No stick? » ‘Carrot Rewards’ to encourage healthy BC lifestyles Eric Wilkins Editor-in-Chief © editor@theotherpress.ca Bu Columbians struggling to find the motivation to make healthy choices may finally have that extra push. A jointly funded federal-provincial via a method more commonly employed by companies such as Canadian Tire and Shoppers Drug Mart: loyalty points. “Carrot Rewards” is an app currently in development that will be released sometime this fall. The federal government has sunk $5 million into the program, while BC has put in an additional $2.5 million. The Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Diabetes Association, YMCA Canada, and the for- profit partner—Social Change Rewards—are also involved. While it still has not quite : been decided how users will : earn points, early indicators have : suggested completing health : quizzes and trying new recipes, : along with typical app incentives : such as signing up and getting : friends to do likewise. The : rewards themselves are also still : in the works. program is seeking to entice users | “This is a little bit more in : terms of nudging people forward : by giving them a reward for doing : the right thing,” said Health : Minister Terry Lake. But do Canadians really care : about such programs? A survey released by : Colloquy in 2013 reported : that go per cent of Canadians : belonged toa loyalty program. : Adding to matters, there were : over 120 million memberships : in Canada—over three times the : population—which extrapolates : to just over eight memberships : per household. He also noted that he had “some degree of skepticism,” : but stated, “I thought we should : invest in it because if we didn't, : it would bea missed opportunity : to do something that we really : haven't done on a broad scale : before.” Lake is not the only one : who has some doubts about : the program though. Professor : Trevor Hancock of the University : : of Victoria has also seen some : issues. “I would say that before : you start this kind of program : you should look carefully at all : the ways in which public policy : and also private-sector policy : makes unhealthy choices easy, : and eliminate them. “As a society we need to : be looking at what it is we are : doing that shapes peoples’ : choices through environmental : and social and economic and : commercial factors that lead : them to make unhealthy choices : in the first place.” The data collection on : users is also a concern, though : Lake has said that he has “been : assured the data will not be used : inappropriately.” Of course that isn’t to say that the data won't be useful, as : Dr. Kendall Ho, head of UBC’s : eHealth Strategy Office, noted, “I would be disappointed if there : is no evaluation or research : component to it. “It will be really interesting : over time to see how many people : benefit from this program not : only in behavioural change, but : also improvements in health : outcomes.” With fall almost upon us, : and initial usage capped at two : million, health- and free-stuff- : crazed British Columbians : should keep an eye out for : Carrot’s rollout. Image via thinkstock Chief Electoral Officer sees early signs of heightened voter interest » Election’s new fixed-date feature anticipated to be a game- changer Kyle Duggan The Fulcrum he election writs are being signed, sealed, and delivered to all of Canada’s 338 ridings, and Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand says there’s a lot of interest already at such an early point in the campaign. “If you asked me before whether in the first week of August we'd see 13,000 Canadians registered for the first time for an election, I would not have bet on that,” Mayrand told iPolitics in an article on August 14. “Tt is a sign out there people are paying attention. We had an average number of calls of 15,000 per day this election. And being so early in the process, that is somewhat unusual, but it points out people are paying attention.” voted, something he says few Canadians are aware they can do right now if they’ve already made their minds up. While the overall trend in turnout has been downward, he says it’s still up in the air how that will play out this year. Many critics have raised concerns over how changes to the Elections Act that affect the ease of voting will in turn affect participation. “We're set up to service 26 million Canadians. If only 15 show up, it’s always a bit of a disappointment, but that’s a : decision for voters to take and : for civil society to mobilize and : be engaged and take part in the : democratic life of the country.” Mayrand says preparing for : this election, Canada’s first with : a fixed election date, has been : like starting from scratch. There : are 30 new ridings, but the riding : redistribution affected almost all : of them. “For a normal election we : produce 5,000 maps down to the : local level. So these all have to be : redone to reflect the changes in : redistribution. It takes the better : part of a year, a year and a half : almost, to redo all the polls across : the country.” Elections Canada now has : about 68,000 polls in roughly : 18,000 locations—and Mayrand : says each poll was inspected : individually for accessibility. In fact, 13 people have already : : army to orchestrate it all. Elections : : Canada only staffs about 350 : people during the normal year, : but needs to staff up nearly double : : that, and then find 250,000 : temporary workers—roughly the : size of the whole public service— : for just a few days. They also need to raise an For all those who make fun of : election-speculation news stories, : Elections Canada follows them ; just as closely as everyone else in : the Ottawa bubble, adding to the : complexity of preparing for an : election which had a fixed date, : but no fixed start. “There was speculation in Image via thinkstock : the spring, so we were ready to : goon March 1. Then we had to : stand down, because it’s costly : to remain at the highest level of : readiness and set out our next date : for September 1. The election was : called on August 2, so we of course : had to accelerate our plans.’ The focus right now for : Elections Canada is setting : up to administer the election, : sending some 80 trucks out to deliver 3,000 tonnes of election : material to all of Canada’s ridings. : Afterward, Mayrand plans to prepare a report on Canada’s first : fixed-date election, noting rules : that might need to be adjusted. “The fact that we had a : fixed date allowed everyone, in : principle, to better plan. It seems : to have been noted by third : parties, political parties, so we : need to see if anything out there : has impacted the level playing : field or not. I think it’s a bit early, : we need to let the election play : through.” Must haves: news-style writing - Strong writing skills willingness to learn Must haves: sports-style writing sports - Strong writing skills willingness to learn The Staff Reporter is responsible for reporting on college news for the News section on a weekly basis. The successful applicant will be responsible for two to three quality, original news articles each week—finding news, conducting interviews, and taking photos. - Experience and familiarity with conducting interviews and - Interest in student and community news and events - Digital photography skills (equipment is provided), or a Pay: $260/month Interested? Send writing samples, cover letter, and resumé to editor@theotherpress.ca by September 24, 2015. SPORTS REPORTER Do you know the score? Love writing? The Other Press is hiring a Sports Reporter. 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