Uncategorized•
on October 23rd, 2010•
People may not realize, but, the proposed convention centre will be almost entirely underground – not too unlike the current trade centre, with no windows and no view. However, it seems that every conference I go to, between answering my phone, coffee breaks, lunches, coming and going, nearly half the time at a conference is spent in common areas. That’s why, visionary cities put their convention centres in a location that highlights the natural wealth and beauty of their cities.
Conferences and meetings are rarely about presenting information at their core – they are about inspiring, creating passion, presenting excellence, moving to action! The design of our convention centre should reflect this. We need to see the water and the sky! Especially with the future of our economy in nova scotia so tied to our largest and fastest growing industry – aerospace and defence with its close ties to the Navy. Also, we need to use our scarce public $ to create inspiring, suitable buildings.
Turning to the financial and ownership deal proposed in the current location, it is just plain bad: we pay $159 million for a largely underground facility, we have no public say in the exterior design (remember the current proposal would be privately owned), after a 25 year lease agreement, we will not own the building, the building owner will be tax exempt and has no obligation to build the proposed towers, which I thought was the point in the first place.
We need to communicate the message to our councillors that we don’t want what’s on the table, we want our tax dollars spent on something much better.
May Halifax grow and prosper for its next 250 years! And, may we be visionary, smart and ever mindful of our natural environment and how it bring us wealth and prosperity.
Bryan
Uncategorized•
on October 15th, 2010•
While there are indications that the convention business may not be a really great growth business or the best business to be in (see http://www.straight.com/article-216510/gor…), I believe that taxpayer money can be well spent on a new convention centre which would serve to make Halifax more attractive, serve as a landmark and spur additional development downtown.
That said, I have a number of concerns with the current proposal:
- the proposal seems to be putting too many eggs in one basket
- in my opinion, outside of the heritage and view plane arguments, the size of the building doesnt suit that area of Halifax. All of the buildings going south from the current WTCC to Spring Garden are 3-7 story buildings, and many of them have the same brick facade
- the convention centre is in the basement which is not a good design choice for a number of reasons. (though, it will be a nice gift by the taxpayers of building a foundation for Rank’s new building if it goes ahead)
- there is no green space
- other locations were never mentioned really. why not cogswell interchange? more importantly, why not the waterfront – this is what we are know for and its not suprising that Vancouver, Ottawa, even Charlottetown have/are building new convention centres on their waterfronts. If there is no waterfront space, how about ripping down the Metro Centre, getting us a new arena and a new convention centre at the same time?
- even the untrained eye can tell that vancouver and ottawa designs are world class and incorporate many features of good design that the current proposal does not
I have no problem with the budget, perhaps its even too low. But, lets hire great, world class designers and do this project right, making it something that Nova Scotians and our guests can rave and be proud about for decades to come. Lets not regret poor planning, design and decision making.
Lets do something really unique! Strive for more than a desperation mentality and envision our city as something greater. Here are some examples:
Quebec City has a nice looking convention centre either http://www.convention.qc.ca/tiki-index.php…
Ottawa’s new convention centre is gorgeous http://ottawaconventioncentre.com/en
Vancouver’s convention center is very nicely designed on the waterfront too…http://www.vancouverconventioncentre.com/thefacilities/
Even little old Charlottetown has a convention centre with a unique look which stands out and is on their harbour. The coast guard is giving up some land to make it happen – i think we could find some land on the harbour somewhere -http://www.gov.pe.ca/tourism/index.php3?nu…
See more at…
http://www.thecoast.ca/RealityBites/archives/2010/10/12/why-the-convention-centre-sucks-part-1&cb=344176840cd4e85ae4eb420922ad1a59&sort=desc#readerComments
Uncategorized•
on April 5th, 2010•
Bryan W. Burns, MEC, B. Comm., CHRP
Bryan W. Burns
President & CEO, HRO Core Inc.
Education
Master of Electronic Commerce, Dalhousie University (2005)Bachelor of Commerce, Saint Mary’s University (1993)
Career Focus
Management, consulting, entrepreneur, employee benefits, training, coaching, emotional intelligence, HRO, BPO, Outsourcing, International Business, Business Development
Bryan W. Burns is CEO and Founder of HRO Core Inc. – Benefits and Human Capital Solutions. His career is focused in generalist human resource service delivery, international business and management consulting both domestically and internationally.
His over fifteen years experience in advising business, non-profit and government organizations on employee benefits, payroll, training and coaching, includes a range of management and HR projects including wellness initiatives, employee and family assistance plans (EAP), benefits, recruitment and hiring, training, organizational development and leadership. Bryan also has experience in project management, economic development, marketing, eCommerce, e-Supply chain and outsourcing.
Prior to founding HRO Core Inc., Bryan served as Vice President for a Canadian health benefits outsourcing company leading the company’s operations and service delivery in Eastern Canada to small businesses, corporate clients and the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Department of Community Services dental plans. He has also served as Director of a U.K. based Emotional Intelligence (EI) training and coaching firm.
He is the author of BPO and HRO: Foundations for Today’s Enterprise – a review of human resource outsourcing and business process outsourcing and is accredited in the Bar-On EQi and the IHHP EI 360, training and assessment tools. He is a Director of the Aerospace Industries Association of Nova Scotia (ADIANS) and Co-President of the Halifax Branch of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA). He has a Master of Electronic Commerce from Dalhousie University (2005) and a Bachelor of Commerce from Saint Mary’s University (1993). Since incorporating HRO Core Inc. in 2005, he has worked in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia on various client assignments.
Selected HR Generalist Experience and Activities
- Conducted a salary reviews including recommendations on compensation for the President, Vice-President, senior management and staff for a small technology company.
- Assisted a metal fabrication company to create pay scales for hourly machinists and other staff members including creation of a variety of pay ‘bands’ and process for moving from entry level through successive bands.
- Audited, updated and delivered 5S training to a manufacturing company.
- Completed a HR and Management Audit for a Dartmouth based health care organization including employee surveys, creation of HR business processes and documents, pay policies, lieu time policies, family time, etc.
- Completed job analysis and creation of job descriptions and job evaluation processes for a variety of clients.
- Worked for a leading training and career development provider in delivering emotional intelligence training and coaching services to leading consulting, financial services and manufacturing companies in the UK.
- Accredited user of two leading measures of emotional intelligence – a key determinant of sales and leadership success; the Bar-On EQi and the IHHP EI 360.
- Completed recruiting assignments and recruitment process outsourcing assignments.
- Licensed insurance broker with more than 7 years experience in group employee benefits and benefits administration services. He has expertise in a variety of health benefit issues and options including flex benefits, administrative services only plans (ASO), stop loss insurance, drug plans, employee assistance plans and other benefits and retirement savings plans and issues.
- Completed a Workforce Strategy and Implementation plan for the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Nova Scotia Human Resources Partnership, which included a review of existing activities, identification of industry best practices, strategy development and implementation planning.
- Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP), in progress.