Interview opportunities from the January Report on Business magazine

TORONTO, Dec. 30 /CNW/ - Today, Report on Business magazine releases the 11th annual list of the Fifty Best Employers in Canada and looks at how the best organizations ensure employee engagement over the span of their careers. This year's Fifty Best Employers represent a range of industries and sectors, including financial services firm Edward Jones, computer hardware company Cisco Canada, WestJet airline, and Edmonton's PCL Constructors Inc. which took the number one spot. One capability all 50 share is knowing what it takes to inspire greatness from employees and keep them engaged in the success of the business. In this edition of the highly anticipated rankings, writer Steve Brearton examines how companies engage employees at different career stages. "Right from the honeymoon phase, individuals assess whether promises made during contract negotiations are being kept," said Neil Crawford, leader of the Fifty Best Employers study at Hewitt Associates. "It's easy to admire and respect your new boss, but the best employers continue to evaluate the relationship with their employees throughout their careers and long after the honeymoon is over." The Top 10 companies in this year's Fifty Best Employers in Canada ranking are:

1. PCL Constructors Inc., Edmonton. After coming in a close second last year, the Alberta construction and engineering firm with more than 2000 employees takes the number one spot. 2. EllisDon Corp., London. The 1900-person construction and engineering firm continues to score among the best, coming in second place. 3. Cisco Canada, Toronto. The information technology and communications company has the highest new entry in the top ten and has over 1,200 employees in Canada. 4. Bennett Jones LLP, Calgary. The law firm has over 900 staff and continues to appear among the top ten. 5. CIMA+, Montreal. The engineering firm with over 1,100 employees remains in fifth place for a second year in a row. 6. WestJet, Calgary. The airline is a new entry into the top ten for 2009 and boasts over 7,500 employees. 7. JTI-Macdonald Corp., Mississauga. The tobacco company is a new entry and has more than 450 employees. 8. BC Biomedical Laboratories Ltd., Surrey. The health care services firm moves up from ninth last year to eighth this year. BC Biomedical has over 650 employees. 9. Farm Credit Canada, Regina. The Saskatchewan financial services company has more than 1,400 employees. 10. Edward Jones, Mississauga. The financial services brokerage firm employs over 1,900 people and consistently lands in the top ten.

The Fifty Best Employers in Canada study, where employees determine the ranking, is conducted by Report on Business magazine and Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company. This year, 134 organizations registered to participate in the study. More than 100,000 employees and 1,200 leaders completed the confidential surveys designed to measure employee engagement and how closely leaders and employees work together toward a common vision, as well as the collective energy that goes into making an organization a best employer. To be eligible for the Fifty Best Employers in Canada, organizations must have at least 400 permanent employees in Canada, and have operated here for at least three years.

Also in this issue of Report on Business magazine:

To have, not have not

Saskatchewan has always been viewed as a great place to grow stuff, specifically wheat. It has also had the highest population growth in 50 years. So can the prairie province shed its long-standing have-not status by letting the seeds of capitalism start to bloom? Writer John Gray takes us to the small town of Allan, talks with Mayor Larry Sommerfeld, and discusses whether Saskatchewan can be the next economic powerhouse.

Astral projections

Ian Greenberg may not be the biggest showman in Canada's media industry- but as Montreal-based Astral mounts its national power play, he's definitely the mogul worth watching. Writer Grant Robertson examines the family photofinishing company, founded half a century ago, and whether they are one acquisition away from becoming Canada's next media empire.

Report on Business magazine is Canada's most-read business publication. Published on the last Friday of every month in The Globe and Mail, Report on Business magazine offers readers insightful, award-winning coverage of Canadian and global business and economics and is available with copies of The Globe and Mail and online at www.reportonbusiness.com/magazine. The Globe and Mail is a division of CTVglobemedia, a dynamic multimedia company that also owns CTV, Canada's leading private broadcaster.

For further information: For the full list of the Fifty Best Employers in Canada or to arrange an interview please contact: Jill Anzarut - Environics Communications, janzarut@environicspr.com, (416) 969-2708

    OTTAWA, le 8 déc. /CNW/ - Dans une présentation conjointe historique au
CRTC aujourd'hui, les P.D.G. de CTV, Global et SRC-CBC ont comparu ensemble
pour la première fois et proposé une solution favorisant d'abord les
consommateurs qui assure tous les Canadiens de services de télévision
abordables, accessibles et viables.
    "Les consommateurs et téléspectateurs canadiens méritent un choix et un
nouveau faisceau de canaux de base est un début, a dit Hubert T. Lacroix,
président directeur général de CBC/Radio-Canada. Avec un tarif plafonné
réglementé, les Canadiens seront à l'abri de hausses de tarifs pour un nombre
restreint de canaux de base, comprenant les canaux de télévision locale que
les consommateurs exigent et auxquels ils s'attendent."
    "Les Canadiens regardent les nouvelles et la programmation de la
télévision locale et les soutiennent; ces consultations l'ont clairement
établi, a dit Ivan Fecan, président directeur général de CTVglobemedia et
directeur général de CTV Inc. Nous voulons continuer de servir les
téléspectateurs canadiens et la mise en oeuvre d'un régime de négociation de
la valeur créera une situation équitable pour tous et un avenir viable pour
la télévision locale."
    "Les téléspectateurs de la télévision locale méritent d'avoir accès aux
stations locales pour lesquelles ils paient déjà, a dit Leonard Asper,
président directeur général de Canwest Global Communications Corp. Notre
solution fera pencher la balance du côté du consommateur et assurera que les
téléspectateurs ont accès à la télévision locale qu'ils exigent."
    Au cours du processus officiel de consultation menant aux audiences
actuelles convoquées sur les instructions du gouvernement du Canada, plus de
130 000 Canadiens ont soumis au CRTC des remarques favorables à la télévision
locale et à son droit de négocier avec les compagnies de câble et de
satellite. Les télédiffuseurs du Canada continuent d'être inondés de lettres
de soutien des consommateurs et des téléspectateurs d'un océan à l'autre.

À propos de Ma Télé Locale - J'Y Tiens:

    Ma Télé Locale - J'Y Tiens est une campagne lancée par les télédiffuseurs
canadiens pour la protection et la préservation de la télévision locale pour
les téléspectateurs du Canada. La campagne encourage les Canadiens à faire
entendre leur voix à l'appui de la télévision locale en se joignant à la
conversation à www.localtvmatters.ca.

Renseignements: Bonnie Brownlee, vice-présidente directrice de CTV,
Communications au (416) 384-7190 ou Bonnie.Brownlee@ctv.ca; John Douglas,
vice-président principal de Canwest, Affaires publique au (204) 227-1846 ou
jdouglas@canwest.com; Jeff Keay, chef des relations avec les médias, SRC au
(416) 205-3987 ou jeff.keay@cbc.ca

 ROB Magazine profiles Chrysler's White Knight

TORONTO, Nov. 27 /CNW/ - No other auto executive has gone from relative obscurity to international stardom as quickly as Sergio Marchionne. A year ago, he was the boss of Europe's sixth-largest carmaker - a relative nonentity. Today as CEO of Fiat and Chrysler Group, he is single-handedly shaking up the global auto industry. In the depths of the worst auto recession since the Second World War, most car companies went into survival mode - but Marchionne went on the offensive. Opinions about his chances of success vary, but Marchionne is admired for his ambition and vision. He saw synergies in two radically different companies - synergies that he expects will save billions. Marchionne predicts only six large auto groups will survive globally, and he fully expects Fiat-Chrysler to be among them. Last summer, Chrysler was in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy lockbox, and Fiat, while profitable, was considered too small to thrive on its own. What a difference a year makes. In the December issue of Report on Business magazine, available today, writer Eric Reguly takes an in-depth look at CEO of the Year, Sergio Marchionne and whether he can turn around Chrysler.

Also in this issue:

Mink dynasty - A global recession and animal rights activists have devastated the fur market in Europe and North America. Not so in China, where a Canadian company is leading the charge. Is the fur craze that has gripped China's bling-obsessed new-rich a bubble? Probably - but Toronto furrier Diane Benedetti and the rest of the struggling North American industry want to ride it as long as possible. Writer Chris Nuttall-Smith takes a closer look at the marketing arm of Toronto-based North American Fur Auctions, the world's No. 3 fur auction house.

37 minutes equal $150,000 worth of history - Thanks to communications companies like Calgary-owned tinePublic Inc, old political lions like Bill Clinton and Tony Blair are earning more speaking to business audiences than they did running countries. Writer Don Gillmor examines why the public loves the political stars of yesteryear and why a little company from Calgary is only too happy to bring them together.

Report on Business magazine is Canada's most-read business publication. Published on the last Friday of every month in The Globe and Mail, Report on Business magazine offers readers insightful, award-winning coverage of Canadian and global business and economics and is available with copies of The Globe and Mail and online at www.reportonbusiness.com/magazine. The Globe and Mail is a division of CTVglobemedia, a dynamic multimedia company that also owns CTV, Canada's leading private broadcaster.

For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact: Jennifer Hills, jhills@environicspr.com, (416) 969-2669; Sheryl So, sso@environicspr.com, (416) 969-2725