Restaurants are struggling to find staff and keep profit margins healthy. But automation and careful management can help
If you’re going to a restaurant, don’t go hungry. Just about every coffee shop and eating establishment in and around Vancouver has a Help Wanted sign. They could be short of servers, which means it will be a while before anyone even takes your order. The kitchen could also be understaffed, so your meal isn’t…
With the number of seniors living off retirement income rising, increasing interest rates no longer a precursor to a cooling economy
Canadians are constantly reminded that we’ve let ourselves get too deeply into debt and if the cost of that debt – interest rates – increases, we’ll be in deep yogurt. To the extent that such debt is mortgage-based and the average price of homes has been rising, this debt should be manageable. I don’t expect…
The New Democrats offer up a significant and impressive list of expenditures, with no clear plan how it will pay for them
British Columbia’s NDP government has just treated residents to its first throne speech, followed by an interim budget to carry it through until February, which is the usual month for annual budgets. Looking at all the good things being promised, the budget makes one think of Christmas in September. The new government is being bountiful,…
Without the necessary language skills, students will be left behind. But are they willing to put in the needed work?
As a new school year starts, many immigrants and young Canadians from homes where English isn’t spoken face the daunting task of learning an official language. They’ll have varying degrees of success. When an appliance failure forced me to buy a fridge, the salesman was perfectly fluent in spoken English. He described the products, answered…
Introducing tolls on roads and bridges to help pay for transportation upgrades is an equitable solution to a vexing urban problem
Road rage has almost become a defining characteristic of life in and around our cities. In the best of circumstances, it’s frustrating and time consuming to drive anywhere. Throw in bad weather, construction or an accident, and it becomes nearly impossible. Why can’t something be done so we can drive unimpeded on our roads? The…
The long-term economic impact of the fires ravaging the British Columbia interior - including on the logging and tourism industries - will be devastating
The long-term economic impact of fires burning in British Columbia’s interior will be devastating. The blessing of a warm, sunny summer has turned into a curse as forest fires rage throughout much of the interior British Columbia. Weather forecasters predict ongoing warm, windy weather, so no immediate respite is expected for those trying to contain…
Our hints to help you get started on a successful career in a world of contract, short-term and part-time work and where robots are replacing humans in the workplace
Roadmaps are obsolete. GPS guides us now. But there are still some things GPS can’t find, like a good career. For baby boomers, the path was simple: Stay in school, ideally through college. Get a job in a large corporation or government, and a few decades later collect a pension. The formula didn’t work for…
In the face of changes and challenges, we can ensure a great future by using the hardiness, bravery and creativity that we have displayed throughout our history
The world needs more Canada, because of what we have accomplished over the last 150 years and all that we are capable of accomplishing over the next 150 years. Over the coming years we should put aside our usual apologetic Canadian modesty and agree that the world would be a better place if more countries…
The government wants to increase taxes on booze based on the Consumer Price Index, while denying the same right to revenue it provides to Canadians
Canadians can be smug. Our country is safe, secure, beautiful, clean and free. And we have an open, democratic government whose job it is to improve our lives. Or do we? A close look at the 2017 federal budget suggests otherwise. It’s cruel and unusual to ask ordinary citizens to go through the hundreds of…
Can B.C.'s newly-elected MLAs make something positive out of the minority government mess that appears to be awaiting the province?
It's time to give advice to the newly-elected B.C. government, even if we're not sure who that will turn out to be. Right now, British Columbia doesn’t have a clear winner as a result of the May 9 election. Nor are we likely to have one for weeks – or even months. Even then, the government is likely to…