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Happy New Year!

The Business Link and its staff wish you a happy New Year and success in all your business endeavours in 2004.

New US Regulations for Food Exporters

The United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) final interim rules for Registration of Food Facilities and Prior Notice of Imported Food Shipments under the U.S. FDA Bioterrorism Act are now effective (since December 12, 2003).

If you export food products to the U.S. and are not familiar with how these new rules may impact you, we encourage you to visit the FDA's website at www.cfsan.fda.gov for further details.

You can also access information on Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Agri-Food Trade Service web site and Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development's web site. They both have a section dedicated to the US Bioterrorism Act, including information on the regulations, upcoming information sessions and links to the FDA website.

For additional information, please contact Donna Mauro, Trade Director - US, Agriculture and Agri-Food Branch of Alberta Economic Development at: 780-422-7103 or by e-mail at: donna.mauro@gov.
ab.ca.

New law protects personal information in Alberta

Alberta's legislation to protect the privacy of Albertans in the private sector is effective as of January 1, 2004.

Under the Personal Information Protection Act, businesses need to ask Albertans for consent when collecting their personal information. Albertans must be told how their personal information will be used and disclosed. Businesses will also limit the type of information they collect to only what is needed for specific transactions with their customers and employees.

Alberta's legislation takes the place of the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, also in effect since January 1, unless provinces enact similar legislation.

For more information, read A Guide for Businesses and Organizations on the Personal Information Protection Act.

Meet the Link

Gaëlle Gagné is coordinator of Export Link, The Business Link's service dedicated to helping Alberta's new and potential exporters.

Born and raised in France, Gaëlle has been working at The Business Link for three years. She has two diplomas in international trade (one obtained in France and one from the Forum for International Trade Training) and is a Certified International Trade Professional (C.I.T.P.).

In her role as Export Link coordinator, Gaëlle assists early-stage exporters in researching new markets, identifying potential sources of financing and planning their market entry strategy. She also regularly gives training sessions on the basics of exporting.

Gaëlle can be reached at (780) 644-5223 or by e-mail at: gagne.gaelle@
cbsc.ic.gc.ca.

Develop a Winning Business Plan

Don't miss the chance to participate in VenturePrize, Greater Edmonton's annual business plan competition. While the seminar and mentoring components are completed, it is not too late to submit your high-growth business plan in the competition.

A grand prize of $100,000 (cash and in-kind services) is awarded to the best overall plan and two additional prizes of $20,000 each are also awarded. In addition, the six semi-finalists receive an audience and thorough review from several Canadian venture capitalists.

The submission deadline for your business plan is January 30, 2004. For more information or to register your concept visit the VenturePrize web site at www.ventureprize.com.

Talk to Us!

Need assistance in finding information on our web site? Check out our web/voice support service, "Talk to Us".

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Welcome to a new issue of E-News! from The Business Link. Whether this is your first time to receive E-News!, or you've been with us from the first issue, we hope you will enjoy this quick monthly e-newsletter. Our goal is to keep you informed of upcoming events and services at The Business Link and other items of interest to Alberta's small business community.

Your feedback is welcome at any time to help us improve and enhance our services for Alberta entrepreneurs. Simply click on the "Feedback" icon located at the top of E-News! to send us your views.

Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's Small Business Information Seminars

Each month, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) offers a workshop for new GST registrants, a payroll information seminar for new employers and a seminar providing tax information to small businesses.These seminars held in Brooks, Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer are free and focus on tax topics that interest entrepreneurs.

(*) The Small Business Information Seminar is a full-day session divided into three or four modules: a payroll module, an income tax module, a GST module and an import/export module. You can attend all the seminars or just the modules that interest you.

For more information and to register, visit CCRA's web site at: www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/events/menu-e.html.

Youth Entrepreneur Training in Red Deer

Starting a small business can be intimidating for anyone, but for young adults the challenge is even greater. The Centre for Business Development (CBD) in Red Deer recognizes this and is pleased to be offering a seventh session of Youth Entrepreneur Training for adults between the ages of 18 and 29.

Students of this award-winning, free program will learn what it takes to start and operate a small business. Upon completion of their training, they should be confident and knowledgeable enough to write that all-important business plan and understand the day-to-day operations necessary to run their business.

Date: January 13 to February 12, 2004 (two 3-hour evening sessions per week)
Location: Centre for Business Development
4815-48 Street - Red Deer, Alberta
Cost: FREE
Registration: To register or for more information, please call Amy Keim of The Centre for Business Development at (403) 342-2055.

Quality Council of Alberta Brown Bag Sessions

The Quality Council of Alberta (QCA) invites you to attend their FREE monthly Brown Bag Sessions, held every third Friday of the month at noon from September to June 2004. Bring your lunch and take in this series on this year's theme "Share, Celebrate, Invigorate". Presenters will share best practices used by high performing organizations throughout the world, celebrate some home grown examples and invigorate participants with "what's going well".

This month's session on "Using Kaizen Blitz to Kick Start Lean Process" will be held at The Business Link on Friday, January 16, 2004 from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. Seating is limited and allocated on a first come - first served basis.

For more information and to register for this session, contact Ann Beaque at the Quality Council of Alberta at 780-423-6878 or 1-800-224-0848 or by e-mail at: abeaque@telusplanet.net.

New Employment Related Changes for 2004
by Rosemary Pon - RJP Ventures Inc

Each new year brings changes, and for 2004 employers will be required to adhere to the following employment related changes:

Compassionate Care Benefits
The Employment Insurance (EI) Act has been amended to provide a maximum of 6 weeks of benefits to individuals who are caring for a gravely ill immediate family member. This change will be effective on January 4, 2004. To qualify for EI benefits, the worker, who wishes to be the caretaker, must:

• accumulate a minimum of 600 hours of insurable earnings (or at least $3760 if a self employed fisher)
• present a certificate to validate the medical status of the ill family member. The certificate must confirm this individual is not expected to live beyond 6 months and requires care and support.
• complete a two-week waiting period

The caretaker is allowed to care for, or support, a gravely ill family member even if that person does not reside in Canada, as long as the caretaker meets the above conditions.

Refer to www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ae-ei/menu/faq/compassionate_
care.shtml for more information.

Year's Maximum Pension Earnings (YMPE) for 2004 Increases
Effective January 1, 2004, the YMPE rate has been increased to $40,500 from $39,900 in year 2003. Basic exemption amount for 2004 remains unchanged at $3,500. The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contribution rates for 2004 also remain unchanged at:

• 4.95% for employee and employer and
• 9.9% for self-employed
  

The maximum contribution to the Canada Pension Plan will be increased to:

• $1,831.50 for employer and employee and
• $3,663.00 for self-employed

See www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/newsroom/releases/2003/oct/1029
ottawa-e.html for details.

Employment Insurance (EI) Premium Rate Reduction
EI rate has been reduced to $1.98 per $100 of insurable earnings for 2004, a decrease of 12 cents. The 2004 maximum insurable earnings remain at $39,000.

Check www.fin.gc.ca/news03/03-059e.html for more information.

Copyright © 2004 Rosemary Pon RJP Ventures Inc

A great way to showcase your products, sell/buy or build relationships is to attend a trade show. To help you identify the best trade shows to participate in or exhibit at, Alberta Economic Development publishes an annual publication called "Alberta Trade Show Listing". This comprehensive listing of events, trade shows and expositions held across the province, is compiled by month, including: show name, date, location, booth size/cost, previous attendance/number of exhibitors and contact.

Alberta Trade Show Listing 2004 is available on-line at: www.alberta-canada.com/statpub/busdev.cfm or in printed format at The Business Link.

For more useful links to additional sources of business information, visit our web site at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/tbl.cfm?fn=weblinks.

The Business Link works in partnership with over 30 Regional Access Sites located throughout the province, plus the Calgary Business Information Centre (CBIC), to provide information and resources to Alberta entrepreneurs. To find the closest Regional Access Site in your area, visit our web site at: www.cbsc.org/alberta/regional.cfm

West Yellowhead Community Futures Development Corporation offers a variety of services and resources to small business owners in the West Yellowhead Region; including assistance with business plans, financial planning and counseling, export readiness and supplier development and office services. A Resource Library offering a wealth of information to help you plan, start and manage your business is also available.

WYCFDC provides financing to entrepreneurs and existing business owners who are unable to obtain conventional financing. New and existing small businesses can obtain a loan up to $125,000 (CF General Loan Fund). Business loans up to $125,000 are also available for entrepreneurs with disabilities through the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program and youth between the ages of 18 and 29 can apply for a loan up to $25,000 through its Western Youth Entrepreneur Program.

West Yellowhead CFDC also offers several different courses related to small business including "Self-Employment – Is It For Me?", "Starting A Business From Scratch", "Small Business Marketing", "Small Business Bookkeeping", "Small Business Finance", "Small Business Management" and "Business Plan Writing".

For more information, contact West Yellowhead Community Futures Development Corporation at:

221 Pembina Avenue
Hinton, AB T7V 2B3
Phone: (780) 865-1224 or 1-800-263-1716
Fax: (780) 865-1227
E-mail: administration@wycfdc.ab.ca
Web site: www.wycfdc.ab.ca