By Darren Campbell -- Times are tough or so we are told. So how is the North’s service industry faring in a lean economy? We posed that question to 10 people in the sector to try and find out.

Like waves pounding against a rocky shore, the bad news is unrelenting. Newspapers, TV news programs and websites spit out a steady stream of bad news. The message: The North American economy is tanking and what’s worse, we may not have hit the bottom yet.

The North is feeling the pain, too. The economies of all three territories are highly dependent on the mining industry. With the industry struggling, spending is down and plans to build new mines are being put on hold. But the North also has a reputation of not being affected as much by recessions as other parts of the country. If that’s true, we probably have the federal and territorial governments to thank for it. Government is the top employer in all three territories and those high-paying public sector jobs (and the government dollars spent on infrastructure) keep a lot of money circulating through the economy.

However, even governments have budgets and in tough times they have to cut spending. So the North might not be as immune as we think. If we are in a deep recession, the first people to feel the effects of it are usually the little people in the service industry – like the person who cuts your hair or the owner of your favourite restaurant. So how are those “little people” doing? Are they getting burned by an economic firestorm? Are they scrambling – slashing costs and employees in a fight for survival? Up Here Business decided to find out and chatted with 10 people involved in the North’s service sector to check on the pulse of the North’s economy. We admit it’s by no means a thorough survey. But their answers do provide an indication of how strong that pulse is.

Jennifer Twerdin
Hairstylist, Freedom Hair
Iqaluit, Nunavut
Twerdin says her hairstyling business has yet to be hit by the economic downturn. In fact, she thinks it’s a business that is almost immune to a recession. “The hairdressing business has always been one of the last businesses to be affected by an economic slowdown,” she says. “They might not spend as much on retail products. But when people are feeling down they need our help. They need to change their look to feel better.” Q But Twerdin isn’t being complacent. Freedom Hair, which provides hairstyling, massage therapy, manicures and pedicures in Nunavut’s capital, is expanding. Twerdin, who has been cutting and styling hair since she was 14, says Freedom Hair now has three hairdressers and one spa owner under one roof. The arrangement allows the place to be almost a one-stop shop for hair and body care in the city. And it allows Twerdin and her colleagues to share in expenses – like power and rent – which can be considerable in the North. She also thinks being Inuk gives her an advantage over other hairdressers in Iqaluit. “Being Inuk, I have a better understanding of what our Inuit customers are expecting from us.”

Trina Rentmeister
Owner, Northern Interiors
Yellowknife, NWT
In a recession, are homeowners really into installing drapes and blinds? Trina Rentmeister says they are. “People are looking to stay where they are and renovate their existing homes,” she says. “They want to make it a nicer place.” Rentmeister says to protect herself from the recession, she’s going after more commercial work, cutting down on expenses, and even convincing clients to scale back their renovation plans. “I try to get them to do a certain room at a time and to do it right.”

Anne Milton
Co-owner, Physio Plus
Whitehorse, Yukon
Talk to Anne Milton long enough and you find it hard to believe there’s a recession going on. “If I wasn’t connected to radio or the newspapers I’d be oblivious to it,” says the physiotherapist. Milton says the athletic therapy centre she co-owns with Mandy McClung has yet to feel the effects from the downturn. Milton also advises against panicking. “If we start thinking, ‘Let’s have a smaller workforce,’ you change the economy,” she says. “If we stay positive we can ride a different path.”  

Cal Murdoch
Owner, Integra-Tire
Whitehorse, Yukon
Cal Murdoch says Integra-Tire felt the downturn well before other Canadians did. “We were more affected by the high price of fuel over the summer and last spring,” Murdoch says. “People were not driving as much, so there wasn’t as much wear on tires, people were car-pooling and we were getting fewer sales.” New computer software is helping with efficiency and costs. “We’ll have a more accurate picture of what is going on each day,” he says. “It will keep things going smoothly.”

Mary Anne Ferguson
Assistant general manager, Westmark Inn
Whitehorse, Yukon
Mary Anne Ferguson rattles off a host of events – Yukon Quest, Sourdough Rendezvous 2009 and an environment ministers’ conference – that kept the Westmark Inn busy during the winter. “I don’t think it’s hit us up here yet,” she says of the recession. Still, Ferguson says the hotel has been finding ways to cut costs. But one area the Westmark won’t scrimp on is customer service. Staff constantly improve their customer service skills. “It’s a priority and gives us a competitive edge.”

Ric Bolivar
Owner, Ryfan Electic Ltd.
Yellowknife, NWT
Two years ago Ric Bolivar, owner of Ryfan Electric Ltd., bought a house in Henderson, Nevada, a city of 250,000 people southeast of Las Vegas. After 30 years of Yellowknife winters, Bolivar wanted a warm oasis he could escape to. “Everybody is there for fun,” says Bolivar. “And the golfing is pretty good, too.” Bolivar likely needs the R and R, as the recession has hit Ryfan hard. Bolivar recently laid off 50 workers. The bear market has diamond mining companies trimming their capital spending, which means less work for Ryfan .“I’m surprised by how fast De Beers, BHP and Diavik have reacted to this,” he says. “That has strongly affected us.” To survive, Bolivar says Ryfan has had to take away some employee incentives. For example, the company was projecting base journeyman electrician pay rates would be $40 an hour in 2010. Those rates will now be $34 an hour. But Bolivar and Ryfan should come out of the downturn okay. It has a good reputation. And the downturn should also mean Bolivar will have less trouble finding skilled labour. “It’s been an employees’ market for three or four years. Now it’s an employers’ market.”

David Gon
Owner, Dziga Audio Services
Behchoko, NWT
A musician who has released three albums and is working on a fourth, Behchoko’s David Gon has been providing sound and translation equipment under the name Dziga Audio Services since 1997. The emergence of the diamond industry and the implementation of the Tlicho land claim agreement have meant lots of meetings and conferences in this region Gon calls home. So his expertise is needed and most of his work is in the Tlicho communities, although he gets the occasional gig in Yellowknife. Gon says the recession hasn’t affected his business yet. “To tell the truth, I haven’t noticed it.” However, he has noticed other sound companies are moving in on his turf. To ward them off, he’s dreaming up ways to keep his clients in the fold. One of his ideas is to not only provide the sound for meetings but to sing for his supper as well. “I’ll play my music and provide entertainment during lunch and coffee breaks. Nobody does that,” he says.

Donna Waters
Co-owner, Waters’ Edge Seafood & Steakhouse
Iqaluit, Nunavut
Kim Waters
Co-owner, Waters’ Edge Seafood & Steakhouse
Iqaluit, Nunavut
When Donna and Kim Waters opened the Waters’ Edge Seafood and Steakhouse in September of 2007, Nunavut’s economy was in the middle of a boom, thanks largely to the mining industry’s spending in the region. But the past few months have hit the industry hard, so it’s no surprise to hear Kim say they’ve felt the effects. “There’s been some decrease in business,” Kim says. “It seems people are travelling less and if fewer people are coming for conferences, then there are fewer people in the restaurant and there’s less catering.” Besides the restaurant and pub, the business provides on-site and off-site catering. With business down a bit, naturally they are taking a close look at costs and may have to reduce staff – the number currently sits at 30, half of whom are Inuit. To blow off steam in these challenging times, the sisters regularly appear on stage, guitars in hand, at their pub’s live music nights. “We play and jam with the other musicians,” Donna says. “It’s fun.”

Jeff Nadeau
Manager, Sikitu Sales and Services
Iqaluit, Nunavut
Jeff Nadeau thinks Canada’s recession could be a blessing for Nunavut. “A lot of people are being laid off down south,” he says. “Now maybe more people will look to come North and with more people that means more money in town and it can lead to more sales.” Not that Nadeau’s shop, which does small engine repair and sells snowmobiles, ATVs and janitorial supplies, has been hurting. Sikitu (an Inuktitut slang word for snowmobile) is coming off one of its best years in 2008 and sales have not slowed. However, he is cutting back on orders of big items – like snowmobiles – and he’s trying to reward his customers, like developing a customer loyalty program. “A lot of people order from down south,” he says. “With a customer loyalty program, there will be no advantage for them to order from Ottawa.”