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Ted Talks

Judy MacDonald Johnston: Prepare for a good end of life

Thinking about death is frightening, but planning ahead is practical and leaves more room for peace of mind in our final days. In a solemn, thoughtful talk, Judy MacDonald Johnston shares 5 practices for planning for a good end of life.

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Education

Waterloo hosts event to boost interest in math among girls

Waterloo - The University of Waterloo will this week host its annual conference intended to increase an interest in math-related careers among girls. Forty girls in grade 9 classes across Ontario will attend Think About Math on Friday, May 24 at the Waterloo campus. The one-day workshop, now in its fifth year, highlights interesting careers and applications of mathematics.

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Politics

Latest federal polls suggest a reversal of political fortunes, Laurier researchers find

WATERLOO – For the first time since 2009, an analysis of new polls projects the Liberal Party of Canada with enough support to displace the Conservative Party in power, according to The Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy (LISPOP).

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Water

Watershed Conditions Statement #1 – High Water Safety

Rain & thunderstorms will produce higher flows for several days

Grand River Basin - This high water safety statement is intended to advise public and recreational users of changing river conditions in response to overnight rainfall. Heavy thunderstorms throughout the day on Tuesday have resulted in a strong flow response on the Conestogo River, the Grand River and Canagagigue Creek through Floradale and Elmira.

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Governace

Indigenous Rights in Global Governance

Waterloo - With states issuing apologies to indigenous peoples and the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, it is an historically interesting time to consider questions around the internationalization of indigenous rights and governance.

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Supply Chain

High-Tech Solutions That Will Revolutionize Travel and Transportation

Barriers to Development are Institutional—not technological.

New York – Four new solutions based largely on existing technology could drastically improve the safety and efficiency of travel and transportation by 2025, according to a new report released yesterday by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group.

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Job(s) Vacancy

Grand River Hospital to reduce child and adolescent outpatient psychiatry hours due to staff shortages

Grand River Hospital is reorganizing some of its services to cope with the unexpected departure of four psychiatrists in the child and adolescent outpatient clinic.

“This year, we were successful in recruiting one psychiatrist for the program but unfortunately lost four to other resources,” explains Dr. John Heintzman, chief of psychiatry at Grand River Hospital. “A large part of our strategy will be to recruit more psychiatrists. We will be working with our human resources team to advertise through professional journals and cast a wide recruitment net to get back on track within 12 to 18 months.”

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Festival 2013

Celebrate the environment at the 6th Annual ECOFest

WATERLOO REGION - The Region of Waterloo is excited to host the 6th Annual ECOFest at the Waterloo Region Museum on Saturday June 1, 2013. This free and fun-filled day focuses on ways we can all work to reduce our footprint on the environment, one step at a time.

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Festival 2013

Waterloo Wellington Children's Groundwater Festival

WATERLOO REGION - The 18th annual Waterloo Wellington Children's Groundwater Festival has arrived. Over 5,000 students will learn important messages about water at the week-long event held at the Waterloo Region Museum and Doon Heritage Village in Kitchener. This year's event begins on May 27, and features a VIP Day on May 29 and culminates with the free public EcoFest on Saturday, June 1.

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Alert Weekly

Global News

Thompson Reuters Foundation top humanitarian headlines include the number of Syrian refugees surpasses 1.5 million, donors pledge 3.25 bullion euros to help Mali and Guatemala's top court annuls Rios Montt genocide conviction.

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Wealth

Building nest egg not a high priority for most Canadians

CGA-Canada report reveals over 70 per cent of households do not view building wealth as very important

Vancouver/Ottawa – When it comes to household finances, Canadians may be poorer than they know. That’s the blunt assessment from a research report released today by the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada).

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Column - Agriculture

Mad Cow and the legacy of a crisis

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency became a more effective organization, but there is still room for improvement

GUELPH - Most would agree that the “mad cow” event of May 20th, 2003, following the discovery of our country’s first native Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) case, wasn’t really a food safety-centric crisis, at least in Canada; in retrospect, it was primarily a trade crisis.

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Humanitarianism

Steelworkers Humanity Fund Contributes $20,000 for Assistance to Syrian Refugees

TORONTO - United Steelworkers (USW) Canadian Director Ken Neumann today announced a $20,000 contribution from the Steelworkers Humanity Fund following Oxfam Canada's appeal for emergency aid for Syrian refugees.

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Education

WCDSB Associate Director to Head Northwest CDSB

Waterloo Region – The Waterloo Catholic District School Board’s Associate Director of Education, Rick Boisvert, has been named Director of Education of the Northwest Catholic District School Board.

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Human Rights

Industry-Controlled Responsible Jewellery Council Fails on Preventing Conflict Diamonds and Dirty Gold

Trade unions and environmental groups team up to expose deep flaws in jewelry certification system

OTTAWA, WASHINGTON, D.C., GENEVA, SYDNEY - In a new report, More Shine Than Substance: How RJC Certification Fails to Create Responsible Jewelry, an international coalition of labour and environmental groups indict the Responsible Jewellery Council's certification system as misleading jewelry consumers. The RJC holds its annual meeting in Milan on May 23.

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Consumer Trends

More than half of homeowners report debt reduction over the past year, says debt survey

• More than half of homeowners report having less debt than they did 12 months ago.
• Most want to be debt-free by retirement, but many aren't confident they'll succeed
• Those who get debt management advice from their financial advisor are more confident they'll be debt-free in retirement
• Few homeowners plan to tap into home equity for retirement income

WATERLOO - In a sign that Canadians are becoming more focused on reducing their debt, a Manulife Bank of Canada Survey found that 55% of homeowners report having less debt than they did 12 months ago. This is an improvement from August 2012, when 50% reported year-over-year debt reduction. Just one in five (20%) homeowners report having more debt than they did a year ago, with the balance reporting no change in their debt level (16%) or being debt-free over the past 12 months (9%).

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Letter to the Editor - Pensions

Crown Corporations: Bigger Bailouts and Deeper Holes

Toronto - The federal government has taken bold moves towards attempting to reign in the cost of crown corporations. Fair Pensions For All will be appearing before the Finance Committee to discuss the current move by the government to reign in costs at Crown Corporations. We will be presenting a report called "Bigger Bailouts and Deeper Holes"

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Community awards

Bernice Adams Finalists Announced

The Winners will be Proclaimed on May 24th

Cambridge - The finalists for the prestigious Bernice Adams Awards are in and the winners will be announced at the 31st Annual Bernice Adams Memorial Awards Gala on May 24th at 6:30pm at the Galt Country Club, 750 Coronation Boulevard.

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Survey Satisfaction

Financial Executives Surveyed Find Satisfaction in Top Job

TORONTO - Becoming a chief financial officer (CFO) is a career pinnacle for many finance executives, and it's where most of those who've reached it want to stay, a new survey from Robert Half Management Resources suggests. Nearly half (48 percent) of CFOs interviewed said they are satisfied in their current role, while 25 percent said their next career move will be retirement.

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Outside - Cambridge

Fitness Trail Launched in Partnership with Innovative Steam Technologies

Cambridge - Get mobile in more ways than one on the Bob McMullen Linear Trail in Cambridge. The new enhancements to the 3.2 km trail includes ‘Trekfit’ outdoor circuit training stations with Quick Response Codes (QR codes) to scan with your mobile device that links you to a video demonstration of the equipment applications.

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Infrastructure

Strasburg Road to extend to New Dundee Road

KITCHENER – At a special meeting of the city's planning and strategic initiatives committee today, Kitchener council approved a proposed Strasburg Road extension from north of Stauffer Drive to New Dundee Road, an extension expected to support city growth and future transportation demands.

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xQuarterly

ATS Reports Annual and Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2013 Results

CAMBRIDGE - ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. today reported financial results for the three and 12 months ended March 31, 2013 for its continuing operations (Automation Systems Group or "ASG") and discontinued operations ("Solar").

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Health Care

Western University researcher identifies breast cancer fighting hormone

London - Transformative research from Western University has identified new hormones in the body which may suppress breast cancer and stimulate the regression of breast tumors.

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Column - Self-Publishing

Marketing Expert Offers 4 Tips for Authors

Don’t Sell Your Back Cover Short! She Says

The number of self-published books has exploded, growing 287 percent since 2006, according to research by Bowker, the official ISBN agency for the United States. “In 2012, more than 235,000 print and e-books were self-published in the United States, up from 148,424 in 2011,” says award-winning marketing strategist Catherine Foster, executive publisher/CEO of BlueSky Publishing Partner.

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Home Hownership

1 in 3 families in Southwestern Ontario have had a negative experience with a door-to-door water heater salesperson

Toronto - Polling undertaken by the Homeowner Protection Centre (HPC) shows that more than 1 in 3 families in Southwestern Ontario (over 37%) have had a negative experience with a door-to-door water heater salesperson.