The human aspect is at the heart of a successful transformation. Managers play a crucial role in making change happen.
To stay in the race, businesses no longer have the choice but to undertake a digital and technological shift, in stages, prioritizing their needs. They then embark on a deep transformational process of the organizational culture that is shaking up the way things are done. In this change management, it’s essential not to forget the human in all of this.
In a recent survey carried out by our firm on the key success factors of digital transformation, business leaders reported that the workforce tops the list at 32%, far ahead of financing (7%) and even technology (4%). These results speak volumes about the importance of taking care of teams to support them through the transition.
Mobilizing your teams
Management initiates a company’s digital strategy and must develop an effective communication plan to prepare employees for the changes. However, it’s up to managers to be attentive and to act continuously with the teams to ensure that they understand the need for the digital and technological transformation underway and explain it as much as possible.
It is also good to remind employees of what they stand to gain, whether it’s the elimination of repetitive and non-value-added tasks, the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, the implementation of more efficient equipment, efficiency and productivity gains, job security, etc.
When employees are on board with technological changes, they are more easily mobilized throughout the project. Only then can the organization make great strides.
Adapting along the way and promoting active participation
It’s also important to remember that a digital transformation project is never linear. During the integration phase, it’s sometimes necessary to be agile and take a step back when the chosen solution does not fulfill its promises or when technical difficulties slow down the breaking-in of machinery. During such phases, it’s important to remember the communication plan messages and, above all, to listen to ideas and proposals to find solutions to problems and adjust.
In fact, at each transformation step, communication must go both ways in order to draw on the collective intelligence. It’s just as important to celebrate every success, regardless of size, in order to maintain the momentum.
Change management training and tools
To properly play their role, managers must be trained in change management. Businesses must provide the necessary tools for efficiently managing operations and teams in a changing environment.
To do this, they need to understand the scope of the transformation in order to manage their own concerns about the path to take. They also need to be able to measure operational risks in order to prevent or mitigate them.
Among these risks, there are always those employees who are more resistant to change. Managers must therefore be flexible and adapt their processes. It will be all the more important to listen to their fears—of becoming useless or incompetent, for example—and to respond to their concerns or frustrations. Otherwise, they could become demotivated, stop coming up with ideas, or even create a negative climate within the team.
It might also be a good idea to identify employees who are fully involved in the innovation process and make them true ambassadors within their own team. This is what helps move projects forward day after day.
Anticipating impacts on daily activities
The impact of the technology project on current operations should also not be underestimated. Managers will need to coordinate efficiently in order to avoid or at least minimize interference between the two.
A recent study by the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation showed that when change is well managed, the company is four times more likely to meet its deadlines. It also increases sixfold the possibility of reaching targeted objectives and provides much better chances (1.6 times more) of the budget being respected.
These are just some of the reasons to properly prepare your managers, front runners of this change management, so that they can assume their full role.
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While certain municipalities have introduced regulations allowing them to collect development fees—also known as “development charges”—this legal provision remains much underused by the larger majority of municipal bodies in the province.
The purpose of this article is to inform municipal representatives of this interesting financial lever that can support expenditures related to the growth of infrastructures on municipal territory.
New enabling powers as of 2016
First, remember that municipalities’ tax and royalty options were broadened in the past few years. Today, the powers available to municipal bodies to generate income are grouped into three major categories:
- General tax and fee power: according to the Cities and Towns Act, sections 500.1 to 500.11;
- Varied rate taxation and tariffs: in accordance with the Act respecting municipal taxation in sections 244.38 to 244.64.9 for varied rate taxation and in sections 244.1 to 244.10 for tariffs;
- Development fee: according to the Cities and Towns Act, sections 145.21 to 145.30.
Today, we will briefly focus on this third component authorized by Quebec, while examining some examples of by-laws already adopted by municipalities.
What’s the scoop on this new legal provision? Since 2016, the Quebec government has given municipal councils the possibility of introducing a fee to make owners who apply for a permit contribute to financing the work that the municipality will have to do to meet the increase in municipal services.
According to section 145.21 of the Act respecting land use planning and development, a municipality’s council may, by by-law, make the issuance of a building or subdivision permit or a certificate of authorization or occupancy subject to:
- the conclusion of an agreement between the applicant and the municipality regarding the carrying out of work related to municipal infrastructures and equipment and the assuming or sharing of the costs related to this work;
- the applicant’s payment of a contribution to finance all or part of an expense related to the addition, expansion or modification of municipal infrastructure or equipment required to ensure the increased delivery of municipal services resulting from the initiative covered by the permit or certificate application.
The municipal equipment referred to in subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph does not include automotive equipment with an expected useful life of less than seven years nor computer equipment.
For municipalities, these fees are growth contributions to meet capital needs driven by real estate growth, such as those related to the renovation or construction of fire stations, libraries, sewage disposal infrastructure, etc.
These “development charges” may be charged for additions, expansions or modifications to municipal infrastructure and facilities, often already in existence, that are needed due to the increased demand for services generated by the permit application.
It should be noted that the infrastructures concerned are not only or primarily for new development, but for the municipality as a whole. Furthermore, the development charge must be paid before the permit or certificate can be issued, as it is directly payable under the by-law that provides for it.
Municipal by-laws relating to development charges
To date, a dozen or so municipalities have adopted a by-law to introduce development fees. Here are three examples.
Saint-Colomban
In 2020, this municipality adopted a by-law relating to the payment of a contribution to finance all or part of an expense related to the addition, expansion or modification of municipal infrastructures or equipment.
The purpose of the by-law is to finance the expansion or modification of municipal infrastructures or equipment required to ensure the increased delivery of municipal services resulting from the initiative covered by a permit application by making certain work subject to payment of a contribution.
The issuance of a permit is subject to the payment by the applicant, at the time of application for the permit, of a contribution in respect of the construction of a dwelling unit, the addition of a dwelling unit, and the remodelling of a building in connection with a change of use.
The total anticipated fees over the life of the by-law are estimated to be about $43 million for approximately 1,364 buildable housing units in the territory. For the year 2020, the fee amount was $5,994 for each housing unit covered by the by-law.
Carignan
In 2019, the City of Carignan adopted the by-law establishing the payment of a growth contribution when a new construction or subdivision permit is issued. This by-law authorizes the establishment of two funds, namely “Infrastructure – Recreation, Culture and Administration” and “Infrastructure – Environmental Health”. These funds are exclusively intended to collect the payment of the growth contribution required from applicants.
As for the “Infrastructure – Recreation, Culture and Administration” fund, the applicant’s payment varies between $1,200 and $2,400 per dwelling unit (3 ½ and less for a 5 ½) as well as per equivalent unit of commerce and industry.
With regard to the applicant’s payment of a contribution related to the “Infrastructure – Environmental Health” fund, the amount varies between $1,300 and $2,600 per dwelling unit (3 ½ and less for 5 ½) and per equivalent unit of commerce and industry.
Trois-Rivières
As for the municipality of Trois-Rivières, it introduced the by-law requiring the person requesting the issuance of certain permits to pay a financial contribution. Its purpose is to make the issuance of a construction or subdivision permit, or a certificate of authorization or occupation, subject to the payment of a contribution. The by-law creates a fund where the assets are intended exclusively to:
- Foster and support the creation, development, redevelopment and upgrading of a park, green space, natural area, bicycle network or other conservation area;
- Upgrade or increase the capacity of sewage discharge management facilities or infrastructures.
There are many application rules, but they include the construction of a single-family dwelling, for which the fee is between $375 and $875 per unit, the construction of a multi-family dwelling, where the fee is between $330 and $1,875, or the discharge of wastewater, for which the amounts vary. The projected amount for this open-ended fund is $2 million.
In short, this additional income diversifies the revenue sources for municipalities and supports infrastructure funding. In most cases, these measures are easily implemented through a by-law and the fees generate substantial revenues. Follow-up requires little effort on the part of municipal governments.
However, an important factor to consider when implementing such a by-law is that excessive fees may slow down real estate development and, as a result, hinder the growth of revenues and the municipality overall.
30 Nov 2022 | Written by :
Nicolas Plante is a partner at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton. He is your expert in management...
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The inflationary pressures of the post-pandemic landscape have created tremendous economic challenges, squeezing businesses across the board and creating unprecedented levels of uncertainty.
Soaring prices and a range of related challenges have taken a significant toll on the economy, with annual inflation accelerating to a 39-year high in 2022, before slightly easing in July. And while it’s unclear if the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will climb or abate in the months going forward, broad-based inflation doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. In fact, the Bank of Canada doesn’t foresee a return to its 2% inflationary target until the end of 2024.
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While the central bank has raised interest rates in its efforts to tame prices, there are many related challenges that aren’t easy to solve. Labour shortages, fluctuations in demand and supply chain disruptions due to geopolitical events like the Russia-Ukraine conflict and tensions between China and Taiwan, wreaking havoc on the even the best-laid plans.
Given the level of volatility, businesses need to be proactive in managing the impacts; however, data from the 2022 Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) suggests that Canadian businesses have been slower to act than their global counterparts.
According to the report, which provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges mid-market businesses are facing, common actions to combat inflation are only being pursued by about a quarter of Canadian businesses. When taking a closer look at the 12 specific actions cited in the survey, Canadians ranked lower than the global average in every category except for one.
Dowload the complete document on Grant Thornton Canada web site.
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Would you like to reduce your income taxes? Proper tax planning should be a year-long activity. However, there is still time to implement a few strategies that could reduce your taxes. Furthermore, certain measures coming into effect as of 2024 should be taken into consideration.
The following are a few simple, effective strategies that can be implemented before the end of 2023 or early in 2024. Don’t hesitate to contact your Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton advisor who can help you determine the measures that apply to your situation.
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