A Game-Changing Factor to Job Search: Your Ability to Make Human Connections

By Nick Kossovan This column will be a departure from my usual job-searching topics to focus on something crucial to a successful job search and your career momentum, especially when networking and interviewing: making human connections. "The most important things in life are the connections you make with others." - Tom Ford, American fashion designer. Genuine human connections lead to positive energy exchange and trust building. Since most job search activities involve interacting with people, projecting positive energy and being seen as trustworthy greatly benefits you. According to American psychologist Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, love and belonging are the most essential needs we must fulfill, besides food, water, and safety. We are more fulfilled when our needs for love and belonging are met. We live busy lives, juggling work, family responsibilities, self-care, side hustles, and more. Therefore, often our social connections fall by the wayside. You might not think connecting with others is important, but it is. Social connections can lower anxiety and depression, help regulate emotions, increase self-esteem and empathy, and improve your immune system. These are huge pluses when job hunting. Sadly, we live in a time when there is a great deal of disconnection. While technology gives the appearance we are more connected than ever, the screens around us disconnect us from nature, ourselves, and those around us. Rather than using technology, especially social media, to enhance our human connections, we use it to replace them. Being brave, proactive, and taking chances is often required to make human connections. Striking up a conversation with a stranger can be intimidating, requiring you to step out of your comfort zone. Your lowest-hanging fruit is to reconnect with current friends and family. Then venture out and try new activities, such as joining a club or taking classes, to meet people to build a relationship with. Putting yourself out there will ultimately pay off in the form of a rewarding feeling that comes from building human connections. Here are six simple ways you can create human connections. 1. Surround yourself with people with shared interests. It is easy to bond with people who share your interests and hobbies. Identifying commonalities between your interviewer and yourself is the most straightforward way to bond with your interviewer, which will give you a competitive advantage. Do you love reading? Join a local book club. Are you a runner? Join a running club. Go where people who share your interests and beliefs are, such as clubs, volunteering, sports, taking classes, church or sitting on an advisory board. 2. Overcome your resistance. Building relationships is often intimidating because of a natural fear of rejection. However, to make human connections, you must overcome your limiting beliefs causing your resistance to change and embrace situations outside your comfort zone. The best way I know how to lower your anxiety when meeting new people is to remember showing interest is a massive gesture to anyone you meet. Therefore ask open-ended questions about the other person and make your discussion all about them. TIP: When meeting someone for the first time, ask yourself, "How can I help this person?" 3. Smile and give off a positive attitude. People prefer positive emotions to negative ones when forming a social connection; therefore, first impressions count. A positive demeanour and a genuine smile will naturally draw people to you. Before spending time with others, I find doing a gratitude exercise and taking a few minutes to reflect on the good things in my life helpful in creating a positive attitude. Putting your best self forward will maximize your chances of being a people magnet. 4. Open up. If you want to make friends more easily, allow yourself to be more vulnerable with others. This does not mean dropping all filters or boundaries. Too much, too soon, can put people off. On the other hand, you do not want to be an overly edited version of yourself and thus coming across as not being authentic. People can sense whether or not someone is genuine, so let them see the most authentic version of you. Your vulnerability will also prompt them to feel comfortable around you and connect with you on a deeper level. 5. Do not hide behind your phone. In social situations where you are uncomfortable, hiding behind your phone is easy, preventing you from making real-life connections. Being on your phone during a party or networking event makes you less approachable. Whenever you are out, focus on being present and engaging with the people around you. 6. Stay in touch. Human connections need to be nurtured. Regular contact deepens your connections. If you make a new friend, keep in touch with them and grow your friendship. Likewise, maintain your existing relationships with friends, family, and colleagues by keeping in touch. Making and maintaining human connections is an activity you should prioritize if for no other reason than the fact that opportunities (e.g., jobs, friendships, love) exist all around you; the only caveat is they are connected to people. Therefore, the more people you are connected to, the more opportunities you will be exposed to. ___________________________________________________________________________ Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com

For Old Time's Sake

I am currently going through a divorce, and we've been negotiating the terms of the settlement for a year and a half without agreement. I have started a relationship with another woman, but I'm in a saddening, irresponsible situation that was mischievously planned by the ex. About four months ago, I went to the ex's to pick up our two young children. She begged me to have sex with her one last time, and she swore she would leave me alone forever if I did this. She desperately begged, begged, and begged. I told her it was over. I told her it didn't make any sense. But I was a stupid, irresponsible idiot and gave into her, thinking I would get rid of her once and for all. Right after, I knew I'd made another stupid mistake. About a month later, in an odd and happy manner, she told me she was pregnant. Under the circumstances, I thought she should be devastated. I'm angry because I know she planned this to make me go back to her. That couldn't be further from what I want. Outside of this incident, I hadn't touched her in over a year. This mistake happened only because I wanted her to leave me alone forever, as she promised. I know I'm partly to blame because no one put a gun to my head. If this child is mine, I will pay for my legal responsibilities. Anyway, I want to grow in my relationship with this other woman. I have known her for six years, and we connect on all levels. But I've lost her trust. She wants to be with me, but she is having a difficult time in getting through this and I don't blame her. Teddy Teddy, begging for sex one last time for old time's sake, sounds suspiciously like something a man would say. It is not in a woman's repertoire. An alarm should have gone off in your head, the one that says the world has suddenly turned upside down. Even in a situation which was totally unreal, you acted like a caveman. The last thing you are going to get from a woman who begs for unprotected sex one last time is left alone. Revenge, paybacks, and blackmail maybe. But left alone? Never. You ignored the alarms about your wife, and you ignored the alarms about ruining your new relationship. I understand why your girlfriend has a problem with this. The story itself sounds like a male fantasy. Your girlfriend put herself in an emotionally vulnerable situation because she didn't wait until you were divorced before getting so deeply involved. What makes it doubly worse for her is that, because of your children, she has no guarantee you won't be "begged" again by your wife. This isn't going to end for her. Because of your children, she can't tell you never to see that woman again. Your girlfriend may very well decide this is not something she is going to be able to endure. It's for her to decide. You showed a lack of character. This is really about doing the right thing in each moment. Tamara Doing The Math My boyfriend purchased a house three years ago for $380,000. He put $20,000 down. He plans to refinance for $400,000. He plans an addition to the house for $50,000. How much should I pay to become an equal partner? Cornelia Cornelia, this sounds like one of those algebra word problems. If John is twice as old as Ted, and Roberto is five years older than John, how old is Ted's twin, Chris? Algebra word problems confused me, but in this case, I think I know the answer. Buying a home with a boyfriend usually turns into a legal problem. Until your status is more permanent, find another way to invest in real estate. Wayne Wayne & Tamara write: Directanswers@WayneAndTamara.com Wayne & Tamara are also the authors of Cheating in a Nutshell, What Infidelity Does to the Victim, available from Amazon, Apple and most booksellers.

What Is the Best Nutritional Advice

Ever Given? W. Gifford-Jones, M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones How long has this column recommended a high-fiber diet? Since March 1978 when readers were informed that processed foods create a “slow assembly line” in the bowels. Now some of the world’s most highly regarded nutritional scientists at Imperial College London say dietary fiber is “the best health advice of all time”! What is it about fiber that is so important? Soluble fiber dissolves in the stomach and can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Insoluble fiber passes through the digestive system, supporting a faster assembly line that moves waste out, reducing the risks for hemorrhoids and colon disease that creep up when hard stools loiter the bowels. Experts agree that women need about 25-30 grams of fiber daily, and men about 30-35 grams. Children need substantial fiber too. But on average, North Americans are consuming only 15 grams of fiber a day. Instead, most people are choosing too much processed food – white flour, sugar, low-quality breakfast cereal, chips, pies, processed meat, and ready meals, to name a few. One must shake the head when the benefits of fiber have been known for so long. Dr. Denis Burkitt, an Irish researcher, reported decades ago that even disadvantaged populations in Africa consumed large amounts of fiber and had healthy bowel movements. Unlike better off Europeans, they did not suffer from constipation, and it was rare to see appendicitis and large bowel problems. Most people won’t remember the King George V battleship chasing the German battleship Bismarck in World War II. But the British captain was also a medical expert. He brought sacks of bran on board to fight the common ailment at sea of constipation. The bowels of the battleship and the sailors performed very well! Going back further in history, Hippocrates, who lived from 460-370 BC, told the people of Athens that to keep healthy they should have large bulky bowel movements. He scrutinized the stools of his patients to diagnose problems and recommended bread, fruits and vegetables. Today we know that whole wheat, fruits and vegetables are high in fiber. Bananas, tomatoes, prunes, celery and roasted almonds are also good choices. Don’t forget the old adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” The reason? An apple can contain over 3 grams of fiber. Be sure you’re not fooled by food labels. Look for the words “whole grain” or “whole wheat” on bread. One slice contains about two grams of fiber. Breads that are labelled “multigrain” may contain little or no fiber. How do you know if you’re getting sufficient fiber? Be like Hippocrates and have a look in the toilet bowl. Small, hard, stools are a problem. A high fiber diet will result in regular soft stools having the texture of bananas. Fiber also fights obesity. One apple loaded with fiber has a filling effect. Wait a few minutes after eating one to note how it eliminates the hunger reflex. Get “fiber smart” and begin the day with a bowl of high fiber cereal along with a banana, blueberries, or other fruits and nuts. Then select meals at lunch and dinner that provide more fiber. Pass on the processed options. Desserts don’t need to be loaded with unhealthy calories. Apple crumble is an example of a high fiber dessert. No one can claim that fiber is bad for your health. But keep in mind that adding too much fiber too quickly could cause a commotion in the bowels in the form of intestinal gas and bloating. Increase fiber in the diet gradually. Sign-up at www.docgiff.com to receive our weekly e-newsletter. For comments, contact-us@docgiff.com. Follow us Instagram @docgiff and @diana_gifford_jones

LET’S STOP REWARDING FAILURES

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” Always Remember That The cosmic blueprint of your life was written in code across the sky at the moment you were born. Decode Your Life By Living It Without Regret or Sorrow. - ONE DAY AT A TIME - Come on people wake up... We had an opportunity to make some serious changes in our community and we sat on our hands and reward people that by their own admission lack the intellectual capacity and or life experience to hold the position that they been elected at any other corporation. We elected as our leader a former homeless and drug addict. On the one hand... We can congratulate him on his achievements. On the other we must shake our heads and wonder... how low have our standards become that we vote on a smile and empty promises. Just recently our beloved Mayor presented before a room full of ass kissers so called businessmen at a Chamber function... Our Mayor boasted on how great our economy is doing... How our development rates are skyrocketing...How during his administration construction levels have gone through the roof. On the one hand. Are the people attending that function that ignorant that stupid and naive to swallow such shit? Really... Let me explain. First of all if we have had a record in building permits. It had nothing to do with our Mayor’s leadership. What we are experiencing if force building compliance due to real pathetic immigration reforms. If we have had such a surge in growth. We missed out on huge opportunities to better our City. Our downtown still in peril. Our airport still and eye sore. Our harbor has been given to Hamilton. Our essential services are a mess. Why do we reward failure. Drive downtown Oshawa. Is that the facade of a successful downtown? What has really changed in 30 years? We have more drugs, more homeless and crime. But wait our beloved failure of a Mayor brushes it off as he was quoted saying during the municipal race. “Oh look at B.C. it could be a lot worst.” REALLY... That is leadership. Yet 18% of you turned out and voted him back in. 82% of you are now faced with a 5% tax increase from the City and 5% tax increase from the region. Out of all the council member we only changed one. Really, you mean to tell me that many of us are happy with the quality of life in Oshawa. I keep shaking my head. I keep saying we do not need municipal government as it is a waste of taxpayers money. We have no representation and those elected have proven to have no real leadership qualities as they make desicions based on staff recommendations. Most on council are pension stuffers and or careered politicians. People wake up. Look at Toronto - Even a former MP from Durham decided for a pay increase and put her name in the Mayoral race. I think that to run for office of any kind there should be standards. There should be requirements. Voters, must be forced to turn out or face fines. I guess this would not be a democracy... but wait it is not a democracy as it is.... only a small percentage of the population turn out and self represent as a majority. Democracy as it was ideologically set out is dead. We have become nothing but mindless numbers. Numbers that have no value but that to work and be compliant with controlled social norms. So much for freedom, choice. REMEMBER ALWAYS Hope for the Best. PREPARE FOR the worst.

Remembering the Battle of Vimy Ridge 106 years later

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East As the world continues to be ravaged by the new war in Europe and new uncertain times are to come, Canadians are being encouraged to remember the efforts of Canadian soldiers in World War I during those four bloody days in France, between April 9 and 12, 1917. It is important to remember that more than a century ago this nation was essentially created by the efforts of all Canadians demonstrating patriotism and a high level of civic responsibility. Today we need to demonstrate the same patriotism and civic responsibility to keep Canada the best country in the world to raise a family. A couple of months after the critical battle at Vimy, another enemy, the Spanish flu, decimated the world, also taking a devastating toll in Canada. Just having survived the Covid-19 pandemic, which tested world resiliency, the world is once again facing uncertain times, brought on by the new conflict in Europe. The current situation requires that all Canadians unite to care for each other like never before. We must rely on our own civic responsibility and sense of duty to overcome these black clouds that are enveloping the modern world. Let us now look back in history to the days of Easter 1917, which defined the birth of a proud and compassionate nation. We will soon be celebrating Easter ourselves, but let's not forget our compatriots who gave their lives to ensure better lives for us. As dawn broke on that morning at Vimy, close to a hundred thousand Canadians poured from trenches, dugouts and tunnels, surged up a slope and conquered an enemy position considered impregnable by its German defenders and, frankly, by Canada's allies. This was the first time all four divisions of the Canadian Forces fought as a unified force. They planned and rehearsed, planned again, and they stockpiled vast amounts of ammunition. On Easter Monday (April 9), they launched the battle, and because they were so well prepared, the artillery barrage was said to be so enormous you could hear the distant thunder of it as far away as London, England, a distance of more than 250 kilometres. It was a costly victory. 3,600 Canadians making the ultimate sacrifice, and approximately 7,000 being wounded on the 9th: the worst day's losses for Canada in the war. Many historians and writers consider the Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadians had done a remarkable thing and, they had done it with French, English, First Nations and recent immigrants fighting together. Vimy was followed by other Canadian victories, some of them even greater feats of arms. Sir Arthur Currie, Canadian Corps commander after Sir Julian Byng, the victor at Vimy, was promoted, boasted that he had won an even better victory at Lens when he persuaded his British commander-in-chief to let the Canadians capture Hill 70, forcing the Germans to counter-attack at enormous cost in German soldiers' lives. Currie's arguments for smarter tactics carried weight chiefly because of Canadian success at Vimy. The Vimy experience provided a pattern for future successes. The Canadians had rehearsed tirelessly before the battle. They dug trenches and tunnels and piled up tons of ammunition for the heavy guns that pulverized German trenches and wiped out most of the German artillery hidden behind Vimy Ridge. The motto for Canadian success was "thorough". Nothing that could help soldiers succeed would be ignored. Digging trenches and tunnels and lugging artillery shells through miles of wet, muddy trenches was brutally exhausting work. The Vimy victory shaped a Canadian way of making war. Other nations might celebrate flamboyant valour or dogged sacrifice; Canadians built on the conviction that only thorough preparation could spell success. At Hill 70, at Amiens, in crossing the Canal du Nord and even by capturing Passchendaele in October 1917, Canadians could take pride in their "ever-victorious" Canadian Corps. The victory at Vimy Ridge was greeted with enthusiasm in Canada, and after the war the battle became a symbol of an awakening Canadian nationalism. One of the prime reasons is that soldiers from every region of Canada - fighting together for the first time as a single assaulting force in the Canadian Corps - had taken the ridge together. As Brigadier-General Alexander Ross would famously say: "in those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation." So it is time for reflection, time to learn from our own history and act in accordance with what we have learned, in facing these challenging modern times. Let's not forget! Are our leaders listening or hiding? Lest we forget…and Happy Easter!

Rethink Your Job Search Strategy: Think Like a Marketer

By Nick Kossovan Most people start looking for a job out of necessity (e.g., laid off, fired, their job was outsourced, the business closed) without a plan of action or any sense of direction, applying haphazardly to jobs posted online, in panic-like mode. Furthermore, most job seekers do not view a job search as a marketing campaign. If they did, they would succeed much sooner in their job search, landing a job aligned with their skills, career goals and "would-like" compensation. Marketing is all about strategic, tactical positioning. As a job seeker, you are an expensive product that needs to convince employers that you will solve a problem the company has and earn your keep. Like any valuable product, you need solid positioning and a go-to-market strategy. A marketing strategy is guided by five Ps: 1. Product 2. Price 3. Promotion 4. Place 5. People Similar to a marketing strategy, a successful job search strategy has its own five Ps: 1. Positioning 2. Process 3. Persistence 4. Presentation 5. Personality "Don't just accept whatever comes your way in life. You were born to win; you were born for greatness; you were created to be a champion in life." - Joel Osteen, American preacher, televangelist, and businessman. I have yet to meet a job seeker who would not benefit from mapping out some concrete steps, with milestones, that will actually lead them to the employer and job they want rather than simply accepting the job they happen to get, which is the case for most job seekers, and why many employees are unhappy. (They are in the wrong room.) Using the five Ps of a successful job search strategy, you can create and execute a job search strategy that will yield the results you desire. 1. Positioning Before you begin your job search (networking, reaching out to employers, submitting applications), identify what makes you valuable to an employer. In other words, answer the question: Why should an employer hire you? Create a unique value proposition (UPS) that will differentiate you from other job applicants. Carefully review the job requirements and the employer's culture. Assess how your skills and experience match the job requirements and how you are a "fit." 2. Process Hunting for a job requires strategic thinking. Rather than simply applying to job listings, focus on companies you want to work for. With so much churn happening these days, your preferred employer likely has some openings, giving you a chance to get your foot in the door. If there are no current openings, introduce yourself-and then maintain regular contact-along with your background and what value you can bring to the person overseeing the department you would like to work for so your name will be top of mind when an opening does arise. (A job search is a marathon, not a sprint.) Do your homework on your target employers (e.g., their market, their competitors, and what pains they are experiencing). Obtain information that will impress a hiring manager. 3. Persistence Top talent can spend six months to a year job hunting before they land an ideal (keyword) offer. Job searching requires lots of stamina! The trick to staying motivated? Set small, attainable goals and milestones to make you feel like you are making progress. For example, attend one networking event per week and establish one professional relationship. 4. Presentation I am all about the elevator speech. Give me a brief overview of who you are, what you do, and what value you can offer. Sadly, many job seekers boast about their abilities without giving concrete examples. "Hello, my name is [your name]. I'm a digital marketing specialist and have been working in agencies for the past five years. I've helped [number] clients streamline their digital marketing strategies and increase their revenue on average by X%. I'm now looking to apply my skills and knowledge within a healthcare organization." Your elevator speech should not exceed 60 seconds. The importance of being comfortable with your elevator speech cannot be overstated. Record a video of yourself to see and access your body language. Eye contact, hand motions, posture, and tone of voice are all critical nonverbal cues during a job interview. 5. Personality Present yourself to your interviewer as a person, not just as a professional. Hiring managers rarely hire solely based on a candidate's credentials. This is why they often ask about a candidate's personality along with making their own judgment. Consider how your personality traits relate to the position you are interviewing for. For example, for a customer service job, you might say, "I'm a problem-solver by nature. My immediate goal when I speak to a customer is to resolve their issue as quickly and efficiently as possible." For an administrative assistant job, "I've always been an extremely organized person, a skill that served me well in my last job, where my attention to detail helped save the company ten percent on a major account." When looking for a job, consider how you see yourself. See yourself as a solution to an employer's problem. Market yourself as a solution. Think like a marketer! ___________________________________________________________________________ Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com

Ontario Increasing Minimum Wage to $16.55 an Hour

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” Always Remember That The cosmic blueprint of your life was written in code across the sky at the moment you were born. Decode Your Life By Living It Without Regret or Sorrow. - ONE DAY AT A TIME - Someone please help me. I can’t stop shaking my head. Who is doing the thinking around here. The economy is a horrible state. Just about every corporation is openly ripping off consumers. Not to mention grocery stores. They all blame it on COVID, the war, the supply chain. Small to mid size employers are struggling to keep people on pay rolls due to the poor economic climate. Then the government announces this: Ontario Increasing Minimum Wage to $16.55 an Hour. Hurray for the common worker working on minimum wage. Chaos for the employer that could barely pay the minimum wage as it was. It is no secret that big business does not care about you me or their consumers. Try calling them. They have these pathetic automated answering systems that are rigged to benefit them. You as a consumer have no say and no way to rebut the messages they spew. When you actually get someone to pick up after wasting 20 minutes in their automated system. You get some foreigner with an accent that you can barely make out. These corporation pay these foreign call centers a fraction of what they would have to pay if the call center was in Canada. The question is why do we do business with these companies. Well that is a topic for another column. The real question here is what is our government thinking? They raise the minimum wage as a great thing but fail to alleviate the problem. High cost of living. How is anyone living even with the increased minimum wage to pay for an apartment on the average $1,000 plus $300 food, cell phone $60, a car, insurance, hydro, gas and other daily expenses? When you do the math at 40hr/week they only make $2,648 before taxes... These renters will never be able to buy a home. One they don’t make enough for a down payment. Two, they don’t generate enough income to qualify to pay the monthly mortgage. Ok. Let’s assume they have two jobs and are a two income home. Still they would not have enough to save for the down payment and or afford the monthly mortgage payment. In some magical way. The government believes that by pressuring employers to pay more that it will address the economic problem of average Canadians. Wrong. All the government is doing is assuring less hours to work due to the extra cost of doing business by small to medium businesses. Here is my suggestion: 1. Take control of gasoline prices. (NO MORE GAUGING) 2. Assure that any supply chain issue have priority one. 3. Invest in local small businesses by offering grants based on business productivity and performance. The $20,000. they gave out during COVID was a great model. Every business should receive $20,000. every quarter if they can prove productivity increases of 40% plus the hiring of at least 5 new people per quarter. We waste money fighting foreign wars. Let’s invest in our people first. Do you not agree? REMEMBER ALWAYS Hope for the Best. PREPARE FOR the worst.

CANADA BUDGET TIME 2023

Canada budget time 2023 by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East We have arrived at the time of the year when politicians are working on our financial future. Bad or good we need to live with it. The most populous province in Canada, Ontario, was first to table a budget, soon followed by an interesting federal budget. Let us first see what the Ontario budget tells us. The $204.7B budget forecasts a provincial surplus of $200M by 2024-25. That sounds encouraging, but the budget does little to ease daily affordability issues. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy tabled the budget Thursday, saying it is "rooted in strong fundamentals" and features "real action ... to not only face the current turbulence we see in the global economy, but emerge from it stronger than ever." Words of comfort from a magician? It comes amid nearly unprecedented economic circumstances for Ontario: above-target inflation, high interest rates, a generational labour crunch and a coming recession. Although, for the moment, the province is reporting record-high revenues and a historically low unemployment rate. The 187-page budget document forecasts that Ontario could run a modest $200 million surplus in 2024-2025, getting back to balance three years earlier than estimated in last year's budget. That surplus could increase to $4.4 billion by the following year. In this upcoming fiscal year, the province expects a $1.3 billion deficit - a figure roughly 12 times lower than that cited last April. I wonder how accurate these predictions will prove to be. Some of the highlights look promising: The government is addressing health-care staffing shortages by investing $200 million in supports to grow the workforce. These include offering up to 6,000 health-care students training opportunities and supporting up to 3,150 internationally educated nurses to become accredited in Ontario. The province is also investing a total of $80 million over three years to expand nursing education in universities and colleges, adding 8,000 additional nurses by 2028. To address the more than one million Ontarians experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge every year, the government is pouring an additional $425 million into mental health services over three years. The government also plans to accelerate the $1 billion it pledged over three years for home care. The budget further expands prescribing power for pharmacists, only two months after Ontario's pharmacists were allowed to prescribe treatments for 13 common ailments. The government plans to expand the Guaranteed Annual Income System, which helps low-income seniors. A higher private income threshold will make about 100,000 more seniors eligible for the program in July 2024. The budget contains $22 billion to build more schools and childcare spaces. The funding will go in part toward a new English elementary school in North Bay, a new English Catholic high school in Windsor and new additions to French elementary schools in Pickering and Oakville. An additional $25.1 million this year will be spent to support searches at residential school burial sites across the province. Ontario is investing an additional $3 million this year and $3 million next year into a program that helps junior mining companies finance mineral exploration and development. The investments build on the government's critical minerals strategy, which aims to grow the sector and make Ontario a leading producer of critical minerals - including those in the Ring of Fire in the province's north. This all looks promising, but the issues start to get complicated when it comes to implementation. Now let's take a look at the federal budget. Canada is facing the most profound challenges to its prosperity since the end of World War II. Our traditional sources of economic growth - a young and rapidly growing population, an expanding oil and gas sector, international trade - are at risk of drying up in the face of powerful forces and trends. There are four key issues facing Canada's future growth that, if not addressed by the current government, could have major repercussions on its prosperity. They are its aging population; its shrinking sources of export growth; its reliance on the United States as its number one trading partner; and public investments to respond to a volatile global market. So let's see what the budget contains. The 268 page 2023 budget, valued at $491B, is full of spending and promises. Titled "A Made-in-Canada Plan", it projects federal deficit to be $43 billion this fiscal year, and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland no longer forecasts that federal coffers could be back in the black by 2027-28. Instead, the deficit is set to gradually decline over the next five years, still sitting at $14 billion in 2027-28. The 2023 federal budget promises "transformative investments" in Canada's green economy as the country tries to maintain its place in the global reset clean tech revolution and realign its supply chains toward allies who won't use energy as a political weapon. "Together these two great shifts represent the most significant opportunity for Canadian workers in the lifetime of anyone here today," Freeland said in the House of Commons. The remarks clearly mirror World Economic Foundation (WEF) vision, transposed into the Canadian environment. So let's go into a few details. Some of the more significant funding initiatives in Budget 2023 are: - $43B in net new spending over six years. - 3 main priorities: health care/dental, affordability and clean economy. - Doubling of GST rebate extended for lower income Canadians, up to $467 per family. - $13B over five years to implement a dental care plan for families earning less than $90K. - $20B over six years for tax credits to promote investment in green technologies. - $4B over five years for an Indigenous housing strategy. - $359 million over five years for programs addressing the opioid crisis. - $158 million over three years for a suicide prevention hotline - Creation of a new agency to combat foreign interference. It is interesting that more than one-third of new spending addresses Canada's targeted response to keep pace with the United States Inflation Reduction Act, which last year promised to direct US$370 billion at clean technology and electric vehicles over a decade. The budget also warns of the ramifications of not investing in the low-carbon economy, with significant hits to the GDP and jobs in the next 30 years, even as it acknowledges the enormous amount of money this will take. All the plans seek to develop new industries with supply chains connected to allies like the US and Europe. Freeland said in her speech that this would help to end what Ursula Von Der Leyen, president of the European Commission has called Europe's "dangerous dependencies" on authoritarian economies. A clear path to a new world order inspired by the WEF from Davos; a working front element of the powerful lobby of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). Almost one-tenth of the new spending is directed at making life somewhat more affordable for some Canadians, including the second GST rebate top-up in a year to low-income Canadians, and increases to grants for post-secondary students. As we have seen in both budgets, much of the spending reflects political interests to secure power for the parties in control. While inflation is declining, there are strong indications that a recession is coming, creating unforeseen challenges to the tabled budgets. …and both budgets are still spending freely. Have we learned nothing?

Interview Preparation Beyond the Bare Minimum Boosts Your Likelihood of Success

By Nick Kossovan "Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation, there is sure to be failure." - Confucius Would you disagree with Confucius? What about Polish-born American film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who once said a universal truth about achieving success when he said, "The harder I work, the luckier I get."? Success is undeniably based on preparation. As far as interview preparation goes, it increases your odds of success by: - Increasing your confidence: Being well-prepared for your interview boosts your confidence and puts you at ease. - Reducing your anxiety: Being unprepared often causes anxiety. Which candidate is more likely to feel anxious before and during their interview, the candidate trying to "wing it," or who took the time and effort to be prepared for their interview? - Improving your performance: Being prepared will make you appear professional, impress your interviewer, and put you in an excellent position to sell (An interview is a sales meeting.) your qualifications and compatibility. - Communicating confidently: Knowing what the employer is looking for and how you would fit into their culture allows you to communicate your strengths, experience, and career goals more effectively. - Making better decisions: Preparing for an interview provides information and knowledge that you can use to ask relevant and insightful questions about the position, the company, and the management style of your prospective future boss, allowing you to better determine if the company/position/future boss is right for you. Preparing for an interview starts with the bare minimum. 1. Research the company. 2. Be familiar with all the details of the position. (Ensure you understand the job description and expectations of the position.) 3. If possible, try out the company's products and/or services. 4. Without being creepy, learn about your interviewer(s). 5. Brush up on being able to answer common interview questions by being able to: " Tell the interviewer about yourself regarding the position. - Convincingly explain why you are interested in the position and the company. - Point out how your skills and experience (READ: results you have achieved) make you a good candidate for the position. - Recite 3-5 STAR (Situation, Task, Action, and Result) stories. These five action items are the bare minimum you should be doing to prepare for an interview. However, regular readers of my columns will know I strive to go beyond "the bare minimum." Imagine interviewing so well that your interviewer asks you at the end of the interview, "Can you stay another 30 minutes while I call HR to cancel my other interviews and have them prepare your onboarding papers?" Twice in my career, I have asked a candidate this question; thus, such a scenario is not outside the realm of possibilities. If you want a shot at a chance of being hired on the spot, then further prepare, beyond the bare minimum, for your interviews by: - Being able to explain your daily work routine. Walking your interviewer through your day will provide them with insight into how you work and your priorities (e.g., looking for opportunities, coaching, maximizing results, safety, process improvements) and your time management skills. - Know your strengths and how to quantify them. Your strengths are your unique selling points (USPs). The most important thing you can do when preparing for an interview is to know your strengths and provide quantitative evidence (e.g., numbers, testimonials, work samples) to support them. Some tips for identifying your strengths: - Consider what you are naturally good at and what comes easily to you - What are you praised for? - What do your feel are your unique skills, abilities, and innate talents? - What are some of your proudest accomplishments? Once you have identified your strengths, research how you can quantify them. For example, if you consider yourself a great communicator, look for ways to back that up with data or specific examples. Perhaps you have high success rates when it comes to projects requiring excellent communication skills. Did your boss, colleagues, or clients give you positive feedback? Support your claim with concrete evidence. No: "I take inbound calls." Yes: "I handle 60-80 inbound customer calls daily and have an average handling time of two and a half minutes." No: "I fundraised for the Heart and Stroke Foundation." Yes: "Since 2014, I increased fundraising contributions for the Heart and Stroke Foundation by 25%, raising $7, 750,000 in 2022." Numbers = Results = Value -Recount the challenges you have faced. This is where your STAR stories come in. Your ability to overcome workplace challenges demonstrates your professionalism, ability to think on your feet, and aptitude to overcome obstacles. Think of all the complicated or unfamiliar projects, or situations, you took on and learned from or fires you put out. Then create a STAR story for each. Your goal is to convince your interviewer that you can handle difficult situations and learn from them. BONUS TIP: Before your interview, familiarize yourself with several non-political current events to help you make small talk and establish rapport. Confucius and Samuel Goldwyn provided the starting point for this column. I will now end with a quote by South African golfer Gary Player, "The harder I practice, the luckier I get."

FORCED TO ACCEPT FIVE CENT RAPE

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” Always Remember That The cosmic blueprint of your life was written in code across the sky at the moment you were born. Decode Your Life By Living It Without Regret or Sorrow. - ONE DAY AT A TIME - Big corporations claim that they are not gauging consumer. That it was COVID, the supply chain, war. God himself in many cases as they are running out incidents to blame their huge profits. Bottom line, we have no government intervention. We have no representation. Big Corporations are openly raping us and forcing us to like it. How do you rationalize the increase and drop of gasoline of up to five cents per day. Does the gas in their reserve tanks become cheaper at night? Does some how the prices go up with sun up? NO. These gas stations are openly ripping us off. Is it not bad enough that we have to pay at the pump. That we have to get out of our vehicles and pump our own gas... Pay top dollar. Now be subject to being told when we should be gassing up. I remember the days when gasoline companies pushed for people to drive diesel engines... I just came back from the U.S. and diesel is at five dollars a gallon. Yes five dollars. No wonder we are having a supply problem. No wonder prices are soaring... and you may be wondering who is benefiting. Yes big corporations. From your utilities, to phone companies. Not to mention cable. Cable are the worst violators... as they supply internet, tv and home phone. Packages can get ridiculous. How is it as consumer we have let this happen. Worst of all in the case of net and Tv channel suppliers is that they are sitting on a goose that lays golden eggs every month. Remember the day before cable tv? All you needed to buy was an antenna. No extra cost. Modern society is turning all of us into educated dummies. We are led to believe we have rights and freedoms when in reality we do not. Our rights and freedoms are orchestrated through misinformation. Bottom line we are getting ripped off. We are being raped and forced to like it. Some may wonder why did you use such a powerful world as “RAPE”, to deliver my message. Well they say that the brain is the most erotic organ in the human body. By definition erotic: of, devoted to, or tending to arouse sexual love or desire. Therefore we can generalize that an unlawful sexual thought can penetrate our bodies and force us to do something we normally would not consent towards. Much like physically. As per definition, rape: rape, unlawful sexual activity, most often involving sexual intercourse, against the will of the victim through force or the threat of force or with an individual who is incapable of giving legal consent because of minor status, mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception. Our mental deficiency comes from misinformation -- it’s convinient - it’s good for you - we have special packages. Intoxication through confusion and false rationalization - we have over 1000 channels - (but fail to tell you 80% are repeats or you must subscribe. Unconsciousness or deception - we have bundles for everyone. Who ever said we wanted bundles. We want FREE TV. We want fair gas prices. We want for supermarkets to stop charing six dollars for a ninety nine cent head of lettuce. Are we so traumatized as a victim that we can’t see what they done to us and what they continue to do to us? NO means NO. To corporation ‘NO’ means. No food, no gas, no tv, cell and so on.... So take it, pay and like it. REMEMBER ALWAYS Hope for the Best. PREPARE FOR the worst.

Canada and the critical minerals saga

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East Just last week, close to 25,000 people convened in Toronto for the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's annual convention, one of the largest mining events in the world. The mood was optimistic, with many issues discussed. However, the critical minerals issue dominated the discussions, and rightly so. The event saw multiple Federal Liberal cabinet members in attendance. In obvious attendance, were Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. The ministers, as politicians do, stressed the federal government's commitment to critical minerals development. We will see how strong this commitment is, when the federal budget is tabled on March 28. Budget 2023 has the opportunity to place a high priority on the urgent need for critical minerals development. Supports in last year's budget, the most recent Fall Economic Statement, and the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy are positive, although silent on recycling nuclear spent Candu fuel, which is rich in critical minerals, specifically, rare earth elements. Canada has accumulated 50,000 tons of spent Candu nuclear fuel by now. We are sitting on a rich resource of materials from which the country can benefit immensely in multiple areas, including rare minerals. This can be considered a non-conventional mine of critical raw materials. I just wonder when the Laurentian political elite leading this country, will finally put the interests of this wonderful and great country at the forefront. In their wisdom, however, they have put the carriage before the horse. They do not seem to realize that the critical mineral supply chain needs to be assured before trumpeting and chest pummelling to attract new investments for electric vehicles and battery manufacturing. The sustainability of the electric battery ecosystem is contingent on the availability and supply of more critical minerals. Put simply, Canada needs to attract more investment into the critical minerals sector, or Canada's position in the race for advanced technology manufacturing and the benefits that flow from that will be significantly diminished. Looking at sourcing of critical minerals in the world today, we note that the rare earths elements market is characterised by enormous country concentration on the supply side. China's share of production has recently been above 90%. It has also mastered processing, refining and metals alloying technologies (downstream capacity). China gained this monopolistic position in the 1990s, thanks to its geological reserves of good quality, and the wide range of its rare earths elements products. Since 2010, China has tightened its production and export limits. This triggered ongoing trade disputes and brought the geopolitical aspects of the critical minerals market to the forefront. China's restrictions consequently acted as an impetus for developing strategies to diversify the critical minerals supply sources. New providers entering the market include the US, South Africa, Brazil and Russia. Long term projects to rebalance trade have been launched, but as usual lately, Canada is missing the action. In 2020 China produced 58%, USA 16%, Myanmar 12% and Australia 7% of the world total of 240,000 tonnes, which is double the amount produced in 2014 (Statista). In rare earths elements alone, China has 45 million tonnes (37.5%) of the world's 120 million tonnes of reserves, followed by Brazil with 22 million tonnes (18.3%) and Russia with 18 million tonnes (15%). In considering the importance of this sector to the wellbeing of our country, there are some applications we need to shed light on. These need particular attention from Canadian politicians who are infatuated with green technologies without knowing anything about them. Examples of industrial uses of critical minerals: - In magnets in electrical and electronic components, wind turbines, hybrid and electrical vehicles and in medical devices (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); - In some phosphors, used for example, in screens, energy efficient lighting and laser devices; - In glass for absorbing ultraviolet radiation, colourising and decolourising, polishing or altering refractive index (e.g. camera lenses); - In protective coating used for example, in catalysts; - In alloys in metals used in rechargeable batteries; - In ceramics to improve strength and toughness (e.g. semiconductors, microwave dielectrics); - In nuclear energy and defence applications; and - Research on speed and satellite communications, magnetic refrigeration, energy storage (fuel cells) and water treatment (filtering). Just to give an idea of the need for these critical minerals, here are some examples of quantities used in various applications: - a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine includes some 350 kg of rare earths elements (REEs) (mostly neodymium), - an electrical vehicle contains REEs in the motor, up to some 30kg, in batteries (with 10-15 kg of lanthanum and 1 kg of neodymium), in glass and mirrors, in fuel and catalytic converters and in electronics. - smartphones include estimated quantities of 50 milligrams of neodymium and 10 milligrams praseodymium (in loudspeakers). Given the fact that minerals and metals mined in Canada use less carbon intensity than almost any other mining jurisdiction, Canada should be the leading supplier of these critical materials to meet our national needs, and then the global strategic demand. Announcements from auto manufacturers, including companies like Volkswagen, which recently chose Ontario as host to its first North American Electric Vehicle (EV) battery plant, will only come with increased frequency if investments are made into our critical minerals sector. Why do they choose Canada? For its potential supply of critical minerals and secure and responsible environment. So it is time for Canada to stop hesitating and start prioritizing a secure, sustainable and long-term supply of domestic battery grade materials, including expanded production of the raw inputs essential for their manufacturing. As time is of the essence, we cannot afford to wait another year for the government to prioritize the minerals and metals, particularly critical minerals, essential to the battery and EV supply chain. Let us hope the leading elite in Canada will finally act. What do you think?

5 Ways to Overcome Education Snobbery

By Nick Kossovan If you do not ask, you do not get. Many employers practice education snobbery. Often an employer is judgmental about a candidate's educational history, including the institutions they attended, the courses they took, and the marks they received or their lack of education. The pursuit of formal education beyond high school is not for everyone. It certainly was not for me. I have learned more outside of the classroom than inside. It was outside the classroom that I learned, yes, often the "hard way," how to succeed in the workplace. So how can you overcome education snobbery and confidently move through an employer's hiring process? ANSWER: By becoming visibly knowledgeable about your industry and profession, evangelizing your results, and actioning the following: 1. Be charismatic (likeable). There is nothing more advantageous to a job seeker than having a magnetic personality. As I have said in previous columns: Being likeable supersedes your skills and experience. Throughout your interview, your interviewer is asking themselves one question: "Do I like this person?" When you develop a personality people, such as your interviewer, gravitate toward, you will notice that all the "isms" your self-limiting beliefs are telling you are the reasons for your lack of job search success disappear. When your interviewer likes you, they will overlook many of your shortcomings (e.g., your education) and their biases. It takes persistence and hard work to become charismatic. Many books have been written on how to become charismatic. If you have not already, I recommend you read Dale Carnegie's timeless classic, How to Win Friends & Influence People. TIP: You can start becoming charismatic by showing interest in others, which is a huge gesture. 2. Become a subject matter expert (SME). SMEs provide knowledge and expertise in a specific subject, business or technical area and are viewed as a resource (READ: asset) to their employers. When you are perceived as an SME, you become the "go-to" individual. Regardless of your educational background, you can become an SME. "I'd like to show Bob what Epicor Kinetic can do and get his opinion about whether purchasing the software would greatly enhance the management of our warehouse. When it comes to warehouse management, nobody knows more than Bob." Think of everything that keeps your industry's people up at night, such as safety, revenue generation, government compliance, and supply chain flow. Choose one and immerse yourself in it (books, magazines, attend workshops and webinars, earn certifications) to gain a deeper understanding of the pain points and find ways to mitigate them. 3. Evangelize your results. I, along with many hiring managers, do not care about your education. Education is often overrated and sought-after for the wrong reason, as a meal ticket to a great, financially lucrative career. It is the results you can bring to my department and employer that matter to me. From firsthand experience, I know a candidate's education is not a guarantee they will be able to achieve results. A candidate's track record, however, provides reliable insight into their ability to deliver. Throughout your career, consistently create a result-oriented track record and which you emphasize on your LinkedIn profile, resume and when networking and interviewing. Do not be modest when it comes to your achievements and results. Remember, employers do not hire education; they hire candidates they believe will achieve the results they seek. 4. Publish Today, anyone can publish on social publishing platforms such as LinkedIn, Medium, and Substack or via a blog. Putting your knowledge and thoughts "out there" to promote your expertise has never been easier. Maintain a blog or website and update it regularly. Publish on the social publishing platforms I mentioned and many more. Consider guest posting on other blogs or publishing articles or columns in industry-specific publications. Those of you who are ambitious might want to consider writing a white paper or even a book, which you can self-publish. Do not kid yourself; it is hard work getting your name and expertise out there and becoming known as an expert in your profession and industry. It will not happen overnight, but if you are dedicated, it will happen, and employers will seek you out. Publish regularly, use keywords effectively, and your name will slowly climb Google rankings, which is what you are striving for. As I mentioned in previous columns, once your application is selected as a candidate to possibly interview, the employer will first check your LinkedIn profile and then Google you to see if you are interview-worthy. Imagine the impression you would make if the employer found your articles, blog or book showcasing your expertise. 5. Maintain an active social media presence. Having an active social media presence, ideally with a respectable number of engaged followers, through which you publicize your achievements and highlight your contributions to employers will greatly help overcome education snobbery. Demonstrate your approachability and willingness to share knowledge via social media. Direct your followers to your published works and invite them to ask you questions. With a large enough following on social media, you may be viewed as an influencer in your industry and profession, negating any education snobbery employers may have. ___________________________________________________________________________ Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com

IT’S NOT A DRUG PROBLEM IT’S A STUPIDITY PROBLEM

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” Always Remember That The cosmic blueprint of your life was written in code across the sky at the moment you were born. Decode Your Life By Living It Without Regret or Sorrow. - ONE DAY AT A TIME - Have you heard the latest from our great Federal government? You got to wonder sometimes on who is doing the thinking here. Instead of dealing with problem. The government protocol normally appears to be all the same. First they will try to outlaw it. Then control it. Once this fails, they attempt to look for ways to tax it or make a profit. Thirdly, they just give up and make it legal and toss money so that the aftermath just fades away in the sea of problems. Think about any of the million social problem we have faced in our society. The same protocol has taken place. Look at the ridiculous so called ‘WAR ON DRUGS’. There is no war. There was never a war. The protocol called for extreme actions to combat something government have had little or no control. Today Dodge is open for business and any gun slinger can claim to be Sherif. We lost as a society the civil responsibility that make us civil. We rationalize just about anything and everything. We have no sense of value and or responsibility to one another. Just recently Health Canada granted a British Columbia cannabis company the right to possess, produce, sell and distribute cocaine. A Langley-based cannabis company has caused quite a stir in the B.C. Legislature after it announced it received Health Canada approval to produce and sell cocaine. The premier says he had no idea this was happening, adding if the federal agency did in fact give the company the green light, it did so without consulting the B.C. government. Personally, I think the premier should resign. How can he not know what is happening in his own province. Totally disgraceful. Secondly, is it not bad enough that we have legalized cannabis and having to deal with the social after affects? Now, cocaine will become widely available. Wow. Just this week again the government released this: Government of Canada announces over $3 million to help address harms related to substance use in British Columbia. You got to be kidding me. The old rule of thumb appears to be... if enough people are doing it... We best allow it and infuse it into a forced acceptance norm. Remember when smoking was a taboo. When homosexuality was deemed by the American Psychiatric Association a mental disorder? The examples of government attempts to deem something out of the norm is rampant. Does the government in it’s sea of expert not recognize the big white elephant in the room. Just because more number come froth, it does not make it acceptable by the population at large. Drug use. Drug sales need to be clipped and removed from society period. Legalizing it costs everyone. It costs those that use them. Tax payers that must pay for services such as medical services, police, social and many more. Compassion towards anyone suffering is an understandable human trait. But to open the gates of hell and expect paradise is insanity. The only way to deal with drugs is to eliminate them. Making it easy for people... does not work. Expecting people to be responsible does not work. Let’s stop the stupidity and ban all drugs. No more bleeding hearts. You have a problem. Get help. Simple. REMEMBER ALWAYS Hope for the Best. PREPARE FOR the worst.

Canada and the opportunity to lead

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East The latest evolutions on the world stage are giving Canada a unique opportunity to become a world leader in food production. The Covid 19 pandemic and the recent turmoil in Europe; the war in Ukraine, have severely impacted food exports from the region, both directly and indirectly. As a result, nearly two billion people are suffering, many in the poorest countries. The inflation that has followed, attributed to the war and to supply chain disruptions, hasn't helped either. Agriculture, especially the grain exports from the region, (a major supplier for the world), has been most severely impacted. And yet, this crisis presents an opportunity for Canada to take its place as a global food superpower. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reports that a record 349 million people across 79 countries now face acute food insecurity - up from 287 million in 2021. "This constitutes a staggering rise of 200 million people compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels," according to the WFP. "More than 900,000 people worldwide are fighting to survive in famine-like conditions; ten times more than five years ago, an alarmingly rapid increase." Canada's core agricultural strengths - abundant and fertile soil, the legacy of animal and plant husbandry, and superior farm methods to achieve higher yields and better nutrition outcomes - have helped make Canada a leading food exporter. Indeed, Canada's province-by-province presence in all aspects of the food value chain - from farm crops and animals to leading commodities such as wheat, soybeans, corn, canola, fruits, vegetables, and seafood - has positioned the sector to reach higher aspirational output. In fact, the many disruptions and threats to the world's agriculture and food production sector now present Canada with an unprecedented opportunity. It provides a chance to be forward-looking, to look beyond Canada's traditional products of wheat, potatoes, corn, meat and seafood. To meet the growing demand for the protein ingredients of plant-based diets, including beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils, plus new varieties of vegetables, food commodities, and beverages, including wine, health drinks, and high value-added liqueurs. By any measure, the agriculture and food production system has become a knowledge industry, both domestically and globally. Massive advances have been made in related fields such as veterinary medicine, natural sciences like biology and chemistry, and many related disciplines like economics and the applied areas of agricultural economics, production planning, and data analytics. Today's digital society offers agriculture new tools ranging from drones to smart tractors to smart crop imaging, and most importantly, smarter farmers. In short, technological innovation and food security are the new urgencies of a global food sector in which food abundance and food shortages coexist, even among developed countries such as Britain and the United States. Canada is well positioned to lead in the agricultural field due to its unique capacity to evolve and intelligently transform. In 2021, Canada's agriculture and agri-food system employed 2.1 million people, provided one of every nine jobs and accounted for 6.8 percent of Canada's GDP. However, the present challenge is that politically, the farm sector is seen as a rural issue, not a vital advantage for Canada as a G7 country and a trading partner. Changing Canada's food system as an export sector to superpower status - one of the world's top five, compared to being eighth - is a national challenge. It requires new approaches to breaking down silos and flattening fences; across provincial borders, among sectors, and between the institutions that affect Canadian agriculture. Canada needs to up its agri-food game with high aspirations. Charles McMillan, a Professor of Strategy at the Schulich School of Business, York University and author of several books, suggests in a recent article that Canada needs to make five essential changes to be a world leader in the agricultural field. "Start with a global mindset. Canada should host an annual food fair, similar to the two largest, the AUGA in Cologne and FoodEx in Tokyo, to bring together domestic players and international firms, with leading speakers to underscore the overlap between agriculture, technology, innovation, climate change, food security, public health, the plight of poor nations, and their need for safe and reliable food supplies. Second, like the Netherlands, Canada should be in the business of selling farm and food technology, including new software applications for seed distribution, optimum land use, natural ecosystem diversity, and a host of innovative solutions across the value chain. Third, trade promotion should be the leading target of agricultural departments, and include benchmark targets by country, products, and especially underserved markets where Canadian exports are low or non-existent. Fourth, Canada's scientific and academic institutions should be mandated to break down traditional silos across the relevant disciplines, and institute new measures for deep collaboration on agricultural innovation and food security, including with private firms, farm groups, and the small but growing venture capital sector. The fact that in Atlantic Canada, a federal agency, ACOA (the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) is a leading player in financing start-ups, usually in coordination with private financial institutions, shows how new collaborative ideas are possible. Fifth, Canada's leading food processors and retailers, which already have a commanding presence in the domestic market as well as some with exports to the United States, can play a major leadership role. Few Canadians appreciate the international presence of Saputo, now the eighth largest dairy firm in the world, Couche-Tard, also from Montreal, the world's second largest convenience store (behind Japan's 7-11), and the international presence of McCain's, which has investments in Africa's vast underserved food import market, where the entire continent has only six percent of arable land. Canada can view climate change, food shortages and food security, and disruptive change from the scientific, digital and protein revolution as a threat or a challenge, but also as new distinct advantages for job creation, corporate expansion, and export growth". In conclusion, the opportunity to win is Canada's to lose. The question is whether our present political establishment is up to the task. It is for you to judge.

Negotiate More Than Just Your Starting Salary

By Nick Kossovan If you do not ask, you do not get. While we all know money is not everything, most job seekers only negotiate salary when negotiating a job offer. Presuming the hiring manager says, "$85K is the best I can do," then your next words should be along the lines of: YOU: "Okay, I understand $85K is your best offer. I would be more comfortable if it were slightly higher, say $95K. With that in mind, could we discuss adding extra benefits and perks and revisiting the salary later, say in six months? HIRING MANAGER: "Sure, what did you have in mind?" Before I delve into "adding extra benefits and perks," I want to discuss salary-the reason we hold down jobs. Salary discussions should always take place at the end of the hiring process or, better yet, after receiving a written job offer. When "What compensation are you looking for?" is inevitably asked, I will say, "If you do not mind, I would rather leave the money discussion when you make me a job offer." (Note I do not say, "If you make me a job offer." Throughout the hiring process, I assume I will get the job.) Never start to negotiate salary in the midst of the hiring process. You are not negotiating before the employer has said: "We want to hire you," you are putting a price tag on yourself, which means that your interviewer is now going to ask themselves, "Is Bob worth the $75K he is asking?" When negotiating salary, think about these three "Ws": 1. Wish: A salary you open with and wish to receive. (e.g., $100K) 2. Want: Your actual salary target, which is lower than your wish. (e.g., $85K) 3. Walk: The salary you will not go below. (e.g., $75K) It would be great if all employers were upfront in the job postings regarding salary. However, for many reasons, many that are understandable, it is common for employers to refrain from posting salary information. If they do, it is a salary range. Therefore, during the hiring process, you will be asked what your salary expectation is. In the first five minutes of an initial conversation, which is usually the interview vetting stage, regarding an opportunity, I will ask, "So we do not waste each other's time, do you mind my asking what the salary for this position is?" Usually, I will be given a salary range and then asked what I am looking for. Unless the salary is in my "walk" range, I will answer, as I mentioned before, that the range works for me at this point and that I would rather discuss salary when I get a job offer. If you do not feel comfortable with the salary range, do not continue the interview. In addition to your "want" salary, seriously consider negotiating "extras" such as: - Bonus Ask what the position expectations are, then propose a bonus plan that says when-believe in absolute success, not "if"-you achieve XYZ, then you receive a bonus of X. Employers love it when they are able to give something in return for receiving something. On the other hand, they do not like negotiating for the sake of negotiating. The key to a successful bonus conversation is understanding what a win is for the company. - Your hours A flexible work schedule can be invaluable. Discuss how you are most productive when you work slightly different hours. (e.g., you are a morning person or an afternoon person). Maybe you have kids you want to take to school every morning or are looking after an elderly parent. - Paid time off Employers offer a set amount of starting paid vacation time, usually 2 weeks. If you are coming from a company with more weeks, say three, ask your potential employer to match that number. - Job title Depending on where you are in your career, now may be an ideal time to negotiate a title with your prospective employer. By negotiating a higher title, even if you are not getting paid more, your pay comparable will be higher at your next employer. This is because you have created the illusion of a higher-paying job. - Professional development Professional development and training should be a part of your career management activities, regardless of your profession or position, and should align with your long-term career goals. Negotiate a budget for career-enhancing activities such as classes and conferences. The above are just a few suggestions on what you can negotiate besides your starting salary. The list is endless, from money for grad school to childcare reimbursement to subsidizing your commuting costs. I once had a candidate ask if their industry magazine subscriptions, four in total, could be covered. Remember, if you do not ask, you do not get. Above all, only accept a job if you are completely satisfied with the compensation package. Do not be one of those employees who complain about their agreed-to salary. Lastly, always get everything you have negotiated in writing; otherwise, it does not exist. ___________________________________________________________________________ Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com

WE ARE NOT LAZY WE ARE CANADIAN KUNTZ

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” Always Remember That The cosmic blueprint of your life was written in code across the sky at the moment you were born. Decode Your Life By Living It Without Regret or Sorrow. - ONE DAY AT A TIME - Have you heard the latest? According to our beloved Canadian government we in some magical place have more jobs than people. With this fallacy they are attempting to sell us the idea that we need to bring more foreigners to our beloved land. What they are not telling us that by doing so the Liberal party is buying future votes. It happened before and it is happening now. How dare the government come out and make such statements that there is a shortage in Canadian laborers. That is insulting. Then they go as far as making assumptions that we are lazy. That many rather live off the system then be employed. I find that utterly insulting. If the government is going to insult us. Let them at the least get it right. We are not lazy. We are proud lazy Kuntz. Now that is more aligned with reality. After all is it not the government that wants us to work the Costcos, Walmarts of the world... paying such great wages of minimum wage. Of course we don’t want to work those jobs. We want good paying jobs. We want jobs that at the end of the week we can afford groceries, rent and the odd beer. I can just telepathically sense the many of the anal readers fuming on how dare he call us Canadians Lazy Kuntz. Ok let me explain, the word Kuntz as per dictionary: Kuntz is a German surname. The name originated as a short form of Konrad meaning "bold adviser", or being "crafty" in German. In Yiddish the word is associated with a clever trick. Now that we got that out of the way. Are you not feeling foolish and lucky I did not call you a Canadian, cock or pussy? As by any grade 1 student would quickly recognize one a rooster and other a cat. Anyway. The point I am making here is simple. We as Canadians are privy to technology. Most of us educated in one way or another. We are very crafty at whatever we profess to be experts in. We are bold adviser on just about any topic. As some go as far as claiming status on opinion and obtain academic accreditation. With this said. We as Canadian Kuntz, have learned to enjoy curtain comforts. It is not that we shy away from hard work. Sacrificed and or hardships. The problem with modern Canada is that our beloved government is openly violating us Canadian Kuntz and forced to like it. They go as far as call us names and force us to accept or face replacement by some foreigner that can barely say “HELLO” in the English language. We Canadian Kuntz want good paying jobs. We want our government to assure us god paying jobs. We want to be able to afford homes and cars as we once use to. The question that lingers who are the bigger Kuntz here? We the people that allow to be constantly violated by a government that has truly proven to be master Kuntz. I feel for future generations as little Kuntz will be forced to become third world. Sadly we live in the land of OZ. We have no real choice when it comes to Canadian politics, all parties are infected with the gree virus and there is no antidote. No matter how hard we click our heels Dorothy. We will always be Canadian Kuntz. REMEMBER ALWAYS Hope for the Best. PREPARE FOR the worst.

I Canadian Global Affairs in a changing world

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East In recent decades, Canada has generally been content to view its foreign policy aligned with the foreign policy of the United States. It is obvious that in the last decades Canada has abandoned a tradition in foreign affairs that formerly allowed Canada to be noticed on the world scene. Year after year, Canada's involvement in international organizations it helped create has decayed in a manner that has turned Canada into a forgotten entity on today's global stage. During my service as an MP, when I participated in many foreign parliamentary missions, I noted with sadness, the diminished diplomatic presence of Canada in many important places in the world. I especially noticed such a lack of presence in Strasbourg, where many important international organizations make their home. Let us face it; practicing diplomacy from a distance is no way to build international relationships. In today's complicated world, where events transpire daily, that can lead to major world difficulties, Canada is missing in action. Previous generations of Canadian politicians and foreign affairs public service employees had a sense of their country's foreign policy often framed proudly through the lens of Canada's "role in the world". For them, foreign policy meant making an important contribution to the world, and a pride of national identity. For much of the Cold War, as a leading member of one of just two international power blocs, Canada could carve out a role as an "honest broker" and defender of multilateralism amidst a superpower standoff. In the unipolar era that followed the cold war, the world seemed ripe for Canadian engagement based on true liberal values. The period of unrivalled American power allowed for the expansion of a Western-backed "liberal international order" which went beyond mere rules-based cooperation between states. It aspired to a global transformation rooted in a newly defined "liberal democracy" and "market interests" based diplomacy. Emerging challenges to this "only power" from China, and the latest flexing of military muscles by Russia, have created a new reality where Canada seems to be lost. No initiatives, no ideas and no action; in essence, no Lester Pearsons. The rise of these rival powers, combined with Western missteps such as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the Great Recession of 2008, have rendered the vision of a global order based on new liberal values and a Western hegemony, increasingly implausible. While the "liberal international order" may have declined over recent years, Canada's relative influence in global affairs has waned even more markedly. The terms of today's international order are no longer static, they are dynamic. The new global context calls for a Canadian foreign policy that is active and not reactive. It is not enough to be comfortable speaking the language of just values, supportive action is required. You have to put your money where your mouth is. Canada's shrunken global profile due in part to free-loading and partly to neglect, is in serious need of new energy and vision. The country's last foreign policy review was undertaken nearly two decades ago. With the world no longer divided into capitalist and communist blocs, Canada now finds itself positioned in a terrain of global scope in which the West's share of global GDP is in relative decline. Geographic isolation, combined with a reactive, rather than proactive approach to foreign policy, have resulted in Canada's back-burner position in both European and Asian security dynamics. Where much of the future of global order will be played out these two theatres. The failure to craft a global liberal order coinciding with the advent of multipolarity suggests that we now inhabit, at least in certain respects, a post-liberal order. In such an order, a Canadian foreign policy rooted in values-centric megaphone diplomacy is a recipe for isolation rather than influence. In an international order where liberalism no longer holds a monopoly on conceptions of modernity or universality, albeit one still undergoing a transition whose endpoint remains uncertain, the task for the next generation of Canadian foreign policy thinkers will be twofold. First, can Canada genuinely learn to think about its international engagement in terms of interests rather than only values? And second, can it come to a consensus on a unified list of objectives that represent national interests to present beyond its borders? Highlighting the need to preserve the "rules-based international order" glosses over the crucial and more fundamental question of what truly remains a core national interest in a world where the rules are already being litigated among the great powers. Given Canada's reduced international stature, the aforementioned questions may tilt toward encouraging acceptance of a foreign policy of reduced - albeit more targeted - scope. Canadians could embrace the notion of having a smaller global footprint. A strategy focused on securing core national interests could be easier to sell than some vague and grandiose idea that "the world needs more Canada". As an example, and let's ignore the recent, difficult conflagration in Europe, an active presence of Canada in the Indo-Pacific region would be beneficial in re-establishing Canada's traditions in foreign affairs. Many countries in the Indo-Pacific region have refused to pick sides in the deepening US-China rivalry. While they may view Beijing's rise with a degree of apprehension, and therefore welcome a greater Western security presence in their region, Canada still has to show itself capable of availing itself of a favourable position to interact that this opportunity may present. Situated closer to China than Canada is, local actors in the "Indo-Pacific" are clear-eyed about Beijing's intentions and do not need to be warned about its incisive behaviour. Despite their misgivings, they have a nuanced understanding of their own interests. Many cannot ignore that China remains the lifeblood of their economies. As such, they do not wish for an extra-regional power like the US to exacerbate tensions needlessly by bisecting the region along ideological lines. Such a dynamic would undermine the inclusive and integrated regional order underpinning decades of Asian peace. In this situation, I can see a valuable role for Canada as a diplomatic bridge between Asia and North America, as a mild and well-mannered still a middle power. A national rethink of foreign policy and affairs is long overdue. It must be aimed at arresting decades of intellectual inertia and policy drift. If Canada continues lack new ideas on the world stage, the terms of our national foreign policy will be set by the United States, through default. The problem is that a radical change in thinking is hard to bring about, when a "laissez faire" attitude has been so firmly established in recent decades. What do you think?

Focus on the Value You Create for Employers, Not Your Skills

By Nick Kossovan "I don't believe in work, I only believe in creating value." - James Blacker. The value created by employees determines a company's survival and future. Therefore, when hiring, employers focus on the candidate's potential value to their company. Most people see work as nothing more than a means to an end-a way "to make a living." Therefore, when searching for a job, most people simply list their skills on their resume and LinkedIn profile and rattle them off when interviewing. Conversely, hiring managers are more interested in finding out how you can add value to their company with your skills and experience (READ: track record). Every time a candidate, during an interview, cites their list of "skills," which I have read on their resume or seen on their LinkedIn profile, I think, "How will these skills help me achieve my goals?" Hence hiring managers need to play detective by asking discovery questions such as, "Tell me a time when..." to identify how, for example, your claiming to possess "wizard-like" Excel skills will be of value to the company. Rather than waiting for your interviewer to ask you discovery questions, you can earn mega points when you are inevitably asked "Tell me about yourself" by: - Describing how you have used Excel to solve problems or improve processes. For instance, you might mention how you created a complex financial model, analyzed data to identify trends or patterns, or used advanced functions to streamline a process. - Explaining the potential cost savings and revenue generation resulting from your Excel skills. For example, improving financial reporting accuracy, reducing data entry errors, or accelerating decision-making through data visualization. - Discussing how your Excel skills can help the employer achieve their goals. For example, if the employer is looking to improve their supply chain management, you could discuss how you have used Excel to track inventory and forecast demand. Bottom line: Hiring managers are looking for candidates who show they understand the role and are hungry to deliver massive results. As I have stated in previous columns, employers hire candidates who they feel will achieve results and create value. You are not getting selected for interviews, or rejected after being interviewed, because... - Your resume has horizontal lines or red font. - Your resume lacked the right keywords. - Instead of five paragraphs, your cover letter had four. - Your interview attire was blue rather than grey. You are getting rejected because you are not persuasively explaining how your skills will add value to the company. There are three ways an employee creates value (Which value have you or do you currently, create?): 1. Revenue Growth: Without revenue, a business ceases to exist. Therefore, revenue-generating employees are highly valued by their employer. These employees are eliminating what every employer stresses over, keeping revenue, the lifeblood of every business, flowing. If you are a sales or marketing professional, you should be able to easily show, using numbers, which every employer understands, how you have contributed to your employer's bottom line. Tip for those looking to make a career change: Jobs are generally more secure in professions that generate revenue. 2. Cost Reduction: Cost control is crucial to a business's survival and profitability. Therefore, employers are constantly looking for ways to keep their expenses as low as possible. Consider your past and present roles. Did you save money? Did you improve delivery efficiency resulting in increasing customer retention? As a manager, do you have a track record of employee retention, thus not necessitating your employer having to go through the expense of hiring replacements? There are opportunities to control costs in virtually every position. 3. Freedom: Employees who give their employer the freedom to focus on the big picture are highly valued. Do you deliver consistently, within expectations, so your boss can focus on more than just managing your work and results? I have never encountered a manager who does not want to give their employees autonomy. However, many managers believe their employees have yet to show they can work autonomously and consistently deliver results. Call it what you will, power-hungry, micromanaging, your boss is responsible to their boss for your results, and therefore they must feel comfortable allowing you to work autonomously. In contrast to proving you can generate revenue or reduce costs through numbers, proving you can work autonomously can be challenging. I advise having at least 2 STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) stories ready to showcase your ability to work autonomously. When job searching, remember your skills are the tools you use to provide value to an employer and that employers are looking to hire the candidate they believe will provide the most value for their salary. Look at it this way: If someone asked you to list all your skills, they would be impressed. But if they were to ask you how those skills have created value for your employers, they would be even more impressed. It is not just the possession of skills that employers want. Employers want employees who can produce tangible value for them through their skills. ___________________________________________________________________________ Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com