Loving Care Agency, Inc

Loving Care Agency is a leading provider of Home Care Services that enables children and adults to be cared for in their home environment that is warm, familiar, and nurturing. Our highly qualified team clinicians (including nurses, home care aides and therapists) provide the highest quality care with compassion, commitment, and integrity. With over 40 offices located in 6 states, Loving Care Agency works with most major insurance plans, managed care organizations and state agencies.

Loving Care Agency is a clinically-focused company, committed to ensuring the very best quality of care for our patients. We do this by assuring that the clinicians caring for our patients are qualified. Our recruitment and hiring standards put this commitment into practice. We offer our clinicians the tools, education and standards to enable them to do what they do best: provide skilled, compassionate care for our patients.

About Loving Care Agency and Links2Care

Loving Care Agency and Links2Care are committed to providing exceptional care to the patients we serve by allowing them to remain safely at home. We provide our clinicians with the education, support, and tools they need to help us provide high-tech, compassionate care. We are a clinically-focused company, committed to ensuring the very best quality of care for our patients. As a licensed homecare agency, we offer a full range of services to support each patient with their desire to stay in their home. All of our clinicians and caregivers go through a rigorous screening process that meets or exceeds state regulations. To maintain our strict standards, each of our professional home health staff undergoes:

• State and Federal background screening process including fingerprinting
• Intensive interview process that includes reference verification, skill evaluations and competency exams
• Required health clearances 

CARE (relief agency)

CARE is a large international development and humanitarian organizations, with programs in more than 80 countries around the world.
CARE places special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives.
CARE USA is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. CARE USA is part of an international confederation composed of 22 national members. The CARE International Secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Hospital violence is on the rise, health agency warns

The shooting that left a doctor in critical condition Thursday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore is only the latest example of a rising trend of violence in health care settings, experts say.

"Once considered safe havens, health care institutions today are confronting steadily increasing rates of crime, including violent crime," said an alert issued in June by the Joint Commission, a national accrediting agency.
A text message poll of 200 emergency room doctors, conducted by Truth On Call for msnbc.com on Thursday, found that 69 percent of doctors said violence in the health care setting is a growing concern; 71 percent said today's shooting was an anomaly.
Since 2004, the number of assaults, rapes and murders reported to the Joint Commission rose steadily, with the greatest number of reports in the last three years: There were 36 incidents nationwide in 2007, 71 in 2008 and 44 in 2009.
According to the Joint Commission’s voluntary reporting system, there were 286 assaults, rapes or homicides of patients and visitors at American health centers since 1995, with 180 of those acts occurring after 2007.
That number is likely far lower than the actual number of incidents because violence in health settings in often underreported, the group said.

UN health agency rushing medical help to flood-hit Afghans

Flooded Kokaldash village in Jawzjan Province, Afghanistan

5 August 2010 – The United Nations health agency said today that it has begun sending medical supplies to aid thousands of people affected by recent flooding across Afghanistan, where the major health concerns right now are water contamination and the spread of waterborne diseases. “WHO is supporting the Government response to the health needs of people affected by flooding through distributing emergency medical assistance in the provinces that have been worst affected by the ongoing floods, ensuring that the urgent health needs of the Afghan people are met,” said Peter Graaff, the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan.
“As flooding continues, WHO stands prepared to immediately respond to the worsening health crisis,” he added.
The Afghan Government estimates that the floods have left several thousand individuals homeless in northeast Kapisa, central Ghazni, Laghman, Nangarhar, Kunar, Logar, Khost and northern Parwan provinces, where at least 2,700 houses have been destroyed.
An estimated 85 people have reportedly died in the floods, and much of the arable land, where crops were planted, has been inundated.
The main concerns for WHO at present are the spread of waterborne diseases such as diarrhoeal diseases, typhoid fever and malaria, as well as the provision of clean drinking water and access to medical services for the victims.
At the request of the Afghan Government, the agency has so far provided enough supplies to provincial health departments and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to cover the basic health needs of 11,000 people and treat 7,000 diarrhoeal cases.
Medical supplies to cover essential health needs of 400,000 people arrived in the country earlier this week and WHO is prepared to support the health response should the situation worsen, it stated.

UN health agency sounds alarm on high obesity in Pacific island nations

28 July 2010 – Pacific Ocean countries face a severe obesity problem, which is also causing increased rates of heart disease and strokes, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO). The agency defines being overweight as having a body mass index (BMI) of equal to or more than 35. It considers a BMI, calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of height in metres, of 40 or more to mean that the person is obese.
WHO said today that it has found that in at least 20 Pacific island countries, more than half – and sometimes up to 80 per cent – of the populations are overweight.
It also noted that obesity levels range from more than 40 per cent in Fiji to a staggering 90 per cent among women in American Samoa, a United States territory.
Diabetes rates among the region’s adults are among the highest in the world, at 67 per cent in American Samoa compared to 13 per cent in the US mainland.
One fifth of children and pregnant women are anaemic in a vast majority of Pacific island nations, where deficiencies in micronutrients, including Vitamin A and iodine, are a significant problem.
Additionally, 2.4 million people suffer from preventable noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, strokes and cancer, which are responsible for 75 per cent of deaths in the Pacific.
Temo K. Waqanivalu, WHO technical officer for nutrition and physical activity in Fiji, said that poor diet is partly to blame for the region’s health problems.
“Promotion of traditional foods has fallen by the wayside,” he said. “They are unable to complete with the glamour and flashiness of imported foods.”
In eight of the region’s countries, less than 20 per cent of people surveyed said that they eat the recommended five or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
WHO has also pointed to the Pacific’s heavy dependence on imported food as a growing problem, with consumers often choosing imported food because it is easily and readily available for purchase compared to indigenous fish, chicken and other healthier local produce.
In April, the region’s nations met in Vanuatu to identify ways to tackle the challenges of malnutrition, obesity and diabetes, the first meeting of its kind in the Pacific.
The Pacific is a tropical paradise, said Chen Ken, WHO Representative for the South Pacific, “but we want this to be the reality not just for the tourists who visit us, but also for the people who live here. We want to preserve these islands as healthy islands.”
This, he said, will require action to be taken to ensure that high-quality, healthy and affordable food is available for all.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR serves the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances.  

Public Health Agency of Canada

The Public Health Agency of Canada is an agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness, and response and infectious and chronic disease control and prevention. It was formed by Order in Council in 2005 and subsequently by legislation that came into force December 18, 2008 and it is member of the Federal Health Portfolio (along with Health Canada, the Canadian Institute of Health Research, and other organizations).
The head of the Public Health Agency is the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada. The current Chief is Dr. David Butler-Jones. As the Deputy Minister responsible for the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Chief Public Health Officer reports to the Minister of Health. As the Federal Government's lead public health official, the Chief Public Health Officer provides advice to the Minister of Health and the Government of Canada on issues concerning the health of Canadians.
Its headquarters are located in two pillars - one is in Ottawa, the other is the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the location of Canada's only Level 6 microbiology lab for human health. At the time of its creation in 2005, most of the agency's staff were located in the former Gandalf Technologies building in Nepean, south of Ottawa, and were part of Health Canada's Population and Public Health Branch.

State health agency

State health departments have different names and responsibilities; in some states they are top-level administrative agencies, while in other states they are a division or bureau of another office. Health departments are usually responsible for [[public health]], including [[preventive medicine]], [[epidemiology]], [[vaccination]]s, [[environmental health]] (sometimes including [[Health inspector|health inspections]]), and the [[License|licensing]] of [[health care professional]]s; the collection and archiving of [[vital record]]s such as [[birth certificate|birth]] and [[death certificate]]s and sometimes [[Marriage certificate|marriage]] and [[divorce]] certificates; health statistics; [[Developmental disability|developmental disabilities]]; [[mental health]]; [[occupational safety and health]]; receiving and recording reports of [[notifiable disease]]s; and [[tobacco]] control.

In some states, state health departments may additionally be responsible for [[social services]] and [[welfare]], [[environmental protection]]/[[pollution control]], or the operation of the state [[psychiatric hospital]]. Some states have a [[surgeon general]]. 

Canada agency to review airline pet policy

The Canadian Transportation Agency will review a policy at the country's biggest airlines allowing cats in the cabin to see if it interferes with air travel for allergic customers.
The independent tribunal announced the review on Thursday after ruling that three people who are allergic to cats are, in effect, persons with disabilities because the airlines' pet policies affect their ability to fly.
The passengers had complained about Air Canada (ACa.TO), the country's biggest airline, its regional carrier Jazz Airline, and WestJet Airline (WJA.TO), the No. 2 airline in Canada.
The agency, which wants the review to include other pets, said it will determine appropriate, "reasonable" accommodation and whether corrective measures are needed for the three passengers.
The airlines allow dogs and cats in a carrier that can fit under a seat. WestJet also allows birds and rabbits.

Canada's Public Health Agency: Bound and gagged?

This Journal has repeatedly called for federal leadership in public health, leadership that would guide us through crises such as BSE, Walkerton and SARS and that would ensure the fundamentals of health protection, including national surveillance and a national vaccination strategy. We have not been alone in advocating a national public health agency. Nothing is more obvious and more urgently needed than a national body that is independent of politicians and bureaucrats and dedicated solely to protecting and enhancing the health of the public. An agency that will lead, not follow.

At the helm of change, Carolyn Bennett, the Minister of State for Public Health, is charged with “establish[ing] a strong and responsive public health system.”  Yet, days before the federal budget is brought down, we find the minister waiting for comments to a discussion paper that could only have been written by senior bureaucrats who have but a timorous and vague concept of what public health is and whose primary focus is on “opening a dialogue on public health issues” and keeping the new agency firmly within their control. “The agency,” we are informed, “would … operate within the Health Canada portfolio.”

Hello. In the light of widespread outbreaks of old pathogens and the now almost monthly arrival of new ones from around the world, we do not need the procrastinations of yet another federal subdepartment of some other subdepartment reporting to a distant associate of some deputy minister. We need leadership. We need independence. We need an agency that is adequately funded and a chief public health officer who can report directly to the public without the filters applied by bureaucrats and communications officers.

There is no doubt that, to be effective, public health must build consensus among often-competing public (and private) institutions, including government. As the SARS epidemic in Toronto taught us, cooperation among federal, provincial and local health agencies is not automatic.Equally important, however, is a public consensus based on a coherent understanding of the facts.This larger consensus cannot be achieved by endless federal–provincial doughnut-and-coffee meetings in hotel meeting rooms, as Health Canada and the provinces have tried to do for decades and failed, dismally, with tragic results.

The rapid succession of public health emergencies has convinced the public that they are inadequately protected and that they live and work in environments that require risk monitoring. Politicians have also understood. Minister Bennett has the goal correctly identified, and the government has made a public commitment to it in the Throne Speech. Provincial politicians are also in agreement with the creation of the new federal agency. Yet, for all that, the health ministers in Ottawa and their provincial counterparts risk underestimating the entrenched sluggishness of their own bureaucracies.

Ontario, for example, recently attempted to shore up its spotty public health system by appointing the very competent Dr. Sheela Basrur to replace the former Chief Medical Officer of Health. Wisely, Provincial Premier McGuinty placed her on a higher stool than her predecessor — she reports directly to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. However, Dr. Basrur remains hobbled by resources (for a population of 21.4 million) that are not much more than those of a small doughnut franchise.

Minister Bennett and her cabinet colleagues must extricate themselves from the inertia of bureaucracy and discussion papers. They must take the bold step needed to create a truly independent national public health agency. The appointment of the chief public health officer must be credible. And the budget, to be revealed shortly, must rapidly bring to the agency the estimated $1 billion that it will need to do the job.

Canada agency snooping on citizens

Workers at the Canada Revenue Agency have been electronically snooping on the financial records of dozens of Canadians without their permission, according to documents released by the government body.
The reports, obtained by the Canadian press under the Access to Information Act, show that workers have been using agency computers to provide privileged access and tax favours to friends and family.
According to reports in the Toronto Star, one employee accessed the tax information of three colleagues, along with the financial records of a colleague's daughter, spouse and mother. "She accessed her own tax information and the tax information [of] 13 relatives... She provided preferential treatment to colleagues, relatives and acquaintances," said one report.
An investigation team found 29 cases of unauthorised access in 2008-2009, along with a dozen instances in which tax information was given to third parties without authorisation.
One worker downloaded 37,500 emails and 776 documents, according to the reports. Another worker inspected the tax information of his wife 69 times without permission, and another employee accessed the tax records of creditors of a business that she secretly operated outside the regular job. In some cases, tax information was used for fraudulent purposes. One worker issued himself a false charitable donation receipt for $3,000, said internal files.
The Canada Revenue Agency says that it screens personnel before employing them as a means of protecting taxpayer information. It also regularly briefs employees on taxpayer security. "Depending on the information, employees may have to take special steps in handling it," the agency says. "CRA employees with different levels of responsibility, such as taxpayer services personnel, auditors, investigators, all those handling income tax files, have different levels of access depending on the requirements of their work."

Dozens of workers at Canada’s tax agency have been caught snooping using Gov PC’s

Tax workers using government computers to snoop

Dozens of workers at Canada’s tax agency have been caught snooping on their ex-spouses, mothers-in-law, creditors and others by reading confidential tax files. Internal reports at the Canada Revenue Agency show that rogue employees are improperly reviewing the private financial affairs of taxpayers without their knowledge.
And some are using agency computers to give favoured treatment to colleagues, friends, family — and themselves.
In one egregious breach last October, a woman accessed 40,500 emails and 776 documents containing confidential financial information about ordinary Canadians. She downloaded the files onto 17 compact discs for her personal use, inexplicably helped by agency technicians.
In one case, a worker secretly operated a business on the side with her spouse, and between 2004 and 2009 “accessed the accounts of two creditors and the spouse of one of those creditors.”
Another worker was found to have inspected his spouse’s tax information 69 times without permission.
A woman in one unidentified office poked into the agency’s data looking for confidential information on colleagues, friends and family — apparently to give them a break on their taxes.
“The employee made unauthorized access to the tax information of three colleagues and to the tax information of a colleague’s daughter, spouse and mother,” says one report.
“She accessed her own tax information and the tax information (of) 17 relatives…. She provided preferential treatment to colleagues, relatives and acquaintances.”
Agency gumshoes then stumbled on a secret cell of snoopers in the same location.
“The investigation also determined that 17 other employees of the same office made unauthorized accesses to taxpayer information. Of the 17 employees, 10 provided preferential treatment to taxpayers, five accessed their own tax information, four received preferential treatment …”
Another worker peeked at secret agency information about two companies she operated on the side — while those firms were undergoing tax audits.
“In addition, the employee made extensive unauthorized accesses to the taxpayer information of friends and family members and hundreds of other individuals.”
Yet another investigation found an employee peering into the electronic tax files of two of her spouse’s business partners, though the motive is not specified.
The documents show that ex-spouses are sometimes targeted, for reasons not made clear in the heavily censored material from September and October last year. Family members were also a favoured target.
Some workers who were caught claimed they were simply helping relatives file their income-tax forms.
But one worker admitted using the CRA computer system and confidential tax information to issue himself a false charitable donation receipt for $6,000, thus reducing his income-tax payable.
Agency records for 2008-2009 show there were 39 cases in which workers were caught accessing taxpayer records without authorization, about the annual average for the last five years. And there were a dozen instances in 2008-2009 in which tax records were improperly disclosed to third parties.
All information about disciplinary measures taken against staff who broke the rules is censored in the released documents. But in several cases, the agency appeared to be lenient with long-term employees.
“The employee admitted that she accessed the taxpayer information belonging to a former employer, her relatives including her mother, her father, her sister and her brother, as well as the information belonging to her former spouse,” says one report.
In deciding on discipline, “management took into consideration the employee’s years of service, her good employment record and her co-operation with the investigation.”
A spokesman for the agency said the number of breaches is relatively small, given that there are more than 40,000 employees.
“While the number of unauthorized access incidents is not large, the agency consistently continues to review its activities to enhance … prevention, detection and deterrence,” Noel Carisse said in an email response to questions.
Carisse said taxpayers are not always informed when workers improperly access files because the breach may be judged too minor. But taxpayers whose information is improperly disclosed to third parties are almost always alerted by telephone or mail.
“The (CRA) assessment will almost always lead to the conclusion that injury to the taxpayer is likely, or has already occurred,” he said, referring to disclosures.
Carisse did not provide information on the numbers of employees suspended, fired or criminally charged for such breaches, but said the agency has a “strict and enforced Code of Ethics and Conduct.”
“While any unauthorized access is unacceptable, the agency believes that the current numbers indicate that the agency is doing a good job protecting taxpayer information.”
He declined to provide any further information on the worker who downloaded 40,500 emails and 976 documents, saying only that the investigation continues.

Canadian Court Opens Up eBay Data to Tax Agency

The partial decision by the Federal Court has concerned some privacy advocates in Canada.
It also provides a twist on a longstanding privacy concern in Canada. Many Canadians worry that when their personal data is stored on computers in the United States, government officials in that country might examine it. The eBay ruling, however, found that Canada’s government has the right, at least concerning tax issues, to gain access to computer files stored on servers in other countries.
“Such information cannot truly be said to ‘reside’ in one place or to be ‘owned’ by one person,” Justice Roger T. Hughes, a former intellectual property lawyer, wrote in his decision. “It is both here and there.”
The issue landed in court after eBay Canada, which is wholly owned by eBay through a holding company, rebuffed a request by the Canada Revenue Agency to turn over contact information and gross sales data for high-volume sellers based in Canada.
Canada’s laws, the judge wrote, give Canadian tax officials “the power to engage in what amounts to some sort of fishing expedition.” Effectively, the tax agency can demand that anyone give it any information it needs to enforce tax collection.
While the Canada Revenue Agency declined to comment specifically on why it wants eBay’s data, the ruling suggests that it intended to cross-reference the sales reports with the income reported by major sellers, or PowerSellers in eBay’s marketing jargon, on their tax returns.
When asked why eBay Canada challenged the request, Laura Watton, a spokeswoman for the company, replied by e-mail: “EBay takes the privacy of all users very seriously. In addition, we expect all users to comply with and conform to applicable laws in the countries in which they do business.”
Ms. Watton added that she was unable to elaborate because one aspect of the case was still under review by the judge.
Michael Geist, who teaches Internet law at the University of Ottawa, said that eBay’s response fits a broad pattern of resistance by Internet-related companies when governments make sweeping requests for data.
“I think eBay quite rightly assumed that its users are going to act lawfully,” Professor Geist said. “With PowerSellers we are mostly talking about small businesses here.”
EBay Canada argued in court that the data sought by tax collectors was not its to give.
The managing director of eBay Canada, Jordan Banks, testified that his operation relied on its parent to process all transactions made by buyers and sellers registered to Canadian addresses. As a result, all customer data, Mr. Banks told the court, is stored on servers in San Jose, Calf., and is owned by the parent company.
In his ruling, however, the judge appeared more interested in another part of Mr. Banks’s testimony. While eBay Canada does not own or store the data about its customers, the company apparently has unlimited access to it. EBay Canada regularly analyzes the selling and buying habits of individual customers to focus its advertising and marketing campaigns.
In ordering that the government be given access, the judge wrote: “The information can be summoned up in Canada and for the usual business purposes of eBay Canada. The situation may be different if the information never had been used in Canada.”
The court still has to rule on eBay’s contention that the tax agency is not making a “genuine and serious inquiry.” That issue has been suspended until another case cited by eBay’s lawyers goes through appeal.

Canada Revenue Agency: Maximum Pensionable Earnings for 2009

The Canada Revenue Agency announced today that the maximum pensionable earnings under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) for 2009 will be $46,300-up from $45,900 in 2008. The new maximum pensionable earnings amount was calculated according to a CPP legislated formula that takes into account the growth in average weekly wages and salaries in Canada.
Contributors who will earn more than $46,400 in 2009 will not be required or permitted to make additional contributions to the CPP.
The basic exemption amount for 2009 remains $3,600. Individuals who earn less than that amount do not need to contribute to the CPP.
The employee and employer contribution rates for 2009 will remain unchanged at 4.95%, and the self-employed contribution rate will remain unchanged at 9.9%.
The maximum employer and employee contribution to the plan for 2009 will be $2,128.60, and the maximum self-employed contribution will be $4,257.20. The maximums in 2008 were $2,059.30 and $4,098.60.

Probe Clears Canadian Agency of Funding Abortion

Nearly four months since the international development arm of Canada's episcopal conference was accused of having funded pro-abortion groups in Mexico, the agency has been cleared of the allegations.
Archbishop James Weisgerber, president of Canada's episcopal conference, confirmed to ZENIT that a report will be sent to the bishops of Canada this week that will vindicate Development and Peace from complicity in programs supporting and promoting abortion.

The report, which followed an investigation of five Mexican partner agencies that have received Development and Peace funds, is also expected to lead the bishops to evaluate their pro-life leadership in Canada and the protocols followed by Development and Peace.

The agency is also the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis.

"I can tell you that the bishops’ visit found no evidence that Development and Peace was in any way implicated in abortion services or abortion advocacy," said the archbishop, who heads the Winnipeg Archdiocese. "[But] that really wasn’t the allegation being made. The allegation is that they are funding people who are involved in other ways, and we found no evidence of that, either."

Archbishop Weisgerber acknowledged that some of the agency's partners are collaborating on separate projects with groups that adhere to principles opposed to Catholic teaching. He insisted, though, that the support given by Development and Peace is directed to specific projects that are not in violation of the Church’s position on abortion and contraception.

Creation of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)

Change is the only constant in the transportation industry. On December 12, 2003, the Customs Program of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency was transferred to the new Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). This Update provides some basic information on the CBSA to raise awareness about this new Agency and its impact on the transportation industry in Canada.
The CBSA is part of the new portfolio of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, which includes emergency preparedness, crisis management, national security, corrections, policing, oversight, crime prevention, as well as border services. The CBSA brings together all the major players involved in facilitating and managing the movement of goods and people into Canada. It integrates several key functions previously spread among three organizations: the Customs Program from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, the Intelligence, Interdiction and Enforcement program from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and the Import Inspection at Ports of Entry program from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The CBSA's mandate is to manage the nation's borders by administering and enforcing about 75 domestic laws that govern trade and travel, as well as international agreements and conventions. The work of the CBSA includes:

• Processing commercial goods (including agriculture and food products), travelers, and conveyances, and identifying and interdicting high-risk individuals and goods;
• Conducting intelligence, such as screening visitors and immigrants and working with law enforcement agencies to maintain border integrity and ensure national security;
• Engaging in enforcement activities, including investigations, detentions, hearings, and removals;
• Supporting free trade negotiations; and
• Conducting compliance audit reviews and dumping and subsidy investigations.

The CBSA operates at over 490 air, sea, and land ports of entry across Canada. It employs over 8,900 public servants who serve 170,000 commercial importers and more than 98 million travelers each year. Each year, the CBSA is engaged in everything from reuniting more than 200 missing children with their families, to referring roughly 2.5 million people for secondary immigration inspections, to processing some 11 million commercial releases and 26 million courier shipments, to conducting seizures worth over $800 million and intercepting 57,200 prohibited food, plant, and animal products.

Ottawa Citizen - Right Message - Wrong on Facts in Article on Canadian Space Agency

The Ottawa Citizen article "Rocket Science" which appeared in yesterday's paper was over simplified and got even some of the basic facts wrong.
I do however agree with the message of the article that the Government, and in particular Minister of Industry Tony Clement, needs to be proactive and release a new Long Term Space Plan for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
And while the Citizen is correct that the last named Long Term Space Plan was released in 1993 it actually did have a successor in the Canadian Space Strategy which was approved on November 12, 2004 and subsequently released.
It is also ridiculous to simplify the strategy of the U.S space progam as just canceling the Constellation program, doing more science and building a better launch vehicle. The redefining of NASA's vision and in particular its human exploration program is in fact a very complicated ongoing process. While the President may have laid out his vision, the budget is not a done deal and there is a lot of back room maneuvering ongoing. Congress will certainly have its say and the final budget will look different than its current form. Billions have already spent on the Constellation program and jobs are at stake in several states where NASA centers are located.
For Canadians though the more pressing issue is how what will be Canada's response to the U.S. space program shift.
The diagram below shows the Canadian Space Agency strategic planning tree of 2002 and while a new Long Term Space Plan will have some changes, the main thrusts should be relatively similar.

Canada supports agency criticised as an “AIDS denier”

A Canadian agency that has been supported financially by the Canadian government has come under strong criticism for being an “AIDS denier.” The agency carries claims on its website that HIV is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause AIDS and that the number of AIDS cases worldwide has been manipulated and is really decreasing rather than increasing.

The views on the website of InterPares (www.interpares.ca), a non-governmental agency, run counter to those stated on the Canadian federal health department's own website (www.hc-sc.gc.ca).

InterPares describes itself as supporting “social justice work” in more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In 2003, it received $C5m (£2.2m; $3.8m; €;3.2m) from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Collection Agency Rules in Canada

Collection agencies in Canada are permitted to contact debtors concerning debts that have been placed with the agency. Before any collection methods, such as collection calls, may be exercised, the debtor must be notified in writing that the collecting agency has been assigned to his account. The methods that collection agencies use to collect the debt are regulated by the Canadian government, as is what information the agency is able to obtain when collecting. 

Canada Revenue Agency revokes Tamil group's charitable status

Hundreds of Toronto Tamils gathered at Queen's Park in Toronto on May 18, 2010.

OTTAWA, Ont. — An Ottawa-based Tamil organization has lost its charitable status.
The Canada Revenue Agency has revoked the charitable registration of the Tamil (Sri Lanka) Refugee-Aid Society of Ottawa.
In a letter sent to the organization, the agency says the society failed to maintain control over its use of funds, improperly issued tax receipts on behalf of third parties and provided funding to people outside Canada who were not entitled to a donation.
This funding included $813,000 provided to another organization which, the agency believed was operating as part of the support network for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a group on Canada's official list of terrorist organizations.
The agency says an audit also revealed that the fundraising involved a person who had been convicted in the United States of conspiring to provide material support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (or CFIA) is a science based regulatory agency that is dedicated to the safeguarding of food, animals and plants, which enhance the health and well-being of Canada's people, environment and economy. The agency was created in April 1998 for the purpose of combining and integrating the related inspection services, of four separate federal government departments; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Health Canada and Industry Canada. The establishment of the CFIA consolidated the delivery of all federal food safety, animal health, and plant health regulatory programs.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) launches videocast series to target new generation of donors

Ottawa, Ontario, May 13, 2010... The Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of National Revenue, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, is pleased to announce the Canada Revenue Agency's latest initiative to support Canada's donors and charitable sector: the Giving to Registered Charities 101 videocast series. The goal of this series is to inform young Canadians about how charities are regulated in Canada and how to donate wisely. 
"By educating donors, we build confidence in the charitable sector as well as an appreciation for the work they do," said Minister Ashfield. "It is important that donors of all ages be able to access the information they need to make informed donation decisions in a format they can understand. I invite you to view these videocasts by visiting our donors Web site or the CRA's YouTube channel."
The videocast series includes three individual videos:

• "What's it all about?" introduces individuals to how charities become registered in Canada.
• "What's in it for me?" shows individuals the important role that charities play in Canada and the tax incentives available to taxpayers.
• "Where do I begin?" gives individuals the basic information they should know before donating to registered charities.

UN refugee agency commends Canada’s handling of Tamil boat people case

Sri Lankan returnees back home in Trincomalee, east SriLanka

17 August 2010 – The United Nations refugee agency said today it is encouraged by the way Canadian authorities have handled the situation involving 492 Sri Lankan nationals of Tamil origin who arrived by boat to the country last week and have claimed asylum. The group, which includes men, women and children, were passengers of the cargo ship MV Sun Sea that docked at Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia on Friday.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted that the reception site for the arrivals was well designed, and that needs in terms of information gathering, food and water have been well anticipated.
“Based on what we have seen thus far, we commend the exemplary work of the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) in coordinating the arrival and reception of the MV Sun Sea passengers,” UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva.
He added that UNHCR supports the important work of law enforcement agencies in combating human smuggling, an issue that has received much attention in relation to the MV Sun Sea case.
“It is nonetheless important to recognize that while refugees and migrants might use the same means of transportation, sometimes illegal, refugees are a distinct group with critical protection needs,” said Mr. Mahecic. “It is not a crime to seek asylum.”
The agency said it recognizes the considerable challenges that disembarkation and the processing of people from MV Sun Sea will entail, and will be following these activities to help compliance with the relevant provisions for treatment of persons seeking asylum and refugee status.
Sri Lankan forces declared victory over the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009 after a conflict that had raged on and off for nearly three decades and killed thousands of people.
UNHCR recently issued revised guidelines pertaining to Sri Lanka to help decision-makers in reviewing asylum claims, including a recommendation that in light of the improved security situation since the end of the conflict, claims by asylum-seekers from that country should be considered on their individual merits rather than on a group basis.
There are currently almost 149,100 Sri Lankan refugees in 64 countries, with over 75,000 hosted by India. In addition, there are more than 7,800 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers known to UNHCR in 58 countries, with Switzerland, Malaysia and Canada topping the list of host countries.

Canada Revenue Agency

The Connaught Building, home of the Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) (formerly Revenue Canada) is a federal agency that administers tax laws for the Government of Canada and for most provinces and territories, international trade legislation, and various social and economic benefit and incentive programs delivered through the tax system. It also oversees the registration of charities in Canada, and tax credit programmes such as the Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Credit Program.
The Canada Revenue Agency was previously known as the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) until a federal government reorganization in December 2004 when it was decided to split the organization's customs and revenue responsibilities into separate organizations. Since then, Canada Border Services Agency is part of the Public Safety Canada portfolio to handle customs responsibilities.
The CCRA was short-lived, having been created in a November 1998 reorganization of the federal government where it had been known for many years under its statutory name the Department of National Revenue. It was also referred to as Revenue Canada under the Federal Identity Program of the Treasury Board of Canada. To this day, most Canadians have continued to refer to the agency as "Revenue Canada" through its CCRA and CRA official designation periods.

Beijing Shifa Multi-Business Agency

Beijing Shifa Multi-Business Agency (Beijing Shifa) is a whole capital subsidiary establised in 1990 of China State-owned Research Institute of Food and Fermentation Industries (CNRIFFI).

Relaying on the profound technical strength of CNRIFFI and close relationship with Chinese food and fermentation industries, we have been engaging in import and export of APIs, Food and Feed Additives with our domestic contracted manufacturers certified by GMP, ISO 9000 and KOSHER for about 30 years

Agency relationships

Agency relationships are common in many professional areas.

• employment procurement
• real estate transactions (real estate brokerage, mortgage brokerage). In real estate brokerage, the buyers or sellers are the Principals themselves and the broker or his/her salesperson who represents each Principal is his/her Agent.
• financial advice (insurance agency, stock brokerage, accountancy)
• contract negotiation and promotion (business management) such as for publishing, fashion model, music, movies, theatre, show business, and sport.

An Agent in Commercial Law (also referred to as a manager) is a person who is authorised to act on behalf of another (called the Principal or client) to create a legal relationship with a Third Party.

Liability of agent to third party

If the agent has actual or apparent authority, the agent will not be liable for acts performed within the scope of such authority, so long as the relationship of the agency and the identity of the principal have been disclosed. When the agency is undisclosed or partially disclosed, however, both the agent and the principal are liable. Where the principal is not bound because the agent has no actual or apparent authority, the purported agent is liable to the third party for breach of the implied warranty of authority by jaco baakooo.

Law of agency

The law of agency is an area of commercial law dealing with a contractual or quasi-contractual, or non-contractual set of relationships when an agent is authorized to act on behalf of another (called the Principal) to create a legal relationship with a Third Party.Succinctly, it may be referred to as the relationship between a principal and an agent whereby the principal, expressly or impliedly, authorizes the agent to work under his control and on his behalf. The agent is, thus, required to negotiate on behalf of the principal or bring him and third parties into contractual relationship. This branch of law separates and regulates the relationships between:

• Agents and Principals;
• Agents and the Third Parties with whom they deal on their Principals' behalf; and
• Principals and the Third Parties when the Agents purport to deal on their behalf.

The common law principle in operation is usually represented in the Latin phrase, qui facit per alium, facit per se, i.e. the one who acts through another, acts in his or her own interests and it is a parallel concept to vicarious liability and strict liability in which one person is held liable in Criminal law or Tort for the acts or omissions of another.
Section 184 of the [Indian] Contract Act, 1872 defines Agent as “a person employed to do any act for another or to represent another in dealings with third persons”.

Austrian Business Agency

ABA - Invest in Austria (ABA) is the national investment promotion company of the Republic of Austria.The organization is responsible for acquiring and providing professional consulting services to foreign companies which want to establish a subsidiary or business operations in Austria. ABA also provides information about Austria as a business location, and advises companies on all relevant issues. ABA –I nvest in Austria was founded in 1982. Its offices in New York and Tokyo serve the American and Japanese markets respectively. A specialized organization belonging to ABA - Invest in Austria is “Location Austria“, which markets Austria as an international film location.