Recycling Game

 WELCOME HOME FOR LESS
Recycling G

ame
 Written by,  Sharleen Cainer, BSW RSW
The sustainability and recycling game.  In the 70's the youth created what they thought was about to become the alternative culture. They were infamous for creating utopian communities where they spouted peace, love, shared resources and living off the land.  They were considered drop-outs, dropping out of society, and referred to themselves as freaks. Women became liberated and men became mystified. Didn't free love mean they could be sleeping with anyone they wished when the mood was upon them?  Well, no, it really didn't mean that gentlemen.  Meanwhile the Freaks were getting their ducks in a row, quite literally.  Small farming operations were affordable, and many young people went out to the "country" to raise their food and families.
What happens to the economy when the largest demographic decides they don't want to play ball on the same field as everybody else.  So, the 70's produced a group of youngsters who knew enough to know they didn't want to go to fight in a global war but wanted to take up social causes. They fought sexism, racism, and back then what was called pollution.  The baby boomers through no planning of their own, represented the largest demograph in society.  
What ever happened to those ideals? Where is the Utopia that was created back then? Utopia was co-opted and became a cash cow for the advertisers and corporate America.  Canada holds a developing world economy dependant upon the American dollar trade and investment, often using social grids.  A social grid is an amazingly easy graph that measures the age of people against the social needs so as to be prepared. For example, as the baby boomers age society will need many more nursing homes and old age homes, medical treatments and proactive health initiatives such as a fitness boom. When the baby boomers were younger, society needed many schools. As this demograph grew up and had families of their own, they needed to have French emersion schools because they wanted their kids to be competitive in the job market, speaking fluently in both of Canada's official languages. Changes to social order were somewhat easy to bring about, due to the sheer numbers that influential group, the baby boomers held.
What happened to those days when life seemed so much easier? The baby boomers coopted themselves and began marketing their ideas, and amassed large amounts of cash. In an about face, the very group that we depended upon for a read on clean air, clean water, and clean earth; to give us a full report on what was then called "living off the land" had become corporate Canada. They morphed into the oil tycoons, the builders, the shipping companies, and the corporate leaders of today. They became ruthless. They created the buzz words to be used like keys to unlock secret rooms of untold treasures so as to be catapulted into an elitist group of shakers and movers, The policy makers.
If sustainability was popular, we would be a sustainable society by now. We are no where close that that. Hydro, and oil make too much money to let it go the way of the dinosaur.  Government backs fossil fuels despite saying they are moving towards sustainable, renewable energy. Canada promised they would meet certain goals by this year and have yet to achieve success. Why? Follow the money.  Fossil fuels make money, and nobody wants to give up the golden goose. Nobody wants to give up air travel to save the air, and nobody wants to stop dumping waste in the water ways to have clean water. Lets talk about the water. If people were interested in saving the water they would have done it by now. The water would be thriving and its not. Water is life. Without its force the land, us, animal life will not survive. Bottled water was unheard of in the 60's. In 2021, the disposal of the single use bottle is big business and one of the biggest polluters of the waterways.   Everybody wants to drink bottled water and reject the water that comes from the taps. Why? What's wrong with the tap water? Well let's talk about what's not in the water. Microbes. The microbes are missing. Little tiny organisms not visible to the naked eye, are dying off and are not being replaced. A microbe will consume much of the debris in a body of water, in the air and in the earth, leaving the habitats in which it lives in good balance.  Our environment cannot be sustained without microbes. When the microbes go missing then animal life and plant life cease to exist. To reach sustainability the environments which support all live forms, consumer societies must change the habits of unsustainable consumption to respectful consumers of renewable resources.  There in lies the ideology of the movement of the 70's when all was plentiful. What was unforeseen was the extent or the seriousness of today's present climate or planetary catastrophes that are looming on the very close horizon.
During the pandemic, the provincial government has developed many strategies and pre-emptive strikes on environmental legislation. Greenpeace has outlined many initiatives the government has taken such as  expanding their ability to override or circumvent local government land through Municipal Zoning Orders (MZOs) and through this power has greenlit controversial projects that threaten wetlands and heritage sites. Other changes made under the Bill make it easier for the government to expropriate land in conjunction with a new highway expansion that will, if approved, pave over wetlands and send chemical runoff into Lake Simcoe.  Greenpeace use their website to outline all of this. What is our part and what can we do to change this trajectory?

Tagged And Released What Next!!!

 So Now That You Are

Tagged And Released
What Next!!!
By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”   

   So now that you are tagged and released, what are we to expect next?
Not to sound to religious... but you got to wonder how this tid bit got into an ancient book.   Lucky guess or could there be some truth.
Revelation 14:9 ESV /  And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,
Revelation 13:17 ESV /  So that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.
   If anything can be called a best.  It surely is governments across the planet.   Abusing and punishing their own citizens.  Deserving or not.
With this Covid crisis.  We are being led by fear and ignorance.  The more we fear the more ignorant we become.   
 Normally vaccines have proven to be the silver bullet when it comes to fighting viruses.   This time around it is a little different.
  A foreign agent is introduced much like a gas that kills all those not prepared.   It surely killed a lot of people.
  Then the beast comes out telling us we have to vaccinate.  That we must carry proof of vaccination or our rights and freedoms may become compromised.
  No proof no access to society.   We must entrust in a beast that has proven to be unreliable and untrustworthy.    To most the dilemma is simple.   Give into it... Everyone else is.
The question is what will happen to us in 10 years?   Will our DNA become so compromised that the beast will have total access to our daily routines.
Afterall, thie nano technology stay in your system for ever.  How much nano-tech can the human body absorb?
 Government are eager to find a solution.   Pharma will play any tune for the right amount of cash.   We the people are led and asked to not question as it is not about you... but about the betterment of society.
  Where do we see humanity in 10 years?   Could this be the beginning that for our good we are force  becoming less human and more robotic.  Artificial Intelligence from within.  What’s your take?

Aiming for WOW!

 The Art of Finding Work
By Nick Kossovan

Your Resume's Goal:

 Aiming for WOW!
In 2021, antiquated as it may seem, employers and recruiters still ask for your resume (afterward, they'll visit your LinkedIn profile and check your digital footprint). I don't foresee this changing anytime soon.
Your resume is your primary marketing tool presenting a concise summary of your experience, skills, knowledge, credentials, and education. Envision your resume as a brochure selling what you're able to offer employers.
It's no secret it's raining resumes these days; therefore, your resume needs to be competitive. It needs to clearly show how you created value for your employers, not that you just put in clocked time.
Your resume will solicit one of 3 responses:
-    No
-    Yes
-    WOW!
You're aiming for WOW!
There are 4 cardinal rules to follow to create a resume that WOWs:

1.    Respect your reader (Be a good date for the reader.)
2.    Create continuity (Show career progression.).
3.    Show quantified results. (Employers don't hire opinions.)
4.    Don't undervalue the importance of keywords. (Assume your resume will be vetted via an applicant tracking system.)

When I read a resume, I look for answers to the following questions:
-    Can I relate to your career narrative?
-    How did you add value to your current and past employers?
-    What is your career direction?
Of the 1,000's of resumes I've read; the majority are simply a list of opinions. The predictable "I'm a team player," "I'm a fast learner," "I'm detailed oriented" appear on almost every resume. Rare is the resume that quantifies. If you can't quantify, then it's an opinion.

HARD TRUTH: Employers don't care about your opinion; they care about the results you can achieve.  What you think of yourself is a far second to what your resume's reader will think of you by what your resume conveys. Just because you claim to be XYZ does not mean you are XYZ. Prove it undeniably (i.e., "Exceeded quarterly sales targets." vs. "For the past 14 quarters exceeded quarterly sales targets by $25,000 to $45,000.")
Businesses revolve around numbers, so should your resume; keep this in mind when interviewing.
Remember my column a few weeks back, 'There's No Universal Hiring Methodology'? -there's no such thing as a "killer resume." Don't sweat your resume's format, or whether it's in reverse chronological or functional. Focus on telling a great ongoing career story, quantifying your accomplishments, having no grammatical errors or typos, and keeping it to 2-pages.
Your goal, the reason you want your resume to WOW, is to make the reader say to themselves, I must meet this person!
When it comes to your resume's format, design it for skimmability. With a quick scan, the reader should grasp your expertise and have a solid understanding of your core skills, accomplishments (I repeat: Quantified), and career direction. Since the reader's eyes naturally return to the left margin once it's ready to move on to the next line of text, don't center your text. Align your text to the left, even your section headings. This significantly improves readability. Don't justify your text. This setting leaves uneven gaps between words making the text harder to read.
You don't earn points for creativity. All points are earned via your content. Creative resumes aren't more effective than a 2-page resume that WOWs. Most employers find "creativity" frustrating. As well, assuming your resume will be passing through an ATS, a resume with bells and whistles can't be read by the computer and therefore will be discarded. Save your creativity for your portfolio.
One last word on your resume's format, have generous margins. Resumes with text crammed edge to edge look messy and unprofessional. Bottom and top margins should be no less than 0.5", your side margins no less than 0.75".
The contents to include in your resume:
-    Contact information
-    Resume summary
-    Professional experience
-    Skills/Certifications
-    Education
I realize constructing a resume to do all the above-mentions asks a lot from a 2-page document; however, I've seen it done.
In next week's column, I'll discuss presenting your contact information, which most jobseekers don't enough credence. In the meantime, brainstorm the following:
-    Details about your current and past roles
-    Accomplishments you're proud of (remember to quantify)
-    How you compared to your peers
-    Career milestones and firsts

Victory in Europe 2021

 

Victory in Europe 2021
     by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
   As we continue to deal with the worst pandemic of this century, Covid-19, we need to remember one of the greatest tragedies of the last century, which was WWII. This was one of the greatest challenges to humankind and to democracy. The time has come to reflect on this event, in order to avoid a repetition of it in any shape or form.
   We need to protect our basic rights of freedom and democracy, especially our freedom of speech which is under siege from many sides.
In each year we commemorate Victory in Europe Day, also known as V-E Day. On May 8, 1945 Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Forces of the Second World War. This day in history marked the end of World War II in Europe, although the war would continue in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
V-E Day marked the end of most of the fighting in Europe, where tens of millions of service members and civilians had been killed since the start of hostilities. The second world war was the deadliest conflict in human history, which saw 50 to 85 million fatalities.
This year we celebrated the 76th anniversary of V-E day and because of the issues around the Covid-19 pandemic it seems that this anniversary was relegated to back stage.
We need to remember that the defeat of Nazi Germany was a great success for democracy and freedom. We need to remember and be grateful for the sacrifices made by millions of people to ensure that in today's world we can enjoy relative peace, progress and stability.
It seems however, that there are many challenges ahead, and the forces of darkness are again trying to raise their ugly heads under several incarnations.
So let us take a closer look at the events leading to V-E day in Europe. After six years of heavy fighting in Europe, Nazi Germany was finally defeated on 8th of May 1945 by the allied forces, lead by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the Soviet Union (most of today's Russia).
The countries in Western Europe mark the victory in Europe on May 8th. May 9th was chosen in the Soviet Union (Russia today), as it was already the next day when the German military surrendered to the Soviet Union and its Allies in Berlin late in the evening of May 8th 1945.
We need to remember that during the course of the Second World War, over one million Canadians served in places like the North Atlantic Ocean, Italy, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, France, and Germany.
One in eleven Canadians had participated and 42,000 were killed (2,024 in the Navy, 22,917 in the Army, and 17,101 in the Air Force). It was a long and arduous war whose end was long awaited.
When Victory in Europe Day (VE-Day) was declared on May 8, 1945, excited celebrations spilled into the streets and neighbourhoods throughout the world, including Canada.
Prime Minister Mackenzie King, in San Francisco at the time, wrote in his diary, "this has been a good day- a happy day… one in which the burden has been greatly lightened from the knowledge that Nazi militarism has, at last, been destroyed."
Not everyone was at home to celebrate. Around 200,000 members of the First Canadian Army were still in Europe at the time of VE-Day. In addition, over 35 Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons as well as more than 250 Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) warships were abroad when victory in Europe was officially declared. Hundreds of those naval and air force personnel joined the revelries in Britain and France.
Many European cities, especially those in England, had been perpetually blacked out for nearly 5 years due to the impending threat of air raids by the enemy. On VE-Day, lights were free to shine again, and this added to the enthusiastic atmosphere.
Despite all the jubilance, the deaths of millions and the horrors of war tempered the spirits of many. Communities across Canada were deeply affected by the tragic loss of their young men and women. Many found themselves widows and widowers. The small town of Sackville, New Brunswick witnessed 350 of their men enlist-ten per cent of their population-of whom 33 died. For many town residents, VE-Day became a day for remembrance and reflection rather than celebration.
Canada's involvement in the Second World War was costly. In addition to the 42,000 military personnel who died, 54,000 were wounded, and of the volunteer merchant civilians, 1,600 gave their lives for the cause. For those returning home from serving abroad, the experience represented a completed chapter, both in their own lives and in the history of Canada; they relished the long-awaited opportunity to build normal, better lives for themselves, and a better nation for Canadians.
Victory day is about remembering those who gave their lives to achieve the victory we have enjoyed for almost four generations against the forces of evil.
We cannot allow those who would oppress us to succeed, making a mockery of the supreme sacrifice our ancestors made for us during World War II!
It has been said that freedom is not free.  Truer words were never spoken.  Throughout history there have been those who would take freedom from the independent, the individual, the type of person who succeeds by his/her own efforts.  
For generations North America has been the beacon of freedom to the rest of the world, but in the last half century that beacon has been slowly fading.  Our beloved Canada is fast approaching the point where the torch of freedom will totally fade. Indeed, the time has come for Canadians to once again stand up for the freedoms that our ancestors gave their very lives to defend during World War II.  
We need to stand up against the tyranny of incompetence in leadership, political correctness at the expense of merit, and the stripping away of our individual freedoms under the guise of political expediency.  
Are you willing to stand up and be counted?

2021 census arriving in a nightmare scenario

2021 census arriving in a nightmare scenario
by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
    Statistics Canada in their bureaucratic wisdom, with the enthu
siastic support of the Liberal government, has decided to go ahead with the census of Canadians this year, in the middle of the pandemic.
The last census was taken in 2016, and by law, it is supposed to be taken in 2021.
Section 8 of the Constitution Act, 1867 mandates that a national census must be done every 10 years, on years ending in 1 (1871, 1881, 1891, etc.). However, the section has been interpreted to mean that a census cannot be conducted beyond that 10-year period, but this does not indicate that a census cannot be conducted more regularly-such as every 5 years, as is now required of Statistics Canada by the Statistic Act of 1971.
So, Statistics Canada conducts a national census of population and a census of agriculture every five years and releases the data with a two-year lag.
The Census of Population provides demographic and statistical data that is used to plan public services such as health care, education, and transportation; determine federal transfer payments; and determine the number of Members of Parliament for each province and territory.
The Census of Population is the primary source of sociodemographic data for specific population groups, such as lone-parent families, Indigenous peoples, immigrants, seniors and language groups.
Data from the census is also used to assess the economic state of the country, including the economic conditions of immigrants over time, and labour market activity of communities and specific populations.
Census data are also leveraged to develop socioeconomic status indicators in support of analysis of various impacts on education achievement and outcomes.
Now the question to federal politicians is, why they cannot make a provisional amendment to the Statistics Act in order to take care of the exceptional circumstances and problems raised by the Covid-19 pandemic and postpone the census till the end of the pandemic?
Apparently Statistics Canada has no problem to run the census. They say they are aware that COVID-19 may have an impact on the way Canadians answer some of the census questions, including those on employment, education, commuting and expenditures.
The question is how this exceptional circumstance is defining the scope of the census and how it will reflect the after pandemic effects which will really define the future of Canada. Any thoughts?
For some Canadians it's never a great time to fill out a census form, especially at this critical time. This year, for the first time in its history, Statistics Canada is asking them to do it during a pandemic.
The country's chief statistician says this is precisely the time to find out more about how Canadians are living, working and commuting, because COVID-19 has thrown those things into flux. Is this right and sensitive?
"Getting a snapshot now is absolutely crucial," said Anil Arora. "All these trends that are happening at this time are really important for us to take note of because ... so many policy makers will look at what's happening now and see what do we want to retain, what do we want to change?" The question is, if the data will only be available after two years, how actual will it be?
Though many Canadians aren't commuting to work these days, the census will still ask how they are getting there, though it will offer more options, including multi-modal transport - cycling part of the way before hopping on a bus or LRT, for example.
This census will ask Canadians to list the language in which they received their education. It will also include a question on gender, giving respondents the opportunity to identify themselves as transgender or non-binary.
Canadians will be receiving their access code in the mail, and Statistics Canada hopes that people will file their answers on line.
Canvassers could still knock on doors in areas where the response rate has been low, but they'll be wearing masks and keeping their distance.
"We are absolutely aware of the situation. We understand ... people would have, rightfully so, concerns about their safety," Arora said.
And do not forget that the census has its requirements. The Liberal government brought back the mandatory long-form census and takes pride in doing so. In their opinion the long-form census is key to getting good data about Canadians.
So, when the country is gripped in survival mode and economic hardship, Statistic Canada enjoys its time planning for the census with the government chorus singing support and the opposition of the day insensitive to its citizens. Isn't this akin to the scenario of 'Rome is burning and Nero is playing the fiddle'?
In conclusion enjoy the upcoming census!

My Dear Penny

 

My Dear Penny

By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”   

   Dear penny so neglected yet so faithful.   So small yet so mighty
My dear penny how is it that I live day to day and neglect to acknowledge the importance you play in  my life.   How is it that your contributions go unnoticed to my success.   Penny without you I am worth nothing.   
  My life without a penny for my thoughts would be thoughtless.   My Earless penny so profoundly critical to the dollar.   Yet can someone please explain how something so important is being used as a weapon of mass economic destruction?
How do you feel about your pennies?  Do you even think of them?
  Have  you been keeping an eye on the prices at the gas pump lately?  It seems it inches up day by day, penny by penny without us giving it much attention.
A small insignificant increase that most don’t think anything about.  We have gone from 80 cents a litre to almost $1.30 in less than a year.
When we as Canadians wake up and realize that we are being ripped off.
I have a global question.   How is it that during Trump’s presidency he managed to be energy self reliant and force the global price of oil to tumble.   I know first hand that fracking has come to a halt.
We have another newspaper in the state of West Virginia and I can tell you first  hand... that West Virginia has been impacted by the Biden administration.   First no coal.  That killed the traditional labor force in the area.  Then now fracking has halted.   Gas prices are going through the roof again much like during Obama.
I think the biggest mistake Trump made was going after the oil cartels. Buy announcing to the world that America did not need foreign oil.
How else do you explain the sudden drop in oil prices during his presidency.
All I know is that as I drive by my local gas station.  Penny by penny the price at the pump keeps going up.   This is not a reflection of global barrel pricing.
Penny by penny in my opinion is a strategy to increase the prices without consumer confrontation and or knowledge.  After all.  We as modern day slaves pay without thought.  What real choice do we have?
Complain to whom?   File a complaint with whom?   We are led to believe that we have rights and freedoms when in reality we have none but choices.  Pay or walk simple.

SUSTAINABILITY

 WELCOME HOME FOR LESS
 

SUSTAINABILITY
 Written by,  Sharleen Cainer, BSW RSW
Sustainability has been a trendy topic for some time.  Politicians like the sound of the word sustainability. The Prime Minister hopes his position in politics is sustainable for the duration of his term. The voters like it because we think we think that our social structures, our place in that structure will be sustained and our lives will role out as expected. The youth who have taken up eco warriorism argue we need to become sustainable.  For the eco warrior, our lifestyles here are not sustainable.  Farhara Yamin, an environmental lawyer, a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and an adviser in the United Nations climate negotiations for almost 30 years super glued her hands to the pavement outside the headquarters of the oil company Shell, in London On April 16, 2019. As extreme as that sounds, we now live in what many people have begun to see as a climate emergency.  Ms. Yamin became well-known for her peaceful and gutsy manoeuvre. Her rational poignantly demonstrated that a mother of four could be arrested for civil disobedience, (the charge actually was property damage) while the world's major polluters remain unaccountable for the ecocide they perpetrate. Farhara Yamin continues to use her professional skills to combat what amounts to eco-terrorism by meeting with governments and writing new legislation. A change is going to come.

Historically, there have been those who have established systems and communities where they lived off the land, repurposed their possessions, recycled their useable trash. They lived in shared accommodations, had vegetable gardens, chickens, and often became vegetarians. These people were seen as being Tree hugging, granola eating, long haired, drug smoking, hippy kind of people who rode bicycles, despised the use of cars in the downtown. In general these folks were considered "revolutionaries" They argued for peace, clean air, good food, equal rights and rejected consumerism. They cut up old belts, and old tires to make shoes. The corporate world cringed at the very thought of it all. They were considered radicals and were adamant "A change is gonna come".

Greta Thunberg, is 21 years old and has been fighting climate change since she was 8yrs old. She would skip school every Friday to sit in protest in front of Swedish parliament. She initially would go alone but was eventually joined by others, thereby creating the Friday protest against climate change as a movement. Ms. Thunberg was well aware of the conflict between environmental health and economic development. She points out to governments that the economics are pointless if we destroy planet earth. Like many young folks, she sees in absolutes. Like many activists Greta suffers disrespect, verbal attacks and the usual lip service. We support you Greta, a change is going to come.

Why are the kids so determined? They have been educated as to the consequences of our trajectories since the 3rd grade. Those consequences have become apparent and a reality. Our children have become ecowarriors, eco-saviours because they want to live and enjoy life. People are often quoting "global warming" and make jokes, wondering when the weather is going to warm up in the colder regions. Well, it is not about your cold region, its about our unstable weather patterns. These unstable weather patterns kill. They kill plant life, wildlife, human life, and destroy the eco balance of the planet.

Hence the birth of the re-cycling program. There are financial incentives to create recycling plants. The unfortunate reality is that the cost of recycling is high. Some cities require approximately a 5-million-dollar budget to do the recycling.  Nobody seems to be cognisant of the fact that several millions of dollars worth of recyclable product must be produced, procured, and discarded before its recycled. Now this is where it is about to get tricky.  It can cost more than $18 per ton to collect recycling.  It costs $72 more per ton to recycle a product than to create a new product. Should the recycling exceed the limit that can be recycled, the excess product is then discarded into the landfill site. A change is going to come.
 The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in 2018 that policymakers have just 12 years to avert the worst consequences of global warming; news coverage is constantly filled with apocalyptic stories of storms and wildfires. Young people, absorbing the gravity of these warnings, have become the defining face of the climate movement - marching, protesting and berating their elders for bequeathing them an uncertain, unstable future (Jason Plautz Feb. 3, 2020).
Our children are terrified and have no idea why they are doing anything that pertains to their future. They don't believe they have a future. Many young people believe they will be killed by climate change, not old age. The Friday protest has been taken up by young people around the world. Our youth organize much better than we ever could. They are the Masters of Social Media and use it to this end. The fear of climate change has transcended racial divides, and inequality for young people.  Child psychiatrists have documented the devastating emotional decline of many young people. Psychiatry has documented an escalation in anxiety attacks after children see the news feed of natural disasters. A change is going to come. We need to protect the planet, save the world and make our children feel safe enough to engage in dreams of the future. That is sustainability.

Write a LinkedIn Connection Request That'll Get Accepted

 The Art of Finding Work
By Nick Kossovan

Write a LinkedIn Connection Request That'll Get Accepted
   Last Thursday, when I logged into LinkedIn, I had nine connection requests (on average, I get around 35 - 55 per week). Three were from recruiters, five from complete strangers, and one from a past co-worker. They all said the exact same thing, which is LinkedIn's default connection message:
"I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn."
I'm no longer surprised when an invitation isn't customized - I'm surprised when it is. Nothing announces, "I'm lazy," more than an uncustomized request.
In last week's column, I mentioned the importance of having LinkedIn connections to increase your profile's visibility, reach, presence, and influence. The more connections you have, the more likely you'll appear in search results and have a higher search ranking.
Richard Branson once said: "Succeeding in business is all about making connections." In 2021 there are no truer words. Your first step towards increasing your LinkedIn connections is to connect with your low hanging fruits; people you already know. With pen and paper, list everyone you currently know and have known but lost touch with. Think of current and former colleagues, bosses, customers, suppliers, friends, relatives, neighbors, etc. Search for them on LinkedIn.
TIP: Use LinkedIn's search feature to search past companies you worked at and then click on 'See all XXX employees on LinkedIn'
Connecting with people on this list should be as easy as clicking on the 'connect' button, adding a simple note, something along the lines of "Hi Bob, great to have found you here. Let us connect." (In some cases, you may want to give some details to refresh the person's memory of how you know each other.), and then click the send button.    
Now create lists of, for lack of a better word, strangers you'd like to connect with. Start by listing the companies you'd like to work for. Using LinkedIn's search features and Google, find hiring managers, department heads, leadership team members, and those holding a human resource title at the companies you want to work for. Your next lists will be professionals in your field (focus on those in your region) and recruiters who work with your industry.
The key to getting strangers to connect with you is your introduction. You must customize each connection request (you have 300 characters to do so).
I like to open with, "We've never met," and then why I'd like to connect. I have found being truthful about not knowing the person gets their attention.
Here are a few simple examples:
1. Professional in your field (295 characters with spaces): Hi Arlene,
We've never met. I came across a comment you left in the LI group Electrical Engineers Networking in Canada. I particularly liked your insights regarding using our industry jargon when interviewing, which I found thought-provoking. I'd like to connect and stay in touch.
- Nick Kossovan
2. Hiring Manager (283 characters with spaces): Hi Karam,
We've never met. I'm currently searching for my next opportunity. For the last 15 years, I was at Telus, where I moved up to VP of Sales. I believe I'd be an asset to Rogers and would love to chat about how my background might fit any openings you may have. Can we connect?
- Nick Kossovan
3. Recruiter (299 characters with spaces): Hi Eric,
We've never met. I came across your profile and want to reach out to discuss potentially working together. I'm a social media strategist with 6 years of experience seeking new opportunities. I'd love to chat about whether my background might be a fit for any of your openings.
- Nick Kossovan
The time you spend crafting your invitations will be time well spent. A customized invitation to connect will be a pleasant surprise for the recipient and significantly increases your chances of being accepted. As we all know, LinkedIn offers a huge opportunity to connect people who can assist you in your job search and career. Spend a few thoughtful moments writing irresistible LinkedIn connection requests, and you'll start quickly building up your network!
Next week I'll begin discussing how to create the hardest working document in business today, your resume. I'll be guiding you on how to create a resume that WOWs!
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.

All That’s Left Is Goodbye

 All That’s Left Is Goodbye
   Q My boyfriend was married to a psycho for 30 years. She stole over $100,000 from his company accounts and didn’t file personal or business taxes for five years! She wrote herself checks and kept no receipts.
     When they separated six years ago, their children were grown, and I was in the picture. She vandalized my Jeep and followed me. She found out where I worked and phoned me 30 times a day. Over a three-year period, I filed five police reports and got a restraining order. Even the police were getting exasperated. All the while my boyfriend was still talking to her! He told me many times he would stop because there was huge drama with her and I couldn’t deal with it.
     A couple of years ago, he changed his number because I said I couldn’t handle them talking. He promised, if she discovered his phone number, he would change it as many times as needed for my sake.

     Eight months ago, we bought a beautiful house and she is still calling. He says he can’t be mean to her, and he now refuses to change his phone number.
     I am starting to hate him. Before we bought the house, I told him the only thing important to me is keeping her as far away as possible. Now he thinks I’m overreacting.
     The other day, when he told me he wasn’t going to change his number, I heard her voice and I lost it. I was livid! I don’t know what else I can say to him. I don’t know how long I can live there, yet I would hate to lose it all! My mind won’t let me calm down about her. I was honest with him from the beginning and said I would never be okay with it. It seems like it doesn’t matter to him.
Misty

A Misty, the author Simon Sinek became well known by encouraging people to ask themselves a simple question: what is your why? Why do you get up in the morning? Why do you do what you do? Why are you living the life you live?
     In the same spirit, we ask you two things. What is his why? What is your why?
     Perhaps your boyfriend is one of those men who are attracted to crazy. He has a toleration for her after all those years together. It must seem like a radical change not to live in the same house with this woman. His life went from 100% crazy to 50% crazy.
     But every year you stayed with him made it harder for you to go. Each year proved to him that you could deal with things as they were. When people don’t get consequences, they know they don’t have to change. That’s why, when errors persist in our life, we have to eat the blame and take responsibility for what happened.
     If there is no consequence for not paying your bills, then why pay them? If your kids have a 9 p.m. curfew and don’t come home until 10—and you do nothing—you just gave them a new curfew time.
     So the question becomes, what is your why? Why have you stayed? The answer cannot be love because he is actively involved with someone who harms you.
     One police report might not have been enough for you to leave. But five? The police got sick of both sides of this, and the man you live with still isn’t protecting you.
     Buying a house with him was self-punishment, it became one more reason not to leave, and you proved to him that he need not change. He knows you won’t leave. He probably knows why you won’t leave, whether it is money, lifestyle, or something else.
     Ask yourself, what is my why? And if you can’t come up with an answer, then ask him.
 Wayne & Tamara  
write:  Directanswers@WayneAndTamara.com

Bridging generations online for health

 Bridging generations online for health
 W. Gifford-Jones, M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones
   Everywhere, people are fed up with enforced isolation. While adhering to stay-at-home orders at the urging of public health officials and in empathy with frontline health care workers, the restrictions are taking a toll on the physical and mental wellbeing of all. While senior citizens can be especially impacted, it is less commonly acknowledged that younger people, particularly teens, struggle with isolation too.
For older adults, enduring long periods cut off from family and friends is known to cause depression, generalized anxiety disorders, decreased sleep, and functional impairment. Research published in Lancet Public Health warns that social isolation can also accelerate cardiovascular and brain aging, exacerbating dementia.
Likewise, students of all ages are suffering from lockdowns. They are not getting the exercise and outdoor time they need. Schooling has been repeatedly disrupted. The entire cohort of first-year university students in 2020-21 has missed a formative experience. Many in this highly social generation have shifted to virtual friendship circles and online entertainment. Others exist in boredom and loneliness, absent engagement with anyone.
Dr. David Nabarro, a Special Envoy on COVID-19 for the World Heath Organization, made headlines last October when he articulated the WHO’s position that "The only time we believe a lockdown is justified is to buy you time to reorganise, regroup, rebalance your resources, [and] protect your health workers who are exhausted."
Yet, despite repeated regrouping, the virus is easily out maneuvering the experts. And the lockdowns and movement restrictions continue.
So what can be done? A prescription for patience is the order. But there is ample opportunity to harness this awful pandemic to connect isolated people – young and old – in innovative, health-inducing ways using online platforms.
Research shows that matching up young people with older people on digital platforms has a remarkably positive impact on both generations.
This is not a new idea. The aging of the “baby boomers” has had many researchers advocating for policymakers to leverage this generation as a massive learning resource. There is ample evidence of benefits to the boomers. One study showed that older adults providing internet-based tutoring to fifth-grade students became comfortable using computers, had improvements in mood, and had an enhanced quality of life from the interactions.
In a Canadian program, older adults provided second-language coaching to young people through video conferencing. An evaluation determined that participants of all ages valued the program with youth reporting benefits from the language immersion. Older adults demonstrated high levels of motivation to participate.
The pandemic has many more programs underway. Dr. Li Feng Tan, a researcher at Alexandra Hospital in Singapore, runs intergeneration programs that bring older and younger people together for exercise, dance, charades, bingo, Pictionary, music classes, performances, and virtual tours. A comparison of in-person programs with virtual programs found that online platforms have engage more participants within the hospital, enabled engagement by patients in different wards, and eliminated the risk of cross-infection, a major concern during the current pandemic.
In addition to the health benefits, the basic skills with phones and computers that teenagers and even young children can teach to seniors enables older people to connect themselves with other online platforms they enjoy, including resources for health promotion.
The programs are low-cost, easy to scale up, and do not require expensive health care professionals, therapists, or technicians.
Generations United, a clearinghouse for information on different types of intergenerational programs, has a publication in its resource library called Staying Connected While Staying Apart. The report lists dozens of engaging programs around the world and step-by-step guidance on how to get involved or set up new virtual intergenerational programs. See www.gu.org.
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

Hello Mr. Joe

 SCAM ALERT

By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”

    Not to sound prejudice.... but am i the only asshole that is tired of getting some uneducated thirds world criminal calling me by using the wrong syntax when addressing me.   Mr. Joe....  I got a deal for you.
A message to you fucker... Go to school to at the least address people in  proper syntax...   You never use Mr. after a person’s first name.
GOOGLE IT.  
Ok.  Now that my blood pressure has lowered a bit... Here is the number one reason WE THE WEST.  Must stop outsourcing to these third world ‘SHIT HOLES’.  (not my words that of former President Trump).
  99.9% of today's scams come from over seas.  Scams that have obtained our personal information illegally from these so called corporation such as Bell, Rogers and others.   
These giants instead of keeping the jobs at home they farm it out to people they pay a bag of rice and a coke a month.
Now these fuckers in their desperation to make an extra buck.  They steal our personal information and sell it to scammers.... as in most of these countries... ..SCAMS are as rampant as the poverty.
  We from the WEST are so ignorant of the fact that lurk around the world.   How the rest of the world see us and how they in a heart beat kill each one of us and take our place only to turn it into another shit hole.    It is a well documented theory amongst sociologist that if you give a cave dweller a pent house.  He will treat it like a cave.   If you give a penthouse dweller a cave. He will treat it like a penthouse.
DON’T BITCH AT ME I AM NOT GOD.   Life is what it is.  If it offends you FUCK OFF....now you have a reason to be offended.
 It appears that more and more fraud is being reported.   The latest comes from Sri Lanka.   The way this scam works is as follows.  Victims get an email as follows:
Thank You for processing the payment.
Renewal charges of $347.26 is processed VIA  CHECKiNG ACC0UNT
Your confirmation number is NJSM-5S85678
RENEWAl  DATE           :         04/29/2021
RENEWAl AM0UNT      :          $347.26
PR0DUCT                       :         #N0RT0N# firewaII
lssue with the transaction
call us @ +1(855) 528-2639
Thanks & Regards,
  Victims call to inquire as they never ordered anything from NORTON.  Upon calling you get someone with a very heavy Sri Lanka accent.   They inform you that the call is being recorded and it is not.   They then proceed to identify you.... they will ask you for your banking information to confirm that it is you.... DO NOT GIVE THEM ANYTHING.   Then they proceed to tell you that in order to refund you the $347.26 that they will have to take out a dollar first.    What they are doing is verifying your account.   Here is where it gets interesting.  If you give them the right info.  They will take every penny in that account.   THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO.  YOU REPORT IT TO THE POLICE.... They can’t do nothing.  You report it to the mounties they can’t do a thing.   You just lost all your money.  The bank will investigate but their hands are tied as it was a legal transaction from their end.
This is not the only scam... Another very notable one is the GOOGLE registration scam.  You will either get a very formal email and or call informing you that if you do not update your GOOGLE account right away that GOOGLE will delete all your online information.  DO NOT DO IT.   These scammers will also ask you for $350.  to update your account.   It is a fraud.   This fraud comes from the U.S.   Cops in Canada can’t do a thing about it.   These companies what will sell you is an optimization package...under the disguise of GOOGLE.   These companies have nothing to do with GOOGLE.  These companies take advantage of small businesses.  People ignorant of technology and desperate for some results.
At the paper those that claim to only be advertising through GOOGLE, we deemed them third class as they are normally small businesses with little or no budget and have very limited knowledge of advertising and promotions.
GOOGLE ranking in itself is a kind of a scam.    GOOGLE ranks your business in accordance to a parameter.  Outside of the parameter you are just another ranking.    People pay because it gives them a false sense of worth.    They get some response as GOOGLE is notorious for flooding local markets with spam type advertising including some of the local.    I always tell people.  If you are getting any results from GOOGLE.  This is a huge indicator that you are missing a large number of possible clients that GOOGLE will never reach.  The key is to use GOOGLE as a ruler or indicator of where your customers come from.
Speaking of GOOGLE.   Another GOOGLE oriented based scam includes.  People showing up to your door and claiming that they must check your internet connection.  That according to GOOGLE, your system has been compromised.  Once inside they attempt to charge you $400 for something that they never repaired and or touched.
Consumers be aware that there are all kinds of scams out there.    Rule of thumb.  Let no on in your house.  Do not accept offers of any kind.  No matter how good they may be.  Never ever give out your personal information and or contact.
We live in an age of information.   Our beloved companies like Rogers, Bell and others that outsource to third world countries put all of us in Canada in great risk of our personal information ending up in the wrong hands.
The Rogers and Bells of the world will promise to no end that they have the outmost secure system to protect consumers from their personal information from being sold.   What they do not tell you is that the main vein of information leak is by employees.   Something that can’t be prevented and or stopped.   These corporation hire people and pay them a fraction of what they would have to pay someone in Canada.  The people they hire are not stupid and see by the amounts they are being asked to collect on the corporation behalf is 100x what they would  make a year.
People are people, so they look for ways to increase their wealth.   Easy money.  Sell information to the highest bidder.   Make extra money on the side.  A victimless crime.   An untraceable crime.
What has become of Canada.  What has become of our standards.   We through our generosity have become those that we have so generously welcomed.    Corporations are taking advantage of our confusion and make claims that in order to stay competitive and lower costs they must go off shore.
In reality... these corporations are ripping us off.  Take Rogers.   Their biggest cost is employees. Followed by equipment.   Cellular technology is FREE.   Once you have the equipment set up and running.  All you have to worry is maintenance, upkeep.    In other word it is a legal golden goose that keep laying that golden egg every month.  Look at how much the CEO and top brass make.   Look at how they push convenience.   Just recently, I signed up for their 1G net service.  Once they install it. They tell you that in fact is not 1G service, but instead up to 1G service.   Your system on the best of day may push 550mgbts.
Is this not false advertising?   How about their TV service?  Half of the channels are duplicates, not to mention to the 100’s of music, off the air and the like.  The question is why do we let these companies treat us this way?  I guess for the same reason our gas prices have gone from .70 cents a litre to now almost 2.00 dollars.  Are we the Canadian consumer that ignorant?  Hey maybe that is why scammer target it us.

BILL C-10

 

BILL C-10

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
BILL C-10 An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act, leading to censorship and further limiting our freedom of speech.
As the third wave of the pandemic precipitates a real healthcare crisis in Canada, the Trudeau government is again meddling with our freedoms, instead of concentrating on handling the crisis at hand.  They are proposing to regulate the internet and censor social media, despite an apparently clear constitutional problem with doing so.
Parliament's authority over broadcasting derives from paragraph 92(10)(a) of the Constitution Act and is factually based on the use of radio waves to carry broadcast programming to listeners and viewers. The courts determined that cable television is an extension of over-the-air broadcasting. All of which was based on the notion that radio waves crossed provincial and international boundaries.
Streaming services do not use assigned radio frequencies to reach their audience. Hence, they are not, themselves, interprovincial undertakings. For the delivery of content, online streaming services depend on telecommunications carriers to transport programming across provincial and international boundaries.
The mere fact of relying on telecommunications to conduct one's business is not enough to bring an enterprise within federal legislative authority. Netflix and Spotify are not broadcasters: they are, respectively, a digital video store and digital jukebox. Federal legislation has never reached to the regulation of video stores or jukeboxes - or cinemas for that matter.
How can the mere fact of digital transmission change the fundamental nature of the underlying undertaking?
The implications of this argument are very significant.  It suggests that even if Bill C-10 makes it through the Parliamentary process, a constitutional challenge is a distinct possibility.
By proposing Bill C-10 the government is treading on dangerous ground, making a covert move in the style well known in the legislation regarding media, in former communist countries.
This Bill is definitively a covert one. Under big ideas and a pretense to help the public and tax big international entertainment corporations for the benefit of taxpayers and local entertainment and media the Bill is introducing limitations on the use of the internet and social media by individuals.
This government imposed limitations are, in plain language, called censorship. All Canadians should be aware of this alarming piece of legislation, moving forward under the radar, in which the government calls for state regulation of the internet and social media.
At the outset of the clause by-clause revisions of Bill C-10 on April 19, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Chair Liberal MP, Scott Simms set the tone: "Buckle up, folks. This is the fundamental core of parliamentary democracy at its best. It's going to be an exciting time-so exciting that we'll probably sell the story rights to Netflix."
Of course, such a declaration should alert us to be circumspect.  Just what will we find buried under the covers if we buy into this option?…
As the discussions on the proposed bill moved forward at the parliamentary committee, with amendments introduced by parties, the government, through the voice of MP Julie Dabrusin, parliamentary secretary of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, decided to remove Bill C-10's section 4.1, which reads:
"This Act does not apply in respect of (a) programs that are uploaded to an online undertaking that provides a social media service by a user of the service - who is not the provider of the service or the provider's affiliate, or the agent or mandatary of either of them - for transmission over the Internet and reception by other users of the service; and (b) online undertakings whose broadcasting consists only of such programs."
This section "seemed to have created some confusion for people as to whether or not social media is excluded or included, so we recommend actually voting against 4.1. The reason I should be recommending that is we would be making clear that social media is included if they're acting like a broadcaster," said Dabrusin.
The official line on bill C-10 is a strong attempt to dissemble. They claim that censorship was not the intent, that the government is not regulating the use of the internet and social media by individuals, and the committee has adopted clause (2.1) in C-10 on April 19 which says:
"A person who uses a social media service to upload programs for transmission over the Internet and reception by other users of the service - and who is not the provider of the service or the provider's affiliate, or the agent or mandatary of either of them - does not, by the fact of that use, carry on a broadcasting undertaking for the purposes of this Act."
However, the devil is in the details. By the verbiage and wordsmithing of the legislation and the cloudy interpretations of it, the Bill tries to give assurance that in fact the best intention of the government is not censorship.
However, these types of actions are well known for being inspired by fascist and communist type thinking; limiting democratic rights of communications by individuals and only channelling information to the public that is in line with government agenda and talking points.
If you look closely at the Bill as it has been amended by the committee, it would appear to exempt individual users from being considered broadcasters.  The catch is, that anybody can be categorized as a broadcaster at the pleasure to the government regulator….Great…
There are many other aspects of the Bill debated at the committee and soon it will come to a vote.
If the Bill is voted into legislation, there are serious questions about what it will mean for our freedom of speech.
Wake up Canada!

HOW TO BE A SERVANT LEADER IN YOUR COMMUNITY

 HOW TO BE A SERVANT LEADER
IN YOUR COMMUNITY
 Written by,  Jessica Williams
   My name is Jessica Williams, I am 26 years old, born and raised in Pickering , Ontario.   I am a philanthropist, behaviour specialist, business owner, and coach. Today I want  to share some of  my story with you. Ever since I can remember, giving back and volunteering has been instilled in my blood. I'm not sure how young I was when it began, but one specific memory I can pin-point is when I was in grade 8 when my class was required to have a certain amount of hours done in the community in order to graduate.  
     It was from there that I found a passion in giving back and being a good influence, and servant leader in the community. It started with a snack bar once in a while, then volunteering for a special needs soccer team weekly, raising money for walk-a-thons, to feeding the homeless with my church group . This was all throughout highschool, where of course, everyone was required to have their 40 hours of community service work. In those years I documented more than 100 hours of community service. Upon graduating, community service was no longer a requirement for anything. However, the passion for giving back still burned bright in my soul.
    Over the past 5 years I have been involved in many community events. My friends and I got extremely passionate about helping Toronto's homeless, and low income population. Over the past 5 years we have collectively raised over $60,000 to help this community, and have also executed 6 different events to give back over this time span as well. We have blossomed so much that we have applied to become a registered charity and will be diving into as many fundraising events possible when the time comes.
    Although, lately I have found that my passion for giving back goes beyond just our Canadian borders. My heart has recently been called to help out a nonprofit orphanage in Jinja, Uganda by the name of Mercy Orphanage Care. I was called to this cause by one of my independent contractors whilst carrying out a promotions and marketing event. She shared with me the dire needs of this orphanage.  
    The orphanage was founded and is funded by a young man named Derrickson Mercy and his aunt. They funded the orphanage out of pocket prior to COVID-19, not requesting help from anyone. Merely through hard work and dedication, Derrickson had been working two jobs at local gyms, and dancing in the streets to raise money. Due to the lockdowns and restrictions Derrickson is unable to receive those streams of income right now. These lockdowns have placed this orphanage in a position of intense need. Both Derrickson and his aunt have been forced to spend their savings on bulk food and mosquito nets. Due to the lack of work available, they have been left without the resources to provide for these children. Sometimes causing them to go days without food. Due to a shortage of funds they are also unable to provide mosquito nets for the children, resulting in many of them catching Malaria. Which then means that they need medical attention, which is another cost they have to endure. These things alone are causing a huge impact in their ability to properly run the orphanage. Along with many other things like a need for a water filter, in order to filter the water from harmful contaminants. A need for materials to fix the toilet hut that is currently falling apart which acts as a huge hazard to the children using it.  This need screamed to me , being as privileged as I am to live here in Canada and have been given the opportunities I have worked so hard for along the way, I knew I had to do something. So, I did what I knew how to do best, I reached out to my closest fundraising friend and asked her what I should do. She jumped right on board with me and told me to do it, about a week later the fundraiser "MIRACLES FOR MERCY"  was born. We have set out a goal to raise enough money to provide Mercy Orphanage Care with 40 mosquito nets, a water filter, materials to fix the toilet shelter, and enough to supply them with bulk food for a few months.
The needs of these children are greater than many of us would endure here in Canada. From my experience, a little bit goes a very long way when people come together. Can you imagine if just 200 of us came together and donated $10 to a cause we are passionate about, that is $2000 right there ! In this case, that reaches our goal and changes the lives of so many young souls. These children are able to live on so little, it humbles you to reflect on the abundance we have available to us on a daily basis here in Canada. I have seen these children happy with just a lollipop, it is something that has humbled my soul to a different degree.
In addition to the fundraiser, we have also set up a clothing/toy drive to collect childrens clothes of all sizes for these children. As well as any gently used or new toys that you may have laying around would be greatly appreciated.
I encourage anyone looking to give back or start something to tap into your inner leader. Start today, right now, with baby steps you can accomplish anything. I am just a young woman who had an idea, with passion behind it. I took action, and took the baby steps required to do it. Now I am here to tell you that you can do it too, just take your first leap of faith.  
If you are interested in donating to the fundraiser you can check out our link on facebook : https://www.facebook.com/donate/190257249594942/?fundraiser_source=external_url
Or you can contact me at jessicanicolewilliams@outlook.com to learn how to get involved or donate toys or clothing.
EDITORS DISCLOSURE:  The Oshawa Central Newspaper cannot verify the validity of the above organization/group.  The opinions are that of the author registered above.

The Chestermere

 The Art of Finding Work
By Nick Kossovan

The Chestermere
Last week I provided 5 suggestions on how you can make your LinkedIn profile, which in 2021 is a non-negotiable must-have for job seekers, to stand out. The suggestions were:
1. Add a headshot
2. Create an eye-catching headline
3. Craft an interesting summary
4. Highlight your experience
5. Use visual media
I'll continue with my next 5 suggestions:
6. Customize your URL
Your LinkedIn URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the web address for your profile. The default URL will have your name and some random numbers and letters (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-kossovan-647e3b49). Customizing your profile URL (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickkossovan/) makes your profile search engine friendly; therefore, you're easier to find. As well a customized URL invites the person searching to make some positive assumptions about you:
- You're detail oriented.
- You're technologically savvy.
- You understand the power of perception (Image is everything!).
 James Wooden, one of the most revered coaches in the history of sports, is to have said, "It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."
 To change your profile URL, go to the right side of your profile. There you'll find an option to edit your URL. Use this option to make your URL concise and neat.
7. Make connections
The more connections you have increases the likelihood of being found when hiring managers and recruiters, looking for potential candidates with your background, search on LinkedIn. Envision your number of connections as 'the amount of gas in your tank.'
At the very least, you should aim to get over 500 connections. Anything below 500 LinkedIn will indicate your number of connections as an exact number (ex. 368). Above 500 connections, LinkedIn simply shows you have 500+ connections. Getting to 500 implies you're a player on LinkedIn.  
As much as possible, connect with individuals you know personally, have worked with, met in a professional capacity (tradeshow, conference), is in your city/region and industry/profession. If you'd like to connect with someone you haven't met, send a note with your request explaining who you are and why you'd like to connect. (This'll be my topic in next week's column.)
8. Ask for recommendations and skill endorsements
This is vital to making your profile stand out! Employers want to know that others think of your work.
When asking for a recommendation, or skill endorsements, think of all the people you've worked the past. Don't just think of your past bosses; also think of colleagues, vendors, customers - anyone who can vouch for your work and professionalism.
Instructions on how to ask for, and give, a recommendation, can be found by going to the LinkedIn 'Help' field (Located by clicking on the drop-down arrow below the 'Me' icon in the upper right-hand corner.) and typing 'Requesting a recommendation.' Do the same for skill endorsements.
TIP: It's good karma to write recommendations, and endorse skills, in return and to give unsolicited.
9. Keep your profile active
LinkedIn is not simply an online resume - it's a networking social media site. To get the most out of LinkedIn, you need to be constantly active (at least 3 times per week). Write posts and articles. Check out what is being posted, especially by your connections. Like and share posts that resonate with you. Engage with thoughtful comments that'll put forward your expertise.
Join groups that align with your industry and professional interests. Groups are an excellent way to meet like-minded professionals with whom to network and share ideas and best practices.
10. Check your LinkedIn profile strength
It's in LinkedIn's interest that you're successful using their platform. Therefore, they've created a 'Profile Strength Meter' to gauge how robust your profile is. Basically, this gauge tells you completion level of your profile. Using the tips, you'll be given, keep adding to your profile until your gauge rates you "All-Star." For instructions on how to access your 'Profile Strength Meter,' use the LinkedIn' Help' field.
The 10 tips I offered is a starting point for building a LinkedIn profile that WOWs! Jobseekers need to make the most of their profile to stand out in a sea of candidates, sell their skills, and validate their accomplishments. Make it easy for the reader to get a feel for who you are professionally. 

IT HAS BEEN 30 YEARS

 IT HAS BEEN 30 YEARS

By Lisa Freeman
  It has been 30 years since the murder of my father on a cold winter evening in February of 1991. John 'Terry' Porter was on parole for another crime when he axed my father, Roland Slingerland, to death in Oshawa- my Dad was the maintenance man for some rooming houses when Porter came looking for a former girlfriend. The woman had been moved to another location for her own protection, my father knew where she was, but refused to tell him. Terry Porter took an axe, roofer's hatchet and hammer and mercilessly attacked my father, hacking him to death. I was 21 years old at the time, and I identified my father a few hours later. Terry Porter was charged with first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, no eligibility for parole for 25 years.
There is nothing I can utilize that could accurately measure the impact that my father's murder has had on me- not only did Terry Porter leave his finger prints at the crime scene but all over my life as well.  For the first two decades I would rarely speak of this crime to anyone- Terry Porter was incarcerated, there were no support services for crime victims as there is now, so I moved on with my life as best I could, trying to look ahead of me rather than behind.  In 2012, at the 21-year point of his sentence, the parole process for Terry Porter began to unfold with his application for escorted temporary absences from the penitentiary in Kingston. Despite it widely being reported that a life sentence carries an automatic no eligibility period for 25 years, this is untrue- parole begins at the 21-year mark.
For the first time in two decades, I would see my father's killer again, this time in board room at a prison in Kingston, when I would stand in front of him and read my victim impact statement. There was nothing to guide me on how to best write an impact statement except guidelines from the Parole Board- and I was shocked that they instructed me to 'keep my statement short- about 10 minutes when read aloud.' No, I told them, my statement will be as long as it needs to be, because I am more than a 'ten-minute victim'. I was told that I would deliver my statement whilst seated, and at the beginning of the hearing; and I said no, pushed for and was allowed to stand to read my statement at the end of the hearing. I wanted to make sure my voice, not the offender's, was the last they heard before they made any decisions. Even though I did my best to prepare myself before I got to the hearing, nothing could ever prepare me for what happened inside the room that day when one of the panelists introduced me twice, by full name, to the room, and in front of my father's killer. Not one person at the parole board told me that they would say my name in front of Terry Porter that day, no one had thought to ask me if I wanted to be identified, or how I would like to be introduce, if at all. I received an apology letter from the head of the Parole Board of Canada for the distress they caused me that day, but that wasn't enough, I wanted change, and I wanted to make sure no one would ever have to go through what I experienced.
That person who rarely spoke of the murder of her father for two decades was long gone -I took my story to the media and it marked the first of four times I would be on the front page of the Toronto Sun. In 2014 a bill was passed in Parliament to change the policies and procedures of the Parole Board of Canada to better reflect the needs of victims of crime, specifically how they want to be addressed, or not addressed at all at Parole hearings.
When the Covid 19 pandemic affected parole hearings and stripped victims of crime of their right to attend hearings to present statements, but at the same time allowed offenders to participate by video link , I, along with Oshawa MP Colin Carrie and Quebecois Senate Pierre Hughes Boisvenu pushed back hard in parliament and the media for the Parole Board to include Canada's crime victims in this important process. After a lot of hard work and pressure, the Parole Board finally relented and included us. When the Parole Board moved Terry Porter to a prison less than 10 kms away from my sister's house and didn't inform me until 24 hours later, that was the precursor to my Bill (S-219) that was tabled in the Senate in December of 2020 by Senateur Pierre Boisvenu and Justice Critic Shannon Stubbs and MP Carrie, that would make amendments to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to better inform victims of crime of the critical information they are due.
There is still a lack of support for those bereaved by homicide, and a lack of resources for crime victims outside of those published by the Parole Board. I am proud to say that I am doing my part to change that, by facilitating a Homicide Bereavement Support Group through York Victim Services, the first of its kind in Ontario. I am a return guest speaker in Criminology & Victimology class rooms and I have published a book; She Won't Be Silenced and a Work Book designed to help people write stronger victim impact statements. I am a national voice for Canada's crime victims but I am only in that role by standing on the shoulders of those who support me.
My father's murder has become two separate issues for me- to continue to keep a dangerous man in prison- Terry Porter is still incarcerated and was denied full parole in October 2020- and secondarily as the catalyst to help re-balance the system- beginning with greater transparency and greater respect for the needs of Canada's crime victims. I refuse to stand still in a system that continues to re-victimize and re-traumatize those who already carry so much. For this my father would be proud, even more so than I've kept his killer incarcerated for more than 3 decades, but that I have brought change and, in his memory, have made the path a little easier for those who follow me.

  Canadians, the Budget, and COVID in Ontario
(The good, the bad and the ugly)
by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
As we face more and more limitations on our civil liberties most Canadian politicians from left leaning to right leaning, are more concerned with protecting their privileges than serving the people. Wake up Canada!
The recently presented Federal budget with its undertone of political ambitions, just like the Ontario provincial budget, seems to be bent on drowning the next generations in immense debt.  The political class does not seem to care about the future of Canada. Can we blame them?... they were elected……
Let's start by evaluating the federal budget just submitted. To do this, we need to ask a very simple question: what immediate problems need to be resolved and what is the vision for the future?
This budget, set out in 700+ pages of (red) ink, trumpeting concern for the people, says a lot about government motivations.
As a humble citizen I can only try to answer, what to me, is the most pressing question at this particular moment: where will economic growth come from over the long term once the pandemic is over?
To start, it is clear that the government's decision to spend more than $100 billion in so-called short-term stimulus is a foggy political solution for a fast brewing economic problem.
If you look more closely, you'll find that the budget arithmetic doesn't match the current economic data, but what can you expect from the parliamentary elite.
The budget document is clear on that front: "Private sector economists expect real gross domestic product (GDP) to rebound from a 5.4 per cent contraction in 2020 to a growth of 5.8 per cent in 2021 and 4 per cent in 2022, a faster recovery than the growth rates of, respectively, 4.8?per cent and 3.2 per cent projected in the November 2020 Fall Economic Statement (FES 2020)."
Try to find a clear plan and path to make Canada more productive and competitive in the 739 pages that follow.
Although some of the objectives and proposed measures such as investments in child care, skills, life bio sciences and clean tech, should be applauded, it is hard to find a coherent growth plan for the future.

Real governing is about making choices, but if this budget can be defined as anything, it is everything and nothing. Does it define and focus on sectors of the economy in which Canadians might be competitive on the global stage?  Like nuclear energy for example? In the 270 measures this budget proposes there is not a single reference to anything like that.
Our labour force is aging and our low levels of business investment reflect a lack of large and technologically leading Canadian firms operating in our economy. We need to encourage more innovation to grow more firms.
The government's response in this budget? Essentially, it has not addressed our innovation shortcomings (vaccine manufacturing) and has been silent to date on this front.
The Strategic Innovation Fund, which gets a boost of $7.2 billion over the next seven years, is not the best of what industrial policy has to offer: instead of building sectoral capabilities in investing in applied R&D, which is what global leaders like the Germans, Americans and South Koreans do, it provides subsidies and repayable loans to firms.
Does it drive more business investments and make our firms more competitive on the global stage? In the last three decades, nobody has ever tried to answer this question seriously in Ottawa, whichever government was in power.
What about the need to concentrate on applied research??What about aggressively commercializing our publicly-funded research? What about funding our National Research Council better? As an engineer, I was one of the few politicians in Ottawa who took the trouble to visit their facilities and understand the outstanding work they do. Unfortunately, engineers are an endangered species in the Canadian House of Commons.
Other countries in the western world, and China, act more boldly in their budgets, creating mission-driven institutions that are unconstrained by the pitfalls of an antiquated public service bureaucracy.

What does this budget say about our level of ambition, and our resolve for steadfast execution and implementation? How fast will we move to assert ourselves economically in this new geopolitical environment?
On the same day that Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled the budget, NASA flew a helicopter on Mars and charted an unprecedented new partnership with the private sector on space exploration. Back in Ottawa, our budget allocated $90 million for incubators and accelerators "to give enrolled start-ups access to advice."?
It seems we are often the last to realize that the world is moving faster than we are. Just look at our record on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
While China and the United States are moving fast to build their Electric Vehicles (EV) supply chains, bureaucrats at Natural Resources and the Treasury Board Secretariat will be busy in the coming year working on a new Treasury Board submission to fund a new "Critical Battery Minerals Centre of Excellence."?which, as usual, will be well behind the times.
This budget in essence adds many more layers of duplication and bureaucratic complexity to a system that was never known for its nimbleness and agility. A more focused public-private partnership in key areas to drive growth which would achieve better results is substantially missing in this budget.

After doubling our federal debt in only six years, and spending close to a trillion dollars, not having a concept on long-term development is the worst possible legacy of this budget and really bad for the future of Canada.
Most of the problems with the federal budget are also true of the last Province of Ontario Budget. However, in Ontario we have more serious problems.  Let's take a look at the disastrous handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is really ugly.
A complete breakdown of intelligent communications between the Government of Ontario and their advisory body, the Ontario COVID-19 Science Table, has resulted in an unprecedented number of bad decisions made by the Government of Ontario.
The "Table", composed of some 100 doctors, researchers and specialists, is the independent body that furnishes advice to Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet on how best to beat the deadly pandemic. It is their modelling that shows Ontario careening towards 30,000 news cases per day.

How can such an immense body produce valuable real time information? Quantity doesn't mean quality.
Were they as useful as they pretend to be, they would have arrived at better conclusions at the earlier stages of the pandemic. Pointing fingers and blaming only the government is unprofessional. They should take their share of the responsibility, not a Pontius Pilate attitude.

The lack of understanding and lack of communication between these entities has generated actions such as dispatching police officers to police the pandemic in an unprecedented limitations of civil liberties. Though later withdrawn, this measure generated elements of civil disobedience, and compromised the people's trust in the government's ability to deal with the health crisis.

As a result we're in a complete mess, and the headless chicken syndrome has become the new pandemic and order of the day in Ontario.
What do you think?

10 Ways to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Stand Out in 2021 - Part 1

 The Art of Finding Work
By Nick Kossovan
10 Ways to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Stand Out in 2021 - Part 1
    In 2021 successful job hunting requires having a LinkedIn profile that's current and optimized. It's not enough to simply exist on LinkedIn. In this column and the next, I'll provide ways to create a profile that'll attract employers and hiring managers.  
  Your goal is to create a profile that attracts attention, says the right things, and is a catalyst to connecting you with people who can help you. LinkedIn can literally get your name in front of thousands of professionals in your industry. If you're looking for a job, that's huge!
Something to keep in mind: Employers will read through your profile before deciding to schedule an interview with you.
Here are the first 5 ways you can make your LinkedIn profile stand out:
1. Add a headshot
It's mind-boggling how many LinkedIn profiles don't have a headshot, which is the equivalent of wearing a paper bag on your head at an industry tradeshow. Put a face to your name and add a profile picture, a good one. Your profile picture is the first impression people will get of you.
2. Create an eye-catching headline
Your headline is right below your name and therefore the first thing your profile visitors will read. It's your profile most valuable real estate. LinkedIn's default settings will create your headline with your current position, but you can edit it to whatever you want. You have 120 characters to work with, so write something that will resonate. Envision the text of a billboard advertisement for you and what you do. Instead of just listing your job title, mention your specialty and how you benefited your company or customers. Write for your target audience. Are you speaking to industry peers, customers, or hiring managers?
Example:
Inside Sales Representative · SaaS · $68.8 M in Software Sales Generated Since 2016
This tells the reader your job, what you bring to the table, and enhances your credibility.
3. Craft an interesting summary
Your LinkedIn summary is your opportunity to tell your career story with up to 2,000 characters. Spend some time crafting your story in a way that makes the reader say to themselves, I got to meet this person! Keep in mind attention spans are short; I don't recommend you use all 2,000 characters. Keep your summary in the 1,000 - 1,250 characters range.
Your summary shouldn't be rehashing your experience. Mention what you do well, where you're a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in and what you're able to bring to an employer. Keywords here is crucial! Use words strongly connected to your industry, while painting a picture of who you are as a professional.
Example:
As an information security analyst at Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary, I manage the day-to-day flow of information into and out of the hospital. With a focus on database management, my job ensures critical computer systems, medical files, and patient history remain active and never fail. My team and I stay updated on the latest trends in information security to not only keep Rockyview General Hospital safe but also on the cutting edge.
4. Highlight your experience
You can do much better than merely cutting and pasting your resume onto your LinkedIn profile. Include past jobs you deem relevant to where you want your career to go and use three to five exciting and impressive bullet points for each job
Use action words to show your responsibilities and what you accomplished (results) for your employer. Using numbers as much as possible, communicate the impact you've made, the initiatives you led, and the revenue influence you had (most important).
Example:
Directed launch of 12 new product lines, with total annual revenue of $1.3B.
5. Use visual media
Like on Twitter and Facebook, you can add a background banner photo on LinkedIn. Your LinkedIn background banner photo should reinforce who you are and visually support your profile's written portions.  
LinkedIn allows you to connect other media to your profile such as YouTube videos, infographics, PowerPoints. Don't be shy to be creative with relevant media to make your page jump off the screen and demand attention.
Next week I'll provide 5 more suggestions to make your LinkedIn profile job hunt ready.