DAY 1: MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022 |
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MORNING SESSIONS |
10:30 a.m. to 12 noon |
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Business Continuity Planning: Prepare for the Unexpected Governor General III Room |
2021 was a sobering year for Canadian businesses. Most provinces experienced some form of extreme weather event in addition to a pandemic which continues to have a lasting impact. There is a need, now more than ever, for business owners to take the time to plan for disasters. Community Futures offices play a critical role in community recovery; although it is impossible to predict emergencies, it is entirely possible to strategize reducing the negative impacts. Presenter: Colin O’Leary, O’Leary and Associates Consulting Ltd. (Kamloops, British Columbia) |
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CFLI Module 15: Volunteer Attraction, Retention and Succession Newfoundland/Nova Scotia Room |
This session will discuss the importance of strategic board succession planning and its linkage to volunteer attraction, retention, training, development, and assessment. Additionally, it will teach board and director assessment as an opportunity to strengthen the organization. Presenter: Community Futures Leadership Institute (CFLI) |
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Co-operative Developers: Consult, Hire, or Become? Provinces II Room |
In this workshop, we will work through the unique opportunities that co-operative development can open up to your community, your office’s mandate, and your professional development. Learn from real co-op development cases and discover in what scenarios you should consult, hire, or become a co-op developer. Presenter: Meg Ronson, CoopZone Training Program Director (Ottawa, Ontario) |
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Cybersecurity: Managing the Legal Risk During Crisis Governor General II Room |
Preparing for a cybersecurity breach with just a policy and procedures manual? It's time to acknowledge a change is due. Jo-Anne Yau is a current board member for Community Futures Centre West in Alberta; she has a Master of Laws degree in Internet Law, and she practices as an Innovations Lawyer in Calgary. Join her as she unpacks the cybersecurity breach protocol that is typical of most organizations. In so doing, she reviews the tools in standard cybersecurity protocols, and introduces new strategies to prepare for—and manage—a breach. While the unpacking process will have a workshop-like feel, the presentation will then take on a seminar-style approach when Jo-Anne addresses the legal risks and consequences at law associated with various prevention and breach incident strategies. Finally, Jo-Anne will reflect on some emerging strategies for thwarting cybersecurity breaches. Presenter: Jo-Anne Yau, Barrister & Solicitor, Robertson LLP (Cochrane, Alberta) |
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Promoting the Resilience of Women Entrepreneurs in Rural Areas Governor General I Room |
This session presents the results of a yearlong study of female entrepreneurs in rural Eastern Ontario during the pandemic. Key findings will include how to identify resilience enabling and inhibiting factors in your ecosystem, implement programs, and offer tools that resonate with women entrepreneurs. Using colourful anecdotes based on true stories, Doreen will inspire participants to think about what they can do in their own community to promote entrepreneurial resilience among women. Presenter: Doreen Ashton Wagner, Business Advisor and Founder, Business Sisters (Alexandria, Ontario) |
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Rebuilding Rural Workplaces: Leading Inclusion Provinces I Room |
This workshop will provide learning about: The positive workplace impacts of diversity and inclusion; and Disability as a "capacity-builder" for inclusive workplaces. Attendees will receive information to help employers in their regions increase knowledge and skill sets around inclusion and workforce sustainability, which will help, improve local economies. Presenter: Sean McEwen, Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, CBDC Restigouche (Campbellton, New Brunswick) |
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Rural Realities: Managing the RRRF Portfolio Ontario Room |
There is finally a visible future beyond COVID-19. Loan repayments are deafeningly close; some clients have thrived through the global pandemic and others have struggled. How are CFs preparing their RRRF clients for the inevitable repayment options? Roundtable Discussion |
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Sharing Stories: The Best and the Worst of the CF Experience Les Saisons Room |
Good or bad, funny or somber, sources of pride or struggles – share your best and worst Community Futures experiences with those who understand them the most. Roundtable Discussion |
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Weed Canadians Want: Rural Cannabis Producers in Transition Quebec Room |
Funded by the province of BC, CF Central Kootenay launched an ambitious $1M program to bring legacy producers into the highly regulated commercial licensing pathway. What we learned, what we accomplished, and what YOU can do to enable legal and viable small-scale producers and processors in your community. Presenter: Paul Kelly, CF Central Kootenay (Nelson, British Columbia) |
AFTERNOON SESSIONS |
2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m |
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A Case for Urgency: The Law and Rural Internet Access Newfoundland/Nova Scotia Room |
“Nomophobia”: The anxiety experienced when one does not have access to a mobile phone. But what of the populations who live in such distant and rural communities that they have no Internet access at all? Jo-Anne Yau is a current board member for Community Futures Centre West in Alberta; she has a Master of Laws degree in Internet Law, and she practices as an Innovations Lawyer in Calgary. She has been following the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s 2016 declaration that broadband Internet is an essential service. Jo-Anne will describe the legal framework for the efforts made in the past six years to extend this essential service to Canadians living in remote regions of the country. The presentation will conclude with considerations about the impact of Canada’s Connectivity Strategy the future of our nation’s digital divide. Presenter: Jo-Anne Yau, Barrister & Solicitor, Robertson LLP (Cochrane, Alberta) |
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ACCES Employment: Connecting Canada Provinces II Room |
ACCES Employment’s Connecting Canada project believes that if more immigrants knew about opportunities to live, work, and grow in smaller communities before arriving in Canada, more of them would start their Canadian journeys there. Join us to learn more about how this project can support economic development in your community. Presenter: ACCES Employment (Accessible Community Counselling and Employment Services) |
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Business Continuity Planning: Prepare for the Unexpected Governor General III Room |
2021 was a sobering year for Canadian businesses. Most provinces experienced some form of extreme weather event in addition to a pandemic which continues to have a lasting impact. There is a need, now more than ever, for business owners to take the time to plan for disasters. Community Futures offices play a critical role in community recovery; although it is impossible to predict emergencies, it is entirely possible to strategize reducing the negative impacts. Presenter: Colin O’Leary, O’Leary and Associates Consulting Ltd. (Kamloops, British Columbia) |
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Do You Know Flexipreneurship? Quebec Room |
Part-time (or hybrid) female entrepreneurship is widespread in Québec, with 82.7% of emerging female entrepreneurs combining their entrepreneurial activities with a job. Come and learn more about the results of the provincial study conducted by the SADC Shawinigan and the actions that resulted from it. Presenter: Sylvie Lavergne, SADC Shawinigan (Shawinigan, Québec) |
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Leveraging Data-Driven Community Economic Development to Rebuild Main Streets Governor General II Room |
The pandemic has highlighted the existing challenges main streets have been facing, but it has also helped residents rediscover the importance of their local main streets and the small businesses that call them home. To assist in the rediscovery and rebuilding of Ontario’s main streets, and with the support of the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), My Main Street was created and launched. This program focuses on promoting data-driven inclusive community economic development and reimagining the use of public spaces to draw residents back to their main streets. Learn more about My Main Street and how communities can leverage deep data analysis and community engagement to rebuild their main streets with strategic investments in placemaking and business attraction and expansion. Presenters: Omer Ismael, Program Manager, My Main Street; Nader Shureih, Vice President, Business Development – Public Sector, Environics Analytics; Ottawa Business Improvement Area (BIA) |
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Rural Change: Post-COVID-19 Client Management Ontario Room |
"Business as usual" is a thing of the past. Entrepreneurs and their clients have changed as much as the world has and their needs are perhaps more complex than ever before. How can CFs best support their clients in the new normal post-COVID-19 world? Roundtable Discussion |
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Rural Communities: Strategic Risk for Sustainable CED Governor General I Room |
Strategic risk management emphasizes the importance of strategy, decision-making, and implementation management in addressing risk within an organization. Traditionally, CFDCs look at financial risk - but is this enough? The focus of this talk is predominantly non-financial risk, specifically examining the question of how does an organization address both the internal and external risks that it faces. Presenter: Thomas Cooper, Faculty of Business Administration, Memorial University (St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador) |
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Rural Renewal: Creating a Community Futures Consulting Hive Provinces I Room |
The Community Futures Consulting Hive houses a vast, virtual network of BC-based business consultants, advisors and specialists to augment local CF technical advisory services and fills in during staff shortages or office closures. The Hive adds to CF capacity and enhances the CF reputation. Presenter: CF Alberni-Clayoquot (Port Alberni, British Columbia) |
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Sharing Stories: The Best and the Worst of the CF Experience Les Saisons Room |
Good or bad, funny or somber, sources of pride or struggles – share your best and worst Community Futures experiences with those who understand them the most. Roundtable Discussion |