Canadian Venture Forum is seeking entrepreneurs to present in front of investors and venture capitalists.

Toronto - The deadline for applications to Toronto Venture Group’s “Canadian Venture Forum” is quickly approaching. Entrepreneurs have until March 31, 2006 to submit an application to be considered as a participant in the 2006 event that has helped many entrepreneurs get their start in the technology space.
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WATERLOO-- How to develop leisure activities to promote health and reduce risky social behaviours among young people is the aim of the Hallman Visiting Professor Lecture next week at the University of Waterloo. Hosted by UW's Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, the public talk yesterday, Thursday, March 16 was be given by Edward Smith and Linda Caldwell, professors at Pennsylvania State University. Title of their talk: "Leisure and Health: Joining Forces to Prevent Youth Risk Behavior."
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Although the share of natural resources in Canada's exports is increasing and the United States remains our dominant export market, the story is different for imports, which now come less and less from the United States and are more diversified by commodity group, according to a new study released today in the Canadian Economic Observer.
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WATERLOO – Gordon Miller, the environmental commissioner of Ontario (ECO), will highlight the state of Ontario’s environmental policies during a talk at Wilfrid Laurier University.
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Agricultural biotechnology critical for biodiversity protection

CURITIBA, Brazil - Agricultural biotechnology is necessary for the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity. As officials from 132 nations meet in Brazil this week for a UN meeting under the Biosafety Protocol, the plant science industry reminds governments of the vital role biotech innovations play in achieving sustainable agriculture and development:
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The University of Guelph will present its first annual scholarship for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) studies March 26 at the 15th annual Wilde About Sappho, a national celebration of gay and lesbian literature that brings prize-winning and up-and-coming queer writers to a number of Canadian cities. This is the second year the literary festival has included Guelph in its national tour.
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OTTAWA - The Competition Bureau, in collaboration with Shred-it, local police forces and Better Business Bureaus, is participating in the first ever national community shredding event on Saturday, March 25 in 20 cities across Canada.
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One billion human beings are deprived of the building blocks of development. But this problem has more to do with the absence of available infrastructure than the resource, reports Le Monde (France). The consequences are serious. Polluted water is the first cause of mortality on the planet, ahead of malnutrition.
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Contractor Certification-An Industry First From Eagle! Eagle Certified Professional Contractor Program Sets Industry Standard for Code of Conduct and Professionalism

OTTAWA, ONTARIO- - Eagle is pleased to announce the release of the first IT Contractor Certification Program in the Canadian IT Staffing Industry. The Eagle Certified Professional IT Contractor Program recognizes and rewards excellence in the IT contractor profession.
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LONDON – Ethnic and religious fighting, land disputes and communal conflicts have driven more than 3 million Nigerians from their homes since 1999, a report showed in mid-March.
That gives Nigeria the dubious honour of being home to the third-highest number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the world after Sudan and Colombia.
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UW to host Waterloo Regional FIRST Robotics competition

WATERLOO - With participation rising by 25 per cent over last year, some of Ontario's top high school students will once again gather at the University of Waterloo next week for the Waterloo Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.
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The unpredictable state of manufacturing - Monthly Survey of Manufacturing - January 2006

Manufacturing shipments continued on an erratic course in January as the ever-volatile motor vehicles and parts industries pulled down total shipments, despite strength in several resource-based industries. Shipments declined 0.7% to $51.8 billion in January, following a 1.8% advance in December. A substantial drop in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing largely contributed to January's weakness. Excluding the motor vehicles and parts industries, shipments actually edged up by 0.3%.
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MONTREAL - For the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2006, Transcontinental's revenues reached $547.4 million, up 6% over $515.3 million in the first quarter of 2005. The increase stems mainly from the acquisition of U.S.-based direct marketer JDM in February, 2005, as well as from organic revenue growth of 2%, but was mitigated by the negative impact of the Canadian dollar's appreciation and competitive market conditions in commercial printing.
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Guelph Mayor Kate Quarrie announced today that Guelph City Council has approved amendments to the City’s Official Plan to create contemporary policies to manage commercial growth within the City for the next 15 years.
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WATERLOO -- The University of Waterloo opened a new exciting chapter in its history today with the official groundbreaking for its School of Pharmacy and Downtown Kitchener Health Sciences Campus.
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Trends Announces Appointments

Trends Electronics International Inc. has announced the appointment of Karem Banna to the position of National Director of the Mobile Division.
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Whirlpool & Maytag Merger Cleared by Competition Bureau

Whirlpool Corp. and Maytag Corp. have announced that the proposed merger between the two firms has been cleared by the Competition Bureau of Canada, an independent law enforcement agency. The Bureau has concluded that it has no grounds upon which to challenge the proposed merger under Canada's Competition Act, and thus determined that the proposed merger would not give rise to a “substantial lessening or prevention of competition in relation to any relevant market in Canada.”
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The World Water Forum, which opens Thursday in Mexico City, will make a new attempt to shape global strategy for this vital resource whose erratic distribution and wanton waste allow more than one billion people to go thirsty everyday, reports Agence France Presse.
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OTTAWA - According to recent figures released from Statistics Canada, insurance industry profits reached over $6 billion in 2005, a whopping $2 billion or 50% increase over last year. However, Canadians have not heard that story from the insurance companies.
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CURITIBA, Brazil - As the 3rd Meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (the Biosafety Protocol) kicks off March 14, 2006, the plant science industry urges governments to finally take a decision on a global documentation system for agricultural biotech products, but warns that unnecessary and costly requirements could severely restrict international trade.
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Global Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Reveals Robust Hiring Activity Ahead in Japan, and a Return to Optimism Among German Employers

MILWAUKEE, WI - The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released March 14, 2006 revealed that second-quarter hiring is expected to be positive in 23 of 24 countries and territories surveyed, with Japanese and German employers reporting their most optimistic hiring plans since the survey began in these countries in the second quarter of 2003.
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Excavation into the still-frosty ground just west of the central plant has begun in preparation for construction of the new Centre for Advanced Photovoltaic Devices and Systems. Described by Siva Sivoththaman, an electrical and computer engineering professor, as "a comprehensive research and development centre," the facility will bring together researchers in materials, microelectronics and back-end electronics from both engineering and science. Their mission: "To make an impact in terms of affordable technology, as opposed to performance at any cost."
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Immigrants to the European Union from the Middle East and North Africa send home at least EUR7.1 billion ($8.46 billion) a year, the EU said Monday, but added the amount may be double that because of unreported transactions, reports The Associated Press.
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The new head of the World Bank is ruffling feathers, but his intolerance of crooked politicians should be applauded, writes former economics correspondent at the Far Eastern Economic Review, Salil Tripathi, in a commentary published in The Guardian (UK). World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has suspended loans to powerful countries, strengthened the internal department of institutional integrity, reshuffled officials, and brought in new staff with the aim of making the organization - and its borrowers – accountable (…) Wolfowitz is on the right track on corruption.
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Annual Survey of Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment Rental and Leasing - 2004

Canada's economic growth in 2004 was increasingly driven by its capital-intensive resource base, especially energy exports. And a healthy increase in corporate profits led to more investment, boosting demand for machinery and equipment.
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Kitchener - SkillsInternational.ca has launched a online system that will unite prescreened internationally-educated professionals with employers who need their skills. This online tool is cost-effective, efficient and the first of its kind in Canada.
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Commission reports on national measures to ensure co-existence of genetically modified crops with conventional and organic farming. The development of EU-wide legislation on the co-existence of genetically modified crops with conventional and organic farming does not appear justified at this time, in view of the EU’s limited experience with the cultivation of GM crops and the need to conclude the process of introducing national measures.
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As the world hits peak oil production, there is keen interest in finding the next great fuel source. Many hope that hydrogen can be harnessed and that by the end of the 21st century we will all be driving hydrogen-powered cars.
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A new United Nations report, "The World’s Women 2005:
Progress in Statistics", published in January 2006, concludes that there has been limited progress in the last thirty years both in the number of countries reporting national statistics as well as in the degree to which national statistics capture gender-related issues. With over forty percent of Africa’s population not covered by census, it is clear that today’s statistical reporting simply excludes many of the world’s poorest people.
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Corruption plays a crucial yet nearly invisible role in depriving nearly a fifth of the world's population of access to safe drinking water, a new United Nations report on water and development said on Thursday, reports Reuters.
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