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Clippings
October 6, 2016
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Register for the 2016 GISC before October 28 & Save!
The Green Industry Show and Conference is back in Edmonton for 2016! Our amazing team of staff and volunteers have put together a conference programme aimed to inform and inspire everyone from designers to arborists, owners to students, growers to contractors. Our conference sessions are timely and responsive to industry issue - with an updated format for 2016 that focuses on variety with 32 one-hour sessions over the two days.
Conference session highlights include pest diagnosis sessions with Dr. Ken Fry, landscape design process sessions with Gord Koch and Patrick DuChene. Mario Lanthier is speaking on tree pests and root management in nursery production, Paul Zammit with two sessions on edible gardens and winter container arrangements, as well as many more informative and engaging sessions on growing your business, managing work-life balance, improving performance and the latest and greatest in horticultural and business technologies. Everyone will find something to stoke their fire and those looking for continuing education credits will also find sessions to fulfill those needs.
Landscape Alberta members who
pre-register receive free admission into the tradeshow and preferred pricing on conference registration. In addition to the educational opportunities, all conference attendees have access to the Green Industry Show. With over 250 booths, it is the largest green industry show in Western Canada and is an annual must-see event. For more information on the Green Industry Show & Conference, to view the full conference program and to register, please visit
www.greenindustryshow.com.
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Bill 6 Update
The Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act (Bill 6) continues to move ahead with industry consultations. There are six different working groups of 12 volunteers working to draft recommendations on the regulations. Landscape Alberta Executive Director Joel Beatson was selected to work on the Employment Standards table. He is happy to report that one of the recommendations of the group was to include nurseries, sod farms, and greenhouses (along with mushroom farms) as primary production and as such be afforded the same employment standards rules as the rest of agriculture. Combined with the other recommendations for variations for agriculture this could be a great boost to competitive advantage for Alberta based producers. More details can be found at
www.agcoalition.ca/information-board. These recommendations and others still require government approval. Watch for more information in the coming months.
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Federal Government Supports Canada's Ornamental Horticulture Industry to Grow its Markets
Stephen Fuhr, Member of Parliament for Kelowna - Lake Country, on behalf of Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay, announced a contribution of up to $1.1 million to grow the domestic and international market for Canadian ornamental horticulture at the National Awards of Landscape Excellence ceremony held in Kelowna in August. This funding will help the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) promote and showcase nursery products to buyers in Canada and around the world through marketing activities, trade shows, and hosting sales missions. The CLNA will also meet with industry partners in the United States and Mexico to discuss common issues and future opportunities.
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Enter the 2016 Landscape Awards
Showcase your expertise and creativity... the early bird deadline for this year's Landscape Awards in October 21, 2016. Now is the perfect time to photograph the landscape projects you would be proud
to show off to your clients and peers.
Click here to download the Landscape Awards Entry Package with all the information you will need for this year's awards. If you have any questions, please contact Kyla at
kyla@landscape-alberta.com.
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EPA Determines Glyphosate not a Carcinogen
In a decision that could have a significant on the landscape and lawn care industry in the US, the Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that glyphosate, the most widely used pesticide in the world, is not likely a carcinogen. The agency will be convening a meeting of independent scientists next month to review its evaluation, but In advance of that meeting, the EPA released a 227-page issue paper that summarizes all available research on the chemical, which is the active ingredient in Roundup weed killer.
The EPA's ultimate conclusion, which the outside scientists will review, is that glyphosate is likely not carcinogenic at relevant doses of exposure. The safety of the chemical was thrown into question last year when a cancer research arm of the World Health Organization came to a different conclusion, that the chemical is likely carcinogenic. Canadian industry is still awaiting similar confirmation from Health Canada, but this is an interesting development in the ongoing discussion.
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Landscape Alberta Office in Calgary
In keeping up with the changing dynamic of the workforce, Landscape Alberta is happy to announce that it now has a remote office based in Calgary. Our Communications Coordinator, Kyla Hardon, has relocated to Calgary and will telecommute from a home office utilizing our new voice-over-internet based phone systems and expansion of paperless, cloud-based office systems. This move means the association can more frequently attend meetings and engage with members in Calgary and area. Kyla can still be reached by calling the Landscape Alberta office at 780-489-1991 ext. 106 or Calgary direct at 587-332-6858 and by email at kyla.hardon@landscape-alberta.com. Landscape Alberta staff love to visit with members, so no matter where you are, if you would like to have a visit please let us know.
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Benefits for Members across the Country
General Motors Canada: Huge savings on select NEW GMC Vehicles. A $200 administration fee applies, program is non-stackable and cannot be used in conjunction with any other retail incentives including 0% or any other special finance rate.
Isuzu Trucks: Save up to $4,000 on select NEW Isuzu Trucks. A $100 administration fee applies.
Take advantage of these discounts and save thousands - see all the deals at the CNLA website
http://www.cnla-acpp.ca/benefits.
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Upcoming Events
October 26, 2016.
Agricultural Labour Summit, Olds, AB. www.aglaboursummit.ca
October 31-November 1, 2016.
ISA Prairie Chapter Conference, Sheraton Hotel, Red Deer, AB. www.isaprairie.com
November 17-18, 2016. Green Industry Show & Conference, Edmonton Expo Centre, Edmonton, AB. www.greenindustryshow.com
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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.
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