The Iraq War - Goans in Kuwait
http://www.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet/2003-March/000693.html

Border clogged as Iraq war looms
CBC News Mar 18, 2003

Queenston, Ont. — An American security crackdown backed up traffic at U.S. border crossings for a second day Wednesday.

The heightened measures were put in place Tuesday in response to American fears of terrorist attacks as U.S. forces prepare to invade Iraq.

As a result, Ontario Provincial Police in the Niagara region had to close access to the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge for four hours Tuesday because of severe traffic back-ups. Those lineups began to grow again Wednesday morning.

Security on the Canadian side of the border was also increased Wednesday, as the province declared a "Level 2" alert.

Public Security Minister Bob Runciman said Ontario' security was being boosted as a precautionary measure, not in response to any known threats.

Earlier in the week, Runciman said there was little the provincial government could do to speed traffic across the border during such uncertain times.

War brings Indians from Kuwait, evacuation plans ready
http://www.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet/2003-March/000684.html

Excerpts from The Pulse March 2003 of the Goan Overseas Association ~ Toronto
Click here (pdf file) for Upcoming 2003 Events, Presidents Message and Names of the 2003 -2005 Executive Committee

Al-Jazeera network coming to Canada soon
Barbara Shecter Financial Post
Saturday, March 15, 2003

Canadian cable companies are applying to the federal broadcast regulator for permission to carry Qatar's Al-Jazeera network, best known in Canada for airing interviews with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden from undisclosed locations.

Taanta Gupta, vice-president of communications at the country's biggest cable operator, Rogers Cable, said yesterday a formal application should be made to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in the next few weeks.

The Arabic news channel is on a list to be submitted by the Canadian Cable Television Association on behalf of its members, including Canada's largest players, Rogers and Shaw Communications Inc.

Montreal-based Vidéotron ltée, owned by printer and publisher Quebecor Inc., has filed a separate application to carry Al-Jazeera, along with Spanish and Portuguese channels, said Quebecor spokesman Luc Lavoie.

"Some of our clients have asked for it," he said, adding that Montreal has a strong Arab community.

Mr. Lavoie said Vidéotron would like to be able to offer Al-Jazeera to keep those who want it from switching to grey or black market satellite dishes that bring in U.S. signals -- the only way to get the channel in Canada right now.

The CRTC will decide whether the Arabic-language news channel ends up in the houses of Canadian cable subscribers, a process could be long depending on response from the public and interested parties, said Denis Carmel, a spokesman for the commission.

The values of this Western civilization under the leadership of America have been destroyed
http://www.goacom.com/news/news2003/mar/msg00050.html

Canada Immigration ~ Making Harder to Get In
Toronto Star
Mar. 15, 2003. 01:00 AM

Thousands of skilled-worker immigrants are trapped by the federal government's retroactive changes to immigration rules

ALLAN THOMPSON OTTAWA BUREAU

OTTAWA—Canada's immigration system is in turmoil.

Officials who were already scrambling to implement last June's sweeping overhaul of the immigration rules are now confronted by a volley of court challenges to the new regulations and the retroactive way they were put into force.

Federal Court judge Michael Kelen ruled last month that even though the immigration department extended the deadline for applying new rules for skilled-worker immigrants to March 31, it hadn't done enough to plow through a backlog of between 80,000 to 120,000 files before the new rules take effect.

The retroactive rule changes mean that some applicants who would have qualified under the old point structure will be denied entry into Canada under the new system.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Denis Coderre is appealing the court ruling that also said his department treated one group of applicants unfairly and misled Parliament about the number of cases that would be caught in a backlog when the new rules come into force.

"To govern is to choose, and I believe that not only were we very, very fair, but we applied (the rules) in a pragmatic way, and after March 31, it's the new regulations that will be in full force," he says.

The Federal Court decision could have sweeping implications for thousands of applications by prospective skilled-worker immigrants. And new court challenges could force the department to pay millions of dollars in compensation or re-open processed files.

Critics charge that the confusion about the rules for skilled-worker immigrants is but one symptom of the malaise in Canada's immigration system.