Be your own advocate to increase safety, doctor suggests

-- Patients put too much trust in doctors and should take a more active approach to their medical well-being, a health-care safety conference heard Friday. --

This is so VERY true. I have numerous personal or first-hand situations over the years where medical treatments have resulted in either a worsening of the condition and/or side effects that are as bad as, or worse, than the intial illness. Caveat emptor for all health and medical practitioners advice or prescriptions.

Full Story @ CBC News from October 20, 2006

Gifts for the Strike Captain who has everything

Music thing came across THE perfect gift for that special Strike Captain on your gift list. Make your message heard, keep those unruly picketers inline, get your picture on the front page of the local papers with a Megaphone Helmet.

Don't help New Democrats, CAW tells members

-- Stung by the expulsion of its leader from the New Democratic Party, the Canadian Auto Workers union has retaliated by formally asking its members to pull their support from the NDP.

"We are asking elected CAW leaders and CAW staff ... to end their involvement in the party," the union's national executive board said in a statement posted Friday on its website. --

Full Story @ CBC News from March 24, 2006

see also: CAW

How to spot a baby conservative

-- Remember the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints? Chances are he grew up to be a conservative.

At least, he did if he was one of 95 kids from the Berkeley area that social scientists have been tracking for the last 20 years. The confident, resilient, self-reliant kids mostly grew up to be liberals. --

Full Story @ Toronto Star from March 19, 2006

Court to scabs: pay up

-- The union is making sure that it doesn't pay to be a scab. Four members who failed to respect co-worker's picket lines in the 2004 strike were taken to court in Ontario by the PSAC. The judge ruled that the four have to pay up. --

Full Story @ CEIU from March 07, 2006

Pill-popping society fouling our water, official says (Make Mine Bottled Please)

-- Birth control pills, cancer drugs and a host of other pharmaceuticals that people flush down the drain every day are showing up in our drinking water, says Gord Miller, Ontario's environmental commissioner.

"We need to do a better job of keeping drugs out of lakes, rivers and drinking water," Miller told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record on Wednesday. --

Full Story @ CBC News from March 23, 2006

Ontario offers to buy homemade electricity (It's About Time)

-- Ontario is offering to subsidize homeowners and businesses that switch to renewable power sources like solar panels or wind turbines.

It's the first program of its type in the country and Premier Dalton McGuinty says he hopes the plan will see a quarter of a million homes powered by renewable energy within a decade. --

Full Story @ CBC News from March 21, 2006

see also: CNW Group // Toronto Star // Premier of Ontario

McGuinty Government Helping People Break Free Of Substance And Welfare Dependencies

-- The McGuinty government is helping social assistance recipients with substance abuse problems to tackle their addictions head-on, announced Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Community and Social Services.

The Addiction Services Initiative is one of a number of employment assistance activities available to Ontario Works recipients. It is designed to help people whose substance abuse makes it difficult for them to stay employed. The program recognizes that people need individualized support and a range of different services in order to manage their addictions, so they can find and keep a job.

Because of the program's success, the government is now introducing the Addiction Services Initiative into five additional communities: Peel, London, Ottawa, Wellington-Dufferin and Chatham-Kent. --

Full Press Release @ CNW Group from March 21, 2006

Soaps, Talk Shows May Dull Aging Brains (I Knew It!)

-- Could Oprah and General Hospital be bad for your brain?

New research suggests that elderly women who watch daytime soap operas and talk shows are more likely to suffer from cognitive impairment than women who abstain from such fare.

Researchers stress that it's not clear if watching these TV shows leads to weaker brainpower, or vice-versa. And they say it's possible that another explanation might be at work. --


Full Story @ Yahoo! Health News from HealthDay from March 20, 2006

Tory child care strategy takes women out of workforce, critics say

-- Fewer Canadian women will be able to contribute to the national economy if the federal Conservative government scraps a national child-care program set up by their Liberal predecessors, women's advocates said Monday.

A report prepared for YWCA Canada says more women will have to stay home without the increased day care spots made available under the five-year Liberal program introduced last year, which the Conservatives have promised to cancel after this year. --


Full Story @ Canada.com from March 20, 2006

Child-care debate hits close to home for Finley

-- The debate over the best way the government can aid parents needing child care hits close to home for Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Diane Finley.
The Member of Parliament for Haldimand-Norfolk is heading up the introduction of the Conservative’s new child-care program. The gist of the program is to provide parents a direct subsidy of $1,200 a year per child under six and spend $125 million to create more child-care spaces. The new program replaces the former Liberal government’s plan for a national day-care registry.

But the head of the agency that oversees licensed day care in Finely’s riding disagrees with the direction the Conservative government is headed. --


Full Story @ Tillsonburg News from March 20, 2006

Shred, don't pitch, papers

-- Calling all shred heads.

In an effort to combat identity theft, the Canadian government has announced nationwide events, including one in London, allowing anyone to shred such sensitive personal papers as tax returns and bank records. --

Full Story @ London Free Press from March 17, 2006

Coast-to-coast flights set

-- London travellers can now fly coast-to-coast, on a brand new airline.

Sunwing Airlines will offer direct flights to Halifax and Vancouver from London International Airport, the airport announced yesterday. --


Full Story @ London Free Press from March 18, 2006

Tilbury couple roll up a SUV win

-- A Tilbury couple will be rolling down the road in a new Toyota after rolling up a winner on a cup of coffee purchased from a Tim Hortons outlet in nearby Chatham. --


Full Story @ London Free Press from March 17, 2006

Pension shortfall deepens for Ontario teachers' fund

-- The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan reported a 17.1 per cent return for 2005 on Thursday, even as it acknowledged that it is slipping even further behind in its ability to make payments to future retirees.

The fund, which has more than $96 billion in assets, said it made $14.1 billion from investments in 2005. The 17.1 per cent return is solidly above the 12.7 per cent increase in the benchmark indexes the fund tracks for comparison purposes.

Yet despite its enviable returns for last year, Teachers' continues to fall behind in its future ability to pay pensions to its members. --


Full Story @ CBC News from March 16, 2006