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Ontario Economic Fundamentals

Making every drop count

Living in a land dotted with lakes and rivers, it`s tempting to think that Canada has an endless supply of water. But environmental groups say this precious resource is under threat from climate change, water exports and over consumption.

According to the Canadian Partnership of the UN Water for Life Decade, Canadians waste huge amounts of water. To stem the flow, the non-profit organization is participating in Go Blue, a campaign to encourage Canadians to cut their water use in half. To measure your own "water footprint" and for water-saving tips, go to goblue.org.

http://yourhome.ca/homes/article/415380
 
Barrhaven holds majority of grow-ops: police

At least 200 marijuana grow operations are active in Ottawa, the majority in Barrhaven, says the head of the Ottawa police drug unit.

"It`s a really big problem. We`re addressing it the best we can, with what we have," Staff Sgt. Pete Gauthier said last night, after addressing a City Hall public meeting on the problems and efforts to combat the city`s narcotics trade.

Despite decades of enforcement and social programs, Ottawa`s street drug scourge remains vibrant.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...12-c8b2e9e83458
 
Transit options growing

The City of Ottawa now has an informal fifth option for its massive new public transit plan and more options could be on the way.

Kanata North Councillor Marianne Wilkinson yesterday released her own proposed plan for transit because she wasn`t content with the four options the city`s planners offered.

The Wilkinson option would see the existing north-south diesel O-Train kept in service and extended farther south to Leitrim, rather than rebuilding the north-south rail corridor with an electrified light-rail system.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...69-f1683e595438
 
No tax relief for mall, homes stay same

Council resisted tax relief pleas from a couple of local apartment building owners and Devonshire Mall Monday night, making no changes to its tax policy for 2008.

That means homeowners will be left with the same rates they were slated to pay when the city`s budget was approved in late February.

Despite a lengthy debate that lasted more than an hour, council decided to keep the status quo.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/sto...ef-8b50d1ea9f2b
 
Chrysler seeking joint ventures with Chinese

BEIJING - Chrysler LLC is discussing joint ventures with a number of potential Chinese partners, including Chery Automobile, in a bid to return to producing vehicles at its own plants in China, executives said on Sunday.

The company aims to become one of the top 10 competitors in the industry`s biggest boom market, they said.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/aut...ee-d45518d48d98
 
Flamborough faces biggest tax hike

Flamborough taxpayers are facing a 9.8 per cent tax hike -- more than double the rest of Hamilton -- after a fiery city debate that brought one councillor to tears.

The increase is slightly less outside Waterdown, at 8.7 per cent.

In a 9-7 decision, council voted to share $4 million in slot revenue from Flamboro Downs -- killing the tradition of letting Flamborough keep the money to offset its taxes.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/357917
 
Safety blitz urged

The owner of the building on King William Street that collapsed over the weekend says the city should order a safety blitz of the neighbourhood to make sure other buildings aren`t suffering from similar structural problems.

LIUNA vice-president Joe Mancinelli says downtown buildings along King William Street, Rebecca and the section of James Street in between date from the 1850s and have gone through numerous renovations over the years that may be hiding structural integrity problems.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/357934
 
Port authority sees steel imports plunge

Steel imports at the Hamilton Port Authority took a dive last year, falling 65 per cent as the impact of steel industry consolidation and market changes rippled into the harbour.

Though shipments of raw materials such as iron ore and coke increased slightly in 2007, imports of semi-finished products such as steel slab plunged to 350,000 tonnes in 2007 from one million tonnes the year before.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/357986
 
Parts of Ajax `exploding` with job creation

AJAX -- A developer is about to start constructing a 100,000-square-foot industrial building, while another part of Ajax is "exploding with activity." Luisa DaRocha, the manager of economic development for the Town, said Higgins Development Partners bought a 60-acre parcel of land in the Harwood Avenue and Rossland Road area. The previous owner had wanted to covert the land from employment uses to building homes on the property.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/ajax/article/97469
 
Residents urged to check wells regularly

UXBRIDGE - Now that spring has arrived, it may be time to check your well.

Well Wise Resource Centre, a non-profit Durham Region organization that provides technical support to well owners, encourages residents to check wells regularly.

Here are some tips from Well Wise on how to check your well properly. - Test your well water for bacteria.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/uxbridge/article/97476
 
Shelburne upping physician recruitment efforts

Mayor Ed Crewson wants to make something clear: Shelburne is not opting out of the Greater Dufferin Area Search Committee`s (GDASC) physician recruitment efforts. But Shelburne will be supplementing those efforts with its own initiatives. "We need nine physicians," says Crewson, but Shelburne only has three. While the mayor recognizes the efforts put forth by the physician search committee, which he says is strongly tied to Headwaters Health Care Centre (HHCC), that effort hasn`t produced results for his town. The last MD to come to town was in 2002 -- the last year Shelburne had its own, independent recruitment program.

http://www.orangevillebanner.com/news/article/47355
 
Time for province to put up cash; city; councillors frustrated by native protestsstalling development

City council is pressing the Ontario government for financial compensation for lost business, lost tax revenue and extra policing costs springing from an escalating series of protests by Six Nations Confederacy activists at development sites around Brantford.

"The province and the feds have to become more aware of our situation and how the protests have hurt us," Coun. Mark Littell said Monday, just before his resolution to have staff compute a compensation bill received unanimous approval.

It will be sent along with a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty, Brant MPP Dave Levac, Brant MP Lloyd St. Amand, and the two lobbying organizations, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi...el-Allan+Marion
 
Drugstore move planned; Shoppers Drug Mart at mall may get new Orillia address

A grassy, empty parcel of land on Westmount Drive, once the site of Orillia`s oldest surviving home, could be filled with a brand new Shoppers Drug Mart by next year.

"We are very excited about doing this project," Brian Otis, principal of the Otis Group of Companies, told city politicians Monday during a public planning meeting.

Otis is developing the two-acre property at 149 Westmount Dr. N., next to Tim Hortons at the corner of Woodside Drive, for an 18,000-square-foot store.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDispla...uth=Teviah+Moro
 
Orillia power revenues lower; City still reaps $1.5 M dividend as utility`s sole shareholder

Reduced water flow, coupled with a modest electricity price increase, resulted in lower generation revenues last year for the Orillia Power Corporation.

"We did see a 27 per cent reduction in water flow at all our stations, and that was combined with only a modest four per cent price increase to the purchas- ing of electricity from our generating plants," Larry Brooksbank, chair of the corporation`s board, said on Monday.

Generation revenues fell by 23 per cent last year from the year before, result- ing in roughly a million- dollar impact on the cor- poration`s gross revenue, Brooksbank told city officials during Orillia Power`s seventh annual general meet- ing.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDispla...uth=Teviah+Moro
 
Barrie man busted at massive grow op ; Multi-million dollar operation compared to Molson plant

A Barrie man who allegedly worked as a "gardener" at a multi-million-dollar marijuana grow operation near Peterborough has been charged.

Police raided the rural property Friday. Inside the barricaded barn, outfitted with surveillance cameras, cops found a sophisticated grow operation, with pot plants in various stages of growth.

"The hum of the ballasts ... from the electricity and the roar of the fans was deafening," Det.-Const. Ernie Garbutt, with the OPP`s Central East Drug Unit, said yesterday from Peterborough. "It was basically like walking into a factory."

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDi...th=RAYMOND+BOWE
 
Aurora, region buy clean power

Aurora and York Region are teaming up to buy environmentally friendly power for three government sites.

The agreement with Bullfrog Power to purchase emission-free electricity will be announced Tuesday, which is Earth Day.

`€œWe`€™re pretty excited about this,`€ Aurora Mayor Phyllis Morris said. `€œWe are helping to reduce carbon emissions and the eco-footprint`€.


http://www.yorkregion.com/News/Aurora/article/73500
 
Water concerns raised

PUSLINCH

Moving stormwater out of a Puslinch Township ditch could lead to contamination of groundwater in the area, a county councillor fears.

"We don`t have a good understanding of the potential for pollution to exist," Councillor Rod Finnie said yesterday during a special meeting of the county`s roads committee, noting he is "not convinced that we are protecting" residents downstream of the site.

http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/319721
 
What became of downtown Canada?

Today, many Canadian downtowns, particularly in small and mid-sized cities, are rife with crime, low-income housing, social services, empty buildings, barren parking lots and deserted malls, observes Igal Charney, a professor of geography and environmental studies at the University of Haifa in Israel.

While centres of some major Canadian cities have seen a rejuvenation thanks to the condominium boom in recent years, small and mid-sized cities have not fared so well.

Kitchener, Ont., about 110 kilometres west of Toronto, is one example of this phenomenon. Prior to suburban sprawl, 90 per cent of its population lived within five minutes of downtown, officials say. Now, just over 10 per cent of its 214,000 residents live there.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...siness/Ontario/
 
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