Radiation in Ontario higher since Japan nuclear leak

TORONTO Higher-than-normal radiation levels have been detected in Ontario as a result of the nuclear crisis in Japan, but officials said Tuesday the increase is so small it doesn’t pose a health risk.
Energy Minister Brad Duguid said levels have gone up slightly, but he didn’t have any specific details on whether the increases were found in water, air or food.
“There has been some detection of some minor increase in radiation, but it’s not anywhere close to something that would impact human health,” Duguid told reporters. “It’s not something that Ontario residents need to be overly concerned about.”

The news comes one day after Japan increased the severity rating of the crisis at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant to the same level as the Chornobyl disaster.
The energy minister’s office distributed information from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Health Canada on normal background radiation and some radiation that may “have been carried by the wind” from Japan to this country.
“Natural background radiation varies from location to location, but Health Canada’s data does not show an increase over and above the normal day-to-day fluctuations,” said the safety commission. “However, very minute levels of isotopes in the radiation have been attributed to the release in Japan.”
The actual increase in radiation “is so small that it is extremely difficult to measure against normal background radiation,” said the commission. “The findings from these detectors further confirm that radiation doses do not pose a health risk to Canadians.”

Dr. Arlene King, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, said all imported and domestic products tested by the federal government are below Health Canada’s action levels for harmful radiation.
“Based on current information, I am of the view that there is no health risk for Ontarians from the damaged nuclear facility in Japan,” King said in a statement.
Ontario Environment Minister John Wilkinson said there are no radiation problems with the province’s drinking water.
“The water in Ontario is safe, but given the situation in Japan we are using increased vigilance,” he said.
Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell said it was up to the Canada Food Inspection Agency to determine if there was any radiation in food or milk sold in Ontario.
“All of the milk that is sold within Ontario is sterilized, pasteurized,” said Mitchell.
Ontario’s New Democrats said they couldn’t believe the provincial government knows so little about radiation levels a full month after Japan’s nuclear crisis began.
“It’s quite disconcerting,” said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath. “The people of this province just want to know their water is safe, their food is safe, their milk, and it’s quite surprising that we couldn’t get the answers out of the government today.”

The NDP pointed out that elevated radiation levels already have been reported in several eastern American cities, including in milk from Vermont, Arkansas, California and Arizona, and in the water in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Idaho and Tennessee.
“There’s obvious monitoring going on in other jurisdictions,” said Horwath. “If they’re doing testing and letting people know what’s happening, Ontario residents should expect nothing less.”
The Canadian Press

Avaaz petition calls on the release of Auditors G8 report before May 2nd election

OTTAWA A petition from a global activist group has garnered more than 58,000 signatures calling for the release of the auditor general’s report on G8 spending.
The Avaaz petition says all party leaders should file an official request with the auditor general to release the report before the May 2 election.
Sheila Fraser’s office has firmly stated it can’t release the final report until Parliament resumes.
The Canadian Press first reported that a confidential Jan. 13 draft says the government misinformed Parliament to win approval for a $50-million G8 fund that lavished money on Industry Minister Tony Clement’s riding.
The signature count has risen quickly since the campaign was launched Thursday, and Avaaz says it will deliver the petition when it gets 75,000 names.
The Conservatives, Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois have all said they would like the G8 report released.
Avaaz is best known in Canada for its petition against a licence for Sun TV — which drew it into a war of words with the new network and accusations that it had a left-wing axe to grind.
The Canadian Press

US STEEL hiring in Hamilton. Could the lockout be over?

On the Internet site Workopolis, U.S. Steel has posted a dozen job openings since April 7 seeking candidates for “immediate” openings in its Hamilton operation.

Eight of the positions are for shift managers in various departments, including steelmaking, coking, shipping, maintenance and others. There is also a position for a “management associate” designed as an entry-level position for a recent engineering graduate. Other openings are for a metallurgist, a “technical associate” to maintain safety records and a co-ordinator for the casting maintenance department.

“I imagine it’s because they have people in their quitting and retiring,” said union leader Jake Lombardo. “They’re not saying much to us about it, but they must be short of bodies.”

The Hamilton plant has been idled since Nov. 7 with 900 production workers patrol picket lines, when the company locked out its production staff in a dispute over pensions. The company has kept its coke ovens operating, but most other activities in the plant have been stopped.

Jaywalkers Beware. Zero tolerance in Hamilton core.

Police in the core of Hamilton have launched a safety strategy to deter pedestrians from disobeying traffic signals or failing to use a crosswalk. 

The program started at the beginning of the month and continues to Dec.1, focusing on the Division One patrol area bordered by Sherman Avenue to the Dundas/Ancaster border and from the bay to the Escarpment.

There is a zero tolerance policy in effect and according to Ontario's Highway Traffic Act, pedestrians failing to use a crosswalk or disobeying a “don't walk” signal can face a maximum fine of $50.

Pedestrians also are not allowed to walk along a roadway if there is a sidewalk on both sides of the road, according to a municipal bylaw.
In 2010, there were 129 motor vehicle collisions involving injured pedestrians in the Division One patrol area, police said. Four of these were pedestrian fatalities.
Use sidewalks and wait for the lights.

Portrait Of A City: Video from 1946 describing Hamilton

Take a look at this rare video about Hamilton from 1946:

Portrait of a City from Brian Potstra on Vimeo.

Seatbelt Blitz starting Sunday April 10 in Hamilton

Wearing seatbelts became required by law in Ontario 35 years ago with ninety-six per cent of Ontario drivers and passengers now use the belts without complaint.
In 2010, Hamilton police issued 1,050 tickets for not using seatbelts, slightly up from 2009 when just fewer than 1,000 were handed out,
The Ministry of Transportation says those who do not wear seatbelts do so in the face of figures indicating that someone not wearing a seatbelt is killed or goes to hospital every eight hours and is 13 times more likely to die in a collision.
That’s why every police force in the province, including those in Hamilton, Halton and Niagara, will be pushing heavy seatbelt enforcement starting April 13 and ending April 23.

Buckle up!