Your Weekly Tune Up

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (Cyber Month)

Cyber Month is an internationally recognized campaign held each year to help the public learn more about the importance of cybersecurity. The campaign helps Canadians stay secure online by teaching them simple steps to protect themselves and their devices.

With cyberattacks occurring more frequently, it’s important to recognize that cybersecurity is a team effort. Led by the Communications Security Establishment, with advice from its Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Get Cyber Safe is a Government of Canada public awareness campaign designed to inform Canadians about how to stay safe online.

Discover the many resources available for you and your team to increase your knowledge of cybersecurity.

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New funding for apprenticeships

Alberta’s government is increasing capacity for skilled trades training by providing additional funding to the $15 million over three years announced earlier this year, bringing the total funding for apprenticeship training in 2023-24 to $54.4 million.

Check out the article here

Talking to Albertans about new social studies curriculum

Using the valuable feedback Albertans have provided over the last two years, Alberta Education is redrafting the K-6 social studies curriculum to ensure content builds students’ critical thinking and communication skills, enhances Indigenous, multicultural and francophone perspectives and is age and developmentally appropriate. To inform the redrafting process, the ministry is engaging with Albertans and education partners through a comprehensive and phased approach. Read more

Service Dog Information for Businesses

Only qualified service dogs and certified dog trainers training a service dog have public access rights. Therapy dogs, emotional support animals and pets do not have public access rights.

Advocacy in Action

Kickstart to our new fiscal year and Advocacy in Action

On September 28, the Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce issued nine letters to various provincial Government Ministers including:

Minister Dreeshen on Transportation and Economic Corridors
Minister Horner on Treasury Board and Finance
Minister Jones on Jobs Economy and Trade
Minister Nally on Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction
Minister Neudorf on Affordability and Utiltiies
Minister Nicolaides on Education
Minister Schulz on Environment and Protected Areas
Minister Sirurdson on Agriculture
Minister Williams on Mental Health and Addiction

All our letters were based on the Chamber provincial policy priorities adopted as formal positions and recommendations of our Chamber. Each letter was written to connect our priorities to the mandates of each Minister, to share the background on our work in each of these ministerial areas and to request meetings to share more about the ongoing work and potential next steps. If you are interested in hearing more about our advocacy in action, industry@medicinehatchamber.com.

5 reasons why the Digital Service Tax will create major trouble for Canadian consumers and businesses

Your next online purchase, ride share, meal delivery, or vacation could soon cost even more if the Digital Service Tax (DST) is implemented on January 1, 2024. The new service tax will tax revenue earned by large foreign and domestic businesses on online services, including marketplaces, advertising, and social media, but its effects will be felt by Canadian consumers like you in both the short- and long-term.

The timing couldn’t be worse: affordability is top of mind for nearly all Canadians right now, and cost-related concerns are six of the top 10 business obstacles expected in the next three months

according to the Q3 2023 Canadian Survey on Business Conditions Report released by the Business Data Lab. While it may not come into effect until 2024, the Digital Service Tax is a retroactive tax which means that it will apply to revenue earned by businesses in 2022 and 2023 as well. That’s like having the CRA send you a letter telling you to review your last two years of tax filings and pay more now for a tax that didn’t exist back then. Normally, a retroactive tax like this happens only in exceptional circumstances but the government has yet to explain why the DST is such a circumstance.

If this new service tax isn’t abandoned, it will negatively affect your daily life and the Canadian economy. Read more from the Canadian Chamber.

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Next Level Events

Be Scam Smart

Don’t fall victim to scams! Scammers target everyone and no one is immune. You are invited to an engaging presentation where you will gain valuable insights on how to recognize the many types of scams and learn what to do if you are a victim. The webinar will cover:

How to identify fake CRA calls, texts, emails or mail.
How to recognize legitimate communications from the CRA.
Steps you can take to protect yourself from scams.
What to do if you're a victim of fraud.
Helpful services and tools.

The webinar will feature a live Q&A session. Space is limited! Register today.

Business Growth Trade Show

We know you have a million things to do. Make finding free programs easy! Life as an entrepreneur can be a whirlwind. You can be so busy working in your business that you never have time to work on it. We hear you, and you're not alone.

The Business Growth Trade Show is designed to be a one-stop information event where entrepreneurs like you can find grants, workforce support, business expertise, and more. We just need you to come and discover all that's available for you. Take a step towards mastering the chaos of entrepreneurship by connecting with the right people and programs. We hope to see you there!

P.S. Sign up now to be entered for some amazing prizes at the event. Learn more | Sign up Now

Lou Doiron: Get a Grip Workshop

Experience a 4-hour hands-on working session with a small group of like-minded entrepreneurs that will deliver insights, tools and practices to transform your business. Keep your eyes out for a ticket give-away on the Medicine Hat Chamber's social pages (Influencers & Community Builders only) and if you're interested as a member, reach out for a discount code to enter in while registering!

Check out the link here

2023 Leadership Breakfast

Join us for our annual Leadership Breakfast bringing together representatives from all levels of government in our region. Connect with us, and our elected leaders, in an open dialogue and capitalize on the chance to influence the conversation.

Evolving from the annual Mayor's Breakfast, we will host the Premier and MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat, MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat, Mayor of Medicine Hat, Mayor of Redcliff, Reeve of Cypress County, and CFB Suffiend Base Commander for a townhall style event that will offer our members an opportunity to connect with their elected representatives and gain insight into their activities. Register here

CLICK TO VIEW ALL EVENTS!

Enriching Your Business

There's a reason Chambers Plan is Canada's #1 plan.

Contact JoAnne Letkeman,
Exclusive Chamber Group Advisor,
403-504-2166 ext 1.

Chambers Plan is much more than health insurance.

Alongside standard benefits like dental, health & life insurance, all Chambers Plan programs include free value-added services like access to HR, legal and financial professionals. Get a quote.

Ideal for businesses with 1-50 employees, our flexible and personalized group benefits are designed to meet your business’s changing needs and budget with:

Plans that hold Health options include Teladoc® telemedicine virtual care services.
Business Assistance Service (BAS), access to professional accounting, counselling, legal and human resource experts who understand the challenges faced by small business owners.
my-benefits health®, a health and wellness resource site for all employees provided through my-benefits, Chambers Plan’s online benefit management platform.
Best Doctors®, connecting individuals and their treating physician to world renowned specialists to obtain an expert medical opinion on an existing diagnosis and treatment plan.

Customizable coverage of benefits program to meet their needs. More here.

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Value Added Benefits

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Fueling the Business Community

• NEW MEMBERS •

We would like to welcome MKM Industries and MFlex Golf & Lounge to the Chamber Family!

We continually look forward to helping our members during their business journey and wish each the best in all future endeavors. We are extremely happy to have such amazing members, and are very glad that we can serve a part in that journey! Keep your eye out for more new member posts moving forward!

Small Business week: Share your Insights with Us

In the spirit of Small Business Week (October 15-21) we are looking to celebrate small business owners. We want to pick their brains and find out what advice they would share from the SME trenches. We want to hear from business owners that have been at the game for a long time or those who are new to game. What is your advice and what have you learned over your entrepreneurial journey? During Small Business Week, we’ll share their insights!

Email us at communications@medicinehatchamber.com and share any tips and advice that could help other entrepreneurs.

This shortcut recalls ALL the open tabs from your last session: Ctrl + Shift + T

Shortcuts are quick methods to resolve a problem or perform a task. At My TechGenie when we build you a custom template in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint we want that ease of use to be front and center so you can quickly do what you need to and move on with your busy day. Document templates not only provide a consistent and professional visual appearance to your documents;

they can also create efficiencies by providing consistent behaviours as you build your documents. Don’t spend frustrating hours troubleshooting formatting or researching spreadsheet formula syntax when a template can ensure those problems never occur in the first place. Templates can help bridge skill gaps, ensuring all staff are able to input quality information. Lastly, we think about the templates we create in the context of your document ecosystem; as even small businesses are starting to take advantage of Document Management, Workflow and Automation tools provided by products like Microsoft SharePoint and Teams. Make your day a little smoother and more productive by dropping a line to My TechGenie.

Fill Up On Funding

The Launch of Innovators & Entrepreneurs Foundation Fall 2023 Micro-Grants

Innovators & Entrepreneurs Foundation (IEF) is thrilled to offer 11 cash micro-grants worth $5000 each for our Fall 2023 Micro-grant series, presented in partnership with UPS. The IEF Micro-grants aim to support Canadian entrepreneurs and small business owners in surmounting financial challenges and fostering business growth.

Open call for applications for the Fall 2023 micro-grants will run from October 2, 2023 to November 12, 2023. All applications must be submitted through the charity’s website portal; access to the portal here. Looking to plan ahead for your application? Check out the micro-grant categories and eligibility here.

Local Festivals - Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage

Closes Oct 15, 2023, for festivals summer 2024. Building Communities through Arts and Heritage — Local Festivals component provides funding to local groups for recurring festivals that present the work of local artists; local artisans; local heritage performers or specialists; and local First Nations, Inuit, and Métis cultural carriers. This includes the celebration of LGBTQ2+ communities and Indigenous cultural celebrations.

Check it out here

Crossword Puzzle

Crossword Puzzle Answers

Did you figure it out? Here are the answers for our September 25th crossword puzzle!

Remember that if you subscribe to our weekly email, you get access to the crossword puzzle! Anyone who sends us their answers will get their name put into our quarterly draw. The prize? Receive 5 promotional credits with us (for members) or credit towards a membership (for non-members)! Oh and bragging rights that you're a crossword master!