. . . at Queen's Park, across Ontario and elsewhere.

* Despite gaining 33,000 jobs in December, Ontario's unemployment rate remained steady at 7.9 per cent for the month, according to the latest job numbers from Statistics Canada.

* Barrie council voted this week to invest $10 million in a new computer system that will replace almost 200 existing software applications with a single integrated package.

"We're trying to deal with modern problems with spreadsheets and abacuses," councillor Michael Prowse said. "I equate it to replacing your furnace or roof. There's nothing exciting or sexy. There's a responsibility we have as a corporation."

* Rachel Proulx, the founding president of Collège Boréal and a leading Sudbury businesswoman, has died after a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 57.

Proulx is survived by her husband, Charlie St. Germain, children Marie-Josée Proulx and Jean-Pierre Roy and stepchildren Angèle St. Germain and André St. Germain. A memorial service will be held at a future date.

* The Ministry of Natural Resources has added a week to this year's bass fishing season in parts of the province. The expanded season will now run from the third Saturday of June until Dec. 15. The move was made in recognition of the fact that warmer spring temperatures are allowing bass to spawn earlier.

* The provincial government is cracking down on predatory debt settlement companies. There are 20 debt settlement companies in the province, but the Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services receives more than 100 complaints about them each month.

The government hopes to end “exaggerated claims and abusive practices” through new regulations to ban up-front fees, cap total fees, require clear contracts and implement a 10-day cooling-off period, according to a government release. Minister of Consumer Services Magarett Best has posted draft regulations online for public commentary.

* The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) wants Liberal leadership candidates to commit to specific measures to ensure the industry's future in Ontario.

With less than 90 days until the Slots at Racetracks Program ends, the association says it can't wait until the next premier is selected the weekend of Jan. 25. In a letter, OHRIA president Sue Leslie asks the seven candidates to defer the implementation of the OLG Modernization Strategy, and to extend the slots program past its intended expiration of March 31.

* The demolition of the Elliot Lake mall that collapsed, killing two people last summer, is under way.

Mayor Rick Hamilton told the Canadian Press that the mall's removal is “bittersweet,” as bad memories will leave with the steel and concrete but the Algo Centre mall was a hub in the northern community. A provincial inquiry into the collapse is to begin next month.

* More drunk drivers were arrested this holiday season than in each of the past eight years, according to the Ontario Provincial Police. From Nov. 24, 2012, to Jan. 2, 2013, OPP officers conducted thousands of spot checks as part of the annual festive RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) program. Officers laid 693 charges for driving with a blood alcohol level over 80 milligrams, and 625 “warn range” suspensions for blood alcohol between 50 and 80 milligrams. Last year, the OPP laid 682 impaired driving suspensions and 583 “warn range” suspensions.

Officers from local police forces noticed similar trends this year, causing some officials to wonder if anti-drunk driving campaigns are losing their impact, QP Briefing previously reported.

Tweet of the Week

@MacLeodLisa
Margaret Thatcher once said "the stench of appeasement". Somehow fitting.

- Tory education critic Lisa MacLeod reacts to Education Minister Laurel Broten's announcement that she will use Bill 115 to impose a contract on teachers and then repeal it to appease the angry educators. The tweet quickly launched a debate over Thatcher's intended meaning - and MacLeod's .

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