Most EU beaches get clean bill of health

THE vast majority of some 22,000 swimming beaches in the EU are clean and safe, the European Environment Agency says. The EEA annual report for 2012 showed the water met the minimum standards required for bathing at 94 per cent of all swimming beaches in the European Union. Continue reading

Albertans support private health care services more than other canadians

CALGARY, Jan. 21, 2013 /CNW/ – Alberta is the only part of Canada where half the population would welcome increased private delivery of health care services, according to a survey conducted by EKOS Research Associates for The Conference Board of Canada’s Canadian Alliance for Sustainable Health Care. Many publicly funded health care services already are delivered through private enterprises, but Canadians were asked if they believe that allowing more private delivery would improve health care in Canada (by encouraging the public sector to become more efficient and relieving pressure on the public organizations), or whether they felt that this would worsen health care (by diverting limited resources from the public system) Continue reading

Rise in number of dirty beaches blamed on wettest ever summer

Only 93 per cent of England’s beaches pass minimum standards, down from 98 per cent in 2010 By Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor PUBLISHED: 12:48 EST, 6 November 2012 | UPDATED: 12:51 EST, 6 November 2012 The wettest summer on record lead to an increase in the number of beaches breaking clean water standards. The latest water quality tests found that 93 per cent of Englands bathing spots reached the mandatory minimum levels, compared to 98 per cent in 2011. Around England, 29 coastal sites failed to make the minimum grade, up from just nine spots last year, figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) showed. Continue reading

English beaches are dirtier than last year

Standards fell across the UK as a whole, with the number meeting guideline standards dropping from 77 per cent last year to 60 per cent in 2012 and those achieving the minimum grade falling from 98 per cent in 2011 to 94 per cent this year. Richard Benyon, the Environment Minister, said: “While the majority of England’s bathing waters continue to be of good quality, I am disappointed that a number have fallen short of the tighter standard due to the heavy rainfall we experienced during the summer Continue reading

Canterbury's beaches safe to swim at – report

Fancy a swim this summer? If you’re in Canterbury, chances are your favourite beach is safe, a new report shows. More than 80 per cent of Canterbury’s beaches have been graded safe to swim at,says the Ministry for the Environment’s Recreational Water Quality in New Zealand report Continue reading

Noticeable difference between Quebecers' and other Canadians' perspectives on factors affecting health

www.conferenceboard.ca OTTAWA, Oct. 16, 2012 /CNW/ – Compared to Canadians in other provinces, Quebecers put more emphasis on the health care system and less on daily activities as the factors having the biggest impact on a person’s health, according to an EKOS Research Associates survey released by The Conference Board of Canada today. “The differences between Quebecers and the national results are slight on most of the individual questions, but, when the survey results are taken as a whole, there is a noticeable difference in perspectives,” said Louis Thriault, Director, Health Economics. Continue reading

Almost one third of Boroondara residents have no religion

DOES Boroondara lack spirituality? That is the question posed by Census figures released last week showing 44,588, or 28 per cent, of Boroondara residents do not follow a religion Continue reading

Health care, jobs top concerns for Canadians: poll

Health care and unemployment continue to top the list of issues Canadians deem worrisome but, according to a monthly poll, priorities vary widely when broken down by region. Every month, the pollsters ask 1,000 people across the country via an online panel which three of the following topics do you find the most worrying about Canada? The options include health care, taxes, crime, poverty/inequality, immigration control, unemployment/jobs, corruption, education, environment and moral decline. Continue reading