Table of Contents

Economic Review & Forecast
Management Minute
Feature Article
Legal Corner

Scotia Bank Group, Global Economic Research

Canadian Inflation Still in the Black

Add inflation to the list of real-side indicators that have surprised on the upside in recent weeks. Canada’s headline CPI jumped 0.7% m/m in May, fuelled in large part by higher gasoline prices. It would seem that big spring gas price hikes are becoming the norm, as the seasonally adjusted index rose only 0.2% m/m. In any case, the rise was large enough to keep the y/y inflation rate marginally in positive territory at 0.1% — something that has eluded many other countries, including the United States, Japan and China (the euro zone inflation rate in May was 0.0% y/y).

Canada could still technically slip into deflation in June, though the further sharp run-up in gas prices in the month makes it far from a certainty. To be fair, this would be largely an energy-related anomaly, owing to the unprecedented volatility in oil prices. While pump prices hovering around
$1/litre may seem high today; the national average cost was closer to $1.40 a year ago. This alone subtracted 1½ percentage points from Canada’s headline annual inflation rate in May. Assuming gas prices stabilize at current levels (and they may well head higher), the deflationary effect of year-ago price comparisons will peak in July and disappear by the fall.

More notable was the rise in core inflation last month. While energy prices had the largest influence on the headline, there were fairly broad based price increases for many goods and services. Consumers paid more for auto insurance, airfares, hotel rooms, clothing, prescription drugs, alcohol and tobacco in May. Core CPI (CPIX) rose 0.3% m/m, boosting Canada’s underlying inflation rate 0.2 percentage points to 2.0%.

Core inflation trends continue to run well ahead of the Bank of Canada’s — and our own — forecasts. Ultimately, we expect cyclical deflationary forces — most notably widespread excess production capacity and rising unemployment — will bias core inflation lower in the latter half of the year, though maybe not as fast or as far as previously anticipated.

The recent sharp Canadian dollar appreciation is also inherently disinflationary, with 50% of durable goods bought in Canada being imported. Food inflation, a major source of upward price pressure over the past year (on both headline and core), is starting to come down, as earlier declines in agricultural commodity prices finally show up on grocery store shelves.

Review

Retail Sales — Sales at Canadian retail stores fell 0.8% m/m in April, ending a three-month streak of increases. Sales at building supply stores, hardware stores and garden centres all increased on a m/m basis as homeowners gear up for summer renovations, while weakness came from the auto sector as sales of new and used vehicles dropped, along with auto parts and gasoline sales. Quebec and Ontario fell 2.5% and 1.1% m/m respectively, while the West had stronger sales as B.C. and Alberta increased by 1.3% and 0.6% m/m. Sales are down 6.2% compared with April 2008, and could remain negative on a y/y basis through the first three quarters of 2009, as sales in 2008 didn’t start dropping off until Q4.

Manufacturing Shipments — Sales of manufactured goods slipped 0.1% m/m in April due to weak sales of non-durable goods. A 6.7% decline in petroleum and coal shipments played the largest role in the decline in non-durables, although weakness was broad based. Sales of durable goods rebounded from a 4.7% decline in March to a 2.2% m/m gain in April, but remain well below levels of a year ago, as durable goods shipments are down 19.0% y/y, and have fallen for 18 consecutive months (y/y). Non-durable goods have been on a shallower decline, and have only fallen for six consecutive months on a y/y basis — but are at a record low y/y level of -17.3%.

Scotia Capital Economics
From the Global Economic Research Market Trends Newsletter
Printed with Permission
http://www.scotiacapital.com/English/bns_econ/bnsmt.pdf

Empowering: Giving Responsibility

by Cy Charney, President, Charney & Associates Inc.

The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a person’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.

~ ALDOUS HUHXLEY

The Staff of an organization should be regarded as an asset to protect and develop, rather than a liability to decrease as much as possible. If you are in a supervisory position, you will find that you get the best results when you treat people as partners, increasing their level of authority as their skills and responsibilities increase. Here is what you can do:

1. Realize that you are not knowledgeable about everything, and that there is always an opportunity to learn from others – especially about the specifics of their particular jobs. Giving or sharing power is an act of generosity, courage, and leadership.

2. Access each individual’s willingness to be empowered. Each person has a different level of need. The best employees see the additional power as a vote of confidence and become increasingly motivated.

3. Avoid failure by assessing the person’s ability to exercise the new power. Make sure that he is properly trained beforehand.

4. Make sure that people know the limits of their authority. When they show confidence and ability within those limits, consider increasing their power.

5. Give people a chance to find their own ways to attain objectives.

6. Don’t fix other people’s mistakes without first giving them a chance to do it themselves. They will learn to be responsible for their own decisions if they have an opportunity to learn from their own errors.

7. Monitor your management systems (decision-making, information flow, selection authority, accountability) frequently to make sure they encourage staff performance rather than present obstacles to it.

8. Increase the skills and confidence of your work group by making training an ongoing activity.

9. Follow this gold rule: treat other people as you would like to be treated. Develop personal relationships with you staff that are based on respect and trust.

10. If people are reluctant to assume new responsibilities, be patient. Try to make it clear to them that they, as well as you and the organization, will benefit from their increased effort and skills.

11. Be consistently supportive of your colleagues. As you win their trust, your people will be more willing to take on new challenges.

Cy Charney, President of Charney & Associates. (905-886-5606, www.askcharney.com), is a leading Canadian management consultant focusing on organizational performance improvement.

Technical & Logistics

Demand and Production Planning Manager :

This Star Candidate is a very diverse and high energy people manager that has experience working for a number of major Fortune 500 Consumer product companies.  In his current role, he leads the National planning for 2 plants.  He has developed Forecast Systems and increased service levels from 85 % to 98.5%  for on time deliveries.  He was also a Project Leader and implemented a Manugistics software system and has a very strong background with SAP.  

This Star Candidate's diversity  includes a strong background in warehousing and freight management, where he outsourced warehousing operations saving well over $500,000 in total costs and centralized customer service from various depots across Canada into one Total Customer Solutions / Customer Care Centre.

Interested? Please contact:
Silvio Rossi, CPC, Vice President

Strategic Manager:

• Market entry strategies for manufacturing organization in the construction supply chain representing $4.5 million annual bottom line growth.
• Action plan to increase market share based on green brand extension for large industrial client representing a 25% bottom line increase based on opportunity cost savings and premium pricing.
• Development of a Sustainability based line of business for a mid-sized, small market engineering consulting firm representing $1.5 million annual bottom line contribution (10x ROI) and an additional 10% market share.
• Development, calculation and valuation of rural waste management operation Carbon Footprint.
• Triple Bottom Line (sustainability) based decision-making and valuation tool for small rural municipal Solid Waste Management operator representing $10 to $24 million economic impact.
• Triple Bottom Line (sustainability) purchasing policy framework for City of Cornwall Ontario.
• Development of Water and Wastewater financial models and operating planning tool for municipal water & wastewater operators in Eastern Ontario.

Interested? Please contact:
Joe Braccia, Senior Consultant

5 Ways to Gain or Regain Credibility as a Leader

by Cheryl Cran

When I was new to leadership at the tender age of 23 I messed up big time. I went about being a leader in all the wrong ways. How many of you got promoted to your role in leadership because you were a great “doer”? That was me!

The challenge with promoting a “doer” to a leader is that the skill sets are completely different. A “doer” quite literally gets things done. You are given a task, you figure it out and you just get ‘er done. Easy right?

The skills of a “doer” are action oriented, takes instruction, fast learner, results oriented, likes to see the outcomes of their efforts. Now transfer those skills over to a leader and you would think those skills would make you a naturally gifted leader. Not so fast.

The skills of a great leader or multi faceted and include the skills of a “doer” and they also include the skills of a “socializer”, an “empathizer” and a “detailer”. This is why training is crucial when you are promoted to a leadership role. Let me take that further and say that even leaders who have been on the job for years - they too need to engage in ongoing learning in order to grow as a leader.

Credibility is a huge component of leadership success. If your team does not see you as credible they will not support you or your efforts to lead. If you are new to leadership there are five things you can do to gain instant credibility and if you have been in leadership for a while but feel you need to re-gain credibility then the following five steps will help you move forward.

5 Ways to Gain or Regain Credibility as a Leader

1. Begin with you. Do a self-assessment of your skills and ask yourself the following questions:

• Why was I selected to be a leader?

• How do my skills fit in with the role of leader?

• What do I need to learn to be a better leader?

• What did the leader before me do well?

• How am I unique as a leader?
  

2. Have a face to face with your team ASAP - You need to establish or re-establish who you are, what your skills are and your role with the team. It is never too late to do this by the way. Use the answers to your questions above as the content for this meeting. For example:

“Hey team, I called this meeting as a chance for you to get to know me as a leader, my style and how we can best work together.” Here’s what you need to know:

I was selected as your leader because I am a doer, a decision maker and I am not afraid to take risks.
My skills are in seeing what needs to be done and in finding solutions.
I have lots to learn too and I am an avid lifelong learner so I look forward to learning from each of you as we work together.

• What did you enjoy about your previous leader?

• What would you enjoy about me as your leader and working together?

• I am unique as a leader in that I want to focus on fun while gaining results and I want to hear your feedback to help me do the best job possible for you and the company.
  

3. Involve your boss to elevate your credibility instantly - Many leaders are promoted without any fanfare or announcement from upper management.

Insist that your boss announce your position/promotion via internal communication if that is not regular practice in your company. Take it one step further and in your very first meeting with your team have your boss “promote” you to the team. Ask your boss to tell the team why you were chosen as their leader, what he or she sees as your gifts that you bring to the department or team. Have your boss reiterate his or her complete faith in you. In addition have your boss state the chain of command so that your team knows you are fully supported by upper management. If you want to re-establish credibility involve your boss to show your team he or she has “got your back” and supports the direction or decisions you made.

4. Don’t just ‘talk’ it - Do It! - Put your words into action and show your team that you are a lifelong learner, recognize their skills and tell them when you have learned something from each of them. In meetings be open about what you learned from a specific teammate. This demonstrates your commitment to being a leader who learns, not a leader who supposedly knows everything.

Although you stated that you are solution-oriented guide and coach your team to be solution providers. Encourage them to come to you with a few solutions to any of the challenges they may present to you. Then facilitate the solutions, congratulate them on bringing solutions forward. Let your team know you are a “facilitator of solutions”.

5. Share your knowledge- Generation X and Y workers want to learn as much as they can from each of their bosses. If you are unwilling to share your knowledge you will lose credibility rapidly as you will be seen as a “hoarder” of information, a negative control freak and an insecure leader.

Have regular “training” meetings where you share information from upper management and on the goings on within the company. Encourage your team to “knowledge share” with each other at these meetings. Have monthly mentoring/coaching meetings with each member of your team that allows them to ask you whatever they want to know.

The good news for me at the age of 23 was that I had a fantastic boss who realized I needed support and training to be a great leader. Even though I was a lousy leader for the first three months of my first leadership role I quickly became a well-respected leader once I was given the tools and support to succeed. Age is not a barrier to great leadership the only barrier is skill development. A great leader knows their skill set, where the gaps are and where to go to get better. It’s never too late to gain or regain credibility as a leader.

This article reprinted with permission:
Cheryl Cran, CSP President of Synthesis at Work Inc. works with organizations in significantly increasing productivity and profitability through communication strategies that improve employee performance, leverage team synergy and build extraordinary leaders. Many of Synthesis at Work's clients are award winning industry leaders. www.cherylcran.com.

Violence and Harassment to be Legislated as a Health and Safety Issue

by Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor at HR Infodesk.com---Canada Payroll and Employment Law News, April/May2009

The Ontario government is amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to specifically designate violence and harassment as workplace health hazards, as well as implementing measures to prevent and protect workers from said workplace violence and harassment. Currently in Ontario, there are no specific Occupational Health and Safety legislated provisions or Regulations regarding workplace violence and harassment. However, employers are required to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker under section 25(2)(h) of the OHSA. Under the Act, during an inspection, employers may be asked to:

• Conduct a workplace violence risk assessment to assess the risk of violence in the workplace;

• Implement a written violence prevention policy with measures and procedures to protect workers from violence; and

• Provide comprehensive training and instruction to workers and supervisors.

Not being aware that physical acts or threats of physical acts are taking place in the workplace or at worksites is no defence against an order or charge under this section.

In addition, currently, in a joint effort with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, the Ontario Ministry of Labour made workplace violence a priority through a province-wide workplace violence prevention initiative. This initiative, which arose out of inspector training on revised Operating Procedures for dealing with workplace violence in 2008, authorizes MOL Health and Safety Inspectors to make orders and issue directives to employers in "high-risk" industries either because there is no workplace violence prevention program in place or because the program is deficient in some respect.

The proposed legislation, tabled on April 20, 2009, would, if passed:

• Require employers to develop a framework that includes policies and programs to help prevent workplace violence and harassment;

• Require employers to take reasonable precautions to protect an employee from domestic violence in the workplace.

• Allow workers to remove themselves from harmful situations if they have reason to believe that they are at risk of imminent danger due to workplace violence.

Specifically,

"Workplace violence" is defined as the exercise of (or an attempt to exercise) physical force by a person against a worker in a workplace that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker.

"Workplace harassment" is defined as engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.

The employer workplace violence risk assessment would be based on the nature of the workplace, the type of work and the conditions of work. Employers would have to advise the workers, through the joint health and safety committee or representative, of the results of the assessment. If the risk of violence is identified or present, employers and supervisors would be required to inform workers of a risk of workplace violence from a person with a history of violent behaviour if:

• the worker was expected to encounter that person in the course of his or her work; and

• the risk of workplace violence was likely to expose the worker to physical injury.

Further, if there was a risk of domestic violence in the workplace, the employer would be required to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of workers.

After analyzing the assessment results, employers must expand their harassment and violence policies and procedures under human rights legislation to deal with workplace violence and harassment under health and safety requirements.

Employers would have to review the policies at least annually, and employers with more than five employees would be required to post the policies in the workplace.

In addition to policies, the workplace harassment program would have to include reporting and investigation procedures. The program would have to include measures and procedures: to control the risks identified in the assessment; for taking immediate assistance when workplace violence occurs or is likely or threatened to occur; for workers to report incidents or threats of workplace violence; and for investigating and dealing with incidents, complaints or threats of workplace violence.

Bill 168, Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act (Violence and Harassment in the Workplace) 2009, was tabled by the Hon. Peter Fonseca, Minister of Labour, and received first reading on April 20, 2009 and is available at www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/status_of_legislation.do?locale=en#168.

In addition to the above amendments, the government is launching specific measures to tackle workplace violence in the health sector. Two newly appointed Healthy Work Environments Champions will work to build a culture of workplace safety in health care settings across the province. They are:

• Rob Devitt, President and CEO of Toronto East General Hospital

• Dr. Heather Laschinger, Distinguished University Professor and Associate Director, Nursing Research, at the University of Western Ontario, School of Nursing.

By Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B., Managing Editor at HRinfodesk.com

Published on HRinfodesk---Canadian Payroll and Employment Law News and Developments

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