Vancouver
Ranked #1
Vancouver is the world's best place
to live, a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit
(EIU) has found.
The EIU ranked 127 cities in terms of personal risk, infrastructure
and the availability of goods and services.
Most of the cities that fell into the top "liveability" bracket
were based in Western Europe and North America. In
Asia, cities in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China
and Taiwan scored well. Australia also scored very
high, with all of its capital cities making it into
the top ranking.
Top group
Vancouver
Melbourne
Vienna
Geneva
Perth
Adelaide
Sydney
Zurich
Toronto
Calgary
Canada
needs more immigration, says Government
The aging work force is at the top
of Paul Martin’s government's agenda, and he
has suggested strongly that higher immigration levels
will solve the problem.
"Within 10 short years, there will be only 3½ working
Canadians for every senior citizen, down from five today.
By 2015, our domestic labour force will actually start to
shrink, so all of the net growth will need to come from new
Canadians," Mr. Martin said in a recent speech.
"Think about what this transformation means: increased
demands on health and other public services; potential skills
shortages."
New research from statistics Canada reveals that Canada has
the second-highest population growth in the Group of Eight
rich countries, largely as a result of immigration.
The findings reveal that:
• Between 1994 and 2004, the Canadian population grew
at a rate close to 1 per cent; the U.S. rate was 1.1 per cent.
• The rest of the G8 is growing much slower, with the
United Kingdom and France growing by less than 0.4 per cent
and Japan, Germany and Italy growing by less than 0.2 per
cent. Russia shrank.
• Between 1994 and 2004, Canada’s natural increase
in population was only 0.39 per cent, with a fertility rate
of 1.5 children for each woman -- much lower than the 2.1
children required to replace the current population.
Michigan
threatens to close borders to garbage
Ontario needs a backup plan
to deal with Toronto’s trash if Michigan
follow through on threats to close its border
to garbage. Opening new landfills appears to
be the immediate solution, which does raise controversy
in local communities.
Some local governments want provincial help to make sure
they won't be forced to take Toronto's garbage if Michigan
and the US Congress pass legislation to close the
border to trash.
The Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority, for example, says
that its landfill has just enough capacity to handle local
trash for 25 to 30 years, and it will not accept Toronto's
garbage without a fight.
The government is responding by saying that it's up to local
politicians -- not the province -- to come up with plans to
dispose of their own waste.
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