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All posts by Philip Alves

Billion-dollar handshake

It was a whopper of an announcement on Wednesday. York Region Chairman and CEO Bill Fisch welcomed Premier Dalton McGuinty’s pledge of $1.4 billion in provincial transit money for new Viva buses and the construction of dedicated bus rapidways on Hwy. 7, Yonge St. and Davis Dr.

Cash for area seniors’ groups

Isolated seniors in Vaughan have reason to feel a little more connected. On March 16, Thornhill MP Peter Kent announced more than $60,000 in federal money for three seniors’ groups: the Concord West Seniors Club, the First Chinese Seniors Association of Vaughan and the Seniors Enrichment Centre.

New rules coming

Vaughan’s new integrity commissioner says her job isn’t the cleanup of city hall. It’s to create rules and make sure they’re being followed. Suzanne Craig, who will be leaving her post as Toronto’s director of corporate access and privacy to take up her new position on April 6, says she’s heard the cleanup suggestion and it’s presumptuous.

Bright Ideas: Tap your staff’s talents

Laid off workers aren’t the only ones who need help during a recession, says Heidi Garcia, human performance specialist with Karico Performance Solutions. Companies need to make full use of their employees’ talents to survive and thrive, though many don’t, she says.

Opportunity in layoffs

The job market is a crowded place these days. Layoffs continue apace as the recession drags on and companies claw back. The Canadian economy shed 83,000 jobs last month, bumping the unemployment rate up to 7.7 percent, according to Statistics Canada’s February employment report, released last week. Ontario alone lost 35,000 of those jobs and the province’s unemployment rate of 8.7 percent is the highest it’s been since April 1997.

Judge finds no bias

Vaughan city councillors are pleased with a recent court decision that cleared them of wrongdoing and bias against Mayor Linda Jackson. Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Lauwers’ ruling, released last week, dismissed Jackson’s claims that council’s unanimous call in June to pursue charges after a court-ordered audit of her campaign finances hinged on a series of illegal actions.

School solar panel shines

It’s a development so bright even the Vatican is keeping an eye on it. Woodbridge’s St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic High School officially launched its new solar photovoltaic system Monday. The system, which includes five solar panels arranged in the shape of a cross above the school’s main entrance, is the first of its kind in the York Catholic District School Board.