Business
All the World’s a Stage for Canada’s Culture, Says Joly
After decades of public policy nurturing, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada’s cultural sector is mature and ready to take off on the world stage.
“2017 will be the year of Canadian content; clearly, we want to export,” Joly said, referring to markets, including China, which she called highly open to Canadian ventures in the performing arts, augmented reality, movies and related movie-experience technologies.
“We are moving away from protectionism to promotion,” she said in an interview with the Star Friday.
Joly, along with representatives from groups including the National Film Board, met with Chinese officials and Canadian creators working in China during a visit last month that she said constitutes a first step toward a series of commercial cultural trade missions.
Joly was also a delegate to the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, the only cultural minister to attend that annual event for business and political leaders.
“I went to Davos, I went to the World Economic Forum to pitch Canadian content,” she said, noting that she stressed the need for a diversity of cultural voices in the digital age.
She also pointed to a $1.9-billion investment in cultural industries over five years that was part of the Liberal government’s 2016 budget, calling it the most substantial support among G7 countries.
“We have invested massively in the Canada Council and CBC/Radio-Canada, so we have honoured our social obligation and social contract. Now, I profoundly believe that by investing in the creative industries we can build middle-class jobs and grow the economy.”
Joly cited Canada’s strong position in the export of musical talent and the production of TV, film and video games, citing an entertainment software industry report that shows an average annual full-time salary of more than $71,000 for video game developers.
Cultural GDP has been expanding in Canada, according to Statistics Canada, rising 2.8 per cent in 2014 led by audio-visual and interactive media — with written and published works as the only decreasing category.
The sector directly contributed about 3.1 per cent to overall Canadian gross domestic product in 2010 according to the most recent data from the Conference Board, but cost cutting has also kept a lid on job growth.
StatsCan says jobs in cultural industries decreased by 0.8 per cent in 2014 as the broadcasting sector wrestled with a chronic drop in advertising in a splintered media market.
Joly has promised to unveil a cultural export strategy this year aimed in part at bolstering cultural sector employment. It could be announced with results of a sweeping public consultation on cultural industries in the Internet age that concluded late last year.
She said the process included talks with all content platforms, including foreign-based streaming web video and audio services such as Netflix, which are not regulated under a new media exemption order.
Some Internet freedom advocacy groups including Open Media are warning of an imminent imposition of a tax on content generated over the Web and sold in Canada as part of the recommendations following the consultation.
Joly deferred to Finance Minister Bill Morneau when asked if an Internet tax is on the table.
Netflix has declined to divulge details of its business in Canada, but a June report from Toronto-based Solutions Research Group said about 5.2 million Canadian households pay for a Netflix subscription, versus about one million for Bell Media’s CraveTV service.
Joly would not say if Netflix provided proprietary business data, but said roughly 32 per cent of all fixed-network bandwidth traffic during peak times in Canada is used up by the Los Gatos, Calif.- based company.
She also declined to say if she is considering public support for the struggling newspaper industry. She said it is up to the sector to come up with a business strategy that allows it to cope with virtual rivals such as Facebook that are now the go-to source for daily news for an estimated 40 per cent of millennial consumers.
Beauty enthusiasts rejoice! Beauty Week at Hudson’s Bay is back in Toronto for another year. It’s time to stock up on all of your fall essentials and, maybe discover some new ones.
From Friday, August 18 to Sunday, August 27, you can expect a truly elevated beauty experience in-store with incredible special offers, limited-time gifts, and exciting activations.
If you’re a diehard beauty lover, you’ll already know that Hudson’s Bay is the place to shop thanks to its extensive range of over 195 skin and makeup brands from both luxury labels and masstige brands — including Tata Harper, Estée Lauder, YSL, Nars Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, and so much more.
Throughout The Bay’s Beauty Week, visitors can take in some at-counter activations and interactive expert-led tutorials, where there will be chances to get makeup touch-ups from top-tier brands, try a spritz of the most alluring fragrances, and sample tons of new products.
This year’s Beauty Week highlight is the ‘Best in Beauty’ tote, a meticulously-curated selection of 30 deluxe samples from an array of top-tier brands like Dr. Barbara Sturm and Shiseido spanning skincare, fragrance, and makeup — all in a super sleek bag.
The tote, which is valued at over $300, is retailing for just $39 and is a fantastic way to explore new products (without breaking the bank). However, there is a limited quantity, so if you want to get your hands on one, you’ll need to be fast.
Wondering exactly what Beauty Week’s free gifts with purchases entail? If you spend over $95 at Lancôme, you will receive a six-piece set valued at $130. Or, you can get an Estée Lauder gift valued at $170 with purchases over $80. (And that’s just to name a few.)
If you’re a Hudson’s Bay Rewards member, you’ll also get $20 in Hudson’s Bay rewards when you spend over $100 on beauty.
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have several non-combat jobs, some of which do not require a college degree or past work experience.
Life in the forces has several benefits, such as paid education plans (college, university and graduate-level programs), 20 paid vacation days, health and dental coverage for you and your family, maternity and paternal leave, and pension plans. You can learn more about the benefits in detail here.
And to make it easier to gauge if you qualify, the listings also include related civilian jobs to see if it’s your ideal role.
Financial services administrator
Related civilian jobs: Financial records entry clerk, financial manager, accounting technician, bookkeeper, budget officer, cashier clerk, business planner technician, and verification manager.
Description: You’ll help budget resources for all military activities besides providing financial assistance.
Education: You need to have completed Grade 10.
Duties: As a financial services administrator, you’ll be responsible for bookkeeping and managing budgets. You’ll also provide support in accounts payable and accounts receivable.
Work environment: Those in this role work at CAF bases, on ships or overseas. You might also be expected to help special operation units, recruiting offices, schools, and medical organizations.
Postal clerk
Related civilian jobs: Mail clerk, mail sorter.
Description: You’ll provide postal services to members and their families at bases and establishments.
Education: Grade 10. No previous work experience or related career skills are required.
Duties: As the postal clerk, you’ll handle mail duties.
Work environment: Besides a postal office, you may work on a ship or a mobile postal van. You might be expected to serve with Royal Canadian Navy, the Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force in Canada and abroad.
Dental technician
Related civilian jobs: Dental assistant, dental hygienist.
Description: You’ll be helping dental officers provide dental services to CAF members, their families, and dependents.
Education: Level II dental assisting diploma from an accredited college or a National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) certificate.
Duties: Those in this role will be responsible for various responsibilities, including disinfection and sterilization of dental equipment, applying rubber dams, placing cavity liners, and controlling bleeding. In addition, you’ll assist in laboratory procedures like creating casts, custom trays, and mouthguards.
Work environment: This role will require you to work in a military dental clinic, a Mobile Dental Clinic, an Air Transportable Dental System, or onboard a ship. You might be expected to work on a base in Canada or other operations in other parts of the world.
Human resources administrator
Related civilian jobs: Records administrator, data entry supervisor, receptionist, office manager, executive assistant, payroll clerk, and information management technician.
Description: Provide administrative and general human resources support.
Education: Grade 10. No previous work experience or related career skills are required.
Duties: In addition to human resources administration and services, you’ll be handling pay and allowances, managing automated pay systems, and maintaining personnel records.
Work environment: HR administrators work at all CAF bases in Canada. They also work on ships and overseas to support the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, or Royal Canadian Air Force operations.
Medical assistant
Related civilian jobs: Emergency medical responder, ambulance and first aid attendant, registered nursing assistant, licensed practical nurse, and hospital orderly.
Description: Successful candidates will help treat the sick and injured in CAF units. You’ll be assisting and supporting nursing and medical officers.
Education: Minimum of Grade 11 biology, Grade 10 physics or chemistry, and Grade 10 math.
Duties: You’ll provide initial care and essential life support treatments in trauma cases. You’ll help with health assessments (hearing and vision tests, perform basic lab procedures, etc.) and initiate and manage medical records and reports. You’ll also be expected to provide support and first aid during training exercises.
Work environment: Medical assistants may serve with the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force or the Canadian Army as part of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group. Those in this role are exposed to the same risks as the forces they support.
Porter Airlines is once again stirring the pot among Canadian airline rivals, now going after Air Canada’s Aeroplan members by offering to match their loyalty status to an equivalent of their own.
The beloved airline, which recently ranked as having the best cabin service in North America, challenged the competition for the second time this year, after previously deploying a similar tactic against WestJet in the spring.
Earlier in April, Porter presented customers with a limited-time offer to match the loyalty status of WestJet’s patrons with VIPorter levels.
Now, they’re offering Aeroplan members to seamlessly transition to an equivalent VIPorter Avid Traveller status based on their existing membership tier.
Members can then take advantage of an array of travel perks that come with flying Porter, including seat selection, baggage, and flight changes.
For those currently holding an Aeroplan membership, there are two ways to acquire the Avid Traveller status for the rest of 2023:
Status-Based Match:
- Aeroplan 25K members = VIPorter Venture
- Aeroplan 35K members = VIPorter Ascent
- Aeroplan 50K, 75K, and Super Elite = VIPorter First
Flight Segments-Based Match:
- 5 flight segments = VIPorter Passport
- 8 segments = VIPorter Venture
- 17 segments = VIPorter Ascent
- 28 or more segments = VIPorter First
Members will have to first submit their applications on Porter’s website. Registration will remain open until September 6, 2023.
In order to maintain their membership level through 2024, customers will have until the end of 2023 to reach the following reduced qualifying spend (QS) targets:
- Passport = $500 in QS
- Venture = $750 in QS
- Ascent = $1500 in QS
- First = $2500 in QS
Over the past year, Porter has launched an aggressive expansion strategy, including everything from introducing longer flights on newly-purchased jet planes flying out of Toronto Pearson, free WiFi, and a new all-inclusive economy experience.
With Canadians losing both Swoop and Sunwing as WestJet incorporates both into their mainline business, Porter’s direct competition is welcome to keep prices competitive.
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