Headlines are dominated by reports of wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, Yellowknife, and the raging fires in Kelowna. These wildfires pose a significant threat to British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, a region that contributes a remarkable 25% to the province’s total agricultural output. The Okanagan Valley plays a pivotal role in the cultivation of apples, peaches, pears, and various tree fruits, serving as the primary producer. The process of replacing trees in the event of damage can take several years, which is unsettling news for both farmers and consumers alike.
The media inundates us with increasingly frequent and destructive natural disasters, making it clear that climate change has become a major player in our reality. But how does this affect our dietary choices?
In partnership with Caddle, our Lab conducted a nationwide study, surveying 5,450 Canadians about their eating habits measuring the impact of climate change on their perceptions of food security. The results, based on a survey conducted just a few weeks ago this year, are revealing and raise questions about the growing influence of climate change on what we put on our plates.
The survey reveals that more than half of Canadians, a staggering 52.3%, are either very concerned or extremely concerned about climate change. This concern is not unfounded, as 73% of Canadians believe that climate change is affecting weather patterns, resulting in higher temperatures in Canada.
When it comes to food production, 61% of Canadians believe that climate change is impacting Canada’s ability to produce food. However, it is heartening to note that despite these concerns, 60.3% of Canadians believe that we will continue to have access to the same foods, regardless of climate-related changes and patterns. This suggests a certain confidence in the resilience of our food system.
Yet, Canadians are worried about food availability. Nearly half, or 47.1%, fear that climate change will affect food availability. Some have already noticed these changes, with 40.1% of Canadians reporting alterations in the availability or variety of certain foods during the summer over the past few years.
What is even more intriguing is that environmental concerns are now influencing the dietary choices of some Canadians. Nearly 38% of them often or always consider the environmental impact of their food choices during the summer. This demonstrates a gradual shift toward a more sustainable diet, one that is conscious of its environmental footprint.
However, there are regional disparities across Canada. Quebec, with 48.1%, has the highest percentage of respondents who consider the environmental impact of their food choices during the warmer months, while Saskatchewan, with only 26.4%, has the lowest percentage. These differences may be attributed to various factors, including regional dietary habits and awareness of climate issues. This is where urbanites’ proximity to agriculture varies greatly from one province to another.
In conclusion, the findings of this study clearly indicate that Canadians are becoming increasingly aware of the connections between climate change and their diet. The natural disasters that regularly afflict our country make us reflect, and environmental concerns are increasingly influencing our dietary choices.
It is crucial to note that the growing awareness of climate issues in our diet does not necessarily mean we should panic or completely give up meat, for example. The transition to a more sustainable diet can be gradual, by choosing environmentally friendly options, when possible, while still enjoying the foods we love. Small actions, such as buying local and seasonal produce and reducing food waste, can have a significant impact on reducing our ecological footprint. The key is to stay informed, make informed choices, and support more sustainable agricultural and food practices, which benefit both our health and the planet.
Paradox Museum at American Dream (Image: Paradox Museum)
Paradox Museum, a global brand acknowledged as one of the most innovative spaces in the field of experiential entertainment, is coming to the West Edmonton Mall.
Pierre Charalambides
Pierre Charalambides, who is based in Miami and one of the co-founders of the concept and Managing Partner at Dolphin Capital Partners, said the interactive, entertainment museum will launch in Canada at WEM in the first quarter of 2024.
He said experiences are based on some paradox or illusion that enables a visitor to immerse themselves into the experience and the exhibit.
The first location opened in Oslo, Norway in April 2022. Then in December 2022, the first North American location opened in Miami.
Future Paradox Museum at West Edmonton Mall
Video via Best Edmonton Mall
Today, the concept is also in Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm and Cyprus as well as Las Vegas, Orlando and New Jersey.
“We just opened in the American Dream in New Jersey. It’s doing extremely well. We’re opening probably during Q1 of next year 2024 and in about six months or maybe a little more at the West Edmonton Mall,” said Charalambides.
West Edmonton Mall and American Dream are both projects by the Ghermezian family.
“We are excited to welcome the first Paradox Museum in Canada to West Edmonton Mall,” shared Dean Shaben, Vice President of Leasing, West Edmonton Mall. “As a destination where our guests can shop, stay, and play, this addition is a natural fit to enhance our continuously evolving mix of retail and entertainment offerings that sets WEM apart from any other center.
Paradox Museum – Limassol, Cyprus (Image: Paradox Museum)Image: PARADOX MUSEUMImage: PARADOX MUSEUMJoining Pierre Charalambides, owner of the Paradox Museum, who’s cutting the ribbon on the new location at American Dream on Aug. 10, are (from left): Kyle Kappmeier, vice president, BML Public Relations; Marc Gregory Tipton, regional sales and marketing manager, U.S. and Canada, Paradox Museum; Adi Addair, chief financial officer, American Dream; Myles Grossman, director of leasing and entertainment, American Dream; Dayna McNally, general manager, Paradox Museum New Jersey; Miguel Hernandez, operations manager, Paradox Museum New Jersey; George Cronk, East Rutherford councilman; Jeffrey Lahullier, mayor of East Rutherford; Jim Kirkos, CEO, Meadowlands Chamber; Anthony Sposato, sales and marketing manager, Paradox Museum New Jersey.
PHOTO: JARRETT BIRNBAUM/AMERICAN DREAM
Charalambides said the typical size of a Paradox Museum is about 10,000 square feet and the WEM location is about 11,000 square feet.
“It’s the largest mall in Canada and they have a lot of other entertainment venues,” he said. “They obviously have huge foot traffic coming to the mall itself. Within the mall they have a lot of other complementary entertainment venues. Often with other entertainment venues, it benefits us greatly because people come to the mall to do something.
“That creates a nucleus of attraction. That brings a lot of families. That brings a lot of schools. That brings a lot of corporate events. All of that has spillover effects into our own museum as well.”
Charalambides envisions more locations for the unique brand.
“We want to be in every large gateway city in North America and Europe,” he said. “Obviously where there is significant population and significant tourism. We have more museums coming in Dallas, Chicago, LA, New York, Denver, Atlanta.
“And in Canada we’re looking at considering ideally we’d like to be in Toronto, Montreal and Niagara Falls.”
Matthew from Best Edmonton Mall
Shopping centre fan Matthew Dutczak of Best Edmonton Mall said that the addition of Paradox Museum follows the decades-long strategy for the property.
“It’s exciting news to hear, but not exactly a surprise that something like this is coming to WEM. For as long a West Edmonton Mall has existed, it has been a truly unique experience, shared the YouTuber and West Edmonton Mall enthusiast.
“WEM seems to have a track record, tracing back to the 1980’s, of embracing new, whimsical, one-of-a-kind entertainment. The Paradox Museum Concept fits inline perfectly with the type of thing we’d expect to see at West Edmonton Mall, and further bolsters its plentiful offering of entertainment. The idea of strolling around WEM and experiencing something you won’t find anywhere else is, to me, at the very root of what makes it so amazing.
“Personally speaking, I’m really excited. As a long-time fan of the center, I can’t wait to visit the Paradox Museum once it opens.”
Image: PARADOX MUSEUM
Charalambides said the concept is a museum with the most paradoxical exhibits in the world.
“There’s about 70 different exhibits. Some are rooms that you can immerse yourself into. Some are displays or boards that you look at. Every single exhibit has an effect that tricks the eye – so it creates a paradox. A paradox means there’s something that when you think is wrong or is false but when you understand it better it actually proves to be true,” he said.
“The exhibits are designed in a colourful fashion and every museum adapts to the regional environment. So a museum in Canada looks different than a museum in Las Vegas.
“Everybody can have a lot of fun as well as learn something while going through the various exhibits. It’s pretty unique. In a way, it’s not really a museum but an entertainment destination.”
Canadians first learned about a price-fixing scandal that raised the wholesale price of bread in 2017, when Loblaw and George Weston revealed their part in it. A worker restocks shelves at an Atlantic Superstore grocery in Halifax in January 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Clark
The plea proves the price-fixing scheme did exist — something that could prompt admissions by others suspected of being part of it.
But despite the eye-popping amount, the fine didn’t receive much applause. Instead, many questioned why the $50 million is going to the government and not to those who overpaid for bread. Others wondered why the money couldn’t be used for something more productive, like food banks or other anti-poverty measures.
These questions challenge some basic principles of sentencing law in Canada. They are worth examining because they raise legitimate questions about why we do things the way we do, and whether we should consider changing.
A long time coming
Loblaw offered customers $25 gift cards in 2018 to make amends for its part in the bread price-fixing scheme. THE CANADIAN PRESS /Richard Buchan
Canadians first learned about the bread-fixing scheme in 2017 when Loblaw and George Weston revealed their part in it. They claimed the scheme ran from 2001 to 2015 and involved major grocery chains and bakeries.
As the first ones to co-operate with investigators, Loblaw was granted immunity from prosecution under the Competition Bureau’s Immunity and Leniency Program. Since cartels are difficult to detect from the outside, immunity is often used to encourage insiders to spill the beans.
Once immunity has been granted, the remaining cartel members are typically motivated to seek leniency by co-operating and pleading guilty in exchange for a reduced penalty. In this case, however, no one took the bait.
With nothing to back up Loblaw’s claims, the investigation went quiet for six years, until June of this year.
Since a fine is a punishment imposed by the state on behalf of citizens, paying fines to general revenues is a simple and fair way of ensuring the funds can benefit everyone without predetermining how the money should be spent. Exceptions are rare and the Canada Bread case did not fit any of them.
While the Criminal Code does allow for restitution in appropriate cases, it’s limited to those that fit the following criteria: it’s easy to determine the dollar amount of harm or loss suffered, the victim can be identified and there is a clear connection between the crime and harm caused.
Restitution isn’t ordered in cartel cases because they don’t meet these benchmarks.
The bread price-fixing cartel illustrates this. Imagine trying to calculate how many consumers overpaid for bread, how much extra they paid for it and how often it happened. Since most people won’t have receipts, the best we can do is a rough estimate.
Trying to use illegal gains as a substitute measure is no better. How do we determine what portion of grocery and bakery profits are linked to overpriced bread?
Given these challenges, aggrieved consumers bring class actions in civil courts that have the expertise to handle complex liability matters. Two class actions are already underway against alleged bread cartel members, one in Québec and one in Ontario.
While class actions can take time, they can increase the chances of a settlement, such as the one reached in 2017 on behalf of consumers harmed by the gas price-fixing cartel that operated in eastern Québec in the mid-2000s.
If direct compensation to victims is best left to civil courts, what about using criminal fines to address social problems exacerbated by the crime?
Can fines be used to fund good works?
Paying fines to entities other than the government, such as charities, is an example of an alternate measure. They can provide alternatives to traditional fines and imprisonment and can be set up in legislation or be created by courts.
While they tend to be used for specific offender types (youth, those with limited means, and those with mental health or addiction issues) and less serious crimes, alternate measures are also used against corporate offenders in areas like environmental protection, fisheries and workplace health and safety.
Allowing alternative measures for regulatory offences makes sense because they are designed to promote better compliance and harm prevention. Though not perfect, they are seen as more constructive than simply paying a fine.
A worker checks expiry dates on bottled and canned products at the Edmonton Food Bank on July 21, 2023. Some people are wondering why the money from Canada Bread’s fine isn’t being used to support food banks or other anti-poverty measures. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.
Since many regulatory sanctions are remedial, it wasn’t hard for courts to start ordering that fines be used to fund research studies at universities, create new training programs or develop updated industry-wide standards, instead of being paid to the government.
Making orders like these is easier in places where governments have created dedicated funds to support remediation and prevention efforts, like the federal Environmental Damages Fund.
When it comes to serious economic crimes like cartels, fraud and corruption, however, my research shows that creative sanctions have rarely been used.
Courts, prosecutors and defence counsels are also more open to exploring innovative sanctions. A set of creative settlements crafted in recent years to resolve bid-rigging cases is particularly relevant here.
In that case, the penalty took into account what the defendants had paid into the Québec Voluntary Reimbursement Fund that was created to recover amounts improperly paid by municipalities because of corruption.
These trends suggest that directing fines into a fund to support consumer issues, food banks or similar measures is possible, should the provinces be willing to set them up.
By Jennifer Quaid, Associate Professor & Vice-Dean Research, Civil Law Section, Faculty of Law, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
The property has been purchased by London-based Westdell Development Corporation from an institutional vendor.
“Westdell has exciting plans for the commercial centre, including a new facade, new retailers, new commercial retail units on the property, creating a live work play and shop community,” said Iyman Meddoui, President, Westdell Development Corporation, in a statement.
“JLL approached us with this opportunity and was instrumental in putting the deal together and working through the many stages of the process to get it closed.”
White Oaks Mall – London, Ontario from Frank Fenn / idea3 PhotographyWhite Oaks Mall Wellington Entrance redevelopment project (Image: White Oaks Mall)
Opened in 1973, White Oaks Mall has become one of the largest retail destinations in London. Hosting 180 stores and services, the enclosed mall has survived through the rise of giant e-commerce companies over the years as well as the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were giving a market update to the vendor to discuss where we felt the market was at in terms of appetite and buyer pool for different classes of retail and that evolved over several months into a discussion around White Oaks. The mall was never officially for sale but having already worked with Iyman Meddoui as a seller or a buyer in numerous other transactions, we felt he might be interested and knew he’d be the perfect buyer for this asset,” said Nick Macoritto, Executive Vice President, Capital Markets, JLL Canada.
Macoritto said JLL can’t disclose who previously owned the Mall.
“But I can tell you it’s an institutional vendor client of ours,” he said.
Industry insiders told Retail Insider that BentallGreenOak was the seller of the property.
JLL said the buyer pool for large enclosed malls is limited, therefore deep relationships with institutional vendors and private buyers in each market across the country is essential for successful transactions like White Oaks.
Macoritto said JLL has its National Retail Investment Group which sells retail properties coast to coast.
“Enclosed malls in general have historically been owned and operated by large institutions but in order to transact these assets today you really need relationships with private capital because they now represent a large part of the buyer pool for those types of assets,” he said. “This really isn’t a new phenomenon. It’s been the case for about 10 years or so, probably due to private capital having more cash than ever before and partly due the institutional attention having shifted to other asset classes with a more clear path towards income growth.
Image: Westdell Development Corp. White Oaks Mall – London, Ontario (Image: idea3 Photography)
“Generally speaking, to make a good return on enclosed malls in secondary markets, it’s best if you are locally connected and take a hands-on approach to increasing income . . . Large assets like this are not as liquid as other formats like unenclosed grocery-anchored centres for example which are still equally sought after by both institutional and private capital. Most other large enclosed mall transactions as of late involved either take-back mortgages, income guarantees or a requirement to accept a combination of cash and shares as proceeds. But generally vendors prefer to exit the investment with an all-cash deal and that was the case here too.
“For this asset, for this mall, I think the value proposition that Westdell saw is a combination of really rolling up the sleeves and seeing where can we improve income, can we add tenants, improve leases and some of the terms, can we actually add additional retail square footage in the case of the pads in the parking lot. Iyman has not released any specific plans for the centre but I think that the expectation generally is that he will try to gradually introduce more of a mixed-use aspect to the site. So that could be a bit of office. It could be a bit of multi-residential. We find that’s typical of most of the buyers who are buying assets like this today – enclosed malls. And that’s true whether or not it’s a secondary market. Basically any market. They’re certainly going to try and see it through that lens. It’s not to say that the enclosed mall is suddenly obsolete. There’s certainly a place for that but if you can add value through at least a partial mixed-use component over time then that’s really where these buyers tend to see the reward for their risk.”
Retail Insider is streamlining its Canadian retail news from around the web to include a handful of top news stories that can be viewed quickly during the day. Here are the top stories from the past 24 hours.
The landscape of retail marketing is undergoing seismic shifts. As technological advancements merge with innovative strategies, the new ways in which we most effectively engage consumers and build brand experiences have never been more crucial.
Modern Marketing: Where Storytelling Meets Community: With top industry leaders like Azim Akhtar from KFC,Ashley Freeborn from Smash + Tess, Kathy Tsolakos from Penn, Jake Karls from Mid-Day Squares, and Jeff Topol from TikTok on board, this opening session will examine what fuels conversations through contemporary storytelling. Learn how to anchor your brand by connecting authentically with your customer community, ensuring messages resonate powerfully.
Ethical Insights: Personalizing Customer Experience with Privacy in Mind: In an age of data, understanding your customer is essential and responsibility handling personal data is paramount. Here, Jan Kestle, President and Founder of Environics Analytics, will guide brands on how to effectively and judiciously use data while ensuring consumer privacy.
Brand Devotion: Global Insights into Customer Loyalty: Jemima Miller, from The Body Shop, will delve into the intricate world of customer loyalty trends from an international lens. Unearth loyalty building strategies that can set your brand apart in a competitive global marketplace.
A Marketer’s Guide to Seamless Customer Retail Journeys: Flawlessly blending online and in-person experiences retail experiences is now expected and vital brand consideration. Gain insights from marketers like Alison Hartnoll of Mastermind Toys, Janelle Shiplett from House of L R & C, Sachin Arora of Next Commerce and Jean-Michel Maltais from New-Look Vision on crafting unforgettable, integrated customer experiences.
Optimizing Digital Advertising Strategies: Stay Agile, Perform Better: Sonia Carreno from The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB) will share how brands can better navigate the complexities of the Canadian digital advertising terrain, exploring trends, tracking, privacy implications and more, to create comprehensive advertising strategies that will deliver on objectives.
AI Powered Retail Efficiency: Sam Vise of Optimum Retailing will showcase real-world examples of AI in retail action. He will cover how AI is helping retailers and their vendor partners work smarter to optimize marketing and merchandising efficiencies.
Mindful Leadership: Leading an Inspired Retail Team: Johnny Russo from Lamour and MLG brands and Chris Parsons from Home Hardware will introduce game-changing leadership techniques, specifically tailored for Canadian retail marketing teams.
The Social Shopper’s Playbook: Inside the Consumer’s Mind: Ransom Hawley from Caddle and Jessica Lee from Edelman Canada share the newest consumer insights driving social shopping, offering strategies to leverage this trend for retail success.
AI in Retail: Navigating the Crossroads of Marketing, Legal, and Technology: A diverse panel, including KPMG’sChristine Andrew and Xavier Beauchamp-Tremblay, WPP’sArthur Fleischmann, and Google’sJamie Gargatsougias, will explore AI’s transformative impact on retail, and discuss balancing everything from marketing strategies to legal considerations, customization, predictive analytics, content ownership and organizational values
RCC’s Retail Marketing Conference 2023 on September 19, 2023, promises targeted discussions on pressing issues Canadian retail marketers face today in an ideally sized forum to foster genuine connections with industry frontrunners. Priced with teams in mind, it’s the can’t-miss event for those aiming to stay ahead.
Early Bird savings on tickets to RCC’s Retail Marketing Conference are in effect until Friday, August 18, 2023. A 20% discount applies to groups of 5 our more.
Crown Dental at West Edmonton Mall (Image: Market Dental)
Edmonton-based entrepreneur Ziad Kaddoura has launched a branded dental office concept he plans to expand in the Edmonton region and then beyond.
The first Crown Dental Clinic launched early this year in the West Edmonton Mall.
Kaddoura, co-founder of Crown Dental Development Company, said the purpose of the company is to develop the brand Crown Dental Clinic across Canada.
“In the process of opening the brand, we wanted to create an impact with brand exposure and brand availability,” said Kaddoura. “So what better place for us to do it than the West Edmonton Mall.”
Crown Dental at West Edmonton Mall (Image: Market Dental)
He said the brand is in an area of the shopping centre that is quite busy.
“Why there? Because we felt that Crown Dental Clinic brand awareness is very, very important to us. Like other clinics, we are pushing the name of Crown Dental not necessarily the doctor’s name,” said Kaddoura. “And we are already in negotiation with three more clinics now.
“One of them used to be a GP (general practitioner) that we are repurposing into a dental clinic. The idea is twofold. The idea is to take existing locations that were not made as clinics and repurpose them as dental offices. And when you repurpose them, you’re basically taking real estate that is sitting idle and you’re giving it new life basically.
“That requires an investment from us or whoever becomes the operator of that dental clinic. The second thing as well is you’re able to get a clinic started at a much lower price than starting from scratch, which basically gives the chance for new graduates of the dental school to have their own clinic instead of going working for someone else. The idea behind Crown Dental is really to provide the setup, the office, the operational aspect of the clinic, where the dentist will only focus on the clinical aspect of the clinic, because really the biggest, biggest challenge with any dentist is the administration aspect of it. So Crown Dental Development Company wants to become or is becoming the company that is basically giving a platform for these either new owners to a dental clinic, a new graduate that wants to start a dental clinic instead of going and working for someone else, or we have a case that we’re now looking at, an existing dental clinic that is basically not going well because they are not able to advertise and run the administration aspect of the clinic very well.”
Kaddoura said branding an existing dental clinic, that is struggling, to a Crown Dental Clinic, a banner with several locations, would raise awareness and trust of the name rather than having the name of a doctor that no one knows.
Crown Dental at West Edmonton Mall (Image: Market Dental)
He said the company has launched a huge ad at WEM for the Clinic and recently they had a booth in the mall advertising the clinic.
“So we are basically a dental clinic platform that is thinking of the dental industry as a brand and not specifically a doctor,” he added.
Kaddoura said the company is negotiating on three sites – one of them is a repurpose, another is an existing dental clinic and the third is a dental clinic that closed down that they are looking at reopening.
They are all located in the Edmonton region – one in the downtown, one in the south part of the city and another in the north eastern part of the city.
“I think what I’m looking for honestly for 2023 if we’re able to close the year with two locations and then for 2024 if we’re able to close the year with five locations and then grow the brand year to year by two to three locations. That’s the idea,” said Kaddoura.
Crown Dental Advertisement at West Edmonton Mall (Photo: Jorden Clarke)
“Once we get to about five locations in Edmonton I think we’re going to start looking at expanding maybe something in Spruce Grove. We’ll look at the possibility of St. Albert. But that won’t happen probably until the end of 2024. It’s a new build. They got in touch with us and asked if we would be interested. Opening in West Edmonton Mall did exactly what I expected it to do. It got people interested in talking from the brand point of view. That to me was an objective that was met. If we had opened a clinic in West Edmonton Mall, Dr. Ziad, who would care? But when you start thinking about branding, when you put the huge banner on the ice skating rink and you have 25,000, 30,000 people a day seeing that makes a difference.
“Your challenge is not real estate. Your challenge is never equipment. Your challenge is never money. Your challenge seems to always be people based. So you need to find the right associate. You need to find the right dental assistants and you need to find the right administration people. So it’s always people based . . . What we’re trying to do is create a culture and this is why creating the brand to me is very important because you’re trying to create the culture, you’re trying to create not only the know-how and the operating procedures, how to run the clinic, but how to retain people and how to make it an exciting place to be an employee of choice in the dental industry. That’s what we’re trying to work on.”
King at Yonge Street in Toronto on Monday August 7th, 2023 at 1215pm (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Retailers located in the downtowns of major Canadian cities have been grappling with a few issues these last few years which have directly impacted their businesses.
First, the pandemic initially created ghost towns in inner cities across Canada with offices locked down as workers worked remotely. Three years later, the impact of that is still evident as downtown office vacancy rates in some cities remain high.
Remote work is here to stay as many companies have also adopted a hybrid work model where people work some days at home and some days in the office.
With fewer people in downtowns these days, it means less consumers for retailers and food establishments. And no one knows if we’ll ever get back to normal.
The second issue for businesses in downtowns is an increasingly growing concern across Canada. It’s one of safety. Some cities like Vancouver and Toronto are worse than others but almost any city of decent size in Canada is feeling the impact of this burgeoning issue – tent cities housing homeless people set up on downtown sidewalks or parks as well as drugs and crime.
Security Incident outside of CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
“Hybrid work has sort of taken hold and those downtown businesses that were dependent on suburban commuters coming in and out every day – the lunch rush or the breakfast rush – have had to adjust,” said Mallough. “It’s still there some days of the week usually in the middle Tuesday through Thursday but it’s quieter Mondays and Fridays and we’ve seen some restaurants that used to be full service breakfast, lunch and dinner are maybe just breakfast and lunch or maybe just lunch and dinner. So there have been some adjustments on that side.
“The other area we have heard concerns around is the public safety side of things. A number of businesses we surveyed and about one in four (24 per cent) said they have been directly impacted by community safety issues like damaged property, theft, that sort of thing. There’s another third that while they haven’t been directly impacted are certainly worried about it.
“There’s a lot of worry about the safety of their customers, the safety of their employees, personal safety, coming off of that as well.”
Gastown in downtown Vancouver in May 2023. Photo: Lee Rivett
Mallough said the perception of safety is also important to the well-being of businesses located in downtowns across Canada.
“Anything that is making people nervous about going downtown or preventing them from going downtown is definitely a big concern,” he said.
“It’s something that we (CFIB) are starting to delve into. It’s popping up more than it traditionally has. That’s not to say this was never an issue but it’s certainly more of an issue now . . . We are seeing it on the rise as a concern.
“In terms of what there is to be done about it, that we’re still trying to hash out a little bit. It’s important to work with Mayors and Councils on making sure that the community does in fact feel safe.
“We need to reinforce the message that we do want people to come downtown. We want people to feel safe and we want to make sure that people are coming downtown, they are spending at their local business, supporting their local communities, because if we turn downtown cores into ghost towns we’re all going to be a lot worse off for it. It’s not going to fix anything from the public safety side and certainly not on the local economy side.”
Sparks Street in Ottawa (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Elgin at Gloucester in Ottawa (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Patrick Gill, Senior Director of the Business Data Lab for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said Canada is seeing a dynamic shift in urban centres, particularly in major Canadian markets.
Patrick Gill
“That really is driven by the influence of remote work,” said Gill, adding there’s almost 50 million square feet of vacant office space available within Canadian downtowns – a nearly 40 per cent increase since the pandemic.
“That’s the equivalent of about 89 baseball stadiums the size of the Rogers Centre in Toronto. That has caused a huge ripple effect . . . The downtowns of Canada’s 10 largest cities, the movement of their workforce on a weekly basis, is still 30 per cent below where it was before the pandemic. That has a domino effect on office vacancy, that also has a domino effect, or a ripple effect, on all the different sectors or components of downtown urban centres that rely on workers commuting every single day to the office.
“So you see that ripple effect on main streets and the type of businesses that are specifically around to cater to the typical commuter.”
The other big dynamic shift being experienced now as well is consumer behaviour, added Gill.
Transaction data for July when the Bank of Canada started raising interest rates in June indicates that started a downward trend in consumer spending. Consumers have started to hold onto their wallet more because it’s becoming more expensive. That is having an impact on discretionary consumer spending in Canada’s downtowns.
“When you have a confluence of fewer people in the area and trending towards lower spending because of tighter times, that has knock-on effects broadly,” said Gill.
Despite those challenges, many businesses have been resilient and optimistic.
“They’re feeling optimistic about the future. They’re holding in tight. They still plan on hiring more people. They expect sales to continue to grow,” he said.
Former Tim Hortons at 90 Adelaide St W has been recently leased (Image: Dustin Fuhs)PATH Connection at the Shops at One York in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
David Downey, President & CEO of the International Downtown Association, said there are continuing concerns for small businesses and small business survival in Canadian cities post-pandemic which in part is due to the reduction in daytime foot traffic.
David Downey
“That of course can be attributed in part to reductions in the office worker during the week, in particular. And really the future of the hybrid work environment is something that all downtowns across the world are trying to wrap their arms around and looking for opportunities to move forward,” he said.
Downey said social issues within urban centres are visible everywhere.
“In particular, the presence or visibility of unhoused or our neighbours who are burdened by mental health or substance abuse and addictions is becoming more visible in part because of the people that are on the streets throughout our urban centres,” he said.
“This sort of activity is one that is a negative perception on the safety and security of our urban centres. So ongoing this becomes a challenge for trying to bring people back to the urban centres, hosting events or doing placemaking activities. It’s something where people have to overcome any perceptions that there is in fact unsafe environments. And we can share statistics that crime in urban centres is down and in downtowns it’s lower but there still is the ultimate perception that our sidewalks are seemingly unsafe.”
Downey said many of the association’s members have begun to develop outreach coordinated teams who are trained professionals that can help assist the unhoused and those with mental health and addictions crises and rather than law enforcement, they go in and help provide connection to public services and social services and assist individuals in their time of need.
“Cities are certainly on the rise. Recovery is beginning and getting stronger. And like any disruption it’s going to take the entire community to step forward and really embrace what will be our new future. Downtowns are still fabulous, wonderful places to be. So we’re excited for the future,” he said.
Craig and David Nagy, Founder at eCommerce Canada, discuss the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP), a $4 billion government-funded initiative to promote digital innovation and transformation for small businesses in Canada. They delve into the application process, grant amounts, interest-free loans, and youth employment subsidies, highlighting the program’s potential impact on businesses and entrepreneurs.
A transcript of the conversation can be found below.
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Craig Patterson 0:03 Welcome to the Retail Insider Video Interview series. I’m your host, Craig Patterson. And we’re joined here today with a special guest, David Nagy. He’s the founder of eCommerce Canada and is an entrepreneur and has done all kinds of great things. Welcome, David.
David Nagy 0:17 Mr. Patterson, super to see you. Great to join you again. It’s been a while since we’ve chatted. So it’s good to catch up with you and Retail Insider.
Craig Patterson 0:25 And we’re talking today about the Canadian Digital Adoption Program, which is basically free money for businesses to do things online. Can you tell us a little bit about what this is or what we could call it CDAP if you want as well for the abbreviation?
David Nagy 0:39 Affectionately, yes, we refer to it as “CDAP” or “The DAP” as some people call it once they get really familiar. So yes, it’s a $4 billion fund initiated by the government back in March 2022. Pretty great program. Canada Digital Adoption Program is designed to bring innovation and digital transformation opportunities to small businesses in the country.
Craig Patterson 1:04 Now, who can apply for it?
David Nagy 1:05 So it’s delivered in two stages, one of which I spend a lot of time on, the other one of which I’m just affectionate for, but don’t spend too much time on. Stage one is for smaller newer businesses, I think the requirements are to do about $30,000 in revenue and have at least one full-time equivalent employee that’s receiving a T4. It’s oriented towards e-commerce initiatives. So catalog-based websites that need things like eCommerce and folks at Digital Main Street, some of the nonprofits around the company could do a more eloquent job than I can of explaining how that side of the program works. But that’s stage one for micro-businesses.
David Nagy 1:41 Stage two is where people like myself, digital advisors, spend most of their time. That’s for more mature companies. You have to be doing a minimum of $500,000 worth of revenue in one of the three preceding tax years. So it must be reported revenue through your tax return. $500,000 is the bottom line, that’s the entry level, the ceiling is 100 million. So you have to be below 100 million. So it’s a pretty large slot size in there. Most Canadian businesses fall into that. So $500,000 to $100 million. You must be a privately held company (not publicly traded on a stock exchange). This is for independent business; you must have a majority of Canadian ownership. So you can have some foreign ownership, but the majority of the company must be held in Canada. And you must be a ‘for-profit’, not a ‘not-for-profit’.
David Nagy 2:31 Beyond that, just meeting the requirements of a Canadian corporation by and large covers the rest of the requirements. But everything’s available on the grant agency’s website in this case.
Craig Patterson 2:44 Now you’re involved in this as well, in terms of being one of the advisors. Tell us a little bit about what you’re doing with some businesses, including some retailers.
David Nagy 2:52 That got started on day one. You know, the backstory on that is like having something like this come along, I think, is a tremendous opportunity for someone who is in a consulting role. Going into this, I’ve worked with hundreds and hundreds of businesses prior to the Canada Digital Adoption Program. So when this was created, it certainly was an interesting and attractive opportunity. But I didn’t know that it would have such an impact on my life, right? And so I can say from firsthand experience just how inspiring it is, the opportunity to work with businesses at this level, to do a full top-down assessment of their businesses. I work specifically on the first phase of three pieces of value that a small business gets out of the CDAP program, or at least the CDAP stage two that we’re talking about.
David Nagy 3:42 The first is up to $15,000 in the form of a grant, which is designed to match up a digital advisor with a business. If your company applies and is accepted, you have the ability to choose a digital advisor to work with you, and the government will cover up to 90% with a maximum amount of $15,000 in the form of a grant that they’ll contribute to that engagement. The job of the digital advisor, someone like myself, is to put together a strategic roadmap that’s looking at every moving part of the business that we can, and how technology and digital innovation could have an impact on it, right? Let’s include things like IT infrastructure, software stack, sales, marketing, customer data, branding and positioning, market assessments, competitive assessment, cybersecurity, of course, even today, the influence of artificial intelligence in your business. All of these things should be part of the conversation and should be considered. We’re putting together a digital roadmap, right? The final output of that is what we call a CDAP plan, which is a series of recommendations, and kind of collaborating with the business owner to come to the best results of, like, conclusively here’s the business and benefits from it. Those things require a timeline, resource requirements, and a budget to be put forward; that plan needs to get submitted back to the government agency for their review. And if it’s approved, that’s when they release the portion of funding. So the advisor, of course, is invoicing and charging some money for these engagements. And the government will cover 90% of that invoice value to a maximum of $15,000. That’s a summary of the first phase, the first piece of stage two CDAP. It’s a required first phase. So you’re kind of like, you have to do that before you get access to the other pieces of value, right? And so that digital roadmap, the DAP, becomes the framework for the other pieces. There are two other great pieces of value that the digital advisors are using, not as involved in, but we’re opening the gateway to the next two pieces.
Craig Patterson 5:55 Now, David, there’s also a loan that I think the Business Development Canada is providing as part of this CDAP program. Can you tell us a little bit more about that as well, please?
David Nagy 6:03 Your business would qualify for up to $100,000 on an interest-free loan from BDC. Right. So that’s a five-year term on that. Businesses will get up to $50,000 or $100,000, depending on what their revenue is, the dividing line is $5 million in revenue. If you’re over 5 million, you can be accepted $100,000 of interest-free up to. If you’re under 5 million, you can receive up to $50,000 interest-free on a five-year term. Now that’s contingent on the plan. So the digital adoption plan kind of outlines like here’s what the use of the capital would be, this is how this money would be oriented. So it really comes down to how much is requested in there. It doesn’t have to be $50,000 or $100,000, just depending on the needs of the business.
Craig Patterson 6:53 And furthermore, I think there’s a grant involving the hiring of youth. Can you tell us a little bit more about that as well, please?
David Nagy 6:58 That’s a subsidy available for youth employment. So we’re really trying to create this next generation of digital natives, which is a pretty important part of this entire program. There’s a subsidy available for $7,300 to bring someone into your business for a minimum of 450 hours, but we would hope for long-term employment out of this. That is the goal, to bring people into businesses that are going to be valued long-term, right? And so these individuals can be either in post-secondary today or have graduated within the last two years. I believe they have to be under 30 as well, I think that’s one of the requirements. So what’s available there and it is on a 450-hour commitment, your business can be subsidized up to $7,300 on the salary that’s paid to them. So it’s pretty good coverage, that covers the majority of that salary over a 450-hour commitment.
David Nagy 7:55 So three super important pieces. And I would say that the last piece, that $7,300, it’s available. The projects coming out of the digital adoption plan can be mapped really, really nicely to the utilization of that person’s time, right? So there’s a lot of things that your digital advisor should come up with that should be pointing to that piece and saying, like, hey, this would be a really great use of capital if an individual was to come through the youth employment program and be matched up with those work units there.
Craig Patterson 8:29 David, there hasn’t been much of an uptick yet in terms of there’s a lot of money that’s still available for this grant. There has been $4 billion that’s been allocated. But what’s the percentage of that that’s been spoken for so far? And the reason I’m saying this is because we’re trying to push businesses to be part of this so that this program continues.
David Nagy 8:47 My understanding is, Craig, there’s a lot of visibility yet. So relatively low subscription. I can’t quote exact numbers because it’s a bit of a moving target. The last number that I heard was around 3,300 businesses. That was a few months ago. I think uptake has been a little bit quicker since then. But you can imagine that there’s still a long way to go in stage two, 70,000 businesses was the intended target, right, there’s still a lot of money in the chest, so to speak. And about two and a half years, a little bit more than two and a half years left in the program timeline. So we’re still very much interested in having new businesses and new applicants come through. There’s still a high demand and a high need for that. So by all means, if anybody’s watching this video and think that they might qualify, then apply, reach out to Retail Insider, reach out to me, and hopefully we can connect you with the right resources and get you through the application.
Craig Patterson 9:42 And we’re going to be working with you as well here at Retail Insider, so we’ll put your website and information in the show notes as well for eCommerce Canada, because you’re definitely, I think, the person to work with here for businesses, your company, in terms of the Canadian Digital Adoption Program and otherwise.
David Nagy 9:58 That’s very sweet, Craig. There’s a lot of good brainiacs out there. I don’t want to take all the credit for being a digital adviser. There’s a lot of good ones out there, I’m sure. But yes, we’re certainly interested in doing the work. And I would say, you know, as someone who’s been in 10 businesses myself, I’ve been through the wringer and rigors of entrepreneurship, so to speak, and had a few good businesses and a whole bunch that probably could have been doing better things with my time. But it really is a magical connection, right? This has been the highlight of my career to work with people of this level, this capacity, completely unexpected, I didn’t see this coming. But the way this program works and the opportunity that we have to kind of connect with one another, and it’s really a shared experience between an advisor and an entrepreneur, going through with a leadership team and the outcomes, you know, this work takes weeks when it’s done well, if it’s done right? It takes a long time to assemble something like this. So it is a pretty incredible outcome. Once we get to the end of it, and you know, I can say, with sincerity for myself, just the absolute highlight of my career having these experiences with business owners.
Craig Patterson 11:08 I know there’s business owners out there that are busy, this can be a bit of a process in terms of, you know, it’s an extra activity out there. But tell us a little bit about the timeline, how this works and the application process generally.
David Nagy 11:20 I think one of the primary areas of stress, the most business owners would have, myself included, we’re just so taxed today, we’re so busy today, and the hours mean so much. And any time we’re, you know, so to speak, off the floor, not working with our teams or not working with our clientele, you really gotta say that’s worthwhile. I would certainly vouch for this program, kind of start with the application process because that’s the primary concern a lot of small businesses, especially in the past few years, have been through the application process on something like a grant or loan or something like this, the CDAP has been structured well and they just did such a great job with the application process. And it can be some friction with it. But, you know, you’re filling out a survey format, a digital needs assessment, which is about 41 questions, it’s really easy to just get started and create an account and fill out a digital needs assessment. It should take somewhere between 10 to 20 minutes. It’s pretty well thought through, it’s pretty easy to go through, actually learn quite a bit, and it gets the, you know, the synapses firing on digital transformation to begin with. And so the final output is a scorecard and just an assessment and overview of your business. That’s kind of the first piece you have to complete, then you have to go through an identity verification process naturally with anything that is of this scale, $4 billion program, potential fraudulent activity is pervasive. Right? So there’s identity verification required to ensure that the director, the owner of the business is the one completing the application on the business’s behalf. Now, in time, I know there’s a shift coming up that’s going to allow that to be delegated out to a representative of the company as well. So that should reduce a little bit of the friction. But your company needs to be able to log in through either personal online banking to verify that identity or through the business’s CRA my business login. So the connection through the CRA account for the business is certainly one of the best ways to do this. Because we need to, you know, authenticate the credentials of the person who is applying on behalf of the business, once that’s done, which can go very, very quickly and easily, or it can take a little time if the business doesn’t currently have a way to do work and log in and verify that identity, you have to go through, you know, a snail mail code mail load from the CRA to create one of those accounts to ensure that you can still verify, and that can take a few weeks, right? So that can slow down the process just a little bit. Once all that’s done, there’s a little bit more rudimentary information that’s required about the business to complete the application. In certain cases, it’s almost an auto-approval that happens, and your business can be like approved the same day if the match-up to the CRA account happens and they can verify the revenue generation of the business and everything can be complete within 20 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes, the business could be complete. Or it could take a few weeks to get to the identity verification pieces. But regardless, this is amongst the simplest grant application processes that I’m that I’m familiar with. I think they’ve done a great job with the resource consumption on the applications, not that bad. Then the actual process itself, I think, differs by the digital advisor, probably the group who’s doing the work for you, probably largely dictates how much of the time commitment is required on the business side. I can speak from our experience that it’s a four to six-week process that will require you know, somewhere between five and 15 hours from the business, right? It depends very much on how much data they have access to, how much you can deliver, you know, online, through forums, through emails, things like that. So we really try, you know, even though it’s a very involved process, to minimize the day-to-day impact that it’s going to have on the company. Yeah, in our case, a lot of the work can be done somewhat independently as long as we can trade the data and talk over email, this stuff quite a bit. So it shouldn’t be considered, you know, too much of a risk from an hourly commitment perspective.
Craig Patterson 15:27 We’ve been talking about the Canadian Digital Adoption Program. We’ll have more information in our show notes. Thank you so much, David Nagy, for joining us today, you’re the founder of eCcommerce Canada.
David Nagy 15:36 Thank you, Craig. You’re the rock star of retail. So appreciate being here and having the opportunity to share this and look forward to hearing from hopefully and, you know, helping small businesses tap into this program’s pretty meaningful thing and I hope each and every one of you get an opportunity to take advantage of it .
Craig Patterson 15:56 Sounds like a wonderful program. I’m Craig Patterson. I’m the founder and publisher of Retail Insider Media. Thank you so much for watching us today or listening to us. If you’re on one of our podcast channels, be sure to subscribe, whatever platform you’d like to consume this on. Thank you so much. Take care and bye for now.
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Background Music Credit: Hard Boiled Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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