Tony At 10: BLOG NUMBER 64; JAN 25, 2013; SHOP LOCALLY

BUY CANADIAN; SHOP LOCALLY

1. The Economy: As of today Canada has a deficit of $23.5 Billion in our balance of trade with CHINA. In 2012 we exported $13.5 Billion worth of goods but imported goods totalling $37 Billion.

Canada’s Merchandise Trade with China, 2011
	Canadian Imports from China		Canadian Exports to China
	Merchandise Classification	%	Merchandise Classification	%
1	Electrical machinery and equipment	24.56	Woodpulp; paper or paperboard scraps	15.81
2	Boilers, mechanical appliances, etc.	19.55	Ores, slag and ash	15.74
3	Furniture and stuffed furnishings	5.68	Wood and wood articles, charcoal	8.86
4	Toys, games, sports equipment	5.57	Mineral fuels, oils	8.00
5	Woven clothing and apparel articles	4.44	Oil seeds and misc. fruit, grain, etc.	5.65
6	Knitted or crocheted apparel	4.43	Boilers, mechanical appliances, etc.	4.59
7	Iron or steel articles	4.14	Nickel and nickel articles	4.53
8	Footwear	3.06	Fats, oils and waxes	4.20
9	Plastic and plastic articles	2.94	Organic chemicals	3.29
10	Motor vehicles, trailers, bicycles, motorcycles	2.55	Fertilizers	3.09

	Top 10 as % of Total from China	76.92	Top 10 as % of Total To China	73.75
	Chinese Imports as % of Cdn Total	10.80	Chinese Exports as % of Cdn Total	4.01

*source INDUSTRY CANADA

2. Hygiene: Here are a few horror stories regarding imported foods from Asia:

Cold-FX is grown and packed in China and is full of fecal bacteria.
Most fish farms in Asia have no regulations governing what is fed to these fish. One report claims that in China they suspend chickens in cages over the ponds and allow the fish to feed on chicken poop.--Montreal Gazette.
Never buy the grocery store garlic unless it is clearly marked "from

3. Health: Beware of unscrupulous manufacturers who in the absence of regulation and oversight, dilute or produce goods with dangerous substances that are detrimental to Canadians' health.
4. Jobs: Buy and shop locally to provide businesses in your community the opportunity to provide employment to local citizens who send their children to local schools, shop locally and pay taxes to the local municipality. Check this out carefully.

5. Read this excerpt from TIME: The New Economics Foundation, an independent economic think tank based in London, compared what happens when people buy produce at a supermarket vs. a local farmer's market or community supported agriculture (CSA) program and found that twice the money stayed in the community when folks bought locally. "That means those purchases are twice as efficient in terms of keeping the local economy alive," says author and NEF researcher David Boyle.

Indeed, says Boyle, many local economies are languishing not because too little cash comes in, but as a result of what happens to that money. "Money is like blood. It needs to keep moving around to keep the economy going," he says, noting that when money is spent elsewhere—at big supermarkets, non-locally owned utilities and other services such as on-line retailers—"it flows out, like a wound." By shopping at the corner store instead of the big box, consumers keep their communities from becoming what the NEF calls "ghost towns" (areas devoid of neighborhood shops and services) or "clone towns", where Main Street now looks like every other Main Street with the same fast-food and retail chains. If a nation is limping through a recession, many towns and cities are hurting. "Buy-local" campaigns can help local economies withstand the downturn. Says Boyle: "For communities, this is a hopeful message in a recession because it's not about how much money you've got, but how much you can keep circulating without letting it leak out."

6. QUOTE: "You only live once but, if you do it right, once is enough." -Mae West

7. LAURELS TO: The community of BOBCAYGEON, ONTARIO for being a progressive, active and enjoyable place to live and conduct business.