ON Economic Fundamentals 2008-09

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0908BTFD
Insulating basements a special challenge

If you`re planning to finish your basement later this year, you probably don`t realize that you`re facing two broad choices that carry long-lasting implications. Your challenge boils down to insulation and moisture, and if you choose the broad road your basement will almost certainly be less energy efficient and more mold-prone than it might otherwise be. But I`m here to show you exactly why the narrow road to basement finishing is better and how to follow it. I regularly get emails from distraught people asking for

advice about visible condensation build-up on the inside of basement vapour barriers on stud frame walls. The only way you`d notice this problem is if drywall just happens to be missing on an otherwise completed basement wall frame, so I suspect it`s more widespread than it seems. But despite its low profile, invisible moisture can migrate through foundation walls, forming visible droplets within insulation batts. Long-term moisture of this sort can fester in the hollow cavity for years, and by the time it surfaces in the form of mold and decay, it`s far too late to do anything about it. That`s why I recommend a completely different approach that includes a non-hollow insulation system.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1185945

 

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0908BTFD
Understanding Fuses

Many Canadians will spend the coming weeks scrambling to complete home improvement projects they`ve put off during the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.

While home renovations can be exciting, they can be "shocking" if you don`t know what you are doing when it comes to electrical installations. Before you begin your renovation it`s important to understand the risks associated with doing electrical work, and to realize that potential electrical hazards may exist in your home. "Homeowners may not realize that the electrical wiring

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1185941

 

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0908BAOR
Sites removed from contaminated list

Seven entries on a list of contaminated federal properties, incorrectly identified as being in Orillia, have been removed from a government website.

The seven properties, actually in Meaford, were listed as being in Orillia after the wrong geographical co-ordinates were entered into the electronic data base, says Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton.

"All it takes is one digit off and that will put you somewhere else in the universe."

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1186470

 

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0908BAOR
Innisfill probes partnership with Barrie Transit

Like the feuding Hatfields and Mc- Coys, boundary issues between Innisfil and Barrie continue.

But some common ground may yet be found between the neighbouring municipalities.

Past differences between the City of Barrie and the Town of Innisfil won`t prevent Innisfil from entering into discussions with the city over the possibility of limited transit services to the northern areas of town.

Innisfil council`s committee of the whole received a report from director of community services Kerry Columbus at Wednesday`s meeting, recommending the mayor and town staff explore the feasibility of limited Barrie Transit service to parts of the town.

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1185833

 

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0908OTWA
NCC unveils crossing

The National Capital Commission has confirmed a new interprovincial bridge would cross at Kettle Island. The plan to build the estimated 1.5-km span, which would cost up to $500 million based on today`s dollars, would link the Rockcliffe Parkway, just west of the National Aviation Museum, to Montee Paiement in Gatineau, which connects to Hwy. 50 in Quebec.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndReg...665806-sun.html

 

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0908KWCG
Housing prices rise despite slumping sales

WATERLOO REGION

The dog days of summer put the bite on house sales in Waterloo Region last month.

Residential sales in August were down 21.7 per cent in Kitchener and Waterloo, and 27.4 per cent in Cambridge compared to the same month last year, according to figures released by the real estate boards in both areas.

The sales slump wasn`t a big surprise to Karen Shartun, president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board, who said the end of summer is traditionally a slow time for real estate sales. "Consumers` focus and attention typically switches to fall startup activities such as school and other activities," she said yesterday.

http://news.therecord.com/Business/article/409831

 

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0908OTWA
Civic hospital plans move ahead

A proposed long-term plan to relocate and expand The Ottawa Hospital`s Civic campus is one step closer to being approved.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...a9-604eff33fe0a

 

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0908ONTR
Can ethanol revive a piece of rust belt?

JOHNSTOWN, ONT. -- Along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, between Kingston and the Quebec border, lies a collection of small Ontario cities and towns that provide a testament to the region`s once key position in the Canadian economic and political fabric. Impressive stone and brick mansions and stately rows of ornate commercial buildings line the streets of many of the towns.

But Eastern Ontario has had a tough time in the past few decades, as low crop prices hurt farmers and plant closings dented the industrial base and boosted unemployment rates.

The closings of dozens of manufacturing operations have rippled through the region, leaving a legacy of economic gloom - and empty retail storefronts - in many towns.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...PStory/National

 

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0908CATH
GM deal reached

Atentative deal has been reached to bring a major General Motors transmission line toSt. Catharines designed tosecure hundreds of jobs and buoy the region`s ailing manufacturing sector, The Standard has learned.

Government officials say an agreement in principle for the $300-million to $400-million six-speed, rear-wheel drive transmission line was penned Friday between General Motors and the provincial and federal governments.

Negotiationsto open the line at the Glendale Avenue engine plant have been ongoing since May 2007.

The deal would secure the jobs of about 300 local GM workers at a time when the region is shedding manufacturing jobs.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Article....aspx?e=1188554

 

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0908BAOR
City looks at options for park

The City of Orillia is defined in large measure by its colourful waterfront parks.

The Champlain Monument, French`s hot dog stand, the Victorian bandstand and picnic pavilions, the miniature train, the sandy beach beside the Aqua Theatre, the boardwalk, the Millennium Trail, the Port of Orillia marina, even the skate park -- combine to shape the character of the public parkland curving along Lake Couchiching.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1188234

 

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0908BAOR
Super Wal-Mart ups building stats

With blueprints rolling out over green fields, new construction in Orillia is keeping pace with last year`s record numbers.

Close to $40 million in projects were given the go-ahead through August, according to records kept by the building department.

And the level of activity is not tailing off, says the city`s chief building official Kelly Smith.

"We`re still very busy." Commercial construction, led by the $11-million Super Wal-Mart, totalled $19.5 million from January through August, almost $7 million above the same period in 2007.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1188193

 

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0908TNTO
North York`s Population Boom

The Yonge Street north corridor, the area from Highway 401 to Steeles Avenue, between Bayview Avenue and Bathurst Street, is among the fastest-growing neighbourhoods in the Toronto census metropolitan area, according to the latest Statistics Canada data.

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/s....html?id=774405

 

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0908OTWA
Ottawans worry bridge no cure for truck traffic

The news that multitudes of exhaust-spewing trucks will still rumble down King Edward Ave., even after the Kettle Island Bridge is built, wasn`t welcomed by pedestrians yesterday. "The truck traffic needs to go, it needs to be rerouted, it needs to be moved away from the core entirely. I believe the Kettle Island Bridge is still too close to the city core," said resident Pat Osborne. "I am not convinced (it) is the best option."

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndReg...678691-sun.html

 

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0908OTWA
Congress Centre a go

The Ottawa Congress Centre got its $50-million commitment from the federal government signed on the dotted line yesterday morning, the final financing piece in its $170-million redevelopment plan.

The move means the funding is unlikely to be affected by an election widely expected to be called this weekend.

Federal Environment Minister John Baird signed the contribution agreement at the centre and said the new building will be an important economic driver for the hospitality industry in Ottawa, which he said relies too much on the federal government and technology companies for its prosperity.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...94-70f0b1f1ba9f

 

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0908OTWA
Capital region job market sees third straight increase

The Ottawa-Gatineau economy generated 2,600 more jobs in August, seemingly bullet-proof to the broad North American economic slowdown.

"This is our third straight month of healthy increases," said Statistics Canada analyst Vincent Ferrao. "We have gained 12,000 jobs on this trend."

The unemployment rate in Ottawa-Gatineau was flat at 5.1 per cent because more people entered the workforce to seek jobs.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/b...f5-bdefd28b0c58

 

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0908OTWA
Ottawa housing market steady, board says

Although the number of residential properties sold in August decreased by 9.2 per cent over August last year, the Ottawa Real Estate Board says the market is very steady.

Members of the board sold 1,187 residential properties in August through the board`s Multiple Listing Service system, compared with 1,307 in August 2007. There were 1,418 sales in July 2008.

"Making comparisons with 2007 is always difficult, because it remains the best year on record by such a significant margin," board president Heather Skuce said in a release.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/b...4a-7b04b1d63e36

 

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0908WIND
Area`s jobless rate rises

Windsor`s unemployment rate edged up slightly in August and remains the highest in the country at 9.6 per cent.

In July, Windsor`s rate was 9.0 per cent which placed it marginally ahead of Saguenay which had an 8.9 rate that month. Saguenay remains second with a 9.0 unemployment rate.

Toronto has the second-highest rate in Ontario at 7.0 per cent followed by St. Catharines-Niagara at 6.9, London at 6.7, Oshawa and Thunder Bay each at 6.2, Greater Sudbury at 5.7, Hamilton at 5.6 and Kitchener at 5.5.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/sto...20-958ab1d647b8

 

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0908TNTO
No need for trendiness at Yonge and St. Clair

Of all the various Yonge streets in Toronto, none feels more like the centre of a neighbourhood than Yonge and St. Clair. You have to look carefully to see it, but this is Toronto`s Upper East Side – a residential enclave, but also urban and full of different uses. Unlike many such neighbourhoods, however, this one isn`t focused on the young and upwardly mobile. To its eternal credit, it doesn`t even attempt trendiness. It doesn`t need to.

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/489416

 

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0908ONTR
Proxy has right to attend meeting

Q: The proxy forms distributed for our annual meeting state that to be valid they must be delivered to management five days before the meeting.

Is that true?

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/489414

 

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0908YNEW
Residents prepared to defend Moraine

Newmarket is defending its portion of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

And Tuesday, it`s your turn.

An Ontario Municipal Board hearing is under way until the end of the month to decide if a large residential development should be built on the town`s only sliver of the environmentally sensitive moraine.

In two days, however, residents will be permitted to speak in front of OMB members and can submit a written copy of concerns.

"When are we gonna take a stand?" Newmarket resident Tom Janes asked, encouraging residents to show up and speak out against roads and homes being built on the protected area.

http://www.yorkregion.com/News/Newmarket/article/80903