Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Reminder: Raw milk can make you seriously ill

A recent notice by Health Canada is prompting Health & Safety Watch to remind Canadians that drinking raw (unpasteurized) milk can make you seriously ill.


Several different diseases can be found in raw milk including: Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria. These bacteria can result in everything from fever, vomiting and diarrhea to life-threatening kidney failure, miscarriage and death. Children, pregnant women, older adults and people with a weakened immune system are particularly at risk.
Food and Drug Regulations require that all milk available for sale in Canada be pasteurized. Pasteurization kills the organisms that may cause disease while keeping the nutritional properties of milk intact. Raw milk has not been treated to make it safe. It also is not fortified with vitamin D.

Although these regulations are in place, some Canadians prefer and continue to drink raw milk because of perceived health benefits. However, any possible benefits are far outweighed by the serious risk of illness from drinking raw milk.
For additional information, including a tip sheet and food safety education documents, please visit Healthandsafetywatch.com.






Monday, August 22, 2011

A letter to Canadians from the Honourable Jack Layton

August 20, 2011


Toronto, Ontario
Dear Friends,

Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.

I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.

A few additional thoughts:
To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.

To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton



Thursday, August 18, 2011

RONA MS Bike Tour This Weekend - August 21 -Niagara Region

RONA MS Bike Tour This Weekend - August 21


Niagara Region

WHAT: 600 cyclists will ride 40 km or 75 km through the Niagara Region as part of the RONA MS Bike Tours, North America's largest cycling series.

The Tour, which is expected to raise $450,000 in pledges for MS research and services, begins at King's Bridge Park in Chippawa and continues through the Niagara Region and along the Niagara Parkway, finishing back at the park. Cyclists have the option of riding either a 40 km or 75 km route.

More information is available at msbiketours.ca
WHEN: Sunday August 21
WHERE: King's Bridge Park (7870 Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls)
WHY: Proceeds will help provide services for people with MS and their families, as well as fund research into the cause, treatment and cure of multiple sclerosis. One of the MS Society of Canada's most important annual events, this pledge-based fundraising initiative raises valuable funds for MS research and client services. Participants include individual riders, corporate teams, and teams made up of friends and family joining together to help end MS.
Top Fundraisers, team captains and those living with MS

MS Champions, cyclists who live with MS
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (Ontario Division)

(416) 677-5784   candice.hamel@mssociety.ca

About multiple sclerosis and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada

• Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord, and it is the most common neurological disease of young adults in Canada.

• Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 40, and the unpredictable effects of MS last a lifetime.

• The MS Society provides services to people with MS and their families and funds research to find the cause, treatment and cure.

Please visit mssociety.ca to make a donation or for more information.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso $13.81 - $15.97

Joyful Path of Good Fortune: The Complete Buddhist Path to Enlightenment
Joyful Path of Good Fortune: The Complete Buddhist Path to Enlightenment

We all have the potential for self-transformation, and a limitless capacity for the growth of good qualities, but to fulfil this potential we need to know what to do along every stage of our spiritual journey.


With this book, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso offers us step-by-step guidance on the meditation practices that will lead us to lasting inner peace and happiness. With extraordinary clarity, he presents all Buddha s teachings in the order in which they are to be practised, enriching his explanation with stories and illuminating analogies. Following these practical instructions, we will come to experience for ourselves the joy that arises from making progress on a clear and structured path that leads to full enlightenment.

HERSHEY CANADA SEARCHES FOR THE SMALL BUT MIGHTY

REESE® Minis Perfectly Tiny Awards to honour the biggest little things in Canada
Enjoying the small things in life is important to Canadians which is why Hershey Canada is searching coast to coast to honour our biggest little things. As part of the Canadian launch of REESE® Minis candy, the REESE® Minis Perfectly Tiny Awards will recognize five perfectly tiny things in Canada just for being mini.


Whether it means owning a perfectly tiny horse or living in a perfectly tiny house, five honourees will receive a one year supply of REESE® Minis candy, a customized trophy and of course bragging rights for being so perfectly tiny. For fun, REESE® Minis fans can visit www.perfectlytiny.ca to select their favourite perfectly tiny thing or to let Hershey know about perfectly tiny things they feel should be honoured.

"Taking time to celebrate the small things is important” says Sean Citrigno, spokesperson for REESE® Minis. "Just like new REESE® Minis candy, the Perfectly Tiny Awards are an example of how even the tiniest things can spread a huge amount of happiness.”

The latest mini-innovation, REESE® Minis candies are the smallest REESE® PEANUT BUTTER CUPS® candies ever. REESE® Minis candies are approximately the size of a dime and feature the same perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter as traditional REESE® PEANUT BUTTER CUPS® candies but in a smaller version allowing consumers to easily enjoy the treat anytime, anywhere.


REESE® Minis candies are available in a 210g re-sealable, standup pouch, keeping them fresh and delicious. REESE® Minis candies also come in a 130g pouch. They are available at most mass, grocery, drug and convenience stores nationwide.
About Hershey Canada

Hershey Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hershey Company (New York Stock Exchange: HSY) that distributes and sells confectionery, snack, refreshment and grocery products in Canada. Major brands include CHIPITS, EAT-MORE, GLOSETTE, HERSHEY'S, JOLLY RANCHER, OH HENRY!, REESE, AND TWIZZLER.

To learn more about Hershey Canada, please visit us at www.hersheycanada.com.

Saturday, August 13, 2011