TORONTO - The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) is pleased with a number of aspects of the government's new educational bill, the Student Performance Bill.
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TORONTO - A proliferation of product choices and rapidly changing technology are the key deterrents for consumers when it comes to purchasing their mobile technologies, according to a survey of 1,001 Americans released today by RBC Capital Markets.
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TORONTO - Workbrain Corporation announced the results of its survey of attendees at the 2006 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference & Exhibition held Feb. 12 - 15, 2006 in San Diego, CA. The survey confirmed that respondents link automated scheduling and nurse self-service with improved patient outcomes.
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TORONTO - Vehicle sales in the resource-rich western provinces outperformed in 2005, advancing by 7%, and are expected to climb to a record high of 484,000 units in 2006, according to the latest Canadian Auto Report released today by Scotia Economics.
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WATERLOO - The University of Waterloo hosts its fourth annual "International Celebration Week" to raise campus awareness of different cultures, starting Friday and ending March 10.
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Toronto - The Canadian office of The Epoch Times, a global independent newspaper and a leading critic of the Chinese Communist Party, appeals to the Canadian government to condemn the recent series of violent attacks against its office and staff and to be on the alert for similar attacks by the Chinese communist regime in Canada.
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Thirteen countries forged an alliance on Wednesday to adopt a levy on plane tickets to help poor countries fight AIDS and other killer diseases, despite resistance from airlines, reports Reuters.
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Waterloo MKS Inc. announced its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 which ended on January 31, 2006. All amounts are reported in US dollars under United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
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Top 10 tax filing tips

Tax specialists outline commonly missed deductions and provide other useful hints to effectively navigate tax season

TORONTO - With tax season in full swing, people's thoughts are turning to filing their personal tax returns. To assist Canadians through what can be a daunting process, tax professionals have prepared 10 practical tax-filing suggestions aimed at helping taxpayers through this busy season.
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TORONTO - They may have reached the top finance spot in the organization, but chief financial officers (CFOs) know what would make them step down from their posts, according to a new survey. Forty-five per cent of financial executives polled said the most likely reason they would resign is for a better offer, followed by failure to see eye to eye with CEO or board at 15 per cent. Twenty-two per cent of CFOs said the average tenure of a company's top financial executive is 11 to 15 years.
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UW preparing 'bird flu pandemic' plan

University of Waterloo Daily Bulliten reported that a university-wide committee is preparing a plan detailing how UW would cope in the face of a pandemic of the much-feared "bird flu" or a similar disease that might make large numbers of people sick at the same time.
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OTTAWA - Two studies released last week show that those who live in less walkable neighbourhoods are more likely to be overweight and generate more auto-related air pollution, another potential health threat, says the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
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New Act Will Mean Better Coordinated Health Care Services For Ontarians

TORONTO - The McGuinty government is strengthening Ontario's health care system and responding to local health care needs by providing Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) with new powers through legislation, which received third and final reading yesterday, said Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman.
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Soy protein, long known for its ability to help reduce the risk of heart disease in people with high cholesterol, is equally beneficial for heathy individuals, according to new research by a University of Guelph nutritional scientist.
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Specialized design services 2004

Specialized design firms generated $2.4 billion in operating revenues in 2004, up 11% from the previous year. The double-digit growth rate, not seen since 2000, exceeded the cumulative growth of the preceding three-year period (from 2001 to 2003). The increase in 2004 was fuelled by firms in Ontario.
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The Southwestern Ontario Marketing Alliance (SOMA) is pleased to welcome their seventh member, the Municipality of North Perth. With a solid economic base ranging from agricultural products to technological manufacturing and a recent acceleration within the automotive industry, North Perths industry employs nearly 3,000 people. By joining the alliance, this municipality will add more than 170 acres of new vacant Industrial land to the SOMA inventory.
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AJAX, ON - Volkswagen Canada sales totalled 1,906 new units for February 2006, compared with 1,724 units in February 2005, an increase of 10.6%. This total is comprised of: 98 New Beetles, 260 Golf/GTIs, 1,208 Jettas, 296 Passats, 43 Touaregs and 1 Phaeton.
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TORONTO, ONTARIO - OMERS announced that its total fund return was 16.0 per cent in 2005, a top quartile performance that exceeded its benchmark return of 13.2 per cent. The Fund earned net investment income of $5.5 billion, compared with $3.7 billion in 2004. Fair market value of net assets increased 15.2 per cent, to total $41.1 billion as at December 31, 2005, up from $35.7 billion the previous year. The actuarial value of net assets grew to $38.3 billion from $36.8 billion as at December 31, 2004.
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MONTREAL - Nakisa Inc. announced that the Royal Bank of Canada Financial Group ("RBC") has standardized on Nakisa OrgManagement Series, the industry's most advanced organization chart, succession planning and organization modeling application.
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Consumer spending grew moderately in the fourth quarter as purchases of clothing and other semi-durable items rose 1.5%. Expenditure on durables fell 0.3%, mainly due to a 3.5% decline in purchases of new and used vehicles. The fourth quarter decline in consumer durables follows seven quarters of growth.
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The Machinery and Equipment Price Index (MEPI) was 125.6 (1986=100) in the fourth quarter of 2005, down 0.6% from the third quarter. The domestic component increased 0.1%, while the imported component decreased 1.3% during this period. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2004, the index edged down 0.2%, due mainly to a decrease in the import series (-1.1%).
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SolutionInc Limited and ARRIS Team up to Provide Cable Operators and Hospitality Industry with World-Class Broadband Solution

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia and SUWANEE, Ga., - SolutionInc Limited , a leader in Internet management, provisioning and billing, and ARRIS, a world leader in providing broadband solutions over coax, have teamed up to provide an integrated offering for cable operators and their hospitality industry customers to offer broadband services over their existing coaxial cable TV wiring infrastructure.
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TORONTO - Results of a recent public opinion poll show that 76 per cent of Ontarians are worried about new health service user fees and that they won't be able to afford needed medical care. "The McGuinty government's Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) scheme will spawn new out of pocket costs for patients", say four health care unions critical of the proposed new health care delivery model.
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World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is putting words into action: corrupt governments can say good-bye to aid money, reports Dutch daily Volkskrant. In a short period of time, Wolfowitz halted disbursement of aid money to a number of projects out of uncertainty the money would be well spent. Nongovernmental organizations are full of praise for his fight against corruption. "It is fantastic that Wolfowitz takes the fight against corruption so seriously," says Huguette Labelle, the President of Transparency International.
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UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and dozens of government ministers are meeting Tuesday at a Paris conference to discuss France's once-ridiculed call for an international tax to fight poverty and disease in the developing world, reports The Associated Press.
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VANCOUVER, Feb. 28 - Canada's flawed refugee system and a lack of political will to reform the program has been a major factor in making Canada a prime destination for terrorists, according to a new paper, Canada's Inadequate Response to Terrorism, released today by The Fraser Institute. While improvements also need to be made to the screening of immigrant applicants and the screening and tracking of visitors, our highly dysfunctional refugee determination system has been the channel most often used by terrorists for gaining entry.
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Three University of Guelph scientists studying a fatal disease in Doberman pinschers hope their work will help lead to better diagnostic and treatment options for human and canine heart patients.
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MONTREAL - VIA Rail Canada officially launched its Wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) access service on board its trains, in several stations and in Panorama lounges in the Québec City-Windsor corridor - a first in North America. The service is being offered starting today to all travellers between Montreal and Québec City and in many VIA 1 class cars between Montreal-Toronto. By the end of this year, all VIA 1 and Comfort class travellers will be able to access the Internet on all VIA intercity trains in Ontario and Quebec.
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Canada's Corporations earned $57.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005, up 4.4% from the third quarter reported Statscan in the Quarterly financial statistics for enterprises. Profits have risen in all but 2 of the past 16 quarters, nearly doubling over that period. Financial industries' operating profits swelled 8.5% to $14.1 billion in the fourth quarter, while the non-financial industries reported profits of $43.4 billion (+3.2%).
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Statscan Quarterly financial statistics for enterprises Fourth quarter 2005 and annual 2005 (preliminary) reported that consumers increased their spending in 2005, causing a 4.8% rise in operating revenues and a 16.4% jump in operating profits for all retailers. Employment gains and consumer confidence in the economy encouraged consumers to loosen their purse-strings.
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Statscan Quarterly financial statistics for enterprises Fourth quarter 2005 and annual 2005 (preliminary) reported that Manufacturing companies earned $42.0 billion in operating profits in 2005, down 6.9% from 2004.
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The offices of Resource Planning and Analysis and Enrolment Statistics in Registrarial Services are being consolidated to help the University of Guelph meet an increasing demand for accountability and to aid in integrated planning efforts. “Bringing together these units and combining the diverse analytical and operational expertise of the staff will support the development of more focused and diverse databases to support decision-making,” says Maureen Mancuso, provost and vice-president (academic).
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Productivity, culture, and most of all money will be on the agenda Friday February 24 for a group called together by the premiers of Canada's two largest provinces to discuss the future of post-secondary education. David Johnston, president of UW, is among the participants at "Competing for Tomorrow", a one-day event in Ottawa organized by Dalton McGuinty of Ontario and Jean Charest of Québec on behalf of the "Council of the Federation", the leaders of all the provinces and territories.
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KITCHENER - ARISE Technologies Corporation , announced Thursday that it had received $131,857 of subscription agreements in a non-brokered private placement of Units. Each Unit, priced at $0.30 each, consists of one common share and one half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share at a price of $0.35 per common share, expiring two years from the date of closing of this private placement. The Company is also pursuing several debt-to-equity conversions under similar terms. The final closing of this private placement and debt-to-equity conversion is subject to approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.
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