mh newsletter october-2012+web

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MarineHarvestCanada.com

WharfsideIn This IssueThe New Marine HarvestFlexible Benets Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

A Healthy Commitment to Aquaculture . . . . 2

Ronita Prasad: From one IslandParadise to Another . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Duck! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Doctor Islet Wins Sterling Cup

with a 1.197 EFCR!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Thanks or the Quarter Century Lex! .. . . . . 4

Paws or a Cause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Career EXPO 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Welcome Back, Big Tree Creek andDalrymple hatcheries! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Port Hardy Processing’s uture sh grader? . 5

Trevor Linden is welcomed in Quatsino . . . . 5

Fun times at 12th AnnualBC Aquaculture Gol Tourney! . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Over $15,000 Raisedor Charity – YahHoo! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

October 2012

CANADA

Please email comments, articles and ideasto Ian Roberts, Communications Manager

at [email protected]

Comments aboutthis Newsletter?

Did you Know?A duck’s quack never echoes,

and no one knows why.

Trivia time!What is the world’s largest employer?

Answer on Page 4

In August, I told

you that change

was coming to our

benet program.

Today, I can tell you

more.Our new Flexible

Benets Program was designed to refect the

act that we are all dierent and have unique

benet needs. Our new program will provide

you with some fexibility to choose the coverage

that best meets your needs, your amily’s needs,

as well as your budget. In developing our new

Flexible Benets Program, we reviewed our

program against the benets programs oered

by our competitors, either in the local area or in

the same industry. Our new Flexible Benets

Program:

• Is competitive in the market place,

• Is cost-eective and nancially sustainable

over the long term,

• Forms an important part o your total

rewards package, and

• Allows you to tailor your benets coverage

to t your own and your amily’s needs.

Our new Flexible Benets Program was built orus, by us!

One question that I have been asked a number

o times is “Will going to Sun Lie reduce

my benets that I have today”. The easiest

answer to that is maybe, but it will be your

choice. Under our new Flexible Benets

Program, everyone will receive the same

Company-paid core benets which provide

comprehensive coverage including Employee

Basic Lie Insurance, Employee Basic AD&D

Insurance, Short Term Disability Insurance an

Best Doctors Services. Long Term Disability

Insurance is also part o the core benets;

however, you pay the premium or this coveragso that any disability benets you may receive

will not be subject to income tax. This is not a

change as you have always paid this premium

You will have three options (Bronze, Silver and

Gold) to choose rom or your Extended Healt

Care and Dental benets. This Silver option is

essentially the plan that you have today. Bronz

gives you less benets and more credits, Gold

provides signicant increases to prescription

eyewear and orthodontics, but you will pay ex

or this plan. You will also have the opportuni

to purchase additional optional coverage

(Optional Lie Insurance and Optional AD&D

Insurance) or yoursel and your amily. The

Company will provide you with fex credits to

help pay or these benets. .

Now you will see (i you look closely enough a

the plan) that there are some dierences that a

designed to help us control our costs. Which i

the long run help us to ensure that the benet

plan is sustainable.1. There will be a limit on the dispensing

charge that a pharmacy can charge. At time

o writing this we were nalizing the amoun

(est. $11.00) which is around the typical rat

charged in Campbell River.

2. Requirement to go to generic prescriptio

drugs rst. Example; Today a doctor can

The New Marine HarvestFlexible Benets Program

By Dean Dobrinsky,Human Resources Director

continued on pag

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]




By Ian Roberts

Every armer knows the key to success is

keeping your animal happy and healthy.

So it’s comorting or sh armers to know

that millions o dollars are being invested

into research and development or that very

purpose.

Novartis Animal Health Aqua business, a

business unit o Novartis Animal Health,is doing its part to help ensure that as

aquaculture grows worldwide, it helps protect

the health o arm-raised seaood.

Compared to terrestrial animal arming and

companion animals (pets), the investment

into bioscience or aquaculture species has

been relatively small. But as aquaculture

continues to grow, so does the investment

into understanding the challenges and

solutions or sh health.

This commitment was recently showcased at

an open house at Novartis’s expanded 20,000

square oot R&D acility in Victoria, Prince

Edward Island.

“The Novartis Animal Health Aqua business

is ortunate to be able to draw rom the

critical capacity o both animal and human

health divisions and advance aqua research

ar beyond what could normally be achieved,”

Jason Cleaversmith, Head o Novartis Aqua

Health, PEI, explained at the open house in

July. “The assistance o our larger company

has helped advance our knowledge that not

only provides eective aqua health products

today, but will continue to underpin new

products and technologies or the uture.”

This company has been a leader in the

development o what we humans may

take or granted, but sh certainly do not

– vaccines. Vaccines are a success story or

aquaculture and Novartis Animal Health

continues to lead the way in developing this

“highly eective preventive medicine”.

In act, salmon armers in British Columbia

(BC) are very aware o the benet o vaccines.

Ater the introduction o eective vaccinesin the 1990s, sh health challenges have been

drastically reduced. Curative medicine use

has also decreased signicantly – rom 500

grams/tonne o salmon 15 years ago to less

than 50 grams today.

Ater a naturally occurring sh virus known

as Inectious Hematopoietic Necrosis (IHN)

had negatively aected a number o salmon

arms in the mid 1990s and again in the early

2000s, Novartis responded quickly with anovel vaccine that helps provide arm-raised

Atlantic salmon with protection. The APEX-

IHN® vaccine became available to salmon

armers in 2005 and Marine Harvest Canada

was the rst company to vaccinate 100% o

its sh.

In addition, Novartis Animal Health has

developed new sh health management

tools such as “microdose” ormulations

and “nucleic acid” technology that urther

improve vaccine saety and eectiveness o

sh.

Given the importance o aquaculture to me

global demand or seaood and also reduce

shing pressure on wild sh stocks, it’s gooto know that Novartis Animal Health is

right there helping aquaculture continue its

healthy growth.

2

A Healthy Commitment to Aquaculture

Novartis Animal Health, Victoria, PEI

prescribe “Advil” (as an example), and the

pharmacist will ll the prescription with

“Advil” at $0.50/pill. On the new plan,

ibuproen is the generic o Advil, so thepharmacist will ll the prescription with

ibuproen at $0.11/pill. You get the same

drug at a much lower cost to the plan.

We have also improved certain areas:

Short Term Disability plan to provide or

75% o your base wage or 17 weeks, an

improvement rom 60%.

We have also improved the prescription

eyewear levels.

Increases or various accidental death and

dismemberment situations (which we

hopeully never have to deal with).

In the coming weeks, we will be providing you

with very specic details about the plan and

the signup dates. Hopeully, once you get a

chance to review the plan oerings you will be

as excited about this new benet plan as I am

The New Marine Harvest FlexibleBenefts Programcontinued from page 1




By Gina Forsyth

More than 5,000 miles rom her native

island country o Fiji, Ronita Prasad has

built a ullling lie on another island. As an

employee o the Port Hardy Processing Plant

on northern Vancouver Island or a decade,

Ronita enjoys a variety o duties, including

working the processing line and maintaining

the plant’s strict cleanliness standards.

“I love my job,” said Ronita. Her coworkers

are a large part o why Ronita enjoys her

work so much. She recalls the February

2003 re at the processing plant and how

everybody worked together to get the plantup and running again. “The teamwork

was awesome”. She also appreciates the

training opportunities at the plant, including

the recent Brain Sae saety initiative and

learning more about grading sh.

Since 2010, Ronita has volunteered with the

Canadian Cancer Society’s local Relay or

Lie, to help raise money to nd a cure or

cancer. “I went door to door and beore I

knew it, it was 10 o’clock at night!” Ronita’s

determination certainly paid o. When the

results were in, she had raised $1,741 and

landed in the Top 3 undraisers or Port

Hardy.

Ronita and her amily – made up o our

brothers and one sister - moved to Vancouvwhen she was a baby. During her teens,

Ronita lived in northern Caliornia, near

San Francisco, completing high school in

San Mateo. She made the move to Vancouve

Island in 1987 ater marrying Ron, who

manages the Esso station in Port Hardy. Th

have two sons, aged 16 and 22.

Marine Harvest Canada (MHC) was the

proud title sponsor again this year or

the 13th Annual Ducks Unlimited Gol

Tournament held in September at Crown Isle

Resort in Comox.

Despite the MHC oursome taking home top

honours (again) this year, event organizer

Barry McCombe says they are welcome back

next year! Fabian McCarty also won themen’s longest drive ater hitting a monster

290 yard drive into the wind.

“As always the donations made to us

by Marine Harvest are so very much

appreciated, the monies going towards the

maintenance o preservation o wetlands or

our wildlie throughout Vancouver Island,”

McCombe says.

Marine Harvest barbequed salmon burger

were a big hit at the annual Paws or a Cau

event held in Campbell River in support o

the BC SPCA. MHC oered to double every

donation or each salmon burger which

resulted in a total o about $1200 or the SP

Ronita Prasad: From one Island Paradise to Another

Duck! Paws or a Cause

Ronita Prasad

Fabian McCarty, Joel McGee, Dave Guhl and Gerry Burry are

congratulated by Greg Sawchuck, Chairman o the Ducks

Unlimited Comox Valley Chapter, or their 1st place fnish

Dave Ashcrot (centre let) and Isaac Desprez teamed up wiSPCA volunteers Sheila (let) and Pam in support o our ur

riends at the Paws or a Cause event




It’s rare nowadays or anyone to work at the

same career and with the same company or

a decade, let alone a quarter o a century.

But or the past 25 years, Alexis Gagne has

committed every working hour to a career

that ocused on sh processing and logistics.

Lex was rst hired by Dale Blackburn at Sea

Farm Canada (eventually becoming Marine

Harvest Canada) in January 1987 as a part-

time receptionist/secretary/bookkeeper, but

“I never did work part-time,” Lex says with

a chuckle.

Back in 1987, Dalrymple hatchery was just

being built and Soderman Cove arm site

was already stocked with salmon. “When

Soderman sh were ready or harvest, Iollowed them to Great Northern Processing

in North Vancouver where they were

processed,” Lex recalls, “and that was the

beginning o my career in processing and

logistics.”

As part o the team that developed the

“Sterling” salmon brand, Lex is proud o

the accomplishments made in producing

a brand name that is known or its high

standards. She also saw the start o thelleting program which initially started up

at Aquatec Seaoods in Comox. From Great

Northern, to Walcan, to Brown’s Bay, to

Englewood and now Port Hardy Processin

Plant.

“Wow, how things have changed!” Lex

refects.

Lex recalls many great people who mentor

her along the way, including Blackburn andJohn Lawrie.

“I’ve really enjoyed all the people I’ve met

and worked with along the way and the go

times that we’ve shared,” Lex says, proudly

think that is what I will miss most o all, th

people.”

So what does retirement look like or Lex?

Simple, she says. Grandkids, gardening and

“doing all those things I never got done

while working!”

4Answer:

United States Department o Deense—as o August

Thanks or the Quarter Century Lex!

Friends o Lex gathered in September to celebrate her retirement

Congratulations to the sta at Doctor Islet or achieving the

lowest EFCR (economical eed conversion ratio) o the 2009 S0 /

2010 S1 year class.

It has been eight years since a Broughton area arm site has won

the cup, but Gordon Bach and his crew pulled it o this year!

The area aims to keep it now that they have it, but there will be

some sti competition out there or the next win!

Doctor Islet Wins SterlingCup with a 1.197 EFCR!

L-R: Dave Emmerson, Len Wells (crouching down), Teddy Scheck,

Gordon Bach, and Tom Teschuk. Missing from photo is Phil McLellan.




Welcome Back,Big Tree Creek andDalrymple hatcheries

Port Hardy

Processing’suture sh grader?

Marine Harvest is hosting

an exhibit at the NorthIsland Career Expo 2012on October 26th – so dropby and say ‘hello’! It’s beingheld rom 9-5 at the PortHardy Civic Centre.

Just like a amous rap star who can’t decid

on a name (P Daddy, Diddy, Doody?), Big T

Creek and Dalrymple hatcheries have now

settled on the original branding. The new

sign at Big Tree Creek hatchery was raisedcelebration by sta in September.

Welcome, Carter Steven Boguski-Grant, born

July 7th, 2012 6lbs 1oz to proud parents

Kadeem Boguski-Grant and Amber Wright

and very proud grandparents Gary Boguski

and Dev Grant.

Fun times at 12th Annual BCAquaculture Gol Tourney!



MarineHarvestCanada.com6

bit.ly/MHCanadatwitter.com/MHCanada acebook.com/MHCanada

Over $15,000 Raised or Charity – YahHoo!The Marine Harvest barbeque salmon event

trailer was a real hit this summer. It was active

at events in the Comox Valley, Campbell River,

Port Hardy and Port McNeill and helped raise

over $15,000 or many worthy charities and

societies.

Much deserving thanks to all the hard-

working MHC sta who volunteered their

time to set up, cook and/or serve and a very

special thanks to each o the thousands o

happy customers who enjoyed every yumm

bite and kindly donated to each worthy cau

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