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Chief Clarence Louie and author Matt Tenney featured at Workforce Strategies Summit March 30 in Red Deer

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News Release submitted by the Central Alberta Economic Partnership (CAEP)

Prominent Speakers Keynote Workforce Strategies Summit

Two top caliber speakers will keynote the Workforce Strategies one-day summit in Red Deer March 30th.  In the morning, social entrepreneur and “Serve to be Great” and “The Mindfulness Edge” author, Matt Tenney will share his leadership development and business success strategies. Tenney is a US-based consultant and trainer with the prestigious Perth Leadership Institute. His clients include Wells Fargo, Marriott, Keller Williams, Salesforce, United Airlines, and many other companies, associations, and universities.

In the afternoon, Canadian Speakers Bureau 5-star Indigenous inclusion, First Nation leadership and economic development expert keynote speaker, Chief Clarence Louie will share his experiences, lessons learned and business-smarts approach. Chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band for over 36 years, Chief Louie is one of six First Nations leaders to emphasize economic development to improve people’s standard of living. Under his direction, the Band has become a multi-faceted corporation that owns and manages nine businesses and employs hundreds of people.

Completing the plenary sessions will be two panels of expert speakers on “Embracing the New Workforce” including topics on diversity, GenZ, and immigration, and “Automation and Technology to Fill the People Gap“.  The panelists include: Steve Miller, Implicit Career Search; Andrea Cassidy, Beyond Insurance; Nicole Arienzale, Fortis Alberta; Tonya Woolford, Xerox; Tom Muir, Poeta Digital; Jason Thompson, Warrior Supplies; and Dr. Joy Agnew, Olds College Centre for Innovation.  The panels will be moderated by  Stuart Cullum President Red Deer Polytechnic and Donna Purcell lawyer and owner of Donna Purcell QC Law.

Summit attendees can also attend private meetings with international recruitment agencies, lawyers, business consultants, and human resources professionals to discuss strategies specific to their organization’s needs.  Employers of all types including non-profit organizations and cooperatives are invited to attend to learn more about attracting and retaining staff for their specific sector needs.

Tickets are available through Eventbrite or from the CentralSummit.ca website until March 24. Lunch is included.

Workforce Strategies Summit is hosted by the Central Alberta Economic Partnership (CAEP) to help employers of all sizes gain insight and learn strategies for recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees.  It is being held March 30, 2023 at Westerner Park in Red Deer.

Recruitment and retention related businesses including such as BusinessLink, Labour Solutions Canada, BLHR Consulting, C4ner Consulting, Golden Circle Senior Resource Centre, Camrose County, EPSS, Red Deer Polytechnic, Donna Purcell Law, Immigration Care, Digitex / Xerox, CRT Legal will be available for conversations in the business-to-business B2B Lounge.

Workforce Strategies Summit is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Community Futures Central Alberta, Olds College, Red Deer Polytech, Central Alberta Regional Innovation Network, Red Deer Chamber, Burman University, Fortis Alberta, and Canadian Immigration Visa Services. Donna Purcell QC Law, Pinnacle Communications & Media inc, Waste Connections Canada, Digital.ca / Xerox and JEDI.

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National

Governor General gets $11,200 raise in 2024, third pay bump in three years

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News release from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Author: Franco Terrazzano

The Governor General’s salary has increased by $60,000, or 20 per cent, since 2019.

Governor General Mary Simon received a $11,200 raise in 2024, her third pay bump since being appointed to the role in 2021, driving her salary for this year up to $362,800.

“Canadians are struggling to afford a jug of milk or a package of ground beef, so the government shouldn’t be rubberstamping another raise for the governor general,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Can the government show Canadians how they’re getting more value, because the governor general’s paycheque just went up a thousand dollars a month.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation confirmed Simon’s salary and latest raise with the Privy Council Office.

“For 2024, the Governor General’s salary, which is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Governor General’s Act … is $362,800,” a PCO spokesman told the CTF.

The Governor General’s salary has increased by $60,000, or 20 per cent, since 2019. Meanwhile, the average annual salary among full-time workers is less than $70,000, according to Statistics Canada data.

Table: Annual Governor General salary, per PCO data

Year

GG salary

2024

$362,800

2023

$351,600

2022

$342,100

2021

$328,700

2020

$310,100

2019

$302,800

On top of the $362,800 annual salary, the governor general receives a range of lavish perks, including a taxpayer-funded mansion, a platinum pension, a generous retirement allowance, a clothing budget, paid dry cleaning services and travel expenses.

Former governors general are also eligible for a full pension, of about $150,000 a year, regardless of how long they serve in office.

Even though Simon’s predecessor, Julie Payette, served in the role for a little more than three years, she will receive an estimated $4.8 million if she collects her pension till the age of 90.

The CTF estimates that Canada’s five living former governors general will receive more than $18 million if they continue to collect their pensions till the age of 90.

Former governors general can also expense taxpayers up to $206,000 annually for the rest of their lives, continuing up to six months after their deaths.

In May 2023, the National Post reported the governor general can expense up to $130,000 in clothing during their five-year mandates, with a $60,000 cap during the first year.

Simon and Payette combined to expense $88,000 in clothing to taxpayers since 2017, including a velvet dress with silk lining, designer gloves, suits, shoes and scarves, among other items.

Rideau Hall expensed $117,000 in dry-cleaning services since 2018, despite having in-house staff responsible for laundry. That’s an average dry cleaning tab of more than $1,800 per month.

It’s also enough money to dry clean 13,831 blouses, 6,204 dresses or 3,918 duvets, according to the prices at Majestic Cleaners in Ottawa.

In 2022, Simon’s first full year on the job, she spent $2.7 million on travel, according to government records obtained by the CTF.

Simon’s travel has sparked multiple controversies, including her nearly six-figure in-flight catering tab during a weeklong trip to the Middle East, and her $71,000 bill at IceLimo Luxury Travel during a four-day trip to Iceland.

In the aftermath of the scandals, a parliamentary committee recommended a range of reforms to the governor general’s travel budget, including a regular review of the cost-effectiveness of trips, a reduction in the size of delegations and less spending on snacks and drinks.

“The platinum pay and perks for the governor general should have been reined in years ago,” Terrazzano said. “A serious government would mandate the governor general’s office be subject to access-to-information requests, cut all international travel except for meetings with the monarchy, end the expense account for former governors general, reform the pension and scrap the clothing allowance.”

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CBC bonuses total $15 million in 2023

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News release from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation gave out $14.9 million in bonuses in 2023, according to access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

This comes on the heels of a CBC announcement in December 2023, just weeks before Christmas, that the public broadcaster was planning to lay off hundreds of employees.

Since 2015, the CBC has issued $114 million in bonuses.

“CBC President Catherine Tait is wrong to hand out bonuses while announcing hundreds of job losses and begging the government for more taxpayer cash,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Tait won’t do the right thing, so Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge needs to step in and shut down these bonuses.”

All told, 1,143 CBC staffers took a bonus in 2023, costing taxpayers $14,902,755. That number could climb even higher as the records indicate the data is up to date “as of Oct. 26, 2023.”

“[Bonus] pay… is a key part of the total compensation of our non-union staff, about 1,140 employees,” Tait recently told a parliamentary committee.

Tait was called to testify at the committee in January 2024 on executive bonuses and planned layoffs at the public broadcaster.

The CBC also dished out $11.5 million in raises (to date) for the 2023-24 fiscal year, with 6,575 employees taking a pay bump, representing 87 per cent of its workforce, according to separate access-to-information records obtained by the CTF. There were no pay cuts.

The CBC has rubberstamped $97 million in pay raises since 2015.

There are now 1,450 CBC staffers taking home a six-figure salary, according to access-to-information records obtained by the CTF.

Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015, the number of CBC employees taking a six-figure annual salary has spiked by 231 per cent.

Following Tait’s committee appearance, during which she claimed the public broadcaster was subject to “chronic underfunding,” the federal government announced it was increasing funding to the CBC by 96.1 million.

The CBC will receive $1.4 billion in taxpayer funding for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Tait’s annual pay is between $472,900 and $623,900, which includes salary, bonus and other benefits, according to the CBC’s senior management compensation summary.

In 2014, Tait’s predecessor, Hubert Lacroix, told a Senate committee his annual bonus was “around 20 per cent.”

“Tait should be taking a pay cut and ending bonuses,” Terrazzano said. “It’s time for the government to end the taxpayer-funded bonuses at the CBC.”

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