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July 7, 2016
Nursery Producers Educational Bus Tour
A one-day nursery bus tour is planned for August 12, 2016 in Kelowna, BC. The tour will include stops at Advance Nursery Co., Stewart Brothers Nurseries and Bron & Sons Nursery Co., plus a winery tour at Nk'mip Cellar.
 
The cost of the tour is $135.00 (+GST) per person, plus the cost of flights/accommodation. For more information, visit www.lanurserytour2016.eventbrite.ca  or contact Erynn at the Landscape Alberta office at 1-800-378-3198, or email erynn.watson@landscape-alberta.com .

The bus pick up hotel has now sold out of rooms. Please visit the Eventbrite registration link for a list of alternate hotels and to book your room ASAP.
Landscape Industry Certified Technician Exam
The next test date in Alberta is August 12-13, 2016 at Olds College campus. For nearly twenty years our test event was held annually in March - the change to a summer test means candidates can use the season's field experience to build skills toward their success on test day. It also means we can offer the Turf Maintenance Technician test without mowing snow! Get the ball rolling - register today by contacting Colin Vince, Certification Co-ordinator at CNLA: colin@cnla-acpp.ca, or call toll-free 1-888-446-3499 ext. 8625.
Minimum Wage Increase
The Government of Alberta announced on June 30, 2016 that the provincial minimum wage would be increasing by $1.00 to $12.20 per hour beginning October 1, 2016. This is part of their campaign promise to move to $15.00 per hour by 2018. As part of the announcement, Minister Gray also confirmed that the minimum wage would be rising again on October 1, 2017 by an additional $1.40, followed by the same increase again in 2018. The announcement also heralded the end to the variation for liquor servers.
 
Landscape Alberta was involved in consultations on this and like many small business groups advocated for a more flexible timeline and for the option of a youth or training wage. Members of our sector that compete directly with other provinces and states, especially on nursery production, are most likely to be impacted by the competitive pressure faced by lower cost imports. Landscape Alberta also raised concerns that such a swift increase would push wages above $15 an hour even higher.

Postal Strike
With the current labour disruption at Canada Post many businesses may struggle with normal operations. Our friends at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) have written a very good primer on how to cope. Read it here.   
 
For Landscape Alberta, we will happily accept credit cards as we always do. We are also using this inconvenience as an opportunity to expand payment options for our members and customers wanting to pay their membership or other invoice.
 
Interac e-Transfer:
Using your own existing online banking, please send the email transfer to:   accounting@landscape-alberta.com and use the password LANTA.
 
In the comments/notes field please provide a reference or invoice number, a brief description of what the payment is for, as well as a company name, contact person and phone number should we need to contact you regarding the e-Transfer. 

Member Referral Cards
Landscape Alberta has prepared handy Member Referral Cards for potential customers looking for landscape professionals in their area. The card features the association logo and provides a link to our online member search at landscapealberta.com/findapro . The cards are intended for supplier, garden centre and nursery members that want to help their customers find contractor members to provide landscape construction, design or maintenance services.
 
If you would like referral cards to pass out to your customers, please contact Kyla at the Landscape Alberta office at kyla.hardon@landscape-alberta.com   . There is no cost for these cards.

Green for Life Magazine 

Read the latest issue here: July/August 2016

Benefits for Members across the Country
DynaSCAPE Software: Members receive a 10% discount off new or upgrade license purchases and online training.
Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants: Your Schooley consultant will audit your existing telecom system to find you savings.
 
Take advantage of these discounts and save thousands - see all the deals at the CNLA website http://www.cnla-acpp.ca/benefits.
Upcoming Events
July 18 -22, 2016. Hort Week. Olds College, Olds, AB. oldscollege.ca/continuing-education/horticulture 
August 12-13, 2016. Landscape Industry Certified Technician Exam. Olds College Landscape Pavilion, Olds, AB. colin@cnla-acpp.ca 
August 17, 2016. National Awards of Landscape Excellence. Coast Capri Hotel, Kelowna, BC.   www.cnla-acpp.ca 
If you have any questions or concerns, or if you would like more information on upcoming events, please contact us at 1-800-378-3198 or email admin@landscape-alberta.com.

Sincerely,
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Landscape Alberta