Friday June 17, 2011

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Ted Talks

Steve Keil: A manifesto for play, for Bulgaria and beyond

At TEDxBG in Sofia, Steve Keil fights the "serious meme" that has infected his home of Bulgaria -- and calls for a return to play to revitalize the economy, education and society. A sparkling talk with a universal message for people everywhere who are reinventing their workplaces, schools, lives.

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Nominations

Kitchener in Bloom seeks nominations of attractive homes and businesses

KITCHENER – Kitchener in Bloom is looking for the homes and businesses that make the city beautiful. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2011 Kitchener in Bloom Awards. The deadline for nominations is July 18. There is no limit on the number of nominations anyone can make. Homeowners and businesses can even nominate themselves.

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PSA

What’s big, has 120 pedals, and rolls into town on June 21?

Waterloo - Heart & Stroke Foundation research shows that every seven minutes, someone dies of heart disease or stroke, making these conditions the #2 and #3 leading causes of death among Canadians. Next week 58 Sun Life Financial volunteers and two Heart & Stroke leaders will be riding two Big Bikes through Waterloo in support of stroke and heart disease research.

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PSA

Patient experience to improve following renovation and reorganization of Grand River Hospital outpatient medical and surgery day services

Cambridge - A massive reorganization and renovation of out-patient medical and surgical day services at Grand River Hospital’s KW Site will simplify the hospital experience for patients while helping provide better care.

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PSA

Fighting Cancer is a Team Effort

Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life inspires people from Kitchener-Waterloo at its emotional gathering of fighters

KITCHENER-WATERLOO – The Canadian Cancer Society urges people from Kitchener-Waterloo to join 80,000 people in over 200 communities across Ontario who have chosen to pick a fight with cancer. On June 10-11, be there to cheer on survivors and help give hope to others still battling. Survivors, participants, caregivers and volunteers in Kitchener-Waterloo will meet at Resurrection Catholic Secondary School – in teams of 10 fighters – for the Canadian Cancer Society’s signature event Relay For Life.

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PSA

“Making a Difference” Charity Golf Day

Tavistock - On Monday, June 20th, the second annual France-Anne Sweeny Charity Golf Day gets underway at the Craigowan/Oxford Golf and Country Club.

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Auto

North American vehicle production expected to reach 100 per cent in September

Parts recovery is earlier than anticipated

TORONTO - Toyota announced North American vehicle production levels are expected to return to 100 percent in September. Production is recovering earlier than originally anticipated following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

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Strike

CAW Reaches Tentative Agreement with Air Canada, Picket Lines Come Down

TORONTO - The CAW reached a tentative agreement with Air Canada after more than 12 weeks of grueling negotiations with Air Canada. After the tentative agreement was announced, picket lines were taken down and plans were established for ratification votes over the next two weeks on the new four-year agreement.

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PSA

Canadian Paralympic Sponsors Gather in Toronto for 2011 Sponsorship Workshop

Paralympic Partners meet to network and discuss activation ideas

TORONTO - The Canadian Paralympic Committee Sponsorship Workshop brings together corporate partners to review activation strategies, discuss best practices and receive updates on Games plans. The full-day event also offers sponsors the chance to mingle with champion athletes and be inspired! It all takes place at Corus Quay in downtown Toronto.

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Strike

EL AL Airlines Workers in Toronto Contemplate Strike

TORONTO - Frustrated by protracted negotiations over the last six months, unionized workers at El Al Airlines in Toronto have voted to give their bargaining committee a strike mandate.

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Appointment

Joanne MacDonald Appointed General Manager of CP24

Toronto – Wendy Freeman, President, CTV News announced that Joanne MacDonald, Vice-President of News, will permanently assume responsibilities for the operations and strategic vision of Toronto’s source for breaking news in her new additional role as General Manager, CP24.

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Appointment

Ken Whyte appointed President of Rogers Publishing

TORONTO - Keith Pelly, President of Rogers Media Inc., announced the appointment of Ken Whyte as President of Rogers Publishing Limited effective September 1, 2011. Whyte succeeds Brian Segal, who in late April announced his plan to retire.

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Donation

Sreedhar Natarajan Donates $1.5 Million to Carleton University’s Canada-India Centre

Ottawa — Ottawa-based tech entrepreneur Sreedhar Natarajan has donated $1.5 million to the Canada-India Centre for Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy at Carleton University. Natarajan’s donation will permanently endow the research and policy activities of the centre, established last year by Carleton University with support from community members from across the country and the High Commission of India.

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Aid

Peruvian schoolchildren benefit from Waste2Wonder's business model

OTTAWA - Thanks to two massive shipping containers full of desks from the Ottawa offices of Sun Life Financial, chairs from The Global Group, and school supplies from Grand & Toy, learning just got a little bit easier for 1,200 Peruvian school children living in Chilca, the Huancayo region of Peru.

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Aquisition

Otto Bock acquires 100% of Neurostream Technologies

QUEBEC - The Otto Bock group, a world leader in the prosthetics market, became the sole owner of the Quebec-based company Neurostream Technologies. The redemption by Otto Bock of the minority interest that Victhom Human Bionics had in Neurostream Technologies will allow it to consolidate all neurostimulation activities worldwide and to capitalize on the state-of-the-art expertise developed locally.

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Trade

Wholesale trade

Statscan - Wholesale sales edged down 0.1% to $46.8 billion in April, following a 0.3% gain in March. After an upward trend in the second half of 2010, sales have remained relatively flat so far this year. In volume terms, wholesale sales declined 0.3% in April.

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Investments

Canada's international investment position

Statscan - Canada's net international indebtedness increased $13.5 billion to $209.7 billion at the end of the first quarter. This marked the eight consecutive quarter of decline in Canada's net international investment position. Canada's international liabilities were up $22.6 billion on ongoing strong foreign investment in Canadian securities, in line with the current account deficit. Growth in international assets was constrained by the downward revaluation effect of the appreciation of the Canadian dollar in the quarter.

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IT

Montreal to get a world-class data centre

MONTREAL - Technoparc Montréal and Canix Colo Inc. announced the launch of a TIER III data centre, the first of its kind in Quebec. Designed for a maximum of three clients, this new centre redefines colocation for organizations that need an IT room ranging from 3,000 to 15,000 ft2.