WorkShoppers Online

Increased funding behind UNBC job cuts

PRINCE GEORGE - The move by the University of Northern B.C. to cut 50 job positions can be traced to the province's decision to sharply increase the number of spaces in B.C.'s universitys, says a faculty association spokesman.  Robert Clift, executive-director of the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of B.C., said enrolment at UNBC is flat largely because of the 2004 decision to create 25,000 new post-secondary spaces by 2010.  Clift said the money helped the University of B.C., Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria open more spaces and reduce admission requirements.  Source.

Aldergrove-Abbotsford transit bus link mulled

FRASER VALLEY - Buses could be rolling from Aldergrove to Abbotsford as soon as this summer, says a TransLink plan presented to Langley Township council.  The lack of a route has been a sore point for the Township for some time.  Langley is part of the TransLink system, while Abbotsford is part of the Central Fraser Valley Transit system, but they are negotiating with Coast Mountain Bus Company.  Langley and TransLink have spent years bickering over bus services, with service to Aldergrove always a sore point. The lack of buses travelling after 7 p.m. was a major complaint.  Source. 

Language, competition form stumbling blocks

Language difficulties and more competition from a better-educated Canadian workforce may be the real reason new immigrants to Canada -- even those who are highly educated -- are having a harder time becoming established.  According to a new federal study released Tuesday, the family incomes of new immigrants are deteriorating, despite the fact that immigrants are arriving with higher levels of education than ever before.  Source.

Landing that elusive job in BC

When Polly Nahar arrived in Canada in the summer of 2002, she knew she would have to prove her professional expertise, and that it might take some time to find a good job.  But the woman who had been a professional engineer in her native Bangladesh, who completed a master's degree at one of the former Soviet Union's best technical schools and who had worked as a civil engineer for 14 years, had no idea how hard her landing here was going to be.  Full story here.

Campuses offer different levels of care

There's a new trend in housing developments for seniors: campuses of care. These sites offer housing with more than one level of care: independent living; assisted living; and/or residential care. Campuses offer residents the option of moving from one level to the next as their health needs change. Article.

SAFER Program

She is a SAFER (Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters) recipient. The SAFER program provides direct cash assistance to eligible residents of British Columbia who are age 60 or over and who pay rent for their homes.  Article.

Information on housing programs in B.C. including seniors' housing and the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) program: here.

Decorating predictions

Canadiana, masculinity, pastels, and the stone altar. 

When we last left Lynda Reeves, at a swank public relations breakfast in Vancouver a year ago, she was predicting that 2006 would be the year of living with less, in our lives and especially in our homes.  Less clutter, less frou-frou, less worry about whether the drapes match the carpet match the sofa.  In fact, Canada's design doyenne had gazed into her 2006 crystal ball and found that spareness would be the new home decorating style, and that in our lifelong quest to acquire, we were about to tread the path of the about-turn, by shedding life's detritus.  More here.

Employment vs. retirement

She is also part of a growing wave of employees whose employers are making special efforts to both accommodate existing and new staff members aged 50 and over. Companies are offering such progressive options as home offices, flexible hours and compressed work weeks -- arrangements that are particularly appealing to older workers.  Story.

Parent views on charging fees

Parents of school-aged children have only two more days to express their views in a province-wide survey about whether schools should be allowed to charge fees for courses, field trips and special supplies.  Full story here.

Childcare funding cutbacks

MAPLE RIDGE - Area child care providers are getting set to drop their finger paints for placards.  On Feb. 6 from 6:30 to 8 a.m. at the intersection of Lougheed Highway and 200 Street, providers will host a walk to bring attention to recent child care funding cutbacks.  Earlier this month it was announced the provincial government funding would be scaled back because of the federal Conservative government's decision to eliminate the $450-million early learning and child care agreement in favour of the universal child care benefit.  As a result, various programs, including all of the province's child care resource and referral centres, would be reduced to the bare minimum, and eventually closed.  Child care providers who use the services of the local resource and referral centre are rallying to support the centre and to pressure government to continue funding.  CCRR program supervisor Jo-Anne MacKenzie said some providers have chosen to close down for the day of the walk.  Source.