LATEST NEWS

President's Message

As we see some light at the end of the tunnel during these challenging times, I hope that you and your families have been keeping safe and well.

Our new world has meant that at CANZBA we have had to make some changes, mainly with regards to our events. After having to cancel two live events in March and April, we relaunched our schedule with four virtual events in June and July. The first one, a webinar on VR and emerging technology with Lee Brighton of Virtro, proved both timely and highly informative. Our CANZBA (Virtual) Conversations series continues with an introduction to the new New Zealand High Commissioner, an update from the Australian High Commissioner and an opportunity to reconnect with fellow members to discuss overcoming the challenges during this crisis. Please see the Events section below for further details.

Our new world has meant that at CANZBA we have had to make some changes, mainly with regards to our events. After having to cancel two live events in March and April, we relaunched our schedule with four virtual events in June and July. The first one, a webinar on VR and emerging technology with Lee Brighton of Virtro, proved both timely and highly informative. Our CANZBA (Virtual) Conversations series continues with an introduction to the new New Zealand High Commissioner, an update from the Australian High Commissioner and an opportunity to reconnect with fellow members to discuss overcoming the challenges during this crisis. Please see the Events section below for further details.

I was fortunate in being able to attend the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum in Melbourne just before the lockdown. As in previous Forums, many interesting topics were covered including geopolitics, cyber security, entrepreneurship, climate change and energy, space and defence innovation, trade and investment, infrastructure and indigenous economic development. The AusCan Forum is a dialogue between Australia and Canada that brings together leaders from the private and public sectors for high level discussions. See auscanforum.com for further information; if you would like to find out more about the discussions held please contact me directly.

We’re pleased to announce that long-time Small Business member, the SMATS Group, are offering discounts on their tax and property management services, as well as a free e-book aimed at expats, to fellow CANZBA members. Visit the Members Discount page on our website for more details and to access this offer.

Keep well and Happy Canada Day!

Nerella Campigotto

President

Upcoming Events: Register Now 

CANZBA (Virtual) Conversations: How has your business managed during the pandemic? - July 9

Join fellow CANZBA Members for a hosted online discussion to share insights and discuss how business has adapted and changed over the last three months.

Consular Update - New Zealand 

It was great to see you all at our Welcome Webinar for Martin Harvey, New Zealand’s new High Commissioner to Canada who started earlier in the year. Normally we would have held a in-person function for Martin but circumstances dictated that we do this virtually. We are hopeful that one day soon we can all meet in person.

We all know and are experiencing significant disruption personally and to our organizations across Canada from the impact of COVID-19. This disruption is putting pressure on business operations in the region, and many other operations elsewhere. A big part of The New Zealand High Commission and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise’s (NZTE) role in the Canada market is to understand how these disruptions are impacting our exporting businesses.

Martin provided us some excellent insight to how New Zealand is coping economically with the pandemic. More details can be found on our respective FMAT and NZTE websites. I have provided a basic summary below.

Considering the impact that COVID-19 has had on economies around the world – including in Canada – New Zealand goods exports to Canada did not perform too badly through March/April 2020 (the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand and Canada).

In April 2020, overall goods exports decreased by 5.75 percent compared to April 2019. But this impact was lessened given higher exports over previous months – in the year to April 2020 good exports to Canada were up by 7.35 percent compared to the year to April 2019.

Unsurprisingly there has been a significant impact on tourism and transportation service exports to Canada (which together made up 34.21 percent of New Zealand’s total exports to Canada in 2019). This will have an enduring impact on New Zealand’s total exports to Canada through 2020 and beyond.

Currently, as there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with imported goods, there is no change to the regulatory settings for trade with Canada, and no additional sanitary or phytosanitary requirements are required by the Canadian Governments on market access for primary sector products exports and imports.

Cargo movement is not restricted under the restrictions in Canada, and ocean freight cargo is still moving freely. However, the significant reduction of passenger flights by airlines (which handle 50 percent of all airfreight) will have a serious impact and we continue to monitor this closely.

On behalf of CANZBA, NZTE and the New Zealand High Commission, thank you for all of your support through these tough times and if you have any further questions about New Zealand’s response to the COVID pandemic please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Matt Ritchie

New Zealand Trade Commissioner to Canada

Member Pandemic Stories - COBS Bread in the Community

COBS Bread believes that when you take care of your community, the community will take care of the business and was fortunate enough to remain open throughout the pandemic. COBS Bread’s first priority was to ensure the health and safety of their staff, franchisees and customers while continuing to support our communities.

Over the last three months, COBS Bread franchisees have been donating tens of thousands of dollars of bread to staff and patients at local hospitals, care facilities, first-responders and people in need. This is in addition to approximately $30 million of end-of-day bread that COBS Bread franchisees donate to charities and needy causes across Canada this year.

Franchisees at COBS Bread continue to find new ways to connect and give back to their local community. The reciprocal support from customers and the community has been heartwarming and overwhelming and – alongside similar efforts from other CANZBA Members – we’re glad we have been able to do our small part to help throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

News Business: Brisbane-based company sets up office in Canada Off-beat: Australia's 'fake genuine Russian choir' Sport: Rugby is back! Trade News from Australia Violet Crumble now available in CanadaTrade News from Australia The iconic Aussie chocolate brand, Violet Crumble, is now available in Canada. The VC Cubes and Nuggets are available at London Drugs stores in BC and Alberta. Buderim Ginger Beer is available across Canada:Buderim’s non-alcoholic ginger beer is available across Canada at retailers such as London Drugs, Save On Foods, Shoppers Drug Marts and Sobeys. Brisbane-based HR company sets up office in Canada:“Even during the COVID-19 pandemic Australia companies still see Canada as a good market. intelliHR, an Australian HR technology company with a next generation cloud-based people management and data analytics platform, has just opened an office in Toronto to support its expansion into North America."