What’s New: In Brief (April 13, 2007)

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has donated $500,000 to fund a research facility designed to study the building of safer homes. Thanks to the IBC, a typical two-story brick house, similar to many homes found in neighbourhoods across Canada, has been constructed for the sole purpose of being slowly destroyed, says an IBC press release. Located at the University of Western Ontarios Faculty of Engineering in London, Ontario, over the next few years the home will be subjected to a variety of severe weather conditions, including simulated winds of up to a category five hurricane (200 miles-hour) that will eventually blow the roof off all in a controlled environment. Researchers will also study the destructive pathways of mould and water.

The Co-Operators Group Ltd. has announced that Richard Lemoing has been selected as the new chairperson of its board of directors, the joining of three co-operative institutions to the Co-Operators ownership group, as well as welcoming five new directors to the board. The institutions to join are: Alberta Federation of Rural Electrification Associations; Fdration des cooperatives funeraires du Qubec; and Ontario Natural Food Co-op. The new additions to the board include: Daniel Burns, representing Credit Union Central of British Columbia; Rene Daoust of the Co-Operative Housing Federation of Canada; Albert De Boer, of Agrifoods International Co-Operative Limited; Dave Sitaram of Credit Union Central of Ontario; and Jack Wilkinson of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.