Archive for the 'Canadian politics' Category

Canada to Ban Bottled Water?

contact March 8th, 2009

From the cbc:

“The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has asked Canadian cities and towns to phase out the sale and purchase of bottled water on municipal property.

The federation board of directors passed the anti-bottle resolution at a meeting in Victoria on Saturday.

The move carries no legal weight and aims simply to encourage municipalities to speak out against bottled water and avoid distributing it when possible.

“It’s not a ban, we just try to educate our citizens that the water that you pay in your city is good — use it,” said FCM president Jean Perrault, the mayor of Sherbrooke, Que.

It takes a lot of energy to produce the bottles themselves, Perrault said, and despite being recyclable about half of the bottles sold end up in landfills — at a direct cost to local governments.

But there’s also the personal expense, he said.

“Buying a bottle of water costs approximately $2.50. The cost to produce water in the city? I can fill up 6,000 little bottles for the price of $2.50,” Perrault said.

Twenty-seven Canadian municipalities have already phased out the sale of bottled water on their properties.

Pam McConnell, a Toronto city councillor, described what goes on at Toronto City Hall. “You’d see glasses on the tables, you’d see jugs of water from the tap, you’d see people happily drinking them at their desks and committee meetings,” McConnell said.

Ontario’s provincial association of municipalities has also encouraged its members to use tap water, and 21 Canadian universities and colleges have created bottle-free zones.

“It’s a way to say our water is good, our water is safe and our water is paid for,’” McConnell said.”

Network Neutrality in Canada

contact February 28th, 2009

From arstechnica:

“Canada’s telecoms regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is in the midst of a network neutrality proceeding, and the responses that rolled in this week were vociferous. Several ISPs and music groups objected to any such rules, arguing that they might stop ISPs from implementing all sorts of wonderful policies such as P2P upload throttling, website blocking, and graduated response rules.

One of the more interesting responses came from an ISP called Videotron, which told the CRTC that controlling access to content “peut être bénéfique non seulement pour les utilisateurs de services Internet mais pour la société en général”—that is, “could be beneficial not only to users of Internet services but to society in general.”

Continue reading

Obese People Win Right to Two Seats in Planes

contact November 21st, 2008

From cheapflights:

“A Canadian court has ruled that obese people have the right to two seats on airlines.

The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by WestJet (Web site: www.westjet.com) and Air Canada on a decision by the Canadian Transportation Agency that people who are obese deserve to have two seats for one fare.

Currently, the policy exists on other types of public transportation such as buses, ferries and trains.

The policy for airlines will come into effect in January 2009.”

Everything You ever wanted to know about the Government in Canada but were afraid to ask

contact October 24th, 2008

Perhaps not the most fun book to read but it’s actually quite interesting and filled with important information if you live in Canada or are interested in Canadian politics. It’s short, sweet and it’s certainly very clear, but most importantly it provides an outstanding explanation of why Canada’s government takes the form it does.

The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Parliamentary Government in Canada

Canada will ban unsolicited incoming text message fees

contact September 27th, 2008

From electronista:

“Two of Canada’s biggest telephone companies, Bell Canada Enterprises and Telus Corp., have began charging their customers for incoming unsolicited text messages on their cellphones, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is passing legislation to end what he calls an unfair practice, says a Thursday report. Harper would allow the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to block unfair charges and the telecommunications act would be amended to include a code of conduct for wireless services.

A spokesman from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association says a ban on unsolicited commercial text messages, or spam texts, is unnecessary, as cell-phone spam in Canada is virtually non-existent. Bell charges anywhere from 10 cents to a dollar for incoming texts, depending on which company sends it, but will cancel the fees at a customer’s strong request, provided the incoming message are clearly identifiable as unsolicited.

At the same time, Harper says loosening ownership restrictions in Canada’s telecommunications industry is not a wise move at the current economically tough times. A government-appointed competition panel in June suggested the industry should be opened up to foreign investors, but Harper believes opening up the market would hurt Canada’s economy, though he admits it would encourage competition.

Harper is under pressure from opposing parties to address such consumer issues, which also extend to other industries.” [source]

Tips, Tools, Rebates to Live Green in Toronto

contact August 2nd, 2008

Check out Live Green Toronto, a one-stop resource for living friendly and green in our favorite Canadian city. There you willl discover literally hundreds of extremely easy ways to contribute to a healthier, lovelier, greener planet. Get inspired. Get motivated. Get a rebate!

Live Green Toronto

Canadian Border to Check iPods for Copyright Infringment

contact May 29th, 2008

“The federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws which could make the information on Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices illegal and greatly increase the difficulty of travelling with such devices.”

Read about it here.

[via]

Uranium is Polluting Lake Ontario

contact May 24th, 2008

The producer of Uranium says uranium “might have” leaked into Lake Ontario. We know that really means uranium “definitely without a doubt leaked” into Lake Ontario.

From the nyt:

“OTTAWA — Cameco, the world’s largest uranium producer, has told the Canadian nuclear regulator that its refinery might have leaked uranium, arsenic and fluorides into Lake Ontario.

A section of the Port Hope, Ontario, plant of Cameco, the world’s largest uranium producer.
The plant at Port Hope, Ontario, across the lake from Rochester and down the shore from Toronto, first refined uranium for the Manhattan Project during World War II. It has been temporarily closed since July to remove contaminated soil.

A spokesman for Cameco, Lyle Krahn, said Wednesday that a computer model created for the cleanup, which is several months behind schedule, indicated that the radioactive and toxic materials have been polluting a harbor adjacent to the factory. The harbor leads directly to the lake.

The company notified the regulatory agency, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, about the finding at a meeting last week and now plans drilling tests to confirm the contamination and to measure its extent.

“We’re anticipating that material may have been entering the harbor,” Mr. Krahn said, adding that Cameco did not know how long it would take to confirm any possible pollution.

A spokesman for the agency, Aurèle Gervais, said: “The Port Hope UF6 plant matter has been ongoing for some time and the harbor issue is a recent development,” using the chemical formula for uranium hexafluoride.

In a background paper prepared for the agency’s commissioners last week, its staff concluded that the potential remained for continued water pollution from the plant.

Cameco in general and the aging Port Hope refinery, which transforms mined uranium into forms suitable for electrical power reactors, have long been targets of environmental groups and the regulatory agency.

After a flood last year closed one of the company’s mines, which produces about 10 percent of the world’s uranium, Linda J. Keen, then the head of the regulatory agency, said her commissioners and staff had a “lack of confidence” in Cameco and its management…”

Read the full article

Food Prices to go UP in Canada

contact May 4th, 2008

From msn.ca:

“Canada cannot remain immune to the skyrocketing food prices that already affect much of the world and it may be only a matter of months before the impact here has a major impact on the economy, says a new report from Bank of Nova Scotia.

Except for baked goods, Canada been mostly spared the price spikes in basic foods that has roiled the developing world and even caused two major food retailers in the United States to ration some types of rice as a “precaution” against hoarding.

Because most agricultural commodities like grain, fuel and fertilizer are priced in U.S. dollars, the stronger loonie has cushioned Canadians from many of these shocks. Consumers have also benefited from stiff competition among grocery chains.

“But I don’t think Canada can escape the sort of food pass-through that has been going on in the global economy indefinitely,” says Derek Holt, vice-president at Scotia Capital Economics, who wrote the report.

“This is the year it starts to catch up to Canada. We’ve already started to see in some key categories and that will intensify in the summer months.”
Scotiabank’s warning is the latest in several issued recently by Canadian businesses and international agencies.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization reports that global food prices have increased 57 per cent from last year, while the price of rice has doubled.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has forecast the higher prices are likely to last at least two years before moderating slightly.

Holt said that Canadian spending habits could change profoundly once food prices begin rising, along with higher gasoline and heating prices that have already hit Canada.

“It’s a very material risk that people will start seeing themselves having to spend dozens or hundreds of dollars a month more on basic groceries, home heating and gasoline costs,” Holt says.

“You’ve got to do something, so you start to rein in spending on everything else and you postpone plans buy that HD television, or build a backyard deck.”

Several analysts have also forecast that Canada’s holiday from food price shock will not last forever.

But where Holt’s analysis differs from others is that he believes the likely impact will not be higher inflation, but lower prices for everything except food and energy.
Holt argues that sky-high energy and food prices could actually be disinflationary for Canada because consumers will have less to spend on everything else.

“That becomes a very dangerous scenario where you can have some sectors doing very well, food and energy, but other sectors see their pricing power totally evaporate,” Holt said.
While low inflation is generally regarded as a good thing, disinflation could trigger an economic slump because it may result in consumers and businesses holding back on purchases and investments in expectations of lower prices down the road.

“I think rationing in food is a possibility,” he said. “But an even bigger danger is that we go back to the days when we thought price and wage controls were a smart thing, this time applied to a particular sectors.”

One encouraging development is that farmers have begun to switch to cash crops to take advantage of the higher prices, but Holt said it will likely take three to four years before the higher production is felt in the market.”

2008 Earth Hour Toronto

contact March 30th, 2008

Yesterday’s turn out in Toronto for Earth Hour. Check it out at Treehugger.

How Canada Warmly Welcomes Their Returning Soldiers

contact March 26th, 2008

From the sun:
welcome home soldiers in canada
A far cry from how other countries welcome home their soldiers.

View the slideshow

Canadians Pay Less Taxes Than Americans

contact March 12th, 2008

From the economist:

“PAYING TAXES is, for most people, both unavoidable and irksome. But how much hard-earned pay is taken by governments varies considerably across the world. Among the rich countries of the OECD, Germans shell out the most, with a worker earning an average income giving 43% of their gross pay to the state, with nearly half of that going towards social security. Workers in Poland hand over nearly 25% of their wages to social security; whereas Australians pay nothing at all directly. Mexicans and South Koreans enjoy the lightest taxation by some way.”

See the chart

11,000 Video Camera Eyes Will Be Watching You

contact March 6th, 2008

From the star:

“Surveillance cameras make TTC riders feel safer and the plan to dramatically expand their numbers is okay with Ann Cavoukian, Ontario’s privacy commissioner.

“Installing 11,000 cameras on buses, streetcars, subway cars and in stations complies with privacy standards, Cavoukian said yesterday when she released the results of her investigation.

But the TTC must make some changes to ensure the network of seeing eyes is used only for legitimate purposes and never for voyeurism, as has happened in other cities, she said.

Cavoukian urged that the TTC:

Delete video data after three days unless it’s needed for a police investigation.
Conduct annual audits to make sure privacy rules are followed.
Test a privacy-enhancing technology, under development at University of Toronto, that automatically encrypts people’s images.
The recommendations are meant to balance the legitimate needs for transit system safety and passenger privacy, Cavoukian stated.

TTC chair Adam Giambrone endorsed her findings and said his staff will be coming back with a plan for implementing them.

Privacy International, the London-based organization whose complaint trigged Cavoukian’s investigation, was less pleased.

“It is clear … the Commissioner has given up the ghost of privacy and become resigned to the inevitability of video surveillance technology,” the group said on its website.

The group argues there is no public-interest justification for the $21 million security system….”

Continue

Nightclubs Must Stop Scanning Driver’s Licenses

contact March 6th, 2008

From cbc:

“Alberta’s privacy commissioner has ordered a Calgary nightclub to stop scanning patrons’ driver’s licences, disputing the bar owner’s stance that the practice curbs violent behaviour.

Nyall Engfield filed a complaint to the office in August 2005 after his driver’s licence was scanned before he could enter the Tantra Nightclub at 3rd Street and 10th Avenue S.W. He claimed his personal information was collected without his permission.

Tantra and its parent company, Penny Lane Entertainment Group, argued the scanning system was for their customers’ safety and discouraged troublemakers from entering.

In a ruling released Wednesday, Frank Work, Alberta’s information and privacy commissioner wrote: “The organization did not provide any evidence to establish that collecting the complainant’s driver’s licence information, or that of other patrons, is in any way a deterrent to violent behaviour.”

Work ordered Tantra to cease scanning licences because “it has no reasonable purpose for doing so,” and to destroy the information it’s already collected from other patrons.

The Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission said it would…”

Continue

Yes! Canada Has a Military Base in Afghanistan

contact March 1st, 2008

From the nyt:

“The Canadian military has resumed handing over prisoners captured in Afghanistan to the Afghan government, a practice it quietly suspended late last year over concerns about torture, the military said Friday.

Speaking to reporters in a conference call from Kandahar, Canada’s operational base in southern Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Grant Dame did not say when the transfers had restarted and said they were being made on a “case-by-case basis.”

“In other words, we’ll exercise discretion each and every time we transfer a detainee,” he said.

The resumption of transfers comes as Parliament is reviewing the country’s combat mission in Afghanistan and as two human rights groups are challenging the transfers in court.

The transfers were ended in November after a Canadian prison inspection team concluded that at least one detainee had been tortured and heard complaints of torture from several others. A heavily censored government report said that one detainee showed inspectors a braided electrical cable and a rubber hose that he said were used for beatings…”

Read the article

Next »


-
Motorhome Hire