Buy a bike with a price tag of $1,000 or less in Ontario and you won't pay any tax. No tax on accompanying safety equipment either.

"I trust this will encourage people to take the opportunity to become more active and to lead healthier lives," said Margarett Best, the province's minister of health promotion.

It seems biking incentives are nothing new in Canada. British Columbia has had a program in place since the early 1980s that cuts the tax from purchases of bikes, parts, and accessories. Alberta residents get $300 toward a bike when they retire an old car. And the federal government offers a fitness tax break to parents who enroll their kids in athletic programs.

While tax breaks don't even compare to parental and peer encouragement when it comes to healthy living and while fitness doesn't have to cost a cent -- consider the good old-fashioned walk -- this is certainly an option that may prove inspiring to some.

How about you?

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Here's a new item that hit home for me: A recent study has found high levels of carcinogens in the water near the Alberta Oil Sands. Alberta's my home province, and it's also a huge source of oil. But land up north, particularly around the oil sands, has been raped and pillaged for so many years and the effects of abusing land for oil without any thought to long-term effects are beginning to surface. Levels of harmful substances are alarmingly high, according to researchers. One even says this could be a worse disaster than the Exxon Valdez.
Still, it's nothing new for people living in these communities. Residents complained of seeing oily scum in their drinking water and they've noticed higher incidences of cancer among residents than in other areas of the province.

I've lived in Alberta for a long time and I've seen the effects of the influx of oil money. But at the expense of our health? That's a mighty hefty price to pay.

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Yesterday, I told you about Vermont being named the healthiest state in the US. Well, here's some news for us canucks -- BC has been voted the healthiest province in Canada, followed by Alberta in second, Saskatchewan in third and Ontario in the fourth place.

Do you find these results surprising? I don't. I live in Alberta and while most people (read: those from Ontario) assume we're a bunch of beef-eating, beer-swilling rednecks, I know differently -- the majority of people here seem to be into fitness and healthy eating. And can you blame us? With the Rockies so nearby, it's hard to stay indoors.

For more info on how your province ranked, click here.

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The paramedics team and potential patients in Calgary, Alberta Canada have a new tool at their disposal to make emergency responses and treatment even better: a specialized ambulance for extremely obese patients. Designed to make it safer for both the patients and the paramedics, the "bariatric response team" will be reserved for patients weighing between 400 and 1000 pounds. Equipped with special gear like a hydraulic lift and fancy air mattress to make positioning large patients easier, this new ambulance will mean some patients who used to be unable to transport in an emergency vehicle at all can now do so safely and with dignity.

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