Forestry Firms Burning Jobs
Why they'd rather torch timber than feed mills.
Forests Minister Rich Coleman expresses alarm at the number of jobs that are going up in smoke in British Columbia as mountains of good wood are set ablaze on logging sites across the province.

More than $500,000 for local entrepreneurs
Last month, Québec’s Ministère des Affaires municipales et des Régions granted the CLD (Centre local de développement) Centre-Ouest /Centre West, which covers St. Laurent, Côte St. Luc, Hampstead and Montreal West, an additional loan of $584,346 to set up the Local Investment Fund. This supplemental fund, staggered over three years, will allow the CLD to offer further financial assistance to entrepreneurs starting up or expanding a business in order to encourage job creation.

Desjardins to Publish Online Bulletins on Responsible Consumption, in Partnership with Ethiquette.ca
Where can you find environmentally-friendly products that also help improve social conditions? In order to provide answers to this question and many more, Desjardins Group, the largest financial institution in Québec, is joining forces with ethiquette.ca, a social-oriented enterprise whose mission is to help consumers make responsible choices.

Retailers try to tap shoppers' do-gooder spirit
Walk into any Gap clothing store this holiday season and expect to see red T-shirts, red hats and red bracelets. Of course, decorating with red is nothing unusual this time of year, but the merchandise is meant to remind customers of something not often associated with the holidays: the global AIDS epidemic.

But it's the lingering "business sense" hanging over the red campaign that has attracted heavy criticism from some corners. More than a few bloggers have pointed to the crassness of companies using a deadly disease as a marketing vehicle to sell more clothes and electronics. Radio talk show host Michael Medved has charged on his blog that companies have used the campaign as an excuse to hike prices and make more money for themselves.

County eyes strong position
Wheatland County Council is looking at a Community Economic Development Strategy that will put the county into a strong economic position. Council, at its Nov. 21 meeting, received the results of a one and a half day strategic planning session held Nov. 1-2 to develop a strategic plan for community economic development.

Study doubts P3 value Provincial P3 edict draws fire
The debate over the merits of public-private partnerships is back on with a vengeance now that the province has unveiled a new policy forcing cities to use the strategy in order to get provincial grants. Any project worth more than $20 million will have to be seriously considered as a private-public partnership (P3) and be vetted by Partnerships BC in order to get funding from Victoria, Premier Gordon Campbell announced recently.

Credit unions flash their green with auto loans
A few of Canada's credit unions are putting the environment ahead of profits by offering a financial incentive to clients who borrow money to buy low-pollution, fuel-sipping cars. Let's say you've got your eye on a Toyota Prius, a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle that has low emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Vancouver City Savings Credit Union will finance the purchase with a loan at the prime rate, now 6 per cent. That's as much as three to four percentage points less than a typical car loan, and it's enough to save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in interest.

Locked Dumpsters Full of Mangoes: Hungry people, wasted food, and the politics of dumpster diving
Food waste needs to be rethought, reduced and rerouted. photo: Fatty Tuna
Unappeasable customers, bitter bosses and deserted lunch shifts; it is no secret that restaurant work can be soul-crushing. However, the most painful moments in the food industry -- ask anyone who has worked in a café, restaurant, bar or food store -- are moments spent throwing away good food. Those who work in supermarkets, bakeries and delis know that tossing bags of fresh bread and pastries, cases of coffee, trays of uneaten lasagne, chicken and sautéed vegetables into the dumpster out back is part of the daily reality.

Greens look beyond the environment
Being green is no longer just about the environment, the head of Quebec's Green Party said yesterday as he geared up for his party's first policy convention since the lead-up to the 2003 provincial election.

Art co-op unveiled: Covent Garden Market is only a temporary home.
With a big vision and a lot of work, a new not-for-profit arts business is hoping to establish a permanent artist co-operative in London. Create opens its temporary home today at the Covent Garden Market. Its space is in the former LCBO outlet.