Mover’s Edge, December 21, 2012

Holiday Greetings

The Board of Directors and the staff of the Canadian Association of Movers wish you, your fellow employees and your families a Happy Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year. 2012 has been a busy year for the association and 2013 is expected to offer new challenges. The support of CAM’s members and the efforts of CAM’s executive, directors and committee members are appreciated.

To those of you who have sent holiday greetings to CAM by mail,
e-mail or in person, thank you.

Please accept this as CAM’s holiday greeting to you. Instead of sending out greeting cards, a donation has been made to families in the Third World.

We also hope that you will enjoy the following good-news items.

Canadian Government’s Moving Contract

The Letter of Interest that caused so much distress in the moving industry last summer has been revised. A revised Letter of Interest was released this morning. The key points that you should know are:

• The current moving contract has been extended to September 30, 2013, with an option to extend it to March 31, 2014.
• The current contract will include a 1.2% increase.
• A meeting with Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) that includes all stakeholders will be held on January 29 in Ottawa.

At first glance, it appears that our lobbying efforts with PWGSC last August made a difference.

Google Business View — A New App

We have often wondered how reputable movers can distinguish themselves from the fly-by-night operator who works out of a back room or basement office. Thanks to Nate Edwards of Starline Overseas Moving in Calgary who has advised CAM of a new service from Google. It’s called Google Business View and it’s like Google Street for your premises. It allows a consumer to take an online walk-through of your business. Check out this app via Starline’s blog.

New Membership Fee

At their last meeting, CAM’s Board of Directors approved a modest fee increase for mover’s head offices, commencing in 2013. The annual membership fee for a mover has increased from $425 to $450 per year (plus applicable tax) after having been frozen for several years. There are no changes to any other membership fees.

CAM’s Holiday Closing

The offices of the Canadian Association of Movers will be closed from noon on Monday, December 24, 2012, to the opening of business on Wednesday, January 2, 2013. During that time, we will be reviewing all voicemail and e-mail but will respond only to the most urgent.

IF YOU HAVE NEWS THAT CANADA’S MOVING INDUSTRY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT, please let CAM know and we will include it in upcoming issues of this newsletter.