the Saskatchewan Hotel & Hospitality Association on November 30th after 14 years. Welcome to Jim Bence as the new CEO.

Also retiring is Delta Bessborough Hotel General Manager Andrew Turnbull, who left the position at the end of November.

PotashCorp of Saskatchewan has pledged to support Saskatchewan Food Banks over the holidays. Potash Corp will match every dollar donated to Saskatchewan food banks until January 16, 2015 up to a maximum of $1 million.

Canpotex recently announced an annual contract with its government and private sector partners in India to supply approximately 1 million tonnes of potash at a price of $322.00 per tonne.

Congratulations to Ricardo Silva, a member of the SCC Board of Directors, on his new role as CEO at Quickthree Solutions Inc.

On November 21, 2014 Horizon, one of Saskatchewan’s leading innovative business solution providers, announced the purchase of Allstar Technologies IT Services Group based in Regina. This purchase will allow Horizon to increase

their market share in Saskatchewan and will expand service offerings to existing Regina clients.

Sara Wheelright of S & E Trusted Online Directories Inc was recently honoured in New York City at

the Stevie Awards where she achieved 2 Bronze awards. The Stevie Awards were created in 2002 to honour and generate public recognition of the achievements of organizations and working professionals worldwide.

ConneCt Yourself

ReGISteR AS ALUMnIIf you graduated from SIAST or any of the other previous institutions that make up the new Saskatchewan Polytechnic, you are a part of our alumni family.• Kelsey Institute of Applied Arts

and Sciences (KIAAS)• Northern Institute of Technology (NIT)• Prince Albert Community College• Saskatchewan Institute of Applied

Arts and Sciences (SIAAS)• Saskatchewan Technical Institute (STI)• SIAST• Wascana Institute of Applied Arts

and Sciences (WIAAS)

Register or update your contact information at saskpolytech.ca/alumni.

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ADVOCACY in ACTION

By Curtis Hemming, Director of Government Relations

During the first week of November, the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce held four policy roundtables in Swift Current, Regina, Weyburn, and Saskatoon. Each roundtable was three hours long and a total of 80 businesses, organizations, and local Chambers participated in the discussions.

These policy roundtables were done to provide the SCC’s members and local Chambers with a greater level of awareness about the issues the Saskatchewan Chamber is currently working on, as well as to get feedback about what members feel are the most urgent issues that should be focused on.

A wide variety of issues were discussed at the sessions, but there were a few that the groups wanted to explore in greater detail. The topic of liquor privatization was a timely issue that many people wanted to weigh in on, since the provincial government is currently in the process of soliciting feedback on whether the government’s involvement in liquor distribution and retailing should be reduced or kept the same.

Another issue that was of significant interest to the people in attendance was municipal amalgamation. Saskatchewan has a very large number of municipalities when compared to other Canadian provinces, so that often results in the fragmentation of services. The consensus in the sessions was that service delivery could be improved if municipalities either amalgamated or at least created regional partnerships to provide services.

The topic of government procurement processes was also something that all four groups wanted to talk about. The provincial government currently evaluates bids for government tenders by looking exclusively at the cost of the bid, so some of the spinoff benefits of using local companies are not currently factored into the government’s decision making process. While attendees felt that taxpayers’ money should always be respected, there was also agreement that there might be merit in having the government look at using a “best value” instead of “best price” process for evaluating bids.

The capacity of Saskatchewan’s rail system and the speed that farmers, manufacturers, oil producers, and mining companies can export their product to global markets was also an issue that got discussed in great detail. The “Economic Impact of Rail Access on Saskatchewan Exports” report that the Conference Board of Canada is currently writing for the SCC will provide more detail on how strained the province’s rail capacity currently is. The findings in that report will help guide the Chamber’s future actions on this issue.

As the SCC begins to write new policy resolutions for the upcoming year, the feedback received in these roundtables will help guide that ongoing process. While many of the issues discussed were already priorities for the Chamber, it was clear that the attendees felt certain issues should take precedence over others.

There will be another series of policy roundtables held in late winter 2015 and while the format of the sessions will be similar, there will be an added emphasis on updating the Saskatchewan Chamber’s members about the activities that will be undertaken during the next provincial election.

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Test drive a potential long term employee Saskatchewan Polytechnic Co-operative Education has business students for January 2015 work terms from four diplomas: Accountancy, Administration, Human Resources and Marketing.

Please contact Shelley Ruecker: P 306-691-8322 E shelley.ruecker@saskpolytech.ca

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Emerging Agriculture event debut makes its mark on farming industryU of S Junior Chamber “hackathon” results in progressive innovation

The third weekend of November is a busy one for university students; exams, essays and the looming deadline of the end of the first term take up a significant portion of a student’s life. For a group of young leaders at the University of Saskatchewan, however, it was even more busy than usual.

The University of Saskatchewan’s Junior Chamber of Commerce held the inaugural “Emerging Agriculture” event at Innovation Place from November 21-23, and the results were phenomenal. Billed as a “hackathon”, the event aimed to generate new and innovative solutions for issues that agricultural

producers face in the day to day operation of a farm.

Emerging Agriculture is the first event of its kind in Canada, and follows the U of S Junior Chamber’s extremely successful “Hacking Health” event which was held in September (a similar sort of event, but centering on health issues).

Not being quite clear on the term “hackathon” (and in fact, admittedly, the word engendered an image of a mid-30s computer nerd living in his mom’s basement trying to break into the CIA’s databases), I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the event - but I was amazed and captivated by what the event held, by the professionalism and dedication of the junior chamber members, and by the end result.

After registration on Friday night, and welcoming remarks from Janice Tranberg, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Assistant Deputy Minister for Regulatory and Innovation, a series of “pitches” were made to an audience of close to 75 people. These pitches were project ideas which stemmed from a perceived issue that agricultural producers faced. The projects ranged from creating an app to for “smart seeding”, to improving combine harvest monitors, to using drones to monitor livestock and creating an automated indoor greenhouse which would sense the needs of the plants it contained.

The participants, which spanned a range from students through professionals in the technology, farming, accounting and legal professions, to businesspeople, then spent the next day and a half working on the project they felt the most drawn to, to bring the projects to fruition.

By Dawn M. Barker, Director of Communications

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The final products of the weekend were presented Sunday, following which a team of judges made up of sponsors and mentors deliberated and chose the top ideas of the weekend.

In the end, the first place winner (The Oasis One, a wifi enabled, automated greenhouse) was presented with 10 hours of business consulting, sponsored by KPMG. The second place winner (AgriGator, an app for seed selection and pesticide application) won three hours of business plan consulting with SquareOne, and the winners of the Innovation Award (Drone Technology Team, creating a drone to monitor livestock in the field) won a business contract to allow the group to continue the development of their project, from Norheim Ranching.

Jordan Dutchak, President of the Junior Chamber, described the event as a great success. “Whether or not incredible technologies came out of the weekend, our aim as a Chamber was to create a conversation that did not exist before; a conversation between business professionals, developers, and agriculture professionals. The fact that all three of the technologies created in the weekend are market viable and now have the tools to take them to the next level is beyond the expectations of Canada’s first Agriculture Hackathon but was made possible by the passion and dedication of all those involved.” He added that the Junior Chamber plans similar events for the future.

Scenes from Emerging Ag:

Clockwise from top: Listening to the pitches; in-depth hacking of a project; the Emerging Agriculture trophies; presenting an app to monitor seeding; and a prototype responsive greenhouse

Photos courtesy Mark Tiu

By Dawn M. Barker, Director of Communications

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DIRECTORS EDUCATION PROGRAM

“The ICD-Rotman DEP offers content that is comprehensive, while also

providing adequate depth to truly understand the issues facing directors

in today’s environment. I was impressed by the faculty and the calibre of people

who attended the program. The DEP changes how you think about the

organizations you serve, the decisions that must be made, and how you work

with other directors on the board.”

BRENT BANDA, MBA, ICD.DPRESIDENT & SENIOR CONSULTANT, BANDA MARKETING GROUP INC.

DIRECTOR, SASKWORKS VENTURE FUND INC., CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY ENTERPRISE

The Saskatchewan offering of the DEP is being coordinated provincially by the Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan, and offered in collaboration with the Levene Graduate School of Business, University of Regina.

Applications are now being accepted. Apply early. Contact the ICD at 1.877.593.7741 x230 or education@icd.ca.

1.877.593.7741 x230 icd.ca/DEP

WHY APPLY? The DEP is the only program of its kind in

Canada that bears the seal of the director community itself.

DEP Alumni are part of a national network of 3,300 directors (including many from Saskatchewan) and almost 9,000 ICD members across Canada.

A dynamic learning environment rich with peer-to-peer insights, director dilemmas, board and committee simulations, and case studies.

Acclaimed faculty - Taught by national and local academics, seasoned directors and leading governance experts.

Flexible scheduling - Modules may be taken in any of the nine cities where the DEP is offered (space permitting).

First step towards the ICD.D designation upon completion of a written examination and a board meeting simulation chaired and vice-chaired by some of Canada’s most senior directors.

Non-members of the ICD receive a complimentary one-year membership upon application.

MODULE I: March 20-22, 2015 (Saskatoon)MODULE II: June 12-14, 2015 (Regina) MODULE III: September 18-20, 2015 (Regina)MODULE IV: November 20-22, 2015 (Saskatoon)

APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 30, 2015

CANADA’S LEADING PROGRAM FOR DIRECTORS IS COMING TO SASKATOON AND REGINA

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Members of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce staff recently took a full day workshop on Service Best, an award-winning, internationally recognized workshop designed to assist frontline staff in the delivery of superior customer service.

Facilitator Diane Cohoon, TCM of Tourism Saskatchewan led the interactive workshop which told about the differences between outstanding and ordinary services , ways to identify and respond to customer needs, understanding service best practices from a customer’s point of view, and understanding the power of positive thinking and ways to use it on the job.

The Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (STEC), a Division of Tourism Saskatchewan, developed this workshop in response to the need for specialized training that contributes to professionalism in service delivery in all types of businesses. The program was developed in 1990, and has been kept current.

The program is recognized internationally, and is delivered throughout Canada as well as in Scotland, Ireland, Central America (Spanish) and the Philippines. Service Best is geared toward anyone who deals with customers.

An average of 15 participants attend the sessions. SIGA offers Service Best as part of its employee orientation. Participants receive a certificate of completion after the course.

“Service Best is based on the positive attitude and belief that each one of us can make a difference to the customer’s experience,” Cohoon said. “It’s about great people, delivering really wonderful experiences.”

To learn more about how to get your staff Service Best accreditation, visit the Industry Matters website: http://www.industrymatters.com/stec, or contact Diane Cohoon at diane.cohoon@tourismsask.com, or 306.933.5908.

Service Best TrainingYou don’t get a second chance to make a first impression

Thank you to our renewing

members in November!

Your continued support of the Chamber movement makes it possible for us to achieve on your behalf, and we want you to know we appreciate you as members!

• Marsh Canada Limited• Loblaw• Nelson Motor & Equipment• Wheatbelt Sales• Associated Engineering• Randy Sander CGA• Home Hardware North

Battleford

• Triple 4 Advertising• Border Line Feeders• TriKoot Real Estate• Ag-West Bio• Prairie Mud Service• Regina Alternative Measures

Program• SaskCulture• Mike Wainright LR Consulting• Allstar Tech• Heli-Lift International• Chemtrade West Limited

Partnership• Royal Lepage Realty Regina• ISC• Clifton Associates• Blue Cross• Sundance Communications Inc.• Corps of Commissionaires

• Fountain Tire North Battleford• Waskesiu Resorts• SaskCentral• Star Egg Company• Dr. De Jager• ACS Aboriginal Consulting

Services• PCL Construction• Gordon Dillon CGA Prof. Corp• CAA Saskatchewan• Stueck Pharmacy• Great Western Brewing• Paradigm Consulting Group• Hearn’s Pharmacy• Royal Hotel Group• Sask School Board Assoc.• Allied Printers

Welcome to our new members!

Institute of Corporate Directorshttp://www.icd.ca

Mayfair Diagnostics ReginaRegina

Saskatoon Co-operative AssociationSaskatoonhttp://www.saskatooncoop.ca

MEMBERSHIP CENTRALBy Jesse Chatterson, Director of Membership Sales

To refer a business for membership, please contact Jesse Chatterson at jchatterson@saskchamber.com, or call him at 306.352.2671.

Canadian National RailwaysMontrealhttp://www.cn.ca

Saskatchewan Association of School Business OfficialsReginahttp://www.sasbo.com

In Other News...

The audio materials for the 2014 P3 Summit have been uploaded to the Sask Chamber website, and can be found by clicking here.

The University of Saskatchewan Marketing Students’ Society will be holding its second annual Case Competition. The Case Competition serves to connect industry and the best and brightest from the Edwards School of Business in celebration of marketing excellence. The Gala is set for February 28, 2015. Submit a marketing issue to be used as a subject for the competition, purchase a ticket to the gala, or sponsor the event by contacting mss.sponsorship@refresh.ca.

Political Forum 2015 is sold out! The event has a capacity of only 100 attendees, and tickets went quickly. If you weren’t able to register, please contact Elissa at elaliberte@saskchamber.com, or call her at 306.352.2671 to be added to the wait list.

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action! online is a monthly membership e-publication of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce.

CHAMBER STAFF

Steve McLellanCEOsmclellan@saskchamber.com

Marilyn LeierAdministrative Assistantmleier@saskchamber.com

Kristin McKeeDirector of Policy Developmentkmckee@saskchamber.com

Curtis HemmingDirector of Government Relationschemming@saskchamber.com

Jesse ChattersonDirector of Member Servicesjchatterson@saskchamber.com

Elissa LaLiberteDirector of Membership Serviceselaliberte@saskchamber.com

Cindy WrightDirector of Special Eventscwright@saskchamber.com

Dawn M. BarkerDirector of Communicationsdmbarker@saskchamber.com

1630 - 1920 Broad StreetRegina, SK S4P 3V2

www.saskchamber.com

CHAMBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair - Bruce Anderson (b-creative group) 1st Vice-Chair - Randy Beattie (PFM Capital Inc.) 2nd Vice-Chair - Shawna Nelson (Sheraton Cavalier Saskatoon) Immediate Past-Chair - Marion Ghiglione (Handy Group of Companies) Directors - Cam Cooper (Praxis Analytics) Andrew Geary (Deloitte LLP) Trina Warren (MNP LLP) Greg Hanwell (Beer Bros. Gastropub & Deli) Patricia Warsaba (McKercher LLP) Ricardo Silva (Quickthree Solutions) Sean Young (Young’s Equipment) Monica Kreuger (Global Infobrokers Inc.) Michael Cossar (Saskatoon)

Get in Touch Tel: 306.352.2671Email: info@saskchamber.com11