Latest news with #Charlottetown-based
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Island leaders being inducted into P.E.I. Business Hall of Fame
Another trio of Prince Edward Island business leaders is being inducted into the Junior Achievement P.E.I. Business Hall of Fame Thursday evening. "It is the aim of JA P.E.I. that by celebrating the achievements of outstanding business leaders of today, Island students will be inspired to follow their example," the organization said in a news release. The induction ceremony is being held at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Prince Edward in Charlottetown. The 2025 inductees are Wayne Carew, Kim Green and Wayne Proude. Wayne Carew is perhaps best known as the chair of the 2023 Canada Winter Games Board, organizing one of the biggest sporting events ever brought to the Island, and from his time as the owner of Carew Chev Olds Cadillac and Carew Ford Lincoln. But he also chaired the Slemon Park Corporation Board and the Summerside Regional Development Corporation and has been a board member of the Charlottetown Area Regional Planning Board. He is currently senior counsel at Confederation M&A, "where he provides expert advice on mergers and acquisitions," according to a news release from the Hall of Fame. Kim Green resuscitated the closed Kays Bros Ltd. into Kays Wholesale Inc., where she was owner and CEO until she sold the Charlottetown-based business in December 2021, having grown it from four employees to 30. The following year she acquired the Olde Village Bakery in North Rustico and doubled that business's sales before selling it in February 2025. She is a former CEO of Tourism Charlottetown & the Convention Partnership and a former president of the Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I. Before setting out on life as a business owner, she was VP of sales and marketing at Rodd Hotels & Resorts and national sales manager with Delta Hotels and Resorts. Wayne Proude's name is nearly synonymous with the retail footwear business on Prince Edward Island. He started out at Wright's Shoes in Charlottetown in 1958 before moving to a job managing the shoe department for Ellis Brothers in Sherwood. "One and a half years later, he was given the opportunity, at age 24, to buy out the shoe department," the news release from Junior Achievement said. Proude's Shoes was thus born in May 1965 and exists to this day, with Proude's son Kevin serving as its president today. Wayne Proude served a term as president of the Greater Charlottetown Chamber of Commerce in 1981, and was involved in many other community organizations, as well as sponsoring minor hockey teams, road running events, and the community of Sherwood Junefest celebrations.
CBC
20-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
UPEI says fundraising for its new medical school building is ahead of schedule
UPEI says it is nearly halfway to its $10-million fundraising goal for a new medical school campus. The Charlottetown-based school is set to welcome its first cohort of 20 students in August, when the building is opened for the first time. CBC's Tony Davis reports.
CBC
15-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Temporary foreign workers will still be at risk after new P.E.I. safeguards take effect, advocate says
Social Sharing P.E.I.'s Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act, which was passed nearly three years ago, will finally take effect next month, but advocates say the legislation doesn't go far enough to address the systemic injustices faced by this vulnerable population. Starting April 1, the first phase of the act will introduce new regulations for people who recruit foreign workers, requiring them to be licensed. The act will also prohibit recruiters from charging foreign workers fees for recruitment services and ban practices such as providing false or misleading information or withholding workers' official documents, including passports. The province's website says the second phase of the act will introduce an employer registry and administrative penalties, though the site does not mention a timeline for when this phase will be implemented. Joe Byrne, who runs the Migrant Workers Resource Centre at the Charlottetown-based Cooper Institute, said the act does not address one of the biggest vulnerabilities temporary foreign workers face — the closed work-permit system, which ties them to a single employer. He said this system creates an environment where workers are more susceptible to abuse and mistreatment. "We've heard about harassment and actually sexual assault. Why people are scared to report it is because if they report it, they can lose their job. Once they lose their job, they lose their pathway to permanent residency and everything. Their dreams are shot," he told CBC's Island Morning. "That is still the same kind of indentureship that we need to address. I don't think the act is designed to even begin to address that, because it's a systemic thing." Temporary foreign workers face major barriers in P.E.I. 1 month ago Duration 1:56 A panel discussion in Charlottetown focused on the challenges temporary foreign workers deal with on the Island, especially the issue of sexual violence in the workplace. Many workers don't report incidents out of fear that they may lose their status. CBC's Connor Lamont has more. Addressing systemic issues The federal government issues closed work permits to people who come to Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. However, a report last year from the United Nations' special rapporteur said the program is a "breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery" due to the widespread mistreatment, exploitation and abuse of workers. Byrne said that while the new provincial act may provide some protections, it does not address the core issue and requires action from the federal government. For years, he and other advocates for temporary foreign workers across Canada have been calling on Ottawa to give all temporary foreign workers open work permits, allowing them to leave abusive situations without risking their ability to remain in the country. "We have to start addressing these injustices, and that means open work permits," he said. Reliance on temporary foreign workers Temporary foreign workers make up an estimated 40 per cent of P.E.I.'s agricultural workforce. When you add in employees in seafood processing, the trucking industry and other jobs, the number of temporary foreign workers arriving on the Island every year has grown from about 400 in 2015 to nearly 1,500 in 2024. "If they're not here, that means the fish plants don't work and the grocery stores don't stay open," O'Leary Mayor Eric Gavin told CBC News recently. "That is a very big concern." Given the province's significant reliance on these workers, Byrne said protections should have been in place much sooner, rather than not coming into force until nearly three years after the act was passed in the provincial legislature. "Why does it have to take so long if something's going to be a priority? And we see when government puts a priority on things, they can actually get things done efficiently and quickly. This cannot be considered quick." Byrne said he looks forward to seeing how well the act can protect temporary foreign workers after April 1. One of his biggest concerns is how the act will be enforced.
CBC
14-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
P.E.I. vape and tobacco shops can now be fined up to $25,000 for breaking rules
Social Sharing Shops on Prince Edward Island that sell tobacco and electronic smoking devices, including vaporizers, can now be fined up to $25,000 for violating the province's rules. In an effort to crack down on youth vaping, P.E.I. raised the minimum age to purchase nicotine vaping products to 21 back in 2020, and banned the sale of flavoured products entirely in 2021. Changes to the P.E.I. Tobacco and Electronic Smoking Device Sales and Access Act came into effect on Feb. 1 after amendments passed during the fall sitting of the legislature. Among the changes is a major increase to the maximum fine for corporations that repeatedly violate the act — up to $25,000 for repeat offenders. Provincial court judges can also now also issue orders to stop businesses from being able to sell those for up to 90 days as punishment. "Despite high compliance with most retailers, the fines were increased as a deterrent to retailers who are in continuous non-compliance," officials from the Chief Public Health Office said in an email to CBC News. Under the wire On Thursday, Matthew Middleton appeared in provincial court on behalf of the Charlottetown-based shop Vape Head. The business was charged with two counts of selling flavoured tobacco products and one count of selling to an underage person. But as Vape Head was told in court, it was lucky. The fines were increased as a deterrent to retailers who are in continuous non-compliance. — P.E.I. Chief Public Health Office The business had been caught selling flavoured products for a fourth time on Jan. 18 — two weeks before the new penalties came into force. Because they had been caught three times or more, the penalty could have been $25,000 had the charge been laid after Feb. 1. The business pleaded guilty to the underage sale charge and one of the flavoured sale charges and was fined $1,000 for each. The Crown stayed the second charge related to the sale of flavoured tobacco. Vape Head also pleaded guilty to a flavoured sale charge in November and was fined $1,000 then. On Thursday, Judge Lantz warned Middleton that the penalty could be $25,000 next time. Middleton told the court Vape Head would not find itself in this position again. The business has until April 30 to pay a total of $2,100.
CBC
13-03-2025
- General
- CBC
It now takes more than good grades to get a chance to become a great veterinarian at this P.E.I. college
Students at Atlantic Veterinary College still need good grades to become great vets, but from now on, the school says life experience will play a larger role in the people it selects to study there. Up until now, academic achievement held the most weight in the application process for the Charlottetown-based college, accounting for 60 per cent of a potential student's score. If their grades were high enough, applicants would qualify for an interview that counts for another 20 per cent, with the remaining marks coming from a behavioural aptitude test. "Essentially, the entire decision on whether or not an applicant would get an interview came down to their academic score," said Dr. Anne Marie Carey, the AVC's dean of academic and student affairs as well as a member of the college's class of 2006. "But there's a lot more to being a successful veterinarian. So yes, we want to select a successful vet student, but we also want to select someone who's going to be a successful veterinarian." Starting this fall, the college is lowering the percentage that academics weighs for admission to 40 per cent, and will add a test worth 20 per cent that will gauge things like a candidate's compassion, empathy, teamwork and integrity. If they score well on both of those, applicants will get an interview that's worth 30 per cent and write a personal essay for the remaining 10 points. "Because we only interview based on [grades], there are people who would likely make exceptional veterinarians that we're just not even getting to meet and see," Carey said. "My hope is, by introducing this earlier in our process, we'll get to see a different range of applicants and people will have an opportunity to really shine." WATCH | Atlantic Vet College amping up the importance of life experience: Atlantic Vet College amping up the importance of life experience to find more great future vets 5 hours ago Duration 2:14 The Charlottetown-based Atlantic Veterinary College has changed its admission criteria. Grades are still a big priority, but everyone knows they don't tell the full story. The school is now focusing more on life experience during the admission process. CBC's Sheehan Desjardins explains. 'People are more than their grades' Current vets-in-training seem to like the changes. Danielle Harmon, a second-year student at the college on the UPEI campus, said she always strived for academic perfection throughout her schooling, but has since come to realize that grades aren't everything. "I feel like people are more than their grades, and so looking at a more holistic view and non-academic aspects of an applicant is very beneficial," she said. Being a veterinarian is a very personable job. You are talking to people… although you are treating their pets. — Danielle Harmon "Being a veterinarian is a very personable job. You are talking to people… although you are treating their pets. And so looking at someone as a whole is the right move." Harmon's classmate, Sam Berube, agrees. He said the admission changes will lead to a more diverse group of students who can bring different perspectives to the table. "I really am excited to see it draw in more people who have a varied and diverse life experience," Berube said. "One of my favourite things about AVC is the community and that, when you get a lot of us in a room together, we usually all have different pieces of knowledge that fill in the gaps." WATCH | High-tech new lab at vet college will help protect scientists testing for animal diseases: High-tech new lab at vet college will help protect scientists testing for animal diseases 2 days ago Duration 2:22 The Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown has a new Foreign Animal Disease Testing Laboratory. It was built to create a level of biocontainment — to allow for safe testing of samples for diseases such as the avian flu. Come along with CBC News as we get a tour of the facility. Carey said the AVC's new process is the same one being adopted by a number of other academic specialties, such as medical and nursing schools and pharmacy programs. UPEI's Senate has adopted the vet college's changes, and they'll be officially in place for the 2025-26 application cycle. "Academics tells a portion of your story… but there's a lot that's missing from that picture," Carey said. "I'm certain there are candidates who can still handle the rigour of this program — who may not have been among our top-ranked academic candidates — that are still going to shine as vet students and veterinarians."
