Landscape Ontario's Horticulture Review Online

Ben deBoer passes away

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:46:42 -0500

Ben deBoer passed away peacefully on Thurs., Jan. 1, at Lakeridge Health in Port Perry at the age of 86. Beloved husband of Florence for 55 years. Loving father of Adrian (Silvana), Paul (Karin), Joan (Dan) Norton, and Janet (Harry) Worsley. Devoted grandfather of Liz, Ben, Brien, John, A.J., Bowen, Kris, Sanne, Steve, Jennifer, Nicole and Richard.

Ben worked for Sheridan and Braun Nurseries before starting Uxbridge Nurseries.

Family and friends may call at the Low and Low Funeral Home, 23 Main Street South, Uxbridge (905) 852-3073 for visitation on Monday, January 5, 2009 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church (1710 Scugog St., Port Perry) on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. In Ben's Memory donations made to the Tuberous Sclerosis Canada www.tscanada.ca, or to a charity of your choice would be appreciated.

IPM Symposium at Congress postponed

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:23:01 -0500

The IPM Symposium scheduled for Congress 2009 has been postponed. The change in schedule was the result of the pending pesticide ban regulations. IPM symposiums are scheduled for Ottawa on Feb. 24, London on Mar. 3, Barrie on Mar. 10 and one in Toronto, which has not been determined at this time. All other opening day scheduled conferences remain the same, including Equipment Dealer Forum, Landscape Design Conference, Irrigation Conference and CLP Study Group. Updates will be posted on Landscape Ontario's website in the new year. To read more about the entire schedule at Congress 2009, click on the Congress icon on the LO website.

LO loses charter member

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:46:37 -0500

A charter member of Landscape Ontario passed away on Monday, December 8 at York Central Hospital. Steve Chanady, who began Avalon Landscaping, was one of the driving forces behind the creation of Landscape Ontario. Visitation was on Wednesday, December 10 at Marshall Funeral Home in Richmond Hill. A memorial service is scheduled at 10:30 on Thursday, December 11 at the Lady Queen of the World Church, 10411 Bayview Ave., Richmond Hill.

Among his many accomplishments, Steve Chanady is the creator of Landscape Ontario's bronze life member plaques. He was also one of the suppliers of the bronze plaques used at Toronto Walk of Fame. Avalon Landscaping continues today to provide design, construction and garden maintenance from its home base in Richmond Hill and Holland Landing. Steve Chanady started in 1965 in Toronto. Steve's training was as a horticultural specialist. Avalon's specialty at that time was planting and garden services. The demand for his company's services continued to grow under Steve's guidance, expanding to include all aspects of soft and hard landscaping that was demanded by the growing clientele.

The landscape industry also continued to expand, and business members began to express a need for an association that would represent all professionals in the field in a practical, educational and political environment. Steve Chanady, along with a group of other professionals, started to meet on industry issues on a regular basis. All who attended the meetings were in favour of a provincial association that they could all be part of. That association is Landscape Ontario, which was founded in 1973. Landscape Ontario brought landscape contractors, garden maintenance contractors, nurserymen, and other related sectors together to provide services that would enhance professionalism and business potential. What began as a small group of business people over 35 years ago, now boasts a membership of over 2000 members, and is the voice of the Ontario horticultural industry.

Steve's son Edward Chanady, a graduate of the Humber College Landscape Technology program, has been president and sole owner of Avalon since 1989. Steve Chanady continued to work in the company acting as a Supervisor and Project Manager.

Hotel warning regarding Canada Blooms

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:35:53 -0500

Dear Canada Blooms 2009 exhibitor:

It has come to our attention that a travel agency operating out of Nevada, USA, is calling exhibitors to reserve hotel space under the false pretense they are a partner with Canada Blooms 2009. The company's name is CONVENTION EXPO TRAVEL.

Please be advised that Canada Blooms 2009 and its management are NOT affiliated in any way with any travel agency. Canada Blooms has secured the Holiday Inn on King as our host hotel and reservations can be made by calling 416-599-4000 or 1-800-263-6364. Please specify the Group Code CZWWW. Reservations must be guaranteed with a credit card.

Special guest room rates for Canada Blooms exhibitors have been set at $138 per night for single or double occupancy. This special rate is applicable on any date from March 14 to 24, 2009. Room availability is based on a first-come, first-serve basis. The reservation deadline for the special show rate is February 11, 2009.

The Holiday Inn on King is located at 370 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5V 1J9 in the heart of the Entertainment District - just a short two-block walk from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where Canada Blooms 2009 is being held.

Canada Blooms does not endorse, cooperate or collaborate in any manner whatsoever with CONVENTION EXPO TRAVEL and strongly recommends you exercise appropriate and considered due diligence in doing business with any organization alleging they represent or work with Canada Blooms 2009.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Gilles Bouchard
Landscape Ontario - Canada Blooms
7856 Fifth Line South, RR 4
Milton, ON L9T 2X8
LO 905-875-1805 x323
CB 416-447-8655 x23
Cell 416-471-3101
www.horttrades.com
www.canadablooms.com

LO Employment Board at Congress 2009

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:28:13 -0500

Recognizing the need for skilled and unskilled labour for our industry, Landscape Ontario is pleased to provide an Employment Board opportunity at Congress 2009. According to the Membership policy, only "Active, Interim and Associate" LO members are permitted to post ads. Please review the following guidelines to ensure your ad meets the policies regarding the employment board.

The following are the posting guidelines that must be adhered to:

All postings will be reviewed, and approved, by The Education and Labour Development Department staff prior to being posted on the Employment Board.
Postings are to be no larger than 8.5" x 11" (including tabs on the bottom of the page).
Postings are not to be laminated.
Only one copy of the posting is permitted.
Postings should contain the following information: company name/logo, contact name, telephone and fax number.

To ensure your posting will be placed on the Employment Board, please forward a copy to Sally Harvey by fax 905-875-3942, or e-mail sharvey@landscapeontario.com no later than December 31, 2008.

If you are unable to meet the posting deadline, please bring your posting to the Pesticide Industry Council booth (#E39) for approval by a representative at the show.

The Employment Board is located in the Education area (north end of the building) adjacent to booth #E39. The Employment Board will be monitored to ensure all guidelines are followed.

Thank you for your participation and cooperation in making this a success.

Be heard on the pesticide ban

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:23:37 -0500

Urgent Call to Action
The draft regulations under the Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act, 2008, released by the government on November 7th are completely unsatisfactory to Landscape Ontario and the professional lawncare industry.

We need the immediate, active involvement of everyone in the industry to counter this proposed policy - you, your employees, suppliers, family and colleagues.

The McGuinty government is asking Ontarians to voice their opinions on the ban. Click here for more details.

Read the Ministry of the Environment's Fact Sheet on the Pesticide Ban.

More details on LO's call to action to the proposed legislation and outline are contained in the documents below.

Webinar teaches how to use LO's new consumer brand

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:27:12 -0500

Green for Life, Landscape Ontario's new consumer brand will be unveiled to homeowners at Canada Blooms in March. Make the most of the association's investment in this brand by learning how to use this message in your marketing plans.
LO is running a series of webinars this winter introducing the brand to its membership.

Webinar 1: Introduction to the Green for Life program Tuesday, Nov. 11, 9:30 a.m. Register by clicking here

In December we will present the second webinar topic, 'How to get the most for your business from Green for Life'. If you want to mark your calendar, we will start that topic on Dec. 9 at 10:30 and have an 'encore presentation' Jan. 6 at 10:30.

Sign up now, it is free, it is easy and we look forward to sharing more details and news on the LO 'Green for Life' public outreach.

Internet shipping scam caught in time

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:01:46 -0400

An LO member has written in with a warning to other companies who may receive a request to ship products overseas. What seems like a straightforward business transaction is actually yet another Internet scam. The fraud was caught in time, and no harm was done, but companies need to be aware of a potentially dishonest transaction.

The member received an e-mail asking for information on one of the member's products. Following several e-mails, a female confirmed the order for shipment to Morocco. She explained that she wanted it shipped by a specific company, and that the company would provide the quotation and do up the paperwork for shipping.

She chose the much more expensive air freight option (worth double what the product is worth) and asked what form of payment the company would accept. She was told VISA and Mastercard, and she provided the company with not one, but three credit card numbers, with the amount to be split into three equal amounts.

"The alarm bells went off then," says the company spokesperson, "and if we had continued with the purchase, the freight company would have asked for the money to be wired to them immediately. The address for the freight company wasn't on the Internet, so we sent them an e-mail asking for a physical address, phone number and received no response. The credit card company could have come back to us for payment."

As a result, anyone selling products should be advised of the following:

1. The inquiry will come over the Internet. While there is interest in the product, it won't be significant. There will only be enough to build credibility. They will likely ask for bulky or heavy products to build up the case for a large freight bill.
2. No address or phone number will accompany the message. If you ask for the phone number, the request will be ignored and diverted back to e-mail.
3. The destination will likely be overseas, with Africa the most common. While they will supply a shipping address, it is likely made up.
4. The purchaser will supply the freight company contact, via the Internet.
5. They will choose the most expensive option - air freight.
6. There will be no contact information on the e-mail from the freight company, other than the Internet contact person.
7. Amounts to be charged to the credit card will be small enough as to not likely exceed the limit.
8. The purchaser will ask you to verify them immediately when the amounts go through.
9. If it had gone through, the freight company would have asked for an immediate money order to be sent electronically.
10. No one would have come to pick up the product.

EAB found in Sault Ste. Marie

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:43:01 -0400

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed the presence of the emerald ash borer (EAB) in the City of Sault Ste. Marie. The infestation is located in a residential area of the city near the intersection of MacDonald Avenue and Pim Street. This is the first find of the pest in northern Ontario.
The CFIA will be carrying out increased surveying of trees in the area to determine the extent of the infestation and affected property owners will be notified. Regulatory measures to control this pest will be taken based on information obtained through the surveys. The CFIA continues to work with its partners and stakeholders toward the goal of slowing the spread of this destructive pest.
Additional information is available on the CFIA web site at www.inspection.gc.ca or by calling 1-866-463-6017.

YMCA looking for employers

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:42:26 -0400

The YMCA Career Development & Learning Centre had such a great success using Youtube to recruit participants to its programs that they have created one to recruite employers.

The program offers training incentives to offset initial training costs. Roy Hummel of Jan Gelderman Landscaping recounts the company's success with the program at 2:30 in the YMCA Hire Faster - Hire Better video.