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On the old fixture, does the red wire go to a black wire coming out of the wall? And the white wire to another white wire?
Also, if it's an old house, there might not be a ground wire to connect the new fixture to. If the box is metal, wire the the ground to the box. Some old wire is in a metal sleeve that is grounded, and the ground connections are to the metal boxes.
Most likely the red is the hot wire - need to test to be sure - and it will go to the black wire of the new fixture and the white wire is the neutral - so white to white and then the green wire on the new fixture will go to the box. Since you are in Canada I don't know your wiring codes. But if you test the wires to see which one is "hot" then you should be ok. The instructions with the new fixture should tell you which wire is the hot wire - most likely the black wire.
I'm still thinkin on it :-) Have come to the conclusion that I may just get an electrician to come and do it .. nurses and electrical equipment do NOT go hand in hand .. !!
Appreciate your input though. Ummmm .. how does one 'test' for a 'hot wire' .. do I need one of those meter things .. which I DO have .. and have never used.
If you have a meter then you would set it to AC voltage and place either meter leads to the red and white wire at the same time and it will give a you a voltage reading (i.e. 120 volts). If its a metal box you can touch one lead to the box and one lead to either wire to see which one gives a voltage reading, which will be the hot wire. Most likely the red wire may be the hot wire but you've got to test to be sure though.
