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Quebec Gleanings: March 2005 Quebec Gleanings |
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| Written by Rita Truba | |
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It was only a matter of time Governments do not go after sectors of any industry without knowing that industry’s in and outs. According to the rumour-mill of the day, prior to 1997 Revenue Quebec bought, and eventually sold, an existing high turnover flower shop in the Quebec City area, in order to evaluate losses against purchases, and to analyze all those ingenious ways florists manage profit skimming-like selling flowers without the benefit of collecting taxes and pocketing the cash and reporting the disparity as ‘shrinkage’, just to name a few resourceful practices. Growers, importers and suppliers to the florists caught in these scams pay dearly. Except in 1997, just as some 63 government inspectors were set to audit, in detail, every florist in Quebec, Lou La Venia of the AFQ proved to Revenue Quebec, with the help of all the wire service companies, that the florists of Quebec had been double taxed on wire transmitted orders to the tune of $10.5 million. This resulted in an unheard of deal-making process. Revenue Quebec called off its inspectors and no audit took place. This meant, at the time, that no government auditor would go back into any of the Quebec floral industry records prior to May 15, 1997. Moreover, Revenue Quebec forced the AFQ to advise every florist of the new calculations. Warning was given to make sure all accounting procedures are on the up and up from that date forward. As a result Lou La Venia with Teleflora and FTDA translators toured and chaired meetings throughout every region of the province. This also meant that the federal government owed the Quebec florists a refund as well – with implications for the rest of the Canadian florists, but this on-going segment is for another column. Fast forward seven years and here we go again. The grapevine has it that Revenue Quebec tax inspectors have started their audits and are coming down hard on transgressors. Of note, government tax inspectors, both provincial and federal, benefit from an original motivation program – all are under contract and are paid a salary plus commissions on all errors they find. With that kind of incentive, and government guidelines on what to look for in the floral industry, it’s a definite ‘gotcha!’ Florists in the news On December 4th Hilary and Galen Weston, chairman and president of George Weston Ltd., the Loblaw associated companies and Holt-Renfrew, flew in from Toronto for the Ste. Justine Children’s Hospital fundraiser in their honour – at the elegant home of Herbert Black. Gilbert Lanouette once again was chosen as the florist and was flown to New York where he selected the ‘appropriate flowers’ for the event, the like of huge peonies from New Zealand. It was reported by Veronica Redgrave of the Gazette that the whole evening ‘raised the bar of elegance for fundraisers.’ A total of $200,000 was collected from this very select group. Montreal Gardeners’ & Florists’ Club More than 130 people celebrated the 70th birthday of Peter Nissen of Dutch Greenhouses in Napier on November 14th at the Club de Golf International, in St. Bernard de Lacolle. Expo FIHOQ With over 6,300 visitors and 300 exhibitors’ this ornamental horticulture trade show, is now considered the largest of its kind in Canada. Expo FIHOQ in St. Hyacinthe draws visitors from both the U.S. and Europe. ‘La Journée de la fleuristerie’ also pulled in a record attendance of florists. Guest designer was Gisèle Blumstein, one of France’s Master Floral Designers. Célianne Berthiaume, AIFD of Floral Design in Ste. Marie de Beauce emceed the event. Fleurexpert of Montreal sponsored the supplies and flowers for this happening. The opportunity was taken at the end of the day’s designer event to honour Bernard Bourbonnais. Bernard has been in the industry for more than 45 years. The AFQ plaque was remitted to him by Mme. Lan, professor/owner of the Academie Internationale de la Fleuristerie, who is also vice-president of the AFQ. On behalf of Claudette Goulet, president of the AFQ, Rita Truba, Decorative Plants (Canada) Ltd., presented the Teleflora plaque of recognition to Bernard. FIHOQ graciously offered a wine reception to Bernard’s family and friends. Wholesalers’ beat On October 17-18 at the Salon de la Fleuristerie in St. Hyacinthe, Encan Floral de Montréal/Montreal Flower Exchange presented the online flower buying tool, www.flowerbuyer.com, to florists. From all reports they had an excellent response. Fleurexpert Inc. held their open house at their facilities on November 7 for the professional florists; 150 attended this event. Floral demonstrators were Célianne Berthiaume, AIFD, of Floral Design, Ste. Marie de Beauce, who showed Christmas designs; Joel Frappier, CAFA, from the Gatineau-Hull area explained the advantages of becoming a member of the Canadian Academy of Floral Art, alias CAFA. Finally, Marie-Odile Lépine of ‘Vue de la rue’ presented ‘How to create an impact window in order to attract customers.’ On November 20 the Quality Inn was the setting for the first ever Christmas dinner/dance for Fleurexpert. Seventy-five guests and staff attended the event. A novel approach to the fun evening consisted of having a non-florist guest make up the table arrangement, was followed by the Florist Choice Award. The winner was a person at the Terra Folia Inc. table. AFQ Bernard Bourbonnais, AFQ’s Ambassador, pre-registered two programs on the subject of flowers on Ville-Marie Radio 91.5’s ‘Temps Libre.’ The first broadcast took place on December 9. Retailers’ dilemma An article on time limit returns and fraudulent switching of merchandise appeared in the Gazette, Montreal, on November 23. Local retail store workers gave several examples of abuses but one stood out: “ ... a clerk was able to appease an incensed customer when he explained that his tree was not growing, because it was artificial.” |
