COVID-19 Action Plan Dear Clients, In our continued efforts to participate in the appropriate measures regarding the COVID-19 situation, please consider the following questions: Have you been in contact with anyone that has been diagnosed with COVID-19? Have you or someone you have been in contact with been instructed by another health care professional to self-isolate in the past 14 days? Have you or someone you have been in contact with traveled outside of Canada in the past 14 days? Do or someone you have been in contact with you have any of the following symptoms: fever, cough or shortness[...]

Divorce is a challenge, especially when the decision to divorce is one-sided. Even if the decision is mutual, the range of emotions that come with it can still be intense. Anger. Anxiety. Denial. Depression. Guilt. Resentment. Sadness. Shock. For some, there might even be joy and happiness. Here are a few simple strategies to help you not only survive, but even thrive after divorce. I want you to be open to the idea that even if divorce is the worst possible thing you can imagine right now that things will become much better.Take a Deep BreathWhen a relationship ends,[...]

Create new traditions with children on the cheap.  Chances are finances are now tighter now. So, here are a few suggestions for you and your children.  Feel free to share some other traditions at the bottom of this blog.Christmas CardGoogle “Merry Christmas Coloring Page”. Encourage your children to create a card for Christmas for the other parent. First, its fun and cheap. Secondly, children generally identify with both parents.When you encourage them to do something nice for the other parent it makes your children feel extra special.It helps them to know both of their parents can still be[...]

Children have many challenges in today’s connected world. This is compounded when dealing with divorcing parents, stepparents, step-siblings, moving, changing schools, split parenting arrangements and more. More frequently, I am hearing about teenage children having extreme anxiety and outright refusing to go to school. I sense that the trend is becoming a chronic problem—that it continues to get worse. I have googled “Alberta High School Drop Out Rates” and it appears the drop-out rates are declining. Though I hope the statistics are correct, I seriously doubt that they are. To help educate parents with the challenges their children face,[...]

"New immigrants are choosing Alberta because of its strong economy, its strong communities, its strong public services" -- Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal The Alberta Advantage. This is a term the rest of Canada has used to describe Alberta's relatively low cost of living, low unemployment rate, and relatively low taxes. I'm not sure Alberta still has an 'advantage', but it's still a great place to live. Perhaps this is the reason Alberta, and Calgary, in particular, has experienced such a large influx of newcomers. So much so, that in Alberta, we now have a larger number of immigrants than a[...]

Let’s face it, getting a job as a past offender is not easy!  Studies show that past offenders are between 1/2 to 1/3 as likely to be hired as non-offenders. **1 97% of companies perform some form of a pre-employment background check 88% do criminal checks84% do identity checks69% do motor vehicle checks41% do education checksand 47% do re-screens after hiring Unfortunately, there is also a strong bias against those with criminal records. **2 85% of companies surveyed would disqualify a candidate with a criminal record that included crimes of violence84% would do the same for a candidate with a[...]