CKCA celebrates Canadian-built at the Kitchen and Bath Expo Oct 25-27 2023

CKCA will be participating in the Kitchen & Bath Canada Expo and Conference. We want to celebrate “Canadian Built” kitchen cabinets by creating a “Canadian Pavillion” where we will showcase CKCA as well as some of our members and their products to really let the Canadian brand shine.

 

This B2B show will attract designers, dealers, builders and suppliers. This is a great opportunity to showcase what “buy Canadian built kitchen cabinets” is all about!

If your a manufacturer, consider buying a booth at the show and proudly showcase your product to potential customers.

To book your space, click here»

Press Release here»

CKCA Elects 2 members to the 2023 Board of Directors

ANNOUNCEMENT (Click here for PDF version)

June 15, 2023

CKCA members elect 2023/2024 Board of Directors

The Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association held their 2023 Annual Meeting on Thursday, June 15 at 2pm (ET) via Zoom.

Members voted to elect two Directors from a list of five candidates for positions on the CKCA Board of Directors for 2023/2024. We are pleased to advise that:

  • Luke Elias, Muskoka Cabinet Company
  • Chris Havey, CNC Automation

were elected by the CKCA membership. Luke Elias has already served on the CKCA Board for one term (2020-2023) and Chris Havey is joining the Board this year. Both will serve on the Board for a three year term 2023 – 2026.

Immediately following the AGM, the newly elected Board then re-appointed the Executive Officers.

  • Pete Fournier, Triangle Kitchen (President)
  • Amrita Bhogal, Sunrise Kitchens (Vice-President)
  • James Dewinetz, Pacific Rim Cabinets (Treasurer)
  • Heidi Boudreault, Denca Cabinets (Past-President)
  • Sandra Wood, CKCA Staff (Secretary)

Directors:

  • Trevor Chaulk, Chaulk Woodworking  (continuing their term)
  • Craig Atkinson, Marathon Hardware   (continuing their term)
  • Joerg Brauns, Cyncly (continuing their term)
  • Giuseppe Castrucci, Laurysen Kitchens (continuing their term)
  • Earl Ducharme, Hafele Canada (continuing their term)
  • Luke Elias, Muskoka Cabinet Company (elected for a second term 2023)
  • Varun Gajendran, Lucvaa Kitchens (continuing their term)
  • Chris Havey, CNC Automation (elected for a first term 2023)
  • Gerald Van Woudenberg, Van Arbour Design (continuing their term)

CKCA would also like to acknowledge and sincerely thank departing Board member Wes Love of Taurus Craco who served on the Board from 2010-2017 and then returned to the Board in 2020.  Wes has been a steadfast contributor to CKCA and we are extremely grateful for his contributions to moving CKCA forward.

Link to Board members photos and bios can be found here.

CKCA President, Pete Fournier says:

“CKCA is pleased to have received so many excellent candidates for the two positions that became open on the Board this year. We heard repeatedly from members that the choice was difficult to make. We congratulate the two elected Board members, Luke Elias and Chris Havey and we would also like to sincerely thank Wes Love for his tremendous contributions to the Board. The interest we received from members through the election process tells us that the work we are doing is valued. The industry is evolving, and it is important we have strong leadership to help guide the organization and ensure it remains relevant and nimble to the changes we face.  CKCA is an industry tool and a national voice that strives to create opportunities for the Canadian kitchen cabinet industry. The CKCA Board of Directors are volunteers representing a wide range of companies across Canada who manufacture or supply to the kitchen cabinet industry. We look forward to another productive year.”

The CKCA National Forum will be held September 28 – September 30 in Moncton, NB. Registration opens end June.

CKCA established in 1968, is a national trade association representing the kitchen cabinet industry in Canada. CKCA works to inspire progress and innovation in the industry, by promoting excellence, facilitating continuous improvement and working to ensure high standards for design and manufacturing are upheld

If you have any questions please contact Sandra Wood, CKCA Executive Director at 613-493-5858 or sandra@ckca.ca for more details.

 

 

 

Interzum Recap 2023

Interzum in Cologne, Germany, ended successfully on Friday, May 12, 2023. With approximately 62,000 trade visitors from some 150 countries, the leading international trade fair for suppliers to the furniture and interior design industry exceeded all expectations and inspired all present at the stands over the course of four days.

Blum Canada is pleased to provide you with this excellent summary of what they displayed at Interzum and what’s coming to Canada in July 2024. Read more »

What CFIB is working on for you

 

 

 

CKCA members enjoy the partnership we’ve built with CFIB (Canadian Federation of Independent Business). CFIB represents over 90,000 small business across Canada.

Here’s a summary of what they’re working on for your business this month!

For groups that have retail business members – Important retail survey

If you offer retail services CFIB encourages you to complete the retail survey that will be sent to you this month. This survey will help CFIB determine the value of a dollar spent locally that stays in the local economy (compared to a dollar spent in multinationals), allowing CFIB to promote buying local.

REMINDER TO CKCA MEMBERS: You have the opportunity to check your personal communication preferences in the CFIB Members’ Portal to ensure you receive CFIB survey emails.
CRA Strike and new 2023 CRA Report Card

CFIB released a statement on the CRA strike addressing its potential harmful impact on small businesses, including by causing significant stress for owners who will struggle to get their important questions answered during tax season. CFIB is already fielding many calls from members about tax issues, making it one of the top concerns for members, as outlined below.

In the middle of an acute labour shortage, the broader strike by federal public sector workers could also deeply affect important services such as Employment Insurance, passports, and immigration, which play a major role in hiring and terminations. We have created a webpage for members explaining the strike situation, listing the affected departments, and pointing to resources they can access.

Earlier this month, CFIB released the 7th edition of the CRA Report Card. While the CRA’s overall grade remained unchanged over the last decade, 31% of businesses and 76% of tax practitioners believe the agency’s service has declined in the last three years. We are working hard to ensure our members’ concerns are heard.

Labour Shortage Report 

Small business owners are overworking to compensate for the labour shortage. Our new report, The 8-day Workweek, shows the average small business owner works 54 hours per week, the equivalent of an 8-day workweek for most salaried workers. Those who say they work more hours because of labour shortages clock in even more, about 59 hours per week, 20 of which are spent compensating for staffing challenges.

To support small business owners who are dealing with stress and burnout, we are connecting them to information & tools through our Workplace Wellness hub, sponsored by PrimaSure

Top Concerns for Members

Many members are calling about taxes this month, including filing deadlines, GST/HST sales tax questions, and the complex Underused Housing Tax – look out for our new report on this in May. Members are also calling about employment standards, with federal and provincial minimum wage increases and the Easter holiday being the main drivers in April. They are also requesting templates, posters or policies required for their business to be compliant with the law.

CFIB’s Business Resources team hit a milestone 10,000+ member queries handled so far this year.

Budget & Economic Updates

  • Our Federal Budget webinar updated members on some of the ways the budget will affect small businesses, including the reduction in credit card processing fees CFIB has advocated for. The webinar had 612 live attendees and 956 total views. Watch in EN/FR
  • CFIB’s Chief Economist and VP Research, Simon Gaudreault, provided a detailed economic update and forecasts for small business in our Spring Economic Update webinar. The webinar had 321 live attendees and 198 post-views.
  • Our new Main St Quarterly report forecasts that the Canadian economy is heading toward a slowdown, but inflation is on the right path and there is still no recession in sight for the short term.
  • April’s Business Barometer® shows that small businesses plan to increase wages by 3.3% on average over the next 12 months amid high inflation and tight job market.

Cybersecurity Academy Contest Winners

We wrapped our Cybersecurity Academy contest this month by drawing 12 winners from the members who participated in the contest by completing cybersecurity courses. The contest prizing, including a $10,000 CAD grand prize and $500 regional prizes, is thanks to Mastercard, who helped build the Cybersecurity Academy with expertise from their cybersecurity specialists.

Coming Up in May

  • A new report on the federal Underused Housing Tax addresses concerns about the impact of the tax on small businesses.
  • A new report, Working Together: Developing Environmental Policy with Small Business in Mind, outlines 10 guiding principles and provides recommendations for the federal government.
  • A new Financing Report reveals financing trends among SMEs.
  • New data release from our CEBA survey, as CFIB continues pushing to extend the repayment deadline to December 2025 and increase the forgivable portion to at least 50%.

 

CKCA, Laurysen Kitchens and others collaborate!

May 1, 2023

Giuseppe Castrucci former VP, Sales and Marketing may have retired from Laurysen Kitchens but he’s not sitting still. Instead Castrucci has initiated a collaboration between CKCA, Wood Manufacturing Council (WMC), National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA Ottawa Chapter), Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association ) GOHBA and Algonquin College to spearhead a one day conference in November in Ottawa to shine a light on the many career opportunities available in the residential building sector in Ottawa.

With the City of Ottawa committed to building 151,000 new homes in the next 10 years (that’s about 15,00 a year) the demand for skilled workers is only going to increase and we are all seeing the exodus of workers from the building industry as they head into retirement.

In a recent article in the Ottawa Citizen (Housing Renos – March 25 P2)  it was mentioned that 400,000 skilled labourers will be retiring over the next ten years.  But it’s important to note these retirees have plans to live in their homes, a trend that the kitchen cabinet industry has been hearing more about for some time called “aging in place.”  CKCA ran a webinar on this trend 2 years ago, you can find the link to the recorded session here.

Add this to the newcomers to Canada and demand to build more housing for them and you have the highest demand for housing and renovation the industry has ever seen at a time where we have a diminishing workforce.

Jason Burggraaf, Executive Director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association says “GOHBA is actively promoting skilled trades as a first-choice career while leveraging strategic partnerships like these to attract young people, immigrants, and those looking for a new career to consider a skilled trade in residential construction and professional renovation. Building approximately 10,000 new homes a year and renovating our 400,000 existing homes means that in Ottawa we need an average of 800 new workers every year for the next 10 years to keep up with labour demand.”

The residential and home renovation industry across Canada has found itself in a chicken or egg situation.

“Collaboration amongst stakeholders isn’t just a nice to do any more, its a must do as we all face the same issues” says Sandra Wood, Executive Director, CKCA. With CKCA participating in the collaboration the hopes is to create a one day event that profiles the building industry in Ottawa and the career paths available. We need to expose youth, parents, newcomers and those looking to change careers to the residential building sector and dispel the myths and celebrate the many positives this industry has to offer” says Wood.

The collaboration is a work in progress. CKCA has reached out to it’s local members inviting them to participate in the one day event. Castrucci is pleased with the progress made so far  “As industry it’s important we do what we can to bring new talent into our industry. We can no longer assume we will have workers. The business potential for the kitchen cabinet industry in Canada is enormous. We need to get stakeholder organizations working together if we’re going to move the dial on the skilled labour shortage.”

As Chair of the collaboration, Castrucci is encouraging the group to leverage their individual expertise because each organization has been doing work on this issue for some time. The hopes is that this initiative will serve to become a template used in other parts of Canada. If you are interested in getting an initiative like this started in your local area, reach out to Sandra Wood at CKCA info@ckca.ca.

 

 

CKCA helps establish BC pilot training program

PRESS RELEASE

CKCA helps establish BC pilot training program specific to kitchen cabinetry 

OTTAWA / May 1, 2023 — The Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association is pleased to be a partner in establishing a Kitchen Cabinet Production Worker (KCPW) recruitment & training program in British Columbia. The Northwest Skills Institute (NWSI) and Kaizen Learning Partners Inc, working in partnership with CKCA, has developed a program that will help participants gain the skills and knowledge needed to be immediately employed within the kitchen cabinet manufacturing industry.

There are considerable labour shortages in the cabinet manufacturing industry in BC, similar to the challenging job market throughout Canada. To explore innovative solutions to this issue, the CKCA program committee began talking about a possible solution to attract and train potential employees. Discussions evolved with NWSI, a well-established industry-focused training association in BC, and with the Chris Leonard from Kaizen Learning Partners. CKCA members in BC provided their input into a NWSI course curriculum that is specific to kitchen cabinetry.

The results is the KCPW training program that is delivered over seven weeks (210 hours) of classroom and wood shop instruction, using hands-on activities. Upon completion of this NWSI program, the participants will have the skills and knowledge of an entry level production worker for any kitchen cabinet manufacturer. Graduates will have foundational workplace skills such as using basic hand and power tools including cutting equipment. They will also obtain the ability to assemble products based on schematics, complete work orders, and ensure quality control.

The program is expected to attract new employees for the industry. Young people and newcomers to Canada will find the program instructive. The KCPW training program will present an accurate view of modern cabinet makers, providing important information for those who are not aware of the employment opportunities with cabinet manufacturers. It provides an overview of the diverse jobs and various careers that are available. Most importantly, the course provides some pre-employment skills training and work experience.

CKCA expects that the experience gained from this BC pilot training program will be helpful in supporting similar programs across the country. CKCA is committed to supporting its members gain an advantage in attracting new employees, especially in these times of critical labour shortages with skilled trades.

CKCA Executive Director Sandra Wood says:
“The Kitchen Cabinet Production Worker training program is the result of a six-month consultation process with our BC members. We are excited to be part of this BC pilot program. The combination of class instruction and hands-on skills training will ensure that the participants can walk into any one of our members’ companies and start work”.

Established in 1968 CKCA is a national trade association representing the kitchen cabinet industry in Canada. CKCA works to inspire progress and innovation in the industry, by promoting excellence, facilitating continuous improvement and working to ensure high standards for design and manufacturing are upheld. If you have any questions or would like more details on this initiative, please contact        Sandra Wood, CKCA Executive Director at 613-493-5858 or info@ckca.ca.

Cyber Threats are no Joke – CKCA has collaborated with CCTX to bring you sound advice

We’re seeing more and more information and unfortunately more and more attacks.
Check out this article from Smart Industry Magazine.
CKCA has collaborated with Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTX).
Please use this easy checklist from the experts at CCTX to make sure you’re business is protected.
CFIB now offers the Cyber Security Academy. A range of courses to help you and your staff remain protected from cyber threats. Remember, CKCA members are CFIB members so access their free webinars using your CFIB member number.
Haven’t got your number? Contact info@ckca.ca for more information.

Funding Snapshot: BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund (BC-MJF)

The BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund (MJF) is investing up to $180M in manufacturing projects throughout B.C. This is designed to help manufacturing companies modernize, innovate, and grow by providing funding for capital projects in all regions in B.C., particularly in communities affected by economic impacts or downturns.

Program Stream:

  • Project Readiness Stream: Funding to complete final-stage business and project planning, including operational and technical assessments. Project Readiness proposals must lead to a planned capital project aligned with Capital Investment criteria.
  • Capital Investment Stream: Funding to invest in new or renovated manufacturing infrastructure, technology, equipment, and processes, including renovating idle industrial buildings such as an unused mill site.

Funding Amount:

  • Project Readiness Stream
  • 50% up to max. $50,000 of total eligible costs
  • Capital Investment Stream
  • Up to an average of 20% max. $10,000,000 of total eligible costs

Eligible Applicants: must

  • Be registered to do business in B.C.
  • Operate in the manufacturing sector, i.e., create products using industrial or mass-production processes
  • Have established operations (at the proposed project location or elsewhere)
  • Have an established employee base
  • Be in a viable financial position

Eligible Projects: must

  • Be located in B.C.
  • Contribute to long-term regional economic growth, sustainability, and/or diversification
  • Be financially viable and leverage market demand
  • Create, maintain, or diversify stable, well-paying job opportunities for local workers
  • Have a high degree of readiness and bring direct benefits to regional communities
  • Demonstrate alignment with program goals

Eligible Project Costs:

  • Project Readiness Stream
  • Business plans
  • Market assessments
  • Operational plans
  • Financial plans and costing
  • Risk analyses
  • Operational and technical assessments

Capital Investment Stream

  • Capital expenditures (equipment, machinery, technology, and construction materials)
  • Wage or contract costs for net new project-specific labor
  • Professional, contractor, and subcontractor fees
  • Freight or material transportation costs
  • Installation and implementation costs
  • Other time-limited costs directly related to project implementation

Timeline:

  • Funding Decisions will take approx. 12 weeks
  • Projects should be completed within two to three years of commencement.
  • Program is accepting applications and will remain open until all funds are allocated.

For more information:

Jeff Dumart

Director, Client Services

Mentor Works, a Ryan Company

Mobile: 519-465-7455

Email: jeff.dumart@ryan.com 

Website: MentorWorks.ca

 

 

 

Speak up for your business – it does make a difference!

Muskoka Cabinet Company in Alfred, Ontario is expanding operations and recognized the importance of bringing in local politicians to tour the shop and to better understand what Muskoka does. But more importantly, to ensure these politicians recognize the  economic value Muskoka has on their community.

Mr. Yves Laviolette, Mayor of Alfred-Plantagenet and Mr. Stéphane Sarrazin, MPP Glengarry-Prescott-Russell MPP had a very successful tour at Muskoka, they were impressed with Muskoka and what they are doing in that region.

As Luke said “We needed to let them know about our industry and  see what Muskoka Cabinet Company is all about.  We are currently in the process of expanding our building and we needed to expedite the paperwork since we have commitments and don’t need to be delayed for some signature that might be required.”

In addition, Luke shared the CKCA prepared advocacy documents (all members have received the Reach Out, Speak Up, Be Head documents) to further support the information shared on the tour and to add more information about the challenges that manufacturers like Muskoka are facing, i.e. labour shortage.  Luke further added that “They appreciated the information and they are ready to support us as much as they can.”

Mr. Sarrazin already posted his FB page and mentioned CKCA! Mr. Sarrazin also mentioned that he is willing to help the CKCA dealing with the province, even initiating a sit down at Queens Park if we wanted to be heard!

Well done Muskoka Cabinet Company for hosting and educating local politicians. We know this is the first step in effecting change. We look forward to hearing more on your expansion in the future!

If you want copies of the Reach Out, Speak Up, Be Heard documents – please get in touch with us at info@ckca.ca.

 

Selenium Interiors on cover of Best Home Magazine Mar 2023

       

Owners, Selene Yuen and John Saunders of Selenium Interiors, a CKCA member, were proud to recently be featured on Best Home Magazine for the work they did on a home in Edmonton, Alberta.

The full article can be viewed here»

We asked Selene what to comment on this article and what was a driving force for this great project:

“I would say it is not only a great project that we are proud of, but reflects a wonderful relationship with our contractor client that goes back over 10 years. They take good care of their subtrade teams, and we were fortunate that by this point it was all familiar + favourite faces on their site! Everyone worked together from project managers to plumbers. I really think the high collaboration on this project was a factor in such a nice outcome.”

On behalf of the CKCA we’d like to congratulate Selenium Interiors for this feature and we’re pleased to see magazines such as Best Homes shine a light on what Canadian woodworking companies across Canada can do. The industry is filled with talent that is not only highly skilled, they are creative and functional in their thinking. It’s clear Selenium took grate pride in what they were doing, and collaboration was key. The quality level of this project will stand the test of time for many years.

Why buy Canadian built cabinets? Click here »