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Good news report from Canada

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10 April 2008

15 March was the 15th day of the ninth month of the 2nd year of Canadian national consciousness rising to invincibility, as indicated by the following press reports:

15 March 2008

CanWest News Service on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through green building practices (14 March 2008) A report from the Montreal-based Commission for Environmental Co-operation set up by Canada, the United States, and Mexico to address environmental issues, says 'enormous' emission reductions are within easy reach of the building sector. Jonathan Westeinde, chair of the commission's international advisory group, is managing partner of the Windmill Development Group in Ottawa, which has built some of Canada's greenest buildings. The commission sees reducing energy use in residential and commercial buildings as the 'biggest, easiest' way to curb the continent's greenhouse gas emissions.

From a Toronto Star report on this: North American buildings release more than 2,200 megatons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide annually, some 35 per cent of the continent's total. Energy consumption and emissions could be cut by one-third with reasonable green measures in new construction and retrofits, the report says. By 2030, the industry could cut greenhouse emissions from buildings by about 1,700 million tonnes, equal to the current total from transportation in the United States and more than double Canada's emissions this year.

From a Vancouver Sun report on this: By taking a best-practices approach that uses building techniques and materials that are already available and affordable—with a 10-year pay-back period or less—emissions in commercial buildings could be reduced to 1990 levels by 2030. And emissions in residential buildings would be well below 1990 levels in the same time.

From a CBC News report on this: Green-building features can include high-tech practices such as geothermal heating, photovoltaic cell arrays, solar chimneys, and on-site cleaning and reuse of wastewater, as well as low-tech solutions such as increased use of fresh air and natural light.

The Toronto Star - Home buyers want builders to go green, survey finds (15 March 2008) When it comes to energy efficiency, home buyers want builders to start talking it up more. That's the key finding of a recent J.D. Power & Associates survey. According to the survey of more than 2,000 recent home buyers in the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa, virtually all buyers (98 per cent) fully expect builders to offer energy-efficient features, yet only four of 10 builders are talking about energy efficiency with their buyers. If builders need any other incentive to go green, one compelling fact is that 73 per cent of the survey respondents said energy efficiency is important to them; or that nine out of ten say they will buy an energy-efficient home next time. Environmental protection, reduced monthly operating expenses, and higher resale value remain the key motivating factors for buyers to invest in energy efficiency.

Reuters Canada on Bank of Canada Governor says strong economy shields Canada (15 March 2008) Canada's strong economy will help shield it from a slowdown elsewhere, the head of the Bank of Canada said in an interview. Speaking on CBC Television, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said Canadian fundamentals remained strong, with a strong labour market, healthy corporate and household balance sheets, and well-capitalized banks.

Statistics Canada - National balance sheet accounts (14 March 2008) National net worth is national wealth less net foreign liabilities. National wealth is the sum of non-financial assets in all sectors of the economy. National net worth reached C$5.5 trillion by the end of the fourth quarter of 2007, or C$165,400 per capita. National net worth grew by C$77 billion in the quarter, an increase of 1.4% over the previous quarter, a somewhat faster pace than the 1.0% in the previous quarter. Sustained saving led by both corporations and government, alongside price gains for non-financial assets, largely accounted for the pick-up in the growth of national net worth. National wealth (economy-wide non-financial assets) rose 1.3%. . . . National net worth expanded 7.0% in 2007. . . . National wealth grew by 8.0%, up from 7.6% in 2006. Residential real estate assets remained the main factor in the expansion of national wealth, accounting for over 60% of the increase.

The Canadian Press - Commons passes motion against death penalty (14 March 2008) An overwhelming majority of Conservatives supported a Liberal motion on the death penalty this week. The motion, from Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, called on the House of Commons to declare that the government 'should stand consistently against the death penalty, as a matter of principle, both in Canada and around the world.' The motion drew support from 96 Conservative MPs, including senior cabinet ministers, to easily pass by a vote of 255-17. Cotler's motion is an expression of the opinions of MPs, and has no bearing on government actions. 'Issues of conscience, moral issues, are ones that we've always felt should be a free vote,' Conservative MP Tom Lukiwski, who supported the motion, said. 'I believe in the sanctity of human life and therefore I believe it is probably not appropriate to endorse a death penalty because I feel so strongly about human life.'

Reuters Canada - Canada welcomes record number of newcomers (14 March 2008) Canada welcomed a record number of temporary and permanent residents last year. The surge was fuelled by a 12 per cent increase in temporary foreign workers coming to help counter a growing labour shortage, caused by aging baby boomers leaving the workforce and a growing economy. Last year, Canada admitted 429,649 permanent residents, temporary foreign workers, and foreign students. 'That's the highest ever for those three categories,' said Doug Kellam, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada. While official details of where they came from won't be released until June, trends are likely to follow those from 2006. Kellam said in 2006, most permanent residents came to Canada from China and India, while most temporary foreign workers arrived from the United States and Mexico. Foreign students, meanwhile, moved from Korea and China. In 2007, the number of foreign students increased by 4.6 per cent and more than 251,000 permanent resident visas were issued. The government says that by 2012 immigration is expected to account for all net growth of the labour force.

The Globe and Mail - SFU seeks to double number of native students (15 March 2008) British Columbia's Simon Fraser University is beginning to implement a bold new plan for aboriginal education in the hope of recruiting a larger native student population and better fostering their academic success. Aiding the launch is a one-time C$100,000 community engagement grant from the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, which will help fund an aboriginal education handbook and workshops beginning this week. The school will also create an Office of First Nations boasting three new full-time staff members, and hire more native faculty members. The plan aims to double Simon Fraser's native student population within three years, currently reported at 441. Academic vice-president John Waterhouse said the idea for the strategy was born through his conversations with the university's First Nations Advisory Council. Its founding principle is that students should have access to and support within all programmes offered by the university. The university hopes to have at least one aboriginal faculty member in each faculty within five years. The 10 currently employed are mostly in the faculties of education, arts, and social sciences. Mr Waterhouse said the general posture of various governments within Canada toward reconciliation with native communities has kept the issue in the public eye, but he thinks the school's new plan, which they call 'pioneering', is ahead of the curve.

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 Good News(sm) Service

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