Topics

Round table: All together now

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:57:00 -0700

BCBusiness

In this pre-Olympic age, the term megaproject has new meaning in B.C. Notice how the phrases Canada Line, Sea-to-Sky and Port Mann twinning have a different ring to them than, say, fast ferries? One of the major differences is public-private partnerships, or P3s.

It’s a concept born in the U.K. for handing major responsibilities of public projects to private companies, and in Canada no province has done more than B.C. In fact, when Nova Scotia wanted advice this spring on which infrastructure projects to pursue as P3s, it paid $200,000 for B.C.’s opinion.

And yet P3s are like a recipe book for how to inflame our Left Coast sensibilities: public services entrusted to private companies, tax dollars fuelling corporate profits, unionized public workers excluded from provincial works, multinationals bidding against B.C. companies.

Suburban walking blues

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:50:03 -0700

by Christopher Leinberger

Let me get this out of the way right up front: I am an American. I have been visiting Vancouver for years, most recently on a beautiful spring day last April to give a speech sponsored by UBC and SFU. On the same day, I took a tour of Metro Vancouver’s walkable neighbourhoods with folks from Smart Growth BC, getting a first-hand experience of what it’s like to walk and take public transit in this region.

I must also mention that since Vancouver is widely considered to be one of the most walkable, livable and vital cities on the planet, it is with great humility that I comment on a place that is much more vital than nearly any U.S. city.

But I will comment, because I want to encourage Vancouver to continue to offer the U.S. a model of walkable urban development that we need so badly.

Learning to walk, wirelessly

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:39:04 -0700

by Tony Wanless

Recently, Ascalade Communications Inc., a Richmond maker of digital wireless and communications products, filed for bankruptcy protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

Ascalade – which makes wireless phones and other devices – was one of the bigger players in a B.C. wireless scene that’s been exploding of late, with an ever-increasing number of competitors. While it appears Ascalade’s troubles are bigger than those of its competition, they are emblematic of the sector.

Greener pastures

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:22:10 -0700

by Vanessa Richmond

A couple of years ago, most tree huggers were out in the wilderness, yelling to be heard. Now many are cozied up in the boardrooms of Canada’s most powerful advertising and financial corporations. Or, excuse me, that should read: many triple-bottom-line sustainability consultants have now formed strategic alliances with brand-management and strategy firms.

Does this kind of doublespeak prove that sustainability has finally arrived? Or does it simply show that the new greenwashing machines are spinning faster than ever? The most recent, and possibly biggest, example is Echology, a partnership launched in April between Junxion Strategy and Palmer Jarvis DDB, a multinational advertising firm headquartered in Vancouver.

Goodbye workdays

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:20:34 -0700

by John Bucher

In 1543, two Portuguese adventurers carrying primitive rifles arrived in Japan aboard a Chinese cargo ship. The weapon was new to the Japanese—they began manufacturing firearms and within 40 years had more and better guns than any other country. After a few decades, however, guns disappeared from Japan entirely. Why? The Samurai didn’t care for change; they wanted to keep their swords.

There are a good number of people—your scribe included—who might be considered the samurai of the 21st century.

The lost frontier

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:29:17 -0700

by John Bucher

Neo-cubism

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:36:11 -0700

by Jessica Werb

The retail concept is delightfully simple, Japanese and profitable.

A lending hand

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:22:24 -0700

by Peter Severinson

Ringing endorsements

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:11:29 -0700

by Jessica Werb

Who will be the official supplier of air to the 2010 Winter Games?

Silence is golden

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:55:52 -0700

by Tom Bradley

It was 17 years ago that I moved my business address from Bay Street to Burrard Street. In 1991 I left Richardson Greenshields in Toronto to join Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd. in Vancouver. I am still asked by my eastern friends and clients what it is like working on the Wet Coast. Is it a good place for an asset manager to be?

Lotusland is a great place to manage money. There are trade-offs, but on balance Vancouver managers are in a good position to deliver attractive returns to their clients.