Immigration Roundtable

Business Roundtable on Cultural Diversity

“Embracing a diverse workforce is a rich part of Canada’s economic history and now is the ideal time to leverage this national competitive advantage.”
–Zabeen Hirji, Chief Human Resources Officer, RBC

The Association for New Canadians is holding a series of Business Roundtables across the province to explore the intersection of immigration, culture, and economic growth.

The St. John’s Board of Trade is pleased to partner with the ANC to host the eighth and final Roundtable of the series.

The session will begin with a brief report on the findings of the Roundtables and include a 20min panel discussion featuring local business leaders Brenda O' Reilly and Deirdre Beep Ayre who have successfully leveraged the market’s growing cultural diversity into a competitive advantage. Following the panel, there will be a 30min facilitated roundtable discussion among the participants.

Brenda O'Reilly
With over 30 years of experience in the foodservice industry, most of them as Owner / Operator with business experiences ranging from full service catering, fast food, full service restaurants, hotel food and beverage, fine dining, micro-brewery, casual dining & pubs. Brenda is constantly working to make the business climate better for the foodservice and hospitality industry as well as all small business. She takes the time from her busy work schedule to meet with elected officials and top bureaucrats to represent the businesses point of view on issues directly affecting the success and viability of the restaurant and hospitality industry. Ms O’Reilly presently co-owns and operates two food and beverage establishments in St. John’s, NL; O’Reilly’s Irish Newfoundland Pub and Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House both located in the historic downtown St. John’s area.
 
Deirdre Beep Ayre
​Head of Operations and Director, Other Ocean Group Canada Ltd. Deirdre has over 25 years’ experience in the entertainment and digital media industries. In 2006 Deirdre conducted the due diligence and spearheaded the establishment of Other Ocean’s original videogame development studio on Prince Edward Island. In 2007 she oversaw the establishment of Other Ocean’s Quality Assurance and Community Management Company, Sculpin QA followed by the establishment of Other Ocean’s 2nd development studio in St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2013 Other Ocean’s PEI development studio was acquired by videogame corporate giant Electronic Arts. In 2016 Deirdre re-established Other Ocean’s production presence on PEI by expanding Sculpin QA to include development of Original IP. Deirdre is recognized for her commitment to economic and social diversification, her collaborative efforts with educational institutions and her success in recruiting top talent from around the World including, but not limited to, China, Indonesia, Brazil, India and the UK.

Sheldon O'Neill
Sheldon began working with the Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism in November of 2007 following the release of the province’s first Immigration Strategy. He is the province's first Settlement and Integration Consultant and is responsible for policies, programs, and initiatives to support the settlement and integration of newcomers to our province. As such, he has been trained in several methods of facilitation, conflict resolution, and mediation. Sheldon represents the province on several national committees and Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) working groups. He was also seconded to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) at the federal department’s headquarters in Ottawa in 2014-15.