Salmonella contamination - Peanut products in Canada

From the CFIA website today. The list of products is extensive, with some unexpected additions. Take a look.

"As a result of the ongoing investigation in the United States, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), working in close collaboration with the United States Food and Drug Administration, has identified potentially affected foods present in Canada.
Canadians are urged to check the complete list of products in Canada that contain peanut butter and / or peanut paste recalled recently in the U.S. by Peanut Corporation of America. This list will be updated as additional products distributed in Canada are identified."

Government publications - NEW at Oakville Public Library

Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario (Goudge Report)
Welfare Incomes 2006/7

From Town of Oakville
State of the Environment
.Indicators for the Oakville Environmental Strategic Plan
Let's go green together

Buying your first home in Canada: What Newcomers Need to Know (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation)
Community Lens (Community Development Halton)

Throne Speech and Budget

We can't compete with last week's events in the U.S. government but there is a lot happening this week in the Canadian Parliament. The Governor General opens the 2nd Session of the 40th Parliament today with the Speech from the Throne. The text of the Throne Speech will be available in the Senate and House of Commons Debates for January 26, 2009. The Debates will be posted on the Parliament of Canada web site on January 27 and can be found under Chamber Business.
Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty will table the 2009 budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday, January 27, 2009, at approximately 4:00 p.m.
Click ParlVU to view live webcasts.

e-Laws official status

There has been a recent change regarding the Government of Ontario's e-Laws. As of Nov 30, 2008, laws printed from the e-Laws website are now considered the official version and can be used in court. See the e-Laws website "What is considered to be an official copy of a source law or consolidated law?" for more information. However, for federal legislation, the Consolidated acts and regulations on the Department of Justice website still do not have official sanction. As indicated on the website, they are "provided to the public for convenience and readability only".

Savings accounts: choosing the right savings account for your needs

From the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the Savings Report is a 30-page document with information to help the consumer get the best savings account. The report includes very useful tables for anyone wishing to shop around: Table 1 compares accounts from different financial institutions, under the headings Interest, features available, account accessibility, and record keeping options. Table 2 compares accounts by service fees charged - In-branch, ATM, Internet.

Tips for winter driving in Ontario

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has some good tips if you are driving in snowy or icy conditions. Learn what to do if you encounter a snow plow, why you should not pass it on the right, what you should carry in your car as a survival kit, and generally how to be road-ready and weather-wise.

Community Lens - Halton

Community Development Halton produces an online publication that is full of great facts and figures about Halton. Community Lens comes out several times per month and is very short (about 2 pages). Examples of topics covered in issues so far: Population, Children at home, Senior Population, Families and Family Structure, Households and Household Size, Dwelling Units and Tenure, Mobility, Migration, Immigrants, Non-Official languages, Visible Minorities, Aboriginal identity Population, Labour Force, Commuting Patterns, Postsecondary Education. Community Lens focuses on results from the 2006 Census, and lives up to its name by providing a lens on our community.

Accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities

AccessOn is a great place to look for information on the Ontario government's proposed accessibility standard. This standard, now under public review, outlines how businesses and organizations may be required to provide accessible public information in various formats such as online, print, verbal and digital. AccessON provides a quick summary and links to other information, including a link for submitting comments. Click here for a summary of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005) or here for a guide to the Act.

Canadian Social Trends

The Winter 2008 issue of Canadian Social Trends has just been issued. Canadian Social Trends is published by Statistics Canada and discusses the social, economic, and demographic changes affecting the lives of Canadians. This issue features some really good articles:
Inuit in Canada: Selected findings of the 2006 census,
Selected findings of the aboriginal children's survey 2006,
plus several articles about eldercare and retirement.
Clicking on the link above will bring you directly to these articles.
(N.B. We have the print copy of this periodical in Central Library)

Ontario adoption records

If you were involved in an adoption in Ontario go to AdoptionInfo and you can find information about an important change to your information and privacy rights. Effective June 1, 2009, Ontario adoption records will be opened, which means adopted adults and birth parents will be given access to identifying information from birth records and adoption orders. If the adoption order was made before September 1, 2008, a discolsure veto can be filed to prevent the release of information. This veto has to be filed before June 1, 2009.

New government publications at Oakville Public LIbrary

Some new government publications have just arrived:

Ontario Prospects 2008: Ontario's Guide to Career Planning

Development of a Regional Transportation Plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area. Papers 1 and 2.

Supporting English Language Learners with Limited Prior Schooling: A Practical Guide for Ontario Educators Grades 3 to 12

National Apprenticeship Survey: Ontario Overview Report 2007

Canada's Engagement in Afghanistan: Setting a course to 2011

Official Historyof the Canadian Army in the Second World War

Changing Patterns in Canadian Homeownership and Shelter costs, 2006 Census

Healthy Canadians Resource

Physical & mental health & safety issues and initiatives are brought all together here at Healthy Canadians by the Government of Canada where you will find resources for expectant mothers, bunk bed safety, food recalls, nutritional information, and much more.

Yearbook of the United Nations

The Yearbook of the United Nations , the principal reference work on the United Nations and their various activities, has been digitized for the years from 1946 to 2005. Browse by year or search by keyword.
Sections in the Yearbooks include: Political & Security questions, Human Rights, Economic & Social questions, Legal questions, Institutional, Administrative and budgetary questions, Intergovernmental organizations related to the UN.

Caregivers in Canada from GovInfo

A new group is emerging in Canadian society - known as the Sandwich Generation These are individuals caught between the often conflicting demands of caring for children and caring for seniors.
VON Canada (Victorian Order of Nurses) has launched a groundbreaking new tool for Canada’s nearly three million caregivers: “Caregiver Connect…from Caring to Sharing". It provides access to information and resources that caregivers need to care for themselves, to provide better quality care to their family members and/or friends, and to connect and share with other caregivers through a virtual discussion forum. From the website there are many links to government programs and information.

Federal Election : promises affecting families

A guide to election promises regarding families from the Ottawa Citizen

Canada Votes Papers

Canada Votes Papers 2008 is a tool to help spark dialogue about social issues in Canada. A collaborative effort between SPARC BC, Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, Community Development Halton, Human Development Council St. John and Canadian Council on Social Development, it provides sample questions on social issues affecting communities that you can ask your candidates - issues such as crime, poverty reduction, accessibility, public safety.

Blocking telemarketers

As a direct result of legislation passed in 2006, CRTC today announced the "National Do Not Call List". This gives consumers a choice whether to receive unsolicited marketing calls. Registering your telephone number with the list (by phone 1-866-580-3625 or on the Internet) will reduce most telemarketing calls, with some exceptions. Canadian registered charities, political parties, and candidates are still allowed to call for donations. Newspapers may also call you to sell you a subscription. If you have done business with a company in the last 18 months or inquired about a product or service in the last 6 months the company is considered to have a relationship with you and is allowed to call you. Telemarketers are required by law to subscribe to the National DNCL and to download updates to the List. It is their responsibility to ensure telephone numbers on the National DNCL are not called.

Second Career

The Ontario Government has announced their assistance in helping Ontario residents find a Second Career for those recently laid-off or unemployed to find long-term training for high-demand jobs in their communities. Please follow this link for more information.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/tcu/secondcareer/

The General Election, October 14, 2008

Most questions you have about the upcoming election can be answered at the Elections Canada website. From here you can find a list of MPs (alphabetical, by postal code, by riding), view a list of registered political parties and their financial reports, and get answers to questions about registering to vote, about identification required for voting (available in 27 languages as well as English), about getting time off work for voting, about employment during the election. The list is extensive - it even includes an answer to the question "Is someone allowed to eat a ballot?"
Released today is the 2006 Census FED Finder from Statistics Canada, providing statistical information about each federal riding (enter postal code) such as population, age, income and education.
For the individual parties' platforms, here are the links for :
Bloc Quebecois - Electoral platform
Conservative Party of Canada - Key issues
Green Party of Canada - Policy
Liberal Party of Canada - Vision
National Democratic Party of Canada - Plan

New Ontario portal for legal information

From the Government of Ontario, a new portal for legal information. Contains a wealth of information on subjects such as finding a lawyer, tickets and fines, lawsuits, family law, human rights, wills and estates. This access to the legal system is in line with the existing access to Services through Service Ontario and to employment and training through Employment Ontario
In addition, there is toll-free telephone access to the same information in 173 languages at 1-866-252-0104.