Public transit gets no election attention. Credit drug. Air Transat and Air Canada negotiations.
Transport 2000: Montreal transport issues lag in slow lane during election campaign
Montreal Gazette, Andy Riga, Apr. 23
"For Transport 2000, a transit users’ group, the Champlain Bridge and faster inter-city trains are the top priorities. But on both issues, the Conservative government appears to be stalling the release of studies, said Normand Parisien, the group’s executive director.“It’s frustrating that we don’t have the results because an election campaign is the time when we should be debating these issues,” the Montreal Gazette reported.
Option Consommateurs: Cette drogue qu'on appelle crédit
La Presse, Ariane Krol, Publié le 23 avril 2011
Les organismes comme Option Consommateurs sont aux premières loges de ce qui risque de se produire lorsque les taux d'intérêt se mettront à grimper. Car si cette variable-là est encore sous contrôle, d'autres frappent sans crier gare. Une séparation, une perte d'emploi, même une simple réduction des heures de travail peuvent avoir un effet dramatique lorsqu'on n'a aucune marge de manoeuvre financière," La Presse a rapporté.
The Mythical Private Sector Subway
Steve Munro, April 22, 2011
The Ford Administration and its followers at City Hall would have us believe that transit developments in Toronto can be had essentially free of public cost and that the private sector, whatever that means, will pony up the investment to build the subway.
We ask Canada's business leaders how the next federal government can do it better
Canadian Business, Apr. 25
Armine Yalnizyan, Senior economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
"I would invest dramatically in people under the age of 18. Work with provinces and territories to make sure that within our next generation, nobody is left behind in terms of opportunities to develop all of their skills, all of their capacities, and their health. So sports, arts, exchanges between provinces. I'd make sure that urban kids get out to First Nations reserves and vice versa, to see what this country is like and understand each other's reality," Canadian Business reported.
Two of Canada's largest airlines facing tough labour battles over concessions
The Canadian Press, Ross Marowits, April 21, 2011
New hires are currently paid on the basis of 65 hours of flying time per month, or just over 16 hours per week, at a rate of $27.07 per flying hour. The union says that amounts to just $11.07 an hour if extrapolated to a 40-hour week and the company wants to reduce that to $9.65. "They want to bring their wages so low it will practically be minimum wage," (CUPE leader) Stringer said," The Canadian Press reported.
Canadian program takes Apple's eye off your phone
Postmedia News, Sarah Schmidt, Apr. 23
A Canadian software developer has created a program that allows iPhone and iPad users to wipe clean the location history of their devices ... Ryan Petrich of Edmonton said Thursday he's being bombarded with emails and online messages about his new tool called "Untrackerd." When installed, the program deletes the location tracking information, held in a hidden file called consolidated.db, every 30 minutes, Postmedia News reported.
Employer Monitoring Employees With GPS Tracking
Slaw, Yosie Saint-Cyr, April 21, 2011
Sub-contract on European train order could net billions for Bombardier
Montreal Gazette, François Shalom, Apr. 23
Bombardier could reap at least $3.5 billion U.S. as a sub-contractor to German rail firm Siemens AG, which is finalizing a deal with Germany’s state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn for up to 300 ICx high-speed trains," the Montreal Gazette reported.
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