“L’approvazione nel Consiglio dei Ministri del Codice delle Autonomie finalizzato al taglio degli enti inutili e allo sradicamento di oltre 45mila poltrone è senza dubbio positiva. Ora bisogna proseguire il lavoro almeno riducendo il numero delle province”. Così dichiara il Sen. Mario Mantovani, sottosegretario al Ministero delle Infrastrutture con delega all’edilizia abitativa e statale.  “In Italia 26 province hanno meno abitanti della sola città di Trieste. La città di Bologna supera ben 57 province sempre per numero di abitanti. Il Sindaco di Palermo amministra più cittadini dei presidenti di 87 province. Numeri che impongono – continua Mantovani – la necessità di procedere, seppur per gradi, ad una razionalizzazione e ad un progressivo accorpamento delle province minori se non proprio alla cancellazione. Non è tollerabile per esempio che ci siano realtà provinciali più piccole del Comune di Sesto San Giovanni”.  “Tale processo non annullerebbe le identità locali: sono i Comuni i veri presidi della storia e delle tradizioni della nostra gente. Piuttosto –prosegue Mantovani- si avvierebbe un poderoso abbattimento delle spese: con il solo accorpamento delle province minori si otterrebbe un risparmio calcolabile intorno ai 10 miliardi di euro. Per esempio, la costituzione di ogni ente provinciale porta con sé anche l’istituzione del Comando dei Carabinieri e quello dei Vigili del Fuoco, della polizia e della guardia forestale, l’ufficio delle entrate e quello del registro, la Prefettura, la Questura, il Provveditorato agli studi, le sovrintendenze e così via, realtà che verrebbero invece razionalizzate, con un notevole risparmio per le casse dello Stato”.  “Gli Italiani ci chiedono di ridurre la macchina burocratica a favore di uno Stato moderno e produttivo e per questo –conclude Mantovani- occorre procedere senza indugi verso la strada della semplificazione, del risparmio e dell’efficienza”.

Le matin c’est le grand ballet des voitures. Une ville de province c’est ça, le calme plat, puis la tempête, tous ces gens qui vont travailler, puis qui rentrent le soir chez eux. En effet, dans une ville de province, la plupart des personnes que l’on rencontre préfèrent habiter en retrait. Un petit jardinet, un garage pour deux bagnoles et les vélos de toute la famille. Dans le centre il n’y a que les petits vieux et les petits jeunes, ceux qui n’ont plus besoin de jardinet, ceux qui n’ont pas encore deux bagnoles.

Le temps est chaud pour une fin de mois de novembre, tout le monde le dit, ici comme ailleurs. Mais ici, c’est bien plus important. Ce n’est pas pour meubler. Non, c’est parce que samedi, il y a les cèpes, et s’il fait beau dimanche, on pourra aller faire du vélo. Et puis il y a le grand-père qui va chasser aussi mais il ne faut pas qu’il attrape froid, alors oui, le temps c’est important.

Il y a le centre et il y a le cœur. Le cœur, dans une petite ville de province, ce n’est jamais le centre, c’est ailleurs, en périphérie, comme s’il battait sur le coude et non dans la poitrine. Le cœur, c’est le grand centre commercial. On ne peut pas le rater le grand centre commercial, c’est là qu’on abreuve aussi les fidèles montures d’un nectar venu d’Orient.

Il y a aussi le bruit. C’est un évènement. Une sirène, une cloche, un marché, on ne fait pas du bruit pour rien. Même dans le bar où ceux qui ne sont pas allés à la grande vile faire leurs études se retrouvent, orphelins des plus ambitieux de leurs amis d’enfance. Mais ils se gardent bien de ruminer : ils ont les cèpes, le vélo, une voiture, la chasse et ici c’est chez eux.

On s’emmerde sec dans une petite ville de province mais ça réchauffe et en même temps, ça permet de garder la tête froide. Quoi qu’il en soit c’est un choc thermique.

“Il DDL appena varato dal Governo sul Codice delle Autonomie locali, è un buon punto di partenza su cui lavorare. E’ il momento in cui bisogna pianificare le misure di uscita dalla crisi introducendo correttivi per migliorare la produttività e l’efficienza del sistema Paese e dei sistemi provinciali. Le Province hanno portato avanti in questi anni battaglie in difesa di un ruolo determinante sul territorio, ma lamentano ancora una limitata autonomia organizzativa, causata da un decentramento statale e regionale che nelle materie non ha trasferito per intero le funzioni da esercitare”. E’ quanto ha sostenuto il presidente della Provincia di Torino Antonio Saitta nel suo intervento di fine mandato al vertice dell’UPP, l’Unione delle Province Piemontesi, che si è riunito questa mattina per il rinnovo dei propri organi presso l’Auditorium di corso Inghilterra a Torino.
“Molti non sanno, o fanno finta di non sapere – ha aggiunto Saitta – che le Province erogano molteplici ai servizi ai cittadini e alle imprese, svolgendo un ruolo centrale nella pianificazione e nella programmazione locale, regionale, statale e dell’Unione Europea, in settori fondamentali come quello ambientale, agricolo, di gestione del territorio, del trasporto locale, dei servizi del lavoro, di istruzione e formazione. Su questa logica l’UPP avrà ancora un futuro se saprà lavorare senza contrapposizioni, in questi anni abbiamo lavorato in modo che anche le Province più piccole avessero peso indipendentemente dalle loro dimensioni”. L’Assemblea ha quindi rinnovato i propri organi a partire dal Direttivo, composto dai Presidenti delle otto Province e da 28 Consiglieri provinciali. Ad Antonio Saitta, in qualità di Presidente UPP, succede Massimo Nobili che guida l’Amministrazione provinciale del Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Vice presidente vicario è stato eletto il Presidente della Provincia di Alessandria Paolo Filippi.

She got an A on this one.  For her Western Culture class. The question was whether he was overall  a hero or villain.

Augustus and Leadership

       From the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, Augustus, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, fought to end the civil war that resulted from Julius Caesar’s death. In 31 BC Augustus defeated Marc Antony leaving him the sole ruler of Rome and it’s provinces. From this point forward Augustus sought to restore order and consolidate power. Under the circumstances of the times in which he lived Augustus did many great things as he created his position of Emperor and brought the provinces under his direct control. His achievements were many and it can be concluded that his mastery of Rome made him a hero to the Roman people.

          Upon Julius Caesar’s murder Rome fell into civil war. Three factions arose to take control. The first was a faction loyal to Brutus and Cassius- Julius Caesar’s murderers. A second was loyal Marc Antony, an associate of Julius Caesar. The third was loyal to Octavian, later to be known as Augustus, who was Julius Caesar’s nephew and adopted son. At first Marc Antony and Augustus joined forces and defeated the forces of Brutus and Cassius. Marc Antony and Augustus then fought each other, with Augustus being victorious and Marc Antony committing suicide. In 31 BC Augustus found himself facing the same problems that Julius Caesar had faced many years earlier.

          Augustus now needed to provide Rome a stable form of government. The Senate had always been the dominant political body in the Roman republic. So, Augustus chose to first work through the Senate while he re-established the bureaucracy needed to effectively administer the Empire. It was the Senate that re-named him from Octavian to Augustus. From this point on Augustus began the process of consolidating power by assuming the responsibilities of many previously separate offices. Some of these powers were given to him by the Senate, such as princeps (first citizen) others, such as pontifex maximus (supreme priest) he gave himself. While Augustus left the Senate as an important part of the political system in Rome itself, in the provinces Augustus took direct control. The slow methodical assumption of power led him to the role of Emperor.

          Augustus accomplished many good deeds and completed many good projects during his reign. In addition to maintaining peace in the Empire and some of its provinces such as Gaul and Spain he extended the frontiers of many of the provinces as well. “I restored peace to the Gallic and Spanish provinces and likewise to Germany, that is, to the entire region bounded by the Ocean form Gades to the mouth of the Elbe River. I caused peace to be restored in the Alps, from the region nearest to the Adriatic Sea as far as the Tuscan Sea, without undeservedly making war against people.”(pg 58 DWP) Augustus at times of need was generous enough to give his own money and other resources to the Empire to help maintain financial stability. “Four times I came to the assistance of the treasury with my own money, transferring to those in charge of the treasury 150,000,000 sesterces… I transferred out of my own patrimony 170,000,000 sesterces to the soldiers’ bonus fund… whenever the provincial taxes fell short, in the case sometimes of 100,000 persons and sometimes of many more I made up their tribute in grain and in money from my own grain stores and my own patrimony…”(pg 56-57 DWP). Augustus also built and repaired many important building and architectural projects. “I repaired the Capitol and the theater of Pompey with enormous expenditures on both works… I repaired the conduits of the aqueducts which were falling into ruin…I doubled the capacity of the aqueduct called Marcia  by admitting a new spring into its conduit…I reconstructed the Flaminian Way from the city as far as Ariminum, and also all the bridges…”(pg 57 DWP)  Augustus also sponsored many gladiatorial shows. These shows were important social gatherings and helped Romans establish their own identity. “ I gave gladiatorial show three times in my own name, and five times in the names of my sons or grandsons; at these shows 10,000 fought… Twice I presented…an exhibition of athletes invited from all parts of the world… Twenty-six times I provided for the people… hunting spectacles of African wild beasts in the circus of in the Forum or in the amphitheatres…” (pg 57 DWP) Perhaps most importantly Augustus maintained peace in Rome through his entire reign. “…while Augustus in the vigorous years of his life maintained his power that of his family and peace.”(pg 55 DWP)

          In our modern democratic world the word Emperor is very negative. However, many rulers, kings, emperors, czars accomplished great things during their rule that advanced their people and their civilization. Augustus was certainly an Emperor but he was one of those emperors who was worthy of some admiration. He created peace and prosperity without the brutality that was typical of the times in which he lived.

Growing up in rural Canada (Ontario, to be exact – it’s a province,,,kind of like a state, but with different spelling) my parent’s owned a business. It was a motel and restaurant called The Beaver Motel and Restaurant. My dad actually built the restaurant on the property with his own hands. My parents worked their asses off in that place 24/7. It was a good upbringing though because there was always great food on the table and, if you needed something, my folks were always close by.

However, I’m always glad that Mexican food wasn’t popular at the time…I can hear the patrons now:

Let’s go to the Beaver for a fish taco.

(Mommies can have sick senses of humour too, you know)

Trois émotions autour d’un même thème, scènes de la vraie vie, sur deux jours :

Episode n°1 – La honte maternelle- 6 ans

(en milieu de matinée dans le métro parisien)

- ben là, on prend le RER après et puis on va faire l’anniversaire de… oh pétard ! mon chéri ! c’est ton anniversaire aujourd’hui !

(la mère se retourne vers son compagnon qui se moque éhontément)

- oh, je suis désolée, avec tout ce remue-ménage pour la surprise, j’ai complètement zappé !

(visage malicieux de l’intéressé, gêné par la présence du monde autour, quand même)

- bon anniversaire mon grand garçon, 6 ans aujourd’hui, dis donc !

(approche son fils pour lui faire un énorme câlin, autant pour se faire pardonner que  pour le féliciter)

- hé bé, que de péripéties pour cette journée importante n’est ce pas ? ce soir, on prend rendez-vous pour après la surprise : un dîner, un gâteau et plein de cadeaux ! ok ?

(sourire géant du coquin, avec sautage au cou dans les règles)

Episode n°2 – La surprise  non feinte – 60 ans

(en début d’après midi dans un petit pavillon de banlieue)

- non, va plus dans le fond, on te voit de l’entrée là, oui, comme ça, c’est parfait. Allez, tout le monde se serre et retient sa respiration !

(rire général)

- on a trente secondes, elle arrive !

- chut, taisez-vous, plus un bruit !

(bruit de serrure et porte qui s’ouvre)

- surpriiiise !

(visage effaré de l’intéressée devant ses fils et la belle-fille)

- surpriiiiiiiiiiise !

(visage plus qu’effaré de l’intéressée devant tous les amis et le reste de la famille)

Episode n°3 – La spontanéité enfantine – 37 ans

(le soir dans une petite ville de province)

- allez, maman, s’il te plait, le téléphone !

- ok, bouge pas, je compose le numéro…

(sonnerie, puis décrochage, voix masculine et lointaine qui répond)

- papa ? papa ? bon anniversaire papa !

(le coeur de la maman se serre, les yeux s’embuent, putain d’ambivalence à la con… le bonheur d’assister à la joie de ses enfants et l’aigreur de se dire qu’il ne les mérite toujours pas…)

Et juste pour pas faire couleur locale :

… parce que vous le savez pas encore, mais on en est qu’au début !

Tanimex duo Cam Hong-Hong Loan (the further side) play in the 2008 Tanimex Cup last November in Ho Chi Minh City. They were the champions. (Filed photo: VNExpress)

Ninh Thuan Province on the central coast will host a national-level beach volleyball tournament for the first time from November 20 to 22. By Thursday, 23 teams have confirmed participation in Tanimex Cup there.

Ho Chi Minh City-based Tanimex Company, the tournament organizer, announced here Thursday that 12 male and 11 female teams had put their names down for this year’s competition, which is also a final test for selection of the national squads competing in December’s Southeast Asian Games in Laos.

This is also the first time the annual event is held outside HCM City since its inception in 2007. The first two editions took place here, and Tanimex teams won in both the men’s and women’s competitions.

This year, the 23 teams will compete at the beach resort of Long Thuan, Phan Rang-Thap Cham City, Ninh Thuan from November 20 to 22.

The host province, in its first participation in the national event, will send one female and one male team, the organizer said.
 
Tanimex will send two female and two male teams. HCM City’s Tan Binh District will send three female and two male teams, as the central province of Khanh Hoa will. The other teams come from Quang Nam, Danang, Hai Phong and a military unit.

Tanimex said it would see fierce competition from other teams this time.

Vietnam Television will broadcast live the opening and closing ceremonies, the openers, semifinals and finals on the VTV3 and VTV9 channels. HCM City Television will do the same on HTV2 channel.

Vietnam’s beach volleyball teams for the SEA Games in Laos will be set up based on performance by players in the Tanimex Cup.

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Political Map of Canada

The problem with the left is that they think that the producers will just keep producing in the face of massive tax hikes and government spending. Sorry, but producers curtail their producing when they get to keep less and less of the fruits of their labor. Dalton McGuinty, the Liberal premier of the province of Ontario, is a prime example of this ignorance of incentives.

Consider this story from the National Post. (H/T Joanne from Blue Like You)

Excerpt:

Falling revenues and a burgeoning $24.7-billion deficit will force Ontario’s Liberal government into a new era of fiscal restraint, provincial Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said yesterday.

[...]According to economic figures released yesterday, Ontario is spending $4.8-billion more this year than it predicted just seven months ago. The increased spending includes $4-billion in auto-sector assistance and an additional $650-million to fund the province’s H1N1 response. Program spending has also risen by $812-million.

Tax revenues, meanwhile, are falling dramatically. They now stand at $5.8-billion less than the government predicted in last spring’s budget. Corporate taxes are $2.65-billion — or nearly one-third — lower than projections, while personal income tax is down $2.43-billion, or 10%.

[...]Conservatives, who have watched as the Liberals raised spending by nearly 60% over their first six years in office, were skeptical about the new pledge of austerity.”Dalton McGuinty is hard-wired to increase your taxes and increase spending,” Conservative leader Tim Hudak said. “The reality is, the only way to get spending under control is to change government.”

[...]One analyst said the province’s massive deficit is heightened by the growing size of Ontario’s health-care sector, expected to account for half the budget by 2015.

Earlier this week I blogged about the Federal Conservative Party of Canada, which gained two seats in the 2009 by-elections, bringing them to 145/308 in the House of Commons. They need 155 to have a majority.

States like New York and California are running into the same taxing and spending problems here at home. Even the Democrat Governor of Ohio Ted Strickland is in trouble, and threatening to cancel scheduled tax cuts.

Following the Helmand Province incident, I decided to re-write Alfred Lord Tennyson’s ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ to fit the tragedy. I feel that the whole situation is too reminiscent of the Vietnam war; when will people learn?

1.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Helmand
Flew the one hundred.
“Forward, NATO crusaders!”
“Bomb the huts!” he said:
Into the valley of Helmand
Flew the one hundred.

2.
“Forward, NATO crusaders!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Someone had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and to fly:
Into the valley of Helmand
Flew the one hundred.

3.
Bombs to right of them,
Bombs to left of them,
Bombs in front of them.
Scared as Hell, being
Bombed by barrage and shell,
Terrified they fled,
Into the jaws of Death,
And far, far above,
Flew the one hundred.

4.
Flash’d as bombs blasted the once-peaceful air,
Flash’d as the innocent turned to prayer,
Obliterating the citizens dwelling there,
Breaking a country, while
All the world wonder’d: why?
Plunged in the rubble and dust
Children cried over the deeds unjust.
The innocent civilians
Reel’d from the bombs
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they flew back;
Comfortable one hundred.

5.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered:
Honour the charge they made?
But we should ask ourselves,
“What of our minister?”
For ’tis indeed sinister,
That we should call him noble.

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Fenghuang signifie « phénix » en chinois. C’est un animal fabuleux qui est beaucoup utilisé dans la mythologie chinoise et c’est aussi le nom d’un petit village du Hunan en Chine. La Chine est un pays immense, elle a différentes cultures dans chaque région.

Fenghuang se situe au bord de la rivière Tuo Jiang , elle est de culture Miao qui est une des 56 ethnies chinoises. La signification de Miao est « Riz cru », c’est donc en rapport avec la culture agricole. Pendant les vacances, je suis allée à Fenghuang avec mes amis pour découvrir une autre vision de la Chine. Fenghuang est un peu loin de la ville principale du Hunan (Changsha). De Changsha à Fenghuang, il y a cinq heures de bus.

Quand nous sommes arrivés, nous étions étonnés par les paysages : c’était vraiment joli! Après nous être installés dans une auberge de jeunesse, nous sommes sortis pour faire une petite promenade. Nous avons vu des maisons en pierre près de la rivière Tuojiang. Elles étaient dans le style architectural traditionnel. Ce qui m’a le plus surprise, ce sont les petits marchepieds de pierre qui permettent de traverser la rivière comme si on marchait sur le mur d’un barrage avec un bruit étourdissant. 

Autour de ce petit village, il y a des montagnes qui produisent toujours un peu de brouillard, l’ambiance me semble très poétique et me donne l’impression irréelle d’être dans une peinture chinoise. Dans les ruelles, il y a de petites boutiques sympathiques qui vendent des vêtements, des bijoux et des bonbons : celle-ci fabrique notamment des bonbons au gingembre. Le sucre est chauffé puis étiré, comme dans beaucoup de bonbons français mais le goût du gingembre piquant domine. Ce sont tous des produits artisanaux.

Nous avons ensuite visité l’ancienne demeure de Shen Congwen qui est un écrivain chinois contemporain très connu. Il était très intéressant de découvrir sa vie. Après cette visite, nous sommes arrivés à Tuo Jiang (le nom de la rivière qui traverse ce petit village) où nous avons fait un tour de bateau. C’était très agréable. Fenghuang se situe dans une région où les gens mangent très épicé. La nourriture était très différente de celle la région de Canton (qui est ma région d’origine) mais c’était bon malgré la robustesse des épices. 

Quand la nuit tombe, le village s’anime. Il est illuminé de partout. C’est un paradis pour les jeunes. Il y a beaucoup de bars qui sont ouverts toute la nuit. Les marchands ambulants installent leurs stands pour vendre des repas légers devant la rue de l’auberge de jeunesse. On peut donc acheter à manger toute la nuit.

Fenghuang était un village très calme avant. Maintenant, il est en train de perdre ses origines et devient plus en plus commercial. Je pense que c’est un lieu très intéressant qu’il faut aller voir au moins une fois dans sa vie. Ce voyage fut très instructif pour moi et je vous invite à aller le découvrir pour vous baigner dans une autre culture.

Ting Ting ZHANG, étudiante chinoise, 3° année design

Back-to-work legislation has been introduced as Kevin Falcon (our Health Minister) says the strike is potentially putting lives at risk while H1N1 is running so rampant in BC. After this, we definitely think the virus should go back to being called swine flu!

What do you think? How does this affect your confidence in the collective bargaining process as we enter into negotiations? Comment below!

BC to end ambulance strike, citing H1N1

The B.C. government is imposing an end to a seven-month-long strike by British Columbia’s ambulance paramedics, citing pandemic infection rates that are expected to rise in B.C. in the coming weeks.

“Right now, our entire health system is operating at full capacity to manage the impact of the H1N1,” Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon said shortly after introducing legislation to end the labour dispute. “As we come forward to a period where we know the H1N1 pandemic is going to escalate and get worse in the coming weeks and months, we do really need all hands on deck.”

The ambulance service has been operating at essential service levels since April 1, and Mr. Falcon said there is no evidence that the strike has harmed health care services. But he said the pandemic is taxing the system now, and letting the dispute continue would mean “potentially putting lives at risk.”

The union representing ambulance paramedics said imposing a one-year deal, retroactive to April 1, won’t help fix the ambulance service. “His comments around the H1N1 pandemic are laughable at best,” said spokesman BJ Chute.

The legislation was introduced shortly after Provincial Health Officer Perry Kendall announced that demand for the flu vaccination will continue to outstrip supply for the coming weeks.

“I would ask again that British Columbians be patient and wait their turn,” he told a media briefing in Victoria.

Until this week, the province has targeted three priority groups: Individuals under 65 years of age with chronic disease, pregnant women, and individuals – including First Nations people – living in remote or isolated communities.

Starting this week, the list has expanded to include front-line health care workers and children between six months and five years of age. As well, people who are in household contact with babies younger than six months old or people with compromised immune systems are now eligible.

But just as the number of people who can have the shot rises, the supply is dropping. Next week, B.C. expects to receive 25,000 doses of the vaccine, which will be reserved for pregnant women who want a formula that does not contain an adjuvant. Another 63,000 units containing the adjuvant will also be delivered.

Dr. Kendall said the province’s plan to roll out the vaccinations on a graduated basis according to need is working, despite reports that some people who are not eligible have been vaccinated. “It’s really strictly an honour system,” he said.

Health care clinics have reported they cannot keep up with the demand and have been forced to turn people away.

At Vancouver’s private Copeman Healthcare Clinic, where patients pay as much as $3,900 in annual fees to get premium services, the chief operating officer said clients who failed to meet the eligibility criteria have been refused the vaccine. The clinic just obtained 300 additional vaccines yesterday, “but it’s not nearly enough,” said Chris Nedelmann.

In the Downtown Eastside, a clinic that serves high-risk urban aboriginals was also turning patients away. Tina Braun of the Vancouver Native Health Society said she was horrified last week when she was given only 80 vaccines in the first release. “All our patients are vulnerable, it was hard to decide who is more vulnerable,” she said. This week, the clinic received another 500 units. Ms. Braun took 100 doses to another clinic, which also caters to a high-risk group in the community. Now she is faced with running out again.

By the end of this week, health authorities hope to have provided roughly 800,000 vaccinations across B.C. – that is, roughly 20 per cent of the population.

But healthy British Columbians who are not considered to be at risk should plan to wait until at least the end of this month to get their vaccination – while the infection rates continue to rise.

Even many health care workers who are supposed to be on the priority list as of this week will not likely be offered a shot. Dr. Kendall said he’d like to have had an adequate supply of the vaccine weeks ago, but given the delays, many people will have to wait until Christmas before they are able to obtain a shot for the H1N1 flu. However, he maintained that is not too late to bother with getting it: The flu strain is likely to be present in B.C. for the next couple of years.

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City giving cash for home insulation updates
Province and federal governments giving additional funds
As much as $11,000 per home available
(Written Nov. 2 for Town Crier.)

The colder weather is here and so residents are cranking up the heat to stay warm, but that doesn’t come cheap.
If you want to reduce your costs, one way is by retrofitting your home so it is more energy efficient.
In Mid-October, the city announced it will spend $9 million on Home Energy Assistance Toronto grants for property owners wanting to update the insulation in their home or low-rise residential building.
The funds translate into $1,000 per home and residents can access this grant between now and March 2012.
“It’s part of us meeting our climate change plan,” said Mike Mulqueen, senior engineer with the Toronto Environment Office. “The city’s goal is to get to 80 percent reduction in 1990 level emissions by 2050.”

So this helps the city achieve its environmental goals, he tells me.
The city also wants to maximize the benefit for residents by adding the $1,000 municipal grant to existing federal and provincial grants and rebates.
Currently between 9 to 20 percent of Ontarians are using existing provincial and federal grants to update the insulation in their attic, basement or walls, according to Natural Resources Canada.
So the city wants to increase the incentive by adding its grants to existing ones to make it more attractive for residents to do these home renovations.
To access the city’s HEAT grant, you have to follow four steps, which you will find below and online.

Four-step process
First, hire a certified energy advisor to do a pre-retrofit home energy audit. Secondly, decide which retrofits to do and complete them within 18 months. Then have a second audit done after your renovations are complete. Lastly, about three months after the audit and evaluation, you should receive a cheque with your rebates.
The city is using the federal government’s existing system to cut down on the administrative costs. You must complete all four steps to access the city grant and also qualify for the provincial and federal funds totaling $11,000.
Here’s a breakdown of how much is available for various projects.

Home Insulation
The city’s $1,000 grant is specifically for upgrading home insulation of ceilings, walls and your home’s foundation.
Residents can access an additional $7,750 from the province and federal governments for insulation updates.
Total: $8,750

Renovations, retrofits
There’s also another $2,250 available from senior levels of governments for homeowners who want to upgrade their windows, toilets, doors, heating and cooling systems.
There are about 450,000 residents living in low-rise buildings or single family homes who qualify for the city’s grants. The municipal government expects as many as 12,000 to qualify for the cash between now and March 2012.

Live Green Toronto
Another place to check for how to access this new money is here or email the Toronto Environment Office at teo@toronto.ca or call 311 and ask about the city’s new Home Energy Assistance Toronto rebate.

Recent storms and heavy rains caused hundreds of wells in Ea Po Commune, Cu Jut District of the Central Highlands province of Dac Nong, to overflow and become contaminated, putting local residents’ lives at risk of starvation and waterborne diseases.

Floodwater covers the roads of Thanh Xuan Hamlet, Ea Po Commune, Co Jut District, Dac Nong Province (Photo: SGGP)

Luong Van Thang, deputy chairman of Ea Po Commune People’s Committee, said that about 400 households in the commune were seriously affected by floods and 300 of them may lose their crops.

About 70 hectares of plants were facing complete damage, as there was no possibility of saving the submerged pepper gardens.

A large area of coffee and cocoa had also been ruined, he added.

By October 29, in some places, Ea Po was submerged under one meter of water.

Over the last week, the weather has improved but the commune’s Thanh Xuan Hamlet roads were still flooded.

Pham Minh Thanh, a resident in the hamlet, was distraught to see her pepper plants on over 800 wooden posts and two hectares of coffee completely lost.

All funds that local residents spent for pepper and coffee fields had been swept away by the floods, which is especially damaging to the local community as it takes four to five years for them to replant such fields, the hamlet head, Pham Minh Thanh, said.

Another problem, Mr Thang said, was from environmental pollution, with many residents suffering from serious diarrhea and scabies.

Nursery and primary schools have also been seriously polluted with garbage and animal feces.

The commune had mobilized people to dredge canals but the condition was not much improved.

He said that the commune had reported the situation to higher authorities. However, by October 27, it saw only a few officials from Cu Jut District’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development coming to investigate the situation.

The officials did not take any action to deal with the environmental pollution.

Mr Thang said relevant authorities should help local residents to overcome starvation.

In the long term, they should assist people with seeds to recover farming production and invest to build drainage systems to prevent the condition from happening again, Mr Thang added.

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On October 20, Kash Heed, the Solicitor General of British Columbia, introduced new legislation that would effectively ban body armour in the province of BC (see here for the news story).

To put it rather bluntly, Bill 16-2009 (Body Armour Control Act) is an abomination of legislation that should never have seen the light of day.  In an effort to reduce gang violence, Mr Heed has proposed that only those who can prove a legitimate need for body armour should be allowed to purchase and possess it in BC.  Additionally, the legislation proposes that the province should create a permit system and a registry to keep track of all citizens who are legally allowed to own body armour.  Anyone found to be in illegal possession of this armour could face up to a $10,000 fine and/or 6 months in jail.

I can see several problems with this proposed law, right off the top.

1)  There’s this pesky little document known as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and Section 7 goes something like this:

“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”

Somehow I really don’t think that the government’s argument, that a passive safety device needs to be restricted just because a criminal might use it, really qualifies as a “principle of fundamental justice”.

2)  The logic (and I use that word very loosely) employed by Mr Heed, is that if access to body armour is restricted, gangsters will no longer be able to use it, taking away their “sense of security”, and therefore reducing the number of shootings in our cities.

By that same “logic”, in order to reduce high speed chases, we should ban seatbelts.  After all, without them, criminals would no longer feel “safe” speeding and would stop running away from police.  Right??

Does anyone else smell the BS?

3)  By definition, a gangster is a criminal.  They have proven time and again that they have no regard for the laws of our society.  So by what stretch of the imagination does the Solicitor General believe that even one single gang member will abide by this one?  If, for some unlikely reason, a criminal wasn’t able to purchase body armour on the black market within BC, it wouldn’t exactly be a hardship to legally purchase it in either Alberta or the Yukon.  The last time I checked, there wasn’t a manned border between provinces and territories in this country.

4)  Say a criminal is caught committing a crime, and the crown throws the book at him, charging him with every firearm, weapon and body armour offense they can think of.  Do you really think he’ll ever be convicted of any of those lesser charges?  Of course not.  As has already been proven time and again with the Firearms Act, the lesser charges will be plea-bargained away in order to make the “important” charge stick.

So under this proposed new law, as usual, it will only be the general public who are convicted.  It will be the men and women who innocently forget to renew their permit, or make a simple mistake on their forms, who will suffer.  They are the ones who will be found guilty, convicted of “paper crimes”, while the real criminals go about business as usual.

5)  As I previously mentioned, one of the key components of this proposed Act is a permit and registry system.  Everyone who has a legitimate need for body armour will have to fill out a form and apply for a permit to possess body armour.  Every person who is deemed eligible to possess body armour will be recorded in a database. It will be that person’s responsibility to keep the permit current, and to ensure that all the information contained in the registry is correct.

So, where is the money to operate this permit and registry system going to come from?  Setting up the permit office(s) and starting the registry will be an expensive proposition, and that money will be coming straight out of the taxpayer’s pockets.  At a time when the global economy is in turmoil, you’d think the government could find something better to spend our money on.

6)  Continuing on the theme of the registry, one more question comes to mind: How does making a list of law-abiding citizens have any affect whatsoever on crime?  I’m sure the criminals are just shaking in their boots right now thinking about this proposed new law.  Shaking with laughter that is.  Our government and lawmakers are going to be so busy making lists of honest people that they’re not going to have time to go after the criminals!

This Bill has just passed first reading in the provincial legislature, so there is still time to try and stop it.  Even if it does pass (which I’m afraid it will), it would likely be overturned on a Charter Appeal.  But it shouldn’t need to be.

Why do our lawmakers insist on continually putting forward such flawed legislation?  If I, an average Jane, can immediately see so many holes in their argument, why can’t they?  Our leaders can’t really be this naïve and misguided can they?

There is a part of me that still wants to believe that these are just honest men and women doing the best they can for our society.  But the jaded cynic in me is winning out.  I can’t help but wonder why every single new law seems to strip away more of our rights.  I can’t help but wonder why so many people are so eager to willingly give up their basic freedoms. 

What makes me really sick though, is that this gradual erosion of our rights, always seems to be done in the name of “public safety”.  Call me crazy, but here’s a thought: if our leaders are truly interested in public safety, shouldn’t they be focusing on the criminals, rather than making lists of the innocent?

Serrature ha intervistato il sindaco di Grosseto Emilio Bonifazi (PD). A lui abbiamo chiesto di spiegarci in che situazione versano le amministrazioni locali, nonchè le prospettive future del suo partito. Di seguito le domande:

1 - Se permette vorrei aprire con qualche domanda sulle primarie del PD. Si avvicina la data del voto. Lei ha già deciso quale candidato sostenere?
Dario Franceschini come segretario nazionale e Andrea Manciulli come segretario regionale.
2 - Cosa ne pensa del caso Binetti e del tema della laicità rilanciato dall’On. Marino?
Concordo ma senza esasperazioni.
3 - Che partito uscirà dalle primarie, indipendentemente dal vincitore? In cosa si tradurrà secondo lei il potere di alleanza in mano al terzo dei candidati se si giungesse al congresso?
Dovrà uscire un partito con una guida forte, unito e, sono convinto, che i tre candidati troveranno una comunione di intenti. Gli elettori non sono proprietà dei candidati e sapranno scegliere chi sostenere nel caso nessuno raggiunga il quorum.
4 - Sono credibili per gli elettori del PD liste regionali e candidature in cui figurano ancora personaggi finiti nell’occhio del ciclone quali per esempio Loiero o Bassolino?
No, bisogna che alcune persone, anche se non condannate in sede giudiziaria,si facciano da parte.
5 - Cosa ne pensa dell’alleanza con IdV, tema caldo anche a livello nazionale, sulla base della sua esperienza come sindaco?
A livello nazionale Di Pietro non è un alleato credibile: è una persona che divide e non unisce, che protesta e che non propone, non è quindi una persona di governo.
6 - Cambiando argomento, qual è la sua opinione in materia di abolizione delle province? Secondo molti, le province stesse non sono altro che serbatoi di voti e articolazioni locali del potere centrale.
Le Province vanno razionalizzate, diminuite ma non eliminate. Da togliere sono una miriade di enti (Comunità Montane, Consorzi vari…) le cui funzioni dovrebbero essere assegnate alle Province.
7 - Allo stesso modo, sono valide le proposte sull’accorpamento dei piccoli comuni?
Sì,ci sono anche comuni con 30 abitanti e l’80% degli 8.200 comuni ha meno di 5.000 abitanti.
8 - Berlusconi ha più volte dichiarato di voler dimezzare il numero dei consiglieri regionali e comunali. Promesse vane? E ancora, idea interessante?
Idea interessante.
9 - Dopo più di un anno, come si trovano a convivere i sindaci con l’abolizione dell’ICI?
Male, Grosseto ogni anno ha 2.900.000 euro in meno di entrate che vanno a danno dei più bisognosi.
10 - Federalismo fiscale. Come si riflette una maggiore autonomia a livello regionale sulle realtà locali e comunali?
L’autonomia deve essere dei comuni e non si deve sostituire al centralismo statale quello regionale. I Comuni devono avere certezze per programmare e lo possono fare, a mio avviso, avendo una parte del gettito IRPEF.
11 - Ambiente e federalismo. E’ pensabile in Italia un modello americano in base al quale le singole città possano stabilire regole locali in materia di emissioni e di inquinamento?
Certamente ma in un quadro di regole comuni per tutti. Poi ogni singolo ente sviluppa un progetto anche migliorativo.

Ringraziamo Emilio Bonifazi per essere intervenuto e chiudiamo ricordando ai lettori che in questo momento si stanno consumando, nell’indifferenza generale e nello snobismo della stampa italiana, due catastrofi ambientali di enormi proporzioni al largo del Mare di Timor e a Porto Rico. 
Mancano 43 giorni a Copenhagen. SEAL THE DEAL!

D.Piselli