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http://www.icisource.ca/commercial_real_estate_news/ When NIMBYism is warranted, and when it isn’t Of course, the question is whether a proposed development, infill project or new infrastructure build really does pose a risk to these cherished things. Developers and urban planners must always be cognizant of the fact that there is a segment of the population, a fringe element, who will object to just about anything “new” as a matter of principle. I’ve been to many open houses and public consultations for one proposed project or another over the years. There is almost always that contingent of dogged objectors who invariably fixate on the same things: Parking – Will there be enough if the development increases the population density of the neighbourhood or draws more shoppers/workers from elsewhere? Traffic – Will streets become unsafe and congested due to more cars on the road? Transit – Will this mean more busses on the road, increasing the safety hazard on residential streets, or conversely will there be a need for more? Shadowing – is the new build going to leave parts of the neighbourhood stuck in the shade of a skyscraper? These are all legitimate concerns, depending on the nature of the project in question. They are also easy targets for the activist obstructionist. Full and honest disclosure is the best defence Why? Because I see, time and again, some developers and urban planners who should know better fail to be prepared for objections rooted on any of these points. With any new development or infrastructure project, there has to be, as a simple matter of sound public policy, studies that examine and seek to mitigate impacts and effects related to parking, traffic, shadowing, transit and other considerations. It therefore only makes sense, during a public consult or open house, to address the most likely opposition head on by presenting the findings and recommendations of these studies up front in a clear and obvious manner. But too often, this isn’t done. I’ve was at an open house a few years ago where, when asked about traffic impact, the developer said there wouldn’t be any. Excuse me? If your project adds even one car to the street, there’s an impact. I expect he meant there would be only minimal impact, but that’s not what he said. The obstructionists had a field day with that – another greedy developer, trying to pull the wool over the eyes of honest residents. This is a marketing exercise – treat it like one This is ultimately a marketing exercise – you have to sell residents on the value and need of the development. Take another example – a retirement residence. With an aging population, we are obviously going to need more assisted living facilities in the years to come. But in this case, the developer, speaking to an audience full of grey hairs, didn’t even make the point that the new residence would give people a quality assisted-living option, without having to leave their community, when they were no longer able to live on their own. I also hear people who object to infill projects because they think their tax dollars have paid for infrastructure that a developer is now going to take advantage of – they think the developer is somehow getting a free ride. And yet, that developer must pay development charges to the city to proceed with construction. The new build will also pay its full utility costs and property taxes like the rest of the street. City hall gets more revenue for infrastructure that has already been paid for, and these additional development charges fund municipal projects throughout the city. Another point, often overlooked – when you take an underperforming property and redevelop it, its assessed value goes up, and its tax bill goes up. The local assessment base has just grown. City hall isn’t in the business of making a profit, just collecting enough property tax to cover the bills. The more properties there are in your neighbourhood, the further that tax burden is spread. In other words, that infill project will give everyone else a marginal reduction on their tax bill. It likely isn’t much, but still, it’s something. Developers must use the facts to defuse criticism Bottom line, development is necessary and good most of the time. If we didn’t have good regulated development, we would be living in horrid medieval conditions. Over the last century and a bit, ever growing regulation have given us safer communities, with more reliable utilities and key services such as policing and fire. Yes, there are examples of bad development, but if we had none, as some people seem to want, no one would have a decent place to live. It just astonishes me that developers and urban planners don’t make better use of the facts available to them to defuse criticism. It’s so easy to do it in the right way. Proper preparation for new development public information sessions is the proponent’s one opportunity to tell their story, and should not be wasted by failing to get the facts out and explaining why a project is a good idea. To discuss this or any other valuation topic in the context of your property, please contact me at [email protected] I am also interested in your feedback and suggestions for future articles. The post Why do public planning projects go off the rails? appeared first on Real Estate News Exchange (RENX). sent via Tapatalk -
Rien à craindre de l'héroïne Le Devoir Pauline Gravel Édition du mercredi 18 février 2009 Mots clés : Clinique expérimentale NAOMI, Centre supervisé, Héroïne, Drogue, Colombie-Britannique (Province), Québec (province) L'installation d'un centre supervisé de distribution et d'injection de drogue serait sans effet pour les résidants du quartier Non seulement la clinique expérimentale NAOMI offrant de l'héroïne sous contrôle médical a-t-elle induit des effets positifs sur la clientèle qu'elle visait, mais en plus elle n'a eu aucun impact négatif sur le voisinage, révèle une étude connexe qui devrait convaincre le gouvernement des bienfaits d'une telle approche qu'ont déjà adoptée plusieurs pays européens. Dans le cadre du projet de recherche NAOMI (North American Medication Initiative), une clinique s'adressant aux toxicomanes réfractaires aux traitements plus traditionnels à la méthadone a été ouverte sur le Plateau Mont-Royal entre les rues Prince-Arthur et Saint-Urbain en 2005. Cette clinique offrait trois fois par jour, sept jours sur sept, de l'héroïne pharmaceutique aux héroïnomanes qui s'injectaient leur drogue sous la supervision d'infirmières. Les résultats de l'étude d'une durée de 12 mois, dirigée par la Dre Suzanne Brissette, chef du service de médecine des toxicomanies du CHUM, avaient révélé les effets positifs de cette clinique sur les bénéficiaires, les toxicomanes eux-mêmes. Une autre étude, conduite par Serge Brochu, de l'École de criminologie de l'Université de Montréal, avait été effectuée en parallèle dans le but de savoir si la présence d'une telle clinique pouvait induire une certaine détérioration du quartier, notamment en matière de sécurité et de salubrité des lieux. Les résultats de cette seconde étude, intitulée NAOMI-Community Impact, qui ont été rendus publics hier, ont révélé que la clinique n'a induit aucune augmentation de la criminalité (violence envers autrui et contre la propriété, trafic illicite de drogues), des incivilités, des comportements déviants et de l'insécurité que pouvaient ressentir les habitants du quartier. Elle n'a également eu aucun effet négatif sur la quantité de débris de seringue dans le voisinage. «En fait, nous avons même relevé une réduction du nombre de débris», a précisé le criminologue. À Vancouver, où le projet NAOMI a aussi été mené, aucun impact négatif n'a été observé sur la communauté, comme à Montréal, et ce, même si la population d'héroïnomanes y est plus nombreuse. Le projet étant terminé, la clinique est fermée. Depuis deux ans, la Dre Brissette insiste auprès du ministère de la Santé pour qu'une clinique soit maintenue ouverte à Montréal. Ses demandes sont demeurées jusqu'à maintenant sans réponse. «Pour les décideurs, l'impact sur la communauté est une variable très importante. Or notre étude indique qu'il n'y a pas eu d'impact négatif sur la communauté. On espère qu'elle les convaincra», lance-t-elle avant de souligner que plusieurs pays européens, dont la Suisse et les Pays-Bas, ont déjà implanté sur leur territoire de telles cliniques. En Grande-Bretagne, une telle approche est pratiquée depuis longtemps dans les cabinets de médecins. En Allemagne et en Espagne, des programmes similaires sont en voie d'être approuvés. http://www.ledevoir.com/2009/02/18/234488.html (18/2/2009 10H33)
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A une émission de Radio-Canada, on parlait de véhicules élecltriques, dont des autobus entièrement électriques qui arrêteront à des bornes, le long de leur parcours, pour se recharger pendant 1 minute. L'expert disait que la technologie existe déjà, et que les trolley bus (et tramways j'imagine) étaient des technologies dépassées. On disait aussi que le Québec est particulièrement bien placé au niveau du moteur-roue, et des technologies de batteries, pour profiter de la nouvelle vague verte. Voici un exemple: Hybrid-Electric Design ZERO emissions (with hydrogen fuel-cell or battery-electric options) Reduce fuel costs by greater than 90% Fewer parts to maintain with all-electric drivetrain Ultra-quiet drive system reduces noise pollution 90% regenerative braking recapture Unique All-Composite Body Low floor minimizes boarding time and increases passenger safety Impact resistant composite body increases vehicle safety and reduces maintenance Low center of gravity reduces chance for roll over Light weight body reduces impact on streets Modern appearance ADA-friendly design enables all passengers to ride the bus No corrosion - composite body and stainless steel subframe Other Features Safety front door prevents passengers from walking directly in front of the bus Large windshield for increased visibility Driver footwell glass for increased safety Incremental cost paid for by fuel savings http://www.proterraonline.com/transit.asp
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La baisse continue des cours du pétrole depuis la mi-juillet tire l'indice boursier canadien vers le bas. Pendant ce temps, les pays membres de l'OPEP annoncent une réduction de la production pétrolière. Pour en lire plus... -
Au-delà des courbes de la Bourse, la crise financière a un impact réel sur les entreprises québécoises. Si un géant comme SNC-Lavalin estime pouvoir traverser sereinement la tempête, ce n'est pas le cas de plusieurs PME qui doivent trouver des fonds pour assurer leur survie. Pour en lire plus...
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(Courtesy of RLSLOG) Its pretty interesting to see what happened (could of happened).
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Au niveau des impôts, quelle est la difference entre la vente d'un immeuble qui est considérée comme un gain en capitale ou comme un profit d'entreprise?
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MONTREAL — Add “promoter of international soccer matches” to the dossier of the Montreal Impact. The Impact has officially landed Montreal France’s Champions Trophy, a one-game final between the winners of the French Championship and French Cup to be held on July 25 at Olympic Stadium. It will be the first time the Champions Trophy has been held outside France, and past winners include Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes and Monaco. “The Impact is the promoter,” Impact vice-president Richard Legendre said. “As (Impact president) Joey Saputo has said, we think it’s the right timing to bring international soccer to Montreal. We think there’s a market for that and we’re at a better place to organize it. “It’s in our mission to promote and develop soccer here, and this is a very good way to do so. We went after it. We worked on it, and it’s up to us to promote it. Hopefully we can also bring new sources of revenue. There are costs, but we think the revenue will be higher than the cost.” The Champions Trophy (officially Le Trophee des Champions) brings together the winner of France’s Ligue 1, currently being contested between Bordeaux and Marseille, and the winner of the French Cup, which is competed for by all divisions. Ligue 2’s Guingamp won the French Cup on May 9, beating Rennes 2-1 on a pair of goals from Brazilian striker Eduardo in front of 80,056 spectators at le Stade de France. Guingamp, the first Ligue 2 team to win the tournament-format French Cup in 50 years, will face either Bordeaux or Marseille in Montreal. Bordeaux, which Thursday announced it had signed Yoann Gourcuff to a four-year contract, ending the possibility of the French international playmaker going to AC Milan, needs only one point against Caen Saturday night to secure the Ligue 1 crown. A record crowd of 55,571 was at Olympic Stadium last February to watch the Impact play a CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final game against Mexican first-division club Santos Laguna. While it remains to be seen if two visiting French teams can attract a similar crowd in Montreal, Legendre is confident the interest will be there. “We think it’s an important event with a lot of stature, certainly from the interest we’ve received so far. The fans of international soccer, and of course the fans of French soccer, I think will be very excited to attend,’’ Legendre said. “We haven’t set any specific objective in terms of numbers, but think that such an event should draw 30,000-plus. That’s why we’re holding it at Olympic Stadium.” Montreal Gazette
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Rénovation de la caserne Létourneux, investissement de 10$M. -
Water plan for St. Lawrence unpredictable, critics charge Joint commission hearings. River levels might have to be artificially elevated, environmental coalition fears CHRISTOPHER MAUGHAN, The Gazette Published: 7 hours ago The environmental and economic impact of a proposed plan to change how water flows into the St. Lawrence River is potentially disastrous and in many ways unpredictable, critics said last night. The International Joint Commission - which manages how much water passes into the river from Lake Ontario - held public hearings in Montreal last night to discuss concerns about their proposal to allow water levels to rise and fall more sharply than they now do. The IJC is an independent, bi-governmental organization that manages the Great Lakes. It controls water flow to Quebec via the Moses-Saunders dam, which runs across Lake Ontario from Cornwall, Ont., to Massena, N.Y. Their commissioners have argued that more drastic changes in water levels would allow for the establishment of more diverse flora and fauna along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence. But at the hearings last night, critics seemed far from convinced that the proposal would result in a net environmental gain. "We haven't put enough effort into forecasting the different climate change scenarios," said Marc Hudon, a director at Nature Québec, an environmental coalition that represents 100 smaller groups. Hudon worried that the IJC plan would allow water levels on the St. Lawrence to drop so low that Quebecers would be forced to artificially elevate the water, which could cause major environmental problems. "If you have less water, you concentrate the contaminants in it," said Hudon, adding that even if the issue were addressed, the St. Lawrence would still suffer. "We would have to keep the levels up artificially by slowing the water down. That makes the water hot. When the water's hot, fish flip upside down - they can't survive." That's why Hudon is dead-set against the IJC's proposal, which is known as Plan 2007. A slightly modified proposal that takes wetland restoration into account shows promise, he said, but is too short on details to be adopted now. "We like the idea, but we don't want to go into it blind." Montreal executive committee member Alan DeSousa echoed Hudon's concerns about a lack of specifics. "We want to make sure we know what we're getting into and at this point we're not entirely sure we can say that," he told members of the IJC. "There remain many questions as to the potential impact of the various plans, especially downstream." DeSousa wondered whether the IJC had environmental contingency plans in place to deal with any serious environmental impact. "We don't have any information at this time as to the scope of the (IJC's) mitigation measures," he said. Marine transportation officials also expressed concerns, worrying about the potential impact on the economy. "Just a 10-per-cent loss of the (volume of) the seaway would result in 28 more days a year the seaway would have to be closed," said Kirk Jones, director of transportation services at Canada Steamship Lines. "Ten percent or 28 days could add up to $250 million in losses." Source http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=a37baa36-107d-4bc0-a482-78c6e52c158b -
Le déclin des prix du pétrole aura un impact sur l'économie du Canada, pour le meilleur et pour le pire, selon un analyste. Pour en lire plus...
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Un prix prestigieux pour deux édifices montréalais 10 juillet 2008 - 06h00 La Presse Jean-François Cloutier L'édifice de la Caisse de dépôt à Montréal a été récompensé pour sa politique environnementale et son impact positif dans la communauté. Photo: Archives La Presse L'édifice de la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec et le complexe Desjardins ont obtenu récemment le prix BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association), une récompense prestigieuse qui n'avait pas été attribuée à un immeuble québécois depuis 20 ans. Décernés à Denver, au Colorado, ces prix internationaux récompensent les immeubles commerciaux en fonction de la qualité de leur gestion. «Il y a très peu de nouveaux immeubles à Montréal, mais les propriétaires tentent d'innover pour plaire à leurs locataires», avance la directrice générale de BOMA-Québec, Linda Carbone, pour expliquer cette floraison soudaine. Rénovations réussies au Complexe On compte parmi les autres gagnants de cette année des adresses telles que le Chicago Board of Trade Building, l'édifice de Sony à New York et le Time Warner Center, aussi dans la Grosse Pomme. «Nous sommes extrêmement fiers de gagner ce prix. Nous avons investi 100 millions en rénovations depuis 1993», explique Pierre Ruest, du complexe Desjardins. Primé dans la catégorie rénovations, l'édifice de la rue Sainte-Catherine a notamment été récompensé pour s'être ouvert sur l'extérieur. «Avant, le Complexe était fermé sur lui-même. Nous avons amené Bâton Rouge, St-Hubert et d'autres commerces qui nous ont permis de nous rapprocher de la rue», fait-il valoir. Pour améliorer le coup d'oeil, des colonnes ont été recouvertes de granit. L'éclairage a été changé. «Nous voulions jazzer le Complexe», dit M. Ruest. Les ascenseurs, la toiture et le stationnement ont aussi été rénovés récemment au coût de 38 millions de dollars. Impact positif de l'édifice de la Caisse L'édifice de la Caisse de dépôt a été récompensé pour sa politique environnementale et son impact positif dans la communauté. «Le parquet du centre est mis à la disposition des fondations pour leurs campagnes de charité», explique Mme Carbone. Le fait que l'immeuble ait été construit au-dessus de l'autoroute Ville-Marie, ce qui a permis de revitaliser un quartier, lui a valu d'autres bons points. Côté environnemental, on utilise l'eau d'une rivière souterraine lorsqu'on n'a pas besoin d'eau potable, par exemple pour laver des espaces autour de l'immeuble. «Malgré les dépassements de coûts lors de sa construction, on peut maintenant dire que l'immeuble de la Caisse de dépôt est un succès», affirme Amélie Sauvé, porte-parole à la SITQ. L'immobilier se porte bien à Montréal De façon générale, l'immobilier commercial se porte bien à Montréal. «Le taux d'inoccupation est bas, c'est vrai, dit Linda Carone, mais nous espérons bien aussi voir de nouvelles tours apparaître dans les prochaines années.» http://lapresseaffaires.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080710/LAINFORMER/807100674/5155/CPACTUALITES
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Article intéressant... IMF debunks myth: Taxing rich not bad for economy OTTAWA -- A new paper by researchers at the International Monetary Fund appears to debunk a tenet of conservative economic ideology -- that taxing the rich to give to the poor is bad for the economy. The paper by IMF researchers Jonathan Ostry, Andrew Berg and Charalambos Tsangarides will be applauded by politicians and economists who regard high levels of income inequality as not only a moral stain on society but also economically unsound. Labelled as the first study to incorporate recently compiled figures comparing pre- and post-tax data from a large number of countries, the authors say there is convincing evidence that lower net inequality is good economics, boosting growth and leading to longer-lasting periods of expansion. In the most controversial finding, the study concludes that redistributing wealth, largely through taxation, does not significantly impact growth unless the intervention is extreme. In fact, because redistributing wealth through taxation has the positive impact of reducing inequality, the overall affect on the economy is to boost growth, the researchers conclude. "We find that higher inequality seems to lower growth. Redistribution, in contrast, has a tiny and statistically insignificant (slightly negative) effect," the paper states. "This implies that, rather than a trade-off, the average result across the sample is a win-win situation, in which redistribution has an overall pro-growth effect." While the paper is heavy on the economics, there is no mistaking the political implications in the findings. In Canada, the Liberal party led by Justin Trudeau is set to make supporting the middle class a key plank in the upcoming election and the NDP has also stressed the importance of tackling income inequality. Stephen Harper's Conservatives have boasted that tax cuts, particularly deep reductions in corporate taxation, are at least partly responsible for why the Canadian economy outperformed other G7 countries both during and after the 2008-09 recession. In the Commons on Tuesday, Employment Minister Jason Kenney said the many tax cuts his government has introduced since 2006, including a two-percentage-point trim of the GST, has helped most Canadians. Speaking on a Statistics Canada report showing net median family wealth had increased by 44.5 per cent since 2005, he added: "It is no coincidence because, with the more than 160 tax cuts by this government, Canadian families, on average, have seen their after-tax disposable income increase by 10 per cent across all income categories. We are continuing to lead the world on economic growth and opportunity for working families." The authors concede that their conclusions tend to contradict some well-accepted orthodoxy, which holds that taxation is a job killer. But they say that many previous studies failed to make a distinction between pre-tax inequality and post-tax inequality, hence often compared apples to oranges, among other shortcomings. The data they looked at showed almost no negative impact from redistribution policies and that economies where incomes are more equally distributed tend to grow faster and have growth cycles that last longer. Meanwhile, they say the data is not crystal clear that even large redistributions have a direct negative impact, although "from history and first principles ... after some point redistribution will be destructive of growth." Still, they also stop short of saying their conclusions definitively settle the issue, acknowledging that it is a complex area of economic theory with many variables at play and a scarcity of hard data. Instead, they urge more rigorous study and say their findings "highlight the urgency of this agenda." The Washington-based institution released the study Wednesday morning but, perhaps due to the controversial nature of the conclusions, calls it a "staff discussion note" that does "not necessarily" represent the IMF views or policy. It was authorized for distribution by Olivier Blanchard, the IMF's chief economist. Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/imf-debunks-myth-taxing-rich-not-bad-for-economy-1.1704643#ixzz2uRo5ElZH
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Growing ideas all the way from Montreal Yvonne Michie Horn, Special to The Chronicle Wednesday, August 8, 2007 sfgate_get_fprefs(); Long, cold winters and short summers made Montreal an unlikely mecca for gardeners. Then Flora came to town. In its second year, Flora winds along the banks of a derelict quay in the center-city Old Port district, revealing, in 10 acres of twists and turns, 49 innovative residential gardens matched with 24 "showcase" gardens spotlighting what's new in products, plant materials and design. Towering abandoned grain elevators serve as a backdrop; in the foreground are the shining skyscrapers of downtown. The location in the middle of the city sets the stage for what Flora is all about. The array of gardens on display is designed to inspire urban dwellers with postage-stamp backyards to take a second look at their small outdoor spaces (decks or even rooftops) with the idea of turning them into life-enhancing "green room" extensions of their houses. "These are real gardens, not roped-off gardens to be strolled by," said Raquel Peñalosa, Flora's artistic director. "You can walk into them, linger in them, sit down and visit, pretend they are your own, while giving thought to how the ideas presented might be adapted to your spaces at home." Once Flora 2007 ends, Peñalosa and Flora's artistic committee will be looking at proposals from landscape architects who want to be included next year. "We look for sustainability with an aesthetic edge, usefulness and originality," Peñalosa said, adding that from the start, Flora received proposals from as far away as Europe and Australia. Unlike most garden shows - installed for "here today, gone tomorrow" impact - Flora is on display for Montreal's entire growing season, from mid-June into September, offering repeat visitors the opportunity to see gardens mature and change, just as they would at home. Color rules the day, from a lineup of gigantic orange flowerpots and orange benches at the entrance to the color coding of the garden's seven themed sections: city, nature, slope, nurturing, rooftop, avant-garde and street-side. A long, bright red table flanked with matching stools turns the space at No. 13, "Feast," into a dining room set in the midst of planting beds that pay more attention to edibles than flowers. Garden No. 17, "Emerald Enchantment," has a deck painted a startling lime green, scattered with orange beanbag chairs and topped with an orange canopy. Multicolor Plexiglas disks atop tall rods at No. 35, "Earth and Sky," turn the light-colored gravel underneath into colorful polka dots when the sun shines through. I made a mental note to consider adding bold color when contemplating a backyard face-lift. Other thought-provoking themes emerged as I walked Flora's paths: -- Forget the separate vegetable patch; plant edibles with the flowers. It is the rare Flora garden that has not done so. One example harnesses a seemingly haphazard assortment of tomatoes, herbs, peppers, parsley and more with a border of euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' and orange marigolds. The idea appears to have quickly jumped out of Flora into Montreal's heart - the median strip dividing the busy four lanes of Boulevard Rene-Lévesque in front of Montreal's venerable Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel intersperses its shrubs and flowers with rainbow Swiss chard. -- Furniture is the key to enjoying outdoor space. Every Flora display garden includes seating of some sort, not just placed for a visitor's contemplative convenience but also incorporated into the design. One unforgettable setting duplicates a living room - traditional sofa, coffee table, deep armchairs - but all carved from stone. They're surprisingly comfortable and undeniably weatherproof. -- Make use of indigenous perennials. Easy to grow and modest consumers of water and fertilizer, they introduce authentic, creative and sustainable solutions to the landscape. -- Think of annuals as accents. Allow shrubs and perennials to become the backbone of the garden. Add annuals sparingly for quick seasonal color. -- Repetition adds unity. Instead of sticking in a couple of these and those here and there, achieve impact with the massing of material - three-deep rows of a single variety of grass, an entire bed filled with Russian sage. -- Add art. Such additions as a single large piece of sculpture, a scattering of colored-glass baubles or a mounted "window" of stained glass add individuality and impact. -- Create private spaces with screens. Flora's gardens offer screening ideas using both permanent dividers, such as walls of stone, and those that are movable, making use of such materials as woven slats of lightweight wood or strung-together canes of bamboo. An easy low-cost suggestion is a stretched cloth banner. -- Think about planting up. Space-saving lattices are not only for roses and morning glories but are also ideal for climbing edibles such as tomatoes, cucumbers, gourds, melons and beans. It is not too late to visit Flora this year, and it's not too early to mark calendars for next summer - and, for a complete Canadian garden experience, to consider getting there by train. ViaRail Canada has put together a cross-country garden route that begins in Victoria, British Columbia, and ends up 16 spectacular gardens later in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Montreal and Flora, of course, are a must-stop along the way. Flora's flora French-speaking people in Montreal call them "Les Exceptionnels," plants voted as exceptional by Flora's designers and visiting public: Zinnia 'Profusion,' deep apricot, blooms repeatedly, easily grown from seed. Cleome 'Señorita Rosalita,' vivid pink blooms against dark, green foliage. Rudbeckia 'Irish Spring,' rich, golden blossoms with green central cones. Pansy 'Karma Denim,' large deep-blue flowers blotched with yellow. Scaveola 'Diamond,' graceful and compact with fanlike clusters of lilac and white. Celosia 'Fresh Look,' flower stems up to 10 inches, never needs deadheading. Begonia 'Solenia Cherry,' semi-trailing. Penstemon 'Phoenix Red,' orderly and brilliant. Anigozanthos 'Kanga Red,' also known as kangaroo paws, are attractive to bees and butterflies. Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost,' mannerly border plant with a white froth of blossom. For information www.floramontreal.ca/en/index.asp . For ViaRail's garden itinerary, (888) 842-7245; for general information and booking, www.viarail.ca . Yvonne Michie Horn is a travel and garden writer. E-mail her at [email protected]
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Rich Canadians have bigger carbon footprint Size matters. Study links national income, consumption JOHN MORRISSY, Canwest News Service Published: 8 hours ago When it comes to ecological footprints, wealthy Canadians are a confirmed size 12, creating a global warming impact 66 per cent greater than the average household, according to a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The study is the first to link national income and consumption patterns with global warming, and it showed that the richest 10 per cent of Canadians create an environmental footprint that's 2.5 times the size of those created by the lowest 10 per cent on an income scale. "When we look at where the environmental impact of human activity comes from, we see that size really does matter," said Hugh Mackenzie, a research associate for the Ottawa-based think-tank and co-author of the study. "Higher-income Canadians create a much bigger footprint than poorer Canadians." The study revealed a gradual progression of environmental impact going up the income scale, but a marked jump with the richest 10 per cent. In fact, the highest 10 per cent has an environmental impact that's one third larger than the next lower 10 per cent, Mackenzie said. The differences stem largely from the homes wealthy people own and the way they get around, Mackenzie said. The top 10 per cent own homes that are larger, cost more to build and to heat, and they are more likely to own more than one vehicle and travel more frequently by air, Mackenzie said. The impact of food consumption, on the other hand, hardly varies from one income group to another. The study measures environmental impact in terms of the amount of hectares it would take to sustain a certain level of consumption. When it comes to the wealthiest Canadians, their environmental footprint requires 12.4 hectares per capita, compared with the average Canadian's 7.5-hectare footprint. Globally, the average Canadian's footprint is still several times the average of those in poorer nations. What the study highlights, Mackenzie said, is the need for policy-makers to realize how activities related to global warming concentrate themselves in the upper income groups. Failing to recognize that could lead to policies that penalize lower-income Canadians yet fail to achieve their objectives, he said. "All Canadians share responsibility for global warming," said co-author Rick Smith. "But wealthier Canadians are leaving behind a disproportionately larger footprint - and should be expected to make a disproportionate contribution to its reduction." http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/business/story.html?id=57768cfb-8144-4ae2-b235-3a045d045065
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Le ministre fédéral des Finances, Jim Flaherty, affirme que son budget du 27 janvier sera axé sur les dépenses, mais admet que cela aura un impact sur les finances publiques. Pour en lire plus...
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De ce côté-ci de l'Atlantique, le bras de fer entre la Russie et l'Ukraine n'a aucun impact direct sur le prix du gaz naturel, mais indirectement, ce conflit contribue à faire augmenter le prix du pétrole et du gaz partout sur la planète. Pour en lire plus...
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The Movement presented by AT&T, hosted by former MLS forward Calen Carr, is a new series from MLS Digital that explores the growing soccer movement and soccer culture in North America In Episode 1, Carr visits Montreal to learn about the city’s unique culture and history — on and off the field. Music: ROWJAY “KUNG FUN MARGIELA" A TRAPPIN APE SOUNDCLOUD.COM/ROWJAYCOB Special Thanks Impact Media Pat Vallee Jordano Aguzzi Yvan Delia-Lavictoire
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Upstate New York cities Back in business Hope grows in two cities more accustomed to disappointment Jun 30th 2012 | BUFFALO AND ROCHESTER | from the print edition THERE is an eerie beauty to Buffalo’s waterfront. Long-abandoned buildings and unused grain elevators stand along Lake Erie’s shore. General Mills is one of the few companies that still use it—the smell of Cheerios, a breakfast cereal, permeates the air. But newer life is springing up, too. Part of the harbour, near the centre of city, has been redeveloped as a 6.5-acre (2.6-hectare) spread of parks and monuments. Twenty-one more acres of harbour land will become shops and residential space with more development to come. Main Street, most of which was closed to traffic for three decades, is being opened up and will eventually connect the centre of town to the river. One of the newest additions to the city skyline, which is known for architectural gems, is the $300m ten-storey Gates Vascular Institute/Clinical and Translational Research Centre. Things are changing for the second-biggest city in New York state. Manufacturing in upstate New York has been declining since the 1940s. Buffalo, with its access to the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence seaway, was once an economic engine, not just for the region, but for the country. But when manufacturing began to leave, with the steel industry worst affected, the city was, until very recently, unable to cope. Some 30% of the city’s population now lives below the poverty line. Buffalo is the third-poorest big city in the country; only Detroit and Cleveland are in worse shape. The population has shrunk, while the urbanised sprawl beyond the city borders tripled between 1950 and 2000. Sprawl without growth is not helpful: it leaves too few taxpayers to support local government and infrastructure. The city, like many in the rustbelt, has vast amounts of abandoned property, more than any city except Detroit and New Orleans. Yet despite these problems, Bruce Katz, of the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, says he is bullish on Buffalo. He believes the city can lead the next economic wave, one driven by advanced manufacturing, innovation and exports and powered by low carbon. Rochester, which is about 75 miles east of Buffalo, also missed the boom times. Thirty years ago, Kodak, Xerox and Bausch & Lomb employed around 60% of the region’s workforce. In 1982 Kodak, which is headquartered in Rochester, had 60,400 employees. Today it has around 5,000 and has filed for bankruptcy protection. The population of the city fell from a peak of 332,000 in 1950 to 210,600 in 2010. Almost a third of those who remain are poor. Kodak’s bankruptcy filing, in January, did not devastate Rochester only because the Kodak jobs had long left. The impact was more psychological than anything else. Most residents seem to have a grandfather who once worked at Kodak, but its effect is no longer as strong. Nowadays, much has changed. Virtually all of the workforce is employed by companies of 100 employees or fewer, according to the Greater Rochester Enterprise, a public-private outfit which markets the city to businesses. The city leads the state in job growth since the end of the recession, recovering 98% of the jobs it lost then. Indeed, there are roughly 100,000 more jobs now than there were three decades ago. The Kodak name is still a draw. Monroe Community College will move into the old Kodak complex on State Street. Companies like ITT Exelis, which developed software used by Google Earth, have also taken space in old Kodak buildings. Economic diversity helped, too. Rochester has more than 100 food and drink companies, including Wegmans, a supermarket chain and the region’s second-biggest employer. The University of Rochester is the biggest, with an economic impact of $143m in sales tax, income tax and property taxes. Five of the top ten private-sector employers in the Finger Lakes region, where Rochester lies, are in higher education and health care. Higher education is also a big employer in Buffalo; the University at Buffalo is the second-biggest employer. It has been moving its medical centre downtown, and changing a whole neighbourhood as it does so. Howard Zemsky, a local businessman, has had a similar impact. A decade ago he began to redevelop one of the city’s oldest industrial areas, known as the Hydraulics district. Today, around 30 dilapidated or abandoned sites have been transformed into an office and residential space called the Larkin District. Even an old petrol station has been converted into a retro restaurant. Groups such as Partnership for the Public Good are working together to make vacant plots into community gardens. The Centre for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo and the city’s housing authority are combining to help a neighbourhood in need. Collaboration is essential, says Byron Brown, Buffalo’s mayor. “Right people! Right place! Right time!” And timing and place are both part of the reason that Andrew Cuomo, the governor, pledged $1 billion earlier this year to help revive the economy of Buffalo and western New York state. Mr Katz is helping the region develop a plan to use that $1 billion effectively. “This is about the long term,” he says. “It will be the gift that keeps on giving.” http://www.economist.com/node/21557797
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http://www.nationalpost.com/most-popular/story.html?id=1714603 This article hit the nail on the head. If a company were to make an ad poking fun at a woman for working at a job usually dominated by men, there would be a ton of complaints, lawsuits, etc. But men, and specifically fathers are fair game since they don't tend to complain about such things...
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(Courtesy of National Geographic) We SUCK!
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Si la crise de crédit et la crise financière qui ont fait trembler l'immobilier américain et Wall Street finissent par avoir un impact sur le crédit au Canada, cet impact se fera sentir d'abord et avant tout sur la demande plutôt que sur l'offre. Pour en lire plus...
