Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 31, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 DREXEL HERITAGE . BERNHARDT . HANCOCK & MOORE . AMERICAN DREW STILL IN THE GAME... By Cynthia Brick Our sale went well beyond my expectations, which then created another challenge. With so many special orders coming in, there was no way they could arrive before our Market Avenue lease expired. Thank goodness Streetside has agreed to let us stay for another month, at a considerably reduced rent, so that we can service these orders uninterrupted. Part of the deal is that we will only have access through our rear door. Streetside had allowed us to continue our sale without closing the front entrance, which they need to do to finish the window installation above the store. If you were planning on picking up your orders when they arrive, it is best if you come to our loading door. This actually makes my job considerably easier. However, I still really miss the customers coming in, even if just to say " hello." Since I am still here, I welcome you to come in for a " chat." If you decide to buy something at the same time, I won't object! I would like to compliment my daughter, Marsha, who makes everything happen, and Ray, my shipper for 26 years, whose motto, I believe, is " the impossible just takes a little longer." I cannot imagine them not working with me, so I am determined to find some sort of employment where they can continue doing what they do best. That will be my next excuse for not being able to retire, which - as I wrote last week - I really don't want to do. I would also miss writing this column, especially when I am able to use this means to explain to customers different aspects of the furniture industry - methods of construction, what to look for in leathers, etc. I know whenever I went to buy a car, the salesman would tell me about all the mechanics of what I was seeing, and I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. Furniture can be equally confusing. Although the salesman knows what he is describing, often the customer doesn't. I want to still be able to assist customers with that type of information. So I will be keeping the column. I'm not done yet. BARRYMORE . DURHAM . STANLEY . CENTURY . BRENTWOOD Email: bricks@ mts. net Website: www. bricksfinefurniture. mb. ca Cynthia and Fred Brick own Brick's Fine Furniture DRE I want to still be able to assist customers with that type of information. I will be keeping the column. 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Call 204- 943- 6622 or 1- 800- 378- 6699 or visit us online at alzheimer. mb. ca TOP NEWS CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7292 I CITY. DESK@ FREEPRESS. MB. CA I WINNIPEGFREEPRESS. COM FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015 A 3 M ANITOBA Hydro handed out hefty pay hikes to its executives last year before announcing more modest future increases this year as it sought a 3.95 per cent boost in electricity rates from customers. According to a recently filed disclosure report, Hydro president and CEO Scott Thomson received a basic salary of $ 463,426 in 2014, $ 63,000 more than he received in 2013. His gross pay, including benefits and any bonuses he may have earned, soared to $ 485,279. The big pay raise - which followed a $ 55,000 boost in basic salary in 2013 - occurred during a year in which Thomson announced he was moving his family back to Vancouver and would commute between the two cities, spending weekends in B. C. Last month, he announced his resignation from Hydro, which is in the process of replacing him. Several Hydro vice- presidents received substantial raises - anywhere from 16.5 per cent to 23.7 per cent - last year, according to an analysis done by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034, whose members are employed by the corporation. Vice- presidents who received promotions during the year got even higher increases, the union said. Meanwhile, division managers were given a 22 per cent across- the- board raise, boosting their basic salaries to $ 168,457 from $ 137,827 the previous year. Mike Velie, business manager for IBEW Local 2034, representing about 3,000 Hydro workers, said his members are " extremely upset" by the executive pay hikes, and he wonders why the Selinger government allowed them to occur. " Every day we're being asked to do more work with fewer employees. There's vacant positions that are being left unfilled," Velie said. The local represents field staff who work at northern dams, transmit power to the south and restore power when it goes out. Its contract expires at the end of the year. Bargaining on a new one is expected to begin in September. In a submission to the Public Utilities Board earlier this year, Hydro said it plans relatively modest pay hikes for its executive staff and front- line workers in the next four years. Unknown to the public, Velie said, Hydro had already " front- loaded" large pay hikes to its executives. He complained the Crown corporation has added several new vice- presidents to its ranks in recent years while closing two dozen service offices across Manitoba. " It seems like there is a silver trough for a select few at Manitoba Hydro," the union leader said. Hydro spokesman Scott Powell said late Thursday the corporation would need more time to analyze the information provided by IBEW. " Additional information is also required in order to provide the proper context to the figures you are quoting ( for example, last year there were 27 pay periods as opposed to the standard 26... " Powell said in an email. " We would like to ensure the data provides proper comparisons, but simply require more time to confirm those numbers. Happy to do that by ( today)." The Crown corporation rewarded its executives following a year in which it earned profits of $ 174 million ( 2013- 2014). But due to megaprojects such as the Bipole III transmission line and the Keeyask generating station, Hydro is projecting a string of deficits, beginning in 2018- 19 and lasting through 2023- 24, according to information supplied earlier this year to Public Utilities Board rate hearings. A week ago, the PUB granted Hydro the nearly four per cent rate boost it sought. A spokesman for Eric Robinson, the minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro, defended the Crown corporation Thursday. " Now more than ever it is necessary to attract skilled, experienced senior executives to carry on this important work for Manitobans," Caedmon Malowany said in an email. " I understand that Manitoba Hydro executive remuneration is far lower than other provinces, such as Saskatchewan, a smaller utility with a larger executive. The president of MTS made $ 4.2 million last year, which is another example of the challenges of attracting public- sector executives and competing with private- sector salaries." larry. kusch@ freepress. mb. ca What they earned Scott Thomson Pres. & CEO 2013: $ 400,284 2014: $ 463,426 INCREASE: 15.8 per cent Ruth Kristjanson VP corporate relations 2013: $ 165,111 2014: $ 192,339 INCREASE: 16.5 per cent Brent Reed VP customer service 2013: $ 165,111 2014: $ 204,289 INCREASE: 23.7 per cent VARIOUS DIVISION MANAGERS: 2013 : $ 137,827 2014 : $ 168,457 INCREASE : 22.2 per cent Big pay hikes for Hydro execs Union rips healthy increases last year prior to rate boost By Larry Kusch A WINNIPEG man is charged with impersonating a physiotherapist at Seven Oaks General Hospital. On Monday, Winnipeg police began investigating the fraud allegation and found beginning June 29, the 30- year- old man was working at Seven Oaks as a part- time family patient care manager. As a condition of employment, he had be to a licensed health- care professional and claimed to be physiotherapist. But the College of Physiotherapists of Manitoba found the man was not among its licensees and the documentation he gave to the hospital was likely forged. The man was fired immediately, and police were contacted. The man did not have contact with patients. The man has been charged with fraud over $ 5,000 and forgery and released on a promise to appear. It's not the first time Seven Oaks has failed to check an employee's credentials. In 2008, a man who had worked for two years as a registered nurse was discovered to have falsified his registration. Seven Oaks was fined $ 1,000, and the man was fined $ 3,000. Seven Oaks worker fired, charged ' It seems like there is a silver trough for a select few at Manitoba Hydro' - Mike Velie, business manager for IBEW Local 2034 MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The union representing Hydro workers says its members are ' extremely upset' about executive pay amid unfilled jobs. ' Now more than ever it is necessary to attract skilled, experienced senior executives to carry on this important work for Manitobans' - Caedmon Malowany, spokesman for Eric Robinson, minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro A_ 03_ Jul- 31- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A3 7/ 30/ 15 10: 11: 43 PM ;