Another good year for PCU
Yesterday was April Fool’s Day, but there was no fooling around at the Portage Credit Union’s 64th annual general meeting, which was held last night at the William Glesby Centre. PCU board president Joe Masi read the 2007 year-end report to the 82 members who attended the meeting, and the report was filled with good news. “I think (the report) clearly shows that the Portage Credit Union continues to grow and be the financial choice for this area,” said Masi.

P.E.I. ag programs up for communities funding
Prince Edward Island's government plans to flow some of the $13.7 million it will receive from the federal Community Development Trust toward agriculture programs. Premier Robert Ghiz and Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed P.E.I.'s share of the trust funding in a press release Monday.

RM of Elton banks on windpower
It's more than just a little passing wind to this community. There's money in that wind -- the kind passing over farm fields -- and people here aim to collect it. "We want to catch the energy going over our land and sell it into the grid," explained Dan Mazier, head of non-profit Elton Energy Co-op. What's different about this wind project from others is profits wouldn't sail away to multinational head offices.

Microcredit, macro gain
Cohen MacInnis was stuck. The 20-year-old real estate developer from Antigonish had several promising deals in the fire, but because of his age and limited credit history, he was finding it tough to get financing. One day while doing his personal banking at the Bergengren Credit Union in Antigonish, a staffer told him about its microcredit program.

For organic growers, defining 'local' is a challenge
Define local. Is it 100 miles or 100 kilometres? Does arrival at market within 12-36 hours of being picked count? And, if one farmer distributes produce from 12 or 100 certified organic operations within a co-operative, does that satisfy a consumer's local food stipulation?

Fish farms dangled as small-town economy boosters
Government policy and guidelines continue to thwart expansion of the fish farming industry in Northern Ontario – an industry that could help revive struggling rural and single-industry towns, aquaculture industry insiders claim. The Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association says there is “excellent potential” for slow, carefully planned expansion of the industry in the North.

Jobs will reduce suicide rates on reserves, chief says
With swagger and a shoot-from-the-lip sense of humour, Chief Clarence Louie won over a crowd of corporate leaders yesterday with his simple prescription for the problems facing Canada's aboriginals - jobs. Creating jobs and spurring economic development are the best ways to reduce the high suicide rate among aboriginal people, he said.

The Social Entrepreneurial Mindset: You, too, can think like an innovator
I guess you can say that Geoff Cape knows a thing or two about social entrepreneurship. For approximately 18 years, he has led Evergreen, a national charity and social business venture with a mission of bringing communities and nature together for the benefit of both.

Students Sit-In at York University President's Office Demanding a No-Sweatshop Policy
Forty students have been sitting outside the Office of the President at York University since 2:00 p.m. today, demanding that the university implement a no sweatshop policy. "York University has been stalling in negotiations over a no sweatshop policy for three years," said Terrance Luscombe, a student and member of the York Sustainable Purchasing Coalition.

Rent subsidy eligibility boosted: Critics say lack of housing the real issue in Victoria
The province hopes to offer a rent break to more working families by raising the income threshold on B.C. Housing’s Rental Assistance Program to $35,000, Housing Minister Rich Coleman says. But the opposition is calling the move, which comes just one year after the threshold was raised to $28,000 from $20,000, a signal that the program isn’t working.