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Good news report from Canada

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6 January 2009

28 December was the 28th day of the sixth month of the 3rd year of Canadian national consciousness rising to invincibility, as indicated by the following press reports:

28 December 2008

The Canadian Press - Crisis? What crisis? Most Canadians upbeat heading into 2009: Poll (28 December 2008) A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians remain optimistic as they look ahead to 2009. The Canadian Press-Harris/Decima survey conducted 21 to 24 December found 58 per cent of respondents were upbeat about the coming year. Another 20 per cent said their outlook was neither optimistic nor pessimistic. Most poll respondents were upbeat about their work, with more than two-thirds expressing little or no concern about their job prospects over the next six months. As well, most Canadians don't plan to postpone major purchases, with 70 per cent of respondents saying they were likely to stick to plans to buy big-ticket items. Jeff Walker, senior vice-president of Harris/Decima, said 'on the whole, the deepening pessimism expressed by some financial analysts and media observers does not appear to be shared by the majority of Canadians.'

The Victoria Times Colonist - B.C.'s Campbell sounds like man just getting started (28 December 2008) In a year-end interview with the Victoria Times Colonist, BC Premier Gordon Campbell sounded more like a man who's just getting started than one closing in on a quarter-century in public life. 'Why am I continuing to do it?' he said. 'I think British Columbia is about to break through into a whole new world . . . I think we're helping to shape Canada now in a way that we haven't been before.' High on Campbell's to-do list is pushing ahead with his climate action plan. 'I actually think that the stuff that we're doing—as you show how the economy is reinvigorated and revitalized by improving the environment as opposed to the old model—is a very exciting thing.'

He also remains committed to the government's New Relationship with First Nations. Campbell said that while much remains to be done, it's important to acknowledge everything that has happened since BC signed a transformative change accord with First Nations three years ago. 'I think it is phenomenal how much of that we have actually done,' he said, citing health and education strategies, the New Relationship Trust and revenue-sharing agreements. 'There's not a Canadian that can look at what's taking place in some of those First Nations communities and see the statistics . . . and say: 'I'm happy with that.' We're not happy with it and we're going to try to do the best we can to try and overcome it.' Campbell, whose first two grandchildren arrived this year, said he's more committed than ever to achieving his goals. 'For me I can't think of anything more important than being able to say to my grandkids when they're 30, 'I did everything I could to make sure the world was as good as it could be for when you were 30.'

The Globe and Mail on harmony rules between Ontario and Toronto governments (27 December 2008) Toronto city hall refers to itself as 'Canada's sixth-largest government.' The emergence of a genuinely strong mayor is the canny achievement of 2008. Mayor David Miller's neatest trick of the year was selling off Toronto Hydro's emerging telecom business and diverting the city's share of the proceeds—C$75-million—into the repair of neglected public housing. More recently, Miller cancelled a planned hike in the fees charged to property developers. And non-residential development now qualifies for generous tax breaks, introduced earlier this year. With Build Toronto, which the mayor created on the recommendation of an elite task force, he assumed command of a formidable corporation ideally constituted to keep the cranes swinging through a downturn. A year ago, smart talk belittled Miller's Transit City scheme to network the inner suburbs with new light-rail transit lines. Today, it is exactly what everybody wants: a useful, labour-intensive but relatively affordable infrastructure project all ready to go. And what was once rivalry between Queen's Park and city hall is now the smoothest co-operation. Harmony rules for now.

The Saskatoon StarPhoenix - Murder rate plummets in Saskatoon (27 December 2008) The murder rate dropped dramatically in Saskatoon in 2008. As the year draws to a close, the city that was dubbed Canada's murder capital for 2007 has recorded only two or three homicides so far this year. 'This certainly has been one of the lowest rates we've had in many years . . . ,' Saskatoon police Chief Clive Weighill said. There were nine recorded homicides in 2007 in Saskatoon. The worst year was 2006, when Saskatoon registered 10 homicides.

The Toronto Star - Solar's future brighter than ever (22 December 2008) Ontario refunds the provincial sales tax on solar photovoltaic, or PV, equipment and under its standard offer programme will pay 42 cents per kilowatt-hour if you want to feed your home-generated solar power into the grid. Still, it would typically take more than 20 years for a C$20,000 two-kilowatt system to pay for itself. Over the next two years, however, things could become quite interesting. There are high hopes that the Ministry of Energy will soon expand province-wide a zero-interest solar loan programme currently offered in Peel Region. Meanwhile, research firm New Energy Finance predicts the price of silicon-based solar modules could fall 35 per cent by the end of 2009. It's a significant development, given that modules can represent up to half the total cost of a fully installed solar PV system. Hiring someone to mount a conventional solar PV system on a residential rooftop can represent 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the cost of the overall system.

MSR Innovations of Burnaby, BC has designed a 60 cm by 60 cm polymer tile that can replace, without added cost, most shingle and shake products as a roofing material. The tiles slide into special tracks and easily snap together. The tiles are hollow and, in the clear tiles, the homeowner has the option of putting an equally sized solar PV panel inside the back. The benefit of this approach is clear: If you have to build a roof or redo a roof anyway, then you can use MSR's tiles for pretty much the same cost. The only added cost is the solar cells; the homeowner doesn't have to pay for any additional labour. The builder of an entire subdivision might want to choose MSR's tiles as the roofing material for all the homes, in effect 'enabling' every home for solar PV. And unlike existing solar installations, where the panels are added to an existing roof, MSR's PV tiles blend in with the rest of the roof.

The Toronto Star - Painting a picture of harmony (27 December 2008) Tucked into a forest of highrise apartments, said to be the most densely populated corner of Canada, Rose Avenue Public School in Toronto seems almost hidden, despite the buzz of its 700 students. But the century-old school has created an ad, of sorts, to tell the world how children from around the world get along here in the inner-city neighbourhood of St James Town. With help from artist Marsha Stonehouse, students in Grades 4, 5 and 6 have painted a 12-panel mural to be mounted across three portables, celebrating the differences—and harmony—among them.

'You see pictures of kids playing together? That shows you how we all get along,' says Iman Moallim, 11, a Grade 6 student. Classmate Prasad Srikugathasan, who was born in Sri Lanka, points out that 'we come from countries all over Africa, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal—places all over the world. 'For me, it seems everyone at this school is treated with respect; is treated the same—fairly.'

For the mural, Stonehouse brainstormed with students about what St James Town means to them, to decide what to depict on the various panels. One scene of Indian dancers celebrates students of South Asian heritage; another depicts a Chinese lantern festival. There is a scene of the popular new school garden, where students tended plants, such as aloe and basil, which students made into pesto. The dove of peace peeks out from several panels. A panel promoting social justice presents the word 'joy' in a host of languages.

Press Trust of India - Indo-Canadian ties witness upswing in 2008 (27 December 2008) Canada's ties with India witnessed an all-round improvement in 2008. Both the countries intensified top level contacts and took steps for comprehensive free trade agreements that would go a long way in strengthening bilateral relations. Ten new Canada-India Science and Technology joint initiatives were launched when Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Science and Technology, visited Canada in July. Areas of cooperation include health research, sustainable and alternate energy, and environmental technologies, information and communications technology, and earth sciences. Canada opened two new trade offices in Hyderabad, the gateway to southern India's Information-Communications Technology hub, and Kolkata, the main business, commercial, financial and transportation centre of eastern India.

There was an increasing realization at the highest level that Canada simply cannot afford to miss out on India's phenomenal economic growth. To boost freer flow of goods and the people, the country took immigration reforms to attract more talents from India. Of note, the C$40 million Swaminarayan temple, a pride of the Indo-Canadian Hindu community, was opened in Toronto in July with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in attendance. It was the first Hindu temple in Canada to be built according to ancient Vedic principles.

These are a few of the news reports reflecting Canada's rising invincibility from the growing Yogic Flying groups across Canada and the Invincible America Assembly at Maharishi University of Management and Maharishi Vedic City, USA.

For further information on creating invincibility for your nation, please visit: www.globalgoodnews.com/invincibility.

© Copyright 2008 Global Country of World Peace

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