Victoria’s Read

FRAUD
RECOGNIZE IT.
REPORT IT.
STOP IT.
1-888-495-8501
www.phonebusters.com

Protecting yourself from fraud begins with learning to recognize it. Call PhoneBusters to report fraud and to learn more ways to protect yourself.

Recognize The Big Prize Scam
Legitimate lottery, prize and sweepstakes administrators never charge up-front fees to deliver your prize. This is one of the most common scams. If you send money, you will never get it back.

Recognize Credit Offer Fraud
Students, new Canadians and people who have experienced credit problems are often approached by fraud artists who offer low-interest loans and credit cards for a fee. People who pay the fee don’t receive their loan or card and they never get their money back.

Recognize Identity Theft
Don’t give out driver’s licence, bank account or social insurance numbers on the phone or Internet. Legitimate businesses contacting you by those means won’t ask for that information.

Did you know:

Identity theft has hit one out of every six adult Canadians, more than 4.2 million people. Even more people have been hit by marketing fraud, about one in three.

How do you plan to spend Family Day this year?

By playing board games or making a craft with your kids? Perhaps by visiting some extended family? How about some outdoor fun? Maybe some skiing, skating, tobogganing or snowmobiling with your loved ones?

On Monday, February 18, 2008, most Ontarians will enjoy a well-deserved day off. Family Day was first proposed during the provincial election this past fall, when Premier Dalton McGuinty promised Ontarians that a day would be set aside to mark a special holiday for families. Upon re-election, the Ontario Government quickly delivered on its promise and announced that the third Monday in February of every year will now be a new public holiday called Family Day.

Family Day will allow hard-working Ontarians the opportunity to spend a little more time with their family and loved ones; to recharge by taking a restful, mid-winter break and to help encourage a healthy balance between work and family life. Introducing a long weekend in mid-February seems to be a perfect way to break up the long stretch between New Year’s Day and Easter and it gives Ontarians a total of nine statutory holidays per year, the same as in Alberta and British Columbia.

Of course some people worry that an extra holiday will be hard on the economy but the provincial government feels confident that Ontario’s economy is strong enough to accommodate an extra public holiday. We all know that a healthy employee is a productive employee, so odds are that giving people a little time off this time of year will help them feel more energized, enabling them to contribute more to their workplace and the economy overall. Plus, a mid-winter holiday may even spark an increase for some industries, such as tourism and entertainment and leisure, as we Ontarians fully exploit our extra long weekend!

Having trouble deciding how to spend your bonus day off? You may want to check out Travel Ontario at www.travelontario.net for some winter fun ideas or for local family friendly activities, check out www.ontariosnearnorth.on.ca.

However you plan to spend your family day this year, I hope you are able to spend it with the ones you love most and that you fully enjoy a little extra break during the winter season. Happy Family Day everyone!

Monique M. Smith, MPP
Nipissing

For over half a century, The War Amps Key Tag and Address Label Service has returned lost keys to Canadians - more than a million sets of keys to date! The sheltered workshop in Scarborough where the key tags are made provides employment to Canadian amputees and other people with disabilities.

When you attach a War Amps key tag to your set of keys, it acts as a safeguard. If you lose your keys, chances are they will be returned to you through The War Amps Key Tag Service free of charge.

When we issue your key tags, the confidential nine-digit number is registered to your name and address. If you lose your keys, the person who finds them can call The War Amps using the toll-free number found on the back of the tag. A bonded courier will pick up your keys at the finder’s location. They will be returned to you right away. The finder could also drop your keys into any mailbox in Canada. The War Amps will return them to you by courier. Either way, The War Amps Key Tag Service ensures swift delivery of your lost keys free of charge. www.waramps.ca

IT’S TRUE
Generally, I am the most organized person. Ask anyone who knows me. My purse is orderly and has its place in my car. I can locate every piece of important paper in my house. My underwear go in the underwear drawer which is located next to my sock drawer and my desk is always tidy just like the rest of my house. So, after a quick stop to the grocery store for milk, I was dumbfounded when my keys were not in the supposed zipper pocket of my purse!

There I was, freezing my butt off in the darkened parking lot thinking, “This kind of thing isn’t supposed to happen to someone as prepared as myself.” I retraced my steps back to the store, down the hall to the dairy department but there were no keys to be found. I did however locate my frozen butt gorging itself on cottage cheese! I grabbed my butt, seriously wanting to kick it for getting me in this situation and made my way to the checkout I had been at. No luck there either.

Anyway, to make a long story short. Just a few weeks later, a package from the War Amps came in the mail with my precious keys tucked safely inside. Thank You War Amps and the kind individual who found my keys!!