Licence to lead

In this issue, I continue my series on leadership which is vital to both the workplace and the prosperity of our city and province.

There are interesting parallels right now. Our new president and CEO, Iain Black, is firmly at the helm of The Vancouver Board of Trade. Under Iain’s leadership, the organization will be taken in new directions and to new heights to ensure ongoing relevance to our members and the broader community.

We are also about to see some new leading faces in local government following the municipal elections. The Board will lead the way in arrangements to meet with mayor and council post-election to ensure Vancouver, and specifically downtown, are made more attractive to conducting business with positive, forward thinking initiatives. As we heard from our panel on real estate, moderated by David Podmore, chairman and CEO, Concert Properties Ltd., there is no real estate bubble to burst and in fact, Podmore stated the number of people employed in the construction industry is up at 136,000 for 2011, compared to 100,000 in 2009.

Our province is also leading the way forward, navigating difficult economic times by building on the new BC Jobs Plan released recently at The Vancouver Board of Trade by Premier Christy Clark. To reinforce the Plan, British Columbia’s largest ever jobs and trade mission to Asia has just departed to promote our position as the Pacific Gateway to international trade. The purpose of this 300-strong delegation, which includes our own secretary-treasurer, Jack McGee, president of the Justice Institute of BC, is to attract new foreign investment dollars to our province, along with an influx of international students.

It also aims to strengthen the network of trade offices helping B.C. companies enter Asian markets, first in China in the areas of transportation, international education, mining, forestry, liquefied natural gas, seafood promotion and technology; then in India, where the Premier will cement ties with more government and business leaders to explore further B.C. opportunities in mining investment, life sciences, technology, green energy and forestry.

As Minister Ed Fast, Canada’s Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway told us when he spoke to The Board of Trade last month on his return from a federal trade mission: “Canada’s future depends on your businesses doing business in Japan, India and China.”

The Pacific Gateway to Asia is British Columbia. Our west coast ports are more than two days closer to Asian markets than any other ports in North America. In 2009-10, Canadian exports to China using Asia-Pacific Gateway infrastructure increased by a staggering 19 per cent, reaching $13.2 billion.

Now that the Pacific Gateway is well and truly open for business, and the foundations have been laid, it is important for us to learn how The Board of Trade can once again lead the way and take our relationship with Asia to the next level. So on November 28, we will have the opportunity to hear the B.C. delegation’s progress when The Hon. Pat Bell, B.C. Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation reports back upon his return from China, Japan and Hong Kong on Pacific Ties: Jobs And Economic Growth Through Relationships with Asia.

Back home, The Board is about to extend our leadership on health to the area of mental health, the third of my key objectives after the economy and international trade.

Did you know that in 2009 to 2010, mental illness cost the Canadian economy $51 billion with 35 per cent of that attributed to short and long-term productivity losses according to the? Yet close to half of all managers receive absolutely no training on how to manage employees with a mental illness.

Moreover, the Commission estimates between $3 billion and $11 billion could be saved annually if mental injuries due to employer negligence were avoided. Here in B.C., 61 per cent of the total $6 billion cost of problem substance abuse related to mental illness is lost productivity caused by early deaths and disability.

I believe the business community has not only a social but economic obligation to improve outcomes in the area of mental health in the work place. Many with mental health challenges want to be taxpaying contributors to our society, but are not enabled to do so. The social and economic costs of not taking action are significant, and this is exactly the issue being addressed by The Board’s Health, Wellness and Well-Being Task Force; I look forward to the release of their report in the New Year, along with recommendations which The Board can submit to government.

In the meantime, I am keen to begin the much-needed dialogue to bring about actual change. I encourage all of you to attend The Board’s Let’s Talk: Mental Health in the Workplace on November 16 an interactive, half-day forum of experts discussing issues important to your business: how mental illness impacts the bottom line, how to create a work culture conducive to good mental health, and the resources available to improve workplace mental health.

On a lighter note, I also hope you will join me at our fun Christmas Lunch and Year-End Wrap-Up with our always entertaining panel of media icons, including Global BC News Hour anchor Chris Gailus and The Province’s editor-in-chief, Wayne Moriarty, as they carve up the year’s news on November 29. Bring along your staff and clients – it’s always a festive, entertaining and informative event!

Until then, I wish you and our board of directors all the best for the upcoming holiday season, and look forward to hitting the ground running in January for another great and productive year at The Vancouver Board of Trade, ready to build on the foundations we have laid and achieve yet more results.

Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia
Chair
The Vancouver Board of Trade

See previous messages:

Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, 2011-12 Chair, The Vancouver Board of Trade

> April 2012 A long legacy of leadership
> March 2012 Leadership lessons come from all sectors
> February 2012 Vancouver’s ‘location, location, location’ is no longer enough
> November 2011 Licence to lead
> October 2011 Lift off: Leadership launched
> September 2011 Relevance and Results

Jason McLean, 2010-11 Chairman, The Vancouver Board of Trade

> June 2011 Transitions
> May 2011 HST Common sense for the common good
> April 2011 People power
> March 2011 Lasting legacies
> Nov-Dec 2010 The challenge of change
> Sept-Oct 2010 A quality of life organization

WEB PROFILE

SOV Founding Partner Ranked among the world’s top ten airports, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is Canada’s second busiest passenger gateway. In addition to being the major West Coast airport closest to Asia, YVR is ideally situated on the Great Circle Routes, with infrastructure and services to handle the largest aircraft in the world under extreme weather conditions.

Passengers at YVR enjoy leading-edge technology and more than 160 shops, services and restaurants. The airport provides direct service to some 130 destinations in Canada, the United States and around the world, keeping B.C. at the crossroads of international travel, tourism and trade.

Vancouver Airport Authority, the community-based, not-for-profit organization that operates YVR, is undertaking a $1-billion construction program that will ensure the airport meets the growing demand for air travel and continues to be developed as a premier global gateway and economic generator for British Columbia.

While the airport’s reach is global, the Airport Authority remains firmly rooted in the local community and is pleased to be a founding partner of Spirit of Vancouver.

Vancouver International Airport Authority (YVR)
www.yvr.com

Vancouver International Airport Authority P.O. Box 23750 Airport Postal Outlet
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