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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

2 Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune • Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Christine Tam Herald-Tribune staff

It ’s t i me to leave t he c old, dark winter months behind and embrace spring with a fresh per-spective. The f lowers may not be blooming outside yet, but there are plenty of easy ways you can bring the brightness of spring into your home.

Cathi Hobbins and Karen Seaton of Grande Prairie’s Chiks Design Group are interior design experts with an eye for creating beautiful spaces that incorporate their cli-ent’s personal style, personalities and life.

The fashionable duo recom-mends l iven i ng up homes for spring with a few simple ideas that won’t break the bank.

Seaton said that this year, design t rends a re mov ing away f rom modern inf luences and towards a warmer, comfortable aesthetic. She said that injecting rooms with accent colours is one of the easiest ways to update a room.

“Bright accessories in hot pink, really bright turquoise, dark deep purples, nav y blue paired with crisp white,” Seaton said. “I think

this is because we have such a long, dreary winter in the north in Grande Prairie, we need colours to brighten up our spring and bring some life back into things.”

H o b b i n s s u g g e s t s b u y i n g smaller items in accent colours and leaving paint and large furni-ture in neutrals such as grey.

“When we talk about the bright accent colours, we never suggest painting in them,” Hobbins said. “But accessorizing in those col-ours and adding a few accessories is all you need.”

Following the rule of three is a safe way to ensure that you don’t overdo it.

“Usually if you bring a new col-our into your room you should do it in three places, that’s the rule of thumb,” Hobbins advised. “A cou-ple of toss cushions on your furni-ture, maybe a vase, or fresh tulips

or some artwork. Lamps, candles, a throw or little accessories.”

C le a r i ng out t he c lut t er i s another way to re-energize your home. Hobbins and Seaton said that there are also stress-relieving benefits that come along with sim-plifying and streamlining.

“We’ve heard the saying, less is more so many times and we can’t say it enough,” Seaton said. “Take everything off the walls, take all the furniture out, even the big pieces and start with a blank can-vas. If you’re wanting a do-it-your-self approach, empt y out your rooms and start fresh. When you do it, it’s like a breath of fresh air. It’s a weight lifted off your shoul-ders and all of a sudden you feel lighter when it’s done.”

Hobbins said that clutter can also cause anxiety.

“It impacts your life when your h o u s e i s c l u t-tered,” Hobbins said. “You should b e a b l e t o g o home and relax and have a space w here you c a n live and breathe. That’s where you h ave you r re s t time. If you have too much st u f f around it causes anxiety.”

Hobbi ns a nd Seaton special-i z e i n d e s i g n-ing homes t hat a r e b e a u t i f u l yet comfortable a nd r e f l e c t i v e of people’s per-sonal style. They said that notic-ing what a client likes to wear is a good indicator of styles they would l i ke to have i n their home.

S o i f y o u ’r e

stuck on how to update your own home, take a look inside your closet.

“Home décor t rends a lways fol low fa sh ion t rend s,” Hob-bins said. “When you see some-thing on the runway – colours and prints – it takes about a year and they’ll come into your home. So we always say ‘if you’re comforta-ble wearing it, you’ll feel comfort-able living in it’.” Once you have an idea of the colours you like, one of the most cost effective ways to give your home a facelift is to buy a can of paint and spend a weekend with a paintbrush and roller.

“If you’re doing it yourself you can change your entire room in a weekend,” Hobbins said. “It’s probably going to make the most amount of impact for the least amount of money.”

If your budget is a l it t le big-ger, renovations can make a tired house look brand new again.

“In an economy that maybe is not as strong as it has been in the past, rather than building or buy-ing a new house, some people are staying where they’re at and doing renovations,” Seaton said.

Seaton suggests replacing old, worn carpet with hardwood. She said one of the newest trends is to use old reclaimed wood such as driftwood or barn wood - or wood that’s made to look like it’s old.

“The whole idea behind that is recycle, reuse, repurpose. The

authentic way would be to use reclaimed wood, but a lot of the manufacturers have pieces that give us that look without having to go find an old barn,” Seaton said.

Finding eco-friendly products, green appliances and materials that are made from natural fibres is a growing trend that will only get more popular.

“You can always look to nature for colours in decorating and you’ll always be right,” Hobbins said. “Not only things made of recy-cled products, but things made in a really environmentally friendly way. There’s so many companies who are really trying to make their carbon footprint smaller in their production and manufacturing processes.”

Seaton said that no matter what is fashionable right now, how you design your house always comes down to your personality and your individual lifestyle.

“When we meet with clients, we look at their lifestyle and the way they want to live, their passions, their likes and dislikes and their family needs,” Seaton explained. “We work really closely with that. Some people aren’t concerned with keeping up with the trends. T hey just wa nt t hei r home to reflect their lifestyle and their per-sonality, and we work with that.”

For more information on Chiks Design Group visit www.chicksde-sign.com or call 780-814 4545.

Home design defined by personal lifeIn an economy that maybe is not as strong as it has been in the past, rather than building or buying a new house, some people are staying where they’re at and

doing renovations.”

Karen Seaton from Grande Prairie’s Chiks Design Group

courtesycathi Hobbins and Karen seaton look at their clients’ personal lifestyle before starting any design job.

Make the shiftand check out

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Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune • Tuesday, April 12, 2011 3

Some of us are born decorators. We love experi-menting with paint shades. We have a natural eye for colour.

I’m not in that group.Then there are others who

don’t fuss about decorating but who always have a put-together-looking house with no glar-ing colour abominations.

I’m not in that group either.Finally, there are those of us

for whom choosing a colour pal-ette is a hideously unnatural act. It can take us years, even dec-ades, to successfully choose paint for all of the rooms in a house.

That’s my group. We’ve never found our happy place on the colour wheel.

Experts insist: “Simply choose a cushion or swatch of fabric to define your colour scheme.”

Come on. That’s not sim-ple. You still have to isolate and identify the precise wave-lengths of those shades from 60 billion known paint chips.

And if you’re off by a hue or two (or 20), you get post-nuclear-green kitchen cupboards or a din-ing room with distinctly poop-

coloured walls. I have proof.There was some relief when

paint stores began installing $16,000 spectro-photometers,

which are able to detect a wave-length from a chip or piece of cloth and derive the correct formula to create the matching shade of paint.

Unfortunately, spectro-pho-tometers have a hard time with multi-coloured patterns and nappy fabric, cushions or car-pet. So you’re back to sorting through paint chips, trying to decide between “Florid Asper-sion” and “Phlegmatic Grouse.”

Scan by meThat’s why I was excited to get

my hands on the Dulux Inspira-tions colorimeter, a new hand-held electronic tool that easily sorts and reads colours in tex-tured fabrics, carpet and uphol-stery – even in heavily pat-terned samples like wallpaper.

And it’s blazingly fast. In less than three seconds the device scans your sample and gener-ates seven or eight colour choices, including dramatic, harmoniz-ing, complementary or neu-tral effects. ICI Paints’ interna-tional colour designers know what works, so you don’t have to guess.

The hues are easily findable in the Dulux fan deck. Now you just have to decide between those

seven or eight shades. If you want to go lighter or darker than a sug-gested shade, just click on the colour navigator and the device offers you seven or eight more sug-gestions, still within the colour scheme dictated by your swatch.

The reason the colorime-ter can measure wavelengths so successfully, even in heav-ily textured samples, is that the device has nine LED lights that illuminate the sample from dif-ferent angles, thus eliminating the shadows that confuse tradi-tional spectro-photometers.

I scanned more than 20 sam-ples, flabbergasted at the ease of using the device. I designed col-our schemes based on a burgundy dragon plant, birch bark, sam-ples of exotic hardwoods from my workshop, a favorite sweater, my skin tone and the cat’s fur (I’m not the first either – her fur registered “Grey Tabby” on the colorimeter).

You can record voice tags with each scan as you browse for inspi-rational fabrics in stores (e.g. “Vic-torian velvet cushion at Home-Sense on March 11”), so it’s eas-ier to sort through your data-base of scanned materials.

If you drop in to your nearest ICI paint store (there are about 230 across Canada; visit www.ICI-paints.ca to find one), you can see for yourself how it works. Scan as

many samples as you want for free.Or you can buy a colorimeter

to use wherever you go. It retails for $499; it recharges via USB cable; and the included sync-ing software can be installed on both Macs and PCs.

Brad Elkins, senior brand man-ager for Dulux and Glidden, told me that real estate agents are huge enthusiasts of the device because they often have to advise clients on repainting a home before putting it on the market. The device short-

ens the decision-making proc-ess by days and lets the client choose neutrals that will comple-ment and harmonize with exist-ing carpet, floors and trim.

Architects, artists, design-ers, decorators and student-painter companies have also embraced the device to help clarify choices for clients.

Painting is the cheapest and most effective way to refresh a home, and now the hardest part – choosing the colour – is a snap.

InterIors by tool GIrl

Paint relief: An end to the agony of colour-choosingMag RuffmanSpecial to QMI Agency

qmi AgencyScan anything that inspires you – a cushion, a favourite sweater or even a particularly beautifully hued cat – and this device will suggest paint colours.

News Canada

First impressions are impor-tant. It’s a tenet that guides what we wear, what we say, and how we behave when meeting someone for the first time. It also influences the design of a building lobby, a res-taurant, or shop, establishing the image of a business. So, when you open the front door of your home to guests, what impression does

your entrance make? What does it say about you, your family, your personality, and your style?

“A home’s entrance is the exten-

sion of the welcome mat,” said Benjamin Moore Paints colour expert Sharon Grech. “So, whether it’s a postage stamp size that’s just a step in from the outdoors, a long narrow corridor, or a grand and spacious foyer, don’t neglect it in your decorating plans. Even if there’s no room for a lick of furni-ture, give careful thought to your colour choices, because that can set the tone for all that’s inside the

hub of your life.”L et a cheer f u l g reen g reets

guests, such as pear green 2028–40. According to Grech, it’s a crisp, bright hue on the cool side of the colour spectrum that also can take on a sunny glow. A bold blast of colour like this also can help announce that your decorating style is very daring and bold.

In the tiniest of entries, Grech suggested one colour is best for

both walls and ceilings. While most people end up using

the same colour in the entry that adds continuity with the other interior colours, Grech advised to think about what’s on the other side of the door. “If you live by water, go w it h a blue or ot her calming watery hue ref lective of what’s in view. Or, if you’re sur-rounded by woods, think about an earthy tone.”

Let colour express welcome in an entry or foyera home’s entrance is the extension of the welcome mat.”

Benjamin Moore Paints colour expert Sharon Grech


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Joanne RichardSpecial to QMI Agency

Renovating is not for the faint of heart, says design maven Jennifer Brouwer, but nor is moving.

Both require lots of thought, e� ort and due diligence, says Brou-wer. “I won’t sugarcoat it – reno-vating can be painful at times, but well worth it too. Older homes were built better and you’ve likely acquired some equity, therefore it may be more cost e� ective to ren-ovate and get what you want by investing in your current home.”

Few people are not ever 100% satisfied, even when they’re mov-ing into a brand new home, as it costs to � nish it to their standards, says Brouwer, of www.decorbyjen-nifer.com.

The bottom l ine: No home or space is perfect, and it’s not whether it’s new or old, it’s what works for you and your family.

“There is no right answer – just your answer,” said Brouwer.

According to Calgary design con-sultant Arlene Ladner, “sometimes moving is a quick � x but not neces-sarily better.”

New homes are further out, have smaller yards and sometimes bad design layouts, said Ladner, of Bronco Gray Design. “On the other hand, lots of people can’t live through a renovation, or have the opportunity to move out during the renovations.” Plus older homes can have ‘surprises’ that blow budgets.

Homeowners need to weigh out the pros and cons to both moving versus renovating, keep an open mind and pick a home that best suits their family’s lifestyle, she says.

Ladner leans towards making the most of what you have: “By renovat-

ing you can rearrange your home’s configuration that best suits you. Living in the home for several years gives you a chance to know what works and what doesn’t.”

While a flawed house setup can cause some to feel confined and want to upsize, Ladner said that “with a few modi� cations, furniture choices and de-cluttering, you may actually enjoy living in the home.”

But sometimes families outgrow their space. “Best to evaluate what you do in your home, how you use it, what you want to do in it and then see if that is accomplished in either moving or renovating,” says Ladner, of www.broncogray.com. “Big doesn’t always mean better.”

Avoid costly mistakes by plan-ning and researching, advises Brouwer. Figure out what kind of investment you’re willing to make, and establish the value or equity within your home – “no point in owning a million dollar home on a $500,000 street.”

Get a quote on what it will cost to modify and get your “musts,” not “wants.”

Be sure to call in the reinforce-ments, including design profes-sionals, said Brouwer. Various per-spectives are invaluable, even if there’s a fee involved.

Come to the table with ideas: Watch programs such as HGTV, read magazines and books, and check out websites about renova-tion and design.

It’s essential to be prepared and avoid surprises at all costs.

“Have the job priced. Get ref-erences. Devise a spreadsheet,” including all costs. Don’t forget to factor in delivery fees, inspection permits.

If you’re renovating the kitchen, “you have f loor ing, l ighting,

counters, appliances, furnishings, backsplash, window treatments, painting, demolition, installation, cabinetry, hardware, sinks/faucets, accessories and more,” said Brou-wer.

Whether renovating or moving, it costs! Brouwer sees a huge number of people who over-invest. “When they move, they over-buy and can be stuck with an unfurnished or unaddressed house for years.

“With renos I see so many home-owners trying to save or cut cor-ners. � ey avoid hiring profession-als who could have saved them thousands in the long run by help-ing plan it out.”

Meanwhile, if it’s more property you’re looking for, then oftentimes moving is the only answer, adds Brouwer. But keep in mind, you don’t have to go big or go home when it comes to moving. “You must plan for the future and invest wisely. Retirement is something so few people give thought to.”

BEFORE CALLING AN AGENT OR RENOVATOR, PONDER THESE POINTS:• What’s the biggest reason I feel the need to move?• Do I love my neighbourhood?• Is my home spacious enough?• Can I achieve my goals through renovating?• Can I manage/survive a renova-tion?• Will there be a return on my investment?• Will I be able to afford finishing the new space?

HERE’S WHERE TO PUT YOUR MONEY:• Kitchens• Baths• Basements

Stay or go? Yes or no?It’s a daunting decision: Renovate and love it, or look elsewhere and list it

News Canada

We all want the finer things in life, but while many of us have expensive tastes, we don’t always have such lavish budgets. And, when it comes to updating the kitchen, many items can have large price tags that we won’t be able to recoup. Luckily, in today’s mar-ket, with a little creativity you can achieve a cost–conscious kitchen remodel that achieves maximum enjoyment on a minimal budget.

FINISHED LOOK FOR LESSDoes your kitchen have shiny

brass light fixtures? If so, updat-ing these can instantly make your home look more current and styl-ish. Home improvement retailers offer a wide variety of stylish and affordable choices in popular fin-ishes, such as stainless steel or old world bronze. Or, for an even more economical choice, turn your cur-rent lighting � xtures from brass to beautiful by spray painting them with a new contemporary � nish.

FASHIONABLE, FUNCTIONAL FOCAL POINT

Most kitchens have a basic faucet – but as the focal point and most–used item in the kitchen, updat-ing this mainstay can create a func-tional and fashionable change that everyone will take notice.

When selecting a new kitchen faucet, look for models such as the Moen Dorsey eco–performance faucet that feature a single–han-dle pullout design – with the added bene� t of up to 32% water savings. The multi–function wand offers both a fast–fill stream for filling pots, as well as two eco–perform-ance sprays that conserve water while allowing you to complete

everyday tasks such as washing dishes or preparing foods – all with the same great performance.

SENSATIONAL SHELVESNothing can make a kitchen look

worse than cluttered countertops. But when it comes to storing neces-sities or displaying decorative items – there often is no other spot. While adding new cabinetry can solve your storage issues, it can be costly. Instead, build exposed shelves to give your kitchen a more updated look and an open, airy feel.

Home improvement retailers offer a variety of pre–made wood shelving in many materials and � n-ishes, or, if you are handy, you can build your own to save even more. Once they’re complete, utilize them for a mix of decorative and func-tional kitchen items and be sure to keep everything neat and clean for a polished look.

BREATHTAKING BACKSPLASHAdding ceramic tile in your

kitchen can add colour, texture and a high–end appearance, but upgrading your entire floor or countertops can be very pricey. Instead, adding a tile backsplash can make a dramatic change – with minimal cost and e� ort.

Whether you’re an experienced DIYer or not, there are many online step–by–step guides or classes at home improvement retailers to learn how to complete this simple project. And, in no time at all you’ll have a beautiful tile masterpiece that will accent – and protect – your walls.

With a few updates, your kitchen will look great and be more func-tional…all without breaking the bank. More information about Moen products can be found online at www.moen.ca.

Luxury updates on a frugal budget

COURTESY News CanadaSomething as minor as installing a new faucet can make a dramatic impact on the feel of your home.



Linda WhiteSpecial to QMI Agency

When money is no object, the sky is the limit in pool design. Homeowners deter-mined to create a private backyard oasis are pushing the demand for fountains, water-falls, grottos and elaborate lighting systems. Infinity-edge designs are among the trends making a splash.

“Pools and spas are being designed with infinity edges on one or more sides, includ-ing curved edges,” said Roger Rizzo of Aloha Pools in Burnaby, B.C., where west coast views of forest and ocean lend themselves to this trend.

Zero-entry pools and spas – where the water is level with the surrounding deck – are also growing in popularity. “Terminating at an infinity-edge provides seamless integra-tion with natural spaces beyond,” Rizzo said. “Natural forest settings permit the use of real and faux rock to integrate a pool or spa into the landscape to create spectacular grotto effects.”

The integration of water features such as fountains, waterfalls and spillways into pools and spas – including sheer descent waterfalls – is another growing trend.

Other must-haves: Swim spa systems, lam-inar jets with fibre-optic lighting, underwa-ter sound systems and multi-colour light-ing effects. Saltwater systems, and ultraviolet and ozone purification systems are becom-ing increasingly commonplace as owners discovers options that have varying impacts on the environment.

Thanks to advances in technology, some pool owners are embracing the ultimate con-venience: Control systems integrated into home automation systems.

“The ability to monitor and control a pool, spa or water feature remotely from an iPhone or other computer was science fiction a few years ago, but is now becoming more com-mon,” said Rizzo. “Simply turn up the heat for your spa on your way home and it's ready for you when you arrive.”

Those concerned about the environmental footprint of pools and spas can choose more efficient heating options. “Heat pumps, geo-thermal systems and heat exchangers oper-ating from high-efficiency boilers that sup-ply both home and pool and spa systems are becoming more common than traditional gas-fired heaters,” said Rizzo.

Custom-designed concrete spas integrated into a poolscape are also increasingly pop-ular, said Mark Wideman of Betz Pools in Toronto, Ont. They can be designed so the homeowner can put their pool to bed for the winter and enjoy their spa year round.

The rectangular pool remains a classic design.

“It’s timeless because it’s a pure shape and in the right setting is still a great shape,” said Wideman. Pool designers are playing with traditional dimensions that dictate the width of the pool should be half its length and cre-ating a skinnier version of the rectangle that’s very sleek.

Smaller backyards have resulted in crea-tive designs that include ‘spools’ – a combi-nation spa/pool – or plunge pools. In such cases, some pool owners are opting for swim jets so they can swim against the current for exercise.

“Instead of spending money on a second property such as a cottage they use only on weekends, many homeowners are instead spending some of that money on creating a backyard they can enjoy at the end of the day as well as weekends,” said Wideman.

Their wish lists include things like outdoor kitchens for entertaining, decorative caba-nas, water features and night lighting. Diving boards and slides are few and far between due to safety concerns.

Safety covers are also evolving. They gen-erally require a rectangular-shaped pool but there are alternatives for other shapes, such as cantilever deck designs or deck-mounted systems. “Sealed floating covers provide almost limitless design options as the cover will mysteriously float out from a hidden wall chamber or up from a hidden door the floor of the pool,” said Rizzo.

In the swim of things

Courtesy of Betz PoolsNo effort was spared in the creation of this fabulous hillside 16 x 32 pool, which merges beauti-fully with the home’s multilevel terraces.


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Let's talk dirt – and dust, cobwebs and grime too.

Winter buildup takes its toll, and if your home has gone from cozy to clutter, from fresh to filthy, you're not alone. Hey, few of us like to clean – but we all like to live in a clean home.

So time to let the sun shine in. Revitalizing and refreshing your home is a rewarding ritual, albeit one few embrace.

According to Frank Turco, of Home Depot, “spring cleaning is a tedious, but an essential require-ment for everyone regardless of whether they live in a house, apart-ment or condo.

“The winter months can be tough on a space. With windows and doors closed all the time and the furnace running almost constantly, dust is constantly building up,” says Turco, adding that cleaning a place of all that winter build-up is critical to living a healthy life.

Take Turco’s tips and clean up:

• Replace or wash filters.• Clean the duct work and fur-

nace.• Take down drapery and give it a

good wash and cleaning.• Move appliances to clear out

dust bunnies that have built-up.• Paint - nothing refreshes a space

more than a fresh coat of paint.

• Wash all the floors and carpets.• Repair cracks in moulding that

may have been created by the dry winter air.

• Adjust doors and windows that may have shifted due to changes in temperatures.

• Use microfibre dusters and cloths to remove dust.

Meanwhile, l ighten your heavy-duty chores with these new products and gadgets:

Clear the air with the new Dyson Air Multiplier fan. Streamlined and attractive, this fan is bladeless and features cool technology that ampli-fies air by 15 times so it expels 405 litres of air every second. No grimy blades to clean; $379-$549, available at www.dyson.com, The Bay, Home Outfitters, Sears, Future Shop, Best Buy, Canadian Tire.

Get Martha Stewart to clean. The domestic diva offers a green clean, up all-natural cleaning solutions that are safe for families, pets and every surface in the house. All prod-ucts are 99% plant and mineral-based plus all packaging recycla-ble. No fragrances or colours, only natural cleaning agents. Martha Stewart Clean products include All Purpose Cleaner and Wood Floor Cleaner to Carpet Spot Remover, Toilet Cleaner and Laundry Deter-gent; $4.99 - $24.99, Loblaws and The Home Depot.

Look out, crumbs. Swiffer's got a sweeper and vacuum all in one. Swiffer's new SweeperVac com-

bines the dry sweeping cloth with a cordless vacuum so wood, tile and vinyl floors shine. Beats a broom and doesn’t require vacuum bags. A dirt cup collects dirt, dust and pet hair – just empty with the push of a button; $49.99, and 16-count refill for dry coths are $5.99, at Lob-law stores, Walmart, Canadian Tire, Costco and Shoppers.

If you're a clean freak, get attached to the cordless Dyson DC34. Not only powerful and lightweight, this slim and attractive upright features adjustable suction power modes plus handy detachable cleaning wand to reach high places; $349.99, available at The Bay, Home Out-fitter, Bed Bath & Beyond, Future Shop, www.bestbuy.ca.

Dust bunnies beware! Swiffer Duster 360 grabs dust and dirt and won't let go. No flying dust at all. Fluffy fibres attract and attack in corners and crevices - no space is safe from the Swiffer 360 with extendable handle; $5.99, six-count refill is $10.99, at Loblaw stores, Walmart, Canadian Tire, Costco and Shoppers.

Garages have never looked so good. No more digging deep for gardening tools, camping equip-ment and golf clubs. Gladiator GarageWorks brings order to your garage with an attractive and super efficient system that organizes and declutters. Choose from a number of zones, from workshop with tool organizers, to gardening work sta-tions and sports equipment lock-

ers and shelving; available at Sears.ca, Lowe’s stores, and www.gladiatorga-rageworks.com

Store in style: D e c o rat i v e s t o r-age baskets are a great way to organ-ize and tuck away items while enhanc-ing your décor at the same time. The PC Home line by Lob-laws offers attractive woven storage solu-tions for bathroom toiletries and mag-azines too; $12.99-$29.

Don’t be a dirty cleaner – go green with award-winning Earth Friendly Products. Conven-ient six-pack Safeguard Kit of all-natural cleaning products, includ-ing Parsley Plus All-Surface Cleaner, Dishmate Hand Dishwashing Cleaner, ECOS All-Natural Laundry Detergent, Wave 100% Natural Auto Dishwasher Gel, Eco Breeze Fab-ric Refresher and Window Cleaner. Available at Canadian Tire; for other retailers check out www.ecos.com.

Add these new products to your cleaning crew: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Bath Scrubber, Bounty Extra Soft Paper Towels, Mr. Clean with Febreze Disinfecting Liquid and Spray; Febreze Noticeables

pluggable air freshener, and Cas-cade All-in-1 ActionPacs for dish-washers.

Worth the wait. Give carpets a deep-cleaning massage in late spring. The new Hoover MaxExtract eats up dirt and grime in no time. This line of deep cleaners power washes surfaces with pressurized water and an automatic detergent system, combined with spin scrub brushes, and then finishes up with a pressurized heated drying. They clean carpets, upholstery and adjust speed for various floor surfaces, including sealed wood floors and tiled floors too; $299.99, available at Sears and Home Hardware by June.

Shake the wintery cobwebs out of your house

qmi AgencyDon’t be a dirty cleaner, go green with award-winning earth Friendly Products.

News Canada

When looking for a natural prod-uct, the Natural Products Asso-ciation (NPA) – the nation’s old-est and largest non–profit agency dedicated to the natural products industry – suggests you consider whether your product fits into one of these four categories: Natural,

safe, responsible and sustainable.Natural: Is the product you are

choosing made with at least 95% natural ingredients? Choosing products made of mostly natural ingredients can help keep your house free of unwanted chemi-cals.

Safe: The Nat ura l Products Association recommends avoiding

products that contain a suspected risk to human health or the envi-ronment.

Responsible: Choose products that are safe for everyone – even animals. Look for cleaning prod-ucts that don’t test on animals during the formula development process.

Sustainable: Look for products

that are made with biodegrad-able ingredients and with envi-ronmentally sustainable packag-ing to ensure that your products stay green long after you are done using them.

Products certified by the Natu-ral Product Association allow you to rest easy knowing your clean-ing products are made with natu-

rally–derived ingredients. If you’re unsure if a product meets these stringent standards, look for the NPA seal, which can be found on products like many of those found in the Green Works family of prod-ucts.

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Home sales jump 29% in January; third straight increase

Sharon SingletonQMI Agency

More young Canadians are turning to the Internet for advice on buying a home, and the growing use of online tools is likely to challenge the grip of the MLS system, experts say.

According to a survey by RBC, 55% of younger Canadians, aged 18 to 34, are more likely to turn to real estate websites when buying a property.

That’s a big difference from the older gen-eration, with 71% of those aged 45 and older saying they would turn to a real estate agent, rising to 74% for buyers over 55, the survey found.

Although the increased use of the Internet in the real estate market doesn’t spell the end of the current system through which 90% of Canada’s homes are bought and sold, it does provide a window of opportunity for those able to capitalize on the growing use of new tools to gain market share.

“That number is eroding and will continue to erode,” John Andrews, director of Queen’s University’s Executive Seminars on Corpo-rate & Investment Real Estate, said about the number of properties sold through MLS. “New technology will be absolutely key.

“Most of the technology we need is already out there and I cannot think of any other industry that can make better use of it than

real estate.”Andrews points to GPS technology in

smartphones as one example, giving poten-tial homebuyers instant access to the infor-mation and location of properties in an area they may be interested in, coupled with loca information on schools and transit and other neighbourhood details.

ComFree, formerly know as ByTheOwner.com, launched an iPhone app in 2009 which was updated in February due to popular demand.

Some of Canada’s larger brokerages also offer similar services, though the market is still seen as underserved compared with the U.S.

ComFree, a commission-free brokerage, which offers an alternative to the MLS sys-tem, said almost half of its customers were in the younger, under-44 age bracket.

The company, which has traffic of about 2.5 million to its Internet site each month, said 35% of those are in the 18 to 35 -year age bracket. That’s greater than the proportion in general society as a whole, where that group makes up 22%.

“Many, many of our customers are in the younger generation,” comFree general man-ager Pat Sullivan said “I think it speaks to the level of comfort they have with the Internet.”

Sullivan said sales at the network, which was launched last September, are picking up, without giving further details.

Remo Zaccagna Herald-Tribune staff

New mortgage rules that came into effect in mid-March are unlikely to dissuade first-time homebuyers from purchasing a home, say those in the local hous-ing industry.

Changes included a reduction of the maximum amortization period to 30 years from 35 years, with a down payment of 20%.

Additionally, the borrowing limit using a home as equity was reduced to 85% of the total value from 90%.

The lead-up to the March 18 deadline was a busy one for brokers and realtors alike, as people rushed to get in before the changes.

According to figures released by the Grande Prairie & Area Associ-ation of Realtors (GPAAR), home sales jumped 29% in January, rep-resenting the third consecutive year-over-year increase and the fourth-highest January on record.

That is partly attributable to peo-ple trying to beat the deadline for the rule changes, association presi-dent Lesley Craig said.

But with the rules now in effect for a week, she doesn’t see that

activity dropping off significantly as a result, at least in the short term.

“Now the spring rush is going to start, too, so I think we’re going to see a kind of a level playing field across the board,” she said.

Melanie Bell-Fournier, a bro-ker with Epic Mortgage Solutions Inc., said a number of people have called to inquire about the new reg-ulations, but has not known any-one to waiver in their desire to pur-chase as a result of the rules.

“It won’t make a difference right now to most new home buyers. I haven’t seen any impact so far, we’ve just had a week, of course, but so far I haven’t had a lot of peo-ple come in that are concerned or haven’t qualified because of the changes,” she said.

“So I don’t know that it will really scare anyone off that’s already look-ing at purchasing a home.”

Ho w e v e r, l i k e C ra i g , B e l l -Fournier has noticed an increase in activity over the last few months, so in that regard the new rules have had some impact, she said.

“We had a really busy month and last week was quite busy. Anyone that had their mortgage formally approved by March 17 did get the 35-year amortization,” she said. “I

would say that it did impact and we can see that in the fluctuations of the MLS listings. They’ve dropped dramatically and (the new rules) certainly I think was part of it.”

The new rules mean on an aver-age mortgage of $250,000, the shorter term would amount to a payment increase of approximately $100 per month.

“It might just mean that some-one can’t spend quite as much on a house as what they going to or what they could have before the dead-line,” Craig said.

“But all the other market factors are still in place for a strong buy-ing position. Interest rates are still really low, there is still lots of inven-tory on the market, so there’s lots to

choose from.”The new rules come at a time

when some Canadian households are taking on too much of a debt burden, and as such the rules are designed to curtail credit.

Fang Qin, a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. market analyst for the Prairies and Territories, said there would be added benefits as well.

“We’re going to see people pay-ing lower amounts of interest charges over the lifetime of the mortgage, so this basically allows homeowners to build up equity a little bit quicker than otherwise would be the case,” she said.

Over the long term, the rules are not expected to have an impact on the Grande Prairie market, she said.

“We’re looking for the Grande Prairie and area to stabilize this year and for a moderate pickup leading to 2012, and that hasn’t change substantially.”

Young homebuyers hit the web for property advice

courtesy News Canadaeven with new mortgage rules coming into effect in March it doesn’t look like it will have a major impact on house sale numbers.


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Tips on saving energy and reducing your monthly utility billNews Canada

Canadians everywhere are con-cerned about the rising cost of energy. Though many are looking to cut this expense, they are also concerned about the e� ect making these changes will have on their lifestyle. According to Kathy Buck-worth, mother of four and award w inning w riter, saving energ y and reducing energy costs doesn’t have to be cumbersome – it can be as easy as making a few simple changes. Below, Buckworth pro-vides tips on ways to save energy and money without changing your lifestyle.Replace old appliances

You can reduce ref r igerator energy use up to 40% by replac-ing a 1993 or older unit with a new, energy–e� cient model. When buy-ing a refrigerator it is important to select the right size for your needs. A model that is too big wastes both money and energy. Pick the right support products

Today, many companies are pro-

viding products that help Canadi-ans use less energy to lessen their impact on the environment. When at the grocery store, look for prod-ucts like those in P&G’s Future Friendly line–up that can help you reduce your impact on the environ-ment while still using the products you know and trust. Chances are, you’re already using some of them.Turn o� the lights

Are you, or someone in your fam-ily, guilty of leaving the lights on? � is is the easiest habit to � x – sim-ply turn off the lights as you leave a room and you’ll ease your energy consumption. Try leaving Post–its on your light switches for the first month to remind yourself and soon it will become second nature.Replace your ancient bulbs

Incandescent light bulbs are not environmentally friendly, and they consume more energy. Replace any incandescent with � uorescent compact bulbs to see immediate results.Invest in EnergyStar appliances

Greener technology is readily

available and many of your favour-ite brands are selling state of the art appliances that help reduce water and energy use. When you’re look-ing for your next upgrade, choose appliances with the EnergyStar rating.Wash in cold water

Your biggest sav ings can be found by simply using cold water for your laundry. Try using deter-gents specially designed to clean in cold water conditions, like Tide Coldwater, which provides a great clean without the heat. Turn it o� and save

When you go for a coffee break or leave the office for a short time – consider turning o� the monitor. � at alone will save 60% of the total energy used by the computer.Enjoy the fresh air

Try opening your east and south facing windows during the day instead of blasting the air condi-tioning. And for the days where you’ll be using your air condition-ing, use a programmable thermo-stat that can automatically adjust

the temperature setting for those times you know you’ll be out. By slightly adjusting the temperature, you can experience signi� cant sav-ings on your monthly energy bill.

More information on the sim-ple steps you can take to help save energ y can be found online at www.futurefriendlybrands.ca.

COURTESY News CanadaA successful home includes a number of small fragments that must be considered when it comes to your endless bills.


www.dailyheraldtribune.com

..................

..................

...........

Today

Mainly sunny

High -8° Low -7°

Tomorrow

Flurries

High -3° Low -3°

Sunrise: 9:20 a.m.

Sunset: 16:39 p.m.

AU

X

ANY CORRECTIONS not provided by 3:00

to publication become the full responsibili

I have proofed the information including address

& phone # and approve the ad as indicated:

Printed: 05.21.2010

Document Name: DHT Win Earlug TFN

User Name: Vaughn

Ad Rep: Karyn

2010 Publication: DHT

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entertainment

Looking forward has always

been important to me.

I love to remember the good

old days and even take time to

cry over memories that have

become bittersweet throughout

the years because memories

have their significances.

Living in the moment is won-

derful and refreshing and I try to

spend as much time as possible

here.I arrived in Grande Prairie at

the beginning of October. We

had a fabulous fall according to

the people I have had the oppor-

tunity to meet and the staff here

at the DHT.

I have spent the past couple

of months learning the ropes

both at the paper and in the

community.

Spending some of my youth

in Northern Alberta, including

starting my career at the Peace

River Record-Gazette, has given

me an attachment to this land

and a tolerance to this climate.

So the snow and I have a rela-

tionship even though at times it

is somewhat dysfunctional.

I thought I would take this

time and this space to tell you

about some of the things I am

looking forward to, and some

of the things that you and your

families can look forward to

from us in the coming year.

The Daily Herald-Tribune has

big plans for 2011; in this ever-

changing world we have plans

to offer you bigger and better

service.

We will be delivering our

product to our readers on

the platform of their choice.

They will be able to access us

when they want us where they

want us. We will start working

towards decreasing our carbon

footprint by offering full edition

subscriptions online.

Video, blogs, podcasts will all

be part of our content package.

Corporately, we will be seeing

the launch of Sun TV, integrating

all of our resources and informa-

tion sources coast to coast and

delivering a strong and indepen-

dent voice of commentary on

issues we all share as Canadians.

We will be delivering our

advertisers’ messages both in

print and online. We will have

targeted products for readers

and advertisers to help bring

together the seller and con-

sumer.

Partnerships this coming year

will include working closely with

the community to find out what

our readers, advertisers and the

business community need and

expect from us.

Everyone’s input is important

to us. We encourage everyone to

tell us what they want from us,

because we essentially belong

to you.

We want to make it as easy as

possible for you to give us your

opinions and you are able to do

that by sending us letters, faxes,

emails, or even by picking up

the phone and calling.

The DHT brings you live news

online and you should sign up

as a Facebook fan so you can

get the Grande Prairie and area

news the minute it becomes

news.

Do you tweet? Be sure to

follow us on Twitter too. Our

reporters are tweeting live while

they are covering local events.

We will keep you informed and

up-to-date.

So what can you expect

from the DHT in 2011? Just a

few things include: Up-to-date

news delivered to you through

Facebook and twitter, full online

subscriptions to the DHT, and a

bigger interest in you, who you

are, what you want. All of this

and some untold treats you will

enjoy along the way.

Change is inevitable, being

part of it is a gift, presenting it

well is a talent.

On behalf of myself and

my talented staff we hope the

coming year delivers you much

happiness.

We are looking forward 2011.

The first baby born in Grande

Prairie in 2011 bided his time

entering the world.

But to mother Valerie Long,

he was a beautiful surprise.

“He had a head full of

hair and he looked perfectly

healthy,” she said Sunday.

Cooper Long was born at the

QEII Hospital at 6:41 a.m. Sat-

urday, weighing seven pounds

and one ounce.

He was born to parents Val-

erie and Cameron from Dawson

Creek.

Cooper is their third son,

joining brothers Hunter, 6, and

Jaxon, 2.

Valerie said it was exciting for

Cooper to be the first baby born

in the city.

“We didn’t realize it was the

first because it was 20 to seven

in the morning so we just

assumed there was already one

so it’s kind of exciting news,”

Valerie said while in the hos-

pital with the rest of her family

Sunday.

And he wasn’t supposed to

be a New Year’s baby at all: His

due date was Jan. 28, about four

weeks later, she said.

Valerie spent most of the

Christmas period in the hospi-

tals, starting Dec. 22.

She was at the Dawson Creek

Hospital for pregnancy-induced

hypertension, a condition

related to high blood pressure.

“My doctor was going away

on vacation so they trans-

ferred me (to Grande Prairie on

Dec. 28) to the care of another

doctor,” she said. “Then they

induced me on Friday.”

The couple decided on the

name Cooper since it was the

only one they could agree on

after months of debate, she

said.

Another male joining the

Long brood is a good thing

since the family is all set up for

boys, she said.

“We have everything we

need,” Valerie said.

When asked if they’ll try for a

girl, she laughed and said that

they were done.

The Long family were to drive

back to Dawson Creek today.

Valerie said she’s excited to go

back home. While their family

is in Nova Scotia, she’s looking

forward to showing the new

family addition to friends and

their nanny.

Six-year-old Hunter said

it’s good to have another little

brother, but he doesn’t plan on

teaching him hockey.

“I don’t want all my brothers

to be playing hockey because

they’re all be wanting to go on

the rink and I won’t be able to

play with them,” he said.

While Jaxon didn’t have any-

thing to say, he nodded to being

happy and excited to playing

with his new brother.

Alberta Health Services com-

munications spokesman Scott

Seymour said Cooper’s birth

is probably later than normal,

versus a stroke-of-midnight

welcome to the world.

“It’s always up to the baby

ultimately,” he said. “Let nature

do its thing …

“It’s always a good time to cel-

ebrate anyways.”

Meanwhile, the first baby

born in the Peace Country for

2011 was in the Northwest

Health Centre in High Level.

Kai Gerbrandt was born at

3:07 a.m. Saturday and weighed

eight pounds and 11 ounces.

He was born to parents Daniel

and Beverly Gerbrandt of High

Level. Kai has two siblings –

five-year-old sister Taylor, and

three-year-old brother Kaden.

josephine@dailyheraldtribune.

com

A peace bond application

sought against Wiebo Ludwig,

son Benjamin Ludwig and

neighbour Richard Boonstra has

been stayed indefinitely, less

than a month before a sched-

uled hearing.

The peace bond was filed last

February on behalf of Encana

Corporation, Canadian Supe-

rior Energy and Seaview Energy

out of fear of potential injury to

their employees or damage to

their property.

After several delays, the hear-

ing was put off to Jan. 24-28,

2011, but now that hearing will

happen at an undetermined

time in the future, if at all, a

spokesman for Alberta Justice

said.“Basically since there’s been

no incidents in those 10 months

with Mr. Ludwig, there wasn’t

really a likelihood that a court

would grant the peace bonds.

So right now it’s unnecessary to

proceed with the hearings,” said

Josh Stewart from Edmonton.

“(But) if there’s anything that

were to change in the future

with the defendants, we could

certainly recommence the pro-

cess.”The defendants fought the

peace bond application from

the start, filing an appeal in

May and entering a nine-page

response to the summons, call-

ing the entire process “charac-

teristically misleading” and “a

desperate act of calumny.”

Ludwig said he was relieved

he can now put the process

behind him, but expressed dis-

appointment in not getting his

day in court.

“I was kind of hoping it would

not be dropped at this point,

even though I asked them ini-

tially in May when I presented

a n i n e - p a g e

rebuttal to the

summons as

to why they

shouldn’t pro-

ceed with it,”

the patriarch of

the commune-

style Tr ickle

Creek farm near

Hythe said.

“I had some

very interesting stuff I wanted

to do and make some real peace

instead of a silly little peace

bond.”

Ludwig, 68, said he, son Ben-

jamin, 29, and Boonstra, 54,

have been working hard on the

file but does not plan to pursue

the matter further.

In 2000, Ludwig was convicted

of vandalizing several natural

gas well sites and was sentenced

to 28 months in jail.

Last January, he was briefly

taken into police custody as

part of an investigation into six

Dawson Creek-area bombings

in 2008 and 2009 but was subse-

quently released.

There have been no charges

laid in connection with the

bombings.

[email protected]


................................

...............

TodayPartly cloudy

High -24° Low -31°

TomorrowLight snowHigh -21° Low -24°

Sunrise: 7:45 a.m.

Sunset: 6:30 p.m.

money

Canada’seconomic growth

topped forecastsin the fourth

quarter, led by surging exports

of energyand other products

,

reviving talk of an early interest

rate hike.

GDP expanded by 3.3% in

the fourth quarter, with exports

rising 4%, StatisticsCanada said.

The export ofenergy products

surged by 17%. The govern-

ment alsorevised upwards its

estimates for growth in the third

quarter to1.8%.

Economists had been expect-

ing GDP to increase by an annu-

alized 3% in the period.

The figures follow a lackluster

third quarter inwhich Canada’s

economic growth fell behind

that of the U.S. as exports suf-

fered from the strong loonie and

the housing market stag

nated.

In the fourth quarter, all major

sectors, apart from

manufactur-

ing, boosted their output w

ith

the biggest contribution

coming

from mining and oil and gas

extraction.

“With growth handilyout-

pacing the Bank of Canada’s

expectations, this upbeat re

port

begins to tip the balance back

in favour of earlierrate hikes,”

BMO deputy chief economist

Doug Porter said in a note. “We

had been looking for the Bank

to wait until their July meeting

before restartingthe rate hike

process,and are still com

fort-

able with that call, but, if there

is

a surprise to our rate call, it now

looks likethe Bank w

ould go ear-

lier, ratherthan wait longer.

”

Final domestic demand rose

by 1.2% as consumer spending

—QMI Agency, Reuters

More than half of Canadians

are switching banks because

they are unhappywith the cus-

tomer service they are getting,

accordingto a new survey.

An Ernst & Young poll found

75% of Canadians have the same

or a greater level of trus

t in their

financialinstitutio

n following

the recession, yet 64%

have —

or are planningto — take their

business elsewhere.

Thirty-four percent

of respon-

dents said they receive either

occasional or absol

utely no per-

sonalizedattention

from their

bank.Th e v a s t ma j o r i t y

o f

Canadians, 73%, believe

they

shouldn’thave to pay for finan-

cial advice, and that it sho

uld be

includedas part of th

e service

they already receive

.

“Canadian banks came out

of the financialcrisis relatively

unscathedas compared to most

of their global cou

nterparts. As

a result, banks here have seen

the level of trust remain steady

or even improve,”said Paul

Battista, financial s

ervices advi-

sory leader at Ernst & Young

Canada.“But our survey

clear ly

shows that the trust factor isn’t

what drives dissatisfaction in

Canadians’ banking

relation-

ships. It’s the lack of person-

alized attentionand service

issues.”Banks with advanced

mobile

Mounting tensions in the oil-

rich Middle East andbad crop-

growing weather are pushing

up global commodity prices.

That could be good news for

Canadianexports, b

ut bad news

for consumers at the checkout

counter.The Scotiaban

k Commodity

Price Index, which measures

price trends for 32 of Canada’s

major exports, rose for the sev-

enth straight month in January,

by 2.7%.“Overall commodity prices

will likely edge higher again in

February, though

momentum

has shifted late-month from

strengthin base metals to oil

and preciousmetals, given

growing politicalunrest in

Libya, Algeria and parts of the

Middle East,” said Patricia M

ohr,

commodity market specialist

and vice-president of e

conom-

ics at Scotiabank.

The agricultural sub-inde

x

led the January gains, surging

5.5% on the strengthof grains

and oilseeds, livestock and fish.

Spot canolaprices have

jumped 55% year-over-year on

strong demand for vegetable

oils, especially in China and

India.Adverse

weather conditions

and the growing proportion of

land being used to grow crops

for biofuelsare pushing

up

global food prices.

Scotiabank said grocery-s

tore

Equinox Minerals has offered

to buy LundinMining for $

4.8 bil-

lion to expand its Africancopper

assets, a move that co

uld trigger a

bidding war with InmetMining.

Equinoxowns Africa’s third-

biggest copper mine by produc-

tion, theLumwana facility in

Zambia, Thomson Reuters data

shows.The cash and stock bid comes

about a month after Lundin and

Inmet agreedto join forces and

form a Canadiancopper m

ining

major calledSymterra.

Analysts had expecteda rival

suitor to emerge becausethe

Inmet bid offered no premium

to Lundin’s investors.

—Reuters

NEW YORK — A JPMorgan

Chase & Co. technology fund is

in talks to buy a substantial stake

in Twitter, theFinancial

Times

reported Sunday.

Accordingto the report,

JPMorgan’s Digital Growth fund

hopes to acquire 10% of Twitter

for $450 million, valuing the

company at $4.5 billion.

The FinancialTimes said the

fund eventually plans to raise

$1.3 billion from a maximum of

480 investors.It hopes to invest

a third of the fund in another

private Internetcompany like

online gaming company Zynga

or telephony company Skype,

accordingto the report

.

—Reuters

picked up, it said. Canadians

went on a spendingspree for

durable goods in the quarter,

with purchasesin that categ

ory

rising by 2.9% and far outstrip-

ping the 0.9% gain in the previ-

ous quarter.

Spendingon services

rose

1.3%, while new and used auto

sales jumped 3.8%, compared

with 1.4% in the third quarter,

StatisticsCanada said. Spen

ding

on furniture, furnish

ings and

household equipment also

gained after two quartersof

declines.

Some economists said the

continued strong domestic

growth will pose a dilemma for

the central bank, pointi

ng to the

need for higherinterest ra

tes at

a time when the improving trend

in exports still needs further

confirmation.

“Rate hikes would attract

unwanted attention to an

already robust Canadian dollar

and risk squelching net trade

,”

HSBC economist Stewart Hall

said.“The real ques

tion for where

the BoC takes policy is really a

question as to whether ornot the

pick up in net tradein Q4 was

the onset of an steadily improv-

ing trend.”

The strong rebound in exports

helped shrink Canada’scur-

rent account defici

t by $5.9 bil-

lion to $11 billion in the quar-

ter. The improvement was not

as big as economists had been

forecasting.

The trade balance returnedto

a surplus of$0.5 billion after the

biggest ever quarter

ly deficit.

For the year 2010as a whole,

real GDP grew 3.1%, following a

2.5% decline in2009.

[email protected]

prices will likelyrise on both

sides of the border, as strains

on commodities make their way

through the supply chain.

The oil-and-gas sub-secto

r

posted a surprisedecline in

Januaryafter repairs

on a

Canadiancrude pipeline

left

excess supply at Superior, Wis.

The trend isn’t expected to con-

tinue. WTI and Brent oilprices

hit $103 and $120, respectively,

last week, fuelled by fears civil

unrest inthe Middle East coul

d

spread to other major oil-pro-

ducing nations.

“The world is much better

preparedto handle an oil-

supply crisis today than in

mid-2008, when WTI o i l

prices skyrocketed to a record

$147.90US alongsid

e strong

global demand and dwin-

dling OPEC spare capacity,”

Mohr said, adding the stability

of Saudi Arabian supply is

critical.In the metals and minerals

industry,prices gained 3.9% in

January, and producer

s can look

forward to even strongerfertil-

izer and choking coal demand.

The forest products

sub-index

posted a 2.5% rise in the month

despite the weak U.S. housing

market.Demand for magazine-g

rade

paper and lumber from China

are underpinning the sector, the

bank said.

—QMI Agency

applications have a

leg up on the

competition, Ernst & Young sai

d.

Only 29% of Canadians polled

were happy with their mobile-

banking services.

“The banks that findinnova-

tive ways to effectively deliver

high-quality, perso

nalized ser-

vice will, in the long run, provid

e

a strong base for greatlyimprov-

ing customer loyalty,”Battista

said.The survey found that 48%

of

Canadians do business w

ith just

one bank, while another37%

bank with two.

—QMI Agency

Home sales were up in Janu-

ary in Grande Prairie, pointing

to a turnaround in the local real

estate industry that was red-

hot a few years ago, but was hit

hard when the financial crisis

took hold in late 2008.

According to figures released

by the Grande Prairie & Area

A s s o c i a t i o n o f R e a l t o r s

(GPAAR), home sales jumped

29% in January, representing

the third consecutive year-over-

year increase and the fourth-

highest January on record.

A s s o c i a t i o n p r e s i d e n t

Lesley Craig said that increase

is attributed to two factors:

An economic recovery and

changes made by the federal

government to mortgage regu-

lations that take effect March

18. “I guess part of that is

because of the new mortgage

rules,” she said. “A lot of buyers

that thought they maybe had

a lot of time to go and find a

house might have moved faster

so that they can get locked in

with a 35-year amortization

instead of a 30-year.

“It’s just going to be a higher

payment because it’s a five-year

shorter term.”

Another factor is the econ-

omy picking up again – “get-

ting a little bit more active and

employment rates are good, so

it all plays together,” she said

The number of residen-

tial listings in the MLS system

increased 10% in January to

420 and there were 1,639 active

residential listings, up 2% from

January 2010.

“The number of listings

went up and the number of

sales went up, too, so we’re

not seeing it turn into a worse

buyers’ market than it was

before, because they kind of

equal each other out,” Craig

said.

The average price stood at

$257,401, down 3 % from a year

ago, while the average in the

rest of the province increased

to $348,488.

Total home sales were $30.1

million in January, a 24%

increase from a year ago.

“That’s starting to make it

look like a trend that things are

starting to kind of level out, that

they may even start to improve

as far as pricing goes in the

future,” she said.

For a guy who’s supposed to

be having the worst vacation of

his life this week, Breen Taylor

was pretty upbeat Monday

morning.

Starting at 7 a.m. Monday and

until noon Saturday, Taylor is

camping out in the parking lot

of Atco Electric in Grande Prai-

rie, where he works as a power

line equipment operator, to gen-

erate some community atten-

tion and try to raise $10,000 for

Kev’s Kids.

It is a little colder this week

than he anticipated, but Taylor

is not backing out.

“It’s an idea that was spawned

from my young five-year-old

daughter, Brooke,” he said.

“Basically what she came to

me asked, in a five-year-old

sense, is why some kids don’t

necessarily get what I have and

why some kids are less fortu-

nate … “It’s a tough question to

answer when you’re explaining

it to a five-year-old.

“What I said was even though

you may not be able to help

every single person … you can

make a difference in your com-

munity, and possibly make

somebody’s life maybe a little

bit different.”

He said it is “really critical

stuff,” teaching such lessons to

children as they grow up.

Loaded up with firewood, a

space heater and extra layers

of clothing and sleeping bags,

Taylor will live outdoors the

entire time.

He will eat, sleep and find

ways to entertain himself with-

out ever leaving the parking lot;

he even has a port-a-potty set

up.“I do have three pairs of boots

just inside the door, because I

want to make sure that my feet

aren’t going to freeze. Other

than that, I’m staying outside,”

said Taylor.

“If you’re setting the wheels

in motion it’s important to go

through with your work.

“Up until last Friday, no kid-

ding, it was supposed to be

(warmer than) -15 for the whole

week, and then it changed and it

dropped to -29 for like the week

… (but) I do like challenges.”

Challenges indeed! It was

-34 at 7 a.m. today. The high-

est it’s forecast to get in the next

several days is -14 (normal is

-3). Lows will sag close to -30

(normal is -14).

And five centimetres of snow

is predicted Wednesday.

Taylor has stocked up on extra

magazines and has a hockey net

to get some exercise.

If that fails, he said there is

lots of shovelling he could do.

He will also maintain a daily

journal – something he plans to

look over later with his daugh-

ter.There is no real surprise

among co-workers that Taylor is

seeing this through.

“He’s a pretty gung-ho kind

of guy,” said Clyde Blackburn,

Atco’s customer service super-

visor in Grande Prairie, noting

that the company is completely

behind Taylor.

“Atco Electric, in its efforts to

support its employees, we have

a donation matching program

that we offer to employees who

contribute to health and welfare

organizations,” he said.

“So all of these contributions

that are made by employees will

be matched.”

While Atco Electric handles its

employee donations, the public

can give by going to local radio

station Rock 97.7’s website www.

rock977.ca and clicking the link.

“We’re looking for some awe-

some support, and I hope we do

it – it is a big goal,” said Taylor.

“I think we can do it. We’ll

see!”

Alberta Health Services

has to do a better job of get-

ting patients out of emergency

rooms quicker, admits its boss.

The comment comes on the

heels of new figures that show

AHS is failing to meet its own

ER targets, trumpeted by offi-

cials in October.

“We’re not close to meet-

ing performance targets,” Dr.

Chris Eagle, AHS acting presi-

dent and CEO acknowledged

Monday.

“When people come to emer-

gency rooms they expect to be

seen in a timely basis.”

Eagle told reporters he’s

“not confident in where we are

today,” adding “we have to do

better.”AHS had set a March target of

seeing, treating and discharg-

ing 70% of ER patients with less

serious conditions within four

hours.In Edmonton during the

last full week of February, that

target was met at only one of

the five hospitals – Miseri-

cordia, although the Stollery

Children’s Hospital came very

close.In Calgary, the goal was met

at only one of four hospitals –

the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

AHS also had a March goal of

admitting 45% of patients who

require a hospital stay within

eight hours.

That wasn’t met at any of

Edmonton’s hospitals during

the last full week of February.

In Calgary, it was met at the

Children’s Hospital. Three hos-

pitals came close.

Statistics for the Queen Eliz-

abeth II Hospital in Grande

Prairie were not immediately

available.

The hospital’s ER has been

undergoing a $9 million over-

haul, expected to be completed

by the end of this year, to meet

overloads.

He a l t h M i n i s t e r G e n e

Zwozdesky said he directed

AHS to develop the protocols

in response to concerns in

October from emergency room

doctors.“Those new protocols are

working,” Zwozdesky said.

“They’re not working as quickly

as I’d like, in terms of the four-

hour and eight-hour waits, but

they’re having an enormous

impact.”Zwozdesky admitted he

doesn’t know if the targets will

be met “bang on” by the end of

March, as intended.

The target by March 2015 is

to deal with 90% of ER patients

within either four or eight

hours, depending on the sever-

ity of the case.

Liberal Leader David Swann

said now is not the time for

excuses.“This is an example of a gov-

ernment that really is scram-

bling to show signs that it

understands the health-care

system and can manage it,”

Swann said.

“The evidence is pretty

strong that they cannot. They

continue to miss their targets.”

Elsewhere, Zwozdesky said

there’s been a 40-70% reduc-

tion in emergency in-patients,

who are in emergency depart-

ments waiting for a hospital

bed, backing up the system.

He said more detailed statis-

tics will be released shortly.

[email protected]

The Grande Prairie

Daily Herald-Tribune in its true

printed format from anywhere

in the world.

eedition.dailyheraldtribune.com

The City of Grande Prairie

could soon release the f irst

portion of its funding commit-

ment to the River of Death and

Discovery Dinosaur Museum.

The genera l government

services committee recom-

mended Wednesday that coun-

cil give $500,000 – one-third

of its $1.5 million pledge over

three years – to the project.

Pipestone Creek Dinosaur

Initiative executive director

Brian Brake said he’s pleased.

“This is the payment for 2011

which is due and the commit-

tee just wanted to ensure that

the project is moving forward

in a positive way and that the

money they’re allocating is

going to be used in a meaning-

ful way,” he said.

A portion of it will go toward

hiring a construction engi-

neering company to assist

architects. A tendering call for

a construction manager is due

to go out in the next couple

of weeks. He hopes they’ll be

able to hire a local firm, but

it depends on the price and

the capability of the firm, he

added.

T he $ 26.4 m i l l ion proj-

ect that will be located along

H ig hw ay 43 i m me d iatel y

north of Wembley still needs

to confirm about $19 million

in funding.

Com m it tee cha i r woma n

Coun. Helen Rice voted against

motion Wednesday due to the

money concerns and the lack

of an asset acquired, she said.

“I would like a majority of

the funding secured before the

project proceeded,” she said.

“I just prefer hard product

or to have a commitment for

the full funding before we pro-

ceed.”Mayor Bill Given said he was

confident that the initiative

would reach its funding target.

“Certainly I believe that it

was important council looks

very closely at this because we

want to ensure any funds we

release is going towards con-

struction and they’re going

towards an investment that

wouldn’t be lost i f for any

reason the project didn’t go

forward,” he said.

“Ultimately (with) any proj-

ect, these are a marathon race

rather than a sprint.

“As a local community we

need to show our faith and

commitment to the project

and that will bring the provin-

cial and federal partners in.”

Br a ke a s su re d c om m it-

tee members that 100% of the

$500,000 would go towards

capital costs rather than oper-

ating costs.

“Our strategy has been to

move forward as the funding

is confirmed,” he said.

“I think (Coun. Rice’s) con-

cerns are very, very valid and

if we had to wait until all of the

funding for this project was in

place before we started doing

anything then nothing would

ever get done.”

Meanwhile, phase one of the

initiative, which includes an

access road to

the Pipestone

C r e e k b o n e

bed sout h of

Wembley from

t he mu s e u m

and a vehicle

and pedestrian

bridge, is set to

be complete in

two weeks.

It will be cel-

ebrated March

17 with a ribbon-cutting cer-

emony with Lt.-Gov. Donald

Ethel and his wife, followed by

a public dinner at the Wembley

Rec Centre.

During this event, Roy Bick-

ell, who was named Volunteer

of the Year for his assistance

with the dinosaur initiative

last December, will have his

name enshrined on one of the

bridges.

About 300 tickets have been

sold for the event, Brake said,

and those interested can con-

tact the Tow n of Wembley

(780-766-2269) for ticket infor-

mation.

The evening would celebrate

the work done, but also engage

oil and gas companies along

with others who have employ-

ees and families in that area

who w i l l benef it f rom t he

improved lifestyle, he added.

Toronto-based Teeple Archi-

tects’ design work is about 95%

done, which is a part of phase

two.“The part they’ve got to do

now is the confirmation of all

the engineering system work,

and then once they’ve got that

in place and they’re satisfied

… then they will start prepar-

ing the tendering documenta-

tion,” Brake said.

The engineering company

that needs to be hired will

oversee the architect’s work

and hopefully they’l l move

into preparing the tendering

documents and into phase

three, which is building the

museum, Brake said.


..................

..................

...........

TodaySunny

High -23° Low -25°

Tomorrow

Flurries

High -7° Low -11°

Sunrise: 7:58 a.m.

Sunset: 6:20 p.m.

money

Prices at Tim

Hortons are set

to rise as the restaurant

chain

passes on soari

ng commodity

coststo custo

mers, the compa-

ny’s president

and chiefexecu

-

tive said Wedne

sday.

Canada’s coffe

e giant is

reviewing price

s countrywide

due to big jumps in the cost of

raw materials such

as coffee,

wheat,oils a

nd sugar.

I n a c on f e r en c e

c a l l

Wednesday,

Tim Hortons presi-

dentDon Schro

edersaid

the

company’s pricin

g committees

are meeting with resta

urant

ownersacros

s the country to

determine how much price

s will

go up and whichmarkets

will be

affected.

Prices in U.S.

TimHorton

s

restaurant

s went up by 3% last

week, he said

.

“I amsure

theywill do

this

beingmindfu

l of their

guests,”

he said,refer

ringto poten

tial

pricehikes

by the franchise

operators.

Coffee, coco

a andsuga

r

prices are

all trading

nearthree

-

decade highs

as a combination

of bad weathe

r, poor prod

uc-

tivityand politi

cal unrest

have

damagedcrops

and disrupted

supply.

Wheatand

foodoil price

s

havealso jumped.

“Theprice

increases

are a

necessary

evil becau

se of the

costincre

ases,not ju

st us,but

the wholeof the indu

stryis

experienc

ing,”Tim

Hortons’

chieffinan

cial officer

Cynthia

Devinesaid.

“We just canno

t absorb these

kindof pri

ce increase

s.”

In thepast six y

earsCanada

has

made acomplete

180 degree

turn

goingfrom

worst to best

when

it comes tax competitivene

ss

among G7 countries,

according

to a newset o

f global ran

kings

published

by the University

of

Calgary’s Sc

hool of Publ

ic Policy.

Evenamong emergin

g econo-

mies, Canad

a’s marginal eff

ec-

tive tax rateon capit

al isstill

better on avera

ge.

“Thisremarkab

le change in

Canada’s

tax competitivene

ss

must bemaintai

ned inthe co

ming

years,as cou

ntriesare co

ntinually

reducing their

business ta

xation”

despite the reces

sion,the repor

t

by economists D

uanjieChen

and

JackMintz sa

id.

—QMI Agency

Canadians

are more awareof

financial f

raudthan

theywere

a yearago and are takin

g more

stepsto prote

ct themselve

s,

according

to two pollsmarkin

g

fraudpreve

ntionmonth.

About 82%

of Canadia

ns say

they now shieldtheir

PINscom-

paredwith 62% last y

ear, while

58% stay away fromunfam

iliar

ATMs, one poll b

y TD Canada

Trustfound

.

A separate

survey by Visa

Canada foun

d ve r yf ew

Canadians

are nowengag

ing in

riskybeha

viour, with only

14%

saying they

sharetheir

PIN and

11%send

ing theircredi

t card

details by e

-mail.

According

to RCMP statis

tics,

losses from

fraudulent

credit

cardappli

cations fell 57.26

%

in 2009,while fraud

relating to

e-commerce,

telephone

and

mail rose 9.4%. The

number of

counterfeit

credit card

s in circu-

lationdropp

ed about 20%

.

“Canadians

are becoming quite

savvywith t

heir payment ca

rds and

it’s paying off —

creditcard fraud

rates are at h

istoriclows,”

saidGord

Jamieson,head

of payment sy

stem

riskwithVis

aCanada.

Overal l , the

number

of

Canadian

s concerne

d about

fraudhas dippe

d slightly, with

79% saying it was

a worry com-

paredwith 82%

in 2010.A fur-

therthree

quarters

saidthey

wereconce

rnedabou

t being vic-

tims of phishing

or vishing,

two

scams which

trickcons

umers

into providing p

ersonal info

rma-

tion,the T

D poll found.

“There are tools

and informa-

tionavail

ableto help

protect

Canadians a

nd combat fraud, b

ut

the vast majorit

y of fraud can be

avoided if peo

ple are proactive

and followsome sim

ple tips, suc

h

as shieldin

g theirPIN and being

careful with

theirperso

nal infor-

mation,” said

JustinHwan

g, asso-

ciatevice-p

resident of f

raudman-

agement fo

r TDCanadaTrus

t.

—QMI Agency

Ontario’s main secu

rities

regulator i

s planning

to step up

enforcement o

f marketregul

a-

tionsand may consi

der the use

of whistleblowers an

d immunity

agreements t

o bringviolat

ors to

justice.

HowardWetston

, chair of th

e

OntarioSecur

ities Commission

,

madethe anno

uncement in

remarksprep

aredfor a lun-

cheonspeec

h.

As of theend of Jan

uary,the

OSC had 56 casesunde

r litiga-

tion,with 49 befor

e the com-

missionand seven

before the

OntarioCour

t of Justice.

Thisyear,

the regulator

is

likelyto launc

h threetimes the

number of case

s as it didthree

yearsago.

“I amencou

ragedto see such

significan

t enforcem

ent activ-

ity, but le

t’s faceit —

we can

always try to do better in this

area,” he said

in a speech to

be delivered

to the Economic

Clubin Toron

to. “Ihave

asked

our director of enfor

cement,

TomAtkin

son,to inten

sify our

enforcement ef

forts.”

While Canada has w

on global

praise for the regul

ationof its

banking sy

stem, critics say

over-

sightof th

e securities

markets

falls woeful

ly short.

“Financial

fraudhas affect

ed

some 10% of Canadia

ns and the

systemis sim

ply not effecti

ve at

protecting

consumers, p

unish-

ing fraudsters

or compensa

ting

victims,” Ermanno

Pascutto,

executive direc

tor of investo

r

rightsgroup

, FAIRCana

da, said

in a report on Cana

dianfinan

-

cial scanda

ls released

last week.

—Sharon Single

ton, QMI Agen

cy

Officials from

Japan and

Canada will m

eet inMarch

to

launch a joint

studyon a pos-

siblenew

tradeagree

ment,

Labour M

inister Lisa

Raittsaid

Wednesday,

confirming repor

ts

by QMI Agen

cy a day ear

lier.

Thetwo coun

triesshare

a

longtrade

history, bu

t thecur-

rent arrang

ement isfar fro

m free

trade.

Japan, for

instance,

restricts

importsof Cana

dianbeef

to

protect its

cattlefarmers, w

hile

Canada imposes

a 6% tariffon

Japanese-m

ade cars.

“A comprehensive

and ambi-

tiousagree

ment between

Canada

and Japanwould

include more

thanjust f

ree trade,” Raitt

said

fromToron

to.

TradeMiniste

r Peter Van

Loan

made asimilar an

nouncement in

Vancouver.

“It wouldopen

oneof the

world’slarge

st and wealthiest

markets to Cana

dianexpor

ters,

encourage

economic grow

th

and create jobs

in bothof ou

r

countries.”

David Worts,execu

tive direc-

tor of the JapanAuto

mobile

Manufacture

rs Associatio

n of

Canada, s

aid he welcomes the

study.

He said the tariffon Japan

ese

vehicles shou

ld be scrapped

to “level the

playing field”

with

European and Korea

n carmakers

.

—StefaniaMoretti,

QMI Agency

Canada’s Joe Fresh

is taking

its spotat the

centre of fas

hion

with a newstore

on FifthAve.

in New Yorklater

this year,the

retailer an

nounced Wedne

sday

afterweeks

of speculati

on

the cheap and chee

rful brand

was headed

south.

Thecloth

ier thatmade

its debut in Lobl

aw grocery

stores five years

ago will open

its firstinter

national f

lagship

s to rein the

fa l la t the

corner of Fi f th

Ave.and

4 3 r dS t .

n e a rB r y a n

t

Park.Last

monththe company

announce

d plans to open

20 standalon

e stores acros

s

Canada.

—QMI Agency

Canada’s e

thnicconsu

mer will

be vitalfor co

mpanies to stave

off the nega

tive sideeffec

ts of

inflation and to the succe

ss of

America’s retail

invasion north

of theborde

r, experts s

ay.

East Asians

and SouthAsian

s

are the two

fastest grow

ing groups

in the country and along

with

othervisibl

e minorities could

account fo

r 70%of th

e growth

in purchasing

power in the next

decade, said

CIBC’s Perr

yCaicco.

“ForAmerican

retailers com

ing

to Canada (s

uch as Target), t

hat is

a key thingthey’v

e got tofigure

out fast,” C

aiccosaid after

wrap-

pingup the bank’

s annual R

etail

& Consumer Conf

erence in

Toronto on

Wednesday.

—QMI Agency

Many of TimHorton

s’ com-

petitors have

already moved

to

raisetheir

prices.

In late September, S

tarbucks

saidit was no longe

r ableto

swallowthe addit

ionalcosts

andwould

needto adjus

t its

pricing stru

cture.

Lastyear,

Kraftraise

d U.S.

prices on some type

s of Maxwell

Houseand Yuba

n coffee, an

d

Smucker’s put u

p the priceof

most ofits Fo

lgersand Dunkin

’

Donutscoffee

.

TimHorton

s is hoping to

smoothout ups and

down in

prices of ra

wmaterials by b

uying

up supply for t

he year ahe

ad.

Thatpolic

y has helped

in the

company’s bak

ed goods sect

ion,

as it hasalrea

dy bought m

uch

of thesugar

it needs for

the year

at lower pri

ces, which

has offset

some of theincre

asesin other

raw materials.

The companyrepor

ted that

its fourth-qu

arterprofi

t rose

to $377.1 million

from$91

millionin the same perio

d of

2009,helpe

d by a one-time gain

fromthe sale of its

Maidstone

Bakeries un

it.

Salesat sto

res openfor m

ore

thana year

increased

3.9%in

Canada and were

up 6.3%in the

U.S.Tim Horton

s is seeing same-

storesales

risebetw

een3%

and 5% in Canada this y

ear and

expects gro

wth in the U.S. to be

similar toyear-

ago levels.

Devinedecli

ned to say how

muchof the Cana

diansales

growth would

be the result of

the projec

ted priceincre

ases.

At theend of the

quarter, Ti

m

Hortons had 3,750

restaurant

s,

including

3,148in Cana

da and

602 inthe U

nitedStates

.

sharon.sing

leton@canoe

.ca

The Grande Prairie



in the world.


Alberta’s newly-minted finance

minister won’t be wearing new

shoes for today’s budget, a finan-

cial blueprint he describes as

practical and responsible.

Lloyd Snelgrove said his wife

will be the one with new foot-

wear.Instead, Snelgrove said he will

wear a pair of black leather shoes

he sets aside for special occa-

sions. New shoes are a tradition

among many Canadian finance

ministers.

Snelgrove said the Tory finan-

cial blueprint will be a “practi-

cal budget that reflects the plan

we’ve had in place for Alberta.”

He also described it as “respon-

sible.”It’s expected to be Alber-

ta’s fourth consecutive deficit

budget.

“(It’s) a plan that reflects the

business environment that we’re

in today,” Snelgrove said.


said he wants to see a budget

with a “strong commitment to

people programs” while down-

sizing government and clamping

down on wasteful spending.

Swann said he fears the Tories

will instead cut back on pro-

grams that will hurt the most

vulnerable.

NDP Leader Brian Mason said

he expects the Tories will pro-

tect funding for health care, but

warned “the rest of it is on the

chopping block.”

Mason said he’s going to be

watching closely to make sure

areas like the environment, edu-

cation and the protection of chil-

dren are funded adequately.

Wildrose Alliance Leader

Danielle Smith said her party

is expecting “a train wreck of a

budget.”

“The government seems to

be intent on blowing through

every last penny we have in the

Sustainability Fund before they

get serious about taking some

of the measures they’re going to

need to take to be able to get the

budget balanced.”

She said that includes “ending

all these corporate welfare hand-

outs” and spreading out infra-

structure spending over a longer

period of time.

Snelgrove said he’s heard criti-

cism that Alberta is both spend-

ing too much and not enough on

infrastructure.

“We’ve had to re-profile, in the

last couple of years, some of the

projects, but we haven’t had to

not do projects, and that’s strictly

because of us having a savings

account to be able to carry us

through.”

FAIRVIEW – What is believed

to be the continent’s rich-

est source of the strategic

metal vanadium continues to

be explored by Calgary-based

Ironstone Resources, which will

update area municipalities on

the prospects next week.

Ironstone president and CEO

Barry Caplan is scheduled to

visit the company’s drilling

operations in the Rambling

Creek area of the Clear Hills,

about 70 kilometres north of

Hines Creek, west of Fairview.

Ironstone holds a 100% inter-

est in 15 metallic and indus-

trial mineral permits and leases

that cover 80,000 hectares in

the Clear Hills, identified as an

iron ore source more than half

a century ago.

But Ironstone, which com-

pleted its first drilling program

on the Rambling Creek block

in 2008, says it’s discovered the

largest vanadium resource in

North America, an estimated

323,000 tons. Known global

resources are an estimated 63

million tons.

Assays indicate there is an

average of 0.22% of vanadium

oxide (V2O5) in the rock

Ironstone is hoping to find

similar levels across the entire

iron deposit, but more drill and

core evaluation must be done

first. In the North Whitemud

River block, south of the Ram-

bling Creek block, Ironstone is

drilling 152 diamond core holes

in 2011.

Vanadium is used in the pro-

duction of high-quality metal

alloys. Its most common uses

are in high-strength steel, in the

aerospace industry, and chemi-

cal uses for the production of

catalysts, ceramics, glasses and

pigments, electronics and bat-

teries.V a n a d i u m i s w i d e l y

researched, with many new

applications in various phases

of development. One new

development close to fruition

is for use in the next generation

of vanadium redox batteries to

power electric vehicles.

Unlike other commodities,

there is no market quote for

vanadium; it is traded by con-

tract, directly between the pro-

ducers and consumers.

Vanadium is not found

by itself. It is a trace mineral

within other ore bodies and is

therefore mined as a byprod-

uct of other operations. Sources

include magnetite (iron oxide)

deposits and carbon-rich

deposits such as coal, oil shale,

and oilsands.

The Grande Prairie regional hospital is one step closer to reality, with the province pick-ing architectural-engineer-ing firm Dialog to design the $520-million centre.The project will include a

state-of-the-art cancer centre, 200 acute-care beds, and a health-care training facility in partnership with the Grande Prairie Regional College.Edmonton-based Dialog

starts design work this month; construction is expected to begin by fall on the bypass site just north of Service Plus Inns on land donated by the college.

Some health-care services at the new facility should be avail-able by late fall 2014.Tom Sutherland, Dialog’s

managing principle and senior designer, said Thursday the project appealed to the firm on a number of levels.“Our firm does an awful lot of

health care, so this project was right up our alley,” he said.

“It’s up north and we’ve done work up north before very suc-cessfully and we saw it as a real opportunity for innovation.

“It’s got a schedule that’s outside the box, it’s got an approach that people want to take that’s outside the box. Everything about it is set up to be something that is really leading edge.”

In f ra s t r u c t u re Mi n i s t e r Ray Danyluk said his depart-ment looked at 29 firms before making its decision. “We felt it was the firm that

knew what to build what was necessary for cancer treatment, for incorporating the education portion of it. And also the firm has specific expertise that is necessary to accomplish that, so that’s why we chose the firm we did,” he said.“Grande Prairie is not going

to be getting a hospital once every two, three, or five years. This is going to be a regional hospital that’s a once-in-a-life-time opportunity and we have to make sure it’s right.”Danyluk also said Alberta

Infrastructure will be hiring a construction manager in a pro-cess closing March 10.Sutherland said design work

would begin shortly.“We have already notified our team members, we are starting mobilization, we have our first meeting with the government on Monday morning, every-body is going to spend next

week getting their ducks in a row as we plan out the details of the approach,” he said. “We’re going to have boots on the ground in Grande Prairie pretty darn quick.”

The design firm announce-ment was met positively Thurs-day.

“We’re really pleased,” said GPRC president Don Gnatiuk. “The next step for us is we con-tinue to meet with the Alberta Infrastructure folks, and we will start meeting with the next architectural firm soon, and we want to continue to build our relationship with the QEII (Hospital) folks because we really believe in building a strong partnership with them.”

Joan Libsekal, QEII vice-pres-ident , said she looks forward to being a part of the consultation process.

“This means for us that we’re going to be proceeding on the project and starting our next phase of design and develop-ment involving our physicians, staff and community,” she said. “The next steps will be starting to look at what are our needs and how we’re going to plan that facility.”Wayne Drysdale, Grande

Prairie-Wapiti MLA, said the announcement creates “a point of no return,” and after years of debate the project is going

ahead.“They’ve signed the contract,

so there’s no stopping it now. Once we start signing contracts, you can’t go backwards. The money is in the budget, con-tracts are signed, and it’s going

forward,” he said.“I think it’s great news for Grande Prairie; we’ve been waiting for this for quite a while.”


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TodayPartly cloudyHigh -18° Low -21°

TomorrowFlurriesHigh -16° Low -25°

Sunrise: 7:38 a.m.Sunset: 6:36 p.m.

The Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune in its true printed format from anywhere in the world.


The tiny mountain pine beetle has cost Alberta taxpay-ers $255 million since 2005 and as much as $8 billion would be on the line if the insect wasn’t stopped in its tracks.The province this year

plans to cut and burn a record 170,000 infested pines in the Peace Country and west-cen-tral Alberta as the battle against the tree-killing pest continues, according to figures obtained by QMI Agency.That’s up from 150,000 trees

removed last year and 73,000 the previous year.“It’s in good control but we

can’t let up,” warned Premier Ed Stelmach. “We have to allow more resources and continued resources into the future.”The trees are being cut in an

area between Lesser Slave Lake, Grande Prairie and Hinton. They were identified last year

as being infested, said Duncan MacDonnell, a spokesman for Sustainable Resource Develop-ment.

“That’s where we’re concen-trating our efforts,” he said.

The pines are burned to kill the beetles and prevent them from spreading and destroying other pines.While this year’s target would

be a record, MacDonnell said it’s not “significantly higher” than 2010.He said it’s the result of a

large in-flight of beetles from B.C. in 2009, caused by strong winds. The beetles have devas-tated huge swaths of pine for-ests in that province.There are huge dollars at

stake if the problem gets worse in Alberta: It’s estimated the six million hectares of pine forest is worth $8 billion in commer-cial timber alone.If all were destroyed, the

province would lose $420 to $600 million a year in economic

activity.Ma c D o n n e l l s a i d m o re

importantly, swaths of dead trees can result in more water flowing into streams and rivers, overwhelming reservoirs and harming fish and wildlife habi-tat.

Dead trees are also most susceptible to forest fires. As well, tourism can take a hit as a result of an infestation.“People don’t really want to

go and camp out in a big, grey forest,” MacDonnell said.The province has spent $255

million since 2005 battling the mountain pine beetle, accord-ing to provincial figures.Liberal Leader David Swann

said the beetle is a “huge” con-cern for Alberta.“It’s only going to get worse

if we don’t deal with it in an as effective way as we can as human beings,” Swann said.

“The climate has a lot to do with whether we’ll actually suc-ceed.”

It’s unclear how many how many beetles have been able to survive the winter. The prov-ince does an annual survey every spring.MacDonnell said fluctuating

temperatures may result in a high mortality, but it’s too early to tell.

Prolonged periods of extreme cold can also kill the pests.

“As much as I’m frustrated with the cold weather every other day, I’m sure it will help us hammer the beetle a little more,” Stelmach said.There haven’t been any in-

flights of the beetles from B.C. in the last two years, which has helped matters, MacDonnell said.

The beetles did not appear in Alberta in any significant num-bers until 2006.

[email protected]

It has become sort of a cliché for some, but RCMP say respect-ing the old adage that “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is” remains an effec-tive way to avoid becoming a fraud victim.March is Fraud Prevention

Month, and numerous law enforcement, government and community groups have banded together to raise awareness on what has become big business for criminal organizations.

“It’s awareness because the best prevention for fraud is people not succumbing to the fraud initially,” said Sgt. Glen Demmon of Calgary.“So you encourage and you

promote and you get people to do their homework and use their diligence.” The RCMP Commercial Crime

Branch estimates fraud costs Canadians between $10 billion to $30 billion annually.Fraud crimes constitute any-

thing from identity theft, phish-ing, online shopping, social networking and credit and debit card fraud. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, also known as Phonebusters, has found

that organized crime commits almost 80% of these crimes.

Cpl. Carol McKinley of the Grande Prairie RCMP said in 2010 there were no complaints from local businesses of com-promised point-of-sale termi-nals or other frauds leading to the loss of customer account or banking information.“There were no reports of

organized debit card skim-ming. We had two complaints of potentially cloned debit cards or skimmed account information,” she said.

“Based on available intelli-gence, we experience a relatively low amount of financial crime in 2010, which would include fraud.”

The top fraud schemes reported by Canadians are classed as “service,” “prize” and “emergency.” Some exam-ples include home renovation, sweepstakes, lottery and charity or disaster relief.“The most common in Alberta

tends to be the work-from-home type scheme, where you’re con-tacted, and for a fee they’ll send you information on how to work from your home and make money,” Demmon said.


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TodayPartly sunnyHigh 2° Low -15°

TomorrowFlurriesHigh -15° Low -21°


sports

entertainment

OTTAWA — New DemocratJoe Comartin has a gamblingproblem.It’s not that the NDP justice

critic can’t stop, his problem isthat “outdated” sports bettinglaws have pushed the billion-dollar industry underground andinto the arms of organized crime.On Friday, he introduced a

private member’s bill to amendthe criminal code to allowpeople to bet on single sport-ing events, instead of the current

minimum of three.As it stands, the law prohibitswagering on, “any race or fight,or on a single sports event orathletic contest.”“It’s silly now. You can bet onthree CFL games, but you can’tbet on just one,” Comartin said.“Some of this (betting laws) goesback hundreds of years when theKing had a problem with his sol-diers gambling too much.“We need to bring it into the21st century.”What’s worse, just becausethe law prohibits gambling ona single sporting event doesn’t

mean Canadians don’t do it,only now it’s facilitated by orga-nized crime.“Spo r t s gamb l ing i s amultimillion-dollar industrywhich operates undergroundand unregulated throughoutCanada,” Comartin said, citingillegal internet gambling sitesbased in the Carribean as a bigpart of the problem. “This billwill help take a large chunk ofrevenue out of the hands of orga-nized crime.”While the federal governmentcan change the laws, it’s up tothe provinces to regulate gam-

bling and Comartin hopes, if hisbill passes, the provinces wouldonly allow it at legitimate casinosand not at corner stores.Not only would it make thecasinos an even bigger attrac-tion — a particular concernfor Comartin, who representsWindsor and its large casino —but it would also create somejobs and better allow the prov-inces to profit from the wager-ing, money that Comartin wouldwant reinvested in services forproblem [email protected]

Bemy valentine, Valentine.Canadians have a roman-

tic soft spot when it comes tonames, genealogical experts say.Digging up census results

from 1861, Ancestry.ca officialsdiscovered 580 people had thefirst name Valentine, and 100others shared the surname.They also found 14 people had

the first name Amor, while 18had it as their last name.And there were also dreamynames like Love Bully, CupidMartin and Venus Antahia.Other romantic names inthe country’s history includeLove Burns, a 13-year-old fromHarbourville, N.S., during the1871 census. There was alsoLover Woo, who arrived inCanada from China in 1907 andlived in Humboldt, Sask., at thetime of the 1911 census.Then there was Bad HeartLasuisse, a 70-year-old widowerwho lived with family membersin the Territories in 1901.“These records show thatCanadians throughout his-tory have had a penchant forromance,” managing director forAncestry.ca Roger Dunbar saidin a release.—QMI Agency

nationalnews

Canada’s largest producer of natural gas has proposed to sell half of its interests in a Peace Country formation to a state-owned petroleum cor-poration in China, pending approval from the federal gov-ernment.

Encana announced the pro-posed sale of half the rights in the 635,000-acre Cutbank Ridge formation along the Peace Country’s Alberta-Brit-ish Columbia border. PetroChina offered $5.4

billion for the resource-rich area, and both parties await approval from the Canada’s Minister of Industry.“Fundamentally this is an

endeavor to accelerate the development of our enor-mous resource potential,” said Encana spokesman Alan Boras. “We are going to continue to work to develop the strong and

large natural gas reserves that we have in this region.”Encana states that Cutbank

Ridge contains the equivalent of one trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and PetroChina’s interest would produce a daily amount of 255 million cubic feet, including small amounts of liquid gas that can be con-verted into butane, methane and propane.Discussions between the two

corporations began several months ago, and the next stage in the acquisition is review under the Investment Canada Act, a federal law used to determine if a foreign invest-ment of over $299 million will benefit Canadians. Under the act Industry Min-

ister Tony Clement recently blocked a $40-billion takeover when Houston-based BHP Bil-liton attempted to buy rights to Saskatoon’s Potash Corp.

This is not PetroChina’s first move into Canada’s energy

reserves; in 2009 the Asian company acquired 60% of the Athabasca Oil Sands Corpora-tion’s interests in the MacKay River and Dover projects.

Encana is optimistic that the Cutbank Ridge deal will follow through.

“We believe that the federal government will look favour-ably on this,” said Boras. “The joint venture is intended to be 50/50. Encana is intended to be the operator, and so as a result of that, Encana and Canadians will play an instru-mental role in this develop-ment over the long term.”

The announcement comes as Encana suffers from the effects of a drop in domestic market prices for natural gas. It recently reported its revenue for the fourth quarter of last year, after paying royalties, at $1.4 billion, a drop of $400 mil-lion from the 2009 results.

There are current ly no means in place to allow for

the export of natural gas out of North America, but Boras said that PetroChina has shown interest in a natural gas ter-minal developing in Kitimat, on the west coast of British Columbia. The Kitimat plant would have the ability to cool natural gas to a liquefied form, allowing large quantities to be transported across the Pacific Ocean.

“I suppose that they may have that intent down the road, there is a proposed facil-ity in Kitimat that is working its way through seeking some regulatory approvals,” Boras said. “They want to learn about how to develop unconven-tional natural gas, I think that’s they’re strong interest, and they want to make an invest-ment to earn a return.”A decision from Ottawa on

the proposed acquisition is expected this [email protected]

p

After more than three weeks of a virtual rollercoaster ride of emotions for the local Egyptian community that veered back and forth from inspiration and hope to despair, and from isola-tion to desolation and back to motivation, Sunday night was time for a celebration.What they lack in numbers –

at least four families – Grande Prairie’s Egyptian popula-tion came together with fellow members of the Muslim com-munity to celebrate Friday’s resignation of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s president for the last 30 years and the end of his auto-cratic regime.Traditional Egyptian food

was served to those who came for Sunday night prayers at the Islamic Association of Grande Prairie to mark what Mohamed Khalaf called a historic event for his homeland.“They asked ‘why don’t we

make some food, be happy and celebrate’,” said Khalaf, who runs Cairo Pastry out of the Farmers’ Market and has been in Grande Prairie three years.

Street protests in opposition to Mubarak’s regime began in Egypt on Jan. 25. On Friday, vice-president Omar Suleiman announced Mubarak would be stepping down as president, sending thousands of protes-tors in Cairo’s Tahrir Square into jubilation.That sense of elation was felt

amongst the Egyptian diaspora

in Grande Prairie.“Nobody expected it that fast,” said Yasser Amer, a human

resources manager at an oil company who moved to Grande Prairie seven months ago.

Amer said every time he would return to his native Cairo, he “sensed some things were

not going well there” and felt that the instability being felt by the country’s youth would soon boil over.

“There’s a lot of poverty among the youth, while some others get richer, and the gap is getting very wide,” he said.

Khalaf echoed his sentiments.“For 30 years (Mubarak)

controlled everybody and everybody wasn’t happy, their income was low – 40% of Egyp-tian people are very poor…and now with the change everybody is happy.”

Amr Awad’s brother, a profes-sor of nuclear physics at a Cairo university, was right in the thick of the protests in Tahrir Square.

The general manager of the Best Western in Grande Prairie kept tabs on his brother, who he said was kidnapped and later released, and family on a daily basis.

“So he was there always and I used to phone him,” said Awad, who moved to Toronto in 2007 and then Grande Prairie two years later.While admitting that he has

a “mixed feeling” about Muba-rak’s resignation, Awad said he could tell things were deterio-rating.

“We realized this five years ago that he’s coming down somehow, somewhere,” he said. “And that’s one of the reasons why I’m here in Canada, that’s why I decided to immigrate, because I didn’t know what would happen next.”

Peace Country canola farm-ers can expect an increased demand for their crops after the federal government’s announce-ment of new regulations requir-ing the use of biofuels.Canola is considered the

most efficient source of biofu-els, a low-pollutant alternative to diesel or petroleum. To put Canada in a better international standing in regards to green-house gas (GHG) emissions, the government will require all diesel fuel sold to have a 2% bio-fuel component as of July 1.

“I think that canola producers

are going to be pleased that it’s finally a reality,” said Jody Klas-sen of Mayerthorpe, chairman of the Alberta Canola Produc-ers Commission. “We’ve been excited about the possibility of it for a long time and its been talked about for years and years.”

The regulation for diesel fuel follows a federal ruling that took effect last December, requiring all gas sold in Canada to have a 5% ethanol component. Like biofuel, ethanol is an alternative to oil.

Gordon Quaiattini, president of the Canadian Renewable Fuel Association in Ottawa, predicts that the 2% inclusion of biofuel,

along with the ethanol regula-tion, will save the environment 4.2 million tonnes of GHG emis-sions each year.“That’s the equivalent to

removing a million cars off the road every year,” he said. Each litre of biofuel used in

an engine produces far fewer pollutants that contribute to the greenhouse effect, such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane.“On a per-litre basis, etha-

nol reduces greenhouse gases by some 62% compared to unleaded gasoline,” Quaiat-tini said. “On the biodiesel side, depending on the feedstock that is used to produce the biodiesel,

that number can be anywhere from 85% to 99% of greenhouse gas reduction on a per-litre basis compared to traditional diesel fuel.”

Biofuel can be produced from farm products, such as beef fat (tallow) and low-grade canola that would otherwise have little value as food. “Biodiesel will especially help

for the off-grade market,” Klas-sen said of canola with a low market value.Canola is decreased in qual-

ity by spoiling in storage bins, when crops produce too much heat, and frost. “An early frost is the most

common source of frustration

for a producer,” Klassen said. “When the canola is not fully matured it will freeze and lock in green or chlorophyll in the seeds. That’s the most common problem for us.”Growing canola for biofuel is

also easier on the environment in the production process, as the amount of pollutants emit-ted during the extraction of petroleum is far greater.“In producing canola for

biodiesel, there’s a positive in reducing greenhouse gases by 90% compared to the entire pro-duction cycle of normal diesel,” Klassen said.


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AU

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User Name: VaughnAd Rep: Karyn2010 Publication: DHTAd Heading: Proof: 1st,pdf

sports

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Skiers and snowboarders

didn’t stay away from the back-

country this weekend, despite

a special avalanche warning

issued for most of Alberta and

B.C.The Canadian Avalanche

Centre issued a special ava-

lanche warning for this past

weekend encouraging people to

avoid areas due to a high risk of

snow slides.The bulletin came a week

after three Albertans were killed

in two avalanches.Brothers Rob Glaser, 53, of

Bragg Creek and Mark Glaser,

54, of Calgary died in a slide Jan.

15 while backcountry skiing in

the Burstall Pass area of Peter

Lougheed Provincial Park in

Kananaskis Country.And on Jan. 16, Manfred

Rockel, 46, of Calgary was

buried in an avalanche during a

ski trip with friends in Kokanee

Glacier Provincial Park in B.C.

But despite the dangerous

conditions and recent fatali-

ties, Jeremy Mackenzie, public

safety specialist in Kananaskis

Country, said people still ven-

tured into the backcountry this

weekend.“We noticed there were still

backcountry skiers, but less

than normal for a regular week-

end,” he said.He said he ran into a few

people while actually out doing

avalanche forecasting in the

area.“It’s up to them,” he said of

their choice to venture out in

the backcountry.“But we are encouraging them

to check the avalanche bulletins

at www.avalanche.ca.“There are trails in the back-

country where you can limit

or eliminate the risk of an ava-

lanche but you have to know

how to do that.”He said snow slide activity

was high over the weekend even

though it’s the end of the natural

avalanche cycle.“Several days after the storm

it tapers off,” he said, referring

to the storm that closed high-

ways last week.“It’s normal for the hazard to

go up and down.

“Now we’re starting to see it

improve a little bit ... it’s a slow

improvement.”The Sunday avalanche bul-

letin for the area said a few iso-

lated slides were spotted up to

size 1.5 out of north and east

slopes of Alberta.Mackenzie said the condi-

tions are still being monitored.

“When we have weak layer

from earlier in the winter and

a week long of storms that

becomes the perfect recipe,” he

said.

Mike Holmes had barely left

the TEC Centre stage Friday

afternoon before the post-mor-

tem over last week’s two-day

economic development went

into full swing.In a few days, the various host

partners – the County and City

of Grande Prairie; the North-

west Corridor Development

Corp.; Grande Prairie & District

Chamber of Commerce; and

the Northern Alberta Devel-

opment Council – will meet

to compare notes on how the

second annual Growing the

North conference went.But in the minutes follow-

ing the forum’s conclusion

on Friday, organizers said the

event was a success, both in the

number of high-calibre speak-

ers and capacity attendance.

“I think the conference was

spectacular. We saw record

attendance, and the speakers

were excellent. We had a good

range of speakers and we dealt

with numerous topics that were

very relevant to the region,”

said Dan Dibbelt, executive

director of the NADC.“I think one of the good signs

from getting this kind of quality

of speakers is that they’re listen-

ing to us and they see the North

has real potential,” he added.

“And that’s why they’re will-

ing to come up here, because

they’re here to make money

in the end. And if they can see

that there’s value up here, they

will be here.”Executives from some of

Canada’s major forestry, rail,

and energy companies, as

well as experts in the diamond

and transportation industries

shared the stage, knowledge

and their vision for the future.

Premier Ed Stelmach was

the guest speaker on Thursday

night.“We actually went into orga-

nizing this conference with the

thought that this is going to be

a national conference held in

Grande Prairie. This isn’t just a

Grande Prairie conference, it’s

a national conference and we

went in with that focus,” Dib-

belt said.“I think it was excellent,” said

chamber chairman Dave Cook.

“I was really, really amazed by

the quality of speakers and the

diversity of topics. I’ve attended

conferences in Vancouver and

they weren’t as good as this.”

Wayne Drysdale, MLA for

Grande Prairie-Wapiti, said he

appreciated the presence of the

speakers. “People seemed enthused,

I had lots of good comments

about it. And it was real col-

laboration from the region and

everything tied together well

and I think it was a great con-

ference,” he said.Word of mouth from last

year’s attendees, as well as the

number of quality speakers,

contributed to a spike in atten-

dance this year, Dibbelt said.

Nearly 400 people registered for

the conference and some had

to be excluded.“It’s sad when you have to

turn people away from your

conference, but it’s also really

nice when you know you’ve

reached the maximum number

that you can hold,” he said.

The attendance from regis-

trants and speakers was a mild

surprise for Dibbelt, given the

amount of snow the region has

received in the days leading up

to the conference.“We were sweating big time.”

he said. “We were astounded

that everybody came. There

were delays with planes, but it

didn’t affect the speakers.”

The City of Grande Prairie is

looking to have its own Snow

Angels.Not the ones where you

jump into the snow and leave

an imprint, but residents who

assist in clearing the snow and

ice for a senior or a person with

disabilities.The program is done in both

Edmonton and Calgary, where

they are recognized for their

efforts.Grande Prairie is looking to

adopt a similar campaign.Michelle Gairdner, the Take

Part Take Pride committee

chairwoman, was looking to

implement it, but she was beat

to the punch.Dale Tiedemann, the city’s

community youth facilitator,

investigated the program about

a year ago and it has garnered

interest within the Youth Coun-

cil.“(There’s) some interest of

teens to look into this further,”

he said.“I think what we’ll do is look

into how we can potentially

implement the campaign and

what the best course of action

would be.”Two options are to start

a pilot project within certain

areas of the community or

work in conjunction with the

schools, he said.Tiedemann hopes to imple-

ment a test run this winter, he

added.“I think that by encourag-

ing youth to get out and get

involved in their community

is important,” he said. “Some-

thing like Snow Angels is a really

good opportunity for youth to

get involved in the community.

This is about the recognition.”

In Edmonton, Snow Angels

receive a pin along with a letter

from the Mayor.But it also helps link two pop-

ulations that might have per-

ceptions about the other group,

Tiedemann added.“By partnering these two

groups together they’re going

to be able to work with one

another and see the other isn’t

necessarily bad,” he said.The committee decided to

allow the Youth Council to take

the lead on this initiative and

an implementation plan will be

brought back to the Take Part

Take Pride Committee “The Snow Angel program is

a really great program because

it recognizes people working

together … within their com-

munities,” Gairdner said.“Anytime we’re encouraging

residents to know who else lives

in their community and help

out their community is always

beneficial for the community

as a whole.”josephine@dailyheraldtri-

bune.com

With the majority of roads now cleared,

how well do you think the city did?

Have your say on our Online News Poll.


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TodayLight snow

High -22° Low -24°

TomorrowFlurries

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Sunrise: 7:43 a.m.

Sunset: 6:32 p.m.

moneyTORONTO

—The Canadian

dollar retreatedfrom

a three-

year highagainst the U.S. cur-

rencyTuesday

morning

and

short-dated bond prices perked

up after the Bank of Canada left

interest rates unchangedand

gave no signal it plans to raise

themsoon.

The loonie fell as lowas $0.9735

to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0272, after

the bank’s announcement from

$0.9714, or $1.0294, just before,

a level that matchedMonday’s

North American close.

Early in the day it rose as high

as $0.9684 to the U.S. dollar, or

$1.0326, its highest level since

November 2007. Inthe

early

morning, it was at $0.9725 to the

U.S. dollar, or $1.0283.

Theinterest rate-sensitive

two-year bondturned

posi-

tive, edging up 4 cents to yield

1.824%.“The dollar is certainly weak-

ening. I think you’re seeing a

little bit of giveback insome of

the (yield curve) short end but

mostlyit’s a

Canadiandollar

story at this point,” saidDavid

Tulk, chief Canada macro strate-

gist at TDSecurities.

TheBank

of Canadamain-

tained its benchmark rate at 1%.

It alsorepeated

thelanguage

that it usedin

its January rate

announcement, saying

that

whileconsiderable

monetary

stimulus remains in place, “any

further reductionin

monetary

policy stimulus wouldneed

to

be carefully considered.”

“Theysl ightly

upgraded

their outlook for the Canadian

economy, acknowledging that

—QMI Agency, Reuters

Insuranceassociations say

Canada is unlikely to followthe

EuropeanUnion

inbanning

gender-based pricing, whichis

forecast to push up life and car

insurance costs for millions of

women across the Atlantic.

The European Court of Justice

on Tuesday said insurers will no

longer be able to take account of

gender when pricing insurance

policies fromDecember 2012.

The ruling ends a decade-long

battlebetween

theinsurance

industry and regulators and fol-

lows adecision

by California

to bangender-based pricing in

healthinsurance from

January

this year.It will mean that insurers can’t

take account of known risk fac-

tors, which tend to mean young

female

driversobtain

lower

life insurance because they are

known to have fewer accidents.

When

it comes to

lifeinsur-

ancewomen

alsopay less as

they have longer life expectan-

cies, while they receive less in

pension annuity income for the

same reason.

“I amconfident that while

some may look at Europe, we

wouldhave to reflect long and

hardbefore

changingsom

e-

thing that was so fundamental

inidentifying risk,” said

Frank

Zinatelli, vice president of legal

services at the Canadian Life and

HealthInsurance Association.

“The systemthat is used in the

life insurance industry tries to

reflect risk, so the use of gender

is important.”

Canadaallows

insurersto

take gender into account when

pricing life insurance products,

though the rules for auto insur-

ance vary across the country.

Accordingto

theInsurance

Bureauof Canada it is prohib-

ited to use gender inconsider-

ing rates for auto insurance in

five provinces, with Alberta only

allowing its use for private poli-

cies and not through the govern-

ment mandated scheme.

Insurance Bureau spokesman

Mark Klein said he was unaware

of any movement to change the

status quo here.

Insurersin

Europehave

slammed the ECJ decision saying

it will result in significant uncer-

tainty and higher costs.

TheAssociation

of British

Insurers said women under the

age of 25 couldsee insurance

premiums rise by an average of

25%, while women’s life insur-

ancemay

riseby

20%. Men

wouldbe more likely to

ben-

efit, seeing a drop of 10%in life

insurance premiums, but they

would also see a drop in income

fromannuities of about 8%, it

said, citing research carried out

by Oxera in autumn.

“It wouldhave an

impact as

its suchan

important factor in

identifying risk,” Zinatelli said,

referring to the impact on costs

here if Canada were tofollow

suit.California joined 11 other U.S.

states that prohibit gender rating

inthe

individual insurance

market, according to anarticle

bythe

CaliforniaHealthcare

Foundation’s Centre for Health

Reporting.California found that women

generally paidmore thanmen for

the same coverage in states that

allowgender rating. A

40-year

oldwoman

paidbetween

10%

and 39%more than a man of the

same age, it said.

Insurance analysts say being

able to clearly identify risks and

calculateprices

accordingly

can bring down overall industry

[email protected]

TORONTO—

Banko f

Montreal’s first-quarter profit

rose 18%due to

loangrowth,

wider interest margins, and

improvedinvestment banking

fees, Canada’s fourth-largest

lender said Tuesday.

BMO

earned$776

million,

or $1.30ashare, in

the fiscal

first quarterended

Jan. 31.

That compared witha profit of

$657 million, or $1.12 a share, in

the year-before period.

Onacash

basis, thebank

earned $1.32 a share, it said.

Analysts polledby Thomson

Reuters I/B/E/S hadexpected,

onaverage, a profit of $1.31 a

share.Profit was driven by increased

lending at wider margins, and

stronger trading and underwrit-

ing fees at its investment bank

unit.Unexpectedstrong

loan

growthand

investment bank-

ing revenue led to better-than-

expectedresults

fromrivals

CanadianIm

perial Bankof

Commerceand National Bank

of Canada last week.

Analysts have predictedthat

retail loangrowth

wouldslow

this year as borrowers tryto

reduce debt levels in anticipation

of higher interest rates. Business

loangrowth

is expectedto

be

more robust, partially making up

for the shortfall.

Profit at BMO’s midwest U.S.

bank slid 17%due to impaired

loans.

BMO

hasoperated

the

Chicago-based Harris bank for

years, andlast fall it agreed

to

buy troubled Wisconsinlender

Marshall &

IlsleyCorp

for

around $4.1 billion.

BMO’s revenue

rose10.6%

to $3.3 billion, while provisions

for loanlosses

fell 25.6%to

$248 million.

A steady decline in loan losses

sincethe

financial crisis has

helped boost bank profits over

the past year.

BMO’s

shares, whichhave

slightly outperformed Toronto-

listedfinancial stocks with

a

7.8%rise so far this year, closed

at $61.96 Monday.

—Reuters

The Desjardins Credit Union

banner will almost completely

disappear inOntario

asthe

financial co-opprepares

to

merge the majority of its assets

withfellow

Ontarioco-op,

Meridian Credit Union.While

independentfrom

Mouv em

en tD e s j a r d i n s ,

Desjardins Credit Unionhas

been affiliated with the company

since 2003. Its assets under man-

agement are worth$1.4 billion

and it has 50,000 members.

Themerger

must still be

approvedby

themem

bers

of bothco-ops and

regulating

authorities. The result of the vote

will be revealed in April.

—QMI Agency

the recovery has been proceed-

ing slightly faster than expected,”

said Paul Ferley, assistant chief

economist at Royal Bank

of

Canada.“However, they still expressed

concerns about challenges pre-

sentedby persistent strength

inthe

Canadiandollar

and

Canada’s poor productivity per-

formance. On balance it suggests

no imminent rate move.”

Ferley said he still expects the

central bank to lift rates in May,

matching the median viewin a

recent Reuters poll on Canadian

interest rates.

Overnight index swaps, which

tradebased

onexpectations

for the key central bankrate,

showedinvestors see a 92.2%

probability that rates will stay on

hold at the Bank of Canada’s next

policy announcement date on

April 12, up slightly frombefore

theannouncement. Views of

the chances of a May hike fell

slightly as well.

Analysts had been geared up

for stronger language fromthe

central bank onthe Canadian

e conomi c

ou t l o oka f t e r

Monday’s fourth-quarter GDP

data exceeded forecasts.

The data signaled momentum

inthe economy, and

hadbol-

stered the viewthat the central

bank will resume hiking interest

rates in the first half of the year.

B e f o reTue sday ’s

r a t e

announcement, the Canadian

dollar hit its highest level since

the start of the global financial

crisis as its U.S. counterpart

came under broad selling pres-

sure on expectations that inter-

est rates would rise more quickly

in other parts of the world than

in the United States.

In the near term, analysts said

there are fewtechnical barriers

stand in the loonie’s path, while

firmoil prices are a supporting

factor.

DETROIT —General Motors’

andNissan’s sales surged

in

Februaryas incentives drove

shoppers to dealerships.

GMsales were up 46%, more

than double the expected growth

for the industry as a whole. Sales

for Nissan jumped 32%.

Fordand

Chrysler lagged,

with sales gains of 14%and 13%,

respectively.

The boomfor GM

and Nissan

came onthe back of stepped-

up incentives for car buyers and

dealers ina traditionally slow

month for vehicle purchases and

at a time when rising oil prices

have emerged as a threat to the

industry.—Reuters

Grande Prairie is just a vote

away from having an affordable

housing master plan.

Robyn Newton Research and

Consulting presented the com-

pleted plan to city council’s

community development com-

mittee Tuesday.

“The most important parts of

the plan are probably in some

ways the principles, and it’s that

the community is going to con-

tinue to need a variety of hous-

ing types and that they inte-

grate affordable housing with

market housing throughout the

community,” said Newton.

“There’s a lot of things that

the community is already doing

that we say continue to do,

like leasing land for affordable

housing to continue to work

in partnership with the devel-

opment industry and housing

providers.”The $62,000, 145-page docu-

ment took about a year to pro-

duce by the consulting com-

pany based in Burnaby, B.C.

It focuses on developing and

retaining affordable housing

within Grande Prairie.

The document will come up

for discussion at city council

Monday.“I think people have a per-

ception that this is a very

affluent community and it is,

but there also is disparity in

income,” Newton said.

“What I would see happening

10 years down the road is the

municipality had been able to

fulfill its targets so you actually

wouldn’t have people in core

need.“That’s extremely ambitious.

If they come anywhere close

to that I think they can be very

proud.”The plan has 39 recommen-

dations over a 10-year period,

from 2011 to 2021.

There are three which should

be handled first.

One is hire more permanent

full-time housing staff to help

implement the plan.

“They’re working on home-

lessness as well as afford-

able housing, which in many

ways are quite different issues

and have quite di f ferent

approaches,” she said.

The city should also estab-

lish its own affordable hous-

ing comm

ittee which would

include community stakehold-

ers such as people within the

construction industry and

housing providers.

“They can bring on expertise

on those committees ... (and)

they would have the task of

looking at the plan, looking at

the comm

unity and coming

up with priorities for council,”

Newton said. “So essentially

coming up with a work plan for

the next year that would go to

council for approval and they

could oversee that.”

Members of this committee

could also help with the third

recommendation, she added,

which is establish a Municipal

Housing Corporation which

would be a separate non-profit

foundation or housing trust.

It’s suggested that the city

undertake this role on a short-

term basis.With the city’s hiring freeze

there may be challenges, but

the city’s economic slowdown

is a good time to accomplish

goals within the strategy, she

added.Mayor Bill Given said he’s

happy to see the plan come to

fruition.“The steps that are outlined

in the plan I think are very pro-

gressive and would build a great

future for affordable housing in

the community,” he said.

Now, it’s up to council to

resource the plan and those

discussions are likely to happen

at budget next year, he said.

“But there are some steps

that we can take between now

and then to address the goals

and objectives that are outlined

in the plan and I hope we see

those come to committee in

the next while,” Given said.

Examples of steps that might

not affect the budget include

the creation of an affordable

housing committee or explor-

ing the development of the

affordable housing corpora-

tion, he added.


com

nationalnews

Ask and ye shall receive –

sometimes even if it is the 11th

hour.After a last-minute of fer

by the federal government,

city council is being asked to

pony up $60,000 for the city’s

emergency operational centre

(EOC).The federal government will

match it if it’s OK’d.

“Back in 2009 we applied

for a joint emergency pre-

paredness program grant,

for upgrading our emergency

operational centre, which is

the same room as our training

centre at the fire department,”

said Bill Walker, director of

protective ser-

vices.“ T h e t o t a l

c o s t e s t i -

ma t e d

wa s

$ 1 2 0 , 0 3 2 . 8 5 .

Basically, what

we had applied

for was half of

that being paid

by the federal

and provincial

government ... We were turned

down for that grant. So we

have not done any work on it.”

But Walker got a call last

week, re-offering the funding.

“The challenge is it has to be

spent by the end of March,” he

told council’s protective ser-

vices committee Tuesday.

“The funding source for

our portion would be the fire

reserve. We put money away

for upgrading that equip-

ment for the EOC. We’d like

to expend $60,000 out of that

reserve to match the funds the

federal government is going to

provide.”The money would purchase

four laptops, 16 personal com-

puters and five SmartBoards

as well as associated technol-

ogy.Right now, there are two lap-

tops in the EOC. It has been

wired for additional machines.

“It will actually change the

whole training room func-

tionality, (and) it will allow us

to do some stuff that the fire

department, moving to three

stations, is already wanting

to do – it very neatly ties into

where we’re going with that,”

said Walker.

Coun. Kevin McLean voted

against the proposal.

“We’ve got a new fire hall –

there’s a lot of money going to

the fire department,” he said.

“I do believe that it was

brought up just, ‘boom, here,

let’s pass it.’

“We have to have more time

to look at stuff like this, as a

city.”McLean also noted the pro-

posal comes at a time when

both the city and the province

are in debt.

“T h i s $ 60,000 t hat we

already have sitt ing in the

bank isn’t new money, and is

intended for these kinds of

things,” said Mayor Bill Given.

“I feel th is would com-

plete the (EOC) facility, and

that is something that we

haven’t been able to afford to

this point,” said Coun. Kevin

O’Toole.“(And) we’ve got the oppor-

tunity to get it for 50 cents on

the dollar.”[email protected]

The Grande Prairie



in the world.


Allegations that some Alberta

physicians were paid mil-

lions of dollars in hush money

while cancer patients died on

wait lists is “unbelievable,”

says Health Minister Gene

Zwozdesky.

Zwoz de sk y

called on inde-

pendent MLA

Raj Sherman of

Edmonton to

either provide

proof or with-

draw the com-

ments, which

he made this

week in the leg-

islature.But Sherman

called on the government to

bring in whistle-blower legis-

lation, protecting health-care

workers who want to share

their stories.

“When the m

inister says

show me the proof, that’s quite

disingenuous,” Sherman said.

“Show me the protection for

health-care workers and we

will show you the proof.”

Sherman, a former Tory MLA

who also works as an emer-

gency room physician, said he

will table documents in the

legislature Monday related to

his health-care concerns.

“It’s a feature of the legisla-

ture that you can say anything

you want without fear of ret-

ribution and there’s nothing

wrong with that in theory,”

Zwozdesky said.

“But in this particular case,

I think this has gone so far and

the allegation that physicians

were quote, paid out in mil-

lions to buy their silence — an

allegation like that against the

medical fraternity, I find very

unbelievable.”

Zwozdesky said Sherman

is “going to have to live up” to

the comments “one way or the

other.”Sherman had told the legisla-

ture that 250 patients had died

on a wait list for lung surgery,

many with lung cancer. He said

it happened under the watch of

former health ministers Gary

Mar and Iris Evans.

Sherman also alleged Sheila

Weatherill, former CEO of the

old Edmonton-based Capital

Health Region, and Dr. Trevor

Theman, the current registrar

of the Alberta College of Phy-

sicians and Surgeons, were

aware of the

situation.In a follow-up

comment, Sher-

man sa id it ’s

also come to his

attention “that

physicians who

ra i sed t hese

i s s u e s w e r e

either punished

or driven out of

the province or

paid out in millions to buy their

silence.”Zwozdesky said he’s asked

the College of Physicians and

Surgeons about the allega-

tions, as well as the two former

health ministers, and none had

any knowledge of wrongdo-

ing. Theman has also denied

any knowledge of the deaths in

question or any sort of cover-

up.Evans said she was taken

aback by Sherman’s comments.

“I was rather shocked to hear

there were allegations,” Evans

said. “I have no idea what

they’re about.”

Evans said she has never

done anything “deliberate or

willfully damaging.”

NDP Leader Brian Mason

said the government needs to

answer whether there was a

major delay in life-saving sur-

geries, and whether cancer

patients died as a result. But

Mason said Sherman needs to

provide more information as

well.“In my view there is an onus

on Dr. Sherman to provide

some evidence of this and I

trust that he has some,” Mason

said.


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sports

LOS ANGELES —The King’s

Speech won a key award from

Hollywood directors Saturday,

four days after the British royals

drama picked up a leading 12

Oscar nominations.

The film’s director, Tom

Hooper, was named winner of

the union’s prize for outstand-

ing achievement in feature film

at a ceremony in Hollywood,

beating a field that included

another Oscar favorite, The Social

Network director David Fincher.

TheDirectors Guild of America

race also included Christopher

Nolan for Inception, Darren

Aronofsky for Black Swan and

David O. Russell for The Fighter.

The latter two also receivedOscar

nominations, along with Joel and

Ethan Coen for True Grit, who

were overlooked by the DGA.

Only six times in 62 years has

the winner of the DGA prize not

gone on to claim the best director

statuette at the Academy Awards.

The last mismatch was in 2003,

when RobMarshall won the DGA

prize for Chicago but lost at the

Oscars to The Pianist director

Roman Polanski.

With fourweeksuntil theOscars

are handed out in Hollywood

Feb. 27, the race appears to be

a tight one between The King’s

Speech andThe Social Network.

The King’s Speech was named

best picture by the Producers

Guild of America last weekend,

although that group’s track record

as an Oscar barometer is not as

strong as the DGA’s.

The Social Network picked up

the best film anddirecting awards

from the reliable Critics Choice

Movie Awards and the increas-

ingly erratic GoldenGlobes.

“I love the fact that the whole

award thing is getting more

unpredictable,” Helena Bonham

Carter, co-star of The King’s

Speech, told Reuters. “This is

going to make it more interesting

to everybody, I think.”

Other DGA winners included

thefinancial-meltdowndocumen-

tary Inside Job, directed byCharles

Ferguson, as well as episodes of

the sitcom Modern Family and

drama Boardwalk Empire in the

television categories.

—Reuters

Michael Buble is putting

down roots in Britain after the

Canadian crooner purchased

a mansion for himself and his

fiancee in England, according to

new reports.TheHomehitmaker is believed

to have paid $4.5 million for the

sprawling Webb Estate in Purley,

Surrey, where he hopes to spend

part of the year with his future

bride, Argentine actor Luisana

Lopilato.A source tells Britain’s The

Sun, “Michael’s bought a really

smart house. He’s getting mar-

ried this year... and hopes to

spend six months a year here.

He wants it to be a proper

home.”

—WENN

A lawyer has ended a dispute

with Leonard Cohen after agree-

ing to sell off footageof the legend-

ary folk singer shot in the 1970s.

Showbiz attorney Steven

Machat is handing over 294

filmreels, which follow the

Hallelujah singer on stage and

behind-the-scenes of his 1972

European tour.The tapes had been missing

since 1980, but Machat rediscov-

ered them in 2009 and they were

used to create a documentary

about the Canadian rocker, enti-

tled Bird on aWire.

Now Machat, who once rep-

resented Cohen, has settled his

feud with the star by offering up

the reels to fans for $1,500.—WENN

PARK CITY, Utah —Jeremy

Piven doesn’t need to hug it out.

As he nears the end of HBO’s

Entourage, the Emmy winner

says he’s at peace with retiring

Ari Gold — along with the pro-

portionate bark and bite — and

reminding people he can play

more than near-rabid, motor-

mouthed narcissists.

“I think people unfortunately

have a reference for me playing

this Ari Gold character,” he says.

“It’s not interesting to me to keep

doing the same thing. I remem-

ber when I did this Neil LaBute

play, Fat Pig, off-Broadway — it’s

an everyman who stutters and

is self-conscious and has trou-

ble finishing sentences. And I

remember people were like, ‘It’s

a magic trick. How does he do it?’

It’s really exciting to play these

other roles.”For example, at this year’s

Sundance film festival, Piven was

chatting up I Melt With You, a

drama about four friends, each

experiencing a mid-life crisis. It’s

a subject the 45-year-old actor

says he can’t relate to personally.

“There’s something very

charmed about an actor’s life.

We’re very lucky in how we get

to be in this state of play for our

life’s work. And so it keeps you

very child-like. So I’m not very

tied to numbers. I know other

people are.“I think we’re in a society

that’s very, very distracted by the

golden child and making it huge

at a very early age. And you can

never compare or contrast your

career to anyone else’s. Success is

different for everyone.”

Case in point: The star-making

role of Ari Gold came relatively

late in his career. “It was the first

character I’ve ever played who

was in a position of power. The

roles that were available for me to

audition for were the acerbic best

friends.”Originally Ari was conceived

as “a fringe player or to use

their words, ‘a secret weapon,’ ”

he remembers. “So I had been

doing TV and film for a couple

decades and had been lucky

enough to be a regular on The

Larry Sanders Show and Ellen

and a bunch of other shows, and

went into this new series the

elder statesman with the small-

est role in the cast, billed last, at

about 20% of my rate as an actor

and you just go, ‘This is perfect.’

That’s just another great lesson

about putting your ego aside and

taking the job and making the

most of it.”Now with the eighth and last

season shooting in April, does he

have any ideas about how things

should end for his uber-agent

alter-ego?“Well I think (creator) Doug

Ellin has done a perfect job of

setting it up for a really great last

season because the one thing

that’s kept Ari sane and rooted is

his family and his wife, and he’s

losing her. So he planted those

seeds and all I can do is hope he

continues to keep that storyline

going.”Whatever happens, pre-

sumably one thing that won’t

change is the show’s skewering

of Hollywood players. Has Piven

heard from actors upset about

how they were portrayed?

“I’ve heard stories. Kevin

Connolly has told me he’s seen

people who have been angry or

whatever. You have to remem-

ber Entourage is written by Doug

Ellin and I think people realize

we don’t take these personal ven-

dettas out against them.Hewrites

it andwe have to say it and I think

people understand that. And my

character is such an equal oppor-

tunity offender, I think they get it

that it’s just a character.

“I hope they do.”[email protected]

LOS ANGELES —Anthony

Hopkins led the North American

box office on the weekend with

the exorcismthriller The Rite,

while newly minted Oscar nomi-

nees such as front-runner The

King’s Speech enjoyed a boost in

business.The Rite sold about $15 million

worth of tickets in the three days

since it opened across the United

States and Canada on Friday, dis-

tributorWarner Bros. said.

Even though critics lambasted

themovie, the openingwaswithin

the studio’s expectations. The film

cost $40million tomake.

Also new was a remake of

the assassination thriller The

Mechanic , starring English

action hero Jason Statham,

which tied at No. 3 with former

box office champion The Green

Hornet, each reporting about

$11.5million.Last weekend’s champ, the

Natalie Portman-Ashton Kutcher

romantic comedy No Strings

Attached, slipped to No. 2 with

$13.7 million, taking its 10-day

total to $39.7million.

The King’s Speech , which

received 12 Oscar nominations

on Tuesday, saw a 41% boost

in business from last weekend,

grossing $11.1 million. But with

two new releases ahead of it, the

royals drama slipped one place

to No. 5.Among other Oscar nominees

in the top 10, True Grit (10 nomi-

nations) fell one place to No. 6

with $7.6 million, a 4% increase

from last weekend; Black Swan

(five nominations) dropped two

spots to No. 8 with $5.1 million,

off 13%; and The Fighter (seven

nominations) slipped one place

to No. 9 with $4.1million, up 3%.

—Reuters

PARK CITY, Utah —Stories

about romance and death

won top honours at this year’s

Sundance film festival.

The long-distance love story

Like Crazy picked up the jury

award for best drama at a cer-

emony Saturday night.

The movie stars Anton Yelchin

and FelicityJones as ayoung couplewhose rela-

t ionshipis

tested whenthey’reforcedto live apart.F o r

h e r

p e r f o r -

mance, Joneswas also rec-ognized witha special juryprize.The award for best docu-

mentary went to How to Die in

Oregon, which explores assisted

suicide.Two other films won the

audience awards, voted on

by festival-goers themselves.

Circumstance, about Iranian

teens, was named best drama

while Buck, about the man who

inspired The Horse Whisperer,

was recognized as favourite

documentary.The world cinema prize for

drama went to Happy, Happy,

about a sex-starved house-

wife, while the world cinema

jury prize for documentary was

claimed by the Afghanistan-

themed Hell and Back Again.

Two Canadian directors,

Michelle Latimer and Jerome

Sable, won honorable mentions

earlier in the week for their short

films, Choke and The Legend of

Beaver [email protected]

entertainmentnationalnews

Teachers will get a raise in

September after informal talks

between the provincial govern-

ment, their union and school

boards ended Friday.

P re m i e r E d St e m a c h’s

announcement last week that

he will be stepping down as

leader following the spring leg-

islative session created uncer-

tainty, said Education Minister

Dave Hancock, adding to his

decision to suspend the talks.

The three sides sat down to

discuss Hancock’s recent sug-

gestion that teachers give up

planned raises over the next

two years in exchange for con-

siderations on how much time

they’ll be required to spend in

the classroom.

But with a provincial budget

looming, Hancock said he was

forced to call an end to the

talks.“One of the tasks I had been

asked to do by colleagues in

government and on the Trea-

sury Board was to determine

whether or not there was an

opportunity to renegotiate (the

raises) particularly,” he said.

Teachers will now get a raise

Sept. 1 in line with the average

weekly earnings adjustment in

Alberta, currently predicted to

be about 4.3%.That would mean an increase

of roughly $180 million to the

provincial budget.

ATA communications head

Dennis Theobald said while he

is disappointed the talks ended,

there won’t be job action as a

result.“Parents really don’t have to

worry about the state of affairs,

at least in terms of the possibil-

ity of a lockout or a teacher’s

strike for a year-and-a-half,” he

said.The current collective agree-

ment negotiated by the prov-

ince expires Aug. 31, 2012.

Country star Paul Brandt

packed the Beaverlodge Arena

with his music but it may have

been his on-stage chemistry

with the UFA Small Town Hero

that stole the show Saturday

evening.Town resident Doris McFar-

lane, 88, was responsible for

bringing the famous interna-

tional country star to the com-

munity west of Grande Prairie.

McFarlane earned the UFA

Small Town Heroes Award in

September. Two individuals

are chosen from across Alberta

who made a difference in their

rural communities. With the

accolade came a cheque of

$2,500 for a charity or cause of

her choice. But most significantly, her

hometown won the right to

host a Brandt concert.

“The crowd was just ener-

gized,” said Mayor Leona

Hanson, who watched in

delight when the resident of

more than 60 years stood on

stage with the country star.

“Doris was the highlight of

evening. Paul Brandt was just a

gentleman and he was so kind.

They just clicked. They had

some very funny moments.

“All around it was just great.”

All proceeds from the con-

cert including merchandise,

a signed Brandt guitar, sealed

bid auction and McFarlane’s

cheque will go to the construc-

tion of the new $11.6 million

Beaverlodge pool.

Hanson said it will be a few

days before the final number

comes in but she hopes at least

$30,000 will be dropped in the

piggy bank. “We were actually sold out

the first week tickets went on

sale back in December,” said

Hanson. “Then we had some

tickets that came back to us

from UFA so we had 34 that

went on sale at 1 p.m. on

Thursday and by 1:15 p.m.,

they were gone.

“There was a lineup out the

door and as long as it took to

sell a ticket, that’s how quickly

they were sold.”

Seating at the show was

capped at 1,100. Hanson said

the cost of the tickets is one

part of the proceeds and all the

other items need to be tallied

before a final number can be

announced. “I am hopeful we are going

to be over the $30,000,” she

said. “It’s really hard to say

right now. It would be nice if

we are in that range. It would

be a huge boost to our fund-

raising.” At last estimates, the fund-

raising reached a little over

$100,000. Hanson said the goal

is to raise $1 million locally.

The County of Grande Prai-

rie has committed $5 million

to the project and the town is

putting in the other $5 million.

“So we’re making some good

progress,” said Hanson. “We

still have a long way to go of

course.”The old pool was closed in

August and was demolished

last fall. A completion date

has been tagged for May 2012.

“We’re about a quarter way

there,” said Hanson.

“They hoard everything in

and they are waiting for steel.

We just had a meeting Monday

night and they are just wait-

ing for the steel to arrive. They

are just full speed and going to

town. You drive by there and

there’s actually stuff coming

out of the ground now and it’s

happening.”Next up for fundraising is a

CD release party around the

beginning of March. In April

there will be an authentic

Ukrainian dinner.

In May, the town will host

the one-year kick-off anni-

versary of when it started the

project.“We are shooting hard for it,”

said Hanson. “There are also the opportu-

nity for people to donate out-

side of that. It all counts. We

are very appreciative for the

support of the community.”

[email protected]

The County of Grande Prairie

will not subsidize an increase

in water and sewer rates for its

residents but it was not for lack

of trying by two councillors.

Under Aquatera Utilities’ two-

year business plan, starting in

March residents in Clairmont

will pay $4.06 (20% increase)

and in Sexsmith residents will

pay $4.39 (25% increase) more a

month for water and sewer.

The monthly rate increases

again in 2012 to $4.88 in Clair-

mont and to $5.88 in Sexsmith.

Coun. Sharon Nelson, Divi-

sion 2, introduced a motion to

ask administration to prepare a

report on industrial utility use

and residential utility use and

to ultimately consider “cushion-

ing” the proposed rate increase

for Clairmont residents.

“Aquatera identified it was the

use of industry use for wastewa-

ter (the reason there) needed to

be a significant increase,” said

Nelson. “I think the ratepayers in the

Hamlet of Clairmont are being

burdened with this increase of

over $4 a month. That’s a sub-

stantial amount.”

The motion was defeated.

Nelson was disappointed coun-

cil did not have an interest in

the information or further dis-

cussion on assisting taxpayers.

“It is a large increase for the

people who live in Clairmont,”

said Nelson. “Most of them are

young families and seniors. It is

going to have an impact on their

budget. That’s for sure.”

Following that decision, Coun.

Leanne Beaupre, Division 3,

introduced a

motion to ask

administration

to bring back

the dividend

i n f o r m a t i o n

from Aquatera

– how much

t h e c o u n t y

receives, and

w h e re i t i s

being directed,

particularly with the rate

increases. “And if there was an opportu-

nity, if there was money going

into general reserves, if there

was an opportunity to subsi-

dize the costs or the difference

between what the rate is today

and what the rate increases will

be in March,” she said.

“Then council would have a

better idea of whether or not

they are able to (subsidize) when

it came to final budget delibera-

tions.”Beaupre said with two new

councillors, she thought it would

be a good opportunity to look at

Aquatera and how the county

receives dividends as a share-

holder. Her bid also failed.

“I am a little disappointed,”

said Beaupre. “I think I under-

stood somewhat better than

maybe some of my other council

members what direction, what

we were using the dividends

for. I think everybody should

have the opportunity to be well-

informed.”Within the contract with

Aquatera, the county must pay

the rates set by the Aquatera

board. The option to subsidize

the costs is also in the contract.

“It’s a very difficult decision

to subsidize a specific part of

the county,” said Reeve Everett

McDonald, who voted against

the motion. “I think that is where the dis-

cussion would lead. If you are

going to subsidize Clairmont,

why not the residents in Hythe

and close to those areas?”

Sexsmith water bills will

increase in March by $1.17 a

month for 2011 and by $1.21 a

month in 2012. The increases

are due to the rise in cost of

utilities, supplies, maintenance

and capital upgrades. Accord-

ing to Aquatera’s business plan,

the cost of replacing one part of

the sewer main costs as much as

the revenue from the entire Sex-

smith sewer system for one year.

Clairmont water bills also

increase by $1.17 a month as of

March, and $1.21 in 2012 for the

same reasons. But it is the sludge removal

at the Clairmont lagoon which

is one of the factors driving the

20% spike in the hamlet’s sewer

rates. “We want to make sure each

of the three wastewater systems

are self-supporting from a rev-

enue perspective,” said Bernd

Manz, Aquatera CEO. “We found

the Clairmont system hasn’t

been achieving that and so we

are proposing rate increases so

we can recover the costs of ser-

vice.”Manz said in recent years

Aquatera has experienced sub-

stantial operating costs partic-

ularly around the lagoon area

where an aeration system has

doubled the capacity of the

lagoon but the power costs

are substantial and need to be

recovered.


...............................................

TodayPartly cloudy

High 3° Low -1°

TomorrowShowersHigh 4° Low -2°


money

Toronto-listed Vista Gold Corp.

has hit back at what it calls mis-

leading media criticism of its

plans to mine gold in a part of

Mexico near a place Jacques Cou-

steau liked to call the “world’s

aquarium.”Denver-based Vista came out

Monday in response to what it

calls misleading media coverage

in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Vista is trying to get regula-

tory approval to blast an open-

pit mine in Baja’s Sierra la Laguna

mountain range, a United Nations

biosphere reserve.

The UN says Sierra la Laguna

is important because of its fresh-

water supply — a rarity in mostly

arid Mexico — and because its

water basin drains into sea turtle

spawning grounds. Whales also

rely on connected estuaries.

Last week, a reported 9,000 peo-

ple gathered on a local beach and

formed a human SOS in protest

of Vista’s plans for the Concordia

mine.But Vista said Monday Concor-

dia complies with federal mining

and environmental laws as well

as all statutory obligations and

responsibilities.

The proposed mine is sitting

atop an area once set aside specif-

ically for mining, a Vista spokes-

man told QMI Agency earlier this

month.Fred Earnest, Vista’s president

and chief operating officer, said

in a release the company has had

an ongoing dialogue with state

authorities and is “confident” of

the company’s legal right to a per-

mit.“We are actively pursuing all

avenues to advance the project

through the remaining permitting

stages,” he said.Concordia was designed to

meet not only Mexican legisla-

tion but the “highest international

standards for the protection of the

environment and the health and

safety of the proposed workforce

and members of the local com-

munities” as well.

The company said it plans to

invest more than $200 million US

to build a modern mining facility

that would provide between 400

and 600 construction jobs and

another 300 full-time positions

for the mine itself.

Vista also said it plans to con-

struct a desalination plant to meet

its water needs without compro-

mising the quality and supply

of water for local communities.

Open-pit mines can lead to a run-

off of cyanide, an agent used to

treat gold that threatens drinking

water and wildlife.

The region is the main source

of drinking water for as far south

as Los Cabos — a popular Cana-

dian tourist destination.

After the 10-year life of the

mine, the desalination plant

could become a long-term, fresh

water source, Vista said.

RBC Capital is Vista’s fourth

largest institutional investor

behind three U.S. Funds.

Meanwhile, Pediment Gold

Corp. held a special sharehold-

ers meeting in Toronto Monday

morning to approve a plan that

would see it become a wholly-

owned subsidiary of Canada’s

Argonaut Gold Inc.

Together, the pair plan to

extract some 1.2 million ounces of

gold from the proposed San Anto-

nio project in Baja.

[email protected]

— ReutersCanada should streamline

standards on goods and ser-

vices when hashing out its trade

agreements with the European

Union and other jurisdictions,

according to a new report.

The Conference Board of

Canada points to the European

Union where officials and

manufacturers have standard-

ized mobile-phone chargers as

a practical example of saving

people money and hassle.

As a relatively small economy,

Canada has a lot to gain from

similar regulatory co-ordination

but little progress has been

made, said the report entitled,

Regulatory Cooperation: A

Practical Action Plan.

Th e re p o r t , p e n n e d by

Kathle en Macmi l lan, was

published for the Conference

Board’s International Trade and

Investment Centre on Monday.

“Persistent differences between

national standards — many of

which are so inconsequential that

they are essentially meaningless

— interfere with the movement

of goods, services, capital, and

people,” Macmillan said.

Canada should focus on trade

with countries that share similar

health, safety and environmental

protections, such as the United

States and Europe, she said.

Canada already has a free

trade agreement with the U.S.

and is currently ironing out the

details of a free-trade pact with

the EU. Ottawa is also looking to

ink a deal with India.

Almost half of Canadian inves-

tors aren’t aware of the basic

cost of holding mutual funds in

their RRSPs, even though they

are still the most popular retire-

ment product, an Angus Reid

poll found.Forty-five percent of respon-

dents had no idea of the fees

involved in a mutual fund, with

28% unable to say what they

would consider to be a fair

charge. Since the recession, more

Canadians have begun to

question whether they have

the right product mix in their

portfolio, with 39% saying it’s a

concern.Nearly a quarter of respon-

dents said they’re looking for

a simpler way to finance their

retirement, the survey found.

“ I t ’s c o n c e r n i n g t h a t

Canadians are unaware of the

high fees they pay for mutual

funds, especially since these are

the most popular investments in

most retirement portfolios,” said

Peter Aceto, president and chief

executive of ING Direct Canada,

which commissioned the poll.

“These high fees coupled

with the typical performance

of an actively managed mutual

fund vs. the benchmark index

means many Canadians’ retire-

ment portfol ios are being

C A L G A RY — Sp a c e o n

Canadian oil pipelines will

remain tight through at least the

end of February, as Enbridge

Inc. and Kinder Morgan Energy

Partners both said Monday their

lines can’t ship as much crude

next month as customers have

requested.Enbridge, whose lines carry

the bulk of oil shipments to the

U.S. from Canada said five of its

lines in the Lakehead system

would be apportioned, or

rationed, in February

Capacity on Canadian oil pipe-

lines has been tight since this

summer, when two of Enbridge’s

lines in the U.S. ruptured.

— Reuters TOKYO — Toyota kept its spot

at the top of the global sales rank-

ing in 2010, outselling GM by less

than 30,000 units as the U.S. rival

achieved faster growth in the

world’s two biggest markets.

Toyota’s global sales grew 8%

to 8.418 million vehicles, it said

in a statement, helping it keep

its No.1 standing for the third

straight year.GM said its sales climbed

12.2% to 8.390 million vehicles

last year, with deliveries in China

and the U.S., the top two mar-

kets, both exceeding 2 million.

Toyota’s sales suffered last year

from a recall of at least 10 million

cars.— Reuters

shortchanged.”Almost 60% of respondents

said choosing a fund for an RRSP

is not as simple as it could be.

Just over a third said the process

is frustrating and stressful.

The online poll of 1,062 adults

was carried out Dec. 14-15. The

margin of error is 3.1 percentage

points, 19 times out of 20.

— QMI Agency

CN Rail and the Canadian

Auto Workers have reached a

tentative agreement on a new

contract, averting a strike set for

midnight Tuesday.

The accord comes after a

48-hour negotiating session in

Montreal and will still need to

be ratified by members, CAW

said in a release. Local union

leadership will review the deal in

Montreal on Thursday, and then

there will be nationwide ratifica-

tion meetings.“This is a hard-won collective

agreement and I commend the

master bargaining committee

for their perseverance and dedi-

cation to resolving the issues

important to our members right

across the country,” said CAW

national president Ken Lewenza.

CN has been bargaining with

unions since last September to

replace contracts that expired at

the end of December.

The union gave the company

notice on Sunday that it planned

to strike if an accord wasn’t

reached.— QMI Agency

Australia and New Zealand

have negotiated their own agree-

ment, making them a good fit for

Canada as well, the report said.

Macmillan said she’s not call-

ing for an end to regulation but

for greater predictability and

uniformity.“Canada’s best chance for

success lies in a practical plan

of co-operative self-interest,”

Macmillan’s report said.

Cutting red tape in the food

and agriculture, trucking and

motor vehicle sectors would

offer the greatest economic

advantages for Canada, she said.

Biotechnology, information

and communications technol-

ogy, therapeutic drugs and pro-

fessional licensing also stand to

benefit.Streamlining could come in

the form of fully harmonized

standards, mutual recognition,

joint assessments and/or infor-

mation sharing between over-

sight bodies.“Where differences are incon-

sequential or pose little risk to

Canadians’ health or well-being,

Canada could simply adopt

foreign standards. Maintaining

unique regulations should be

a rare exception, and the onus

should be on Canadian regula-

tors to justify distinct standards,”

Macmillan said.— QMI Agency

AU

XANY CORRECTIONS not provided by 3:00



& phone # and approve the ad as indicated:Printed: 05.21.2010


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City council is moving ahead

in its development of the York

Hotel and/or Germain Park

sites.Councillors unanimously

voted Monday to proceed with

accepting Requests for Infor-

mation (RFI) from interested

developers for 60 days.

Administration will now

work towards putting together

a package that can be picked

up or downloaded from the

city’s website,

said Mayor Bill

Given.T h e p a c k -

age will pro-

vide guidance

t o d e v e l o p -

ers along with

details such as

the size of the

site and avail-

able utilities, he

added.The RFI proposals must

address five principles:

the Downtown Enhancement

Plan and the Municipal Devel-

opment Plan; benefit to the city;

from start to finish;

-

including ability to complete

and proven financial expertise; -

sity of the proposal and impact

on activity in the downtown.

“This really is the next step

to moving forward with devel-

oping on the site,” Given said.

“It’s a very open process which

I think is the right direction to

go. “In the past council had

either put in too many restric-

tions or too few restrictions.”

This method allows council

to see a broad range of ideas

and learn some specifics, which

strikes a balance, he added.

Given expects the city will

start accepting proposals

within the next few weeks and

the tentative submission cut-

off is April 8, he said.

“Council would review the

proposals and would have the

option to work with any of the

proposals that council had

some interest in,” he said.

“We could accept any of them

outright, we could deny them

all or if there was something

we were interested in and we

felt had merit we have the flex-

ibility to work with the person

who submitted the proposal to

develop it further.”


com

Grande Prairie residents will

pay higher utility rates at the

beginning of March.

Council passed amendments

to Aquatera Utilities’ bylaws to

accommodate the increases

in an 8-1 vote Monday. Coun.

Kevin McLean was the lone dis-

senter.The rate hikes apply to waste-

water, water and garbage collec-

tion, ranging from 3% to 9.7% in

2011 and 2012.The residential curbside recy-

cling charge will take effect Sept.

1 starting at $4.39 and will likely

rise to $4.52 in 2012 to accom-

modate the increased cost of

providing the service.

The city’s recycling program

will not see any increases in

the next two years, but will be

reviewed in 2012.

The rate changes are needed

to accommodate continued

growth and $61 million worth

of capital upgrades of which $45

million will be used to enhance

the wastewater plant as required

by the province, Bernd Manz,

CEO of the company, told coun-

cil. McLean voted against the

bylaw amendments because he

felt users recently saw increases

in their taxes and Aquatera rates

were raised about a year ago, he

said.The city could receive grant

monies from the government

to assist in paying for the waste-

water upgrades and he wants

to wait until that is determined

before raising the rates, he

added.“I don’t like that we’re getting

the increase and I voted against

it. I wish it wouldn’t have been

passed,” he said.

“I think we’re the highest

already in paying Aquatera

bills.”Including the curbside recy-

cling charge this year, this will

increase bills by an extra $10 per

month, he said.

Coun. Helen Rice said coun-

cillors had to decide between

the user paying or covering

costs from general revenue.

“I think this council has con-

sistently held the position that

the user pays, not only with

Aquatera, but with other city

facilities; that the user pays is

the fairest system,” she said.

position that we’ve followed in

the past in various other things.

“(Taking from general rev-

added into everyone’s tax bill as

opposed to being reflected in

proportion to how much people

use.”Aquatera also presented its

two-year 2011-12 business plan

to the County of Grande Prairie

earlier Monday.

Meanwhile, Edmonton-firm

Stantec Consulting Ltd. is work-

ing on detailed designs of the

wastewater treatment upgrade.

Current estimates are $45 mil-

lion, but those are based on a

master plan, Manz said.

“As that design work pro-

ceeds we’ll get better infor-

mat ion and those costs

can be refined,” he said.

“Our hope is it’ll go down and

we’ll look at ways that we can

or potentially defer elements of

it so we can spread that cost of

it over a longer period of time.”

Updated figures should be

available between six to eight

months, he said.

But for most of the upgrades,

Aquatera plans to borrow

money to cover the cost.

“I think it’s always appropriate

to look at borrowing as one way

people can use it,” Manz said.

“This upgrade to our wastewa-

ter treatment plant will meet

to 25-year period and it’ll take

us about that long to pay for it.”

Changes to the shareholder’s

agreement made last August

will allow the company to retain

earnings in the future, he said.

“As time goes on we’ll have

our own money to be able to

reinvest in new infrastructure,”

he said. “In the meantime,

much of the new cost of infra-

structure will be paid for by bor-

rowed money.”


com

Get your local news

and sports QUICK!

Stay connected to the Daily Herald-Tribune as our Online Community Grows!

The Grande Prairie Gym-

nastic Society may not get the

financial forgiveness it’s look-

ing for.

A City Hall administration

recommendation that the city

deny the Gymniks’ request to

clear a total of $338,555.80 in

interest owed on a 15-year $1.6

million loan was backed in a

3-1 community development

committee vote Tuesday.

Committee chairman Coun.

Alex Gustafson was the only

naysayer.

The issue now goes to city

council.

The money was borrowed by

the city on the organization’s

behalf in 2005 to help in com-

pleting the gymnastics centre

at the Community Knowledge

Campus.

T he g roup’s repay ments

a mount to a lmost $ 97,000

t w ice a yea r, in June a nd

December.

T h e G y m n i k s h a d

approached the community

development committee last

November, asking the city to

reallocate the interest already

paid to its mortgage payment,

and forgive all the interest on

the loan.

The interest paid to date now

totals $261,066.51.

“First and foremost we don’t

have $261,000 sit t ing any-

where that would allow us to

fund that,” said Kylee Haining,

Grande Prairie’s recreation

and community development

manager.

“We would have to basically

cut prog ra ms somewhere,

other recreational programs,

(and) that would have to come

out of the community services

budget.

“There isn’t leeway to find

the money to do it for this

year.”Another option could be to

bill that amount to ongoing

budgets, but there is no way

to meet the demand this year,

she said.

“The other rationale is that

the Gymniks also receive a sig-

nificant amount of assistance

in their operations,” Haining

said. “We funded them in the

amount of about $232,000

towards their operations (and)

because we’re already funding

them to a significant amount,

my rationale was to deny the

loan.”

Mayor Bill Given, a commit-

tee member, said he voted for

administration’s recommen-

dation to reject the request to

allow council to debate it.

He had suggested a motion

where administration would

work with the Gymniks on

other options like a sponsor-

ship initiative to help the facil-

ity sell naming rights to offset

the cost.

“I think the Gymniks is a

unique association. There’s no

other community group who

has ever come to the city with

multiple millions of dollars to

build a facility,” he said.


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TodayFlurries

High -19° Low -25°

Tomorrow

Variably cloudy

High -17° Low -21°

Sunrise: 7:41 a.m.

Sunset: 6:34 p.m.

money

Ottawa has d

oled out million

s

in cashrebat

es to Canadian

drivers in an attem

pt toget o

ld

gas-guzzle

rs off the road

and

stimulatenew car sa

les, but the

program has turne

d out to be

something of a

dud,exper

ts say.

Thefeder

al government’s

Retire Your

Rideprogr

am will

crossthe finish

line on March 31

aftertwo years

.

To date,Ottawa has paid

out

upwardsof $34.8

millionin

cashin return

for some 127,4

00

clunkers an

d it’s done ab

solutely

nothing to

spur car sal

es orvehi-

cle production

in Canada, in

de-

pendent a

utomotive

consultant

DennisDesRos

iers said.

Theprog

ramoffer

s a $300

cashrebat

e or a discount o

n a

newcar, t

ransit pas

s in select

cities, bicyc

le or a member-

shipto a car-sh

aringservic

e in

exchange

for a 1995or older

model-year

vehicle. Re

sidents

in B.C.,Quebe

c and Manitoba

were eligible for sligh

tly more

thanks to top ups from

provin-

cial govern

ments.

Giventhe progr

am’s limited

resources

theydid a good

job

of getting

a few “smokers” off

the road,DesRo

sierssaid.

Of

the some 20 millioncars

on

Canadian

roads, nea

rly 5 mil-

lionwere made

before 1996

under less string

ent emission

s

standards.

“Did it stimulatethe econ

-

omy? Absolutely

no evidence of

that in any way,

shapeor for

m,”

DesRosiers s

aid.

Fromthe w

ord go, itreally

was

an environmental

program, said

the Summerhillgroup

’s Retire

YourRide n

ational dir

ectorCarla

Kearns.

“We’ve surpassed

our goals,”

she said.

Backin 2009,

Ottawa inclu

ded

the program

in its response

to the standing committee

on

industry, s

cience and techn

ol-

ogy’sstudy

of the crisis

in the

auto sector.

In the U.S.,Genera

l Motors,

Chrysler,

Ford, Honda

and

Toyota all said

the roughly

$2 billion spent

by the Obama

administration

on the far more

ambitious Cash

for Clunkers

program, which

offered up to

$4,500 toward the purch

ase of

a new car, was cri

tical in gettin

g

production

backup to speed

.

Thesame can’t

be saidfor

Canada.

Autoprodu

ctionand sales

in

this country are still w

ell below

pre-recess

ion peaks, data

from

Scotiabank

shows.

AndRetir

e YourRide

just

wasn’tentic

ing enough to limit

the scaleof the

industry declin

e

the way similar programs in

Asia,Euro

pe and the U.S. did,

Canadian

AutoWorker

s econo-

mist JimStanf

ord said.Germ

any,

for instance,

offered a rough

ly

$5,000 ince

ntive.

For more than

99% of vehicles

on the road, Re

tire Your R

ide isa

bad deal,DesRos

iers echoed

.

Roughly 85%

of Canadian-

made vehicles ar

e sold southof

the border.

“In a way our industry

in

Canada benef

ited more from the

U.S. Cash for C

lunkers progr

am

thanfrom

a Canadian

one,”

Stanford said.

“At theend

of theday,

(Canada’s)

program was funda

-

mentally flaw

ed,” DesRos

iers said,

adding the

best way to g

et oldpol-

lutersoff the

road is to forcethem

off with an inspe

ctionprogr

am.

stefania.moretti

@canoe.ca

— Reuters

Ontariois set to

become just

one of three provi

nceswithou

t

tax credits for

labour-spo

nsored

investment f

unds, a finan

cing

vehicle critic

s say has costthe

government d

earlywhile prov-

ing littlebene

fit toinves

tors or

business.

T h e O n t a r i og o v e

r n -

ment has invested more than

$600million

in the program,

whichwas desig

nedto help

provide finan

cing for small bu

si-

nesses in the provi

nce. The pro-

vincial gove

rnment had offere

d

a 15% tax breakon inves

tments

up to a maximum $5,000, wh

ich

comes inaddit

ion to a 15% fed-

eral credit

to attract fund

s.

In phasing out th

e credits by

the end of this year

, Ontariowill

join Alberta and Princ

e Edward

Islandas the

onlyprovi

ncesnot

to offerlocal

government in

cen-

tivesto such

investments.

Otherprovi

ncesoffer

tax cred-

its of 15%, with Saska

tchewan

and Nova Scotia offer

ing 20%

on a maximum inves

tment of

$5,000. In

British Colum

bia, the

maximum investment is

higher,

meaning the poten

tial tax break

is among the most generou

s in

the country

.

Manitoba has three

labour-

sponsored

funds, and

the gov-

ernment provi

dedtax credi

ts

worth$459

,000in 2008

and

$395,000 in

2009.

Critics say the schem

es have

proven costl

y, provided

low

returns for

investors a

nd charge

highmanagement fe

es.

“No, thishas

def ini te ly

not been a succe

ssfulinves

t-

ment vehicl

e — you couldsay

it has beena terrib

le invest-

ment vehicle,” said

Douglas

Cumming,a prof

essor of

finance and Ontari

o research

chairwith York

University’s

Schulich

School of

Business.

“They do not w

ork in any of the

various dimensio

ns either for

business o

r investors.

“They have

grossly unde

r-

performed and have

not earned

ratesof ret

urnshigh

enough to

covertheir

fees.The only r

eason

they haveaccum

ulatedso much

is through the ta

x credits.”

Cumming said

the manage-

ment expense ratio

s for the

fundstypica

lly run at more than

5%, compared

with between 2%

and 2.5%for a norm

al mutual

fund.Inves

tors are gener

ally locked

in for aperio

d of atleast

eight

years.

Canada’s

Venture Capit

al &

Private Equit

y Association

said

the retail fun

ds helpprovi

de

much-need

ed financing

for

small busines

ses ata time when

access to such

capital ha

s been

dwindling.

“They prov

ideanyw

here

between 25% to 45% of the

total

in the industry, s

o it’s quitesiz-

able,”said CVCA

executive d

irec-

tor Richard

Remillard.

“Ninetyperce

nt ofthe funds

goesinto high-

tech firms, which

havetroub

le qualifying

for debt

financing.”

However,a 2008

studyby the

Montreal Econ

omic Institute

found that

funds were only

investing

about 40%

of the

moneythey have

gathered since

2001.Remillard

saidpart

of the

problem

is thecons

traints

imposedby gover

nment requir-

ing fundsto keep

a certain pro-

portion of the

ir capital in

readily

liquidassets

.

Cumming said the rulesgov-

erning the fund

s alsotend

to

mean that fund manage

rs need

to invest large

inflows of fu

nds in

a short-perio

d of time, withou

t

doingthe nece

ssarydue-

dili-

genceor follow

up monitoring,

and that’sa key reaso

n for their

underperfo

rmance.

“Thetax sy

stemdistor

ts, soit’s

possible to be OK as an inves

-

tor, though ultim

atelywe’re

all worseoff beca

use of this

scheme, wh

ich crowds out

other

private inv

estors,” he s

aid.

sharon.sing

leton@canoe

.ca

An Onta ri o judg

e has

approved a $750

millionclass

action again

st General Motors

of Canada

and its partner law

firmover

the mass closures of

GM dealership

s in 2009,lawye

rs

representi

ng the plaintiffs said

Wednesday.

The classactio

n on behalf of

more than200 former GM

auto

dealers alle

ges that the

company

breached provi

ncialfranc

hise

laws and seeks$750

millionin

damages.

“Theeliminatio

n of thedeal-

ers was a man-m

ade disaster fo

r

hundreds o

f family-ow

ned busi-

nesses forc

ed to pay the pric

e for

GM’s financial p

roblems,” said

David Sterns, one

of thelawye

rs

for the lead

plaintiff.

“As a result of t

his decision,

the dealers now

havea chan

ce

to put the piece

s backtoget

her

and mounta recov

ery of their

own.”The suit a

lso names Cassels

Brock & Black

well LLP,the

law firmappo

intedto act for

Canadian

GM dealers in antic

i-

pation of the

companyrestru

c-

turing. Th

e firmalso

actedon

behalf of th

e federal go

vernment

in connectio

n with the auto

sector bail

out.

The disgruntle

d dealers say

thisrepre

sentsa confl

ict of

interest sin

ce one of thecond

i-

tionsfor G

M to access billio

ns

of governm

ent funding

was the

elimination of a large

number of

GM dealers.

Thesuit

alsosays

the vast

majority of G

M dealers acc

epted

a terminatio

n package in May

2009and that t

hey were unable

to negotiate

as a groupdurin

g

the two to fourbusin

ess days

theywere given

to consider th

e

offer.“It is

not realistic

to thinkthat

an individual

franchisee

, who

has experi

encedthe loss o

f their

business, i

s financially

or psy-

chologicall

y equipped to engag

e

in protracted

, complicat

ed and

veryexpe

nsivelitiga

tionwith

one of thelarge

st corporat

ions

in NorthAmerica

and a major

Canadian

law firm,” Justice G.R.

Strathy said

.

Strathy also

saidCass

el’s

involvement r

aises“importa

nt

issuesconce

rninglawye

rs’ duties

to theirclien

ts, particu

larlyin

the context

of group retain

ers.”

—QMI Agency

TopU.S. office s

upplies ret

ailer

Staples Inc. r

eported a lower-

than-expec

ted quarterly p

rofit as

inclement w

eather in many o

f its

marketskept s

hoppers aw

ay.

“While the fourthquart

er was

challenging

primarilydue to the

impactof winter

storms, sal

es

haverecov

ered in the first qua

rter

of 2011,” chief

executive office

r

Ron Sargent sai

dWednesday.

Net income rose

to $274.7 mil-

lion US, or38 cents

a share, in

the fourthquart

er that end

ed on

Jan. 29 from

$233.9 million

, or 32

centsa sha

re, a year ea

rlier.

Excluding

a restructu

ring

expense, St

aplesearne

d 39 cents

a share, missing

the analysts’

average est

imate of40 ce

nts.

—Reuters

FordMotor

Co. has recal

led

morethan

34,000 vehic

les

worldwide spann

ing eightvehi-

cle modelsdue to the risk of a

fuel leak or

electrical is

sues.

Theauto

makeris recal

l-

ing 25,000 2010

FordRang

er

trucks, inc

luding 23,68

8 in the

U.S.,becau

se an engine fuel l

ine

couldbe a r

isk toleak.

Fordalso said it would

recall

9,100vehic

lesworldwi

de because

theirelectr

ical systems may sho

rt

and resultin a vehic

le fire. This

includes 8,0

22 vehicles i

n the U.S.

The modelsaffect

ed include:

FordEdgecr

ossover; Lin

colnMKX

crossover; th

e F-150, F-25

0, F-350,

F-450andF

-550pickup

trucks.

No injuries

have been repor

ted.

—Reuters

The Grande Prairie



in the world.


Hospitals are failing to meet

goals set by Alberta Health

Services for shorter emergency

room wait times, but Grande

Pra i r ie’s Queen El i zabet h

II Hospital is an exception,

according to its vice-president.

AHS acting president Dr.

Chris Eagle of Calgary admit-

ted this week that most Alberta

hospitals aren’t close to goals

for ER waiting times. Last Octo-

ber, AHS set the goal of seeing,

treating and discharging 70%

of ER patients with conditions

deemed less serious within

four hours by the end of March.

Although most hospitals are

falling short of these expecta-

tions, the Queen Elizabeth II

exceeds the goals.

“The last report that we have

available indicates that (with)

about 75% of our patients we

were meeting that target,” said

vice-president Joan Libsekal.

She refers to a Decem-

ber ranking that put the QEII

fourth among A lberta’s 16

major hospitals in regards to

the wait times. It measures

at least 9% higher than the

six metropolitan hospitals in

Alberta.

Eagle also said most hospitals

were failing to meet treatment

goals for more serious patients

who are admitted as inpatients

from the Emergency Room.

AHS set the goal of admitting

45% of these patients within an

eight-hour period of waiting in

the emergency room.

The QEII passed that test too.

The December report states

that 58% of serious cases were

fully admitted within eight

hours, 20% higher than the

average for Alberta’s busiest

hospitals.

“Over the last couple of years,

I would think that our waiting

times have been the same or

improved,” Libsekal said.

She ha s seen a g reater

number of emergency depart-

ment volumes in past years

when Grande Prairie experi-

enced a surge in the oil and gas

industry.

“When we were a booming

economy, there was a lot of

people here who didn’t have

family doctors, and so when

they got sick, they would go to

emergency,” Libsekal said.

T he latest resu lt s were

attained with an aging emer-

gency department built in the

early 1980s to serve 20,000

visits annually from Grande

Prairie and the surrounding

areas.“In our depa r t ment, we

handle about 50,000 visits a

year,” Libsekal said.

“When you have those people

coming in, there’s just a lack of

stretcher space to put them in.”

ER staf f dea l w ith these

limited facilities by opening

additional beds in the nursing

department, if the need arises.

“Our nursing managers meet

every morning,” Libsekal said.

“They review the patients that

are in emergency waiting for

admissions. (Nursing manag-

ers assess) how many patients

are being expected to be dis-

charged in the nursing units to

see how we can accommodate,

and (they) get those patients

into their beds as soon as pos-

sible.”To save space, the hospital

also uses Urgent Care Chairs

i nstead of beds for some

patients receiving treatment.

“They might be waiting for

lab results, or they may be get-

ting some type of a treatment

where they’re able to sit in a

chair as opposed to laying on a

stretcher,” Libsekal said.

A $9-million overhaul of the

emergency department, pro-

viding nearly double the capac-

ity, is expected to be complete

this September.

[email protected]

It could be that come budget

time, city RCMP will be look-

ing for more municipal support

staff.Mounties received roughly

9,982 court documents, such as

warrants and orders for prohibi-

tions and probations, last year.

These all need to be entered

into the Canadian Police Infor-

mation Centre (CPIC).

It takes 30-45 minutes per

file.Also in 2010, 6,233 criminal

record checks were completed,

at 20 minutes per check.

And about 3,000 incidents

came into the detachment, and

each one takes about 30 min-

utes to process.

To keep up with this level of

support, the detachment spent

$467,918. Of that, $166,521 was

for overtime and $301,397 for

casual shift employees.

It would be cheaper to hire

full-time employees, city coun-

cil’s protective services com-

mittee was told this week.

The overtime and casual shift

costs still fall within the support

staff budget “but it’s stretching

us,” said Eldon Wyant, office

administrator for the local

detachment.

“When we receive court

documents, all of those have

to be entered into a computer

and accuracy is of the utmost

importance. It is not just the

fact that the work has to be

done.“The court system and

everything else that’s involved

depends on the accuracy.

“There’s no use going out and

arresting somebody if there’s

no way that you can prosecute

them. We have to make sure

that everything is done, that

everything is done in a timely

fashion and that everything is

done perfectly.”

Even with the overtime and

casual shifts, there are 172 war-

rants and 49 court orders still

waiting to be entered into CPIC.

Insp. Peter Puszka said he

hopes committee members

have a greater awareness of

the challenges local police are

facing, and that there may be

a request for staff – probably

seven people.


...............................................

TodayFlurriesHigh -6° Low -16°TomorrowCloudyHigh -16° Low -27°


AU

X





Printed: 05.21.2010Document Name: DHT Win Earlug TFN

User Name: VaughnAd Rep: Karyn2010 Publication: DHTAd Heading: Proof: 1st,pdf

nationalnews

A pair of high-profile resigna-

tions in the ruling Progressive

Conservative party this week

has turned provincial politics

on its ear, with debate within

caucus over the scheduled Feb-

ruary budget at the centre of the

rift. On Tuesday, Premier Ed Stel-

mach announced he would

not be seeking re-election and

would be resigning after a new

party leader is chosen.Speculation among politi-

cal observers that day was that

rumblings that Finance Min-

ister Ted Morton was ready to

tender his resignation Tuesday

prompted Stelmach’s decision.

On Thursday, a day after pub-

licly stating that he would sup-

port the upcoming budget (but

did not say if he would table

it in the legislature), Morton

announced he was also resign-

ing from his post but remain

within the Tory caucus.Treasury Board president

Lloyd Snelgrove takes on the

finance portfolio and would,

presumably, table the budget.

All of that has made for a sur-

prising – but interesting – week

in Alberta politics, said Dawn

Moffat McMaster, a political

science instructor at the Grande

Prairie Regional College.“The PC Party in Alberta

has kind of been facing some

struggles for a little while for

sure. I think they’ve really tried

to downplay the influence of

the Wildrose Alliance, but it’s

hard to do when some of your

members have left and joined

another party,” Moffat McMas-

ter said.“That said, I don’t think any-

body was expecting this kind of

level of upheaval this quickly.

Premier Stelmach resigning has

come, from what I can tell, as a

surprise to a lot of people, even

people lower down within the

party, even people who follow

politics.”At the heart of the division

with the Conservative caucus

is an apparent philosophical

difference in approach with

regards to the budget. With the deficit potentially

reaching in excess of $5 bil-

lion for the current fiscal year,

and Stelmach recently admit-

ting that the books would not

be balanced until the 2013-14

fiscal year, Morton, who has a

reputation as a fiscal hawk, was

reported to be pushing to table

an austerity budget with deep

cuts in order.“Given Morton’s background,

that would probably be a fair

assumption to make,” Moffat

McMaster said.Stelmach reportedly wanted

a more even-handed approach

and to maintain spending on

infrastructure and services.“With the last budget that

came down, a lot of political

observers said it wasn’t really

Morton’s budget, it was that of

his predecessor and he just kind

of presented it,” she said.“Now the assumption would

have been that this budget then

would have been his budget.

“Obviously by the fact that

he’s resigned, I think he’s giving

himself that room to be able

to distance himself from this

budget and set himself up as his

own kind of philosophical posi-

tion as a leadership candidate.”

Now Morton, who ran for the

party leadership in 2006 only to

lose to Stelmach, is poised to

take another run at the top job,

which is why he’s remaining in

caucus, Moffat McMaster said.

“And that would be standard,

because my assumption would

be that he’s planning to run

for the leadership of the party

and if they do that they have to

resign from their cabinet posi-

tion. I don’t think it’s really a sur-

prise that he still has leadership

ambitions as far as that goes.”

She said she doesn’t know

who might step forward to chal-

lenge Morton for the leadership,

stating she has heard names

thrown around, such as former

federal Environment Minister

Jim Prentice who, as of Jan. 1,

took on the position of vice-

chairman and senior vice-pres-

ident of the Canadian Imperial

Bank of Commerce.“Part of the reason that Stel-

mach gained the leadership is

that he was kind of the middle

person. We had a group or fac-

tion that was more to the right

and a faction that was more to

the left,” she said. “Now Morton again is that

kind of right-wing candidate of

that portion of the provincial

party. So I would suspect there

will be someone coming up

from the centre-left of the party

to fill that other spot.”

The snowfall that walloped

the Peace Country this month

has helped the region, ravaged

by years of drought, reach

normal snow pack levels for

this time of year.

The normal mid-November

to mid-January total, according

to Alberta Agriculture, ranges

from about 55 to 65 millime-

tres worth of precipitation.

So far th is winter, i t ’s

between 65 and 85 millimetres

as of Jan. 20.But Ralph Wright, head of

the Soil Moisture Unit with

Alberta Agriculture, said that

amount of snow is an anomaly

when compared to the last 12

or 13 years.“Let’s put this into perspec-

tive,” he said from Edmonton.

“You’ve had about 74 centime-

tres in the form of snow. Since

1998 there’s only been one year

that you had more snow than

this, and that was 2007 where

you had about 120 cm by this

time.“It’s very possible that people

are thinking, ‘my God, look at

all this snow.’ But it’s been so

many years since you’ve had a

decent snow.”In the last 12 years, Wright

said the Peace Country has

had just three winters where

there has been normal-or-bet-

ter snowfall by Jan. 20.

A day after mocking report-

ers for asking if he’d resign, ex-

Alberta Finance Minister Ted

Morton did just that Thursday,

kicking off the race for the

province’s Tory leadership.In a letter t o P r e m i e r Ed Stelmach, Morton said the decision to step down from the pow-erful post was m a d e w i t h ethics and the i n t e re s t s o f his party and Albertans in mind.

“The impending leader-

ship contest would be a seri-

ous distraction from the pro-

cess of governing, particularly

the passage of the upcoming

budget,” said Morton, who the

day before asked “why should

I resign,” when questioned

about reports of a threatened

resignation over the budget.He praised outgoing premier

Ed for being the first candidate

to step down to enter the 2006

leadership race.“At the time, I was one of

many Albertans who admired

the principled position he

took,” said Morton.Although several other Tory

MLAs and cabinet ministers

have expressed interest in run-

ning, Stelmach said no other

members of his team have

offered their resignations.Morton said there was dis-

agreement on the upcom-

ing budget, but added that’s

almost inevitable.“I wasn’t completely happy

with last year’s budget and I’m

sure the premier wasn’t either,”

he said.The announced departures

of both a premier and finance

minister in the same week is

unprecedented and a symp-

tom of a party is distress, said

Wildrose Alliance leader Dan-

ielle Smith.“This a real signal of a gov-

ernment in disarray ... I can tell

you this is not sending a signal

of stability,” she said.His departure as finance

minister, said Smith, can’t

absolve Morton of his role in

directing his party to its cur-

rent unpopularity.“He was at the cabinet table

for the past four years and is

complicit in its policies,” she

said.Vermil l ion-Lloydminster

MLA and President of the Trea-

sury Board Lloyd Snelgrove will

assume Morton’s position.Snelgrove, said Stelmach,

will ensure “continuity and

competence” in the crucial

finance [email protected]

Your Community News Source!

From sports stats to business news, the Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune keeps you in the local loop.

780-532-1110 • dailyheraldtribune.com

here,

“We have to have more time the dollar.”

[email protected]

Sherman, a former Tory MLA emer-

gency room physician, said he

will table documents in the

legislature Monday related to

his health-care concerns.

“It’s a feature of the legisla

ians

were quote, paid out in mil-



lions to buy their silence —

allegation like that against the

medical fraternity, I find very

unbelievable.”

Zwozdesky said She

is “going to have to live up

the comments “one way or

other.”Sherman had told the legisla

ture that 250 patients had

on a wait list for lung surgery,

many with lung cancer. He sai

aware of the

situation.In a follow-up

comment, Sher

Trevor

Theman, the current registrar

of the Alberta College of Phy-

sicians and Surgeons, were

paid out in millions to buy their

Zwozdesky said he’s asked

the College of Physicians and

Surgeons about the allega

tions, as well as the two former

health ministers, and none had

any knowledge of wrongdo

ing. Theman has also d

any knowledge of the deaths i

question or any sort of cov

aback by Sherman’s commen

“I was rather shocked

there were allegations,” Evans

said. “I have no idea what

they’re about.”

Evans said she has neve

done anything “deliberate or

willfully damaging.”

NDP Leader Brian

said the government needs to

answer whether there w

major delay in life-savi

geries, and whether c

patients died as a res

Mason said Sherman needs t

The County of Grande Prairie

will not subsidize an increase

in water and sewer rates for its

residents but it was not for lack

of trying by two councillors.

Under Aquatera Utilities’ two-

year business plan, starting in

March residents in Clairmont

will pay $4.06 (20% increase)

and in Sexsmith residents will

pay $4.39 (25% increase) more a

month for water and sewer.

The monthly rate increases

again in 2012 to $4.88 in Clair

introduced a

motion to ask

administration

to bring back

the dividend

i n f o r m a t i o n

from Aquatera

– how much

t h e c o u n t y

receives, and

be met “bang on” by the end of

The target by March 2015 is

to deal with 90% of ER patients

within either four or eight

hours, depending on the sever-


said now is not the time for

“This is an example of a gov-

ernment that really is scram-

bling to show signs that it

understands the health-care

tics will be released shortly.

[email protected]

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TomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrowTomorrow

ShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersShowersHigh 4° Low -2°

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Sunrise:

Sunrise:

Sunrise:

Sunrise:

Sunrise: 8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.

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8:59 a.m.

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8:59 a.m.

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8:59 a.m.

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8:59 a.m.

8:59 a.m.Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset:

Sunset: 5:17 p.m.

5:17 p.m.

5:17 p.m.

5:17 p.m.

5:17 p.m.

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5:17 p.m.

5:17 p.m.

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