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Wednesdsay March 24, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C5 smessI B M The Kensington garners top industry award h o I f c i n n tr tn r p t i r p m p n t r p c i _ T h p Tf p»r»ci r»rrt r \ r» u / h i p h h o c K p p n c p r v i p p n n c e i K I p f n r r \ n r r p c i H p n t c A p p n r H i n r r t n H D A n r p c i H p n t u / w u / n r o ! > . l i n m p e r n m t o l p a r n t 4 The Kensington retirement resi dence, on Lakeshore Road West, recently received the highest award offered by the Ontario Residential Care Association (ORCA) following an intensive third-party evaluation of the residence's operations. The residence received an exem­ plary report from ORCA following an evaluation of the building's deliv­ ery of services and programs; com­ fort and safety of the physical envi­ ronment; and quality of residence as measured by resident satisfaction. The report contained no recommen­ dations for improvement. The Kensington, which has been an active ORCA member since 1994, was found to comply with and exceed all standards in the Standard's Evaluation Program. This is the sec­ ond consecutive three-year standards certificate awarded to The Kensington and, in receiving the highest evaluation rating, will be inspected again in three years. The Kensington general manager, Mary Woods states, "Receiving ORCA's highest award gives the community a guarantee that The Kensington provides the highest standards in all areas and the best service possible for our residents. Our proven track record of supplying service of the highest quality makes it the place where you or any member of your family would want to live." ORCA is a voluntary organization of owners and operators of retirement residences and has, the past 20 years, been an active lobby group for estab­ lishing province-wide quality stan­ dards. The evaluation criteria was developed, and is regularly moni­ tored by association representatives, while the actual inspections are per­ formed by professional, third-party evaluators hired by the association. According to ORCA president, Albert Post, "We established our evaluation program in response to consumer and government requests for a system that would differentiate quality retirement homes from infe­ rior products. In order to join and maintain membership with ORCA, each property must undergo a com­ prehensive evaluation." Consumers are encouraged to call ORCA's toll-free 1-800-361-7254 number or visit its web site at www.orca-homes.com to learn more about the standards evaluation pro­ gram. A consumer information brochure, that helps people select the residence best suited to their needs and interests, is also avail­ able. "By limiting choices to ORCA- approved residences," states ORCA executive director, Gordon White, "we can assure the public that it has our full support and quality guaran­ tee." Investors should prepare for Y2K problems At the end of this year we will enter a new century. Many investors are not comfortable that all their investments will survive the transition. The problem is a result of two small digits of information. Several decades ago, computer programmers only allo­ cated two digits to the year in order to be 'efficient' in handling data. Until now, this has served us well. This year the date can be accurately coded as 99. However, when we change to the year 2000, the two-digit code will be 00. Computers will not know if this means 1900 or 2000. This little problem is costing our advanced civilization billions of dollars. Investors are well aware that there may be potential problems and are con­ cerned. The concerns centre on the fact that most investments are intangible assets. All you have that proves your owner­ ship is a piece of paper. What happens if the computer makes a mistake and loses the records? There is no concern that you are going to lose a house, car or any other PETER WATSON Dollars & Sense tangible assets. You do not have the same comfort when it comes to most investments. All you get is a statement several times a year acknowledging ownership. Investors normally have confidence in the record-keeping for their invest­ ments. Will that confidence change as we get closer to Dec. 31st? Media coverage of potential Y2K problems will intensify as the year pro­ gresses. This media frenzy could be exaggerated if there is no other major news stories close to the end of the year for the media to report. Though it is still early in the year, we have found in our office that the Y2K question comes up often. For all firms that deal with intangible assets, this will likely intensify as the year pro­ gresses. There are two areas that the invest­ ing public can take comfort in. First, the financial services industry is well-capitalized and staffed by some of the best-educated workers available. The combination of dollars and brains should mean the challenges of anew millennium would be dealt with suc­ cessfully. Secondly, due to accurate record­ keeping in the investment industry investors should have detailed records to prove their ownership of all of their intangible assets. Furthermore, investors should have their own strate­ gy in place to ensure they have com­ plete up-to-date records by year-end to insure they can prove ownership in their assets should they need to. We will discuss these two solutions in greater detail in the next column. Peter Watson, MBA, CFP, RFP, is the President of Peter Watson Investments, an Oakville firm specializing in retirement planning, RRSPs and investment plan­ ning. He can be reached at 842-2100. Investor Learning Centre offers courses The non-profit Investor Learning Centre o f Canada (ILC) is offering two non-promotional investment courses for Ontarians confused about their RRSP investments. The two courses, Intelligent Investing Level 1 and Intelligent Investing Level 2, cater to everyone from beginner investors to more experienced indi­ viduals. The courses have been developed and reviewed by the Canadian Securities Institute, the national educator of Canada's securities industry. The courses are taught by senior investment professionals, licensed and trained by the ILC, who are bound by a strict code of conduct to keep the seminars completely non-promotional. The Level 1 course costs $165 and includes three books and a student binder, covers the basics of investing in six weekly sessions of 2 1/2 hours each. The advanced Level 2 course, recommended for grad­ uates ofA D V E R T IS IN G C O R R E C T IO N In our Spring Preview insert (promo #676) included in this newspaper. Please note: Page 58 - DKNY ties, $45 to $55 - was incorrectly described. Copy should read: "DKNY ties, $55 to $62.50". We sincerely apologize to our valued cus­ tomers and regret any inconvenience or confu­ sion this may have caused. E A T O H Programs begin in April Level 1, costs $200 and lasts eight sessions. Level 1 courses all begin at 7:15 p.m. and go from: April 13-May 18th and May lOth-June 21st. Level 2 courses run from: April 8-May 27 at 7:15 p.m. and May 5-June 23rd at 7:15 p.m. For more information on course dates, times and locations individuals can call toll free 1-888- 452-5566 or visit the ILC web site at www.investorleaming.ca Established in 1996, the ILC is Canada's only independent, not-for-profit organization dedicat­ ed to providing non-promotional investment information to the general public. It is funded through revenues from its low-cost programs and by an endowment from the Canadian Securities Institute. Our door is open. Come see the completely reinvented Power Macintosh G3. U's the world's easiest-to-upgrade minitower - and the world's most revolutionary computer. The new Power Macintosh* G3 comes with a superfast PowerPC" G3 processor. Integrated ATI RAGE 128 graphics accelerator. Up to a gigabyte of memory, up to 100GB of internal storage and built-in FireWire * USB and 10/100BASE-T Ethernet. Now available in 300MHz, 350MHz and 400MHz models. at the Canadian Computer Open House Thursday, March 25th - from 2:00PM to 7:00PM featuring the new PowerMac ™G3 and PowerMac "'G3 Powerbooks with prizes, software give-aways and factory representatives. Also this month the Macnificent Seven Macintosh User Group Meeting on Wednesday, March 24th at 7:30. Everyone welcome. Featured this month AGFA products. Canadian Computer 414 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON. L6K2G2 (905) 849-0737, toll-free 1-877-849-9949, www.canadiancomputer.com -•" Xasffls Hurry Final Days room ART LIQUIDATION AUCTION Sunday, March 28th Preview 1pm Auction 1:30pm BATEMAN, CALLE, BRENDERS etc. Delta Meadowvale Hotel (401 & Erin Mills Pkwy) Auctioneer: Dave Fitzsimmons (519) 652-9722 MS CORRECTION For o u r 8 p ag e S ea rs H a rd w a re S a le P re -P rin t (S a le D ates: M a rc h 2 0 - A pril 4 /9 9 ) V 0 3 3 V 1 9 9 PAGE 6 - Craftsman Belt/Disc Sander #27916 Ad currently reads: SAVE $ 1 5 0 . Sears reg. $599 .99 each $449 .99 Prices should have read: SAVE $100. Sears reg. $549.99 each $449.99 Four o ur 36 -p a g e Sears Fabulous Sale P re-P rin t (Sale dates: M arch 2 2 - April 3 /9 9 ) # V 0 3 4 V 1 9 9 PAGE 1 3 - Vogue Bra #1860 - This is not a shop by phone item. We sincerely apologize fo r any inconvenience this may have caused Sears customers. We Make Ordinary (5 Space Extraordinary Decorating Design & Renovation Ideas for your Home or Business. Call today for details. D o r a Ma t t e i 3 3 9 - 3 2 0 2 COMMUNITY DAY gives you the opportunity to discover w hat service groups are active in your area. COMMUNITY DAY lets you su p p o rt non-profit g ro u p s with the ir fund-raising. Various g ro u p s will a lso b e accep tin g reg istra tions for new m em b ers . COMMUNITY DAY is sponsored by th e com m unity-m inded m erchan ts a t Trafalgar Village S hopp ing Centre. COMMUNITY DAY is . . . Saturday March 27 COMMUNITY DAY PARTICIPANTS -1999 Beta Sigma Phi Sorority/Canadian Cancer Society Canadian League of African Wbmen/Youth & Women 2000 Community Living Oakville Eagle Chiropractic Families & Friends Association of Oaklands 540 Golden Hawks, Royal Canadian Air Cadets Gideons International Canada Halton Pee! Genealogical Society Iroquois Ridge High School - Collaborative Music Gouncii Kidney Foundation of Canada Knights of Columbus Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (L1NC) M.A.D.D. - Hatton Chapter Oakville Distress Centre Oakville District Scouts Oakville Museum "Your Community Shopping Centre" 125 Cross Avenue (across from GO station) INCREDIBLE 3 ROOM CARPET SALE! Includes carpet, underpad and installa­ tion all for one great low price! PACKAGE Choose from 150 colours including great berbers, stylish saxonies or textured saxonies, installedt, with our "best" underpad! * w v s - v s 5- V m i • * t M h H I C O M P L E T E ! Up to 400 sq ft. 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"Aubusson 99" Handmade 100% wool 5'6"x8 - only $ M O reg list $780 V T t T s ^ ir - -only $ 7 7 0 reglist $1,716 T # # 7 /4lexanian carpet M iss issa u g a 2222 South Sheridan Way (Southdown at QEW) 823-9410 B u rlin g to n 870 AppleDy Line Oust South off QEW) 639-4934 Save Big on WOOD, LAMINATES, & VINYL too! ^Installations on flat surfaces only ------------------------------- !---------------------- Open Mon-Fri 9-9, Sat 9-6, Sun 12-5 http://www.orca-homes.com http://www.investorleaming.ca http://www.canadiancomputer.com