LABOUR DAY THE CELEBRATING MODERN DAY SLAVERY

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” Always Remember That The cosmic blueprint of your life was written in code across the sky at the moment you were born. Decode Your Life By Living It Without Regret or Sorrow. - ONE DAY AT A TIME - What is it about human psychology that out of suffering comes relief and out of optimal relief converts back to a new kind of suffering? Think about it. Today we celebrate ‘LABOUR DAY’ as a great human rights achievement. A movement that at the time of inception was much needed. A time in history when workers were taken advantage, abused and neglected. Practically forced to work in some of the worst working conditions for minimal or no wage in dangerous environments. Something had to give. The birth of a united workers front evolved. At first workers would unite to speak as a unified voice against all kinds of neglect, abuse and most importantly pay. Unions normally were made up of workers within a shop that had enough and would utilize all kinds of tactics to get through to management. Management in the name of keeping production and profits going would give in to the workers demands. This carried on in individual shops until the word got out on how well this new ‘union’ concept among worker was working.... this fanning a fire of desire by other shops. Many attempted and many failed. As management would heavy handed oppress any union or request of better working conditions and or pay at their shops by closing shops or firing workers. This gave birth to ‘unionized’ trades. For example the auto workers union. One union representing one industry across the board. Workers pay a union fee to belong and enjoy the benefits of the union representation. Today just about every profession, trade or group has realized on the benefit of unionizing and followed the lead from previous workers. No matter how you look at the worker. They have always been the engine that keeps any industry, trade or commerce going. The modern day slave that would work for minimal reward and benefits. The modern day slave that had no ownership other than that of his own psychological confine. Forced to enter a daily routine out of necessity for survival. Unions gave the modern day slave, hope, purpose and a false sense of worth as now they had perceived rights. I say perceived rights as unions in their collection of dues... They themselves become a form of management. A management that in principle to represent the workers or modern day slaves. Instead in many cases these unions have become political entities pushing agenda other than that of the workers best interest. Using their membership numbers as political tool to influence the outcome of the democratic process. Unions in modern times have gone from being the shield against management oppression to the middle man in the process of fair treatment. Unions in many cases are the hard hand that oppresses worker to conform to their policy and agenda under the guise of representing what is best for the entire union membership. This twist in representation, now leaves the workers with a two tier management process. At the corporate level. The average worker has little or no voice as they are directed to deal with their union rep. At the union level, workers are forced to comply with all unions policy and agenda to get adequate representation. At the end of the day. Who suffers? The average modern day slave. So what has changed? Well some argue that something is better than nothing. Happy Labour Day from a proud modern day slave.

Canada under fire

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East As the summer plods along with a high inflation rate and high interest rates on mortgages, Canadians are also facing an unprecedented rash of forest fires with many communities affected from coast to coast to coast. It has really been a season and a year of extremes. Drought is one example. Canada is a big place and it's always dry somewhere, but not like this year. Agriculture Canada's June 30 drought map shows most of the country was abnormally dry. Large stretches of the Prairies were under at least moderate drought conditions, reaching extreme proportions in southern Alberta. In British Columbia, once the "wet coast," 28 out of 34 river basins were at the province's top two drought levels. Ranchers were selling cattle that they could not grow enough hay to feed, and low stream flows were threatening salmon runs. It has also been really hot. Although the east was generally quite normal, except for the forest fires in Quebec in early June, the west was not. From May through July, Kelowna, British Columbia, experienced 36 days of more than 30 C weather. The normal count is 16 C. Norman Wells, not far from the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories, set a new record of 38 C on July 8. Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips totalled up the number of warm temperature records set this summer versus the number of cold records. There were 372 new hot-temperature marks and 55 cold ones. On top of this, the heat was not restricted to the land only. Phillips said waters off all three Canadian coasts have never been warmer. Hudson Bay is up to 3 C warmer. The Pacific coast is between 2 C and 4 C warmer. Both the Atlantic and Arctic coasts are 5 C above average. Then there were the floods — "so many floods," said Phillips. On July 21, Halifax got three months worth of rain in 24 hours. At least three people died in the floods, up to 600 had to evacuate their homes, and power cuts affected 80,000. Roads washed away and at least seven bridges were left needing major repair or replacement. Then there were the fires that spread smoke across the continent and into Europe, where "Canadian wildfires" made headlines from the New York Times to Germany's nightly news. With more than 13 million blackened hectares, it has been the worst wildfire season in North American history. All 13 provinces and territories have been affected, often at the same time. Tens of thousands of people were forced from their homes, hundreds of houses were destroyed and four firefighters have been killed. Over the years, cities such as Calgary and Edmonton have grown used to "smoke days." This year, that unhappy club grew to include Ottawa (171 smoke hours), Montreal (100 smoke hours) and Toronto, which, on June 30, had the second-worst air quality in the world. If we are looking to the history of forest and vegetation fires in Canada in general, since the 1970s and 1980s, the total annual number of wildfires in Canada has decreased while the total area burned has increased, though there is variability between years. Since 1959, the number and size of large fires has increased and the average fire season has become longer by about two weeks. In Canada, wildfire season usually starts in May. The 2023 fires have been compared to the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire and the 2021 Lytton wildfire, but the fires this year were far worse. When people revert to blaming the now well-known slogan of “climate change” perpetuated by humans, we might do well to consider that the so-called ‘climate change’ is a natural and cyclic phenomenon depending on many variables, including the path of the earth in space etc. At the same we must not ignore the basic issue of forest management. It seems that the elite and elite scientists are not seeing the forest for the trees. Roughly, half of all wildfires in Canada are caused by lightning; lightning strikes and lightning-caused fires are happening more frequently. Lightning-caused fires account for about 85% of land burned, often occurring in clusters in remote locations. The other half of wildfires in Canada are human-caused, often unintentionally sparked by things such as discarded cigarette butts, abandoned smouldering campfires, or sparks from braking trains. But let’s face it; Forest management is also a big factor in the wildfires. So here we are: because Canada's forest management has focused on fire suppression, dry vegetation has accumulated on the forest floor. Canada has generally stopped performing controlled burns, which help reduce the risk of larger and more dangerous fires. It is difficult to get permission for controlled burns, especially for Indigenous groups who have historically performed them and are disproportionately affected by wildfires. Canada lacks a national firefighting service, and local resources are stretched thin due to budget cuts. Pollution due to a global increase in wildfires has created widespread, long-term impacts on human health. Due to wildfire emissions, Canada broke its record for annual carbon emissions in late June. Have any of the so-called climate scientists calculated the contribution of forest fires to the total of carbon emissions in Canada? Well ???? Furthermore, is there anyone in government or the public service looking to establish better forest management practices; a service long neglected by all levels of government in Canada? The answer seems to be a resounding NO. They are looking for carbon taxes in various hidden forms, they are looking for fashionable electric vehicles, when due to the recent rash of forest fires Canada broke the record on carbon emissions and became the laughingstock of the world. It is time to think seriously about better forest management and invest in it, rather than spending huge amounts of money overseas and on politically correct pet projects. The forests are burning and people are suffering from coast to coast to coast, while politicians and their advisers in the Canadian public service are fiddling. Enough is enough! Canadians can do without any more Neros! What do you think?

New Economic Problems on the Horizon in Canada

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East As Canadians, we continue to enjoy our short summer and look forward to the fall, though it may not be a very nice one. Inflation continues to raise its ugly head and that means that the Bank of Canada will probably bump up interest rates even further in September. As outlined by journalist Pete Evans’ realistic analysis of the situation, we are not looking forward to getting out of these economic worries any time soon. Canada's inflation rate bucked its recent trend of slowing last month and rose at a 3.3 per cent annual pace in July, Statistics Canada said’. That was an increase from 2.8 per cent the previous month. Gas prices were a major factor pushing up the inflation rate, mostly due to what economists call the base effect. For most of the past year, the cost of gasoline has been a big factor dragging down the overall rate. However, as you may have noticed, prices are up again. Pump prices increased by 0.9 per cent in July. The same month a year earlier, they declined by more than 9 per cent. Gas prices weren't the only type of energy bill that was a big factor in pushing up the inflation rate. The price of electricity skyrocketed in the past year, up by 11.7 per cent. That's more than twice the annual increase of 5.8 per cent clocked in June and the biggest reason for the uptick was a more than doubling of electricity bills in Alberta, which rose by 127.8 per cent in the year up to July. Food prices, another factor that has been driving up the cost of living, eased somewhat during the month, but they are still going up at an eye-watering pace. Grocery prices increased by 8.5 per cent in the year up to July. That is an easing from 9.1 per cent the previous month, but still three times the overall inflation rate. Not every grocery aisle is getting more expensive, or at the same rate. There was some relief in the produce section, with fresh fruit prices seeing their largest month-over-month decline since February 2008, down 6.5 per cent. The price of grapes plummeted by more than 40 per cent last month, according to Statistics Canada. While a slowdown in the rate that food prices are going up comes as some relief, it remains a crisis, which has prompted calls for drastic measures such as price caps on staple grocery items. Other countries, including France and Greece, have dabbled with implementing price controls, where retail prices for core items are capped at a certain level. Similar attempts at price controls in the 1970s had disastrous results, but some policy experts say it is an idea worth exploring, at least on a limited basis. "It's not the '70s anymore, our markets are different," said Vass Bednar, executive director of the Master of Public Policy Program at McMaster University in Hamilton. "We need to recognize that." While Bednar says she does not advocate for a heavy-handed cap on all types of food in perpetuity, she says it makes sense to look into policies that could ensure some basic necessities — baby formula, bread, certain fruits and vegetables — have at least some options that remain affordable. However, Avery Shenfeld, an economist with CIBC, said he does not see the justification for price caps in Canada's grocery business, given the trends we are seeing beneath the surface. "I don't really think we're in need of that here," he said in an interview. "At the end of the day, the best method of fighting inflation isn't to try to pick one or two prices in the economy and intervene in them. It's really to control the pace of spending power [and] moderate growth a little bit." Food prices are not the only thing getting more expensive, either. Mortgages have been another major pressure point in the increasing consumer price index of late, and that problem got worse in July, not better. Mortgage interest costs have increased by 30.6 per cent in the past year. That's another record year-over-year gain, and the largest single factor in the increase in the overall inflation rate. With this said many smart people in the financial sector seem to think a recession is coming. And yet a lot of them also think that before that, central bankers here, in the United States and overseas are going to raise interest rates some more. The fact is fighting inflation is complicated and politically divisive. For central banks, it becomes even more complicated and politically divisive as inflation gets closer to their target, because rate hikes hurt more for less obvious reward. There are few inflation riddles harder to solve than the fact that the Bank of Canada's own interest rate hikes are actually driving inflation higher, with the mortgage cost component continuing to climb. So let us see what is coming and how our politicians will act to ease the worries of Canadians. Any hope?

Congratulations! You Got the Job, Now What?

By Nick Kossovan The inspiration for this column came from several readers who, after a successful job search, emailed me asking for advice on the best way to establish themselves with their new employer, boss, and colleagues. Therefore, I will be departing from my pragmatic job searching advice. Instead, I will be offering tips on how to start a new job off on the right foot. During your first six months, focus on cultivating working relationships, learning policies and procedures — how things are done — and getting to know your new work environment, especially the culture. In contrast to most new hires, you do not want to keep repeating behavioural patterns that do not serve your self-interests. Instead, use your new job as an opportunity to fix self-sabotaging habits, which we all have to some extent. Use your first 180 days to: · Build relationships. · Establish credibility and trust. · Analyze the political landscape. · Identify influencers and rockstars. · Create a reputation (aka, personal brand) as someone who gets stuff done. Before your first day, think about how you want to be perceived by the leadership team, your new manager, and your colleagues. Decide what you want to be known for at your new job, then take strategic actions — create a plan of action — to control your narrative and define yourself. (Either you decide what you want to be known for, or others will decide for you.) Do you want to be the go-to person for statistical analysis, project management or be seen as a strong people leader? Now is your chance! Additionally, your new job is the perfect opportunity to let go of any baggage you may have. When starting a new job, I suggest you: Arrive early, leave late. Showing up early — prepared and ready to go — and not leaving the moment your eight hours are up demonstrates your enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment to your new employer. Watching the clock is not something you want to be known for. Be friendly and open. A new job entails new relationships. Your new colleagues will notice how you come across; therefore, make sure your first impression is positive. Make it a point to present yourself as open, friendly, and ready to cultivate productive, positive working relationships. Now is not the time to succumb to the "I'm an introvert" narrative you have sold yourself. A lack of interaction or openness will quickly lead to word getting around that you are "difficult" or "rude." Ask questions. Do not be afraid to ask questions, especially clarifying questions. By asking questions, you show engagement, interest in learning, and, most importantly, a desire to succeed. Observe and listen. Spend most of your first weeks at a new company listening to your colleagues, taking in the company culture, and observing workplace norms and conventions. Note how long people take for lunch and how they dress and behave around managers and leaders. Identify influencers who do not hold a leadership position. (e.g., The assistant to the VP of Marketing likely has more influence than the Director of IT.) Use your observations to help you adapt to your new work environment without disrupting it. Not being perceived as a "fit" is the most prevalent reason for new employees not working out. Do not engage in office politics. A boss once told me, "Office politics are inevitable when there is more than one person in the room." Workplace politics is prevalent because everyone is looking out for their self-interests. Unfortunately, you will need to navigate the inevitable gossiping, backbiting, rumours, and badmouthing. For the first couple of months, the longer, the better, refrain from doing so. (Ignore their existence.) Getting involved in office politics right away is a recipe for disaster. Whenever possible, steer clear of employees who spread negativity or create drama. As a newbie, you may feel tempted to align with a particular group. Avoid doing this! You will be judged by whom you choose to associate with. Carefully select who you affiliate with and — I cannot stress this enough — be mindful when sharing information. I have seen many careers stall or, worse, implode due to oversharing. Embrace your employer's ways. Make it a priority to thoroughly learn your new employer's systems, procedures, and policies and to understand the reasoning behind why things are done the way they are. It may be possible for you to suggest improvements in the future, but first, understand "why." Moreover, immediately learn the basics, such as using your telephone's features, accessing your email, logging onto the company's Intranet, etc. A few jobs back, I was walking by the cubicle of an employee who had been with the company for several months. They stopped me to ask how to transfer the caller they had on hold. It was not a good look. Update your LinkedIn profile. By the end of your second week, update your LinkedIn profile, which I guarantee your new boss and colleagues are checking regularly to see if you have. Updating your profile announces your new job and shows your employer you are committed to it, something they will look favourably upon. _____________________________________________________________________ Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com

COME ON CANADA WE CAN DO BETTER

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” Always Remember That The cosmic blueprint of your life was written in code across the sky at the moment you were born. Decode Your Life By Living It Without Regret or Sorrow. - ONE DAY AT A TIME - Canada ‘absolutely’ can’t build more houses without more immigrants, The Honorable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship says. Canada aims to welcome 451,000 new immigrants in 2024. By 2025, the number is expected to go up to 500,000. Miller said he was not considering slashing these targets. You got to wonder how these people get appointed to the positions they have. What planet does this minister live on? Walk across any city downtown and you will see how his thinking is way out of wack. We can’t house and feed what we have and we are going to bring in 451,000 new people that many do not even speak the language or have no inclination to adapting to Canadian culture and traditions. Instead he thinks this is the answer to the housing problem. MY MIND KEEPS SPINNING ON HOW WE AS CANADIANS WE CAN HAVE SUCH PEOPLE IN POWER. PUSHING SUCH AGENDA. Agenda that benefits the Liberal party as all this minister is doing is buying foreign immigrant future votes. Insanity. We as Canadian taxpayers have to sit and swallow the garbage he spews. Let’s take the assumption that we are Canadian and we welcome immigrants... and there is a big difference between and immigrant and a refugee. An immigrant has to qualify to enter Canada. A refugee just has to plea that he is being persecuted by his national regime. These are people that carry a heavy anti government chip on their shoulder and in most cases once allowed to enter Canada end up pushing their homeland cause here in Canada. Now what does refugees have to do with housing? Your son or daughter as it stands today. Can’t afford to go out and buy a one million dollar shack. How is an immigrant with no real Canadian work experience to afford one. How is a refugee that in most cases leave their homelands with nothing but what they have one to afford one? What are we the taxpayers expected to pay for them... Under multi culturalism... are we to put some foreigner over our own children's needs? Your son and daughter are forced to work for minimum wage. Knowing that home ownership is as far as some of these refugee’s home lands. I say, if this is the Ministers perspective. He needs to resign. We need to call for his resignation as he is a threat to national security. We, don’t want refugees to continue their homeland causes on our Canadian soil. We want the Minister to focus on working with the Prime Minister to find a way to subsidize all minimum wage earner. Subsidize, in a way that will give those working their asses off a chance at buying a home. Force all multi billion dollar companies that pay minimum wage to contribute by having them pay their employees a minimum of $25.00/hr. No instead we let these multi billion dollar company keep making billions while our people starve. Look at the rate of homeless in our country. Are we to let our standards down so much that we put a refugee’s suffering over our own home folks? I say we have an imbalance of logic when it comes to the out of control rental, home prices, food prices and wages. Why is the government allowing the gouging of food prices? Where is the Minister, intervening...as these food retail chains keep making billions. To think we need more refugees or immigrants to resolve the housing crisis is pure insanity all we are doing is importing other nations problems. What’s your take?

As a Job Seeker, Know Your Numbers

By Nick Kossovan Employers understand one thing: Numbers. Hence, the language of business is numbers, which is why employers like candidates who include numbers in their LinkedIn profiles and resumes and can discuss their numbers throughout the interview. Numbers = Results = Value Without a number, "business numbers" such as cost of sale, gross margin, net profit, depreciation, and revenue have no meaning. Employees contribute to, or at least heavily influence, business numbers. Rarely is a business decision made without looking at and assessing "the numbers." Therefore, it is imperative that you speak the language of business during your job search, especially when interviewing. Your numbers are your unique selling points (USPs). When asked, "What do you do?" what is easier to picture, understand and judge: 1. "I'm a pharmaceutical salesperson for Simeon." 2. "I sell Simeon's line of heart medications, which consists of seven different medications used to treat heart ailments. Last year I sold over 375,000 units, generating $6.5 million in revenue." The second answer provides the size and scope of what the person does and how successful they are. Numbers are vital to your career story. Without numbers, your story is unsubstantiated, thus lacking credibility, a feeling you do not want your interviewer to have. It is said that everything can be measured and, therefore, quantifiable. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras, "Number is within all things." Risk, security, satisfaction, morale, and yes, even happiness, beauty, and love (Do you love your wife or your coffee table more? Answering this question provides a rank measurement.) can be measured in ways that are useful. I am not saying everything can be quantified precisely using an objective unit of measure. That is not my point. Most of the time, all you need is a "good enough" metric for you to make a decision. For example, should you need to evacuate your home immediately, what would be your priority, your wife or your coffee table? The purpose of reading numbers, such as in a financial report, the caloric content of a meal, taking a measurement (READ: create a number) or making a guesstimate is to assist you in making an informed decision, such as whether to purchase a company's stock or whether the meal you are contemplating on ordering is healthy. When it comes to measurement, numbers can be concrete, like revenue, weight, distance, discount, number of views or something squishy (elastic) like net promoter or customer satisfaction score. No: "I fundraised for the Heart and Stroke Foundation." Yes: "Daily, I made between 60 – 80 outbound calls to past Heart and Stroke Foundation donors. Since 2020, I increased my donations by 20%. In 2021 I raised $2,750,000." By providing numbers supporting your strengths and results throughout your resume, LinkedIn profile, while networking, and most importantly, during an interview, you are assisting employers in determining if your skills and capabilities will make you a fit for the job expectations and, more importantly, if hired what results you will deliver. As I have mentioned in a previous column, employers hire to achieve results. Your numbers are proof of the results you are able to achieve. No: "I manage Binford's social media accounts." Yes: "I oversee Binford's four social media accounts, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, which currently have a combined total of 7.6 million followers. This past May, I created content that generated 4.6 million likes, 2.1 million shares, and retweets, resulting in 17% more traffic for Binford compared to April's." Before beginning your job search assess your skills, strengths, and aptitudes and determine how to quantify them. For example, you may be proud of your ability to retain customers. Therefore, calculate your customer retention rate and tell your interviewer something along the lines of, "My customer retention rate, since 2017, at Wayne Enterprises, has ranged between 88% and 96%" Then be ready to explain how you accomplished this. No: "I take inbound calls." Yes: "I handle 60-80 inbound customer calls daily and have an average handling time of two and a half minutes." Numbers sell. Think of all the decisions you make throughout the day based on numbers (monetary, measurements, percentage, time). When possible, use numbers to prove your accomplishments and core strengths. You can describe your skills with obvious metrics like sales volume, market share, or profitability, as well as people-oriented ones such as number of clients served, or number of employees managed. No: “I am a financial consultant.” Yes: "I have ten years of experience in personal finance management and helped 45 repeat clients increase their capital by 15% annually." Regardless of your profession or industry, you have numbers. Some performance numbers that indicate your capability are revenue generated, outbound calls made daily, invoices processed weekly, employees managed, billable hours, and the size of warehouse floor you cleaned nightly, to name a few possible numbers. When job searching, especially when interviewing, know your numbers! Since most candidates do not know their numbers, sharing your numbers that showcase your skills and results will give you a competitive advantage, especially if you saved or made your employer money _____________________________________________________________________ Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com

Canada’s Economic Status

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East As this unusually cool and wet weather continues to limit our enjoyment of our short summer, we need to be aware of the similarly cooling economic status of our country. With all the rather bleak goings-on in the world, we have to make the best decisions as we can to secure our own future. With the interest rates high and the cost of living increasing at an alarming rate, we need to be aware of what is going on around us in order to make the best decisions for our lives. The health of our economy is important for us to be able to maintain a good standard of living. Canada faces lingering post-pandemic structural issues driven by inflationary pressure, weak investment, and tepid productivity growth. Furthermore, Canadian households face ongoing short- and medium-term economic challenges to keep up with the rising cost of living. As a result, Canada's economic growth is projected to be 1.3% in 2023 and 1.5% in 2024. These figures are below the G20 averages of 2.2% and 2.7% for 2023 and 2024, and on par with the OECD average. The Covid-19 crisis has negatively impacted Canada's fiscal balance, with the federal government's net debt-to-GDP ratio rising from 31.2% in 2019–20 to 42.4% in 2022–23. Due to high-interest rates and an uncertain economic outlook, Canada requires, at least in the medium run, a clear road map for managing debt to head off risks to fiscal sustainability and reassure capital markets. The month of July brought us some discouraging news. Canada’s unemployment rate rose for a third-straight month in July as the economy shed 6,400 jobs, a softening which economists say could impact the Bank of Canada’s next interest rate decision. According to Statistics Canada the unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points to 5.5 per cent in July. This marks the first time the unemployment rate has increased for three consecutive months since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The soft July employment report is just the latest arrow in the quiver of signs that the economy is losing momentum,” Doug Porter, chief economist and managing director of economics at BMO, said in a note last week. Statistics Canada stated that surprisingly, job losses were led by the construction industry, while the greatest job gains were made in health care and social assistance. According to Statistics Canada, employment fell among core-aged men (25 to 54 years old) by 0.4 per cent, and increased among male youth aged 15 to 24 by 0.9 per cent. There was little variation in employment among young and core-aged women, and among men and women aged 55 and older. More than half of the unemployed (53.6 per cent) had been out of the labour force immediately before in the count for July, while 38.7 per cent had left or lost a job in July. Employment increased in Alberta, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island while it declined in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. All other provinces posted little change in July, as per Statistics Canada. The rising unemployment comes as high interest rates weigh on the economy, making borrowing more expensive for both businesses and consumers and if we are not careful, the possibility of a recession cannot be excluded, with unforeseen effects. The softening in the labour market will have some implications for the Bank of Canada’s next interest rate decision, which is supposed to occur on Sept. 6, 2023. However, the central bank will have additional data to consider, including the July inflation report and June GDP figures, which are due in the coming weeks. As we have seen, the central bank hiked its benchmark rate to five per cent on July 12 in another effort to cool the Canadian economy and bring inflation to its two per cent target. Inflation cooled to 2.8 per cent in June, down from 3.4 per cent in May. Logically, the employment figures, combined with the latest inflation report, makes a strong case for the Bank of Canada (BoC) not raising its interest rate further. “Looking beyond the next rate decision, we suspect that the bank may be done raising rates, although still-firm wage and core price growth means that rates are likely to stay high for long,” Porter added. In this respect, we observe that down south, U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs last month. That led America’s unemployment rate to dip to 3.5 per cent from 3.6 per cent in June in a sign that the U.S. job market remains resilient. So, in Canada unemployment is rising when in the U.S. it is dropping. This issue should be of concern in view of our strongly intertwined economies. In conclusion, as economic activity appears to be moderating amid sharply higher borrowing costs, and the full effects of prior rapid increases in the interest rate have yet to be felt by Canadian consumers and businesses we should not anticipate a bright forecast. The people at the controls in government and public service will need to act responsibly in order to avoid bringing further hardship onto Canadians. What is your opinion?

The status of education in Ontario

As you may know, education in Canada is a provincial responsibility. Therefore, each province in Canada enacts its own legislation concerning the education of their students. The Education Act and subsequent acts that govern education in Ontario will be the focus of this article. As emphasized in the act, provincial, federal and international human rights codes and charters also have stipulations on children's learning experiences. In 2009, the Ministry of Education implemented the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy across the province that included making human rights education part of the primary and secondary curriculum. To assist educators, the Ministry worked with Ontario's Human Rights Commission to develop a guide with lessons, activities and case studies specifically designed to increase students' knowledge of human rights, and prompt discussion on such topics as discrimination, harassment and equality. As we duly observe, a lot of emphasis is put on social studies, especially in the formative years of the children. The intention may be a good one, however it must not to be exaggerated to the point of neglecting the science and technological side of education in the very formative years of children and youth. For a developed nation like Canada, whose economic heart has traditionally beat in Ontario, it is particularly important not to be left behind in creativity and ingenuity in today’s competitive world. Education plays a very important role in maintaining our own standard of living, and that of generations to come. Unfortunately, I must say that my observations confirm a gross neglect in science and mathematics education in this province. Let us, for example, take as an indicator, the measure of achievement of Canadian (Ontario) students in the International Olympics in mathematics, physics, chemistry, informatics etc. They are not performing at all well in comparison with students representing other nations. As a nation, we must not remain complacent, burying our head in the sand, praising our false achievements in isolation. We need to act rapidly and decisively to correct this situation in the Ontario school system. At present, there is too much useless bureaucracy. Various boards of education are working by very loose guidelines, which results in the quality of education offered, suffering badly. Something must change rapidly; otherwise, we will become a less competitive country on the world stage. It is essential that the responsible entities act with conviction, commitment and speed to correct this situation. The Ontario Ministry of Education needs an overhaul that can only be accomplished through political will and public service dedication. There is some evidence of mild action, recently taken by the Ontario Ministry of Education, in directing school boards to have more transparency and accountability in their work. As such, school boards in Ontario will be required to publicly report the details of their professional development (PD) sessions, among several other performance indicators, under legislation that gives the education minister greater control over boards. Along with PD day transparency, the regulations newly outlined by the province include mandates for boards to report on areas that include attendance rates, the percentage of students participating in a job skills program and the rate of students meeting or exceeding provincial standardized test standards. Education Minister Stephen Lecce says the first set of regulations that are part of the recently passed Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act will help “refocus” boards on academic achievement and life and job skills. “This sends a clear signal to Ontario’s school boards we’ve listened to the priorities of our parents putting common sense at the centre of our education system,” Lecce wrote in a statement. The government passed its Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act just before the summer break, giving Minister Lecce greater powers to set regulatory priorities and school board policy. Minister Lecce has said the legislation will get boards “back to the basics” of education. The regulations include setting three provincial education priorities: achievement of learnings outcomes in core academic skills, preparation of students for future success and student engagement and well-being. A memo from Lecce and the deputy education minister circulated to school boards last week notes “local needs and perspectives including Francophone and/or Catholic needs,” can also be taken into account when developing plans to meet those priorities. The memo notes the province plans to bring in regulations in time for the school year to establish a new certificate pathway to get more student-teachers into the classroom. It says the certificate will give teacher candidates more hands-on learning experience and provide boards with “flexibility to address short-term teacher supply needs.” That has obviously raised concerns among some teachers’ unions, which are in the midst of negotiating new contracts with the province. The province also says that it will mandate that the Ontario College of Teachers cut down on the time it takes to issue its certification decisions for internationally trained teachers, from its current 120-day target to 60 days. The teachers’ unions did not like these decisions very much, looking with suspicions on the increase of ministerial powers. But isn’t it time to concentrate on the better education of students, rather than self-serving issues? It is time to give a better education for our children and youths. The Ministry is certainly on the right path, but let us see if it will continue on this road. Once and for all, we need to concentrate on seriously teaching science and job skills. The future of Canada as a developed nation depends on a citizenry that knows understands and can do science. “The key to achieving that, is the effective teaching of a scientifically sound curriculum by knowledgeable and dedicated practitioners in a community of practice,” according to Dr. Cecilia Kutas, an early math education specialist and former Professor of Organic Chemistry, who advocates ‘talking math to make sense of it’. Let’s go to work seriously in this direction, instead of getting lost in meaningless projects that lead nowhere at best, and result in dissatisfaction, misinformation, and undue resentment at worst. Let us put forth our best efforts for the benefit of future generations. What do you think?

KING TRUDEAU

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” Always Remember That The cosmic blueprint of your life was written in code across the sky at the moment you were born. Decode Your Life By Living It Without Regret or Sorrow. - ONE DAY AT A TIME - They say that a man is the king of his castle when it comes to family. That the Kings role is to supply for his courtship. Lead by example and always maintain the best interest of family. A natural understanding that has been with us since the beginning of time. Unfortunately in modern society, where men can be Queens and Queens can be men. We have become some what confused. But let’s not just blame modern norms on this one. We have to blame the church for failing to uphold moral values. Instead the church has been proven to be nothing short of a corporate entity pushing antiquated doctrine. This in contrast with science and technology. The church has failed to maintain the integrity of the family institution. So what do we have? Social chaos. No one respects no one. Everyone looking for an excuse to justify failure. Look at all the out of wed mothers. Look at all the divorce. Look at kids having kids. Look at the level of despair across society. Just this week it was announce in no other than a social media site that Justin Trudeau and his wife are separating. Wow, the social populist once again championed all that is wrong with Canada. Primarily the morality of a nation. The priorities of his personal life mirror that of the nation. How are we to trust a man that can’t even keep his home kingdom. How are we to trust that he is doing the right thing for the nation. Then again. He is following his fathers foot steps. Justin election win by many has been seen as nothing short as pay patronage by immigrants that were brought to this country during Trudeau father governance. If Justin’s last name would had been.... Smith. Would he have had the same opportunity to become Prime Minister? Many doubt it. History is repeating itself once again. Justin is following the Liberal play book by buying future votes. I was reading a report released by the Federal government stating that they project a major need for workers. That Canada has to many jobs and not enough workers. This giving justification to the opening the flood gates for people from all over the world. People that have their best interests at heart and not that of building a nation. Not only that. The jobs that the Feds claim to be so abundant are jobs that are minimum wage at best. How can the government go public with such false statement. First, those working those minimum wage jobs today. Can’t afford to live in most Canadian cities. Rents at an all time high. Property values through the roof. Food prices out of touch for many. And the feds want to bring more people. Justin, how do you go to bed at night knowing there are so many people in your country suffering. Going to bed without a home. Without proper food? But wait let’s worry about the suffering in the Ukraine. I think the priorities are confused. Politicians like to volley the responsibility by comparison to other places that are worst. The reality is simple. One get tough on drugs. Much like ‘NO’ means no. The same should apply to all illegal drugs. Including the cannabis market. We need to take back control. No more paying for a woman having 5 kids from 5 different men. No more million dollar shacks... No more rents beyond one third of anyone’s income. Stop the food giants from raking in billions from gouging prices. No, instead of fixing the problem at home. Justin, decides that the answer to a serious national problem is to bring more mouths to feed. Many that don’t speak the language and have no intention of learning it. What am I talking about. Justin fixing problems at home.... He can’t even fix his own personal family at home problems. It is not that we expect to much from someone that rode his daddy’s coat tails. It is that we the people are to blame for voting him in.

You Can Add Luck to Your Job Search

By Nick Kossovan Once you identify what you are in control of throughout your job search, you begin to realize just how much control you have over "creating luck," which is an integral part of job searching. Ask yourself: 1. Do you often blame your circumstances on bad luck? 2. How can you add more luck to your life? There are many things you can do to increase your job search luck. Meeting more people will make you luckier. Learning more skills will make you luckier. Becoming comfortable with taking risks and failing will make you luckier. Helping others will make you luckier. A well-crafted, result-oriented, optimized LinkedIn profile will make you luckier. There is a tendency to think that luck is entirely random and uncontrollable, which leads to a victim mentality that successful people are lucky and we are not. Furthermore, when we succeed, we often minimize it due to luck, which undermines our self-esteem. Without getting too existential, life's hard truth is that every action we take is uncertain; therefore, there is an element of luck in everything we do. I am sure you have experienced more than once having done "all the right things" and not having achieved the results you were aiming for. Job searching is full of such scenarios. On the other hand, you can do everything wrong and achieve success. This paralyzes many people, but others find ways how to influence being lucky. The key to creating luck is to be able to determine what you can and cannot influence. Making such determinations requires extinguishing your ego and any sense of entitlement you may have while doing so. Anything you cannot influence is simply blind luck. Giving in to these factors and giving them mental energy is pointless. Blind luck includes things like your family, acts of God, where you were born, your life starting point, and the result of any single action you take. The last one is the one you need to come to grips with because many times, despite your best efforts, not everything will go as you wish, which is why the number one factor, which you have complete control over, in creating job search luck is your hustle. In other words, are you taking enough shots at your goal? Do you believe in your actions, or are you going through the motions? Because we want "easy" (READ: feel entitled to), we drastically underestimate the number of attempts we must make before finding what respectively works for us to achieve the success we are after. When we see success stories, we only see the end of the success story; we do not see all the struggles, failures and hustle between the beginning and the end. The second most important factor in creating luck is identifying opportunities. Not just any opportunities, but the right opportunities. This entails defining your circle of competence — an area of expertise that matches a person's skills — which I often talk about. Having more than a rudimentary understanding of your field and industry, relevant topics to your career, skills you need for success or your surrounding political and economic landscape positions you for lucky breaks. Additionally, you will be able to recognize emerging trends and subtle changes and capitalize on them. Warren Buffett summarized the concept by saying, "Know your circle of competence and stick within it. The size of that circle is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital." As Inspector Harry Callahan in Magnum Force, Clint Eastwood simplified the circle of competence concept when he said, "A man's got to know his limitations." Dancing, music, gardening, and numbers, to name a few, are outside my realm of competency, which I accept; thus, I focus on what I am good at. Focusing on my competencies makes me luckier. After all, am I not more likely to succeed by doing what I am good at and enjoy versus trying to succeed outside my circle of competence? The third factor in creating luck is to stand out so luck finds you. Being visible is crucial to being lucky, hence why networking is undoubtedly the most efficient way to find a job. Thanks to social media, promoting yourself, and connecting with like-minded people, is easier than ever. The more people you connect with, the luckier you get — it's not who you know; it's who knows you. In a previous column, I pointed out two life truisms: 1. The world is made by extroverts for extroverts. 2. The most connected people are often the most successful. Being social, talking, learning, and listening to other people's experiences will make you luckier. Participate in ongoing conversations and your community by building relationships online, posting and commenting on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. As much as possible, spend time talking to people who are ahead of you — who are where you want to be. I like feeling as if I am the dumbest person in the room; that is how I learn. I am sure you know the adage, "The more you know, the further you go," which can be interpreted as, "The more you know, the luckier you get." _____________________________________________________________

Potassium by the Doctrine of the Golden Mean

By Common Sense Health – W. Gifford-Jones MD and Diana Gifford Aristotle’s doctrine of the golden mean lauds the middle ground of two extremes: excess and deficiency. But not everyone follows this sage advice. And not all vitamins and minerals send clear signals of absence or excess. This week, a look at potassium, the third most abundant mineral in the body. People, animals, and plants all depend on potassium for essential functions. Depleted soil requires potassium to be replaced with fertilizer. Young animals lacking potassium will quickly die. In people, there’s danger in either too much or too little potassium. But a healthy diet, including healthy drinks, is the best approach. The American Heart Association recommends 3,400 milligrams (mg) of potassium per day for men and 2,600 mg per day for women. A typical banana provides about 400 mg. A cup of orange juice offers about 500 mg. A serving of broccoli has about 450 mg. A large baked potato can pack in 950 mg! Potassium is like fuel to the electrical systems in the body – mostly in muscle cells, but also bones, the liver, and red blood cells. It helps operate nerve signals and muscle contractions. Potassium also helps manage fluid levels and stabilize blood pressure. A deficiency can lead to muscle cramps and irregular heartbeat. Low potassium levels, especially when combined with high sodium intake, elevate the risk of hypertension. An extensive body of research has shown that a potassium-rich diet has big benefits. Lowering the risk of stroke is one of them. An Italian analysis of cohort studies involving nearly 250,000 adults found “a 1,640 mg per day higher potassium intake was associated with a significant 21% lower risk of stroke.” The U.S. National Institutes of Health reports higher potassium in the diet also reduces the incidence of kidney stones. “In a cohort of 45,619 men aged 40 to 75 years with no history of kidney stones, those with the highest potassium intakes (=4,042 mg/day on average) had a 51% lower risk of kidney stones over 4 years of follow-up than those with the lowest intakes (=2,895 mg/day).” “Similarly, in over 90,000 women aged 34–59 who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study and had no history of kidney stones, those who consumed an average of over 4,099 mg of potassium per day had a 35% lower risk of kidney stones over a 12-year follow-up period than those who averaged less than 2,407 mg of potassium per day.” There’s research suggesting that potassium supports bone health and helps lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It sounds so good. But can you get too much of a good thing? People with weak kidney function or taking certain medications need to be careful and consult with their doctors. Who else needs to be careful? Aristotle could not have imagined the number of soft drinks consumed by today’s society. The average American drinks 45 gallons (170 liters) of pop each year. Even at the average, that’s excessive amounts of glucose, fructose and caffeine robbing the body of potassium. There’s an established connection between too much soda and potassium deficiency. Patients don’t always confess their excesses of soda and few physicians take the time to ask. Doctors can diagnose a potassium deficiency from blood work. But it is more difficult to measure potassium in muscle and bone cells. The best recommendation is a healthy dose of common sense. Eat a balanced diet that is high in potassium and cut out the sugary drinks. Another piece of advice from Aristotle, “Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.” Sign-up at www.docgiff.com to receive our weekly e-newsletter. For comments, contact-us@docgiff.com. Follow us Instagram @docgiff and @diana_gifford_jones