EnviroNewsandIssues Newsletter - Edition 15

As we head into, or should be heading in to an election that will be called either by the end of June or September, the tenure of this newsletter will be changing. It will be focusing on issues of interest to old hippies, and others who are not impressed with the current breed of politicians, political ideas, and politics in Canada, in general.
KAOS Blues Festival - Calgary - June 25 ad 26, 2005 - http://www.kaosblues.com/
This Editor will be there - come find me - Beer helps

June 3, 2005

John Ralston Saul is in town at Know United, June 8, 2005 To Promote his new book, 'The Collapse of Globalism:And the Reinvention of the World' - Tickets at Pages 403-283-6655

Saul tilts at the market windmills - Globe and Mail

The Collapse of Globalism: <--- This editor likes It
And the Reinvention of the World
By John Ralston Saul
Viking Canada, 309 pages, $36

This book is an expanded version of John Ralston Saul's controversial 2004 article in Harper's Magazine, boldly announcing (and celebrating) that globalization is dead. According to Saul, the era of globalization emerged as a response to the economic crises of the early 1970s and dominated the 1980s, the heady days of Reagan, Thatcher and the "Washington consensus." But, by 1998, the era of globalization was over, exemplified by the repudiation of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment, which would have entrenched neo-liberal orthodoxy as the reigning principle for international trade.


Desperately Seeking Ideas – Walrus – June 2005 Edition (on Your newsstand now)
Politics has been reduced to a guessing game about what voters want. Here's a thought: how about an election fought on real issues?
by Allan Gregg

Editorial Comment on Article by Allan Gregg in Walrus June 2005 Edition

RE: Desperately Seeking Ideas

I don’t know if Allan Gregg was trying to dance around the real problem in Canadian politics, or was just leaving out the juicy bits because of ignorance. His, the media’s or politicians’ take your pick.

The fact is that we are now at a period in Canadian history where the dumbing down of our media, polling gurus, and politicians has converged into a black hole, where the Canadian voter is not. It is also the same black hole that has sucked the pride of Canada, and any sort of creative problem solving that might have been seen in Ottawa in years past.

Our media in Ottawa, who report on the politics and political game have reduced their efforts to the scrum, all chasing the same story, all chasing the theatrics of people who act like kindergarten children at the best of times. Reporting what the most recent poll is showing is also part of the dumbing down process, not only is the data bad, so are the assumptions made from it.

On the other hand it is cheap journalism for the ‘cut and paste,’ trend in our media reporters.

There is no background information researched and given, to the Canadian people so they can think, discuss, debate and arrive at an informed opinion on any new ideas, policies, and dreams that might be put forth.

Can you imagine a Prime Minister standing up in the House of Commons, let alone the Leader of her Majesty's loyal opposition, and telling the country that he will build a railway across the country, find a cure to cancer in the next decade, bring an end to the endless slaughtering of innocent people in Africa, or clean up our dying oceans?

The polling companies have been looked upon as gurus of the future and thoughts of Canadians, when all they do report back to their clients is the opinion of randomly selected Canadians, who are lucky enough to be at home, with no caller ID on their telephones. The polling companies pay their caller-interviewers by the call completed, so the only real criteria used to qualify the person who answers is the fact they speak English, are home, and have a heart beat. The entire younger generation that relies on cell phones, internet, wireless or text messaging are missed. As are those working shift work.

There is no attempt to collect the evolution of any of the thinking, ideas, or opinions since there is no attempt to call the same people back to see if their thoughts, ideas, or opinions have been changed for the good or bad, after having watched, listened to, or read the dumbed down reporting. How can you ask 1,500 randomly selected people across Canada a question about something that is important and cannot be explained in eight seconds, and expect to extrapolate that slice of opinion across a country with 30,000,000 plus people, from every corner of the world, speaking every language of the world?

Who might or might not come from a country where speaking your mind gets you shot. Dead.

Remember, the mass media we have now reporting the political games being played out by the kindergarten being convened in the House of Commons, is not read by, listened to, or viewed by a majority of Canadians.

This is also a media that is shrinking its presence around the world, thus the view of the world from a Canadian perspective, and thus limiting Canadians ability to look at the world’s issues from a uniquely Canadian point of view.

In fact the numbers of people in Canada watching, reading, or viewing the media reflects very closely the numbers of people not showing up to vote.

That means Canadians under 35 don’t show up to vote, 8 times out of 10, and their brethren over 35, show up only 50% of the time to vote.

Our politicians are dumbed down to the point where they watch their popularity in the polls rise or fall much like Snow White asked her mirror to tell her was the fairest of them all.

When a Prime Minister will sell his soul to stay in power, and a leader of the Opposition will only whine to the Canadian people about what he does not like about the Liberals, but not tell us what he would do different, we are truly at the lowest ebb.

Mind you when only 50% of us show up to vote, do we get the government we want or need?

Thank you
Norm Greenfield


Rain threatens to delay Devils Lake project – Globe and Mail

Devils Lake, N.D. — The start of operations on the Devils Lake outlet may be delayed by rain, the project manager for the North Dakota Water Commission says.

Bruce Engelhardt said July 1 is still the target, but recent heavy rains might change that. Anywhere from 13 millimetres to almost 40 millimetres of rain has fallen in the basin in recent days, and more is forecast for the weekend.


Great Lies of the American Free Press - Pravda

In several previous Pravda articles, I discussed the Bush dictatorship’s prominent use of Adolph Hitler’s “great lie theory”
http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/98/387/12507_BushSatan.html
— the political tactic where a leader fabricates “great lies,” then “eternally” repeats them until a significant portion of the population comes to accept them as truth. The Bush dictatorship also discovered a residual benefit of the “great lie theory”: People are often so myopic or so embarrassed by their gullibility that, even after the “great lies” are exposed, they would rather reward the liar than acknowledge the lie.

This benefit, however, has also revealed the disquieting reality that far too many people in the United States, arguably the most powerful nation on earth, do not require legitimate reasons before they will acquiesce to the wasting of billions of tax dollars, and the sacrificing of thousands of lives, in wars based upon nothing but lies.

Real Democratic Deficit Lack of Women in Local Politics, Says FCM President

ST. JOHN'S, June 3 - Saying that the real democratic deficit is the lack of women in Canadian municipal politics, FCM President Ann MacLean today launched a national campaign to close the gender gap.

"Municipal government is where many of our future provincial and national leaders get their start. If women aren't active here, they likely won't be in provincial legislatures or Parliament. It's not just our communities that suffer from this democratic deficit, our country suffers as well."

President MacLean spoke at FCM's annual conference in St. John's, NL. She was joined by municipal officials from across the country, including Toronto Mayor David Miller, Gatineau Councillor Louise Poirier and Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, who pledged support for the campaign and invited President MacLean to bring the campaign to their cities.

The campaign, supported by Status of Women Canada, aims to mobilize communities across the country to deal with barriers that prevent women from participating in local politics.
The percentage of women in municipal government in Canada (21.7 per cent) lags behind Chile (48 per cent), Sweden (42 per cent), Bolivia (34 per cent), Finland (31 per cent) and the United Kingdom (27 per cent).

President MacLean says the campaign aims to mobilize community leaders to take action to break down the barriers that restrict talented women from becoming involved in local government.

The President plans visits to communities across the country starting next fall to talk to community leaders and lay the groundwork for local groups that will take action to promote change in their communities.

AIDS, Pregnancy and Poverty Trap Ever More African Girls – New York Times

PATRICE LUMUMBA, Mozambique - They met a year ago on the dirt road outside her aunt's house, in this struggling township where houses are built from bound-together reeds and the only water comes from wells. Flora Muchave was 14. Elario Novunga was 22, nicely dressed and, Flora said, full of promises.

One stood out: Flora's family had been teetering on the edge of destitution since her father, a miner, died of AIDS in 2000. Elario said he would change that. "He asked me to have sex with him, and he guaranteed everything I would need," Flora recalled. "He said he would take care of everything for me."

He lied. Elario gave Flora the equivalent of about $4 and a baby, whose impending birth has forced her to drop out of sixth grade. Before Flora's mother died in May, apparently of AIDS, she forgave her daughter for ignoring her warnings about fast-talking men. But she sketched out a bleak future for her only daughter.


June 2, 2005

How the West was bought – National Post
The 1870 Deed of Surrender was Canada's Louisiana Purchase

Few in Canada have likely ever heard of the 1870 Deed of Surrender, a fact that shames our educational system and highlights our feeble grasp of history. The Deed of Surrender, alongside the British North America Act of 1867 and the Rupert's Land Act of 1868, is a founding document of Canada. Without it, we would not be celebrating the centennials of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan this year, and indeed without it, Canada -- if it existed at all -- would be an irrelevance, a tiny country consisting of at most the St. Lawrence lowlands and the Maritime provinces.

Contrast this with the United States, where the facts of American expansion are deeply ingrained in the national psyche. Invariably, either the 1626 purchase of Manhattan from the Canarsee Delawares, the 1803 Louisiana Purchase or the Treaty with Russia (Alaska Purchase) of 1867, is held up by Americans as "the greatest real estate deal in history."

Balancing foreign and domestic – Toronto Star
If we are distracted and divided at home, we cannot project power and influence abroad, says Michael Ignatieff.

My subject is the relationship between Canada's foreign policy and its domestic agenda, between the way it governs itself at home and the way it projects power and influence abroad.

My message is simple. Foreign policy is not social work; it is the promotion and defence of our citizens and their interests overseas. If we are distracted and divided at home, we cannot project power and influence abroad. Canada matters to the world only to the degree that Canada remains united at home.

We can't get the balance between foreign and domestic policy right unless both are aligned to serve the fundamental purpose of national government: maintaining the national unity of our country. This is what distinguishes the functions of the federal civil service from those of provinces and municipalities.

DFO credibility on the line - Halifax Herald

THE OPTICS weren't the best when the message was supposed to be that Ottawa is getting tough on foreign overfishing.

Told by a St. John's judge that he must reappear in court on June 29 to face charges of illegal fishing, the captain of the Portuguese trawler seized in Canadian waters on Sunday, Jose Alberto Senos Ranalhera, replied that he wouldn't be available. "I'll be working. I'll be fishing."

When the judge insisted the court date had priority, the Crown prosecutor disagreed, saying the captain's lawyer could appear on Mr. Ranalhera's behalf. The captain was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

DFO critics were understandably less than impressed, calling the ship's arrest "meaningless" and a PR stunt. But though Monday's events in court were less than dramatic, such criticism is premature.

Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan rightly can point to the effect


The Maxwell Poll on Civic Engagement and Inequality - Campbell Public Affairs Institute

The Campbell Institute Poll on Citizenship and Inequality was conducted on October 9-19, 2004. A nation-wide survey, the poll asked respondents questions about their engagement in political affairs and other aspects of civic life, as well as their views on social and economic inequality in the United States. Analysis based on the results from this survey will be posted on this webpage throughout 2004-2005.

KAZAKHSTAN: Evolution, not revolution - Ambassador Kanat Saudabayev

Recent events in Uzbekistan, and before that in Kyrgyzstan, have drawn the world's attention to these countries and Central Asia generally. There are countless commentaries on what happened there and what it means for the region, including speculations on "who's next?" and "where next?"

Without engaging in polemics, I would like to share how Kazakhstan has developed since independence. A knowledgeable and unbiased person would see that Kazakhstan today is quite different from its neighbors, and that it is wrong to project events in Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan on other regional countries without a thoughtful analysis of the situation.

All newly independent states in Central Asia left a single home in 1991, yet each has chosen its own road. In the words of the American poet Robert Frost, Kazakhstan took a road "less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

Kazakhstan has managed peace and harmony in a society of more than 100 ethnic groups and 40 religions. The late Pope John Paul II called Kazakhstan "an example of harmony between men and women of different origins and beliefs."

We have pursued a responsible foreign policy, earning respect in the broad world.


June 1, 2005

Book Review:

Globalization and the Poor: Jay R. Mandle

This book represents a new viewpoint of economic globalization. Until now, the debate has been polarized between those attacking globalization (such as the demonstrators at the WTO meetings), and its defenders (mostly in the U.S. business community). Jay Mandle argues that opponents fail to understand that broadly-based benefits for the poor are latent in the economic globalization process. Simultaneously, defenders have insufficiently acknowledged that it creates innocent victims who should be the object of ameliorative policies. Mandle describes effective policies to be adopted at the national and international levels to make globalization fair.

Canadian oil could be headed to China under latest deal – Globe and Mail

Chinese state firm invests in oil sands project with rights to take crude home

CALGARY -- China is expanding its beachhead in Alberta's oil sands, and for the first time has secured the right to ship Canadian oil into its home market.

Sinopec Group has bought a 40-per-cent stake in Synenco Energy Inc.'s planned bitumen-mining operation for $105-million, committing the Chinese state oil firm to a much larger outlay of nearly $2-billion once construction begins on the Northern Lights project.

It is the second time a Chinese state oil company has invested in the oil sands, with the first purchase coming in April when China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) bought a one-sixth share in Calgary-based MEG Energy Corp. for $150-million. However, this latest sortie gives China direct control over its share of the crude produced from Northern Lights, allowing Sinopec to ship oil across the Pacific.

Japanese think modified canola came from Canada – Globe and Mail

Genetically modified canola believed to be from Canada has been found growing in the wild in Japan, which has strict guidelines against GM foods.

Fair Vote Canada AGM

If you support the rapidly growing movement for fair voting and proportional representation, you won’t want to miss the fourth Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Fair Vote Canada on June 10-11 in Ottawa.

The timing couldn’t be better -- just three weeks after the historic referendum in BC, two weeks after the release of more PEI referendum details, days after an expected announcement in New Brunswick, and as a Parliamentary Committee is completing their recommendations on federal electoral reform,

The Fair Vote Canada AGM will take place in Rooms 209-269, West Block, Parliament Buildings, in Ottawa from 7:00pm-9:00pm, Friday, June 10, and 8:30am – 5:00pm, Saturday June 11.

Important Note: due to Parliament Building security regulations, advance registration is required.

The AGM Registration Form is available here:
www.fairvotecanada.org/updir/2005AGMregistration-AGAinscription.pdf.
The form may be mailed or faxed with credit card details.

Questions may be directed to info@fairvotecanada.org or 416-410-4034.

As usual, the Fair Vote Canada AGM will feature many of Canada's leading electoral reform experts and activists, as well as the NDP and Conservative Party democratic reform critics (who also serve on the Parliamentary committee making the electoral reform recommendation). Registrants will be provided ample opportunity to question the speakers and engage in discussions. The conference plenary sessions will cover topics such as:
What Did We Learn from the BC Referendum?Updates from Provincial Reform CampaignsWhat Next for Federal Reform?Reaching Women About Proportional RepresentationWhat Next for Fair Vote Canada?
Among the confirmed speakers:
Doug Bailie, Fair Vote AlbertaEd Broadbent, M.P., NDP Democratic Reform CriticJ’Nan Brown, Every Vote Counts (PEI)Jim Harris, Leader, Green Party of CanadaYves LeBouthiller, President, Law Commission of CanadaGary Levy, Editor, Canadian Parliamentary ReviewJune Macdonald, Chair, Women for Fair VotingDr. Henry Milner, edtior, Steps Toward Making Every Vote CountDr. Dennis Pilon, author, Canada's Democracy Deficit: Is PR the Answer?Scott Reid, M.P., Conservative Party, Democratic Reform Critic
Mercédez Roberge, Présidente, Mouvement pour une démocratie nouvelle (Quebec)
Julian West, Co-Spokesperson, BC-STV Yes Committee

Be sure to register today!


COMPANY SPIN -

CP brings Wind Power to the Prairies

CALGARY, June 1 - Harnessing wind power is fast becoming a popular way for Canadian power generation companies to provide environmentally friendly power solutions. Canadian Pacific Logistics Solutions (CPLS) is playing its part to feed that demand for wind power through a multi-million dollar transportation deal recently signed with Vestas Canadian Wind Technology.

Vestas, a leading provider of wind turbines in North America, is creating an 84-structure wind farm at Hak, Saskatchewan. To build the wind farm, the company must bring the European-manufactured equipment needed for the project to the prairies. That is where CPLS and Canadian Pacific Railway come into play.

Over the next six months, CPLS will facilitate the move of seven trains, each filled with dozens of blades and generators, called nacelles, from the Port of Houston to Hak, Saskatchewan. Traveling over rail, each 67-car train will carry the equipment to build 12 wind turbines.

CPLS Business Development Manager, David Walker says moving the wind turbine equipment required careful planning. "If you've ever seen a wind turbine, you can appreciate the magnitude of the task we are faced with – each blade alone is 125 feet long."

Vestas Transport Co-ordinator, Claus Justesen is pleased with the solutions offered by CPLS. "The service will enable Vestas to service its customers in Canada in a timely and cost efficient manner as well as eliminate numerous obstructions to roadway traffic."

The first train departed the Port of Houston on May 23rd, en route to the Minneapolis/St. Paul CPR interchange. It then traveled northwest, entered Canada at Noyes/Emerson and continued through southern Manitoba before it entered Saskatchewan. The train is scheduled to arrive at Hak, Saskatchewan on Thursday June 2nd.

The wind turbine equipment will be combined with Saskatoon-manufactured towers and erected to create an 84-structure wind farm at Rush Lake, Saskatchewan. Six other trains will follow in three-week intervals until all the equipment has arrived at its destination.

Canadian biotech industry begins moves to profitability

TORONTO, June 1 Canada's biotech industry - lagging behind the maturity of its U.S. counterpart - remains dominated by small, undercapitalized companies. But a report released today by professional services firm, Ernst & Young LLP, indicates the industry has started to focus on bringing products to market in a drive to reach profitability - Canada's public biotech company revenues in 2004 increased by 21% to slightly over $2 billion (all figures in U.S. dollars), while the total losses in Canadian public companies decreased by 30% to just over $400 million.

Ernst & Young's annual global report on the biotechnology industry, Beyond Borders, concludes that product success and strong financials have driven the biotechnology industry's maturation. While the trend has been evident earlier and elsewhere in the global biotech sector, Canadian companies have begun to bring products to market with a special focus on targeted,
personalized medicines. This coming of age of the industry is accompanied by an increasing maturity of the capital markets, whereby investors are more likely to value companies on the basis of their expected return on investment.

Contrary to expectations, in 2004 the number of public and private biotechnology companies in Canada remained stable at 472 compared with 470 in 2003. "The significant consolidation-through mergers and acquisitions-that we predicted last year in the Canadian biotech sector simply didn't materialize," says Rod Budd, a partner with Ernst & Young and the firm's life sciences leader in Canada. "That leaves an industry dominated by very small, poorly
capitalized companies, and one slow to restructure which makes funding even harder to source," he says.

Rather than choosing to consolidate, Canadian biotech companies instead slashed expenditures or sought strategic alliances to continue operating in the absence of significant funding. It was not an approach Canadian capital markets reacted favourably to, the report finds.

The Canadian biotech industry's market capitalization shrank from $13.8 billion in 2003 to $13.7 billion last year, despite an 8% increase in the value of the Canadian dollar in 2004. "In fact, had the 2004 market cap been converted at the December 31, 2003 exchange rate, the difference would have been a drop in market cap values of over a billion dollars less in 2004
than 2003," Mr. Budd says.

"For 2005, we are again predicting an inevitable number of consolidation moves in Canada," says Mr. Budd. "It's not a magic-bullet solution, of course, since in our view, merging two or three weak biotech companies will only serve to create one large, weak biotech company. But, a larger, more mature company's acquisition of a smaller firm's technology can build a much better chance of success. It's clear that in 2004 the industry began to recognize the need to be well capitalized and focused on profitability in order to survive.

It will remain difficult for Canadian biotech companies to obtain funding over the next couple of years. We believe that both restructuring and partnerships or alliances will help Canadian biotech get down to business and prosper," Mr. Budd says.

Here are the highlights among the Canadian industry findings in Ernst & Young's Beyond Borders: Global Biotechnology Report 2005: (All figures are expressed in U.S. dollars.)

- Canadian companies had 15 products enter Phase III trials in 2004;
25 compounds entered Phase II; and several new products were approved
for sale.
- The number of Canadian companies remains virtually unchanged since
2003 at 472-the number of both public companies (82) and private
companies (390) increased by one in 2004.
- Public company biotech revenues increased 21% ($2,091 million), while
net losses dropped 30% ($408 million).
- 56% of Canada's publicly listed biotech companies had less than
2 years of cash on hand in 2004 (vs. 66% in 2003); Just 38% have over
five years of cash (up slightly from the year previous). Private
firms are likely to have less cash than their public counterparts,
further increasing pressure toward consolidation in that sector.
- Venture capitalists invested $271 million in private biotech firms in
2004, the most since 2001, and nearly 35% more than in 2003. The
largest private investment in the Canadian industry took place in Q1
of 2004 with over $60 million invested in Aspreva Pharmaceutical
Corp.
- There were four Canadian biotech IPOs in 2004.
- The industry remains clustered around Montreal, Toronto and
Vancouver.

The snapshot of the Canadian biotech industry appears in the Ernst & Young report, Beyond Borders: Global Biotechnology Report 2005, which provides a comprehensive view of the biotechnology industry around the globe. The report concludes that international competition and rapid growth are driving the global industry's maturation so that the leading firms now rank among the top therapeutic companies in the world, as the industry's tremendous potential
is being realized.


May 31, 2005

Trawler seizure a test of new rules: minister – CTV.ca

ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. — The arrest of a Portuguese trawler captain accused of fishing illegally in Canadian waters will be the first test of a new, international declaration on fisheries management, says Newfoundland's fisheries minister.

Trevor Taylor said he was encouraged that Canadian officials had seized the Santa Mafalda and arrested its master for the alleged violations two years ago.

"Rule breakers who threaten the recovery of a species must be dealt with harshly," Taylor said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Fighting the stigma of mental illness – Toronto Star

Last fall, I received a call from my physician alerting me to an abnormal result on a routine blood test. A biopsy confirmed malignancy and I was quickly admitted for surgery. It was a time of much uncertainty and anxiety, but my recovery was uneventful and characterized by what psychiatrists call "secondary gain" — flowers, fruit baskets, cards, and many visits by friends and family. The worst thing I experienced was being yelled at by a nurse — the noise and laughter generated by my many visitors was proving disruptive and my guests were asked to leave.

While hospitalized, I didn't have to worry about my job, my relationships or my home. My employer emphasized that my health was the Number 1 priority. My family was supportive and caring throughout, and my home was waiting for my eventual return.

Years later, environment treaty still in limbo – Globe and Mail

OTTAWA -- Environment Minister Stéphane Dion says Canada supports the UN treaty on biodiversity, currently the focus of a major conference in Montreal, but ratification is being delayed by technicalities.

Activists say it is embarrassing that Canada hasn't signed the accord it championed at the Earth Summit more than 10 years ago.

Canada wants to make sure the treaty won't cause excessive paperwork for industry, Mr. Dion said outside the House of Commons yesterday.

The Convention on Biodiversity is intended to slow down global extinction of species. About 500 delegates from around the world are working on a side deal, the Cartagena Protocol, to govern trade in genetically engineered (GE) foods.

Dion takes flak for Canada's failure to ratify UN convention on biodiversity – Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) - Environment Minister Stephane Dion says Canada supports the UN treaty on biodiversity, currently the focus of a major conference in Montreal, but ratification is being delayed by technicalities.

Activists say it's embarrassing that Canada hasn't signed the accord it championed at Earth Summit more than 10 years ago. Canada wants to make sure the treaty won't cause excessive paperwork for industry, Dion said outside the House of Commons Monday as the conference got under way.

The Convention on Biodiversity is intended to slow down the global extinction of species. About 500 delegates from around the world are working on a side-deal, the Cartagena Protocol, to govern the trade in genetically engineered (GE) foods.

Dion said Canada's ratification has been delayed by technical problems.

"One after or another they are solved but they are still long regarding the paperwork. It (the treaty) should be affordable and should make sense and we are negotiating.

Tomorrow's newsstand – National Post

I usually avoid making predictions about the future. Instead, I stick to the general proposition that the future will be just like the past, only more expensive.

But I make an exception when it comes to the magazine business -- because I have a rock-solid faith in my industry's future. I believe this because magazines offer readers and advertisers unique attributes. They are both timely and timeless. Before Google, before 24-hour cable news networks, before television, before radio, before the telegraph, before almost every type of information distribution system we know today, there were magazines. It is a mass medium more than two-and-a-half centuries old.

Technology controls our lives – Regina Leader Post

Technology can be both a blessing and a curse, says Dr. Linda Duxbury.

"What seems to make the difference is the person themselves," she said. "Do they control the technology or do they let the technology control them?"

Duxbury, a professor in the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, was speaking to information technology professionals, many of whom were equipped with cellphones and blackberries, at the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) conference Monday in Regina. She shared with them the results of her recently completed study of the effects of Work Extension Technology (WET).

The study found that professionals worked a typical work week of 38 hours in 1991.

May 30, 2005

Objections to herbicide spraying – Edmonton Journal

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Alta. -- Weyerhaeuser's plan to spray herbicide on tracts of newly replanted spruce and pine forests in central Alberta is being questioned by a well-known environmentalist.

The logging company is using the chemical glyphosate, which is used in commercial products such as Roundup, to spray between 700 and 800 hectares of forest in the Rocky Mountain House area.

Officials say the goal is to keep young trees thriving by eliminating competing vegetation.

May 29, 2005

Time running out to halt Devils Lake water project - CNEWS

WINNIPEG (CP) - The countdown clock is ticking ever louder north of the border as Canadian diplomatic efforts to halt a North Dakota water diversion project enter a critical, final phase.
Canada's ambassador to the United States, federal ministers and Manitoba Premier Gary Doer are all feverishly working to ensure the Devils Lake pumps stay quiet on July 1 and don't spew possibly polluted water north into Manitoba's Red River system.

Would-be senators continue reform crusade without King Ralph – Edmonton Journal

Alberta's senators-in-waiting might be forgiven if they feel like they've been fed a bill of goods by Premier Ralph Klein.

What started as a bold statement last December that Klein would accompany the elected foursome to Ottawa, to hold a press conference on Parliament Hill to embarrass Prime Minister Paul Martin into appointing at least one of them to the upper chamber, has morphed into a we'll-provide-the-(coach)-flights' excursion to the eastern provinces, but you're on your own when you get there.

Vital issues languishing in limbo - St. John's The Telegram

The mutterings from living-room sofas this spring were so loud — and so uniform — that you could almost hear them as you walked down the street each time the TV news came on.

“Useless politicians,” was a common phrase, no doubt repeated millions of times as citizens watched a tide of corruption and vitriol flow from their TV sets.

If it wasn’t the ooze coming from the lanced boil that is the Gomery inquiry, it was name-calling by MPs as they accused each other of being racists or criminals or buffoons.

At least the name-calling meant they were in the House, something that became increasingly rare as the Tories and Bloc voted day after day to shut down the Commons early in a protest against the Liberals.

May 28, 2005

Meth labs taint land, water supply, say police - Edmonton Journal

Criminals are polluting the Edmonton area by dumping a witches' brew of chemicals from the manufacture of methamphetamines onto the land and into the water, police say.

The issue was identified in a report released this week by the Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta, an alliance of police agencies that monitors organized and serious crime in the province.

Users and manufacturers of methamphetamine pose some of the biggest problems facing police in Edmonton, the annual report said. It went further, saying poor handling and disposal of toxic chemicals used in "cooking" the highly addictive drug was a byproduct of the crime not well known by the public.

Feds ready to fight dam project: Dion - National Post

The federal government is readying itself for a possible legal fight with the United States over a contentious water diversion project in North Dakota, Environment Minister Stephane Dion said Friday.

Dion said he's not giving up on a diplomatic solution to the cross-border dispute, which has escalated in recent weeks as the July 1 startup date for the Devils Lake outlet draws ever closer.
But he said the federal government "has a strong determination" to halt the project until it is subjected to a thorough environmental assessment by the International Joint Commission, a bilateral organization that resolves cross-border water disputes.

"We may consider legal options, but we not there yet," Dion said during a news conference to announce $1.1 million in annual federal funding to monitor the water quality in the Lake Winnipeg watershed.