Month: April 2019

We all know the phrase, “Should the cabin experience sudden pressure loss, oxygen masks will drop down from above your seat. Place the mask over your mouth and nose.” But have we all thought about what we would do should this actually happen?

Decompression is an unplanned drop in pressure. Commercial aircraft cabins are pressurized to an equivalent of more than 2,400 metres, when you’re actually at more than 12,000 metres. This allows us passengers to breathe comfortably and enjoy the flight. However, if something breaks that pressure seal, we’re immediately exposed to an extreme switch in altitude and only have a mere seconds of useful consciousness.

Albeit rare, these cases do happen. For example, the 2008 Qantas flight that landed with a giant hole in it, or the more recent Southwest incident.

So what happens if your plane suddenly depressurizes? At first, you’ll probably feel like you’re rushing up a skyscraper elevator. Your ears will pop, and you may experience some temporary hearing problems. If you hold your nose and blow the air out of your ears, you shouldn’t experience any long term effects.

Next, the plane should drop. But don’t panic, this is the pilot flying to a lower altitude where humans can breathe the outside air. You may also see what appears to be smoke in the air. This is usually just vapour or mist that comes from a sudden change in pressure. But, you’ll be able to smell if it is smoke.

At some point, the oxygen masks will drop down. If they drop before you feel any discomfort, put them on immediately, as the pressure leak could be gradual and you may not feel the effects yet. If they happened to drop by accident, just take it off and no harm is done. If they drop after an impact, also put them on immediately.

Without a mask on, you ‘ll likely pass out within a minute or so, which is why it’s so important to secure your own before assisting others. Passing out from decompression in itself shouldn’t be fatal though, assuming you’re flown to a breathable altitude soon after. The masks provide 10 to 15 minutes of oxygen to help us breathe comfortably until the plane reaches that altitude.

If you happen to be in the washroom when the masks drop, get to the nearest empty seat and put on both the mask and the seat belt. If you know someone who is in the washroom, do not attempt to go help them. Instead, flag down a flight attendant if possible, as they have portable oxygen. For this reason, I always recommend parents accompany their children to the washroom and wait outside in case of any emergency.

In the case that your mask doesn’t deploy, you can often pry it open with little effort. If you can’t gain access, and there are no empty seats nearby, it’s possible to share with your neighbour.

Due to the possibility of any emergency, including decompression, it’s so important to wear your seat belt at all times. If you’re asleep without being belted in, a quick plunge of the plane to reach that lower altitude could send you flying too.

Decompression can be scary, but it’s survivable and rare. If you’re worried, book a seat closer to the middle of the aircraft, or you can actually travel with portable oxygen. Overall though, pay attention to the safety videos and follow the emergency instructions and you will be okay.

Happy and safe travels!

TORONTO — Thousands of people participating in Ontario’s basic income pilot will receive their last payment on March 31, 2019, the province says, but an anti-poverty activist says the six-month wind down will still hurt many who were depending on the program.

After pulling the plug on the pilot last month, the Progressive Conservative government said Friday the final payments to the 4,000 low-income recipients in several cities will be made on that date.

The clarification comes after Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod denied reports that the payments would end in August, stressing there would be a “lengthy and compassionate runway” to end the program aimed at lifting people out of poverty that was launched by the former Liberal government.

“We have a broken social service system,” MacLeod said in a statement. “A research project that helps less than 4,000 people is not the answer and provides no hope to nearly two million Ontarians who are trapped in a cycle of poverty.”

Along with the cancellation of the pilot, Ontario promised to complete a review of the province’s social assistance programs by Nov. 8.

The basic income pilot project was set to run for three years, providing payments to 4,000 low-income people in communities including Hamilton, Brantford, Thunder Bay and Lindsay. Single participants receive up to $16,989 a year while couples receive up to $24,027, less 50 per cent of any earned income.

The Tories had promised during the spring election to preserve the $150-million pilot, but MacLeod later said it would reverse course because the program was “failing” — a claim experts have disputed.

Tom Cooper of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction said the six-month wind down will not be enough time for many people.

“It still leaves many basic income participants in impossible situations,” he said. “Many have signed one year lease agreements with landlords and they can’t get out of those leases and they can’t afford their new rent. There’s many people who plan to go back to school in September. Whether that will still be a reality for them with a longer wind down is questionable.”

Cooper said the government has only now extended the wind down because it was under pressure.

“While it seems that this might be a little bit longer wind down than initially feared, I think that’s only because there was so much pressure on them and there was very little compassion shown by the government in the early days,” he said.

A Toronto restaurant is so hot right now that it’s sizzling.

Alo, which just recently took the top spot in Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list, has also been named one of the top restaurants in the world. The contemporary French eatery and cocktail bar placed 94th on a prestigious annual global ranking published by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Although Alo didn’t place in the top 50 (which will be released June 19), the organization called the restaurant’s spot in the top 100 “impressive.”

“Also celebrating an impressive upward trajectory is Alo (No.94), a relative newcomer to the Canadian culinary scene, having only opened in 2015 and now representing Toronto’s first appearance on a list by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants since 2002,” the organization said in a press release.

“Thank you to our team and the continued support from our diners. We’re feeling very honoured today,” Alo said on Instagram.

No other Canadian restaurants made the top 51-100 ranking. The last restaurant to make the list was Montreal’s Joe Beef — a favourite of iconic chef Anthony Bourdain — which came 81st in 2015.

The list called Alo an “elevated restaurant” that embraces the finer things in life, praised its precise, technically-accomplished dishes, its cocktail bar, and even its bread course — noting that the restaurant churns its own butter from local cream and offers a wine pairing.

“Alo is an unabashed champion of fine dining, combining classical technique, global ingredients and a chic dining room with views of the city,” they noted.

Alo offers its customers two distinct dining experiences: its Dining Room, which offers blind, multi-course tasting menus, and its Kitchen Counter, both of which have to be booked through tocktix.com. Its cocktail bar features an à la carte menu, and is walk-in only.

In April, the eatery placed first in the annual ranking of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, and its cocktail bar placed fifth in the top 50 bars in the country.

“Two years after opening, Alo is grander and more ambitious than ever, yet, even still, its grasp never exceeds its reach,” Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants explained on its website.

“Chef-owner Patrick Kriss’ kitchen team, led by chef de cuisine Nick Bentley, is cooking with the same attention-grabbing finesse with which it started — but displaying greater range.”

Amal Clooney can add “Vogue cover model” to her long list of accomplishments.

The powerful human rights lawyer, women’s safety activist, style icon, and mother of twins (who also happens to be married to actor George Clooney) appears on the cover of the magazine’s May 2018 issue.

She was photographed by famous American photographer Annie Leibovitz, and is wearing an Alexander McQueen top and Cartier earrings.

The decision to put Clooney on the cover was an easy one, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour wrote in the magazine.

“One of the many conversations we’ve been having at Vogue lately is about who exactly should be gracing our covers given the radically changed world we now live in. We’ve always taken the position that the women we feature should have substance to them, something that has only taken on greater urgency in the last year or so,” Wintour wrote in her editor’s note.

“That’s why I’m delighted that Amal Clooney, a force to be reckoned with in the realms of international law and human rights, agreed to appear on our May cover.”

Clooney’s interview, which takes place at her home in Sonning, England, focuses on her impressive career and her personal life, as well as her opinions on gun control and the #MeToo movement.

“I think because of the brave women who have come forward to tell their stories, the future workplace will be safer for my daughter than it was for people of my generation,” Clooney said.

Her actor husband, George, is first-mentioned simply as “her husband,” and for that thoughtful detail we Can’t. Stop. Clapping. (There has been a lot of criticism about media outlets referring to Amal — who is obviously famous and accomplished — simply as “George Clooney’s wife.”)

“A side table, lit by a simple lamp, bears silver-framed black-and-white photos of her with her husband, George, and friends,” the description in Vogue reads.

Clooney, who gave birth to twins in 2017, also discusses breastfeeding (“I had all manner of weird cushions and pillows and machines”) and balancing her work and motherhood (“Between six and eight in the morning we get to have them in our bed — I don’t schedule any calls before eight”).

And she reveals that her twins’ first words were “Mama” (right on!)

“We’ve had some ‘Mamas’ and ‘Dadas,’ ” Amal said. “George was very careful to ensure that ‘Mama’ was the first word.”

While her Vogue cover was widely celebrated, with many people using social media to applaud the publication for its choice, there were others who questioned whether Clooney belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine.

“I thought Vogue was considered a fashion magazine not celebs playground,” a commenter wrote on Instagram.

Which we could say a lot about, but instead we’ll just return to Wintour’s explanation: that she’s “a force to be reckoned with.”

“Amal needs no introduction, of course — yet for someone who’s in the spotlight so much, she rarely engages with her fame. It’s as if she has negotiated a life for herself that can somehow happily accommodate being married to a very famous movie star without ever having to sacrifice her passionate attachment to her long and illustrious career as a barrister, most notably her defence of the Yazidis and her challenge to the United Nations to take action on their behalf,” Wintour wrote.

And that sounds like exactly the type of person who should be celebrated on a magazine cover, TBH.

Read the full Clooney interview in Vogue’s May 2018 issue.

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index had its worst day in more than three years on Wednesday as North American markets plummeted on a broad sell off by nervous investors.

All asset classes except gold and safe haven currencies were firmly lower as risk aversion was the underlying tone on the day, says Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager for Fiera Capital.

“I think equity markets are getting a little spooked that the rise in interest rates is going to impact valuations and erode, potentially, corporate profits and this is obviously coming at a time when equity valuations have been so lofty,” she said in an interview.

The Toronto Stock Exchange was lower for a fourth-straight day.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 336.65 points to 15,517.40, marking the biggest daily decline since September 2015. The decrease wiped out all gains since the end of April.

The market hit a low of 15,511.84 on 339.3 million shares traded.

Gold stocks rose by more than two per cent on a higher price of gold. The December gold contract was up $1.90 at US$1,193.40 an ounce.

Health care was down only slightly as losses were offset by a 15.1 per cent increase at Aphria Inc. on reports that Marlboro cigarette maker Altria Group Inc. is in talks with the Canadian pot grower.

Industrials led on the downside, declining by 4.9 per cent as SNC-Lavalin’s shares hit a multi-year low after it announced that federal prosecutors won’t agree to negotiate a deal that would set aside unproven fraud and corruption charges.

The losing sector was followed by information technology, energy, base metals and consumer discretionary.

Stocks on major world markets slid to a three-month low on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P500 stock index falling more than 3.0 percent, its biggest one-day fall since February. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 831.83 points to 25,598.74 as all stocks were in the red.

Technology shares tumbled on fears of slowing demand, while bond yields ended lower after seeing multi-year highs earlier this week.

Major equity indexes in Europe fell more than 1.0 percent, also pulled down by technology shares, and gold prices inched up as some investors sought refuge in the metal.

“The S&P 500 is looking very weak and negative and that is putting fear into investors,” said Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors. “With the markets going down people are increasing their allocation towards gold.”

Bangsund said the indiscriminate selling indicates that many nervous investors were unwinding positions despite strong earnings expectations.

She said the global economy remains in great shape even though the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday downgraded its outlook for growth of the world economy to 3.7 per cent, citing rising interest rates and growing tensions over trade.

The selloff could eventually present buying opportunities once the frenzy subsides, Bangsund noted.

“This could create some fairly compelling entry points to the market as soon as these conditions are washed out.”

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 76.97 cents US compared with an average of 77.13 cents US on Tuesday. The decrease came on lower oil prices despite potential supply disruptions from a hurricane hitting Florida’s Gulf Coast.

— Ross Marowits, The Canadian Press, with a file from Herbert Lash, Reuters.

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Affordable housing might be the one reason Canadians still envy their southern neighbours these days (a four-bedroom villa in Houston for $300,000, anyone?), but it turns out there may be nothing to envy there, either.

According to a new survey from real estate site Zoocasa, Calgary is the most affordable major housing market in the U.S. or Canada.

The survey looked at the 30 largest metro areas in the U.S., and the five largest in Canada. It compared the median household income against the income you would need to buy a median-priced house.

Watch: The extreme measures Canadians go through to buy a home. Story continues below.

And as it turns out, residents of Calgary have the largest income “surplus” of any of those cities. A household with a median income in Calgary earns US$30,298 more than it needs to in order to afford a median home. (All the figures in the study were in U.S. dollars.)

Calgary’s house prices don’t look particularly low when compared to other mid-sized Canadian cities, but the city has a very high median income, thanks to high-paying jobs mainly related to the oil industry.

Residents of Montreal and Ottawa also enjoy a “surplus” of US$4,161 and US$16,326, respectively.

Meanwhile, in Vancouver, a median household earns US$74,285 less than it would need to afford a median house.

Notably, while other surveys have indicated Vancouver is the least affordable market in the U.S. or Canada, this one suggests that the city is only number two on this list, with San Francisco taking the cake.

San Franciscans would need to earn US$140,003 more than they do today to afford a median house. Ouch.

Good news for San Franciscans, though: Home sales there are slowing down, meaning lower prices could soon be on the way. (Well, that’s good news for buyers, anyway.)

If Calgary’s housing market is affordable, it may have to do with the fact its real estate market has been going through a soft patch for more than a decade, since the financial crisis of 2008-09.

And lately things have turned for the worse. Home sales in the city fell to their lowest point since 1996 at the end of last year, when an oil price slump hit Alberta’s economy. It had the fastest-falling detached home prices of any major Canadian city in 2018.

But even before that, there was little upward pressure on house prices in this market. According to the Teranet-National Bank house price index, Calgary house prices are still below the peak they reached in October, 2014.

Toronto affordability looks sort of ‘normal’

The Zoocasa survey found that, despite the massive run-up in house prices in Toronto up to 2017, the city is only mildly unaffordable when compared to others. The median Toronto household would have to earn US$19,121 more to afford a median home. (The median price includes condos.)

That places Toronto in the middle of the pack, with similar levels of unaffordability to Miami.

By this measure, Toronto remains more affordable than Boston, Los Angeles or New York. Other measures in recent years have suggested that Toronto is less affordable than those cities.

For its calculations, Zoocasa assumed a 4.5-per-cent mortgage rate for U.S. mortgages and a 3.75-per-cent rate for Canada, roughly reflecting the current rates in those markets. It assumed a 30-year timeline for repayment. That might make Canadian cities look slightly more affordable compared to their U.S. peers, as insured mortgages in Canada are limited to 25 years.