Source: Vancouver Sun

Now that the Occupy Wall Street movement has dissipated after antagonizing manycitizens, the folks who inflicted it on us have a new target: Christmas.

Adbusters, the Vancouver-based anti-capitalist publication that claims responsibility for OWS, is now attacking the tradition of gift-giving at Christmas. No one should be surprised; Adbusters promoted a "Cancel Christmas" campaign in 1991.

Occupy Xmas, as the latest campaign has been dubbed, is a spinoff from Adbusters' equally malevolent "Buy Nothing Day," which targeted Black Friday, the busiest day of the year for retailers in the United States and increasingly Canada, and the unofficial launch of the Christmas shopping season.

But what's on display is not rampant consumerism and greed but rather generosity and goodness. Many of those shoppers are buying for others.

The ceremonial exchange of gifts is as old as human society itself, and takes on special significance at Christmas because the Bible tells us that three wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, resins valued for their fragrance, to the Christ child. Perhaps this explains why jewelry and perfume are popular gifts at Christmas.

As of the last census, a majority of Canadians were Christian, with 72 per cent identifying themselves as either Catholic or Protestant. Giving gifts for many, then, is an act of religious symbolism and for the rest of us, an expression of appreciation and love. Those who denigrate this ageless custom deny their own humanity and ours.

Before the Industrial Revolution, gifts were likely to be raised (livestock), grown (grain, fruit and vegetables) or handmade (knitted clothing, wood carving), but there is no use pretending we live as our ancestors did 150 years ago.

Today, we buy gifts made by others and sold in shops, and there's nothing wrong with that.

In fact, buying gifts for Christmas does much good. In the sales surge of these last few weeks of the year, retailers can turn around losses and stave off bankruptcy. And that means they'll be able to continue to employ workers. About 1.8 million Canadians work in retail jobs; that's more than in manufacturing. With more customers and more sales, retail employees who work on commissions will make more money, so they can buy gifts for their family and friends.

Furthermore, to respond to the Christmas rush, retailers will hire part-time help, mainly students who need toearn enough to cover expenses over the next school term.

All of this has broader implications for the overall economy. Retail trade amounts to roughly $450 billion a year, or more than a third of total gross domestic product (although only six percent of GDP on a value added basis) and is therefore crucial to Canada's continued prosperity and high standard of living. A big Christmas boost of consumer spending can goose GDP growth in the fourth quarter and make a mediocre 2011 a little brighter.

The economic impact doesn't stop there. A Christmas sales slump that would cheer the Occupy Xmas simpletons would result in layoffs soon after in developing countries where much of the electronics, toys and clothing we buy are manufactured. A post-Christmas inventory overhang from poor sales could mean hardship for people who lack the social safety net Occupiers in Canada enjoy.

Consumerism is not evil. When Venetian traveller Marco Polo stumbled upon the great mall of Hangzhou more than seven centuries ago, he wasn't appalled by what he saw but amazed and delighted by the shops and stalls "in which every sort of craft is practised and every sort of luxury is on sale, including spices, gems, and pearls."

Marco Polo provides an ancient reminder that the goods and services we buy provide a livelihood for the artists, craftsmen, longshoremen, truck drivers, warehouse handlers, sales clerks, computer programmers, factory workers, managers, consultants and others in a host of trades and professions, who are depending on us to do what we should be doing right now: shopping for Christmas gifts.

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced Sunday the elimination of 70 tariffs expected to save Canadian businesses $32 million annually.

The tariff relief will affect a range of sectors, but is focused on the country’s manufacturing industry. Food processing, apparel, footwear and electrical equipment are among the areas that will benefit from move to reduce production costs and enhance Canadian competitiveness in domestic and foreign markets, according to a statement from the Department of Finance.

“Things like fasteners in clothing, and trailer parts and a series of things that were tariffable before, but it’s now . . . an impediment to Canadian business (and) Canadian manufacturing,” Flaherty said on CTV’s political program Question Period.

“We believe in free trade in Canada. We are a free trading nation — that is the source of our strength, our quality of life, our economic strength. Some of these old-fashioned tariffs get in the way so we’re getting rid of them,” Flaherty explained, adding that this initiative moves toward establishing a tariff-free zone for Canadian manufacturers.

Under the Economic Action Plan, the government has eliminated all tariffs on imported machinery and equipment and manufacturing inputs in a bid to make Canada a tariff-free zone for industrial manufacturers by 2015.

The government said that since 2009, it has eliminated more than 1,800 tariff items, saving Canadian businesses more than $435 million in customs duties annually.

(article from the Vancouver Sun, written by Amy Chung). 

- Op-Ed by Mark Startup, President & CEO of Shelfspace

With Black Friday approaching, I’ve been thinking about what makes Canada different from the U.S. We share the longest “unprotected” border in the world and I have often heard that while Canadians look and talk like Americans, we are often defined by what makes us different from Americans rather than by what we actually are. 

One thing that most certainly makes Canada and U.S.different is the speed with which the Canadian economy recovered from the economic meltdown of 2008. Isn’t it ironic that while many Canadians complain about the GST/HST, some economists believe that the U.S. should introduce a national consumption tax in order the help finance its recovery effort?

When it comes to Black Friday, many Canadians want to be just like Americans. For those who don’t know the history of Black Friday, it is the first Friday after the U.S. Thanksgiving, and this year it falls on November 25^th. Black Friday symbolizes the day that U.S. consumers get serious about their Christmas purchases, thus turning the bottom line of U.S. retailers from money-losing red to profit-making black.

With all of the attention on Black Friday, a recent holiday shopping survey by Deloitte revealed that there will be a 15% decrease in the numberof Vancouverites who will cross border shop this holiday season.  At the same time, British Columbians are spending more at home each year.  If year-to-date retail sales growth of 1.5% continues, a record $60 billion will be spent in 2011 on goods and services in BC, confirming that BC retailers are competitive and are providing consumers with the goods they need.  

I believe an interesting new trend has emerged in the last few years. On the one hand Canadian consumers want to celebrate this U.S. tradition by cross-border shopping, and on the other hand a growing number of retailers in Canada are offering special Black Friday promotions in a clever effort to keep their customers at home. While I would rather see a made-in-Canada way to entice Canadian consumers to shop at home, there is one simple question that drives both consumers and retailers alike: “Why does it cost more to purchase goods in Canada compared to the U.S.?”

When it comes to price parity with the U.S., I want Canada to become just like our American friends. I wish it was as simple as the consumers association would have you believe; that the reason for higher prices in Canada is that retailers refuse to pass on the savings when the Canadian dollar is near par with the U.S. dollar. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple and here’s why.

We all know that things are cheaper by the dozen. American retailers enjoy economies of scale that are the envy of Canadian retailers. Notonly can they negotiate lower prices from North American and off-shore manufactures due to their huge buying power, shipping goods to 310 million Americans in dense population clusters is far more efficient and less costly when compared to shipping goods to 34 million  Canadians (about the same population as California) spread thinly across the world’s longest undefended border .

To make it even more costly (and frustrating for retailers in Western Canada), many U.S. manufacturers and distributors refuse to take direct orders from Canadian retailers and instead force them to buy from their mostly centrally-located Canadian distributers.

If you want lower prices for Canadian goods, cross border shopping is not the solution. Just ask Whatcom County and the City of Bellingham who sued Washington State in response to its decision to exempt British Columbians and Ontarians from paying the state sales tax after the HST was introduced. How would they pay for roads and schools if they lost this source of revenue? I suspect other business taxes would have to increase inorder to make up the lost revenue and the same logic holds up in Canada. The exodus of tax dollars from Canada to the U.S. leaves fewer dollars available to pay for our health care professionals and teachers.

Policy makers could make an enormous contribution to levelling the playing field for retailers by reducing or eliminating tariffs, duties, bilingual labelling requirements and metric labelling rules.  Why do we continue to charge punishingly high tariffs and duties to protect Canadian industries that long ago lost their ability to compete with off shore manufacturers?

For Canadian consumers who plan to do a little cross border shopping this Black Friday, please also join Canadian retailers and write a letter to your Member of Parliament, The Finance Minister and the Prime Minister asking them to reduce sales taxes, commercial property tax and the employer’s portion of payroll taxes, all of which are ultimately included in the price of goods.

Shelfspace is urging the retail community to get behind the Vancouver Sun's 'Adopt-A-School' Program. In an effort to provide support to many of the inner city schools in need in the B.C. area, Shelfspace is asking retailers to adopt a school in their local area by providing what assistance they can with donations of goods or cash. 

Below is a list of school's participating in the Adopt-A-School program. Each school has identified areas of need which they are asking the community for donations. There is a clear need for provision of winter clothing and footwear, as well as healthy snack items. For information on how to donate items, email adoptaschool@vancouversun.com or call Adopt-A-School coordinator Kathy Anderson at 604-605-2654.

If you would like to make a cash donation, you can contribute online at  https://vancouverfoundation.ca/vansunkids/donateonline.asp

BURNABY

COQUITLAM

 LANGLEY

NANAIMO

 RICHMOND

 SURREY

VANCOUVER

The governments of Canada and British Columbia today launched the Small Business Profile 2011, a report that highlights the major role that small businesses play in BC’s economic success, through job creation, wage increases, exports and contributions to the province’s gross domestic product.

The Small Business Profile has been produced for over a decade by Western Economic Diversification Canada, the Province and BC Stats, and is released to coincide with BC's Small Business Month, held in October, and Canada’s Small Business Week, October 16 to 22, 2011.

“As the 2011 profile illustrates, we have an abundance of successful, thriving small businesses in BC, and they are an essential component of our Province’s economic success,“ said the Honourable Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation. “As laid out in our jobs plan, ‘Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan’, this government is freeing- up more access to venture capital and apprenticeship training tax credits to create an environment that encourages more businesses to innovate and create jobs.”

This year’s publication has increased significance since 2011 has been declared as The Year of the Entrepreneur by the governments of Canada and British Columbia.

The profile illustrates that more British Columbians received wages last year from small business than anywhere else in Canada. Annual earnings for BC’s small business workers increased 14 per cent over the past five years, compared with an increase of 12 per cent for employees of larger businesses. Small businesses also provided nearly 57 per cent of all private-sector jobs in British Columbia, the second-highest rate in the country.

The report highlights the thousands of British Columbians who started their own small businesses in 2011, creating jobs for families and demonstrating a strong spirit of entrepreneurialism across the province. It also profiles eight small businesses from around British Columbia, and the hard-working people who founded them.

For a copy of the Small Business Profile, click here:
http://www.resourcecentre.gov.bc.ca/pdf/SmallBusProfileEngWeb.pdf

The LiveSmart BC initiative for retailers has a brand new home on the web at www.retailsmart.ca . Retailers can now find all the information they need about the LiveSmart program on the new website, including a new Assessment Tool checklist that helps you determine whether your business is eligible for the LiveSmart program. This joint initiative from the BC Government and Shelfspace helps retailers ‘go green’ while also saving them time and money. LiveSmart gives qualified participants access to free energy assessments from an experience energy and lighting consultant, as well as advising how retailers can take advantage of cash rebates available to them for over 10,000 energy efficient products.

The sequel to the original - A Letter to Bill Vander Zalm. What are your reactions to these videos?

Look at the innovative security features and design of the new $100 polymer note.