Welcome to the first issue of HPBAC Voice e-newsletter. We have updates on government relations issues, regional reports and other news relating to your business.

We'd love to receive feedback on the new look and format, so if you have a few minutes please send your comments to hpac@on.aibn.com.

If you'd prefer to receive it by regular mail, please let us know. If we don't hear from you we'll assume e-mail is your preference.

If you would like to print this enewsletter, click the printer icon at the top right of this page. I'd like to thank the new HPBAC Communications Committee for their help with this project:

Rina Ristagno, CFM Specialty Home Products
Krista Osborne, Enbridge Gas Distribution
Dominique Pagé, Stove Builder International Inc.
Laura Litchfield, HPBAC Staff

Sincerely,
John Vukanovich, HPBAC President

I’m pleased to report that HPBAC’s annual Board of Directors Face-to-Face meeting was a success. This year, we convened in Halifax to review 2004, discuss Strategic Planning for 2005, develop a plan for additional HPBAC member benefits and decide how to better communicate all of the above.

Pictured on a tour of the Alexander Keith’s Brewery, from L to R: Front Row, Lou Olsacher, John Vukanovich, Sarah Kemp, Joyja Mabbs, Martin Mabbs, Paul Birnstihl, Pat Bourque. Middle Row: Alexander Keith, Judy Rodgers, Fred Robinson, Tex McLeod, Norma Bourque, Chris Barker. Top Row: Kim Rodgers, Laura Litchfield, Annette Donald, Joy Harbers

We have several key results to report:

New HPBAC Mission Statement was developed…
The Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association of Canada (HPBAC) is a trade association, dedicated to serving the needs of our members, established for the purpose of:

• providing a voice for the industry;
• promoting and protecting the interests of those engaged in the hearth, patio and barbecue industries;
• coordinating and integrating the needs of industry dealers, distributors, manufacturers and suppliers;
• providing educational and networking opportunities to all our members on both national and regional levels; and
• promoting consumer awareness of the benefits associated with our products.

New Committees
Functional committees were formed to work in key areas. We now have committees dedicated to Communications, Membership and Government Affairs. These groups will work on projects and member benefits at the direction of the Board.

HPBA Representative
Paul Birnstihl, HPBA incoming Chair (who lives in Candia, New Hampshire, but is originally from Waterloo, Ontario) was on hand to share his knowledge and experience with HPBA and the highly successful Northeast affiliate of HPBA. Thanks again to Paul for his contributions.

Thanks to our Other Guests
We would also like to thank George LeBlanc of Maritime Fireplaces and Elizabeth Mason of AWETA who took time out of their weekend to attend portions of our meeting and give their valued input.

The energy and enthusiasm for this industry was clearly displayed at the board meetings. We all look forward to a busy end to the fourth quarter and a great start for 2005. If anyone in the industry has comments or suggestions regarding the Mission Statement, committee work, or any other HPBAC topic, please feel free to give me, or any member of the board, a call.

- John Vukanovich, HPBAC President

The big event for the Atlantic Chapter this year didn’t even take place in our region. We co-hosted the HPBAC Canadian Reception at EXPO in Anaheim and by all accounts everyone had a terrific time. Once again we’d like to thank Eric Barnhill, Steve Keeling and Blair Keeling for their hard work, and more importantly, for showing off some leg in their kilts. It looks like the Ontario Chapter is taking on the job of co-hosting the reception this year. We’ll see if they can match Atlantic hospitality.

Education Sessions
The Atlantic Chapter has had a busy year. In June we ran a Professional Service is Profitable session with the help and sponsorship of Kerr Controls in Truro, NS. George LeBlanc delivered an excellent session again this year. Our plans for 2005 include another Professional Service is Profitable and The Art of Selling, a sales training workshop under development by HPBAC. Watch for news on training in upcoming issues of the Voice or on our web page.

Stakeholder Meeting held in Hailifax
In September we joined with AWETA and Nova Scotia Energy and Mines to host a stakeholder meeting in Halifax to discuss wood burning issues like the upcoming NS regulation in Nova Scotia, the AWETA Burn it Smart Campaign and other wood heat issues. In attendance, and pictured above were: Drew Kierstead and Peter Henderson, Kerr Controls; Tex McLeod; Malcolm Fisher, Compact Appliances; Barb Bryden, NS Environment; Steve Keeling, Classic Hearth & Leisure; Sarah Kemp, Country Stoves & Sunrooms; Pat Cormier; George LeBlanc and Pat Bourque, Maritime Fireplaces; Elizabeth Mason, AWETA; Hal Dobbelstyn, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources; Gary McCurdy, Deputy Chief, Halifax Fire Department, and Norma Bourque, HPBAC Atlantic Chapter and WETNB.

AWETA will be running a Nova Scotia Burn it Smart campaign from December 2004 to March 2005 with funding from several sources including the Nova Scotia Department of Energy. AWETA has also been conducting a campaign for provincial EPA-style legislation.

We are in discussions with WETNB about resurrecting the burn trailer from the 2003 NB Burn it Smart campaign. If you’d like more information or would like to rent the burn display for a community event please contact Norma Bourque at 506-854-9332 to make arrangements. George LeBlanc has agreed to serve as a government liaison with the NB government on legislation and opportunities to promote clean burning in the province.

There are several new board members for the coming year and Kim Stone is the new Chapter President. Thank you Sarah Kemp for your hard work as President over the past two years.

- Kim Stone, Atlantic Chapter President

Established this year, the HPBAC Ontario Chapter board agreed our key issue for 2004 would be education. We launched The Art of Selling, a professional sales training course held in the Toronto area and Ottawa. Topics included Professional Sales Training with Gord Cooke; Showroom Design with David Riley; and discussions about financing programs, EnerGuide for Gas Fireplaces and P.4 updates. Gord Cooke is currently expanding his program into a full day workshop, so be on the lookout for our announcement about Education Days in May/June of next year. The response to these sessions was tremendous with the majority of our participants saying they would definitely attend a full day session.

Ontario Co-Hosting Canadian Reception at EXPO Atlanta
The Ontario Chapter has agreed to co-host the reception at EXPO 2005 in Atlanta. Our theme will be Winter in Ontario, but remember the average temperature in Atlanta at that time of year will be 13°C which is much better than our negative numbers. So, please join us for a warm evening at EXPO on Thursday, February 24th between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Look for your invitation later this year by email and fax.

Burn Trailer at Fall Cottage Life Show
In October several members from Ontario helped to work the Burn Trailer and deliver the Burn it Smart message at the Cottage Life Show in the Toronto area. Keith Maracle of Ontario First Nation Technical Services took charge of the trailer and worked all three days of the show. Helping him were Jessie Richer, Selkirk Canada; Andrew Gabura, CFM; Pat Gingrich, Tri-Lane Distributing; Dominique Page, SBI; Ted Light, The Foundry and Tex McLeod, HPBAC. It was a great opportunity to talk about and demonstrate better wood burning practices and the benefits of EPA-certified wood burning appliances. We'd like to thank all of the participants for taking time out of their busy schedules to help out. Coming up next April are the Ottawa Cottage Show and the Spring Cottage Life Show in Toronto. If you’d like to help with these shows please contact Anthony Laycock at WETT.

Thanks to Ontario Survey Respondents
Thank you to all members who took part in our Ontario Chapter survey. Results from this will determine what route our Chapter will take regarding education, communication, member benefits, etc. At any time, please feel free to contact the Ontario Chapter Administrator or any of our board members with ideas, information or comments that would benefit our members.

- Joy Harbers, Ontario Chapter President

The Prairie Chapter held its AGM in Red Deer in June and elected a new board of directors including two from Saskatchewan. 2004 was a challenging year but the new board has injected new energy in the chapter and our hopes remain high for new membership. Our membership now stands at 35 and in the coming months the board will be looking at how best to conduct a membership drive for the coming year.

Next year we will be offering several education seminars including a Fireplace Design seminar by Tom Pugh and The Art of Selling, one that was very successful in Ontario this past summer.

Ongoing day-to-day activities include issues surrounding the provincial building code in Alberta plus plans are in the works to refurbish the burn trailer with an eye to participating in regional home shows and distributor days. If you would like more information about booking the trailer for your upcoming events, give us a call.

- Martin Mabbs, Prairie Chapter Representative

The Western Chapter Annual General Meeting and elections were held on Saturday, September 18th, followed by a Barbecue and Casino Fun Night which included industry speakers. Twenty-four members attended the AGM with 70 attending the Fun Night.

To respond to the many issues facing the industry we’ve created several new committees – one to help increase membership, another to respond to burn by-laws like we find in Prince George, one to address stove changeouts, and finally one to help organize meetings like the Forum and the AGM. The Stove Changeout committee was created to minimize overlap and duplication of the various programs being proposed throughout BC. The board has suggested that it would be more effective to consolidate all the regional programs and put together a single program that would be simpler to manage and promote across BC. The town of Golden has a program of rebates, which go into effect in February, offering up to $500 to encourage changeouts. This situation will be closely monitored to see how this incentive might be utilized in other locations.

Following on the heels of the Terasen Gas Log program, the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines has put forward a draft discussion paper on residential gas fireplaces called Energy Efficiency Market Transformation Strategy for Residential Natural Gas Fireplaces and has invited industry comment. The industry response submitted by HPBAC and HRAI and the complete document can be viewed on the hpbacanada.org web site. More information on this document is detailed in the Focus on Gas section on this newsletter.

• Burn it Smart town meetings in 27 locations from November 2004 – April 2005 see schedule at www.whpba.ca
• Great Stove Changeouts
• Western Fireplace Forum June 4 – 6, 2005

- Kim Rodgers, BC Chapter President

TORONTO (CP) - Half of Canadian small business owners say they don't compete with big-box stores, and half of the rest say Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other behemoth retailers have not hurt them, a poll indicates.

The Decima Research survey for CIBC found 16 per cent of respondents said big-box retailers have had a negative impact on their business. In this group, about half said they had been forced to cut prices to stay competitive, and one-quarter said they have lost customers to the big boxes.

"When big-box stores began popping up about a decade ago, there was fear that smaller firms would be forced out of business," stated Rob Paterson, senior vice-president for small business banking at CIBC.

"Many Canadian entrepreneurs have addressed the threat posed by big-box stores by identifying niche market needs and delivering personalized service."

Paterson added: "We are witnessing a sort of polarization in the retail market between huge outlets and microbusinesses, but it appears that both can co-exist in the Canadian business landscape."

Five per cent of small business owners said big-box stores have in fact helped them, by enabling them to purchase cheaper supplies, sell services to the big boxes, or benefit from increased traffic flow past their doors.

The poll of 1,829 small business owners in July and August, which claims a 95 per cent probability of a margin of error within 2.3 percentage points, found that rising expenses are the biggest concern among entrepreneurs.

Increasing costs of doing business were cited as the main worry by 17 per cent of those polled, followed by taxes, competition and government regulation and indifference, each cited by nine per cent.

- © The Canadian Press, 2004