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Martin Cash
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Late deal in workplace sex-harassment case
A Manitoba Human Rights Commission workplace sexual-harassment case that had worked its way through the commission's vetting and investigation process was settled on Wednesday after a public hearing on the matter had already begun. The settlement was agreed to by the complainant Wendy Kilbride and the respondent, A+ Financial and its owner Wayne McConnell.View Full Column | 05/16/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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Older and jobless? Resource on hand
When Dorothy Thach decided she really wanted a change and quit the sales position she'd held for 24 years last year, she had another job lined up. But in short order that position fell through and she found herself in a scary situation -- 55 years old and looking for a job.View Full Column | 05/9/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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Deciphering the budget from a business perspective
Once again this provincial government made it clear to the business community in this week's budget that it's on its own. Not that that's a bad thing.View Full Column | 04/19/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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City firm's tumour device gets thumbs-up
On Wednesday, Monteris Medical received regulatory clearance to sell its MRI-guided device for treating deep-seated brain tumours in Canada. The company was started in Winnipeg in 1999, originating from technology developed at the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre.View Full Column | 04/4/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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Sorting through consumer-confidence polls
It may be difficult to elicit sympathy in some regions of the country for the oil and gas sector when the price of oil falls a little below $100. But in the increasingly overheated debate about construction of new pipelines, Alberta politicians are talking out loud about how the price gap between Alberta bitumen and West Texas Intermediate is falling and may take some time to get right again if no new pipeline capacity is produced.View Full Column | 03/28/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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Tobin takes chance to brag about New Flyer's governance
During his political career, Brian Tobin always seemed pleased when the lights shone on him. But in his post-political career as a corporate director -- and in particular as the chairman of the board of New Flyer Industries, a position he's held since 2005 -- he is a study in, well, good corporate governance.View Full Column | 03/21/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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Popular offerings signs of strength
In the last week, four Manitoba companies raised a total of $257 million in public debt offerings in addition to $1.25 billion Great-West Life raised to help pay for its Irish Group acquisition. Two other Manitoba companies have also announced their intention to raise more money in potential new share offerings.View Full Column | 03/14/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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Airships can do heavy lifting
In 2011, the North West Company generated $1.5 billion in sales and it had to work pretty hard for every bit of it. Compared with Walmart's $444 billion, the NWC's total may not seem like much.View Full Column | 03/2/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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In the spirit of entrepreneurship
When there is passion involved in any pursuit in life, the meaningfulness of the enterprise is enhanced. A moving work of art is enjoyed and appreciated regardless of its popular success; an incredible athletic performance is cheered even if it's not victorious; a daring feat of entrepreneurialism is marvelled at even if it does not become financially lucrative.View Full Column | 02/28/2013 11:40 AM | 0
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TCIG may be following letter of its law, not its spirit
There are always two sides to every story, and the discontent that has recently been directed at the management of Tribal Councils Investment Group is no different. That discontent recently culminated in applications to the Court of Queen's Bench from three of TCIG's seven shareholders seeking relief from what they generally refer to as shareholder oppression.View Full Column | 02/14/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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Lawyers liking firm's electronic filing system
The initiation of the Puratone Corporation's creditor-protection proceedings in September had all of the urgency -- and massive volume of filings -- of any case with creditors owed millions of dollars from a company that could not keep up to changing market conditions. But this case was that much more pressing because the hog-production company's assets were live animals.View Full Column | 02/7/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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Skepticism about ex-RIM's future lingers
It's finally come out with a redesigned, reimagined device, changed the name of the company from the awkward Research In Motion to just plain BlackBerry and signed up an iconic star in Alicia Keys to market that product. But will that be enough for BlackBerry to reach its former heights of success?View Full Column | 01/31/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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At the leading edge of bio-fibres
For several years now, the Composites Innovation Centre has been tinkering with using locally grown agricultural fibres to make composites as a cheaper, more sustainable material that might replace fibreglass. It's an undeniably great idea -- using commodities such as hemp or flax, mashed up and mixed with resin, baked and then shaped into door panels for buses or fenders for agricultural equipment or interior trim for automobiles.View Full Column | 01/24/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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Tight capital holds back would-be miners
Two mineral-production projects in northern Manitoba, on the verge of pumping close to $100 million into the economy, continue to exist in a holding pattern because of devilishly stingy capital markets. But both of them are being forced to get creative to ensure their projects land the capital they require.View Full Column | 01/18/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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What is Lockheed Martin really up to?
They're picking over the bones of what's left of Aveos Fleet Performance in Montreal, but still the two hangars sit empty in Winnipeg. A Canadian subsidiary of U.S. defence giant Lockheed Martin Corp. announced this week it has bought the Aveos engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) equipment in Montreal and will set up a commercial engine MRO shop there. It expects to hire up to 100 former Aveos workers.View Full Column | 01/10/2013 1:00 AM | 0
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Biggest business story of 2013 will surely be the long-awaited arrival of 'Tar-jay'
If 2012 was the year of IKEA in Winnipeg, 2013 will be Target's turn to shake up the retail landscape. That may be as close as we'll get to a predictable game-changer. When it comes to the Manitoba economy, generally speaking the safe bet is to expect more of the same because that's the way the it works here, notwithstanding Yes! Winnipeg's dream of a blockbuster deal. The more likely pursuit would be betting which of the province's diverse economic sectors will spike and which ones will subside. Will the agricultural sector get sexy? Is aerospace coming back down to earth? Here's a few of the stories we're likely to follow in 2013 and a few we hope to see.View Full Column | 12/29/2012 1:00 AM | 0
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Arctic Glacier's demise slow
Even though Arctic Glacier, the Winnipeg packaged-ice company, was purchased out of creditor protection more than five months ago, the windup of the company's affairs is a long way from being completed. Late last month, the court-appointed monitor asked for and received an extension of its stay of proceedings to March 15, 2013.View Full Column | 12/27/2012 1:00 AM | 0
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New life for Hecla Resort
The latest chapter in the story of the Hecla Resort is about to begin, and this one is entitled the Lakeview Hecla Resort and Golf Course. Lakeview Management Inc. closed the deal late last week to purchase the resort located 150 kilometres north of Winnipeg, which has been closed and in receivership for the past two years.View Full Column | 12/20/2012 1:00 AM | 0
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Investors line up to be part of new technology
If the level of interest from a round of pitches to the VA Angels investor group is any indication, Kelly Beaulieu is the emerging star of the province's innovation set. For several years, Beaulieu, 49, a professional agrologist, has been perfecting a specific-gravity monitor technology that measures dry matter content such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates in all sorts of agricultural and natural resource commodities.View Full Column | 12/13/2012 1:00 AM | 0
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TCIG's shareholder action familiar to CP Rail
No one wants to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Tribal Councils Investment Group is that kind of goose.View Full Column | 12/6/2012 1:00 AM | 0
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Tough times for tech firms in city
It's not yet necessary to post a sign in Winnipeg telling the last person out of the life sciences and medical device labs to turn out the lights. But it's getting close.View Full Column | 11/22/2012 1:00 AM | 0
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The Princess Auto way: Treat staff and customers well, offer unique products and share the wealth
You can buy a trailer at Princess Auto, but the Winnipeg-based retailer is known more as the place to buy all the parts needed to build your own trailer -- the running gear, the hitches and the wheels. As well, you'll find just about every variety of air compressor, portable heaters, welding supplies and things like stroke-threaded head utility cylinders and Milton "T" style tru-flate/Parker interchange series male air quick-coupler plugs, whatever those items are.View Full Column | 11/17/2012 8:51 AM | 0
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Hog industry continues to go corporate
The banks are going to have to take a haircut and some grain suppliers won't be able to collect on some receivables but it looks as if Puratone Corp.'s significant Manitoba hog production operations will survive to fatten up another day under the ownership of Maple Leaf Foods. Last week, Maple Leaf announced it has a definitive agreement to acquire most of the assets of Puratone for $42 million.View Full Column | 11/8/2012 1:00 AM | 0
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When one sector falls, another goes up
Though they'd never say it out loud, the folks at Bristol Aerospace probably cringe every time they hear critics of the Joint Strike Fighter weigh in on why it was wrong for Canada to commit to buying the expensive jets. That's because Bristol has bet heavily on the program -- about $120 million -- including building a new production facility, purchasing all sorts of new equipment and borrowing more than $60 million from two levels of governments to do it.View Full Column | 11/3/2012 1:00 AM | 0
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Growing capacity in city's technology sector
About 65 people engaged in various capacities in the technology industry in the city met one morning this week to hear about the launch of a specialized technology sales-training course to be delivered by the Information and Communications Technology Association of Manitoba (ICTAM). While it was somewhat ironic the event took place in a meeting room at the now-underused National Research Council building (about one-third of its scientists received layoff notices earlier this year) the initiative is all about building capacity in a sector that is growing.View Full Column | 11/1/2012 1:00 AM | 0
About Martin Cash
Martin Cash joined the Free Press in 1987 as the paper’s business columnist.
He has spent two decades chronicling the city’s business affairs.
Martin won a citation of merit from the National Newspaper Awards in 2001 for his coverage of the strike and subsequent multi-million-dollar union settlement at the Versatile tractor plant. He has also received honours and awards for his work on agriculture and technology development in Manitoba.
Martin has written a coffee-table book about the commercial and industrial make-up of the city, called Winnipeg: A Prairie Portrait.
Martin Cash on Twitter: @martycash
martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
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