Roncesvalles-High Park : Innovation + Job News

When one thinks of cutting-edge retail, Canada's trusty old mail carrier service doesn't easily come to mind. (Do you even remember the last time you bought stamps?)

It's not just anecdotal, the sense that we're relying on Canada Post less than ever—in 2011 the services registered its first annual loss in 16 years, ending up more than $250 million in the red. As with many older institutions, Canada Post is trying to navigate the digital era, and figure out how it can sustain itself through these changing times.

One initiative: a new emphasis on retail services—that is, on helping retailers do their business. To mark some new successes in that field, last week Canada Post gave out its first ever E-commerce Innovation awards, to several Canadian retailers that "excel at giving Canadians what they value most in the online shopping experience." Among those winners: Toronto-based Rent frock Repeat, which will receive $10,000 in free shipping services, $20,000 in free marketing services and a Canada Post delivery truck wrapped with promotional information about their business. (A total of $1 million in prizes were awarded to five companies.)

"We're an online retailer that rents dresses instead of selling them," explans co-founder and CEO Lisa Delorme, who started the business with a friend in May 2011. They were both invited to a wedding, didn't want to spend money on dresses "that might only  come out of the closet once or twice." They came across a dress-rental company in the United States, but were quickly frustrated to learn that they didn't deliver to Canada. "We were tired of waiting for someone else to do it" locally, says Delorme, and so the two friends decided to start their own company here.

Like so many of us, Delorme also didn't consider Canada Post to be particularly innovative in the retail space. The awards, however, seem to mark a real attempt to take innovation more seriously—she was surprised at how well-produced the awards night was.

"I give them kudos that they're recognizing that there's a birth of online retailers," she says. "They see it as the future of Canada Post as well, so I think it's a kind of rebirth for them as well."

As for Rent frock Repeat, their current staff complement of three can't keep up with orders. Delorme says they will "definitely will be hiring" in the near future, likely including a director of technology as well as stylists and marketing staff.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Lisa Delorme, Co-Founder and CEO, Rent frock Repeat

"Eight years ago, in 2004, the board of governors of Exhibition Place established Exhibition Place as a world leader in energy-efficient technologies: employing green practices in our daily operations; creating new, clean energy sources through initiatives such as our wind turbine and photovoltaic arrays; and conservation efforts such as major lighting retrofits, LED pilot projects and our recycling and waste diversion efforts.... Today, we are proud to celebrate the success of our environmental commitment with the announcement of our first LEED Silver building at Exhibition Place."

With those words—part of a speech delivered before city councillors, Exhibition Place staff and supporters and members of the press—Hugh Mansfield, vice-chair of the board of governors for Exhibition Place, announced that the Allstream Centre is now recognized as an environmentally friendly place to do business.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification provides an internationally recognized standard for sustainabie building; the Allstream Centre is the first conference centre in Canada with that designation. It follows on a 2009 renovation, and has been accorded in recognition of a variety of design and operational features, including the building's reliance on renewable energy for its power, a rainwater harvesting system and the installation of LED lighting.

The Art Deco building dates back to 1929, and was once used to display car models to the public as part of the Canadian National Exhibition, which is why many of us know it by its original name, the Automotive Building. The building was renovated by Norr Limited (their project summary: [PDF]) and comprises 160,000 square feet, with spaces that can be configured to accomodate gatherings ranging from 50 to 3,000 people.


Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Hugh Mansfield, Vice-Chair, Board of Governors, Exhibition Place

French video game developer Ubisoft opened a Toronto studio in September, 2010. Finally the company has released details about that studio's inaugural production: the sixth installment in the Tom Clancy video game series Splinter Cell, called Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

Unveiled at the Electronic Entertaintment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles this month, the game (whose protagonist is black-ops agent Sam Fisher) will incorporate new movement and voice recognition features. The game has been in development for two years, and is expect to launch in the spring of 2013.

When Ubisoft first launched in Toronto, it was with four staff. They are currently at 220, says communications director Heather Steele, and they plan to grow to 800 staff by 2020. She added that Ubisoft is currently hiring "in all different functions."

While Toronto is known for its indie gaming community, Ubisoft is the first major player to open up a production facility here. Steele says they draw inspiration from those independent developers, and says the company hopes to "round out" the local gaming culture with its larger game products. Until recently the Toronto studio was also working on the development of another game, Rainbow Six; they have completed their deliverables on that project and are turning their attention exclusively to Splinter Cell for the time being.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Heather Steele, Director of Communications, Ubisoft Toronto

Whether it's fights over bike lanes, road tolls, transit plans or the so-called "war on the car," the topic of transportation is never far from the forefront of Toronto's civic debate. Understandably so, considering that Toronto suffers the longest commute times in North America.

"Whether it's business leaders or poverty activists, commuters or seniors, everyone in the GTA wants better transportation options," stated Julia Deans, CEO of the non-profit agency CivicAction, in a recent release. "It's time we find a way to agree on how we can all help to make this desire a reality."

CivicAction has partnered with the University of Toronto's Cities Centre, the Canadian Urban Transit Association and the Pembina Institute to organize a two-day symposium on transportation entitled Toronto Talks Mobility. The event will gather some of the most accomplished experts on transit from the GTA and around the world with visiting mayors to discuss our transportation options.

Speakers include Mayor Naheed Nenshi of Calgary, transit expert Bob Stanley and George Hazel, author of the book Making Cities Work. Also on the bill are local planning experts Ken Greenberg and Paul Bedford, as well as transit experts from Calgary and Vancouver.

The event takes place Wed., Nov. 9 at Toronto City Hall and Thu, Nov. 10 at Artscape Wychwood Barns. Registration is open to the public through event pages here.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Rebecca Geller, CivicAction