WATERLOO - A former manager of strategic planning for Hydro One will lead efforts at the University of Waterloo to identify and develop cost-effective energy options for Ontario and beyond.
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Accommodation Industry Profits Reach New Highs

OTTAWA - Strong travel spending by Canadians and healthy price increases will enable Canada's hoteliers to post their second consecutive year of record profits in 2007, according to the Conference Board's Canadian Industrial Outlook: Canada's Accommodation Industry - Summer 2007.
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CANADIAN VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO EXPERIENCE RECORD BREAKING MID-YEAR RETAIL SALES

TORONTO – According to The NPD Group, a leading provider of retail and market information, Canadian video game retailers saw year-to-date 2007 (YTD’07) retail sales of video games reach $498 million, a 61 percent increase over $310 million generated during the same time period last year.
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Magna announces Board approval of previously announced arrangement involving Russian Machines

AURORA - Magna International Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a definitive Plan of Arrangement and related agreements with respect to the previously announced proposed strategic investment in Magna by Russian Machines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Basic Element Limited.
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Survey Shows Companies Rely on Outside Counsel to Meet Expanding Legal Needs

TORONTO - Corporate lawyers are calling in reinforcements to tackle rising caseloads, a new survey suggests. Nearly half (45 per cent) of lawyers polled said their legal departments have increased their use of outside counsel in the last 12 months, while only 12 per cent said levels have decreased. Litigation support topped the list of reasons corporations recruit outside counsel, followed by compliance and regulatory matters, and patent issues.
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Kitchener Mom in the running for Canada's Top Mompreneur

Karem Kalin, owner of Smiles Made Easy, has been nominated for the SavvyMom Mompreneur of the Year Award. This award celebrates great ideas and innovative solutions developed by Canadian moms. The winner, Canada's top Mompreneurâ„¢, will be voted by the general public and will be rewarded with an $18,000 prize package of cash and business services to help take her business to the next level.,

Kitchener - Smiles Made Easy was founded by local mom Karem Kalin in 2003, when her first son was just 1 year old. Kalin has created an award winning line of note cards that prompt senders to complete thoughts like "Can you believe we...", "I have fun when we...", and "You're a great...". The cards can be made inspiring, reminiscent, romantic or just plain goofy.
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Ontario Government Improves Access To Provincial Laws

E-Laws Website Updated With New Features

TORONTO - The Legislation Act, 2006, which came into effect July 25, 2007, creates a framework for recognizing Ontario's bilingual e-Laws website - www.e-laws.gov.on.ca - as an accurate statement of the law, Attorney General Michael Bryant announced late July.
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Study finds TV news coverage of evangelical Christians is balanced, but journalists’ personal views affect some stories

BRANTFORD — A study by a journalism professor at Wilfrid Laurier University has found that Canadian national television news is virtually balanced in its positive and negative depictions of evangelical Christians, but the negative depictions are probably the ones being remembered.
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Apple Reports Third Quarter Results Record June Quarter Revenue and Profit Mac Sales Set New Record

CUPERTINO, California— —Apple® announced financial results for its fiscal 2007 third quarter ended June 30, 2007. The Company posted revenue of $5.41 billion and net quarterly profit of $818 million, or $.92 per diluted share.
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University of Guelph Acting Associate VP (Academic) Appointed

Guelph - Assistant vice-president (academic) Anthony Clarke has been appointed acting associate vice-president (academic) effective Aug. 1.
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Study assesses pros and cons of alternative fuel technologies

Europe - A number of alternative fuel technology options for road and air transport have been developed in recent years. While most of them have been extensively discussed, the information available is usually fragmented, being either too scientific or simplistic in its presentation, and generally not comparable.
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New rules for public service to take effect August 20

QUEEN'S PARK - Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips announced that the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006 (PSOA) will be proclaimed into law on August 20, 2007.
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More money per hour - but less hours per week

Statscans - In May, the average weekly earnings of payroll employees (seasonally adjusted) increased $1.47 to $766.32 from April. The year-to-date growth, calculated as the average of the first five months of 2007 compared with the average of the same five months in 2006, was 2.9%.
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Saskatchewan! Connected Free Wireless Internet Service Powered by Cisco Across Province's Four Largest Cities

Cisco, Saskatchewan Government and SaskTel Deliver Largest Outdoor Wireless Solution in Canada

SASKATOON - Cisco(R) Canada announced the Government of Saskatchewan is deploying a Cisco Outdoor Wireless Network Solution to provide free Internet access to businesses, residents and visitors across the Province's largest four cities.
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RIM and Orange Introduce the BlackBerry 8820 Smartphone to the UK

The First Dual-Mode Cellular and Wi-Fi BlackBerry Smartphone

WATERLOO, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) and Orange UK introduced the BlackBerry® 8820 smartphone to the UK market., The new smartphone features RIM's thinnest handset design with a full and highly tactile QWERTY* keyboard, large ultra bright landscape display, user-friendly trackball navigation system and best-in-class voice and data functionality.
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Trent's Business Program Ranked Number One in Canada by Corporate Knights Magazine

Business Administration Program Ranked First for Infusing Social and Environmental Impact Management into Curriculum

Peterborough - Corporate Knights, Canada's magazine for responsible business, has once again awarded Trent University's Business Administration program the top spot in their annual ranking of Canadian undergraduate business schools.
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Technology acquisitions emphasize trend in enterprise IT centres

Toronto — The announced purchase of Opsware Inc by HP is not merely another acquisition in the world of high-tech. Rather, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)’s Toronto-based Director of Emerging Technologies, Dr David H. Jacobson sees this latest company takeover as an important step in the emergence of Enterprise "IT Centres" from what traditionally have been simply "data centres".
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Statement from Industry Minister Maxime Bernier on the CRTC Deregulation Decision of Local Telephone Service

OTTAWA - The Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, today applauded the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's (CRTC's) timely decision on the deregulation of local telephone service in Fort McMurray, Alberta, and regions of Atlantic Canada.
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CRTC deregulates first residential markets in Canada

OTTAWA-GATINEAU - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced that TELUS and Bell Aliant will no longer need to obtain its approval to set local telephone rates or to introduce new services and service packages in Fort McMurray, Alberta, and in parts of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
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IKEA CANADA AIMS TO REDUCE PLASTIC BAG CONSUMPTION BY 50%

Toronto - Canadians take home an estimated 55 million plastic carry out bags a week and IKEA Canada is stepping up to the plate to help reduce plastic bag use in Canada.
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Ontario Government To Host International Labour Relations Agency Conference

Ontario To Share Labour Relations Successes

TORONTO - Ontario will share its expertise in labour relations with delegates from Canada and the U.S. at the annual conference of the Association of Labor Relations Agencies (ALRA), which will be held July 28 to August 1, Minister of Labour Steve Peters announced July 26.
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Ontario Government Improves Key Transportation Corridor

Niagara Bound Burlington Bay Skyway Bridge To Be Repaired

HAMILTON/BURLINGTON - The McGuinty government continues to take action to keep Ontario's bridges safe with regular maintenance to the Niagara bound Burlington Bay Skyway Bridge on the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield announced July 25, 2007.
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Almost two-thirds of domestic visits recorded in the first quarter of 2006 were same-day visits (27.0 million), while overnight visits reached 15.4 million.

Statscan - The visits made by Canadian travellers in Canada totalled 42.5 million during the first quarter of 2006.
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Ron Neumann joins Communitech as next Executive-in-Residence

WATERLOO REGION - High-calibre resources for the entrepreneur get another big boost forward in Waterloo Region, as Ron Neumann becomes the next serial tech CEO to join Communitech's Executive-in-Residence in-house, startup mentorship program.
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US Investor Confidence Index Falls to 87.0 from 97.7 in July

BOSTON - State Street Global Markets, the investment research and trading arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT), today released the results of the State Street Investor Confidence Index(R) for July 2007.
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NOW YOU CAN EAT HEALTHY AT HOME -- QUICKLY

~SupperWorks opens new meal-prep franchise

WATERLOO -- At the start of July, SupperWorks, Canada's premiere meal preparation business franchise, opened its eighth location in Ontario, it's first in Waterloo, at 283 Northfield Drive East, Unit 9B.
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Prices for Crops 10% higher than 2006

Statscan - Prices farmers received for their commodities rose 9.7% in May from the same month in 2005, as most crop, livestock and animal product prices increased.
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Canada and the Next Level of Health Care - Experts to discuss grass-roots access to Electronic Health Care Records

OTTAWA - A webinar on "Healthcare from the Grass Roots Up" will feature a panel of experts who will describe the benefits and challenges of empowering patients by providing them with access to their Electronic Health Records (EHR). The webinar will be held on Tuesday?August?14th from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST.
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CAW Reaches Tentative Agreement with Central Care Corporation

TORONTO - The CAW reached a tentative collective agreement covering 2,000 union members today who work at Central Care Corporation nursing homes in Ontario.
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Literary Coup: readers take control of how new book unfolds

Votes to determine plot developments in new online serial novel

Brampton - Readers and writers from around the world have the opportunity to influence the writing of a new book that unfolds week by week. The online serial novel is the brainchild of Plot Party.com founder, Josh Martin, who has agreed to bow to the will of the masses and to write the story according to their votes.
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McGuinty Government undermines Ontario's longest standing Aboriginal post-secondary institute - Minister Bentley Missing in Action

TYENDINAGA, ON - A seriously flawed funding formula threatens to force program cancellations at Ontario's largest and most successful Aboriginal post-secondary institute. "Ontario's approach to Aboriginal post-secondary institutions through the Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education and Training Strategy (AETS) has regressed rather than evolved", stated Karihwakeron Tim Thompson, President and CAO of FNTI (First Nations Technical Institute).
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Number of low birth weight babies rising in Canada

New analysis on birthing trends shows Caesarean-section rates, epidural use also increasing

OTTAWA - In 2005-2006, about one in 16 babies (6.1%) born in Canadian hospitals was underweight, weighing less than 2,500 grams (or 5.5 pounds), according to new analysis from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
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CNC Global and Sapphire Technologies Unite to Create a Single North American IT Staffing Brand

Company to provide cross-border services to meet 26 year high in IT staffing

TORONTO — CNC Global, Canada’s leading provider of IT staffing solutions, today announced it will adopt the name of its sister company, Boston-based Sapphire Technologies, creating a single brand for IT staffing services across North America and around the world. Under a single brand, Sapphire can serve the growing demand for qualified IT professionals, up over 17% from the same period last year.
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Canadian Parents Falling Short In Protecting Kids Online

Only one-third of parents are using parental controls to ensure their kids are safe online; almost forty per cent do not monitor their child's Internet activities

TORONTO - School's out for the summer and most kids aged 12 to 17 are heading to their favourite playground - the Internet - with some words of caution, but not enough parental guidance to keep them protected from cyber harm, according to a recent survey commissioned by Symantec Corp..
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Canadians 'Tip' Toe around Etiquette

Survey finds Canadians Don't Tip Enough

TORONTO - Canadians may need some 'tips' on tipping. According to a recent Bank of Montreal survey, 78 per cent of Canadians tip 15 per cent or more in restaurants.
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Ancestry.ca Launches Largest Online Collection of Records Documenting Australia's Convicted 'Founding Fathers'

80 Years of 18th- and 19th-Century Australian Convict Records Reveal the Not- So-Criminal Crimes of Those Banished to the Land Down Under; British Transportation Practice Has Roots in North America

PROVO, Utah - Stealing sheep or wool or cloth in 18th- and 19th-century England could land you a minimum seven-year sentence at an Australian penal colony, according to Ancestry.ca's newest online collection of Australian convicts records.
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Study: Year-end review of retail sales and competition for market share 2006

Statscan - Canada's retailers enjoyed healthy growth rates in all major commodity groups in 2006, and in fact, total sales matched the peak year-over-year gain of the last nine years, according to a new study.
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ATS awarded US$7.7 million order to automate assembly of electronic security devices

CAMBRIDGE - ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. today announced it has been awarded a US$7.7 million order to design, build and install an automated, high-volume assembly system for a leading global provider of advanced electronic security products.
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Canada's Airports: Doing our Part for Canadian Competitiveness

Airports group says Canada's airports part of making Canada a competitive player on the global stage

BOSTON, MA - In a speech on July 24, addressing the National Business Travel Association, Canadian Airports Council President and CEO Jim Facette said Canada's airports are doing their part in positioning Canada to compete globally.
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U.S. Lawmakers Eye European Carbon - Cap-and-Trade’ Fiasco

Huge Costs, Burdens Imposed by European Scheme

Washington, D.C. —U.S. Senators Joe Lieberman and John Warner are poised to introduce legislation to impose on Americans a costly, harmful European-style cap-and-trade scheme aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
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University of Saskatchewan Announces The N. Murray Edwards School of Business

The University of Saskatchewan (U of S) has launched a new identity for its business students and faculty with the renaming of its College of Commerce to the N. Murray Edwards School of Business.
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Industry Canada: Creation of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services to Benefit Consumers

OTTAWA - On July 24 the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, applauded the news of the launch of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS).
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China developing new crop bases to enhance biofuel production

Growing population and rising dependency on petroleum has pushed the Chinese government to develop crop bases by 2010 and produce enough biomass to meet rising ethanol demand of the country.
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Retail trade Both Auto and Non-auto sectors continue rebound in May 2007

Retail sales advanced in almost all sectors in May, marking the largest monthly sales increase in almost a decade.
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University of Guelph and Maplesoft partner to develop next generation teaching techniques

Use of technology in classrooms transforms math education

Waterloo - The University of Guelph and Maplesoft™, a leading provider of high-performance software, are partnering to develop innovative and efficient uses for technology in mathematics and science education.
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Study: Childhood and adolescent cancer survival - 1999 to 2003

Statscan - Survival rates for childhood and adolescent cancers have improved substantially in Canada since the late 1980s, according to a new study.
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Sun Life Financial establishes revolving credit facility

TORONTO - Sun Life Financial Inc. announced the establishment of a five-year unsecured US$1.0 billion revolving credit facility that will be used for general corporate purposes.
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US BUSINESS LEADERS CHEER RAISE IN MINIMUM WAGE

Contrary to Conventional Wisdom, Growing Numbers of U.S. Businesses Say Increase in Minimum Wage is Good for the Bottom Line

New York, NY – On July 24, for the first time in ten years, the federal minimum wage will go up – marking the end of the longest period without a raise since the minimum wage was enacted in 1938. Contrary to conventional wisdom, many American businesses are cheering the raise.
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Canada Seeks To Break IMF Deadlock On Voting Power

"Canada has introduced a proposal to help break a deadlock among International Monetary Fund (IMF) shareholder nations over how to increase the voting power of rapidly-growing countries, such as China, that would give them a greater say in the global financial institution.
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Climate Change Threatens LatAm Water Supply -World Bank

"Global warming is drying up mountain lakes and wetlands in the Andes and threatening water supplies to major South American cities such as La Paz, Bogota and Quito, World Bank research shows.
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EU biofuel consumption on the rise
By Anne-France White

The EU’s consumption of biofuel went up dramatically in 2006, according to new figures. A report published by EurObserv’ER, a renewable industry consortium, says biofuel use in the EU went up 78 per cent from 2005 to 2006 – from 3m to 5.38m tonnes.
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Could set precedent for airport screeners: Steelworkers reach tentative agreement with Shanahan's Investigation and Security Ltd.

MONCTON, NB - United Steelworkers' Ontario/Atlantic Director Wayne Fraser announced Monday that voting on a new collective agreement has begun among 700 security screeners at 12 Atlantic Canada airports following a tentative agreement with Shanahan's Investigation and Security Ltd.
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Study: Real gross domestic product and the purchasing power of provincial output

Statscan - Rising commodity prices and the surging Canadian dollar have led to a divergence between real earnings growth and the increase in the purchasing power of those earnings, according to a new study.
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New agreement with VIA unanimously approved by national & local leadership

MONTREAL - The tentative agreement reached by the CAW National Bargaining Committee and VIA Rail early Saturday morning has received the unanimous support of the local and national leadership who came from across the country to review it.
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Sensus Metering Systems and PageNet Canada Formalize Alliance for Two- Way Network

Pittsburgh, PA – Paging Network of Canada, Inc. (PageNet Canada) and Sensus Metering Systems, announced the signing of an agreement solidifying their alliance to provide utility meter monitoring services over a Canadian Narrowband PCS licensed radio network.
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Settlement ratified: Steelworkers vote to end TD-Canada Trust strike

SUDBURY - United Steelworkers' (USW) Ontario/Atlantic Director Wayne Fraser announced Monday that, in a second vote, members of USW Local 2020 have voted 56 per cent in favour of a settlement reached early last week with TD-Canada Trust, putting an end to a month-long strike at eight of the bank's branches in Sudbury.
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More foreign firms interested in developing biofuel sector
By Ika Krismantari

JAKARTA - More overseas firms are showing interest in developing the bioenergy sector in Indonesia, with a British oil giant and a Swedish energy firm being the latest to join the list, bringing investment commitments in the sector to Rp 160 trillion (US$17.7 billion).
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Grant helps Master of Social Work student do internship in Burundi

Waterloo - Laurier Master of Social Work student Allison La Vigne will travel to Burundi this fall to help citizens rebuild after devastating floods and a 13-year civil war.
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United Rentals Announces Agreement To Be Acquired By Cerberus Capital Management

United Rentals Stockholders to Receive $34.50 Per Share in Cash in a Transaction Valued at Approximately $6.6 Billion

GREENWICH, CONN. - United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) today announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. ("Cerberus"), in a transaction valued at approximately $6.6 billion, including the assumption of approximately $2.6 billion in debt obligations.
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China Establishes First Green Carbon Foundation; Sino-Forest Participates in Development of Forest-derived Biofuels

TORONTO - In an effort to mitigate greenhouse emissions while encouraging development of the carbon credit trading and forest biofuel, the State Forestry Administration officially launched the China Green Carbon Foundation on July 20, 2007 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, PRC.
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Steelworkers move towards safe and orderly shutdown of BC Coast industry starting Friday midnight

BURNABY, BC - At midnight Friday members of the United Steelworkers (USW) will begin strike action against 31 member companies of Forest Industrial Relations (FIR) and Island Timberlands.
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First Canadian elected to head U.S.-based Sports Lawyers Association

RESTON, VA - Toronto sports and entertainment lawyer, Gord Kirke, has been elected for a two-year term as President of the U.S.-based Sports Lawyers Association, (SLA).
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Kansas plant tests algae-to-biofuels plant

HOLCOMB - Testing of a new coal-based algae-to-biofuels process began at the Sunflower Integrated Bioenergy Center in Kansas recently.
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World's Poorest Lagging In Technology Despite FDI Boom - UN

"The world's poorest countries are falling further behind developing and developed peers in terms of technology, a problem that foreign investment flows are failing to redress, a United Nations report said on Thursday.
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CAW reaches tentative agreement with VIA Rail

MONTREAL - The CAW has reached a tentative agreement with VIA Rail on July 21. CAW leadership who work at VIA across the country will be arriving in Montreal on Monday to review the agreement and ratification meetings will begin shortly thereafter.
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Book Review
The ‘Bye-Bye Baby Boomers’ Predicament

The best and brightest of businesses are on their way out, and a generational exodus like we haven’t seen in decades will soon be upon us. Companies will see their best and brightest and most experienced head off to golf courses while their businesses are left in a lurch. Complicating matters is the fact that newfangled investment strategies are shaving years off retirement age for many.
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Ontario Government to Strengthen Protection for Workers

Tougher Exposure Limits Would Help Protect Workers from Hazardous Substances

TORONTO - The Ontario government is strengthening protection for workers by proposing new or updated occupational exposure limits (OELs) for 21 hazardous workplace substances, Labour Minister Steve Peters announced July 23.
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Top Toronto Firms Give Boost to Laurier Brand Communication Program

WATERLOO - Established through Laurier's School of Business and Economics, Canada's first university chair and BBA/MBA degrees in Brand Communication, is now one step closer to achieving its target funding of $2.5 million, thanks to donations made by leading Toronto area organizations.
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New Masonry Centre Announced for Conestoga in Waterloo

A partnership between Conestoga College and the Ontario Masonry Contractors Association (OMCA) will result in the construction of a new 10,000 sq. ft. centre devoted to masonry training, to be located next to the College*s campus in Waterloo.
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1,500 PARTICIPANTS FROM OVER 80 COUNTRIES WILL TAKE PART IN THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM’S “SUMMER DAVOS” IN CHINA

The World Economic Forum is hosting its Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian

Geneva, Switzerland – The World Economic Forum, in close partnership with the Government of the People’s Republic of China, will host its first Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, People’s Republic of China from 6 to 8 September.
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Michigan pioneers latest biofuel from wood chips, biomass
By Pete Nichols

LANSING — Michigan will soon be producing a new type of ethanol - not from corn but from trees.
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Microsoft and Ask.com Call on Industry to Join Together to Evolve Privacy Protections for Consumers

Companies announce commitment to develop privacy principles that will enhance protections and provide more control for consumers.

REDMOND, Wash. and OAKLAND, Calif. - Building on their respective efforts to protect consumer privacy, industry leaders Microsoft Corp. and Ask.com, a wholly owned business of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI), joined together in the commitment to call on the industry to develop global privacy principles for data collection, use and protection related to searching and online advertising.
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