May 2011 – National Census

Stats Canada : Why Participate?

Census taking has come a long way since biblical times, when people all crowded into the cities and villages of their ancestry. This year, you can even complete the Stats Canada Census online!

Picture from T-Shirt on Right

Why is the census important?

Alert! Japan Tainted Air Currents Hitting North America

Scientists Measuring Air Currents Predict Timing

Researchers at University of Maryland are posting daily updates showing the expected time air currents are expected to reach North America from Japan. As of Mar. 21 ,the expected arrival date was Mar.23 at the earliest. The scientist are providing daily updates here.

According to this article,the amount of particulates in the air is determined by a number of factors, but it seems rainfall is one factor that could help decrease the effect. I would like to know if the government plans to put a cloud seeding program into operation before the plumes are able to hit North America.

How to protect Your Family

Dr. Alijca Zobel, survived fallout from Chernobyl in 1986, and offered advice about how to protect your family from radiation poisoning on Trent Radio last Thursday. Dr. Zobel explained how  taking a mixture of good iodine in water gets rid of the radioactive iodine that comes with radiation poisoning and helps prevent longterm effects of radiation. For full details on the recommended quantities and dosages see her blog.:Dr. Zobel ,blogspot.com

Inaugural Sikh Environment Day -March 14

First Official Worldwide Sikh Environmental Day

Sikhs around the world have been invited to participate in the first official Sikh Environmental Day on March 14th. The date for Sikh Environmental Day was chosen in honour of  Guru Har Rai Ji. Guru Har Rai Ji became Guru on March 14, 1644, and preached that Sikhs must protect the well being of plants and animals. He is remembered in Sikh history for

Age Discrimination Against Widows Case Dismissed

Supreme Court Dismissed Widows Age Discrimination Appeal
Current federal government policies lower the amount of supplementary death benefits paid out to surviving spouses of public servants and military members, according to the age of the deceased at death. Two widows, Hazel Withler and Jean Fitzsimonds acting as representatives for 5,000 survivors, challenged this policy, and took their fight all the way to the Supreme court.
The high court, in its unanimous rejection noted public servants, are generally better equipped than most Canadians to meet the financial challenges of old age.
The preceding statement has absolutely nothing to do with this issue. To state that spouses of public servants are better off than Jill Q Public,

Skilled Work Visas Dropping

Industry groups argue more immigrants needed for jobs  What do you think?

Despite Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's boasts of a huge increase in immigration to Canada in 2010; new figures show the department plans cuts to overseas visas in 2011.

The CBC News article raised two questions for me: Why is the Conservative government hauling on the Visa reigns? and Why would Minister Kenney boast of last year’s increases, when they are clamping down this year?

What do you think?
In Monday’s question period, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney bragged  the Conservatives welcomed a record high of "281,000 permanent residents to Canada, 106,000 more than the Liberals did shortly after they came to office and cut immigration levels."
To me, Kenney, lacked foresight in making his proclamation- poor marketing  indeed,  advertising something you are currently discontinuing.  The conservative government is really back pedalling on its Visa policies this year, having already noted they were cutting Visas to parents and grandparents. Previously, when Kenney was asked about family Visa cuts, the minister cited his commitment to economic Visas, as the government’s focus.  However, Access to Information figures show the government plans to cut all economic class visas by six per cent, and in particular, federal skilled worker visas, by 20 per cent, in 2011. Employment and industry groups, are voicing strong concerns about the planned government cut to the number of visas issued for federal skilled workers this year.
Do you think Canadian Visas should be decreased?  Here are some of the opinions from the CBC News online article, followed by my two cents worth:

Director of Workforce Strategy says Stop Visa Cuts!

Elsbeth Mehrer, Director of research and workforce strategy for Calgary Economic Development, told CBC News,”The notion of reducing the number of skilled workers we aim to take in 2011 is certainly a move in the wrong direction given where we expect the economy right across the country to be heading,"
Mehrer added,"This is a time when we need to ensure we're ramping up to meet worker demand. While we had some great success last year, in terms of having our highest ever number of immigrants coming into the country, we need to make sure we keep the foot on the gas to meet labour demand in the future."

Immigration Lawyer Points out Minister’s Words and Actions Contradictory

Richard Kurland, a Vancouver immigration lawyer,pointed out the lack of consistency between Kenney’s statements and the Conservatives’ actions. The problem is, the government isn't robbing Peter to pay Paul — it's robbing them both, Kurland pointed out reflecting on the minister’s statements regarding the drop in Visas for parents and grandparents.

"There are tradeoffs. And this government is focused on the priority of Canadians, which is economic growth and prosperity," he said. "Mr. Speaker we need more newcomers working and paying taxes and contributing to our health care system. And that's the focus of our immigration system."- Immigration Minister Jason Kenney re: drop in Visas for parents and grandparents.

Kurland, who obtained the target numbers through Access to Information, notes the government is decreasing economic visas overall. In 2011, there will be six per cent fewer economic class visas issued this year over last.
"The 2011 targets dramatically show the substantial reduction in federal skilled workers and a slight increase in provincial selection," Kurland says. "We really should be targeting more skilled workers to make up for Canadians' inability to demographically reproduce. We need the young workers to pay the taxes to support the pensions for Canada's aging population."
  Here are the Overseas visa targets for 2011
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada/Access to information release

Visa	2010	2011	% change
Federal Skilled Worker visa	69,915	55,900	- 20
Provincial Nominees visas	36,650	40,300	+ 9
Total economic class visa	161,630	151,000	- 6

Note: Officials at Citizenship and Immigration caution these  targets are for overseas visas only and do not include inland claims.

Canadian Construction Association Head Questions Government’s Motivation

Michael Atkinson, head of the Canadian Construction Association,  says the construction industry has had trouble for years getting workers through the point system, since it is heavily skewed towards post-secondary education and language proficiency.
Atkinson voiced concerns about the government's motivation for cutting the economic visas overall.
"If the motivation behind reducing those target levels is, 'Well gee, the economy is improving, we don't need as many skilled workers,' then I would suggest that is a huge mistake, given the fact that just our aging workforce, our aging population, our low fertility rate shows us and other industries that it is only going to get worse.
"We are facing bigger challenges in the future with respect to building our workforce and training them than we ever have before," Atkinson says.
He adds his industry expects to face a shortfall of 400,000 workers by 2018 if government policies — both federal and provincial — don't move with the times.
Atkinson notes the government has taken a step in the right direction by opening a review process of the point system for federal skilled workers.

'We are facing bigger challenges in the future with respect to building our workforce and training them than we ever have before'—Michael Atkinson, Canadian Construction Association

Motivation Political Decision? Calgary Employers Say Yes!

Mehrer, points out, while the government has  reduced wait times for some new applications of federal skilled workers; workers who applied under the system prior to 2008, still wait for years for a decision.  The fast racked new applications are those that fit into a list of 29 specific occupations and are processed in seven to eight months.
Since the government has shown it is able to process applications more quickly, Mehrer notes many employers believe the government's current motivation is  a political one, rather than a policy decision.
"It's really difficult to say, but certainly the speculation I hear from employers here is that it's based on political pressure that may be coming from other parts of Canada, where the unemployment remains higher and where the understanding of the labour market dynamics in Alberta and in much of the west are less clear," she says.
She adds that the economic recession is no argument for the cuts, as things are improving rapidly out west.
"We're already starting to see re-employment of Canadians and Albertans who lost their work during the recession," she says.
"I'm already hearing from some industries who recognize that their talent pools are shrinking in terms of the skill set they are going to need. So as much as they may not be in foreign markets right now looking for talent, we certainly expect that by the latter half of this year there will be certain skill sets we simply won't have available in the province."

So, what do you think?

My Two Cents:
I wonder if the Conservatives, are backpedalling on their immigration numbers, to counterbalance last year’s record number of immigrants. They set a record, for the history books, and now need to deal with the consequences of creating that record.
Having increased numbers of skilled workers immigrate to Canada, will not solve our doctor shortage, or any other skilled labour shortage, if no programs are set up to easily allow the skilled workers to ply their trades in Canada. I have met numerous doctors, who after immigrating to Canada, could only find work as lab techs or even taxi drivers.
The real strategy to solving our skilled labour shortage lies in the methodology of recruiting to those fields. Governing bodies of skilled worker associations need to be handed the reins, and given a mandate and deadlines to recruit immigrants whom they will approve to fill the gaping holes in our health care system, and other areas . Doctors, for example, who are approved for immigration need to be able to start plying their trade as soon as possible, not having to wait. When skilled workers are approved for immigration, it should include a direct line to a choice of at least three job locations where they can start work immediately. otherwise, our skilled workers will not be adding to the economy, but creating a greater burden.
What do you think?
Read the original article here:
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2011/02/15/pol-visas-skilled-workers.html?ref=rss#ixzz1E7WfcrhU
Article Accessed: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 | 5:04 AM ET By Louise Elliott, CBC News

Real Food Grant Awards

Hellman’s offers free tools, downloads, and grants to help Canadians eat Real (local) Food.

Real Food Grant Program

Last spring, Hellmann’s® received over 1,300 applications for shares in the $100,000 set aside for their Real Food Grants program.  Hellmann's® Real Food Grants are a part of its commitment  to making it easier for Canadians. and their families to enjoy the pleasure of real food.  Hellmann's® Real Food Campaign also includes, handy tools to help Canadians find foods that are in season, as well as markets and restaurants that offer local or “real “ food. Have a favourite spot that serves up or sells locally produced food? Add it to their list!
Real Food Grants were awarded to support initiatives to bring Canadian families and kids together with real food in their community.
Hellmann's®  found the overwhelmingly positive response to their program has been incredibly inspiring and they were  thrilled to see the amazing ideas people have to support real food in their communities across Canada.

Check out these great resources on their site!

Local Food Finder

Real Food Guide

Seasonal Foods Finder

Now, drum roll please for the recipients of the Real Food Grants!

Zeller’s /Target Stores Targeted by Veterans Association

This is an adaptation of an email I just received.from Holly :
Target. bought out Zellers and will be moving into Canada shortly!

       --------       Beginning of email       -------

Target Stores - What a surprise
Wasn't it last Christmas that Target refused to let the Salvation Army ring their bells in front of their stores?
Dick Forrey of the Vietnam Veterans Association wrote.

'Recently we asked the local TARGET store to be a proud sponsor of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall during our spring recognition event. We received the following reply from the local  TARGET management:

'  Veterans do not meet our area of giving. We only donate to the arts, social action groups, gay & lesbian causes, and education.'

Drinking bottled water?

How I almost contributed to the defamation of major companies.
One of the Twitter accounts I follow is @MommyPerks. Although US based, they usually have some great general info. Today they posted an article about drinking water including, what supposedly were ratings given to various types of bottled water where they cited tap water as the highest grade. “Great post!”, I thought and set out to reblog this important info.
However, upon reading their Yahoo source , I discovered the ratings were for public disclosure of information not safety of drinking water as espoused in the Mommy Perks article.
Get answers about Canada’s bottled water from Health Canada.
Bottled Water Company Ratings for Public Disclosure of Information
(Ratings given by: Environmental Working Group, Washington DC)
1.     Pure Life Purified Water (Nestle), EWG grade = B
2.     Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = C
3.     Aquafina Purified Drinking Water (Pepsi), EWG grade = D
4.     Dasani Purified Water (Coca-Cola), EWG grade = D
5.     Deer Park Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D
6.     Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D
7.     Ozarka Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D
8.     Poland Spring Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D
9.     Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D
10.  Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water (CG Roxane), EWG grade =  F
Mommy Perks, I certainly am glad to hear EWG gave the US government an A rating on their filtered tap water disclosures. Any less would definitely be a newsworthy cause for concern.
Explanation of ratings:

Each "best on transparency" bottled water labels a specific water source and treatment method and posts purity testing online. The "worst on transparency" bottled waters list no information on specific water source, treatment or purity, online or on the label. These lists are drawn from EWG's survey of labels from 173 bottled waters purchased in 2010.

Lesson learned? Always check your sources! Glad I did.

President’s Choice Food Recall Alert

Found this recall notice when I was checking the NoFrills online flyer. This recall is related to the recall of fresh herbs posted the other day.

Recall Notice: President’s Choice Dill and Cilantro Fresh Greens Added 2010-12-30  Loblaw has been following the developments in the investigation by Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) into possible Salmonella contamination of Little Bear brand fresh greens sold nationally and President’s Choice® fresh green cilantro and fresh green dill sold in Loblaw banner stores in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. …… If customers have any concerns regarding a product they have purchased from our stores they can return it to any Loblaw store where the customer service desk will provide a full refund or contact customer service at 1-888-495-5111 or customerservice@presidentschoice.ca.

Order of Canada Recipients 2010 Announced

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II established the Order of Canada in 1967 to  recognize a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the Canada. The Order recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society. Their contributions are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country.Any Canadian may make a nomination.
Motto and Levels
The Order of Canada’s motto is DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM(They desire a better country).  Companion – Recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement and merit of the highest degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large Officer – Recognizes a lifetime of achievement and merit of a high degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large Member – Recognizes a lifetime of distinguished service in or to a particular community, group or field of activity. This year no Companion of Canada was awarded.
If you could ask one of these recipients one question what would if be?
RECIPIENTS’ CITATIONS


OFFICERS OF THE ORDER OF CANADA
Nicole Brossard, O.C. Montréal, Quebec
For her contributions to literature as a poet, novelist, essayist and publisher.

Duty-Free Access to European Union Announced

How will this affect beef prices in Canadian grocery stores?

Canadian beef producers have won duty-free access to the European Union — a deal which could be worth millions.  Industry and the federal government negotiated a deal which will provide duty-free access to a 20,000-tonne beef export quota in the European market. This arrangement has an estimated value of  more than $10 million a year.  In addition, Ottawa has  reached an understanding with the European Commission aimed at resolving a long-standing dispute at the World Trade Organization over beef hormones. The trade agreement will eventually add 3,200 tonnes to the current 20,000-tonne quota and provide compensation for the EU's ban on beef from animals administered growth hormones. The Canadian Beef Export Federation says producers are willing and able to meet the EU demand for hormone-free beef immediately.

Read the release that  inspired the blog post. 

Beef producers win duty free access to EU

Leveraging LinkedIn-What’s Your Opinion?

Hubspot has just released a new Free eBook on LinkedIn. However, despite the title, Learning LinkedIn from the Experts, none of the links to experts cited  in Hubspot’s ad lead to LinkedIn. The links do lead to:  two wordpress blogs, a dot com book ad,an Amazon ad, and a blog post on Hubspot. This leads me to wonder if marketing on LinkedIn is all it’s being touted for in this eBook . What’s your take on this?

See the ad HERE.

Brake-line Tampering Alert!

Police are asking drivers to check under their cars for dripping brake fluid and to pump the brakes while the car is in park to check for resistance after a number of brake lines have been tampered with in Guelph and Toronto.

Gold! Peterborough Team wins International Regatta

Mike Davies just posted this great news in the Peterborough Examiner. (Quotes are from his article.)

A  local Peterborough Rowing Club crew bested 58 boats to win gold at one of the largest rowing regattas in the world.
Finishing 34 seconds ahead of a crew from Boston's Union Rowing Club; Mark Basterfield, Brent Holmes, Richard Love, Matt McCarthy and coxswain Candace Cook claimed the men's heavyweight four club championship at the Head of the Charles in Cambridge, Mass. See Full Results HERE.
The Head of the Charles  a 3.2 mile long course contains 6 bridges in total. Renowned for being challenging for crews to navigate without incident or penalty it  attracted 9,000 rowers from around the world this year.
Early on in the race, another crew trying to pass locked oars with them which cost them some time.  Then, in the first mile came the event which kept teams wondering if they had won till all times were posted.
"We had a collision in the first mile and we were pretty sure they were going to get the infraction because they did crash into us," Holmes said. "When you're passing you have the right of way, but we were worried about having a time penalty. The judgement was the other crew impeded us which was the right judgement."
"We were more afraid of losing than we were worried about winning," said Holmes.
After a seventh place finish in last year’s, higher calibre championship division, the crew decided to drop down to the club class.
McCarthy, admitted after this year’s win,  that the championship class was, probably, more their calibre. "It actually wasn't much of a race. We won by a fair bit. There were a lot of crews.”
Still, holding gold at an event of this size is nothing to be sloughed off.
"It's the first time a lot of us have won Head of the Charles, which is good," Holmes said, "but in terms of the calibre of competition it wasn't as significant.
Holmes, a former national under-22 team rower, Basterfield, Love and Cook all row for Trent University. McCarthy, 33, a former national B team rower, continues to row for the PRC.

References: Head of the Charles Regatta (Wikipedia)
Read Mike’s Article that inspired me HERE
Head of the Charles Official Site

Neil Young Visits Youngtown Museum

Popped into Youngtown museum today and was thrilled to find tons of  amazing signed memorabilia. The museum is like catacombs  with every square inch covered, videos in each room A walk in scrapbook if you will. Neil Young recently paid a visit too and the evidence is amazing.  Can’t wait till the concert on 29th-you never know who will pop in!

Oct.8, 2010  Via Youngtown Museum Omemee, Ontario

Neil Young dropped by to check-out the museum that pays tribute to his family. Of course, Neil has known of Youngtown for some time, and has expressed his appreciation in various ways… but today… he came to visit with brother Bob and good friend Dave Toms. The hour-long visit was simply an awesome experience for curator, Trevor Hosier, and  he’s glad to report  the museum received a very big thumbs up from Neil himself!  Thanks for a great visit guys! 

Check out the Online Photos! HERE!

Just one more thing, Neil was kind enough to leave some very special evidence of his visit but you’ll have to drop in to see for yourself.

See the map to Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum . Open weekends and (sometimes)  by special appointment.

Related Story

Unicorn in Toronto?

Residents asked to call hotline with sightings! Newswire.ca posted: Rumoured Unicorn Sighting Reported In Don Valley 

While other rare creatures have been discovered in the past few years, it’s usually in little explored areas.

What do you think ?

Peter Hickey-Jones, a local bird watcher, shot the following video and brought  it to the Ontario Science Centre for analysis by experts. The video  shows what appears to be a white horse with a single horn on its head entering  the trees in the Don Valley wetland.

Rumoured Unicorn Sighting Reported In Don Valley

Hickey-Jones explained,“I was trying to film a pileated woodpecker when I saw what looked like a bright white horse in the distance. When I got a little closer, I noticed the horn on its head. I’m not one to jump to conclusions but I’m certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that what I saw was a unicorn. I’m just glad I got it on film.” (quote from HERE)

Advisory The Science Centre advises: use caution if you think you see a unicorn. Do not make any sudden movements or attempt to use flash photography. Although legends of unicorns state that they are peaceful creatures, scientists are concerned they may harm themselves or others if they end up on a road or highway.

The Science Centre is reviewing the footage frame-by-frame hoping to establish whether or not a genuine unicorn sighting has occurred, and thereby determine the legitimacy of Hickey-Jones’ claim.

Hotline:416-696-3260  is the emergency unicorn hotline set up by The Ontario Science Centre for further unicorn information, or to report any unusual or questionable sightings. 

Unicorn Facts (?) via  News Wire.ca

• Unicorns prefer to remain unseen and tend to avoid eye contact with humans  
• Unicorns are known in European cultures as being fiercely beautiful creatures whose horns have curative properties
• An Asian unicorn, described as being a scaly coated body of a deer with a flesh covered horn, was last seen by the Chinese philosopher Confucius
• The 1620 edition of Historiae Animalium, a book describing all the animals living on Earth, included a description of unicorns

Hmm.. Did you know the Ontario Science Centre Mythic beasts exhibit opens Saturday?

Ag Minister Challenges Set an Extra Plate!

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Lemieux, joined Mark Davies, chair of the Turkey Farmers of Canada to present a donation of Canadian turkeys to Food Banks Canada. Sept. 27, 201

In the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz also challenged Canadians to fill up an extra plate this holiday season for local food banks.
"As Canadians we have much to be thankful for, particularly the hard work of farmers and producers, like those with Turkey Farmers of Canada, who deliver high quality food to our grocery stores," Ritz said in a release.
"The Fall harvest season is a busy time for Canadian farmers, but it can also be a difficult time for families with limited resources," added Lemieux. "As we celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, I encourage everyone to give a helping hand to the food banks in our communities, which work hard delivering food and support to families in need."
"We know that individuals and families across Canada struggle everyday to put food on the table," Katharine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada, said in the release. "Our partnership with Turkey Farmers of Canada will ensure that we can provide a nutritious and important part of Thanksgiving so that families can celebrate the holiday this season." Read the original article:

Canadian Meat Business - The Beef, Poultry and Pork Industry Magazine - Article Information
Background:
The Turkey Farmers of Canada is a national organization representing Canada's registered turkey farmers for over 36 years.
Food Banks Canada, a national charitable organization, represents the food bank community across Canada. The group depends on financial and gifts-in-kind support to reduce hunger in Canada by feeding people across the country.

Aboriginal Leaders Call for U.S. to Stop Oil Pipeline

Aboriginal leaders Francois Paulette and George Poitras  met with U.S. officials to call on the Americans not to approve the proposed TransCanada Corp. Keystone XL pipeline that would ship oil from the oilsands into the U.S.
Paulette and Poitras met with representatives from the U.S. State Department, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the Department of the Interior. The aboriginal leaders delivered the message that fuel made from Alberta's oilsands

Elder Watch! Con man Alert!

  A 54 yr old man is wanted for duping Canadian seniors. Richard Earl Rupert, 54, typically befriends seniors posing as a younger relative in financial distress, then stealing from them.

In an article by KJ Mullins, Detective Constable Michael Thomas of the Toronto Police explained that Rupert has been known to frequent BINGO Halls, and convince seniors he is a relative or building manager.

Rupert who has allegedly stolen from seniors in Ontario and Manitoba, was profiled Saturday night on the TV show “America's Most Wanted”.  The show featured an interview with “Kurt”, a 93-year-old male victim from Toronto, and video footage of a police investigator from Ontario’s  capital describing Rupert's modus operandi. See a full description of Rupert and surveillance photos. on the show’s website HERE.

According to an article by Jason Halstead, police believe Rupert was targeting Winnipeg seniors this June.

In an interview, Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen expressed the importance of increasing awareness stating, "maybe at minimum we can prevent further incidents."

On June 9, Rupert is alleged to have befriended a 75-year-old man at a seniors' residence in Winnipeg.  Apparently, Rupert claimed to be a distant relative and got inside the victim's suite, where he absconded with a small amount of money.

Five days earlier, Rupert allegedly convinced another  elderly man that he was a relative in need of cash.  Rupert escorted the man to HSBC bank ATM where the senior withdrew cash, police allege. An employee recognized Rupert from a "wanted" poster and called police but he escaped.

Rupert is also accused of stealing from more than 20 seniors in Toronto and other Ontario communities. 

$10,000 Reward

Photo from MCSC site.

$10,000 reward offered for information on disappearance of Mariam Makhniash
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010..will mark one year since the suspicious disappearance of Toronto teen Mariam Makhniashvili. In the space of one year, a teen could be anywhere, but Missing Children Society of Canada is hoping that targeting the last known place she was seen, will help shed some light on the matter.

MCSC Investigator and former police detective Dan Picken stated,“Someone knows what happened to Mariam. We are offering them an opportunity to help this family, and to collect a sizeable reward in return,"