By Michael Bourque, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada

With a federal budget coming soon, expect to be bombarded with numbers. Here’s one to keep in mind: since 2002, Canada has lost 500,000 manufacturing jobs. While many of those jobs have gone to China and other developing countries, a significant number have been lost to the U.S. and other developed nations. The upshot? Low-cost labour isn’t the only way to lose a manufacturing plant.

By Michael Bourque, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada

In the upcoming federal budget, we'll hear a lot of discussion about "tax breaks for big business" and how we can't afford them. But as corporate taxes become a political hot potato, we risk losing sight of some pretty compelling facts.

The holidays are a time when Canadians coast to coast to coast gather with their families to celebrate the season and reflect on the past twelve months. This year, why not celebrate your family by building your family tree and learning about those who came before you? Genealogy is a fascinating pastime and a great way to connect with all generations. And with access to millions of historic records online, it’s never been easier to get started.

OTTAWA, March 22, 2010 – A new study from the Forest Products Sector Council (FPSC-CSPF) entitled Challenges and Impacts: Labour Market Transition Programs for Laid-Off Forest Products Workers in Canada highlights the challenges laid-off forest workers face in forest-dependent communities across Canada. 

May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month

Toronto, ON – (May 1, 2009) – When the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF) was created in 1960, children with cystic fibrosis (CF) were not expected to live long enough to attend kindergarten. Today, thanks to great progress in CF research and care, half of all Canadians who have cystic fibrosis are living well into their 30s, and beyond.

Every time a child in Ontario is admitted to an emergency room, discharged from a hospital, administered a treatment or tested for any condition or disease, an individual record is created. To obtain access to the results, physicians have had to learn of the activity, request the file, and wait for it to be mailed, faxed, or called in. Now, there is a new way for health care providers to gain access to such vital results - via an Ontario-wide fully integrated electronic health record system called the electronic Child Health Network or eCHN.

Alberta's digital diagnostic imaging and electronic health record network is helping to save lives across the province. That's because patients can get same-day results from key medical tests, and faster access to treatment.

Digitized diagnostic images, including x-rays, ultrasounds, MRI and CT scans, allow clinicians to view patient images no matter where the test was conducted or the location of the clinician. The sharing and remote access to images is enabled by Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS).

Doctors were able to stop the internal bleeding of a 42-year-old man, seriously injured in a car crash in British Columbia, by using a safer, simpler technique rather than potentially more difficult and risky exploratory surgery. The technique involved the use of digitized diagnostic imaging, according to a top imaging expert in the province.

At one acute-care Saskatchewan hospital, Canada's investments in digital diagnostic imaging has meant the creation of a new on-site MRI centre that’s reducing wait times for this vital service by more than a month.

Corey Miller, director of medical imaging and nuclear medicine services for the Saskatoon Health Region, says by switching to the Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS), the hospital was able to eliminate film libraries, creating enough space to accommodate a new MRI service.

Thousands of Ontarians are getting faster access to quality health care thanks to Canada’s investments in digital diagnostic imaging.

Dr. Donald Taves, chief of radiology at St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ontario, says advances in digital diagnostic imaging means x-rays, ultrasounds, and CT and MRI scans can now be available to authorized health care professionals and patients faster and better than ever before. Clinicians can have access to the images no matter where the test was conducted or where the health care provider is located.