Friday, December 31, 2010
By Terry Reith, CBC News
Sometime in the days leading up to Halloween, the 8,120th Canadian contacted police about being ripped off in a mass marketing scam, surpassing the total number of such victims reported for all of 2009.
Mass marketing fraud where scammers use the internet, radio and television ads, and infomercials is on the rise, while identity theft is dropping, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. (IStock)Total losses — close to $30 million — also topped 2009 numbers. And that only includes Canadians who reported being victims of mass marketing fraud.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, 95 per cent of people who are scammed never report it.
Mass marketing scams are those that use media such as the telephone, internet, radio ads and television infomercials to trick consumers into paying for something they never receive or has little real value.
When identity theft and complaints by U.S. and other foreign citizens about getting ripped off by Canadians are added to the total number of frauds, the number grows even higher — amounting to 16,741 victims and over $53 million. And that's just in the first 10 months of 2010.
'Mass marketing fraud is a growing problem.'
—Lisa Campbell, Competition Bureau"Mass marketing fraud is a growing problem that affects Canadians," said Lisa Campbell, deputy commissioner of Canada's Competition Bureau, just one of the agencies investigating the dizzying array of scams and frauds that snare Canadians.Disgraced Montreal financier Earl Jones made headlines for running a $50-million Ponzi scheme, but we seldom hear about crooks that use the phone, internet or advertising to take millions from unsuspecting consumers.
Nor do we often hear the stories about their victims, who may be too embarrassed to speak publicly about how they were cheated. That's the reason only five per cent of victims come forward. But when their stories are told, they're often chilling.
Elderly targeted
One woman, who does not want her name or the city she lives in revealed, wrote eloquently to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre about a fraud perpetrated on her 82-year-old father.Elderly people are often targets of scams because they tend to be more trusting. "My father is slowly losing both his hearing and his best friend, my mother, who is well into the second state of Alzheimer's," she writes. "Dad's isolation and lack of critical thinking have made him a prime candidate for mass marketing fraud."
She learned about the fraud after being contacted by her father's bank manager. Her parents' bank account was about to exceed its overdraft limit, and her father's MasterCard and line of credit were nearly maxed out. In his loneliness, the man had been entering "sweepstake" contests he received in the mail. Soon he was receiving about 50 pieces of mail a day.
The scammers promised him winnings, but first he had to send a deposit or other such payment. He never received a cent."With what little pension money remains, he will now begin what maybe a lifelong task of repaying, with interest, the money swindled from him by these criminals," the daughter writes. Sweepstakes prize scams are remarkably common and usually target older individuals who grew up in a perhaps more trusting time.
Looking legitimate
On Dec. 1, a judge in California issued a restraining order to stop several companies from operating bogus sweepstakes. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the personalized mailers sent to hundreds of thousands of consumers were made to look as if they came from legitimate government agencies. The RCMP, which operates the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, works extensively with the Federal Tarde Commission in the U.S. on cross-border scams. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)In response to the growing sophistication and cost of mass marketing fraud, the FTC launched dozens of investigations that led to hundreds of charges — shutting down scams that took U.S. and Canadian residents for billions of dollars.
The FTC describes its working relationship with Canadian police agencies as a model it would like to apply in other international investigations. "We work on cases together, we share leads and investigative information and we have had fabulously profitable partnerships working with Canadian law enforcement on scams going both directions," Steve Baker, the director of the FTC's Chicago office said in an interview with CBC News.
'As economies have gone global, so has fraud.'—Steve Baker, Federal Trade CommissionIn one recent case, the FTC successfully investigated and shut down an organization that claimed it could reduce a consumer's credit card rate.
"They were out of Florida but in the last year or two they were operating their victims were exclusively Canadians," he said. The FTC has also investigated and charged Canadians.
"There's a great deal of fraud that operates out of Canada, ripping off Americans."
Embarrassment factor
Often victims get blamed for allowing themselves to be taken. The adage, "A fool and his money are soon parted," seems to be an opinion many people still hold.But the frauds of 2010 are far different from the snake-oil sales pitches that offered magic elixirs from the back of a wagon. Today, scammers have the resources to hire professional web designers and employ fancy packaging, elaborate marketing and overnight delivery.
The company that makes Activia yogurt was charged with misleading advertising for falsly claiming its products could promote regularity and strengthen the immune system. (Federal Trade Commission)Today's snake oil comes in the form of dietary supplements, according to the FTC. In testimony to a U.S. Senate committee in May, the agency estimated the supplement industry took in $25 billion US, often selling products based on phoney claims.
Over the past decade, the agency has taken more than 100 enforcement actions against supplement companies that claimed their products could cure cancer, AIDS and other serious medical conditions.
Many of the fraudulent products are sold in national-chain pharmacies and advertised on radio and television.
In mid-December, the company that makes Activia Yogurt and DanActive dairy drink was forced to pay $21 million over false claims it made in U.S. ads. The marketing campaign featured actress Jamie Lee Curtis and falsely claimed that its products helped build a healthy immune system and prevented irregularity.
'(Mass marketing fraud) undermines people's confidence and trust in the marketplace.'
—Steven White, RCMP assistant commissioner"Mass marketing fraud affects a large number of Canadians and international businesses and consumers," said assistant commissioner Steven White of the RCMP.
"It undermines people's confidence and trust in the marketplace and robs people of their savings, security and dignity," he said.
Identity theft down
Cases of identity theft appear to be on a downward trend, according to figures for the first 10 months of 2010. There were 5,150 victims who filed complaints with police in Canada, reporting losses of $7.4 million.
There were just over 12,000 identity-theft victims and losses of $11 million in 2009.
One of those cases involved a woman who wrote about what happened. She asked that neither her name nor where she lives be published. 'All I can think is that someone is driving around in some fancy car that we paid for.'—Identity theft victimThe fraud began in January 2010 when her husband learned that their bank accounts had been cleaned out. They soon learned that someone had applied for several credit cards in her husband's name and had racked up charges on his existing card.
His credit rating was destroyed.
It was later learned that a bank employee had been part of a fraud ring. While the family had been cleaned out to the tune of $60,000, the banks involved were no help, and the woman was told it would be too expensive to sue.
"We worked hard, we earned that money. All I can think is that someone is driving around in some fancy car that we paid for, while we're stuck paying the same bills twice," wrote the woman, who is now expecting her first child. "Not only are we victimized by having our money stolen, we cannot move on with our financial lives like everyone else can. We can't borrow money."We can't buy a home. We can't get a car loan. It never stops."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2010/12/31/con-fraud-2010.html#ixzz19htrnj3l
Sometime in the days leading up to Halloween, the 8,120th Canadian contacted police about being ripped off in a mass marketing scam, surpassing the total number of such victims reported for all of 2009.
Mass marketing fraud where scammers use the internet, radio and television ads, and infomercials is on the rise, while identity theft is dropping, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. (IStock)Total losses — close to $30 million — also topped 2009 numbers. And that only includes Canadians who reported being victims of mass marketing fraud.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, 95 per cent of people who are scammed never report it.
Mass marketing scams are those that use media such as the telephone, internet, radio ads and television infomercials to trick consumers into paying for something they never receive or has little real value.
When identity theft and complaints by U.S. and other foreign citizens about getting ripped off by Canadians are added to the total number of frauds, the number grows even higher — amounting to 16,741 victims and over $53 million. And that's just in the first 10 months of 2010.
'Mass marketing fraud is a growing problem.'
—Lisa Campbell, Competition Bureau"Mass marketing fraud is a growing problem that affects Canadians," said Lisa Campbell, deputy commissioner of Canada's Competition Bureau, just one of the agencies investigating the dizzying array of scams and frauds that snare Canadians.Disgraced Montreal financier Earl Jones made headlines for running a $50-million Ponzi scheme, but we seldom hear about crooks that use the phone, internet or advertising to take millions from unsuspecting consumers.
Nor do we often hear the stories about their victims, who may be too embarrassed to speak publicly about how they were cheated. That's the reason only five per cent of victims come forward. But when their stories are told, they're often chilling.
Elderly targeted
One woman, who does not want her name or the city she lives in revealed, wrote eloquently to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre about a fraud perpetrated on her 82-year-old father.Elderly people are often targets of scams because they tend to be more trusting. "My father is slowly losing both his hearing and his best friend, my mother, who is well into the second state of Alzheimer's," she writes. "Dad's isolation and lack of critical thinking have made him a prime candidate for mass marketing fraud."
She learned about the fraud after being contacted by her father's bank manager. Her parents' bank account was about to exceed its overdraft limit, and her father's MasterCard and line of credit were nearly maxed out. In his loneliness, the man had been entering "sweepstake" contests he received in the mail. Soon he was receiving about 50 pieces of mail a day.
The scammers promised him winnings, but first he had to send a deposit or other such payment. He never received a cent."With what little pension money remains, he will now begin what maybe a lifelong task of repaying, with interest, the money swindled from him by these criminals," the daughter writes. Sweepstakes prize scams are remarkably common and usually target older individuals who grew up in a perhaps more trusting time.
Looking legitimate
On Dec. 1, a judge in California issued a restraining order to stop several companies from operating bogus sweepstakes. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the personalized mailers sent to hundreds of thousands of consumers were made to look as if they came from legitimate government agencies. The RCMP, which operates the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, works extensively with the Federal Tarde Commission in the U.S. on cross-border scams. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)In response to the growing sophistication and cost of mass marketing fraud, the FTC launched dozens of investigations that led to hundreds of charges — shutting down scams that took U.S. and Canadian residents for billions of dollars.
The FTC describes its working relationship with Canadian police agencies as a model it would like to apply in other international investigations. "We work on cases together, we share leads and investigative information and we have had fabulously profitable partnerships working with Canadian law enforcement on scams going both directions," Steve Baker, the director of the FTC's Chicago office said in an interview with CBC News.
'As economies have gone global, so has fraud.'—Steve Baker, Federal Trade CommissionIn one recent case, the FTC successfully investigated and shut down an organization that claimed it could reduce a consumer's credit card rate.
"They were out of Florida but in the last year or two they were operating their victims were exclusively Canadians," he said. The FTC has also investigated and charged Canadians.
"There's a great deal of fraud that operates out of Canada, ripping off Americans."
Embarrassment factor
Often victims get blamed for allowing themselves to be taken. The adage, "A fool and his money are soon parted," seems to be an opinion many people still hold.But the frauds of 2010 are far different from the snake-oil sales pitches that offered magic elixirs from the back of a wagon. Today, scammers have the resources to hire professional web designers and employ fancy packaging, elaborate marketing and overnight delivery.
The company that makes Activia yogurt was charged with misleading advertising for falsly claiming its products could promote regularity and strengthen the immune system. (Federal Trade Commission)Today's snake oil comes in the form of dietary supplements, according to the FTC. In testimony to a U.S. Senate committee in May, the agency estimated the supplement industry took in $25 billion US, often selling products based on phoney claims.
Over the past decade, the agency has taken more than 100 enforcement actions against supplement companies that claimed their products could cure cancer, AIDS and other serious medical conditions.
Many of the fraudulent products are sold in national-chain pharmacies and advertised on radio and television.
In mid-December, the company that makes Activia Yogurt and DanActive dairy drink was forced to pay $21 million over false claims it made in U.S. ads. The marketing campaign featured actress Jamie Lee Curtis and falsely claimed that its products helped build a healthy immune system and prevented irregularity.
'(Mass marketing fraud) undermines people's confidence and trust in the marketplace.'
—Steven White, RCMP assistant commissioner"Mass marketing fraud affects a large number of Canadians and international businesses and consumers," said assistant commissioner Steven White of the RCMP.
"It undermines people's confidence and trust in the marketplace and robs people of their savings, security and dignity," he said.
Identity theft down
Cases of identity theft appear to be on a downward trend, according to figures for the first 10 months of 2010. There were 5,150 victims who filed complaints with police in Canada, reporting losses of $7.4 million.
There were just over 12,000 identity-theft victims and losses of $11 million in 2009.
One of those cases involved a woman who wrote about what happened. She asked that neither her name nor where she lives be published. 'All I can think is that someone is driving around in some fancy car that we paid for.'—Identity theft victimThe fraud began in January 2010 when her husband learned that their bank accounts had been cleaned out. They soon learned that someone had applied for several credit cards in her husband's name and had racked up charges on his existing card.
His credit rating was destroyed.
It was later learned that a bank employee had been part of a fraud ring. While the family had been cleaned out to the tune of $60,000, the banks involved were no help, and the woman was told it would be too expensive to sue.
"We worked hard, we earned that money. All I can think is that someone is driving around in some fancy car that we paid for, while we're stuck paying the same bills twice," wrote the woman, who is now expecting her first child. "Not only are we victimized by having our money stolen, we cannot move on with our financial lives like everyone else can. We can't borrow money."We can't buy a home. We can't get a car loan. It never stops."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2010/12/31/con-fraud-2010.html#ixzz19htrnj3l
Canadian Holidays for 2011
Holidays and Observances:
Jan 1 New Year's Day
Jan 2 Day After New Year’s Day (QC)
Jan 6 Epiphany
Feb 2 Groundhog Day
Feb 14 Valentine's Day
Feb 21 Islander Day (PE)
Feb 21 Louis Riel Day (MB)
Feb 21 Family Day (AB, ON, SK)
Feb 25 Heritage Day in the Yukon (YT)
Mar 14 St. Patrick's Day (NL)
Mar 14 Commonwealth Day
Mar 17 St. Patrick's Day
Apr 9 Vimy Ridge Day
Apr 22 Good Friday
Apr 24 Easter Sunday
Apr 25 Easter Monday
May 23 Victoria Day (All except NS, QC)
May 23 National Patriots' Day (QC)
Jun 21 National Aboriginal Day (NT)
Jun 24 St. Jean Baptiste Day (QC)
Jul 1 Canada Day
Jul 9 Nunavut Day (NU)
Aug 1 British Columbia Day (BC)
Aug 1 Heritage Day in Alberta (AB)
Aug 1 Civic/Provincial Day (MB, NT, ON, SK)
Aug 1 New Brunswick Day (NB)
Aug 19 Gold Cup Parade (PE)
Sep 5 Labour Day (All)
Oct 10 Thanksgiving Day (All)
Oct 31 Halloween
Nov 11 Remembrance Day (All except MB, ON, QC)
Dec 11 Anniversary of the Statute of Westminster
Dec 24 Christmas Eve
Dec 25 Christmas
Dec 26 Boxing Day (All except AB, BC, NU)
Dec 31 New Year's Eve
Jan 1 New Year's Day
Jan 2 Day After New Year’s Day (QC)
Jan 6 Epiphany
Feb 2 Groundhog Day
Feb 14 Valentine's Day
Feb 21 Islander Day (PE)
Feb 21 Louis Riel Day (MB)
Feb 21 Family Day (AB, ON, SK)
Feb 25 Heritage Day in the Yukon (YT)
Mar 14 St. Patrick's Day (NL)
Mar 14 Commonwealth Day
Mar 17 St. Patrick's Day
Apr 9 Vimy Ridge Day
Apr 22 Good Friday
Apr 24 Easter Sunday
Apr 25 Easter Monday
May 23 Victoria Day (All except NS, QC)
May 23 National Patriots' Day (QC)
Jun 21 National Aboriginal Day (NT)
Jun 24 St. Jean Baptiste Day (QC)
Jul 1 Canada Day
Jul 9 Nunavut Day (NU)
Aug 1 British Columbia Day (BC)
Aug 1 Heritage Day in Alberta (AB)
Aug 1 Civic/Provincial Day (MB, NT, ON, SK)
Aug 1 New Brunswick Day (NB)
Aug 19 Gold Cup Parade (PE)
Sep 5 Labour Day (All)
Oct 10 Thanksgiving Day (All)
Oct 31 Halloween
Nov 11 Remembrance Day (All except MB, ON, QC)
Dec 11 Anniversary of the Statute of Westminster
Dec 24 Christmas Eve
Dec 25 Christmas
Dec 26 Boxing Day (All except AB, BC, NU)
Dec 31 New Year's Eve
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Recession left lasting damage: report
I have cut and pasted the following report but I have to say that the idea of old people working until they die so that we can continue to bail out banks and major corporations like GM is not very appealing.
The Canadian Press
The recent economic crisis could limit Canada's GDP growth unless governments get rid of barriers to foreign ownership and policies that hinder the elderly from working, according to a report published Thursday.The report by the Centre for Study of Living Standards in Ottawa notes that Canada survived the recession relatively well compared with many other countries, but the recession still led to a downward spiral in potential growth.
The report says the lower level of investment that came with the downturn led to a one percentage point fall in potential GDP growth in 2009, which the report authors describe as "severe." They expect growth to go back into the positive, but the projected rate, about two per cent in the medium term, is still below pre-crisis levels.The authors, who are economists with the International Monetary Fund, suggest this can be fixed by policies aimed at raising potential growth. They suggest encouraging international trade and reducing barriers that prevent foreign ownership of telecommunications companies, airlines and broadcasters.
The authors say that Canada's labour productivity has slowed, and removing obstacles that make it harder for seniors over age 65 to work is another way Canada's GDP growth can fully recover. They also cite the need to bolster research and development, which is typically low in Canada compared to the rest of the world.
The report says that even though Canada might need help as it continues to recover, its outlook for potential growth is better compared to the rest of the world, due to strong economic frameworks that helped it avoid much of the impact of the recession in the first place.It also lauded the federal and provincial governments for cutting corporate income taxes and considering policies that would increase competition and productivity.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/12/30/recession-report-damage-imf.html#ixzz19dRhSI00
The Canadian Press
The recent economic crisis could limit Canada's GDP growth unless governments get rid of barriers to foreign ownership and policies that hinder the elderly from working, according to a report published Thursday.The report by the Centre for Study of Living Standards in Ottawa notes that Canada survived the recession relatively well compared with many other countries, but the recession still led to a downward spiral in potential growth.
The report says the lower level of investment that came with the downturn led to a one percentage point fall in potential GDP growth in 2009, which the report authors describe as "severe." They expect growth to go back into the positive, but the projected rate, about two per cent in the medium term, is still below pre-crisis levels.The authors, who are economists with the International Monetary Fund, suggest this can be fixed by policies aimed at raising potential growth. They suggest encouraging international trade and reducing barriers that prevent foreign ownership of telecommunications companies, airlines and broadcasters.
The authors say that Canada's labour productivity has slowed, and removing obstacles that make it harder for seniors over age 65 to work is another way Canada's GDP growth can fully recover. They also cite the need to bolster research and development, which is typically low in Canada compared to the rest of the world.
The report says that even though Canada might need help as it continues to recover, its outlook for potential growth is better compared to the rest of the world, due to strong economic frameworks that helped it avoid much of the impact of the recession in the first place.It also lauded the federal and provincial governments for cutting corporate income taxes and considering policies that would increase competition and productivity.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/12/30/recession-report-damage-imf.html#ixzz19dRhSI00
Most Canadians Indifferent to Monarchy and Royal Wedding
The share of Canadians who want the country to remain a monarchy in the future has dropped significantly, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,016 Canadians, one-in-five respondents (21%) want Canada to remain a monarchy, down 15 points since an Angus Reid Public Opinion survey conducted in July, following the Queen’s visit to Canada.Significantly larger proportions of respondents would prefer for Canada to have an elected head of state (32%, +2) or are simply uninterested in the matter (29%, +8).
Three-in-five respondents (64%) would like to see a Canadian serve as the nation’s head of state, although only half of respondents (49%) are in favour of reopening Canada’s constitutional debate to discuss the possibility of replacing the monarch with an elected head of state.
The Royals
Prince William has surpassed his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in popularity with the Canadian public. This month, 60 per cent of respondents hold a favourable opinion of Prince William, while 56 per cent feel the same way about the current monarch. Her husband, Prince Philip, is liked by only two-in-five respondents (40%). Half of Canadians (51%) have a positive opinion of Prince Harry. Kate Middleton, Prince William’s fiancée, is viewed favourably by 43 per cent of Canadians. Prince Charles (30%) and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (18%), are the least liked members of the Royal Family.
After Queen Elizabeth II
When asked who they would like to have as monarch in the event Queen Elizabeth II dies or abdicates, Canadians select Prince William over Prince Charles by more than a 2-to-1 margin (33% to 14%). However, a more than a third of Canadians (35%) think there should be no monarch after Queen Elizabeth II.
Canadians are not unique in their preference for the second-in-line to ascend the throne. A survey conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion in November showed that almost half of Britons (48%) would prefer to have Prince William as King, while a third (33%) favor Prince Charles.
Interest in the Royal Family and Upcoming Royal Wedding
Seven-in-ten Canadians (70%) report being “not too interested” or “not interested at all” in both the British Royal Family (70%) and the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton (69%). Their wedding day—April 29, 2011—has been declared a national holiday in the United Kingdom. More than half of Canadians (58%) oppose taking the same course of action in Canada.
Analysis
The drop in support for Canada remaining a monarchy is not directly related to a rise in “republicanism.” The true cause of the severe fluctuation is the lack of interest in this issue, particularly among respondents aged 18 to 34. However, a gender gap is developing on this question. While women are divided, men favour having an elected head of state over a monarch by a 2-to-1 margin.
The survey also shows that fewer Canadians hold favourable views on several Royal Family members. However, despite the perceived lack of enthusiasm in the upcoming wedding, the proportion of respondents who express a favourable opinion of Kate Middleton increased by 16 points since July—placing her above Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Three-in-five respondents (64%) would like to see a Canadian serve as the nation’s head of state, although only half of respondents (49%) are in favour of reopening Canada’s constitutional debate to discuss the possibility of replacing the monarch with an elected head of state.
The Royals
Prince William has surpassed his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in popularity with the Canadian public. This month, 60 per cent of respondents hold a favourable opinion of Prince William, while 56 per cent feel the same way about the current monarch. Her husband, Prince Philip, is liked by only two-in-five respondents (40%). Half of Canadians (51%) have a positive opinion of Prince Harry. Kate Middleton, Prince William’s fiancée, is viewed favourably by 43 per cent of Canadians. Prince Charles (30%) and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (18%), are the least liked members of the Royal Family.
After Queen Elizabeth II
When asked who they would like to have as monarch in the event Queen Elizabeth II dies or abdicates, Canadians select Prince William over Prince Charles by more than a 2-to-1 margin (33% to 14%). However, a more than a third of Canadians (35%) think there should be no monarch after Queen Elizabeth II.
Canadians are not unique in their preference for the second-in-line to ascend the throne. A survey conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion in November showed that almost half of Britons (48%) would prefer to have Prince William as King, while a third (33%) favor Prince Charles.
Interest in the Royal Family and Upcoming Royal Wedding
Seven-in-ten Canadians (70%) report being “not too interested” or “not interested at all” in both the British Royal Family (70%) and the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton (69%). Their wedding day—April 29, 2011—has been declared a national holiday in the United Kingdom. More than half of Canadians (58%) oppose taking the same course of action in Canada.
Analysis
The drop in support for Canada remaining a monarchy is not directly related to a rise in “republicanism.” The true cause of the severe fluctuation is the lack of interest in this issue, particularly among respondents aged 18 to 34. However, a gender gap is developing on this question. While women are divided, men favour having an elected head of state over a monarch by a 2-to-1 margin.
The survey also shows that fewer Canadians hold favourable views on several Royal Family members. However, despite the perceived lack of enthusiasm in the upcoming wedding, the proportion of respondents who express a favourable opinion of Kate Middleton increased by 16 points since July—placing her above Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Canadians embrace web like no others
Canadians were curating their Facebook profiles long before the rest of the world got hooked, many were experimenting with the limitations of writing in 140-character snippets at Twitter's launch in 2006, and we watch online video more than any other web surfers.
There aren't many theories as to why exactly, but Canadians rank among the most enthusiastic users of the web and all its various offshoots. The Canadian Press talked to a few of the internet's biggest properties about what Canadians are doing online.Canadians spend more time online than users in any of the countries tracked by measurement company comScore, which also said Canada had the highest penetration of internet access. About 68 per cent of the Canadian population is online, comScore estimated in April, compared to 62 per cent in France and the United Kingdom, 60 per cent in Germany, 59 per cent in the United States, 57 per cent in Japan, and 36 per cent in Italy.
Canada was the only country in which users logged an average of more than 2,500 minutes online a month, which is almost 42 hours. Israel was second with an average of around 2,300 minutes, while a few other countries were around the 2,000-minute mark.
A passion for YouTube
"In Canada, YouTube per capita consumption of video is No. 1 in the world. It's just absolutely crazy in terms of how passionate Canadians are about YouTube," said Chris O'Neill, Canada's country director for Google.It's estimated that about 21 million Canadians visit YouTube each month, compared to 147 million Americans. But considering the U.S. has 10 times Canada's population, Canadians are way ahead on a per capita basis.Canadian users also view more videos, with an average of 147 watched each month compared to 100 per U.S. viewer. In terms of most minutes watched, 18-to-24 is the biggest demographic with a monthly average of 244 videos viewed over the course of 1,095 minutes, or 18.25 hours.
Canadians were among the eager early adopters of Facebook and at one point trailed just the U.S. in overall numbers of users. But Canadians no longer dominate on the site. According to socialbakers.com, Canada has more than 17 million users, and is neck and neck with India for 9th and 10th on the list of the countries with the most Facebook accounts. But Canada's penetration rate of about 51.2 per cent of the population, or 65.9 per cent of the online population, is still one of the most significant on Facebook.
Twitter still has a long way to go before it even comes close to nearing Facebook's user base — Twitter is believed to be around 200 million, a far cry from Facebook's 575 million — but it did add more than 100 million accounts worldwide in the last year.
"What we can share is that the number of Twitter accounts in Canada has increased by 75 per cent since the beginning of the year, and the number of daily tweets more than doubled," a Twitter spokesperson said in an email.
Bieber meets Twitter
Vancouver-based company Hootsuite Media, which has a popular Twitter app with more than one million users, saw 250 per cent growth in usage among its Canadian users in 2010. About 5.5 per cent of its daily traffic, 55,000 tweets, comes from Canadian users.
According to an analysis of traffic by measurement company Trendrr, Canadian female Twitter users are more active than male Twitter users. And one Canadian user is among the most influential of them all. Justin Bieber, with more than 6.4 million followers, gets mentioned in about 200,000 tweets daily, Trenddr estimates.
The average Canadian web surfer reads 16 Wikipedia pages a month, which is the most in the world — one more than German users, two more than Polish users and four more than Americans. Canadian users generate about 217,000 edits a month, which ranks 8th among the most productive countries.
Canadian e-book readers are supporting homegrown talent, says e-tailer Kobo. Ever since being announced as the winner of this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize on Nov. 9, The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud has been the consistent top seller.
And they like Jane Austen too. In the free section of the website, works by the British novelist are the most downloaded "by a wide, wide margin."
If there's one thing that separates Canadian and American customers it's the romance and erotica category, which is very big down south and sells 50 per cent better than in Canada. Canadians go more for contemporary fiction, Kobo says. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen got a big boost after being featured on Oprah but sales were twice as big in Canada, on a proportional basis.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/12/28/tech-facebook-twitter-online-internet-trends.html#ixzz19Vc4Jun4
There aren't many theories as to why exactly, but Canadians rank among the most enthusiastic users of the web and all its various offshoots. The Canadian Press talked to a few of the internet's biggest properties about what Canadians are doing online.Canadians spend more time online than users in any of the countries tracked by measurement company comScore, which also said Canada had the highest penetration of internet access. About 68 per cent of the Canadian population is online, comScore estimated in April, compared to 62 per cent in France and the United Kingdom, 60 per cent in Germany, 59 per cent in the United States, 57 per cent in Japan, and 36 per cent in Italy.
Canada was the only country in which users logged an average of more than 2,500 minutes online a month, which is almost 42 hours. Israel was second with an average of around 2,300 minutes, while a few other countries were around the 2,000-minute mark.
A passion for YouTube
"In Canada, YouTube per capita consumption of video is No. 1 in the world. It's just absolutely crazy in terms of how passionate Canadians are about YouTube," said Chris O'Neill, Canada's country director for Google.It's estimated that about 21 million Canadians visit YouTube each month, compared to 147 million Americans. But considering the U.S. has 10 times Canada's population, Canadians are way ahead on a per capita basis.Canadian users also view more videos, with an average of 147 watched each month compared to 100 per U.S. viewer. In terms of most minutes watched, 18-to-24 is the biggest demographic with a monthly average of 244 videos viewed over the course of 1,095 minutes, or 18.25 hours.
Canadians were among the eager early adopters of Facebook and at one point trailed just the U.S. in overall numbers of users. But Canadians no longer dominate on the site. According to socialbakers.com, Canada has more than 17 million users, and is neck and neck with India for 9th and 10th on the list of the countries with the most Facebook accounts. But Canada's penetration rate of about 51.2 per cent of the population, or 65.9 per cent of the online population, is still one of the most significant on Facebook.
Twitter still has a long way to go before it even comes close to nearing Facebook's user base — Twitter is believed to be around 200 million, a far cry from Facebook's 575 million — but it did add more than 100 million accounts worldwide in the last year.
"What we can share is that the number of Twitter accounts in Canada has increased by 75 per cent since the beginning of the year, and the number of daily tweets more than doubled," a Twitter spokesperson said in an email.
Bieber meets Twitter
Vancouver-based company Hootsuite Media, which has a popular Twitter app with more than one million users, saw 250 per cent growth in usage among its Canadian users in 2010. About 5.5 per cent of its daily traffic, 55,000 tweets, comes from Canadian users.
According to an analysis of traffic by measurement company Trendrr, Canadian female Twitter users are more active than male Twitter users. And one Canadian user is among the most influential of them all. Justin Bieber, with more than 6.4 million followers, gets mentioned in about 200,000 tweets daily, Trenddr estimates.
The average Canadian web surfer reads 16 Wikipedia pages a month, which is the most in the world — one more than German users, two more than Polish users and four more than Americans. Canadian users generate about 217,000 edits a month, which ranks 8th among the most productive countries.
Canadian e-book readers are supporting homegrown talent, says e-tailer Kobo. Ever since being announced as the winner of this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize on Nov. 9, The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud has been the consistent top seller.
And they like Jane Austen too. In the free section of the website, works by the British novelist are the most downloaded "by a wide, wide margin."
If there's one thing that separates Canadian and American customers it's the romance and erotica category, which is very big down south and sells 50 per cent better than in Canada. Canadians go more for contemporary fiction, Kobo says. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen got a big boost after being featured on Oprah but sales were twice as big in Canada, on a proportional basis.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/12/28/tech-facebook-twitter-online-internet-trends.html#ixzz19Vc4Jun4
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Chinese fugitives head to Canada, U.S.
Nearly 600 fugitives involved with economic crimes such as fraud and embezzlement have fled China and are hiding in other countries, a top security official was quoted as saying Tuesday.
China's rapid economic growth has been accompanied by an alarming increase in economic crimes, with almost daily reports of officials stealing millions of dollars from government offices or companies.At least 580 fugitives accused of illegal fundraising, bank loan fraud, illegally transferring funds abroad and contract fraud are hiding out in other countries, said Meng Qingfeng, head of the economic crime division at the Ministry of Public Security.Most of the fugitives fled to North America or Southeast Asia, the China Daily newspaper quoted Meng as saying.
A big hurdle in having the fugitives returned is a lack of extradition treaties with many countries, the report said. China has signed extradition treaties with just 37 countries."It is more urgent to prevent the suspects from fleeing abroad while trying to enhance judicial co-operation with other countries to bring the fugitives back," Meng said. Meng said Chinese authorities have seized more than 250 fugitives from 20 countries since 2006, but differing legal systems have made it difficult.
Most famous Chinese fugitive is fighting to stay in Canada
China's most famous fugitive is Lai Changxing, who fled to Canada more than a decade ago. He is charged with heading a network that smuggled billions of dollars worth of goods into China with the protection of corrupt officials.China is critical of Canada's handling of Lai, who has staged a legal fight to stay in Canada, arguing he faces torture and possible execution if he returns to China. The Canadian government has been trying to deport Lai, although Canada and China do not have an extradition treaty.
Lai, who has been living in Vancouver since 1999, is accused of running a gasoline and cigarette smuggling empire that was worth in excess of $10 billion. The Chinese have insisted he be sent back to China to face justice and has promised that he will not be executed. But Lai told the CBC in 2009 that he did not trust the Chinese government because nine of his associates had already received the death penalty.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/12/28/world-china-fugitives.html#ixzz19PRjKEwZ
China's rapid economic growth has been accompanied by an alarming increase in economic crimes, with almost daily reports of officials stealing millions of dollars from government offices or companies.At least 580 fugitives accused of illegal fundraising, bank loan fraud, illegally transferring funds abroad and contract fraud are hiding out in other countries, said Meng Qingfeng, head of the economic crime division at the Ministry of Public Security.Most of the fugitives fled to North America or Southeast Asia, the China Daily newspaper quoted Meng as saying.
A big hurdle in having the fugitives returned is a lack of extradition treaties with many countries, the report said. China has signed extradition treaties with just 37 countries."It is more urgent to prevent the suspects from fleeing abroad while trying to enhance judicial co-operation with other countries to bring the fugitives back," Meng said. Meng said Chinese authorities have seized more than 250 fugitives from 20 countries since 2006, but differing legal systems have made it difficult.
Most famous Chinese fugitive is fighting to stay in Canada
China's most famous fugitive is Lai Changxing, who fled to Canada more than a decade ago. He is charged with heading a network that smuggled billions of dollars worth of goods into China with the protection of corrupt officials.China is critical of Canada's handling of Lai, who has staged a legal fight to stay in Canada, arguing he faces torture and possible execution if he returns to China. The Canadian government has been trying to deport Lai, although Canada and China do not have an extradition treaty.
Lai, who has been living in Vancouver since 1999, is accused of running a gasoline and cigarette smuggling empire that was worth in excess of $10 billion. The Chinese have insisted he be sent back to China to face justice and has promised that he will not be executed. But Lai told the CBC in 2009 that he did not trust the Chinese government because nine of his associates had already received the death penalty.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/12/28/world-china-fugitives.html#ixzz19PRjKEwZ
Monday, December 27, 2010
Immigration bolsters Canada’s population
Canada’s population was at 34.2 million as of Oct. 1, according to Statistics Canada. The agency said the increase–the largest in 40 years–was driven mainly by immigration.
Immigration bolsters Canada’s population
For the third quarter of 2010, 65 percent or 84,200 people of the 129,300 who were added to Canada’s head count were migrants. The new arrivals did not just stay in key urban centers such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but also spread out into the provinces and territories. Tiny Prince Edward Island welcomed 1,200 new migrants during the quarter, Quebec opened its door to 16,800 arrivals and Manitoba allowed into the province 4,700 new Canadians. The only exception was Alberta. Some 60 percent of its growth for the quarter was because of births by established residents.
For the last quarter of 2010, Canada is expected to welcome from 240,000 to 265,000 immigrants.
To help the provinces cope with the surge of arrivals, Ottawa grants subsidies based on 2005 immigration levels. Ontario, a traditional immigrant destination, gets an average of $3,400 per migrant to help the newcomers resettle in their new home. Other provinces, except Quebec, receive about $2,900 per head.
Because of the new patterns of immigration, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Ottawa would redistribute federal funding accordingly. The surge in immigrant arrivals had caused federal settlement funds to triple from less than $200 million in 2005-06 to $651 million in 2010-11. However, by next year, Ottawa will reduce the amount to $598 million.
The $43 million cut may drastically affect settlement services offered by agencies such as the Eritrean Canadian Community Center, South Asian Women’s Center, Ethiopian Association, Afghan Association of Ontario and Bloor Information and Life Skills Center, which are facing budget shortfalls of 70 percent or higher.
Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Immigration bolsters Canada’s population
For the third quarter of 2010, 65 percent or 84,200 people of the 129,300 who were added to Canada’s head count were migrants. The new arrivals did not just stay in key urban centers such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but also spread out into the provinces and territories. Tiny Prince Edward Island welcomed 1,200 new migrants during the quarter, Quebec opened its door to 16,800 arrivals and Manitoba allowed into the province 4,700 new Canadians. The only exception was Alberta. Some 60 percent of its growth for the quarter was because of births by established residents.
For the last quarter of 2010, Canada is expected to welcome from 240,000 to 265,000 immigrants.
To help the provinces cope with the surge of arrivals, Ottawa grants subsidies based on 2005 immigration levels. Ontario, a traditional immigrant destination, gets an average of $3,400 per migrant to help the newcomers resettle in their new home. Other provinces, except Quebec, receive about $2,900 per head.
Because of the new patterns of immigration, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Ottawa would redistribute federal funding accordingly. The surge in immigrant arrivals had caused federal settlement funds to triple from less than $200 million in 2005-06 to $651 million in 2010-11. However, by next year, Ottawa will reduce the amount to $598 million.
The $43 million cut may drastically affect settlement services offered by agencies such as the Eritrean Canadian Community Center, South Asian Women’s Center, Ethiopian Association, Afghan Association of Ontario and Bloor Information and Life Skills Center, which are facing budget shortfalls of 70 percent or higher.
Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wikileaks Canada by David McKie
Throughout the whole WikiLeaks controversy, there has been the suggestion that leaking the contents of discussions in cables would force diplomats to save all their candor for telephone conversations and closed-door chats. Former diplomats have indicated that had they worked in a climate threatened by WikiLeaks, that they would commit very few of their thoughts to paper. That point was made abundantly clear during a lunch-time discussion I had with a number of former Canadian diplomats, politicians and high-ranking bureaucrats. I politely disagreed, for the reasons that should become clear when you read on.
So far nothing that Canadian officials have purported to have said in cables is really at odds with what the Harper government has said publicly.And it's unclear whether the WikiLeaks phenomenon will usher in a new era committing internal discussions to phone calls and memory because this mindset has existed when those former diplomats around that elegant lunch table plied their trade.
Arguably, our first window into this mindset took place back in the mid-90s when a military-doctor-turned-whistleblower forced former Liberal defence minister, David Collenette, to call an inquiry into the Somalia affair sooner than he wanted. The Canadian Forces were in trouble over the beating death of a Somali teenager, Shidane Arone. And Jean Chretien's government was under pressure to call an inquiry to get to the bottom of things, which is what happened in 1994.
The inquiry opened a window into the Defence Department's record-keeping and management of information. We learned about the depths of secrecy within the National Defence. Military and civilian personnel went to great lengths to avoid creating documents, lest they be forced to release the material to journalists through Access to Information. Specifically, individuals were encouraged to avoid writing things down; avoid taking minutes of meetings, if they had to have meetings at all. And if they were required to write anything sensitive, it would be done on yellow Post-it notes, which would conveniently be removed from a document being released through access to information. And in a stroke of creative genius, officials changed the names of documents so journalists wouldn't know what to ask for. It was all headline-grabbing stuff that would force National Defence to clean up its act.
Peter Desbarats was one of the three commissioners who presided over the hearings. He was the only lay member on the panel who was plucked from his academic perch as the director of the journalism program at Western University in London, Ont. As a print and broadcast journalist, he figured he'd seen it all. Not a chance. "It was about controlling information," he recalled during a telephone interview from his home in London. "It was just another blatant way of controlling information. And when that became a regular practice of the government in Ottawa, it was just a continuation of what they had been doing and it was very effective. And I was watching this process, aghast, horrified by what was going on. But people in my own profession, journalists, just felt that I was trying to defend the inquiry because I was part of it. It was weird."
Weird, but a sad reality, which, according to Michel Drapeau, continues to this day. Drapeau is a retired colonel who was so horrified by government secrecy that he decided to continue his fight for improved access to information by becoming a lawyer. He remembers pushing for the inquiry. Once it was held, Drapeau became an important source of information for myself and other journalists covering the proceedings. The way Dapeau sees it, bureaucrats have progressed beyond sticky notes by finding more sophisticated ways to thwart access.
"People now know that they're vulnerable in the sense that their words and decisions and what they commit to paper could be subject to disclosure."
This is essentially what I told my lunchmates around that table a few weeks ago. They were having none of it, which was to be expected. But as someone who files several Access to Information requests a week and has many conversations with people inside government, the mindset that forces bureaucrats to commit less and less information to paper or email is, sadly, alive and well. And the irony is this: such a fortress-like mentality may force the very behaviour the Harper government or any other administration wants to avoid: frustrated bureaucrats leaking information in those brown envelopes that sometimes mysteriously show up in our mailboxes.
And, oh, we never did get to the bottom of the Somalia affair. The Chretien government shut it down early.
So far nothing that Canadian officials have purported to have said in cables is really at odds with what the Harper government has said publicly.And it's unclear whether the WikiLeaks phenomenon will usher in a new era committing internal discussions to phone calls and memory because this mindset has existed when those former diplomats around that elegant lunch table plied their trade.
Arguably, our first window into this mindset took place back in the mid-90s when a military-doctor-turned-whistleblower forced former Liberal defence minister, David Collenette, to call an inquiry into the Somalia affair sooner than he wanted. The Canadian Forces were in trouble over the beating death of a Somali teenager, Shidane Arone. And Jean Chretien's government was under pressure to call an inquiry to get to the bottom of things, which is what happened in 1994.
The inquiry opened a window into the Defence Department's record-keeping and management of information. We learned about the depths of secrecy within the National Defence. Military and civilian personnel went to great lengths to avoid creating documents, lest they be forced to release the material to journalists through Access to Information. Specifically, individuals were encouraged to avoid writing things down; avoid taking minutes of meetings, if they had to have meetings at all. And if they were required to write anything sensitive, it would be done on yellow Post-it notes, which would conveniently be removed from a document being released through access to information. And in a stroke of creative genius, officials changed the names of documents so journalists wouldn't know what to ask for. It was all headline-grabbing stuff that would force National Defence to clean up its act.
Peter Desbarats was one of the three commissioners who presided over the hearings. He was the only lay member on the panel who was plucked from his academic perch as the director of the journalism program at Western University in London, Ont. As a print and broadcast journalist, he figured he'd seen it all. Not a chance. "It was about controlling information," he recalled during a telephone interview from his home in London. "It was just another blatant way of controlling information. And when that became a regular practice of the government in Ottawa, it was just a continuation of what they had been doing and it was very effective. And I was watching this process, aghast, horrified by what was going on. But people in my own profession, journalists, just felt that I was trying to defend the inquiry because I was part of it. It was weird."
Weird, but a sad reality, which, according to Michel Drapeau, continues to this day. Drapeau is a retired colonel who was so horrified by government secrecy that he decided to continue his fight for improved access to information by becoming a lawyer. He remembers pushing for the inquiry. Once it was held, Drapeau became an important source of information for myself and other journalists covering the proceedings. The way Dapeau sees it, bureaucrats have progressed beyond sticky notes by finding more sophisticated ways to thwart access.
"People now know that they're vulnerable in the sense that their words and decisions and what they commit to paper could be subject to disclosure."
This is essentially what I told my lunchmates around that table a few weeks ago. They were having none of it, which was to be expected. But as someone who files several Access to Information requests a week and has many conversations with people inside government, the mindset that forces bureaucrats to commit less and less information to paper or email is, sadly, alive and well. And the irony is this: such a fortress-like mentality may force the very behaviour the Harper government or any other administration wants to avoid: frustrated bureaucrats leaking information in those brown envelopes that sometimes mysteriously show up in our mailboxes.
And, oh, we never did get to the bottom of the Somalia affair. The Chretien government shut it down early.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
It’s now official: Santa Claus is a Canadian.
Now we know why Santa Claus wears only red and white: Because he’s a Canadian. And that’s official (ho, ho, ho). Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed it again this week at a citizenship ceremony in Calgary.
The Vancouver Sun reports that the cabinet minister “reaffirmed” the jolly fat man (maybe he’s been eating too much poutine?) as a Canadian in Calgary, restating his remarks of two years ago.In his statement, Kenney said, ” We wish Mr. Claus all the best in his Christmas Eve duties again this year. And rest assured, as a Canadian citizen living in Canada’s North, he can re-enter Canada freely once his trip around the world is complete.”
In spreading Christmas cheer to the 100 new Canadian citizens from 32 countries in his audience, Kenney was making a serious point: That Canada claims sovereignty at the Pole — Santa’s workshop, seals, ice floes, and all. The Russians planted a flag up there two years ago, claiming it’s their territory.
No word yet on whether the elves made off with the Russian flag.
When asked by Canada’s National Post who decided Santa was Canadian, the minister responded, “We are just stating the facts. Santa lives in the Arctic North, and that is Canadian territory. So when he comes to visit Canadian boys and girls, he doesn’t have to go through border clearance.”
The Vancouver Sun reports that the cabinet minister “reaffirmed” the jolly fat man (maybe he’s been eating too much poutine?) as a Canadian in Calgary, restating his remarks of two years ago.In his statement, Kenney said, ” We wish Mr. Claus all the best in his Christmas Eve duties again this year. And rest assured, as a Canadian citizen living in Canada’s North, he can re-enter Canada freely once his trip around the world is complete.”
In spreading Christmas cheer to the 100 new Canadian citizens from 32 countries in his audience, Kenney was making a serious point: That Canada claims sovereignty at the Pole — Santa’s workshop, seals, ice floes, and all. The Russians planted a flag up there two years ago, claiming it’s their territory.
No word yet on whether the elves made off with the Russian flag.
When asked by Canada’s National Post who decided Santa was Canadian, the minister responded, “We are just stating the facts. Santa lives in the Arctic North, and that is Canadian territory. So when he comes to visit Canadian boys and girls, he doesn’t have to go through border clearance.”
Mummering flourishes in Newfoundland and Labrador
CBC News
Newfoundland mummers deck themselves in colourful garb and ask their hosts to guess their identities, but not until some fun is had. (CBC) Mummering, a Christmas tradition that was imported to Newfoundland centuries ago by Irish and English migrants, is stronger than ever, with colourful costumes, raucous music and a touch of a roguish past.
Mummers deck themselves in outlandish clothing and masks, then head door to door with a roving party and an invitation for hosts to guess the identities of their guests.Dozens of people took part in a mummers' parade in downtown St. John's last Saturday. (CBC) "Really, it's just the sense of fun and Newfoundlanders are famous for that already," said Sherry McCann, who joined friends at a celebration in Quidi Vidi Village, an outport-like neighbourhood tucked within the boundaries of St. John's.
Traditionally, mummers don't don their costumes until Boxing Day, but the rules have loosened just as the traditions have changed. Last Saturday, dozens of people — many of them in elaborate and humorous outfits — joined a parade that marched through downtown St. John's. Ryan Davis, one of the organizers of the parade, said mummering captures the public's imagination, and has become part of seasonal celebrations.
P.O.V.:
What holiday traditions do you intend to keep alive? Let us know."I think there's something exciting about visiting your friends and being a fool, being some character that you're not normally," he said. "It's a fun social experience and it's a game."
Confusing hosts essential
Mummers often use veils, old clothes and gender-confusing garb to help confound their hosts. While mummering in small outports often means unannounced visits, McCann said mummering in the city usually involves a call ahead of time, even though hosts may still be left in the dark about their visitors' identities until the masks come off.
The tradition dates back to medieval times, and has surfaced in different ways and in different cultures.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, an important spark in the mummering revival was The Mummers Song (also known as Any Mummers Allowed In), recorded in 1983 by the traditional duo Simani. The song was the basis for a subsequent episode of CBC Television's Land & Sea that has aired annually since 1986.
Mummering has not always been so beloved. It was outlawed for a time in the 19th century, when hooligans used the guise of mummering for violence and vandalism.Now, however, mummering is more benign. At shops in downtown St. John's, customers can purchase figurines, artworks and other goods inspired by mummers.
Gary Green, who dresses up as a hobby horse when he and his friends head out to visit friends, said the tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador still has a lot of colour and excitement."It's our own unique style," he said. "It's part of who we are and it absolutely amazes people who come here when they discover what kind of antics we get up to during the Christmas season."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2010/12/23/mummering-tradition-.html#ixzz1926Z4VBD
Newfoundland mummers deck themselves in colourful garb and ask their hosts to guess their identities, but not until some fun is had. (CBC) Mummering, a Christmas tradition that was imported to Newfoundland centuries ago by Irish and English migrants, is stronger than ever, with colourful costumes, raucous music and a touch of a roguish past.
Mummers deck themselves in outlandish clothing and masks, then head door to door with a roving party and an invitation for hosts to guess the identities of their guests.Dozens of people took part in a mummers' parade in downtown St. John's last Saturday. (CBC) "Really, it's just the sense of fun and Newfoundlanders are famous for that already," said Sherry McCann, who joined friends at a celebration in Quidi Vidi Village, an outport-like neighbourhood tucked within the boundaries of St. John's.
Traditionally, mummers don't don their costumes until Boxing Day, but the rules have loosened just as the traditions have changed. Last Saturday, dozens of people — many of them in elaborate and humorous outfits — joined a parade that marched through downtown St. John's. Ryan Davis, one of the organizers of the parade, said mummering captures the public's imagination, and has become part of seasonal celebrations.
P.O.V.:
What holiday traditions do you intend to keep alive? Let us know."I think there's something exciting about visiting your friends and being a fool, being some character that you're not normally," he said. "It's a fun social experience and it's a game."
Confusing hosts essential
Mummers often use veils, old clothes and gender-confusing garb to help confound their hosts. While mummering in small outports often means unannounced visits, McCann said mummering in the city usually involves a call ahead of time, even though hosts may still be left in the dark about their visitors' identities until the masks come off.
The tradition dates back to medieval times, and has surfaced in different ways and in different cultures.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, an important spark in the mummering revival was The Mummers Song (also known as Any Mummers Allowed In), recorded in 1983 by the traditional duo Simani. The song was the basis for a subsequent episode of CBC Television's Land & Sea that has aired annually since 1986.
Mummering has not always been so beloved. It was outlawed for a time in the 19th century, when hooligans used the guise of mummering for violence and vandalism.Now, however, mummering is more benign. At shops in downtown St. John's, customers can purchase figurines, artworks and other goods inspired by mummers.
Gary Green, who dresses up as a hobby horse when he and his friends head out to visit friends, said the tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador still has a lot of colour and excitement."It's our own unique style," he said. "It's part of who we are and it absolutely amazes people who come here when they discover what kind of antics we get up to during the Christmas season."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2010/12/23/mummering-tradition-.html#ixzz1926Z4VBD
Good Samaritan returns bank machine money
A Charlottetown man will long remember this Christmas after money he withdrew from the bank — and forgot to take with him — was returned by a Good Samaritan on Wednesday.
Len Handrahan withdrew $500 from a CIBC branch early in the day.
The money — from his disability pension — was to be used to help pay Handrahan's rent and buy groceries.
'His honesty has made my Christmas a little brighter.'
—Len Handrahan left the bank without the money. He rushed back a few minutes later, but the envelope was gone.
He assumed he would never see the money again.
Just as the bank was about to review security tapes, the person who picked up the money returned it."I guess it's a Christmas present," said Handrahan. "I never in this world thought that money would ever be seen again. I'd like to thank the person who did turn the money in. His honesty has made my Christmas a little brighter."
Often times in banking today we experience situations where the outcome is not so happy, where clients are not as lucky to get their money back," said Trueman. "It just makes us feel really good that we have clients that not only are good community citizens, but demonstrate a caring." For privacy reasons, CIBC hasn't told Handrahan who returned the money, but Handrahan said he owes that person heartfelt thanks.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2010/12/24/pei-good-samaritan-bank-584.html#ixzz1925GJCNq
Len Handrahan withdrew $500 from a CIBC branch early in the day.
The money — from his disability pension — was to be used to help pay Handrahan's rent and buy groceries.
'His honesty has made my Christmas a little brighter.'
—Len Handrahan left the bank without the money. He rushed back a few minutes later, but the envelope was gone.
He assumed he would never see the money again.
Just as the bank was about to review security tapes, the person who picked up the money returned it."I guess it's a Christmas present," said Handrahan. "I never in this world thought that money would ever be seen again. I'd like to thank the person who did turn the money in. His honesty has made my Christmas a little brighter."
Often times in banking today we experience situations where the outcome is not so happy, where clients are not as lucky to get their money back," said Trueman. "It just makes us feel really good that we have clients that not only are good community citizens, but demonstrate a caring." For privacy reasons, CIBC hasn't told Handrahan who returned the money, but Handrahan said he owes that person heartfelt thanks.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2010/12/24/pei-good-samaritan-bank-584.html#ixzz1925GJCNq
MASSARELLA'S TOP 10 CANADIAN CELEB NEWSMAKERS OF 2010
MASSARELLA'S TOP 10 CANADIAN CELEB NEWSMAKERS OF 2010:
1. Justin Bieber
2. Ryan Reynolds
3. Rachel McAdams
4. William Shatner
5. Ryan Gosling
6. Drake
7. James Cameron
8. Avril Lavigne
9. Gabriel Aubry
10. Alex Trebek
Linda Massarella, a Canadian writer in Los Angeles, writes every Sunday about notable Canadians living in L.A.
1. Justin Bieber
2. Ryan Reynolds
3. Rachel McAdams
4. William Shatner
5. Ryan Gosling
6. Drake
7. James Cameron
8. Avril Lavigne
9. Gabriel Aubry
10. Alex Trebek
Linda Massarella, a Canadian writer in Los Angeles, writes every Sunday about notable Canadians living in L.A.
Ottawa scientist builds a better concrete
The new concrete is to be used on the Seaway International Bridge near Cornwall, Ont., in 2011. (Canadian Press) An Ottawa scientist has developed a new, stronger type of concrete that may adds years to the lifespan of Canada's bridges. Daniel Cusson, the scientist leading a research team studying the new concrete, said the key is using shale sand that evenly retains water, making it less permeable. Normal versions of concrete — made from cement, sand, and other additives — are more prone to erosion from substances like road salt.
"The salt and moisture can diffuse and reach into the pores of the concrete and reach the re-enforcements," Cusson said. "But our concrete has a low permeability … it's very dense."
The concrete is being developed in a National Research Council lab, and so far tests have proven the concrete's strength. It is set to be used on improvements to the $75 million Seaway International Bridge near Cornwall, Ont., in 2011.
Cusson said his concrete is more expensive than regular mixtures, but he expects it to last up to 60 years, which could save millions down the line. "The concrete virtually does not crack," Cusson said.
Glenn Hewus, senior vice president of engineering at Canada's Federal Bridge Corp. Ltd., said he's excited to put the new concrete to use.
"In terms of maintenance, in terms of longevity, in terms of repair, this concrete is a drastic step up from what we have now," Hewus said.
The NRC lab's next challenge? Developing a concrete that can withstand a dynamite blast.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/12/23/ottawa-new-concrete-123.html#ixzz18zdEepy1
"The salt and moisture can diffuse and reach into the pores of the concrete and reach the re-enforcements," Cusson said. "But our concrete has a low permeability … it's very dense."
The concrete is being developed in a National Research Council lab, and so far tests have proven the concrete's strength. It is set to be used on improvements to the $75 million Seaway International Bridge near Cornwall, Ont., in 2011.
Cusson said his concrete is more expensive than regular mixtures, but he expects it to last up to 60 years, which could save millions down the line. "The concrete virtually does not crack," Cusson said.
Glenn Hewus, senior vice president of engineering at Canada's Federal Bridge Corp. Ltd., said he's excited to put the new concrete to use.
"In terms of maintenance, in terms of longevity, in terms of repair, this concrete is a drastic step up from what we have now," Hewus said.
The NRC lab's next challenge? Developing a concrete that can withstand a dynamite blast.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/12/23/ottawa-new-concrete-123.html#ixzz18zdEepy1
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Carnegie hero's medal goes to 2 Canadians
Two Canadians are among the latest recipients of the Carnegie Medal for risking their lives to save others in 2009.
Michael Sharpe of Spruce Grove, Alta., and Gheorghita Rusu of Ottawa were among the 21 people named Wednesday by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission to receive the award, given to civilians in Canada and the U.S. who perform outstanding acts of heroism. Sharpe, 35, saved fellow Albertan Marc Bissonnette from a burning tractor-trailer carrying jet fuel after it rolled off the road after an accident with another truck on Sept. 29, 2009. According to a description of the rescue on the Carnegie website, Sharpe climbed atop the burning truck's cab and pulled the door open just enough for Bissonnette to escape. In doing so, Sharpe suffered third-degree burns that required hospital treatment. Bissonnette also survived.
Rusu, 21, was working at a pharmacy when he heard a woman screaming behind the store on Nov. 6, 2009. He walked out to find Brenda Van Layan, 42, being stabbed repeatedly by a man.R usu tried to restrain the man, but was stabbed in the process and ran back into the pharmacy to call the police for help.
Van Layan was treated in hospital for numerous stab wounds and survived; Rusu also received hospital treatment. The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Heroes Fund was started in 1904 by steel baron Andrew Carnegie, who was inspired after hearing rescue stories from a mine disaster that killed 181 people.
Since then, more than $32.9 million US has been awarded to 9,412 people.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/12/22/carnegie-medal-heroism.html#ixzz18sf3eVdV
Michael Sharpe of Spruce Grove, Alta., and Gheorghita Rusu of Ottawa were among the 21 people named Wednesday by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission to receive the award, given to civilians in Canada and the U.S. who perform outstanding acts of heroism. Sharpe, 35, saved fellow Albertan Marc Bissonnette from a burning tractor-trailer carrying jet fuel after it rolled off the road after an accident with another truck on Sept. 29, 2009. According to a description of the rescue on the Carnegie website, Sharpe climbed atop the burning truck's cab and pulled the door open just enough for Bissonnette to escape. In doing so, Sharpe suffered third-degree burns that required hospital treatment. Bissonnette also survived.
Rusu, 21, was working at a pharmacy when he heard a woman screaming behind the store on Nov. 6, 2009. He walked out to find Brenda Van Layan, 42, being stabbed repeatedly by a man.R usu tried to restrain the man, but was stabbed in the process and ran back into the pharmacy to call the police for help.
Van Layan was treated in hospital for numerous stab wounds and survived; Rusu also received hospital treatment. The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Heroes Fund was started in 1904 by steel baron Andrew Carnegie, who was inspired after hearing rescue stories from a mine disaster that killed 181 people.
Since then, more than $32.9 million US has been awarded to 9,412 people.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/12/22/carnegie-medal-heroism.html#ixzz18sf3eVdV
IMF warns about Canadian Healthcare system
IMF warns about the Canadian Healthcare System and the aging population. The concerns are real but my strong opinion is that if we were to prioritize our spending on what is genuinely important to Canadians we would stop spending to solve the issues in other countries and take care of our children and our elderly
Governments at the provincial and federal level have not been honest with Canadians about rising health care costs that will someday swamp budgets, the International Monetary Fund warns. The organization, which is based in Washington, states that with escalating medicare costs and an aging population, Canada's health-care system is unsustainable.
Accordingly, provinces need to be more upfront with Canadians about the true nature of the costs and the best practices for ensuring service can be maintained in the future. The warning came as the IMF issued its end-of-year report into Canada, which was largely favourable compared to many other nations.
If the current model of absorbing costs silently continues, the IMF states that Canada will be overrun with health costs. Talk about cutting healthcare has been considered political suicide for decades, and discussion about a semi-private system has long been met with the pejorative "two-tier" moniker stemming from concern about different service levels. However, the IMF is not alone in its concern, as many think-tanks have issued similar reports in recent years.
But the IMF says that the current model of putting off hard decisions is wrong-headed. "(IMF directors) encouraged the authorities to increase communication about the attendant challenges to improve public awareness," says the report. "Increasing transparency and communication about these challenges and their long-run implications would help to increase public awareness and contribute to the debate about possible solutions."
In 2014, the current provincial-federal health arrangement expires, meaning a new agreement will need to be drawn up. However, the federal government has been criticized for suggesting that transfer payments to the provinces won't increase above the current rate, which is six per cent annually. In the short-term, however, the IMF said that Canada's economy was performing well relative to other countries.
However, a few "key risks" were identified by the IMF. "Risks are elevated and tilted to the downside with high household debt levels the main domestic risk, and a weaker U.S. outlook the largest external risk," the report says. A correction in the housing market, which is overheating, is also a possibility." That said, with most mortgages being 'rollover' mortgages with terms of at most five years, any future interest rate increases could put additional strains on already highly indebted households."
Governments at the provincial and federal level have not been honest with Canadians about rising health care costs that will someday swamp budgets, the International Monetary Fund warns. The organization, which is based in Washington, states that with escalating medicare costs and an aging population, Canada's health-care system is unsustainable.
Accordingly, provinces need to be more upfront with Canadians about the true nature of the costs and the best practices for ensuring service can be maintained in the future. The warning came as the IMF issued its end-of-year report into Canada, which was largely favourable compared to many other nations.
If the current model of absorbing costs silently continues, the IMF states that Canada will be overrun with health costs. Talk about cutting healthcare has been considered political suicide for decades, and discussion about a semi-private system has long been met with the pejorative "two-tier" moniker stemming from concern about different service levels. However, the IMF is not alone in its concern, as many think-tanks have issued similar reports in recent years.
But the IMF says that the current model of putting off hard decisions is wrong-headed. "(IMF directors) encouraged the authorities to increase communication about the attendant challenges to improve public awareness," says the report. "Increasing transparency and communication about these challenges and their long-run implications would help to increase public awareness and contribute to the debate about possible solutions."
In 2014, the current provincial-federal health arrangement expires, meaning a new agreement will need to be drawn up. However, the federal government has been criticized for suggesting that transfer payments to the provinces won't increase above the current rate, which is six per cent annually. In the short-term, however, the IMF said that Canada's economy was performing well relative to other countries.
However, a few "key risks" were identified by the IMF. "Risks are elevated and tilted to the downside with high household debt levels the main domestic risk, and a weaker U.S. outlook the largest external risk," the report says. A correction in the housing market, which is overheating, is also a possibility." That said, with most mortgages being 'rollover' mortgages with terms of at most five years, any future interest rate increases could put additional strains on already highly indebted households."
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Watta Dabbagh- Canadian Soldier and Muslim woman
Wafa Dabbagh is many things. She is a tiny, bubbly bundle of energy who loves Zumba fitness. She prays five times a day, keeps an immaculate home and bakes a cake for her beloved neighbours each weekend. She has a bachelor's degree, a master's in business administration and a cancer diagnosis, the last of which she treats like a bothersome cold.
Dabbagh is also a pioneer, the first member of the Canadian Armed Forces -- and still only one of a handful -- to wear a hijab, the Muslim headcovering for women. After almost 15 years in the naval reserves, she is now a lieutenant-commander, the equivalent of a major in the army. Dabbagh is certified to shoot a C7 rifle and a 9 mm pistol, and is in the process of studying to qualify for promotion to a command position.
On Monday at Rideau Hall, Gov. Gen. David Johnston awarded the first Operational Service Medals to 50 recipients, including Dabbagh, who was recognized for her participation in Operation Proteus, a Canadian training mission in Jerusalem. The medal recognizes those who completed non-combat overseas missions that involved a level of risk or intensity. "I wasn't trying to prove anything or be the first at anything," says Dabbagh about her military career. "I wanted an adventure and I wanted a job."
That's the frame of mind Dabbagh was in when she wandered into an Armed Forces Recruiting Centre in Windsor.
A Palestinian born in Egypt, Dabbagh was raised in Kuwait and came to Montreal in 1990 at the age of 28.
Armed with a bachelor's degree from Kuwait, an MBA from the United States, fluent English and Arabic and functional French, she thought she'd find work easily. But the best she could do was a telemarketing job.
After she moved to Windsor in 1996 to be with her sister, Dabbagh went to the Canada Employment Office. When she had trouble getting into the building, she went next door, to the Armed Forces recruiting office. They told her how to get into the employment office, and she turned to go.
"But something made me turn back and say 'What do you have here?' " says Dabbagh. "They told me about the training I could get, the trades available, and I said 'Count me in.' "
After several hours of aptitude tests and a long interview with the senior officer at the recruiting centre, Dabbagh chose the naval reserves, knowing that the security clearance required for the regular forces would be lengthy because of her time spent abroad.
The topic of her faith, or the hijab, did not come up until a few days later, when she went to see the commanding officer of HMCS Hunter, the naval reserve division in Windsor.
"The commanding officer sat me down and said 'I don't know what to do with you,' " says Dabbagh. "He had called every branch of the forces and no one had a covered Muslim woman in their ranks. I told him, 'What you see is what you get, sir. I don't drink alcohol, I don't eat pork, but I can do everything else.' "
Dabbagh later learned other officers had advised him to talk her out of joining. "He told me that he'd said, 'If she wants to do it, she can stay.' "
Dabbagh left for basic training, where she stood out not just for the hijab, but for being much older than most of the teenage recruits. She did everything demanded of them -- the gruelling marching, the crawling through mud, the weapons training -- and was touched by what she calls the "many beautiful people" who went out of their way to be supportive. When Dabbagh asked to shower alone, after her female platoon-mates, she emerged to find that two of them had decided to stand guard outside the shower to keep latecomers from barging in. The cooks adapted meals so there would be pork-free dishes for her, and officers let her know when there was a 10-minute break coming up, so she could pray.
"One time, I moved away from the group to pray, and an officer came up to me, asking why I went away, and if somebody was bothering me," says Dabbagh. "I thought that was so sweet, and I explained to him it was the opposite, that prayer is a quiet, personal time for you and God, and everything was OK."
Dabbagh is used to charting her own course. She startled her family by putting on the hijab at age 15, becoming the first woman in her family to cover herself.
"They worried I was becoming narrow-minded, but for me it was about freedom to not be judged for my form, but for my personality and my actions."
After she passed basic training, an instructor confessed that when he heard a Muslim woman in a hijab was coming for training, he had said he didn't want her in his platoon.
"I had no idea you would smile so much," he told her.
By a quirk of bureaucracy -- and her own tenacious spirit -- Dabbagh did basic training three times. She wanted to enter the forces as an officer, but there were no openings, so she went in as a non-commissioned member. By the time Dabbagh completed basic training in St. Jean, Que., an officer position had opened up, so she immediately returned to re-do basic training, plus three extra weeks of officer training. Shortly before completing it, she fell from the top of the cargo net, cracking a rib and fracturing her pelvis.
After three months of recovery, she went back and did the officer training from the beginning. That's when her own family finally accepted her military life was for real, says Dabbagh.
Thus began several years of juggling civilian life -- where she continued with telemarketing, and later weather observation at the airport -- with adventures in the naval reserve. In 2006, Dabbagh took a job with the forces, training naval cadets, and she has worked with the military ever since. In 2007, she joined Operation Proteus, a small mission to Jerusalem where Canadian military personnel were helping to train Palestinian security forces, a role that made the most of her background and fluent Arabic. For the past two years, Dabbagh has been co-ordinator of the Ottawabased Future Security Analysis Directorate.
"She is a warm-hearted person, but she is also an officer who knows when to be tough," says her boss, Lt.-Col. Stefan Kostner, the unit's deputy director.
Aside from the hijab, Dabbagh's uniform varies only slightly from standard-issue. She wears a longer skirt and the shirt she wears day-today is a maternity smock, as the navy shirt was too form-fitting.
Although she didn't set out to be a pioneer, Dabbagh quickly realized that her new life came with a price: scrutiny. Upon learning she was in training for the Nijmegen March -- a four-day annual event in Holland -- an officer told Dabbagh "The admiral will want to know that!"
"Why would an admiral care if a lowly sub-lieutenant is going on this march?" she asked, only to be told "Wafa, everything you do, people want to know about it."
"I have felt like I was under the microscope a lot, and was always asking myself, 'How will that look?' You try to be yourself and do your best, but you wonder, if I make mistakes, will it be seen as representing all Muslims?"
Still, she is proud to have cleared the way for other women who want to wear the hijab and serve in the military.
"It takes somebody to do something in front of you, to know we can do everything everyone else does -- we just do it covered," says Dabbagh.
She treasures the experiences she has had -- whether it's translating for her commanding officer in Jerusalem, or standing on the bridge of a ship in the middle of the night, when the moonbeams dance across the water.
"I want the Muslim community to know the door is open for them in the Forces. My experience has been 95-per-cent positive, and if I can do it, they can do it," says Dabbagh. "And I want other Canadians to know that there are people serving Canada who are not white with blond hair and blue eyes. We are all working together, white, black, Asian, Arab, aboriginal -- and I'm one small face among them."
Earlier this year, Dabbagh was about to leave for a United Nations military observer mission in Sudan, when a routine X-ray found a spot on her lungs: cancer. She has since been doing chemotherapy and radiation while holding down her office job, and baking for her neighbours, most of whom are military families.
Never married, Dabbagh considers her neighbours her family. They recently returned her generosity by covering her entire house in Christmas lights and installing an inflatable Christmas scene on her lawn while she was out of town.
"I wish them Merry Christmas, they say, 'Happy Ramadan.' It's very sweet.".
Dabbagh is also a pioneer, the first member of the Canadian Armed Forces -- and still only one of a handful -- to wear a hijab, the Muslim headcovering for women. After almost 15 years in the naval reserves, she is now a lieutenant-commander, the equivalent of a major in the army. Dabbagh is certified to shoot a C7 rifle and a 9 mm pistol, and is in the process of studying to qualify for promotion to a command position.
On Monday at Rideau Hall, Gov. Gen. David Johnston awarded the first Operational Service Medals to 50 recipients, including Dabbagh, who was recognized for her participation in Operation Proteus, a Canadian training mission in Jerusalem. The medal recognizes those who completed non-combat overseas missions that involved a level of risk or intensity. "I wasn't trying to prove anything or be the first at anything," says Dabbagh about her military career. "I wanted an adventure and I wanted a job."
That's the frame of mind Dabbagh was in when she wandered into an Armed Forces Recruiting Centre in Windsor.
A Palestinian born in Egypt, Dabbagh was raised in Kuwait and came to Montreal in 1990 at the age of 28.
Armed with a bachelor's degree from Kuwait, an MBA from the United States, fluent English and Arabic and functional French, she thought she'd find work easily. But the best she could do was a telemarketing job.
After she moved to Windsor in 1996 to be with her sister, Dabbagh went to the Canada Employment Office. When she had trouble getting into the building, she went next door, to the Armed Forces recruiting office. They told her how to get into the employment office, and she turned to go.
"But something made me turn back and say 'What do you have here?' " says Dabbagh. "They told me about the training I could get, the trades available, and I said 'Count me in.' "
After several hours of aptitude tests and a long interview with the senior officer at the recruiting centre, Dabbagh chose the naval reserves, knowing that the security clearance required for the regular forces would be lengthy because of her time spent abroad.
The topic of her faith, or the hijab, did not come up until a few days later, when she went to see the commanding officer of HMCS Hunter, the naval reserve division in Windsor.
"The commanding officer sat me down and said 'I don't know what to do with you,' " says Dabbagh. "He had called every branch of the forces and no one had a covered Muslim woman in their ranks. I told him, 'What you see is what you get, sir. I don't drink alcohol, I don't eat pork, but I can do everything else.' "
Dabbagh later learned other officers had advised him to talk her out of joining. "He told me that he'd said, 'If she wants to do it, she can stay.' "
Dabbagh left for basic training, where she stood out not just for the hijab, but for being much older than most of the teenage recruits. She did everything demanded of them -- the gruelling marching, the crawling through mud, the weapons training -- and was touched by what she calls the "many beautiful people" who went out of their way to be supportive. When Dabbagh asked to shower alone, after her female platoon-mates, she emerged to find that two of them had decided to stand guard outside the shower to keep latecomers from barging in. The cooks adapted meals so there would be pork-free dishes for her, and officers let her know when there was a 10-minute break coming up, so she could pray.
"One time, I moved away from the group to pray, and an officer came up to me, asking why I went away, and if somebody was bothering me," says Dabbagh. "I thought that was so sweet, and I explained to him it was the opposite, that prayer is a quiet, personal time for you and God, and everything was OK."
Dabbagh is used to charting her own course. She startled her family by putting on the hijab at age 15, becoming the first woman in her family to cover herself.
"They worried I was becoming narrow-minded, but for me it was about freedom to not be judged for my form, but for my personality and my actions."
After she passed basic training, an instructor confessed that when he heard a Muslim woman in a hijab was coming for training, he had said he didn't want her in his platoon.
"I had no idea you would smile so much," he told her.
By a quirk of bureaucracy -- and her own tenacious spirit -- Dabbagh did basic training three times. She wanted to enter the forces as an officer, but there were no openings, so she went in as a non-commissioned member. By the time Dabbagh completed basic training in St. Jean, Que., an officer position had opened up, so she immediately returned to re-do basic training, plus three extra weeks of officer training. Shortly before completing it, she fell from the top of the cargo net, cracking a rib and fracturing her pelvis.
After three months of recovery, she went back and did the officer training from the beginning. That's when her own family finally accepted her military life was for real, says Dabbagh.
Thus began several years of juggling civilian life -- where she continued with telemarketing, and later weather observation at the airport -- with adventures in the naval reserve. In 2006, Dabbagh took a job with the forces, training naval cadets, and she has worked with the military ever since. In 2007, she joined Operation Proteus, a small mission to Jerusalem where Canadian military personnel were helping to train Palestinian security forces, a role that made the most of her background and fluent Arabic. For the past two years, Dabbagh has been co-ordinator of the Ottawabased Future Security Analysis Directorate.
"She is a warm-hearted person, but she is also an officer who knows when to be tough," says her boss, Lt.-Col. Stefan Kostner, the unit's deputy director.
Aside from the hijab, Dabbagh's uniform varies only slightly from standard-issue. She wears a longer skirt and the shirt she wears day-today is a maternity smock, as the navy shirt was too form-fitting.
Although she didn't set out to be a pioneer, Dabbagh quickly realized that her new life came with a price: scrutiny. Upon learning she was in training for the Nijmegen March -- a four-day annual event in Holland -- an officer told Dabbagh "The admiral will want to know that!"
"Why would an admiral care if a lowly sub-lieutenant is going on this march?" she asked, only to be told "Wafa, everything you do, people want to know about it."
"I have felt like I was under the microscope a lot, and was always asking myself, 'How will that look?' You try to be yourself and do your best, but you wonder, if I make mistakes, will it be seen as representing all Muslims?"
Still, she is proud to have cleared the way for other women who want to wear the hijab and serve in the military.
"It takes somebody to do something in front of you, to know we can do everything everyone else does -- we just do it covered," says Dabbagh.
She treasures the experiences she has had -- whether it's translating for her commanding officer in Jerusalem, or standing on the bridge of a ship in the middle of the night, when the moonbeams dance across the water.
"I want the Muslim community to know the door is open for them in the Forces. My experience has been 95-per-cent positive, and if I can do it, they can do it," says Dabbagh. "And I want other Canadians to know that there are people serving Canada who are not white with blond hair and blue eyes. We are all working together, white, black, Asian, Arab, aboriginal -- and I'm one small face among them."
Earlier this year, Dabbagh was about to leave for a United Nations military observer mission in Sudan, when a routine X-ray found a spot on her lungs: cancer. She has since been doing chemotherapy and radiation while holding down her office job, and baking for her neighbours, most of whom are military families.
Never married, Dabbagh considers her neighbours her family. They recently returned her generosity by covering her entire house in Christmas lights and installing an inflatable Christmas scene on her lawn while she was out of town.
"I wish them Merry Christmas, they say, 'Happy Ramadan.' It's very sweet.".
A Sweet Solution for Sinusitis
Testing samples of three sinusitis-causing bacteria, University of Ottawa researchers found that honey knocked out the notoriously drug-resistant bugs more effectively than antibiotics did.
Honey, a source of bacteria-fighting hydrogen peroxide, offers antioxidants that help mend mucous membranes, says naturopathic doctor Keri Marshall. Although manuka honey may have the highest level of antibacterial activity, she says, all varieties can help kill off sinusitis-related pathogens. "You can take it right off the spoon or stir your honey into herbal tea two or three times a day to get the added benefit of warm liquid and nourishing herbs," Marshall
Read more at Wholeliving.com: A Sweet Solution for Sinusitis
Honey, a source of bacteria-fighting hydrogen peroxide, offers antioxidants that help mend mucous membranes, says naturopathic doctor Keri Marshall. Although manuka honey may have the highest level of antibacterial activity, she says, all varieties can help kill off sinusitis-related pathogens. "You can take it right off the spoon or stir your honey into herbal tea two or three times a day to get the added benefit of warm liquid and nourishing herbs," Marshall
Read more at Wholeliving.com: A Sweet Solution for Sinusitis
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Mohawk Warriors to get military apology
The Mohawk Warrior Society is expected to receive a formal apology from the Canadian Forces in early 2011 after the society was named as a potential insurgent in a 2006 draft counter-insurgency manual. The Canadian Forces is preparing an official apology for listing the Mohawk Warrior Society as a potentially violent insurgent group in a draft manual in 2006. Military officials are still finalizing the wording of the apology to the society, which was included in the draft counter-insurgency manual.
The apology is expected in January or February.
A spokesman for the Canadian Forces has called the apology important, and said it will be heartfelt.
"We want to make sure that it's [the apology] delivered in a proper format with a proper amount of respect and from the proper level," Maj. Martell Thompson told CBC News.
The draft document singled out the aboriginal militant group as an example of "radical native American organizations" that can be "viewed as insurgencies with specific and limited aims."The mention angered many Mohawks who claimed they were being compared to international terror groups such as Hezbollah and the Taliban.
'We're being labelled again'
Cheryl Jacobs, former district chief of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, called the mention "a slap in the face." She told CBC News earlier this month that it "brought up old feelings" related to the Oka crisis in 1990, in which Mohawks, Quebec provincial police (Sûreté du Québec) and the Canadian military clashed violently over native land rights west of Montreal."When news came out [in 2007], I think a lot of people were upset because of the feeling of a flashback, so to speak, of 'Here we go again, we're being labelled again,'" Jacobs said.
The Mohawk Warrior Society, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and fundamentalist Islamist Taliban are all mentioned once in the 169-page draft manual, a copy of which is available online.
In particular, groups like the Mohawk Warriors "seek particular political concessions in their relationship with national governments, and control (either overt or covert) of political affairs at a local/reserve ('First Nation') level," the draft manual says.
Mohawks were reportedly not mentioned in a final draft of the manual, which has not been made public.Jacobs wrote two strongly worded letters to National Defence Minister Peter MacKay in 2009 in which she described feeling "very insulted" about how Mohawks were portrayed and demanded an apology.
She said she's "very pleased" that the apology is coming and hopes it will mend old wounds."If I hear what I want to hear in there, then that's probably when I'll be excited enough," Jacobs said. "I may even give them a good clap that it didn't take 200 years to get an apology."
Deadly 1990 standoff
Even critics of the society, such as Stuart Myiow, believe the draft manual went too far in its assessment of its members and claim the apology is justified.Mohawk Warriors trashed police cars during the 78-day standoff with Canadian Forces in Oka, Que., that centred on the proposed expansion of a local golf course onto land the Mohawks considered sacred. "Native people being labelled terrorists is a very bad reflection upon all society because what we are labelled as terrorists for is the defence of our Mother Earth," said Myiow, who represents the Mohawk Traditional Council in Kahnawake, Que.Mohawk Warriors in camouflage bandanas and armed with rifles or standing nose-to-nose with Canadian soldiers have remained a lasting image of the Oka crisis.
The 78-day dispute began after Oka's town council approved plans to bulldoze forestland — which the Mohawks claimed was sacred ground — to expand the local golf course.The standoff turned deadly on July 11, 1990, after 31-year-old Quebec police Cpl. Marcel Lemay was shot and killed in a gun battle between police and Mohawk rebels.
It ended on Sept. 26 that year, when the masked Mohawk warriors put down their weapons and sprung out of the woods in surrender. Mohawk journalist Kenneth Deer said the Warrior Society is "like a militia" and never intended to overthrow the Canadian government.
"There's no membership to the Warrior Society," said Deer, editor of the Eastern Door newspaper who has worked with the United Nations on indigenous affairs. "It's just a name. It's just a way to organize men when there's something to be done." The word warrior doesn't even exist in Mohawk, he said, but translated loosely, it means "the duties of the men to carry the peace."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/12/20/mohawk-military-apology.html?ref=rss#ixzz18ngn2Oqd
The apology is expected in January or February.
A spokesman for the Canadian Forces has called the apology important, and said it will be heartfelt.
"We want to make sure that it's [the apology] delivered in a proper format with a proper amount of respect and from the proper level," Maj. Martell Thompson told CBC News.
The draft document singled out the aboriginal militant group as an example of "radical native American organizations" that can be "viewed as insurgencies with specific and limited aims."The mention angered many Mohawks who claimed they were being compared to international terror groups such as Hezbollah and the Taliban.
'We're being labelled again'
Cheryl Jacobs, former district chief of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, called the mention "a slap in the face." She told CBC News earlier this month that it "brought up old feelings" related to the Oka crisis in 1990, in which Mohawks, Quebec provincial police (Sûreté du Québec) and the Canadian military clashed violently over native land rights west of Montreal."When news came out [in 2007], I think a lot of people were upset because of the feeling of a flashback, so to speak, of 'Here we go again, we're being labelled again,'" Jacobs said.
The Mohawk Warrior Society, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and fundamentalist Islamist Taliban are all mentioned once in the 169-page draft manual, a copy of which is available online.
In particular, groups like the Mohawk Warriors "seek particular political concessions in their relationship with national governments, and control (either overt or covert) of political affairs at a local/reserve ('First Nation') level," the draft manual says.
Mohawks were reportedly not mentioned in a final draft of the manual, which has not been made public.Jacobs wrote two strongly worded letters to National Defence Minister Peter MacKay in 2009 in which she described feeling "very insulted" about how Mohawks were portrayed and demanded an apology.
She said she's "very pleased" that the apology is coming and hopes it will mend old wounds."If I hear what I want to hear in there, then that's probably when I'll be excited enough," Jacobs said. "I may even give them a good clap that it didn't take 200 years to get an apology."
Deadly 1990 standoff
Even critics of the society, such as Stuart Myiow, believe the draft manual went too far in its assessment of its members and claim the apology is justified.Mohawk Warriors trashed police cars during the 78-day standoff with Canadian Forces in Oka, Que., that centred on the proposed expansion of a local golf course onto land the Mohawks considered sacred. "Native people being labelled terrorists is a very bad reflection upon all society because what we are labelled as terrorists for is the defence of our Mother Earth," said Myiow, who represents the Mohawk Traditional Council in Kahnawake, Que.Mohawk Warriors in camouflage bandanas and armed with rifles or standing nose-to-nose with Canadian soldiers have remained a lasting image of the Oka crisis.
The 78-day dispute began after Oka's town council approved plans to bulldoze forestland — which the Mohawks claimed was sacred ground — to expand the local golf course.The standoff turned deadly on July 11, 1990, after 31-year-old Quebec police Cpl. Marcel Lemay was shot and killed in a gun battle between police and Mohawk rebels.
It ended on Sept. 26 that year, when the masked Mohawk warriors put down their weapons and sprung out of the woods in surrender. Mohawk journalist Kenneth Deer said the Warrior Society is "like a militia" and never intended to overthrow the Canadian government.
"There's no membership to the Warrior Society," said Deer, editor of the Eastern Door newspaper who has worked with the United Nations on indigenous affairs. "It's just a name. It's just a way to organize men when there's something to be done." The word warrior doesn't even exist in Mohawk, he said, but translated loosely, it means "the duties of the men to carry the peace."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/12/20/mohawk-military-apology.html?ref=rss#ixzz18ngn2Oqd
Monday, December 20, 2010
Loonie stuck in global chokehold: CIBC
Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada, warned of a "death grip" on the U.S. dollar this week, but the Canadian dollar is also in a choke hold of its own, the chief economist with CIBC World Markets said in a report Friday. One way to break it would be for the Bank of Canada to “fight fire with fire” by intervening to sell loonies in the foreign exchange markets, in an effort to weaken the currency, Avery Shenfeld said.
Mr. Shenfeld highlighted two factors that have kept the loonie buoyant.
The first is more incidental than anything, with the loonie getting a relative lift as a byproduct of all the greenback purchases that U.S. trade partners have been making to devalue their currencies — the "death grip" Mr. Carney warned about.
More importantly, though, is the general interest foreign banks have had in the Canadian dollar over the past year. "Reasonable decisions by central banks to diversify their reserve holdings, including added weight in Canadian dollars, may have been a key factor in driving our currency to parity vs. the U.S. unit, offsetting a large trade deficit," Mr. Shenfeld said.
This is a problem for Mr. Carney, as the elevated loonie is preventing him from raising interest rates to curb rising household debt for fear of sending the dollar even higher and further curbing exports.
Instead, Canada could "fight fire with fire" by doing some currency intervention of its own, selling off an equivalent volume of loonies.
"That would simply move back to market-determined exchange rates, and loosen the death grip," Mr. Shenfeld said. "Just a thought."
Foreigners bought more than $72-billion in Canadian dollar bonds this past year, largely through Government of Canada issues.
Mr. Shenfeld estimates central banks might have accounted for as much as half of all net new foreign buying.
However, trade flows between Canada and most countries other than the United States is modest enough that it is unlikely any particular country would try to actively control their currency's cross with the loonie to the same level as the greenback."Nor are they directly aiming at driving the loonie against the U.S. unit, but that is still the outcome," he said.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/fp/story/2010/12/17/3993060.html#ixzz18fdluqDu
Mr. Shenfeld highlighted two factors that have kept the loonie buoyant.
The first is more incidental than anything, with the loonie getting a relative lift as a byproduct of all the greenback purchases that U.S. trade partners have been making to devalue their currencies — the "death grip" Mr. Carney warned about.
More importantly, though, is the general interest foreign banks have had in the Canadian dollar over the past year. "Reasonable decisions by central banks to diversify their reserve holdings, including added weight in Canadian dollars, may have been a key factor in driving our currency to parity vs. the U.S. unit, offsetting a large trade deficit," Mr. Shenfeld said.
This is a problem for Mr. Carney, as the elevated loonie is preventing him from raising interest rates to curb rising household debt for fear of sending the dollar even higher and further curbing exports.
Instead, Canada could "fight fire with fire" by doing some currency intervention of its own, selling off an equivalent volume of loonies.
"That would simply move back to market-determined exchange rates, and loosen the death grip," Mr. Shenfeld said. "Just a thought."
Foreigners bought more than $72-billion in Canadian dollar bonds this past year, largely through Government of Canada issues.
Mr. Shenfeld estimates central banks might have accounted for as much as half of all net new foreign buying.
However, trade flows between Canada and most countries other than the United States is modest enough that it is unlikely any particular country would try to actively control their currency's cross with the loonie to the same level as the greenback."Nor are they directly aiming at driving the loonie against the U.S. unit, but that is still the outcome," he said.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/fp/story/2010/12/17/3993060.html#ixzz18fdluqDu
Canada's wholesale trade stalls
OTTAWA — Wholesale trade was surprisingly flat in October, as a drop in machinery and equipment sales offset a rise in the vehicle and auto parts sector, Statistics Canada said Monday.
Overall sales were basically unchanged at $44.9 billion during the month, after a 0.7% increase the previous month, the federal agency said.
Economists had expected a gain of around eight% in October.
Wholesale sales fell in eight provinces, with those declines offsetting higher sales in Ontario, Statistics Canada said. Sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector were down 3.5% to $9.1 billion. Meanwhile, the vehicle and parts subsector rose 2.8% to $7.9 billion.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/fp/story/2010/12/20/4003216.html#ixzz18fdBzljH
Overall sales were basically unchanged at $44.9 billion during the month, after a 0.7% increase the previous month, the federal agency said.
Economists had expected a gain of around eight% in October.
Wholesale sales fell in eight provinces, with those declines offsetting higher sales in Ontario, Statistics Canada said. Sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector were down 3.5% to $9.1 billion. Meanwhile, the vehicle and parts subsector rose 2.8% to $7.9 billion.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/fp/story/2010/12/20/4003216.html#ixzz18fdBzljH
Seven Canadians set to Row the Atlantic
Facing an incredible physical and mental challenge that will push them to their limits, seven Canadians are among 15 people preparing to row, row, row a boat all the way into the record books.
If successful, the month-long expedition will take the group across the Atlantic Ocean and into the echelon of adventurer's lore.
Not to mention the Guinness Book of Records.
The crew is trying to set a new record for the fastest east-west crossing of the Atlantic. The current mark is 33 days. It would be quite a feat for anyone but especially for Zach Scher, a budding adventurer who has no previous rowing experience. Talk about going from zero to sixty.
"It's sort of a lifelong dream of mine," Scher said of etching his name on a world record. "It's just a great adventure and good life experience." At 22, the University of Guelph student is the youngest of the bunch. The epic journey begins on the Moroccan coast on or about Jan. 7. The group hopes to arrive in Barbados in 32 days or less, charting almost 5,000 km. A month on the open sea will pit them against the elements, sleep deprivation, weight loss, sea sickness and overall physical and mental exhaustion.
"There is going to be a lot of strain on the body and unbelievable wear and tear," said Dylan White, a 24-year-old field biologist from Guelph. "The undercutting of food and sleep, some people would already call that a living hell." White said the route isn't the shortest in distance but is the fastest because of ocean currents and prevailing trade winds. A GPS device will keep them on course. Scher and White joined the excursion through friend Nigel Roedde, who is on the team with his dad.
Scher said his preparation began about nine months ago with almost-daily workouts that are being scaled back as the launch date approaches. He spends hours on a simulated rowing machine in a gym three days a week. The other days are spent pumping iron. White said the physical training is helping him to prepare for the mental grind he'll encounter aboard the swaying boat. The biggest uncertainty, however, is the weather and its potential to be unforgiving. The expedition dodges hurricane season.
"The only concern is the weather. We're in an unsupported situation and far from land, so we have to be very wary of the weather," said White, who also lacks rowing experience but has plenty of energy. Fellow crew members told Scher and White to be prepared for anything, including powerful storms, during their roughly 800 hours at sea.
"They said it's going to be grueling, one of the hardest experiences of our lives," Scher said.The crew is making the trip aboard Big Blue, a specially-built rowing catamaran billed as the world's largest at 12 metres and the first of its kind. If they encounter bad weather the entire team can cram inside a cabin or pod located between a pair of four-seat hulls. Being in a confined space will help the rowers to get to know each other. There are links between some but most are strangers.
If successful, the month-long expedition will take the group across the Atlantic Ocean and into the echelon of adventurer's lore.
Not to mention the Guinness Book of Records.
The crew is trying to set a new record for the fastest east-west crossing of the Atlantic. The current mark is 33 days. It would be quite a feat for anyone but especially for Zach Scher, a budding adventurer who has no previous rowing experience. Talk about going from zero to sixty.
"It's sort of a lifelong dream of mine," Scher said of etching his name on a world record. "It's just a great adventure and good life experience." At 22, the University of Guelph student is the youngest of the bunch. The epic journey begins on the Moroccan coast on or about Jan. 7. The group hopes to arrive in Barbados in 32 days or less, charting almost 5,000 km. A month on the open sea will pit them against the elements, sleep deprivation, weight loss, sea sickness and overall physical and mental exhaustion.
"There is going to be a lot of strain on the body and unbelievable wear and tear," said Dylan White, a 24-year-old field biologist from Guelph. "The undercutting of food and sleep, some people would already call that a living hell." White said the route isn't the shortest in distance but is the fastest because of ocean currents and prevailing trade winds. A GPS device will keep them on course. Scher and White joined the excursion through friend Nigel Roedde, who is on the team with his dad.
Scher said his preparation began about nine months ago with almost-daily workouts that are being scaled back as the launch date approaches. He spends hours on a simulated rowing machine in a gym three days a week. The other days are spent pumping iron. White said the physical training is helping him to prepare for the mental grind he'll encounter aboard the swaying boat. The biggest uncertainty, however, is the weather and its potential to be unforgiving. The expedition dodges hurricane season.
"The only concern is the weather. We're in an unsupported situation and far from land, so we have to be very wary of the weather," said White, who also lacks rowing experience but has plenty of energy. Fellow crew members told Scher and White to be prepared for anything, including powerful storms, during their roughly 800 hours at sea.
"They said it's going to be grueling, one of the hardest experiences of our lives," Scher said.The crew is making the trip aboard Big Blue, a specially-built rowing catamaran billed as the world's largest at 12 metres and the first of its kind. If they encounter bad weather the entire team can cram inside a cabin or pod located between a pair of four-seat hulls. Being in a confined space will help the rowers to get to know each other. There are links between some but most are strangers.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Shortages of Pharmaceuticals in Canada
The Canadian Pharmacists Association is warning that medication shortages have become a serious problem for pharmacists, causing stress for patients, and sometimes forcing doctors to prescribe less effective drugs.
The pharmacists' group has released a survey of 427 pharmacists conducted in October 2010, on the subject of drug shortages. It finds that 81 per cent of pharmacists report they've had trouble locating a medication, with 93 per cent saying they had trouble finding medication in the past week.
A full 89 per cent of pharmacists feel that the shortages had greatly increased in the last 12 months, while another 8.2 felt shortages had increased somewhat.
"Shortages are also an extremely serious concern for pharmacists directly, and are causing widespread frustration," the report says.
Ontario appears to be suffering from shortages somewhat more than other provinces, with pharmacists there reporting higher rates of having trouble locating a medication than in other provinces. And it's affecting all pharmacies, from chain stores to independent dispensaries.
When asked whether patients' health outcomes have been adversely affected, 70 per cent of pharmacists said yes. In some cases, patients have been offered alternative drugs that have been less effective; in other cases, there has been no alternative medications available at all. In some of the worst cases, hospitalization of the patient was required.
Patients and pharmacists are also being forced to call around to find our which stores have the needed medications. And at times, patients having to switch to alternative medications are finding they're not covered by public or private drug plans.
The report notes that drug shortages are not a Canadian phenomenon; they are occurring in countries around the world -- particularly in the United States, "at apparently similar levels of frequency and duration."
Antidepressants, antibiotics, and heart medications were among the medications in shortest supply over the past several months, the pharmacists reported. They include the antidepressant amitriptyline, the anti-nauseant metoclopramide, the blood pressure medication clonidine, and the antibiotics tetracycline and cephalexin.
The report offered a number of reasons for the shortages, including:
shortages of raw materials used in drug manufacturing more stringent regulatory requirements that delay production problems with manufacturing processes in specific plants that have delayed delivery of supplythe introduction of new pricing regimes in provinces that act as a disincentive to production of particular drugs an increase in product recalls in Canada or elsewhere monopolization of production of a particular drug by manufacturers shortage of proper container materials.
"Given the absence of reliable data from all the parties involved in the drug supply chain, it is difficult to pinpoint more exact causes of the current round of shortages," the report says.
Further compounding the stress is the fact that drug manufacturers are under no obligation to let pharmacists, doctors and patients know where there's going to be a disruption in supply of a particular medication.
"Due to the reluctance of individual manufacturers to share information on supply and manufacturing problems, it is difficult to predict when shortages will occur, for how long, and affecting which drugs," the report notes. Dr. Jeff Poston, the executive director of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, says he hopes the report compels some changes.
"This report should serve as a wake up call to everyone involved in the drug distribution system that shortages are a serious concern, and that solutions need to be developed," he said.
"One immediate step that needs to be taken is for governments to regulate a greater scope of practice for pharmacists, so that pharmacists can use their specialized skills and training to help patients deal with a shortage when it arises."
The pharmacists' group has released a survey of 427 pharmacists conducted in October 2010, on the subject of drug shortages. It finds that 81 per cent of pharmacists report they've had trouble locating a medication, with 93 per cent saying they had trouble finding medication in the past week.
A full 89 per cent of pharmacists feel that the shortages had greatly increased in the last 12 months, while another 8.2 felt shortages had increased somewhat.
"Shortages are also an extremely serious concern for pharmacists directly, and are causing widespread frustration," the report says.
Ontario appears to be suffering from shortages somewhat more than other provinces, with pharmacists there reporting higher rates of having trouble locating a medication than in other provinces. And it's affecting all pharmacies, from chain stores to independent dispensaries.
When asked whether patients' health outcomes have been adversely affected, 70 per cent of pharmacists said yes. In some cases, patients have been offered alternative drugs that have been less effective; in other cases, there has been no alternative medications available at all. In some of the worst cases, hospitalization of the patient was required.
Patients and pharmacists are also being forced to call around to find our which stores have the needed medications. And at times, patients having to switch to alternative medications are finding they're not covered by public or private drug plans.
The report notes that drug shortages are not a Canadian phenomenon; they are occurring in countries around the world -- particularly in the United States, "at apparently similar levels of frequency and duration."
Antidepressants, antibiotics, and heart medications were among the medications in shortest supply over the past several months, the pharmacists reported. They include the antidepressant amitriptyline, the anti-nauseant metoclopramide, the blood pressure medication clonidine, and the antibiotics tetracycline and cephalexin.
The report offered a number of reasons for the shortages, including:
shortages of raw materials used in drug manufacturing more stringent regulatory requirements that delay production problems with manufacturing processes in specific plants that have delayed delivery of supplythe introduction of new pricing regimes in provinces that act as a disincentive to production of particular drugs an increase in product recalls in Canada or elsewhere monopolization of production of a particular drug by manufacturers shortage of proper container materials.
"Given the absence of reliable data from all the parties involved in the drug supply chain, it is difficult to pinpoint more exact causes of the current round of shortages," the report says.
Further compounding the stress is the fact that drug manufacturers are under no obligation to let pharmacists, doctors and patients know where there's going to be a disruption in supply of a particular medication.
"Due to the reluctance of individual manufacturers to share information on supply and manufacturing problems, it is difficult to predict when shortages will occur, for how long, and affecting which drugs," the report notes. Dr. Jeff Poston, the executive director of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, says he hopes the report compels some changes.
"This report should serve as a wake up call to everyone involved in the drug distribution system that shortages are a serious concern, and that solutions need to be developed," he said.
"One immediate step that needs to be taken is for governments to regulate a greater scope of practice for pharmacists, so that pharmacists can use their specialized skills and training to help patients deal with a shortage when it arises."
Feds to release more secret files on Tommy Douglas- Evidence in favour of Wikileaks
The following article adds evidence to my opinion that we need organizations like Wikileaks in a world where even in Canada a federal police force (the RCMP) keeps secret files on regular citizens of the caliber and efficacy of Tommy Douglas. This was a man of nobility and of commitment to our country and to the people of the country. He is known as the father of Medicare in Canada. He was the driving force to ensure that people of all levels of wealth had access to medical care when it was needed. His ideas were radically good- and thus- radically dangerous to the power base of Conservatives and even Liberals who were alternatingly in control.
OTTAWA — The federal government has relented on its adamant refusal to release decades-old intelligence on socialist icon Tommy Douglas.It's now promising to review the file and release additional material.The promise follows a closed-door hearing during which a Federal Court judge expressed concern about the continued secrecy surrounding the file compiled by the RCMP on a figure of such historic significance.
The late T.C. Douglas was premier of Saskatchewan and then the federal NDP's first leader, a man widely revered as the father of medicare."(The government) will undertake to review all documents in good faith with a view to releasing additional information stemming from the discussions held during the in-camera hearing," federal lawyer Gregory Tzemenakis says in correspondence filed with the court."(The government) believes that this review will result in additional disclosure of information."
Tzemenakis promised to produce the new information by March 31.
That amounts to a major climb down by the government, which has steadfastly maintained the release of the Douglas documents -- some dating back more than 70 years -- would impair the present-day work of Canada's spy service, including endangering the lives of confidential informants."In my view, they're essentially conceding our point that they didn't do it properly the first time around," said Paul Champ, the lawyer for The Canadian Press reporter who challenged the government's refusal to disclose the documents.
The battle over the file began in November 2005 when reporter Jim Bronskill made a request, under the Access to Information Act, for the RCMP dossier on Douglas.Library and Archives Canada, which is currently in possession of the file, eventually released 456 heavily censored pages from the 1,142-page dossier. The released material revealed that RCMP security officers had shadowed Douglas for more than three decades, attending his speeches, analyzing his writings and eavesdropping on private conversations. His links to the peace movement and Communist party members were of particular interest.
The government's refusal to release further information, citing national security concerns, was upheld by the information commissioner. Bronskill took the minister of Canadian Heritage, who oversees the archives, to court in a bid to force full disclosure.
Documents filed with the court suggest that Justice Simon Noel didn't buy the government's rationale for withholding the documents when he met behind closed-doors with federal counsel on Nov. 30.During that meeting, Noel presented the government with "a number of documents that were of concern." His concern revolved around "the extent to which the mandate of Library and Archives Canada was considered" when it decided which documents should be released or withheld.During a subsequent conference call with both sides, Champ said Noel elaborated on his view that "it appeared that the role of Library and Archives Canada as the memory of Canadians had not been taken into account," and pointed to "at least 20 documents" that were of particular concern.
Indeed, Champ said Noel indicated he was prepared to immediately issue an interim ruling on the matter but the government objected.
Champ said he suspects the government may be hoping to avoid any ruling on the case -- which could set precedents on the handling of historically significant material in future -- by voluntarily releasing more of the Douglas dossier.But Champ said Noel seemed to agree with him that it's important to have court guidance on the broader issues at stake in the case.
"This case is about more than the significant historical information concerning Tommy Douglas. It's also more broadly about the concerns of journalists and historians across Canada about the barriers that they often face when trying to seek archival information," Champ said.
The Canadian Historical Association has filed an affidavit in support of Bronskill's challenge, complaining that history professors have been encountering problems accessing information from Library and Archives Canada for 25 years.
"This is a regular problem that they have and it interferes with research," said Champ.
OTTAWA — The federal government has relented on its adamant refusal to release decades-old intelligence on socialist icon Tommy Douglas.It's now promising to review the file and release additional material.The promise follows a closed-door hearing during which a Federal Court judge expressed concern about the continued secrecy surrounding the file compiled by the RCMP on a figure of such historic significance.
The late T.C. Douglas was premier of Saskatchewan and then the federal NDP's first leader, a man widely revered as the father of medicare."(The government) will undertake to review all documents in good faith with a view to releasing additional information stemming from the discussions held during the in-camera hearing," federal lawyer Gregory Tzemenakis says in correspondence filed with the court."(The government) believes that this review will result in additional disclosure of information."
Tzemenakis promised to produce the new information by March 31.
That amounts to a major climb down by the government, which has steadfastly maintained the release of the Douglas documents -- some dating back more than 70 years -- would impair the present-day work of Canada's spy service, including endangering the lives of confidential informants."In my view, they're essentially conceding our point that they didn't do it properly the first time around," said Paul Champ, the lawyer for The Canadian Press reporter who challenged the government's refusal to disclose the documents.
The battle over the file began in November 2005 when reporter Jim Bronskill made a request, under the Access to Information Act, for the RCMP dossier on Douglas.Library and Archives Canada, which is currently in possession of the file, eventually released 456 heavily censored pages from the 1,142-page dossier. The released material revealed that RCMP security officers had shadowed Douglas for more than three decades, attending his speeches, analyzing his writings and eavesdropping on private conversations. His links to the peace movement and Communist party members were of particular interest.
The government's refusal to release further information, citing national security concerns, was upheld by the information commissioner. Bronskill took the minister of Canadian Heritage, who oversees the archives, to court in a bid to force full disclosure.
Documents filed with the court suggest that Justice Simon Noel didn't buy the government's rationale for withholding the documents when he met behind closed-doors with federal counsel on Nov. 30.During that meeting, Noel presented the government with "a number of documents that were of concern." His concern revolved around "the extent to which the mandate of Library and Archives Canada was considered" when it decided which documents should be released or withheld.During a subsequent conference call with both sides, Champ said Noel elaborated on his view that "it appeared that the role of Library and Archives Canada as the memory of Canadians had not been taken into account," and pointed to "at least 20 documents" that were of particular concern.
Indeed, Champ said Noel indicated he was prepared to immediately issue an interim ruling on the matter but the government objected.
Champ said he suspects the government may be hoping to avoid any ruling on the case -- which could set precedents on the handling of historically significant material in future -- by voluntarily releasing more of the Douglas dossier.But Champ said Noel seemed to agree with him that it's important to have court guidance on the broader issues at stake in the case.
"This case is about more than the significant historical information concerning Tommy Douglas. It's also more broadly about the concerns of journalists and historians across Canada about the barriers that they often face when trying to seek archival information," Champ said.
The Canadian Historical Association has filed an affidavit in support of Bronskill's challenge, complaining that history professors have been encountering problems accessing information from Library and Archives Canada for 25 years.
"This is a regular problem that they have and it interferes with research," said Champ.
Archeologist dies after accident in Old Montreal
CBC News
Firefighters rescue Mario Bergeron after he was buried in rubble at an archeological dig site at Place d'Youville in Old Montreal on Wednesday. (CBC) An archeologist digging for the remnants of Canada's first parliament building has died after he was buried in rubble earlier this week in Old Montreal.Mario Bergeron, 55, died Thursday, one day after he had been trapped in a hole at an archeological site near the corner of McGill Street and Place d'Youville. Police said the man was digging when the ground below him suddenly gave way, and he was trapped waist-deep in debris. Firefighters managed to pull him out, first carefully moving away the rubble before attaching him to a harness to lift him to safety.With serious injuries to his legs, Bergeron was taken to hospital where he later died.The province's coroner's office and the Quebec Workplace Safety Board are investigating.
Bergeron had been working for Montreal's Pointe-à-Callière Museum. He was part of a team uncovering the first permanent parliament of the United Province of Canada, when Montreal was the capital from 1843 to 1849. The building, located in what was then known as Ste-Anne's Market, was burned to the ground by an angry mob in 1849.
Key pieces of Canada's early legislation were adopted in the building, including the act establishing "responsible government."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2010/12/17/archeologist-dies-old-montreal-parliament-site.html#ixzz18audsWWb
Firefighters rescue Mario Bergeron after he was buried in rubble at an archeological dig site at Place d'Youville in Old Montreal on Wednesday. (CBC) An archeologist digging for the remnants of Canada's first parliament building has died after he was buried in rubble earlier this week in Old Montreal.Mario Bergeron, 55, died Thursday, one day after he had been trapped in a hole at an archeological site near the corner of McGill Street and Place d'Youville. Police said the man was digging when the ground below him suddenly gave way, and he was trapped waist-deep in debris. Firefighters managed to pull him out, first carefully moving away the rubble before attaching him to a harness to lift him to safety.With serious injuries to his legs, Bergeron was taken to hospital where he later died.The province's coroner's office and the Quebec Workplace Safety Board are investigating.
Bergeron had been working for Montreal's Pointe-à-Callière Museum. He was part of a team uncovering the first permanent parliament of the United Province of Canada, when Montreal was the capital from 1843 to 1849. The building, located in what was then known as Ste-Anne's Market, was burned to the ground by an angry mob in 1849.
Key pieces of Canada's early legislation were adopted in the building, including the act establishing "responsible government."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2010/12/17/archeologist-dies-old-montreal-parliament-site.html#ixzz18audsWWb
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Canadian vies for a unique crown in India
NEW DELHI, INDIA — With enviable cheekbones and charcoal eyes, Arshdeep Kaur Gosal appears a natural beauty queen contender. Yet it is the way she chops spinach in the kitchen that matters more than a strut on the catwalk for the crown she covets.
Arshdeep is among the 17 finalists from across the globe competing to be Miss World Panjaban, an unapologetically conservative beauty pageant of Punjabi culture and rituals being held in Ludhiana, India.
There are no swimsuits nor stilettos and at times no shoes at all. Instead contenders are judged on things such as folk dancing, housework and general knowledge about heritage. They churn buttermilk and sift grain.
"It is to promote Punjabi culture," says Arshdeep, an 18-year old nursing student from Brampton, Ont., "If our generation doesn't know our roots then our culture suffers, especially for those of us born in Canada."
Arshdeep, who is the current Miss Canada-Panjaban, is the only Canadian competing for the title. She is fluent in Punjabi but has visited India only twice and admits she is better acquainted with jeans than saris.
So she spent one week "training" at her mother's home village in Punjab state on how to best wield that spinach knife and to learn the difference between methi and sarson leaves used for cooking. What makes Arshdeep a bit nervous about the finals on Saturday is the "bridal round" where contestants dress and play the part.
"I studied and talked to older people in my family to get some help with that," she says with a light laugh.
The man behind the contest is Jasmer Singh Dhatt, a retired Punjab police officer who was appalled by the revealing clothes that define many beauty pageants. "I thought of starting a show where parents wouldn't feel sad," he told India's Eye Magazine, "I wanted a beauty contest without the catwalk." This is the 11th Miss World Panjaban, which is held bi-annually, and there are now regional versions among the Punjabi diaspora. Most of the finalists this year are from India, though the group also includes contenders from Italy, Spain, and the United States. Beauty is a part of the pageant by way of quizzing contestants for secrets for soft skin. The special award for the longest hair is determined more scientifically with a tape measure.
As for the prize haul, it might not seem surprising that the spoils of a socially conservative pageant include traditional touches such as a gold ornament and a shawl. But a big draw is the chance at a "leading" role in a Punjabi film.
"I'm not planning to quit school if I win," Arshdeep says with a chuckle, "But maybe it would depend on the movie."
Arshdeep is among the 17 finalists from across the globe competing to be Miss World Panjaban, an unapologetically conservative beauty pageant of Punjabi culture and rituals being held in Ludhiana, India.
There are no swimsuits nor stilettos and at times no shoes at all. Instead contenders are judged on things such as folk dancing, housework and general knowledge about heritage. They churn buttermilk and sift grain.
"It is to promote Punjabi culture," says Arshdeep, an 18-year old nursing student from Brampton, Ont., "If our generation doesn't know our roots then our culture suffers, especially for those of us born in Canada."
Arshdeep, who is the current Miss Canada-Panjaban, is the only Canadian competing for the title. She is fluent in Punjabi but has visited India only twice and admits she is better acquainted with jeans than saris.
So she spent one week "training" at her mother's home village in Punjab state on how to best wield that spinach knife and to learn the difference between methi and sarson leaves used for cooking. What makes Arshdeep a bit nervous about the finals on Saturday is the "bridal round" where contestants dress and play the part.
"I studied and talked to older people in my family to get some help with that," she says with a light laugh.
The man behind the contest is Jasmer Singh Dhatt, a retired Punjab police officer who was appalled by the revealing clothes that define many beauty pageants. "I thought of starting a show where parents wouldn't feel sad," he told India's Eye Magazine, "I wanted a beauty contest without the catwalk." This is the 11th Miss World Panjaban, which is held bi-annually, and there are now regional versions among the Punjabi diaspora. Most of the finalists this year are from India, though the group also includes contenders from Italy, Spain, and the United States. Beauty is a part of the pageant by way of quizzing contestants for secrets for soft skin. The special award for the longest hair is determined more scientifically with a tape measure.
As for the prize haul, it might not seem surprising that the spoils of a socially conservative pageant include traditional touches such as a gold ornament and a shawl. But a big draw is the chance at a "leading" role in a Punjabi film.
"I'm not planning to quit school if I win," Arshdeep says with a chuckle, "But maybe it would depend on the movie."
Tuberculosis on the rise
The number of people infected with tuberculosis has jumped by 50 per cent in London, England in the last decade, making it the tuberculosis capital of Western Europe, a new report says.
Unlike other countries in the region where tuberculosis is dropping, the disease is on the rise in Britain, particularly in London. In 1999, there were about 2,309 cases.
'The rise in tuberculosis cases has nothing to do with migration and immigrants.'
— Alimuddin ZumlaBy 2009, London had 3,450 of Britain's more than 9,000 cases, according to an article published Friday in the medical journal, Lancet. Since only about 70 per cent of active tuberculosis cases are picked up, those numbers are an underestimate.
"We are concerned to see cases of TB at their highest levels since the 1970s," said Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar, head of tuberculosis surveillance at Britain's Health Protection Agency, in a statement. "The key to reducing levels of TB is early diagnosis and appropriate treatment."
While tuberculosis remains rare in the U.K. — about 15 people per 100,000 people are infected — that is still higher than elsewhere in Western Europe. In France, an estimated 10 people per 100,000 have tuberculosis. Once known as the "white plague" in England because of the loss of skin colour in patients, tuberculosis was virtually wiped out after the introduction of drugs and vaccinations in the 1960s. But it has surged in recent years and developed drug-resistant strains.
Prison prevalence
Most tuberculosis cases in Britain are in people born overseas, although not in recent arrivals. About 85 per cent of people with tuberculosis have been in Britain for at least two years, meaning the disease is not being imported, but circulating locally. "The rise in tuberculosis cases has nothing to do with migration and immigrants," said Alimuddin Zumla of University College London, author of the commentary. "This is a fallacy that needs to be corrected," he said, noting the same risks that plagued Victorian England — like poor housing, bad ventilation and overcrowding — are to blame for Britain's current outbreak.
Though tuberculosis mainly affects groups like drug users, refugees, and people with HIV, its prevalence in prisons is problematic. The spread of tuberculosis in prisons has occasionally infected staff and then spilled over into the general population. Britain is one of the world's biggest foreign aid donors, with considerable investments in projects fighting tuberculosis in poor countries."We need to clean up our own back garden first," Zumla said, calling for new strategies and more money to reverse the British epidemic. "Charity begins at home."
In Canada, Nunavut's TB infection rate is now 62 times the national average. Social conditions such as overcrowding — with poor ventilation in houses — poor nutrition and addictions are partly to blame, medical officials say.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/12/17/tuberculosis-uk.html#ixzz18PghkXzw
Unlike other countries in the region where tuberculosis is dropping, the disease is on the rise in Britain, particularly in London. In 1999, there were about 2,309 cases.
'The rise in tuberculosis cases has nothing to do with migration and immigrants.'
— Alimuddin ZumlaBy 2009, London had 3,450 of Britain's more than 9,000 cases, according to an article published Friday in the medical journal, Lancet. Since only about 70 per cent of active tuberculosis cases are picked up, those numbers are an underestimate.
"We are concerned to see cases of TB at their highest levels since the 1970s," said Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar, head of tuberculosis surveillance at Britain's Health Protection Agency, in a statement. "The key to reducing levels of TB is early diagnosis and appropriate treatment."
While tuberculosis remains rare in the U.K. — about 15 people per 100,000 people are infected — that is still higher than elsewhere in Western Europe. In France, an estimated 10 people per 100,000 have tuberculosis. Once known as the "white plague" in England because of the loss of skin colour in patients, tuberculosis was virtually wiped out after the introduction of drugs and vaccinations in the 1960s. But it has surged in recent years and developed drug-resistant strains.
Prison prevalence
Most tuberculosis cases in Britain are in people born overseas, although not in recent arrivals. About 85 per cent of people with tuberculosis have been in Britain for at least two years, meaning the disease is not being imported, but circulating locally. "The rise in tuberculosis cases has nothing to do with migration and immigrants," said Alimuddin Zumla of University College London, author of the commentary. "This is a fallacy that needs to be corrected," he said, noting the same risks that plagued Victorian England — like poor housing, bad ventilation and overcrowding — are to blame for Britain's current outbreak.
Though tuberculosis mainly affects groups like drug users, refugees, and people with HIV, its prevalence in prisons is problematic. The spread of tuberculosis in prisons has occasionally infected staff and then spilled over into the general population. Britain is one of the world's biggest foreign aid donors, with considerable investments in projects fighting tuberculosis in poor countries."We need to clean up our own back garden first," Zumla said, calling for new strategies and more money to reverse the British epidemic. "Charity begins at home."
In Canada, Nunavut's TB infection rate is now 62 times the national average. Social conditions such as overcrowding — with poor ventilation in houses — poor nutrition and addictions are partly to blame, medical officials say.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/12/17/tuberculosis-uk.html#ixzz18PghkXzw
The Perils of Pride
Mr. Carney’s warnings, and the perils of pride
DEREK DeCLOET
Of all the things we’ve supposedly learned from The Great Recession, there is one lesson that Canadians hold dear, one that fits oh-so-neatly with the country’s latent anti-Americanism. It is this: We are not Them. We are different, better, more responsible.
Post-crisis, an entire mythology has been built around this notion, all the better to explain why Americans suffered so much more in the downturn than Canadians have. Why are there still 6.3 million U.S. residents who’ve been unemployed for at least six months, and only 330,000 in Canada? Why is the U.S. in the middle of a wretched, multiyear collapse in housing prices, and we are not? Well, that’s easy, right? They were stupid. We were smart. They cut taxes to make the rich even richer and borrowed money from China to fund the deficit. We ran surpluses. They allowed bankers to give $400,000 mortgages and American Express cards to Wal-Mart greeters. They were being so American – wearing their faux wealth on their sleeves. We were so prudent, by comparison.
As with all caricatures, there is some truth in this, but a good deal of exaggeration, too. And maybe, just maybe, Canadians have carried their sense of financial superiority too far, become too self-satisfied. A cure for that smugness lies in the Bank of Canada’s latest review of the financial system, and its warnings that Canadians are still spending money they don’t have. Some facts leap out.
Item: Canadian families, with debt totalling 146 per cent of disposable income, are now as deeply in hock as U.S. families are. Item: Canadian house prices are now 4½ times disposable income; historically, they’ve been between three and 3½ times. (The same thing happened in the U.S. before the real-estate bubble burst.) Item: our responsible, prudent, sober bankers have been doling out credit lines in the manner of Santa Claus distributing candy canes. (Personal credit lines have been growing about 16 per cent a year for the past decade, though the pace has slowed this year.) Most Canadians, if they are aware of these points at all, just shrug. An excess of debt, expensive houses, so what? Tell us something new. Mark Carney, the Bank of Canada Governor, has been bleating about consumer borrowing for more than a year, and the sky has not fallen. What does he know that the rest of us don’t? A thing or two about financial history, which high schools don’t teach but should.
The history books are rich with examples of countries whose citizens believed they were immune to financial bubbles, or who thought their banks were impregnable, and who felt that nothing bad could ever happen to them. It’s overconfidence that leads to too much borrowing, and Americans have no monopoly on that. The best book on the subject is This Time is Different, by economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff (of the University of Maryland and Harvard, respectively), who document centuries of debt crises. Most instructive is their chapter on banking disasters, which, the authors write, tend to happen this way (I’m simplifying here): A country finds itself very popular with international investors and sees a surge of foreign capital. (Check.) Housing prices rise at a rate much faster than the rate of inflation for a sustained period of time. People argue that the old rules of valuation no longer apply. (Check.) Eventually, real estate values start to fall. Banks show signs of stress, usually soon after home prices hit their peak. As defaults rise, the banks are shorn of capital and pull back on their lending, causing a downturn. (Not yet.) The evidence, say Ms. Reinhart and Mr. Rogoff, is that “when housing booms are accompanied by sharp rises in debt, the risk of a crisis is significantly elevated” (emphasis added).And, as Americans and Irish and Swedes and Spanish have discovered, recessions that spring from banking crises tend to be deep, protracted, and expensive. They drive up government debt quickly.
Not all credit booms end in crisis, and Canada’s might not, either. But the longer consumers ignore Mr. Carney’s alarm bells on debt, the harder it will be for policy makers to engineer a soft landing for the real estate market. And if it’s a hard landing? That would end the complacency in a hurry.
Trade numbers show global economy on the mend
ANDY HOFFMAN
The latest trade numbers from China, the United States and Canada show world economic growth still climbing. “It implies that the global economy is firing on all cylinders,” Scotia Capital’s Camilla Sutton said Friday after the numbers were released. The breakdown:
United States
The data: Exports climbed 3.2 per cent from a month earlier, and imports fell 0.5 per cent in October, narrowing the trade deficit to $38.7-billion (U.S.), the smallest since February.
The skinny: While Friday’s report was positive, helped along by a weaker U.S. dollar and stronger appetite in emerging markets, some economists expect the U.S. trade picture to deteriorate again in turn, possibly ramping up trade and political tensions. Still, the key trade shortfall with China, which has fuelled a war of words between Washington and Beijing over the value of the yuan, narrowed for the second month in a row. And with a gain in exports and dip in imports, the U.S. economy is headed in the right direction.
The analyst: “The gain in real exports was a strong kickoff to the fourth quarter, and it already appears that the net trade balance will contribute materially to real GDP in that quarter … However, beyond the near term (fourth quarter and possibly the first quarter of next year), the net trade balance is likely to widen once again. Americans have a disproportionate appetite for imported goods.” Christos Shiamptanis, economist, Toronto-Dominion Bank
China
The data: Exports surged 34.9 per cent in November from a year earlier while imports soared 37.7 per cent, leaving a trade surplus of $22.9-billion (U.S.).
The skinny: The surge in imports should help ease concerns that there will be a slowdown in China’s increasing hunger for commodities, and is good news for global economies counting on the Asian powerhouse to help support their own exports. Coupled with other numbers and policy moves from China, as well as inflation data expected on the weekend, economists are speculating the People’s Bank of China may soon raise interest rates.
The analyst: “Today’s trade data underscore that, even if policy makers believe inflation will soon be under control, the economy is healthy enough to withstand further tightening … Digging into the detail, the breakdown shows that last month’s acceleration in imports was almost entirely due to stronger imports intended for domestic use rather than processing and re-export. The economy appears to be picking up speed as it enters 2011.” Mark Williams, senior China economist, Capital Economics
Canada
The data: Exports increased 3.1 per cent from a month earlier, and imports rose 1.2 per cent in October, narrowing the trade gap to $1.7-billion (Canadian).
The skinny: Sagging American demand and a higher loonie have sapped Canada’s export strength of late, but stronger exports to countries other than the United States helped drive the improved picture in October. Exports to south of the border were up 0.4 per cent and, said Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Diana Petramala, Canadian companies shipping to the United States have lost a lot of market share likely because of the strong loonie. Canada now represents just 14 per cent of imports in the U.S., down from almost 20 per cent in 2001.
The analyst: “October’s slight improvement in the trade balance must be taken in context; Canada’s trade balance was in the red for the fifth-straight month in spite of the ongoing global economic recovery. Even with our upwardly revised outlook for the U.S., Canada’s trade deficit is expected to persist in the coming quarters due to the lagged impact of a stronger Canadian dollar eroding the competitiveness of Canadian exporters. The trade sector’s continuing drag on growth should help to keep the Bank of Canada on hold well into 2011.” Emanuella Enenajor, CIBC World Markets
DEREK DeCLOET
Of all the things we’ve supposedly learned from The Great Recession, there is one lesson that Canadians hold dear, one that fits oh-so-neatly with the country’s latent anti-Americanism. It is this: We are not Them. We are different, better, more responsible.
Post-crisis, an entire mythology has been built around this notion, all the better to explain why Americans suffered so much more in the downturn than Canadians have. Why are there still 6.3 million U.S. residents who’ve been unemployed for at least six months, and only 330,000 in Canada? Why is the U.S. in the middle of a wretched, multiyear collapse in housing prices, and we are not? Well, that’s easy, right? They were stupid. We were smart. They cut taxes to make the rich even richer and borrowed money from China to fund the deficit. We ran surpluses. They allowed bankers to give $400,000 mortgages and American Express cards to Wal-Mart greeters. They were being so American – wearing their faux wealth on their sleeves. We were so prudent, by comparison.
As with all caricatures, there is some truth in this, but a good deal of exaggeration, too. And maybe, just maybe, Canadians have carried their sense of financial superiority too far, become too self-satisfied. A cure for that smugness lies in the Bank of Canada’s latest review of the financial system, and its warnings that Canadians are still spending money they don’t have. Some facts leap out.
Item: Canadian families, with debt totalling 146 per cent of disposable income, are now as deeply in hock as U.S. families are. Item: Canadian house prices are now 4½ times disposable income; historically, they’ve been between three and 3½ times. (The same thing happened in the U.S. before the real-estate bubble burst.) Item: our responsible, prudent, sober bankers have been doling out credit lines in the manner of Santa Claus distributing candy canes. (Personal credit lines have been growing about 16 per cent a year for the past decade, though the pace has slowed this year.) Most Canadians, if they are aware of these points at all, just shrug. An excess of debt, expensive houses, so what? Tell us something new. Mark Carney, the Bank of Canada Governor, has been bleating about consumer borrowing for more than a year, and the sky has not fallen. What does he know that the rest of us don’t? A thing or two about financial history, which high schools don’t teach but should.
The history books are rich with examples of countries whose citizens believed they were immune to financial bubbles, or who thought their banks were impregnable, and who felt that nothing bad could ever happen to them. It’s overconfidence that leads to too much borrowing, and Americans have no monopoly on that. The best book on the subject is This Time is Different, by economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff (of the University of Maryland and Harvard, respectively), who document centuries of debt crises. Most instructive is their chapter on banking disasters, which, the authors write, tend to happen this way (I’m simplifying here): A country finds itself very popular with international investors and sees a surge of foreign capital. (Check.) Housing prices rise at a rate much faster than the rate of inflation for a sustained period of time. People argue that the old rules of valuation no longer apply. (Check.) Eventually, real estate values start to fall. Banks show signs of stress, usually soon after home prices hit their peak. As defaults rise, the banks are shorn of capital and pull back on their lending, causing a downturn. (Not yet.) The evidence, say Ms. Reinhart and Mr. Rogoff, is that “when housing booms are accompanied by sharp rises in debt, the risk of a crisis is significantly elevated” (emphasis added).And, as Americans and Irish and Swedes and Spanish have discovered, recessions that spring from banking crises tend to be deep, protracted, and expensive. They drive up government debt quickly.
Not all credit booms end in crisis, and Canada’s might not, either. But the longer consumers ignore Mr. Carney’s alarm bells on debt, the harder it will be for policy makers to engineer a soft landing for the real estate market. And if it’s a hard landing? That would end the complacency in a hurry.
Trade numbers show global economy on the mend
ANDY HOFFMAN
The latest trade numbers from China, the United States and Canada show world economic growth still climbing. “It implies that the global economy is firing on all cylinders,” Scotia Capital’s Camilla Sutton said Friday after the numbers were released. The breakdown:
United States
The data: Exports climbed 3.2 per cent from a month earlier, and imports fell 0.5 per cent in October, narrowing the trade deficit to $38.7-billion (U.S.), the smallest since February.
The skinny: While Friday’s report was positive, helped along by a weaker U.S. dollar and stronger appetite in emerging markets, some economists expect the U.S. trade picture to deteriorate again in turn, possibly ramping up trade and political tensions. Still, the key trade shortfall with China, which has fuelled a war of words between Washington and Beijing over the value of the yuan, narrowed for the second month in a row. And with a gain in exports and dip in imports, the U.S. economy is headed in the right direction.
The analyst: “The gain in real exports was a strong kickoff to the fourth quarter, and it already appears that the net trade balance will contribute materially to real GDP in that quarter … However, beyond the near term (fourth quarter and possibly the first quarter of next year), the net trade balance is likely to widen once again. Americans have a disproportionate appetite for imported goods.” Christos Shiamptanis, economist, Toronto-Dominion Bank
China
The data: Exports surged 34.9 per cent in November from a year earlier while imports soared 37.7 per cent, leaving a trade surplus of $22.9-billion (U.S.).
The skinny: The surge in imports should help ease concerns that there will be a slowdown in China’s increasing hunger for commodities, and is good news for global economies counting on the Asian powerhouse to help support their own exports. Coupled with other numbers and policy moves from China, as well as inflation data expected on the weekend, economists are speculating the People’s Bank of China may soon raise interest rates.
The analyst: “Today’s trade data underscore that, even if policy makers believe inflation will soon be under control, the economy is healthy enough to withstand further tightening … Digging into the detail, the breakdown shows that last month’s acceleration in imports was almost entirely due to stronger imports intended for domestic use rather than processing and re-export. The economy appears to be picking up speed as it enters 2011.” Mark Williams, senior China economist, Capital Economics
Canada
The data: Exports increased 3.1 per cent from a month earlier, and imports rose 1.2 per cent in October, narrowing the trade gap to $1.7-billion (Canadian).
The skinny: Sagging American demand and a higher loonie have sapped Canada’s export strength of late, but stronger exports to countries other than the United States helped drive the improved picture in October. Exports to south of the border were up 0.4 per cent and, said Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Diana Petramala, Canadian companies shipping to the United States have lost a lot of market share likely because of the strong loonie. Canada now represents just 14 per cent of imports in the U.S., down from almost 20 per cent in 2001.
The analyst: “October’s slight improvement in the trade balance must be taken in context; Canada’s trade balance was in the red for the fifth-straight month in spite of the ongoing global economic recovery. Even with our upwardly revised outlook for the U.S., Canada’s trade deficit is expected to persist in the coming quarters due to the lagged impact of a stronger Canadian dollar eroding the competitiveness of Canadian exporters. The trade sector’s continuing drag on growth should help to keep the Bank of Canada on hold well into 2011.” Emanuella Enenajor, CIBC World Markets
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Debt picture not so bleak: BMO
ANALYSIS
Debt picture not so bleak: BMO
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 | 8:22 AM ET
CBC News
The cacophony of concern over rising Canadian debt levels is overshadowing other encouraging personal finance data, a prominent economist says.
Statistics Canada released data Monday showing that Canadian household debt has risen to 148 per cent of disposable income. The eye-popping figure is all the more alarming considering it's the first time since the 1990s that Canada's ratio has been higher than that of the U.S.
Alarm bells rang everywhere from the Bank of Canada to the Finance Department on Monday, and Canadians were urged to tighten their belts and prepare for a time of austerity.
But a closer look at the numbers indicates the picture might not be so bleak.
"The continued laser-like focus on debt overshadows the other half of the balance sheet," BMO chief economist Doug Porter said Monday.
Namely, Canadians are borrowing. But they're also saving, and they're worth more than they used to be.
The savings rate has averaged four per cent over the past year and is now below the U.S rate of 5.8 per cent. But Canada's rate is now more than double the level it was at during its all-time low in 2005.
And as Porter notes, Statistics Canada's rate of personal savings as a percentage of disposable income doesn't give the full picture of how much Canadians are actually saving.
The current rate narrowly looks at how much households are saving from current income but ignores unrealized capital gains as well as returns in tax-sheltered vehicles like RRSPs and tax-free savings accounts, Porter said.
A better measure might be to track the change in household financial assets as a share of income. It's much more volatile (prone to 50 per cent swings in both directions within the same year), but for the last five years, it has hovered at roughly double the published savings rate. And it's never gone below the conventional "savings rate" in the last 15 years.
Increasing assets
A closer inspection of the numbers Statistics Canada released Monday shows more reason for optimism.
Yes, the debt-to-income level has gone from around 100 per cent in 1990 to almost 150 per cent today (the orange line on the chart above). But assets — the green line (showing net worth as a percentage of income) — have gone up too: from 417 per cent to 610 per cent over that same period.
In layman's terms, "assets are again growing faster than debt in absolute terms," says Porter.
That suggests that the assets Canadians are buying are padding their net worth more than enough to offset the debt load they take on to buy some of them. And debt as a percentage of net worth (the blue line on the chart above) has remained relatively flat.
"While debt has risen to record heights, so, too, have financial assets due to a rebound in equities and an underlying rise in savings," Porter said.
The sum total of all stocks, bonds, cash, GICs, life insurance and pension assets, minus household debt, is a fairer picture of real savings, Porter says. That figure has recovered from recessionary lows to $2.7 trillion so far this year — which works out to $80,000 per Canadian, or 167 per cent of per capita GDP.
"Taking these factors into account … leads to the conclusion that household finances are not nearly as weakened as the dire headlines would suggest," said Porter.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/12/14/f-debt-analysis.html#ixzz18I8AR6KY
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