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Clippings
September 21, 2017
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Minimum Wage Increase
The provincial minimum wage will be increasing to $13.60 per hour beginning October 1, 2017. This is part of the Alberta governments to move to $15.00 per hour by 2018.
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 near or above $15 an hour even higher.
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2017 Green Industry Show & Conference
The
Green Industry Show and Conference is back in Calgary for 2017! 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 issues - focusing on a variety of topics with 32 one-hour sessions over the two days.
We have three full-day
pre-show workshops on November 15, designed for more in-depth technical level professional development. One for Greenhouse growers, one for Landscape contractors/estimators and one for those interested in winter container design.
Conference session highlights include landscape pest show and tell sessions with Dr. Ken Fry and landscape design sessions with Joe Salemi. Bob Reeves is speaking on the power of soil, Barbara Crowhurst has two sessions for garden centre professionals which include driving traffic to stores and increasing retail sales, 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 Prairie Canada and is an annual must-be there 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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CEIC Announces 2018 EI Premium Rate and Maximum Insurable Earnings
The Canada Employment Insurance Commission (CEIC) has announced that the Employment Insurance (EI) premium rate for 2018 is $1.66 per $100 of insurable earnings for 2018. This represents a 3 cent increase for employees over the 2017 rate, and 4 cents for employers who pay 1.4 times the employee rate. More information on the rate increase,
click here.
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Thank you to our Volunteers and Supporters - 2017 Landscape Industry Certified Technician Exam
Landscape Alberta hosted our annual Landscape Industry Certified Technician test event on August 18 & 19, 2017 at the Olds College Landscape Pavilion. We welcomed 24 registrants (some of whom were working toward their second certification designation - yay!) and we're proud to announce that three successful candidates achieved Landscape Industry Certified Technician status. It was a busy day with fine weather - we even got to enjoy our luncheon outdoors (that was a first!). We owe a big thanks to Karman DiLisio at the Olds College pavilion for making the site perfect for our industry test event.
It takes the time, dedication and expertise of many industry volunteers to make this test event a success - especially in the middle of prime landscaping season (not to mention vacation season) - so we sincerely thank the tireless folks who stepped up this summer to plan, recruit volunteers, pick up supplies, assemble and disassemble the test site, take on judge responsibilities, provide plant materials, tools and equipment - and to make a valuable contribution to the future of our industry. Thank you!
We especially appreciate the support for the Landscape Industry Certified program shown by Alberta companies that encourage their staff to challenge this test, prove their skills and grow their careers. This program was developed by our industry, for our industry, and continues to be a valuable tool for elevating professionalism and cultivating great team members for landscaping companies across the country. Lead your industry today - get in touch with Jason Young, Certification Administrator at the CNLA office - he can connect your staff with program information, study materials and enthusiasm:
[email protected]
Please be sure to support the businesses who generously donated material and equipment to make this event happen - good people with great products and services:
- Eagle Lake Nurseries Ltd. - perfect trees, shrubs and perennials for our test stations - thank you Anita and staff!
- Cervus Equipment, Red Deer - Bobcat skid steer for our test candidates to prove their skills - thank you Diedre!
- Nextcom/digital2way - radios that allow us to keep our event safe and on schedule - thank you Jason!
- Finning Canada, Red Deer - CAT skid steer for site prep and test station - thank you Joe!
- Eagle Lake Professional Landscape Supply - cool green turf for our Sod Installation test - thank you Eric and staff!
- JVR Landscape (2006) Inc. - tools, tasks, time, and generous hearts - thank you John, Tyler and Andrew!
- Three Seasons Landscaping - supplies, equipment, and hard-working humans - thank you Darren and crew!
- Olds College - for a first-class facility and dedicated staff - sincere thanks from your industry colleagues!
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Enter the 2017 Landscape Awards
Showcase your expertise and creativity... the early bird deadline for this year's Landscape Awards is October 20, 2017. Start taking your pictures today!
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Having an Event?
Are you planning an industry event? Let us know and we will add to our
events calendar on the
Landscape Alberta website. If you would you like a representative from Landscape Alberta to attend your event, let us know and we will do our best to make it out. Send your event listings to:
[email protected]. Be sure to include date, time, location and a web link (if applicable).
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Benefits for Members across the Country
Kubota Canada Ltd.: Receive 18-22% off the suggested list price, or discounts of 11-15% off the suggested list price for purchases made with 0% financing for 36 months. A $100 administration fee applies.
Petro Canada: Save 2.4ยข/litre off the posted retail price at retail locations only, 15% off car washes and 3% discount on propane.
Take advantage of these discounts and save thousands - see all the deals at the CNLA website
https://cnla.ca/become-a-member.
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Upcoming Events
November 15, 2017. Landscape Alberta Nursery Producers Auction, Sheraton Eau Claire, Calgary, AB.
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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
[email protected]
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