MBiz | Spring 2021

SPRING 2021, VOL. 18

BUSINESS BOOSTER Obby Khan supports everything good, everything local. P9

90 1931 2021

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Featured in this issue:

cloudy pandemic year. 9

A groundswell of support for local business is one silver lining of a

NORMAN: Churchill Chamber of Commerce Flin Flon & District Chamber of Commerce Gillam Chamber of Commerce Lynn Lake Chamber of Commerce Snow Lake Chamber of Commerce The Pas & District Chamber of Commerce Thompson Chamber of Commerce PARKLAND: Dauphin & District Chamber of Commerce Roblin & District Chamber of Commerce Rossburn & District Chamber of Commerce Russell & District Chamber of Commerce Swan Valley Chamber of Commerce CENTRAL: Carman & Community Chamber of Commerce Chambre de commerce Notre-Dame-De-Lourdes Gladstone Chamber of Commerce MacGregor & District Chamber of Commerce Oakville & District Chamber of Commerce Portage la Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce Treherne & District Chamber of Commerce CAPITAL: Headingley Regional Chamber of Commerce La Salle & District Chamber of Commerce Niverville Chamber of Commerce Manitoba Southeast Commerce Group Selkirk Biz Stonewall & District Chamber of Commerce The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce PEMBINA VALLEY: Altona & District Chamber of Commerce Crystal City & District Chamber of Commerce Morden & District Chamber of Commerce Morris & District Chamber of Commerce Plum Coulee & District Chamber of Commerce Rosenort & District Chamber of Commerce Winkler & District Chamber of Commerce Aboriginal Chamber of Commerce Assiniboia Chamber of Commerce Chambre de commerce francophone de Saint-Boniface

EASTERN: Beausejour & District Chamber of Commerce Chambre de commerce Saint-Pierre-Jolys Chambre de commerce de St. Malo & du District Falcon/West Hawk Chamber of Commerce Grunthal & District Chamber of Commerce Lac Du Bonnet & District Chamber of Commerce Pinawa Chamber of Commerce Piney Regional Chamber of Commerce Reynolds & Whitemouth District Chamber of Commerce Springfield Chamber of Commerce Steinbach Chamber of Commerce WESTERN: Boissevain & District Chamber of Commerce Brandon Chamber of Commerce Carberry & District Chamber of Commerce Deloraine & District Chamber of Commerce Elkhorn District Chamber of Commerce Melita & District Chamber of Commerce Rapid City & District Chamber of Commerce Souris & Glenwood Chamber of Commerce Virden Community Chamber of Commerce Waskada & Area Chamber of Commerce INTERLAKE: Central Interlake Chamber of Commerce Eriksdale & District Chamber of Commerce Fisher Branch Chamber of Commerce Gimli Chamber of Commerce Teulon & District Chamber of Commerce MIDWEST:

Arts, business and culture are intertwined at Manitobah Mukluks. 16

ahead of the curve. 20

Famous Winnipeg fashion house Mondetta is always

Hamiota Chamber of Commerce Minnedosa Chamber of Commerce

Neepawa & District Chamber of Commerce Rivers & District Chamber of Commerce Shoal Lake and District Chamber of Commerce Wasagaming Chamber of Commerce

vehicles and more. 40

Thompson is the ideal cold- weather testing site for electric

A MESSAGE FROM MCC PRESIDENT & CEO CHUCK DAVIDSON

SPRING 2021, VOL. 18

THE NEXT NORMAL AS WE MARK 90 YEARS, WE LOOK

MANITOBA CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE jointhechamber.ca PRESIDENT & CEO Chuck Davidson DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS & POLICY Karen Viveiros WINNIPEG FREE PRESS winnipegfreepress.com PUBLISHER Bob Cox MANAGER OF NICHE PRODUCTS Charlene Adam charlene.adam@freepress.mb.ca EDITOR Pat St. Germain pdstgermain@gmail.com

FORWARD TO A BRIGHT FUTURE 90 years is a long time. This year, we’re marking our 90th year of service to the province’s business community. Since 1931, the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce has been here: advocating and advancing policy, meeting with elected officials and connecting business decision-makers, pushing for tax reforms and a business and investment- friendly environment, and celebrating entrepreneurial spirit. Nine decades. Through the Great Depression and World War II. Multiple recessions. From our province’s predominantly agricultural roots to the boom of independent business, industry, manufacturing, innovation, and technology adoption. Throughout all the years, and up against changes and challenges, Manitoba’s business community has demonstrated exceptional resilience, and the Chamber network in Manitoba is proud to have been there along the way to provide support. The current global pandemic has been the challenge of a lifetime for many. For the Chamber network, it has galvanized us, inspiring an even greater sense of purpose as we’ve worked together to provide value to the Manitoba business community. This is a period in our history that I imagine most of us will never forget, and

it has forever changed the workplace. We’re calling the COVID recovery era “the next normal,” because there isn’t a normal to go back to. Our business community must adapt, just as the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce must also adapt. Let’s get through this together, stay safe, and start fresh – just as we always have, no matter what the world can dish out. We look forward to seeing what comes next. We hope you enjoy the stories in this edition of MBiz Magazine. These are tales of grit and resilience, of ingenuity and stick-to-it-iveness. These are Manitoba success stories, and loving local is our way of life.

WRITERS Jim Bender Trina Rehberg Boyko

Denise Duguay Sherry Kaniuga Wendy King Geoff Kirbyson Pat St. Germain Jim Timlick Lindsey Ward

PHOTOGRAPHY Darcy Finley Numerous organizations supplied DESIGN Tammy Mitchell

CHUCK DAVIDSON President and CEO Manitoba Chambers of Commerce

View online at: winnipegfreepress.com/publications

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FUELING MANITOBA’S ECONOMY

The hog sector is one of the largest employers in Manitoba and contributes $1.7 billion to the provincial economy, providing much needed financial stability during the recovery from COVID-19.

Enabling young people to have a future in the communities in which they grow up is essential to rural development, and the hog sector is one of few sources of new job creation in rural areas. New construction and opportunities for local tradespeople, as well as production and barn level employment are creating spin-offs for rural communities, including new daycare and school enrollments, and greater activity for local recreation. Manitoba Pork continues to work with investors, local governments, rural communities, and the provincial government to support new investment, economic development, and opportunities for all Manitobans. Hog farmers continue to be important and significant contributors to their communities, and with more investment and quality jobs on the horizon, the benefits of the hog sector in this province will ensure a legacy of growth and sustainable financial support for decades to come.

New employment opportunities and growth provided by increased investment takes on many forms and provides for a wide variety of career and employment opportunities. From veterinarians and environmental scientists, to electricians, food production workers, and transport drivers, about 14,000 Manitobans depend on the hog sector for their livelihood. Over half of these employees are connected to food processing, transportation, and related service businesses. Growing opportunities Since 2017, there have been over 20 new barn sites or expansions across the province, adding up to over $100 million in new investment. An additional $200 million has been focused on expanding processing facilities. In the coming years, hog farmers will be investing almost $2 billion in continued growth. These new investments are strengthening communities across rural Manitoba and adding new capacity in urban areas for sustainable growth.

Economic stability is critical to ensuring our local communities and provincial government are equipped with the tools needed to fund essential services that are vital to our daily lives. Agri-food is a key driver of the provincial economy, and financial contributions are used to support provincial programs and initiatives in the areas of housing, infrastructure, education, and health care.

CONTRIBUTING 14,000 JOBS AND $1.7 BILLION ANNUALLY Manitoba’s hog sector is a key contributor to the provincial economy. Our sector is one of few that continues to help rural communities flourish. From veterinarians and environmental scientists to electricians, food production workers, and transport drivers, about 14,000 Manitobans depend on the hog sector for their livelihood.

Olivia Penner Future Generation Manitoba Hog Farmer Blumenort, MB

To learn more, visit: manitobapork.com/economy

I.H. ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

SUPPORTING STUDENTS AND BUSINESS Extraordinary times require extraordinary actions While the pandemic has created many obstacles over the past year, the I. H. Asper School of Business located at the University of Manitoba responded to the collective need by increasing its support for students, Manitoba’s business community and, by extension, the well-being of the provincial economy.

D r. Gady Jacoby, Dean of the Asper School of Business, says that initiatives introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic had positive outcomes for students, small- and medium- sized businesses and the community. “We noticed early on that not only did we

need to proactively support our students, we also needed to find ways to support the community through these difficult times,” says Jacoby. One of the School’s early initiatives was the launch of the Small Business Consulting course in the fall of 2020. Supervised

by three Asper professors, teams of Asper students were paired with 12 local businesses to provide creative solutions to each of the business’ unique challenges. From transitioning to online platforms, to solving supply chain and logistics problems, to creating new marketing strategies, the

SPRING 2021

I.H. Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba. Right: Debra Jonasson-Young, Joshua Zaporzan and Lindsay Friesen of the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship. Photos courtesy of I.H. Asper School of Business

students worked on real life problems and provided each organization an advanced solution to their business challenge. The Asper School of Business’ James W. Burns Executive Education Centre also devel- oped a Virtual Leadership Series, delivered free of charge to help managers cope more effectively during the crisis. Additionally, the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub, also located at Asper, hosted numerous round tables that enabled organizations that support women entrepreneurs to connect and share timely ideas. The School’s forward momentum contin- ues this fall, with the launch of the Asper Master of Supply Chain Management and Logistics Program – one of only four of its kind offered within Canada. The pandemic has highlighted the need for strong supply chain management going forward and Win- nipeg’s geographic location in the centre “We noticed early on that not only did we need to proactively support our students, we also needed to find ways to support the community through these difficult times.”

of the continent makes Asper the perfect home for this master’s program. At Asper’s Stu Clark Centre for Entrepre- neurship, a number of new and exciting initiatives are also underway to support stu- dents as they consider starting businesses of their own, and many of these resources are available to assist small businesses within the community. Debra Jonasson-Young, the Centre’s executive director, notes that the Stu Clark Centre is a conduit as well as a resource for entrepreneurs. If they do not know where to turn for help, staff can point them in the right direction, or connect them with agencies such as North Forge, Futurpreneur and the Women’s Enterprise Centre. Businesses can take advantage of opportunities at the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship by attending the free, live Stu Clark webinars dedicated to business

topics such as: Legal Fundamentals for Start- Ups (in collaboration with the Faculty of Law), Business Plan Essentials, Building and Leading a Team, and The Entrepreneurial Journey – Panel Discussions. Business leaders and entrepreneurs can also access past videos on YouTube through the Stu Clark Webinar Library. Dean Jacoby notes that during these challenging times, the Asper School of Business is here to support the needs of the business community and many of the school’s initiatives provide an opportunity for students to contribute in meaningful ways while developing essential skills as they launch their own careers. ■ To learn more about the Stu Clark Webinar Series visit: https://umanitoba.ca/ entrepreneur.

SPRING 2021

GOODLOCAL

Everything good, everything local, everything in one place By Pat St. Germain GOOD Company In

W hen entrepreneurs Obby Khan and Ali Esmail put their heads together last year to come up with a way to support local business, it was the start of something good. Serial civic booster Khan, who owns Green Carrot Juice Company and mul- tiple Shawarma Khan restaurants, says the overwhelming response to online shopping portal Goodlocal.ca was a “very pleasant and very stressful sur- prise,” when it launched in November. “I thought this was going to run out of the back of one of my restaurants — it was going to be 20 or 30 orders a week and just kinda help out a little bit of local businesses and give people another avenue to shop, and it’s just blown up,” he says. “It was just Ali and I at the beginning. We’re just growing and growing.” By late April, GoodLocal had eight full-time employees, and had signed up some 400 vendors, with more than 10,000 items on the website. There’s everything from craft beer and coffee to groceries, toys, pet supplies, yoga pants, bannock, mukluks, leopard-print baby

"The overwhelming response to online shopping portal Goodlocal.ca was a “very pleasant and very stressful surprise."

buntings and — drum roll, please — mac- and-cheese casseroles. “There’s a whole array of products that you would not think are either made locally or sold by local businesses,” Khan says. “We just need to create awareness about it.” The one-stop experience lets customers support multiple businesses with ease, which was the point from the start. “There wasn’t one place to go and buy from 10 different people. You’d have to go to 10 different stores — if they were open.” It’s a win for makers and vendors, too. Many small business operators don’t have the time, energy or expertise to handle marketing and online sales, let alone delivery. GoodLocal does it all. At the same time, it’s creating new jobs, saving existing jobs and putting money back into the local economy. “We’ve done over, I think $650,000 in sales, directly back into the hands of local businesses,” says Khan. “There are a lot — 99% of our vendors are so grateful for what we’re doing and I’m grateful for what Winnipeggers are doing so it goes around.”

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Photos by Darcy Finley

SPRING 2021

GOODLOCAL

"Amazon has its place. The big thing with GoodLocal is we need to understand that if we can buy the product locally, we should buy the product locally."

>> CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

The site embraces diversity, and while it can’t offer delivery in rural Manitoba, it does provide great exposure for small businesses in Brandon, Steinbach, Winkler and other towns – including Holland, home of mac- and-cheese supplier Cultured Herb market. “Bring your products to us —we’ll package them, we’ll ship them, we’ll get them in the hands of customers,” Khan says. While most vendors pay a commission, charities such as Children’s Hospital Foun- dation of Manitoba and Winnipeg Pet Res- cue receive 100% of the proceeds from merchandise sales.

then stay on with the company or take their skills to other local businesses. Back in 2017, Economic Development Winnipeg asked the former Blue Bomber to appear in a video pitching the city as Amazon’s second headquarters. Little did he know that he’d be launching Winnipeg’s own version of Amazon a few years later. “Amazon has its place. The big thing with GoodLocal is we need to understand that if we can buy the product locally, we should buy the product locally,” he says.

“Try to shop local first. It’s really a matter of getting people aware of it, making it top of mind.” Delivery is free on orders over $75, and regular users will soon have a membership option similar to Amazon Prime. GoodLocal is also beta-testing a delivery service called GoodLocal Express, since the cost of delivery is not feasible for many local businesses. The idea is to scale up so everyone can pay a single, affordable rate. “We don’t need to make millions of dollars, we just need to stay operational,” Khan says. Speaking of delivery, he notes that delivery vans are supplied by Birchwood Auto Group. “Birchwood is our first corporate local sponsor. They came onboard to help us,” he says. “So it’s a local big business getting onboard to help the little businesses and then they know that we all flourish together.” ■

It’s all part of supporting what Khan calls “the local ecosys- tem,” which includes the local workforce.

GoodLocal has a chief technology officer and an in-house software programmer, and it’s working with Red River College to provide work placements for IT students — who can

SPRING 2021

MADE HERE

MEET YOUR MAKERS Supporting small business — and small people

ago, when he was a sick kid himself, the organization made his dream of swimming with dolphins come true. “We have a lot of kids who need to dream. With COVID, a lot of those dreams have been put on hold,” he says. While the physical shop had to close for a time during the pandemic, Vantage turned to its in-house experts to create an e-commerce component for the shop’s website. Shoppers can cruise the site for T-shirts, art prints, jewelry, beard balm, home decor and much, much more. Many items make ideal souvenirs of Winnipeg and Manitoba, and Made Here has created curated gift boxes for special occasions and for corporate giving. ■ Pay them a visit at madeheremb.com.

Manitoba makers who have been selling wares since October 2018 out of the Made Here shop in the Richardson Centre Concourse got an e-commerce site in 2020. Kyle Romaniuk, principal at Vantage Studios — which collaborated on the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce rebranding in 2017 — says Made Here (madeheremb.com) began with a small display at the Vantage print shop in the Richardson Centre. The Richardson family learned Vantage was selling goods on consignment, with 10% of sales going to children’s charities, and

soon afterward, the family made a location across the aisle from the print shop available for retail space. Made Here met its goal of raising $20,000 for charities in its first year, dividing the funds between The Dream Factory, Snowflake

Place, Art City and Junior Achievement Manitoba.

In 2020 and 2021, Made Here is directing all funds to The Dream Factory. Romaniuk says the money will have a greater impact on a single charity and The Dream Factory, which grants wishes to sick kids, is close to his heart. Thirty-five years

I want to be an extension of your team in supporting your business every step of the way. Expert advice and trusted solutions is what you can count on from me. Brent Norton, Westoba Business Relationship Manager, Winnipeg Office: 1-877-937-8622 ext. 8346 brent.norton@westoba.com

SPRING 2021

LA COCINA & OLD DUTCH FOODS

WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN … Made-in Manitoba snack foods hit the spot

BY DENISE DUGUAY

"Fans of Old Dutch Foods, which started in Winnipeg in 1954, have been stocking

We can’t eat our way out of this COVID crisis, but we’ve tried. T he phrase “snackification” has popped up to describe the vigour with which house-bound consumers’ turned to snack foods. It might not be the socializing that we are craving after more than a year of social distancing, but at least it’s socializing behaviour to keep us sharp for when we can get together over nachos or ripple chips and dip. Fans of Old Dutch Foods, which started in Winnipeg in 1954, have been stocking up on their favourites, says national marketing director Scott Kelemen. “Consumers are reducing their trips to stores as expected and purchasing more on each trip, so multiple purchases per trip have increased.” Restaurant closures took a bite out of the food-services end of the snack-food business. But it’s also been a strong year for retail

sales at La Cocina, says company president Pat Warkentin. A strong year that has built on “a really steep growth curve since all the way back to 2012,” when he and his wife, office manager Jodi Warkentin, expanded the family business that started in 1984. Still strongest in Western Canada, the business based in the RM of St. Anne has grown beyond its Manitoba focus, now reaching across Canada, down to the Dakotas, Minneapolis, Chicago and as far as Florida. Specific to COVID shopping, says Warkentin, “we had those two to three weeks right at the beginning, that craziness where everybody was shopping like crazy. We saw quite a little extra bump in there.” But as for so many families during COVID, business was not the only concern. “My wife’s father passed away quite suddenly and it was right at the end of November, right when all the heavy restrictions were coming in,” Warkentin says. “We couldn’t celebrate his life or have any proper funeral. My children couldn’t

up on their favourites."

even go to his funeral.” The feeling, expressed during a family discussion, “was that there’s no joy left. And we just said, ‘Well, the only way you’re going to do it is to go out and create it.’ ” For the Warkentins, that meant packing bags of chips into Christmas bags and, with the help of a staff member, delivering them to nearby homes, “thinking it was a one- time deal and it basically just turned our spirits around.” So much so that they went out several nights in a row, with everyone in the

SPRING 2021

Photos by Darcy Finley

company getting involved in either packing or delivering bags to homes in Ste. Anne, Blumenort and Steinbach. “We just wanted to go out and think of something else. And also we knew there were a lot of people like us, who were facing these types of things.” Turning back to business, Warkentin says La Cocina has also felt the buy-local love of its customers. “I think it becomes clear at a time like this: Where does stuff come from?” He says he’s glad La Cocina was able to keep up with demand. “One thing that we never had to do was short any orders during COVID. That was quite a rarity in the grocery industry.” Kelemen says Old Dutch felt the crunch and turned to creative problem solving. “Raw materials have been a challenge as supply chains were

under unprecedented demand. Packaging, seasonings and other materials have seen longer lead- time requirements and added planning to ensure we keep ev- eryone’s flavour favourites in sup- ply.” Demand has been high for traditional favourites such as Old Dutch Potato, Dutch Crunch Ket- tle Restaurante Tortilla, as well as new and limited-time offerings including, Arriba Chili Lime, Old Dutch Sweet Chili Cruncheez and Dutch Crunch Spicy Dill Pickle Kettle Chips. La Cocina is expanding its op- eration to handle existing growth but also with an eye on the hori- zon. New products? “We do have some,” says Warkentin. “I don’t see us launching them until well after COVID is gone, but we definitely have some waiting in the wings to introduce.” ■

Reducing Education Property Taxes on commercial properties by 10% Supporting Manitoba Businesses

Raising the payroll tax exemption threshold

Over $500 million to support businesses through COVID-19

SPRING 2021

CANCERCARE MANITOBA FOUNDATION

CancerCare Manitoba Foundation meets COVID challenge THE FUNDRAISING NEVER STOPS

BY TRINA REHBERG BOYKO

T he COVID-19 pandemic led to shutdown after shutdown, but CancerCare Manitoba Foundation (CCMF) persevered through every challenge. With an estimated 19 people in Manitoba facing a cancer diagnosis every single day, there is always a need for the support it provides. “Our belief is that even in the midst of COVID, cancer doesn’t stop and neither can we,” says foundation president and CEO Patti Smith. “If anything, the journey for people who have cancer is even harder in this environment.” Appointed to replace retiring CEO Annitta

Stenning, starting on April 1, 2021, Smith is new to the role, but she is not new to the foundation, or to fundraising for health- care causes. Before joining CCMF in 2015, she worked in executive positions with the Misericordia Health Centre Foundation and the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba. Previously, she owned a travel agency in rural Manitoba. Her business expertise and desire to make a difference have landed her where she is today — a move she says will be her last after some two decades in fundraising roles. “I love this organization to the core of who I am,” she says.

Smith was CCMF’s chief development officer when the pandemic hit. Operations took a swift turn, with work-at-home measures put in place. In-person events had to be cancelled. Budgets tightened. Smith and her team — made up of those she calls the most committed, hardworking people she’s ever met — had to rethink their fundraising efforts. “Fundraising and easy don’t belong in the same sentence,” she says. “There’s lots of competition for dollars for some amazing causes.” In June each year, the foundation holds its biggest annual fundraising event, the

SPRING 2021

Participants followed public-health restrictions for each event. This family entered the Challenge for Life as a team at home and a Ride Inside team had a spin class at a facility where it was permitted at the time. Photos courtesy of CancerCare Manitoba Foundation

Challenge for Life. Smith refers to it as “our million-dollar day.” Normally, it involves a 20-kilometre walk starting in Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park, as participants raise funds for cancer research, preventative and early detection measures, and patient care. Losing those fundraising dollars — all of which stay within Manitoba— would have been a devastating blow, so the foundation switched to a virtual challenge, spread over three weeks. Participants from across Manitoba tackled individual or team exercise challenges that covered at least 20 kilometres or 200 minutes. More than 700 people from 65 communities took part, helping to make the event a success despite a difficult year. “We had more communities engaged than ever and we still raised over $1 million,”

Smith says. The shift to a virtual fundraising platform has provided more opportunities for Manitobans to participate. It’s also allowed the foundation to give greater support to those who need it. “We’ve been able to tell more stories and have more reach,” says Smith. The foundation is keeping the momentum going with more virtual events, such as this year’s Challenge for Life and a weekly Chase the Ace draw. Supporters can visit the CCMF website to find out how they can help — by rallying co-workers to contribute donations, for example. Many supporters have taken to hosting their own events to raise funds for CCMF. In fact, more than 300 community events are held annually. Event guidelines

and applications are also available on the foundation’s website. “We want to be relevant and provide meaning and real engagement to people,” says Smith. If this past year is any indication, she and her team have done just that, while continuing to advocate for a future that is cancer-free. ■

To learn more, visit cancercarefdn.mb.ca.

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SPRING 2021

MANITOBAH MUKLUKS

GROUNDED IN TRADITION Manitobah Mukluks programs celebrate Indigenous arts and culture

BY WENDY KING

A Manitoba-grown, Indigenous-owned footwear company is doing more than keeping feet warm and cozy through frigid Canadian winters. Manitobah Mukluks founder and CEO Sean McCormick and his team are doing their level best to help preserve and promote traditional culture and art forms through the company’s Storyboot School and its Storyboot Project. Storyboot School is a charitable foundation set up primarily

to teach mukluk-making to Indigenous youth across the country. The Storyboot Project is the platform that enables Indigenous artists to sell mukluks through Manitobah Mukluks’ world-wide distribution channels — and to receive all the revenue from those sales. “A lot of what we want to do is celebrate and share Indigenous knowledge and strengths, and I think Storyboot Project is one of the really great tools for that,” says McCormick.

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“We started the Storyboot Project about 10 years ago and the impetus for it was that we’d done a lot with mukluks — I certainly didn’t invent them — and we had a debt to repay there.” Fewer people were participating in that part of the culture and it wasn’t thriving. The company wanted to be part of the solution. “We provide an avenue for these artists to get their product onto a global stage and, just as importantly, make sure that they are compensated fairly for these one-of-a-kind works of art,” he says. “From our perspective, we’re almost a social impact that happens to have a business attached rather than the other way around, because they’re so intertwined.” Currently, the company works with about 50 artists. McCormick says lives have been changed through the Storyboot Project. “It’s pretty lucrative for some of them; these mukluks are works of art, a part of their culture they’ve put hundreds of hours into making and selling across the world, and I’m very proud they’re priced accordingly to bring economic benefits to them, and that just shows a lot of respect and appreciation for the culture and for the artist,” he says. That impact is something he doesn’t take for granted. “I think that making a change for individual lives creates the bigger change that we’re looking for,” he says. “It’s a really positive setting and it’s really based on sharing their pride, their ingenuity and their skill in celebration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike — and I think there’s some reconciliation in there.” He feels that the Storyboot Project and Storyboot School can contribute in small but meaningful ways to the enormous tasks of truth and reconciliation and to the hard work being done by other organizations. “You start with the truth part. We’re still living with the real impacts of colonialization and we all have to recognize that and we all have to acknowledge that,” he says. “Then the reconciliation part is, ‘Let’s listen to our Indigenous people; let’s share from their perspective.’ It changes the dynamic a lot, and I think that part of reconciliation is kind of a two-way share — not just coming from one side as it has traditionally.” Storyboot School is a charitable foundation set up primarily to teach mukluk-making to Indigenous youth across the country. The Storyboot Project is the platform that enables Indigenous artists to sell mukluks through Manitobah Mukluks’ world-wide distribution channels — and to receive all the revenue from those sales.

Storyboot School has been offered across the country. Photos courtesy of Manitobah Mukluks

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SPRING 2021

MANITOBAH MUKLUKS

Storyboot Project artist Rosa Scribe is from Norway House. Photos courtesy of Manitobah Mukluks

accomplishments,” McCormick says. Some graduates have gone on to become Storyboot Project members, and the programs do so much for the well-being of the participants and their communities. “We were delivering a Storyboot School program for a week at Montreal Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan a couple of years ago, and you could see the pride in the community. There was just a lot of cheer,” McCormick says. “The elders were so happy to see their people taking part in these traditional practises. It was really heartwarming to see — of all the things we’ve done with Manitobah Mukluks, that was certainly one of my proudest moments.” “We have a pretty aggressive strategy over the next year for Storyboot Project to double the amount of artists that we’re working with and double the revenue as well.”

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McCormick says company growth is coming. “We have a pretty aggressive strategy over the next year for Storyboot Project to double the amount of artists that we’re working with and double the revenue as well,” he says. Storyboot School will grow too, although in-person program delivery has been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Well over 1,000 participants have come through the Storyboot School in many First Nations and Metis communities and at universities and schools all across Canada,” he says. “I know it’s a lofty goal but we’re working towards getting Storyboot School into all the public schools.” Over the past year, Manitobah Mukluks has developed an online archive and online curriculum so it can deliver classes anywhere in the world. “It’s open to everybody but the focus is to make sure that the Indigenous students get access because it’s not just making mukluks; there’s a lot about pride in their culture and

SPRING 2021

ASSINIBOINE VALLEY REGIONAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

IMAGINE LIVING AND WORKING HERE MANITOBA’S ASSINIBOINE VALLEY REGION IS INVESTMENT READY.

Assiniboine Valley – Lake of the Prairies , MB

Affordable housing, excellent cost of living, quality education, training and health services with a complement of business services provide everything that you need...welcome to the Assiniboine Valley.

Visit our new website at www.avrcdc.com

SPRING 2021

MONDETTA

President and CEO Ash Modha was preparing for a pandemic before most people had heard of COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Mondetta

AHEAD OF THE FASHION CURVE Pivotal times in the not-so-small world of Mondetta

By Lindsey Ward

SPRING 2021

The Modern Ambition and Mondetta active wear lines are made for their times. Photos courtesy of Mondetta

Pivot. It’s perhaps the most ubiquitous business term since the start of the pandemic. But it’s not new to the Mondetta lexicon. The multi-tasking Winnipeg-based fashion powerhouse was pivoting long before it was a buzzword. It’s one way to stay several steps ahead of the competition. M ost famously known for its 1990s flag shirts and more recently for celebrity- endorsed athleisure apparel, Mondetta has successfully managed to adapt to changing times and trends for 35 years. So it was no surprise that president and CEO Ash Modha had a COVID-19 strategy in place before most people even knew there was a curve to flatten. “We have an office in Asia and we started

seeing this whole COVID thing take place in late December (2019), and we thought, ‘Oh boy, this is going to be something very catastrophic,’ ” Modha says. He was on a business trip flying from Thailand to Korea when he learned his subsequent trip to Shanghai had been cancelled due to a shutdown in China. So he hopped a flight home to Winnipeg and got down to business. “I thought ‘We’ve got to get ready for this,’” Modha says. “People were laughing at me, thinking I was losing my mind.” Clearly he wasn’t. Before Canadians even knew they needed it, Modha’s team in Asia was manufacturing personal protective equipment (PPE) for jurisdictions from Newfoundland to B.C., and quickly went on to become a major PPE provider. The pandemic also provided the company with time to focus on realizing a goal of becoming B-Corp certified, while ramping up its athletic leisurewear brand MPG. Certified B Corporations are highly regarded for their dedication to using business for good. Their standards of

social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability are top notch — and they’re legally required to make decisions based on how they will impact their workers, customers, suppliers, the community and the environment. In January 2021, Mondetta became the ninth Canadian clothing company to acquire the certification. While many fashion lines claim to be sustainable, the Mondetta brands – MPG, Mondetta Originals, Modern Ambition and Mondetta itself – actually have the paper to back it up. “We feel that if we stay ahead in terms of compliance, we can stay ahead of the competition,” Modha says. Charity is also an important element, and it’s an area that hits close to home for Modha and his brother Prashant, who is Mondetta co-owner and CFO. The siblings and their family immigrated to Winnipeg from Uganda in the early 1970s with just the clothes on their backs. The Mondetta Charity Foundation is a way to give back to the children in their homeland, and to help

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MONDETTA

Most famously known for its 1990s flag shirts and more recently for celebrity- endorsed athleisure apparel, Mondetta has successfully managed to adapt to changing times and trends for 35 years.

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local charities such as Harvest Manitoba. “We came here penniless and Manitoba has been good to us,” Modha says. Like many famous Winnipeggers, the Modha brothers and their pals Raj and Amit Bahl — also brothers and East African immigrants – hunkered down to create their business in the depths of a winter snowstorm. It was 1986 when they coined the name Mondetta, meaning “small world,” and by the time summer rolled around they were selling T-shirts and other items at a cart along the boardwalk at Grand Beach. Shortly afterward, a German license plate on the front of a Volkswagen Jetta inspired Modha to create a T-shirt with a flag and call letters on it — and a global fashion phenomenon was born. “We hit a perfect timing with social fashion,” Modha says of the late 1980s.

“Licensed product was becoming huge. While people were wearing the NHL logos on their chests, we were basically doing it with the flags. The company took off at that time and we were very young and we really had no idea about the apparel business.” After many years of international success, licensed clothing started trending downward. So Mondetta pivoted, turning its focus to compliance at a time when companies like The Gap were facing labour controversy overseas. It also recalibrated the business into three divisions: a private label, their own branded business and a special makeup where they do their own brand for larger entities such as Costco or Walmart. In 2001, Modha was approached by a friend who ran The Running Room stores and who saw demand for active wear following the breakaway success of

B.C.’s Lululemon. Enter MPG. With solid designs and the compliance to back them up, the active wear line beloved by celebs like dancer Julianne Hough (who has her own MPG collection) also packs value — which is especially important these days, Modha says. “Coming out of this pandemic, people are more concerned about balancing budgets.” While MPG is an ideal fit for the COVID era (who isn’t wearing leggings and T-shirts every day?), Modha is already looking ahead. “People are sick and tired of sitting around in their sweats,” he says. That’s why MPG is shifting its focus forward to technical workwear — a blend of comfort and style for when people re-enter the workforce. There’s a word what they did there: Oh yes — pivot. ■

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COMMISSIONAIRES MANITOBA

SAFETY, SECURITY AND SERVICE — TRUSTED, EVERYDAY, EVERYWHERE Commissionaires deliver a range of services, backed by rich history and experience

B ryan Payne remembers his first interaction with a Commissionaire, back when he was a 12-year-old Air Cadet meeting a “sage and wise Commissionaire sitting at the front gate at the Armoury, with a row of ribbons on his white shirt.” Fast forward to today, and Payne, the new Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires Manitoba Division, knows there is so much more to the organization and its people. More than 1,000 Commissionaires – many of them veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP or Municipal Police Services — serve the province with security guarding, fingerprinting, rapid RCMP- accredited criminal record checks, video security monitoring, property management, investigations, and training, including first aid, drug awareness and loss prevention. “There’s a sense of duty, honour and commitment that many of our team would like to pay forward. As a not-for-profit enterprise, that is the value we bring to our clients — that background, experience, learning environment and spirit of continuous improvement, contribution, and partnership,” says Payne, a 22-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy. Payne became CEO in January 2020, just before COVID-19 hit. Commissionaires Manitoba had to pivot, offering pandemic- related services including protocol compli- ance monitoring, screening, and education. “Our team is highly adaptable, and we embrace lifelong learning with a focus on being prepared, so we were able to quickly integrate COVID-19 awareness and precautions within all of our staff and activities,” Payne says. The team is also looking forward to adapting to its new, larger home, in the former Klinic building at 870 Portage Ave. in Winnipeg.

“This move reflects our ongoing commitment to providing meaningful employment to veterans and other Manitobans, focused on the safety and security of their fellow citizens, while also recognizing the growing needs of our clients,” Payne says. “With the very latest in technology and an expanded Identification Services space, we can provide rapid and responsive services to a broader range of individuals and businesses that have rapidly changing security requirements in response to provincial or federal government regulations.” The new location, right next to Vimy Ridge Park and its war memorials, also under- scores a commitment to the organization’s history and heritage of service, while build- ing new and enhanced partnerships with

local businesses and the community. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the organization has continued to grow its workforce, proudly returning 91.3% of its revenue in 2020 to its team as wages, ben- efits, and training. That team is made up of a diverse mix of cultures, ages, and back- grounds with nearly 25% of security guards who are women and 40% who are veterans. “It’s really important for our clients to know their security is not being delivered by a remotely managed response centre somewhere else in the world,” Payne says. “It’s Manitobans, right here, who understand the local environment as well as having the right combination of technical know-how and experience.” ■ To learn more, visit https:// commissionaires.ca/en/manitoba/home

Bryan Payne, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires Manitoba Division.

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RENU HYGIENICS

DAILY SOAP OPERATION Recycled bars get more than one life to live By Jim Timlick

A Brandon-based start-up wants to help Manitobans clean up — literally. ReNu Hygienics is the brainchild of CEO Parker Easter. The company’s primary mission is to recycle used bars of hotel soap to create new, high-end soaps.

E aster first came up with the idea for the sustainable soap-and- wellness company three years ago during a trip to Toronto. He was on his way to a meeting of Enactus Canada — a collective of student entrepreneurs who identify issues in their communities and seek out solutions — when the bottle of shampoo in his carry-on was seized by Canadian Air Transport Security Authority officers at the airport. The incident was still fresh in his mind when he checked in at his Toronto hotel, and it got him thinking about the soap and other toiletries that were being discarded on a daily basis. “In that moment it really irked me,” he recalls. “I thought how wasteful is this. I suddenly realized there must be a huge problem here and there might be a big opportunity.” It turns out he was right. Easter discovered that an estimated 180 million bars of hotel soap end up in Canadian landfills in a typical year. He also learned that some 700,000 Canadians rely on donated soap in any given year because they can’t afford to purchase their own. Two problems inspired one solution — ReNu Hygienics. “I really wanted to get in-between those

two problems and try to pair them together to strike them out,” he says. Environmental sustainability and philan- thropy go hand-in-hand. For every bar of Environmental sustainability and philanthropy go hand- in-hand. For every bar of soap it sells, the company donates another bar to families and organizations. soap it sells, the company donates another bar to families and organizations. “The buy one, give one model makes the most sense in a sustainable and financially stable way, where it allows us to grow and empower people at the same time,” Easter explains. He conceptualized the idea for his company in the fall of 2018. He then spent the next two years working out the details

and chasing down potential investors. In May 2020 he teamed up with fellow Brandon University student Silas Lee to commercialize the concept. With help from a team of scientists, ReNu created a process to upcycle partially used bars of soap into completely new products. The first step removes a thin outer layer from the soap so that only the untouched portion of the bar remains. That remaining material is then crushed, disinfected and melted down. Ingredients such as Manitoba- harvested honey (which helps soften skin) or activated coal (which helps draw out toxins and impurities) are added before the melted soap is poured into 3-D print molds and allowed to cure for a few weeks before it’s made available for sale. ReNu got off to a rousing start after its official launch last summer. Between June and December, the company sold just over 1,300 bars of soap through its website and at four retail locations. It hit a bit of a speedbump after selling out of product at the end of 2020. Since few guests were staying at hotels during the pandemic, the supply of raw material slowed to a trickle. That supply has begun flowing again and ReNu expected to have all of its products available again by May.

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Katherine Hunt, product development lead, and Glenn Jason, soap-making specialist. Photos courtesy of ReNu Hygienics

The upside to the slowdown, Easter says, was that it gave the entrepreneurs time to look at what other opportunities might be available for products, which could include shampoos and body washes. “We wanted to expand our reach and product line anyway, so this was just a good opportunity to spend the last three or four months working on these pipeline products and we’re hoping to roll them out over the next couple of months,” he says. Hoteliers have been among the company’s biggest boosters. Currently, 10 hotels — six in Brandon and four in Swan River — are providing ReNu with used soap. “The buy-in from hotels has been really good,” Easter says. “Once they hear about us and we get our foot in the door they are ecstatic to be part of what we’re doing.” Despite some of the hurdles ReNu has faced, Easter is optimistic about the company’s future. “Things are going really well all things considered. I think it’s part of a trend for supporting Canadian-made ethical and purpose-driven companies. Once our story gets out there it’s pretty easy for people to grab on.” ■

Learn more at renuhygienics.com.

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TRUE NORTH YOUTH FOUNDATION — PROJECT 11

CLASS ACTION Project 11 takes mental-health message to schools BY JIM BENDER P roject 11 was created in honour of Rick Rypien, who wore No. 11 for the American Hockey League Manitoba Moose. He had A Winnipeg Jets program that was borne of tragedy is helping kids stickhandle their way through life’s challenges in the most positive ways . been issued the same number for the Winnipeg Jets after signing with the NHL team. But before he could play for the Jets, Rypien took his own life in August 2011. Just 27 years old, he had been battling severe depression for years.

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