December 2007

Flirting With Disaster

Start with a flood, then add in a gas leak. A look inside one of rural Alberta’s preeminent emergency-response programs >

Wireless Insecurities

Brad Haines, 28, seems like a normal guy. He’s tall, has slight features and never leaves home without his favourite hat. One more thing. Haines is also a “white-hat hacker” who knows a thing or two about computer security and he’s ready to talk shop >

Yes, We’ve Noticed You

The scene: a conference centre near Toronto airport, formerly a Sears warehouse. The date: early November. The headlines: “1,100 local jobs lost at Chrysler.” The circumstances couldn’t have been more propitious for Workwest’s first Toronto-based career fair, a two-day event that saw two dozen Alberta employers go trolling for new staff from Canada’s largest city >

Upgraderville

What will Alberta’s Industrial Heartland look like once all the projects being planned and built today are operational? A glimpse into the future of that other community being reshaped by the advent of the oilsands age >

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

More than 20 years ago, in an effort to drum up business during the slow real estate years, Victor Nevada donned a Santa suit. He made appearances for his clients’ children, and soon realized there was more to being Santa than a white beard and red suit. He researched and practised and, sure enough, his ho ho hos improved >

Two Time Zones, One Market

Herb Nodes can almost see the Alberta border from his home in Dawson Creek, B.C., located 20 minutes west of the line on Highway 49 >

The Subprime Sub-plot

As I write this article the media is full of stories on the alternative lending or subprime market in the United States. One edition of the Wall Street Journal had so many stories on the subprime sector that it looked more like a special mortgage insert >

The best and worst of 2007

Here are the stories that peppered power-lunch conversations, inflamed passions and put the folks at the top on the hot seat. Here are the issues that altered the course of Alberta’s affairs and the lives of its citizens. Here, we present the Top 10 Business Stories of the Year, a few that didn’t make the front pages and factors from beyond our borders >

Over a Barrel

Conventional oil companies took the biggest hit under Stelmach’s royalty plan. That means good buys among junior oilsands players >

No Worries

In James Kinnear’s memory, the origins of Canadian energy trusts are indelibly entwined with the flavours of steaming noodles and rice, served in a Chinese restaurant in downtown Montreal >

December 2007

Dawn of a New Age

If you don’t want to wind up on a yoga mat meditating for wealth, it pays to get the scoop on your clients >

Bridging the Great Divide

John Zaozirny leads a double life >

A Conciliator on the Left

And now, as the old Monty Python shows used to say, for something completely different! >

Trading Places

About four years ago, Anderson Vacations, a Calgary-based tour operator, started selling its products and services to travel agents in British Columbia. The first year didn’t go so well, company president Corey Marshall concedes.  >