Canadian Property Stars

08/30/2024

It’s been a great couple of weeks in Toronto competing in the 2024 Sealing All-Stars!

I started this biz as a 16 year old 29 years ago and it never gets old to get out in the fresh air to motivate the team, help homeowners with their properties, and to create something from nothing each day.

I had the pleasure of finally getting to coach Team Hamilton for the 1st time in their 18th year of operation.

Mr.Yousef and I coached a primarily rookie team to both the A and B team championships at CPS over the very powerful Ottawa and Toronto teams.

I spent the last two weeks training our team each morning then spraying their driveways all day…

This year in Hamilton we’ve built an incredible team with an amazing 30+ team members hailing from Nigeria 🇳🇬! These Nigerian super stars took me in as their own and we rode momentum all the way to the 1st Hamilton title since 2017!

Coming to work and playing the game of CPS never gets old and keeps me young as long as I continue to play..

You don’t use it, you lose it!

Love ❤️ what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life!

PS I’m not wearing legging those are called tar legs lol 😂

06/09/2022

Over the past 2 decades in Ontario while providing Asphalt Driveway Sealing for our clients a common headache homeowners have experienced is the gravel base under their asphalt driveways eroding and sinking creating a severe lip at the entrance of the garage door.

Since the typical asphalt company won't touch a smaller project like this homeowner's only alternative was to go and pickup the cold patch at the local hardware store. Since this is actually a foreign material to your driveway asphalt it quickly breaks down, doesn't compact well, isn't durable, and quite honestly looks terrible.

Recently Canadian Property Stars acquired a commercial asphalt maintenance company providing the opportunity to our Ontario clients to finally have a viable option for creating a long-term repair to the sunken asphalt lip at the entrance of your garage door.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TayBwmfsCtM

We are currently taking June/July bookings for our Hot Asphalt ramp repairs, and if you'd like to finally drive your car smoothly back into your garage we've got you covered.

We just put up a short promo video on YT to demonstrate exactly what our service provides and if you'd like to get your driveway entrance re-levelled this Summer you can get your property booked through our online store, I'll put the web site link in the comments below.

We service all major towns and cities from Ottawa to Kitchener/Waterloo area and everywhere in between!

What is An Asphalt Ramp?When your driveway is first laid it is made flush with the lip of your garage, sloping downward to ensure water flows away from your ...

07/07/2021

04/09/2020

Essential Workplace Analysis

Purpose: The purpose of this document is to present the analysis undertaken to determine whether Canadian Property Stars (CPS) should be considered an Essential Workplace according to the definition of the same published by the government of Ontario.

Considerations:

• We analyzed the province of Ontario’s list of “Essential Workplaces” found at the following URL: https://www.ontario.ca/page/list-essential-workplaces?_ga=2.68571985.1130261671.1586126666-201225222.1520811971)

• CPS performs a lawn maintenance service in the spring called core-type lawn aeration. We considered that this particular residential property maintenance service might fit under category number 20 of the province’s list of “Essential Workplaces” titled “Maintenance”. The full text reads as follows:

o Maintenance, repair and property management services strictly necessary to manage and maintain the safety, security, sanitation and essential operation of institutional, commercial, industrial and residential properties and buildings.

• The key elements that we observe as applying to CPS and its core aeration service is that the clause refers to residential property maintenance services as being deemed essential as long as they “are strictly necessary to…maintain the safety, security and sanitation” of the property.

• Putting aside the obvious property beautification benefits that can be obtained via recommended lawn care practices such as core aeration, we have limited our analysis to the safety and sanitation aspects of the benefits that accrue from the service of lawn aeration. We have attempted to present the elements that we considered in a logical sequence for the aid of the reader to understand our thinking and perspective on the subject:

o COVID-19 appears to be chiefly a respiratory illness in terms of the most fatal aspect of the disease and its associated symptoms.

o Protecting and preserving lung health is, therefore, especially important in 2020 as the virus is still circulating in our communities and has also left its mark on the lung health of those who have already been infected and afflicted by its more severe symptoms.

o Lawn-based mold such as Aspergillus fumigatus can cause a serious fungal disease of the lungs called Aspergillosis. This mold is found lurking in decaying
organic matter such as grass and dead leaves, especially in the spring after the winter thaw.

o Core aeration will directly and immediately contribute to improved drainage of the lawn in the spring which will result in less moisture and better conditions in terms of mold and fungus production and proliferation.

o In terms of indirect benefits, core aeration is well-known as the first lawn care service of the post-winter season and it is shown to influence homeowners to undertake other beneficial practices such as removing and clearing decaying material that may contain harmful fungus.

o Many people in Ontario are allergic to the pollen from the weeds that commonly infest lawns in Canada. The allergic reactions that inevitably ensue from exposure to these pollens can result in an inflammatory reaction in the lungs that is a compromising factor in lung health, something that should be avoided whether infected with COVID-19, pre-infection or post-infection.

o There are very limited legal ways to mitigate the concerns of weeds and lawn-borne molds and fungi with the passage of laws in Ontario banning the use of herbicides, pesticides and fungicides on residential lawns.

o Core aeration is the only way to reduce sub-turf soil compaction and to improve a lawn’s drainage – both important factors to a homeowner desiring the outcome of having a lawn free of potentially harmful weeds and fungus.

o This spring & summer, Ontarians will spend a significant amount of time on their lawns as a result of the efforts to self-isolate and avoid crowds. Moreover, residents of the province are forbidden from playing in parks – schools are closed, and it is anticipated that summer camps will be cancelled. All of this adds up to more people, including children and the elderly, spending time outside on their lawns.

• While CPS is not making the assertion that core aeration will be a life-saving intervention in the lives of each of its customers, we are making the assertion that the case can and has been made that core aeration can meaningfully contribute to our overall societal efforts to preserve and conserve our health by carefully maintaining our environments.

• CPS is of the view that the argument for the essential nature of its core aeration service is similar in some respects to that of residential duct cleaning – particularly during this pandemic: people are spending an inordinate amount of time inside their homes and it is therefore very sensible and logical to take all reasonable steps to purify the inside air of the home of irritants and pollutants. This is not only a wise thing to do – there should be tolerance for it to be considered essential.

• It should also be considered that Ontario homeowners should be the ones to determine what form of property maintenance is strictly essential for their own safety and health. The government’s input and expertise are appreciated but, ultimately, our society operates on a principle that citizens are competent enough to make health and safety-related decisions for themselves, when not clearly mandated by the government.

Conclusion:

Landscape Ontario, our industry representative, recently published guidance obtained from the province of Ontario about making determinations around what should and should not be considered essential (i.e., workplaces and services).

The guidance was as follows: “We cannot provide legal advice on whether a specific business is an essential business. Business owners should review the updated list of essential businesses which are authorized to stay open, determine whether they fit into any of the categories and, if they do, make a business decision as to whether to stay open”.

CPS believes that it has applied the above guidance in good faith and with good reason by performing and articulating an analysis, arriving at a particular interpretation and making a business decision in accordance with that interpretation.

CPS concludes that core aeration is strictly essential to maintain the safety of residential lawns this spring and, therefore, has determined that its workplace should be considered an ‘essential workplace’. In accordance with this interpretation, the company has decided to carry on business by providing core aeration service to homeowners in Ontario.

CPS remains committed to conducting its business in the safest manner possible, for both its customers and workers, and is taking the necessary precautions to limit the human-to-human transmission of the COVID-19 virus.



Ben Stewart
President & CEO
Canadian Property Stars

Read the list of essential workplaces in response to COVID-19 (2019 novel coronavirus). If you have questions about what will be open or impacts to your business or employment, call the Stop the Spread Business Information Line at 1-888-444-3659. Following advice from Ontario’s Chief Medical Offic...

04/09/2020

Business Adaptations in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dear Valued Clients and Staff:

Canadian lawncare, landscaping and other residential property maintenance companies such as Canadian Property Stars can be counted upon to be out there in the community on a daily basis helping homeowners maintain not only the beauty of their property but also to prevent various forms of deterioration and degradation that can contribute to health and safety issues in and around the home.

Under normal circumstances, the yard around a home is a place that sees regular foot traffic, whether it is children playing, people gardening, or neighbours chatting over the fence (at a safe distance now!).

Over the next few months, it is expected that Ontarians will be asked to continue to maintain physical distancing – even after there is a general return to work. There is also a strong probability of a prolonged school closure and the cancellation of many recreational activities and camps.

For these reasons, Canadian Property Stars predicts that the yard around the typical Ontario home will, more than ever, be an extension of the home’s living area and therefore must be kept as safe and well-maintained as it can be.

As you may know, the Province of Ontario is currently under an Emergency Order. As early as mid-March, certain businesses were ordered closed and have not yet been permitted to re-open. The provincial government also banned public gatherings – with the allowable group size decreasing as the pandemic wore on.

A list of “essential workplaces” was published that identified categories of companies permitted to remain open if they adapted in ways that reduce transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

The original list of “essential workplaces” was later reduced, effective April 5, 2020.

Just as you have undoubtedly been following the announcements from all levels of government, we at Canadian Property Stars have been monitoring the situation to understand what it means for our business, for our staff, for our customers and for the hundreds of communities we operate in across the nation.

In terms of Ontario and its list of “essential workplaces”, the government has been clear that residential property maintenance services are deemed essential as long as they “maintain the safety, security and sanitation” of the property – see complete wording below from the province’s website.

Maintenance, repair and property management services strictly necessary to manage and maintain the safety, security, sanitation and essential operation of institutional, commercial, industrial and residential properties and buildings.

Source: https://www.ontario.ca/page/list-essential-workplaces?_ga=2.68571985.1130261671.1586126666-201225222.1520811971

Canadian Property Stars is proud to belong to an industry that performs a vital public good – which we like to describe as touching lives and communities along the “three dimensions” listed below:

I. Lawncare companies help protect public health by performing essential treatments to lawns that reduce the spread of allergy-causing pollens as well as the incidence of respiratory disease caused by lawn-borne fungus. Core Aeration, Canadian Property Stars’ lead lawncare service is a safe, affordable and effective way to accomplish this by reducing soil compaction, improving drainage and improving overall turf health.

II. Lawncare companies help protect public safety by maintaining greenspaces that could otherwise jeopardize public safety. Unkept fields and greenspaces are simply more hazardous both the children and adults and increase the chance of injuries happening.

III. Lawncare companies help boost morale and mental well-being and even more so during this difficult time we are all facing. Without lawncare services, fields, parks, businesses, and homes will become overgrown and unkept – a situation that will only worsen the already strained sense of wellbeing being felt in our communities.

Spring is a critical time of year for our industry due to the abundance of growth in the spring that requires prompt maintenance and care. Any halt or delay in lawncare services during this time of year only magnifies potential problems, which will become much more difficult to maintain later in the year.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that spring is upon us and residential property maintenance services such as core aeration are an essential service, in the interest of safety, we took the decision to close down our operations for the past three weeks to self-isolate and monitor ourselves for signs of being sick and/or infected with the COVID-19 virus.

As we return to operations now, we are encouraged by recent optimistic news reports that point to Ontario making good progress at “flattening the curve” of the virus.

COVID-19 Safety Precautions and Business Adaptations
We wish to advise you that Canadian Property Stars has implemented the following operational adaptations to ensure that lawns can be serviced this spring without compromising the safety of our clients or staff.

• No staff member can report to work if they are sick or show any signs of sickness.
• Our morning set-up and staff meeting will be held outdoors instead of inside our warehouse to allow for the physical distancing that is still recommended by Public Health officials. Masks will be worn by all staff.
• While our staff are being transported to their job sites, they will be wearing protective gloves and masks to prevent the transmission of the virus.
• Surfaces in and on our warehouse, vehicles & equipment will be carefully and routinely washed.
• While on a property, our staff have been instructed and trained on maintaining appropriate physical distance with clients of two metres or more.
• For the entire 2020 season, CPS will take credit card and -transfer at the door to avoid customers having to exchange cash, cheque and paper receipts with our staff. Email will be used to send out invoices and receipts.

This truly is an interesting time we are all living in but our team is very happy and thankful to be out in the fresh air, staying busy, working hard, and still employed while many across the country have sadly been laid off.

We are all very confident that, when things return to normal in the coming weeks, thousands of Ontario homeowners will have a healthy and beautiful lawn to enjoy all summer long thanks to Canadian Property Stars and its wonderful staff!
Wishing you a safe and happy spring!



Ben Stewart
President & CEO
Canadian Property Stars

Read the list of essential workplaces in response to COVID-19 (2019 novel coronavirus). If you have questions about what will be open or impacts to your business or employment, call the Stop the Spread Business Information Line at 1-888-444-3659. Following advice from Ontario’s Chief Medical Offic...

03/22/2020

Covid 19 Property Stats Update!!

01/15/2019

Looking for a new career in HR and Office Management?

Canadian Property Stars has landed in our 7x corporate cities across the Canada 🇨🇦 to commence our operations for 2019. We currently have an HR and Administrative Management position opening in the following cities: Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Edmonton, and Surrey.

What are we looking for?

A coachable self-starter who's ready to dive "ALL IN" on an opportunity with an extremely competitive, success driven organization.

What is a HR and Admin Manager at CPS?

Our HR and Administrative Managers work with a team of managers and collectively recruit, interview, on-board, train, and maintain our team of contractors and staff. Within this position you will also maintain our client databases, confirm and book service appointments with our clients, as well as general office administrative duties.

What qualifications would a suitable candidate possess?
Experience/Training in HR or Administration
Experience in Sales and/or Customer Service
Knowledge of basic computer applications (word/excel/ppt)
Competitive Spirit, and a Coachable Willingness to Learn!

Management Opportunity Commitment and Expectations:
Management Contract Mid January until Start of September
Starting Base Salary monthly average of $3,333.33
Commission Bonus based on Performance and Results
RRSP Matching Program
Group Benefits Program starting in September

This position is "NOT FOR MANY" as it's considered "EXTREME FULL-TIME" since we are a seasonal business. The intent for our managers is to earn an ANNUAL income in less than 8 months to enjoy actual "TIME FREEDOM" from September to January each year where our managers travel, invest, study, and enjoy time with family and friends.

We are conducting our final interviews and HIRING this week and hope to have the final pieces of our 2019 management team in place within the week.

If you are ready for something "NEW" and are up for an "ADVENTURE" then be sure to DM Ben Stewart directly for more information and to setup a phone/in-person interview.
Have an amazing day!

01/15/2019

Looking for a new career in Sales Management?

Canadian Property Stars has landed in our 7x corporate cities across the country to commence our operations for 2019. We currently have an entry level Sales Manager (Route Manager) position opening in the following cities: Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener, Calgary, Edmonton, and Surrey.

What are we looking for?

A coachable self-starter who's ready to dive "ALL IN" on an opportunity with an extremely competitive, success driven organization.

What is a Sale Manager at CPS (Route Manager)

Our Route Managers are Sales and Service coaches who manage a crew of 8-14 direct sales and service agents per day in local residential areas where they sell and service our 100,000+ clients.

What qualifications would a suitable candidate possess?

Experienced Driver with a Valid DL and Clean Record
Experience in Leadership, Coaching, or Management
Experience in Sales, Customer Service, or Sales Management
Competitive Spirit, and a Coachable Willingness to Learn!

Management Opportunity Commitment and Expectations:

Management Contract Mid January until Start of September
Starting Base Salary monthly average of $3,333.33
Commission Bonus based on Performance and Results
RRSP Matching Program
Group Benefits Program starting in September

This position is "NOT FOR MANY" as it's considered "EXTREME FULL-TIME" since we are a seasonal business. The intent for our managers is to earn an ANNUAL income in less than 8 months to enjoy actual "TIME FREEDOM" from September to January each year where our managers travel, invest, study, and enjoy time with family and friends.

We are conducting our final interviews and HIRING this week and hope to have the final pieces of our 2019 management team in place within the week.

If you are ready for something "NEW" and are up for an "ADVENTURE" then be sure to DM Ben Stewart directly for more information and to setup a phone/in-person interview.

Have an amazing day!

01/11/2019

How good does a freshly sealed driveway look 👀 on a freshly sealed semi detached property in the GTA? Nothing cleans up your curb appeal on a budget like a professional tar based sealing service. To book your 2019 service follow the link in the bio!

01/11/2019

No matter how big, no matter how small Canadian Property Stars ⭐️ will handle your lawn-care needs!

01/11/2019

Attention CPS full-time staff! Our pre-season activities are well underway and as of this morning already thousands of our amazing clients have already renewed their 2019 Spring Services with us. Next Saturday January 19th in locations across the country we are hosting our 2019 Alumni Staff meetings. At this meeting you’ll have the opportunity to register for the amazing 😉 experience of working in BC in February/March/April servicing our 20,000+ BC clients before returning home for your local season. Be sure to confirm with your GM right away!

12/28/2018

Spring is only a few months away! Have you been struggling to stay motivated at work? Property Stars ⭐️ has grown a nationwide property maintenance company by rewarding it’s staff for building our business. Work outside, get in shape, fun and competitive work atmosphere, while learning sales, and finally getting paid what your worth! We are now accepting new applicants for our 2019 teams! Tag 🏷 a competitive friend who wants to WIN!