MONDAY MARCH 30, 2009

CANADIANS’ CONFIDENCE IMPROVES – SLIGHTLY
The Conference Board of Canada’s Index of Consumer Confidence rose to 71.5 per cent in March, up 2.7 points from February and above the 67.7 per cent low in December 2008, the lowest mark since the 1981-82 recession. According to reports in The Gazette (Business, B-6, March 24) the slight increase is due to consumers saying employment prospects improved, and that more people feel now is the time to make a major purchase.

Despite this small improvement, Canadians continue to express concern about their families’ current and future financial situation. According to ENVIRONICS Research Group in a report released March 25, Canadians are showing high levels of concern about the current state of the economy, but they are also among the more optimistic publics worldwide about the timing of the recovery, and their own personal financial futures. Seven in ten Canadians expect the recession to last no more than two years; three in ten Canadians are currently worried about the prospect of losing their jobs, well below most countries globally. Who is to blame for the economic downturn? Learn more from the Financial Confidence Survey: http://erg.environics.net/media_room/default.asp?aID=697

ONTARIO TAX HARMONIZATION
The decision to convert Ontario’s retail sales tax to a harmonized value-added structure (with a few exemptions) in partnership with the federal government by July 1, 2010, is posing many questions for NAMMU members, particularly in the VAM community. Masthead Online (March 26) addresses single-copy publication sales, and the potential of HST being extended to price sensitive subscription sales – the choice is to pass along cost to consumers and reduce sales; or absorb the cost and hurt already small publishing margins.
The NAMMU VAM Council and Board are reviewing the business impact for all sectors of the mailing industry and responding to members’ questions/concerns. Contact: executive@nammu.org

For an analysis of the Ontario Budget by the Conference Board of Canada:
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/topics/economics/budgets/on_2009_budget.aspx

For an explanation of HST as it works in the Atlantic Provinces from Canada Revenue Agency’s website:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/gst-tps/gnrl/hst-tvh/menu-eng.html

Craig Porter, Toronto Chapter Director, will also bring members up to date at the next session, April 23rd.

CANADIAN TIRE KICKS OFF EARTH MONTH CELEBRATION
The enterprise-wide reduction of lights to mark international Earth Hour on March 28th, launches the beginning of Earth Month at Canadian Tire – a month long series of environmental initiatives aimed at raising awareness about the importance of environmental health. Canadian Tire’s Earth Month runs from March 28th through the end of April, and includes a number of operational initiatives designed to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, as well as promotional activities offering customers affordable, environmentally-preferable products to help them save money, while helping the environment. “Canadian Tire’s action is guided by our sustainability strategy which seeks to use less energy and cleaner sources of energy, reduce excessive packaging, divert more waste from landfill, and to offer an assortment of environmentally-preferable products to our customers.” said Mike Arnett, President, Canadian Tire Retail.

As part of its sustainability strategy, Canadian Tire has developed and implemented new paper procurement guidelines for its marketing and flyer materials. The guidelines promote: sustainable forest management through the purchase of paper originating from third-party, independently certified forests; efficient use of wood fibre; efficient resource utilization, efficient use of paper; climate change and energy conservation initiatives; forest conservation and paper recycling. All paper suppliers are required to track, audit and on a quarterly basis, report the type of paper sourced, amount of recycled paper, and overall paper volumes. This means the amount of paper used in Canadian Tire’s marketing and flyer materials will be significantly reduced and more recycled paper will be used. Learn more: http://micro.newswire.ca/release.cgi?rkey=1703264346&view=80460-4&Start=0

CGI EARNS FSC ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION
CGI Group Inc. announced it earned chain of custody certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for its print center in Quebec City. This certification allows CGI clients to demonstrate to their customers that they promote sustainable business practices, and furthers CGI’s own commitment to contribute to environmental improvement. With its Quebec City center printing more than 100 million sheets per year, CGI considers the tracking of paper, the control of wood harvesting and reforestation as crucial issues. The FSC certification allows a forest product to be tracked from a tree in the forest through all the steps of processing and production until it reaches consumers. The designation also confirms that certified materials are kept separate from non-certified materials. France Cote, CGI’s Vice-President, Document Management Services, stated: “At CGI, we believe strongly that the needs of our diverse partner groups are interdependent and that everyone benefits from socially responsible practices.” The CGI print center offers printing, conversion, insertion, multi-channel distribution and production services. www.cgi.com

TRANSCONTINENTAL APPOINTS CHRISTIAN TRUDEAU
Transcontinental recently announced the appointment of Christian Trudeau as President of its Marketing Communications Sector, effective April 9. He will oversee the development and growth of this sector which has over 3,000 employees and estimated annual revenue of $400M. Previously, Mr. Trudeau was President and Chief Operating Officer of Centria Commerce; and prior to that, President and Chief Operating Officer of BCE Emergis Inc.

Transcontinental Marketing Communications consists of Transcontinental’s activities in database analytics; premedia; email marketing; one-to-one marketing; custom communications, including custom publishing; and the printing of marketing products. It also encompasses recent strategic acquisitions including: Thindata; Rastar; Redwood Custom Communications; and Conversys. www.transcontinental.com

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eView is the electronic bulletin of the National Association of Major Mail Users highlighting issues of interest to business mail communication and delivery professionals. Content: KMR Group. The information contained in eView is obtained from various sources and believed to be reliable but accuracy cannot be guaranteed.