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Author: Kyla Hardon

Alberta Jobs Now Program Announced

The Alberta government has announced a $370 million fund to help business revcover from the pandemic.

The Alberta Jobs Now Program provides funding for eligible employers to subsidize wages, fund training or a combination of both, for new hires. If your organization is eligible, the Alberta Jobs Now Program offers a wage subsidy or training subsidy of 25%, up to $25,000 for each employee, for up to 20 full time new hires.

Applications are being accepted now. The application deadline for the first Alberta Jobs Now Program intake is August 31, 2021. All Alberta Jobs Now Program applications must be submitted via the Alberta Jobs Now Program Portal. This online application is an easy and efficient way for employers to apply to Alberta Jobs Now Program.
For details, check the application guidelines and access the Alberta Jobs Now Program Portal at alberta.ca/jobsnow.

Landscape Alberta Member Overview

  • Notes for members about eligibility and process that will help assess if they will be able to take advantage of this program;
  • New or vacant full time and permanent position in Alberta (defined as a minimum of an average of 30 hours per week). Contract or fixed term positions are ineligible,
  • Be hiring for new or vacant full-time positions for at least 52 weeks,
  • New hires must be hired on or after program launch date,
  • The start date for new hires can be no longer than 120 days from the application approval,
  • Resident of and will be working in Alberta during the grant period.

Take note of some of the regulations that would be ineligible for the program;

  • Individuals who leave their current full-time position to move to another full-time job,
  • Immediate family of the company owner or director/board member Immediate family of the company owner or director/board member,
  • Current and previous employees who have worked for the employer in the past 90 days,
  • Temporary Foreign Workers, or anyone temporarily working in Canada,
  • An employer cannot receive Alberta Jobs Now Program funding for any employee who is also receiving a wage subsidy from other government sources for the same position at the same time (e.g. Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy).

Support for Albertans

Update May 6, 2021

COVID-19 Support for Albertans - https://www.alberta.ca/covid-19-supports-for-albertans.aspx

Work Sharing
This Federal program allows for employees to remain working during times where there is a reduction in normal levels of business activity.  Employees wages are supplemented by EI payments.  This has been expanded to 76 weeks due to COVID-19 related issues.  Please note this does not apply to seasonal staff and must be by mutual agreement between employer and employees.

Full details here – https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/work-sharing.html

 

Updated link for Health Posters for workplaces – https://www.alberta.ca/covid-19-information-posters.aspx

ALL NEW - AB Non-healthcare Workplace Guidance During COVID-19 - https://www.alberta.ca/assets/documents/covid-19-non-healthcare-workplace-guidance.pdf

OHS Materials for AB Employers - https://ohs-pubstore.labour.alberta.ca/covid-19

AgSafe Alberta has templates for farms during COVID-19 - https://www.agsafeab.ca/Resources.aspx?pg=covid19#covid-19

Landscape Horticulture Certification Program

GET CERTIFIED. GET HIRED.

The new Canadian Nursery Landscape Association’s national Landscape Horticulture Certification Program is operated in collaboration with provincial nursery and landscape associations. This new and improved certification program is structured to maintain high certification standards and streamlined to be more convenient and accessible.

  • 100% Canadian owned and operated
  • Aligned with Red Seal Occupational Standards
  • Emphasizes safety and safe practices
  • Technician hands-on practical tests delivered through VALID-8, a world-class web-based solutionWritten tests delivered through Mettl, an online examination system with live proctoring features
  • Option to transition previously earned designations

For more information on the LHCP visit: https://cnlagetcertified.ca/

Canadian Landscape Standard 2nd Edition

The Canadian Landscape Standard Second Edition is now available.

The CLS is an indispensable tool to the success of any landscape project that is designed, built and maintained to this nationally recognized standard.

Good planning, building and maintenance of gardens and spaces is critical to protecting your investment in green infrastructure from the roots up.

The Canadian Landscape Standard is a resource which defines good landscape construction practices. It should be used by land developers, parks staff, landscape architects, landscape contractors and the building industry. Order your copy >

*Free for members – see members only section

GISC 2020 Goes Virtual!

July 9, 2020, Edmonton AB - During these past months, Landscape Alberta has continued to monitor the evolving factors related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, particularly with regards to our Green Industry Show & Conference slated to take place this Fall.

The Province of Alberta continues to suggest strict guidelines on public gatherings, especially those indoors.  Combined with the additional health and safety requirements, restriction on international and inter-provincial travel and uncertain economic recovery, the Landscape Alberta Board of Directors has decided to replace the physical GISC in 2020 with a fully virtual conference and trade show.

This new avenue is an exciting one and opens many new and interesting facets of the show and conference that we are excited to share with our exhibitors, sponsors and attendees.

GISC 2020 – Virtual will be held November 18-20th.  The expanded schedule will allow people to balance virtual attendance with real life responsibilities.  Features to look forward to include:

  • Free show attendance, including several keynote speaker sessions.
  • Over 20 top tier educational sessions for all aspects of the horticulture industry with registration.
  • Includes both live and archived access to education sessions after the event.
  • All sessions will be complaint with CEU tracking.
  • Digital marketplace for the best in products and services for the landscape industry in Western Canada.
  • Digital access to product demos and to meet one on one with exhibitor representatives.
  • Incredible pricing to allow as many people to attend conference sessions as possible.
  • Social events, including several “Virtual Happy Hour” type solutions.
  • Virtual scavenger hunts and other fun activities for amazing prizes and engagement.

“GISC 2020 – Virtual is an exciting opportunity to connect and learn in the new abnormal” says Joel Beatson, CEO of Landscape Alberta.  “After careful consideration of all options the Board of Directors and staff are whole heartedly committed to offering a world class virtual experience for GISC 2020”.  He continued with “while we will miss the face to face connections that are so key to GISC we plan to use the technology in ways that offer improvements to the experience instead of trying to simply replicate the same event”.

Exhibitors that have already paid deposits will be offered full refunds shortly.  For all other details please stay tuned to www.greenindustryshow.com for more details on registration, pricing, and conference sessions as they become available.

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Media contact:
Joel Beatson, CEO
joel.beatson@landscape-alberta.com or 587-986-8466 (cell)

PPE Sources

Directory of PPE Sources for Pick Up/Delivery in Alberta 

The following resources can supply PPE for pick up or delivery but please note that stock levels may vary and pick up times must often be prearranged.  Some locations require pre-ordering only.
Alberta Wide: 
  • Gloves, masks, sanitizer, signage
  • Locations include:   Bonnyville, Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Fort Saskatchewan, Grande Prairie, Leduc, Lethbridge, Lloydminster and Red Deer.
  • Account set up and pre-order only for pick up
  • Gloves, masks, sanitizer, signage
  • Locations include: Edmonton, Grand Prairie, Nisku, Fort Saskatchewan Red Deer, Calgary and Fort McMurray.
  • Phone to order and arrange pick up
Drug stores and pharmacies
  • Gloves, masks, sanitizer
Wal-Mart
  • Sanitizer, gloves, buffs/kerchiefs.
Home Depot, Lowes and other hardware stores
  • N95 masks, dust masks, disposable gloves
  • 1-gallon jugs of sanitizer.  Limited quantities per person.
Local marketplace groups like Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace etc. are an excellent resource for hand made cloth masks and buffs made by community members.  It is recommended to obtain cloth masks with a pocket for a filter. Good suggestions for filters can be found in this article.
Northern Alberta
Edmonton:
  • Gloves, masks, sanitizer
  • Cloth masks, gloves and sanitizer.
  • Curbside pick up and home delivery only
  • Cloth face masks, bandanas, face shields and hand sanitizer
  • Limited hours – check website
  • Portable hand washing stations
Grainger  see under Alberta wide
Vallen  see under Alberta wide
Grande Prairie:
  • Portable hand washing stations
Grainger  see under Alberta wide
Vallen  see under Alberta wide
Fort McMurray:
  • Portable hand washing stations
  • Cloth face masks, bandanas, face shields and hand sanitizer
  • Limited hours – check website
Grainger  see under Alberta wide
Vallen  see under Alberta wide
Lloydminster:
  • Portable hand washing stations
Vallen see under Alberta wide
Southern Alberta 
Calgary:
  • Masks and gloves
  • Call first to check stock
  • Offers curbside pick up only
  • Cloth masks, kerchiefs
  • Hand washing stations, hand sanitizer stands
Grainger see above
Vallen see above
Red Deer:
  • Portable hand washing stations
  • Cloth masks, kerchiefs
Grainger see above
Vallen see above
Lethbridge:
  • Gloves, masks and signage
  • Call first to check stock and order.  Pick up only.
  • Cloth masks, kerchiefs
  • Portable hand washing stations
Vallen see above

Other

Bellwyck Inc.

ImportPros

Elite Promotional Marketing

Gregg's Distributors

49 North Lubricants

ATB Nexus

 

Government of Canada PPE Supply Hub
The Government of Canada has established a new PPE supply hub to help organizations sell and buy personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Plant a Victory Garden!

Plant a Victory Garden!

There is no time like the present to re-introduce the concept of the Victory Garden (or Co-victory garden – hehe!). Use these tips and graphics to promote your company and encourage the people to grow their own Victory Garden.

Ten Steps for Planning Your Victory Garden 2.0

 “This post is provided as an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members.”

 #plantsomething #greenforlife #landscapealberta #growyourfood #victorygarden

Advanced Payment Program (APP) Applications Now Available for Nursery Growers

Advanced Payment Program (APP) Applications Now Available for Nursery Growers

Advanced Payment Program (APP) Applications Now Available for Nursery Growers

Effective immediately, nursery growers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba can apply for an APP loan through the Agri-Commodity Management Association (ACMA). Application forms can be accessed, and questions can be answered by contacting Kara Saville, Program Delivery Manager or going to the ACMA website. Contact details and the web address are at the end of this message.

We would like to offer sincere thanks to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for responding so quickly to CNLA’s request to find an administrator for the APP and for granting approval to the ACMA to be that be administrator.  Sincere thanks also go out to the ACMA for pulling all of the approvals and application forms together in such a professional and timely fashion.

 

Here are the details you need to know:

ACMA is happy to announce that we have been approved to administer the Advance Payments Program to nursery producers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta!  The Advance Payments Program (APP) is a federally guaranteed short-term loan program meant to help producers with cash flow to get their product to market.  We have been administering this program, on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, for over 10 years, mainly in the Atlantic Provinces, and have over 100 items approved to issue an advance on.

The maximum advance allowed for any one producer, or farm, is $1,000,000.  The first $100,000 advanced each year is interest free and anything above that is charged interest at Prime less ¼%.  We do charge an administration fee based on the total advance received but other than that, if repayments are made on time, there are no additional fees associated with the program.

For nursery production, advances are available starting April 1st each year and will be calculated based on what you plan to sell in the current season (12 months from your advance date or until your operation closes for the winter, whichever is earlier).  Our advance rates should be 50% of market value and are used to calculate your requested advance amount.  When calculating your advance amount, we look at two things, the first is your anticipated production/sales for the current season which you will calculate through the attached spreadsheet.  The second is your 2020 AgriStability Reference Margin.  Whichever of these is the lower amount will become the maximum we can advance in the current year.

For most commodities, repayments are due within 30 days of you being paid or 60 days from shipping however, given the quantity of products you move in a year it would be impossible to track and repay on each item sold.  Instead, nursery producers are allowed to provide up to 6 post-dated cheques to repay your advance.  These payments should be roughly in line with the repayment timeframes – meaning if you start selling in July you can’t wait until November to repay – but we will discuss repayment schedules as part of the application to make sure it fits within program rules and still works for you.  The interest free portion is always the first to be repaid.

As with most things, there is a lot of additional information related to this program that becomes very producer specific.  I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions on the program or would like any help with the application.

An important thing to note – In order to use APP, we do require you to be enrolled in AgriStability.  If you are not currently enrolled in AgriStability, you only have until April 30th to enroll for this year.

AgriStability link:  http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/?id=1292604126317

ACMA’s website: http://agricommodity.ca/app/

Nursery Plant List

Forms for nursery production will be either Corporation/Partnership with Storable Non-Storable OR Individual with Storable Non-Storable – whichever matches your business structure.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you,

Kara Saville

Program Delivery Manager

Agri-Commodity Management Association

 

Please note our NEW address:

7 Atlantic Central Dr.

East Mountain, NS B6L 2Z2

Tel: (902) 895-0581

Fax: (902) 893-7063

ksaville@agricommodity.ca