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NNOVATORS FASCINATE ME. They have ever since Grade 6, when my class studied Canadian inventions. I’d known about Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone (who didn’t?) and Banting and Best’s discovery of insulin (thanks to science-minded older siblings). But basketball? The McIntosh apple? The snowmobile? Canadarm?! All this brainpower originating right here on Canadian soil? Wow. My young mind was blown. Today, however, Canada isn’t exactly renowned for its innovation. According to a study by consulting firm Meredith Page and Associates, we’re actually getting less innovative, slipping from 12th to 25th place on the international creativity scale between 2010 and 2014. But after reading “Super Solutions” on page 62, I’m enthusiastic about our country’s prospects. Our senior features editor, Robin Stevenson, shines a light on six made-in-Canada innovations that are, or will soon be, changing people’s lives. One of those innovations is StopGap Foundation’s Community Ramp Project, an initiative that offers ramps to shops and restaurants with single-step storefronts, providing better access for parents with strollers and for people with a mobility impairment. Best of all, it circumvents the red tape of building permits and the expense of a permanent concrete ramp. (Community volunteers build StopGap ramps using donated plywood, paint and rope.) StopGap might not win any architecture awards or put its inventor, Torontonian Luke Anderson, in the running for a Nobel Prize, but this Canadian innovation is definitely changing lives.
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It’s our way of announcing special stories, recipes and photos celebrating our 40th anniversary. You’ll find it in the pages of the magazine and online at canadianliving.com/CL40.
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P S What’s your favourite Canadian invention? Maybe you’re
working on an innovative project right now. I’d love to hear about it! Email letters@canadianliving.com or tweet me @sandraemartin.
HOW TO MAKE A CANADIAN QUILT We’ve loved hearing from many of CL’s contributors from over the years. (Keep those letters and emails coming!) One of our favourite stories is from Sandra Small Proudfoot, a crafter in Orangeville, Ont., who designed the gorgeous provincial wildflower quilt that debuted in our August 1985 issue. Learn its fascinating history and find out how to buy the pattern at canadianliving.com/quilt.
Sandra E. Martin, multiplatform editorial director
ARE YOU A VIP? COULD BE! As my older brother can attest, pesky younger sisters are bad at keeping secrets. I’d like to think that I’ve outgrown the pesky part, but boy I do still struggle to keep juicy info to myself. So, here you go: CL is hosting some incredible VIP events this year—and you can be there! Check canadianliving.com/vip often for details (which I promised not to spill…yet!).
CANADIANLIVING.COM | APRIL 2015
PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID WILE (MARTIN); ISTOCKPHOTO (CHAMPAGNE). HAIR AND MAKEUP, CAITLIN CULLIMORE/TRESEMMÉ HAIR CARE/JUDYINC.COM. JACKET AND NECKLACE, BANANAREPUBLIC.CA. DRESS, JOEFRESH.COM
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