EOBJ: She bakes, she scores

Todd Gill and wife Krista Gill, founder of 23 & Co. PHOTOS SUPPLIED.

BY HEDDY SOROUR

news@obj.ca

It’s still game night in the Gill household, but the star player is now Krista Gill, wife of former Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Todd Gill. And the game is now her gourmet cookies, which are scoring big points with residents of Eastern Ontario.

“I have customers that drive an hour on Thursdays to get their box of cookies,” says Janet Campbell, proprietor of Mrs. McGarrigle’s in Merrickville, which carries the treats. “They sell out every week and people are waiting to come to the store on delivery day and sometimes they’re still warm when people come to pick them up.”

Krista chose the moniker 23 & Co. for her business in honour of Todd’s jersey number with the Leafs, the team with which he played from 1984 to 1996. Then, on the advice of her daughters, she kept the hockey theme going.

“We call my cookies pucks and penalties,” explains Krista with a joie de vivre that oozes from every pore. “So pucks are singles when I sell them because, in hockey, one is a puck; penalties are a two-pack, because penalties typically are two minutes and a half; a dozen cookies is a starting line-up; a CCM cookie is a chocolate chip cookie with a melted peppermint patty on top.”

It’s Krista’s infectious joy and eagerness to listen and learn, as much as the product itself, that’s carrying her business forward. “She is a great people person and collaborator. Above all a great baker! A strength she has is to ask for help — businesspeople don’t have to be wearing all the hats at once — and asking for help is not a sign of weakness. She loved the mentoring,” says Cindy James, manager with the small business advisory centre for Smiths Falls, Lanark County, Leeds Grenville.

Krista’s story started at age 15, when she met Todd in high school. They spent a few years apart at the start of his hockey career and, in the meantime, Krista completed a business degree at Brock University. They married in 1989 and moved to Toronto, where Todd needed to be with the team. While owning a bakery was always at the back of her mind, the cookiemaking happened naturally as part of her husband’s life as a hockey player.

“On a game day, typically the player sleeps in the afternoon,” Krista explains. “He has a big lunch, sleeps and then gets up and heads down to the arena. Todd had started drinking coffee then and on his way to the arena he would have a cup of coffee and was looking for a treat.”

This was in 1990, before the internet, so Krista started collecting cookbooks and says that initiated her hunt for the perfect cookie.

“Todd kept trying all these cookies and he’d be, ‘Hmm, it’s okay,’ and then one day he said, ‘This is the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever eaten!’ So that was the end of me test-trying cookies,” chuckles Krista.

From then on, Krista baked that chocolate chip cookie for Todd every game day and, if he was carpooling with other players, she’d pack extra cookies for the guys. By the time Todd was traded to the San Jose Sharks in 1996 and became team captain, Krista’s cookie-baking had become her signature dish.

“When teams would get together for parties or get-togethers for fundraising events, I was in charge of bringing cookies, it became my thing. Some people took deviled eggs or chicken wings, I took chocolate chip cookies,” says Krista.

Parlaying that perfect cookie into a business would take a lot longer. At the start of their lives together, Todd and Krista figured he would play for about seven years and then retire and she’d start her own business.

“But Todd played for 19 years and, by the time he retired, our children were youths, so we were busy with four kids — two boys, two girls — and then he started coaching,” Krista recalls. “So he was continuing to work and chasing the coaching dream and, as a good partner, I was supportive and I waited until I thought it was an opportune time for me.”

Even when Todd finally retired in 2019 and the family moved to Opinicon Lake in Rideau Lakes, it took a nudge from her daughters to set Krista on the path toward her dream.

“The whole cookie thing was always floating in the back of my mind and I kept bothering my children with it. Until one night our daughters (both adults now) said, ‘You know mom, you gotta dance, you just have to do it. The song is not going to stop playing, you have nothing to lose, right?’ I’m assuming they all just thought I’d have fun for a little while and then I’d get bored,” says Krista, laughter sparkling in her eyes.

That’s when she turned to the small business advisory centre and jumped into the starter company plus program. She was awarded a $5,000 non-refundable grant through the program following a successful pitch to the review committee.

She put the money toward a convection oven that she installed at the Forfar Cheese Factory and Bakery and now sells her cookies at markets and retail stores all over Eastern Ontario. Her goal is a storefront of her own — maybe. She’s actually working on a website that she says may end up being her storefront.

BY SARAH MACFARLANE

sarah@obj.ca

Multiple hospitals in Eastern Ontario, including many of Ottawa’s largest facilities, will be better able to manage and reduce surgical backlogs with help from a Kingston software firm.

The Centralized Regional Surgical Wait List Management Hub, built by Kingstonbased Novari Health, consolidates patients waiting for surgery into a real-time regional wait list using interactive mapping and analytics tools. The Hub will improve the coordination of surgical services between hospitals in Eastern Ontario, meaning patients may be able to receive their surgery sooner at a different hospital.

The software will integrate with existing hospital systems to gain an overall picture of backlogs, speed up wait times and help identify bottlenecks at various stages of the surgical process.

All regional hospitals that perform adult surgeries will be included in the Champlain Centralized Regional Surgical Waitlist Management Hub initiative.

“By working together and using realtime data, we can improve patients’ access to surgeries and procedures,” said Andrew Falconer, president and CEO of Queensway Carleton Hospital, in a news release.

“Working with Novari and other care providers, the Hub will create better outcomes for patients waiting for surgeries, better use of hospital resources and a smarter, data-driven and coordinated approach to address the surgical backlog in our region,” said Bernard Leduc, president and CEO of Hôpital Montfort.

“The (Hub) will allow us to deliver surgical services to patients and address ongoing pandemic pressures,” said Suzanne Madore, chief operating officer and chief nursing executive of The Ottawa Hospital. “This system of partnerships will facilitate seamless communication between hospitals while we continue to deliver high-quality patient care.”

Hospitals and their individual surgical wait lists are being onboarded in phases. The initial phase included Hôpital Montfort, Queensway Carleton Hospital and Cornwall Community Hospital. In coming weeks, The Ottawa Hospital and Hawkesbury & District General Hospital will be onboarded. Once these hospitals are live on the system, they will be joined by:

• Almonte General Hospital • Arnprior and District Memorial

Hospital • Carleton Place and District

Memorial • Deep River and District Hospital • Glengarry Memorial Hospital • Kemptville District Hospital • Ottawa Heart Institute • Pembroke Regional Hospital • Renfrew Victoria Hospital • Winchester District Memorial

Hospital

Novari Health designs, builds and implements enterprise-scale SaaS solutions that improve the delivery of healthcare services. Based in Kingston and with offices in Australia and New Zealand, Novari has become one of the largest Canadian-based digital health solution providers.

“This ground-breaking technology provides the hospitals with the tools they need to coordinate surgical services in real time within the region, all while supporting better patient outcomes while tackling the surgical backlog,” said John Sinclair, president of Novari Health.

Ontario has provided funding to hospitals across the Ottawa region since 2020-21 to support a complex, multiyear transformation initiative aimed at supporting enhanced load balancing of surgical cases and reductions in patient wait times, as well as development of the technical infrastructure required to support centralized waitlist management at the provincial level.

“Integrating this made-in-Ontario software in hospitals across Eastern Ontario will mean shorter wait times for patients awaiting surgery and a more efficient use of hospital resources,” said Minister of Health Sylvia Jones. “This is an excellent example of the innovation we are calling for, all with the goal of improving our health system and creating a better experience for the patient.”

– Suzanne Madore, chief operating officer and chief nursing executive of The Ottawa Hospital

BY HEDDY SOROUR

news@obj.ca

With labour shortages in all sectors causing challenges across Eastern Ontario, one strategy that is gaining traction is attracting more immigrants to rural regions.

“The county is working with employers to promote job vacancies and working with organizations and agencies to help settle newcomers to our area and place them in jobs,” said David Wybou, business development officer with Renfrew County. “This includes participating in virtual career fairs with new Canadians currently living in urban centres and looking for new opportunities elsewhere, as well as people overseas who have recently been or are about to be granted work permits in Canada.”

Colleges like Algonquin are also recognizing the potential.

“One opportunity in Lanark and Renfrew counties is the growing international student enrollment at Algonquin College’s Perth and Pembroke campuses,” said Jamie Bramburger, manager of community and student affairs at the college’s Pembroke campus. “Many of these students are interested in settling in Canada when they complete their post-secondary education.”

Foreign student enrollment has more than tripled in the past year as labour shortages around the world fuel more emphasis on education, Bramburger added.

In Cornwall, Walmart Logistics welcomed more than 200 new associates this fall. The new workers came from Montreal, Ottawa and the GTA, but many were also newcomers to Canada who had obtained their permanent residency status.

“As our business grows, so does our need to increase our team,” said Rene-Paul Gomis, regional manager, people — logistics with Walmart. “We continue to have employment opportunities at our Cornwall distribution hub and these new workers will certainly help us address the seasonal surge that always happens at this time of the year.

“The goal is to convince our new associates to stay and settle in Cornwall,” added Gomis. “Cornwall is a wonderful place to live and raise a family and the cost of living here is so much more affordable than large urban centres like Toronto.”

Also in Cornwall, Olymel recently welcomed a group of 11 workers from Mexico.

“As we take the initiative of welcoming new foreign workers, we thank them for choosing us and assisting Olymel through these tough times,” said Shelly Harding, human resources manager with Olymel Cornwall. “We also thank our employees at Olymel who supported, helped and welcomed the foreign workers with so much passion and appreciation.”

Olymel has steadily grown its workforce in Cornwall to meet rising demand for its products. It has stepped up its recruitment efforts and increasingly looked outside of Canada to meet its growing needs, including through a temporary foreign workers project.

Last year, the company welcomed 49 foreign workers to Canada and has a target of hiring another 100 new employees. The workers have made a commitment to work for Olymel for two years, during which time the company hopes that many will seek permanent residency status.

In Renfrew and Lanark counties, the local labour market plan produced by the workforce planning board this past spring shows more than three-quarters (78 per cent) of industries in the region have experienced a negative impact on their businesses related to the pandemic. The most affected sectors were retail, healthcare and social assistance, accommodation and food services, and manufacturing and construction, according to the report.

“There is no question more employers are talking about the challenges they are having in attracting and retaining workers,” said Bramburger, adding there’s more competition for workers and job seekers have more choices than ever before.

Repeated work stoppages during the pandemic led many people nearing retirement to take an earlier exit from the workforce, says Heather Inwood-Montrose, small business advisor with Enterprise Renfrew County. It’s estimated that, in 2021, approximately 50 per cent of the population in Renfrew and Lanark counties was 45 years and older, above the provincial average of 44.3 per cent, according to data compiled by the counties and Algonquin College.

But that’s not the only factor at play.

“When people were forced to stay home due to business closures, this offered time to reflect on values and to re-evaluate career paths. This has driven a shift in prioritizing retraining, education and entrepreneurship to move away from minimum wage jobs and precarious employment,” InwoodMontrose explained.

At the same time, a jump in remote working opportunities ignited by the pandemic is allowing more people to consider jobs independent of geography, when before they would have settled for positions closer to home.

“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, some sectors of the economy in Lanark and Renfrew counties were already facing significant labour market shortages such as the skilled trades,” said Bramburger. Now, the shortage is being felt more widely.

“Virtually all business sectors are experiencing at least some labour shortages and challenges finding new employees,” added Wybou.

Algonquin College is responding by offering shorter-term programs that support the healthcare and forestry sectors in a concerted effort to attract new entry-level employees, Bramburger said.

“The college has also added additional sections of apprenticeship training in trades such as carpentry and electrical to feed the surging housing industry,” he said.

“Businesses are coping in different ways, depending on the nature of the business,” added Wybou.

Food services and retail are asking existing staff to work longer hours and/ or reducing hours of operation, while manufacturers are investing in technology, lengthening shifts and foregoing production increases, he said.

Matthew McShane, third from left, surrounded by loyal colleagues at Forfar Dairy in Portland. PHOTO SUPPLIED.

BY HEDDY SOROUR

news@obj.ca

Surrounded by dilapidated equipment and on the cusp of a global pandemic, Matthew McShane was still in the mood for a kitchen party jam when he went into the food services business three years ago.

In fact, as a self-described Maritimer through and through, McShane was determined to bring the warmth and hospitality of his Nova Scotian upbringing as the proud new owner of Forfar Dairy and the Sunflower Bake Shop.

McShane moved to Perth and bought the bake shop in 2019. There were challenges from the get-go.

“I didn’t realize this at the time, everything looked like it was in good condition until I got in there, then I could really see the equipment was so old. The average piece of equipment was 30-plus years old and there was nothing new, everything was literally on the brink of falling apart and is still falling apart,” says McShane with a shrug.

For three years he struggled to pay rent while working around failing equipment. He considered investing in new appliances, but it was going to cost upward of $30,000 at a time when his new business was in the grips of the pandemic.

A natural collaborator with strong community values, McShane got involved with the Perth Business Improvement Area. “I love being in Perth, so I started to look for other facilities or another building,” says McShane, who could find nothing suitable in the town.

Then he discovered Forfar Dairy in Portland was for sale and already had a retail space and café. Recognizing a complementary business, McShane decided to move the Sunflower Bake Shop and combine the two businesses. Best of all, Forfar, at almost 6,000 square feet, was three times the size of the bake shop. “It allows me to do everything I want and already has threephase power. So it was perfect and it’s a hub and destination,” he enthuses.

The move was arduous and took nearly four months to accomplish. One piece alone took upwards of a day to move.

“We have a big mixer, Mavis, that weighs 900 pounds that needed a tow truck to move. When we got to Forfar, the neighbours, Baker’s Feed Store, brought over their forklift to move Mavis. They’re the best neighbours,” laughs McShane.

“So now I have two iconic brands,” he adds, with the pent-up energy and delight of a child with a new toy. “Sunflower Bake Shop that’s been around for 30 years, famous for their carrot cake, and Forfar Dairy, famous for their cheese curds and their reputation of 100 years. So I’ve got 130 years of branding here.”

McShane says he wants to “expand the businesses on all sides.” This winter he intends to start manufacturing and bottling his own BBQ sauce, Blaze ‘n’ Glaze.

“It’s my own recipe. I wrote the main recipe when I was teenager. I made a few small batches at the Sunflower Bake Shop in Perth and we sold out in five minutes. Really, it was, ‘Here’s a sample and here’s your bottle,’” he chuckles.

Once he gets the bottling operation running, he figures he’ll be able to offer co-packing for other producers in the area. Less than a year in the new facility and he’s already expanded the seating area and increased his bakery’s output by collaborating with 23 & Co., another cookie-making business.

“All of the ovens and equipment Matt had in Perth were gas and he was not retrofitting the building here in Forfar for gas and I had an electric convection oven. He needed an oven, I needed space, so Matt and I became very good friends,” says Krista Gill of 23 & Co. in Rideau Lakes.

“Even though we were both making cookies, it wasn’t really competition ... my motto is community over competition,” explains McShane.

Darlene Gifford had been working at Forfar for 30 years when McShane took it over. Initially unsure of her employment situation, she left Forfar and started working for Baker’s next door. Within two months she was back.

“Having been here many years my passion for the business was still here,” says Gifford, who, according to McShane, refuses the title of manager even though that’s her role.

McShane has taken his experience in information technology, hotel and hospitality management and coupled it with his Maritime heritage to build businesses that reflect his roots.

“Yeah, it is definitely part of our culture in the Maritimes — you feed people and have a kitchen party jam,” he says with a twinkle.

“One of the biggest lessons that we’ve learned over the past two years is how we work together. The competitive advantage in Ottawa could be radical collaboration,” says Sueling Ching, president of the Ottawa Board of Trade, referencing a method of working together that embraces diverse perspectives. Ching believes governments learned how to move more quickly during their response to the pandemic and should not lose that speed now.

It’s a sentiment echoed by Jim McConnery, managing partner at Welch LLP.

“The business community has experienced a wide range of challenges since the onset of COVID including numerous lockdowns and restrictions; last winter’s blockade experience; and a tight labor market in many sectors of the economy,” he says. “Effective collaboration between government and the business community is key to the resilience of our economy and will continue to be important as we navigate an uncertain business climate in 2023.”

At Regroupement des Gens d’Affaires de la Capitale Nationale (RGA), general director Marc Chenier agrees on the need for more interchange between government and business. “Just imagine if we have to go back to lockdowns because of the new variants ... What should we do?” Chenier asks. “Those discussions should happen between members of various boards of trade and chambers of commerce. They should get involved more in the lobbying process with governments … We should be more proactive in this case, there’s not enough proactivity.”

Of course, Chenier recognizes that governments can only do so much to manage macro forces such as inflation and unemployment. What they can do, he argues, is expedite processes for businesses, such as zoning and permitting, and not worry as much about subsidies or financial aid.

Tim Thomas of Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall agrees that it’s not about the money. “I can tell you the one big thing right now is that it takes forever to get stuff approved,” he says, citing months-long delays in getting site approvals from city hall. Unless processes are streamlined, conversion projects in the downtown could be delayed or not even started, he adds.

“It speaks to modernizing government,” adds Ching, citing digitization, smart city solutions and security as areas where the public sector must keep up.

Ching believes an environment of trust, predictability and confidence is necessary for businesses to excel and innovate. “What we know is that our economy is growing and our community thriving will be driven by the success of our businesses,” she says, adding that the municipal government has a huge opportunity to contribute to that success.

WELCHLLP.COM

Partners Nancy Nicks, Jacob Milosek, Blair Duffy, Todd Hamilton, David Ienzi and Jenifer Dawe are pleased to welcome Shaina Watt, Spencer Brooks and Michelle Bouchard to the Firm’s partnership.

Client service is an important issue for Shaina. Her dedication to helping clients has endeared her to them. One of Shaina’s greatest attributes is her innate ability to connect with our staff and help them realize their full potential. Shaina is committed to helping the community at large and serves as a director on the board of the Queensway Carleton Hospital Foundation. “At Hendry Warren, I’ve grown into a role that I thoroughly enjoy, day in and day out, and it’s the people and clients who make it worthwhile.” Shaina attended Dalhousie University and started with Hendry Warren as a co-op student in 2011. She obtained her CA designation in 2016

Committed to obtaining the best results for our clients, Spencer is an integral part of Hendry Warren’s knowledgeable and versatile tax team. Spencer has focussed his tax acumen on estate and succession planning, which has become a growing concern among many of our clients. He has served as a tutor at the Income Tax for the General Practitioner In-Depth Course. “As a tax specialist, my expertise in succession and estate planning, income tax research, income tax planning and corporate reorganizations allows me to provide clients with the full picture to determine the best way forward.” Spencer was born and raised in Ottawa. He attended Carleton University and began his career in accounting as a co-op student with Hendry Warren in 2013. He obtained his CA designation in 2018 and his TEP designation in 2021.

Problem solving is what Michelle loves most about accounting. It is this love that manifests itself in every aspect of her interactions with our clients. Her dedication to client service permeates other aspects of her professional life. Michelle is currently serving as Treasurer and Vice Chair on the board of Roger Neilson House. “Starting and continuing my career with HWLLP has provided me with endless opportunities to expand my knowledge of assurance and taxation in a variety of industries while developing my interpersonal skills by interacting with clients directly.” Born in Cochrane, Ontario Michelle attended the University of Ottawa. She started with Hendry Warren as a co-op student in 2012 and obtained her CA designation in 2016.

We are growing and always looking for new people for our dynamic team. We respect and encourage a balance between work and personal activities. Our team enjoys the work environment at our office and a flexible work schedule including remote work options. We also participate together in various community service activities and fundraising With over 20 years of service excellence in the Ottawa business community, our unique team of CPAs and professional accounting and bookkeeping staff will work alongside the partners to provide personalized solutions for your business or personal needs.