The Crux of the Matter

“What led me to where I am right now is kind of a circuitous journey,” says Dr. Andrew McCallum. The chief coroner for Ontario is sitting in a large, antiquated boardroom that’s covertly connected to his personal office in downtown Toronto. Behind him is a bookshelf brimming with encyclopedia-sized texts that advise on cerebral subjects such as expert evidence, fractures, forensic medicine and poisonings. From the strict security check-in to the closed-mouthed hallways, it’s the makings of a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode — but as McCallum contests, he’s no Al Robbins. “The big difference is that we focus on stuff that wouldn’t make great television but what really matters. I’m talking about, ‘how do you keep people alive?’”

What he means by “circuitous” is that after finishing medical school, Read more

The Midwives Club

Lucy Sanna was pregnant with her second child when her maternal instincts for an alternative care option kicked in. She had mused about midwifery during her first pregnancy, but as other women before and after her, wasn’t so certain about its scope of practice. She wondered about its quality of care, safety and benefits. She wondered if there was a fee. Heeding the referrals of others, she placed a call to a midwifery clinic near her place of work in Etobicoke, Ont. “I was trying to figure out what to do. I have two cousins of mine who went with midwives as well, and they tried to convince me from the beginning with my first [pregnancy] to go, and the second time, I said, ‘that’s it, I’m going to do it,’” recalls the Bolton, Ont. resident. Nine months later, Sanna welcomed a full-term, healthy baby girl she and her husband named Mariah. Read more

Teen Road Safety

How far will parents go to keep an eye on, and ensure the safety of, their new, teen drivers?

Most teenagers crave the freedom and independence that comes with their first set of car keys, whether their own or a set that their parents toss them. Further down the road, however, there is a point at which driving is more than just an adrenaline rush. Parents surrendering those keys for the first time may start to wonder what their teenagers do when they’re out on the town: where do they go, do they wear a seatbelt, and how fast do they drive? Have they been drinking? Parents can now rest easy, because there are devices available to keep tabs on unsupervised teens.

If parents want to spy on their teens, they can try the Spark Nano Real-Time GPS Tracking Device. The palm-sized Read more

D&D Specialty Components Ltd.

A time-honoured tradition of treating their customers like kin is what has made family-owned D&D Specialty Components Ltd. a machining industry front-runner for more than 20 years. A pledge of satisfaction and an emphasis on using only the highest graded equipment on the market are the nuts and bolts of their solid reputation. Offering advanced services in the manufacturing of custom CNC machining, screw machine parts and custom die cutting, D&D – an acronym for husband and wife duo Ganu and Dora Desai – are grateful for the relationships they have built. “We try to make long-lasting impressions and create relationships that are based on our customers’ needs,” says Ganu. This rapport has been built on trust. Trade workers all across North America put their safety in the hands of D&D. Producing hard hats that protect construction workers, tradespeople and high-rise window cleaners during perilous activities and making vital components Read more