Media

January 12, 2026  by

MEDIA: CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (January, 2026)

Pleased to join the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel, alongside Sherena Hussain, Mark Warner, and Marianne Dimain, talking Venezuela and the impact on Canadian oil, the impending decision on Trump’s tariffs, and Prime Minister Carney’s trade travels, including to China; you can watch our segment here.

This week’s Business Advisor Highlight:

Canada sometimes has a reputation for being underestimated, in terms of being a relatively small country with, perhaps, limited potential and impact.  Our country, however, is relatively stable, reliable, diverse, and has the potential to significantly increase its productivity in a number of areas; these are meaningful benefits, especially when compared to countries with attributes such as volatility, risk and uncertainty.  From a business perspective, companies seek to minimize risk, wherever possible, to avoid negative impacts and uncertainty to their own operations and customer base.

Our Prime Minister has had discussions with numerous countries over the last several months, and has been successful in bringing together a diverse group of provincial leaders and keeping them there.  Doing so requires the skills of an experienced senior business leader and the ability to build and maintain relationships.  Although PM Carney is within his first year of tenure, this business oriented approach is a good foundation for promoting Canada’s potential to the world, and given the current friction from our largest trading partner, it is an opportune time to do so.

Thanks for watching, and all the best in 2026 (it’s going to be a busy business year)!

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October 1, 2025  by

MEDIA: CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (September 27, 2025)

Pleased to join the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel, alongside Sherena Hussain and Marianne Dimain, talking significant changes at Canada Post, more US tariffs, Canadian GDP growth, and Tim Hortons gear; you can watch our segment here.

This week’s Business Advisor Highlight:

Meaningful change at Canada Post is long overdue, given the decline in letter volume to less than one-half of 2006 levels, years of significant losses, and the current year’s loss projected at over $1 billion.  If Canada Post was a “regular company”, it would not be in business, as this scenario is not viable.  Infrastructure levels that are consistent with consumer demand of years ago, including staff, services, and facilities, are simply not sustainable, in the current reality, but also in terms of future needs.  It is unhelpful for anyone involved in this matter to perpetuate unrealistic demands, and doing so may result in others stepping up to make the necessary structural changes.

This brings to mind an age-old consultant question, in times of change: do you want to have a role in defining the changes that will impact you, or have others make the decisions on your behalf?  This reality is one that should be considered carefully, and a better indication of next steps at Canada Post should be announced in 45 days or less.

Thanks for watching!

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September 15, 2025  by

MEDIA: CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (September, 2025)

Pleased to join the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel, alongside Danielle Park and Marianne Dimain, talking Canada’s nation building projects, increases in household debt, and the upcoming Bank of Canada rate decision; you can watch our segment here.

This week’s Business Advisor Highlight:

As an implementer at heart, it’s exciting to see this week’s announcement of the top nation building projects, as well as the second tranche that is expected to be confirmed in a couple of months.  Implementation is extremely challenging, and is often fraught with unexpected hurdles to resolve; however, it is critical that Canada is able to complete the necessary tasks to diversify markets and increase the supply of high potential goods and services.

On a personal level, I was watching to see if either the Wind West (Atlantic Canada) or Port of Churchill (Manitoba) projects would be on the list (both are included in the second tranche), as regional diversity of qualified projects represents an opportunity to further enhance engagement and progress.  Regardless, it’s great to see the process beginning, to bring Canada’s potential to both our own country and the World.

Thanks for watching!

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September 15, 2024  by

MEDIA: CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (September, 2024)

Pleased to join the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel, alongside Sherena Hussain and Marianne Dimain, talking Air Canada’s labour dispute, the ongoing housing market slump, and new cashier kiosks at McDonald’s.  You can watch our segment here.

This week’s Business Advisor Highlight:

In a competitive marketplace, businesses must be able to attract and retain customers on an ongoing basis, otherwise, the company’s future is at risk; this simple fact is obvious to anyone with business experience.  Contrast this reality for most businesses, with Canada’s air travel industry, that is dominated by a small number of large companies (Air Canada and Westjet, in particular).  Service disruptions and shutdowns that arise from labour disputes impact the customer more than anyone, as they are not directly involved in the dispute, but are inconvenienced by it the most, as carefully made travel plans going out the window, with what seems to be little concern from either the company or the labour group.  Anyone who has been in this situation is familiar with the uncertainty, challenges, frustration, and costs that tend to arise, with little meaningful assistance available (and if any recognition of the significant negative impact on customers is given, it tends to come across as insincere, at best).

The irony is that it is the customer who effectively pays the salaries or both staff and management, by way of the flights that they purchase; too bad that there seems to be so little given in return to get to a solution in times like these.

Thanks for watching; enjoy these last few days of Summer weather!

Footnote:  The impending labour dispute at Air Canada was reported as a tentative agreement having been reached by the end of the day when our segment aired.

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August 26, 2024  by

Celebrating 7 Years on the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (August, 2024)

Extremely grateful to celebrate seven years on the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel; there is nothing like live TV!  It started with two and a half years of appearances on set in CBC’s flagship studio, followed by a longer period of remote work, covering a wide range of business stories.  Below is a sample of topics where I have provided commentary over the past seven years (over 130 lines and counting!), all of it live:

Stories of particular interest to me are those that can bring in a range of factors, such as demographics, changing consumer preferences, global business trends, and even the political landscape.  Thanks for watching; it is a privilege to bring the news to you!

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February 11, 2024  by

MEDIA: CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (February, 2024)

It’s Super Bowl Weekend on the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel, alongside Jeanhy Shim, Christian Bravo, and Marianne Dimain talking another round of layoffs at Bell Media, Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, coming to Canada, and, of course, those commercials that Canadians won’t be seeing during the big game on Sunday.  You can watch the Weekend Business Panel on Saturday mornings at around 10:15 AM ET on CBC News Network.

This week’s Business Advisor Highlight:

The importance of the female consumer demographic has long been known as highly lucrative, in that women have significant influence in a wide range of buying decisions, including in the areas of housing, vehicles, travel, consumer goods, groceries, anything and everything related to children, and more.  Not only do women have significant influence in this regard within a family unit, single women are also a very powerful demographic.  Over the years, numerous consumer research studies have reported these findings.

Which makes it more than a little ironic that it took a well known celebrity attending a handful of football games for some brands to decide to advertise during the Super Bowl (you guessed it), targeting women.  This, in concert with obvious efforts on the part of the NFL and its broadcast partners to utilize Taylor Swift’s attendance to increase viewership numbers (anyone who has watched sports for a long period of time will understand why this is so evident).

Millions of women have watched football for decades (myself included), however, it took the attendance of one popular female celebrity for this large audience to be of relevance.  Really?  And, yes, women do buy more than makeup!

Brands need to ensure that they understand their target market, in various respects, including size, trends, and the key aspects of decision making and influence in order to develop strategies to reach potential consumers.  From what we’ve seen here, it appears that the lucrative female football-viewing market has been poorly recognized until now.

Thanks for watching, and see you next time!

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September 11, 2023  by

MEDIA: CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (September, 2023)

Pleased to join the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel, alongside Jeanhy Shim, Michael Hyatt, and Natalie Kalata, talking all things interest rates and inflation; you can watch our segment here.

Some brief thoughts on our discussion, from a small business perspective:

  • Although the impact of interest rate increases takes a while to work through the economy on an overall level, small businesses can feel the impact in the short term, if not immediately.  Examples include the rising cost of money, as interest rates increase on outstanding loans/lines of credit and become a disincentive to pursue expansion plans, such as additional premises and equipment.
  • Remember that many small business leaders contributed cash or took out financing to secure the operations of their company during the pandemic years; recent studies have shown that approximately one-half of companies have not yet returned to their pre-pandemic financial performance level.
  • When small businesses reach the point where they are no longer viable, or where the owner does not want to carry to risk of operating any longer, the result is often closure.  Sometimes, the last straw can be a major cost increase, such as rising rates in terms of loan or mortgage interest.  The inability to find or afford staff members can also be particularly draining.
  • As an example, when a small business closes, it could put 20 people out of work.  This might seem insignificant, but as business closures increase, it may not be long before the numbers become quite concerning.  Consider businesses in your community that are no longer operating, keeping in mind that restaurants, services, and small retail can be particularly vulnerable.

Although it is important to continue to combat inflation, it is equally critical to not reach a point where “you can’t see the forest for the trees”.  Understanding the practical realities and challenges that Canada’s small business sector faces on a daily basis is essential for bringing the right balance to considering interest rates, and the current pause is understandably a welcome relief to many.  Going forward, as previous rate increases continue to work through the system, it wouldn’t be surprising to see continued pause for some period of time.

As always, thanks for watching!

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August 30, 2023  by

Celebrating 6 Years on the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (August, 2023)

Incredibly grateful to celebrate six years on the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel; enjoying all that live TV brings!  It began with two and a half years of appearances in CBC’s flagship studio, followed by almost four years of remote work, covering a wide range of business stories.  Below is a sample of topics upon which I’ve provided commentary over the past six years (over 100 rows and counting!), all of it live:

Quite a list, if I do say so myself!  As always, thanks for watching; it is a privilege to bring the news to you, whatever the business world has in store.

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August 8, 2022  by

Celebrating 5 Years on the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (August, 2022)

Grateful to be celebrating five years on the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel; what a journey it has been!  It began with two and a half years live in CBC’s flagship studio in Toronto, followed by over two years of remote work, all the while covering an incredible range of business stories.  Here is a sample of topics upon which I’ve provided commentary over the past five years:

On a personal level, a story that I have been watching closely is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a tragedy on so many levels.  As a Canadian of Ukrainian descent, it is difficult to imagine what people in Ukraine are experiencing from a personal and family perspective, much less on a business and economic level.  Everyone deserves to live in a peaceful world, and I hope for this for everyone in Ukraine each day.

The Summer of 2022 brought my first travel since before the pandemic and an opportunity to provide my commentary from beautiful Nova Scotia!  Each week also brings a bit of home studio styling fun.

Thanks for watching; it is a privilege to bring the news to you, whatever the business world has in store!

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September 12, 2021  by

MEDIA: CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (September 11, 2021)

Fortunate to have the opportunity to remember the victims of the September 11th terror attacks on air, alongside Elmer Kim and John Northcott.  On the 20th anniversary of the attacks that changed the world in many ways, this human tragedy is also a business story.  I recall the details of that day so clearly, and one of the things that I thought about was the many people who were simply going about their day to earn a living: the morning commute, getting a coffee, moments at their desk, greeting a colleague in the hallway, boardroom meetings “first thing”.  Others were travelling for work in the skies above; too many would not reach their destination.  As a career business person, I have done all of these things, often without a second thought.  How tragic it is that thousands of people would have these “normalcies” be the last moment of their lives.

September 11th gives me the feeling every year that the carefree days of Summer are gone in an instant, a door that slams shut with profound sadness.  We remember the victims today and every year on this day.

We also discussed the business news of the week, including Canadian economic developments and the global semiconductor chip shortage.

It is always positive to see the economy add jobs and beat expectations, however, given the realities of COVID19, it is difficult to know if this is merely a point on the curve or part of an overall growth trend.  The pandemic, unfortunately, continues to be very much a part of our communities and business environment, and as the Fall weather cools, the importance of taking recommended steps to combat COVID19 should not be lost.  Our economy is depending on Canadians to do the right things, to avoid cycling back to the days of business closures and other setbacks, as nobody wins when this happens.  Businesses are not measured by peaks and valleys, but rather, by the ability to survive over the long term; this is extremely difficult to achieve when the surrounding community is not healthy.

Related to this point, although it might sound like an obvious statement that companies need products and services to sell in order to be financially viable, the ability to do so in our current world is anything but a given.  Many companies are unable to get the materials that they need in order to manufacture products, with a prominent example being the semiconductor chip shortage,  This situation is multifaceted, as it is impacted by the high demand for technology, as well as geo-political and logistical factors.  Although not every situation can be resolved in the short term, business leaders need to bring creative solutions, as well as procurement options and strategies to manage customer expectations.  Having said that, the reality is that many consumers will simply have to wait until the shortage dissipates and expect to see higher prices, while businesses look for other options to resolve their own inevitable financial challenges.

Thank you for watching.  Today is a good day to do something to help others; we can all make a difference.

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