All posts by Beatrice Britneff

Immigrant populations in Ottawa: a tale of social housing

December 10, 2015Data Assignment_Three_2015Beatrice Britneff

Ott Community Housing — An Ottawa Community Housing complex located at 1485 Caldwell Ave. in Ottawa’s Carlington neighbourhood. The wards that take in the largest numbers of immigrants — and have the largest immigrant communites in general — are wards with the highest numbers of subsidized housing units. (Photo credit: Darren Brown/Ottawa Sun)

The Alta Vista and Bay wards in Ottawa were the biggest magnets for new immigrants between 2006 and 2011, according to an analysis of Statistics Canada data.

The results from the 2011 National Household Survey, which replaced Canada’s long-form census, show that 3010 immigrants settled in Alta Vista, located in Ottawa’s south end, and 3005 in Bay — located west of the city’s downtown core — in that time frame.

The next two most popular wards were Gloucester-Southgate and River — both in Ottawa’s south end — which each absorbed 2725 and 2660 immigrants, respectively, between 2006 and 2011.

Social and subsidized housing has a lot to do with the distribution and concentration of immigrant populations in Ottawa, according to Riley Brockington, who is the councillor for River ward. Brockington, who sits on the city’s planning committee, said the largest number of social housing units available in the city are situated in the Bay and River wards, respectively, which can help explain their large intake of immigrants.

While Ottawa welcomes immigrants from a range of socio-economic backgrounds, Brockington said a large portion of newcomers to Canada arrive with very little. Therefore, Ottawa Community Housing units in his ward — like the towers at 1485 Caldwell Ave. in Carlington — are often their starting point.

“If you are money-strapped… you’ve just basically arrived and you need help being placed, then you’ll go where housing is available,” he said.

A report published by Citizenship and Immigration Canada in April 2005 based on 2001 census data noted that only one in five households consisting of immigrants who settled in Ottawa on or after Jan. 1, 1996 owns its home — compared to three in five Canadian-born households.

Map of where immigrants lived in Ottawa from 2006 to 2011

ArcGIS_screenshot_DataAss3 — Click here to enlarge this map which displays where immigrants lived in Ottawa between 2006 and 2011. The dark purple depicts the wards with the highest number of immigrants. (Source: Statistics Canada data from 2011 National Household Survey)

Brockington said larger subsidized housing complexes also have a “family house” which provides medical and social services to residents, which is an advantage and might explain why immigrant families choose urban over rural wards. One example is the Debra Dynes Family Home, located east of Mooney’s Bay.

“[The family homes] are like one-stop shops,” he said. “The rural wards might have the odd home or half-way house where some people go to, but not in any quantity that you see in the older urban wards.”

Neither Jean Cloutier or Mark Taylor, the councillors for Alta Vista and Bay, responded to interview requests.

The City of Ottawa also designed some communities with low-income immigrants and residents in mind. Don Paice — a retired pharmacist who has lived in the Gloucester-Southgate neighbourhood of Hunt Club since the late 1970s — said Hunt Club was structured to integrate low-cost housing and co-ops, which subsequently brought a lot of immigrants and ethnic minorities into the area.

“It was interesting at that time because it wasn’t the norm in the 1970s and the 1980s and you definitely didn’t find communities as mixed as this community was at that time,” Paice said.

Residents of these four wards — which together also had the four largest immigrant populations in Ottawa in 2001 — are now reaching out to help with the Syrian refugee crisis, citing their appreciation for living in an ethnically diverse community.

Paice and his wife Elaine are spearheading a group sponsorship of a Syrian refugee family.

“I don’t think people don’t take the time to think about how these refugees will contribute to the economy [and] to the community culturally,” he said. “They help the community grow and they help the community develop.”

Kris Nanda, who is the president of the Riverview Park Community Association in Alta Vista, said five community associations, including his own, have been working together to fundraise for United Way Ottawa’s refugee initiative.

“I think overall people are concerned about the plight of the refugees and my sense is there’s a desire to welcome them and help them integrate,” Nanda said.

Parking officials cracked down on misuse of disability parking spots in 2014, municipal data shows

November 17, 2015Assignment 2, Data Assignment_Two_2015Beatrice Britneff

The number of drivers the City of Ottawa ticketed for using an accessible parking spot without displaying a permit increased 38 per cent from 2013 to 2014, with the majority of those violations taking place at big shopping centres like Walmart.

Parking control officials wrote up 1,678 tickets in 2014 up from 1,231 tickets in 2013, according to an analysis of data that tracks parking violations obtained from the City of Ottawa through a municipal freedom of information request.

That is the highest number of tickets for this parking violation issued in a single year since 2009.

The City of Ottawa did not provide comment, despite repeated requests for an interview.

Drivers are caught for illegally using accessible parking spaces most often in parking lots at shopping malls or plazas, according to the city’s dataset. In 2014 the city issued 82 tickets — the highest number of any location in the city — in front of the Walmart at 450 Terminal Avenue.

Priya Hecktus, general manager of the Walmart Trainyards Supercentre, said some store customers have brought the issue to her attention but not enough to make the problem “alarming.”

“We do get complaints once in a while from customers,” she said. “It’s not a lot but it’s on our radar.”

When asked whether Walmart has considered any action given the number of people who misuse the accessible spots in the store’s parking lot, Hecktus said it’s not on the store’s agenda at the moment.

“We don’t see enough of it to be a problem,” she said. “I know that we recently got our parking lots redone just to make sure that they were clear… the designated spots.”

In 2014 the city issued 82 tickets — the highest number of any location in the city — in front of the Walmart at 450 Terminal Avenue. (Photo: Beatrice Britneff)

The city’s traffic and parking bylaw requires all parking lots in the city with 20 to 99 public parking spaces to reserve at least one spot for drivers with accessible parking permits. Another accessible parking space must be added for every additional 100 parking spots.

Hecktus said there’s been no communication between her store and the City of Ottawa about the matter.

Other top five hotspots for this parking violation include the Place d’Orléans shopping mall in Ottawa’s east end, a plaza near Heron Road and Bank Street, and the St. Laurent Shopping Centre.

Curtis Fortowsky, general manager of Place d’Orléans Shopping Centre, said the number of tickets issued in the mall’s parking lot isn’t entirely surprising. He said police tend to patrol the mall’s property “quite often” and a few of the mall’s security officers are in fact licensed by the City of Ottawa to write parking tickets, although it’s not what they do full-time.

“They’ll periodically go out and check but it’s certainly not something they do on a targeting basis,” he said said.

Fortowsky said the issue is a hard one to tackle but not everyone does it with bad intentions.

“Sometimes it’s as simple as someone forgetting to put down their permit sign and sometimes it’s blatant misuse,” he said.

Drivers are caught for illegally using accessible parking spaces most often in parking lots at shopping malls or plazas, according to the city’s dataset. In 2014 the city issued 82 tickets — the highest number of any location in the city — in front of the Walmart at 450 Terminal Avenue. (Photo: Beatrice Britneff) — Drivers are caught for illegally using accessible parking spaces most often in parking lots at shopping malls or plazas, according to the city’s dataset. (Photo: Beatrice Britneff)

In order to park in a disability parking spot, the permit holder needs to be a driver or a passenger in the vehicle, and the accessible parking pass must be displayed on the dashboard or sun visor, according to the city’s parking bylaw.

The fine for failing to comply with the regulations is $350 if paid within 15 days, as noted on the City of Ottawa’s website. After 15 days the fine increases to $450.

The parking bylaw specifies that if a person who is ticketed for parking in an accessible spot without displaying a permit obtains or presents a valid permit within 30 days of the ticket’s issue date, they will be exempt from the fine.

Data exposes Edmonton as national hot spot for identity theft

October 2, 2015Data Assignment One_2015Beatrice Britneff

Edmonton Police Detective Bill Allen said Alberta has been “a target area” for fraudsters because of its traditionally healthy economy. (Photo: Edmonton Metro News)

In 2014, people had their identities stolen in Edmonton at a higher rate than any other major Canadian city.

An analysis of Statistics Canada crime data revealed that Alberta’s capital city had 14.2 reports of identity theft per 100,000 people last year — far above Ottawa’s rate of 1.0 despite having a similar population.

Edmonton’s rate has also been rising steadily over the past four years. Back in 2010, the city only had a rate of 1.4 per 100,000.

According to Detective Bill Allen from the Edmonton Police Service, Alberta has been “a target area” for fraudsters because of its traditionally healthy economy.

“It’s ripe for that type of a scenario because you have a lot of people moving from other parts of Canada to Alberta because the job market was much more vibrant here,” he said.

Rates of identity theft in Canada’s major cities: 2014 | Create infographics

Identity theft refers to stealing someone’s personal information — like a birth date or social insurance number — for criminal purposes. Offenders use many techniques to steal ID, ranging from phishing and hacking online, to mail theft on the ground.

The motivation is money, said RCMP Corporal Josée Rousseau, who works at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, a government support service for victims of identity theft and fraud. Once stolen identification is used to open a new bank account, for example, then the case becomes one of identity fraud as well as theft.

The centre’s 2014 Annual Statistical Report states 20,611 Canadians fell prey to identity fraud last year and collectively lost nearly $10.5 million.

Allen said an organized network is behind most of these incidents. While stolen money is sometimes used to support habits like drugs or gambling, he said it often ends up in the United States or overseas.

These crimes leave victims in a huge mess, said Rousseau.

“The feeling is a violation, it’s a fear, it’s a big stress. It’s hard to get out of it. There’s a lot of work to be done to be able to get your name back on track.”

Rousseau said the Anti-Fraud Centre gives victims the information they need to regain control of their finances. They recommend reporting the crime to local police and contacting a credit reporting agency like Equifax or TransUnion.

But sometimes a call from a credit agency is a warning sign that identity theft has occurred.

In many cases a victim finds out after being notified about credit checks they didn’t authorize, said Joseph Webb, who works in the credit card industry and sells a product that alerts customers to signs of identity theft.

Webb was not authorized to speak on behalf of his company but instead offered his personal views.

Webb said if someone don’t monitor their credit history regularly, it could take years before they realize their identity has been stolen.

According to Allen, the majority of victims will never find out how their personal information was obtained, but sometimes the answers come to light.

About two years ago, Allen solved a case in which an Edmonton car dealership employee stole loan documents left behind by clients who didn’t follow through with a purchase. The employee then sold the documents to “a guy on the street” who used the personal information they contained to manufacture fake IDs and commit fraud.

Although Allen believes the dealership didn’t protect those documents properly, he said people should keep track of who they’re giving their personal information to and retrieve any important records once they’re no longer needed.

Webb said there isn’t a lot of demand for the prevention service he sells, which tells him people don’t think seriously about identity theft and the consequences.

“It is something I think people need to be educated more about,” he said. “People think bad things won’t happen to them and so they don’t need to prevent it.”

“Identity theft can take years to fix and it can actually have real-world effects.”

Auto theft across Ottawa decreased in 2013 but spiked in Somerset

October 25, 2014Database assignment twoBeatrice Britneff

Three used vehicles parked at the Triole Auto Sales used car dealership in Somerset. General Manager Kasey Elayouti said these cars have been thoroughly screened to make sure they are not stolen vehicles. (Photo credit: Beatrice Britneff)

While incidents of vehicle theft decreased across most of Ottawa between 2012 and 2013, car theft increased significantly in the city’s core.

According to an analysis of data published by the Ottawa Police Service, auto theft increased 37 per cent in 2013 in Somerset — a ward that covers the neighbourhoods of Centretown, Chinatown, Little Italy, and downtown Ottawa.

Although Somerset wasn’t the ward that experienced the highest number of stolen cars in 2013, it placed third on the list of wards with the highest rate of stolen vehicles, behind Beacon Hill-Cyrville and Alta Vista.

(Analysis and heat map by Beatrice Britneff)

Numerous requests to interview Ottawa police about the spike in Somerset auto theft were ignored.

While unsure of a concrete reason why car theft in downtown Ottawa increased last year, Kasey Elayouti, a used car dealer, said he thinks there’s simply more opportunities to steal a car in a busy area of town than in suburban neighbourhoods.

“Downtown is more hectic… more people, more cars parked in the streets,” said Elayouti, who manages family-owned Triole Auto Sales, located on Bronson Avenue near Chinatown.

Ottawa police told the CBC three months ago that organized crime rings could be responsible for the theft of dozens of luxury cars in Ottawa this past year. Police also said at least two organized auto theft gangs are operating in the capital.

There are also thieves who act alone, according to Terry O’Keefe, director of communications for the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, an association that regulates registered car dealers across the province.

O’Keefe said stolen cars can end up in different places depending on who snatched them.

If organized crime is behind the theft, O’Keefe said there’s a good chance those cars will quickly end up in a “chop shop” — where vehicles are stripped for parts to be sold separately — or loaded into containers and shipped overseas to Eastern Europe or Africa.

O’Keefe said a lone thief usually steals car to get somewhere — commonly referred to as “joyriding” — or for quick cash, in which case he or she will try to sell the vehicle to a used car dealership or an unsuspecting buyer.

However, O’Keefe said it’s rare that a stolen vehicle makes it into registered car dealer’s lot. He said dealers conduct several background checks, which include matching the seller’s name to the vehicle’s registration certificate, searching for debts on the car, and running a vehicle history report to find out whether it was involved in an accident.

“There’s a lot of due diligence done by dealers,” O’Keefe said.

Although Elayouti said he hasn’t had a stolen car go through his lot, he said that an amazing bargain is also a good indicator of a stolen vehicle.

“If the deal is too good to be true, then red flags should go up,” he said.

But Elayouti said these screenings aren’t perfect and determined thieves can find room to get away with their crimes.

“Nothing is bullet-proof,” he said. “There’s always cracks here and there.”

While some thieves will take off with whatever car they can get, O’Keefe says some — particularly gangs — look for specific models.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada — a national association representing Canada’s private business, home and car insurers— publishes a list of the most popular stolen vehicles every year. According to their website, the top stolen cars of 2013 include specific Honda, Ford, Cadillac and Acura models.

Car theft also increased 15 per cent and 7 per cent in the Gloucester-South Nepean and Bay wards, respectively, in 2013. Ottawa’s other 20 wards either saw the number of auto theft incidents decrease or remain stable.

According to the Ottawa police’s annual crime statistics, 997 vehicles were reported stolen in 2013, down from 1249 the year before.

Data reveals Buffet Indian Aroma as Ottawa’s “dirtiest” restaurant

October 3, 2014Database assignment oneBeatrice Britneff

A Centretown restaurant serving Indian buffet committed more public health and food safety violations — including storing food in ways that could result in contamination — between 2009 and 2014 than any other restaurant in Ottawa.

Buffet Indian Aroma, located at 164 Laurier Ave. West, failed 38 inspections in almost five years, according to an analysis of data published by the City of Ottawa.

This is nine-and-a-half times higher than the average number of failed inspections by other restaurants in the capital during the same time period.

Buffet Indian Aroma, located at 164 Laurier Ave. West, failed 38 public health and food safety inspections in almost five years, according to an analysis of data published by the City of Ottawa.

In many cases, the restaurant committed multiple violations —which a public health inspector labels as critical or non-critical — during a failed inspection.

“Critical” violations have to do with improper storage and preparation of food, such as failing to store raw and cooked foods separately. A “non-critical” infraction means the restaurant does not meet sanitation, design and maintenance regulations, such as failing to refill the liquid soap dispenser in the bathroom. These regulations are based on minimum standards outlined in Ontario’s Health Protection and Promotion Act.

In 2013 alone, Buffet Indian Aroma committed 24 violations over seven failed inspections, according to an online food safety inspection report. One-quarter of those violations were deemed “critical.”

2013 inspection data for Buffet Indian Aroma | Create Infographics

A restaurant is fined for every violation, according to Kathy Downey, program manager at Ottawa Public Health. Fines range from $50 for failing to maintain the proper temperature in the freezer room to $375 for failing to have a hand-washing sink in the kitchen.

But Jamie Rilett, vice-president of Ontario at Restaurants Canada, said fines might not be the most effective punishment, as larger restaurants or chain restaurants might not blink at the cost.

To discourage non-compliance, Rilett says his organization — a non-profit association that represents restaurants across Canada through research, food safety training and government lobbying — first supports education and then closure until the problem is fixed.

“We don’t believe that there should be any corners cut in the service of food to the public,” Rilett said.

For Ottawa Public Health, Downey said education is the priority. She said education about public health regulations occurs at every inspection and food handlers are given the opportunity to correct certain issues during an inspection. Inspectors also encourage restaurant staff to enrol in the city’s food handler training courses.

“The more knowledge an operator and a food handler have on food safety, then the higher the chance of compliance,” Downey said.

Follow-up inspections generally occur in the days or weeks following a routine examination. Downey said it takes repetition of the same critical violations to warrant legal action or closure.

The public can help flag such repeated non-compliance. Downey said 12 inspections at Buffet Indian Aroma between 2009 and 2014 were generated from public complaints “related to sanitation, pest control or food borne illness.”

Indian restaurant also faced financial problems
Buffet Indian Aroma’s most recent inspection was June 11, 2014, but the restaurant’s doors closed before an inspector could pay another visit. Incidentally, its closure didn’t have to do with food safety.

Buffet Indian Aroma is now closed. The owner, Dewan Chowdhury, owes $183,867.81 in rent to his landlord, who seized the restaurant's assets on Aug. 16th, 2014. — Buffet Indian Aroma is now closed. The owner, Dewan Chowdhury, owes $183,867.81 in rent to his landlord, who seized the restaurant’s assets on Aug. 16th, 2014.

According to a notice of distress taped to the restaurant’s window, the restaurant’s former owner, Dewan Chowdhury, owes $183,867.81 in rent payments to landlord Domenic Cambareri. The notice, issued Aug. 16, 2014, reads that Cambareri seized the restaurant’s inventory and equipment as repayment.

In order to regain his assets, Chowdhury needed to have paid his debt in full by Aug. 22, 2014.

Cambareri’s lawyer, Greg Farnand, said in an email that Chowdhury recently opened a new restaurant called Palki Cuisine of India at 1060 Ogilvie Rd. However, requests to reach Chowdhury at this new location were refused.

Other top offending restaurants in Ottawa include Feleena’s, located in the Glebe, and Lowertown Italian restaurant Stella Osteria. They failed their health inspections 30 and 28 times, respectively, between 2009 and 2014.

The capital’s ickiest eateries: The Top 5 Ottawa restaurants with the highest number of failed inspections (2009-2014) | Create Infographics

Bea’s Test Post

September 25, 2014Database assignment oneBeatrice Britneff

Test, test, test.

Terrorism concerns growing as cruise industry diversifies, documents show

March 26, 2014Access-to-information storyBeatrice Britneff

As the international cruise ship industry expands, concerns about terrorism are growing, according to documents obtained from Transport Canada.

The documents, released under the Access to Information law, say demand for cruising worldwide nearly doubled between 1999 and 2009, with the number of passengers increasing to 16.93 million from 8.59 million. In addition, vacationers are coming from an increasing range of national, racial, ethnic and religious groups.

The documents say these trends likely will make cruises more appealing targets for terrorists who are “looking to maximize lives-lost and create publicity.”

Cruise lines are also expanding their operations to new, remote and potentially dangerous areas, such as the Middle East, which the documents say increases ships’ chances of dealing with foreign marine facilities whose security practices are not up to par.

Transport Canada withheld information about the documents’ author and publication date, and refused interview requests.

However, Dane Rowlands, director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, said there is no publicly available evidence that suggests terror attacks on cruise ships are a big problem.

There have been five terrorist attacks on cruises in the last 55 years, according to the book Cruising for Trouble by Mark Gaouette, a former security director for American cruise line Princess Cruises.

The most recent assault occurred in 2004 when terrorists belonging to an Islamist separatist group bombed the SuperFerry 14 in Manila Bay, Philippines. The attack resulted in 116 deaths.

However, Rowlands said recent attacks on cruise ships by Somali pirates in 2005, 2008 and 2009 are fuelling concerns about marine security.

“I think people are drawing a link from what they’re observing on the piracy front,” said Rowlands, who studies terrorism and counter-terrorism activities. “They’re saying, ‘Wait, criminals can do it… why not terrorists?’”

Although the number of terrorist attacks on cruise ships is relatively low, Rowlands said it’s important for governments and intelligence agencies to anticipate terrorists’ next moves. He said once a terrorist group’s ability to act in one area — such as air travel — is limited, it will shift to different tactics.

And there is evidence this is happening. Documents seized from an al-Qaeda operative in Berlin in 2012 revealed the terrorist group’s plans to hijack cruise ships.

The Transport Canada documents outline four recommendations for improving cruise ship security, including increased risk assessment and information sharing between governments. Rowlands said cruise lines worldwide should also look at standardizing screening practices in the way airports have.

A paper published in 2006 by the Rand Center for Terrorism Risk Management Policy, a non-profit research institution, says cruise security checks remain “far less stringent” than those in airports.

According to the website for Cruise Lines International Association Inc. — the world’s largest cruise industry association — cruise passengers, crew and baggage must pass through a security checkpoint before embarking or disembarking. Additionally, crew members must undergo pre-employment background screening. But the website does not specify whether screening methods vary by cruise line or not.

The association did not respond to requests for an interview.

Rowlands said he thinks cruise ship companies tend to be more reactive than proactive with security practices because they don’t want to hurt business.

“This is a classic case where you’re more likely to see the barn door being closed long after the horses have galloped across the field,” he said.

Canada doesn’t own any cruise lines but the documents say Canadians represent about one-quarter of all cruise vacationers, not including U.S. passengers. Because of this, Rowlands said Canada should have an interest in helping improve cruise ship security.

“You don’t always want to be fighting the last war.”

EXPLANATION FOR THE ABOVE TRANSPORT CANADA RECORDS

1) What is the information?
The above pages are extracted from a larger document or paper that I think was written in 2011, but there’s no way to be certain. The pages contain information about trends within the cruise ship industry that the author believes might give rise to certain challenges, particularly terrorism, to marine security. The author breaks down the trends and explains why they might make cruise ships more appealing targets for terrorists. At the end of this section, there is also a short list of recommendations for improving cruise ship security worldwide.

The information also includes a detailed list of new cruise ship destinations in different regions of the world, scheduled for 2011.

Lastly, the information includes a list of facts and statistics about the international cruise ship industry.

2) From which department and level of government did you obtain these pages?
I obtained these pages from Transport Canada, a department of the federal government.

3) Why was this information helpful?
This information was helpful because it gave me the necessary foundation for a well-rounded story. It provided a twist on a popular mode of travel and thus gave me a news hook. The information was also helpful because it included some context and recommendations that inspired my research, my interview questions and the direction I took for story development.

DOCUMENTATION

Original Requests (7)
Please click to see copies of my REQUESTS for ORIGINAL FEDERAL, PROVINCIAL AND MUNICIPAL records

Previously Released Federal Requests (3)
Please click to see copies of my REQUESTS for PREVIOUSLY RELEASED FEDERAL records

Correspondence
Please click to see copies of correspondence regarding my requests for ORIGINAL FEDERAL records

Please click to see copies of correspondence regarding my requests for PREVIOUSLY RELEASED FEDERAL records

Please click to see copies of correspondence regarding my requests for ORIGINAL PROVINCIAL records

Please click to see copies of correspondence regarding my request for ORIGINAL MUNICIPAL records

Enrolment at B.C. distance school increased fivefold in six years

March 10, 2014Database AssignmentBeatrice Britneff

Education policy changes in B.C. caused enrolment at the South Island Distance Education School in Victoria to skyrocket from about 600 to 3000 students between 2007 and 2013. (Photo courtesy of the South Island Distance Education School.)

Enrolment at an alternative learning school in British Columbia increased fivefold from 2007 to 2013, according to an analysis of data published by the B.C. Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development.

The population of the South Island Distance Education School in Victoria grew from about 600 to 3000 students in six years, due to an increase in the number of learners using part-time distance classes to complete their high school education.

The Vancouver Island public school experienced a sharp spike in its population of part-time grade 10 to 12 students and adult learners specifically, said Karen Flello, the school’s vice-principal.

Flello said this trend is the result of two changes in provincial education policy in 2006 and 2008, respectively. In 2006, the government allowed grade 10, 11 and 12 students to register at more than one school.

This gave senior students the option to use distance learning as a way of meeting the required credits for graduation and shaping their high school education the way they want to, said Laura Barker, treasurer for South Island’s parent advisory council.

Many students register for a distance course if their local school doesn’t offer it, if they have timetable conflicts, or if they want to take an extra class on top of a full course load.

In 2008, the government also expanded access to free basic adult education courses in public elementary and secondary schools to all B.C. residents.

According to Flello, who is also president of the B.C. Distributed Learning Administrators’ Association, her school immediately felt the impact of these two policy changes.

“We all of a sudden had an enormous jump in head count,” Flello said. “I mean, we skyrocketed. We took right off.”

As of now, grade 10, 11 and 12 students account for about half of the school’s population and adult learners account for about 25 to 30 per cent, according to Flello.

South Island had to make several changes to accommodate its growing numbers. Flello said the school hired more than 20 new teachers between 2007 and 2013, and also prioritized improving course efficiency.

“We’re still very paper-based and correspondence-heavy, so we’ve found ways to make courses a bit more elegant,” Flello said. “We write a lot of our own online courses, and we do them with the view in mind of making them streamline for students and teachers.”

Barker said the school is also significantly improving its variety of sessional one-on-one programs.

“They are offering more programs where kids go in, depending upon the age group, and have lessons with the teachers and they focus on either science or art or music,” said Barker, whose three children are registered at the school.

Listen to Flello talk about more of the school’s new services here:

Simultaneous increases in the school’s budget helped offset growing expenditures. The 2006 policy change also allowed distance schools to claim $731 from the provincial government per student registered in a course.

But South Island’s gains meant losses for other distance schools in the province, who saw their enrolment rise and subsequently drop between 2007 and 2013. Flello said her school was also attracting students from multiple districts across the province.

“It’s like gravity… the bigger schools have had greater drawing power,” Flello said. “We’ve also had a greater commitment to expanding program offerings and to expanding the online part.”

Flello said her school expects enrolment numbers to plateau now that the shock of the cross-enrolment policy has worn off. However, she said the school still has an incentive to keep numbers up.

“If we don’t have a large enrolment class it’s pretty hard to say we’re going to close it when neighbourhood schools are closing it all over the place,” Flello said. “We’ve become sort of a last resort.”

Source: The B.C. Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
Analysis by Beatrice Britneff

Canadian Space Agency losing ground to private companies, space experts say

February 27, 2014Whatever-Happened-To? AssignmentBeatrice Britneff

Beatrice Britneff

On the eve of the Canadian Space Agency’s 25th birthday, space experts are warning that the agency will become irrelevant unless it works closer with private aerospace companies and allows them to lead development of new space technologies.

To date, private companies have relied on agency contracts to build new space technologies — from satellites to heat shields. However, these companies are innovating faster than ever and the agency is not creating enough opportunities for them, said Chuck Black, director of the Canadian Space Commerce Association — a group specializing in economic opportunities for aerospace companies.

As a result, companies including B.C.-based Thin Red Line Aerospace are developing new space machinery and hardware independently of the agency. Some of their projects have made it to outer space through collaboration with American companies.

“There was a time when you needed a national space agency to do that, but not anymore,” Black said.

Canada’s space agency was established March 1, 1989, to help the government co-ordinate its contributions to the International Space Station. However, the agency expanded its mandate to co-ordinate most of Canada’s space activities, including earth observation and communications satellites that provide data to government departments.

Today, the agency employs 670 people — 90 per cent of whom work at the headquarters in Saint-Hubert, Que.

Marc Fricker — who works on outreach programs that support Canada’s space industry as vice-president of the Canadian Space Society — said it’s great that companies are building cutting-edge technologies, but the problem is that this is not happening “according to any government plan.”

Black said a good example of a public-private partnership that did work according to plan was the Canadarm — a revolutionary, 900-pound robotic arm used to move equipment on the space station. Built by Canadian company SPAR Aerospace, the Canadarm’s success allowed the agency to negotiate trips to the space station for Canadian astronauts.

Projects like the Canadarm are not materializing now because the agency focuses too much on overseeing projects and dictating design specifics instead of leaving those tasks up to the contracted company, according to Black.

In order to remain relevant, space experts say, the agency needs to catch up with private companies’ innovation, facilitate more public-private contracts, and give aerospace companies creative freedom.

Black and Fricker say they hope Canada’s new space policy framework released Feb. 7 will help reinvigorate the agency’s drive. The agency did not respond to questions about its direction, but the new framework explains that the agency and government will encourage using industry expertise. However, it does not mention how this will be done.

Space experts also agree that more agency funding needs to be dedicated to capacity building to help facilitate more partnerships with private companies.

In 2012-2013, the agency spent $334.5 million, of which 17 per cent was devoted to the Future Canadian Space Capacity program, which encourages public-private collaboration and oversees contracts.

Marc Garneau, a former astronaut and one-time space agency president, said even if public-private partnerships increase, consistent government funding remains crucial for the agency’s survival.

“The private sector is not in the business of investing money into high-risk ventures unless they feel there’s a chance for them to make a profit,” said Garneau, now a Liberal MP. “There will continue to be a need for government investment if there are certain things that we want to do that … is not readily a source of business for the private sector.”

Until 2012, the agency received $300 million annually from the government, but will receive only $260 million by 2014-15 due to a series of budget reductions. The new framework announced no changes to the agency’s annual funding.

Ultimately, it remains critical that the agency realize how far private companies have advanced, the experts say.

“The government is going to ignore these small companies and five years from now, [it is] going to suffer for it,” Black said. “If the Canadian Space Agency doesn’t adopt and embrace these new technologies, it will go the way of the dodo.”

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Chartwell profits on the upswing after huge 2012 deficit

January 31, 2014Business AssignmentBeatrice Britneff

By Beatrice Britneff

A Canadian seniors’ housing company is looking at a 138 per cent increase in profits for 2013, according to its third-quarter report.

After ending 2012 deep in the red, this is good news for Chartwell Retirement Residences. Chartwell suffered a $140 million loss in profits in 2012 — a 126.6 per cent drop in profits from 2011.

This debt came primarily from extensive property acquisition. In 2012, Chartwell bought two groups of properties in Collingwood, Ont. and Kamloops, B.C. The company also partnered up with Health Care REIT Inc. — an American real estate investment trust — to a buy a larger portfolio with properties located in B.C., Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec.

While these acquisitions cost the company a lot of money, Chartwell’s chief financial officer Vlad Volodarski said that it was an opportunity not to be missed.

“This was just a unique opportunity where a large portfolio came to market,” Volodarski said.“These opportunities don’t come around very often in Canada or actually, almost never, where you can make an acquisition of 8,000 units or almost a billion dollars … and these properties that were for sale were in the markets that we operate.”

Investments paying off in 2013

The company’s third quarter report shows that new property acquisition and operation in 2012 caused total expenses to increase by nearly six per cent in 2013. However, revenues and savings in other areas helped offset this increase.

By the end of the 2013 third quarter, revenues from Chartwell residences increased by nearly seven per cent due to occupancy improvements, increases in regular annual rental rates, and “higher ancillary services revenues.”

Chartwell is also experiencing increased revenues in 2013 thanks to the sale of company assets. Chartwell sold a portfolio of five seniors living communities located in New York State in February 2013 — referred to as the “Bristal Portfolio” in the company’s financial reports. The sale brought in $49.1 million.

According to Volodarski, the sale of the Bristal Portfolio was part of a recently implemented company strategy to concentrate its American properties in three core states — Colorado, Florida and Texas.

“We used to have properties in 15 different states,” Volodarski said. “We made the strategic decision a few years ago … to make sure that we can manage and provide proper oversight of the [core] properties.”

Volodarski said Chartwell will continue looking at what properties it can sell on an annual basis.

“We have over 200 properties in our portfolio, and some of these properties become old,” he said. “If they were not built necessarily with a kind of futuristic view to begin with, at some point in time they’ll become obsolete.”

As of September, 76 per cent of Chartwell’s retirement residences were located in Canada. The remaining 24 per cent are all located in the United States.

According to the company’s third-quarter report, 22 per cent of its residences are dedicated to assisted living, 16 per cent are for long-term care, and 62 per cent are independent supportive living.

Chartwell also saved money in 2013 through decreased spending on interest. The third-quarter report shows that the company’s interest expenses on same property portfolios decreased due to “regular mortgage principal repayments and lower interest rates achieved on renewals.” Interest expenses on the company’s acquisitions also saw a decrease with the sale of the Bristal Portfolio.

If all goes well in the 2013 fourth-quarter report, Chartwell will return to making a profit for the first time in at least three years.

Chartwell Retirement Residences: Third-quarter net income from 2011-2013* | Create Infographics

David McKie

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