A Healthy Alternative
It seems everyone has a gripe about our medical system these days. Wait lists are too long, alternative treatments aren’t given legitimate recognition, too much effort is placed on cures and not enough on prevention . . . the list goes on. But in Victoria, a group of physicians, health practitioners and community-minded folks have come together to lay the foundations for the city’s first health cooperative, which will be having an open house this Saturday afternoon.

Fondation Desjardins Launches Call for Candidates for 33rd Desjardins Annual Prizes
Fondation Desjardins invites organizations involved in social, economic and community development to send in their applications for the 33rd edition of the Desjardins Annual Prizes. Six prizes of $5,000 each will be awarded to social and community organizations that are members of Desjardins caisses in Québec, caisses/branches in Ontario or caisses populaires in New Brunswick or Manitoba.

Gastropub serves over 27,000 in first 124 days
One of the founders of The Port gastropub in Port Williams says they’re amazed at the overwhelming response to the establishment. Director Allen Sheito said they welcomed 27,409 clients in their first 124 days of operation, which far exceeded expectations.

Another good year for PCU
Yesterday was April Fool’s Day, but there was no fooling around at the Portage Credit Union’s 64th annual general meeting, which was held last night at the William Glesby Centre. PCU board president Joe Masi read the 2007 year-end report to the 82 members who attended the meeting, and the report was filled with good news. “I think (the report) clearly shows that the Portage Credit Union continues to grow and be the financial choice for this area,” said Masi.

RM of Elton banks on windpower
It's more than just a little passing wind to this community. There's money in that wind -- the kind passing over farm fields -- and people here aim to collect it. "We want to catch the energy going over our land and sell it into the grid," explained Dan Mazier, head of non-profit Elton Energy Co-op. What's different about this wind project from others is profits wouldn't sail away to multinational head offices.

For organic growers, defining 'local' is a challenge
Define local. Is it 100 miles or 100 kilometres? Does arrival at market within 12-36 hours of being picked count? And, if one farmer distributes produce from 12 or 100 certified organic operations within a co-operative, does that satisfy a consumer's local food stipulation?

Jobs will reduce suicide rates on reserves, chief says
With swagger and a shoot-from-the-lip sense of humour, Chief Clarence Louie won over a crowd of corporate leaders yesterday with his simple prescription for the problems facing Canada's aboriginals - jobs. Creating jobs and spurring economic development are the best ways to reduce the high suicide rate among aboriginal people, he said.

Students Sit-In at York University President's Office Demanding a No-Sweatshop Policy
Forty students have been sitting outside the Office of the President at York University since 2:00 p.m. today, demanding that the university implement a no sweatshop policy. "York University has been stalling in negotiations over a no sweatshop policy for three years," said Terrance Luscombe, a student and member of the York Sustainable Purchasing Coalition.

Graduate's PhD thesis to represent U of T
Laurie Mook's thesis was selected by the University of Toronto as the University's representative (one per university) for the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools Doctoral Thesis Competition, Social Sciences & Education. Each year the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools recognizes an outstanding dissertation that has been produced by a PhD candidate at one of its member institutions, with an award which is presented to the recipient at its annual meeting.