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Publication of the Swiss Canadian Chambers of Commerce Ontario and Quebec
Publication des Chambres de Commerce Canado-Suisse de l’Ontario et du Québec
August/September Août / Septembre 2014
Feature/Reportage
eature/Reportage::
Energy / Énergie
www.swissbiz.ca
www.cccsqc.ca
DÉCOUVREZ LA R ÉVOLUT I ON SUR
WWW.NESPRESSO.COM
#TheCoffeeRevolution
Publication of the Swiss Canadian Chambers of Commerce Ontario and Quebec
Publication des Chambres de Commerce Canado-Suisse de l’Ontario et du Québec
FEATURE / REPORTAGE
Energy / Énergie
4
6
7
9
15
Business Opportunities for Swiss Companies in Alberta’s Booming Economy
Nanotechnology and Energy
Canadian Energy Sector – Fast Facts
Hilti Canada: Reinventing your Business Model
UBS Commodity Markets Update
BUSINESS AND OTHER NEWS
ACTUALITÉS ÉCONOMIQUES ET D’AFFAIRES
10
12
13
17
20
28
Tribeca Insights: China: New Frontier for Swiss Banking
The Employer’s Edge
A Little Humility Goes a Long Way
Minimum Wages in Canada and in Switzerland
Business News
Trade Fairs
CHAMBER NEWS
INFORMATIONS DE VOTRE CHAMBRE
2
3
15
17
19
20
21
22
24
25
26
28
President’s Message SCCC/Upcoming Events
Message du Président CCCS / Événements à venir
Quote of the Month
Scholarship Fund
SCCC New Members
Nouveaux Membres – CCCS
La Suisse à Montréal en Lumière 2015,
le festival hivernal de Montréal
Golf Tournament 2014 in Association with CGCIC
Le golf avec votre Chambre; une sortie agréable
pour tous!
Soccer (Football) World Cup 2014
Travel News
SCCC Group Health Plan
Oilfield Pipeline
CONTENTS / INDICE
^c[dhj^hhZ
Swiss Canadian Chamber of Commerce (Ontario) Inc.
756 Royal York Road • Toronto, Ontario M8Y 2T6
Tel: (416) 236-0039 • Fax: (416) 236-3634 • E-mail: [email protected] • www.swissbiz.ca
BOARD OF DIRECTORS • 2014 – 2015
President / Director:
Ernst Notz
Nacora
2 Hunter Avenue, Toronto ON M6E 2C8
Tel: 416-784-2872
Email: [email protected]
1st Vice-President/Director:
Julien Favre
UBS Bank (Canada)
154 University Avenue, Toronto ON M5H 3Z4
Tel: 416-345-7033
Email: [email protected] Website: www.ubs.com/1/e/canada
Treasurer/ Director:
Monica Stevens-Wyss
Trowbridge Professional Corporation
25 Adelaide St. E.; Suite 1400; Toronto, ON M5C 3A1
Phone: 416-214-7833 ext.104
Email: [email protected] Website: www.trowbridge.ca
Secretary & Legal Counsel:
Bernard Lette
Lette LLP
20 Queen Street West, #3300, P.O. Box 33, Toronto ON M5H 3R3
Tel: 416-971-4898
Email: [email protected] Website: www.lette.ca
Past President / Director:
Philipp Gysling
Mesh Innovations Inc.
174 Hallam Street, Toronto ON M6H 1X5
Tel: 416-871-8159
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.meshinnovations.com
Directors:
Brett Berman
IMD Alumni Club of Canada
107 Cottingham Street, Toronto, ON M4V 1B9
Tel: 416-464-9422
Email: b.berman@intifin.com
Rudi Blatter
Lindt & Spruengli (Canada) Inc.
181 University Avenue, Suite 900, Toronto ON M5H 3M7
Tel: 416-351-8566
Email: [email protected] Website: www.lindt.com
Heidy Lawrance
WeMakeBooks.ca
238 Willowdale Ave., North York ON M2N 4Z5
Tel: 416-733-1827
Email: [email protected]
Website: WeMakeBooks.ca
Sandra Leuba
RBC Wealth Management
CINEBOXX Film & Television Inc.
136 Curzon Street, Toronto ON M4M 3B5
Tel: 416-616-4251
Email: [email protected]
Marianne Mian-Krenger
Re/Max Legacy Realty Inc. Brokerage
2485 Taylorwood Dr., Oakville, ON L6H 0E1
Tel: W: 905-272-5000 Tel: H: 416-820-2003
Email: [email protected]
Dear Members,
Both Chambers had a very busy month of June organizing various
events. We both had our golf tournament and some world cup soccer
related fun gatherings. Especially the golf tournament required a lot
of preparation and detail attention; I would like to thank our own
golf committee for their dedicated successful work.
Our two chambers met at the residence of Ulrich Lehner, our
departing Ambassador. We would like to thank him for all his support
during his stay in Canada and we wish him much success at his
new demanding assignment in Paris with the OECD. His successor,
Ambassador Beat Nobs, will arrive some time in September and we
are looking forward to welcoming him at latest at our Dinner & Dance on November 15th
which is now in preparation stage. The social, pleasant lunch meeting in Ottawa was very
beneficial and lead to discussion on cooperation and common challenges. It was nice to meet
with our friends from Montreal. Please see the various articles in this issue.
In cooperation with the IMD Alumni Club and the International University Clubs of Toronto
we were able to profit of the visit of a member of the Executive Board (Mr. Meyrat) who
gave us a valuable presentation on how Hilti, Liechtenstein based manufacturer of high end
construction tools and fasteners, reinvented their business model and introduced a new fleet
management program to differentiate itself from its competitors.
Our various committees are working on the SCCC future orientation focusing on e.g. how to
facilitate and promote business, engage members to network and broaden our membership
base with different offerings incl. social media, succession planning etc. We will report on this
in one of our next issue.
SCCC also dealt with the anti-spam legislation (CASL) introduced effective July 1, 2014, and
we are in the process of obtaining consent to send a “commercial electronic message” (CEM)
to our interested parties.
The feature articles in this bi-monthly publication focuses on “Energy”. You can read about
the Business opportunities for Swiss companies in Alberta’s booming economy; or how
Nanotechnology and in particular several nano-materials have become interesting candidates
for solar energy harvesting, largely inspired by the Grätzel Cell developed at the Swiss
Institute of Technology in Lausanne; as well as a market update on “Energy”.
Ronnie Miller
Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd
2455 Meadowpine Boulevard, Mississauga ON L5N 6L7
Tel: 905-542-5522
Email: [email protected] Website: www.rochecanada.com
Thank you in advance for participating in our upcoming fall events as per the schedule below.
Christoph Oehy
Swiss Reinsurance Company
150 King Street West, Toronto, ON M5H 1J9
Tel: 647-775-2443
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.swissre.com
Yours sincerely,
See you soon!
Ernst Notz, President
Daniel Oehy
Swissmar
35 East Beaver Creek Rd, Unit 6, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1B3
Tel: 905-764-1121
Email: [email protected] Website: www.swissmar.com
Urs Uhlmann
Zurich
400 University Avenue, 25th Floor, Toronto ON M5G 1S7
Tel: 416-586-2959
Email: [email protected] Website: www.zurich.ca
Honorary Director:
Kathy Utigard
Honorary Consul of Toronto
193 Riverview Street, Oakville, ON L6L 5S3
Tel: 905-845-1259
E-mail: [email protected]
Executive Assistant:
Patricia Keller Schläpfer – SCCC
756 Royal York Road, Toronto ON M8Y 2T6
Tel: 416-236-0039 Fax: 416-551-1011
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.swissbiz.ca
Typesetting and Assembly: Nancy Raitt @ corptype
Printed by: J. B. Deschamps
2
INFO SUISSE
2014 COMING EVENTS
August 19
Pub Night with the British Chamber
September 20
CSCA Event at Shaw Festival: Cabaret Musical
November 15
Gala Dinner Dance
Further Information can be found on www.swissbiz.ca/upcoming_events
Dates above are subject to change
La Chambre de commerce canado-suisse (Québec) Inc.
Swiss Canadian Chamber of Commerce (Quebec) Inc.
1572 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Qué. H3G 1C4 • Tél: (514) 937-5822 • Fax: (514) 954-5619 • E-mail: [email protected] • Web site: www.cccsqc.ca
CONSEIL D’ADMINISTRATION / BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2013 – 2014
Président / President
M. Christian G. Dubois
Président
Onix international
Tel: (514) 624 5740
courriel:[email protected]
Secrétaire / Secretary
Me Monica Schirdewahn
Avocate / Lawyer
Lette & Associés
Tel: 514.871.3838, # 213
E-mail: [email protected]
Vice-présidents / Vice-Presidents
Mr. Bruno Setz
Consultant
Tel: 514.767.5123
E-mail : [email protected]
Mr. Olivier Rodriguez
Gestionnaire de portefeuille
Mirabaud Canada Inc.
Tel: 514.393.1690
E-mail : [email protected]
Trésorier / Treasurer
Mr. Othmar Widmer
Consultation Widmer
Tel: 450.973.2864
E-mail: [email protected]
Directeurs / Directors
Mme Mina Cicale
Directrice Générale
Swiss International Air Lines Ltd.
Tel: 514.954.5600
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr. Christian G. Dubois
President
Onix International
Tel: 514.624.5740
[email protected]
Me Jean-Marc Ferland
Avocat
Ferland, Marois, Lanctot
Tel: 514.861.1110
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr. Moritz Gruber
Consultant
Tel: 450.264.6278
E-mail: [email protected]
Mme Marie-Josée Loiselle
Présidente
Nuno ID
Tel: 514.574.6641
[email protected]
Mr. Jean-Aymeri de Magistris
Directeur Ventes et Marketing
Stambac International
Tel : 514.564 6798
E-mail: [email protected]
Chères, chers membres,
C’est avec beaucoup de fierté que j’ai accepté la présidence de la
Chambre pour un mandat de deux ans soit de 2014 à 2016. Je
remercie les membres qui ont participé à notre dernière assemblée
générale annuelle pour leurs témoignages de confiance.
Je ne peux certainement pas prendre ma charge au poste de
président sans tout d’abord remercier chaleureusement Jean-Serge
Grisé qui m’a précédé. Jean-Serge, par sa vision d’une chambre
plus active sur la scène commerciale avec son « virage affaires »,
a permis à notre chambre de recruter de nouveaux membres grâce à ses nombreuses
activités telles que les 5 à 7 conférences ainsi que le style entrevu avec notre bon ami
Simon Durivage.
Et n’oublions surtout pas tous les membres du conseil qui ont fait un travail extraordinaire
sous la présidence de Jean-Serge, merci à vous tous.
Je prends l’engagement de continuer ce beau travail en organisant encore d’autres activités
durant l’année en cours.
2014 est une année intéressante pour notre chambre avec la création ce printemps du
SWISS BUSINESS HUB qui va ainsi permettre une encore meilleure collaboration avec les
autorités suisses et ainsi favoriser les échanges commerciaux entre les deux pays. Cette
collaboration est d’autant plus appréciée qu’elle s’ajoute aux relations privilégiées que
nous entretenons déjà avec notre Consul général, Monsieur Beat Kaser, ainsi que toute son
équipe.
Il me reste un souhait profond pour cette première tranche de mandat: augmenter la
participation à nos activités de réseautage et vous demander de poursuivre vos efforts
dans le recrutement de nouveaux membres. Une participation soutenue est le gage d’une
Chambre dynamique, à l’écoute de ses adhérents et ouverte sur l’avenir.
Je vous souhaite un excellent été et au plaisir de vous revoir lors de notre cocktail
d’ouverture le 10 septembre prochain.
Christian G. Dubois
Président du conseil d’administration
Mr. Paul Wieser
PDG pour le Canada
Busch Vacuum Technics Inc.
Tel: 450.435.6899
E-mail: [email protected]
Directeur honoraire / Honorary Director
Mr. Beat Kaser
Consul général de Suisse
Tel: 514.932.7181
E-mail: [email protected]
ÉVÉNEMENTS / UPCOMING EVENTS 2014
10 septembre / September 10th
Cocktail d’ouverture / Opening Cocktail
19 novembre / November 19th
Soirée Fondue / Fondue Night
Liaison au Consulat général de Suisse
Mr. Paolo Bezzola
Consul
Tel: 514.932.7181
E-mail: [email protected]
Conseiller juridique / Legal Counsel
Lette & Associés
Tel: 514.871.3838, # 213
E-mail: [email protected]
Responsable de l’administration / Administration Officer
Des événements supplémentaires seront ajoutés au fur et à mesure
Additional events will be added as soon as the dates will be known
Dates sujettes à changement / Dates are subject to change
INFORMATION et détails/and details : www.cccsqc.ca ou/or (514) 937-5822
Mme France Nadeau
Tel: 514.937.5822
E-mail: [email protected]
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
3
Energy / Énergie
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
FOR SWISS COMPANIES
IN ALBERTA’S BOOMING
ECONOMY
Alberta is energy. The province has 168
billion barrels of established crude oil
reserves and is the third biggest resource
holder in the world, behind Saudi Arabia and
Venezuela. Alberta also contributes 80% to
national gas production, resulting in Canada
being the third biggest producer globally.
Since 2010 Alberta’s economy has been
booming, mainly because of the development of the oil sands. In 2013, the province
attracted more than a quarter of all investments in Canada, surpassing Ontario for
the first time. This year investments are
expected to total $114 billion, with about
half of this flowing into projects in the oil
and gas sector.
In recent years the population of Calgary
and Edmonton has grown rapidly. Both cities
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INFO SUISSE
have reached about 1.2 million inhabitants. The growing population stimulated
the housing sector, but also increased the
demand for services and consumer goods.
Last year Lindt Outlet Boutiques– as an
example of a Swiss company - opened shops
in Calgary and Edmonton. Great opportuni-
ties also exist in healthcare, waste management (‘waste-to-energy’ and biogas),
water supply and wastewater treatment
facilities.
Calgary, the centre of the Canadian oil
and gas industry, has evolved into a thriving business hub. In 2012, the head offices
of 135 companies, each with a turnover of
more than CAD$ 100 million, were located
here. Calgary now ranks, in terms of
company headquarters, as number two in
Canada behind Toronto.
New high-rises are being built in Calgary
and Edmonton to accommodate the increasing demand for office space. They are often
certified to LEED standards. In older office
buildings mechanical installations, heating
and cooling systems etc need to be replaced.
These projects create business opportunities
for companies like Schindler Elevator Corp.
The rapid spread of the residential areas
in recent years (“urban sprawl”) led to infrastructure problems. New roads are being
built and public transport systems need to
be expanded. There is a greater need for
efficient traffic management systems.
Of the $57 billion expected to be
invested this year in the oil and gas industry,
$33 billion will flow into projects in the oil
sands. It may be a surprise that only 20% of
Alberta’s bitumen reserves can be produced
from the well-known surface mines. The
other 80% are buried under a thick surface
layer of rock and have to be accessed by
so-called in situ methods: Horizontal wells
are being drilled through which steam is
pressed into the subsurface. The heat of the
steam liquefies the bitumen and the resulting bitumen/water mixture can be pumped
to surface for further processing.
The volumes produced by the in situ
industry are rapidly growing and in 2015
will surpass the quantities from the open pit
mines. The in situ production, however, is
very expensive and requires vast amounts of
energy and water. The costs and environmental footprint are being reduced by the re-use
of wastewater, harnessing of process heat
and reducing CO2 emissions(‘cleantech’).
The in situ production is technologically
challenging and requires a wide range of
sophisticated equipment. This was very
evident at the Global Petroleum Show in
Calgary in June 2014, the world’s largest
energy event, where more than 2000 companies exhibited their pumps, compressors,
process equipment, electronic measuring
devices, valves and pressure vessels in the
large exhibition venue of the Stampede
grounds. Among the exhibitors were companies from Switzerland and Liechtenstein
like ABB Inc., Burckhardt Compression,
Your
in-depth
knowledge
Our
risk
assessment
His
quality of life
Who will provide the healthcare that our ageing populations need, and the quality of life they expect?
You know the issues better than the back of your own, elegantly ageing hand. And so do we. For example, right now in
the US we’re working with clients to combine their expert market knowledge with our risk assessment capabilities. The
result? Affordable private insurance that will not only provide retirees with comprehensive medical cover for the rest of
their lives – but peace of mind for everyone concerned. Especially him. We’re smarter together.
www.swissre.com/info2
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
5
Energy / Énergie
Endress+Hauser, the Hilti Group, Mettler
Toledo and Panalpina Inc. The value of the
imports of manufactured goods for the oil
sand industry amounts to $5 billion per year
and is expected to grow steadily.
Several Swiss companies have their subsidiaries in Alberta. ABB Inc., for example,
concentrates on power transmission and
distribution, as most of the energy consumed in the oil sands comes from gas fired
power plants. Endress+Hauser is a supplier
of industrial measurement and process automation equipment. Their services allow for
optimising the economic efficiency, environmental performance and safety of industrial
processes.
Relatively new to Alberta is OTI Greentech
AG, a company specializing in environmentally responsible cleaning solutions for
storage tanks. Other products can be utilized
for oil spills and land remediation. The
company also offers a range of high performance chemicals for hydrocarbon recovery.
They allow maximizing the recovery of oil
from conventional and non-conventional
reservoirs, including oil sands and shales.
Sulzer Ltd. maintains a major service
centre in Edmonton, where all types of rotating equipment are repaired and refurbished,
and solutions can be provided for a wide
range of hydraulic, mechanical, and metallurgical problems.
Companies from the finance and commodities sector in Switzerland are becoming
increasingly visible in Calgary. Credit Suisse
expanded their business in recent years and
their ‘Canada Energy Group’ is located here.
In July 2014, Glencore XstrataPlc took over
Caracal Energy Inc., an exploration company
based in Calgary with activities in the African
Republic of Chad. The oil trader Mercuria
Energy Group is on the way to becoming a
major player, after buying JPMorgan’s physical commodities business earlier this year.
During the Calgary Stampede in early July,
their flags and signs were visible all over the
Stampede grounds.
By Mr. Andreas Bayer, Honorary Consul,
Consulate of Switzerland, 4053 Edgevalley
Landing N.W., Calgary, AB, T3A 5H5,
[email protected] – T. + 1 403 208 3296.
6
INFO SUISSE
■
NANOTECHNOLOGY AND
ENERGY
This might sound like another buzz word
competition. Yet some very practical implications arise from linking the two concepts.
Nanotechnology can potentially provide
low-cost and scalable solutions to greener
energy production and storage. At the same
time, certain types of nano-particles might
be extremely damaging to the environment and human health. As always, new
technologies come with their bundle of
opportunities, threats and regulatory uncertainty. Nanotechnology is no exception. It is
and will remain a conundrum for societies to
assess its strengths and weaknesses regarding green energy and careful case by case
studies will be required.
Keeping this in mind, risk management
regarding the development and use of
nanotechnology should be discussed in light
of the current global context. The BRICs
economies are rising and leaning towards
high-consuming lifestyles. The world’s population is growing at a rate that is more than
exponential. Climate change is threatening
our ecosystems and the global economy is
slowing down. This means that incremental innovation will not suffice to generate
the market forces permitting a transition
towards a sustainable system. In such a
context, every possible avenue for green
energy production should be explored. Those
observations provide a strong rationale for
carrying out research and development in
the field of nanotechnology.
The interest in nano-materials arises
from the observation that materials at the
nanoscale behave differently than their
bulk counterparts. By manipulating the
size and shape of matter, scientists can
confer extremely interesting properties to
materials. This can in turn lead to radically
new modes of device operation. In terms of
energy production, several nano-materials
have become interesting candidates for
solar energy harvesting, largely inspired
by the Grätzel Cell developed at the Swiss
Institute of Technology in Lausanne. For
example, there is the Quantum Dot Solar
Cell, a device developed by several research
groups in parallel all around the world
with some of the most competitive ones
located in Canada and Switzerland. Those
solar cells employ spherical semi-conductor
nano-particles – called quantum dots – as
sunlight absorbers. Even though the devices
still suffer from problems such as long-term
degradation, their advantage is that they are
using much less material than the standard
Kambhampati research lab at McGill University, where
quantum dots are being characterized using advanced
laser spectroscopies.
bulk panels. Recently, tremendous progress
has also been achieved in terms of efficiencies, which can now hit 8 to 10 percent. This
might seem low when compared to stateof-the-art mono crystalline silicon solar cells:
yet progress in the field is fast-paced. Most
importantly, the potential for improvement
and upscaling remains significantly larger
than in most traditional solar cell technologies. Beyond solar energy conversion, other
active areas of research involve, among
others, the development of nano-batteries
and energy storage in super-capacitors.
Those are equally promising and relevant to
the future of energy systems.
It is thus clear that at the research level,
nanotechnology is perceived as having one
of the highest potentials for solving the
energy challenges. But just how far are
those hopes from turning into a commercial reality? Nanotechnology is sometimes
forecasted to be at the origin of the next
tions raised in this article. Not only are the
science infrastructures outstanding: both
countries also seem to reflect upon nanotechnology in a wider context. Because the
links between nanotechnology and energy
are so multi-faceted, gaining an understanding of cultural and business sensitivities in
different countries beyond pure scientific
perspectives is not only enriching but also
essential.
Different size of quantum dots absorb and emit different
colors, making them interesting candidates for solar
light harvesting.
Kondratiev wave, which designates waves
of long-term and sustained economic
development initiated by a radical innovation. Some put nanotechnology’s potential
to steer a system-wide transformation on
par with historical technological revolutions
such as the information and communication
industries. Nanotechnology may thus well
be “big”. Realistically though, large-scale
commercialization of nanotechnology-based
green products may still lie a few decades
from now. The first market applications are
just starting to appear in fields often not
directly related to energy production. For
example, the big display companies are now
starting to use semi-conductor nano-crystals
to produce more vividly colored TV screens.
Some of those nano-crystals are composed
of cadmium, a heavy metal. It is still unclear
how those displays will be recycled. In such
a case, nanotechnology and sustainability do
not seem to be walking hands in hands. At
the same time, the fact that mass markets
are becoming interested in nanotechnology
might help drive costs down by scaling-up
production at the industrial level. It can be
hoped that these market forces will in turn
be harvested to foster the mass production of other devices employing greener
materials.
As a Swiss researcher in Canada, it is
thriving to work in the field of nanotechnology. A Canadian would very likely say
the same about working in Switzerland.
Both countries benefit from truly amazing
research environments and as such, provide
excellent platforms for exploring the ques-
Hélène Seiler is a Swiss researcher currently
working on her P.hD. At McGill University in the
field of quantum dots.
Email : [email protected]
■
CANADIAN ENERGY SECTOR –
FAST FACTS
Canada means energy! Here at a glance
the importance of this sector and the
opportunities:
• Energy is the 4th largest contributor to
Canada’s GDP: $1,6 T or 7,6% of GDP
(2012)
• Canada is a net exporter of energy
• Because of a small population compare
to geography – 30% of our energy is
used for transport
• Because also of the cold climate – 40%
of the energy goes for heating
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
7
Energy / Énergie
•
•
•
Canada is in the top 10 energy producers
in the world (production is higher than
consumption)
• 3rd for Crude Oil Reserves (2011)
• 3rd for Natural Gas Production (2009)
• 2nd for Uranium Production (2010)
• 3rd for Uranium Reserves (2009)
• 5th for Primary Energy Production
(2008)
• 6th for Electricity Generation (2008)
• 3rd for Hydroelectricity (2009)
Oil & Gas Labour Force (direct
employment): 287 120 (2011)
Canada has a very diversified supply
(production):
• Conventional Crude Oil / equivalent
• Condensate
• Pentanes Plus
• Oil Sands
• Natural Gas Liquids, Natural Gas,
Natural Gas from Coal
• Coal
• Uranium
• Electricity (petroleum, natural gas,
coal, nuclear, hydro, wind, tidal,
biomass)
• Alternative Fuels (ethanol, biodiesel)
Provinces : Energy Production
Alberta: 1st in Canada for Conventional
Crude Oil (reserves and production) and 1st
in Natural Gas (reserves and production).
Québec: 1st in Electricity Generation, 1st in
Hydroelectricity.
Ontario: 1st in Electricity Generation from
nuclear and wind power, 2nd in thermal and
combustion turbine.
Even with new oil production in the
US – Canada has increased its share of US
imports from 2005 to 2013 (from 16% of US
imports in 2005 to 32% in 2013) – this will
not change soon according to the National
Energy Board of Canada due to new refineries conversion in the Midwest designed specifically to process heavy oil from Canada.
Challenge: the transport is a major
challenge as more oil is now being shipped
through rail (according to the National
Energy Board of Canada – crude-by-rail
exports from Canada more than doubled in
2013, reaching an average of 160,000 bpd
8
INFO SUISSE
or about 20 fully loaded trains per day by
the end of the year) to the East but also
new pipelines will need to be approved if
the scheduled production of oil is to be met
by 2030.
OILS SANDS: INVESTMENTS AND SUPPLY
CHAIN OPPORTUNITIES
As outlined by a recent report in 2012 by
the Conference Board of Canada, a good part
(1/3) of the benefits of the oil sands investments in the coming years (2012-2035) will
also go to companies outside of Alberta.
The investment according to the report is
estimated to be $364B. This is sometime
viewed as one of the largest investments
since the Interstate Highway System in
the US (Michael Burt, director Industrial
Economic Trends).
For many companies in Ontario, Québec
and other foreign companies opening
branches in Canada, this is a great opportunity to supply an industry which literally
needs almost anything one can imagine
(construction, housing, food, IT, waste management, etc.). As the chart below indicates
maintenance and on site work will require
is important because a lot of the equipment
is unique. The work usually will come from
engineers and designers but the end user
(Suncor, Exxon…) has to approve the facility
and then you are on the vendor list.
Alberta fabricators have long lead times
due to the load of work and the pressure
on the workforce availability; thus there
is an opportunity for Ontario, Québec and
others to fill the gap. Transportation is often
mentioned as a possible hurdle but as Alps
Welding notes, this is a relatively small
portion of the cost.
To get more information on the opportunities (matching customers with suppliers):
- Energy Summit (Calgary) www.energy.ca
- Canadian Energy National Supply Chain
Forum (Calgary)
www.supplychainforum.ca
- National Buyer Seller Forum (Calgary)
www.cme-mec.ca
Sources:
• Center for Energy, Statistics
www.centerforenergy.com
• National Energy Board of Canada,
Canadian Energy Dynamics 2013
www.neb-one.gc.ca
• Conference Board of Canada, Oil Sands
Investment Expected to Generate
Economic Benefits in all Parts of Canada,
October 24 2012
www.conferenceboard.ca
• Canadian Energy Supply Chain Forum,
Winning Oils Sands Business From
Ontario, October 2014
www.supplychainforum.ca
By Marie-Josée Loiselle, Swiss Canadian
Chamber of Commerce (Québec) inc.
the most investments:
Companies in Ontario and Québec are
looking most often south of the border to the
US for new business but many would gain at
supplying this sector in Alberta even when
most think the distance can be an issue. As
Alps Welding in Woodbridge Ontario has
demonstrated, if you are flexible and have
a state-of-the-art fabrication facility, you can
win oil sands contracts. In effect, flexibility
■
HILTI CANADA: REINVENTING
YOUR BUSINESS MODEL
By Hilti Canada
On June 24th,
at the conference
facilities
graciously
provided by Swiss
Reinsurance
Company Canada,
the IMD Alumni
Club of Canada and the Swiss-Canadian
Chamber of Commerce of Ontario, hosted
an engaging and motivating learning event
featuring Marco Meyrat, Member of the
Executive Board of Hilti Corporation.
With the topic “Reinventing your Business
Model”, Mr. Meyrat eloquently presented
the thesis that: one secret to maintaining
a thriving business is recognizing when it
needs a fundamental change.
Mr. Meyrat, a Swiss national, has been
a Member of the Executive Board since the
beginning of 2005. He is responsible for the
markets in Europe and North America. He is
also the Chairman of the Board of Directors
of OLMeRO AG, Glattbrugg.
After providing a brief introduction about
Hilti, Mr. Meyrat shared with the audience
of 50 participants how Hilti, a Lichtensteinbased manufacturer of high end construction tools and fasteners for the construction
industry, was able to transform the business
model and capitalize on a game changing
opportunity to increase customer engagement by turning their product into a service.
He explained how the fleet management
program allowed the company to continue
to differentiate itself from its competitors,
and how adopting the business model,
building the internal processes and sales
force competency build up, allowed for this
change to be successfully implemented.
“Thanks to the uniqueness of our business model, we have been successful in
transforming tangible products into service
offerings which differentiate us from our
competition and give our customers flexibility that they never had before”, shared
Mr. Meyrat summarizing his lecture.
As this concept is applicable across
multiple industries, there were many questions during the lively Q&A period. The
ideas presented and the featured presenter
were both very well received. Most of the
participants stayed on for further informal
discussions and networking – an additional
benefit of the event.
www.hilti.ca
■
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
9
Tribeca Insights
China: New Frontier for Swiss B anking
CHINA: NEW
FRONTIER FOR
SWISS BANKING
By: Beat J. Guldimann, LLD
NEW AGE IN TAX
POLICY HALTING GROWTH
Swiss Private Banking, most importantly offshore private banking, has seen better days.
In the past five years or so, Swiss banks
have seen their business with wealthy
international clients erode in the wake of
an unprecedented and globally coordinated
effort by all major G7 countries to put an end
to tax evasion.
As a result of this U.S. led new age of
global tax policy across the G7 and the OECD,
Switzerland has seen itself forced to sign
on to a much higher level of cooperation in
global tax matters. The aggressive approach
taken by U.S. in enforcing cooperation from
Swiss banks has led many of them to shutting their business with wealthy American
clients down.
Swiss banks today apply the strictest know-your-client rules in tax matters
known anywhere on the planet. This complete change of policy has led to the end
of growth in cross-border business with
wealthy clients from traditional markets
such as Europe and North America. Swiss
Private Banks are experiencing trouble with
10
INFO SUISSE
profitability and they are slow to adapt to
the new environment.
CHINA: KEY MARKET FOR GROWTH
With the growth outlook dimming in typical
markets across Europe and North America,
Swiss banks need to look for new frontiers.
Asia in general has been a growth engine
for global wealth management and private
banking for a couple of decades now. Hong
Kong and Singapore have seen tremendous
expansion of their international banking
sector as a result. The same cannot yet be
said of Mainland China, even though the PRC
has seen growth rates in domestic wealth
creation that top every other country by a
significant margin.
While Swiss wealth managers have been
highly successful in attracting Asian clients
outside of China to their platforms, access to
the wealthy in China has been slower than
one might expect. We see two main reasons
for this: First, the Chinese wealth management market is still developing and sophisticated global investment strategies are competing with double digit yields that wealthy
Chinese investors can (or at least used to be
able to) generate in the domestic real estate
and manufacturing sector. However, with
signs of China’s economy slowing down,
interest in global investments will slowly
pick up.
Secondly, in order to be successful in
China, international banks need to find a
way to partner with key financial services
firms in the PRC. The few Swiss banks – large
or small - that are first to implement a strategic partnership for access to the domestic
Chinese market will be able to seize a significant early mover advantage.
SWITZERLAND – STILL AN ATTRACTIVE
DESTINATION FOR GLOBAL BANKING
Despite the recent and seismic changes
that have shaken up old business models,
the Swiss banking and finance centre
remains highly attractive to globally minded
investors.
• Switzerland is the most stable
democracy in the world with a
dependable rule of law and a stable,
consensus-based political system. It
is also one the most fiscally sound
countries in the world with a debt to
GDP ratio of around 35%;
• Switzerland has a well-diversified
economy with an established reputation
for highest levels of quality and
innovation in which financial services
only make up 10% of GDP;
• Switzerland has an enviable
unemployment rate of just 3%;
• Switzerland is home to several worldleading multinational corporations such
as Novartis, Roche, Nestle, ABB, Sulzer,
Oerlikon and Rieter, just to name a few;
• As a result of its international exposure,
Switzerland also has a global talent
•
pool of highly trained and educated
professionals and executives;
Switzerland remains the world’s Number
One booking centre for global private
and institutional investors. Foreign and
domestic assets held in Switzerland
currently total just over CHF 5 trillion
and Swiss banks have 26% share of the
global wealth market, doubling Hong
Kong and Singapore combined.
A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA
Switzerland is the first country outside of
Asia with whom China has entered a wideranging Free Trade Agreement. The FTA has
come into full force and effect on July 1,
2014 and provides a framework for mutual
trade that also extends to financial services.
Swiss banking institutions will also play
a key role in the process of moving the
Renminbi to full convertibility over the
coming years. They are well equipped to
handle large volumes of RMB transactions
given their decades of experience in handling multi-currency platforms.
It can be expected that the FTA and all
the other factors outlined above will soon
lead to heightened interest among Chinese
investors to benefit from the Swiss financial
sector to facilitate the increased level of economic activity between China, Switzerland
and – by extension – its trading partners.
Swiss banks are currently valued at less
than half of the price five years ago. This
creates a secular buyer’s market for investors with strategic growth objectives as the
search for elusive growth in global private
banking forces many smaller to mid-sized
Swiss banks to rethink their strategic options
despite the unfavorable price environment.
While the Swiss banking regulator
(Finma) has significantly tightened the
process for new bank licenses or change
of ownership of existing banks, serious
acquirers with a sensible business plan that
takes advantage of the opportunities of a
Swiss banking hub to develop international
business in new markets will generally find
Finma to be cooperative. This is particularly
true in the context of the Swiss-China Free
Trade Agreement and the “open for business” stance that the Swiss Government is
taking towards developing its new relationship with Beijing.
It is far from a stretch to see the absence
of Chinese-owned banks from the Swiss
market soon coming to an end.
Beat Guldimann, owner of Tribeca Consulting
Group, holds a Doctorate in Law from the
University of Basel; he was legal counsel at
the former SBC (86-96), President and CEO
of UBS Canada (97-01), Head of Global Private
Banking at CIBC (01-04) and Vice-Chairman at
Hampton Securities (05-07).
■
“ We make communication work seamlessly
across six continents. Zurich does the same
with our insurance.”
Andrew M. Miller, President & CEO
Polycom, Inc.
A single property insurance solution designed to help reduce coverage gaps and overlaps.
Polycom, a global leader in telepresence solutions, needed a financially strong
carrier that could make complex insurance coverage easier. Zurich provided
a custom solution that’s as simple as it is seamless, integrating property with
liability coverage all under one policy. It’s an example of how Zurich delivers the
help businesses need when it matters most. Watch the video to learn more.
www.zurichcanada.com/stories
Insurance is underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries within the Zurich Financial Services Group including, in Canada, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. Insurance product obligations are the sole responsibility of each issuing insurance company. For example, only the assets of
Zurich Canada (and no other assets of the Zurich Financial Services Group) are available to meet its obligations for the performance of its products. For more complete financial information, audited annual statements of the Group and information on the ratings of the underwriting
companies of Zurich in North America, access www.zurichcanada.com. Zurich® is a registered trademark of Zurich Insurance Company Ltd.
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
11
Business and Other News
Actualités économiques et d’affaires
THE EMPLOYERS’ EDGE
ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT:
EMPLOYER’S OUT-OF-PROVINCE
PAYROLL IS RELEVANT TO ESA
SEVERANCE PAY THRESHOLD
By Rob Boswell
Crawford Chondon & Partners LLP
Management Labour & Employment Lawyers.
As a result of subsection 64(1) of the
Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000,
certain circumstances of a dismissal trigger
an obligation on the employer to provide
an employee with severance pay. The most
common threshold test is that an employee
must have at least five years of service at
the end of the statutory notice period and
the employer must have an annual payroll
of at least $2.5 million.
The common interpretation of this subsection, one which has been consistently
endorsed by the Ontario Ministry of Labour
and the Ontario Labour Relations Board, is
that only the payroll of the employer arising
out of its operations in Ontario shall be
included in the calculation of the employer’s
payroll for the purposes of s. 64(1). The
rationale behind this analysis is that the
Province of Ontario only has the authority
to make legislation pertaining to the operations of businesses within Ontario.
In a recent French-language decision,
Paquette v Quadraspec Inc., the Ontario
Superior Court has determined that all of an
employer’s payroll, both inside of Ontario
and outside of Ontario, shall be included
in the determination as to whether the
severance pay threshold has been met. This
decision, if followed in other decisions and
most importantly if followed by the Ministry
of Labour and the Ontario Labour Relations
Board, could have far reaching implications
for Ontario employers whose operations
spread into other provinces within Canada.
In this case, an Ontario employee
was dismissed without cause after more
than 26 years of employment. A written
employment contract governed his employment. That contract, among other things,
purported to determine his entitlement to
payment to him in the event of termination of his employment without cause. The
termination clause was found to violate the
Employment Standards Act, 2000. While it is
not our intention to examine this portion of
the decision at length, it is a useful case to
demonstrate the importance of careful contract drafting. An effective and enforceable
termination clause may well have averted a
trial in this case.
The employer’s annual payroll in Ontario
was less than $1.5 million. In Quebec, the
same employer’s annual payroll was more
than $3 million. Combined, the annual
payroll more than exceeded the severance
pay threshold in the Employment Standards
Act, 2000. Looking at the Ontario payroll
alone, the annual payroll was more than $1
million short of that threshold.
Ultimately, the termination clause was
found to be void for reasons unrelated to the
determination of the severance pay issue.
Had the contract been drafted in a manner
that was enforceable, however, the severance pay threshold would have been key to
a determination of whether the employer
had complied with the contract. In other
cases where an employee brings a claim to
the Ministry of Labour under the Act, this is
a critical determination as to the quantum
of an employer’s liability. A shift in the interpretation of section 64(1) could give rise to
significant future liability on cases where a
dismissal has already taken place, without
severance pay, and could significantly alter
an employer’s decision about whether and
how to proceed with a dismissal of a long
service employee.
We will monitor this decision in respect
of any future appeals, but also to gauge the
application of the decision in future MOL and
OLRB proceedings, as well as similar wrongful dismissal actions in Superior Court.
All of the lawyers of CCPartners are
experienced in the drafting of employment
contracts. We would be pleased to assist
employers with any issues which may arise
in both the drafting of new contracts, in the
analysis of the risks associated with the
1 800 874-1071
514 631-6565
www.amjmontreal.com
DÉMÉNAGEMENTS
12
INFO SUISSE
I N T E R N AT I O N A U X
dismissal of a long service employee, and in
the defense of any claims or actions relating
to wrongful dismissal.
For more information
on above or other
topics visit their
website at www.
ccpartners.ca or
contact David Chondon
by e-mail at
[email protected].
LAWYERS – AVOCATS – RECHTSANWÄLTE
■
A LITTLE HUMILITY GOES A
LONG WAY
by Heidi Garcia
Have you ever had a conversation with
someone who thinks they know it all?
Regardless of the subject matter, they either
know it, have heard it, or have an “expert”
opinion to offer. These individuals love to
hear themselves talk and tend to go on and
on and on. They are more concerned about
being interesting than being interested.
I have had the pleasure of meeting and
speaking with many brilliant, highly successful, and well-travelled people from all over
the world. Time and again, one of the most
fascinating things about these individuals is
that they are always eager to learn more.
They have a wonderful zest for knowledge
and understanding. They certainly know a
lot but they realize that there is still so much
to learn.
Nicknamed the “Wizard of Westwood”,
John Wooden was a highly successful head
coach of UCLA’s basketball team and often
lectured his players that being teachable
is the single most important element to
becoming a leader. He said: “Without humility, one will never learn from the greatest
teacher of all, failure. Losses come at you in
every shape and size, and hit you in every
area of your life - and that much is guaranteed. What is not guaranteed is your being
humble enough to learn from them.”
The opposite of humility is pride. How
many people have experienced great failure
because their pride got in the way? Has that
For over 50 years, many of Europe’s largest
corporate groups, as well as numerous small and
medium-size companies, have counted on Lette
to provide them with practical, sophisticated
and cost-effective legal advice in Canada.
CONTACT
BERNARD LETTE
[email protected]
WWW.LETTE.CA
TORONTO – LETTE LLP
MONTRÉAL – LETTE & ASSOCIÉS S.E.N.C.R.L.
ever happened to you? Has your pride or
ego caused you heartache or regret? Have
you ever said, “if only I had listened”? How
many companies have suffered financial ruin
due to the pride of some of their leaders?
A very wise ancient king said: “Pride is
before a crash and a haughty spirit before
stumbling”. Why do we always have to learn
things the hard way?
Being open and willing to learn is humility in action. It is one of the key foundational
elements of successful people. Although
we may believe that we are legends in our
own mind, the reality is that no one knows
it all. Everyone has something to learn and
improve. The hard part is acknowledging
this and making the necessary adjustments
in our thinking and attitude. It’s easy to point
out the failings and weaknesses of others
PARIS – LETTE ALÉRION
MUNICH – LETTE & KNORR
but much more difficult to recognize our
own faults.
Humility is often misunderstood and
thought of as having a low opinion of one’s
abilities and worth. Being humble does not
mean we think less of ourselves. It simply
means we think of ourselves less. “Humble
people are not self-deprecating,” says
psychologist Christ Peters in an article for
Psychology Today, “but rather accurate in
how they regard and present themselves.”
By making an honest and accurate selfassessment, you will know where your
strengths and weaknesses truly lie. This
can save you from embarrassment in some
situations while ensuring greater success in
others.
Kirk O. Hanson is the Executive Director
of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
13
Business and Other News
Actualités économiques et d’affaires
at Santa Clara University and a pioneer in
the study of business ethics and business
responsibility. He has compiled a list of
characteristics demonstrated by unteachable
leaders. According to Professor Hanson, you
are an unteachable leader if you:
• believe you know it all
• tend to think you should be in charge
• believe the rules do not apply to you
• tend to believe things get done better
all by yourself
• believe you shouldn’t fail
• believe you are better than others with
less talent or status
• think you are more important than the
organization
How did you rate? How many of these
characteristics do you feel apply to you?
Awareness is the first step. This list may be
a good wake-up call and may give you the
motivation to become more open, humble
and teachable. You may need to let go of
already knowing it all or always needing
to be right. It may not be easy but a little
humble pie is good for all of us.
Pride can weaken a leader. Humility can
strengthen a leader. Prideful leaders have
all the right answers. Humble leaders ask
all the right questions – of themselves and
others. A prideful leader ignores what is
obvious to everyone else. A humble leader
is realistic and objective. A prideful leader
says “me”. A humble leader says “we”.
So what are the benefits of cultivating
humility? There are many. It improves interactions across all levels, it reduces anxiety,
it encourages cooperation, respect and surprisingly, it enhances one’s self-confidence.
People enjoy being around those who are
considerate and who think about others and
not just themselves. Humility also promotes
learning and growth by keeping us open to
new possibilities.
Humility is not usually talked about
around the board table or in conference
rooms but it is a powerful virtue that we
should all do our best to cultivate
Heidi Garcia is a Human Performance
Specialist, working for and with KARICO
Performance Solutions, located in Richmond
Hill, Ontario. Karin Lindner is the founder and
owner of KARICO and her mission is to “help
organizations and individuals in manufacturing
environments to become the best they can be
by positively impacting their ROI (Relationships,
Outcomes and Improvements)”.
■
Bringing high-quality products to the world.
It’s a Swiss tradition.
There’s comfort in high-quality products. We should know. We export them. As the
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us on swiss.com
14
INFO SUISSE
Energy / Énergie
•
UBS COMMODITY MARKETS
UPDATE
UNEVEN DYNAMICS IN CHINA’S
COMMODITY IMPORTS
•
•
•
•
The consolidation in commodity prices
in May has room to run further, as we
believe a set of factors is in place that
remains bearish for the asset class.
Favorable weather conditions, solid U.S.
crude oil production, China’s structural
growth slowdown, and normalizing U.S.
monetary policy remain headwinds for
commodities this year.
Arbitrage and individual commodity
considerations should keep China’s
trade dynamics heterogeneous despite
the structural deceleration in economic
activity.
That said, some of the recent import
dynamics in copper, zinc, iron ore, crude
oil, and soybeans are out of sync with
the cyclical picture of the economy
and China’s structural demand needs,
warranting a sharp deceleration.
We add sugar and cotton to our existing
long recommendations. A market deficit
in sugar and downward-sloped forward
curve in cotton make these investments
attractive in our view.
Dominic Schnider, analyst, UBS AG
[email protected]
Giovanni Staunovo, analyst, UBS AG
[email protected]
CRUIDE OIL: U.S. ALLOWS CONDENSATE
EXPORTS
•
•
•
The U.S. Department of Commerce has
approved exports of partially refined
condensate.
While U.S. exports of refined oil products
(e.g. gasoline, diesel) are not restricted,
any change in the U.S. crude oil export
ban is very unlikely this year, in our
view.
As long as the ban remains in place, a
discount of at least USD 7/ bbl between
WTI and Brent is required to ensure
sufficient exports of U.S. crude oil
products.
No change in the U.S. crude export
ban U.S. exports of unrefined crude oil and
condensate are generally banned. Some
market participants perceive the latest
decision by the U.S. administration – two
companies received approval to begin
exporting processed oil condensate – as an
initial step toward the removal of the U.S.
crude oil export ban. However, the permit
is for the export of a refined product, which
is generally not restricted. While the crude
export ban topic is likely to remain on
Washington’s radar, the ban is unlikely to be
lifted anytime soon. Some U.S. policymakers
remain concerned about energy security,
the potential impact of exports on domestic
crude prices as well as U.S. consumers being
sensitive to gasoline price changes, making
them reluctant to relax export restrictions
quickly. Solid exports of crude oil products
are needed to compensate for strong U.S.
crude oil production, which is rising by
Quote of the Month
“Whether you think you can, or you
think you can’t – you’re right.”
Henry Ford
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
15
Energy / Énergie
1mbpd per year. These product exports are
already quite well established – currently at
around 3.6mbpd. This is unlikely to change,
but requires U.S. crude oil prices to continue
to trade at a discount to international
benchmarks. A discount of at least USD 7/
bbl between WTI and Brent is still required,
in our view. This ensures U.S. refineries
enjoy healthy margins versus their European
peers, keeping refinery runs high and resulting in increased demand for local crude oil
at the expense of imports while motivating
ample U.S. exports of crude oil products.
UNREST IN IRAQ – A LONG-TERM
CONCERN
•
•
•
The insurgency in Iraq has not disrupted
oil supply so far, but oil markets are
concerned that this could occur.
Short-term crude oil supply from Iraq
should only be affected marginally, since
most Iraqi production comes from the
South.
That said, a prolonged Iraqi civil war
would put incremental supply in coming
years at risk. Iraq is expected to account
for 60% of incre- mental OPEC oil supply
until 2019.
2H13 and 51% in 1Q14. For 2014, we believe
India’s official gold imports could come in at
825-850 tons versus 825 tons last year. This
modest uptick reflects our view that neither
the RBI nor the government wants meaningfully higher gold imports – just enough to
reduce smuggling.
Modestly firmer Indian demand should
fail to offset the lack of investment demand,
especially if outflows from ETFs gather pace.
Gold ETF outflows are expected to accelerate
as U.S. economic data is likely to improve
further, supporting a stronger USD and the
normalization of U.S. monetary policy, with
policy rates grinding higher from 2H15
onward. Indifference toward the yellow
metal is found not only in the Western
world but in Asia. Despite a 26% y/y
decline in the gold price in 1Q14, Chinese
bar and coin investment declined by 55%,
thereby outweighing the 10% rise in jewelry
consumption.
Dominic Schnider, analyst, UBS AG
[email protected]
Giovanni Staunovo, analyst, UBS AG
[email protected]
TANT D’HORIZONS À EXPLOR R
Giovanni Staunovo, analyst, UBS AG
[email protected]
PRECIOUS METALS - INDIA NOT SAVING
GOLD FROM ANOTHER PRICE DECLINE
India’s import restrictions on gold have been
relaxed, with room for more policy easing. A
sharp decline in the country’s current account
deficit and a new government taking office
motivated the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
to grant additional banks and designated
trading houses the right to import gold under
the existing 80:20 rule (20% of the imports
need to be re- exported). As a result, the
Indian gold price premium versus London
has started to narrow on expectations of a
better-supplied Indian gold market.
Expectations of higher gold imports
by India are justified to certain extent.
Following last year’s restrictions (the 80:20
rule and the import duty increase to 10%),
official imports dived by around 60% y/y in
16
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MIRABAUD ÉLARGIT SON HORIZON, AUTANT
POUR LA GESTION PRIVÉE QUE L’ASSET MANAGEMENT
ET L’INTERMÉDIATION.
S’ENGAGER AUTREMENT POUR ALLER PLUS LOIN.
www.mirabaud.com
MIRABAUD Canada Inc. - Olivier Rodriguez / MIRABAUD Gestion Inc. - Yves Erard
1501, avenue McGill College - Bureau 2220 - Montréal (Québec) H3A 3M8 - T +1 514 393-1690 - F +1 514 875-8942
MIRABAUD Canada Inc. est membre de l’Organisme canadien de réglementation du commerce des valeurs mobilières inc. et du Fonds canadien de protection des épargnants.
■
Business and Other News
Actualités économiques et d’affaires
MINIMUM WAGES IN CANADA
AND IN SWITZERLAND
By Kurt Schläpfer,
Switzerland
Canada has minimum
wages
individually
set by the provinces
or territories. Contrary
to this, Switzerland
does not have a minimum wage written
into law. As Swiss voters have recently
rejected plans for a nationwide minimum
wage, it is interesting to compare the arguments in Switzerland with existing solutions
in Canada and in other countries.
CANADA
The minimum wage in Canada depends
on the province or territory and ranges
from CAD 9.50 to CAD 11.00 per hour.
Alberta has the lowest minimum wage at
CAD 9.95, while Nunavut’s is the highest
at CAD 11.00. Minimum wages in all the
other provinces and territories are now at
least CAD 10.00. Ontario’s minimum wage
has been frozen at CAD 10.25 since 2010.
Under the Conservative government, it was
CAD 6.85 an hour for nine years before the
Liberals began to raise it in 2004. Since
then, Ontario’s minimum wage has gone
from being one of the lowest in the country
to one of the highest. Currently, there is a
province-wide campaign to increase the
minimum wage from CAD 10.25 to CAD
14.00 an hour. The Ontario government has
appointed a panel to advise it on increasing
the minimum wage.
An important question is in which
relationship the minimum wage should
be to the average wage. Ontario’s current
minimum wage accounts for just 42 per
cent of the province’s industrial wage which
is CAD 24.22 an hour. Experts recommend
setting the minimum wage to 60 per cent of
the average Ontario industrial wage – which
would be CAD 14.50 an hour.
SWITZERLAND
for a minimum wage of SFR 22.00 per hour
or around SFR 4,000 per month. This hourly
minimum wage of SFR 22.00 represents
two-thirds of the average Swiss wage of CHF
33.00. According to the State Secretariat for
Economic Affairs this would be the highest
minimum wage in any member country of
the OECD.
SCHOLARSHIP FUND
OF ONTARIO
The Swiss Canadian Scholarship
Fund of Ontario is pleased to offer
yearly scholarships. It is open to
members of the SCCC and the
Swiss Community in Ontario.
Swiss law does not specify any minimum
wage. In many cases, a minimum wage is
part of a collective employment agreement
negotiated by industries or companies. But
only half of all workers are covered by a collective agreement guaranteeing a minimum
income.
In January 2011 the Trade Union
Federation launched a referendum calling
To find out more about the
availability and eligibility criteria,
please visit the Ontario Chamber’s
website at:
www.swissbiz.ca/scholarship
R e stau r a n t, bar
et douc e s fo l i e s
426, RUE SAINT-GABRIEL
M O N TREA L Q C
T 514.878.3561
A U BE RG E S A I N T- G ABR I E L . C O M
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
17
Discover 8 Swiss
mountain peaks.
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Business and Other News
Actualités économiques et d’affaires
The Trade Unions have argued that
Switzerland may be a rich country, but there
are still many “working poor” – people who
work but are under the poverty line – a situation that the Unions want to change. Most
employers, however, see minimum wages
as damaging for employment. According
to them many countries with minimum
wages have not managed to reduce their
unemployment rates. And in recessions a
minimum wage would cause firms to move
abroad and obstruct the creation of new
jobs. Moreover, the Unions make the wrong
assumption that only one person of a family
works, whereas often there are two wages
per family. There are industry sectors in
Switzerland where the average salary is only
around CHF 4,000, meaning that the new
minimum wage would have a strong impact
on their salary structure and jeopardize jobs.
On May 18, 2014 the Swiss voters have
now rejected to accept a minimum wage
with a majority of 76%, mainly because
they feel that a government intervention in
a free market economy is not necessary. The
minimum wage referendum was the third
time in less than two years that Swiss citizens had to vote on issues dealing with salaries. Last year voters approved a restriction
of “fat cat” salaries for top managers. Then
they rejected to cap executive salaries being
12 times higher than that of the lowest paid
employees.
MINIMUM WAGES IN OTHER COUNTRIES
A number of European countries such as
Germany, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland,
Sweden and Norway have no statutory
national minimum wages.
Germany is now set to introduce a
national minimum wage, because this
was a key demand of the new centre-left
governing partners to form a “grand coalition” government. The national minimum
wage of Ð 8.50 an hour may be introduced
by 2015. Chancellor Angela Merkel and her
party had first opposed this scheme, arguing
that it would cause job losses.
In the US the minimum wage is US$ 7.25,
the lowest among the countries compared in
this article (see table below). Increasing this
minimum wage to US$ 9.00 is one of the
main items on US President Barack Obama’s
second-term agenda. The higher minimum
wage would amount to about 40 per cent
of the US average income, still not an ambitious goal compared to the solutions in other
countries. UK and France have minimum
wages that are higher than in USA and in
Canada but well below the proposed wage
in Switzerland.
Comparison of minimum wages:
Country
Minimum wage
in local currency
Minimum wage
in U.S. $ *
Effective
Switzerland
Proposed in a
referendum: SFR 22.00
25.66
Rejected on
18.05.2014
Canada **
Ontario
min. CAD 9.95
CAD 10.25
10.21
10.52
01.09.2013
31.10.2010
USA
US$ 7.25
7.25
01.07.2009
Germany
Ð 8.50
12.38
Not before 2015
UK
£ 6.31
11.85
01.10.2013
France
Ð 9.53
13.86
01.01.2014
* Exchange rate of 04.07.2014 (UBS Currency Converter)
** Individually set by each province or territory
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
SCCC (ONTARIO) INC.
New Personal Member:
Alexandra Soriano
Vertical International
324 Roselawn Avenue
Toronto, ON M4R 1G1
Web: www.verticalinternational.com
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 647-985-7898
How to become a member of the SCCC:
Sign up online at
www.swissbiz.ca/memberships
or contact our office at [email protected] or
416-236-0039
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
19
Business and Other News
Actualités économiques et d’affaires
SWISS INVESTMENTS IN
RESEARCH INCREASE
In 2012, Switzerland has invested a total of
CHF 18.5 billion in research and development, which corresponds to an increase of 14
percent compared to 2008. Especially Swiss
universities contributed to this increase.
With CHF 12.8 billion or about two-third
the largest share of expenditure on research
and development (R&D) still comes from
the private sector, according to the Federal
Statistical Office (FSO). The contribution of
Swiss universities, however, has risen by 32
percent to CHF 5.2 billion since 2008.
Overall, the share of R&D expenditure to
the gross domestic product of Switzerland
was 3.1 percent. In international comparison
Switzerland comes in sixth place.
GOOD COUNTRY INDEX:
SWITZERLAND IN TOP 3
The Good Country Index measures how
much each of 125 countries contributes to
the planet. Switzerland ranks 3rd overall,
excelling particularly in prosperity and
equality as well as science and technology.
The Good Country Index, released on June
24th 2014 by policy adviser Simon Anholt,
analyses 35 different types of data from the
UN, the World Bank and other international
organizations and NGOs. The measure is
based on 35 datasets broken down into
seven areas, such as technology, health and
culture.
Switzerland does particularly well in
terms of science and technology, ranking 6th
regarding the number of international students and publications, patents, trade journals and Nobel Prize winners. With respect
to prosperity and equality, Switzerland even
holds 2nd position.
Ireland ranked ahead of Finland,
Switzerland and the Netherlands in the top
four. The US reached 21st place whereas
Libya, Vietnam and war-torn Iraq were joint
bottom.
20
INFO SUISSE
BUSINESS LOCATION
SWITZERLAND STANDS OUT
WITH HIGH QUALITY AND
STABILITY
The number of foreign direct investment
in Switzerland has risen by 25% in 2013,
according to this year’s «Swiss Attractiveness
Survey» by EY. In the ranking of Europe’s most
attractive investment locations, Switzerland
advanced from rank 14 to 12.
For international investors the business
location Switzerland stands out with values
such as stability and quality. Top marks were
obtained in particular for the quality of life
in Switzerland, the stable political system
including a reliable government, the stability of the social environment and the stability of the Swiss currency.
And the attractiveness of Switzerland
will even increase over the next three years,
according to the survey of EY. 36% of respondents were positive about the development
of Switzerland as a business location.
In addition, results show a strong loyalty
to location. The proportion of respondents
which plans to move away parts of their
business from Switzerland is as low as 8%.
The churn rate has thus fallen to the lowest
level in the past ten years. «The excellent
fundamentals of the Swiss economy have
not changed in recent years: Switzerland
still performs very well with regard to
macroeconomic variables such as economic
growth, unemployment and government
debt. The country can even be considered
a benchmark in terms of crisis management worldwide» says Alessandro Miolo,
Regional Lead Partner for German-speaking
Switzerland at EY.
THREE OF THE TEN SMARTEST
CITIES ARE SWISS
In the 2014 IESE Cities in Motion Index three
Swiss cities are ranked among the top 10
smartest cities in the world. Zurich ranks
4th followed by Geneva on rank 6 and Basel
on 7.
In the study conducted by researchers
from IESE business school in Spain 135 cities
were ranked based on 50 indicators along
10 different dimensions. These included
governance, public management, urban
planning, technology, environmental awareness, international outreach, social cohesion,
mobility and transportation, human capital
and the economy.
Switzerland proved to be the country
with the best result overall, with three of its
cities in the top 10. Out of the top 20, 10
cities are European, 6 American, three Asian
and one is Oceanian. Tokyo, London and
New York formed the podium for the third
consecutive year.
■
BIENVENUE AUX NOUVEAUX MEMBRES
CCCS (QUÉBEC) INC.
Membre senior
Pius Kaufmann, fondateur
Kaufmann de Suisse
2195, rue Crescent
Montréal (Québec)
H3G 2C1
(514) 848-0595
Membre individuel
Charles Kaufmann, Président
Kaufmann de Suisse
2195, rue Crescent
Montréal (Québec)
H3G 2C1
tél: (514) 848-0595
e-mail: [email protected]
Chamber News
Informations de votre Chambre
LA SUISSE À MONTRÉAL EN
LUMIÈRE 2015, LE FESTIVAL
HIVERNAL DE MONTRÉAL
« Bienvenue en Suisse ! Quatre saisons,
quatre cultures et plein d’idées »
La Suisse est le pays à l’honneur du prochain
festival hivernal Montréal en lumière (MEL)
qui aura lieu du 19 février au 1ermars 2015.
Un des festivals principaux de Montréal, le
MEL draine chaque année presque 1 million
de visiteurs. Avec ses partenaires principaux,
Suisse Tourisme et Swiss International Air
Lines, le Consulat général de Suisse à Montréal
souhaite présenter au public une Suisse multiculturelle, innovante et créative. La présence
de la Suisse au MEL 2015 se déclinera sur les
activités extérieures et intérieures axées sur
la gastronomie, les arts et l’animation sur la
Place des Festivals de Montréal.
Placé sous la direction du Consulat général,
le comité d’organisation du projet suisse
prépare des événements dont Montréal se
souviendra. Ainsi, en gastronomie, notre
pays a un nombre impressionnant de chefs
étoilés. La Suisse est championne du monde
en chefs étoilés par nombre d’habitants. Elle
a aussi des vins remarquables et dispose donc
de tous les atouts nécessaires pour écrire une
page d’or dans l’histoire de la gastronomie
à Montréal. Une quinzaine de chefs suisses,
parmi les meilleurs, seront ainsi invités à
Montréal, de même que le meilleur sommelier du monde et le champion du monde
(inofficiel) de la fondue !
Les artistes suisses ont quant à eux découvert Montréal et le Québec il y a longtemps
déjà. Les échanges sont intenses, particulièrement autour de la langue française que nous
partageons avec le Québec. Nous présenterons des artistes suisses reconnus mais
également des jeunes talents à découvrir, si
possible en provenance des diverses cultures
suisses. Nous ne souhaitons pas encore
révéler les noms des artistes invités, afin de
préserver la surprise pour les conférences de
presse officielles. Outre les arts de la scène,
nous travaillons également sur les domaines
du design et de l’architecture.
IMAGINEZ
UN GESTIONNAIRE
DE PATRIMOINE
Imaginez un gestionnaire de patrimoine à la convergence des gestions
traditionnelle et alternative.
Imaginez un gestionnaire de patrimoine à la recherche de réelles performances
et non d’indices à battre.
Imaginez un gestionnaire de patrimoine dont les collaborateurs ont la latitude
nécessaire pour donner le meilleur d’eux-mêmes.
Imaginez un gestionnaire de patrimoine capable de diversifier véritablement les risques.
Imaginez un gestionnaire de patrimoine qui façonne l’avenir de la gestion de fortune.
Bienvenue chez Lombard Odier.
Lombard Odier Gestion (Canada) Inc., commandité pour Lombard Odier & Cie (Canada), société en commandite
1000, rue Sherbrooke Ouest · Bureau 2200 · Montréal (Québec) · H3A 3R7 · Canada
Téléphone 514 847 7748
La place des festivals de Montréal, site
extérieur gratuit et centre névralgique du
MEL, proposera des animations pour toutes
et tous. Ainsi des projets d’exposition de
photos, de projections de films, d’illumination
de bâtiments, de stands gastronomiques et
autres sont à l’étude. Un centre d’information
sur la Suisse sera disponible.
Nous recherchons encore des partenaires
suisses qui souhaiteraient utiliser avec nous
cette magnifique plateforme pour leur communication. Contactez-nous afin de discuter
des possibilités d’une coopération !
Pour plus de détails sur le festival et notre
projet, visitez www.montrealenlumiere.com ou
contactez-nous à [email protected]
Le Comité
Consulat général de Suisse – Swiss International
Air Lines – Suisse Tourisme
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
21
Chamber News
Informations de votre Chambre
GOLF TOURNAMENT 2014 IN
ASSOCIATION WITH CGCIC
The annual SCCC Golf Tournament in association with CGCIC took place on June 10th at the
a beautiful day of golf and an evening with
over 140 guests in attendance.
The day was not just about the golf.
Some of the special extras of the day
included the Chalet Suisse where players
SCCC President Ernst Notz handing over the cheque to
Marijke Vandergrift from Right to Play
Congratulations to the winning team (from left to right): Bruno Arnold, Jay Hogan, Auran Durrani and Marcus Arnold
from Euromart
ClubLink’s King’s Riding Golf Club. Returning
to its “Swissness”, the event was a great
success with over 110 players who enjoyed
took a break to enjoy Raclette cheese
served with Bünderfleisch and Apfelschorle.
Accompanying this mouth-watering Swiss
delicacy were the traditional Alphorn tunes.
There was also a Nespresso stand, where
freshly prepared coffee was offered to keep
the golfers’ energy up. The Gelato Fresco
Offrir au monde ce qu’il y a de mieux.
Une tradition suisse.
Les produits de haute qualité sont synonymes de confort. Nous sommes bien placés
pour le savoir. Nous les exportons. En tant que transporteur aérien de la Suisse, nous
traduisons la haute qualité en confort sur chaque vol, en vous oørant un service et
une hospitalité jamais démentis. Pour les vols quotidiens de Montréal à Zurich, et des
correspondances vers plus de 70 destinations à travers le monde, contactez votre
agent de voyage ou visitez swiss.com
*
*Notre emblème est notre promesse.
22
INFO SUISSE
station provided delicious ice cream to help
the players cooling off under the sun.
A part of the proceeds from this event
supported the charity Right to Play, and
guests had the chance to meet Canadian
Olympic Beach Volleyball player and Right
to Play Ambassador Martin Reader on the
course. A donation of $5,000 was presented
that evening for this global organization,
made up of inspirational coaches, athletes
and staff using play to engage kids in their
education, to teach them health lessons
and to show them how to build peaceful
communities.
Cocktail hour offered golfers the opportunity to mingle, as well as the chance to bid
on fabulous items at the silent auction tables.
The evening ended with a live auction, sponsored by Swiss Airlines, Switzerland Tourism
and the Lausanne Palace & Spa Hotel.
And at the end of the day, every golfer
went home with a Lindt & Sprüngli gift certificate and truffle golf balls.
Our kind sponsors were very generous in
helping us making this year’s golf tournament a success; without them this event
would not have been possible!
Thank you to all companies who have
generously donated to this year’s golf
tournament.
Dinner Sponsor:
Zurich Canada
Hole-in-One Sponsors:
BMW Group Canada
Kuehne+Nagel Ltd.
Hole Sponsors:
Artisan Complete
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Hoffmann-La Roche
Hottinger
Lette LLP
Nespresso
Northbridge Financial Corporation
Stikeman Elliott
UBS
TUV SUD
Trowbridge
General Sponsors:
CG&B Group
corptype
Ice Cream Sponsor:
Gelato Fresco
Besides golfing, the players had to put their soccer skills to the test
at the “World Cup Hole”
Water Sponsor:
Naya
Coffee Sponsor:
Nespresso
Premium Sponsors:
BMW Group Canada
Lindt & Sprüngli Inc.
Kuehne+Nagel Ltd.
Live Auction Sponsors:
Swiss Airlines
Switzerland Tourism
Lausanne Palace & Spa Hotel
Cart Sponsor:
Crawford Chondon
Lunch Sponsor:
Dale & Lessmann
Award Sponsor:
Lette LLP
Reception Sponsor:
Sony
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
23
Chamber News
Informations de votre Chambre
LE GOLF AVEC VOTRE
CHAMBRE; UNE SORTIE
AGRÉABLE POUR TOUS!
Encore une fois cette année, le tournoi de
golf de la Chambre de commerce canadosuisse du Québec a été marqué par le beau
temps et la bonne humeur! Quelque 120
personnes ont eu le plaisir de jouer sur le
magnifique parcours du Whitlock, à Hudson,
un club privé de grande classe.
La formule “Vegas”, occasionnant un jeu
plus rapide puisqu’on joue la meilleure balle
du quatuor, nous a aussi permis de compléter les 18 trous en moins de 5 heures, après
un agréable lunch, propice aux contacts
d’affaires et aux retrouvailles amicales.
M. Bruno Setz, Dr. Benoit Goulet, M. Olivier Rodriguez
Nous désirons d’ailleurs saluer la délégation
importante accompagnant notre président
d’honneur cette année, M. Guy Diamond, le
patron de PVC Québec Inc. Votre chambre a
pu contribuer, avec l’aide des joueurs, à une
levée de fonds de 1 150$, en faveur de la
24
INFO SUISSE
Mme Vibeke Daoust Ljungberg (Swiss), Me Gilles Gagné (Gagné Bennett), M. Andreas Kraeuchi (Swiss)
Société canadienne du cancer grâce à un
défi amical intitulé « Beat the pro ».
Cet après-midi mémorable a été suivi
du traditionnel cocktail, qui a permis aux
golfeurs de revenir sur leurs exploits sportifs de la journée, souvent cocasses, et de
renouer avec d’autres, dont une vingtaine
d’invités supplémentaires s’étant joints à
nous pour la soirée, et un délicieux dîner,
durant lequel toute l’équipe du Whitlock a,
encore cette année, fait preuve d’un grand
professionnalisme.
Comme par le passé, les meilleurs joueurs,
et joueuses, se sont mérités pendant cette
belle soirée divers trophées, dont le celui
du Consul Général, et le trophée Jacques
Thévenoz, pour ne mentionner qu’eux. Notre
tournoi avait d’ailleurs été nommé le Jacques
Thevenoz Memorial, et cette année, Mme
Madeleine Paquin (Thevenoz) nous a fait
visionner une très belle présentation audiovisuelle, à la mémoire de son mari qui nous
a quitté il y déjà 5 ans. Nous avons aussi,
grâce à la générosité de nos commanditaires
dont notamment M. Jean-Jacques Laurans,
président de Alfid Services Immobiliers Ltée,
pu offrir à l’Institut et l’Hôpital Neurologique
de Montréal un chèque de 5 000$. On reconnait d’ailleurs, sur la photo ci-jointe , M.
Bruno Setz, Vice-président de la Chambre,
et responsable de l’organisation de cet
événement majeur, et le Dr. Benoit Goulet,
Neurochirurgien, qui reçoit le chèque des
mains de M. Olivier Rodriguez, de Mirabaud
Gestion Inc., président par intérim.
De très beaux prix de présence ont aussi
été remis pendant la soirée à des dizaines
de personnes, sous la direction efficace de
M. Setz, et nous en profitons pour remercier
nos indispensables commanditaires, à cet
égard aussi. Le grand prix, soit un voyage
en Suisse en classe affaires sur les ailes
de Swiss International Airlines pour 2 personnes, avec les arrangements terrestres
couverts par Tours Chanteclerc a cette
année été remporté par Me Gilles Gagné, de
l’étude Gagné Bennett, qui avec son épouse
épaulent solidement notre chambre depuis
de très nombreuses années, et le méritaient
bien. On le reconnaît ici arborant fièrement
son prix, en présence de Mme Vibeke
Daoust Ljungberg, de chez Swiss, et de M.
Setz ainsi que M. Andréas Kraeuchi, qui s’est
aussi beaucoup impliqué dans l’organisation
et le déroulement de cet important événement et qu’il convient de remercier, ainsi
que toute l’équipe de bénévoles lui ayant
prêté main-forte.
Me Jean-Marc Ferland
Membre du conseil d’administration
■
de la Chambre
SOCCER (FOOTBALL) WORLD
CUP 2014 EVENTS WITH
THE SCCC/CANADIAN SWISS
CULTURAL ASSOCIATION/
SWISS CLUB
by Ernst Notz
Photo by PKS
The “Futebol” hype is over, it is again business as usual but some great games with
most goals scored ever, brought the daily
routine to a standstill. Who would have
thought that Spain, Italy, Portugal and
England would not make it out of the group
stage, how far Costa Rica went and that the
host country Brazil would get beaten so
badly by the Germans.
It was a lot of fun to organize some
events at two different Toronto locations.
Many Swiss showed up and displayed our
red/white color shirts and flags, made noise
with the cowbells and even alphorns were
played.
A soccer goal (hockey goal size to sympathize with Canadians not being present
at the World Cup) with a Swiss cross net,
entertained former soccer players and young
people (see photo).At each game a different educational quiz brought our opponent
countries closer together; representatives
of Ecuador, France, Honduras and Argentina
were invited to attend our gatherings.
On TV screens we saw our Swiss players
giving their best and maybe other then
against France they did a great job and
made us proud. With a little more luck we
could have made it to penalty shots against
Argentina, who turned out to be the finalist
and runner up.
A big thank you to all sponsors (mainly
Lindt, Kuehne + Nagel and Northbridge) that
contributed to the quiz prizes and to all the
soccer enthusiasts that showed up to these
most famous sport events. Please make
a note that Switzerland will already play
against England on Sept. 8th for the EuroCup
■
qualification…
STEIGER, ZUMSTEIN & PARTNERS AG
B U S I N E S S
A N D
M A N A G E M E N T
C O N S U L T A N T S
• Establishment and management of Swiss corporations
CONTACT:
• Accounting services
Nauenstrasse 49, P.O.Box,
• International Tax Planning for companies and individuals
CH-4002 Basel
• Management functions in Finance and Administration for
Phone +41 61 270 99 10, Fax -19
Swiss- and international companies
• Services provided in English, French and German
E-mail: [email protected]
www.steiger-zumstein.ch
MEMBER OF:
A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
25
Travel News
BASEL: A HOTEL TO BE DISCOVERED
Do you want to experience a unique way of
living in Basel? Stay at «The Passage» – a
place of transition between the old and the
new city, in the heart of downtown Basel.
The hotel will open in the first quarter of
2014, close to the main train station and
to all major commodities. Located on the
ancient fortifications, it occupies a unique
position in the city. It’s your turn to discover
«The Passage» before everyone else does.
LAUSANNE: MEET AT A UNIQUE
MEETING PLACE
In April, the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) opened the
first ever fully automated conference center:
the Swiss Tech Convention Center. It offers
a total capacity of 3000 seats and features
fully modular rooms and halls. The Center is
equipped with the technology of the future
including some truly revolutionary features:
the seats can be retracted at the touch of
a button so that the intelligent floor swallows them up and replaces them with a
completely flat surface.
ST. MORITZ: THE WINTER TOURISM
ORIGINAL
The British were the first winter tourists in
the Alps and discovered a whole new world:
the white winter holiday. It all started in
St. Moritz in the Engadin valley 150 years
ago: the hotelier Johannes Badrutt made a
daring bet with some of his summer guests.
Subsequently, the British flocked to the
Engadin, and over the years left their mark
in the form of polo and cricket tournaments,
the Cresta Run, and skeleton and bob-sleigh
races.
LUCERNE: READY FOR THE «SWISS
CHOCOLATE ADVENTURE»?
As of June 19, the Swiss Transport Museum
features a new attraction: the «Swiss
Chocolate Adventure». This new multimedia
experience world focuses on the subject of
chocolate as a Swiss quality product. Visitors
learn more about the origins, production
and transportation of chocolate. The «Swiss
Chocolate Adventure» is a journey of discovery for all senses.
26
INFO SUISSE
SAAS-FEE: DISCOVER THE FIRST
WELLNESS SWISS YOUTH HOSTEL
This summer the Swiss Youth Hostel
Association opens a new youth hostel at
Saas-Fee. The building’s unique architecture
and the integrated «Aqua Allalin» complex
with an indoor pool, wellness and fitness
areas already make it something out of the
ordinary. The new youth hostel provides
a facility made for active families, sports
groups as well as solo travelers.
ZURICH: WHERE THE CHAMPIONS MEET
This
year
the
European
Athletics
Championships are coming to Zurich in
2014. Between August 12 and 17, about
1400 athletes from 50 countries compete
for medals in 47 disciplines at the legendary
Letzigrund Athletics Stadium. 250,000 spectators are expected in the stands and 360
million viewers will follow the event live on
television. A truly superlative event!
LAS VEGAS: NEW EDELWEISS FLIGHTS
TO ZURICH
Edelweiss Air, a member of the Swiss
International Air lines family, will add service
to Las Vegas. Edelweiss began nonstop
flights to and from Las Vegas on May 5,
with twice weekly service on Mondays and
Fridays.
A SWISS PEAK PASS OFFER THAT’S
UNSTOPPABLE.
Spectacular views, stunning rides, simple
access – all this and more awaits you when
exploring the scenic splendors of the Swiss
Alps with the Swiss Travel System. Some
of Switzerland’s majestic peaks can be discovered via mountain trains and cable cars
when booking a 4- or 8-day Swiss Peak Pass
in addition to the consecutive 4- or 8-day
Swiss Pass. With the Swiss Peak Pass you’ll
have access to 8 specific Swiss Peaks like
the Mt. Allalin, the Mt. Brienzer Rothorn or
the Mt. Stanserhorn. This offer is available
between January 1 and December 23.
FIND THE BEST SWISS HOTELS
THE EASY WAY.
Are you looking for a great hotel for your
next vacation in Switzerland? Thanks to
the new «Best Swiss Hotels» App, created by
Switzerland Tourism, that’s a breeze. The app
allows you to chose various criteria, such as
type of hotel (for instance in the mountains,
near water or in the city) or the number of
stars. Once you find the perfect one, you
can directly book your rooms. The app can
be downloaded from the iTunes App or the
Google Play Store and works on iPhones,
■
iPads and Android Smartphones.
chartered accountants | tax advisors
trowbridge.ca
Andrea von Moeller
Director, Business Development
We take the complication out of tax
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Corporate and Expatriate tax services
Full cycle accounting services
Business and corporate structure consulting services
Managed payroll services
Multilingual−English, German, French
Monica Stevens-Wyss
Manager, Accounting & Business Services
[email protected]
25 Adelaide St. E., Suite 1400, Toronto, ON M5C 3A1
2Market International
B2-125 The Queensway, #131
Toronto, Ontario M8Y 1H6
Canada
Phone:
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The only inspirational newsletter of its kind. First published
in Switzerland, now in Canada and read worldwide.
Interested in personal growth? Subscribe at
www.brunogideon.com.
It is absolutely free.
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A U G U S T /S E P T E M B E R 2014
27
SWITZERLAND CENTRE FOR
TRADE FAIRS/ LA SUISSE –
PLACE DE FOIRES
Art Masters
22-31 Aug 2014
St Moritz, Switzerland
SwissPel
25-26 Aug 2014
Dietikon, Switzerland
SuisseEMEX
26-28 Aug 2014
Zurich, Switzerland
Ostschweizer Bildungs-Ausstellung
29 Aug-02 Sep 2014
St. Gallen, Switzerland
Sindex
02-04 Sep 2014
Bern, Switzerland
Home Ownership Fair Switzerland
04-07 Sep 2014
Zurich, Switzerland
BAUEN & MODERNISIEREN
04-07 Sep 2014
Zurich, Switzerland
Gehla
05-05 Sep 2014
Chur, Switzerland
ZAGG Lucerne
07-10 Sep 2014
Lucerne, Switzerland
Expat-Expo Zurich
07-07 Sep 2014
Zurich, Switzerland
Through your membership in the
SCCC, you can join a
group health insurance plan
The country’s leading benefit program
for small business
•
•
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•
•
Covers businesses with up to
35 employees, including one
person firms
Is open to all industries
Pools claims for price stability
Never targets an individual firm for
a rate increase or cancellation
Offers a full range of benefits,
including coverage normally
reserved for big businesses
Discover the wide range of benefits
available to you, such as Health and
Dental, Critical Illness coverage, Short &
Long Term Disability income replacement
and more!
For more information, contact
Patricia Keller Schläpfer at the SCCC
or visit www.chambers.ca.
28
INFO SUISSE
Global perspective.
Local presence.
Based in Switzerland with a more than 150-year history—
and locally with over 60 years serving high net worth
and ultra high net worth clients in Canada—UBS is connected
to the global economy like no other wealth manager.
More than ever, clients need global solutions that are aligned
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vehicles, global investment and multi-currency platforms,
as well as physical precious metals custody solutions in Canada.
For more on how we can bring our full global resources
to bear on your portfolio, as well as deliver the advice and
solutions to help you reach your ultimate goals,
connect with us today.
Please contact:
Julien Favre, Regional Head, Ontario
+1 416-345-7033
[email protected]
Christian Rime, Regional Head, Québec
+1 514-985-8100
[email protected]
ubs.com/ca
We will not rest
ab
©UBS 2014. The key symbol and UBS are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of UBS. All rights reserved. UBS Bank
(Canada) is a subsidiary of UBS AG. 140116-0072_r4

Participation of Switzerland in Erasmus+ following the

info suisse - Swiss Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Here - Swiss Society of Vancouver

Buzaker Law Firm in toronto ( 905-370-0484 )

Swissmedic GMP - Selectchemie

marketing - Swiss Fund Data

minutes of the board meeting - Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

Business cycle trends: SNB regional network - Swiss National Bank

B. Chacon Associates, Inc. Accounting Firms in Ontario

Research Scholarships - Ministero degli Affari Esteri

Swiss Pavilion at BioJapan 2007 - EDA