Cubicles at Global Empire Corporation’s call centre in Liverpool. File photo: Ed Halverson

Sixty-nine people who used to work for Global Empire Corporation at its Liverpool call centre still haven’t been paid severance after being laid off last March.

That’s despite an order from Nova Scotia’s Labour Standards Division that Global Empire must pay the laid-off workers a total of $193,115.04. 

After a 14-month investigation, the province ruled in May that the company failed to give proper notice of the layoff under Nova Scotia’s Labour Standards Code and that the non-unionized workers were entitled to just over five weeks of severance.

• Read the Labour Standards decision here

It closed its operation in Liverpool shortly after the May 1 ruling. 

Debra Lalonde was one of those who lost her job. An official with the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration told her recently that they were unable to collect the severance because Global Empire has no funds or assets in Nova Scotia.

“Come on. Really?” Lalonde says. “How about start protecting employee rights in Nova Scotia so that people living paycheque to paycheque feel protected by the government whose duty is to protect the non-unionized workers that are at risk for abuse from a predatory employer?”

The company says its head office is in Edmonton, so the department asked the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia to register the ruling as a judgment of the court.

They then sent that judgement to officials in Alberta to enforce the order on Nova Scotia’s behalf.

Company owner Moe Nashman, however, claims that the company’s assets are in Phoenix, Arizona. So Labour officials say that there are no funds or assets in Nova Scotia or Alberta to collect on.

“No government wants to take accountability when they can’t honour their own legislation, and that’s unfortunate,” Lalonde said.

Lalonde says she and other former employees feel abandoned by the province and the Region of Queens.

Liverpool was the company’s only Canadian location, employing as many as 120 people. It signed a five-year lease with the Region of Queens in December 2021 to move into the municipally owned Business Development Centre. 

A Facebook post from the Region of Queens celebrating its lease with Global Empire Corporation.

The region agreed to renegotiate the lease in February 2024, two weeks before the company issued layoff notices. The lease has never been made public.

In late May of this year, a few weeks after the labour board ruling, the municipality hired Global Empire’s former human resources manager.

After Lalonde told two NDP MLAs about the issue at this year’s Labour Day event in Liverpool, Labour critic Paul Wozney raised it in the Nova Scotia legislature with Labour, Skills and Immigration Minister Nolan Young.

“Recent labour board cases involving workers at Global Empire Corporation … show that our Labour Standards Code is outdated and makes it hard for workers to collect wages they’ve rightfully earned,” he said. “If this government is acting quickly to help businesses, why is it ignoring workers unprotected from predatory employers?”

Young responded: “Well, I can’t speak about specifics here on the floor for any specific case, we are working hard. We are. Look, we are working hard for workers. 
We are out there. We are doing things. Um, yeah, leave it there.”

Wozney replied: “I guess governmenting is hard. 
The fact is, our current legislation means workers are getting robbed. Despite the labour board ruling in their favour, dozens of people are out thousands of dollars in wages, due to legislation that’s been unchanged for five years under this government’s watch. … Workers need protection from wage theft, and their calls have gone ignored. 
When will this government update one of the weakest Labour Standards Code in the country to ensure workers actually get paid for the work that they’ve done?”

Lalonde says she’s disappointed that Queens MLA Kim Masland didn’t advocate harder for the employees.

“I have reached out to Minister Masland asking what are our next steps? You know, the government failed in protecting our rights. I haven’t heard back from Minister Masland if there are any any further steps to be taken for the 69 of us to be compensated.”

Masland told QCCR recently that she is “certainly concerned for those employees.”

“Those were earnings and they should be paid. My understanding is that this numbered company which is in a foreign land has gone bankrupt. So I’m not really sure how that is going to be retrieved, but do they deserve to be paid? Absolutely. And the company should have stepped up and paid those employees. But they left in the middle of the night.”

She said the government’s hands are tied.

“You can’t expect the province to pay out every business that goes bankrupt and doesn’t pay its employees. That was a private business, it’s not a government entity, there were no government funds that went into that project, so the business has to step up and find the ability to pay.

“My heart breaks for those folks. … We encourage growth, we encourage business to come to our communities. Sadly a government can’t tell a private business how to run their business.”

Lalonde said Masland’s comments are “typical and disappointing.”

“Actually that’s the first I have heard from her. … I think it’s right on par with the government’s lack of accountability for workers’ rights protection.”

She says that former employees are resigned to never being paid. Most workers were making little more than minimum wage, so they can’t afford to hire a lawyer.

Lalonde says she’s owed about $2,800. She’s contacted Nova Scotia’s ombudsman’s office to see if they can help. But she says the workers have little recourse.

“My next job is just to make sure that I don’t let this go without it being noted that our government did not protect our workers’ rights and unfortunately do not want to take any accountability.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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The Region of Queens has hired a new human resources manager. (Rick Conrad)

A former human resources director at Global Empire Corporation is now in charge of human resources at the Region of Queens.

Holly McConnell will begin the job of director of people and culture at the municipality on May 26, according to a region news release on Tuesday afternoon.

McConnell was born in Liverpool, and has spent most of her life in Queens County.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she most recently worked for Global Empire at their Liverpool call centre as its HR manager.

“Holly’s experience in leading workplace teams through periods of transition was recognized as a significant asset in the recruitment process, and she is someone with a genuine warmth and caring for the well-being of staff,” interim CAO Dan McDougall said in the release..

“Her background of 16 years in corporate human resources management has given her significant experience and skill in employee relations and workforce engagement.”

The region, which has about 130 full-time and part-time employees, hasn’t had a dedicated human resources manager until the position was created recently.

The municipality has struggled to recruit and retain employees over the past few years.

“The position is called director of people and culture to reflect our administration and council’s commitment to an uplifting work environment that embodies inclusion, safety and mutual respect,” McDougall said.

“Holly is proficient in these areas, and will focus on strengthening employee engagement by way of leadership development, human resource planning, and recruitment and retention plans.”

McConnell has 16 years’ experience in human resources positions. She is a graduate of the Institute of Professional
Management and has a Canadian Management Professional designation.

“My specialty is employee relations,” McConnell said in the release. “I derive great satisfaction helping people successfully grow in their roles and always work towards those ‘win-win-win’ situations to help drive a positive work culture.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Inside Global Empire Corporation’s call centre in Liverpool. (File photo by Ed Halverson)

A company that operates a call centre in Liverpool has been ordered to pay almost $200,000 to 69 former employees it laid off last March.

In a May 1 order by Nova Scotia’s Labour Standards Division, Global Empire Corporation must pay the laid-off workers a total of $193,115.04.

That’s because the company failed to give proper notice, as outlined under Nova Scotia’s Labour Standards Code.

In a mass layoff of 10 to 99 employees, a company must give at least eight weeks’ notice, or pay instead of notice. 

The decision amounts to pay of five weeks and one day for most laid-off workers. Two are entitled to five weeks and two days’ pay.

• Read the Labour Standards decision here

According to the reasons accompanying the order, Global Empire terminated 74 people on March 15, 2024, three weeks after it issued layoff notices on Feb. 26, and before the original termination date of April 19.

Debra Lalonde-MacDonald, who moved to the area a few years ago from Ontario, was one of those people who lost her job. She filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Division shortly after the layoff. She provided QCCR with a copy of the decision.

Lalonde-MacDonald told QCCR this week that management assured employees that their jobs were secure, despite the February layoff notice.

“There was just an abundance of reassurance from our management that it was precautionary and that our jobs were very secure,” she said.

“For many, it was tragic, especially (those) who had moved from out of province to come here and work. For my personal situation, after three years of a local job search with valid skills and exhausting so many employers in the community, it was challenging. … Very disappointing news at that point in my life thinking of re-entering the job market that had closed its door repeatedly for three years.”

According to the decision by Labour Standards officer Kyle Barrie, the Liverpool call centre lost a contract with Lifeline Systems Company on March 1, 2024, which led to the job cuts. 

Lifeline, which provides medical alert services, claimed that Global Empire wasn’t fulfilling its obligations under the contract it signed in November 2021. 

Lifeline said the call centre failed in “providing guaranteed minimum number of agents per month, the minimum number of service hours, and meeting average speed of answer obligations.”

But according to Global Empire’s February layoff notice that was quoted in the Labour Standards ruling, it needed 130 employees to cover the Lifeline work and that it was never able to hire that many people.

“Unfortunately after many promises and failed attempts to provide our client the needed 130 employees, they no longer have faith in our hiring abilities and as such will be terminating their contract with us. We are a service provider for them, and we have not been able to provide them with the service.”

It also blamed minimum wage increases, a lack of affordable housing in Liverpool, and the provincial government for not following through on promised payroll rebates.

In the ruling, Labour Standards said Global Empire didn’t do enough to avoid the layoff.

”While (Global Empire) did take some steps to meet its obligations, such as posting ads online, going door to door, and hiring foreign workers already situated in Canada, I find it has not demonstrated on a balance of probabilities that it exercised sufficient due diligence to foresee and avoid the cause of the layoff,” Barrie wrote in his decision.

“(Global Empire) could have done more due diligence prior to entering into the service agreement of November 2021, to confirm whether it would be able to meet its staffing obligations.

“There was nothing sudden about the problems the (company) says prevented it from reaching the required staffing levels from the beginning of the service agreement with Lifeline Systems in 2021.

“In reviewing the evidence, I find the reason for the layoff was within the (company’s) control. Simply put, the (company) entered into an agreement it could not fulfill. Its failure to fulfill its responsibilities under the service agreement in 2024 cannot excuse its inability to fulfil its responsibilities from the end of 2021, through the beginning of 2022, and forward. I find the employees’ terminations were within the (company’s) control.”

For her part, Lalonde-MacDonald says she’s not celebrating yet. The company has 10 days to appeal the order to the province’s labour board. If it does, that would further delay a payout to laid-off employees.

“I’m hesitant to be elated about it,” she said.

“With the appeal process pending, only time will tell. Should they be able to collect that, it would be fantastic. That would be a relief for us all. It was hard news for us to receive for so many reasons. … I’d be happy to see that we have policy makers’ support to make sure that that money’s collected.”

Lalonde-MacDonald said it’s difficult to find a well-paying job in the area. And being properly compensated for the layoff would be a help. 

“Fourteen months later, … it’s just good to know that there’s protection but questionable on whether or not they’re going to be able to collect it.

“All we can do is hope that that order to pay is strong enough, so that the 69 of us that have been deemed entitled to our five weeks of pay in lieu of notice that we actually receive it.”

She said she’s upset that municipal and provincial governments didn’t provide more support to the former employees of Global Empire in Liverpool.

The Region of Queens signed a long-term lease with the company in December 2021 to move into the municipally owned Business Development Centre building. At the time, it was the company’s only Canadian location.

Before the layoffs, about 120 people worked at the call centre.

In early February 2024, the company wanted to renegotiate its lease with the region, saying it was using half the space it originally needed.

The region signed a new lease with the company on Feb. 1. It was approved by council in a closed-door session on Feb. 13.

The lease has never been made public.

Mayor Scott Christian said he’s not familiar with the terms of the lease, since it was signed before he was elected.

He said it’s “problematic” when employers in the community are found to have violated labour rules, but he said it doesn’t mean the region should impose its own values on one of its tenants.

“I think it’s too bad that that operation hasn’t been successful and that there have been layoffs and that they never really were able to stand up the labour force to be able to make that a vibrant and successful operation. I think that that is regrettable.”

The Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration would not comment on the ruling or say whether the company has appealed or honoured the order to pay back wages.

Neither the company nor its lawyer responded to requests for comment.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson

By Rick Conrad

The Global Empire call centre wants a break on its lease in the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road.

Mayor Darlene Norman says it’s because the company is using 18,000 of the 25,000 square feet it originally signed up for.

“So they wanted the lease amended to indicate that they’ll only be renting the space they are using. And that frees that space up for the Region of Queens to do with as it wishes.”

Council approved the amendments in principle. Norman said that when the new agreement is signed, it will be available to the public.

Thomas H Raddall Library. Photo Ed Halverson

A new library could come in at a third the cost of previous designs if Region of Queens Council decides to build it in the Liverpool Business Development Centre.

Projections from staff indicate refurbishing the building to accommodate relocation of the Thomas H Raddall library would cost in the neighbourhood of $1.15 million.

Home to Belliveau Veinotte accounting and Global Empire Call Centre, the building is commonly known as the call centre.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says the municipality is under pressure to find a new home for the regional library as the lease at its current location in the Rossignol Centre is up at the end of 2024.

“Library users will recognize the fact that our present library location is on really weak legs,” said Norman. “There are difficulties with the building sometimes with power and heat. The building’s been for sale now for, I would say a year. The price has been reduced and Council is getting very nervous that unexpectedly, we may be without a library site.”

The Region of Queens has wrestled with where to build a new library since it decided to allocate approximately $3 million from an unexpected budget surplus to its construction in spring of 2022.

The library site selection committee twice recommended an area by the sledding hill at Queens Place for the relocation. Council declined the first time but decided to accept the committee’s recommendation when it came around a second time.

But council scuttled the plan once more when it came to light that close to a million dollars was needed to connect the sledding hill library site to the existing road and infrastructure.

The proposed site at the Liverpool Business Development Centre meets most of the criteria established by the library site selection committee.

It has 6,000 square feet of available space, parking for 24 vehicles, outdoor lighting, outdoor space for programming, isn’t in a known flood zone and is already owned by the municipality.

However, the nearest sidewalk is 350 metres away and the site is currently not accessible by public transit, although the staff report mentions Queens County Transit could potentially extend service to the location.

Norman says the Centre has a lot of positives to offer but people may struggle to get to the site. She is concerned if the library is not centrally located, the Region could be creating a problem that will hound residents for years to come.

“We need to realize that if we spend a million, or a million and a half, or a million and three quarters, or whatever it takes, there’s no such thing as renovating, spending that much money and just making a temporary library,” said Norman.

“It will have program rooms, it will have its own washrooms, it will have [a] staff room, it will have its own entrance. When all of those things are put in there, I would say that is where the library is going to stay for decades.”

Council heard the presentation from staff and will decide at a future meeting whether they will go forward with the Call Centre location for the new library.

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E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Thomas H. Raddall Library. Photo credit Ed Halverson

Municipal staff have suggested building the new library close to the Region of Queens administrative office.

In a release issued, Thursday Nov 16, staff say the Liverpool Business Development Center, on Harley Umphrey Drive, “offers an ideal space, including ample parking, access to green spaces, and more room for programming.”

Another benefit of the proposed relocation is that the Liverpool Business Development Center is owned by the Region of Queens.

The library’s lease in their current location at the Rossignol Centre in Liverpool is set to expire at the end of 2024.

Municipalities are responsible for providing space to locate regional libraries in Nova Scotia. Finding a new site to relocate the library has proved contentious for Region of Queens Council.

In the 2022/23 budget, Council voted to use part of a $3 million surplus from the federal and provincial governments to build a new library. A committee was struck shortly after to recommend a site. Their unanimous choice was that it should be located at Queens Place.

Council initially rejected that option in June of 2022 and asked the committee to come back with another recommendation.  Councillors raised concerns at the time that the location would be too remote for people coming from the Liverpool area.

In January 2023, the committee again determined the Queens Place site was best and this time Council approved their recommendation and agreed to build the new library on the Queens Place location.

However, in March, Council rescinded that approval in a recorded 5-3 vote after learning the estimated cost of extending the driveway to the proposed site would be $950,000.

If Council agrees to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Center, it will join existing tenants Belliveau Veinotte Accountants and Global Empire Call Centre.

In July of this year, Council awarded a $2,031,273 tender to Sea Coast HVAC for the installation of a new HVAC system at the Liverpool Business Development Center.

A draft design concept for the new library will be presented to Council for its consideration. If they agree to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Center more design work will be required before renovations begin.

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E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens will spend $1.9 million to fix the ailing cooling system at the Liverpool Business Development Centre.

Better known locally as the call centre building, the municipally owned property on Harley Umphrey Drive is home to Global Empire call centre and Belliveau Veinotte Inc accountants.

Mayor Darlene Norman says as the landlord, the Region needs to provide a safe environment for the 100 plus people who go to work in the building every day.

“It’s a lot of money. It’s what happens when you’re a landlord. You know, what’s our other choice? Shut the building down, break our leases, hold our breath and hope that the thing doesn’t break again and then when it breaks again and then when it does, we have no solution for air conditioning?” said Norman. “It’s a lot of money to spend on a building. The building is not even worth that much money. However, it’s a business, it’s a building, it’s employing people, they’re good people in there working.”

A staff report indicates in its 20-year lifespan the HVAC unit has required numerous repairs, over and above what is considered normal maintenance.

The unit is approaching the end of its serviceable life and parts are becoming almost impossible to find.

DUMAC Energy Limited was hired in February to conduct a study of the Centre’s HVAC system which produced two recommendations: install a new single facility system estimated at $1.2 million or a four-quadrant system estimated at $1.5 million before structural upgrades and design work is considered.

Half the cost will come from a special operating reserve while the Region will need to borrow money to cover the other half.

Norman says that borrowing could mean a small increase to resident’s property tax bill in the coming years.

“I believe it could roughly be two to three cents, which is what we dropped the rate down by this year. But, interest rates, who knows what they’ll be at the point in time.”

Norman says staff will begin working to resolve the HVAC issues right away but because of worldwide supply-chain issues she doesn’t expect the new equipment will be in place this summer.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Inside Global Empire Call Centre. Photo Ed Halverson

An aging heating and ventilation system has the Region of Queens looking at selling the Liverpool Development Business Centre.

The centre is home to chartered accountants Belliveau Veinotte Inc. and Global Empire Call Centre.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says the HVAC system was installed as part of the original 2003 construction and has reached the end of its usefulness.

“It serves the entire building. It’s been band-aided, it’s been fixed. What on Earth are we going to do with it?” asked Norman.

HVAC technicians have examined the building and presented council with two options: replace the existing unit with one large unit to again service the entire building or split the building into zones and install four units.

Norman says both options are pricy.

Installation and renovation costs are projected to range between a million and two million dollars.

Council discussed how long it will take to pay that off based on the rental guarantees in place with the existing tenants.

Norman says before deciding on which way to go council have asked staff to bring back other options.

“Rather than make a decision, staff have been asked to approach one of the tenants who has expressed public interest in purchasing that building.”

Norman says staff will report back at the next council meeting whether the building should be put up for sale.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Nova Scotia Vice President Trevor LaPlante, Queens Mayor Darlene Norman and Owner Moe Nashman officially open the Liverpool call centre, April 4, 2022. Photo Ed Halverson

One of the largest private sector employers in Queens County is asking where his employees will find a place to live.

President and owner of Global Empire Corporation Moe Nashman made the comments at an event celebrating the grand opening of their call centre on White Point Road in Liverpool, Monday.

The call centre employs 120 people and Nashman says he would love to double that number.

“There’s a lot of people that want to work and for me to bring them from out of town into town, I can offer them employment and I know Sobeys and all the other grocery stores can offer them food, we just need to know where they live,” said Nashman. “If I could offer them housing, I could fill this place in five minutes.”

Global Empire already has call centres in Orlando, Florida and Boise, Idaho.

Liverpool is the company’s first call centre in Canada.

As he provided a tour of the refurbished facility, Nashman pointed to the rows of cubicles that filled half a large, open workspace.

Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson

He says the company has already ordered the furniture and equipment to fill the rest of the space.

“I would like to start hiring by the end of the year for the second half, but I do need to figure out the accommodation/housing for employees,” said Nashman.

Most of the call centre employees live within the Region of Queens but roughly 20 commute from outside the municipality with some travelling as much as an hour and a half each way.

Nashman is hoping to speak with provincial officials to learn what can be done to make housing more available.

“In five minutes, I could load an airplane full of people that want to come to Nova Scotia. Where they [are] going to live, I have no idea and that’s the biggest problem,” said Nashman.

He says an influx of a couple of hundred people to the area would benefit the region and the province as a whole.

As the tour concluded, Nashman added the company is still looking to hire another 10 people this round and is accepting applications.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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