General Rick Hillier Retires

General Rick Hillier announced his retirement yesterday. Succession plans are already underway. General Hillier will be leaving behind a strong legacy. Read more at CBC by clicking here.

Town of Oakville Pesticides Ban - GovInfo

As gardening season approaches, you may be getting enquiries soon about the pesticide by-law that came into force on 1 January/08 for the Town of Oakville. Go to the Town's website and under the section Residents and Environment, you'll find lots of information on the by-law, and links to lists of natural insecticides and permitted product brands available in stores, as well as the document Oakville's Guide to Gardening Naturally which contains a list of native plants for the Halton Region as well as tips for fertilizers to use and how to care for your lawn without chemicals.

Great new government publications - GovInfo

Some great new government publications have just arrived. Check them out at the Oakville Public Library catalogue:

The Economics of Climate Change (also known as the Stern Review)
The Book Retail Sector in Canada
Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan (also known as the Manley Report)
State of the Great Lakes 2007
2008 Ontario Municipal Directory
National Health Expenditure Trends 1975-2007
The Federal Budget, February 2008
Regulation of Agricultural Biotechnology in Canada

Canada Year Book Historical Collection - GovInfo

Canada Year Book Historical Collection was launched today by Statistics Canada. This digital collection, available free of charge from the Statistics Canada website, contains a wealth of historical data covering the first century of Canadian history following Confederation in 1867, through to 1967, with historical text, tables, charts and maps. It's a great site to show students and teachers, because it includes lots of learning resources, including lesson plans and worksheets, but it's also really good for historical statistics. To get an idea of the coverage, look at it under the heading “Browse by Topic” and follow the links , e.g. Photos and Lesson Plans. Topics there include The Great Depression, Canada at War, Ethnocultural Diversity and lots more.