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The Sustainability Surge Is Coming — Manitoba Food & Beverage Businesses Are Getting Prepared

Saying that it’s been a tricky couple of years for Manitoba businesses in the food and beverage sector might just be the understatement of the century. Coming off the back of the pandemic that forced restaurants and retailers to close their doors, only to reopen amidst a massive labour shortage has given business owners some of the most trying times of their professional lives.

That’s without mentioning the global food shortages caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and extreme weather events like the Manitoba drought in 2021 and historic flooding from earlier this year. How many more obstacles can Manitoba food growers, processors, distributors, and retailers possibly manage?

Well, there’s at least one more. Spurred on by the climate crisis, governments, investors, and consumers are now demanding that business activities meet a standard of sustainability beyond what’s been required in the past.

The good news, however, is that Manitoba is beautifully positioned to reap the rewards of the sustainability push.

Repair, rebuild Canada’s trade-infrastructure reputation

Premier Heather Stefanson recently noted in a public release that, this month, she assumes the position of Chair of the next Council of the Federation, and will continue the push for increased federal transfers for health care.

We agree on the priority. The pandemic has put our health care facilities and services through the ringer. Canadians should not be anxiously sitting, in pain, on unacceptably long wait lists for hip or knee surgery, or to see a doctor in an emergency room.

It will take extraordinary effort, and funding, to repair the damage that COVID-19 has inflicted upon our health care systems.

But where will Ottawa find the billions of dollars in increased annual funding the premiers are demanding?

The Green Spot keeps growing

When Bernie Whetter started working at The Green Spot Home and Garden in Brandon, Man., in 2004, he had no idea he’d one day be running the place.

“My previous job had come to an end, I was 50 years old, and I thought, ‘Now, what am I going to do?’” he says.

He’d earned a degree in agriculture years before and decided to follow it up by going for an MBA. Needing a job while he attended school, he called The Green Spot and was told he could help in the nursery.

“I left a $90,000 a year job and got one for $9 an hour,” he says, laughing. “It was great, though. It was fulfilling work.”

Steinbach Chamber honours 25-year members in 2022

The Steinbach Chamber of Commerce’s vision is “Leading Growth. Connecting People,” and our team is passionate about helping businesses succeed. Local businesses are a part of the community’s backbone, employing family and friends, donating to sports teams and charities, and investing in Steinbach and surrounding area in so many other ways.

This year, we honour two businesses for being members of the Steinbach Chamber for 25 years. On behalf of the Steinbach Chamber’s board and staff, thank you to enVision Community Living and Athens Construction for all you do for our community.

enVision Community Living

enVision Community Living is a non-profit community-based organization committed to providing supports and services for people who live with an intellectual disability. This includes opportunities for personal growth and development and opportunities to live the life of their choosing in communities throughout southeast Manitoba.

Summer in the city

It’s time to throw on your sun hat, fly out the front door and get into summer in the city. Summer days, though few, are long — and there’s so much to do to fill them up.

Two major attractions are back in action and waiting to welcome everyone — tots, teens and adults — to come, have fun and learn some.

Winter-weary Winnipeggers can look forward to a busy summer at Assiniboine Park with the Summer Entertainment series, which fires up mid-June and runs to the end of August with live concerts at the Lyric Theatre, Friday night movies in August — and much more!

“We plan to host some concerts in the new Performance Garden in the southeast corner of the park, which is one of six new themed areas in the Gardens at The Leaf that opened last summer. The Leaf, an indoor multi-seasonal attraction, is set to open in late 2022,” says Laura Cabak, director of communications and public relations.

Local Market Value

Staying viable in any business means moving with the times —  the good times and the bad. And it’s easier to weather the storms when you have a strong connection to the community.

Steinbach’s Main Bread & Butter Company embodies the ideal, as a home-grown market that supports local producers. Owner Chris Goertzen, a former mayor of Steinbach, started the business in 1997 with his older brother, Robert, who has since moved on to other pursuits.

“Main Bread & Butter was an idea my brother and I had when we were food distributors in the area and we were coming across lots of good, locally produced foods,” Goertzen says.

At the same time, a lot of smaller, locally owned grocery stores were being bought out by big national operations that didn’t provide space on their shelves for local goods.

The Sweet Life

Driving through downtown Winnipeg, you can’t miss Can-D-Man, Nutty Club Foods’ iconic red-and-white peppermint stick mascot painted on the building at 149 Pioneer Ave. His friendly face is so familiar and so closely associated with the brand it’s easy to forget that Scott-Bathgate Ltd. is actually the name of the company.

Scott-Bathgate manufactures and distributes candy, nuts, popcorn, baking ingredients, seasonal treats and imported brands, including PEZ and Walkers’ Toffee. The company is based in Winnipeg and operates with the help of 65 employees and an additional four branches in Western Canada.

“We make our own popcorn, peanut butter, pancake syrup, mustard, ice-cream cones, batter mix for chicken or fish,” says Brendan Noone, sales manager.

“All of the nuts are roasted and packaged at our factory operations located at 130 Galt Ave., the old T. Eaton Company Warehouse. Candy is also packaged there.”

Apply Now for Restaurant Work

The pandemic has taken a bite out of the local restaurant scene, and now the current staff shortage is serving up another predicament.

Shaun Jeffrey, CEO of the Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association (MRFA), outlines the impact of COVID-19 on the industry.

“It’s well known that the restaurant industry has been the most significantly impacted by COVID-19, bar none,” he says. “We were the first to lock down and the last to open. We are one of the very few industries that still have restrictions in place.”

As a result, it’s been a challenge to recruit and retain enough workers to keep forging forward.

Food & Beverage Manitoba Working On Initiatives Aimed at Overcoming Worker Shortages

While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a shortage of workers in a variety of industries over the past 18 months and counting, it isn’t entirely to blame for a worker shortage in the food industry, says Mike Mikulak, executive director of Food and Beverage Manitoba.

“To be honest, the problems were here before, for over a decade,” he says. “While it’s tempting to blame COVID for worker shortages, we can’t.”

That said, the pandemic has exacerbated an already challenging situation.

Food producers across the province – from big to small – are struggling to find workers at a time when the demand for quality food is at an all-time high.

Labour Landscape Facing Change And Challenge

Manitoba’s labour landscape has been defined by change and challenge for a long stretch now, but some hope exists on the horizon.

Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, acknowledges that working families have had a tough go during the pandemic.

“There have been shutdowns and people working from home. Health and safety issues have certainly got more attention. I think one thing people have started to realize is the importance of paid sick days, something we’ve been calling for.’’

That call needs to be answered sooner rather than later, he adds.

Nurses’ Union Hopeful For Change

The intense pressure and near-impossible work conditions nurses have faced through the COVID-19 pandemic have long been a topic of conversation, but nothing comes close to being on the front lines or advocating for those who are.

As president of the Manitoba Nurses’ Union (MNU), Darlene Jackson is a voice for nurses in the province, negotiating with employers and the government on their behalf. According to Jackson, Manitoba nurses were already working under dire conditions when the pandemic hit.

“We’ve had a chronic nursing shortage for a very long time,” Jackson says, “but what started as a chronic shortage has turned into a critical shortage.”

She describes a “transformation to health care in Manitoba” that started several years ago, when the provincial government began moving programs from one hospital to another and anticipated that nurses involved in those programs would follow.

Transform your garage into an entertainment zone

It’s now easier than ever to equip your garage with the latest gadgets to create the ideal home entertainment hub.

If you’re building a new house or garage, try to wire as much as possible for entertainment and technology, suggests Bruno Deleau of Advanced Residential Technology, a division of Advance Electronics. For garages that are already built, it’s simple to mount a TV to the wall.

“Almost all televisions today come with the popular streaming service apps built in like Netflix, Crave, Amazon, Disney+. The cable companies offer wireless cable boxes that can be connected to the television, and their video feed is streamed wirelessly,” Deleau says.

“The only limitation is Wi-Fi, so it’s very important in today’s world to have a good system in homes to distribute Wi-Fi to all areas of the house, garage and outdoor living spaces. Rule of thumb: the more that can be hard-wired, the faster your Wi-Fi will be.”

Paving the way for zero-emission vehicles

Do your part and get credit for it! Many drivers are steering toward zero-emission vehicles, which can bring benefits to both the environment and their pocketbook.

Multiple incentives are available through the federal government’s iZEV program, which encourages Canadians to buy and lease zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). Through this program, Canadians who buy an eligible battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell or longer-range plug-in hybrid vehicle will receive an incentive of $5,000. Canadians who buy an eligible shorter-range plug-in hybrid vehicle will receive an incentive of $2,500.

Incentives are also available to lease eligible vehicles, and the amounts depend on the duration of the lease terms. A list of eligible vehicles is available on Transport Canada’s iZEV website.

In addition, the iZEV program offers point-of-sale incentives for consumers who buy or lease an eligible zero-emission vehicle.

Driving the economy forward

As most of us have found out at some point in our lives, it often takes a significant event to make us appreciate something we’ve been taking for granted.

A prime example of that is Manitoba’s trucking industry.

Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most Manitobans had been taking it largely for granted.

Seventeen months later, that’s no longer the case.

Technology blooms in Ag education

The agriculture field reaps the rewards of new forms of technology that continue to crop up.

Technology has always been part of education and research offered through the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba. However, in recent years, the use of on-farm technology is a topic that’s become more rooted in the Diploma in Agriculture program.

Easton Sellers is a farm management instructor in this program, and he also runs a U-pick fruit farm and orchard in the Interlake. He enjoys learning about new technology and finding ways to implement it on his own farm.

“From developing effective seed varieties to growing crops and caring for animals to processing and preparing, technology is used in some way or another throughout every step of the agricultural process,” he said.

Thanks to all the truck drivers

Truck drivers are essential to keeping the wheels of our economy in motion and our supply chain operating smoothly, so why not take a moment to express gratitude for their ongoing service?

 While most people hunkered down safely in their homes during the dark days of COVID-19, truck drivers forged forward and bravely hit the road to maintain a steady supply of needed items — including hospital provisions, personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer.

From the perspective of Terry Shaw, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association, the trucking industry rode through three pandemic phases — and he’s grateful for the fortitude of everyone who kept it moving. 

The first phase involved figuring out how to keep truck drivers safe on the road.

Career opportunities abound

James Clark VI’s job title may be tanker driver, but it could just as easily be professional tourist. Clark, 26, has been working as a long-hauler for Manitoba-based Jade Transport since last November after completing his Class 1 licence training to become a professional driver. In the first six months of this year, he estimates he visited 36 U.S. states and most of Canada.“This profession isn’t for everybody. But if you like driving and you don’t like being cooped up in an office, it’s awesome. That’s the kind of person I am. I can’t be in an office and doing the same thing all the time in the same place,” he says. “That’s why this is the perfect job for me. You’re not just in the truck all the time. I get to experience so much. That’s one of the reasons I chose this career. You can be travelling all the time in this industry. I have a TV and an Xbox in my truck, but I haven’t used them once this year because I’ve been out experiencing things.”Clark comes from a trucking family. Both his father and grandfather were professional drivers and he used to dream about following in their footsteps – or tracks – when he would accompany his dad on road trips as a kid.It was only fitting that he ended up working for Jade Transport. He grew up in Transcona near the transportation company’s Dugald Road warehouse and often rode his bike past it to admire the family-owned business’s flashy trucks.“It’s awesome working at Jade. It’s like a family there. You’re not just a number. You know everybody by name,” he says.Besides getting to crisscross North America on a regular basis, Clark enjoys having an opportunity to continually learn about his chosen profession.“In this industry, the minute you say you know everything is the moment you should really hang up your keys and retire. You are learning something new every single day. I’m going to be a sponge for the rest of my trucking career. I want to absorb as much information as I can.”Those words are music to the ears of Danielle Ruttan. Ruttan is the outreach co-ordinator for the Manitoba Trucking Association (MTA). A big part of her job is attending job and career fairs to promote career opportunities that are available in the trucking industry.It’s a role that’s taken on added meaning in recent years. Manitoba Labour Market Information shows that the occupation of Transport Truck Driver is in the top one per cent of occupations with the highest net job openings. Put another way, Manitoba needs to recruit, train and retain a new truck driver every 15 hours, seven days per week, 365 days per year for the next seven years or the province will not meet its economic forecast.  “The situation is pretty bad. Every trucking company out there is hiring right now. I don’t know anyone who isn’t hiring,” she explains.“There are some companies that have trucks that are just sitting and they’re losing out on revenue opportunities because they don’t have a driver to drive the truck. If you don’t have enough drivers, you can’t take on new contracts and you can’t take on new loads.”Ruttan says one of the challenges the trucking industry faces when it comes to recruiting new drivers is that it’s not viewed as a sexy or trendy occupation by younger people. That said, many of the young people she speaks to at career fairs start to see driving in a different light when she tells them about the opportunities it has to offer.“I always ask them if they want to be a paid tourist. You can travel and see all of North America and get paid while you’re doing it. There’s an opportunity you could be in Manitoba today, but you could be in California or Las Vegas in three days’ time,” she says.Another impediment for some prospective drivers is the fact that getting a Class 1 licence isn’t cheap. It can cost as much as $10,000 to complete a certified six-week training program. The good news, Ruttan says, is that much or all of that cost is now covered by the province’s Skills and Employment Partnerships department if a prospective driver is sponsored by a company that promises to hire them upon graduation.One bit of information Ruttan often shares with career seekers is that just because you start out as a driver in the trucking industry it doesn’t mean that’s where you will end up. The trucking industry has a wide range of opportunities to suit differing stages in life and different personalities. Many current company owners, managers and CEOs started out behind the wheel and moved their way through the company.Wildwood Transport president Ryan Mitchell, who also sits on the MTA’s board of directors, concurs. He says most people don’t realize the wide variety of career opportunities that are available in the trucking sector, from technicians or mechanics to accountants and lawyers.“In my opinion trucking … literally has options for everyone. On one hand, you have an office environment, which is becoming more and more tech-focused, analytical and process-oriented, and then on the other hand you have jobs that require you to get your hands dirty with technicians in the shop, drivers and yard staff,” he says.“Trucking today is so much more high-tech and professional than what it was in the past. Things are moving fast, and we need the best and brightest to keep modernizing and innovating our business and industry.”For more information on careers in the trucking industry visit: trucking.mb.ca/industry/careers-in-the-trucking-industry.Manitoba Labour Market Information shows that the occupation of Transport Truck Driver is in the top one per cent of occupations with the highest net job openings.Ample career opportunities exist in the trucking industry — and many don’t involve driving a truck. 

James Clark VI’s job title may be tanker driver, but it could just as easily be professional tourist.

Clark, 26, has been working as a long-hauler for Manitoba-based Jade Transport since last November after completing his Class 1 licence training to become a professional driver. In the first six months of this year, he estimates he visited 36 U.S. states and most of Canada.