The One of a Kind Show will be at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, located at 100 Princes’ Boulevard, from Wednesday, April 1st – Sunday, April 5th. The show hours are:
•    Weekdays from 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
•    Saturday from 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
•    Sunday from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Buy tickets online and save some money - Adults $10, Seniors and Students $6.50, Children 12 and under are free. Tickets at the door for Adults are $12.00, Seniors and Students $6.50, Children 12 and under are free.

The One of a Kind show is the most amazing craft show featuring body care, candles, ceramics, clothing, toys, furniture, collectables, fabrics, glass, hats, home décor, jewelry, metal, leather, paper, sculpture, stained glass, weaving, and wood. This is a great place to buy gifts for everyone on your list, including you. Show highlights include:
•    One of a Kind Flavours - delicious food from across Canada
•    One of a Kind Fashion District – fashions, fashions, and more fashions
•    One of a Kind Rising Stars – great new Canadian talent
•    One of a Kind Green – a fabulous selection of eco-friendly products
•    One of a Kind Outdoor – products for outdoor living
•    Family Centre – a complimentary childcare for children from 2 – 8 years of age with a 1 ½ hour limit available on a first come, first served basis
•    Just for Mom – a quiet area for mom and baby for changing or feeding
•    Parcel Check – free bag check
•    Wheelchairs - available on a first come, first served basis

Visit the One of a Kind Show. You’ll be supporting Canadian artisans and buying truly original items that can’t be found in big box stores.

Why on earth would the City of Toronto pay people to pretend to be homeless when we have enough legitimately homeless people who could really use $100? Some bureaucratic genius decided that it makes sense to pay 100 people $100 each in the form of a prepaid Visa card, so that they can sit around pretending to be homeless on April 15 when the city tries to count how many street people there are. Now this defies all logic. If they are paying 100 people so that they can be counted as homeless people, why not just add 100 to the count and do something really useful for the homeless? Homeless advocate Michael Shapcott of the Wellesley Institute suggests that the money would be better spent going directly to shelters.

To add true comedy to this pathetic situation, these pretend street people will have to attend a 30 minute training seminar in how to act the part. I wonder if the city has hired trained actors to give the seminar. Talk about stereotyping, but what exactly does a homeless person look like and act like? It’s not one size fits all. These are human beings. If you’ve ever had direct contact with homeless people or volunteered at a program like Out of the Cold, then you would know that there is no “street people look”.

Obviously the City of Toronto has no malevolent intentions, but once again they spend money on projects that are not of any benefit to anyone. All that the city has to do to estimate the amount of homeless in our midst is to communicate with the social service agencies and volunteer organizations who serve them. They would surely be able to produce a reliable estimate at no cost.

Can you imagine a car selling for $2,400? There are many bicycles on the market that sell for more than that. It’s called the Nano . Manufactured by Tata Motors , and Indian automobile manufacturer, it was designed to make automobile ownership within the financial reach of people who could never have dreamed of owning a car. The Nano has been created for the Indian market and it will go on sale in April. Obviously this is a very small no-frills vehicle:
•    3.1 metres (10.2 feet) in length
•    4-seater
•    623 cc rear engine
•    1 windshield wiper
•    Small trunk

Air conditioning and power locks are available as options but there are no airbags or antilock breaks. The Nano gets 4.2 litres per 100 kilometres and can travel up to 105 kilometres per hour, which clearly makes it a city vehicle. A top speed of 105 kilometres per hour makes it impractical for most highway driving. Tata Motors reports that emission tests show that the Nano emits less carbon dioxide than most motorbikes. They had better corner the market in India quickly as competition is on the way. Bajaj Auto, Renault, and Nissan are already working on developing a car that wholesales for $2,500 and they hope to launch it in India by 2011.

There is another model called the Nano Europa, a slightly more robust version, which has been designed for the European market. The planned launch for the Nano Europa is sometime in 2011. Tata Motors reports that is has already begun work on a Nano for the U.S. market and hopes to have it ready for launch in 2012.

Street vendors selling hot dogs and sausages are a part of the Toronto landscape. However in an effort to diversify and offer ethnic cuisine and healthy alternatives, the City of Toronto will be unveiling a new program in food carts during the May long weekend called ‘A La Carte’. This program is a three-year pilot project that will introduce ethnic selections including Pad Thai, Jerk Chicken, Souvlaki, Biryani, Kimchee, Salsa Karahi and healthy alternatives including bagels, pretzels and veggie burgers. Prices will range from $1.50 - $7.00.

The bizarre part of this is that the existing hot dog vendors were not allowed to compete for the A La Carte program in spite of the fact that they represent over 25 different ethnicities. Why the City of Toronto chose to ignore the existing members of the Street Food Vendors Association is a mystery. The application process for new vendors was apparently arduous. They had to demonstrate compliance with safety standards and pass an assessment by the city’s executive chefs. Of 19 applicants, 8 have been chosen.
- Nancy Senawong will be serving pad Thai with fresh rolls at Mel Lastman Square
- Noorullah Iman will be serving Afghan/central Asian chapli kebabs at Metro Hall
- Seemab Ahmad will be serving central Asian/Persian biryani at Nathan Phillips Square
- Blair Bonivento will be serving Greek souvlaki at Nathan Phillips Square
- Issa Ashtarieh will be serving Middle Eastern chicken and beef kebab wraps at Queen’s Park
- Andnet Zere will be serving Eritrean injera at Roundhouse Park
- Young Jin Kim will be serving Korean bulgogi with seasonal kimchee at Yonge and Eglinton
- Bridgette Pinder will be serving Caribbean fusion jerk chicken at Yonge and St. Clair

The recent and tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson resulting from head trauma incurred during a ski accident has stirred up the ongoing debate on whether or not wearing helmets while skiing should be mandatory. Quebec’s provincial coroner reports that between 1990 and 2008 that 39 people died on ski hills in Quebec. It does not specify how many of those were due to head injuries. The Canadian Institute for Health Information reports that from 2005 - 2006, 138 people across Canada (not including Quebec) were hospitalized as a result of a head injury incurred while skiing or snowboarding. It does not report how many died.

The unknown quantity is how many deaths would have been prevented by wearing helmets. With respect to Natasha Richardson, the buzz right now is that her untimely death might have been prevented if she had received medical treatment sooner; bringing to light that Mont Tremblant does not have an air ambulance service. The 2 ½ hour trip from Mont Tremblant to Montreal or the delay in getting emergency medical help for Ms Richardson may have ultimately been the nails in her coffin.

Currently there are no ski and snowboard helmet standards in Canada. Although a private member’s bill requiring all snow sport helmets sold in Canada to meet guidelines set by the Canadian Standards Association has been introduced, the government has not moved forward. One of the obvious problems is there is no certification or testing program available. The other is that the ski resorts are vehemently opposed to mandatory helmets. It would put them in the position of having to police their guests and they would be forced to provide a helmet rental service, which comes with its own set of problems, particularly cleaning, disinfecting, and maintenance.

It seems to me that we have chosen helmets as the rallying cry, but why are we ignoring the lack of medical attention and the absence of an air ambulance. Should we be as concerned as we are about mandatory helmets or should we be insisting that ski resorts have the availability of air ambulances?

I’m so tired of hearing that the City of Toronto is broke and that they have no choice but to raise taxes and cut services. It’s become a mantra. If that is the case then can someone who has some sense in his head explain to me how the same broke City of Toronto is now planning to spend $61 million to hire 1,300 new employees.

Some of the hires make good sense and address the current crisis in the economy like 166 case workers to keep up with the increasing demand for welfare, but I take serious issue about hiring a Blackberry expert and 3 new hires to help commemorate the War of 1812. Some of the other new hires include:
- 5 permanent inspectors for grow-op crackdown
- 1 tech job to set up an electronic tracking system for crackdown on illegal signs
- 2 temporary positions to work on reviewing and reporting councilor expenses
- 2 positions for collection of new taxes
- 11 customer service representatives to reduce delays at parking tag counters
- 8 jobs to increase the number of dog and cat licenses
- 2 workers to maintain street trees
- 8 workers to handle tree-cutting applications from developers
- 3 positions for the lobbyist registry
- 4 positions for ombudsman’s office

As Dr. Phil would say, ‘Let’s Get Real!’. You and I are going to be paying for this lunacy. Approximately $30 million is expected to come from the 4% residential property tax increase and business tax increases and the other half will come from user fees and provincial or federal subsidies. Shouldn’t we have a say in how our tax dollars are being spent? On March 31 the City Council will vote on the budget, so we’ll have to wait until then until we find out if any of these jobs will be posted.

Every day we are bombarded by product advertising that claims to make us skinny in no time flat with a miracle pill that will melt all of our fat away, cure any disease under the sun with an all natural supplement, banish wrinkles with a miracle cream that is a virtual facelift in a jar, informs us that we have just won a dream vacation and there is no purchase required… And, this list goes on.

Not all companies make fraudulent claims. There are many fine, upstanding companies out there who spend billions of dollars researching their products and they can provide the appropriate evidence to back up their claims. They are not the problem, the unscrupulous operators are. How can we keep companies honest? Are you part of the solution or the problem? Do you just ignore these bogus ads or do you take action? Would you do something about it if you knew what to do?

The Competition Bureau of Canada
is a governmental agency with a mandate to ensure truth in advertising. Some of the issues that they tackle include:
- Mass marketing fraud
- Health fraud
- False or misleading representations
- Deceptive telemarketing
- Deceptive prize notices
- Misleading advertising and labeling
- Multi-level marketing plans
- Pyramid selling

Instead of ignoring these fraud artists, let’s take them to task and report them to the proper authorities. We can’t demand truth in advertising if we are not prepared to report fraudulent activity when we see it. The next time that you see bogus claims being made, file a complaint and be a part of the solution.

Privacy online is an oxymoron in term and there should be no protection under the law for idiots. A recent case involving a chap called John Leduc could only make me laugh. Mr. Leduc was involved in a car accident in 2004 in Lindsay, Ontario. He launched a lawsuit against Janice Roman claiming that the injuries that he sustained in the accident have affected his ability to enjoy life. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

Instead of laying low and behaving in a manner consistent with life changing injuries, Mr. Leduc’s Facebook pages indicate no loss of enjoyment or that any alterations in his lifestyle were made after the accident. Mr. Leduc was under the impression that because his Facebook pages were only available to his friends and not to the general public, he could post anything at all with complete impunity. Toronto’s Justice David Brown of Ontario’s Superior Court says differently, stating that Mr. Leduc will not be able hide behind self-set privacy controls. He will have to submit to cross-examination by Janice Roman’s lawyers about the content that he posted on his Facebook pages.

This should certainly change the way the some people are using Facebook. No longer can anyone assume a level of privacy for any information that is posted anywhere online blogs, MySpace, LinkedIn, or any other social networking or online media sites. They will all now be considered fair game in legal cases, particularly in personal injury law suits. The Internet should not provide a shield for criminal activity and if for nothing else, Mr. Leduc should be arrested for stupidity and arrogance.

Why do we as a society view a move from human contact to self-serve machines as progress? When did human interaction in the course of our day become a waste of time? Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre has been testing new technology that allows people to pick up their prescription drugs from a special vending machine. By all accounts the feedback has been positive. It’s very easy to use. All that you do is insert your prescription into a slot in the machine and presto, your medication magically appears.

Between June and September 1,200 prescriptions have been dispensed to over 800 patients. All of the prescriptions were correctly filled and 95% of the 108 people surveyed said that they would use the machine again. However, approximately 1/3 of the patients found that their medication was not available in the machine that stores only 340 different drugs.

I am one of the skeptics who cannot accept that the convenience outweighs the benefits of a personal relationship with your pharmacist. My parents are seniors and they both have a personal relationship with their local pharmacist. If their pharmacist doesn’t see them in a few weeks she calls the house to see how they are doing. Somehow I don’t think that the vending machine would provide the same level of care and concern. The one advantage to the drug dispensing machine is that it allows users to communicate with a real pharmacist by video link which can be very helpful in an after hours situation or in remote areas.

According to a survey by the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, the Do Not Call List is working for most Canadians. The results of the survey were as follows:
•    50% are receiving noticeably fewer or far fewer telemarketing calls
•    20% are receiving slightly fewer calls
•    10% are receiving no telemarketing calls at all
•    13% are receiving more calls since they registered

How is it possible that Canadians registered on the Do Not Call List are receiving more annoying telemarketing calls? It has been determined that many telemarketing calls are now coming from outside Canada. Quite simply there is not enough regulation in the industry and it has now become clear that there needs to be a reciprocal enforcement agreement between the CRTC and its U.S. counterpart. There has been an American Do Not Call List in place since 2003. Telemarketers from outside Canada are using automatic dialers which call all numbers in a given area code sequentially. One such scam based in St. Louis, Missouri was recently uncovered.

The other problem is that it is possible that the Do Not Call List could fall into the hands of foreign telemarketing companies. It was discovered in January that for a small fee, telemarketers could access the list and add the numbers to their own databases. It has not been reported what safeguards have been put in place to prevent the Do Not Call List from falling into the wrong hands again. In the ideal world there would be an enforceable international Do Not Call List, but that doesn’t seem very likely to happen. The reality is that if we move to a reciprocal agreement with the U.S. the telemarketers will move off shore and business will continue as usual, or even escalate.