Salmon Disease Surveillance Underway in British Columbia

OTTAWA, Ontario - Marketwire - July 17, 2012 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has begun collecting and testing wild salmon off the coast of British Columbia to determine the status of three salmon diseases: infectious haematopoietic necrosis, infectious pancreatic necrosis and infectious salmon anaemia.

While all three diseases are no risk to human health, they are highly contagious and can cause mortality in wild and aquaculture salmon.

Infectious haematopoietic necrosis is known to exist in certain species and populations of wild finfish in British Columbia. The surveillance initiative will determine its presence in certain species and populations of wild finfish in British Columbia. Infectious pancreatic necrosis and infectious salmon anaemia have not been confirmed in British Columbia.

Through this initiative, approximately 5,000 wild salmon will be collected annually, for a minimum of two years. The Agency will also evaluate the ongoing testing of farmed salmon.

All disease testing, as well as any activities undertaken to respond to confirmed cases, will follow international guidelines and national aquatic animal health requirements.

Any confirmed disease cases will be reported on a monthly basis through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's website as is done for all terrestrial and aquatic reportable diseases. Those interested can subscribe to receive e-mail notifications when the report is updated.

Many organizations are supporting the Agency in this initiative, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Province of British Columbia, First Nations groups, and the aquaculture industry.

For more information on the salmon disease surveillance initiative

- Visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's web page on Salmon disease surveillance in British Columbia

- call 1-800-442-2342

Follow us on Twitter for the latest on aquatic animal health: www.twitter.com/CFIA_Animals.

Academy Award winner, actor, director and musician, Kevin Costner and Juno Award winner Canadian musician and humanitarian Tom Cochrane to play at 2012 TELUS World Skins

TELUS and IMG release new block of 500 tickets to sold out event, proceeds to go to the IWK Health Centre Foundation

HALIFAX, July 13, 2012 /Canada NewsWire/ - TELUS announced today celebrities Kevin Costner and Tom Cochrane have signed-on to play the Monday and Tuesday morning Pro-Ams at the 2012 TELUS World Skins taking place at Glen Arbour Golf Course in Halifax, Nova Scotia July 29-31. TELUS will donate $500 for each eagle and $100 for every birdie that the celebrity teams and the five PGA player foursomes make during the Pro-Ams during the two days, with money raised going towards the IWK Health Centre Foundation, the benefiting charity for the annual golf tradition.

In addition, TELUS and IMG have released a new block of 500 tickets to the sold out 2012 TELUS World Skins with net proceeds going to the IWK, which provides critical and specialized care to women, children and families throughout the Maritimes.

"With the addition of well-known celebrities playing in the Pro-Am games, this year's event is sure to be one of the most memorable in its 20 year history," said Gen. (Ret.) Rick Hillier, Chair of the TELUS Atlantic Canada Community Board. "The money raised through the new block of 500 tickets and our celebrity players will ensure that TELUS leaves a significant charitable legacy in the Atlantic Canada community that will directly benefit children, women and families in the Maritimes."

The TELUS World Skins Game is a highlight of the Canadian summer sporting schedule for the country's most passionate golf fans and the community that hosts it. Including corporate and team member donations, TELUS World Skins has raised more than $10.4 million for a wide variety of important causes across Canada since 2001.

To purchase the new tickets for the Canadian golf tradition, please visit www.telusskins.com, or call 1-877-451-1221. Tickets are priced at $99 (plus applicable service fees) for a two-day pass, with a one-day pass for either day also available for $65 (plus applicable service fees).

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.5 billion of annual revenue and 12.7 million customer connections including 7.4 million wireless subscribers, 3.5 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 550,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Eleven TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

About IWK Health Centre Foundation

The IWK Health Centre Foundation helps sustain excellence in specialized care at the IWK for all Maritime families. Last year, generous donors contributed over $10 million to excellence in specialized care at the IWK, including neonatal and pediatric intensive care, women's health and mental health services for children and youth. Funds raised also support world-renowned researchers and the purchase of modernized technology and equipment. Together with donors, the IWK Foundation supported more than 16,000 inpatient visits and nearly 300,000 outpatient and emergency room visits in one year. Visit iwkfoundation.org for more information.

About IMG

IMG Worldwide is a global sports, entertainment and media business, with nearly 3,000 employees operating in 30 countries around the globe. IMG's areas of expertise are diverse and wide ranging: IMG College; IMG's Joint Ventures in China, Brazil and India; IMG Media; IMG Events and Federations; IMG Fashion; IMG Models; IMG Art + Commerce; IMG Clients; IMG Academies; IMG Consulting and IMG Licensing. More information is available at www.imgworld.com.

Inniskillin's Icewines top accolades at recent competitions

Niagara's premium Icewine takes front and centre amid prestigious Canadian and International wine competitors

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ontario, July 10, 2012 /Canada NewsWire/ - Inniskillin Winemaker Bruce Nicholson continues to dominate the Icewine category by capturing over 50 percent of recent awards for this iconic global wine. Bruce is pleased to see the broad recognition for Inniskillin Icewines as they continue with their consistent high quality.

"I am particularly proud my 2008 Riesling Icewine as I feel this is the best Riesling Icewine I have ever produced."

Award winning Icewine is synonymous with Inniskillin, Canada's original estate winery and leader of Icewine throughout the world. They are widely available in 73 countries and 28 airlines. Nicholson is equally as proud of the awards garnered for his table wines.

About Inniskillin Wines

The combined efforts of the Inniskillin winemaking team and the viticulture team keep Inniskillin focused on consistently producing top quality VQA wines. Inniskillin Wines, established in 1975 by co-founders Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser, is Canada's premier estate winery producing truly distinctive and elegant wines from premium grape varieties grown in Canada.

In January of 2007 Winemaker Bruce Nicholson arrived at Inniskillin after Kaiser's retirement and is carrying on the tradition of excellence and innovation. Inniskillin has vineyards in the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario and the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.

Inniskillin has gained international recognition for its award winning Icewines and can be found in over 73 countries around the world. Inniskillin is proud of the role it has played and continues to be one of the rising stars in bringing recognition to Canada as part of the international success of Canadian wines.

Clever Design Uses Newspaper to Make a Real Umbrella

photo credit: © Shiu Yuk Yuen

from TreeHugger.com by Alex Davies - Design / Sustainable Product Design

The image of the person caught in the rain without an umbrella, holding a newspaper over their head to keep dry, is a classic one. So is the pile of broken and discarded umbrellas in the gutter. But if London-based product designer Shiu Yuk Yuen can bring her solution to the market, those twin images could become things of the past. The "Eco Brolly" is a handle and frame system that becomes an umbrella as soon as you clip on a newspaper.

The simple, clever design is made from aluminum and fits in your pocket or purse. If it starts raining, unscrew the top lid, poke it through the middle of the paper (or a plastic bag, piece of cardboard, or whatever), and open it out. It works just like a regular umbrella, but reused and easily available materials take the place of the traditional fabric/plastic.

Yuen, who created the Eco Brolly in 2007 as part of her university degree project and is looking for a way to bring it to the market, admits that it is best for short periods of time. Eventually rain will penetrate paper (less true if you use plastic), and you'll need to replace the paper every time it rains.

But considering how crummy most umbrellas are, and all the material and energy it takes to produce them, this could be a simple way to make them obsolete. Either buy a quality product that will last a long time, or go for the Eco Brolly, and keep your head dry with paper that's already produced and on the street.

A Special Golf Tournament

A few years ago, the Guelph Wellington Seniors Association Golf Group donated money to the Children's Wish Fund of Guelph.

Ron Asseltine, a former NHL referee, received the cheque at one of our year end lunches.

Now, I am reminded of their annual golf tournament, a fund raiser for a very worthy cause. He is asking for our support and it sounds like a fun day.

The date is July 14th 1:00 pm shotgun at Victoria Park East, the format is a 4 person scramble. Entry fee is $125 a person which includes, hot lunch, 18 holes of golf with cart, wonderful supper, gifts and prizes.

This is a fun day and is for a great charity, to date they have raised well over $300.000. Barry Scutt, a golfer with the A group is the contact person for this tournament. If you are interested in particpating, please contact Barry at 519-836-6529.

I would like to go and invite others to join me ... Ken Hills