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Todd Sloane is the Principal/Creative Director of Tag Advertising, a full-service advertising agency that has been consistently producing creative work for over 32 years. Todd comes from the visual side of the world and has the strength to develop extraordinary concepts and focused creative strategies. Not only have Todd’s talents earned him the respect of clients and competitors alike, but his bold creativity and sound business sense won him the title of Western Canada’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
Todd has worked with a wide variety of regional and national accounts, such as ATA, TacoTime Canada, Imax Theaters International, Toyota Canada, General Motors Canada, Canadian Tire Reit, and the United Way.
He has his fingers on the pulse of the marketplace, which allows him to keep up with changes such as shorter product life cycles, environmental concerns, greater interest in consumer protection, the growth of services and not-for-profit marketing, and increased impact of technology across all sectors. Such insight has allowed Todd to build Tag into an agency that boasts a solid portfolio of award-winning creative that constantly exceeds clients’ objectives.
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Amar Singh, the CEO and co-founder of Elevated Signals in Vancouver, began his entrepreneurial path at the LaunchPad tech accelerator where he met co-founders Benn and Hardeep. Their shared passion for cleantech and agtech led them to establish Elevated Signals, aiming to modernize manufacturing software for emerging sustainable industries. Amar brings a decade of experience managing multi-million dollar projects, including notable research facilities like the Biotron Experimental Climate Change Research Centre and the extraterrestrial Autonomous Robotic Greenhouse. His work is driven by a commitment to enhancing global health and societal well-being, focusing on food security and environmental sustainability.
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Dave Wald is a native Calgarian having only lived for a few years in Vancouver when he was a kid. His love of adventuring and camping began during his family’s many trips in their 80’s station wagon and beat-up old tent trailer. Today, Dave has over 20 years of experience working in the outdoor recreation industry as a marketing professional. A memorable trip to Iceland in 2013 was the inspiration for Karma Campervans, the rental company he started in 2018 with his business partners. What started as five vans has grown to over 100 campervans built, locations across Canada, custom van projects, and a fantastic team passionate about creating amazing experiences for Karma Campervans Guests. Dave’s a family man who loves adventuring with his wife, two kids, and the family dog.
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Ilya Goldman, has been in the internet marketing industry since 1996. He started his own web design and online marketing company in 2001 with a goal of bringing more businesses into the world wide web. He has worked on over a thousand web projects. His clients include huge organizations such as UBC Press, McGill Press, as well as very small companies with self-employed individuals. He is also certified by both Google and Microsoft. He has a wealth of knowledge on web design and online marketing through nearly 2 decades in this field. Whenever he works with clients he wants them to be aware of anything that would be helpful to them such as specific business grants for up to $15,000 and $2400 for digital presence.
Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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Nadya Marwah is an Indian-Canadian photographer, film production professional, and founder of the Photo Poet Society, a mindful wedding photography company. She began her career journey in Mumbai, India, before relocating to Toronto, She left her hometown of Meerut, India at the age of 19 to pursue an education in Communication Design at MIT Institute of Design and later completed a post-graduate program in Film Production at the Vancouver Film School.
The profound experience of deep meditation shifted her perspective on life. She is now a mindful visual creator, specializing in both photography and film. Alongside wedding and occasion photography, I have collaborated with musicians and film professionals, including three-time Juno-nominated musician Alysha Brilla and Canadian actor, director, and musician Steven McCarthy. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to work with businesses and not-for-profit organizations such as Compass Digital Ventures at SXSW in Austin, North Shore Restorative Justice Society (North Vancouver), Arvorei Communications Group (Vancouver), and Hawkeye Pictures (Toronto).
Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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In this video interview, Beatrix Abdul Azeez, Policy Analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, discusses a new report outlining the consequences of a government mandated $20 per hour living wage.
Beatrix Abdul Azeez
PRESS RELEASETORONTO, May 15, 2024 /CNW/ – Mandating a $20 per hour living wage in each province would cost the Canadian economy $44.9 billion in extra wages and put almost 600,000 small businesses at risk of becoming unprofitable, finds a new report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
The report, entitled “Affordability, minimum wages, and living wages: Striking a balance for small businesses,” analyzes the impact of a $20/hour living wage, a proposal under consideration by several organizations. The report finds that governments need a new approach to address affordability challenges as traditional minimum wage and living wage policies fall short in addressing the root causes of the rising cost of living while simultaneously increasing costs on small businesses.
 
“Minimum wage and living wage policies often miss the mark when it comes to truly supporting the most vulnerable workers. Governments are setting these wages with no anchor in economic reality, relying on subjective and unpredictable criteria,” said Beatrix Abdul Azeez, CFIB policy analyst. “Governments should shift away from relying on these blunt tools and instead adopt a new approach to ensure workers can cope with the rising cost of living, while also guaranteeing that small businesses aren’t unfairly burdened.”
The cost of adopting a $20/hour living wage in each Canadian province
Province
Cost (millions)
Small businesses at riskof unprofitability
Newfoundland and Labrador
$943
10,653
Prince Edward Island
$332
3,100
Nova Scotia
$1,933
14,048
New Brunswick
$1,543
12,519
Québec
$10,255
141,927
Ontario
$16,741
200,387
Manitoba
$2,748
23,485
Saskatchewan
$1,823
18,432
Alberta
$4,309
73,181
British Columbia
$4,325
75,495
Canada
$44,900
572,499
The unintended consequences of minimum wage increases
Recent minimum wage hikes forced 60% of small businesses to raise wages for other workers and 59% of them to raise prices, contributing to current inflationary pressures. In addition, 31% of small businesses had to cut back on hiring young and unskilled workers, with 25% of them reducing overall employment. These findings underscore the need for a more nuanced approach to wage policies that consider the diverse impacts on both workers and businesses alike.
“Canada’s cost of living crisis requires a more effective framework: making sure rent, food, and gas prices are affordable and stable while extending support to workers and small businesses through tax reductions,” added Jairo Yunis, CFIB’s director for BC and western economic policy. “This would go a long way in addressing Canada’s affordability shock.”
CFIB recommends that governments:
Alleviate the impact of rising minimum wages on small businesses by reducing other taxes and payroll costs (such as small business tax rate, CPP, EI, health/education payroll taxes, etc.)Establish a minimum wage setting process that is predictable, transparent, reflective of market conditions, and mindful of economic impacts.Link minimum wage adjustments to private sector wage growth or a predetermined percentage of the median wage.Address the root causes of the affordability crisis by enacting policies to increase the supply of housing, reduce energy taxes, and remove interprovincial and international trade barriers.Provide targeted fiscal support for vulnerable workers through reduced personal income tax rates, increased basic personal amounts, and expanded tax credits.Read the full report here.
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 97,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of succ