Toronto Board of Trade

Incentive or Entitlement?

2007-10-04T08:41:00.000-04:00

Posted by: Mary de Reus

Our annual Compensation Surveys have just been released and they show that executives in the Toronto region continue to receive substantial wage increases of more than twice the rate of inflation. You can read the media release on our website HERE.

What I find most interesting about this year’s results is how the use of bonuses and incentives has become ingrained in executive compensation. Our survey of organizations across the Toronto region found that two-thirds (67%) of them offer their executives some type of bonus or incentive. The executives in those companies almost all get to collect that extra compensation, with 91% getting a bonus this year.

Does this mean that virtually all executives are meeting or exceeding their organizational goals? Or, are organizations setting relatively low standards so that executives can expect bonuses for something less than excellence?

I suspect that both explanations have some truth to them. The Toronto region is doing well economically (the GTA much more so than Toronto proper), so it stands to reason that many organizations and executives are hitting their targets. However, the use of bonuses has become so common that this extra payment may now be seen as more of an entitlement than an incentive.

If this, in fact, the case, employers are challenged to find additional ways of providing incentives to senior ranks. Necessity is the mother of invention and I have faith that the leadership of the future will create the tools required (I guess paying bonuses in U.S. dollars won’t do the trick anymore!).

The common use of bonuses is one of the trends we will be following each year, as we look at data from hundreds of organizations, associations, governments and other sources, covering more than 50,000 employees. Employers need to know how their competition is attracting and retaining the top talent needed for success, and that’s one of the key uses for our six-volume set of surveys.

Mary de Reus is a Vice-President of the Toronto Board of Trade and oversees the Board’s HR Surveys & Programs Department

Who Cares About Toronto?

2007-09-25T15:14:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Carol Wilding

The Toronto Board of Trade is working hard to obtain the answer to a vital question in this provincial election campaign – Who cares about Toronto? Which party and leader will tackle the challenges facing our city and business community?

Over the past two weeks, your Board of Trade has been the only organization in Toronto to have the three major party leaders address our membership. More importantly, we challenged all three to respond directly to our election agenda:

Create a better climate for economic growth through tax reform,
Invest in public transit to relieve congestion, and
Upload social program costs from city taxpayers back to the province.

The Leaders Respond!

Here, in order of their appearances, are the leaders’ responses to our election agenda…

TBOT Agenda	NDP Response	Liberal Response	PC Response
Economic growth o Eliminate the Ontario capital tax immediately o Reform PST to a value-added tax	Neither idea was addressed in Mr. Hampton’s speech.	Neither idea was addressed in Mr. McGuinty’s speech (previously committed to eliminating the capital tax by July, 2010).	Pledged to follow the existing schedule for capital tax elimination at minimum and to speed it up if possible. Did not address PST reform
Public transit o Return to the fair share funding formula for public transit o Provide the GTTA with the tools and powers it needs	Pledged to implement the City’s transit vision by 2012 and to share transit operating costs equally with the City. Dismissed the GTTA as an ineffective body.	Neither idea was addressed in Mr. McGuinty’s speech (repeated existing commitment to ‘Move Ontario’ plan).	Pledged to increase transit funding to $800M/year in Ontario by 2011 through gas/fuel taxes. Pledged to provide GTTA with funding and an ‘improved’ mandate.
Upload social program costs	Pledged to upload several programs in his first term and to meet all contracted costs.	Pledged to upload drug and disability benefits program costs, and follow up on provincial review.	Pledged to speed up provincial review and start uploading before 2008 municipal budgets.

TBOT’s Election Agenda – Standing up for you and your business

You can read the media release about our election priorities HERE. Toronto must remain a great global city with a thriving economy and high quality of life to continue contributing to our province. However, that status is at risk; Toronto has lost tens of thousands of jobs and our economic growth lags the provincial and national averages.

Progress To Date - Our Vote Toronto program is making an impact!

· In August, the Province announced the transfer of Ontario Disability Support Payment and Ontario Drug Benefits Program funding back to the Province over the next four years. This decision will provide the City with approximately $30M-$40M in relief for 2008.

· Uploading is now an important provincial election issue. The major parties have stated publicly that social services and social housing should not be funded through the property tax base. All have promised to address this issue, but differ on the approach and timing.

· Transit funding prospects have improved. The government launched Move Ontario 2020, a $17.5B initiative ($11.5B committed). Opposition parties have made large dollar transit commitments. John Tory proposed a further dedication of gas tax to support transportation/transit and Howard Hampton committed to cost sharing of transit operating costs.

Our Next Steps

The end of our Leaders’ series does not spell the end of our election activities. We will continue to promote your issues and keep you informed.

Visit our website's special Election page (www.bot.com/election) for information about upcoming events, such as our Election Fest local candidate debates, and for responses to our leaders’ survey, expected soon.

Your Board of Trade will continue working to provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision on October 10^th. Again, I urge you to take that opportunity to Vote Toronto by backing the candidate and party you believe will help Toronto remain a great global city.

Carol Wilding is President & CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade.

Death Of A 1,400 Year-Old Business

2007-04-17T19:44:00.000-04:00

Posted by: Glen Stone

In a time when people often say that the only constant is change, you don't often hear about a business being around for dozens or hundreds of years. For example, people are often amazed to learn that the Toronto Board of Trade has been on the scene since 1845.

But a business in Japan took the cake with a continuous history of more than 1,400 years!

Unfortunately, the world's oldest family business is no more. It's gone bankrupt and been taken over by a larger company.

Lessons learned about how to keep a business alive for centuries, and how to drive it into the ground in a mere decade, are the subject of this fascinating Business Week article.

Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade.

Budget Week for Toronto

2007-04-02T17:19:00.000-04:00

Posted by: Carol Wilding

It was an unusual and important week for Toronto – three budgets in seven days. The Toronto, provincial and federal governments all introduced financial plans that directly affect our business community and our city.

Now that we’ve had time to analyze all three plans, we’ve provided a quick summary report for our members. Here’s my more detailed take on the seven days that helped shape our future …

This week began with a federal budget that contained some welcome news for Toronto business – reductions in capital cost allowances for some sectors and increased investment in skills and education to help build a stronger workforce. However, the Harper government missed the opportunity to make Canada more competitive by not reducing corporate income tax rates.

More importantly, the federal budget did NOT include a national transit strategy or funding to address the number one concern of business in Toronto – congestion and gridlock. The recent subway funding announcement was appreciated but it’s not a substitute for a properly funded long term plan.

The commitment to increase transfer funding for Ontario gave us hope that the province would use the extra billion dollars it was getting to upload the costs of social programs and housing off the backs of property taxpayers in Toronto.

However, the provincial budget three days later did not contain any uploading for the City (the end of ‘pooling’ for the 905 communities helps ease regional political tensions but was revenue neutral for Toronto). There was also no movement on a return to the fair share funding formula for public transit costs.

The Ontario budget did contain the biggest win of all three budgets for our business community – significant reform of provincial business property taxes. We’ve been saying for years that the unfair system, which punished business for locating in Toronto, had to be reformed. This budget tackles that problem head-on and will put more than $230 million back into the business community to re-invest in our economy.

There was also good news in the acceleration of plans to eliminate the capital tax by two years, a step that built on the federal budget cuts.

Finally, the Toronto budget reflected the lack of action by other governments, as well as the impact of the City’s own choices in recent years to increase spending and taxes.

The City itself described its operating budget as ‘unsustainable’ – an apt word, since Toronto cannot continue going further into debt, draining reserves, raising taxes and increasing spending. This budget underlined the city of Toronto’s serious financial problems, which are going to require fundamental changes.

Despite some initial steps towards increasing efficiency (efficiency audits, benchmarking and more cost recovery), the City’s net budget is increasing by 9.3% this year and tax hikes are being used to fill the budget gap.

The Mayor did live up to his promise to keep the property tax hike for business to one-third the residential rate, but that will still add more than $23 million a year to the business tax burden. This in a city that already faces the highest property taxes in the GTA and among the highest in North America.

In addition, the City is accelerating the possible introduction of other new or increased taxes, such as road tolls and levies on entertainment, parking lots, alcohol and tobacco.

With only nine of the 49 City budget envelopes meeting the demand to hold the line on spending, it is clear that City Hall can be doing more to control its costs. However, it is equally clear that it cannot deal with Toronto’s problems all by itself. All three levels of government have contributed to Toronto’s difficult situation, and all three need to take responsibility for addressing these challenges.

After three budgets in seven days, the Toronto business community has some federal and provincial tax breaks to offset the impact of another municipal tax hike. The engine of the Canadian economy has had some fuel added.

However, the long-term issue of the city of Toronto’s financial dilemma must be solved in order to improve Toronto’s business climate and quality of life.

Carol Wilding is President & CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade

A Punch In The Nose For Gridlock

2007-03-08T14:47:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Glen Stone

Nearly a BILLION dollars. That's how much the federal government is investing in public transit in the Toronto region.

The Board of Trade and others have been saying for years that Ottawa must step up to the plate with investments of this size, and we issued a media release that praised all governments involved.

However ...

One-time, project-driven funding - no matter how big - is not going to do the trick when it comes to solving the traffic congestion problem. That's going to require an extra billion dollars EVERY YEAR, and strategic planning at both the national and provincial level to make sure that money is spent in the smartest way (we talk about this stuff in more detail in our provincial and federal budget submissions).

Sure, it's hard to look a gift horse in the mouth, particularly when the gift horse is the size of an elephant. But the Board of Trade's job is to stand up for the best interests of Toronto's business community, even when that might get some politicians or others mad at us.

So, thanks very much for the billion dollars! Now, let's talk about a real, strategic, permanent solution ...

Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade

Good Friends Can Disagree

2007-02-16T15:10:00.000-05:00

On February 15 2007, the Board held its annual City Council Luncheon with Mayor David Miller and many City Councillors and senior staff in attendance.

Board Chair Becky McKinnon delivered a speech that promised Council both cooperation and constructive criticism. Here are some excerpts:

"This is our first Luncheon with the new City Council, and the first time we’ve gathered since the historic changes of Toronto’s new governance model and the City of Toronto Act ... Please know that you can count on the cooperation of the Board of Trade as you seek to improve local government services in this new world.

Mind you, you can also count on our constructive criticism and suggestions for improvements. The Toronto Board of Trade has a clear mandate to serve, represent and unite Toronto’s business community, and we will continue to serve as its voice.

At times, that will mean challenging decisions or policies from Council – not because we disagree with your intentions, but to point out better alternatives for reaching those goals.

The Mayor’s intentions, as clearly outlined in his election platform and inaugural speech, are quite close to the Board’s priorities for Toronto. He speaks of ‘prosperity, liveability and opportunity’ … we speak of ‘competitiveness, liveability and sustainability’.

Both the Toronto government and the Board share the goal of building a better city with a stronger economy and a higher quality of life. Our concern is ensuring that the best path towards that goal is chosen. We want to be certain that the logical steps are taken in this effort – building a more competitive business climate, developing the infrastructure Toronto needs, and improving local government."

============

"I want to conclude today by offering Mayor Miller the Board’s perspective about some of the challenges we must face together as citizens of Toronto.

As someone once said, “There is good news, and there is bad news.”

The good news is that the Mayor has lived up to his pledge to create the Economic Competitiveness Advisory Committee. We take this and the creation of the economic development committee of Council as very positive signs. They show that the City is dedicated to addressing the vital challenge of making Toronto a more competitive home for business, investment and jobs.

The bad news is that Toronto’s economic strategy has not been updated in seven years, and there is a tremendous amount of catching up to do.

In another example, there is good news on business property taxes, with the City implementing a plan to make the system fairer by slowly bringing tax ratios in line with other jurisdictions.

However, the bad news is that the City’s plan will still see business property taxes rates, already among the highest in North America, continue to increase for 14 years. Clearly, we need to get to a tax situation that is both fairer AND more competitive.

But the best news of all is that there are so many areas where the Board and the City can work together for the good of Toronto, its people and its business community.

From unfair provincial downloading, to the fiscal gap with the federal government … from the need for a national transit strategy to the key role of the new Greater Toronto Transportation Authority … and, from cleaner, safer streets to more opportunities for young people from vulnerable areas.

On these, and many other grounds, we can work together for mutual gain."

Becky McKinnon is Chair of the Toronto Board of Trade

Toronto the Wild & Corrupt

2007-02-09T09:08:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Glen Stone

The Toronto Board of Trade is celebrating its 162nd birthday, having been founded by an act of Parliament back on February 10, 1845.

You might expect that a lot of things have changed in this city in 162 years, but many Torontonians may not know just how wild this place was back in 1845.

The Toronto of that day was a dangerous and corrupt place, with no real police force (the few constables were directly employed by City Aldermen, who used them to help retain their political power).

The city was only a dozen years old and had just 15,000 inhabitants, but it boasted more than 140 taverns -- nearly one for every hundred people!

The crime rate was high and some areas of the city, such as the Market Block off King Street East, were highly dangerous. One of the big stories of 1845 was the discovery of a murdered man, found with a hole in his heart, standing up in one of the notorious Market Block alleyways. The murder was never solved ...

Even more dangerous were the religious and political tensions in 1845 Toronto. Upper and Lower Canada had just been forced into partnership as 'United Canada', with what is now Ontario known as 'Western Canada'. The new idea of responsible government was not going down well with Toronto's power brokers.

It had been less than a decade since the 1837 Rebellions and the Catholic vs. Protestant, Tory vs. Reformer, resident vs. immigrant violence was frequent and bloody. There were street fights, violent protests, murders and out-and-out riots.

One incident of political violence, witnessed by Charles Dickens, visiting the city in 1842, led to new restrictions on the licensing of Toronto's taverns, which were hotbeds of political intrigue, violence and bribery. The tough new rules, followed over the decades to come with crackdowns on law-breaking and corruption, were the start of our reputation as 'Toronto the Good'.

Despite these problems, and the frequent fires that kept destroying much of what is now downtown Toronto (1832, 1834, 1849, 1854, 1866, etc. 1849 was particularly bad), and the typhus and cholera outbreaks ... Toronto was beginning to grow and thrive. We were becoming a major trading point, shipping grain and other goods to Britain and other destinations.

In 1845, the city had just introduced gas street lamps, built its first City Hall (you can find a bit of it in the southern building at St. Lawrence Market), introduced a public water system with 12 fire hydrants and upgraded Yonge Street to a gravel road.

Prominent business leader George Percival Ridout, whose hardware store later became Aikendhead's, pushed to have the city's informal business association (started in 1834) formally recognized by Parliament, the House of Assembly in Montreal. Ridout became the first Chairman of the Toronto Board of Trade. One of our meeting rooms is still named in his honour.

As Toronto has changed and grown, so has the Board of Trade; from 46 original members to more than ten thousand businesses and individuals, making us the largest local chamber of commerce in Canada.

One thing that hasn't changed, though, is the spirit of our original 1845 mandate: "to foster the economic and social welfare of the City of Toronto". Or, as we put it these days, to help business in Toronto to succeed, and to help build a better city.

Happy birthday to us!

Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade

How to Find A CEO

2007-01-25T09:46:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Becky McKinnon

How do you go about finding a new President and CEO for Canada’s largest chamber of commerce?

Our process started right after Glen Grunwald left the post last fall. Our Board of Directors set up a search committee and retained the executive search firm Ray & Berndtson to help find the right person for the job.

As usual in these cases, the process was set up to be confidential. No one outside of the committee, including the candidates themselves, was to be told who had applied. The names of those not selected were not to be released; only the successful candidate was to be named.

Our task started with outlining the position and describing the attributes needed. That’s not an easy undertaking -- our President & CEO has to combine the roles of membership champion, administrator, public voice, political advocate, team leader, relationship manager, strategic planner, and link between Board staff and volunteers.

All of that, by the way, in a non-profit environment, offering some 120 events per year, operating at five locations, running the World Trade Centre Toronto, and serving more than ten thousand company and individual members. Not a job for the faint of heart.

More than 100 applications were received for this challenging post. Initial interviews cut that list down to 20, and just six were selected for the more rigorous process of personal interviews, extensive reference checks, assessments and detailed deliberations.

After three months of work, the committee reached a unanimous decision. Carol Wilding is an accomplished non-profit leader (former President of the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation and Foster Parents Plan Canada) who will bring tremendous energy, skills and experience to her role.

We’re thrilled with our choice and looking forward to having Carol officially join the Board on February 19. Shortly after that, you’ll see this blog transform into a forum for her viewpoints and insights, giving readers additional information and opinions about our Board and our city.

Becky McKinnon is Chair of the Toronto Board of Trade.

Passport Pour Touts

2007-01-23T15:59:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Cecil Bradley

No doubt, you have seen the blizzard of media coverage on the new passport rules imposed, as of today, by the United States. All foreign nationals, including Canadians, entering the United States by air now need a passport. In 12 to 18 months, that restriction will be extended to those entering by land or sea.

The Americans have been warning of this coming change for some time. As U.S. Ambassador Wilkins told an audience here at the Board of Trade last fall, and as he repeats in the National Post today, the U.S. sees this as a security question and, while they regret the impact on tourism, they are putting national security first.

Canadian reaction has, in many instances, been very heated. Man-in-the-street interviews and informal polls show that people are angry over the perceived imbalance, since Americans are not being required to have passports to enter Canada.

However, there are two things that people may want to consider about this issue:

First, the new rules at the American border also apply to U.S. citizens returning to their country by air. In other words, Americans must have a passport to get back into the United States, just as Canadians and others must have one to enter. This effectively means that American visitors to Canada (at least, those who are flying) are required to have passports and bring them along.

Second, the Canadian government (backed by the tourism industry and the business community) has been arguing against the imposition of this new standard. For Canada to turn around now and demand that Americans use passports to fly to Canada would undermine our nation's argument that such documentation is not necessary for our border.

So, while it might satisfy our nationalist sentiments, imposing a passport tit for tat would accomplish nothing on practical grounds, and would make it more difficult for Canada to work at reversing this new rule down the road.

For now, at least, everyone is equal at the American border -- it is 'passports pour touts'.

Cecil Bradley is Vice-President of Policy for the Toronto Board of Trade

A Little Blog-rolling

2007-01-03T15:57:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Glen Stone

Thanks to David Ma of law firm McCarthy Tetrault for a nice promotion on his TechBlawg site of our upcoming Technology Innovators breakfast on January 31. David is a stalwart member of our ICT Advisory Committee, helping us provide a home for this important and growing sector in Toronto.

In the spirit of mutual back-scratching ...

Toronto entrepreneurs may be interested in an event that David and his firm have coming up - the second annual Toronto version of the Venture Capital Investment Competition, offering start-ups here a chance to pitch directly to real venture capitalists. Click this link for the details.

Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade.

Just a few questions ...

2006-12-29T13:31:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Becky McKinnon

Life would certainly be easier if you owned the legendary crystal ball that allows its owner to see the future, from mortgage rates to horse race results. Predicting the future too often seems more like consulting the Magic 8-Ball we had as children: "Answer cloudy: Try again later."
However, there are also things called safe bets.

In that spirit, here are some of the big questions it is safe to predict that the City of Toronto will be facing in the New Year:

That's the beginning of my column today in National Post. You can read the rest of it HERE.

Becky McKinnon is Chair of the Toronto Board of Trade.

Top Ten Scams of 2006

2006-12-12T10:36:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Glen Stone

Mark Twain warned us that a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. In today's Internet-driven world, lies and scams can travel around the world in seconds, leaving the truth even further behind than ever.

When it comes to on-line scams, knowledge is the best protection. So, courtesy of Consumer Affairs, follow THIS LINK for a list of the current top ten Internet scams of the year.

Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade.

Go East, Young Man!

2006-12-08T14:39:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Glen Stone

Back in the early days of the United States, journalist John Soule advised young Americans to seek their fortunes in the developing western part of the nation with his call, "Go West, Young Man!" (Horace Greeley made that quotation famous, but did not originate it)

According to this morning's featured speaker at the Toronto Board of Trade, GE International President Nani Beccalli, today's young fortune-seekers might want to look to the east, i.e. Asia.

In a speech that covered the world as effortlessly and effectively as the globe-trotting Beccalli himself, the self-described 'foreign affairs minister for General Electric' told a capacity audience that the world was undergoing a major transfer of wealth from the developed nations to those rich in natural resources, including human resources.

While predicting that China's growing influence would soon peak (remember the early 1980's, Beccalli asked, when everyone thought Japan would soon run the world?), he forecast that this century would belong to the Asian continent, "from Mount Sinai to Mount Fuji". The rest of the world, Beccalli concluded, could only benefit by embracing this shift, not opposing it.

SHAMELESS PLUG: To find out about more great speakers and events, check out our online Events Calendar.

Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade

Time to Bury the Airport Hatchet

2006-12-08T13:56:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Becky McKinnon

Fact: there is an airport, the Toronto City Centre Airport (TCCA or ‘island airport’), off Toronto’s waterfront.

Fact: there is a city just a few hundred metres away from that airport’s runways.

Those two facts are not about to change. Heated rhetoric, lawsuits, threats and millions of taxpayer dollars haven’t erased them. It’s time for the two parties in the ongoing dispute over the airport, the City government and the Toronto Port Authority, to face that reality.

That's the opening of my opinion piece in today's Toronto Sun, based on our six-month study of the TCCA. We have the entire text of the article on our website, where you will also find our media release and the report itself.

The point is that the two sides in this dispute have a choice - waste more time and energy dragging each other down, or end their feud and, by compromising a bit on each side, turn the airport into a more positive contributor to our city.

Becky McKinnon is Chair of the Toronto Board of Trade

Brain vs. Heart

2006-12-05T13:34:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Alon Marcovici

Every business wants its advertising to be effective in driving both sales and brand awareness. Advertising and marketing experts labour over the look, feel and content of ads to create positive reactions from their target audiences.

But, what if it turns out that the content of your ads really doesn't matter much? That's the possibility raised by this interesting article, citing a European study that finds appeals to emotion, not content, are what make advertising work.

What I find most interesting is the conclusion that the most successful advertisers are companies who are selling the least tangible items. In other words, they're saying that it is easier to succeed selling a nebulous 'good feeling' than a solid product or service.

Not sure if I agree, but well worth reading ...

Alon Marcovici is Chief Marketing Officer for the Toronto Board of Trade.

A billion people, a trillion devices

2006-11-29T15:56:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Grant Humes

One billion people around the world are now connected through the Internet.

One trillion devices around the world are now connected to the Internet.

Those are just a couple of the fascinating insights I got today from Dan Fortin, President of IBM Canada. He gave a very inspiring speech at our latest Technology Innovators Breakfast, speaking about the role of technology and remote working in changing our world, and how Toronto's ICT community can grasp the resulting opportunities through more collaboration and innovation.

As he pointed out, the 170 people in the room are sometimes competitors, but also partners, suppliers and customers. The challenge, and the opportunity, is for all of the players to take and share some risks together for the success of the entire sector in Toronto.

Here's a LINK to a great, detailed summary of the event from one of the attendees, Joey deVilla -- thanks, Joey!

Grant Humes is Interim President and Chief Operating Officer of the Toronto Board of Trade

Welcome Etobicoke!

2006-11-29T08:58:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Grant Humes

You know you've found the right partner when your agreement is approved by about 95% of the people involved, and that's what happened last night when members of the Etobicoke Chamber of Commerce voted to integrate with the Toronto Board of Trade.

It was a great atmosphere at the Etobicoke facility - everyone knows we're moving together towards a better future with more opportunities and benefits for members of both organizations.

Seven years after the city of Toronto amalgamated, the voice of business in this city has been unified -- all local chambers of commerce are now united under the Toronto Board of Trade banner.

So, what does this mean?

Well, for members of the Etobicoke Chamber, it means you are now full-fledged members of the Toronto Board of Trade, with access to all of our facilities, discounts on all of our events/products/services, huge new networking opportunities and more. You also have free membership in the World Trade Centre Toronto with access to the WTC network of nearly 300 business centres around the world!

It also means you can continue to come to the same convenient location for great business services, local networking and the signature events like the Business Excellence Awards and annual charity golf tournament.

For all Board of Trade members, it means we now operate at FIVE locations across the city. You can use the convenient Etobicoke facility on Bloor Street West (click HERE for a map) and join in with their networking and other events. We're all going to benefit from having the experienced, successful business people from the Etobicoke Chamber joining in with our programs.

As an organization, we're now bigger and stronger than before, with a unified voice right across the city. We're even better positioned to contribute to our members' success, and to serve, unite and represent Toronto's business community.

Grant Humes is Interim President and Chief Operating Officer of the Toronto Board of Trade.

Words or Deeds?

2006-11-28T10:49:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Glen Stone

Most people take it as given that someone's deeds count for more than their words. After all, it is easy to say that you will increase your sales, create a better product or lose those 20 extra pounds, but it is a lot harder to actually do those things.

However, can there be instances where a person's words are more important than their actions? Here's an interesting argument for one such case, from the Speechwriter's Slant blog -- Thomas Jefferson, an American founding father who both owned slaves and wrote inspiring words of freedom (i.e. the Declaration of Independence) that still echo today.

Which is more important - his ownership of slaves or his inspiration to generations to seek freedom and equality? Deeds or words?

Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade

Bizarro Toronto?

2006-11-22T11:25:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Cecil Bradley

A recent column by John Barber in the Globe and Mail made several statements about the state of affairs in our city that the Board of Trade (and others) found to be ... well ... surprising.

Here's the letter to the editor we sent in response (it hasn't been printed as of this posting):

November 21, 2006

The Editor
The Globe and Mail
Via e-mail

To the Editor:

The old Superman comics raised the idea of a ‘Bizarro’ Earth, orbiting on the other side of the Sun, where parallel people lived very different lives to ours.

Perhaps it was the Bizarro Toronto that John Barber was describing in his recent column; it certainly bears little resemblance to the city of that name on this planet.

In this Toronto, the city is not “steadily gaining jobs”, but has lost 100,000 of them in the past 15 years, along with 10,000 employers. In this Toronto, traffic congestion is not “mainly a suburban problem”, but a $1.8 billion dollar drain on the economy and the top concern of the city’s business leaders. Growth of this Toronto’s economy has lagged behind the regional, provincial and national growth rates for the past 16 years.

Some alternative Toronto may not labour under the highest business property taxes in North America or be working with an economic development plan that is six years out of date. However, Toronto, Ontario, Canada is.

Yours truly,

[signed]

Cecil Bradley
Vice-President of Policy

Cecil Bradley is Vice President of Policy for the Toronto Board of Trade.

Congratulations! Now about those issues

2006-11-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Glen Stone

Here's the text of our media release last night, reacting to Toronto's municipal election results:

The Toronto Board of Trade tonight offered its congratulations to Mayor David Miller and all City Councillors who were elected in today's municipal voting, saying the Mayor and new Council have earned a four-year mandate to tackle the city's challenges.

"Tonight is a time of celebration for the Mayor and Councillors," said Board of Trade Chair Becky McKinnon, "But tomorrow morning, our new city leaders must start facing the challenges of running Toronto, and many require immediate attention."

McKinnon said the new government should have five top priorities*:

Reduce traffic congestion and improve transit and transportation systems
Improve Toronto's business competitiveness in order to attract and retain jobs
Enhance Toronto's quality of life through targeted community investments
Operate municipal government in a more accountable, efficient and effective way
Establish benchmakrs that measure success in key areas by results, not spending

"These are not simple challenges," acknowledges McKinnon, noting that the City must also deal with its unsustainable finances, including a potential $518 million gap in the 2007 budget, "This term of Council will be a test of leadership as well as an opportunity toput Toronto's economic future back on track."

* See 'Action Agenda for the Next Mayor and City Council of Toronto' at www.bot.com

Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade.

Toronto's Half Billion Dollar Hole

2006-11-07T09:23:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Becky Mckinnon

When the City of Toronto puts its annual budget together, city staff produces a mountain of paper – reports, charts and forecasts that explain quite well where the city’s finances are going. It’s a huge improvement from only a few years ago.

Those papers often reward a careful reader; right there on page 153 of Volume 4 of the 2006 Budget Overview & Program Summaries is a number that will raise your eyebrows. It says that, if the city wants to reach its target for the 2007 budget, it will have to come up with an extra $518 million.

In other words, the next Mayor and City Council need to find more than half a billion dollars in cost savings, new revenues or both if they want to balance next year’s budget.

Strangely, this huge number, and the untenable fiscal situation behind it, have NOT been front and centre in this municipal election campaign.

That’s why we issued an open letter yesterday, challenging all municipal candidates to tell voters how they would tackle the budget gap in the short term, and Toronto’s unsustainable finances in the long term.

Part of the answer (the easy part) is getting more money from the provincial and federal governments. The province, in particular, owes Toronto big-time from the 1998 downloading of services on to municipalities, forcing our city to fund things like social services from property taxes.

However, even if Queen’s Park takes back financial responsibility for those services, it will fill just $299 million of the 2007 gap, leaving a whopping $219 million to go. Remember, that’s just to hold the line at the 2006 level. If the city wants to spend more next year, the gap will be even bigger.

The difficult truth is that the city has to shoulder its share of the responsibility for the unsustainable fiscal path it is now on, and do its part to solve the problem. Without fundamental changes in the way our municipal government manages its finances, we’re going to continue to see enormous shortfalls like this every year and have to go begging to Queen’s Park for more special bailouts.

You can follow the link to read our media release, which has a backgrounder explaining some of the options City Hall can use to get out of this mess. The most important thing you can do, as a Torontonian, is to demand that your Council and Mayoral candidates answer the question - "What will you do about the $518 million budget gap?"

Becky Mckinnon is Chair of the Toronto Board of Trade

Why Some Businesses Win Awards

2006-10-25T08:55:00.000-04:00

Posted by: Doreen Cunneen

The North York Chamber of Commerce has presented its annual Business Excellence Awards, and the winners provide some good examples of how to earn this kind of recognition.

So, what does it take for a business to win an award?

Well, Irving Tissue took home the Corporate Excellence Award not only for its success in its core business (they own the Royale, Majesta and Scotties brands, as well as supplying tissues for many store brands), but for its dedication to giving back to the community. The company is a generous supporter of many local groups and charitable organizations and has a good reputation as an employer.

Simple, isn't it? Just do a great job as a business and don't forget to do a great job as an employer and as a corporate citizen along the way. Obviously, it's simple, but not easy.

I think it starts when a business is formed. The founders set priorities and form the culture of a company. Very often, their mission statements include ideas like achieving excellence and good corporate citizenship. The difference with the future award winners is that the truly successful companies actually dedicate the time and resources to living up to those standards and living out their brands.

Anyone can talk a good game about providing the best customer service or being an employer of choice, but words don't win awards. Those organizations that actually walk the walk are the kind that end up earning both recognition and success.

That includes the other winners of the NYCC Business Excellence Awards -

* Chaitons LLP - Excellence in Business Services
* The Safehaven Project For Community Living - Excellence in Community Services
* Centerpoint Mall - Excellence in Retail
* Conros Corporation - Excellence in Manufacturing

Look for a review of the Awards luncheon and more about the winners in an upcoming feature in Toronto Community News.

Doreen Cunneen is Vice President of Local Chambers for the Toronto Board of Trade.

Not Selling, Just Giving Away

2006-10-23T10:18:00.000-04:00

Posted by: Alon Marcovici

As promised, we're not going to try to use this blog to sell you anything. However, if you're a member of the Toronto Board of Trade, the National Post would like to give you something -- a free, one-year subscription!

Just click HERE and enter your Board membership number and the delivery address for your no obligation subscription.

As part of the offer, you can also place a free ad in the Post, just not for commercial services or products. The link above has all the details.

Happy reading!

Alon Marcovici is Chief Marketing Officer for the Toronto Board of Trade.

Bankruptcy, Observation & Entrepreneurs

2006-10-20T15:05:00.000-04:00

Posted by: Glen Stone

Why does Canada have a disproportionate number of entrepreneurs? According to Diane Francis (Editor-at-large for Financial Post), one reason may be this country's "enlightened" bankruptcy laws.

Francis put that idea and other insights forward this morning at a breakfast event at the Toronto Board of Trade, answering the question - "What makes an entrepreneur?"

She identified three key attributes: a risk-taking attitude that provides the courage to try something new, an open and observational mind that can identify opportunities, and an ability to deal well with failure - learning from mistakes and not allowing them to undermine one's confidence.

That's where Francis says Canada's bankruptcy laws come into play; they are better than those of most nations in allowing someone who has failed to re-build their finances. She argues that by reducing the stigma and damage of business failure, these laws encourage the risk-taking that lies at the heart of entrepreneurship.

According to Francis, her theory explains why immigrants tend to be very successful entrepreneurs. They tend to be willing to take risks, are highly observational (as newcomers, they bring a fresh eye to possibilities that long-time residents may overlook), and they are highly motivated to succeed.

One example of 'observation' as a key skill for entrepreneurs given by Francis was that of the man who invented the concept of Velcro. He came up with the idea, she says, after walking through a field and having burrs stick to his pants. Examining them under a microscope revealed the hooked barbs that attach to the loops of material or animal hair - the same hook and loop principle that underlies the now-famous fastener.

Francis concluded her presentation with encouraging words for the audience, stating that entrepreneurship is a skill set that anyone can learn. We can all open our minds, charge up our enthusiasms and go after our dreams.

Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade.