Weekly News Recap: October 30, 2020

Weekly News Recap: October 30, 2020

Cenovus CEO Alex Pourbaix, shown in Calgary in January. Boards of directors at both Cenovus Energy and Husky Energy have approved the deal between the two companies, expected to close in the first quarter of next year. Pourbaix will head the combined company. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. -- Leo Tolstoy

VITREO FUNDRAISING ASK ANYTHING ZOOM CHATS

Join us for a reprise of our Fundraising Ask Anything Zoom events. We started Season 1 with a general conversation among friends and colleagues last April. These events proved immensely popular and we ended up doing eight in total. Last week, we launched the new season with our session titled: Pandemic +7: The Check-in. We will be continuing with two additional drop-in video calls where you can connect and ask questions of your peers and the ViTreo team. The themes for the next two sessions are below. Don’t see a topic that interests or is relevant to you? Don’t worry, join us anyway…we are calling them Ask Anything events for a reason. See you online! Register here

  • OCT 16 - Pandemic +7: The Check-in. Past Event

  • NOV 6 - The Giving Season: The Digital Edition.

  • DEC 18 - Budgeting in a 65% World.

SOME GOOD NEWS

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Cenovus to buy Husky Energy for $3.8B, designed to 'weather the current environment' (CBC) CALGARY STORY Whoah! "The chief executive of Cenovus Energy said he believes there are more mergers ahead for Canada's oil and gas sector after it was announced [...] that his company was buying rival Husky Energy. The aim of the all-stock, $3.8-billion deal between the two Calgary-based businesses is to create a company that's stronger, more resilient and operating with 'significantly reduced' risk to market volatility." Related: Cenovus to cut up to 25% of combined workforce with Husky Energy after merger

  2. Canadian Legion unveils tap-compatible poppy donation boxes (FR24) CANADIAN STORY Good on The Legion. This is an innovation that has been long-needed. "On this Remembrance Day, Canadians will have the opportunity to pick up a poppy and donate to The Royal Canadian Legion through a new tap activated donation box. The electronic donation boxes were created in partnership by The Legion and HSBC Bank Canada as a health security measure amid the COVID-19 pandemic."

  3. Teachers say return to school this fall has left them with overwhelming stress and a never-ending workload (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Our new front-line heroes. #ToughWork "Classrooms look like they never have before this fall and teachers are feeling the weight of returning to school amid the pandemic, regardless of whether they're in a region deemed a COVID-19 hot spot or an area with little or no community transmission. 'The workload is never-ending. There's no time to breathe this year. There's no time to prep. There's no time to eat your lunch. You really are go, go go,' says Lisa Levitan, a primary teacher in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, located in an Ontario region that's been rolled back to stricter measures due to a steep rise in coronavirus cases."

  4. Beloved Edmonton sports figure Joey Moss dies at age 57 (CBC) EDMONTON STORY Growing up in Edmonton and following the Oilers, Joey as a fixture. Joey, RIP. We will not see your kind again. "Edmonton sports legend Joey Moss has died at the age of 57. Moss, who was born with Down syndrome, worked as a locker room attendant with the Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Football Team for decades. He was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2015."

  5. College finds new president (Castanet) KELOWNA STORY Congrats to all. "Okanagan College has found its new president. Dr. Neil Fassina will take over for Jim Hamilton, who is retiring in the spring after 17 years at the helm. Dr. Fassina will come to the college from Alberta’s Athabasca University, where he served as president for the last four years."

  6. Finnigan named permanent superintendent for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (Red Deer News Now) RED DEER STORY Congrats to all. "After conducting a nation-wide search over the past four months, the Board of Trustees for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools has decided the right person to be the division’s superintendent is the one they already have. Kathleen Finnigan, who’s been serving as the division’s Acting Superintendent of Schools since February, has been chosen for to the role permanently."

  7. Queen's University to remove Sir John A. Macdonald's name from law school building (CBC) KINGSTON STORY "Queen's University says it is renaming its law school building, Sir John A. Macdonald Hall, after significant consideration and months of public consultation. The Kingston, Ont., university's move follows mounting calls across the country to remove monuments commemorating its first prime minister, who is also recognized as the architect of the residential school system. Last week, a Macdonald nameplate was removed from a statue in Regina in protest and, this past summer, a statue of him was toppled in Montreal."

  8. MNP Saskatchewan makes huge donation to STARS Air Ambulance (620 CKRM) SASKATCHEWAN STORY This is amazing. Thank you MNP! "The goal of renewing STARS Air Ambulance’s helicopter fleet became much closer after a significant donation from MNP Saskatchewan. MNP’s Partners across the province rallied together to donate $500,000 to STARS’ Pegasus Project. STARS President and CEO Andrea Robertson says to receive such a huge donation during the pandemic is amazing."

  9. Dealing with the pandemic with delicious dark humour — that's just how the 'misfortune cookie' crumbles (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Love these. I need to get some. "If life is being unkind to you amid COVID-19, why not eat your sorrows away with a different kind of fortune cookie? David Kopp bakes and sells 'misfortune cookies' — chocolate-dipped treats that contain darkly humorous predictions written by the Kelowna, B.C., comedian."

  10. Tim Hortons, Burger King to offer reusable, returnable containers (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Good move folks! "Tim Hortons and Burger King have signed a deal with TerraCycle's Loop program to test an option that would allow customers to pay a deposit and receive their order in reusable, returnable cups and food packaging."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. The psychology of wearing masks: Why some people are complying and others are not (CBC) CANADIAN STORY It's not as straightforward as you might think. And no, I am not an anti-masker but I do wonder what motivates them.

  2. Today’s Most Important Skill (Mind Cafe) How are you managing your attention?

  3. The First 3 Things You Should Do Immediately After You Workout (In Fitness And In Health) Eating, hydrating and heating. #ItsNotJustStretching

  4. The 7 Phrases You Should Never Say to Anyone (Personal Growth) I used to use #3 a lot. Not so much anymore. For some reason...it did not seem to go over well.

  5. Why Engineers Cannot Estimate Time (The Startup) Um...this is super nerdy. You're welcome.

  6. 19 Books That Are Guaranteed to Make You More Productive (The Startup) Oh my. I really can't pick a favourite or two. They are all great. But as warm-to-my heart favourite, "Daily Rituals" by Mason Curry. I talked about it today on a site tour. I just ordered four copies. #SomeoneIsGettingAPresent

  7. Five Jobs You Will Battle Robots For By 2025 (Marcus Griswold) The jobs of the future almost all have these words in them: Digital, Data, Information, Automation, and AI.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. The Kummer's $300 Million Donation to S&Ti (Missouri Miner) "Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) recently received an extremely generous donation of $300 million from alum Fred Kummer and his wife, June."

  2. $3.875 million donation will support the TSO’s Education & Community Engagement programs (La Scena Musicale) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. "Recognizing the urgent need to use music to help positively impact communities, especially during challenging times, Bob and Francine Barrett have donated $3.875 million over five years to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) through the Barrett Family Foundation."

  3. Lowe's Canada gives out 2.1 million in donation, $38,000 going to Thompson-Okanagan charities (Castnet) Nice work Lowe's "Lowe’s Canada is donating over $2.1 million to more than 235 non-profit organizations and public schools across the country to award those whose actions make them ‘true heroes in their communities,' and several local organizations are benefiting."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

Welcome to our recap of the week's news, articles, and information of note. ViTreo Group Inc. provides this information for the benefit of our clients, associates, staff, partners, and stakeholders. The content is collected and curated by ViTreo partner Vincent Duckworth. If you would like to submit a link for consideration, please send an email to info@vitreogroup.ca

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