chronicle - spring 2009

Q U E B E C C I T Y • M O N T R E A L • T O R O N T O • W I N N I P E G • K I T C H E N E R

SPRING/SUMMER 2009

Chapman interiorsfrom Canada to the Carribean

10

14

10

NFL CANADASupporting our other national game20 Winnipeg ad firm

Spacecadetlaunches newiPhone app

PLUS: Who’s WatchingWinnipeg’s Red River? • Bikesfor Africa • GotStyle’s denimalternatives • Totum on goalsetting • EquiSoft gets themost from your database

Tête-à-tête with Nicole Robertof Montreal’s GO Films

66

QUEEN STREET EAST, TORONTO / – Rememberall those glowing balls hanging at Yonge & DundasSquare last June? When live bands every night filled the open-air dance hall? Well that’s just a small part ofwhat is fast becoming Toronto’s largest international arts and creativity festival.

For the last two years, the Luminato team, housed in offices at the Queen Richmond Centre, has worked to bring artists and performers from around the world,presenting premieres as well as original work in both free and paid venues – all with an eye to promotingToronto’s penchant as a global cultural hub.

This year, the party started on Friday June 5th at Yonge & Dundas Square with legendary rocker RandyBachman while nearby, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin,Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller pack Massey Hall. The 2009 theme, was, you guessed it, the guitar, and while it saw an impressive line-up of performers, one of the more ambitious gigs was the June 6th record-breaking attempt at the world’s largest guitar ensemble

(the 1,623 guitarists gathered fell short of the record1,802 set in Germany in 2007 with Smoke on the Water).

The appearance of visual art in public places is anothertheme, and one thing locals kept an eye out for was agiant red ball installation that appeared in a new locationon nine of the festival’s ten days. Theatrical innovator on Robert Lepage also made his presence known exploring themes of parenthood and adoption throughthe metaphor of the human voice in his North Americandebut of Lipsynch, a nine-hour multimedia epic.

But these were just some of the 100 theatre, dance, classical and contemporary music, film, literature, visual arts, design events to see. It’s hard to offer astraightforward overview of Luminato as the fest isdesigned specifically to present as broad a range of cultural activities as possible. Festival CEO Janice Pricelikens it to a kaleidoscope, in other words, what you see depends on your motion, on where you are and how you look at it.

luminato.com

COMMUNITY CHRONICLE • 2

TORO

NTO

TORONTO’S LUMINATOLIGHTS UP THE TOWNFor 10 extraordinary days in June, Toronto’s stages, streets,and public spaces illuminated with arts and creativity.

Kurt Perschke’s Redball Project Pierre Brault in 5 O’Clock Bells. (Photo:Christina Riley)

WHERE CHOCOLATE MEETS BICYCLESToronto’s The Hive develops cause marketing program that sees Cadbury giving away bikes in Africa

KING WEST CENTRAL, TORONTO / –“It’s kind of a balance thing,” explains RickShaver of The Hive Strategic Marketing.“The chocolate bar is a small treat for yourself, but that joy gets passed on when it becomes about delivering 5,000 bikes to Ghanian schoolchildren.”

Armed with research showing consumers aremore interested in helping a good cause thanwinning something, The Hive team developeda campaign that connects the purchase ofCadbury chocolate bars with the importance of a bicycle in rural Africa, where people mustoften travel long distances on foot. Indeed, abicycle is four times faster than walking and it isused to deliver water and health care, as well as children to schools and the sick to hospitals.

Besides using television and print ads, a May guerilla campaigntagged bicycles in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver with images of first aid kits (see below) and schoolbus stop signs to communicatethat a bike is more than just a bike to some of the world’s populations.

Between now and October, consumers are encouraged to registerthe UPC codes online of any Cadbury snacks they purchase. Loggingin at www.thebicyclefactory.ca, they can watch an animation of theirbar code being made into a bike part. One hundred parts make onebike, and by October, Cadbury hopes to deliver 5,000 as a means of giving back to the country that has long been its cocoa source.Registered users are also eligible for a grand prize trip to Africa.

thehiveinc.com

3 • SPRING/SUMMER 2009

Des vélos en Afrique grâce au chocolatSe basant sur des recherches révélant que les consommateurs préfèrent soutenir une bonne cause quegagner un prix, The Hive, société de Toronto spécialiséedans le marketing stratégique, vient de lancer une campagne qui permet, par l’achat de barres de chocolatCadbury, de contribuer à la fabrication d’un vélo destinéaux populations rurales d’Afrique souvent obligées deparcourir de longues distances à pied. Il faut savoir quele vélo est quatre fois plus rapide que la marche à piedet qu’il sert dans certaines régions à transporter l’eau et le matériel médical, mais aussi à emmener lesmalades à l’hôpital et les enfants à l’école.

En plus des annonces publicitaires à la télévision et dans les journaux, une campagne monstre a été organisée en mai à Toronto, Montréal et Vancouver. On pouvait voir placardées sur des vélos des photos de trousses de premiers soins et d’arrêts d’autobus scolaires visant à faire comprendre que dans certainspays, un vélo est bien plus qu’un simple vélo.

Jusqu’au mois d’octobre, les amateurs de barresCadbury pourront enregistrer à l’adresse www.usineavelos.ca le CUP figurant sur leur papierd’emballage. Grâce à une animation, ils verront alors leurcode barre se transformer en pièce de vélo. Il faut centpièces pour fabriquer un vélo et d’ici le mois d’octobreCadbury espère fournir 5 000 vélos, un geste de grati-tude envers un pays qui, depuis des années, lui fournitson cacao. Les consommateurs qui s’inscrivent en lignepourront aussi gagner un voyage en Afrique.

TORONTO

ST. LAURENT BLVD., MONTREAL / – WhenMorgan Stanley sought to open an IT office in Montreallast year, this New York-based financial services firm needed to recruit employees with specific skill sets. That’s when the phones at Kovasys started ringing.

“Morgan Stanley has invested heavily in Montreal’sinfrastructure and labour market. That has lead to job creation in the province and it’s something we’re proud to be a part of,” says Howard Scholl, a senior associatewith this Montreal-based IT recruitingfirm that specializes in connectingfirms south of the border with a rangeof technology professionals.

Kovasys is one of a growing cadreof the city’s IT-focused headhunters,and three years after opening itsdoors, it has become the number one Google hit for ‘IT recruitment in Montreal’.

Despite the impacts of the recent economic recession in other sectors, IT in Quebec is a pretty good market to be in, says Alex Kovalenko, Kovasys co-founder anddirector of operations.

With four universities and the Cité Multimedia technology park, the city has a growing pool of qualifiedand talented employees from which to choose. Given this high level of education, the provincial government’sincentives to investors, and the relative savings on the

dollar, Kovalenko is surprised more U.S. companies aren’talready coming north. In fact, he expects to see a lot ofgrowth in the future.

According to Kovalenko, a senior developer in Bostonmaking $85,000 Cdn would make about $60,000 Cnd in Montreal. “When you factor in tax credits, subsidies,lower salaries, a favourable exchange rate as well as lowerreal estate costs, companies can easily save 50 to 70%operating here.” he says.

Beyond financial services firms,this small, up-and-coming agency inthe Balfour building on St. LaurentBlvd. has helped companies likeFrance Telecom and Ubisoft withtheir staffing needs and has estab-lished satellite offices in Calgaryand Edmonton to respond to theIT markets growing in those cities.

But Kovalenko’s strength is connecting to the Quebecmarket. To that end, he runs seminars about how ITfirms locating in Quebec can save money. Frequentlyteaming up with government presenters as well as otherHR professionals, his sessions examine accessing tax credits, applying for subsidies as well as running an effective recruitment process.

“The seminars are for our clients who are interested inlearning how to use technology to attract new hires andhow to save money,” he explains.

kovasys.com

Montreal IT recruiter, Kovasysbullish on Quebec’s technologysector growth By Micayla Jacobs


“Three years after opening its doors Kovasys is the number one Google hit for‘IT recruitment in Montreal’.

MONTRÉAL


BOUL. ST-LAURENT, MONTRÉAL / – Lorsque Morgan Stanley a vouluouvrir un bureau de technologie de l’information (TI) à Montréal l’andernier, il fallait que cette société de services financiers de New Yorkrecrute des employés dotés de certaines compétences en particulier.C’est alors que les téléphones se sont mis à sonner chez Kovasys.

« Morgan Stanley a fait de gros investissements dans l’infrastruc-ture et le marché du travail de Montréal. Ces investissements ontabouti à la création d’emplois dans la province, et nous sommes fiersd’y avoir participé, » explique Howard Scholl, principal associé de cettefirme de recrutement de Montréal spécialisée dans le domaine de la TI et qui rapproche des entreprises établies au sud de la frontière avec divers experts en technologie.

Kovasys fait partie d’un groupe de chasseurs de têtes de plus enplus nombreux dans la ville qui se spécialisent dans la TI. Trois ansaprès sa création, cette entreprise est devenue le premier résultat às’afficher en réponse à l’interrogation « recrutement TI Montréal »dans Google.

En dépit des répercussions de la récente récession économiquesur d’autres secteurs, le marché de la TI du Québec est très profitable,à en croire Alex Kovalenko, cofondateur et directeur des opérations de Kovasys.

La ville de Montréal qui compte quatre universités et le parc technologique Cité Multimédia élargit constamment son bassin d’employés compétents et talentueux. Étant donné ce niveau élevé

d’éducation, les aides incitatives du gouvernement provincial auxinvestisseurs, et les économies relatives réalisées grâce au taux dechange, Kovasys s’étonne que les entreprises américaines ne sont pas plus nombreuses à venir s’implanter au nord. Il table, en fait,sur une forte croissance à l’avenir.

Selon M. Kovalenko, un développeur de niveau supérieur gagnerait60 000$ CAD à Montréal comparativement à 85 000$ CAD à Boston. « Lorsqu’on prend en considération les crédits d’impôt, les subven-tions, les salaires plus bas, un taux de change favorable ainsi que les prix moins élevés dans l’immobilier, les charges d’exploitation peuvent facilement être de 50 à 70 % moins élevées, » ajoute-t-il.

Outre des sociétés de services financiers, cette petite agencepleine d’avenir dont les bureaux se trouvent dans l’édifice Balfour sur le boulevard Saint-Laurent a fourni ses services en dotation depersonnel à des sociétés comme France Télécom et Ubisoft, et elle a ouvert des bureaux satellites à Calgary et à Edmonton enréponse aux marchés de la TI en plein essor dans ces villes.

Cependant, le point fort de Kovasys consiste à brancher des entreprises sur le marché québécois. À cette fin, l’entreprise organisedes séances d’information pour expliquer à des entreprises œuvrantdans la TI comment leur implantation au Québec peut leur permettrede faire des économies. En faisant fréquemment équipe avec desprésentateurs du gouvernement et d’autres spécialistes des RH,ces sessions portent sur l’accès aux crédits d’impôt, la demande desubventions et aussi sur un processus de recrutement efficace.

« Ces séances d’information s’adressent à nos clients qui désirentsavoir comment utiliser la technologie pour attirer de la main-d’œuvreet faire des économies, » explique-t-il.

Un recruteur de Montréal spécialisé dans la TI, optimiste quantaux perspectives de croissance du secteur technologique Par Micayla Jacobs

1. GET REFUNDABLE TAX CREDITS Provincial programs allow companies to claim up to 30% of IT employee salaries in refundable tax credits.

2. HIRE SKILLED IMMIGRANTS THROUGH PRIIMEPRIIME is a provincial program designed to help IT-skilled immigrants find work and allowsthe employer to claim up to 50% of the salary.

3. LEARN TO LEVERAGE SOCIAL NETWORKINGTOOLS These tools are critical components to asuccessful recruitment IT process and can helpsave money.

“Trois ans après sa création, cette entreprise est devenue le premier résultat

à s’afficher en réponse à l’interrogation « recrutement TI Montréal » dans Google.

3 WAYS...I.T. FIRMS CAN SAVE

MONEY IN QUEBEC

TORO

NTO


NFL Canada office in Toronto supports our other national game ST. LAWRENCE MARKET AREA, TORONTO / -When the Bills met Miami on December 7th last year, it marked the first time a regular season game was played in Toronto. Though not the team’s first foray intoOntario (in 1961 the Bills crossed the border to bedefeated by the Ti-cats one August day in Hamilton), it was part of a long running recognition that the NFLhas a tremendous fan base in Southern Ontario. That’salso part of the reason the NFL has an office in Toronto’s downtown east side.

One of the National Football League’s goals, on amulti national basis, is to support the growth of the gameof football. And that’s pretty much how NFL Canada,formed in 1997 as a division of NFL International (thereare also NFL offices which in Mexico, UK, Japan andChina) came into being.

But don’t contact the office on Colborne Lane to buyofficial NFL goods. This team of six handles all of theNational Football League’s business interests in Canada.

Canadian specific NFL marketing partnerships and sponsorships, such as work with Labatt, Reebok Canada,FedEx Canada and Frito Lay Canada are just some of the relationships it manages. It also handles broadcast and licensing matters nationally.

Football has a rich history in Canada. Since 1890, ithas been played in each Canadian province and the GreyCup is in fact North America's oldest professional leaguechampionship trophy. What’s more, between 1.6 and 2 million Canadians watch NFL football each weekend.

As a result, the football development system in Canadais strong. There are hundreds of thousands of youth playing organized football, more than 1,000 Canadiansplaying Canadian University football, more than 100Canadians on NCAA football scholarships, more than150 Canadians playing in the CFL, and 13 Canadians on NFL rosters last season

nflcanada.com

Phot

os c

ourt

esy

of N

FL C

anad

a

Quebec ‘House & Home’Offices on St. Laurent Blvd MONTREAL / – January saw House & Home Media launchMaison & Demeure, the French-language edition ofCanadian House & Home Magazine from new offices in Le Balfour at 3575 St Laurent Blvd. The premiereFebruary 2009 issue of the new monthly home andlifestyle title featured exclusive looks at some of the most beautiful and unique homes in Quebec and acrossthe country and seeking to inspire readers with makeovers and renovations.

The magazine will also feature profiles of Quebec-baseddesigners, decorators and artisans, visits to the province’sbest retailers and hottest restaurants, as well as a strongfocus on the new and vibrant Quebec design scene.

“The time is right to celebrate the growing importanceof Quebec’s design community,” said publisher LyndaReeves in a release, “We’re excited to finally have a sister publication that celebrates the exciting style and cuisine of Quebec.”

Food is a big part of each issue, with menus and tablesetting ideas to turn even the simplest gathering intosomething chic and special. And Quebec’s top chefs promise to share their secrets and recipes.

Like its English counterpart, Maison & Demeure alsofeatures decorating ideas, products and organizing tricks for every room, from paint colours and wallpaper to fabrics, furniture and accessories.


INCOMING...

r other national game

With over 4.2 million registered viewersin 2009, the Super Bowl is the most

watched annual sports event inCanada. As a ripple effect, the

week before this annual eventposts the best large-screentelevision sales. It is also thesecond most planned partyof the year in Canada,marks the second greatestnumber of pizza deliveries,

and is the second biggestweek for grocery sales.

THE SUPER BOWL EFFECT


Big Floods

1950 Canadian Forces werecalled in to help when water breachedWinnipeg’s eight dikes destroying four of 11 bridges, forcing the evacuation of70,000 people and causing between $600 million and $1 billion worth ofdamage and prompting the construction of the Red River Floodway.

1997That spring saw $6.5 billion in damages in the basin and required the temporary evacuation of towns and cities on both sides of the border.

2009 By Friday, March 27,the river at Fargo, North Dakota, hadreached the highest level in recorded history, 40.32 feet – more than 22 feetabove flood stage slightly more than theprevious high water mark of 40.1 feet.

Big Red From its source at Lake Traverse in South Dakota,the mighty Red River flows northward 885 kilometers throughNorth Dakota, Minnesota, and Southern Manitoba to LakeWinnipeg, the tenth largest freshwater lake in the world.

27 Years of Cooperation The Red River BasinCommission was formed in 2002 as a result of a mergerbetween the Red River Basin Board, The InternationalCoalition, and the Red River Water Resources Council. But this commission is just the latest iteration of a history of cross border cooperation that goes back 27 years.

EXCHANGE DISTRICT,WINNIPEG / – Looking at the Red River, the island nationof Iceland might not immediatelycome to mind. But if you considerthe size of the river’s basin, it is a close comparison. At 116,500square kilometers, it’s not thelargest river basin in the world(the Amazon comes in at about7 million square kilometers) but

it’s certainly large in terms of whatit does and the number of people,places and organizations it affects –even when the river is not cresting to 100-year-flood levels.

How much water flows through it and its qualityare chief concerns for many cities, towns, counties, rural municipalities, watershed boards, water resourcedistricts and power boards across three states, oneprovince and two countries.

With springtime images of modest prairie farm homes made into temporary islands by the Red’s risingwaters, it’s easy to think of the main job of any commis-sion concerned with managing all this as being about flooding. But that’s just one item on a list of 13 goalsand objectives the Red River Basin Commission(RRBC) uses to measure progress and coordinate theactivities of everything connected with the river and its tributaries.

From a hydrological point of view, drainage basins are coherent entities, so it’s not uncommon to see acommission formed to manage the water resources of an individual basin. What is unique is its 27-year-historyof cross-border cooperation.

“It’s basically about creating a basin-wide conscious-ness,” says Bud Oliver, former Selkirk mayor and a long-time board member of the RRBC.

What happens in one place on the basin affects what happens somewhere else, he explains, so managingthis requires a lot of talking. And facilitating this basin-wide dialogue is a task that falls on the shouldersof the RRBC Board and the two RRBC offices, one inMoorhead, Minnesota, and the other in Winnipeg’sExchange District.

Funded by state, provincial, and localgovernments, the commission

is not an authority, but rather a facilitator, mediator,communicator, educator and problem-solver all rolled into one.

Commission staffers travelthe basin doing presentations

and connecting with various stakeholders to create communication

pathways. When it comes to waterquality, for example, one region

might measure differently than another.Getting all the players to adhere to common quality protocols can go along way in sorting out something like

a nutrient problem that shows up in Lake Winnipeg,into which the Red River drains.

As one of the few rivers at this latitude to flow north,land use practices in the Red River basin can impact the water quality of the river system. This is just one of the many issues that must be continually managed.That’s why it’s important to maintain a big picture view.

To this end, the commission’s 41-member board, withextensive public input, has developed a framework planto help move matters forward on a basin-wide basis.

The plan contains 13 goals, the first four of whichfocus on communication, research and coordinationacross jurisdictional boundaries, and the other nine look at water quality improvement, water supply, flooddamage reduction, drainage, conservation, fish andwildlife, and outdoor recreation.

While each jurisdiction is apt to start out with what is best for it, there’s no shortage of goodwill toward thecommission and its goals, says Herm Martens, RRBCchair and reeve for the RM of Morris

“People want to do the right thing, and when they are reminded of the bigger picture, they support us andthey support the concept,” he says, adding that the commission’s role is one of dynamic problem solving,where the problems are often on going and the solutionsneed to continually be reaffirmed and worked on.

redriverbasincommission.org

A model of cross-border cooperation, Winnipeg’s Red River BasinCommission has been keeping the water management dialogue goingbetween cities, counties, states, and countries for 27 years.

WINNIPEG


FLOW CONVERSATIONAL

RUE ATLANTIC, MONTREAL / – Despite tough eco-nomic times, film production in Quebec isn’t suffering. AndNicole Robert doesn’t see it losing its luster any time soon.

“We will always have a need to create film because as aculture, we watch a lot of it,” says the president of GOFilms, a 10-year old production company behind the popular televisions series La vie, la vie, and hit films such as Horloge Biologique and the spring darling of Quebec cinema, Tout est parfait.

A 25-year veteran of this province’s film industry who has produced everything from La Guerre des tuques andKarmina to Québec-Montréal and Sur le seuil (currentlyoptioned by L.A.’s Weinstein Company), Robert has seenfilm viewing move from being a weekly event to becominga near daily occurrence with the advent of portable videoand home theatre.

“[Home theatre] made DVD, which was once a smallmarket, into a very large one. And now we’re seeing thisnext move to the Internet,” she says.

GOOD BOX OFFICE FOR QUEBEC FILMS While producingQuebecois films may seem like catering to a small market,homegrown French language films are very popular withQuebec audiences and often more successful at the boxoffice than English Canadian films. In fact, top-grossingCanadian films tend to be French language productionsfrom Quebec.

GO Films looks to work on films that resonate with audiences. And this has garnered it some acclaim, fromQuébec-Montréal, an award-winning 2002 road trip film by director Ricardo Trogi, to Tout est parfait, a drama about teen suicide, which though touted by critics as one of the best films of 2008, has attracted controversy.

Indeed recognizing oneself in a film like this can be disrupting, but director Yves-Christian Fournier said in an interview that male suicide and high school drop-outrates are top-of-mind subjects for ordinary Quebecois and policy makers.

SMALL FIRM WITH A HANDS-ON APPROACH As a boutique production firm, GO Films affords Robert theopportunity to be present at every stage of a production,from development (“I usually have 10 scenarios that I’mreading and evaluating at any given time.”), to financing(finding the director, the actors) to production (easily the most intense phase) and finally to the marketing andpress tours.

Ultimately, Robert shoots one to two productions a year.Having wrapped up, Les 7 jours du Talion, first featuredirected by Podz, from the Patrick Senécal novel of the same title; and Mille Neuf Cent Quatre-Vingt-Un, her thirdproject with Ricardo Trogi. She is currently working on thepreproduction of Le Baiser du Barbu, Yves Pelletier’s secondmovie with Robert after their fruitful collaboration on the 2004 box office hit Les Aimants.


All Systems GO Award-winning boutique production firm GO Films sees steady demand for Quebec content

Nicole Robert au tournage Le cas roberge.

Phot

o:Ya

n Tu

rcot

te

Rien n’arrête GO Le contenu québécois en forte demande d’après la maison de production primée GO Films

MONTRÉALRUE ATLANTIC, MONTRÉAL / – Les temps sont difficiles du point de vue économique, mais la production de films n’en souffre pas au Québec. Et selon Nicole Robert, cela ne devraitpas changer de si tôt.

« Nous aurons toujours besoin de produire des films parceque la consommation des films a considérablement augmenté»,confie la présidente de GO Films, la maison de production qui secache derrière des séries télévisées populaires telles que La Vie,la vie, et des films à succès comme Horloge Biologique et lefavori actuel du cinéma québécois, Tout est parfait.

Avec plus de 25 années d’expérience au sein du secteur du film québécois et ayant produit de multiples projets allant de La Guerre des tuques à Karmina en passant par Québec-Montréal et Sur le seuil (dont les droits ont été acquis par TheWeinstein Company basé à Los Angeles), Nicole Robert a vu une tendance se dessiner au fil des ans : voir un film était unévénement hebdomadaire; c’est aujourd’hui quelque chose queles gens font presque tous les jours avec l’avènement desvidéos portables et des cinémas maison.

« [Les cinémas maison] ont grandement contribué à étendrele marché des DVD. Et nous voyons maintenant Internet entrerdans le jeu, » explique-t-elle.

« C’est pour moi, en tant que productrice, une situation fortintéressante parce qu’avec une distribution sur internet le pro-ducteur arrive directement au consommateur et les distributeurset chaînes de cinémas ne prennent pas leur part du gâteau, »poursuit-elle en ajoutant rapidement que les énormes coûts de marketing et de publicité deviendront alors les siens, et quecela constitue un risque important pour une petite société quifinance la plupart de ses projets à l’aide de fonds publics.

DE BONNES RECETTES POUR LES FILMS QUÉBÉCOISProduire des films québécois semble revenir à servir un bienpetit marché. Pourtant, les films de langue française produits au Québec sont très populaires auprès des Québécois et enregistrent souvent de meilleures recettes que les films canadiens en anglais. En fait, les films canadiens récoltant les meilleures recettes-guichet ont tendance à être des productions francophones émanant du Québec.

Il n’y a aucun doute que la langue française est un facteurd’importance, mais les films du Québec adoptent également uneapproche différente lorsqu’il s’agit de raconter une histoire.« Nous nous reconnaissons dans les émissions télévisées et lesfilms que nous portons à l’écran, » poursuit Nicole Robert, dontle long métrage primé de 2002, Québec-Montréal, qui a été réalisé par Ricardo Trogi, présentait une perspective masculinesur les relations, un concept alors innovateur qui avait été particulièrement bien reçu par le public.

Mais se retrouver dans un film peut aussi être source de profonde émotion. Ceci a été le cas au mois de février avec lefilm Tout est parfait, qui traite du suicide chez les adolescents et qui s’est retrouvé simultanément primé, sujet à controverse et porté aux nues par certaines critiques comme étant l’un desmeilleurs films de 2008.

Le réalisateur de ce film, Yves-Christian Fournier, a déclarédans le cadre d’une entrevue que son film semble avoir touchéun point sensible. Il estime que le suicide masculin et les tauxde décrochage à l’école secondaire sont des sujets de trèsgrande importance pour les Québécois et les responsables desorientations politiques.

UNE PETITE SOCIÉTÉ : UN TRAVAIL À TOUS LES NIVEAUXParce que Go Films est une petite maison de production spécialisée, sa structure donne à Nicole Robert la chance departiciper à toutes les étapes de la production, du développe-ment (« Je lis et j’évalue en général 10 scénarios à la fois. ») au financement (trouver le réalisateur, les acteurs) en passantpar la production (la phase de travail de loin la plus intense) et finalement par le marketing et les tournées promotionnelles.

En fin de compte, elle tourne entre un et deux films par an.Ayant tout juste fini Les 7 jours du Talion, premier long métragede Podz, tiré du roman de Patrick Senécal, et Mille neuf centquatre-vingt-un, son troisième projet avec Ricardo Trogi. Elle travaille actuellement sur la pré-production du film Le Baiser dubarbu, deuxième long métrage d’Yves Pelletier, réalisateur dufilm Les Aimants, un succés de salle en 2004 que GO Films aégalement produit.

Isabelle Blais, Les aimants Pierre-François Legendre et CatherineProulx-Lemay, Horloge biologique

Maxime Dumontier et Chloé Bourgeois,Tout est parfait

Phot

o :B

ertr

and

Calm

eau

Phot

o :B

erna

rd F

ougè

res

Phot

o :B

ertr

and

Calm

eau


WAREHOUSE DISTRICT, KITCHENER / - When officials celebrated theopening of the revitalized Uptown Waterloo Public Square (pictured above) June 1st, the occasion served not only to mark the city’s 152nd birthday, butalso to breathe new life into under-used urban spaces. And that’s somethingGSP Group has been hard at work doing since 1995.

In the last few years, Kitchener-Waterloo has seen a tremendous amount of general urban development and adaptive use projects. Waterloo’s newestsquare is re-purposing this 1960s suburban-style, enclosed mall with street-frontretail to make it the backdrop to a large plaza along King Street with seat stepsleading to Waterloo Town Square and an upper level garden. (There are alsoplans to include a water feature and a skating rink.)

“We’re seeing a lot of regeneration of urban uses,” says Chris Pidgeon, a principal with GSP Group, the urban planning and architectural landscape consultants on the project. “And they are complex because they’re already in an urban environment with existing sensitivities.”

GSP Group, whose offices are themselves in a century-old former woodenarena seat factory at 72 Victoria Street South, has worked extensively on thistype of project, its 25-person team doing public, private and institutional work throughout Ontario.

Indeed the area’s revitalization is in part the result of the province’s 2005Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which seeks to limit sprawlinto farmland by invigorating city centres and the built environment.

But some of the private development GSP is working on, like Kitchener’sKaufman Lofts and Waterloo’s The BarrelYards (on the historic Canadian Barrelsite, manufacturer to Seagram’s Distillery), also speak to a demand for spacefrom a growing number of people who want to live, work and play in a city.

Formed in 1995 by three planners, GSP Group sought to offer a broaderrange of services when it soon added landscape architecture to its fold. It hasenjoyed a steady stream of successes working for blue chip clients throughoutsouthern Ontario, though not in the GTA (“That’s a different culture,” opinesPidgeon). And while some of its work is on greenfield sites, a glance at its portfolio will show much of its current projects are in urban settings.

gspgroup.ca

KAUFMAN LOFTS: a 400-unit condo project converted from the former shoefactory where GSP secured developmentapprovals and implemented some of theconstruction details through landscapedcourtyards and rooftop gardens.

THE BALSILLIE CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE:an academic campus with the globallyrecognized Centre for InternationalGovernance Innovation (CIGI) and theUniversities of Waterloo and WilfredLaurier on the former Joseph E.Seagram’s Distillery to provide post-secondary education in the research and study of international affairs toaddress world problems.

THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO SCHOOLOF PHARMACY AND THE MICHAEL G. DEGROOTE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE:a satellite medical school to McMasterUniversity partnered with the University of Waterloo, GSP collaborated on the master plan and landscape design todevelop a clean and contemporary treat-ment on the former Uniroyal Chemicalsite in downtown Kitchener.

PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS:

Urban Ideals

KITC

HENE

R

Urban IdealsWith Kitchener-Waterloo’s professional class growing and the provincefocused on reviving downtowns, there has never been a greater need for planning and architectural landscaping firms like GSP Group.

GOTSTYLE FASHION TIPS FOR MEN

Think beyond your jeans: Add more pant styles to your wardrobe than just denim.


TORONTO

For about 400 years now, trousers have been the standard lower-body clothing item for men. But in the last 10 years, jeans havemoved from weekend wear to the centerpiece of every casual outfit,fast becoming the most common pant inside and out of the city.Melissa Austria at GotStyle on King Street West is aiming to changeall that.

“Business casual really brought the jean into the workplace as acommon choice,” says Austria, explaining that the rule of thumb for

business casual is to wear one casual item for two dressy ones.

Observing this rule, it’s easy to see how jeans with a collaredshirt and blazer has become the classic business casual outfit, butits popularity has limited pant-wearers’ imaginations, lamentsAustria who would like to bring more cotton chinos and playful woolpatterns back into the workplace. Wondering what to look for andhow to match it up? Here are three alternatives to jeans.

2. The striped or plaid pantAn alternative to a solid chino, the striped or plaid should be matchedwith a solid-colour shirt for thoseunsure about how to mix patterns. If you do dare to mix it up, make certain the patterns aren’t the samesize, so mix a small plaid with a larger plaid or stripe, for example.

3. The light dress pantThis can be light wool, or a wool poly blend. Again, you can make this casual by wearing a proper-fitting polo shirt.

gsmen.com

1. The cotton pantThere are essentially two styleshere, the 5-pocket style (i.e.jean-like) with a fullness in thethigh but that delivers a shapedsilhouette, and the chino/dresspant style, which is a littledressier. For this latter style,Austria is also seeing cottonpants with a sheen – like onesfrom Toronto label Bustle,“They’re almost a dress pant butin a cotton fabric,” says Austria.


Photos courtesy of Chapman Design Group

BATHURST STREET, TORONTO / – The last timeAlex Chapman saw an economic forecast like the oneToronto is currently staring at, his interior design firmwas more than 10 years old and well established in theresidential condominium marketplace, with a reputationbuilt on the Queen’s Quay residences in 1982 and otherhigh profile projects.

“There will always be economic highs and lows, butthe world will keep turning and there will still be a need for good design,” says Chapman, adding that histeam is eyeing this go-around as an opportunity tostreamline processes.

One of the top firms in the city, Chapman DesignGroup has worked on residential developments inToronto, Calgary, Vancouver and New York for the last 30 years and is well-known in the custom housingmarket, having done work on private Carribean islandsas well as in the heart of Toronto.

DESIGN THAT RESONATES WITH THE CLIENT Butfinding Chapman’s mark on one of his projects may be difficult as the firm’s modus operandi is to create adesign that resonates ultimately with the client.

“There is no ‘signature’ look,” he explains. “Rather, we pride ourselves on creating the right look. Our abilityto identify and interpret the client’s needs; both the ones they are aware of and the ones they haven’t evenconsidered. Then we develop a concept that promotesintelligent or positive design that improves people’s lives and a businesses’ bottom line... that is what sets us apart.”

Take the Liberty Lofts project, which earned the firma 2008 ARIDO award for the bold graphic design of the model suite and sales office.

SPACE THAT ADAPTS TO THE USER’S NEEDSChanneling a boutique hotel, the small loft space is aresponse to the live-work dynamic seen in that marketdemographic and one that allows the entire space toadapt to the immediate needs of the user.

When entertaining, the space becomes a kitchen anddining area, and when working it’s a studio space. Bi-fold doors, glass partitions and lacquered cabinetry areused to conceal all ‘live’ functions when the user needs to meet a client at a moment’s notice, for example.

Another award-winner is the firm’s work on the residences at College Park. Just as this tower’s architecture pays homage to a famous art deco heritageproperty nearby, so does Chapman’s contemporary interpretation of that opulent style for the interiors.

While the firm is very-well known for its detailed andclient-centric residential design work across Canada,some of its most graceful work lies considerably furthersouth in the Caribbean.

INTERIORS THAT CAPITALIZE ON DRAMA OF THETROPICS In St. Lucia, a 231-room resort project showcases the firm’s ability to source indigenous localmaterials and regional artisan craftsmanship. And itsserenely graceful Cotton House, on one of the mostexclusive islands in the Caribbean, was designed withopulent yet tranquil interiors to complement and capitalize on the dramatic tropical setting.

Its diverse portfolio is in some part a means of weathering any uncertainty in the residential market, but its lengthy reputation for understanding client needs also goes a long way.

“It’s what establishes our client’s trust and a strongsense of mutual value,” says Chapman, adding that itoften leads to repeat assignments. “We don’t just look at the short-term results, but have a long-term plan.”

designcdg.com

FIRM COMMITMENTToronto’s Chapman Design Group has a long history of creating client-centricinteriors from Canada to the Carribean.


TORONTO“There is no signature look. Rather, wepride ourselves on creating the right look.


HOW TO GET THE MOST FROMYOUR DATABASEFrom financial services and music rights management to magazinesubscription tools, this Montreal software firm keeps on the cuttingedge of solving digital data dilemmas.

CITE MULTIMEDIA, MONTREAL / –When Luis Romero talks about his software company’s history, it is measured not in years, but in projects.

“250,” says the 40-year-old head of EquiSoft, a digital solutions firm at700 Wellington Street.

“We talk in terms of projects becausemost of what we do is projects – and we

don’t staff up for just one single contract, we develop a lot ofturnkey solutions where we share risk with clients,” he says,explaining that most of what his team develops forms the basisfor long-term relationships with over 60 clients.

These relationships have guided the company, helping it growsteadily to 75 employees and open two branch offices, one inToronto and the other in Philadelphia.

SOLUTIONS TO DRIVE CLIENT REVENUES EquiSoft’s collaborative approach and penchant for creating solutions thatcan help actually drive revenue are also at the root of its growth.Formed in 1994 originally to develop financial planning software (which is still used today by some of the world’s largestbanks), the firm has nurtured an expertise building web-basedapplications that help clients with data management challenges.

Rogers Publishing, for example, has several trade publicationswith massive databases online, Meetings Canada and CARD(Canadian Advertising Rates and Data) are just two such properties. Creating the front end functionality of the web site is one thing, but getting everything to connect properly for users searching the database, i.e., the heart of such web sites, is another challenge entirely.

CLIENTS DO MORE WORK WITH LESS “80 percent of ourworkforce – that’s all they do – they integrate with different systems for different clients,” says Romero whose background in actuarial mathematics gives him an appreciation for complex problems.

“Clients want to do more work with less people, and anyintegration can reduce the manual work,” he says, drawing from the example of client Protègez-vous, Québec’s consumerprotection magazine. Here, EquiSoft had to implement a magazine subscription tool that would tie into the web site. Itneeded to work for web site users, but also have functionality for the back office and integrate with the publishing platform.

Key elements of that solution have also been tailored to workfor several Rogers publications as well as TVA publications. Infact, Romero now estimates some half a million subscriptionsacross Canada are renewed using EquiSoft software.

RIGHTS MANAGEMENT THAT MAKES SENSE Music royaltiesis another area laden with complexity and databases whereEquiSoft managed to enact a solution, initially for SOPROQQuebec’s music copywriting service. Here, radio stations submitted logs to pay for the music they played, and it was upto the EquiSoft team to develop a means of taking the datafrom the radio stations and sorting it through various channelsso that in the end, royalty cheques could be written for artistsand producers.

“It used to be a pretty labour intensive job,” says Romero,explaining that with tax issues, categorizations of song titles,issues surrounding remakes, coordination with performersunions and taking into account exchanges with internationalcollectives, for example, the rights management field is onefraught with complexity.

GROWING IN LESS-THAN-CERTAIN TIMES But complexity is what appears to drive Romero and his team. “Much of what we do is highly operational,” he says looking to describewhat has most contributed to EquiSoft’s continued growth in a less-than-certain economic climate.

“If you don’t like the colour of your website, you won’t rushto change it this year,” says Romero. “But if your web site suffers because it’s not transactional and your staff is on thephone with users because the site can’t serve them, then we have a business problem to solve.”

HOW TO GET THE MOST FROMYOUR DATABASEFrom financial services and music rights management to magazinesubscription tools, this Montreal software firm keeps on the cuttingedge of solving digital data dilemmas.


MONTRÉAL

CITÉ MULTIMÉDIA / MONTRÉAL / – Lorsque Luis Romero parle de l’histoire de sa société de services et de conseils en informatique, il ne la mesure pas en années, mais en projets.

« 250 », proclame le chef (40 ans) d’EquiSoft, société de solutionsnumériques située au 700, rue Wellington à Montréal.

Son approche collaborative et son aptitude à créer des solutions qui font effectivement augmenter les revenus sont à l’origine de sa croissance. Fondée en 1994, au départ pour développer des logiciels de planification financière (qui sont encore utilisés de nos jours parquelques-unes des plus grandes banques du monde), l’entreprise a perfectionné ses connaissances dans l’élaboration d’applications Web qui permettent à ses clients de faire face aux difficultés liées à la gestion des données.

PAR EXEMPLE… Rogers Publishing possède plusieurs revues spécialisées gérant d’énormes bases de données en ligne, entre autresMeetings Canada et CARD (Canadian Advertising Rates and Data) pourn’en citer que deux. La création de la fonctionnalité frontale du site Webest une chose, mais faire en sorte que tout soit connecté comme il fautpour les usagers qui effectuent des recherches sur la base de données,c’est-à-dire le point central des sites Web de ce genre, est une autre paire de manches.

« C’est tout ce que font 80 % de nos effectifs. Ils travaillent à l’intégration de différents systèmes pour divers clients, » explique LuisRomero dont la formation en mathématiques actuarielles lui permet d’évaluer des problèmes complexes.

« Les clients veulent accomplir davantage avec moins de personnel,et toute intégration permet de réduire le travail manuel, » explique-t-il,en donnant l’exemple de Protégez-vous, le magazine québécois de la protection des consommateurs. Dans ce cas-là, EquiSoft a dû mettre aupoint un outil pour les abonnements qui se raccorderait au site Web. Il fallait que les usagers du site Web puissent s’en servir, mais qu’il disposeaussi de la fonctionnalité nécessaire pour le service d’appui et qu’ilpuisse s’intégrer à la plate-forme d’édition.

Les éléments clés de cette solution ont été spécialement conçus pourplusieurs publications de Rogers ainsi que pour TVA Publications. En fait, M. Romero estime que le logiciel d’EquiSoft est maintenant utilisépartout au Canada pour le renouvellement d’environ un demi milliond’abonnements.

SOLUTION AU PROBLÈME DES REDEVANCES Les redevancemusicales sont un autre domaine excessivement complexe, dans lequelles bases de données abondent, et EquiSoft a réussi à mettre au pointune solution, initialement pour le service québécois de gestion des droits d’auteur musicaux SOPROQ. Dans ce cas-là, les stations de radio soumettaient des rapports détaillés pour payer pour la musique qu’elles jouaient, et EquiSoft avait été chargé de développer un moyend’acheminer les données fournies par les stations de radio à traversdivers canaux, afin qu’au bout du compte des chèques pour les redevances puissent être envoyés aux artistes et aux producteurs.

« Ce travail exigeait autrefois beaucoup de main-d’œuvre, » ajoute M. Romero, en expliquant qu’en raison des considérations d’ordre fiscal,de la catégorisation des titres des chansons, des problèmes liés aux nouvelles versions des chansons, de la coordination avec les syndicatsdes interprètes et en tenant compte des échanges avec des collectives

internationales, par exemple, le domaine de la gestion des droits d’auteur est excessivement complexe.

Mais il semble que la complexité est justement ce qui animeLuis Romero et son équipe. « Notre travail est en grande partiehautement opérationnel, » explique-t-il pour décrire ce qui est à l’origine de la croissance continue d’EquiSoft dans uneconjoncture moins que certaine.

EquiSoft continue de prendre de l’expansion; l’entreprise amaintenant 75 employés et, outre à Montréal, occupe desbureaux à Toronto et à Philadelphie.

equisoft.com

EquiSoft : des solutions innovatrices à la gestiondes banques de données

Beyond software development: (ABOVE) EquiSoft works withRogers Publishing on web site properties such as everbetter.caand SODEP, the Quebec development agency for periodicalsmanaging online databases. (LEFT) Workstations in EquiSoft’sopen-concept office environment.

TOTUM TIPS: Know why you are working outTim Irvine, M.Sc.


The first Sunday in May was a crisp sunny morning that saw 12,468 people raced 10 kilometers down Toronto’s Yonge Street. It was the largest field in that race’s history and seems to lend credence to a University of North Carolina professor’s findings overten years that people tend to adopt healthier habits in response tothreats of a collapsing economy: alcohol and cigarette consumptionrates decline and inactive people tend to exercise more.*

If you are investing in personal training or a club membership, it isimportant you get value for your money and the best way to do this is to figure out why you are doing it. Without this very simple step of goal setting (it should really only take a few minutes) you could end up on a trip with no destination.

NARROW DOWN YOUR REASONS The most common goals forworking out include weight loss, improved health, to feel better, and to look better (more toned). Other than weight loss, none of the othergoals have actual numbers you can attach to them, which means you won’t be able to measure progress, much less know when you’ve reached your goal.

Take ‘improved health’ as an example. Tofocus on a more realistic goal, you need to know what ‘improved health’ means toyou. Do you want to reduce the risk of acertain disease that runs in your family?Reduce blood pressure? Sleep better?Reduce aches and pains? Have bettermobility as you age?

CHOOSE SOMETHING YOU CANMEASURE If reducing blood pressurewas your second level goal, then get specific with that. Know what your bloodpressure is today and then determine a target blood pressure you want toachieve. From this will come a number of action items.

These can include, perform more cardio work, change diet, begin takingmedication, or add an additional trainingsession. Whatever they are, you will be

able to gauge their importance and effectiveness against the veryspecific target of lowering blood pressure.

KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING AND WHY Once these actionitems have been identified, you are on your way to specifically working towards your target. Most importantly, you now know whyyou are working out every time you put on your running shoes.

Only a handful of those 12, 468 runners that May morning expected to actually win the race, as for the rest, crossing that finish line represented a very actionable item that helped them move closer to their own personal goal.

ONCE YOU GET THERE, SET A NEW GOAL And once you’ve reachedyour target, it’s time to repeat the process. As you progress, yourcapacity will improve and the available options will also expand withyour fitness level.

Tim Irvine is president, co-founder and a personal trainer at Totum Life Science, and has helped hundreds of clients identify fitnessgoals and turn these into a long-term healthy lifestyle.

Totum.ca

TOTUM OLYMPICS 2009First annual event ties goal setting in fitness to fundraising in health care Totum regulars, friends, colleagues and fellow fitness enthusiasts spent the month of May training for the first annual Totum Olympics, whose fundraising efforts will go to the Sick KidsHospital Foundation. Challengers registered early in the spring and then started training to compete in one, some, or all of the events, which included, fastest mile on the treadmill, push-ups, chin-ups and low squats to name a few.

To learn more about next year’s event,go to www.totum.ca.

* A Healthy Economy Can Break Your Heart,Christopher J. Ruhm, University of North Carolinaat Greensboro; March 2006.

QUEEN STREET EAST, TORONTO / – Inspired by the small boutique hotels in Europe, The Ivy at Verity is an authentic, full service old fashioned hotel that opened in February at Toronto’sQueen-Richmond Centre. The hotel is part of the Aitken-Gundy group of companies, which alsoincludes Verity Women’s Club, George Restaurantand Sweetgrass Spa & Flowers. Each of the fourrooms has its own unique décor and is appointedwith the finest amenities. But part of what makes this a uniquely comfortable experience are the beds.

As the team at Verity is always on the lookout for the best in comfort, it has appointed its fourrooms with $20,000 Hästens beds, the world-famousSwedish handmade beds whose organic mattresses are made of horsehair, cotton, linen and wool, andwhich range from $5,000 to $50,000.

Hästens, which was founded in 1852, is Sweden’soldest manufacturer of beds and started out by primarily making saddles and carriage furniture. The main filling material used for saddles was horsehair and back then it was common knowledgethat horsehair also provided the best possible fillingmaterial for mattresses.

theivyatverity.ca


KING WEST CENTRAL, TORONTO / –Recognizing the leasing efforts of its brokeragepartners, Allied Properties REIT hosted over 100 brokers for an evening of cocktails andoysters – and a chance at winning a Vespa.Leading real estate advisors from CB RichardEllis, Avison Young and DTZ Barnicke all attended this spring function, but only onelucky rider left the premises on the back of anew Vespa S50. (Congratulations MatthewSteele of Avison Young!)

The Ivy at Verity New four-room Toronto hotel inspired byEurope’s best boutique overnighters

TORONTOTORONTO BROKERS GET A LIFT

EXCHANGE DISTRICT, WINNIPEG / – There is noshortage of talented, mid-sized advertising and design agencies in Winnipeg, but indeed, where is a bathroomwhen you need one? Chris Clarke has the answer on handin one of his firm’s latest projects, an iPhone applicationcalled WhereToWee that gives users locations and ratingsfor the nearest restroom anywhere in North America.

“In Winnipeg advertising, you have to be a jack-of-all-trades,” explains Clarke, president and creative director of 10-year-old Spacecadet, the agency co-developing theuser interface for the mobile bathroom locator applicationas well as creating the branding and marketing that willsupport its rollout.

While acquiring another local firm, Velocity, has helpedto grow its reach, Spacecadet maintains a well-deserved reputation for creating local work that can stand with international competitors.

“Our approach is that our clients should be able to stand alongside New York and London competitors and

fit in. And not looklike the little town version of a bigger web site,” says Clarke.For Spacecadet’supcoming revamp ofThe Winnipeg Art

Gallery’s site, his team is positioning it not as a local attraction, but rather as one among its international peers.

Along with vice president and senior art director KarlaBurr, Clarke runs a design-driven firm whose strength is “talking”, that is, creating an aesthetic for print and web that genuinely seeks to connect with an audience,interfacing with a user in a way that is both familiar and whimsical.

It’s what has helped the firm win awards in advertisingand web design, garnered Clarke a teaching position at the University of Manitoba (when his schedule permits),and helped put Spacecadet on the map as a respected business-to-consumer advertising agency.

A current campaign with a local lumber yard, StarBuilding Materials, for example, uses whimsy and straightforward value propositions, such as highlightingstaff experience and friendliness.

Looking to expand its client base to include more business-to-business work is one reason for the recentacquisition of Velocity, says Clarke. While it will continueto service existing clients such as the government ofManitoba and the Manitoba Lottery Commission,Spacecadet expects to also move deeper into the agricultural and biotech fields.

Spacecadetdesign.com

COMMUNITY CHRONICLE • SPRING/SUMMER 2009 www.alliedpropertiesreit.com

Send your company info, events and story ideas to [email protected]

FSC LOGO HERE

Winnipeg’s Spacecadet Approaching Orbit 10-years on, this nimble advertising and design firm is buying the competition,growing its client base, and building an iPhone app.

WIN

NIPE

G

chronicle - spring 2009

Documents