Boston Pizza

Good news: Boston Pizza has started construction on their new restaurant in Kindersley. It is located in the west end of town in front of the new Canalta Hotel. As an aside: the hotel looks like it will have a pool.

Yesterday, Friday, we had a groundbreaking celebration. Everyone who I have spoken with are excited about Boston Pizza coming. During my Friday morning meeting it was the topic of conversation for a few minutes and my sons can't wait.

Tom and Brett from Canalta, me, and Tom from Boston Pizza. March 6, 2015 (Thanks Michelle McMillan for the pic)

Welcome everyone

·         Thank you to Tom from Boston Pizza International and Brent and Rob from Canalta for being here

·         And thanks to all of you for joining us today

·         As Mayor for the Town of Kindersley, I am very happy to share in this occasion as we celebrate the construction of the new Boston Pizza and Canalta Hotel in Kindersley

·         What we are celebrating today is more than a restaurant; it is the power of the imagination as we visualize a new normal for Kindersley

·         It is another example of growth for our community; growth that has steadily increased over the past few years with the expansion of existing businesses, construction of new hotels (such as the Canalta behind me), new shopping centres, and thankfully, new housing in the Brookhollow Estates

·         Why is it important to celebrate this growth?

·         It’s a sign of our vitality as a community to see a different Kindersley

·         It shows confidence from the business community in Kindersley’s economy

·         It indicates to us that, despite recent downturns in the oil industry, that we are still a location that is appealing to corporate businesses and investors, and that we are in a position to continue seeing our community develop and mature

·         Boston Pizza and Canalta provides more opportunities for both Kindersley residents and visitors to our community

·         On behalf of Council, I want to thank Canalta and Boston Pizza for your interest in developing in Kindersley and the contributions you will bring to the community and region, not simply through economics, but building our infrastructure for growth and the added appeal to our tourism and service sector.

·         We are eager to have you as a part of our business community and we hope that we, as a community, can help you have success in Kindersley

·         I hope that you will find Kindersley to be a warm and inviting place to live and that your employees will be content to live, work, play, and raise their families here.

·         Once again, congratulations, and may your investment in Kindersley be prosperous!

Heartland Health Region: Request for Policies to Guide EMS Changes

During the Heartland Health Region meeting with elected officials Heartland Health requested policies to help guide their discussions to improve EMS in West Central Saskatchewan. Here is what we put forward:

·         No municipal monies will be required for the operations of EMS in their area, including the recruitment and retention of personnel.

·         Evidence-based staging of EMS equipment and personnel to effectively and efficiently cover primary risk areas to respond to expected incidents.

·         Primary risk areas are identified and sufficient coverage is available.

·         The scope of personnel recruited and retained is sufficient to effectively and efficiently address emergencies.

·         Sufficient resources are allocated to human resources ensuring that EMS staffing levels are stable and sufficient.

·         That resources allocated to EMS staff are sufficient to recruit and retain staff.

·         That EMS staff has a quality of life that precludes burnout.

·         Sufficient resources are allocated to equipment, ensuring that all equipment is reliable, safe, and providing the best reasonable opportunity for success for individuals in need.

Heartland Health Region: EMS Current Situation and Moving Forward

Heartland Health Region invited elected officials from across the region to learn about the current EMS situation and how they plan to move forward.

My notes follow and then the presentation.

• Significant issues with EMS
• EMS stabilization is top 2 priority
• EMS excessive waits and delays
• Staff and physician dissatisfaction
• Problems include HR and vehicles
• Want reliable, safety, efficient,
• Conducting a P3
• Earlier request denied
• Invested $500k to stabilize
• New fleet management plan
• Now a multi year lease plan with 2 new vehicles per year
• Current State
• 17 EMS sites, 15 region owned
• Highest number of EMS in the province
• 30 vehicles in region
• EMS Staff
• EMRespondrs
• EMTs
• Primary Care Paramedic
• ICP
• ACPs: Kindersley only
• 25% call increase
• 50% emerge and transfer
• 2 ambulances in Kerrobert
• Kindersley extreme increase, min EMT
• 3 ambulances with 2 fully staffed
• 42% transfer
• Licensure
• College of Paramedics
• First responders are way down
• EMS budget is $5.3m expense and $1.6m revenue
• EMS on call wage is $87/yr
• 30 vehicles over 400k km
• Cost of maintenance up to $238k
• Staffing Pressure
• 37 positions guaranteed
• Many casual on call and can't support a family
• Overtime is increasing
• Up to 45 days straight on call
• Average age is over 41
• Kindersley 6 positions of .75
• Why no full-time? money
• Overtime
• EMS hours of OT/FTE 128 and now 156
• Coverage Pressure
• Wait times with up to 5 HRHA teams of 2 EMS staff each for 7 hours
• Kerrobert is a hub to Luseland and Dodsland
• Out of service times significantly increased in region, Kindersley is minimal occurring when both ambulances on a call
• Staff are moved to other areas to reduce response times (geo-posting)
• 166 out of area calls
• Mitigating Risks
• Reducing deadhead trips
• Communities have been funding EMS staff
• Air Services
• EMS System Opportunities
• Integration
• Community Paramedicine
• Collaborative Emergency Centres
• Future State
• Sustainable?
• Recruitment and Retention?
• Level of Care: EMR vs. EMT
• 3P
• March 16-20 in Kindersley
• Production, Preparation, Process,
• Include a variety of stakeholders
• What is would you identify/define as the important attributes or features of the Future State for EMS in HHR?
• Quality of life
• Condition of ambulances
• Reimagine the service model
• Reduce wait times
• Tiered system
• No municipal monies
• More communication

Thank you to Heartland Health for sharing this presentation.

 

Boards Behaving Badly: How to Improve Board Room Culture & Mitigate Governance Risk

In February I sat in on a webinar hosted by the Conference Board of Canada. The presentation was excellent outlining board relations, power, and governance impacts. I'm not convinced it was value for the money though; lesson learned.

My notes from the webinar follow:

Boards Behaving Badly: How to Improve Board Room Culture & Mitigate Governance Risk

Conference Board of Canada

February 20, 2015  John T. Dinner

·         Focus:

     ·         Boardroom dynamics and relationships

     ·         Directors working better together

     ·         Sharing power and control with the CEO

     ·         Giving priority to board behaviours/culture

     ·         From governance inputs to impact

·         Increasing recognition of importance of boardroom culture

·         Passive boards: lack meaningful steps to foster cultural issues

·         Good intentions can lead to bad culture and governance

     ·         3 tips:

          ·         Sit somewhere else

          ·         Wait for others to speak

          ·         Rather than criticize give card and coach

·         A lot of elephants in the boardroom

     ·         Getting directors on the same page

     ·         Difficult to express contrarian views

     ·         Fear disrupting momentum

     ·         Difficulty addressing people dynamics

     ·         Legacy governance practices

     ·         Disconnect between board/management performance standards

          ·         Boards often not at same level as management for behaviour

·         How to get rid of elephants

      ·         Need a tool to hold each other accountable for behaviour

      ·         No rationalization for bad behaviour

·         Board performance doesn’t happen in isolation; there is context

     ·         Logic for Board culture

     ·         Stream of regulation, guidelines, best practices, etc

     ·         Little attention to human dynamics (task oriented)

          ·         How directors work together

          ·         How the board shares power/control (more structural than relational)

     ·         Addressing boardroom behaviour

          ·         Focus on board structure and process

          ·         Culture critical to how boards perform

               ·         Without culture good process and structure doesn’t get you far

·         Broader context

     ·         Board culture: lack of leadership, lip service, Director assessments

     ·         Risk Adverse: status quo vs disruption

     ·         Western Values: individualism vs group collective

     ·         Key Drivers: regulation/guidelines, group think

     ·         Focus on governance inputs: generic best practices, comply or explain “loophole”; some boards are handcuffed. (Do best practices help or hinder – because others are doing it doesn’t mean it is effective

·         Proof of Context

     ·         Lack of will for boardroom change: culture is ill defined but entrenched

     ·         Lack of leadership on gender balance issue: need for legislation, Board of Directors modernization bill

     ·         Lack of rigorous assessment: avoidance, everything is fine

·         Key drivers

     ·         CDN security Association, other regulations

     ·         CCGC guidelines

     ·         OSFI guidelines

     ·         Industry practices produce followers, not leaders

·         OSFI Guideline

     ·         Role of the board

     ·         Board responsibilities

     ·         Board effectiveness

           ·         Lack of definition for metrics

     ·         Proactive: accountable, ownership – addresses key drivers

     ·         Rigour: proof of effectiveness – outcome focused, beyond best practices

     ·         What serves Kindersley?

·         Outcome focused

     ·         Intended outcomes: rarely understood/defined

     ·         Poor orientation

     ·         Results?

     ·         Gaps

·         Transformational Questions – 5 questions, culture can be a strength

     1.       What does governance mean for your organization? Common understanding of the Board’s role and what governance means?

     2.       What would be lost if your Board ceased to exist The unique contribution the Board makes; the value it brings. – strategic, competitive,

     3.       What is the boardroom culture?

                    i.                                    Conduct themselves, relate to one another

                   ii.                                  Tenor and tone of meetings

                 iii.                                   Does Board model behaviour expected of management? Board owns and models values and expected behaviour

                 iv.                                   What are the Boardroom elephants? Look from a risk perspective; not intentional or deliberate poses lots of risk with poor decisions (be proactive and take ownership)

     4.     What’s the working relationship between the Board and the CEO? (better define)

                    i.                                    How power will be shared

                   ii.                                   How the Board and CEO will work together

                 iii.                                   How conflict will be addressed

                 iv.                                   Maintaining measured reliance on management

     5.       What does it aspire to become?

                    i.                                    What does the Board want to be able to say is true about its value, contribution?

·         Bad behaviour is not intentional

·         Board self-assessment tool? (Kindersley Council conducted a review of ourselves before Christmas including a review of the Mayor - the CAO was reviewed previous to this)

     ·         A process

     ·         Start with self-assessment

·         Human Resource: compensation, principles, not too engaged with implementation of policies

Chamber of Commerce AGM

February 27th the Chamber of Commerce held their AGM. They have a Board Directors but no Executive was elected. Approximately 55 people were in attendance.

A guest speaker from the RCMP, whose name I didn't catch, spoke about Frauds and Scams. My notes of his talk follow.

President Tolanda Baker at the Chamber of Commerce AGM. Feb 27, 2015

Frauds/Scams

• Counterfeit note to internet misrepresentation, identity theft
• Fraud: deceit or falsehood
• Identity Fraud: unauthorized use, possession or tracking of personal information
• Unauthorized use of information to create fictitious identity
• To assume identiy for gain
• 2013-$11m lost by identity theft
• Actual estimated to be $220m
• 12 months to notice identity theft
• Identity theft is fastest growing fraud
• Identity needs: name, date of birth, SIN, driver's license, birth certificate, Passport
• There are 4 million more SINs active then people
• Use ID theft for banking, loans,
• Target group is 18 - 30
• Scam complexity and jurisdictional issues hampers law enforcement response
• Tell: need money quickly
• Prevent scam and fraud use only ID and credit cards that are needed
• If asked by phone for personal information ask how personal info will be used

Moment with the Mayor: Reframing Provincial and Municipal Relations

Hi Neighbours:

I have recently been reflecting on the relationship between municipalities and the provincial government given the Premier’s statement to arbitrarily change a revenue-sharing agreement. I think the relationship is due for a review and some changes. Here are my suggestions I shared with the Premier in a letter:

Another approach is needed to ensure the Province and municipalities can sustainably manage growth and change. Change is the new normal, and greater cooperation and flexibility is required by both the Province and Municipalities to successfully manage our mutual challenges. The following may be considered a framework for a new and enhanced Saskatchewan to help her realize her potential:

1.       An understanding between the Province and Municipalities, SUMA and SARM, recognizing that the Province and its municipalities are equal partners in stewarding Saskatchewan.

2.       Recognition that revenue for both the Province and Municipalities is the result of the joint effort between the Province and municipalities to increase the wealth of Saskatchewan.

3.       Recognition that the Province and Municipalities share responsibility for building, managing, and sustaining our province and municipalities.

                           i.            Respect for the roles, responsibilities, and obligations each partner undertakes to build and equip the province.

                          ii.            As partners working together a formal consultation procedure between the Province and Municipalities be established ensuring collaborative planning and strategies resulting in effective stewardship.

4.       Enhanced cooperation between the Province and municipalities ensuring certainty and predictability of government performance, standards, and planning.

5.       Recognition that municipalities are under-resourced, leading to an unhealthy dependence upon the Province and federal government for financial assistance to address necessary hard and soft infrastructure such as water, waste water, solid waste, and arts and recreation.

                           i.            Revenue-sharing that is considered ‘own source’ predicated on economic activity and independent of provincial government decision-making.

                          ii.            As the Province delegates greater responsibilities to Municipalities, the Province ensures adequate funding and resources is allocated to Municipalities to effectively and efficiently fulfill the responsibilities.

We are at a fortuitous time in Saskatchewan’s history. Saskatchewan’s tomorrow is today and we need to think and act wisely now to ensure yesterday’s dreams are tomorrow’s realities.

Please write or phone if you would like me to discuss a particular topic. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at the town office or email me at mayorenns-wind@kindersley.ca. You can also check out my blog at http://mayorjohn.blogspot.ca/. I appreciate your feedback.