Deux soldats canadiens sont décédés hier en Afghanistan. Un caméraman est blessé et Patrice Roy a subi un violent choc nerveux. Cette nouvelle est tombée comme une onde de choc hier à Ottawa. Le téléphone a commencé à sonner… des « as-tu su pour Patrice? Son caméraman? » se sont bousculés à mes oreilles toute la soirée.

Lorsque les soldats de Val-Cartier ont quitté pour l’Afghanistan, on a tous pris une grande respiration en leur souhaitant la meilleure des chances. C’est avec tristesse que l’on apprends la mort de 3 d’entre eux. C’est avec la même tristesse que l’on a accueilli la nouvelle des 66 autres Canadiens morts au combat depuis le début de la mission.

Cependant, c’est fou ce que ça peut faire comme effet de savoir qu’un journaliste avec qui j’ai régulièrement eu la chance de rigoler et d’avoir des conversations plus sérieuses, était là. J’ai peine à m’imaginer ce que ses collègues ont pu ressentir, sans oublier sa famille. Ouf.

Alors voilà, ce type d’histoire ça fait réfléchir sur l’importance du rôle des journalistes dans des situations dangereuses. Ce matin j’écoutais attentivement Daniel Lessard à la radio de Radio-Canada qui disait que c’était important pour eux d’être là. Que c’est leur rôle d’aller au-delà des débats à la Chambre des communes, pour bien comprendre les enjeux.

Je n’ai jamais été journaliste. Et même après en avoir côtoyé plus d’un dans le lobby de la Chambre de communes, je pense que comme plusieurs, j’ai tenu pour acquis l’importance de leur rôle. Quel est le prix de l’information? Certainement important. Le prix de l’ignorance? Pire.

Patrice, merci.

I do all my banking online (like most people, other than my parents).

In terms of bills, I have a pretty good handle on how much I owe to who and by when.  So most of the paper bills I receive in the mail go directly into the recycle bin without being opened.  Therefore, I could do without receiving them in the mail, but I don’t always have that option.

I’ve been using Canada Post’s ePost service for several years now, basically since it was launched, although I don’t remember when that was.

ePost works pretty well.  I add my billers by company name and account number, then instead of receiving monthly paper bills in the mail, an electronic copy goes into my ePost inbox.  If I wish, ePost will send me an email notification when I have received a new bill.

No fuss, no muss, and BTW, no unnecessary waste.

Recently, ePost got together with Canada’s banks (Montreal, CIBC, Citizens, Laurentian, National, RBC, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust) and numerous credit unions to make bills received through ePost available within online banking.  I bank with CIBC who calls this service ‘E-Bills’ – my E-Bills inbox is shown below.

The unfortunate thing is that many of companies I receive bills from (e.g. Home Depot, Hydro Ottawa, Enbridge, Sears, Best Buy, Future Shop) don’t give me the option to stop receiving paper bills and only receive electronic bills through ePost.  Rogers, MasterCard and the City of Ottawa are some of the billers that do let me receive my bills only through ePost and have for some time now.

It’s really time for companies to provide customers with the option to only receive their bills electronically whether through ePost or another system. 

The Ottawa office of Thornley Fallis and 76design is looking for a part-time, Senior Accountant — approximately 10 hours per week, with flexible schedule after initial probationary period.

The person will prepare a variety of financial and payroll reports, reconciliations and GL adjustments. 

Requirements:

• Background in accounting or finance, a “math wizard”
• Highly organized and efficient, great documentation and formating skills (MS Excel & MS Word)
• Experience in preparation of financial statements 
• High-competency with a range of MS Office programs and applications, with knowledge of QuickBooks an asset 
• Ability to pass security screening to Secret level

If you are interested, send your CV to milroy@thornleyfallis.com.

I was struck recently by the lack of coverage given the 2006 census when it was released July 17th.  What struck me, in particular, was the fact that:

1. During the slowest news period of the year, the story about the aging of Canada’s population (across the board) received one day of coverage, with very little follow-on coverage anywhere, and
2. There was little national discussion about the various regional stories associated with the census and the ongoing impact that will have from coast to coast to coast in this country.

I confess, I’m a bit of a demographic buff — have been since I helped out a bit on New Brunswick at the Dawn of a New Century in 1996 and read Boom, Bust and Echo by David Foot the same year.

So, while I’ve been waiting, let’s reflect on some of the larger things the census tells us:

1. Newfoundland may shrink its way into have-province status, as young people are an ever-rarer sight in that province;
2. All of Atlantic Canada faces significant population challenges, as does Saskatchewan and Quebec outside of Montreal;
3. Alberta, BC and Ontario remain the bright lights, demographically, meaning their economies will continue to shine as well.

My fear is that the census, and indeed demographics, is becoming a story that is too big to cover, much like the challenges we face from an energy perspective or the challenges faced in reforming and reshaping government operations.

But much as the lack of coverage makes me a little crazy, what really irks me is the challenge I have talking with people who refuse to consider the impacts demographics will have on them personally. 

For example, where are pension funds investing their money, and what impact is the flight of head offices from Canada going to have on their investments?

There are literally thousands of questions that could be asked of government, of citizens, and of the corporate sector out of the census.  I guess that means I better go back to the source document itself and get reading — waiting for a national discussion on it seems like it might be too much to ask.