Nova Scotians won’t buy Sunday shopping • City goes it alone on immigration • B.C. plan enrolls students in trades • Hospital staff overpaid, Ont. minister says • Protect health workers who report mistakes: report • Turn up the heat for faster typing
Nova Scotians won’t buy Sunday shopping
Halifax — Nova Scotia remains the only province where Sunday shopping is outlawed. Voting in a provincial plebiscite on Sunday shopping, Nova Scotians said “No” to extending retail operating hours. While some retailers favoured Sunday shopping for economic reasons, others were concerned about the staffing implications.
City goes it alone on immigration
Saint John, N.B. — Saint John needs more immigrants and cannot wait for Ottawa to deliver them, says a business group leading the charge to increase the flow of foreign workers to the area. Enterprise Saint John is spearheading an ambitious three-year strategy to boost immigration to 160 in 2005, 215 in 2006 and 312 in 2007, a 30-per-cent increase each year. In 2003, greater Saint John attracted just 123 immigration applicants. “If we sit back and wait for Ottawa and the government of New Brunswick to do this for us, we’ll be old and grey and alone,” said consultant Gwen McKay, who called on the city to improve support services for immigrant workers.
B.C. plan enrolls students in trades
Victoria — British Columbia is putting $1.2 million towards an industry training program that will see high school students take classes at secondary and post-secondary institutions, work at placements and earn credits towards both high school diplomas and trades apprenticeships. Based on a successful pilot, the plan is designed to get more people into trades and at an earlier age.
Hospital staff overpaid, Ont. minister says
Toronto — On the eve of contract talks between the Ontario Hospital Association and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, provincial Health Minister George Smitherman complained hospital support workers make too much. Smitherman said services, such as janitorial and administrative, shouldn’t come with higher wages just because the health system is publicly funded.
Protect health workers who report mistakes: report
Ottawa — Provinces should follow Saskatchewan’s lead and enact new protections to encourage health workers to report hospital errors, says a new report. The proposal is part of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute’s plan to reduce preventable medical mistakes that contribute to as many as 24,000 deaths a year. “We have to change the culture of the system from one of shame-blame,” said John Wade, the institute’s chair. Under Saskatchewan’s legislation doctors, nurses and other workers are legally required to report hospital errors, but their discussions are not subject to legal action.
Turn up the heat for faster typing
Bourne, Maine — Cold offices mean slower typing and more mistakes, a Cornell University study says. When workplace temperatures drop from 25 C to 20 C, there is a 46-per-cent reduction in output and a 74-per-cent increase in mistakes, ergonomics professor Alan Hedge reports.
Halifax — Nova Scotia remains the only province where Sunday shopping is outlawed. Voting in a provincial plebiscite on Sunday shopping, Nova Scotians said “No” to extending retail operating hours. While some retailers favoured Sunday shopping for economic reasons, others were concerned about the staffing implications.
City goes it alone on immigration
Saint John, N.B. — Saint John needs more immigrants and cannot wait for Ottawa to deliver them, says a business group leading the charge to increase the flow of foreign workers to the area. Enterprise Saint John is spearheading an ambitious three-year strategy to boost immigration to 160 in 2005, 215 in 2006 and 312 in 2007, a 30-per-cent increase each year. In 2003, greater Saint John attracted just 123 immigration applicants. “If we sit back and wait for Ottawa and the government of New Brunswick to do this for us, we’ll be old and grey and alone,” said consultant Gwen McKay, who called on the city to improve support services for immigrant workers.
B.C. plan enrolls students in trades
Victoria — British Columbia is putting $1.2 million towards an industry training program that will see high school students take classes at secondary and post-secondary institutions, work at placements and earn credits towards both high school diplomas and trades apprenticeships. Based on a successful pilot, the plan is designed to get more people into trades and at an earlier age.
Hospital staff overpaid, Ont. minister says
Toronto — On the eve of contract talks between the Ontario Hospital Association and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, provincial Health Minister George Smitherman complained hospital support workers make too much. Smitherman said services, such as janitorial and administrative, shouldn’t come with higher wages just because the health system is publicly funded.
Protect health workers who report mistakes: report
Ottawa — Provinces should follow Saskatchewan’s lead and enact new protections to encourage health workers to report hospital errors, says a new report. The proposal is part of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute’s plan to reduce preventable medical mistakes that contribute to as many as 24,000 deaths a year. “We have to change the culture of the system from one of shame-blame,” said John Wade, the institute’s chair. Under Saskatchewan’s legislation doctors, nurses and other workers are legally required to report hospital errors, but their discussions are not subject to legal action.
Turn up the heat for faster typing
Bourne, Maine — Cold offices mean slower typing and more mistakes, a Cornell University study says. When workplace temperatures drop from 25 C to 20 C, there is a 46-per-cent reduction in output and a 74-per-cent increase in mistakes, ergonomics professor Alan Hedge reports.
