Public Education to Support Food Safety

TORONTO The McGuinty government is ensuring that farmers' markets and community groups will be able to operate as they have for decades, while at the same time protecting the public's health, Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman announced June 15.

The government has exempted farmers' markets from rules that apply to restaurants and other commercial establishments through amendments to Regulation 562 (Food Premises) under the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA). This will ensure that farmers' markets are not held to unrealistic standards developed for very different types of retail establishments like grocery stores and restaurants.

"We know Ontarians grow, sell and enjoy eating locally produced foods," said Smitherman. "We have heard the concerns raised by people who operate farmers' markets and run community events. The exemption we're creating allows them the freedom to continue their proud tradition of providing a wide range of high quality goods to the public."

The government has also expanded the exemption in the existing Food Premises Regulation to include religious organizations, service clubs and fraternal organizations where events such as picnics, fairs and church suppers are open to the public.

The exemption does not apply to laws prohibiting the sale of uninspected meats, unpasteurized milk or ungraded eggs.

"We know that farm market vendors and organizers of community events believe in food safety and want to provide food that is wholesome and safe," Smitherman said. "That's why we will be working with these groups to promote food safety. At the same time we will ensure that public health officials have the authority they need to safeguard the public's health."

Beginning this summer the ministry will undertake a $1.5 million education campaign to widely promote safe food handling and preparation practices at farmers' markets and community-based events.

Local public health officials will continue to investigate complaints, and take appropriate measures if a health hazard is identified. Public health inspectors will also be working with farmers' markets and local community groups to provide outreach and advice on food safety.

This is just the latest example of how the McGuinty government is on the side of Ontario families concerned about their health. Other initiatives include:

<< - The creation of 150 Family Health Teams which will improve access to primary care for more than 2.5 million Ontarians in 112 communities

- An additional $110 million in funding for public health mandatory and related programs as part of our commitment of covering 75% of public health funding by 2007

- Providing $75 million over three years to create an additional 22 Community Health Centres and 17 satellites to improve access to the full range of primary care services, including health promotion and disease prevention

- The Ontario Universal Influenza Immunization Program, which provides free influenza vaccine to all individuals aged 6 months or older who live, work or attend school in Ontario. >>

This initiative is part of the McGuinty government's plan to build a health care system that reflects the needs of patients and communities, and will keep Ontarians healthy for generations to come.

Tourism Week is being celebrated from June 5 to 11, 2006 in regions across Canada including Guelph and Wellington to promote the economic benefits that the tourism industry. In Guelph and Wellington County, tourism is a 252.6 million dollar industry that drives economic prosperity. Business growth was supported thorough the 2,511 people that the tourism industry kept working. Tourism generated $109 million in taxes for all levels of government to help fund a variety of public priorities.

The promotion of Tourism Week in Guelph and Wellington County has been co-ordinated by City of Guelph Tourism Services using a print ad campaign in news media throughout the region. The focus of the campaign has been to inform residents about the benefits of tourism, to promote the availability of the 2006 Visiting Guelph and Wellington visitor guide, and to highlight the many events and attractions that people can see and do in their own community this summer.

Tourism Week was launched with a Tourism display at Stone Road Mall where free visitor guides with attraction, outdoor, shopping, restaurant, accommodation and event information were distributed to shoppers for the day. The 2006 guide has received a complete makeover from previous years and now highlights a new magazine size, a modern layout and design, new reader features and more photos. Additional copies of the 2006 Visiting Guelph and Wellington visitor guide are available by calling the Guelph Visitor Information Centre at 1-800-334-4519.

Industry feedback is critical! Based on your input during the following sessions, a report will be brought back to the Municipal Councils in late June including recommendations regarding establishing a new Tourism Organization.

Discussion Paper

UPDATE: Moving forward,the CAO's have set two dates to meet with representatives from the tourism industry.

Your attendance is requested at either of the following meetings:
a) Wednesday, June 7th in Kitchener
Location: City of Kitchener Council Chambers, 200 King Street West
Time: 7pm to 9 p.m.
Note: Beverages will be served.
 
b) Thursday, June 8th in Cambridge:
Location: Cambridge Holiday Inn, Halls B & C
Time: 3pm to 5 p.m.
Note: Beverages will be served.
 
Focus groups will be formed to initiate discussions  resulting from the recommendations in the attached discussion paper.

Focus Group Categories:
#1 Accommodation (Hotels, motels, B&B's, Conference Centres)
#2 Shopping
#3 Dining
#4 Services ( Relocation, Specialty, Media, Transportation)
#5 Things To Do:  Profit
#6 Things To do - Not for Profit
 
Please email your RSVP directly to Brenda Grimm @ brenda.grimm@city.kitchener.on.ca: <mailto:brenda.grimm@city.kitchener.on.ca>  by Friday May 26 indicating the following:
1) which meeting you are able to attend
2) which focus group you wish to participate in.
Feel free to pass this invitation along to any businesses that would benefit from attending these meetings.
Any questions regarding the meetings should be directed to the Chief Administrator Officer in your municipality. Their contact information is available if needed.
 
Contact: Brenda Grimm 
City of Kitchener   
Email: brenda.grimm@city.kitchener.on.ca: <mailto:brenda.grimm@city.kitchener.on.ca>
B: 519-745-3536; CELL: 616-3246; FAX: 519-745-3218  

Emergency Services Appreciations Day Sunday June 4

A salute to our local Emergency Services including Fire, Police, Emergency Medial Professionals, Community Crisis Support Agencies and a free special display of emergency vehicles and services will be on display from 10 am to 4 pm. This is a fund raiser for the Victim Services of Waterloo Region. http://www.vswr.ca/

FUNWORX FIRST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

June 3 FUNWORX First Anniversary Celebrations - Great Gerard at 12:00pm (magic, face painting, clowns, balloon art for the kids) Chipper (meet and greet) at 1:00pm Plays and drama workshop at 7 pm

June 4 FUNWORX First Anniversary Celebrations - Great Gerard at 12:00pm (magic, face painting, clowns, balloon art for the kids) Chipper (meet and greet) at 1 pm, BIRTHDAY CAKE at 1 pm

“We want to make it easier for visitors to get to know Mississauga, have them stay longer, and plan a return visit,” said Mississauga Tourism CEO Suzan Trabert McKay. “The See More Mississauga program is another reason why it just makes sense to choose Mississauga as your next destination for business or pleasure.”

Trabert McKay says the pilot phase of the program will distribute 20,000 See More Mississauga Cards to visitors attending trade shows, meetings and conventions, and sporting events. This program is the first of its kind in Canada and is made possible through partnerships with the City of Mississauga, Tourism Toronto and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism’s Investment and Development Office.

Mississauga Tourism is a membership-based association representing more than 300 tourism partners and affiliates located in Mississauga and in West Toronto. Offering over 10,000 competitively priced hotel rooms and over 1.5 million square feet in meeting and trade show space, Mississauga is accessible by car, plane and boat and is only 90 minutes from the U.S. border. As Toronto’s largest neighbour, Mississauga is Ontario’s shopping capital, home to Toronto Pearson International Airport and contains the best in class dining, theatre, gaming, and cultural attractions.

Overseas travel to Canada continues to rise

Travel from overseas nations into Canada rose for the second straight year, following three consecutive years of declines.

The number of overnight trips to Canada from countries other than the United States increased 7.1% to more than 4.2 million. Overseas tourists spent $5.7 billion in Canada in 2005, up 6.5% from 2004.

The United Kingdom retained its status as the most important overseas market to Canada. The number of trips to Canada reached 888,000, a 10.8% gain from 2004.

All top 12 overseas markets recorded year-over-year increases in the number of trips to Canada, except for Hong Kong (-5.3%), and Taiwan (-7.7%). China (+18.8%) registered the largest annual increase as 113,000 residents visited Canada in 2005.

Travel to the United States up, but fewer Americans coming here

Overnight travel by Canadians to the United States rose 7.3% to nearly 14.9 million trips last year, perhaps reflecting a 7.4% gain in the value of the Canadian dollar against the US greenback. Canadian tourists spent $9.5 billion south of the border, up 10.1% from 2004.

New York State remained the most popular overnight destination for Canadians as more than 2.3 million visited the state, up 3.9%. Canadians spent nearly $660 million in New York State, a 4.0% increase from the year previous.

Canadians continued to spend more in Florida than any other state, spending about $2.3 billion there last year, up 11.9% from 2004. Although Florida was the second most popular state in terms of the number of overnight visits, Canadians spent almost 39 million nights in Florida, more than five times the number of nights spent in New York State.

Overnight travel to the United States rose in every major trip purpose and transportation mode category in 2005. Travel by car remained the most popular method to visit the United States, and pleasure travel was the primary purpose for about 55% of all overnight trips by Canadians south of the border.

In the opposite direction, Americans not only made fewer trips to Canada but spent less as well. The number of overnight trips from the United States fell 4.6% to only 14.4 million, and US tourists spent about $7.5 billion here, down 8.6% compared to 2004.

Among the top 10 states of origin, 8 recorded declines in overnight trips to Canada, the largest from Massachusetts (-12.9%) and Ohio (-11.8%). The only two increases were from Florida (+10.5%) and Minnesota (+2.9%). New York, Michigan and Washington remained the top three states for overnight visitors to Canada. All top 10 states recorded declines in spending in Canada.

Overnight travel from the United States fell by both automobile (-6.7%) and air (-0.4%).

Business trips by American residents to Canada declined 1.3% in 2005. Pleasure trips, which accounted for 57% of all overnight travel from the United States, fell 7.6%. The only trip purpose that recorded an increase was the number of overnight trips for visiting friends and relatives, which rose 1.3% to 2.8 million.

Fourth quarter 2005: Record Canadian travel overseas

On a quarterly basis, Canadian residents took 1.2 million overnight trips to overseas countries in the fourth quarter of 2005, a record for the last three months of any year. This was up 4.3% from the fourth quarter of 2004, and the third consecutive year in which a fourth-quarter record was set.

Overnight trips by overseas residents to Canada increased 5.6% from the fourth quarter of 2004 to 781,000. They spent an estimated $958 million in Canada.

Nearly 3.1 million Canadians made overnight trips south of the border in the final three months of the year, up 2.4% from the same period in 2004. Their spending surged 13.0%.

American residents took 7.1% fewer overnight trips to Canada than in the fourth quarter of 2004 as fewer than 2.5 million made the trek north. Their spending also declined 14.8% to $1.2 billion.

Person-trips, person-nights and expenditures of selected market segments
	Non-residents travelling to Canada, 2005
	Overnight person-trips	Person-nights	Average number of nights	Spending	Spending/trip	Spending/night	2004 to 2005  Person-trips
	thousands			$ millions	$		% change
From the United States
Total	14,390	57,316	4.0	7,462	519	130	-4.6
Auto	8,774	34,033	3.9	3,371	384	99	-6.7
Plane	3,915	18,240	4.7	3,382	864	185	-0.4
Business	1,964	6,065	3.1	1,523	776	251	-1.3
Pleasure	8,140	33,424	4.1	4,435	545	133	-7.6
Visiting friends and relatives	2,824	12,818	4.5	813	288	63	1.3
From Overseas
Total	4,221	67,392	16.0	5,738	1,359	85	7.0

Overnight travel between Canada and other countries
	Trips				Expenditures
	Fourth quarter 2004r	Third quarter 2005r	Fourth quarter 2005p	2004 to 2005	Fourth quarter 2004r	Third quarter 2005r	Fourth quarter 2005p	2004 to 2005
	thousands			% change	$ millions			% change
Canadian trips abroad	4,155	6,261	4,277	2.9	3,520	4,520	3,931	11.7
To the United States	2,987	4,803	3,059	2.4	1,722	2,051	1,946	13.0
To other countries	1,168	1,458	1,217	4.3	1,798	2,469	1,984	10.3
Travel to Canada	3,395	7,826	3,248	-4.3	2,352	5,678	2,156	-8.3
From the United States	2,656	6,100	2,466	-7.1	1,406	3,259	1,198	-14.8
From other countries	740	1,726	781	5.6	946	2,419	958	1.3
r revised p preliminary

Overnight travel between Canada and other countries
	Trips			Expenditures
	2004r	2005p	2004 to 2005	2004r	2005p	2004 to 2005
	thousands		% change	$ millions		% change
Canadian trips abroad	19,595	21,091	7.6	17,475	18,973	8.6
To the United States	13,856	14,862	7.3	8,664	9,539	10.1
To other countries	5,739	6,229	8.5	8,811	9,434	7.1
Travel to Canada	19,031	18,612	-2.2	13,557	13,200	-2.6
From the United States	15,088	14,390	-4.6	8,168	7,462	-8.6
From other countries	3,944	4,221	7.0	5,389	5,738	6.5
r revised p preliminary

Spending abroad between January and March hit an unprecedented $5.8 billion, up 1.7% from the fourth quarter last year.

Lower travel spending by foreigners in Canada, which fell for the fifth consecutive quarter, also contributed to the higher deficit. Foreigners spent just under $4.0 billion, a 1.6% decline and the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2003.

Travel deficit with United States highest in 12 years

A prolonged downswing in spending by American residents in Canada widened Canada's travel deficit with the United States to just over $1.1 billion during the first quarter of 2006. This was a $101 million increase from the previous quarter and the highest level since the end of 1993.

American residents spent an estimated $2.1 billion in Canada, down 1.2% and the fifth consecutive quarterly decline. The decline was fuelled by a 0.4% slide in overnight travel to Canada, which reached 3.4 million trips between January and March.

Meanwhile, spending by Canadian residents in the United States climbed to an all-time high of $3.2 billion, up 2.4% from the end of 2005. A 5.2% increase in overnight travel to the United States contributed to the higher spending.

The Canadian dollar averaged $0.87 US cents in the first quarter of 2006, up 1.6% from the previous three-month period and the highest level since the end of 1991.

Deficit with overseas countries third highest ever

Canada's travel deficit with overseas countries hit its third highest level ever, increasing by $57 million to $720 million in the first quarter. The deficit was higher only in the third and fourth quarters of 2003.

Record spending overseas, which increased for the sixth consecutive quarter, contributed to the jump in the deficit. Canadians spent nearly $2.6 billion in overseas countries, up 0.8% from the fourth quarter last year.

An increase in travel contributed to the record spending, as over 1.6 million Canadians visited overseas countries in the first quarter, up 5.0% from the fourth quarter of 2005.

Meanwhile, spending by residents of overseas countries fell for a second consecutive quarter, down 2.0% from the previous quarter to $1.8 billion. The drop in spending came despite a 1.5% increase in overnight travel to Canada, which reached 1.1 million trips.

During the first quarter of 2006, the value of the Canadian dollar improved against major overseas currencies such as the British pound sterling, the Japanese yen and the euro.

International travel account receipts and payments
	First quarter 2005r	Fourth quarter 2005r	First quarter 2006p	Fourth quarter 2005 to first quarter 2006
	Seasonally adjusted1
	$ millions			% change
United States
Receipts	2,385	2,155	2,130	-1.2
Payments	3,092	3,174	3,250	2.4
Balance	- 707	-1,019	-1,120
All other countries
Receipts	1,833	1,880	1,843	-2.0
Payments	2,405	2,542	2,563	0.8
Balance	- 572	- 663	- 720
Total
Receipts	4,218	4,035	3,972	-1.6
Payments	5,497	5,717	5,812	1.7
Balance	-1,279	-1,682	-1,840
r revised p preliminary 1. Data may not add to totals due to rounding.

Note to readers

This international travel account analysis is based on preliminary quarterly data, seasonally adjusted unless otherwise stated. Amounts are in Canadian dollars and are not adjusted for inflation.

Receipts represent spending by foreigners travelling in Canada, including education spending and medical spending. Payments represent spending by Canadian residents travelling abroad, including education spending and medical spending.

Overseas countries are those other than the United States.

ORILLIA - On behalf of Beverley J. Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, Bruce Stanton, Member of Parliament (Simcoe North), today announced $28,000 in funding for the Mariposa Folk Foundation's Folk Festival and Concert Series project.

"Organizations like the Mariposa Folk Foundation make a significant contribution to the vitality of our communities," said Minister Oda. "This Festival offers the Canadian public a great opportunity to appreciate and celebrate the rich diversity of folk and traditional music in Canada." "The Government of Canada is committed to supporting access to the arts for all Canadians and to fostering creativity, diversity and excellence," said Mr. Stanton. "This festival is an example of the artistic excellence which results from a community working together."

This festival, launched in 1961 in Orillia, is Canada's oldest folk music festival. The Mariposa Folk Foundation will hold the 46th annual folk music festival in Tudhope Park from July 7 to 9, 2006. It will also present a year round folk music series to be held at various venues in Orillia and Toronto. This summer festival, one of the major arts events in the region, offers music and dance presentations, as well as workshops and a program for children. There are also craft exhibits and an emporium.

Financial assistance is provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage through its Arts Presentation Canada program. This program seeks to give Canadians more access to direct experiences of the diversity and richness of Canada's culture through professional arts festivals, presentation of live professional performances, and other artistic experiences.

Funding announced was built into the existing fiscal framework.

May is Locomotive 6167 month in California. A reproduction of Larry Fisher’s painting, "Guelph Welcomes 6167", is featured for May in the 2006 calendar by the Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) company of California. Each year for the past 32 years, the company has published a calendar featuring railway scenes, recently from the paintings of Larry Fisher. Over 500,000 calendars are distributed free of charge to the customers of its approximately 80 stores throughout the state. As a result of the decision of the small Locomotive 6167 Restoration Committee of the City of Guelph to commission the painting by Larry Fisher to raise funds for the locomotive’s restoration, many thousands of Californians now know that Guelph exists and that our historic locomotive is situated near its impressive railway passenger station.

June is also an important month for railway history in Guelph as June 14, 2006 is the 150th anniversary of rail service to Guelph. That is the day in 1856 when several provincial dignitaries and officials of the Grand Trunk Railway travelled from Toronto to Guelph on the newly constructed railway to officially open the line for service.

With Father’s Day on June 18, giving Dad a print of Larry Fisher’s painting would be a great way to remember the opening of the railway which led to Guelph’s development and to support the restoration of Locomotive 6167. Information on purchasing a print is available from the Gift Shop of the Guelph Civic Museum by calling 836-1221. The Museum is open daily from 1 to 5 pm.

Children’s Museum Members were provided with a sneak peak on May 17 and loved it! They climbed to the top of Adventure Mountain, crawled through “dark and scary” tunnels, and ambitiously steered the kid-sized virtual flyer. Not only were our visitors challenged mentally and physically but they learned valuable problem-solving skills and real world lessons.

The Big Adventure continues at the Children’s Museum until September 3.

LOS ANGELES, CA - EagleRider, already the world's leading motorcycle rental company, is now paving the way for a revolution in the way enthusiasts travel. EagleRider's world-renowned self-drive tours are now better than ever and experiencing an explosion in popularity.

Companies like EagleRider are springing up everywhere and are more than just motorcycle rental or tour organizations. They are complete travel and concierge service companies tailored for the motorcycle market. EagleRider offers the personal service of your own in-house trip planner with customized itineraries focusing on the most majestic motorcycle touring routes.

Joe Ricketts, Chairman and founder of Ameritrade, said, "Being able to leave a blustery winter in Omaha, go to Southern California and rent a motorcycle for a ride to Cabo is absolutely wonderful. EagleRider provides truly great service."

EagleRider self-drive tour customers rent a late model motorcycle, stay at first-rate accommodations, and receive a personalized Road Book designed with everything a rider would need including all mapped routing, suggestions for excellent restaurants, and interesting stops along the way. Round the clock roadside assistance and motorcycle concierge services come standard with your EagleRider rental, and customers can even choose to have a TomTom GPS navigation system installed with their personal trip routing for the ultimate in ease of travel.

EagleRider does all the planning and provides all the gear, leaving travelers the freedom to marvel at the scenery and experience the thrill of adventure on the road alone, or with the company of their own friends and family. Over a hundred self-drive tours are available out of every EagleRider location.

Costs related to operating automotive vehicles climbed 4.9% between the first quarters of 2005 and 2006. This growth was mainly due to the continuous rise in the price of gasoline during this period (+11.2%).

Between the first quarters of 2005 and 2006, both the costs of food purchased from restaurants and of served alcoholic beverages rose 3.1%.

Despite the 5.2% increase, costs incurred from using local and commuter transportation has only slightly influenced the TPI. The increase resulted from an 8.7% rise in taxi prices.

However, the growth in the TPI in the first quarter of 2006 compared to the first quarter of 2005 was mitigated by a 5.5% decline in the price of traveller accommodation.

Three of the remaining components of the TPI fell, namely clothing (-2.6%), footwear (-1.9%) and rental of automotive vehicles (-1.7%). The other components posted increases between 1.0% and 2.7%.

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the TPI edged down 0.6% between the fourth quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006.

Four components contributed to the slight quarterly decrease in the TPI. The price paid for traveller accommodation fell 3.6%, continuing the downward trend of last quarter.

Lower costs related to the purchase of footwear (-2.6%) and clothing (-1.1%) also negatively affected the index.

Finally, the 1.9% reduction in costs related to the use of inter-city transportation also contributed to the quarterly decrease of the TPI. A 2.5% drop in airplane ticket prices was responsible for the decrease in this component.

Two other components of the TPI declined between the fourth quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006: rental of automotive vehicles (-1.9%) and operating automotive vehicles (-0.3%). The remaining components registered increases ranging between 0.4% and 2.3%.

Selected components of the Travel Price Index (1992=100)
Components	First quarter 2006	Fourth quarter 2005	First quarter 2005	Fourth quarter 2005 to first quarter 2006	First quarter 2005 to first quarter 2006
	Unadjusted
				% change
Inter-city transportation	197.2	201.1	194.9	-1.9	1.2
Local and commuter transportation	158.3	154.7	150.5	2.3	5.2
Rental of automotive vehicles	125.1	127.5	127.3	-1.9	-1.7
Operation of automotive vehicles	166.8	167.3	159.0	-0.3	4.9
Traveller accommodation	91.6	95.0	96.9	-3.6	-5.5
Food purchased from stores	128.8	126.7	125.5	1.7	2.6
Food purchased from restaurants	134.6	133.5	130.6	0.8	3.1
Served alcoholic beverages	131.5	130.4	127.6	0.8	3.1
Alcoholic beverages purchased from stores	127.1	126.3	125.8	0.6	1.0
Spectator entertainment	169.2	168.6	164.8	0.4	2.7
Clothing	97.4	98.5	100.0	-1.1	-2.6
Footwear	100.7	103.4	102.6	-2.6	-1.9
Travel Price Index	141.7	142.6	139.7	-0.6	1.4
Consumer Price Index	128.9	128.3	125.9	0.5	2.4

OTTAWA-. Tralliance Corporation, the .travel Registry, announced an agreement with the UNWTO to continue the extension of the .travel Place Name Priority Right through December 31, 2006. The announcement took place during Online Revealed Canada, that country's premier online travel conference organized by the Canadian Tourism Commission, and demonstrates the full endorsement of The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for this global initiative.

Governments have already been given the sole right to their specific country names in the .travel industry-specific Internet space. However, Place Names, which are defined as cities, towns, heritage sites, sacred sites, national parks, etc., must be claimed and registered by their respective government authorities, according to Ron Andruff, president and CEO of Tralliance Corporation, the .travel Registry. The company had previously extended the deadline through April 30, 2006.

"We fully support this deadline extension through the end of the year, but believe that governments should act quickly and responsibly to protect the names of their national treasures in the .travel Internet space," said UNWTO Deputy Secretary General Dr. Taleb Rifai. "Based on feedback from our members, some nations of the world are just beginning to understand the potential power of .travel, and we believe that Tralliance Corporation is aiding the entire global travel industry by extending this deadline," said Rifai.

"The UNWTO continues to serve in a leadership role to alert nations about the importance and need to protect the names of individual nations' most recognized tourism assets on the .travel domain," said Andruff. "It is important that each individual tourism entity place name be secured by their nations so that travelers -- today and into the future -- will be assured that what they find on a .travel web site is exactly what they are seeking," Andruff said.

Tourism entities are strongly encouraged to visit www.travel.travel (Place Names Advisory) for information on how to complete the application process. As of the official .travel launch in January, tens of thousands of industry-exclusive domain names had been registered. At the same time, Tralliance unveiled the new .travel Directory (www.directory.travel) in development mode, as a free service for consumers and the travel trade seeking information online. Providing a precise catalog of virtually every product or service offered by .travel registrants, the .travel Directory is an unbiased search tool that distributes company, product and service information corresponding to each query, enabling users to expeditiously find exactly what they are looking for. The .travel Directory is currently available in ten languages with many more to come.

"Tourism leaders now have a better understanding of the Directory, and as more and more large tourism entities are actively using their .travel domains in large-scale marketing efforts, nations that have not registered are telling us that the additional time is critical," said Andruff. "We believe the extension is in the best interest of the global tourism industry and the leadership of the UNWTO agrees."

Travel industry associations have been encouraging widely-visited tourism and travel centers to properly register .travel names so that the sites and destinations are properly represented in the consumer .travel Directory. "We continue to rely on these partners to help engage their membership, but it is also important that nations and their governments act quickly to preserve their tourism assets as well," Andruff said.

Canada.travel Initiative Inspires Other Nations

The decision to extend the Place Name Priority Right was fueled, in part, by the Canadian Travel Commission's bold Canada.travel nationally focused travel portal initiative, a critical component of the Canada Keep Exploring brand campaign.

According to Michele McKenzie, president and CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission, "Thanks to the support of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC), and many others that are consolidating our Canadian tourism assets under the Canada.travel domain, consumers will find it easier to find what they are looking for when exploring Canada online, instead of sifting through thousands of unrelated internet pages."

"Other nations are looking to adopt a similar template to the Canada.travel portal for protecting their own tourism assets," said Rafai. "Extending the Place Name Priority Right affords other countries the opportunity to replicate the process and streamline their own country's online travel information and communications systems."

Sales of refined petroleum products totalled 8 489 300 cubic metres in March, down 1.8% from March 2005. Sales decreased in five of the seven major product groups, with heavy fuel down 81 200 cubic metres or 11.0%. Diesel fuel oil sales rose 91 600 cubic metres or 4.1 %, while motor gasoline sales increased 58 000 cubic metres or 1.7%.

Sales of mid-grade (+13.0%) and regular non-leaded gasoline (+2.3%) rose while sales for premium (-7.3%) fell from March 2005.

Year-to-date sales of refined petroleum products at the end of March reached 23 967 100 cubic metres, down 4.8% from the same period of 2005. Sales fell in six of the seven major product groups, with the largest decrease in heavy fuel oil (-466 900 cubic metres or down 21.4%).

TORONTO - The one-point cut to the goods and services tax announced in today's federal budget is welcome news for Canadian consumers and the small business owners that operate the majority of bar and restaurant businesses in Canada, says the 31,000-member Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA).

"A cut to the GST is tax relief that's hard-wired into the economy," says Michael Ferrabee, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs with the CRFA. "The July 1 reduction in the GST to 6% will provide visible and much- needed tax relief for Canadian consumers on virtually every purchase they make, putting money directly into their pockets."

A GST cut will also help thousands of small business owners whose customers pay largely by credit card. These businesses pay credit card companies a transaction fee of anywhere from 1.6% to 3.5% of the purchase charged to the credit card, including GST, imposing a significant financial penalty on business owners to collect the federal government's tax. The 7% GST costs the foodservice industry alone an estimated $18 million a year in extra credit card fees.

"A reduction in the GST is an important step toward easing an unfair financial burden on business owners who collect the tax," says Mr. Ferrabee. The CRFA has asked the federal government to fulfill its commitment to further cut the GST to 5% as quickly as possible.

The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association is one of Canada's largest business associations. Since its founding in 1944, CRFA has grown to more than 31,000 members, representing restaurants, bars, cafeterias and social and contract caterers, as well as accommodation, entertainment and institutional foodservice. Canada's $50-billion foodservice industry employs more than one million Canadians.