Leading Employers Aren't Resting: Winners of the 2009 Canada's Top 100 Employers Competition are Announced

    TORONTO, Oct. 2 /CNW/ - The authors of the annual list of Canada's Top
100 Employers have released their 2009 winners and this year's results are
remarkable. "Even amid the market uncertainties we've seen over the past
year," says Managing Editor Richard Yerema, "forward-thinking employers are
redoubling their efforts to improve working conditions for employees who help
them weather these economic storms." The result is an exceptional list (shown
below) of employers that lead their industries in attracting and retaining top
talent.
    Now in its 9th year, the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers competition
recognizes employers that are industry leaders at attracting and retaining
employees. The competition is organized by Mediacorp Canada Inc., the nation's
largest publisher of employment-related periodicals and online directories.
    To develop this year's Top 100 list, Mediacorp examined the recruitment
histories of over 75,000 employers across Canada that it tracks for its
popular job search site, Eluta.ca. From this initial group, Mediacorp invited
10,000 of the fastest-growing employers, plus 6,000 other companies and
organizations in industries that Mediacorp editors wanted to examine more
closely, to apply for this year's competition. Employers were asked to
complete an extensive application process that included a detailed review of
their operations and HR practices. Over 2,000 employers started this year's
application process.
    In reviewing each employer's application, Yerema and his editorial team
reviewed eight key areas: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere &
Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5)
Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills
Development; and (8) Community Involvement. These criteria have remained
consistent throughout the nine years of the Canada's Top 100 Employers
project.
    The editors' internal grades for each of these eight areas - with
supporting reasons - are now published on Mediacorp's popular job search site,
Eluta.ca. "Publishing detailed reasons for selection," says Publisher Anthony
Meehan, "is a distinguishing feature of the Canada's Top 100 Employers
competition. Besides providing transparency, it allows other employers to
discover what these special organizations are doing - and to emulate these
best practices."
    In choosing the finalists, Yerema and the editorial team considered how
each employer compared to others in its industry and region. This year's list
includes large and small employers from a range of industries, offering
varying benefits and working conditions. What is common to all winners is that
each is an industry leader: from architectural firms to community housing
agencies, the employers chosen this year are leaders in their industry in
attracting and retaining quality employees.
    "This year was the most competitive since starting the Canada's Top 100
Employers project almost a decade ago," says Yerema. "We received a record
number of applications from employers and our benchmarks for the areas we
consider have increased in all industries and regions. These employers are
leading the nation."

    About Mediacorp

    Mediacorp Canada Inc. is a specialized publisher of quality employment
periodicals and manages the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers competition. The
company publishes directories and guides that let job-hunters find great
employers and interesting new job opportunities in their field. Since 1992,
over one million of Mediacorp's job-hunting guides have been sold. Mediacorp
also operates the popular job search engine, Eluta.ca, which lets job-seekers
find new job postings - and verified information on perks and benefits -
directly from thousands of employers across Canada. More than 400,000 unique
users in Canada use Eluta.ca each month. Each spring, Mediacorp also organizes
a policy-oriented conference on the Canada's Top 100 Employers project called
the "Top Employer Summit", which is Canada's largest annual gathering of
senior-level human resources professionals.

                  2009 WINNERS - CANADA'S TOP 100 EMPLOYERS

    Adobe Systems Canada Inc., Ottawa ON
    Aecon Group Inc., Toronto ON
    Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Boyle AB
    AMAPCEO, Toronto ON
    BD Canada Inc., Oakville ON
    Bayer Inc., Toronto ON
    Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Toronto ON
    Boeing Canada Technology Ltd., Winnipeg MB
    Business Development Bank of Canada, Montréal QC
    CAE Inc., Saint-Laurent QC
    CH2M HILL Canada Ltd., Toronto ON
    Canada Post Corp., Ottawa ON
    Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., Calgary AB
    Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Ottawa ON
    Canadian Tire Financial Services Ltd., Welland ON
    Carswell, div. Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., Toronto ON
    Cascades Inc., Kingsey Falls QC
    Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto, Toronto ON
    Cementation Canada Inc., North Bay ON
    Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, Toronto ON
    Ceridian Canada Ltd., Winnipeg MB
    Certified General Accountants Assoc. Canada, Burnaby BC
    Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Chatham-Kent ON
    College of Physicians & Surgeons of Ontario, Toronto ON
    Compass Group Canada, Mississauga ON
    DeltaWare Systems Inc., Charlottetown PE
    Durham Regional Police Service, Whitby ON
    EPCOR Utilities Inc., Edmonton AB
    Enbridge Inc., Calgary AB
    Export Development Canada, Ottawa ON
    FSC Architects & Engineers, Yellowknife NT
    Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Toronto ON
    Farm Credit Canada, Regina SK
    Gamma-Dynacare Medical Laboratories Inc., Brampton ON
    George Brown College, Toronto ON
    Golder Associates Ltd., Burnaby BC
    The Great Little Box Company Ltd., Vancouver BC
    HSBC Bank Canada, Vancouver BC
    The Halifax Herald Ltd., Halifax NS
    Hamilton Health Sciences Corp., Hamilton ON
    Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co., Mississauga ON
    Hill & Knowlton Canada, Toronto ON
    HOK/Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Toronto ON
    Honeywell Ltd., Mississauga ON
    IKEA Canada LP, Burlington ON
    Jacques Whitford Ltd., Dartmouth NS
    KPMG LLP, Toronto ON
    Kodak Graphic Communications Canada Co., Burnaby BC
    L'Oréal Canada Inc., Montréal QC
    Laurentide Controls Ltd., Kirkland QC
    Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, Winnipeg MB
    Mars Canada Inc., Bolton ON
    Marsh Canada Ltd., Toronto ON
    McGill University, Montréal QC
    Meridian Credit Union, St. Catharines ON
    Monsanto Canada Inc., Winnipeg MB
    NB Power Holding Corp., Fredericton NB
    National Energy Board, Calgary AB
    New Flyer Industries Canada, Winnipeg MB
    Next Level Games Inc., Vancouver BC
    Nycomed Canada Inc., Oakville ON
    OPSEU Pension Trust, Toronto ON
    Office of the Auditor General of Canada, Ottawa ON
    Ontario Power Generation Inc., Toronto ON
    Ontario Public Service, Toronto ON
    PCL Construction Group Inc., Edmonton AB
    Patient News Publishing Inc., Haliburton ON
    PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto ON
    Procter & Gamble Inc., Toronto ON
    Research In Motion Ltd., Waterloo ON
    RBC/Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto ON
    Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa ON
    Russell Investments Canada Ltd., Toronto ON
    SAS Institute Canada, Inc., Toronto ON
    Sapient Canada, Inc., Toronto ON
    SaskEnergy Inc., Regina SK
    SaskTel, Regina SK
    Saskatchewan Gaming Corp., Regina SK
    Saskatchewan Government Insurance, Regina SK
    Shell Canada Ltd., Calgary AB
    Simon Fraser University, Burnaby BC
    Sophos Inc., Vancouver BC
    Spruceland Millworks Inc., Acheson AB
    Stikeman Elliott LLP, Toronto ON
    Suncor Energy Inc., Calgary AB
    TD Bank Financial Group, Toronto ON
    Tamm Communications Inc., Toronto ON
    Toronto Community Housing Corp., Toronto ON
    Toronto Hydro Corp., Toronto ON
    Toronto International Film Festival Group, Toronto ON
    Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc., Cambridge ON
    Trican Well Service Ltd., Calgary AB
    University Health Network, Toronto ON
    University of Alberta, Edmonton AB
    Upside Software Inc., Edmonton AB
    City of Vancouver, Vancouver BC
    Wardrop Engineering Inc., Winnipeg MB
    County of Wellington, Guelph ON
    WorkSafeBC, Vancouver BC
    Yellow Pages Group, Verdun QC

For further information: on the Canada's Top 100 Employers project,
please contact Rachel Caballero at (416) 987-1464 or email ct100@mediacorp.ca