Tag Archives: economics

Invest In eSports- Ministers Welcome Commonwealth Interventions To Rebuild Hard Hit Sport Sector

July 30, 2020 The Silo Leave a comment

Commonwealth collaboration is vital to the recovery of the sport sector which has suffered a crushing blow from essential measures to stem the spread of COVID-19. This was the recurring theme as sports ministers from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and the Pacific met at a landmark forum on the impact of the pandemic on their sector.

Countries spoke about the deep health and economic scars left by the closure of community sport, gyms and exercise facilities, the decimation of the local and international sporting calendar, and the loss of revenue from broadcasting and sponsorship deals.

According to a recent Commonwealth study, while the overall economy of the 54 member countries would contract on average by 3.2 per cent in 2020, the contribution of sport sectors to GDP could drop by well over 20 per cent in several states.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: “Our countries are shouldering many very heavy burdens as a result of the pandemic. Among these, necessary restrictions affecting the sport sector make much of its future is uncertain and are preventing it from making its much-needed contributions to physical well-being, mental health and economic activity. So it was really encouraging to see how Sports Ministers in our member countries are responding to the effects of COVID-19 with powerful and imaginative initiatives. Return-to-play tool kits, grants for community clubs and virtual programs to help people of all ages to be physically active were among examples shared at the forum. What also came through loud and clear is that by continuing to work together our chances of success in overcoming the impacts of the pandemic are greater, and our recovery will be swifter and more sustainable. Building on existing cooperation and momentum already achieved, the Commonwealth Secretariat has launched a range of innovative projects and programs, based on careful research and analysis, so that in all our member countries sport can be used more effectively to build communities that are socially and economically more resilient with healthier populations”

Resources such as the new Commonwealth Moves program was shared with ministers to support efforts to get more people active while complying with the rules imposed to suppress the pandemic. The online tool is tailored to tackle the ongoing ‘pandemic’ of immobility, exacerbated by COVID-19 disruptions. It includes activities for all demographics, including young people, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Forum participants expressed strong support for the Secretariat’s initiatives.

This includes its program on measuring sport’s contribution to the sustainable development goals and its recent online course on designing effective policies and programs.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and Heritage, Amina Mohamed chaired the forum. She said: “This forum was timely and critical for many governments still working very hard to fight the devastating pandemic that ambushed the globe early this year. The forum confirmed an unmistakable desire among Commonwealth Sport Ministers to collaborate, share solutions and pool their collective knowledge aided by the Commonwealth Secretariat including a newly developed pool of resources, carefully crafted to support countries resuscitate sport sectors choked by COVID-19, and ensure that we re-build healthier, more resilient, inclusive and sustainable economies and populations. “

Ministers at the forum presented how they are responding to the current challenges and planning the safe and staged return-to-sport.

These range from guidelines for cross border competitions and provisions of economic support for grassroots clubs to investment in the e-sport sector and helplines to address abuse in sport. In a statement released after the forum, sports ministers agreed that future policies, programs and competitions should integrate delivery modifications and virus suppression measures, and that the sector should be a focus of recovery and rebuilding efforts.
For the Silo, Snober Abbasi.

Culture

People In Japan, Spain, France Are Unhappy With Government COVID Response

May 5, 2020 The Silo 8 Comments

Paris, France May, 2020 — Sentiment over whether governments are doing a good job of containing the coronavirus pandemic has swung in a number of countries over a month, according to the latest Ipsos poll.

A majority of people in nine out of 13 countries feel their government is doing a good job of containing the spread of COVID-19 in a survey of nearly 26,000 respondents conducted on April 23 to 26. People in India (87%), Australia (84%), Canada (81%), Germany (75%) and Italy (61%) are most likely to say this, while those in Japan (62%) and the hard-hit European countries of Spain (60%) and France (51%), and Russia (47%) were most likely to cite a poor job by their government.

But when you look back to polling results from more than a month ago – March 19 to 21 – sentiment has fallen the most in some key countries at the center of the outbreaks. Japan is at the top with their view of government response down 18 percentage points, followed by France (-13), Brazil and Russia (-9), Italy (-5), and the United States (-4).

On the other end, a positive view of the government’s work has increased in Germany (+26 points), Australia (+24 points), Mexico (+13), and Canada (+10) since March. Sentiment in the United Kingdom has remained unchanged with three in five people (59%) happy with the government response.

In terms of how people view the work of an international agency – the World Health Organization – a majority of people in 11 out of the 13 countries surveyed think the WHO is doing a good job in containing the spread of COVID-19, but this sentiment has fallen since March in nine out of 12 countries where Ipsos has tracked opinions.

People in the emerging markets of Mexico (78%), India and Brazil (75%) are most likely to be satisfied with the WHO’s response, followed by the developed nations of Canada (69%) and the U.K. (64%). The only two countries where more people disagree with the job done by the WHO are Japan (63%) and Russia (42%).

Other Ipsos research shows when respondents are asked about the performance of institutions in preventing the spread of the virus other aspects of the issue, including the economic effects of shutdowns, also influence how they evaluate institutional performance relative to containing the spread of COVID-19.

The countries seeing the biggest decline in regard for the WHO’s response are France (-14), India and Russia (-12) and Australia (-9). Germany (+13) and Japan (+2) are the only countries where satisfaction with the WHO’s role has increased.

https://www.ipsos.com/en/view-governments-job-contain-covid-19-falls-hard-hit-countries-rises-others

About the Study

These are the results of an Ipsos survey conducted April 23^rd to 26^th, 2020 on the Global Advisor online platform among 25,992 adults aged 18-74 in Canada and the United States and 16-74 in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom. Where available, tracking results from previous studies, conducted through April and March and selected results from February are referenced by date.

The sample for April 23^rd to 26^th consists of approximately 2,000 individuals in each country. The samples in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. can be taken as representative of these countries’ general adult population over age 16 or 18 (as above) and under the age of 75. The sample in Brazil, India, Mexico, Russia, and is more urban, more educated and/or more affluent than the general population and should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of the population. The data is weighted so that each market’s sample composition best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don’t knows or not stated responses. The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points. For more information on the Ipsos use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website (www.Ipsos.com).

For the Silo, Darrell Bricker, PhD CEO, Ipsos Global Public Affairs

About Ipsos

Ipsos is the world’s third largest market research company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.

Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.

Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).

ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP www.ipsos.com
Featured image: Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images/CNN

Earth

Canadian Group: Australian Wildfire Facts Blocked by IFCN

January 21, 2020 The Silo Leave a comment

(Calgary, Alberta) Australian wildfire facts are being blocked from public distribution by the International Fact Check Network (IFCN), Poynter Institute and facebook. Friends of Science Society has issued a rebuttal to Climate Feedback’s Australian wildfire analysis, a member of IFCN, that claims human-caused ‘climate change’ is the culprit behind Australian wildfire stories, not arsonists or untenable fuel load. In turn, relying on Climate Feedback’s ‘authority’, facebook has been demoting page quality of those who post Australian wildfire stories that don’t fit the climate catastrophe narrative. Friends of Science wildfire expert says “fuel rules” in the case of wildfires, not temperature.

Facebook and Poynter Institute have partnered in a journalism ‘integrity’ project intended to prevent the spread of false news, but instead, they are promoting a singular climate dogma narrative. Most mainstream media outlets toe the line on the pronouncements of Poynter’s IFCN/Climate Feedback without question. Friends of Science Society argues that this is contrary to the principles of freedom of the press and is damaging to the safety of the public.

Decades of detailed wildfire research by the National Fire Protection Association, a global non-profit established in 1896, has shown that proper setbacks of shrubbery, removal of combustible material, and other house-proofing measures can significantly increase the likelihood that a house will survive a wildfire. Wildfire management techniques like clearing firebreaks and managing combustible fuel loads of dead or dry shrub vegetation and the cutting of firebreaks are well-known, successful wildfire risk reduction techniques.

In their rebuttal to Poynter’s “Climate Feedback”, Friends of Science Society points out that in Alberta, the 2011 statistics of human caused fires versus those caused by lightning reached 72% in the five-year average. Human-caused wildfire includes arson, accidental or negligent activity and fires started from human infrastructure issues – like power lines sparking on contact with tree branches. Some of the largest Canadian wildfires, like the 2011 Slave Lake catastrophe, have been identified as arson.

For those people demanding climate action to reduce carbon dioxide from human industry, the grand irony is that poor forestry and fuel load management lead to wildfires which in turn emit huge quantities of carbon dioxide, as reported by Esquire. Proper forestry management would reduce those emissions.

Many climate activists condemn Australia as being at fault for climate warming because it is a coal-producing nation. Based on those claims, Australia is facing economic trade wars by Greenpeace, BankTrack, and even Greta Thunberg. But as discussed in Friends of Science Society’s “Burning Questions” 2015 report, wildfires, especially those that create huge Pyrocumulonimbus clouds, are a significant driver of climate change. “The Untold Story of Pyrocumulonimbus” explains the complex findings of wildfire’s influence on climate and environment, with the research led by Mike Fromm of US Naval Research Lab.

Likewise, Friends of Science Society’s report “Unfriend ENGOs – Befriend Facts” deconstructs the green trade wars against essential prime power industries like coal, natural gas and oil, driven by environmental groups acting as proxies for ‘green billionaires’ who are deeply invested in pushing global cap and trade, carbon pricing and their vested interests in renewables.

Climate activists, Poynter and facebook are suppressing freedom of the press and freedom of speech, while falsely proclaiming a climate emergency, a concept developed by a clinical psychologist in the US, intended to scare people into compliance. The same “Climate Mobilization” organization advocates for World War II style rationing, managed economy, and massive restrictions on freedoms.

On April 6, 2020, Friends of Science Society’s 17^th Annual Event “Freedom of Speech! No Climate Emergency” will host investigative journalist Donna Laframboise to address these diminishing freedoms, and Dr. Roy Spencer, who will offer “10 Reasons Why There is No Climate Emergency.”

Friends of Science Society is an independent group of earth, atmospheric and solar scientists, engineers, and citizens who are celebrating its 17th year of offering climate science insights. After a thorough review of a broad spectrum of literature on climate change, Friends of Science Society has concluded that the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide (CO2).
Friends of Science Society
P.O. Box 23167, Mission P.O.
Calgary, Alberta
Canada T2S 3B1
Toll-free Telephone: 1-888-789-9597
Web: friendsofscience.org
E-mail: contact(at)friendsofscience(dot)org
Web: climatechange101.ca

Finance

Reform WTO And Resist Protectionism, Say Commonwealth Trade Ministers

October 10, 2019 The Silo 1 Comment

Trade ministers from across the Commonwealth today made a commitment to resist all forms of protectionism, and to work urgently together towards reforming the World Trade Organisation, which sets the global rules for international trade.

Following a meeting in London, ministers from the 53 Commonwealth member countries declared their collective support for free trade in a transparent, inclusive, fair and open multilateral trading system, with the WTO as its core institution.

They agreed that any WTO reform should take into account the views of all members, underlining the special circumstances of the developing and the least developed countries, as well as small and vulnerable economies, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Ministers also endorsed an action plan designed to boost trade among their countries to at least $2 trillion by 2030, through the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda. Intra-Commonwealth trade is projected to reach $700 billion by next year.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said:

“The multilateral trading system is the only way for our countries, as diverse as they are, to trade in a predictable, stable, transparent and fair environment. While the global trading system may be far from perfect, it is the surest pathway towards eradicating poverty.

“Building on this, the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda will help businesses, including micro, small and medium sized enterprises, to plug into global trade networks and benefit from world trade. In this way, intra-Commonwealth trade offers immense opportunities to contribute to reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development.”

The Chair of the meeting, UK Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade Liz Truss said:

“The UK along with its Commonwealth partners has today clearly set out its commitment to fight against protectionism. We must work together to promote free trade and reform the multilateral system to make sure it works for every nation, small or large.

“Trade has the power to drive growth, jobs and opportunities – it is an essential tool in the fight against extreme poverty and insecurity.

“By sharing experience across the diverse Commonwealth community, we can help to break down existing barriers to trade which currently prevent businesses in all our countries from trading successfully.”

Ministers called for an end to the impasse regarding the WTO’s Appellate Body – a key panel of judges, whose rulings help resolve the trade disputes.

They highlighted the need to update WTO rules to address new challenges and opportunities, including e-commerce. They pledged support for a global agreement that would prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by the end of 2019.

In their communiqué issued from the meeting, ministers also welcomed progress made under the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda, including the work of active country-led ‘clusters’ focused on five areas: digital, physical, regulatory, supply side and business-to-business connectivity.

The outcomes of the meeting will inform leaders’ discussions at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda in June 2020. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Read the full communiqué

Culture

Canadian Money And How Select Banks Create It

October 7, 2019 The Silo Leave a comment

My book, Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went, tells us that “The study of money, above all other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to disguise truth or to evade truth, not to reveal it.

The process by which banks create money is so simple the mind is repelled.”

Graham Towers, the first Governor of the Bank of Canada, explained the process by which banks create money: “The manufacturing process consists of making a pen-and-ink or typewriter entry on a card in a book. That is all. Each and every time a bank makes a loan, new bank credit is created – new deposits – brand new money.

John Kenneth Galbraith- mystic or curmudgeon? image: poorwilliam.net

Broadly speaking, all new money comes out of a bank in the form of loans. As loans are debts, then under the present system all money is debt.”

Money created by banks and other financial institutions is interest-bearing debt. They create the principal and expect their money to be returned with interest. We can’t create interest the way they create the principal, so we must obtain it from some other money that was also created as interest-bearing debt. There is never enough of this money in existence at any time to pay off all of our collective debt. More interest-bearing money must continually be borrowed into existence.

In 2013, not so long ago, the ratio of household debt in Canada, including mortgages and consumer debt, was more than 160% of disposable income after mandatory deductions and income taxes and this statistic will keep growing with each year. The federal debt in Canada then was more than $600 billion, and interest payments on the debt in 2011-2012 cost $31 billion dollars or 11 cents of every tax dollar. Now in 2019, the federal debt has grown to $768 billion.

The five largest banks in Canada reported more than $27 billion in combined net income for the 2012 fiscal year.

Canada’s central bank, the Bank of Canada, claims to “regulate credit and currency in the best interests of the economic life of the nation”, and to mitigate “fluctuations in the general level of production, trade, prices and employment”, yet the purchasing power of the Canadian dollar has dropped steadily since the Bank of Canada was founded in 1934. As a store of value the dollar has not performed very well. It should also be noted that Canadian banknotes ceased to be redeemable for gold in 1929.

Bank of Canada notes are fiat money that the federal government declares to be legal tender, and the Bank has a monopoly on the issuance of bank notes. These notes are supplied to financial institutions to satisfy public demand. Chartered banks in Canada are no longer required to maintain statutory cash reserves for the loans they make. According to some estimates, Bank of Canada notes add up to less than 2% of the total amount of loans made by the banks and other financial institutions.

Money created as interest-bearing debt is scarce from the moment it is created, which curtails its effectiveness as a medium of exchange. Every dollar comes into existence as interest-bearing debt, and the overall cost of interest is reflected in the price of everything we buy. This is not to suggest that interest should be banned or that interest rates need to be controlled by a central bank. Anyone should be free to lend his or her savings at a mutually agreeable rate. Equity financing, with shared risks and rewards, is another option.

What is being suggested here is that we ask some fundamental questions about the monetary system and the function of money.

Are you able to use your goods, services, labour, knowledge, skills and abilities to obtain enough money to purchase other goods and services?

Are you able to obtain credit when you need it and are also willing and able to pay it back? Are you able to negotiate an agreeable price for credit and loans? Are you on a treadmill of debt, no matter how hard you work, how many expenses you cut, or how hard you try to save?

Are your savings secure and retaining their value?

Money is basically credit, like an IOU. Our ability to exchange our goods and services should not be hampered by the price of credit or an inadequate supply of money. Anything physically possible is financially possible. We can extend credit to anyone who wants to purchase anything from us and who is willing and able to provide us with a mutually agreeable amount of his or her goods and services. In essence, goods and services pay for other goods and services.

A mutual credit clearing system is an alternative method that can be used to facilitate reciprocal exchange.

Members of a credit clearing association have a trading account where an ongoing record is kept of their sales and purchases, their credits and debits. Every transaction includes a credit entry for one member and a debit entry for another, but interest does not have to be paid when an account temporarily has more debits than credits. Credit is extended to members from the rest of the traders in the group, and the major benefit of this system is that members can obtain interest-free credit. In the long term every member is expected to provide as much as they obtain. It all balances out within the community of traders. It’s all a simple matter of bookkeeping.

Direct credit clearing systems can be operated on a fee-for-service basis to cover expenses and to compensate those who provide this service. Nobody is ever forced to join any trading group and members are also free to leave when their debts are clear. Anyone can start their own credit clearing service, which allows competition between associations based on quality and price of service. Associations can also cooperate with each other to increase the number of potential trading partners and broaden the range of goods and services that are available.

Credit does not have to be scarce or expensive. We can control our own credit and allocate it as we choose. Are your best interests being served by the money you use? For The Silo, John Kenneth Galbraith.

Culture

How We Set In Motion Coffee Global Business

August 26, 2019 The Silo 3 Comments

If you are like me- someone who has drunk much more than one coffee in your life, you might be interested in pondering this question: Why do you think the multi-billion-dollar global coffee industry can be a losing business for the growers, whose hands till the land from where coffee starts?

In fact, if you drink 2 cups of coffee a day for one year, you’ll be spending more than the annual income of the coffee farmer in a developing country. To help present to fellow North American coffee drinkers this huge disparity between the farmer and the other key players across the coffee value chain, take a look at the infographic below.

Considering that North America is the biggest coffee consumer in the world, we can make a big dent by supporting the fair trade advocacy that ensures farmers get paid properly. Take a look at the infographic again. It describes how coffee is made from the farm to the mill, to the roasting plant and all the way to the consumer. Here are some of its highlights that show the bigness of this industry:

– 100 M people depend on coffee for livelihood; 25 M of which are farmers

– The U.S. spent 18 B for coffee yearly, equivalent to Bosnia’s GDP

– Coffee is the second most globally traded commodity after petroleum

For the Silo, Alex Hillsberg Web Journalist

Here's How You Make Coffee A Billion Dollar Business

Supplemental- How North Americans can help the #fairtrade program

http://financesonline.com/cherry-to-cup-the-economics-of-coffee/

http://financesonline.com/why-fairtrade-should-matter-to-you/

Politics

Intelligence Squared U.S. Begins Season Debating Saudi Arabia, Iran & Turkey – In NYC & Online September 12

August 15, 2019 The Silo Leave a comment

Saudi Arabia and Iran are vying for regional dominance, as the latter pursues nuclear weapons. Turkey is cozying up to Russia and China. Instability, conflict, and proxy wars have engulfed Syria, Yemen, and beyond. How should the United States respond to changing power, proxy wars, terrorism, and human rights issues in the Middle East? On Thursday, September 12, America’s debate series Intelligence Squared U.S. launches their fall season with a debate not one, but three motions, all investigating
“Shifting Power in the Middle East”:

Motion 1: Is Trump right on Saudi Arabia?
Motion 2: Is the world safer without the Iran Nuclear Deal?
Motion 3: Is Turkey an asset to NATO?

In this latest installment in Intelligence Squared U.S.’s new “Unresolved”
series, debaters must declare their “yes” or “no” stance on each separate motion, allowing for both sharp disagreements and unexpected
alliances. The debaters will be:
* Michael Doran, senior director on the National Security Council under
President Bush* Reuel Marc Gerecht, former CIA case officer* Bernard
Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton* Brett McGurk, the State Department’s former Special Presidential Envoy for the Global
Coalition to Defeat ISIS* Barbara Slavin, the director of the Future of Iran Initiative

The debate will be held at NYC’s Symphony Space and stream live online, then air soon after as part of the syndicated public radio show and podcast “Intelligence Squared U.S.” On September 12, online viewers can tune in at IQ2US’s website: https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/unresolved-shifting-power-middle-east

WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates “Unresolved: Shifting Power in the Middle East”
WHEN: Thursday, September 12 / 7:00-8:45 PM EDT
WHERE: Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, New York, NY
TICKETS: $40 ($12 for students w/ ID). To purchase, visit http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/

Debaters Bios: * Michael Doran, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
Michael Doran is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., where he specializes in Middle East security issues. Doran served as a senior director on the National Security Council under President Bush and was responsible for helping to devise and coordinate U.S. strategy on a variety of Middle East issues, including Arab-Israeli relations and U.S.
efforts to contain Iran and Syria. He also served in the Bush
administration as a senior adviser in the State Department and a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Pentagon.

* Reuel Marc Gerecht, Senior Fellow, The Foundation for Defense of
Democracies & Fmr. CIA Case OfficerReuel Marc Gerecht is a former
case officer for the CIA, where he served as a Middle Eastern targets
officer with the CIA’s directorate of operations. He is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-partisan organization
centering on national security, where he focuses on Iran, sanctions,
terrorism, and the Middle East. He is the author of “Know Thine Enemy: A Spy’s Journey into Revolutionary Iran” and “The Islamic Paradox: Shiite Clerics, Sunni Fundamentalists, and the Coming of Arab Democracy,”
among others.

* Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University Bernard Haykel is a professor of Near Eastern Studies and the
director of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary
Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia at Princeton University. After working as a post-doctoral research fellow at Oxford University in
Islamic Studies, he joined New York University in 1998 as associate
professor before taking up his post at Princeton. He became a
Guggenheim fellow in 2010 and is co-editor of the book, “Saudi Arabia in Transition; Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change.”

* Brett McGurk, Fmr. Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISISBrett McGurk served as Special Presidential Envoy for
the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS at the U.S. Department of State, where he helped build and then lead the coalition of 75 countries and four
international organizations in the global campaign against ISIS. He served in senior positions in the Bush and Obama administrations and has led some of the most sensitive diplomatic missions in the Middle East over
the last decade. McGurk is currently the Frank E. and Arthur W. Payne
distinguished lecturer at the Freeman Spogli Institute and Center for
Security and Cooperation at Stanford University.

* Barbara Slavin, Director, The Future of Iran Initiative, The Atlantic CouncilBarbara Slavin is the director of the Future of Iran Initiative and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. The author of
“Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the US and the Twisted Path to
Confrontation,” she is a regular commentator on U.S. foreign policy and
Iran on NPR, PBS, and C-SPAN. Previously, Slavin served as a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Slavin
is a career journalist, and currently writes as columnist for
Al-Monitor.com, a website devoted to news from and about the Middle
East.

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S. DEBATES (IQ2US)
A non-partisan, non-profit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. was
founded in 2006 to address a fundamental problem in America: the
extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. Their mission is to
restore critical thinking, facts, reason, and civility to American public
discourse. The award-winning debate series reaches over 30 million
American households through multi-platform distribution, including
radio, television, live streaming, podcasts, interactive digital content, and on-demand apps on Roku and Apple TV. With over 160 debates and
counting, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to “think
twice” on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News
correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008.

Culture

Peter Robinson On Job Obsolescence- Government Should Not Protect Jobs

May 21, 2019 The Silo 1 Comment

A recent OECD report finds that low and middle income earners have seen their wages stagnate and that the income share of middle-skilled jobs has fallen. Rising inequality has led to concerns that top earners are getting a disproportionate share of the gains from global “openness and interconnection”. During a Summer 2017 meeting of OECD, employment outlook revealed that job polarization has been “driven by pervasive and skill-biased technological changes.

Founded in 1945, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) builds awareness among business executives, educators and policy makers around issues related to employment, workforce training and skills enhancement. CMRubinWorld spoke with USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson, who serves as a co-chair of the B20 Employment and Education Task Force, through which he helped develop recommendations to the G20 leaders on training for the jobs of the future. Robinson also serves on the board of the International Organization of Employers, which represents the views of the business community in the International Labor Organization.

“I think the guiding principle for government should be to protect and enable/retrain the worker, not protect the job. Policy makers and educators should focus on making sure that workers are as equipped as possible to transition to new opportunities” Peter Robinson.

Peter, welcome. How severe do you believe jobsolescence will be over the next 20 years? How big will the challenge be to offset it and maintain a growing workforce?

I really don’t think the overall effect will be as dramatic as some people fear, at least for the medium-term as far as we can tell. There is an over-hype factor at play, but the consequences still deserve serious attention. For one thing, so many of the jobs in the United States, Canada and other advanced economies are in the service sector, and involve interacting with other people. Despite all the advances in AI, we are still a long way off from robotic nurses or home health aides. Overall, history tells us that at least as many new jobs are created as are displaced by technological innovation, even though transitions can be difficult in some sectors and localities, and as long as upskilling takes place.

“The biggest threat is that our educational institutions won’t be able to keep pace with new skills demands.” — Peter Robinson

What do you think are the biggest obstacles facing college grads today trying to enter the workforce?

I actually think the greatest obstacles are faced by those who don’t make it to university or some form of higher education beyond high school (a four-year degree is not the right path for everyone). A 2014 Pew survey found that among workers age 25 to 32, median annual earnings of those with a college degree were $17,500 greater than for those with high school diplomas only. Obviously, everyone at whatever educational level needs to keep their skills sharp, and governments should join with employers and educators to instill better life-long learning. But there are far fewer established paths toward long-term employment at a middle-class level of income for those who don’t graduate from college. A greater emphasis on vocational education and apprenticeships would help. We strongly support the work being done by United States Secretary of Labor Acosta to promote apprenticeships.

Given that machines are in the process of stripping white collar workers from their jobs, what kind of skills are key manufacturing and service industries going to need from new employees?

I think the premise of your question is overstated. We’re all being told that our jobs are doomed by robots and automation. But the OECD estimates that only nine percent of jobs across the 35 OECD nations are at high risk of being automated, although of course even 9% can be generative of social difficulties. But there is an established track record across history of new technologies creating at least as many new jobs as they displace. Usually these new jobs demand higher skills and provide higher pay. The biggest threat is that our educational institutions won’t be able to keep pace with new skills demands.

“It is becoming clear that Versatility matters, in a constantly changing world, so Jim Spohrer’s IBM model of a “T-shaped” person holds true: broad and deep individuals capable of adapting and going where the demand lies.” — Peter Robinson

In an economy with a significant on-demand labor force, what competencies will these workers need to compete?

There are two types of competencies that will be needed: “technical” – or in other words, related to deep knowledge of a specific domain, whether welding or optogenetics; and “transversal,” which applies to all occupations. Those are described by the Center for Curriculum Redesign as skills (creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration), character (mindfulness, curiosity, courage, resilience, ethics, leadership) and meta-learning (growth mindset, metacognition).

How will managerial skill requirements change as a result of major structural changes that are likely, including human replacement by machines and growth of the on-demand economy?

OECD’s BIAC surveys of 50 employer organizations worldwide has shown that employers value not just Skills as described above, but also Character qualities as well. Further, it is becoming clear that Versatility matters, in a constantly changing world, so Jim Spohrer’s IBM model of a “T-shaped” person holds true: broad and deep individuals capable of adapting and going where the demand lies.

“We often hear about the need for more STEM education. But I think there is an equal need for a greater emphasis on the humanities and the arts, for their intrinsic value as well as for developing skills and character qualities.” — Peter Robinson

What central changes in school curricula do you envision, both at the secondary school and college levels?

We often hear about the need for more STEM education. But I think there is an equal need for a greater emphasis on the humanities and the arts for their intrinsic value as well as for developing skills and character qualities as described above. As David Barnes of IBM wrote recently, these skills are more durable and are also a very good indicator of long-term success in employment.

How can the evolving changes in competencies required for employment be effectively translated into school curricula? Where are the main opportunities to enable this? e.g. Assessment systems? Business/Education collaboration? Curriculum change?

I’d go back to something else David Barnes said: We need much stronger connections between education and the job market, in the form of more partnerships among employers, governments and education institutions. Everyone needs to step up and create true partnerships. No one sector of society can address this alone. OECD’s BIAC has also documented employers’ wishes for deep curricular reforms to modernize content and embed competencies in order to meet today’s market needs.

What role should government play in ensuring citizens receive a quality and relevant education given the challenges that lie ahead?

I think the guiding principle for government should be to protect and enable/retrain the worker, not protect the job. Policy makers and educators should focus on making sure that workers are as equipped as possible to transition to new opportunities as these develop, and on ensuring that businesses have the freedom to pivot and adopt new technologies and business processes.

For the Silo, C.M. Rubin. C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland, is the publisher of CMRubinWorld and is a Disruptor Foundation Fellow.

Culture

Top Ways Folks Go Broke

March 25, 2019 The Silo Leave a comment

Being broke sucks and you don’t have to come from a wealthy family, have the next billion-dollar idea or work 18-hour days to become rich, says self-made millionaire Mike Finley. In fact, you don’t have to be extraordinary in any of the headline-grabbing ways. What you need is the self-awareness to avoid wasting Financial Happiness.

“Money used wisely can give you financial security ”

Finley lists 10 of the most common money traps that lead to consumers going broke:

1- Making the appearance of wealth one of your top priorities by acquiring more stuff. The material trappings of a faux lifestyle, as seen in magazines and advertisements, are not good term happiness.

2- Working a job you hate, and spending your free time buying happiness. Instead, find fulfilling work Monday through Friday so you are not compensating for your misery with expensive habits during the weekend.

Even worse than living paycheck to paycheck- advance loan on your paycheck.

3- Living paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about saving money. Don’t live for today, as if that’s all that matters. Have you already achieved all of your dreams by this moment? If not, embrace hope and plan for tomorrow. (Appreciating your life today doesn’t require unnecessary expenditures.)

4- Stopping your education when someone hands you a diploma; never reading a book on personal finance. Just about any expert will tell you that the most reliable way out of poverty is education. Diplomas shouldn’t be the end of learning; they should be a milestone in a lifetime of acquiring wisdom.

5- Playing the lottery as often as possible. While you’re at it, hitting the casino! Magical thinking, especially when it comes to money, is a dangerous way to seek financial security.

6- Running up your credit cards and making the minimum payments whenever possible. Paying interest on stuff you really don’t need is a tragic waste of money.

7- When you come into some free money, spending it. Feeling like you deserve it. By that logic, you’re saying that a future version of you doesn’t deserve the money, which can be multiplied with wise investments.

8- Buying the biggest wedding and the biggest ring so everyone can see just how fabulous you really are. Nothing says “Let’s start our future together” like blowing your entire savings on one evening.

9- Treating those “amazing” celebrities and “successful” athletes as role models. Trying to be just like them whenever possible. As far as we know, there’s only one you the universe has ever known. Don’t dilute your unique individuality by chasing an image.

10- Blaming others for your problems in life. Repeat after me: I am not a victim. The victim mentality is an attempt to rationalize poor habits and bad decision-making.

“If you’re feeling uncomfortable with your financial situation, don’t just sit there in a malaise of ‘If only I had more money,’ ” Finley says. “Instead, use it as motivation for a better life; that’s why the discomfort is there.”

Like most North Americans, Mike Finley was raised with no education in personal finances. Joining the Army out of high school, he realized he didn’t understand money management and began the task of educating himself. After 26 years in the service, during which he practiced the principles he learned, he retired a millionaire. Finley is the author of “Financial Happine$$,” and teaches a popular financial literacy class at the University of Northern Iowa. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Culture

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Are Shared Vision Of Humanity

August 28, 2018 The Silo Leave a comment

A few years ago, in September 2015, 193 countries signed up to support the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals for our planet and the people that live on it. The all-encompassing plan included promises to end poverty, feed everyone, create stability and peace, provide quality education and protect the future of our world. Every man, woman and child on the planet were invited to play their part to turn 17 goals into action and the promises into reality.

Goal 4 promised to achieve inclusive and equitable quality education for all. “OECD countries have generally been successful in guaranteeing adequate infrastructure and near-universal access to basic education,” says Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD. But he notes that participation in education is not enough “to ensure the knowledge, competence, skills and attitudes that are necessary to increase individuals’ well-being and the prosperity of modern societies.” He adds that the OECD’s programs have a key role to play “in the achievement of – and measuring progress towards – SDG 4 and its targets, as well as other education-related SDG targets.”

“Just because poverty or pollution or climate change happen in another country far away, that does not mean that we are not part of the cause of these problems and their necessary solution.” — Thomas Gass
Since September 2015, education leaders and other influencers around the world have encouraged schools to promote all the goals. We’ve talked to teachers that acknowledge there’s nothing like real world challenges and case studies which allow students to apply the knowledge skills and dispositions they will need to succeed in an interconnected world.

How are we all doing so far? What have leaders learned from the implementation journey, and as a new school year begins, how can we build on those lessons to improve our efforts to achieve our planet’s plan moving forward?

Thomas Gass was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs in UN DESA and he took office on 3 September 2013. The Global Search for Education welcomes Thomas Gass.

“Educators have an essential role in making sure the SDGs become a real social contract with the people.” — Thomas Gass

Thomas, please share one or two of the most important lessons you have personally learned spearheading the SDG’s implementation process thus far? It’s simple: The SDG’s are not a run-off-the-mill development strategy for big international organisations to fix the problems in the South… The SDGs are a shared vision of humanity – they are the missing (vision) piece of our globalization puzzle! This means that they can only be implemented if everyone is involved: Governments of course, but also municipalities, private companies, schools and universities, local organisations and individuals – everyone. Now, that can only happen if the people know about them… So mobilization and advocacy are crucial. The SDGs must become a new social contract between leaders and the people.

Leaders agreed that we must change the way we deal with the weakest among us, i.e. that we take the greatest care of those who are weak. What more would you ask of the leaders of rich and poor countries in terms of being good role models for this important part of the vision?

The promise to leave no one behind is the most difficult commitment of this new social contract. It requires that we all seek to understand who the most vulnerable people are and what risks they face, and then systematically empower these people and build their resilience. Political as well as economic leaders need to understand that sustainability has been redefined: If a significant economic or social group is left behind, our development is not sustainable. By the same token, we are fooling ourselves if we think that any single country or private company can be “sustainable” by itself. The SDGs demand that we are honest with ourselves about our ecological and social footprint! Just because poverty or pollution or climate change happen in another country far away, that does not mean that we are not part of the cause of these problems and their necessary solution.

“Know your #SDGs/#GlobalGoals and hold adults and leaders accountable for them, push back if they try to make you believe that your country, language, tribe or family is greater or more deserving than the others, and look for opportunities to make a difference yourselves.” — Thomas Gass

What more would you ask of educators in the work that lies ahead?

Educators have an essential role in making sure the SDGs become a real social contract with the people. I have the highest esteem for those committed educators who are bringing the SDGs into the classrooms, and educating younger generations to become global citizens. I firmly believe that this can be done as part of any teaching subject or class. I encourage all educators to join movements and co-create resources such as teachsdgs.org, GCEDclearinghouse.org, etc., and to encourage OECD/PISA to align their Global Competency criteria to the SDGs by 2018.

And finally, perhaps most important – what is your message to youth for the school year ahead on their part in the planet’s plan?

Here is my message: This world is your world to share and enjoy. As Mahatma Gandhi said: “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.” Know your #SDGs/#GlobalGoals and hold adults and leaders accountable for them, push back if they try to make you believe that your country, language, tribe or family is greater or more deserving than the others, and look for opportunities to make a difference yourselves. Thank you Thomas. For the Silo, C. M. Rubin.

Supplemental- Is Canada following United Nations Global Sustainable Development Goals?

Sci-Tech

New Millennial Trading App White Shark

June 26, 2018 The Silo Leave a comment

Toronto, ON — White Shark Fintech, Inc. (the “Company”) a revolutionary free artificial intelligence based trading platform that flourishes in volatility and allows its users to better control their assets, including crypto-currencies, launched recently across Canada. A popular tool among young traders looking for simple ways to buy and sell crypto-currencies, the app has created a waiting list to manage user demand.

The free-to-use app takes speculation out of trading by employing high performance algorithms that signal a user when markets for particular securities, including cryptos, are likely “over bought” or “over sold”. With White Shark users no longer have to guess or rely on self proclaimed experts about the price at which they buy or sell cryptos and other securities.

“Fintech companies, like White Shark, that engage millennials have earned multi billion dollar valuations. With the growing hunt for millennial assets and engagement with other apps, we decided to make the White Shark experience fun, empowering and engaging – regardless of where they hold their assets.” said founder and chairman Marc Wade, “White Shark is truly a user experience company engaging millennials in the capital markets when and where they want.”

“White Shark is a game changer.” White Shark app enthusiast Ryan Kesler of the Anaheim Ducks explains. “It’s so easy and fun to use. Buying and selling crypto has become part of my daily routine. There’s no guess work in making money – the accuracy of the algo trading is the only way to go.”

White Shark’s machine learning algorithms compile market data trends and price book movements into 4 gauges that work together to signal market movements. The app provides the user the ability to respond to changes in market conditions before other traditional indicators.

Now users no longer have to trade blind. Gdax (Coinbase), with over 11.9 million users, is one of the exchanges that can be connected to White Shark.

“So called “experts” have been making speculative and incorrect calls on bitcoin and other cryptos for too long.” Said CEO Stuart Shanus

Stuart Shanus CEO White Shark — Stuart Shanus

“Our free trading app isn’t based on speculation. It’s based on mathematical models and machine learning algorithms – and it should be the go-to app for investors whether they are buying and selling crypto-currencies, fiat currencies or equities.”

Investors using the White Shark app connect their preferred broker account including tCoinbase (gdax) , Kraken, Bitfinex, Poloniex and Hitbtc. For the Silo, Amy Saunders.

About White Shark

White Shark is a revolutionary free artificial intelligence based trading app that pairs investors with real time artificial intelligence (AI) to increase returns and mitigate risks. White Shark’s high performance algorithms have been used for 17 years by professional traders who have achieved exceptional returns.

Culture

Interesting Book On Trade And Civilization Prehistory To Early Modern Era

May 24, 2018 The Silo Leave a comment

This book provides the first global analysis of the relationship between trade and civilization from the beginning of civilization around 3000 BC including the Silk Road, the Indian Ocean trade, Near Eastern family traders of the Bronze Age, and the Medieval Hanseatic League, it examines the role of the individual merchant, the products of trade, the role of the state, and the technical conditions for the land and sea transport that created diverging systems of trade and developed global trade networks.

Trade networks, however, were not durable. The contributors discuss the establishment and decline of great trading network systems, and how they related to the expansion of civilization, and to different forms of social and economic exploitation. Case studies focus on local conditions as well as global networks until sixteenth century when the whole globe was finally connected by trade.

Trade and Civilization results from a three-step academic venture. The idea for this book originated in two Swedish interdisciplinary conferences on Global Histories held in 2011 and 2012, where a number of central research themes were identified and discussed. It inspired three editors to propose a carefully prepared international follow-up conference on the theme of trade and civilization that should lead to (this) a book.

Click here to continue reading full book text in PDF. For the Silo, Christian Christiansen.

Culture

Our Cashless World Of Alternative Payments

April 11, 2018 The Silo Leave a comment

The payments world has long been governed by the world’s great financial institutions. Banks and states have dominated the world’s spending habits, regulating transactions and payment methods.

The last decade has seen a shift away from the great institutions having total control over the financial landscape, and it’s been largely down to the digital revolution. Recent years have seen growing partnerships with the technology industry. Tech has sought more innovative ways for the financial industry to operate, and a greater freedom for consumers to spend their money.

Find current trends and what the future has in store for spending in this interesting infographic below from our friends at moneyguru.com. At the time of posting 1 British Pound = $1.42 US and $1.79 CDN.

Culture

Ancient Zen Story About Re-framing Failure Applies To Grant Applications

July 26, 2017 The Silo Leave a comment

When thinking about grant writing, it helps to first consider this story that tells about luck. In it, a farmer’s horse runs away and all his neighbors come by to say what bad luck this is. The farmer replies “maybe.” His horse returns and with it brings wild horses. The neighbors all say what good luck this is to which the farmer says, “maybe.” The farmer’s son, attempting to tame one of the wild horses, is thrown and breaks a leg. Bad luck, say the neighbors, “maybe” says the farmer. At last the army comes to town gathering up all the able bodied young men to go off to war. Seeing the farmer’s son with his broken leg they pass on by.

The story ends here, but it shows that things are often connected in ways we can’t possibly predict. A Lebanese saying reaches toward the very same point, “Don’t curse your bad luck because it may turn out to be your good luck.” Again the message here is that you can’t possibly know whether a single event is truly good or bad.

Failure can and should be viewed through the lens of stories and phrases like these. When we stumble, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking of this one moment as some sort of endgame. On the contrary, every so-called failure is nothing more than the next step in your journey.

Failure feels personal. When you have worked hard on something, poured your very soul into it, only to have things not come to fruition, it can feel like the universe is pointing a finger directly at your forehead. Putting things into some context is one way to start seeing the bigger picture.

Shakey Graves- Roll the Bones. Bandcamp.

Grant applications are quite probably one of the best examples of this. There is so much riding on any given application, whether it is for a specific project or an artist’s general practice. Grants are one of the ways in which working artists stay afloat and they are not only time-consuming, they can feel extremely personal.

Not receiving a grant can set off a cycle of emotions. Everything from wondering what is wrong with your work or your application, to convincing yourself that this is the last chance and there’s no point trying again. Let’s unpack these very common reactions and shed some light on the reality of the situation.

For any given grant you may apply to, there are countless others also spending long hours writing up their own applications. Grants range all over the place in size and popularity, so to speak. Even smaller scale grants (say, those offered by lesser known organizations or tightly specified to certain disciplines) will often attract many applicants.

While there are certain strategies when it comes to writing a good grant application, there is no single, objective way to ensure that yours will be the one chosen. When it comes down to final decision time, there is a level of subjectivity built into the process. Art for example, is not a quantitative subject and nor are grants being awarded via algorithm. Rather, they are being decided by panels of human beings with a range of subjective emotions about a field that is as unscientific as it gets.

For the reasons above, when you do not receive a grant, think of it in terms of the many, many other applications rather than simply in terms of what you personally did wrong. Do not ignore this as a learning experience and do reach out the grant organization for feedback whenever possible, but do not let “no” from one or even a string of grant organizations stop you in your tracks.

Instead, recall the story and expression above. Think of every grant, in fact, every action, as nothing more than a single ripple on the surface of the vast river that is your journey. When you do not get into a gallery, carry on and find others. Down the line when you look back, you will have the clarity to see the progression of events. When you are passed over for a residency, apply to three more. If a project doesn’t work out the way you thought it would, evaluate what happened, learn from the experience, and move on down the road.

Brainard Carey. image: elmcityexpress.blogspot

No one is claiming that this is easy. This isn’t about somehow detaching from your feelings and letting rejection slide like water off a duck’s back. Of course not. Rejection hurts. No matter how impersonal it might actually be when we are told no it isn’t a good feeling.

But remembering that every moment is just that, a single blip on the screen rather than a career breaking catastrophe can help you heal and recharge sooner after you’ve had a misstep. Carry the simple answer of the farmer with you at all times, “maybe.”

For the Silo, Brainard Carey.

Brainard is currently giving free webinars on how to write a better Artist bio and statement and how to get a show in a gallery – you can register for that live webinar and ask questions live by clicking here.

Politics

Ontario Takes Historic Action To Raise Minimum Wage To $15 Hour By 2019

May 30, 2017 The Silo 12 Comments

Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs- $15 Minimum Wage and Equal Pay for Part-Time and Full-Time Workers Part of Plan to Help People Get Ahead in a Changing Economy

May 30, 2017 10:20 A.M.

Ontario is taking historic action to create more opportunity and security for workers with a plan for Fair Workplaces and Better Jobs. This includes hiking the minimum wage, ensuring part-time workers are paid the same hourly wage as full-time workers, introducing paid sick days for every worker and stepping up enforcement of employment laws.

Over the past three years, Ontario’s economy has outperformed all G7 countries in terms of real GDP growth. While exports and business investments are increasing and the unemployment rate is at a 16-year low, the nature of work has changed. Many workers are struggling to support their families on part-time, contract or minimum-wage work. Government has a responsibility to address precarious employment and ensure Ontario workers are protected by updating the province’s labour and employment laws.

To help safeguard employees and create fairer and better workplaces, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced today that the government is moving forward with a landmark package of measures, including:

-Raising Ontario’s general minimum wage to $14 per hour on January 1, 2018, and then to $15 on January 1, 2019, followed by annual increases at the rate of inflation.
-Mandating equal pay for part-time, temporary, casual and seasonal employees doing the same job as full-time employees; and equal pay for temporary help agency employees doing the same job as permanent employees at the agencies’ client companies.
-Expanding personal emergency leave to include an across-the-board minimum of at least two paid days per year for all workers.
-Bringing Ontario’s vacation time into line with the national average by ensuring at least three weeks’ vacation after five years with a company.
-Making employee scheduling fairer, including requiring employees to be paid for three hours of work if their shift is cancelled within 48 hours of its scheduled start time.

The government will also propose measures to expand family leaves and make certain that employees are not mis-classified as independent contractors, ensuring they get the benefits they deserve. To enforce these changes, the province will hire up to 175 more employment standards officers and launch a program to educate both employees and small and medium-sized businesses about their rights and obligations under the Employment Standards Act.
QUOTES

” The economy has changed. Work has changed. It’s time our laws and protections for workers changed too. Too many families are struggling to get by on part-time or contract work and unstable employment. And no one working full time in Ontario should live in poverty. With these changes, every worker in Ontario will be treated fairly, paid a living wage and have the opportunities they deserve.”
– Kathleen Wynne
Premier of Ontario

” These changes will ensure every hard-working Ontarian has the chance to reach their full potential and share in Ontario’s prosperity. Fairness and decency must be the defining values of our workplaces.”
– Kevin Flynn
Minister of Labour
QUICK FACTS

Today’s announcement responds to the final report of the Changing Workplaces Review, conducted by Special Advisors C. Michael Mitchell and John C. Murray, over the course of two years. It is the first-ever independent review of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Labour Relations Act, 1995.
The report estimates that more than 30 per cent of Ontario workers were in precarious work in 2014. This type of employment makes it hard to earn a decent income and interferes with opportunities to enjoy decent working conditions and/or puts workers at risk.

In 2016, the median hourly wage was $13.00 for part-time workers and $24.73 for full-time workers. Over the past 30 years, part-time work has grown to represent nearly 20 per cent of total employment.
Currently, half of the workers in Ontario earning less than $15 per hour are between the ages of 25 and 64, and the majority are women.
More than a quarter of Ontario workers would receive a pay hike through the proposed increase to the minimum wage.
Studies show that a higher minimum wage results in less employee turnover, which increases business productivity.
Ontario is proposing a broad consultation process to gain feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders on the draft legislation it intends to introduce. To facilitate this consultation, it is proposing to send the legislation to committee after First Reading.
LEARN MORE

The Changing Workplaces Review — Final Report

Disponible en Français

Équité en milieu de travail, meilleurs emplois

Salaire minimum de 15 $ l’heure et parité salariale pour travail à temps partiel et à temps plein afin d’aider les gens à réussir au sein de l’économie en évolution

30 mai 2017 10h20

L’Ontario adopte des mesures historiques afin de créer plus de possibilités et de sécurité pour les travailleuses et travailleurs grâce à un plan pour l’équité en milieu de travail et de meilleurs emplois. Il s’agit notamment de hausser le salaire minimum, de veiller à ce que les travailleurs à temps partiel touchent le même taux horaire que les travailleurs à temps plein, de prévoir des congés de maladie payés pour tous les travailleurs et de renforcer la mise en application des lois régissant le travail.

Au cours des trois dernières années, le rendement de l’économie de l’Ontario a surpassé celui de tous les pays du G7 sur le plan de la croissance réelle du PIB. Certes, les exportations et les investissements des entreprises sont à la hausse et le taux de chômage est à son plus bas en 16 ans, mais nous constatons aussi que la nature du travail a changé. De nombreux travailleurs éprouvent de la difficulté à subvenir aux besoins de leur famille avec un emploi à temps partiel, contractuel ou au salaire minimum. Le gouvernement a la responsabilité d’agir face à la précarité de l’emploi et de veiller à ce que les travailleurs de l’Ontario soient protégés en actualisant les lois provinciales qui régissent le travail et l’emploi.

Pour contribuer à protéger les employés et créer des milieux de travail plus équitables et plus conviviaux, la première ministre Kathleen Wynne a annoncé aujourd’hui que le gouvernement va de l’avant avec un train de mesures inédites, dont les suivantes :

hausser le salaire minimum général en Ontario à 14 $ l’heure le 1er janvier 2018, puis à 15 $ le 1er janvier 2019, ce qui sera suivi par des hausses annuelles correspondant au taux d’inflation;
rendre obligatoire la parité salariale des employés à temps partiel, temporaires, occasionnels et saisonniers qui font le même travail que les employés à temps plein, et une paie égale pour les employés des agences de placement temporaire qui font le même travail que le personnel permanent de leurs entreprises clientes;
élargir le droit à des congés d’urgence personnelle pour inclure un minimum général d’au moins deux jours rémunérés par an pour tous les travailleurs;
faire correspondre la durée des vacances annuelles en Ontario à la durée moyenne nationale en accordant au moins trois semaines de vacances après 5 ans d’emploi avec le même employeur;
rendre plus équitable la planification des horaires de travail, ce qui comprend exiger que les employés soient payés pendant trois heures si leur quart de travail est annulé dans les 48 heures précédant l’heure de début planifiée.

Le gouvernement proposera aussi des mesures pour rendre plus équitable la planification des horaires du personnel, augmenter les congés familiaux et prévenir la classification erronée d’employés en tant qu’entrepreneurs indépendants, de manière à ce qu’ils obtiennent les avantages sociaux qu’ils méritent. Pour appliquer ces changements, la province embauchera jusqu’à 175 agentes et agents des normes d’emplois et lancera un programme de sensibilisation des employés et des petites et moyennes entreprises concernant leurs droits et obligations aux termes de la Loi de 2000 sur les normes d’emploi.

CITATIONS

« L’économie et le marché du travail d’emploi ont évolué. Il est temps d’adapter aussi nos lois et les mécanismes de protection de notre main-d’oeuvre. Trop de familles ont du mal à joindre les deux bouts avec du travail à temps partiel, contractuel ou instable. Aucun travailleur à temps plein en Ontario ne devrait vivre dans la pauvreté. Grâce à ces changements, les travailleuses et travailleurs de l’Ontario seront traités avec équité, toucheront un revenu décent et auront les possibilités qu’ils méritent.»
– Kathleen Wynne
première ministre de l’Ontario

« Ces changements feront en sorte que les Ontariennes et Ontariens qui ont du coeur à l’ouvrage puissent avoir la chance de réaliser tout leur potentiel et de partager la prospérité de l’Ontario. L’équité et la cordialité doivent être des valeurs définitoires de nos lieux de travail.»
– Kevin Flynn
ministre du Travail

FAITS EN BREF

L’annonce d’aujourd’hui va dans le sens du rapport final de l’Examen portant sur l’évolution des milieux de travail que les conseillers spéciaux C. Michael Mitchell et John C. Murray ont mené pendant une période de deux ans. Il s’agit du tout premier examen indépendant de la Loi de 2000 sur les normes d’emploi et de la Loi de 1995 sur les relations de travail.
Le rapport évalue que plus de 30 % des travailleurs ontariens avaient un emploi précaire en 2014. Ce genre d’emploi fait qu’il est difficile d’obtenir un revenu suffisant et compromet les chances de profiter de conditions de travail décentes, en plus de faire subir des risques aux travailleurs.
En 2016, le salaire horaire moyen était de 13 $ pour les travailleurs à temps partiel et de 24,73 $ pour les travailleurs à temps plein. Au cours des 30 dernières années, le travail à temps partiel a augmenté de sorte qu’il représente près de 20 % de tous les emplois.
À l’heure actuelle, la moitié des travailleurs en Ontario qui gagnent moins de 15 $ l’heure ont de 25 à 64 ans et la majorité de ces effectifs sont des femmes.
Plus du quart des travailleurs de l’Ontario recevraient une hausse salariale grâce à l’augmentation proposée du salaire minimum.
Des études démontrent qu’un salaire minimum plus élevé réduit le roulement du personnel, ce qui accroît la productivité des entreprises.
L’Ontario propose un vaste processus de consultation afin d’obtenir la rétroaction d’une grande variété d’intéressés concernant le projet de loi envisagé. Pour faciliter cette consultation, il est proposé de soumettre le projet de loi à un comité après la première lecture.

POUR EN SAVOIR DAVANTAGE

Examen portant sur l’évolution des milieux de travail — rapport final

Sci-Tech

Digital Serbia Partnership Launches To Set Serbia As Digital Innovation Hub

May 29, 2017 The Silo Leave a comment

“Digital Serbia” is the non-profit private partnership initiative launched by Ringier Axel Springer Serbia and leading tech companies. Its mission is to focus on improving the framework and ecosystem required to enable tech entrepreneurship and digital innovation in both industry and education in Serbia. The founding members of the initiative are Infostud, Microsoft, Nordeus, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Ringier Axel Springer, Seven Bridges, Startit, Telekom Srbija and Telenor.

“Digital Serbia” has been established as an association, bringing leading technology, IT and telecommunication companies together to drive digital innovation for Serbia and for its people. The Steering Committee of “Digital Serbia” will be made up of representatives of the founding companies. The Committee will be headed by Branko Milutinović, CEO and co-founder of Nordeus.

All of the association’s activities will be directed towards setting up an improved framework and investment climate to encourage technological entrepreneurship, innovations in the Serbian IT industry and a better level of digital literacy and education in the digital economy. Companies who want to participate in the realization of this goal, and to contribute to Digital Serbia, are invited to join.

“Digital Serbia” has been launched following the success of “digitalswitzerland”, and builds on the efforts of digital hubs such as London, Tel Aviv and Berlin, which joined the digital tech and innovation bandwagon early on.

Jelena Drakulić-Petrović, General Manager of Ringier Axel Springer Serbia and founder and initiator of the Digital Serbia Initiative: “Technological development brings unprecedented change at a high speed. Innovation in business and education helps to increase productivity. It allows for new solutions in the development of products and services. As a media company, we believe in the importance of enhancing digital innovative strength in Serbia, as this will be the driver that helps to create new jobs and grow our business. With “Digital Serbia”, we are seeking to unlock the vast potential we envisage for the Serbian economy and its people.”

Branko Milutinović, CEO and co-founder of Nordeus: “Thanks to digitalization, success can now be boiled down to its essence: creativity, know-how and professionalism. This is our opportunity. Together, we will work hard so Serbian innovations and success stories may develop from a stronger foundation and gain more attention. That’s why our decision to invest in digital education and tech entrepreneurship is so important to the future of our entire community.”

“Digital Serbia” will provide basic information and support to innovative companies, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises in the IT sector, on how to operate in these areas, and will provide assistance to companies and society in establishing contacts through various forums and fairs. In addition, “Digital Serbia” will actively participate in identifying and addressing legal restrictions that slow down the development of e-Business in Serbia, and will provide active support for technology startups.
The website www.dsi.rs has been launched with detailed information about the initiative.

Also building on the success of “digitalswitzerland” is the initiative “Digital Poland”, which will be launched on June 1, 2017 in Krakow during the Impact Conference (www.impactcee.com). The initiative will be supporting digitization for the economy, supporting education and the legal system around issues relating to digitization and innovation, and helping companies in Poland to transition from offline to online. For the Silo, Fouzia Hussain.

About “digitalswitzerland”

digitalswitzerland is a joint partnership between businesses, public authorities and the scientific community, which wants to shape Switzerland as the leading international hub for digital innovation. digitalswitzerland is already active in a wide range of fields such as knowledge transfer, education, start-up ecosystems, and political framework conditions. The association includes more than 70 of the most renowned companies and organizations as well as innovative locations throughout Switzerland. The initiative was launched in 2015 by Marc Walder, CEO of Ringier AG. More info can be found at www.digitalswitzerland.com

About Ringier Axel Springer Media AG

Ringier Axel Springer Media AG was founded in 2010 by the Swiss Ringier AG and the German Axel Springer SE. The company operates in the growth markets of Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with a broad range of media services, comprising more than 165 digital and print offerings. The company’s registered offices are in Zurich and it employs a total of about 3100 employees.

Art

Art Of Painting With Camera Focus At Hurban Vortex Exhibit In Cannes

March 14, 2017 The Silo 1 Comment

If you could choose just one photo exhibit to see all year, it would have to be Hurban Vortex in Cannes.
Often, photography is the visual equivalent of telling a one-word story, expressed through an immediately comprehensible image. In contrast, Parisian photographer Boris Wilensky takes you on a journey through time, space, and humanity. His photos are true documentaries which require time to contemplate, and listen to. Yes, listen to, not just look at. Because all of his work tells a powerful, juxtaposing story. A story of humans in cruel, all-consuming urban environments… facing challenges beyond their control… surviving in harsh conditions… A story that is already written but that is reinvented every time you look at the image.

Boris Wilensky’s current exhibition Hurban Vortex at the Suquet des Art(iste)s in Cannes opened on December 9 last year, featuring a selection of 30 of his works. Much has been said and written about it, and him, since, so no further biographical introduction is needed. And what really shaped his life, are locations rather than dates – Israel and Palestine, Tokyo, Fukushima, and Cambodia.
An emotional trip to Israel and Palestine in 2005 left a big impression on the idealistic young man, and he started keeping and publishing travel journals to share his impressions. At some point he began illustrating those with photos. Meanwhile he kept working as a photographer in entertainment and sports.
In 2008, a café in Paris offered him space to display his photos. Thinking to himself, “This is a great opportunity… probably the only one I’ll ever have to exhibit”, he went for it. It was a success, and the impetus to turn his passion into a profession.

A visit to Tokyo in 2009 would prove to be the pathway into that professional career as an art photographer. The swirling, frenzied city of dazzling lights around the clock inspired him to find a way to capture the craziness of the megalopolis and the loneliness of its citizens … and he found a way to do so by superimposing two photos taken in the Tokyo subway, of the train and its travelers. It turned out so well that this type of photography would soon become his signature.

On his next visit to Japan – and in fact to Fukushima, just one month after the 2011 reactor catastrophe there – he found a country that had profoundly changed. The Japanese were beginning to awaken to the consequences of boundless, unchecked use of nuclear energy. As a consequence, the garish lights all over town were dimmed, and the mood had become much more somber and sober.

This was when the Hurban Vortex project started taking shape in the artist’s mind. “Hurban Vortex is an urban adventure with a big H”, he explains, the constant game between the concepts of humanity and urbanity, extending into notions of modernity and identity, future, sustainable development, ecology and economy. The City, symbolizing Progress and Modernity, in constant growth, now become a “megalopolis”, or a “City-world”, a space built by humans to live in but one that eats them up in return.

For this project, and forever drawn to Asia, Boris Wilensky returns to Tokyo, Shanghai and Bangkok to take as many “photographic backgrounds” as possible. Then he tours Cambodia for two months, the stark contrast to the other cities’ modernity. Here he immerses himself fully in the ancient Khmer culture, taking portraits of men, women and children. Many of those faces bear silent witness to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime, and yet retain pride and dignity that speaks of inner strength.

Over 15,000 photos later, Hurban Vortex sees the light of day. The ensemble of artistic, esthetic and human adventure are at the core of the triptych that represents his works: Origins corresponds to 2009 (present), the period of an oblivious, profligate, consumerism-driven world. Collapse takes us into 2011 (future)…Fukushima, with its worldwide impact. The glasses and gas masks worn by the humans represent the man-made destruction of a world as we had known it before and which will never be the same. And in Post we find ourselves in an urban landscape filled with waste and shattered ruins. But people are no longer wearing their blinders… Maybe there is hope after all that cities may disappear but humans are still around? Or does the urban jungle always win in the end? You decide, because it is your personal interpretation, after an intense dialogue with the image… exactly what Boris Wilensky wants.

What the viewer sees, is how this artist sees the world – not in the literal but figurative sense. But he does not dictate, he suggests. He considers himself a storytelling portraitist first and foremost, and an urban photographer second. As you look at his large-size pictures (180 x 120 cm), the image in front of you transforms from a flat canvas to a three-dimensional scenography. You are drawn in, pulled onto a stage, you become part of the performance, an actor engaged in a dialogue. You are the person across from the man in the photo, but you also become him, turning outward to the viewer.

The continuous movement – the vortex – pushes and pulls you as the borders between Human and Urban blur and become Hurban. There are violently cold and anonymous city landscapes, consisting of monochromatic and starkly geometric patterns, entirely unlike anything you find in nature. But the human element, superimposed, invariably bestows them with a strangely appealing aesthetic. For the Silo, Natja Igney. This article originates at Riviera-buzz. Banner diptych image Boris Wilensky- concept by Jarrod Barker.

Politics

Significant Gasoline Price Hikes At Ontario Pumps

January 13, 2017 The Silo 4 Comments

January 1^st kicked off 2017 with significant gasoline price hikes at the pumps courtesy the Ontario Liberal government’s cap and trade legislation. I obviously voted against that bill.

Ontario’s cap and trade, Canada’s price on carbon

Another reality is that Canada is putting a price on carbon, the nature of which is still being negotiated with the provinces. With national carbon pricing being the new reality, Opposition Leader Patrick Brown has written an open letter to Justin Trudeau indicating that Kathleen Wynne’s cap and trade law “does not have Ontario’s best interests at heart,” and requesting that Ontario cap-and-trade be removed from the Trudeau carbon pricing system. I’m not holding my breath on that one.

The problem with the provincial cap and trade tax and the federal price on carbon is that going electric is neither technologically nor economically feasible for most, thanks to the Ontario Liberal’s Green Energy Act. I also voted against that bill. The cap and trade tax system serves as a stick to try and modify behavior without offering a viable alternative and without a carrot to reward changes made, other than using the revenue for more subsidies for things like electric cars and Toronto transit.

As Ontario’s Official Opposition we have committed to dismantle the cap and trade system ever bearing in mind the federal government is mandating all provinces put a price on carbon.

On January 1, the province capped greenhouse emissions and will sell allowances to companies who have to exceed the cap. The province will lower the cap over time. Companies exceeding their cap can also buy additional allowances, or if they come in below their annual limit, can sell their emission allowances to other companies within a market comprised of Ontario, Quebec and California.

It is estimated Ontario businesses will be paying $300 million a year to California.

We maintain the government is so desperate to hike taxes, they have rejected a revenue-neutral plan – cap-and-trade money will disappear into general revenues.

Cap and trade has clearly not been designed to return money to those paying – it is a blatant $2 billion-a-year tax grab under the guise of environmentalism. It will seriously impact everyone’s pocket book. Oil refineries for example will pass their recovery costs of cap and trade to their customers at the pumps. It subtracts money from people, not only for gasoline, diesel, propane, natural gas, heating oil and aviation fuel but also for groceries, clothing and other consumer goods produced and delivered by carbon-fueled plant, equipment and transportation.

Ontario drivers are being treated like clowns.

Ontario’s Auditor General reports the cap and trade tax will cost families an extra $156 this year for gasoline and natural gas, rising to $210 by 2019. Added transportation costs for goods and services will be another $75 per household by 2019.

We are committed to dismantling the cap and trade scheme and the Green Energy Act. This is the best way to ensure people’s hard-earned money stays exactly where it should stay…in their pockets.

In conclusion, I ask you the reader – where do we go from here? There probably won’t be an election until June 2018 and this is the time to consult on policy.

Provincially, the Ontario PC Party has committed to dismantle the Wynne cap and trade law, as well as the Green Energy Act. However, carbon pricing is now the reality in Canada and Ontario will be bound by the Trudeau price on carbon. For the Silo, Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett.

Politics

Economic Aspects Of Globalization In The Past Material World

January 12, 2017 The Silo Leave a comment

Questions and deliberations concerning globalization are more than a hot topic of extended cross-disciplinary focus in academia; they are also central to the long-simmering debates regarding policies and their implications that today often enter the public arena. For example, a quick perusal of broadly accessible media outlets from late 2013 and early 2014 reflects a suite of still unresolved but vibrant civic pondering: “When did globalization start” (The Economist 2013), “The dark side of globalization: why Seattle’s 1999 protesters were right” (Smith 2014), and “Have we reached the end of globalization?: (CNN 2014).

Yet can such issues really be evaluated judiciously without defining the critical elements of globalization, and then dissecting and assessing its historical scope? Given the broad temporal and spatial elements implied by the concept of “globalization”, it is not most likely that the outcomes and effects of this multifaceted process would be highly variable across time and space?

But through a diachromic and comparative examination of human connections over time, might we see some commonalities and learn relevant lessons?

Continue reading this essay by Gary Feinman by clicking here.

*Banner image of Ronald McDonald -McDonalds China courtesy of image.minyanville.com

Sci-Tech

Canada’s Original Black Friday- ‘Cancelled Arrow’ Was Cutting Edge 1950s Jet Interceptor

November 25, 2016 The Silo 3 Comments

I began writing this post after an annual viewing pilgrimage of sorts. Each year on the eve of shopping’s busiest day, I crack open the well worn plastic jewel case and fire up the DVD player. It’s a fictional account but based in fact and is very entertaining and I can’t help but wonder what “might have been” after watching CBC’s 1996 mini-series “the Arrow” again. [You can watch this right here at the end of this post CP]

Over the decades fact and fiction have become tangled but the basic truths remain intact. In the late 1950’s a highly advanced jet interceptor designed to seek (and if necessary destroy) Russian nuclear bombers was conceived, designed, built and flown in Canada by a predominantly Canadian team. Here’s where things get fuzzy. The Arrow was developed when the federal Liberal party were in power but was finished and flown when the Conservatives were in power. It represented not only the technological capability of Canada’s aviation industry- but also the econo-political agenda of the mid-twentieth Century. So what happened at that time to help spell the doom of the Arrow?

-The ICBM- intercontinental ballistic missile was viewed as the future of warfare not the nuclear bomber. This meant that a jet interceptor was obsolete because it would be unable to intercept approaching missiles.

-Bad timing: on the day of the rollout of the very first completed Arrow, the Russians launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. In the public eye jets seemed unimportant.

-The American Bomarc missile system was designed to intercept incoming nuclear bombers and ballistic nuclear missiles. The Bomarc had a small nuclear warhead which would detonate in the pathway of approaching missiles (or bombers) and create a nuclear ‘shield’. The Bomarc was highly controversial at the time because our Prime Minister did not want nuclear missiles on Canadian territory. However, our Defence Minister did not agree and eventually resigned over the matter. This defence ‘split’ exacerbated the Arrow program and any chance for an Arrow squadron legacy.

-The Canadian designed Iroquois engines were not readied in time and were not fitted into the Arrow. These engines were innovative and theoretically could have propelled the Arrow to speeds of Mach 2.5 or possibly Mach 3.0- far beyond every fighter of the time with the exception of secret black technology projects like the American Blackbird SR-71. Had the Canadian engines been readied and proven, there seems little doubt that international orders would have offset some of the Arrow’s mounting costs.

Black Friday…….almost 15,000 workers lose their job.

There is no official record of just who ordered the destruction of the remaining Arrows. Other than a few recovered test models, an incomplete cockpit and a few seconds of in flight film, nothing remains of this wonderful airplane . For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

The completed Arrows being cut up and readied for a Hamilton,ON scrap dealer.

Supplemental-

University of Saskatchewan The Nuclear Question in Canada http://www.usask.ca/diefenbaker/galleries/virtual_exhibit/nuclear_question_in_canada/

Post Featured Image- http://plunkettgw.deviantart.com/art/AVRO-ARROW-17-139364086

Boeing’s Bomarc Missile http://www.boeing.com/boeing/history/boeing/bomarc.page

Earth

Circular Economy Is New Direction For Waste Free Ontario

June 3, 2016 The Silo Leave a comment

In late Spring 2016, Ontario passed legislation to divert more waste from landfills, create jobs, help fight climate change and lead towards a waste-free province. Currently, Ontario is producing too much waste, and not recycling enough. Over eight million tonnes of waste is sent to landfill each year. Absolute greenhouse gas emissions from Ontario’s waste have risen by 25 per cent between 1990 and 2012 as the amount of waste disposed in landfills has increased.

The Waste-Free Ontario Act will: encourage innovation in recycling processes and require producers to take full responsibility for their products and packaging, lower recycling costs and give consumers access to more convenient recycling options to help fight climate change by:

-reducing greenhouse gas pollution that results from the landfilling of products that could otherwise be recycled or composted
-overhaul Waste Diversion Ontario into the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, a strong oversight body with new compliance and enforcement powers that will oversee the new approach and existing waste diversion programs until transition is complete.

The province will also be finalizing its draft Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy, within three months of the legislation coming into effect. The strategy outlines Ontario’s vision for a zero waste future and proposed plan to implement the legislation.
Harnessing the value of waste as a resource is part of the government’s economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes investing in talent and skills, including helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history and investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.

QUOTES
“Ontario is moving in an exciting new direction for managing waste in the province. The Waste-Free Ontario Act is an important step in creating Ontario’s circular economy — a system in which products are never discarded, but reintroduced and reused or recycled into new products. Managing our resources more effectively will benefit Ontarians, our environment and economy and support our efforts to fight climate change.”
— Glen Murray, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change

QUICK FACTS
Every 1,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill generates seven full-time jobs, $360,000 in wages (paying above the provincial average) and $711,000 in GDP.
Every year in Canada, an estimated $1 billion in valuable resources is lost to landfill.
Eventually the Waste-Free Ontario Act will eliminate industry funding organizations such as the Ontario Tire Stewardship and Ontario Electronic Stewardship.
The Blue Box program is available in about 95 per cent of Ontario households and keeps approximately 65 per cent of residential printed paper and packaging from landfills.

LEARN MORE
Read about the draft Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy
Learn more about Ontario’s current waste programs

BACKGROUNDER via Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
The Waste-Free Ontario Act and Strategy
Ontario has passed the Waste-Free Ontario Act and will be finalizing the draft Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy, within three months of the legislation coming into effect.
Together, the proposed legislation and strategy would:
-Foster innovation in product and packaging design that encourages businesses to design long-lasting, reusable and easily recyclable products
-Boost recycling across all sectors, especially in the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors, which will reduce waste and lower greenhouse gas emissions
-Incent companies to look for ways to make their recycling processes more economical while staying competitive
-Shift the costs of the blue box from municipal taxpayers to producers while continuing to provide convenient collection services for Ontarians.
-Develop an action plan to reduce the amount of organic materials going to landfills.

The draft Strategy embraces a vision of “an Ontario where we have zero waste and zero greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector and where all resources, organic or non-organic, are used and reused productively, maximizing their recovery and reintegrating recovered materials back into the economy.”
Ontario’s vision would be fulfilled with the draft Strategy’s two goals: a zero waste Ontario and zero greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector. To achieve these goals Ontario would work towards systematically avoiding and eliminating the volume of waste, while maximizing the conservation and recovery of resources. This would also help the province meet its climate change commitments and help Ontario build a low-carbon economy.
Disponible en Français

Politics

Six Nuclear Unit Refurbs means Ontario Commits to Future in Nuclear Energy

December 3, 2015 The Silo 1 Comment

Ontario has updated its contract with Bruce Power and will proceed with the refurbishment of six nuclear units at the Tiverton-based nuclear generation station.

Nuclear refurbishment will boost economic activity across Ontario, create jobs, ensure savings for ratepayers and secure a clean supply of reliable electricity. The Bruce Power refurbishment project will make up to 23,000 jobs possible and generate about $6.3 billion in annual economic benefits in communities throughout the province. Ontario is home to a globally recognized CANDU nuclear supply chain with more than 180 companies employing thousands of highly skilled workers.

Note: At Bruce Power-station, each reactor has its own turbine set.

The government was further able to optimize the nuclear refurbishment schedule in order to maximize the value of existing nuclear units. The revised timeline will mean construction commences in 2020, rather than the previously estimated start date of 2016.

Accordingly, the updated agreement has achieved $1.7 billion in savings for electricity customers when compared to the forecast in the 2013 Long-Term Energy Plan (2013 LTEP). This means a reduction in forecast household electricity bills by about $66 each year over the next decade. The contract also protects the interests of electricity consumers by ensuring Bruce Power assumes full risk for any potential cost overruns or delays.

Key aspects of the updated agreement include:

Securing 6,300 MW of emissions-free, baseload generating capacity while deferring major project work to 2020, to maximize value of the units
Bruce Power would invest approximately $13 billion of its own funds and agrees to take full risk of cost overruns on refurbishments of the six nuclear units
Initial price for Bruce Power’s generation set at $65.73/MWh starting January 1, 2016. The average price over the life of the contract is estimated to be $77/MWh, or 7.7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).
Both prices are within the range assumed in the 2013 LTEP for refurbished nuclear energy and are lower than the average price of electricity generation in Ontario, which in 2015 was $83/MWh
Definitive contract off-ramps that allow the government to assess Bruce Power’s cost estimates for each reactor prior to its refurbishment and stop the refurbishment if the estimated cost exceeds a pre-defined amount

The province is achieving balance by contracting affordable, stable and reliable generation for residents and businesses while securing investments that will be a key source of local job creation and economic growth.

Securing clean, reliable baseload power for decades to come is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario up. The four-part plan is includes investing in people’s talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives and building a secure retirement savings plan.

QUOTES

“This agreement makes 23,000 jobs possible and supports an estimated $6.3 billion in annual, local economic development. Our updated agreement with Bruce Power secures 6,300 MW of emission-free, low-cost electricity supply. These actions will save the electricity system $1.7 billion and provide important relief for electricity consumers.”

— Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Energy

““Today is a major milestone in the history of Bruce Power as we build on our existing agreement with the province and extensive experience to enter the next phase of our site development. This provides us the opportunity to secure our long-term role as a supplier of low-cost electricity by demonstrating we can successfully deliver this program incrementally.”

— Duncan Hawthorne, President and CEO, Bruce Power

QUICK FACTS

Following the release of the 2013 LTEP, the amended BPRIA was negotiated over two years by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
The Bruce nuclear site is the world’s largest operating nuclear facility. Since it was formed in 2001, Bruce Power and its industry partners have engineered and developed first-of-a-kind technologies that helped return four dormant nuclear units to service.
Nuclear energy plays a fundamental role in Ontario’s electricity system. It provides over half of Ontario’s annual generation, meeting most of Ontario’s baseload requirements.

LEARN MORE

Learn about Bruce Power
Read Affordable Power. Jobs & Growth. By the Numbers: Securing both affordable power
Read Ontario’s 2013 Long-Term Energy Plan
Lean more about the amended BPRIA

Supplemental- The CANDU Bruce Nuclear Generating Station on Lake Huron is the largest nuclear power plant in the world.

Politics

Ontario Increasing Minimum Wage- will also affect Liquor Servers, Students

March 16, 2015 The Silo 1 Comment

Province Committed to Providing Fairness for Workers, Predictability for Business

Ontario is raising the general minimum wage from $11 to $11.25 per hour, effective October 1, 2015. Minimum wage rates for jobs in special categories such as liquor servers, homeworkers, and students are also increasing at the same time.

25Cents might not seem like much (after all, payphone calls require two of them) but it does add up: 25 hour part time job works out to an extra $300/ year.

The increase is the result of recent changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) that tie minimum-wage increases to Ontario’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). This was recommended by the Minimum Wage Advisory Panel in its final report last year.

Increasing the minimum wage in a fair and predictable manner is part of the government’s economic plan for Ontario. The four-part plan is building Ontario up by investing in people’s talents and skills, building new public infrastructure like roads and transit, creating a dynamic, supportive environment where business thrives and building a secure savings plan so everyone can afford to retire.

“Our government has taken politics out of minimum wage increases while ensuring wages for Ontario workers keep pace with inflation and businesses have time to prepare for payroll changes. This puts more money in people’s pockets, gives our businesses predictability and helps build a more prosperous economy, while ensuring a fair society for all.”

– Kevin Flynn, Minister of Labour

QUICK FACTS

The government enacted legislation last fall that amended the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to tie future annual increases to minimum wage to Ontario’s Consumer Price Index (CPI).
This will be the ninth minimum wage increase since 2003.
The primary sectors employing minimum wage earners are accommodation and food, retail trade, and agriculture.
Minimum wage increases are to be announced by April 1 each year, and will be effective on October 1 of the same year.

LEARN MORE

See the upcoming wage increases for jobs in special categories (links below)
Read the report from the Minimum Wage Advisory Panel
Learn your rights under the ESA
What businesses need to know

Disponible en français- Contacter le Silo, si vous souhaitez lire ceci en Français

Culture

Money Buys Happiness If You Give It Away

October 17, 2014 The Silo Leave a comment

“All of us could invest part of our ‘fortune,’ great or small, on something that gives back on a deeper human level, such as non-predatory loans to individuals from impoverished communities,” Tim McCarthy

North Americans are still choosing to hold onto their money these days, a lesson learned from the 2008-09 financial crash.

It’s good to have savings – but not to the point of hoarding, says entrepreneur and philanthropist Tim McCarthy, author of “Empty Abundance”.

Citizens in the United States of America are saving at a rate of 5.30 percent, well above the record low of 0.80 percent in 2005, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The world’s billionaires are holding an average of $600 million each in cash, which is more than the gross domestic product of Dominica, according to the new Billionaire Census from Wealth-X and UBS. That’s up from $60 million the previous year, signaling that the very wealthy are keeping their money on the sidelines and waiting for an optimal investment time.

McCarthy diverts all of his business profits annually to his foundation, The Business of Good, which invests in socially conscious businesses and scalable nonprofit concepts.

He reviews what everyone has to gain from mindful giving.

• Money buys you happiness – up to $75,000 worth. Life satisfaction rises with income, but everyday happiness – another measure of well-being – changes little once a person earns $75,000 per year, according to a 2010 Princeton study. Another widely published survey by psychologist Roy Baumeister suggested that “happiness, or immediate fulfillment, is largely irrelevant to meaningfulness.” In other words, so many who finally achieve financial excess are unfulfilled by the rewards that come with that.

• Remember the wealth disconnection to overall fulfillment. A Gallup survey conducted in 132 countries found that people in wealthy countries rate themselves higher in happiness than those in poor countries. However, 95 percent of those surveyed in poverty-stricken countries such as Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan and Sierra Leone reported leading meaningful lives, while less than 60 percent reported the same in wealthier countries.

“While more investigation to wealth, happiness and well-being is certainly in order, I think it’s clear that while money is important, it cannot buy purpose, significance or overall satisfaction,” McCarthy says.

• Giving money reliably equals happy money. Two behavioral scientists, Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, explore in their recent book, “Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending,” what makes people engage in “prosocial behavior” – including charitable contributions, buying gifts and volunteering time. According to Dunn and Norton, recent research on happiness indicates that the most satisfying way of using money is to invest in others.

In 2010, multi-billionaires Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates co-founded The Giving Pledge, a long-term charitable effort that asks the wealthiest among us to commit to giving more than half of their fortunes to philanthropy. Among the first to join, Michael R. Bloomberg wrote in his pledge letter: “If you want to do something for your children and show how much you love them, the single best thing – by far – is to support organizations that will create a better world for them and their children.” To date, 115 of our country’s 495 billionaires have pledged.

• Anhedonia, amnesia and the fallacy of consumption. Anhedonia is the inability to enjoy activities that are typically found pleasurable.

“After making my wealth, I found that I suffered from anhedonia,” McCarthy says. “Mindful giving – intelligent and conscious giving to those who need it – turned out to be my best therapy.”

Everybody has experienced the limits of consumption, the economic law of diminishing returns. One cookie is nice and so, too, is your first $1 million. But at some point, your ability to enjoy eating cookies or earning millions diminishes more with each successive one.

“Everyone learns this lesson, yet the horror is that so many of us succeed in forgetting it,” McCarthy says. “I think that, in every moment, we need to remind ourselves that continually reaching for the next ‘cookie’ is not in our best interest.”

About Tim McCarthy

Tim McCarthy’s first business, WorkPlace Media, eventually built a permissioned database of 700,000 gatekeepers who reach more than 70 million employees with incentives for clients such as Coca-Cola, Lenscrafters and McDonalds. He sold the company in 2007 and recently bought it back.

Politics

New Ontario Gov’t Tax Credit to Benefit Farmers and Communities

September 28, 2014 The Silo 1 Comment

A new tax credit is helping put nutritious, fresh, locally grown food on the plates of those who need it most.

The Food Donation Tax Credit for Farmers — the only one of its kind in Canada — is giving farmers a tax credit valued at 25 per cent of the fair market value of the agricultural products they donate to community food programs, including food banks and student nutrition programs.

The tax credit is a part of the Ontario government’s local food strategy and Local Food Act, 2013 to promote the good things that are grown and harvested across the province.

Building a stronger agri-food industry is part of the government’s economic plan to support a dynamic and innovative business climate, invest in people and invest in infrastructure.

QUOTES

“This new tax credit will help farmers donate more fresh food to their local food banks, which will support our farmers, drive local economic growth, and benefit families in communities across the province.”

— Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance

“This new tax credit is an integral part of our government’s commitment to support farmers, increase access to nutritious, locally grown food and promote the good things that are grown right across the province.” Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs — “This new tax credit is an integral part of our government’s commitment to support farmers, increase access to nutritious, locally grown food and promote the good things that are grown right across the province.”
Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

“Ontario’s farmers have a long tradition of donating their agricultural products to charitable causes, and we believe this credit will both honour that tradition and help motivate others to donate.”

Neil Currie, General Manager, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

“Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy local food, and we applaud the Ontario government for introducing a tax credit that will encourage more farmers to make that food available to families and individuals who need it most. Many food bank clients do not receive the recommended daily servings of fruits, vegetables, and protein, which causes additional strains on one’s health and well-being. A balanced diet with local, fresh, and nutritious foods will help improve the health of food bank clients as well as the health of communities across Ontario.”

— Bill Laidlaw, Executive Director, Ontario Association of Food Banks

“Hamilton Food Share has focused on increasing the amount of fresh product distributed to local emergency food programs as the thousands of people who visit a food bank do not have access to fresh food on an ongoing basis. We remain deeply committed to food security and we believe the new tax credit for farm donations will help us forge new partnerships within the agricultural sector in our community.”

— Joanne Santucci, Executive Director, Hamilton Food Share.

QUICK FACTS

One-third of the 375,000 Ontarians served by a food bank every month are children.
More than 600,000 children and youth participate in breakfast, snack and lunch programs in communities across Ontario.
Under the proclaimed legislation, farmers can claim the new tax credit for donations dating back to Jan. 1, 2014.
Ontario’s agri-food sector contributes about $34 billion to the province’s economy and supports more than 740,000 jobs across Ontario.

LEARN MORE

Find local food sources and organizations on the ministry’s Local Food webpage

Ontario Association of Food Banks

Ontario Student Nutrition Program Network

Student Breakfast Clubs

Seasonal recipes at Foodland Ontario

Culture

CNNMoney- Millennials Saying No To Credit Cards

September 8, 2014 The Silo 1 Comment

CNNMoney ‏@CNNMoney 13h

Millennials are saying no to credit cards: http://cnnmon.ie/1uFOSGl via @blakeellis3 pic.twitter.com/T1U8i7OU2I

What some tweeters are saying:

CalBeach ‏@CalBeach 13h

@CNNMoney @blakeellis3 They’re smart to avoid debt.

YmeYnot ‏@YmeYnot2011 13h

@CNNMoney @blakeellis3 Only use charge card when you can pay entire debt completely before you are charged interest.

NETGAINS ‏@Netgains_ 13h

@CNNMoney @blakeellis3 Great info… Thanks for sharing..

Equality=Peace ‏@angrigarisangri 13h

@CNNMoney @CNN @blakeellis3 Yes to #bitcoin!

Glenn ‏@GlennMPR 13h

@CNNMoney @CNN @blakeellis3 Smarter than my generation then.

Pm3marston ‏@Pm3marston 13h

@CNNMoney @CNN @blakeellis3 We know not to be caught in the credit card trap. Only use it as a cash replacement card, not for debt.

Roger Bustos ‏@rogerbgom 13h

@CNNMoney @blakeellis3 like a smart wallet just pass the wallet and charge from your credit or debit just pick with your phone….

BrokenHearted ‏@patientfailure 12h

@CNNMoney @CNN @blakeellis3 Stupid. You’re spending decisions should never change based on your form of payment.

Patrick B ‏@sportbikeguy00 12h

@CNNMoney @CNN @blakeellis3 Credit & debts of any kind should be avoided,my motto is if you can’t pay cash for it,save up or forget it.

mizo ‏@bemelmesre 12h

@CNNMoney @CNN @blakeellis3 Never used a credit card in my life. Only used credit for commercial purposes.

victor ‏@victor_de64 11h

@CNNMoney @CNN @blakeellis3 I’m a baby boomer and cut all mine 19 years ago and never missed them

CynicalPolitico ‏@IndyinTX31 11h

“@CNNMoney: Millennials are saying no to credit cards: http://cnnmon.ie/1uFOSGl via @blakeellis3 pic.twitter.com/sAw87n1GDt”()

FatNoMore™ Fitness ‏@FNM_Fitness 10h

@CNNMoney @blakeellis3 Either buy cast or use paypal. Credit cards are just a disaster waiting to happen #ParentWillAgree

Andrew Smith ‏@iSmitty12 10h

@DaveRamsey thoughts? “@CNNMoney: Millennials are saying no to credit cards: http://cnnmon.ie/1uFOSGl via @blakeellis3 pic.twitter.com/kcL0lgMyzP”

Yvonne Moedt ‏@YvonneMoedt 9h

@CNNMoney That’s great!! You never know what’s left or how big your debt is and will never get out once you start. Real paper money #future

Declan Martens ‏@DeclanMartens 9h

@CNNMoney @blakeellis3 hey that’s us! @Malicious_Tea

Zbolts ‏@zbolts 9h

They use mom/dad?! “@CNNMoney: Millennials are saying no to credit cards: http://cnnmon.ie/1uFOSGl via @blakeellis3 pic.twitter.com/f1jlE2zlAq”

HogsAteMySister ‏@hogsatemysister 9h

@CNNMoney @blakeellis3 Which is easy to do when you still live at home…

Websterwall ‏@Websterwall 8h

@CNNMoney @blakeellis3 It’s true. No card for me. Living within my means

The Epitomy Of An♈️ ‏@ErnieBlanco63 8h

@CNNMoney With the job market being so rocky it’s a smart move.

Stephen Cefalu ‏@Scef2308 7h

@CNNMoney @CNN @blakeellis3 they don’t know how to use a CC to maximize the rewards and cash back. Learn how to use credit.

Jay Brausch ‏@BigDogStar 7h

@CNNMoney @CNN @blakeellis3 One of the smartest things of the new millennium that they can do.

KC Simbeck ‏@kc_simbeck 6h

@CNNMoney I’d like to not have a credit card. But it’s pretty much required for building credit.

Liesel Rickert ‏@le_rickert3 6h

Ive been wanting 1, but can’t decided bc of 2 factors here RT “@CNNMoney: Millennials are saying no to credit cards: http://cnnmon.ie/1uFOSGl ”

Culture

CNBC’s “Secret Lives of the Super Rich”

June 6, 2014 The Silo 3 Comments

CNBC’s half-hour primetime series “Secret Lives of the Super Rich,” premiered Tuesday, June 10th at 10PM & hour episodes began airing each Tuesday for four consecutive weeks.

Reported by CNBC’s Robert Frank and featuring New York City super broker Dolly Lenz, “Secret Lives of the Super Rich” unlocks the mansion gates and gives you rare access to a world inhabited by the wealthiest people on the planet. Here’s a sneak peek courtesy of The Silo:
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000236913.

In the first episode, we met a man who’s taken his lifelong Lamborghini obsession from land to water. Also, “Secret Lives of the Super Rich” gets a rare invite on a luxury safari where there’s no shortage of wild life, or champagne. And, an exclusive look inside a Star Trek mega-mansion that may have you wondering if it’s actually the Starship Enterprise (video: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101735785 also see Star Trek Home Theater profiled here at the Silo: https://www.thesilo.ca/beam-me-up-35000000-usd-home-theater-for-sale-in-boca-raton/)

Culture

How To Start Blogging With Plastic Deerheads And Ironic Moustaches

June 21, 2013 The Silo 1 Comment

The trendy and kitschy Owl. images/photos: Charity Blaine

Blog writers are like Indie music that’s about to become “cool”, or rather, they are the people that enjoy the Indie music before it’s “cool”, in fact, they are most likely part of the reason it eventually becomes popular. Only it’s not just music. It’s everything. Lifestyle bloggers like EVERYTHING before it’s cool. Therefore, I, as a blog reader, know about everything cool before it is cool. I, am a blog world hipster, and I’m only partly ashamed to admit it.

To clarify, it’s not just the blogs themselves that set the trends; it’s also the only shops where bloggers sell their handmade goods, such as etsy.com. Years ago, I remember searching for kitschy little polymer clay earrings shaped like foods at etsy, today, when I no longer want them, they are available for a fraction of the price at popular stores such as Clare’s and Arden’s, although truthfully, they do look cheaper. The handmade versions look more like real food than the store bought versions. You should never believe anything that doesn’t come with proof, so here are three substantial examples of bloggers, not retailers, setting the trends.

1) Owls. I really hate owls. I don’t think they’re cute. I don’t understand the obsession at all, but so many places these days sell things adorned with owls. Don’t get me wrong, I realize that owls were popular years ago, but this is a reference to the current owl obsession. Forever21.com and http://verified.codes/Forever-21 sells more than a dozen owl accessories so does Clare’s. Where did I first see an obsession with owls? In the blog world, for example, blogger Elycia Watson (loveelycia.com) from Hamilton, Ontario posted regularly about owls more than three years ago. All the blogs I initially read as a blogger were full of owls.

2) Geometric Shapes. Bloggers love chevrons, triangles, lines, squares, any simple shape that can be coloured pink or gold. This isn’t the best example, but two years ago, the Sidney Crosby of blogs, A Beautiful Mess, did a ‘do- it –yourself’ project “making a geometric mobile”. It’s a clothes hanger with dangling wire triangles wrapped in yarn, basic and geometric. Most of the bedding at Urban Outfitters these days is adorned with chevrons and triangles. This also points to the ‘do- it- yourself’ trend. These crafty women have been doing it yourself way before pinterest made it popular. To sound even more hipster, I remember when pinterest first started, in those days, there were no weight loss schemes or a surplus of one direction photos, it really was mostly crafts and home décor, and bloggers used it to find inspiration for new blog posts. I love pinterest, so thanks again bloggers for being cool before it was cool.

3) Since I’ve already given four substantial examples I don’t really need a number 3, but just in case you still doubt, take a look at Faux Deer Head for your wall. Flipping through a home décor magazine lately, I found a photo of a plaster deer head, in the style of the mounted, taxidermy deer head that hunters would have on their walls. Currently, even Home Hardware sells them. Bloggers have been doing this for years. They even use old piñata heads. They give the deer head hats and jewelery. The Dainty Squid was one of the first places I really remember seeing this phenomenon. Kayla found a plastic deer head more than 3 years ago, plopped a wig on its head and called it beautiful.

So the conclusion is- if you really want to be ahead of the wave, read blogs, small, crafty, lifestyle blogs. By the time any of that stuff hits the mainstream, you’ll be really sick of it and you can officially embrace your inner hipster and tell everyone, while sporting an ironic moustache, that you liked all those things, including ironic moustaches, before they were cool. For the Silo, Charity Blaine.

Supplemental- Street Trends: How Today’s Alternate Youth Cultures Are Creating Tomorrow’s Mainstream http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0887308759

A 3D printer Photo Booth prints miniature versions of you http://tinyurl.com/mkw924

According to a recent Commonwealth study, while the overall economy of the 54 member countries would contract on average by 3.2 per cent in 2020, the contribution of sport sectors to GDP could drop by well over 20 per cent in several states.

Ministers at the forum presented how they are responding to the current challenges and planning the safe and staged return-to-sport.

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Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said:

The Chair of the meeting, UK Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade Liz Truss said:

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