Canadian cities’ economy growing

The Conference Board of Canada ended recently and confirmed that British Columbia’s economy will expand by a healthy 3.2 percent in 2007. Vancouver will remain the country’s third-fastest-growing city while Abbotsford and Victoria will slow down among the 20 Canadian cities surveyed by the Board. Also growing with British Columbia are Calgary and Edmonton.

When it comes to population growth, only British Columbia and Alberta were the only two Canadian provinces to attract more people than the number who left for other provinces in 2005. B.C. continues to attract a major portion of international business immigrants who moved to Canada, with 42.6 percent choosing B.C. The Province attracted 4,616 business immigrants, about 46 percent of the national total.

A new survey ranked Canadian cities’ business appeal by measuring annual operating costs to operate a 350-person office, cost of living, unemployment and crime rates. Other factors such as access to capital, quality of the local workforce and lifestyle issues were not considered.

To the surprise of many, Vancouver was way down below, like the 31st city in Canada while the first four who topped the list are all from Quebec City. The high cost of living pushed Vancouver down on Canadian Business magazine’s list of Best Cities for Business.

Though Vancouver is the most expensive corporate city in Canada at the moment, it would still cost less than to set-up in one of the cheapest mid-sized cities in the United States. Other cities that plunged in the list include Toronto (37 on the list), Montreal (38) and Victoria (40). It cited that an 85 percent increase in Victoria’s crime rate was the main reason for its low ranking.

Did you know that 15 percent of Canadians would rather have a root canal or be punched in the nose than head to the shopping mall during the holiday season?

Canada’s electronics industry is now seeking great interest from recycling companies wishing to participate in a stewardship program designed to ensure the environment sound recycling of electronic waste such as computers, televisions and printers.

American movies often portray baby boomers as fun seekers, having a wonderful time with their liberation and having lots of sex. Think Diane Keaton, Shirley Maclaine, Jack Nicholson, Woody Allen to name a few. How about the Canadian boomers? In reality, according to the findings of Pzizer Canada, a quarter of baby boomers have stopped having sex, less than half kiss and hug daily, and almost half say medical problems are interfering with sex activities.

Another finding is that most people are better in bed in their 40s and 50s than in their 20s because women become much more comfortable with their bodies and eroticism while the men stop focusing on their loins. Physical intercourse is something we learned at an early age but learning to have intimate sex is when we get older.

The study also indicated that one-third women studied said that menopause interferes with sex and a quarter of men complained about erection problems. These problems cause the feelings of withdrawal and inadequacy.

It is interesting to know that in North America, when couples begin to expect to have sexual difficulties, they stop getting separated, even divorced. That’s because many start having respect for the difficulties that they are having. They stop feeling inadequate and they become resilient.

Many surprised and even wonder why most of the big-name singing stars in America and the world are from British Columbia. In the last Grammy Award nominations, the five outstanding vocalists/performers/songwriters are all from the province. They are:

• Diana Krall, from Nanaimo (best jazz vocal album, From This Moment On)

• Sarah McLachlan, from Vancouver (best traditional vocal album, Wintersong)

• Michael Bublé, from Burnaby (best traditional pop vocal album, Caught in the Act)

• Nelly Furtado, from Victoria (best pop collaboration with vocals, Promiscuous)

• Daniel Powter, from Vernon (best pop male vocal, Bad Day)

The 49th Grammy Awards is scheduled to air live from CBS on Feb. 11.