Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER April 3, 2017 18 INSIGHT A NEW KIND OF CONSTRUCTION SITE STUPINO, RUSSIA — Construc- tion workers may want to start rethinking their careers after two Russian companies revealed they had "printed" a house. Apis Cor and PIK used a mobile 3D printer and automatic mix and supply unit to print walls, partitions and a building "envelope" in less than a day. e circular house measures 38 square metres and features a bathroom, living room and kitch- en. e total cost? $10,134. "With the advent of new technology, construction 3D printing is chang- ing the view and approach to the construction of low-rise buildings and provides new opportunities to implement custom architec- tural solutions," said Apis Cor on its website, adding it's "the fi rst step that can convince the world that 3D technology in the construction market is a reality." WHERE DID I FILE THAT? PROVIDENCE, R.I. — e booze is fl owing at the State House in Rhode Island, according to a state lawmaker. Providence Democratic Rep. Moira Walsh, who took offi ce in January, said lawmakers have "fi le cabinets full of booze" and she said they recently took shots on the fl oor of the House of Representa- tives to celebrate Dominican Re- public Independence Day, accord- ing to the Associated Press. "It is the drinking that blows my mind," she told talk show host Matt Allen on local radio station WPRO-AM. "You cannot operate a motor ve- hicle when you've had two beers, but you can make laws that aff ect people's lives forever when you're half in the bag? at's outrageous." But Democratic House Majority Leader Joseph Shekarchi said he had never seen anyone intoxicat- ed on the fl oor or impaired while voting. RUGRATS RULE BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA — Working from home when kids are around can always be a challenge – especially when you're on live TV. at's what an American associate professor at Pusan National University in South Korea found out recently when speaking to the BBC via Skype. Robert Kelly was discussing the impeachment of president Park Geun-hye when his four-year-old daughter came strutting into the room, followed by his nine-month-old son rolling in on a baby walker. Kelly tried to maintain his composure while his wife, Kim Jung-a, hurtled into the room, managing to extract both children. e hilarious video soon went viral — one version on a BBC Facebook page had over 86 million views, according to the BBC. Kelly later said he hoped the video would not harm him professionally. "I'm BBC Dad for a while so I hope that people will still read my work," he said. "If we're still talking about this in six months, then I'll be quite uncomfortable." NOT SO APPETIZING VARANASI, INDIA — ere are more than a few TV shows fea- turing Zombies these days, with their lust for brains. But a well- known scholar and TV presenter faced criticism recently when he was shown eating human brains during a CNN documentary. Reza Aslan was fi lming a series on world religions, but he was denounced for focusing on the obscure and cannibalistic Hindu sect called the Aghori. In the program, Aslan meets a group of Aghori nomads who smear his face in cremated human ashes and persuade him to drink alco- hol from a skull, according to the Guardian. Aslan is apparently threatened with decapitation for talking too much, and then fed a piece of brain. He later put up a promotional post on Facebook: "Want to know what a dead guy's brain tastes like? Charcoal. It was burnt to a crisp!" e segment ended with the holy man throw- ing his excrement at the TV crew as they and Aslan run away. W EIRD ORKPLACE THE Vol. 30 No. 6 – April 3, 2017 PUBLISHED BY Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ©Copyright 2017 by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. CANADIAN HR REPORTER is published 21 times a year. Publications Mail – Agreement # 40065782 Registration # 9496 – ISSN 0838-228X Director, Media Solutions, Canada: Karen Lorimer - (416) 649-9411 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com EDITORIAL Publisher/Editor in Chief: Todd Humber - (416) 298-5196 todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com Editor/Supervisor: Sarah Dobson - (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com News Editor Marcel Vander Wier - (416) 649-7837 marcel.vanderwier@thomsonreuters.com Employment Law Editor: Jeffrey R. 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Address changes and returns: Send changes and undeliverable Canadian addresses to: SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Canadian HR Reporter One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE Call: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5082 (Toronto) (877) 750-9041 (outside Toronto) Email: customersupport. legaltaxcanada@tr.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com CHRR reserves the right to edit for length and clarity. Todd Humber EDiTOR'S NOTeS Have photo ID and nerves of steel A re you still comfortable travelling to the United States? Because a growing number of Canadians seem to be taking a pass, or at least a wait-and- see approach, in the wake of the controversial Trump travel ban. I'll be honest — I cancelled a trip to Michigan because of it. A group of friends had planned to go to Frankenmuth for the Family Day weekend in February, but we re- funded our hotel stay and turned it into a staycation instead. As Canadians, we have no right to vote in the U.S. or any say in their politics, but we can certain- ly choose where to spend tourism dollars. e travel ban, which at press time was in its second version and was still blocked by the courts, would restrict travel from six pre- dominantly Muslim nations to the U.S. under the guise of national security concerns. A number of Canadian groups have made headlines for their re- fusal to cross the border anymore. One school board near the border city of Windsor, Ont., cancelled all fi eld trips to the U.S. "Paramount for us is student safety," said Clara Howitt, a super- intendent with the Greater Essex County District School board. "We really don't know what will happen to our students at the border." A spokesperson for the board put it even more bluntly: "Where one person doesn't go, nobody goes… we want to make sure no- body is excluded." The 90,000-member-strong Girl Guides of Canada have also joined the chorus, cancelling all trips south of the border. ey made pains to say the move wasn't a political protest, but it's hard not to read between the words — even airport layovers are out of the question. "While the United States is a frequent destination for Guiding trips, the ability of all our mem- bers to equally enter this coun- try is currently uncertain," said a statement. " is includes both trips that are over or under 72 hours and any travel that includes a connecting fl ight through an American airport." One school board and one or- ganization might not make tour- ism professionals hit the panic button, but they're the tip of the iceberg. The U.S. Travel Association has warned there are "mounting signs… of a broad chilling eff ect on demand for international trav- el to the United States." In real numbers, that looks like this — New York City alone is expecting to welcome 300,000 fewer visitors in 2017 than it did in 2016, according to NYC & Com- pany. How unusual is that for the Big Apple? Well, it's the fi rst time since the Great Recession in 2008 that the fi gure is expected to drop. And, spoiler alert, we're not exact- ly in a recession. Another bellwether: A travel booking tracking firm called ForwardKeys is reporting a 6.5 per cent drop in international bookings to the U.S. at's bad news for an industry that sup- ports 15.1 million jobs and gener- ates US$2.1 trillion in economic impact. It boils down to one word that does not belong in the employer's dictionary: Exclusion. Many fi rms in the U.S. have taken sides in this battle, arguing — in no uncertain terms — that the travel ban is discriminatory. We're talking industry giants — Facebook, Apple, Google, Twit- ter, Microsoft and more than 90 other corporations banded to- gether to fi le briefs in support of state-sponsored challenges to the fi rst iteration of the ban. "Ultimately, American workers and the economy will suff er as a result," said the companies, ac- cording to Reuters. Business travel for Canadians has gone from being routine to concerning to outright terrify- ing. I have two business trips to the U.S. planned this year, and I'm not taking it as a given that I will be let in. For someone who grew up in a border town, who treated Detroit like my own city and crossed countless times with nary a thought (and no criminal record), it's a strange feeling. U.S. Customs and Border Pro- tection has published a "tearsheet" that is given to people who have their devices detained. It gives a list of reasons why visitors may be subject to an inspection, rang- ing from past crimes to random searches (so, pretty much any rea- son whatsoever). It notes that, among other things, the device could be cop- ied. It also includes a disclaimer that says, essentially, confi dential business information obtained from device searches will not be unlawfully disclosed. So score one for intellectually property. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada points out that these searches can happen to people coming into Canada as well. "Canadian courts have gener- ally recognized that people have reduced expectations of privacy at border points," reads a statement on its website. Part of me seriously wonders if writing a column such as this, criti- cal of an American government policy, will come back to haunt me. In my lifetime, I never expect- ed that concern to cross my mind — we're talking travel between two free nations that have been good neighbours for centuries. And yet I will have some trepi- dation this time as I hand over my passport. HEATED COURTROOM MIAMI — A Miami lawyer had to abruptly leave the courtroom recently when his pants caught on fi re. Making the story even more unusual? He was the de- fence lawyer for an arson case. Stephen Gutierrez was in the middle of arguing that his client's car spontaneously combusted, and was not intentionally set on fi re, when smoke began billowing out of his pocket, according to the Miami Herald. e 28-year-old rushed out of the courtroom and later returned with a singed pocket, blaming a faulty battery in an e-cigarette. Despite the distrac- tion, the accused was later convicted of second-degree arson. And a circuit judge could hold Gutierrez in contempt of court. Credit: naulicreative (Shutterstock) president Park Geun-hye when his four-year-old daughter came strutting into the room, followed by his nine-month-old son rolling known scholar and TV presenter faced criticism recently when he was shown eating human brains during a CNN documentary. Reza Aslan was fi lming a series A Miami lawyer had to abruptly leave the courtroom recently when his pants caught on fi re. Making the story even more unusual? He was the de- fence lawyer for an arson case. Stephen Gutierrez was in the middle of arguing that his client's car spontaneously combusted, and was not intentionally set on fi re, when smoke began billowing out of his pocket, according to the Miami . e 28-year-old rushed out of the courtroom and later returned with a singed pocket, blaming a faulty battery in an e-cigarette. Despite the distrac- tion, the accused was later convicted of second-degree arson. And a circuit Credit: naulicreative (Shutterstock)

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