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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Thursday, March 28, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, March 28, 2013

Return of extracurriculars at Ontario schools

Negotiations between the Ontario government and the province’s public elementary school teachers over the implementation of contract terms and the creation of a new collective bargaining process led the teachers’ union to restore extracurricular activities.

The move is an important development in the relationship between the teachers’ union and Ontario’s new leadership, which began talking again after months of political protests and the withdrawal of extracurricular activities.

The two sides spent “dozens” of hours negotiating over several days during the last week, said Education Minister Liz Sandals.

“In effect, we’re having a conversation which in a normal bargaining process we would have had at the beginning of the process – where we work out the details on how things are going to be implemented,” she said. “We have reached a point in the conversation where there’s enough confidence on everyone’s part that we’re restoring the relationship.”
The province is still in talks with both elementary teachers and their secondary school counterparts, who returned to extracurriculars last month.

“It’s not about money, there is no new money. [It’s about] implementation details, about what the collective bargaining process is going to look like going forward,” Premier Kathleen Wynne said.

She would not say what exact details were the subject of the talks, as the sides are still negotiating over them. (Source: Globe & Mail)

 

Saturday December 1, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday December 1, 2012

Canada opposes Palestinian statehood bid at UN

Canada part of minority opposing Palestine’s observer state status

A confidential report says Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada will vote against the bid of the Palestinian Authority to raise its status at the United Nations.

While Harper said he favours a two-state solution in the Middle East, his government wants to see Israel and the Palestine Authority return to the bargaining table before supporting Palestine’s statehood. 

Speaking in the House of Commons Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said he’s disappointed with the actions of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who plans to ask the UN General Assembly on Thursday to recognize Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem — areas Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

“It’s obvious that this will affect our relationship,” said Baird, who plans to travel to New York where he’ll speak on the issue at the UN. “This government makes no apologies for standing with the Jewish State. This government makes no apologies from standing with Israel at the UN.”

Canada will vote with the United States on Thursday against accepting Palestine as a non-member observer state. However, it’s expected that some two-thirds of the General Assembly’s 193 members will support the bid.

Currently the Palestinians hold observer status at the UN.

France, Spain, Norway, Denmark and Switzerland have pledged support while Germany said it would not support the initiative and Britain would only vote in favour if the Palestinians softened some of their language. (Source: CTV News) 

 

Wednesday December 23, 2004

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 23, 2004

Fat December

A stroll after Christmas dinner is part of many families’ festive timetable – but heart experts say a pre-dinner walk is a good idea. Glasgow University research for the British Heart Foundation found it could help reduce the damage done by too much Christmas pudding.

It says a 90-minute walk lowers fat levels in the blood and improves blood vessel function.

The study is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

They said the health benefits of a long stroll remained even after the walker had eaten a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal.

The researchers studied 10 lean and 10 obese middle-aged men.

Each was tested twice for his response to a fatty meal, with the tests performed a week or two apart.

On the afternoon before one of the tests, each man walked on a treadmill for 90 minutes. In the second test, no exercise was done.

The researchers found that both lean and obese men benefited from taking exercise.

Levels of triglycerides (blood fats) were reduced by 25% both before and after the fatty meal.

The researchers also looked at the endothelium, the inner wall of the blood vessels which provides an important defence against the build-up of fatty deposits inside the blood vessels.

These deposits can disrupt blood flow and lead to a heart attack.

Exercise appeared to improve the function of the endothelium by 25% before the meal and 15% afterwards.

The researchers say that, as well as offering a timely reminder about the counteracting a rich diet with plenty of exercise, their findings suggested some possible explanations for its protective effects.

They said it showed that exercise can both improve the way the body metabolises food and help blood vessels resist the harmful effects of fatty foods.

And that it demonstrated that just one exercise session can provide immediate benefits that last at least a day. (Source: BBC)