Business
Aspiring entrepreneurs invited to be part of upcoming Red Deer College events

Red Deer, December 4, 2018 – This winter, Red Deer College will be hosting two opportunities that will help to educate and encourage future small business owners. The Business Basics for the Aspiring Entrepreneur Seminar along with Breakthrough Your Business, a Dragon’s Den-style competition, will help people learn how to develop and then pitch their business ideas.
“Central Alberta is filled with people who have innovative ideas and entrepreneurial spirits,” says Darcy Mykytyshyn, Dean of RDC’s Donald School of Business. “The two events we’re offering provide unique opportunities to introduce people to foundational business knowledge and skills that will help them transform their ideas into actionable business plans.”
Business Basics for the Aspiring Entrepreneur is a one-day seminar that is open to anyone, including RDC alumni living in Alberta. The free event will provide information for people interested in starting and operating a small business. Topics will include legal structure and risk management, financing, accounting, sales and marketing, entrepreneurism, tips for success, key steps, and lessons learned.
For those looking to elevate their business ideas to the next level, the Breakthrough Your Business competition will provide an opportunity to create a proposal and business plan, which they will then present to a panel of judges. The first and second place winners will be awarded ,000 and ,000, respectively, to help them start their small businesses. Each winner will also receive a 0 tuition voucher for RDC’s School of Continuing Education.
Local philanthropists, Joan and Jack Donald, have sponsored this event since it was first created, dedicating their time through mentorship and donating a total of ,000 in prize money over the years. As business owners, they understand the challenges that can come from starting a new business. They believe the learning and opportunities from Breakthrough Your Business will help support local entrepreneurs to make timely, sound decisions as they pursue their business goals.
“There are many good opportunities lost and precious time wasted for lack of a timely decision,” says Jack Donald. “Both Joan and I have always followed this rule: marshal the facts, make a decision and move on. As long as you make more ‘good’ decisions than ‘poor’ ones you will prosper. This Breakthrough Your Business event is a great opportunity.”
To help this year’s participants prepare for the event, competitors will have the opportunity to partner with students to develop the business proposals.
“This is a great example of collaboration and learning, with students from the Donald School of Business working with local people to help them develop viable business plans,” says Mykytyshyn. “It’s a practical learning opportunity that has benefits for everyone involved.”
Anyone competing in Breakthrough Your Business must participate in the Business Basics Seminar, either this year or in the past years, as the learning from this seminar will help to position them for success in the competition and in their future businesses.
People interested in participating in Business Basics for the Aspiring Entrepreneur Seminar and Breakthrough Your Business are encouraged to be aware of the upcoming dates and deadlines for the events:
January 18, 2019 – January 26, 2019 – February 15, 2019 – February 22, 2019 – March 9, 2019
Expression of Interest registration deadline for Breakthrough Your Business Business Basics Seminar (required for Breakthrough Your Business) Submission deadline for Breakthrough Your Business
Final five contestants notified for Breakthrough Your Business Breakthrough Your Business
For further details, contact [email protected].
About RDC: For 55 years, RDC has been proudly serving its learners and communities. The College continues to grow programs, facilities and opportunities as it transitions to become a comprehensive regional teaching university during the next three to five years. This year, RDC will add seven new programs to more than 100 established programs (including full degrees, certificates, diplomas and skilled trades programs). RDC educates 7,500 full-and part-time credit students and more than 38,000 youth and adult learners in the School of Continuing Education each year. The College is expanding its teaching, learning, athletic and living spaces with the additions of the state-of-the-art Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre/Centre des Jeux du Canada Gary W. Harris, Alternative Energy Lab and construction of a new Residence which all enhance RDC’s Alternative Energy Initiative. Main campus is strategically situated on 290 acres of Alberta’s natural landscape along Queen Elizabeth II Highway. RDC is also proud to serve its Donald School of Business students housed at a downtown campus, located in the Millennium Centre, in addition to housing teaching and learning space at the Welikoklad Event Centre.
For more information on RDC, please visit: rdc.ab.ca| twitter | facebook | instagram
Business
Most Canadians say retaliatory tariffs on American goods contribute to raising the price of essential goods at home

- 77 per cent say Canada’s tariffs on U.S. products increase the price of consumer goods
- 72 per cent say that their current tax bill hurts their standard of living
A new MEI-Ipsos poll published this morning reveals a clear disconnect between Ottawa’s high-tax, high-spending approach and Canadians’ level of satisfaction.
“Canadians are not on board with Ottawa’s fiscal path,” says Samantha Dagres, communications manager at the MEI. “From housing to trade policy, Canadians feel they’re being squeezed by a government that is increasingly an impediment to their standard of living.”
More than half of Canadians (54 per cent) say Ottawa is spending too much, while only six per cent think it is spending too little.
A majority (54 per cent) also do not believe federal dollars are being effectively allocated to address Canada’s most important issues, and a similar proportion (55 per cent) are dissatisfied with the transparency and accountability in the government’s spending practices.
As for their own tax bills, Canadians are equally skeptical. Two-thirds (67 per cent) say they pay too much income tax, and about half say they do not receive good value in return.
Provincial governments fared even worse. A majority of Canadians say they receive poor value for the taxes they pay provincially. In Quebec, nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of respondents say they are not getting their money’s worth from the provincial government.
Not coincidentally, Quebecers face the highest marginal tax rates in North America.
On the question of Canada’s response to the U.S. trade dispute, nearly eight in 10 Canadians (77 per cent) agree that Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs on American products are driving up the cost of everyday goods.
“Canadians understand that tariffs are just another form of taxation, and that they are the ones footing the bill for any political posturing,” adds Ms. Dagres. “Ottawa should favour unilateral tariff reduction and increased trade with other nations, as opposed to retaliatory tariffs that heap more costs onto Canadian consumers and businesses.”
On the issue of housing, 74 per cent of respondents believe that taxes on new construction contribute directly to unaffordability.
All of this dissatisfaction culminates in 72 per cent of Canadians saying their overall tax burden is reducing their standard of living.
“Taxpayers are not just ATMs for government – and if they are going to pay such exorbitant taxes, you’d think the least they could expect is good service in return,” says Ms. Dagres. “Canadians are increasingly distrustful of a government that believes every problem can be solved with higher taxes.”
A sample of 1,020 Canadians 18 years of age and older was polled between June 17 and 23, 2025. The results are accurate to within ± 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The results of the MEI-Ipsos poll are available here.
* * *
The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.
Business
B.C. premier wants a private pipeline—here’s how you make that happen

From the Fraser Institute
By Julio Mejía and Elmira Aliakbari
At the federal level, the Carney government should scrap several Trudeau-era policies including Bill C-69 (which introduced vague criteria into energy project assessments including the effects on the “intersection of sex and gender with other identity factors”)
The Eby government has left the door (slightly) open to Alberta’s proposed pipeline to the British Columbia’s northern coast. Premier David Eby said he isn’t opposed to a new pipeline that would expand access to Asian markets—but he does not want government to pay for it. That’s a fair condition. But to attract private investment for pipelines and other projects, both the Eby government and the Carney government must reform the regulatory environment.
First, some background.
Trump’s tariffs against Canadian products underscore the risks of heavily relying on the United States as the primary destination for our oil and gas—Canada’s main exports. In 2024, nearly 96 per cent of oil exports and virtually all natural gas exports went to our southern neighbour. Clearly, Canada must diversify our energy export markets. Expanded pipelines to transport oil and gas, mostly produced in the Prairies, to coastal terminals would allow Canada’s energy sector to find new customers in Asia and Europe and become less reliant on the U.S. In fact, following the completion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion between Alberta and B.C. in May 2024, exports to non-U.S. destinations increased by almost 60 per cent.
However, Canada’s uncompetitive regulatory environment continues to create uncertainty and deter investment in the energy sector. According to a 2023 survey of oil and gas investors, 68 per cent of respondents said uncertainty over environmental regulations deters investment in Canada compared to only 41 per cent of respondents for the U.S. And 59 per cent said the cost of regulatory compliance deters investment compared to 42 per cent in the U.S.
When looking at B.C. specifically, investor perceptions are even worse. Nearly 93 per cent of respondents for the province said uncertainty over environmental regulations deters investment while 92 per cent of respondents said uncertainty over protected lands deters investment. Among all Canadian jurisdictions included in the survey, investors said B.C. has the greatest barriers to investment.
How can policymakers help make B.C. more attractive to investment?
At the federal level, the Carney government should scrap several Trudeau-era policies including Bill C-69 (which introduced vague criteria into energy project assessments including the effects on the “intersection of sex and gender with other identity factors”), Bill C-48 (which effectively banned large oil tankers off B.C.’s northern coast, limiting access to Asian markets), and the proposed cap on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the oil and gas sector (which will likely lead to a reduction in oil and gas production, decreasing the need for new infrastructure and, in turn, deterring investment in the energy sector).
At the provincial level, the Eby government should abandon its latest GHG reduction targets, which discourage investment in the energy sector. Indeed, in 2023 provincial regulators rejected a proposal from FortisBC, the province’s main natural gas provider, because it did not align with the Eby government’s emission-reduction targets.
Premier Eby is right—private investment should develop energy infrastructure. But to attract that investment, the province must have clear, predictable and competitive regulations, which balance environmental protection with the need for investment, jobs and widespread prosperity. To make B.C. and Canada a more appealing destination for investment, both federal and provincial governments must remove the regulatory barriers that keep capital away.
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