Ontario Economic Fundamentals

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Premier lauds Sudbury health clinic

Less than a year after it opened, the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinic is set to expand.

Within a few months, the clinic will add a social worker, dietician, pharmacist, more nurse practitioners and physicians to the interdisciplinary team.

"You want to see the future? Come to Sudbury, come visit the nurse practitioner clinic right here," Premier Dalton McGuinty said during a tour of the facility.

McGuinty was singing the praises of the clinic Thursday during a stop in Sudbury for a Liberal fundraising dinner.

The premier later met behind closed doors with the two women who developed the model, Marilyn Butcher and Roberta Heale.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDispl...aura+Stradiotto

 

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Homeowners wrestle with recycling bins

Although there`s nothing funny about it, Suzanne Shuchat looks at the hulking recycling bin that city officials plunked on her front doorstep three days ago and chuckles.

"How am I supposed to carry that up the front steps, through the house and into the backyard, then back onto the curb for recycling day?" asks the 79-year-old woman.

And even if she could heave the nearly 1.2-metre container into her backyard, Shuchat says she wouldn`t be able to leave it there on account of the raccoons.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/414223

 

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Transit road map to recovery

Every day, Rob MacIsaac gets a unique perspective on the monumental task of weaning the Toronto region off its automobile addiction.

The Metrolinx chair`s ninth-floor office at the foot of Bay Street overlooks an exit ramp of the Gardiner Expressway where a seemingly endless flow of traffic inches into the city long after the traditional morning rush has ended.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/414217

 

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Hospitals get $667 million funding boost

Ontario`s 150 hospitals are getting an extra $667.2 million this year from Queen`s Park but it won`t be enough to stop up to 220 job cuts – including 72 nurses – at Rouge Valley Health System or prevent cuts at other hospitals, officials warn.

The money announced yesterday by Health Minister George Smitherman was pledged in last month`s Ontario budget and is the government`s annual funding increase for the sector that now gets $14.4 billion a year in taxpayer support.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/414244

 

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New subdivision pushes Mattamy-Townline kids out of Silverheights P.S.

CAMBRIDGE

A controversial new subdivision to be built in north Hespeler now has enemies other than the neighbours who wanted to see a nature area preserved.

They`re the parents who live in a subdivision just south of the Can-Amera Parkway, in what`s called the Mattamy-Townline area. Their children are now bused to Silverheights Public School, near the approved Mill Pond subdivision, where 900 homes will be built starting this summer.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/336536

 

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Ajax bike storage, extension to Bowmanville would all be welcome

GO Transit is revamping bus and train service, which could make the commute to work easier.

As many people prefer to ride bicycles rather than drive through traffic and worry about parking, GO Transit board members approved a contract to install bike racks on all buses.

They also gave the green light for a $2.5-million contract to create covered bike storage areas at all train stations, with one in Ajax being built by summer.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/oshawa/article/96987

 

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Flooding leaves residents steaming; Flood waters not likely to ebb for weeks

A slight decline in water levels on the weekend was a sign of hope for those who live along the Severn River.

But, yesterday afternoon, Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton was the bearer of bad news as he told a group of people gathered at the corner of Canal and Cambrian roads there would likely be no relief for a few weeks.

"It`s way, way above average - 60 per cent more water than we normally get," he said.

Yesterday, about 220 cubic metres per second - surpassing the 1998 record of 218 - were flowing down the Severn. The Black River was accountable for about 180 of that, Stanton said.

Nearby residents were upset and irritated.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDispla...h=Nathan+Taylor

 

[joeiannuzzi]

GO Transit rolls ahead with expansion plans

BRAMPTON - Construction has begun at the GO Train station in downtown Brampton that will allow midday service expansion all the way to Mount Pleasant.

The work started in mid-March with a completion target of May 2009.

The biggest addition will be a new platform south of the existing tracks, which will allow GO to use both tracks for service expansion and improvement.

"It will help with our on-time performance and it will eventually lead to our full day, two-way service," said Greg Ashbee, manager of GO`s rail expansion program. GO is adding tracking out to Mount Pleasant and between Brampton and Bramalea, he said.

http://www.thebramptonguardian.com/news/article/46830

 

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Ford adds 500 jobs in Oakville

OAKVILLE – Ford of Canada says it will hire up to 500 workers at its Oakville, Ont., assembly plant by July.

The automaker says it needs the staff to keep up with demand for its Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossover utility vehicles.

Those products will be joined in July by the new Ford Flex, a full-size crossover utility vehicle.

http://www.wheels.ca/article/224518

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Is it time for toll roads?

It`s a four-letter word to most Greater Toronto Area motorists.

Toll.

The concept of asking people to pay for driving on certain roads is nothing new. Tolls have been proposed at least three times in little more than a decade, rejected in each case as politically unpalatable.

But now they`re being discussed again. A blue-ribbon panel on the city`s finances said in February that placing tolls on city highways could raise $700 million a year.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/414499

 

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Highrises planned for historic property

Part of a historic farmstead in central Mississauga deeded to local schoolchildren in 1833 by King William IV, Queen Victoria`s uncle, could soon be home to up to eight highrises.

The Peel District School Board has approved a deal for a 99-year lease with a private asset-management firm that wants to build office towers on 12 hectares of the Britannia Farm.

"It became very clear to us as a board that there is absolutely nothing we could do with this farm unless we had some revenue," board chair Janet McDougald explained Friday, adding the 80-hectare property is sorely underutilized.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/414512

 

[joeiannuzzi]

On guard, cyclists: If the hole doesn`t get you, the barrier will

Whether they`re walkers, cyclists, boarders or skaters, Torontonians will agree the Martin Goodman Trail is one of the city`s treasures.

And every day, plenty of them take advantage of the 20-kilometre urban waterfront route that stretches to the eastern and western beaches.

Cyclist Jeff Green couldn`t wait to get out and feel the cool breeze on his face as he zipped along the trail. But he almost lost face by landing on it during his maiden ride this season.

http://www.thestar.com/GTA/Fixer/article/414510

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Turn down $80M to fix Highway 174, council told

The city`s transportation planning staff are recommending that Ottawa say no to $80 million the federal and provincial governments have offered to widen Highway 174 from Trim Road in Orléans to Rockland.

A staff report recommends that the city refuse even a $5- million grant from the province to do preliminary studies on the road widening, which would include about seven kilometres inside the city. City staff say there are better uses for the $15 million Ottawa would have to contribute to the project.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/s...56-3a5ac547a4b9

 

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Flooding sparks state of emergency in Belleville

Belleville remains under a state of emergency today as raging water from the Moira River closed roads and continues to threaten hundreds of homes in the area`s worst flooding since 1981.

Quinte conservation authorities have given Belleville 36,000 sandbags to help homeowners protect their properties, but are warning that with large amounts of unmelted snow in the watershed, it is difficult to predict when water levels will peak.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...cb-5ceab6da0332

 

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Surplus placed in reserve

Council decided Monday to move $5.4 million in surplus funds from the 2007 budget into its budget stabilization reserve fund.

Citing fears of potential high payouts this year in the areas of tax appeals, pay equity, rising fuel costs and higher snow removal costs from this winter, it was suggested by the city`s finance department it was the most prudent course of action.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/sto...bc-16f8791d8418

 

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Ontario maintains auto lead

TORONTO - Ontario has held onto its lead as North America`s top automobile-assembly site by volume, passing Michigan for the fourth-straight year, according to newly released statistics.

But its advantage has narrowed, and it may lose its No. 1 spot in years ahead if car companies shift output southward to counter a strong Canadian dollar, an analyst warned.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/sto...cd-b72e97b02476

 

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Could trains oust lanes on Main?

A suburban councillor is warning the city`s plans to reduce lanes on its main arteries to make room for rapid transit will provoke a "rebellion" among car drivers.

"It`s absolutely ridiculous," Councillor Lloyd Ferguson declared yesterday after reviewing the transit proposal.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/354779

 

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GO Transit on the move

Rob MacIsaac envisions shorter electric trains running like subways on GO`s Lakeshore line between Oshawa and Hamilton.

The former Burlington mayor, now chair of Metrolinx, charged with coming up with a transportation plan for the Greater Toronto Area, says switching to self-propelled electric-powered train cars is a "very ambitious project that has the potential to transform GO from a big, bulky rail service to something much more like a subway."

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/354660

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Hotel revival takes another step with Crowne Plaza renovations

Hamilton tourism and entertainment officials will get a sneak peek today at the new look of a downtown hotel.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel, formerly the Ramada Hotel on King Street East, is about a month away from completing a two-year, $7-million renovation.

The 22,000-square-foot Lincoln Alexander Conference Centre, which features a 400-seat theatre, is in the final stages of construction next door to the hotel, in what used to be the Odeon Cinemas. It`s expected to open in July or August.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/354576

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Townships boost police presence

Police are spending more time in East Luther Grand Valley these days. Beginning this month, the municipality is enlisting the services of Dufferin OPP for dedicated traffic control measures. "We`re trying to prevent any real tragic accident and keep the community safe," Mayor John Oosterhof says of the initiative.

http://www.orangevillebanner.com/news/article/46886