London Inc. Weekly

Written by Kieran Delamont, Associate Editor, London Inc.

RBC Place London expands with addition of new leased event space

City-owned RBC Place London is expanding, the convention and event operator announced on Thursday. Starting in October, RBC Place will incorporate a 12,300 square-foot ballroom in the Doubletree by Hilton London complex, renaming it the King Street Ballroom. “Connected via an elevated pedway to the main convention centre, the 12,300 square-foot ballroom is designed with flexibility in mind,” reads a press release from RBC Place, noting that the adjoining 4,200 square-foot foyer will also be part of the package for event bookings. “The addition of the King Street Ballroom strengthens that position by giving us the flexibility to grow with our clients and compete with larger markets like Toronto and Ottawa, where multiple venues are available,” said general manager and CEO Darrin Pollard. “This agreement ensures London has the resources to continue attracting and retaining high-profile, city-wide events that deliver significant economic impact to our community.”

The upshot: The lease arrangement is being described as a partnership with Holloway Lodging Corporation, owners and operators of the hotel. It’s not uncommon for large convention centres to have hotels directly linked into their bookings ― think the Rogers Centre in downtown Ottawa, for instance, which is largely integrated with the Westin hotel. Marketing manager Joy Gallaiford says it isn’t the case that London was necessarily missing out on major clients, though. “This agreement isn’t about fixing a shortage,” she said in an email to London Inc. “It’s about ensuring London can continue to host and grow high-profile events. We’re making sure events that already thrive here, like Tennocon, as well as future large-scale, city-wide conferences, have the space and flexibility they need to succeed in London.”

Read more: RBC Place London

Support staff strike looms at Fanshawe College

Students have been returning to class at Fanshawe College this week but may be faced with an early disruption to their studies. Full-time support staff at Ontario’s colleges, including Fanshawe, could go on strike as early as September 11 ― next Thursday ― unless a deal is struck with the College Employer Council. At the top of the priority list for support staff is job security amid an environment of deep cuts at the schools. Support staff are “the first faces you see when you walk in any academic or student services office, and they’re the last face you see as well,” said Adam Rayfield, president of OPSEU Local 109. Christine Kelsey, chair of the OPSEU bargaining team, said “the future of our work is the future of student support on college campuses,” and added that workers “need some guarantee that we can protect what’s left so students don’t fall through the cracks.” The College Employer Council, on the other hand, said that the union’s demands are “simply unacceptable,” stating the job security clauses the union is seeking would prevent the colleges from closing campuses and laying off staff.

The upshot: We already know the structural factors that are at play here: colleges have been underfunded for a long time, pushing them to rely on lucrative international student fees, which were pulled out from under them when the feds imposed caps on international student permits. Ultimately, the fact that that issue remains mostly unresolved means any strike that materializes could end up being a drawn out one. The College Employer Council isn’t concealing the idea that they are expecting further layoffs and staffing reductions, so you might expect the support staff to really dig their heels in, knowing there may not be much to gain by making concessions. “These are good, family-sustaining jobs leaving our communities when unemployment is at a record high in Ontario ― especially small communities, where colleges are an economic hub,” said JP Hornick, president of OPSEU. The province looks to be trying to stay out of it as much as possible (although one imagines that both sides of the dispute would like them to be more actively engaged with the issue of post-secondary funding). In a released statement the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security said they are “monitoring the situation closely and remain hopeful that all parties reach a fair deal that puts students first.” 

Read more: CTV News London | CP24

Local small businesses grappling with end of de minimis exemption

At first glance, it might seem like a relatively small change to trade regulations, but Donald Trump’s executive order ending the de minimis exemption on August 29 (a rule that allowed goods valued at under $800 to cross the border duty-free) is proving to be a massive headache for small retailers in Canada. “It’s kind of a learning curve every day. We’ve got to think on our toes and be nimble and see what we can do,” said Dan Phillips, owner of clothing retailer Illbury + Goose, in an interview with CBC News London. “Hopefully there are customers who are loyal there and are going to still want the product and still be able to get it. If they want to keep purchasing, it’s just that extra little fee.” Others are less optimistic. Pierre Oliver, owner of Yarmouth Model Works, a St. Thomas-based model train manufacturer, said he is closing down completely because 95 per cent of his customers are in the United States. “On Tuesday morning I woke up and I went, ‘You know what? This is no longer worth it,’” he told CBC. “I have zero interest in fighting with all the additional paperwork that we’re going to have to do.”

The upshot: The fallout from this change could be significant. Twenty-five countries have already suspended all postal services to the United States, and although Canada Post is not one of them, anybody shipping anything to the U.S. from Canada now needs to deal with an additional customs broker ― and a healthy dose of paperwork ― to get their product moving. The justification from the White House for all of this is the claim is unsurprisingly silly ― that criminals are shipping drugs in small packages. A Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey suggests around one-third of all small businesses expect to feel some impact from this change. Many businesses are not ready to throw in the towel but admit they are now facing an uncertain future. “If this continues, we’re going to see, I think, a lot of small businesses go under, have to shut their doors completely,” says Ruth Hoang, who runs Foxwood Gifts in Windsor. “It’s going to be affecting our local businesses. It’s more important than ever to really reach out to your local businesses and support them in any way you can.”

Read more: CBC News London

Forest City Velodrome set to close (again)

It’s happening again: the Forest City Velodrome is set to close its doors, just two years after it almost closed back in 2023. The facility, located in the former London Ice House, was the first indoor velodrome in Ontario, but has run into persistent financial difficulties that culminated in a decision at last week’s annual general meeting to wind down operations. “We’ve been going back and forth with this issue of whether the velodrome can stay open because of the costs for years now, and last night our final kind of decision was that we can’t; it’s not viable,” said member Daniela Liska, speaking to The London Free Press. “We don’t have enough members present to foot the cost that it requires to maintain it, that’s the bottom line. It comes down to how much it costs to operate the building.” The closure will be a big loss for the local track cycling community. The mother of Brody Mann, a member of Team Canada at the UCI Junior Track World Championships in the Netherlands, said her son learned to ride at the Forest City Velodrome, and is sorry to see the facility close down. “I’m very sad that we’re in this position,” Sarah Mann told the Free Press. “It’s sad that [track] cycling is a bit of a niche sport and doesn’t get the same sort of attention that hockey or baseball does.” An official closing date has not yet been announced.

The upshot: It will indeed be sad to see this unique repurpose space shutter ― a former OHL barn turned into an idiosyncratic cycling track (it’s shorter, and with steeper banked corners, than most velodromes). The beginning of the end, some say, happened when the Pan-Am Games came to the GTA in Milton in 2015 ― and with it came a brand-new velodrome. “The Milton velodrome, which is basically the national cycling centre of Canada, is a massive facility that the government poured tons of money into,” said Matt Newman, manager of Trek Bicycle Store on Wellington Road South, speaking to the Free Press. “I definitely feel like we’re losing something great. However, I also do recognize that I don’t think it’s sustainable in its current setup. I have seen so many boards of directors and so many committed people really give it a good go. I think everyone’s worked really, really hard, but without a new facility I just don’t see it being successful.”

Read more: London Free Press

Ontario removing interprovincial trade barriers for regulated professions

The provincial government says it is removing a wide range of labour mobility barriers to allow certified professionals in regulated professions to start working more quickly once they come to Ontario. Starting next year, professionals in more than 50 regulated professions, including architects, engineers and electricians, will be able to begin work in Ontario within 10 days of confirming their credentials, and the province says it has signed reciprocal agreements with 10 other provinces and territories. The government says this change will help Ontario “stand up to U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty,” as well as help employers respond to labour shortages more quickly.

The upshot: Industry leaders are broadly applauding the move. “Our organization is proud to be a leader in supporting this approach, having built and maintained reciprocal agreements with our provincial counterparts for many years,” said Christopher van Dop, president of the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists. Jennifer Quaglietta, CEO of Professional Engineers Ontario, says the move will have national benefits. “We know that these efforts will help to build Canada, including much needed projects and endeavours here in Ontario,” she said. “We are grateful for the leadership of Premier Ford to make the best possible use of the engineering skills that are available to grow our economy.” 

Read more: CBC News | Canadian Occupational Safety

LHSC files new $40-million lawsuit in ongoing procurement scandal

A new lawsuit filed earlier this by the London Health Sciences Centre week claims a total of $40 million in damages over a window replacement contract. The suit claims alleging negligence and breach of contract against consulting firm HDR Architecture, plus architect Vladislav Pavliuc, as well as JM General Contracting and JM Windows and Doors and its director Jaibarrat Danraj. The lawsuit relates to a 2016 project that was supposed to see the windows at University Hospital replaced for around $10 million, but which eventually ballooned to nearly $20 million. LHSC claims that this year it became aware of defects and deficiencies. “While the investigation into the deficiencies ― including whether there are any potential safety issues ― remains ongoing, LHSC has experienced and discovered significant issues with the quality of the installation and the windows themselves,” said court documents. The allegations also state that this is tied into a previous $50-million fraud lawsuit, since one of the defendants in that case ― BH Contractors, which the hospital alleges is a “non-existent entity,” and which is owned by Paresh Soni, one of the named defendants in the case ― was involved in the window project.

The upshot: This is the third major lawsuit to be filed by LHSC in the last three months, and the web of fraud claims is growing more web-like with each new lawsuit. On top of the new claims, a judge recently ruled that the 43 of the 60 properties linked to the initial $50-million fraud lawsuit can be formally linked to the court case, meaning the properties (which were alleged to have been purchased with funds relating to the claims of fraud) can be blocked if put up for sale. The fraud lawsuit is already believed to be one of the largest lawsuits in Ontario hospital history and is growing ever larger as the probe into the financial management of LHSC continues. Statements of defence have not been filed in any of the judicial proceedings.

Read more: CBC News London | London Free Press

Dispatch: September 05, 2025

A summary of recent business appointments and announcements, plus event listings for the upcoming week.

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