The board each month publishes a so-called Help Wanted Index, which looks at the number of online job postings in more than two dozen Canadian communities. The board also compares the number of people looking for work with the number of online jobs available to get a sense of “Labour Market Tightness.”

Both indicators in the board’s February report show Hamilton’s near-term employment prospects are declining.

That was the story for 13 other Census Metropolitan Areas in Canada: St. John’s, Halifax, Saint John, Saguenay, Trois-Rivières, Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Kingston, London, Windsor, Kitchener, Thunder Bay and Edmonton.

Eleven communities, including Toronto, St. Catharines-Niagara and Vancouver had improving job prospects. Winnipeg and Calgary were listed as staying the same.

Source: TheSpec.com

Furlong also promises that the ceremonies will showcase some “pretty amazing Canadian talent” and bust some Canadian myths.

But Furlong declined to give any hints at which performers might be involved in the Sunday spectacle.

Big names winding their way through the rumour mill include local crooner Michael Bublé, who has been in town for the Games anyway, B.C.-born Diana Krall and Toronto rockers Rush.

Spokespeople for Celine Dion and Joni Mitchell have confirmed to the Canadian Press that neither artist will be making the trip to Vancouver for the closing ceremonies this weekend.

Sarah McLachlan, Nelly Furtado, Bryan Adams, k.d. lang and Garou were among the performers who played at the opening ceremonies at B.C. Place.

Source: TheSpec.com

Canadian players, still wearing their uniforms and with gold medals draped around their necks, celebrated their victory by drinking champagne and beer at centre ice following a 2-0 win over the United States.

The International Olympic Committee said it will investigate the celebration, which included drinking by one of Canada's underage players.

In a statement released late Thursday, Hockey Canada apologized.

"The members of Team Canada apologize if their on-ice celebrations, after fans had left the building, have offended anyone," the statement read.

"In the excitement of the moment, the celebration left the confines of our dressing room and shouldn't have. The team regrets that its gold medal celebration may have caused the IOC or COC any embarrassment.

"Our players and team vow to uphold the values of the Olympics moving forward and view this situation as a learning experience."

Marie-Philip Poulin, who at 18 is not old enough to legally drink in British Columbia, was one of the players taking part in the post-game boozing.

Later in the night, Poulin met the media at the Molson Hockey House, but answered only two questions that were restricted to the game.

Gilbert Felli, the IOC's executive director of the Olympic Games, said he wasn't aware of the celebration until informed by a reporter with The Associated Press.

"If that's the case, that is not good," he said. "It is not what we want to see.

"I don't think it's a good promotion of sport values. If they celebrate in the changing room, that's one thing, but not in public."

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Hockey Canada apologizes for gold-medal party

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"We've been talking generally about the stadium, but now discussions can get more specific," said David Adames, the city's Pan Am specialist.

While talks can centre on what the stadium can do for both sides, don't expect the Tiger-Cats to suddenly become philanthropists in building the Pan Am stadium.

Team president Scott Mitchell is amused that some on city council can't understand why the Cats can't chip in $10 million, no questions asked, as former Tim Horton doughnut king Ron Joyce did at McMaster.

"Somebody brought up that donation. That's philanthropy. We're a business. If you want the private sector to get involved, you have to find ways for the private sector to make money."

Mitchell said what the team and its partners can bring to the Pan Am table depends on what revenue sources are developed in and around the stadium.

He said it's premature to speculate on that before the football club does its own analysis.

The Cats need to assess what can go into the stadium plus the impact of parking and transportation on stadium operations.

Mitchell said with two senior levels of government involved, as well as the Toronto 2015 host company, there will be plenty of voices talking about how the stadium and area around it is developed.

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Ticats ready to kick off talks on role in new Pan Am stadium

Yesterday, the city announced it has recovered $1.57 million of the $1.81 million that disappered from HSR fare boxes, the latest coming from an insurance settlement.

The city had already recovered about $800,000 from Avero Security, the private armoured car company that was collecting the HSR's fare box revenue when the cash disappeared.

Council had been negotiating the amount of the insurance settlement in a series of closed-door meetings. The city was first offered $600,000 but council rejected the offer and instead tried to negotiate a higher amount.

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City recoups $1.57 million of missing fares

But Metrolinx president says commitment isn't possible until province decides on funding

"This is one of the most important decisions for Hamilton in a generation," said Paul Bedford, retired chief planner for Toronto.

Staff from Metrolinx, the transportation authority for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, had just presented a benefits case analysis of light rail and bus rapid transit for a 14-kilometre stretch of King and Main streets from Eastgate Square to McMaster University.

The study found light rail, bus rapid transit and a phased-in light rail option all generated benefits for Hamilton, but it made no recommendation for a preferred choice.

Bedford, now a university professor and planning consultant, said he was disappointed Metrolinx is not giving the city a clear indication that it will get light rail.

"There is no case to continue studying BRT, in my view," he said.

"If we want to build a city and kickstart a revival, I think the case is overwhelming to bite the bullet on LRT. I'm concerned we're not going to make that decision until maybe December this year."

But Metrolinx president and CEO Rob Prichard said there is no point in the agency making a commitment to Hamilton yet.

"Absent of the ability to write a cheque, it would be an empty decision," he said. "When we can convert a decision into reality, that's the time to be there."

Funding decisions will be up to the province but there has been no indication of a timeline.

"Part of the challenge is that we've got more excellent projects than money that's available," he said.

Bedford rented a car a few weeks ago to visit Hamilton and drive the proposed rapid transit corridor.

"The thing I love about Hamilton is it's a real urban place ... All the elements of successful urban transit are there, more than anywhere else outside Toronto, in my view."

"Your words will be music to the ears of everyone in Hamilton, but we're not there yet," board chair and Mohawk president Rob MacIsaac said to Bedford.

Prichard said Metrolinx fully supports Hamilton staff in proceeding with planning and engineering studies for light rail only.

Hamilton received $3 million from the province for its comprehensive light rail study. A consultant will be chosen soon, said Jill Stephen, Hamilton's director of strategic planning and rapid transit.

The study will only focus on LRT. There will be no time or money put into looking at buses, she said.

The draft Deloitte analysis says the city's $60-million investment in sports and recreation infrastructure would result in:

* $214 million in direct and indirect spending during construction of a 25,000-seat facility

* 1,750 jobs during construction

* Up to a $9.9-million annual economic impact from stadium operations after the 2015 Games

* Annual tax revenue of up to $1 million from development at the old Ivor Wynne Stadium site.

"There hasn't been this kind of opportunity in this city in 40 years," Mayor Fred Eisenberger said. "The Pan Am Games are a rare chance to leverage that $60 million to up to $200 million in facilities and connect with other transportation and development initiatives."

Eisenberger said the Deloitte findings are as exciting as winning the bid.

But Councillor Sam Merulla, a persistent critic of city spending, says the documents released yesterday don't show any private-sector partners stepping up to contribute the $50 million necessary to increase the stadium size from 15,000 in the Pan Am bid to 25,000 for the Tiger-Cats football club.

"We're now in a situation of having to make the best of a bad fiscal decision," he said.

Merulla said he has always supported the city subsidizing the Tiger-Cats, but wonders where the CFL team is when it comes to financing the larger facility.

The business plan also laid out a 20,000-seat version of the stadium that could possibly be built for the $102 million budgeted in the Pan Am bid. And it outlined a steep jump in land acquisition and soil remediation costs that are $16 million higher than budgeted.

"Anything of this magnitude will have bumps and hurdles, but the question is, can we afford not to take advantage of it?" Eisenberger said.

The jump from $10 million to $26 million for land and cleanup would take the city's costs up to $76 million, but he said some of that increase may be covered by funding from other government programs.

Eisenberger added the city would face some of those remedial costs anyway, as it owns a large property in the block of land northwest of Bay and Barton streets.

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Big Pan Am payback expected

A former Hamilton SPCA senior fundraiser says she quit because she could no longer face asking for cash knowing it wasn't all being spent to help animals.

"I left because I could not look donors in the eye and myself in the mirror anymore," said Brenda Dushko, 50, yesterday.

"I could not look them in the eye knowing the money was not going where they thought it was going."

Dushko, who now works for the Oakville and District Humane Society, worked at the Hamilton-Burlington SPCA from January 2007 to January 2009 as the shelter's development co-ordinator of corporate sponsorships and annual giving programs.

Her ethical conflict became unbearable, she said, because SPCA donations were funding a planned amalgamation with The Equestrian Association for the Disabled (TEAD), which provides riding therapy, rehabilitation and recreation opportunities for children and adults with disabilities.

Jacqueline Roth, the shelter's vice-president and director of development, said Dushko was a very good employee.

"That is her perception, I can't comment on that," Roth said yesterday of Dushko's comments.

At a contentious special membership meeting Tuesday, SPCA officials revealed the not-for-profit shelter had spent about $100,000 to pay TEAD employee salaries for the past 18 months.

The board also told members the charity's projected $90,000 deficit has ballooned to $400,000, in part because of the severe economic slowdown and lost adoption fee revenue when the shelter suspended the importation of so-called hurricane Katrina dogs rescued from Louisiana.

The SPCA received a grant from the Ontario SPCA to build a universally praised in-house animal clinic to service shelter animals, but Dushko felt too much SPCA cash was spent on a temporary building needed to house staff displaced by the clinic.

The donated cash, including small amounts from everyday animal lovers, "wasn't going to help animals any longer."

Dushko said she also became increasingly concerned with how animals were being cared for during her time at the Dartnall Road facility.

Read more:
Employee left SPCA for ethical reasons ]]> http://www.directoryofhamilton.com/blog/10844/employee-left-spca-for-ethical-reasons/feed http://www.directoryofhamilton.com/blog/10867/toddler-gets-the-gift-of-life http://www.directoryofhamilton.com/blog/10867/toddler-gets-the-gift-of-life#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:05:43 +0000 admin http://www.directoryofhamilton.com/blog/?p=10867 A 17-month old Hamilton boy who inhaled pieces of yellow crayon was saved by medical equipment donated to McMaster Children's Hospital weeks earlier.

The toddler was on life support and in danger of dying when pediatric surgeon Dr. Brian Cameron used the $35,000 bronchoscope, donated in January by Cadillac Fairview Corporation Ltd, to see inside his airway and find the crayon bits which were smaller than a pea.

Without the bronchoscope, Cameron would have lost precious time diagnosing the boy in the operating room instead of at his bedside in the intensive care unit.

"We still had to take the child to the operating room but we knew what to expect, the team was prepared and we got in right away," said Cameron.

The toddler's parents, Brenda and Corey, who did not want their last names used, said they were so scared their hearts are still beating faster nearly a week after Brady was saved.

"We want other people to know a donation saved our son," said Corey. "We're so grateful."

The fluke accident, which the surgeon said was unpreventable, happened two weeks ago when the family was at a restaurant celebrating the birthday of Brady's grandma. Brenda and Corey found themselves in the same situation every parent eventually faces.

"You're out in a restaurant, people are staring at you and your child is being despondent," said Corey. "You've gone though the whole diaper bag and all of your tricks."

On the table was the most common toy a restaurant gives out -- crayons.

"He was sitting on my lap and across from Brenda," said Corey. "He had two sets of eyes on him. It happened so quick."

Corey was colouring with his son when Brady put the non-toxic crayon in his mouth.

His parents took it out right away but a small piece was missing. They thought he'd swallowed it.

"He coughed a bit," said Corey. "We gave him a drink and he was fine.

"Case closed. We thought that was it."

Over the next two weeks Brady appeared to be battling a cold. He had a mild cough and runny nose but no fever or any other signs of major illness. "Nothing seemed amiss," said Brenda.

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Toddler gets the gift of life

Up to 500 uncounted votes not expected to change early results

There are potentially 500 uncounted votes out there that could change the course of the school year for 200,000 students at Ontario's 24 community colleges.

But it would take an unusual streak of "no" votes among that block to change preliminary results that show a razor-thin majority of faculty members have accepted the colleges' final contract offer and therefore averted a strike.

After Wednesday's vote, unofficial results show just 210 votes separating the 51 per cent of faculty who accepted the contract offer from the 49 per cent who didn't.

Now all eyes in the dispute are turning to piles of mail-in and segregated ballots making their way to the Ontario Labour Relations Board in Toronto, which plans to announce official results Feb. 24.

The uncertainty means the Ontario Public Service Employees Union has set aside its strike date of Feb. 17, with plans to set a new date if necessary.

About 167 of the 500 are segregated ballots -- those set aside from the regular count. That group includes spoiled ballots, ballots cast by people whose names were not on the voters list, and votes by members who cast their ballots at colleges other than their own.

The rest -- believed to total slightly more than 300 -- are mail-in votes from members who are on parental, medical or other leaves.

The deadline for mailing those votes is Wednesday -- a full week after the vote, by agreement of both sides -- and it remains to be seen how many will come in.

To overturn the preliminary results, at least 71 per cent of the outstanding 500 ballots would need to reject the offer -- if all the mail-ins were to come in and all the segregated ballots were eligible to be counted, which is unlikely.

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Little chance of college strike

Pan Am business plan backs west harbour site

The west harbour is the right site for the Pan Am Games stadium, but it will cost at least $10 million more than forecast, a business plan reveals.

The report by consultant Deloitte focuses on development of the site at Bay and Barton and says land acquisition and soil remediation could double the $10 million approved by council last February, sources told The Spectator.

But the bill could run even higher as some privately held properties have not been tested for soil contamination.

The plan, which is available to city councillors today, also lays out ways the city can cover those added costs.

The jump in price didn't deter the Deloitte report from recommending the west harbour over the airport area as representing the best business case for a stadium.

The terms of reference for the Deloitte plan were canted toward the west harbour site, as it was presented as the preferred location.

The terms of reference also noted $10 million "is likely insufficient" and asked Deloitte to examine sources to cover the increased costs.

City council committed to $60 million early last year as its contribution to a $102-million, 15,000-seat stadium and $11.4-million velodrome.

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Stadium site costs set to double

A report presented to council Tuesday shows provincially mandated programs -- which include Ontario Works (formerly welfare), social housing, public health and GO Transit -- left a $147,989,257 dent in the 2009 budget.

Since 1998, when social housing and welfare responsibilities were downloaded onto municipalities, those annual costs have added up to almost $1 billion.

Yesterday, Councillor Sam Merulla filed a notice of motion that asks staff to investigate if the city could sue the province for loading on the extra costs.

The province sets the rules, including the share of costs municipalities must pay.

"It's a financially abusive relationship, " Merulla said yesterday.

At almost $80 million in 2009, the biggest net expense for the city is the cost of social services such as Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program.

The total cost of those programs was about $207 million, but the province contributed about $128 million.

The city was on the hook for the remaining $79,218,480.

As in previous years, the city has requested a special grant from the province to help offset the costs of social services faced by large cities such as Hamilton.

Originally, the city asked for $16.5 million.

The rest is here:

The rest is here:
Downloading costs Hamilton $1 billion

The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce will flesh out that position next week as city councillors review an analysis of that site and an airport lands location.

Yesterday's recommendation came a day before a consultant's report on the feasibility of both sites was to be made public.

Chamber president Ruth Liebersbach said the west harbour is compelling for many reasons, including the symbolic aspect of building a signature facility to show the face of the city.

"We don't showcase the waterfront enough, and this will attract people locally and across the country."

Liebersbach said the chamber, which represents more than 2,000 businesses, seemed almost unanimous in backing the site near Bay and Barton streets.

The Pan Am stadium will stage track and field for the 2015 Games and also serve as home of the Tiger-Cats if the football club and private sector can come up with $50 million to add 10,000 seats to the 15,000 required for the Games.

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Chamber likes stadium by lake

Of the city's 18 public high schools, the only ones not being reviewed are Saltfleet District in Stoney Creek, Waterdown District in Waterdown and Westmount Secondary on the Mountain. Those schools are exempt because student enrolment is already over capacity.

Hamilton's public high schools are considered 87 per cent full, with 2,600 extra pupil spaces for which the school board does not get funding.

Student enrolment is expected to decline sharply during the next 10 years with surplus student spots predicted to reach 6,000.

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustees recommended this week that three separate review committees be struck to find ways to consolidate schools and services.

"We don't want parents to become overly anxious about schools closing," said Ken Bain, the board's associate director. "We don't have a number in mind, in terms of (how many) we want to consolidate."

The review committees will each examine four to six schools in either the west, south or north areas of Hamilton. The goal of each group will be to recommend how to reduce the surplus spots and make better use of school space.

While most of the empty spots are in Mountain high schools, they aren't necessarily the ones that will close. It's ultimately the decision of trustees, based on the work of the review committee, said school board chairperson Jessica Brennan.

Stakeholders in this year's more extensive reviews will include parents, students, principals, school trustees and ward councillors.

They will look at several factors including enrolment, the quality of facilities such as science labs and gyms, as well as access to specialty programs. The hope is these committees will give a voice to parents and others who might not have felt heard in discussions about school closures in the past, she said.

"This is about revitalizing how our high schools can be addressing the needs of students," said Brennan.

Continued here:
School-closing review committees to be struck