20120221_ca_london

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LONDON ANGELA MULLINS/METRO All for one, fun for all on Family Day Participating in the annual Skate for Kids, organized by London West MP Ed Holder, has become a Family Day tradition for Alan Anthony and his girls. Holder teams up with a community group to get families on the ice each year at the Western Fair District’s Sports Centre. This year, Holder’s camp worked with the Boys & Girls Club and accepted donations for the London Food Bank. Laura Anthony, 9, left, her dad, Alan, and sister Amy, 7, all of London, take a break from skating during Monday’s Skate for Kids at the Western Fair District’s Sports Centre. City council will give final approval Tuesday to the 2012 budget. But before the bell tolls on how much more Londoners will pay in taxes, another debate is expected. In a nutshell, the debate boils down to how well city coffers will be padded for the future, Coun. Paul Hubert said. “I’m in favour of prudent fiscal responsibility,” Hubert said Mon- day. “I’m also in favour of us having some financial principles (including not increasing our debt) .... We need to ‘pay as we go,’ (not) put it off so our kids and grandkids are paying for it.” City councillors end- ed a marathon Feb. 9 budget discussion by giving preliminary approval to a plan that avoided a tax increase by making about $2.8 million in serv- ice cuts and putting less than expected into reserve funds. Among the most controversial moves was shaving $1 million from the $2 million planned for the affordable-housing account. That decision has come under heavy fire, and Hubert — one of the seven councillors who opposed the cut — is leading a charge to reopen the discussion. Some have said they are reconsidering their previous vote. Hubert also wants to see at least two other decisions — worth about $1.8 million to reserve funds — reversed. Many of the cuts councillors endorsed Feb. 9 won favour in the frenzy of a push to freeze taxes. Mayor Joe Fontana campaigned on a tax freeze and has been a leader of what’s been dubbed a “dri- ve toward zero” during the last three months of budget debates. Hubert and some others don’t support the idea if it means deep service cuts and policy changes they consider fiscally risky. Cutting the amount of money put toward affordable housing — and into other reserve funds — would be a permanent move with the impact multiplying year after year, Hubert said. In a recent survey, 81 per cent of the 1,300 people who respond- ed were opposed to using reserve funds to avoid a tax increase, the councillor said. “In 1999 and 2000 we had a zero per cent tax increase, then … it was 17 per cent over (the) three (subse- quent) years,” he said. “So history says, that when we don’t set aside money for infrastructure, we end up paying more … later.” ANGELA MULLINS Fiscal future up for debate Council meets today for final budget vote 0% tax increase could be on shaky ground SLAYING THE DEFICIT BUDGET AXE AT HAND, ONTARIO LEGISLATURE RESUMES {page 3} PANCAKE TUESDAY HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN HOT STACKS {page 10} In other news Councillors are expected to vote on several other issues. Getting input from city staff on a smoking ban at sports fields, play- grounds, swimming pools, splash pads and public gardens. Taking the first steps toward build- ing a BMX park. Taking a more relaxed approach to monitoring noise-bylaw violations during outdoor concerts. Paul Hubert MAKING TRACKS UWO’S MICHAEL SONIER GETS A JUNO NOM {page 2} Tuesday, February 21, 2012 2012 www.metronews.ca Ne ws worth sharing. ws worth sharing.

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SLAYING THE DEFICIT BUDGET AXE AT HAND, ONTARIO LEGISLATURE RESUMES {page 3} Council meets today for final budget vote 0% tax increase could be on shaky ground Tuesday, February 21, 20122012 www.metronews.ca In other news News worth sharing.wsworthsharing. Paul Hubert Laura Anthony, 9, left, her dad, Alan, and sister Amy, 7, all of London, take a break from skating during Monday’s Skate for Kids at the Western Fair District’s Sports Centre. ANGELA MULLINS ANGELA MULLINS/METRO

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: 20120221_ca_london

LONDON

ANGELA MULLINS/METRO

All for one, fun for all on Family Day Participating in the annual Skate for Kids, organized by London West MP Ed Holder, has become aFamily Day tradition for Alan Anthony and his girls. Holder teams up with a community group toget families on the ice each year at the Western Fair District’s Sports Centre. This year, Holder’scamp worked with the Boys & Girls Club and accepted donations for the London Food Bank.

Laura Anthony, 9, left, her dad, Alan, and sister Amy, 7, all of London, take a break from skating during Monday’s Skate for Kids at the Western Fair District’s Sports Centre.

City council will give final approvalTuesday to the 2012 budget.

But before the bell tolls on howmuch more Londoners will pay intaxes, another debate is expected.In a nutshell, the debate boils downto how well city coffers will bepadded for the future, Coun. PaulHubert said.

“I’m in favour of prudent fiscalresponsibility,” Hubert said Mon-day. “I’m also in favour of us havingsome financial principles (including

not increasing ourdebt).... We need to ‘payas we go,’ (not) put itoff so our kids andgrandkids are payingfor it.”

City councillors end-ed a marathon Feb. 9budget discussion by

giving preliminary approval to aplan that avoided a tax increase bymaking about $2.8 million in serv-ice cuts and putting less thanexpected into reserve funds.

Among the most controversialmoves was shaving $1 million fromthe $2 million planned for theaffordable-housing account. Thatdecision has come under heavy fire,and Hubert — one of the sevencouncillors who opposed the cut— is leading a charge to reopen thediscussion. Some have said they arereconsidering their previous vote.

Hubert also wants to see at leasttwo other decisions — worth about$1.8 million to reserve funds —reversed.

Many of the cuts councillorsendorsed Feb. 9 won favour in thefrenzy of a push to freeze taxes.

Mayor Joe Fontana campaignedon a tax freeze and has been aleader of what’s been dubbed a “dri-ve toward zero” during the lastthree months of budget debates.

Hubert and some others don’tsupport the idea if it means deepservice cuts and policy changes theyconsider fiscally risky.

Cutting the amount of moneyput toward affordable housing —and into other reserve funds —would be a permanent move withthe impact multiplying year afteryear, Hubert said.

In a recent survey, 81 per centof the 1,300 people who respond-ed were opposed to using reservefunds to avoid a tax increase, thecouncillor said.

“In 1999 and 2000 we had a zeroper cent tax increase, then … it was17 per cent over (the) three (subse-quent) years,” he said. “So historysays, that when we don’t set asidemoney for infrastructure, we endup paying more … later.”

ANGELA MULLINS

Fiscal futureup for debate

Council meets today for final budget vote 0% tax increase could be on shaky ground

SLAYING THE DEFICITBUDGET AXE AT HAND,

ONTARIO LEGISLATURERESUMES {page 3}

PANCAKE TUESDAYHOW TO BUILD

YOUR OWN HOT STACKS {page 10}

In other news

Councillors are expected to voteon several other issues.

Getting input from city staff on asmoking ban at sports fields, play-grounds, swimming pools, splashpads and public gardens.Taking the first steps toward build-ing a BMX park.Taking a more relaxed approach tomonitoring noise-bylaw violationsduring outdoor concerts.

Paul Hubert

MAKING TRACKSUWO’S MICHAEL SONIER GETS A JUNO NOM {page 2}

Tuesday, February 21, 20122012www.metronews.ca

News worth sharing.ws worth sharing.

Page 2: 20120221_ca_london

Music student finding his groove

Michael Sonier. Jot thatname down somewhere be-cause you’re likely to hearit again. Maybe as soon asApril when the JunoAwards are handed out inOttawa.

Sonier, a music studentat Western, was the record-ing engineer for JullyBlack’s Set It Off, nominat-ed for R&B/soul recordingof the year.

The gig came through acombination of “rightplace, right time” and near-ly four years of networking.While other students weretaking summers and week-ends off, Sonier has spenthis university years “get-ting a foot in the door” ofthe Toronto music scene.

“My goal was to makeconnections and not wastetime,” the 22-year-old said.“I’ve accomplished a lot inthe past four years becauseI’ve set out to accomplish alot.”

Sonier was working atToronto’s Pocket Studioslast summer when JullyBlack came in to lay downtracks for her new album8IGHT.

One conversation led toanother, Sonier exchangedphone numbers with one ofBlack’s producers and dayslater the phone rang.

“They had just written asong and needed an engi-neer,” Sonier said. “I waslike, ‘Oh my God, I’m goingto meet Jully Black.’

“I was just freaking out. I

was just so nervous. I hadnever worked on a big proj-ect with a big artist before.”

Triple that excitementand it’s somewhere nearthe way Sonier felt whenthe Juno nominations wereannounced earlier thismonth.

That, plus Butterflies — asong Sonier co-wrote andco-produced for London’sLiz Coyles — recently brokeonto the Billboard Top 40charts.

Sonier began workingwith Coyles after liking hersound while judging theWestern Idol competition.

Discovering talent iswhat Sonier hopes will be acareer linchpin after gradu-ation this spring.

“I have a long way to go.Even though I look at mysuccess with Liz and Jully,there’s still a huge journeyfor me ahead,” Sonier said.

“I want to find the nextartists, (the ones) that aregoing to be the next bigthing.”

Recording engineer Michael Sonier hasn’t even graduated fromWestern University yet and he already has a Juno Award nomination.

CONTRIBUTED

Western’s Michael Sonier worked on Juno Award-nominatedsingle Soon-to-be grad says dedication is the key to success

An indoor zip line is partof the Long Point Eco-Ad-ventures booth at theSport and RecreationShow this weekend at theWestern Fair District.

Located inside theAgriplex at 845 FlorenceSt., the 200-foot-long rideis free with admission tothe show.

The Sport and Recre-ation Show runs Saturday

and Sunday from 9 a.m. to5 p.m.

For more details on the

show, visit westernfairdis-trict.com.

METRO

Indoor zip line added to showCONTRIBUTED

Bridge closesfor repairs Blackfriars Bridge, whichconnects Ridout Street toWharncliffe Road, will beclosed starting Tuesday toallow for repairs to thewooden deck surface.Work on the bridge isscheduled to be complete

within a month. METRO

Public invitedto police eventOn Wednesday at 6 p.m.,London police will host aBlack History Monthevent to acknowledge thetrailblazing achievementof Lewis Coray. Coray wasthe first black police offi-cer hired by the LondonPolice Service in 1951.

METRO

News in brief

1news

Follow us on

Twitter

@themetrolondon

1 Download the freeScanLife app withyour smartphoneat 2dscan.com

2 Use yoursmartphone toscan 2D barcodesin Metro

3 The codes will direct your mobilebrowser tom.metronews.ca

It’s been an upbeat three yearsfor Archie, but a bizarre CEOfeud is rocking the company

behind the comic.

On the web atmetronews.ca

Canadians livingacross theborder from Detroit are rallying to putan endto what they call‘The WindsorHum.’ Watch atmetronews.ca/video

metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012news: london

Michael Sonier

Take a quick look atMichael Sonier’s profile:

Hometown: CornwallFavourite music genre:RockRight now: Sonier iscurrently a fourth-yearpopular music studies stu-dent in Western’s DonWright faculty of music.Plans after graduation: He plant to be discovering talent at Pocket Studios in Toronto.

[email protected]

$5Price oftickets at

the door for the Sport and RecreationShow. Children under five years ofage are admittedfree.

02

Page 3: 20120221_ca_london

03metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012news: london

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Bowmanville Mall Bramalea City CentreBurlington Mall Cambridge CentreCenterpoint Mall Conestoga Mall Devonshire Mall Dixie Outlet MallDowntown Chatham Centre Dufferin Mall

Eastgate SquareErin Mills Town Centre Fairview MallFairview Park MallGeorgian Mall Heritage Place Hillcrest Mall Lambton Mall Lansdowne Place

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Tecumseh MallThe Promenade Toronto Eaton CentreUnion Station Upper Canada Mall Vaughan MillsWhite Oaks Mall Woodbine CentreYorkdale Mall

Tip leads toman’s arrestLondon police have arrest-ed a man after a tip fromOPP in Kirkland Lake.

Police say they receiveda call Sunday about a possi-bly suicidal man allegedlyresiding in London. TheOPP also told London policethe man was wanted for ut-tering death threats.

The OPP continue to in-vestigate. AM980/AM980.CA

Severancetalks ongoingThere’s still no word on aseverance deal for the 465locked-out workers fromElectro-Motive.

Sunday was the first dayback to the bargainingtable for both unionleaders and Caterpillar af-ter taking several days offto review proposals putforth by both sides.

A meeting has been setfor Thursday. AM980/AM980.CA

Debt in focus at Queen’s Park

Ontario’s growing debt isthe bogeyman that keepsFinance Minister DwightDuncan awake at night.

For everyone else, thenew nightmare is wherehe’ll swing the axe in hisspring budget — and whowill end up paying the priceif he doesn’t.

The daunting task of put-ting together a budget thatwill meet the minority Lib-erals’ deficit-eliminationtarget while satisfying atleast one of the oppositionparties will dominate theupcoming legislation ses-sion, which resumes Tues-day.

But a criminal probe into“financial irregularities” atOrnge, Ontario’s troubledair-ambulance service, is al-so threatening to steal thespotlight. The criminal in-vestigation of a provincial

agency is the type of scan-dal that could, under theright circumstances, triggeran election.

But that’s highly unlike-ly, said Bryan Evans, a poli-

tics professor at RyersonUniversity.

All three parties need topay off their election debtsand replenish their coffers,he said. Opposition chief

Tim Hudak, who won an-other mandate after a dis-appointing defeat last fall,also needs to rebrand theparty before making a playto topple the Liberals.

The other big hurdle isthe upcoming budget, adocument that needs to sat-isfy voters and lenders thatthe government is seriousabout slaying theprovince’s massive deficitby 2017-18 without goingtoo far with its cost cutting.THE CANADIAN PRESS

“Will (theopposition) goafter the govern -ment? For sure. Butthey’re not goingto make an electionthe objective.”BRYAN EVANS, POLITICS PROFESSOR,RYERSON UNIVERSITY

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has said she’s willing to work with Toriesand Liberals to make new session of legislature work Conservatives have called for Health Minister Deb Matthews to resign over Ornge scandal

OHL

Knightslose in SarniaFor just the second timethis season, the LondonKnights have lost twice ina stretch of three games.

The Sarnia Stingdefeated the visitingKnights 6-2 on Monday.

The Knights also

dropped a 4-1 decision toWindsor on Friday, buthandled Kitchener 5-1 onSunday.

London also droppedtwo of three in early No-vember.

Against Sarnia, MaxDomi and Josh Andersonscored for the Knights,who outshot the Sting 36-27. Michael Houser tookthe loss for London.

The Sting scored twiceon three power-playchances, while theKnights were 0-3. METRO

Premier Dalton McGuinty and Health Minister

Deb Matthews return to Queen’s Park on Tuesday

as the provincial legislature reconvenes.

ANGELA MULLINS/METRO FILE

Page 4: 20120221_ca_london

metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

04 news

Urban Forester Venturers

This Themed Vocational program focuses on 4 elements:

Of our parks and green spaces and works in partnership with

Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA).

Program is co-ed for youth ages 14 to 17.

Check us out at our OPEN HOUSE on Monday February 27th531Windermere Rd, London, 6:30-8:30pm

Or email [email protected]

Scout Week

lam Sakhi Kargar.All but three or four of

those who died were chil-dren, he said. Twenty-fourof the deaths were in thecapital of Kabul, mostly incamps for people who havefled fighting elsewhere inthe country.

Kabul has been experi-encing its worst cold snapand heaviest snowfall in 15

years, the country’s Nation-al Weather Centre says. Itsaid the weather was to im-prove by the end of theweek.

The hardest-hit havebeen people living in tentsin a number of campsaround the capital. Kargarsays the ministry is estab-lishing mobile clinics to tryto get help out to people

suffering in the cold.Heavy snowfall in Day

Kundi province caused anavalanche late Sunday inthe Sang-i-Takht districtthat damaged three dozenhomes and shops butcaused no injuries, saidNasrullah Sadiqizada, amember of parliamentfrom the central province.THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Afghan cold claimsdozens of children

Red Cross urging ceasefire in SyriaThe International Commit-tee of the Red Cross (ICRC)is trying to broker a cease-fire aimed at allowingemergency aid to reach peo-ple in the areas most affect-ed by fighting in Syria,where thousands have diedin an 11-month uprisingagainst President Bashar As-sad’s regime.

An ICRC spokeswoman,Carla Haddad, said theGeneva-based aid group hasbeen in talks with Syrianauthorities and oppositiongroups for some time, butattempts to negotiate aceasefire began only recent-ly. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

More than 40 people, mostof them children, havefrozen to death in what hasbeen Afghanistan’s coldestwinter in years, an Afghanhealth official said Monday.

The government hasrecorded 41 deaths fromfreezing in three provinces— Kabul, Ghor andBadakhshan — said HealthMinistry spokesman Ghu-

Ugandanwomen soldas sex slavesAdvertisements pinned onthe walls of malls in Ugan-da’s capital promise youngwomen a free ticket to awell-paying job in Malaysiaas a nanny or maid.

Instead, authorities say,many are forced to becomesex slaves to pay off travelfees and other costs to-talling as much as $7,000.The traffickers brainwashtheir victims into believingthey may die if they quit,apparently by collectingsamples of their hair andfingernails. Authorities saynearly all of the girls havecollege degrees but havefailed to find jobs in Ugan-da, where unemployment ishigh. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Help on the way

The UN and a U.S. aid

agency are distributingblankets, tarps and fuel topeople living in 40 camps inKabul.NATO also delivered about

1,000 blankets, coats, socks,mittens and hats to arefugee camp in Kabul.

Feds blasted over veterans’ aidVets not given proper reasons for

denial of benefits, ombudsman saysA report on how formersoldiers are told whetherthey have qualified for dis-ability benefits is the startof a wide-ranging look intoproblems plaguing veter-ans’ care, the veterans om-budsman says.

In his report intowhether veterans are givenenough information aboutwhy they are granted or de-nied disability benefits,Guy Parent found the gov-ernment is failing.

And failure so early inthe process can have adomino effect that Parentsays he intends to studyover the coming years.

“We needed to startsomewhere and I thinkthis is a good point,” hesaid in an interview.

The report releasedMonday reviewed a sampleof 213 disability benefit de-cision letters sent between2001 and 2010 and found

that none clearly stated thereasoning behind the deci-sion. About one in five gaveenough detail for veteransto attempt to deduce therationale, but the remain-der came up entirely short.

Parent said providing in-formation to support a de-cision is fundamentallydifferent from simply pro-viding a reason for a deci-sion. Failing to providesupporting information fordecisions is at odds with

the Veterans Bill of Rightsand other federal laws, hesaid.

His report makes fourrecommendations. Theway the letters are generat-ed needs to be improvedand reasons for decisionsneed to be in plain English,

not medical or legal terms.It also says manuals

should be reviewed tomake sure adjudicators areaware of what has to be inthe letters, and a quality as-surance system must be inplace. THE CANADIAN PRESS

SEAN KILPATRICK/THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE

Reaction

A spokeswoman for

Veterans Affairs MinisterSteven Blaney said he welcomes the report andintends to act quickly.“Cutting red tape and

providing hassle-free serv-ices to our veterans is min-ister Blaney’s top priority,”Codie Taylor said.

“Many veterans may be wrongly assessed and do not

pursue the matter further because the (decision) letter did

not reveal where the department’s decision might have

been flawed,” Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent says.

Third chargelaid in ‘couch

A Quebec man accused ofdriving a vehicle thatdragged a sofa carryingtwo of his friends, one ofwhom was killed, facesthree criminal charges.

Alex Labbe, 21, of St-

Benjamin, had alreadybeen charged with hit-and-run causing deathand dangerous drivingcausing death. OnMonday, the Crown laid athird charge of criminalnegligence causing deathin the Saturday-nightstunt that killed FrancoisHallee, 22. He was freedon $2,000 bail.THE CANADIAN PRESS

surfing’ death

FIGHT FOR THE CURE

Trudeau theunderdog incharity fightConservative Sen.Patrick Brazeau is thefavourite against LiberalMP Justin Trudeau in anupcoming boxing match,an online book-maker says.

Bodog.ca saidit looked at themen’sexperience —particularlyBrazeau’s black

belt in karate — andphysical stature and putBrazeau at -500 odds andTrudeau at +300. Thatmeans Brazeau has morethan an 80 per centchance of winning, itsaid.

“I was just trying tosize up these fighters asif they were actual box-ers and trying to putthem at a number,” said

Adam Burns,sports-book man-ager for Bodog.ca.

The Fight Forthe Cure match ison March 31 inOttawa. JESSICASMITH IN OTTAWA

Trudeau

Page 5: 20120221_ca_london

YouTube is enlisting Holly-wood’s help to reach a gen-eration of viewers morefamiliar with smartphonesthan TV remotes.

The online-video giant isaiming to create 25 hoursof programming per daywith the help of some ofthe top names in tradition-al TV.

The Google-owned site isspreading its wealth amongproducers, directors andother filmmakers using a$100-million US pot of seedmoney it committed lastfall. The fund representsYouTube’s largest spending

on original content so far.YouTube believes it is

laying groundwork for thefuture. While the numberof traditional TV watchershas levelled off, more andmore people are watchingvideo on mobile phones,tablets and computers, es-pecially the 18- to 34-year-old age demographic thatadvertisers covet. The ideais to create 96 additionalYouTube channels, whichare essentially artists’home pages, where viewerscan see existing video clipsand click “Subscribe” to benotified when new content goes up. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

business 05metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

TICKETS:

����������� �������������������� ��������������

���������� �

One to two women are murdered by a current or former partner each week in Canada

���� ���� ����� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

Paul Davenport Theatre, UWO February 22 2012

The growth of online retail-ers represents the biggestopportunity in a genera-tion, but Canada Post chiefexecutive Deepak Choprasays the post office needs tochange to survive as fewerletters get delivered eachyear.

Chopra says the organi-zation is going through itsbiggest upheaval since theintroduction of postal codesand machine sorting.

While the number ofwindowpaned envelopeswith the latest Visa bill orbank statement are de-creasing, the volume of en-velopes with eBaypurchases are on the rise.

“We’re on the verge of a

massive explosion in e-com-merce,” said Chopra.

Postal services aroundthe world are facing thesame trends that squeezetheir business, undercutrevenues threaten to pro-duce mass layoffs. The U.S.Postal Service says it maylose as much as $18.2 bil-lion a year by 2015 unless

the government allows it toeliminate Saturday deliv-ery, slow first-class mail byone day and raise the priceof a postage stamp.

Though not as dramatic,Canada Post is also pursu-ing its own restructuring tomodernize and adapt.

It opened its first newplant in 20 years in Win-nipeg in 2010. The organi-zation is also retrofitting itsmassive operations inToronto, Montreal and oth-er cities. Modern equip-ment is speedingprocessing times, but it alsomeans less manual han-dling — and rising tensionswith unionized workers.THE CANADIAN PRESS

Walmart raisesstake in online Chinese retailerWal-Mart Stores Inc. plansto buy a controlling inter-est in the Chinese onlineretailer Yihaodian. The big-box-chain operator hasagreed to increase its stakein Yihaodian’s holdingcompany to approximately51 per cent, Walmart saidSunday. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Canadiansholding ontocash: SurveyIn the age of debit andcredit cards, Canadiansstill love cash.

That’s the conclusion ofan unusual survey by theBank of Canada, whichtalked to about 6,800 Cana-dians, including half whowere asked to record their

purchases over a threedays. Findings revealedcash still accounts for 53.8per cent of all transactions,and if the purchase wasunder $25, that share goesto about 70 per cent.

“In particular, con-sumers prefer to use cashbecause they find it fast,cheap, safe against fraudand convenient for budget-control purposes,” it saidin a discussion paper.THE CANADIAN PRESS

Canada Post mustmodernize, says CEO

Canada Post president

and CEO Deepak Chopra

PAWEL DWULIT/THE CANADIAN PRESS

$2.1 billion being put towards revamping service Plans to branch into e-commerce to win business

YouTube reaches out to Tinseltown for viewers Market moment

TSX

No change(100.43¢ US)

Dollar

Oil Natural gas

$2.68 USNo change

Gold$1,725 USNo change

No change(12,458.30)

No change($103.24 US)

PRICES A

S OF 5 P.M

. FRID

AY

Page 6: 20120221_ca_london

06 voices metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

@jasonjk-err: Peoplelose more

change over a year than a1% tax hike would be #ld-nont@TommyGoudge: Judgingby the traffic volume thismorning, I’m the only citi-zen of #ldnont dumbenough to be working to-day.@Kathy_Rumleski: Tradi-tionally toboggan onFamily Day in #ldnont.Not this year. Perhaps notagain this winter.@Tony_Curcio: veryimpressed with the crop

of students I have thisyear. They have amazingdrive and passion.#fanshawe #gis@NathanLangenuwo: Get-ting ready to competehead-to-head againstHong Kong School of busi-ness #westernu #jmucc@dntdreamitsovr: Onemore day of work andthen let reading weekcommence! Cannot waitto sleep in #westernu@Jvonwahl11: Just left the#EMD line... They seem tobe in good spirits but stilluncertain of their future.Fear of the unknown ishard to face #ldnont

Local tweets

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[email protected] • Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metro Eastern Canada Greg Lutes, Managing Editor Jim Reyno, Sales Manager Charlotte Piper, Distribution Manager Rob Delvallet • METRO

CANADA: President and Publisher Bill McDonald, Vice-President, Sales Quin Millar, Vice-President, Business Ventures Tracy Day, Vice-President, Marketing & Interactive Jodi Brown, Editor-in-Chief Charlotte

Empey, National Deputy Editor Fernando Carneiro, Managing Editor, News & Business Amber Shortt, Managing Editor, Life & Entertainment Dean Lisk, Managing Editor, Night Production Matt LaForge, Associate Managing Editor, News & Business

Kristen Thompson, Art Director Laila Hakim, National Sales Director Peter Bartrem, Director, Marketing & Research Robyn Payne

YOU AREWHAT YOU PIN

If Facebook is like a diary ofwhat my life actually lookslike (albeit a carefully curat-ed one), then Pinterest is myvision board for what I wishmy life looked like.

If you’re unfamiliar with this rapidlygrowing social-networking site, well,where have you been? Here’s how itworks: images of beautiful clothes,adorable animals, elegant homes andperfectly styled foodstuffs are virtually“pinned” onto thematic boards. Users

can edit and share their digital pinboards with fellowpinthusiasts who can then comment on, like and re-pin the images on their own boards and so on.

While a small percentage of the images are purelypractical — think “the best DIY drain cleaner” — themajority are simply things that are nice to look at. Thephoto-sharing site is especially popular among youngwomen (hi there!) who grew up tearing images out ofmagazines and tacking them up on corkboards to cre-ate aspirational collages. Taking this low-tech practiceand moving it online is both genius in its simplicityand its revenue-generating potential.

Not only is Pinteresteasy to use, it’s also hope-lessly addictive. I’ve stayedup until 1 a.m. browsingonline catalogues of stun-ning interiors because Idecided my home-decorboard absolutely neededsome new material. I catchmyself pinning at home,at the office, in transit ...heck, I’ve pinned 10 timesalready while writing thiscolumn.

Interestingly,Pinterest’s userdemographics in North

America differ vastly from those across the pond. Theoverwhelming majority of American users are females(83 per cent) using the site to post images fromfeminine interest areas such as fashion, hair and beau-ty, wedding decor, recipes, etc. In Britain, more than50 per cent of the users are males sharing very differ-ent materials, including SEO and marketing resources,web analytics and venture-capital-related items.Notwithstanding these differences, images concernedwith homemade crafts rank pretty high in both coun-tries. I guess you can’t deny the popularity of DIYtchotchkes.

While you could dismiss this photo-sharing site as afrivolous collection of eye candy, you’d be a fool not torecognize its potential. I’m sure plenty of companiesand brands would love to know that I have visitedwebsites and even made a couple of purchases as a di-rect result of something I stumbled upon onsomeone’s virtual pin board.

In January of this year, Pinterest became the fastestwebsite in history to break through the 10-million-unique-visitor mark and it’s growing exponentiallyevery single day. So are you getting nervous, Mr.Zuckerberg?

SHE SAYS ...JESSICA NAPIERMETRO

Read more of Jessica Napier’s columns at metronews.ca/shesays

“In January ofthis year,Pinterest

became thefastest website

in history tobreak throughthe 10 millionunique visitor

mark...”

Register at metropolitanpanel.ca and take the quick poll

41%12%

47%

YOU CAN FIND MYLIKES AND DISLIKES,BUT THAT’S ABOUTIT.

I KEEP ALL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION WRITTEN IN PIG LATINAND HIDDEN UNDERMY BED.

ALL OF IT.I’VE GOTNOTHING TOHIDE.

How much personal information doyou post online?

Revellers gatherin Rio for paradeRIO DE JANEIRO. This year’sCarnival celebrationsseem to have drawn someof the unlikeliest of fans.These “Smurfs” were someof the many revellers whodescended on Rio de Janei-ro to watch the elaborateparades of Carnival whichculminate on Fat Tuesdaybefore the start of the Cat-holic season of Lent.

MWN

Swivelling hipsfor 40 minutesPARADE. The main event ofthe Carnival takes place atthe Sambadrome, a citystrip flanked by standswith 80,000 spectators,where 13 samba schoolsperform with lavishmoving floats. Feathereddancers dance and swiveltheir hips nonstop for 40minutes to compete forthe prize of the parade’schampion. MWN

Out of the blue in RioGETTY IMAGES

Carnival facts

History. Carnival datesback to the 18th centuryand mixes the traditionsof Portuguese settlerswith the culture and his-tory of the African slavepopulation. The first pa-rade of samba schoolswas in 1928.What samba schools do.

Each school features up to6,000 drummers, dancersand other participants as

well as spectacularly dec-orated floats. The schoolsdevelop an allegoricaltheme with a speciallywritten samba song.Queens of the Night

Each school has a rainha,or queen, who leads thedrum corps. Usuallydressed in little morethan a huge plumedheaddress and high-heeled shoes, they are often famous actresses or models.

Daily Zoom

Page 7: 20120221_ca_london

2scene

scene 07metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Do your resolutions include

Explore what you want to be and how to get there.

Visit

to learn more

Filming on a missionAct of Valor crew had their work cut out for them following the days of real-life Navy SEALs

“We wanted to show thatthese guys were human be-ings and not Terminators,”says Scott Waugh, the co-director of the unconven-tional new feature Act ofValor, an action movie star-ring real-life Navy SEALS.

“Originally, they turnedus down, saying that theyweren’t actors, and thatthey weren’t Hollywoodguys.

“We told them that weonly wanted them to bethemselves.”

Waugh is a formerstuntman and his co-direc-tor Mike McCoy used torace motorcycles for a liv-ing, so it’s no surprise thatthey were able to relate toa group of alpha-maletypes.

Act of Valor grew out ofdocumentaries the pairmade for the Air Force andthe Navy, but it’s a fictionalnarrative, featuring script-ed dialogue, plot twists,and actors in supportingroles (mostly as the terror-ist villains on the wrongend of the SEALS’ gun-sights).

McCoy says that the sto-ry is rooted in reality, how-ever.

“Everything that hap-pens to a SEAL in the filmhas happened to a SEAL onthe battlefield.”

In some cases, the linebetween filmmaking andfield work blurred togeth-

er: a scene where the SEALteam rendez-vous with anuclear submarine wasshot using the real thing.

“We waited until a trueinsertion operation wasplanned and then hoppedon,” says Waugh, who saysthat they weren’t given ex-act coordinates on the sub’s location until the morning of theshoot.

“All that stuff is real andshot in real time.”

“We avoided CGI,” adds

McCoy. “It’s all real stuff, like in

the action movies we wereraised on.”

That also means that theSEALs did their own stunts,which McCoy says was lessof a stretch than one mightthink.

“The way they train,they’re the most physicallycapable people on theplanet.”

While Waugh and Mc-Coy acknowledge that re-leasing such a pro-military

movie into such a polar-ized political moment is arisk, they say they don’thave any agenda: their ad-miration for their subjectsand subject matter is sin-cere.

“We had one goal whenwe started the film,” saysWaugh, “and that’s thatthe guys would still wantto have a beer with uswhen we were done. AndI’m proud to say that we’restill drinking beer togeth-er.”

HANDOUT

Act of Valor is the product of a pair of documentaries made for the U.S. Air Force and Navy.

[email protected]

Shooting SEALs

The Act of Valor crew followed real SEAL trainingsessions and althoughthere might be concernabout revealing the identi-ties of these special opera-tions forces, the SEALs theyfollowed weren’t in an op-erational position, butmerely in training. Thefaces of the SEALs andtheir first names are usedin the movie.

Box office

Woody Allen'sromantic fantasyMidnight in Parisand AlexanderPayne’s family dramaThe Descendantshave won topscreenplay honoursfrom the WritersGuild of America.With his biggest hitin decades, writer-di-rector Allen earnedthe guild’s prize Sun-day for originalscreenplay on Mid-night in Paris. Thefilm stars Owen Wil-son as a modern Hol-lywood writer whogets a chance tohang with hisliterary idols in the1920s Paris of Hem-ingway and Fitzger-ald. Director Payneshared the adaptedscreenplay honourwith co-writers NatFaxon and Jim Rash.Based on the novelby Kaui HartHemmings, The De-scendants starsGeorge Clooney as aHawaiian dad strug-gling to tend to histwo daughters aftera boating accidentputs his wife in a co-ma.THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Canadian film sound engineers lose out to Hugo

team at Audio Society Awards

Page 8: 20120221_ca_london

08 dish metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

To register and for full contest details visit clubmetro.com

JILL’S SISTER IS GONE & WE NEEDYOUR HELP TO FIND HER!

Visit clubmetro.com for your chance to WIN aprize pack and opt in to join the GONE challenge.

Solve the clues and you could WINmore prizes, including $500 CASH!

Houston items go upon the auction block

Singing legend was buried on Saturday and already her Bodyguard dress,earrings are up for grabs How much will these pieces of Whitney go for?

Well, that wasquick. She wasjust buried onSaturday, butthe vulturesare already cir-cling: It was an-nounced on

Sunday that the black vel-vet dress and a pair of ear-rings Whitney Houstonwore in The Bodyguard willbe put up for auction nextmonth in California as partof a Hollywood Legendsauction.

According to celebrityauctioneer Darren Julien,Houston’s Bodyguard items

became available after herdeath on Feb. 11.

THE WORDDOROTHY [email protected]

A fan takes a photograph at the gravesite of Whitney Houston Sunday in Westfield, N.J.

ALL PHOTOS GETTY IMAGES

“It proves a point thatthese items, they’re an in-vestment,” Julien told TheAssociated Press.

“You buy items just likea stock. Buy at the righttime and sell at the righttime, and they just increasein value.”

He continued: “It’s a cel-ebration of her life. If youhide these things in fearthat you’re going to offendsomeone — her life is to becelebrated. These items arehistoric now that she’spassed.”

Point taken. But herdeath is already so tragic.Can’t we have an appropri-ate amount of time tomourn before everyonestarts to profit off of her?Say, a week?

Lilo to actually work? Lindsay Lohan is set to hostSaturday Night Live onMarch 3, but the gig didn’tcome without a fairamount of begging andpleading, according to TMZ.

Sources say that withher community servicenearly complete, the trou-bled actress is hoping tokick-start her career come-back.

To that end, Lohanreached out to the show’sexecutive producer, LorneMichaels, suggesting theidea of her hosting again.This will be Lohan’s fourthtime hosting the program.

And I know you all willbe tuning for all of thewrong reasons.

Page 9: 20120221_ca_london

3life

wellness 09metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Lie face down on the floorwith your palms at shoulderlevel, fingers pointingforward. Squeezing yourgluteus, push yourself upuntil your body weight restsonly on your palms andtoes. Lower yourself and repeat.

After three reps, hold plankposition and begin to hopboth knees in one motiontoward the chest. Pause andin one motion kick bothlegs out again, ending upback in the plank position.

THE PLANK/PUSHUP

THE HOP UP/AND BACK

3OF EMMA’SBESTCOMBOS

How Emma got thatred-carpet body

The Academy Awards are this Sunday, so you know celebs are busy working out to getready Personal trainer Armando Alarcon, who works with The Help star Emma Stone, tells

us how to rock the toned red-carpet look For all the jokes about plas-tic surgery and dangerouslythin actresses, manycelebrities today look tonedand tight because of onething: They exercise regu-larly. And they work hard atit. See for yourself February26th, on the red carpet atthe Academy Awards. Sureto be there is Emma Stone,whose film The Help isnominated for Best Picture.We asked her personaltrainer, Armando Alarcon,about her routine — andhow you can emulate it.

Maximize your body100 per centThe first tip is to never sin-gle out one exercise. Full-body training will makeyou use more muscle andburn calories.

“The body does notmove as one single entity,”says Alarcon.

“Constantly change yourroutine with a mix of Pi-lates, basic weightlifting,yoga and plyometrics com-bined into one so that thebody changes as a wholerather than one particularmuscle group.”

Identify, target andfix problem areas When standing tall, a manwill look stronger and a

woman more elegant, buteveryone has a problemarea that can affect overallposture.

Identify these and bringthe body back to its originalstate before building it backup again.

The most common prob-lem occurs when yourchest pulls you forward andyour back doesn’t have thestrength to hold the shoul-ders back, rounding theshoulders and causing asquatted forward lean ofthe head.

You need to focus onworking the back muscles(Pilates is great). Doing soalso flattens out the stom-ach and brings the chestand the shoulders back anddown and correctly alignedwith the head.

Weights don’t needto weigh you down The celebs use weights —well, light ones.

“Think of it this way:walking is good, jogging isbetter and sprinting isbest,” says Alarcon. “Addingfive-pound ankle or armweights to any exercise ishard as heck but causesmore of a burn, as it maxi-mizes the effort and short-ens the time needed to gainthe maximum amount ofmuscle. You can go from do-ing 20 reps to 10 to 15, andget the exact same results,”he continues.

If it’s bad, don’t eat itAlarcon doesn’t believe indiets. Allow yourself to eatwhat you want to eat or youwill crash.

His food rules are sim-ple: If you think it’s bad, itprobably is, so don’t eat it.If you think it’s too much,then don’t eat it all. What-ever your vice is — carbs,fat or salt — change it.

Then eat breakfast. Pro-teins. Vegetables and water.And a flat stomach will fol-low, which you can thentone up with ab exercises.Sounds like a lot of work?For proof of the results,check out Emma this Sun-day night.

“I am not built tolift weightsmentally. I do notlike lifting heavymetal over myhead. I have a lot ofrage, I guess, and itcomes out whenI’m hauling steeloverhead.”EMMA STONE, ON WORKING OUTWITH ARMANDO ALARCON

Alarcon onEmma“Emma is the perfect ex-ample of someone whocontrols her eating verywell. She doesn’t go ondiets and does indulgeonce in a while butoverall, she eats very lit-tle meat and fatty foodsand lots of fresh fruitand vegetables.”

Actress Emma Stone

GETTY IMAGES

Sit into a squat. Stand withyour feet shoulder-widthapart. Lower yourself into avery low squat, with yourback straightand feet fullyon the floor.Rise ontoyourtoesandhop 2 or 3 inchesinto the air whilemaintainingyour squat position.

ILLUSTRATION: MIA KORAB/METRO WORLD NEWS

THE SQUAT/JUMP

Drink this

Armando’s flat-stomach greenjuice

Blend:3 green applesA generous bunch of spinachA handful of kale2 stalks of celery

“I triple-Spank,which is not good.

Spanxreally,reallywork,

but youdon't

need to overdo it.It’s wonderful be-cause it gives youthe illusion of anhourglass with

the sand kind ofspread out.”THE HELP OSCAR

NOMINEE OCTAVIASPENCER TO HOST

ELLEN DEGENERES ONTHE AMOUNT OF SPANXSHE WORE TO CURB HERCURVES AT THE GOLDEN

GLOBES

Quoted

Transgender kids get puberty-blocking drugs, sex-changinghormones; MDs say numbers

are rising

Page 10: 20120221_ca_london

10 food metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

YOU HAVE 9 DAYS TO PREVENT50,000 STROKES

EACH YEARIN CANADA. Please donate this February atheartandstroke.ca

and make death wait.

Angel Hair Tuna

Preparation:

1 In pot of boiling saltedwater, cook pasta about8 mins. or until tenderbut firm. Reserve somecooking water; drainpasta. Return pasta topot.

2 In nonstick skillet, heatoil and lemon rind overmedium heat until siz-zling. Mix tuna with 15ml (1 tbsp) of reservedpasta cooking water.Stir lemon oil into pastaand add tuna, heatingmix gently. Add lemonjuice; stir in tomatoes.Serve with lemon. THE

CANADIAN PRESS/ CLOVERLEAF/ ADAPTED BY EMILYRICHARDS (VISITEMILYRICHARDSCOOKS.CA)

Ingredients:• 130 g (4 1/2 oz) angelhair pasta• 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil• 15 mL (1 tbsp) gratedlemon rind• 30 mL (2 tbsp) lemonjuice• 2 cans (85 g each) flakedlight tuna (garlic and hotpepper flavour)• 250 ml (1 cup) halvedgrape tomatoes• Lemon wedges

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour• 2 tbsp brown sugar• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice• 1 tsp baking powder• 1/4 tsp baking soda• 1/4 tsp salt• 1 cup milk• 1 egg• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin• 2 tablespoons Mazola VegPlus! canola and vegetableoil blend• 1 tbsp lemon juice• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract• Mazola Veg Plus! canolaand vegetable oil blend forskillet/griddle

Apple Cider Syrup• 1 cup apple cider or juice• 1 cup BeeHive corn syrup• 2 tbsp butter • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon• Dash ground nutmeg• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

THE CANADIAN PRESS H/O

NEWS CANADA

Ben Thanhdescribes it-self as ‘an en-trée to Asia.’With itssweeping 14-

page Vietnamese and Thaimenu, it is easy to find a fa-miliar favourite.

The decor has under-gone renovations that lookelegant in a sparsely eclec-tic fashion. Chairs are com-fortable but tables andfinishes are clearly de-signed for functionality

Hearty Viet-Thai authenticity

Vermicelli Bowl ($10.25)

PAUL MITCHELL

Ben Thanh serves up delicious dishes representing both countries

Ben Thanh Viet ThaiRestaurant57 York St. (at Ridout)

519-438-4888

benthanhlondon.com

Social lunch: Yes

Price range: $7.95 - $13.25

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

over polish.We start on fresh Pork

Rind Rolls ($4.95) and Cy-clone Rolls ($6.45) withdeep-fried noodles asbreading. They are a nicecombo of cool and warm,both pleasantly accompa-nied by sweet-sour fish

sauce.Mains of orange-

coloured and egg-richChicken Pad Thai ($13.25)and a Vermicelli Bowl($10.25) are enthusiastical-ly devoured. The warmrice noodles, topped withgrilled pork balls, charred

barbecue pork and a crispyspring roll, do not lack inhearty authenticity.

We experience no short-age of efficient service andhuge portions at BenThanh. Despite cosmeticchanges, the food remainsas good as I remember.

LUNCH RUSHPAUL [email protected]

Pumpkin twist onShrove Tuesday

In what’s become tradition, the day before Lent isknown for pancakes, which are made with ingredientsthat are often restricted during the 40-day fast

Preparation:

1 Combine flour, brownsugar, pumpkin piespice, baking powder,baking soda and salt ina large bowl.

2 In a separate bowl com-bine milk, egg, pump-kin, oil, lemon juice andvanilla. Beat with awhisk until smooth.Add to dry ingredients,stirring just until blend-ed. Do not over beat.

3 Heat a large skillet orgriddle on mediumhigh heat, adding asmall amount of oil.

Portion approximately1/4 cup of batter ongriddle, repeating to fillgriddle. Cook pancakeuntil bottom is brownand top has bubbles,about 2 minutes. Flippancakes and continuecooking until bottom isbrowned. Repeat untilall batter is cooked.Serve immediately withHot Apple Cider Syrup.

4 Syrup: Combine ciderand corn syrup in asmall saucepan overhigh heat. Bring to aboil, reduce heat andcook about 15 minutesuntil mixture has a

syrupy consistency.

5 Add butter, cinnamon,nutmeg and vanilla.Keep warm and serveover pancakes. NEWSCANADA/ ADAPTED FORMETRO NEWS BY EMILYRICHARDS (PROFESSIONALHOME ECONOMIST,COOKBOOK AUTHOR & TVCELEBRITY CHEF. FOR MORE,VISITEMILYRICHARDSCOOKS.CA)

This recipe serves four.

Page 11: 20120221_ca_london

With the RRSP deadlinelooming on Feb. 29, someCanadians may be scram-bling to find funds to con-tribute.

The ideal scenario is toset money aside for RRSPson a regular basis. “The bestplan is to contribute a fixedamount monthly,” saysPaul Lermitte, a Vancouver-based certified financialplanner with AssanteWealth Management.

The monthly amountgets automatically deduct-ed from your bank account.Then, if at some point dur-ing the year you get a workbonus or inherit money,you can top up your contri-butions.

Not having a ready stashof cash to invest is just oneroadblock stopping peoplefrom contributing to anRRSP.

Here is how to overcomethat obstacle and others.

Can’t scrounge up a dime.If you have raided your pig-gy bank but still can’t comeup with money to invest,consider taking out anRRSP loan. “Borrow an af-fordable amount for oneyear, maximum,” says Ler-mitte. “Then pay backsome of the loan with thetax refund the RRSP gener-ates.”

Spent too much at Christ-mas. If you blew your budg-et buying gifts for everyoneon your list, you could end

up mired in credit card debtleading up to the RRSPdeadline. “That doesn’tmean you shouldn’t buyChristmas gifts,” says Ler-mitte. “But it is a sign thatyou should start reining inyour holiday spending.”

Missed the deadline. Hop-ing there is a grace periodpost-deadline? Unfortunate-ly, there isn’t. But arriving

late to the party can be anopportunity in disguise.

“If you miss the dead-line, that’s OK,” says Ler-mitte. “What you need todo now is get a certified fi-nancial planner to help youstart planning right awayfor next year.”

When the time comes,try not to wait until the daybefore the deadline to handover your cash; the sooner

before the final momentyou can do so, the betterprepared you will be.

Waited too long to start. Ifyou are 10 years or moreaway from retirement andyou finally have a goodchunk of change to investin your first RRSP, it mightbe worth your while, buttalk to your financial advis-er to make sure. The closer

to retirement you are, theless time you will have totake advantage of com-pound interest. Also, youmust start withdrawingsome of your RRSPs at 71.

“If you’re less than adecade away from retire-ment, you’d probably bebetter off making non-regis-tered investments like atax-free savings account,”says Lermitte.

WAVEBREAK MEDIA/THINKSTOCK

JANEDOUCETFOR METRO

ExcusesNo more

Removing roadblocks for RRSPs

A spousal RRSP is a regularRRSP with one importantdifference, says Mike Hen-ry, senior vice-president ofretail products, Scotia-bank: The person makingthe contribution is doingso in their spouse’s name.

“This lets couples divideup their retirement in-come as a way of minimiz-ing their overall taxliability in retirement. It’sreally useful in that youcan help balance the in-come load and try andkeep each spouse in a low-er overall income taxbracket in retirement.”

A spousal RRSP is an in-come splitting strategywith the objective of re-ducing the cumulativefamily tax bill, accordingto Anthony Williams, vice-president of academic af-fairs, Canadian Institute ofFinancial Planning.

Through their workinglife, the person with thehigher income can shift in-come to the person in thelower tax bracket, says

Williams. When you bothretire, rather than have adisproportionate pool ofRRSP income, you haveequal amounts, saysWilliams. If you need$50,000 of household in-come, you would pull$25,000 from each plan.

“From a tax perspective,that’s much better thantaking the entire amountfrom the one.”

Here’s what you need toknow about spousal RRSPs:

A person can contributehis or her entire RRSP al-lowance into a personalRRSP, put it all in aspousal RRSP, or split upthe contribution.

Once money is in aspousal RRSP, it becomesthat person’s money —even though the otherperson makes contribu-tion.

The contributor gets thetax deduction.

Any withdrawal is taxed.

YLVAVAN BUURENFOR METRO

Divide and prosperSpousal RRSPs can help balance the income load

CREATAS IMAGES/THINKSTOCK

rrsp guide 11metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Page 12: 20120221_ca_london

12 your money metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

RRSP seasonis the onlytime of yearI ever rec-ommendstampedingto the bank

as quickly as possible to setup an RRSP account ormake a contribution. Eachyear you have until March 1to contribute to your RRSPand have it count for theprevious tax year.

Wondering what the bigdeal is with RRSPs? Simplyput; the RRSP is the singlemost powerful tool Canadi-ans have to save money for

retirement.Contributions are fully

tax deductible and theygrow tax-deferred untilwithdrawal; typically whenyou retire. The greater theamount you contribute, themore income you get todeduct from your tax re-turn. Rather than forkingover thousands of dollars intaxes to Revenue Canada,you can invest these saveddollars within your RRSP.

The law of reinvested re-turns states that more mon-ey grows larger and fasterthan less money; when in-vested in a portfolio that isproperly allocated based onyour personal needs. Thus,keeping more of your mon-ey, rather than paying it outin taxes, significantly in-creases your nest egg.

When you’re starting

out, perhaps a new career,buying a home, or raising afamily, tax deferral is veryvaluable. It allows you tomaximize your savings op-portunities even thoughyour budget might be tight.

Nearly anyone can havean RRSP. Individuals cancontribute up to 18 per centof their income, up to$22,450 for tax year 2011,and the limit can some-times vary depending onyour pension program at

work. If you can’t maximizeyour RRSP limit, you cancarry-forward the contribu-tion room indefinitely.

Start contributing regu-larly on pay day and in-

crease your contributionsannually until you reachyour maximum limits.Check whether your em-ployer has an RRSP or pen-sion plan you can

participate in.I know there are compet-

ing priorities for your mon-ey, but paying yourself first,using an RRSP, will save youthousands of dollars.

Want to retire on a tropical island? Start tucking away some money from every paycheque.

ISTOCK

FUN AND

FRUGALLESLEY [email protected]

What’s all the RRSP fuss about?“I know there arecompetingpriorities for yourmoney, but payingyourself first, usingan RRSP, will saveyou thousands ofdollars.”

More money grows larger and faster than less money —so start saving And who doesn’t want to pay less taxes?

Dear Butler, when at dinnerand one feels a sneeze com-ing on, how do you handlethe situation? Sneeze into the

napkin? Turn your head andsneeze into the napkin? Thenthere is the nose blow. Turnyour head and blow into thenapkin or leave the table totake care of it? Does one evenuse their napkin? Veryconfused here. ArthurDear Arthur,

Lets first deal with theeasy part of your question.The dinner napkin is never,under any circumstances,used as a handkerchief, soblowing your nose into

your napkin will never bean acceptable option.

Should you ever need toblow your nose while at thetable, you should always ex-cuse yourself from the tableand ideally blow your nosein a Kleenex or handker-chief, far enough away sothat the others at the tabledo not hear you.

Now, as for sneezing atthe table. Remember thatsneezing can spread germs.If you must sneeze at the

table, grab your napkin,cover both your mouth andnose, put your head downas close to your chest aspossible and try to pushyour chair back from thetable before sneezing.

It is even better if you areseated in a position that al-lows you to turn your headaway from everyone.

In any case, try to neversneeze in someone’s direc-tion, or in the direction ofthe food.

CHARLES THE

BUTLER

[email protected] MORE, VISITCHARLESMACPHERSON.COM

SNEEZING AT THE DINNER TABLE

The dinner napkin should not be

used for blowing your nose.

ISTOCK

Page 13: 20120221_ca_london

4sports

sports 13metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Shrugging off controversyAlbert Pujols pulled in forhis first day of spring train-ing with the Anaheim An-gels on Monday amiddozens of television cam-eras and required a sepa-rate press conference backat the team hotel to handlethe media interest.

Jose Bautista, mean-while, has been goingabout his business in Flori-da the past few days in ad-vance of the Blue Jays’camp in relative anonymi-ty. But there is some com-mon ground for the twosuperstars — both say theyhave been tested for per-formance enhancing drugswell in excess of normalleague protocol.

Bautista addressed the is-sue Monday in Dunedin,the first time he spoke toToronto media on the mat-ter after a tweet in mid-Jan-uary fanned into a briefcontroversy.

Bautista maintained hewas tested 16 times overthe course of his back-to-back American Leaguehome run champion sea-sons (2010 and 2011). MajorLeague Baseball said thosefigures did not match upwith their numbers, and fora week after the storybroke, there were questionsabout who was correct.

“I don’t care,” Bautistasaid about the entire affair.

“At first it got blown wayout of proportion. I was at adinner and a player askedme a question and I gavehim my answer. I didn’tknow there were (press)working there and that did-n’t matter. Then it becamea story, from the first timeit got tweeted or whatever,it went from there.”

Major leaguers can ex-pect at least two unan-

nounced tests during theregular season and possiblytwo more during springtraining.

Pujols, like Bautista, saidhe was tested well beyond

those numbers. Neither hasever tested positive for anybanned substance.

During the off-season,Bautista said that he tooktwo months off, largely to

rest his body after a seriesof injuries in the secondhalf of the season.

“To me, the most impor-tant thing is remaininghealthy and staying on thefield to help this team inany way I can,” saidBautista.

“If we win and get intothe playoffs, then that dic-tates what is my success (inToronto).” TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE

‘I don’t care if anybody is singling me out,’ Toronto slugger Bautista says of PED questions

“I wouldn’t have signed that contract if Ididn’t feel (the organization was buildinga winner) ... I feel we have the group inplace and that we’re ready to go for it.”JOSE BAUTISTA ON THE BLUE JAYS’ CHANCES IN 2012

Jose Bautista prepares for batting practice on Monday

under the watchful eye of Blue Jays manager John Farrell in Dunedin, Fla.

FRANK GUNN/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Sports in brief

Suspended sluggerManny Ramirezagreed to a minorleague contractMonday with theOakland Athleticsthat is worthapproximately$500,000 US if he’sadded to the bigleague roster.

Ramirez mustserve a 50-gamesuspension for hissecond positivedrug test before hecan play for theA’s.THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Page 14: 20120221_ca_london

Education

Office Help

Education

General Services

Financial

General Services

London District Youth Soccer League(LDYSL)

Administrator Position- Opening

LDYSL is a non-profit organization that over-sees and conducts youth soccer programscomprising of over forty soccer clubs and 275teams from these Clubs.

LDYSL is currently looking to hire a LeagueAdministrative Support Person on a casual hourly basis to assist with day to dayadministrative activities throughout the indoor and outdoor soccer seasons. The hoursof work and duties will vary and be dependent on the Board of Executives, sea-sonal and Club needs.

Please visit www.ldysl.com for a full listof Responsibilities and Qualifications

Please forward your resume by Feburary 29, 2012 to:

[email protected]

Do You feel a cold or flu starting?

Join a clinical research study testing the effect ofan investigational medication on the symptoms

associated with cold and flu.Call us as soon as your symptoms begin to see if

you qualify.Contact KGK Synergize Clinic :519-858-8359

[email protected]

Participants are compensated up to $300.00 fortheir time.

---- Sell YYour SStuff FFor FFREE! CCall 11-800-527-6767 Limited sspace AAvailable Size 1.535” X .542”, Limit 1/day, 2/wk

1000 Full Colored Business CardsA.Q. 16 pt stock. $59.95Second Card for $29.95

519-657-9157

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2008 Grand Caravan - loaded80kms $12,000

Estate Sale Trade for Compact519-678-3273

AB Doer Pro Model Exercise Machine New

Asking $80.00(519)455-9887

Apartment size organ with double keyboard. Paino & other sound features

Including storage bench, Has head-phone outlet $275 519-657-8285

Authentic “Prada” Jacket Mint Condition Silver and White ,Unisex ,Water Resistant,

Wind Prove, Size Medium Pd $500Asking $200 (519)434-9338

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GI JOE COLLECTION1960’s and 70’s. Mint condition.

$100.00 and up519-649-0905

Glasstop coffee & end tables 3 piece livingroom set Tan colour, Suade fabric

Very good condition $250 (519)472-1141

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Keyboard - Casio model CTK541 Brand newwith stand $85.00 21” samsung computer

screen model Sync Master 2253vw $85(519)680-7669

LCD Flat Screen Computer MonitorKey Board and Mouse

$55.00(519)686-7658

Navy Wool Coat Like NEWSize Med Purchased from Old Mill

Made by Baiton $150519-657-8285

Night Table with drawer and lower shelf. All wood construction, mahogany in color

24”h 14”d & 19” long Asking $35.00 (519)472-4290

Pentium 4 Computer Windows XP, MS Office , Internet ready

$95.00(519)686-7658

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Xena Warrier Princess Collection8” and 12” figures and other items

Nothing over $25.00519-649-0905

HELP WANTED

General Help

Full Time & Seasonal Positions Available!

Now hiring for all positions. Customer Serv-ice, Marketing, Sales, Management. No ExpReq. Students Welcome. 519-913-3140

Skilled and Technical Help

SKILLED TRADESMEN REQUIREDBoring mill and vertical lathe operators

Strathroy, LondonCall 226-688-6540

RENTALS

Houses for Rent Unfurnished

LARGE - 4 BEDROOM BungalowStoneybrook Area 1200+ utilities w/garage

Avail. Immediatley519-495-4481

Rooms Furnished

ROOMS, Bright & Cozy, Nice Area, Closeto Westervelt College & Whiteoaks. Share facilities Females Preferred

$350 incl - 519-686-1367

HOUSEHOLDSERVICES

General Services

NORTH RIVER PROJECTS

Residential/Commercial

Asphalt, Shingling, Installation,

Cleaning & Repair of Siding,

Soffits, Fascia, Eavestrough,

Water Damaged Drywall,

Snow & Ice Removal

Black mold removal & Treatment.,

Professional Service at a reasonable price!

Call for a FREE Quote

226-688-6090

Movers

Make the easy move! Sprint MovingService Bonded, insured, 24/7 services, Rates start at $60/hour Free estimatestheeasymove.ca (519) 859-4770

MOVING BIG OR SMALL Best Rates!!17 ft cube van to go anywhere! Insured, freeestimates & junk removal. St Thomas base.226-785-1536 or [email protected]

SERVICES

Place your ad in

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metroclassifieds.ca

1 800 527-6767

Gotta oldcouch youwanna getrid of?

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find us

14 classifieds metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

To advertise, call:

1 800 527-6767

CLASSIFIEDSCUSTOMER

SERVICE:1800527-6767

–MONDAYTO

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AMTO

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entupon

publicationandadviseMetroimmediatelyifthereareanycopyerrorsintheadvertisem

entaspublished.Metrowillnotbe

responsiblefor

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ission

ofMetro.InanyeventMetrowillonlybe

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Page 15: 20120221_ca_london

play 15metronews.caTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

NEED A RIDE?Read every Wednesday.

Across

1 Above5 Stick out8 Take out of themanuscript12 Carry on13 Fire residue14 Holly15 Poisonous ever-green17 Put away for arainy day18 Seek restitution19 Funny, in an O.Henry sort of way21 Ersatz chocolate24 Huff and puff25 Prayer ending26 Sieve30 Business deg.31 “The Age of Anxi-ety” poet32 Past33 Potpourri of a sort35 Rorschach test pic-ture36 Cincinnati team37 Mustard-familyherb38 Urban problem41 Hot tub42 Bedouin43 Robinson Crusoe,e.g.48 Hammer’s target49 Ultra-modernist50 Money51 Rote of footballlore52 Talk on and on53 Syringe, for shortDown

1 Acapulco gold2 Actor Kilmer3 Previous night

4 Logic5 Nephrite6 Work with7 Michael Jackson hit8 Repudiate9 Verve10 Jeans-makerStrauss11 Biz bigwig16 Gist20 Reddish horse21 Bivouac22 Early pulpit23 Paper quantity24 Portends26 Holding affection-ately

27 Chip’s cartoon pal28 Ids’ counterparts29 Deteriorates31 From the begin-ning34 Fit for farming35 Limb37 Tax pro38 Foundered39 Say grace, e.g.40 Bar41 Unkempt one44 Vast expanse45 Week fraction46 Kreskin’s claim47 Pi follower53 Barbie’s

SudokuCrossword

How to playFill in the grid, so that everyrow, every column andevery 3x3 box contains thedigits 1-9. There is no mathinvolved. You solve the puzzle with reasoning andlogic.

Friday’s answer

Send a

You can now post your kiss,and read even more kisses,at metronews.ca/kiss.

BigRedDog, Who wouldhave thought petting yourdogs would turn into a lifetime together? We’ve beenthrough more in one yearthan most couples gothrough in a lifetime, and iwouldn’t have changed notone moment. Love to loveyou & want to want you4evr4alwys <3 AMEN!ESTR0GEN

MY KNIGHT AND HERO You came into my life when Ineeded you the most, youopened my soul andbreathed life back into me...Iowe you forever, and withthat I will have you foreverin my heart and soul, i missyou but I know you are withme...I have stayed with youlike you asked,,,my heartaches for you all the time....Iam your lady till the end oftime. YOUR LADY

JR, How many famous peo-ple in your head?! you canprovide any one so smart ilove you!!! RR

KISS

Friday’s answer

Today’s horoscopeFor today’s crossword answers and for ex-panded horoscopes, visit metronews.ca

Aries March 21-April 20Speak your mind today and don’tworry too much who might be of-fended.

Taurus April 21-May 21 Don’t be secretive about your so-cial and professional ambitions –let everyone know what it is youare hoping to achieve.

Gemini May 22-June 21You will be intensely ambitiousover the next few days. Go for it!

Cancer June 22-July 22Can you afford to sit back and looksmug as the plans you made a fewmonths ago begin to pay off? Yesyou can.

Leo July 23-Aug.23

This is a good time to start some-thing of a business nature.

Virgo Aug. 24- Sept. 22 Are you looking at a situation withclear eyes, or are you seeing whatyou want to see rather than whatis truly there?

Libra Sept. 23-Oct. 23 You must pace yourself sensiblytoday, even if you think you canlabour from dawn to dusk withouta break.

Scorpio Oct. 24-Nov. 22 All things are possible and if youwant something enough you willfind ways to get it today.

Sagittarius Nov. 23-Dec. 21 Don’t turn your back on some-

one who needs help, even if theyhave been less than helpful to youin the past.

Capricorn Dec. 22-Jan. 20There is no point losing your tem-per with someone whose beliefsyou profoundly disagree with.

Aquarius Jan. 21-Feb. 18Make a decision and stick with it.If you chop and change you coulddo yourself a great deal of dam-age.

Pisces Feb. 19-March 20 Anew moon in your sign means anew beginning – but what kind ofnew beginning is entirely up toyou.

SALLY BROMPTON

You write it!

Write a funny cap-tion for the image

above and send it [email protected] — the winning caption will bepublished in Tuesday’sMetro.

Caption contestDAVID GUTTENFELDER/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WIN!

FELIPE DANA/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

“I think it’s time for someBotox injections.” JOHN

companion

Page 16: 20120221_ca_london

BUSINESS DEGREES

business.humber.ca

4-YEAR DEGREES THATARE BUILT FOR BUSINESS.

Accounting

e-Business Marketing

Fashion Management

Human Resources Management

International Business

Tourism Management