Canadian HR Reporter - Ontario

CANADIAN HR REPORTER November 13, 2017 34 INSIGHT PAYING IT FORWARD BLACKS HARBOUR, N.B. — An RCMP officer earned considerable brownie points recently after help- ing out a family, according to the Canadian Press. Const. Anthony Leighton responded to a report of theft after a New Brunswick couple discovered their two young daughters' tricycles had been sto- len. Leighton was so moved by their plight, he ended up buying the family two new trikes. "I joined the RCMP (because) I love people, I love our communities. I like to see good in this world. I believe that one good contribution to our community will lead to another," he said. Leighton's generosity was soon shared on social media, and he said he hopes the story will in- spire others to pay it forward. "We have such great communities and we have such a great police force and members in it,'' he said. "We are fortunate in this country to have such good people. is is the Canadian way.'' HORSING AROUND GEORGETOWN, KY. — In Georgetown, Ky., there's a Super 8 motel that prides itself on offer- ing pet-friendly accommodation. at promise was put to the test recently when a Canadian woman jokingly asked if her horse could check in, according to the Cana- dian Press. To Lindsey Partridge's surprise, the motel said yes. "e lady at the desk just said, 'Oh yeah, I wouldn't care, go ahead, bring your horse in,''' said Partridge of Kawar- tha Lakes, Ont., who buys retired racehorses and trains them. "I ask twice and then I quickly go get the horse before she changes her mind.'' Blizz, a grey thoroughbred mare, was then briefly brought in, with motel guests taking photos of the unusual guest. But Par- tridge said she would hesitate to keep a horse in a room overnight. "I think maybe I would have to get a horsey diaper or something like that. I think the cleaning bill would be maybe a little high,'' she said. "But also, horses only sleep three to four hours a night, so she might be trying to keep me up all night watching TV.' OUTDATED LESSONS MOOSE JAW, SASK. — Prairie South Schools in Moose Jaw, Sask., found itself in hot water recently af- ter students were given a handout with offensive words, according to the Canadian Press. e anks- giving work package for a Grade 3 class in Moose Jaw had a word search puzzle in the shape of a tee- pee — but it contained the words "squaw" and "papoose," derogatory terms for Indigenous women and children. e teacher involved had not carefully previewed the hand- out, according to the school divi- sion, and was horrified to learn of its contents later. "I feel very badly that this has happened and offer my sincere apologies,'' said Tony Baldwin, director of education for Prairie South. "I can't explain how (the handouts) came to be in the school. ey certainly should have been purged many years ago.'' Baldwin described the teacher as a good employee who made a seri- ous mistake and said the division will take steps to make sure noth- ing like this happens again. GROANS ALL 'ROUND KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — Airline passengers were not im- pressed back in January when an Air Asia cabin crew held a strange contest onboard. e airline em- ployees decided to take part in a "moaning" contest over the PA system, with the winner lasting the longest before running out of breath. But a Chicago couple vid- eoed the incident and uploaded the footage online. "As if flying isn't stressful enough these days — consider this unimaginable sce- nario… the flight crew decides to hold a moaning contest," said Har- ry Lesner. Passengers reacted with "a mix of shocked mutual stares, bulging eyes and covered ears, and confused 'What the hells?'" he said of the incident, which lasted 10 to 15 minutes. e game was appar- ently timed around the Chinese New Year. W EIRD ORKPLACE THE Vol. 30 No. 19 – November 13, 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 Big changes at Canadian HR Reporter O ver the last year, Cana- dian HR Reporter has undertaken a number of critical changes and made invest- ments to bring HR professionals and employers the news and in- formation they need, in whatever format they want. We completely revamped and updated our website — www. hrreporter.com — adding more daily news content and multime- dia elements such as videos and webinars. We ensured it was mo- bile-friendly, so you could browse on your smartphone or tablet. We struck an innovative part- nership with the Human Re- sources Professionals Association (HRPA), to give its 23,000 HR pro- fessionals a sample of our content and have renewed it for the com- ing year. We're excited to announce a similar partnership for 2018 with the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) so that every HR association member in British Columbia, Alberta and the Territories will receive four sam- ple issues — that's another 11,600 readers on top of our normal na- tional distribution. Canadian HR Reporter has also paid close attention to the feedback you've given us over the years, and with that in mind, we have some important news to share — starting in 2018, we are moving to a monthly publishing schedule. is is not your typical media story of shrinking readership and cost-cutting. As the profession grows, the readership of Cana- dian HR Reporter has also grown, and the support from our adver- tisers and sponsors continues to be stronger. We're investing in more ro- bust workplace issues, and our reporters and editors will be tak- ing deeper dives into the topics you care most about 12 times per year. As a result, you'll see more content in the print and digital editions. We also know you value cur- rency in addition to in-depth fea- tures. at's why we're excited to announce Canadian HR Reporter WEEKLY. Every Wednesday, paid subscribers will receive an exclu- sive email with original content containing a link to a special four- page digital edition. e end result is more news and information from our award- winning editorial team than ever before. Important: To ensure you get this content, we need your email address. You can go online to w w w.hr re p or ter.com/online access to update your email and password — or to enter your email address if you've haven't done so already. is also gives you access to our online archive featuring tens of thousands of articles from past issues. We're excited about the chang- es. It's an extraordinary evolution and evidence of how strongly omson Reuters and Canadian HR Reporter are committed to growing with the HR profession. Launched in 1987, we've been the voice of the profession for the last three decades. We're committed to playing an even stronger role in the decades to come. 2017 National HR Awards I had the honour of hosting the National HR Awards at the Arca- dian Court in downtown Toronto on Oct. 24. While this is the third year for the awards, it is the first time we gathered the winners to celebrate. More than 100 HR professionals from across Canada — including Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal ant Ottawa — were on hand to see the hardware handed out. It was an amazing night where we were able to briefly tell the sto- ries of the winners with videos. Now, beginning on page 13 of this issue, you can read in-depth profiles about some of the best HR practices in the country. At Canadian HR Reporter and omson Reuters, we are incred- ibly proud of these awards. We put a lot of effort into telling the stories — from flying our vid- eographers across the country to dedicating one full page of space to tell the story of each winner. It was fun to celebrate in per- son, a new tradition that will con- tinue in 2018. But the real value to our readers is sharing these stories and giving you insight into the work of Canada's top HR departments. We hope you enjoy them. JUST IN TIME FOR THANKSGIVING BRIDGEWATER, MASS. — Police in the small Massachusetts town of Bridgewater have a new foe to contend with — turkeys. e birds, which are native to the area, have been filmed chasing police cars and attacking residents, according to Sky News. But there is not much lo- cal officials can do as the turkeys are considered wildlife. Bridgewater Police put out a warning on social media, with a video showing one of their patrol cars being pursued by a group of four of the birds, stating: "Aggressive turkeys are a problem in town. State law doesn't allow the police or the Animal Control Office to remove them." Experts say the birds can be highly territorial and will make efforts to exert their dominance if allowed. Credit: Handies Peak (Shutterstock) This is not your typical media story of shrinking readership and cost-cutting.

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