There have been so many changes to the downtown recently. The business directory is up to date as of June 2008. If you have any changes or have been left out, please feel free to contact us.

Welcome to Lindsay Downtown

Here you will find some links to local businesses, a great map of our historic Kent Street W. with all the numbers of the buildings. This is helpful if you don't know whether that shop you want to visit is close to William Street or Victoria Street. Feel free to print out a copy but remember that it is copyright protected.

Opt Out Lists

Michael Geist is a writer for the Toronto Star who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce law at the University of Ottawa. He has set up a website called OptOut.ca that enables people to opt out of many organization's marketing lists. What you do is go to his website and fill in an on-line sheet. He asks you for a user name and password (this is so you can go back in and add more companies as they are added) as well as any email addresses you have and your various phone numbers as well. You submit this information and then immediately sign in again with your new user name and password and you are taken to a page that has a list of categories of companies that you can opt out of. It's as easy as putting a check mark for whole categories or only opting out of a few in a list.

What his team then does is to send out opt-out requests on your behalf to all of these companies all at once. He has so far sent out millions of requests for people just like you and I who are tired of getting calls (and emails)from companies every day (or late at night) wanting you to buy something.

He is backed by a ruling by CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission) in that it will endorse the national do-not-call registry (DNC). Apparently, the Canadian Marketing Association and the Canadian Banker's Association were upset about this list and told their members that they didn't have to honour the registry. The CRTC's response was "these requests would be in compliance with the Act and the current Unsolicited Telecommunications rules. In short, on the basis of the facts as I understand them, I consider that do-not-call requests made through iOptOut are valid and should be honoured".

So, the CRTC is saying that if you are registered on a do-not-call list, they can't call you without subjecting themselves to fines. About time.

Stop Bill C-51 Now

There is a bill that has been introduced that has HUGE implications for Canadians. It is Bill C-51. This bill is proposing changes to the Food and Drug act. If you read it, it means that 75% of the vitamins or health food products you currently buy will become discontinued or illegal! It also gives government inspectors huge powers to enter your home, confiscate any supposed illegal substances and levy huge fines. (I've read the act since, and

But in the States, they have also uncovered that these sorts of bills will have bigger implications for the food we eat, and what is acceptable in the growing of the food we eat. So if you aren't a vitamin taker, it still affects you as well.

Here are some websites to read more about this. If you go to JoAnne's Place health food in Lindsay, at 84 Russell St.you can pick up a post card to send to Barry Devolin (our MP) and ask him to vote against this bill. This is very serious. Please tell as many other people you know to do the same.

Website Links

Read the actual Bill C-51 of concern is 30(7) where they've added (c)
Stop 51 (this is actually a site created by a company with interests of their own)
Discover Vancouver - (a really detailed explanation)
Accubalance.ca (this site explains the proposed bill so it is clearer to understand)
Daily Motion US equivalent. Shows a video, bear with it, it is in English.

BYOJ

I was reading the paper the other day and came across a great article about a new "trend" that is catching on. It's called A Bring your Own Jar party. Tables aren't filled with tupperware or candles, but with baking soda, salt, vinegar etc. The guests bring their own jars and part of the party is to eat organic chocolate and other goodies, but another reason is to get together to make their own cleaning products with the ingredients our grandmothers used to use. A non-profit environmental group "Women's Voices for the Earth" based out of Missoula, Montana launched the idea last March, offering party kits, including a video and six recipes for homemade cleaners. However, they give some recipes on their site if you don't want to send for a kit to make your own. Go to womenandenvironment.org.

Here is a furniture polish that I got from their site.

Furniture Polish
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
20-30 drops lemon essential oil

Shake well before using
(2 teaspoons lemon juice may be substituted for lemon oil but then must be stored in refrigerator)

Dip a clean, dry cloth into the polish and rub wood in the direction of the grain. Use a soft brush to work the polish into corners or tight places.

And if you are worried about what you will do when/if a pesticide ban comes in as rumour has it, here is a handy thing to know. There are recipes for killing weeds with a vinegar mixture. Just remember that vinegar will kill the plants you like as well, so be careful when you apply it. Go to this interesting site to read about the info on vinegar as a weed killer and a debate about the additional things you may or may not want to put into your mixture. It may not be great for your lawn unless you like bald patches. But a great seed that is good is eco-lawn from Wildflower farm, which is a fescue grass blend. You only mow it once a month, it looks great longer, and it resists weed seeds because the grass is so darned tight at the roots!

Summer is finally here.

We definitely had some winter, but the weather is finally warmer now and there is lots to do and see in Lindsay. As gas prices go higher it may be time to see what your own town has to offer.

The Farmers' Market is opened for business again and now is the time that you can buy direct from the farmers that grew a lot of the produce.

Want a one page web site linked to this site? Check this out!