Newsline Canada

Family, Friends & the Goan Community, Bids Farewell to Neves Menezes By: Uvy Lopes

The coffin of the late Neves Menezes, draped with the Goan Overseas Association logo, leaves St. Patrick's Church after the funeral service held on February 28, 2005.

Neves Menezes' remains were repatriated to Canada on Feb 25, 2005 at the same time and day his daughter, Jacqueline, who had accompanied him on his vacation to Goa, was finally able to obtain a flight home. Turner & Porter, who handled the funeral arrangements, extended their visitation hours from 2-8PM, inclusive, to accommodate the over 1000 condolers. Neves' wife, Mabel, still at Credit Valley hospital, was only able to be present at the Saturday visitation from 2-8PM, as her doctor was concerned about the strain on her from recent knee surgery. Neves' son, Norbert and his wife Valerie, his daughter Jacqueline, and their families, along with his sisters, Millie and Marina and their husbands, Geoffrey and Fred, respectively, met the condolers, Fr. Steven Szakaczki and the Legion of Mary said prayers Sunday night. A majestic funeral for Neves was held at 10AM on Feb 28, 2005 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Mississauga with over 500 people attending. Fathers Rudy Volk, Steven Szakaczki and Monsignor Terence D'Souza celebrated the Mass, with hymns such as AVE MARIA, PSLAM 23 and AMAZING GRACE sung by Mabel's niece, Dr. Lorna D'Silva, her daughter Andrea, and accompanied by organist Nelson Fernandez. The opening and closing processional music was composed by Neves' son, Norbert: ELEGY and THE HEAVENLY FIELDS. The readings and eulogies were given by Norbert and Jacqueline, the Prayers of the Faithful by Neves' nieces Melanie and Glynis, the Crucifix and Book of Gospel gifts presented by Millie and Marina, and the Offertory gifts given by Neves' immediate family: his wife, Mabel, sister-in-law Lucy DeSouza, sisters Millie and Marina, nephew Jason and brother-in-law Fred Noronha, and Mabel's niece Elaine Gunaratne. Pall Bearers were: Dr. Horace Vaz, Uvy Lopes, Roque Barreto, Gavin Correa, Dr. Errol Noronha and Gerard DeSouza. Honorary Pall Bearers were: Oscar Furtado, President of the G.O.A. and Elizabeth Gueco, President of the Legion of Mary - community groups that Neves was a member of, as well as had held executive posts with. During the processional closing music, to the toll of bells, the G.O.A. committee stood at attention as the casket passed the nave of the church in solemn respect for one of Canada's most dedicated Goan community leaders. Neves was interned at St. Mary's Cemetery in a private family burial, and the reception that followed was abundantly catered by Elsie and Kevin Moniz. Dr. Mario Da Costa and Oscar Furtado paid tributes to Neves. The G.O.A. flag which draped the coffin on his last journey was blessed and later presented to his wife Mabel, by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the G.O.A., Roque Barreto, and President, Oscar Furtado.

Recent immigrants suffer most under EI system
Many newcomers can find only part-time and temporary jobs,
Extracts From Toronto Star - Opinion By Ken Georgetti Mar. 1, 2005. 01:00 AM
It would seem like a reasonable expectation that if you pay insurance premiums you should be able to collect benefits when hard times hit. But our current Employment Insurance system falls far short, particularly for new Canadians. For full text click here

City of Brampton Caps New Homes to 5,500 Units a Year
Feb. 28, 20050 1:00 AM Extracts from Editorial in Toronto Star: Steer Brampton's urban growth
Brampton has experienced too much of a good thing, the city's planning committee warns. Growth has morphed into urban sprawl. A flood of new residents is straining city services and burdening local taxpayers.
That's why the committee proposes to cap construction of new homes at 5,500 units each year. Despite opposition from developers, it is a fair measure and it deserves strong support from city council. For full text click here

Home buying intentions in the GTA set to rise: RBC survey
TORONTO, March 3 /CNW/ - The number of residents in the Greater Toronto Area planning to buy a house or another home within the next two years has increased to 39 per cent from 32 per cent last year. Nationally, 29 per cent of Canadians intend on purchasing a home within the next two years. For full text click here

News Clips from Goa
by Joel D'Souza & Fred Noronha

Goa under President’s Rule
Goa was placed under President's rule late on March 4 and the Goa State Assembly kept under suspended animation, ending the month-long political crisis stirred by Governor SC Jamir's controversial dismissal of the Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government. President Kalam, on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet, approved the imposition of President's rule, after an emergency meeting of the Cabinet said that the Centre was not happy with what has happened in the Goa Assembly on Friday and has taken suo moto action without waiting for the Governor's report. For full text click here

Denationalisation Discussed
At the History Hour held at the Xavier Centre of Historical Research, on February 24 evening, Adv Jason Fernandes addressed the gathering on the idea of "denationalisation" based on his study of the idea which was propagated by the late TB Cunha. Fernandes said that a lot of "people today use the idea of de-nationalisation to criticise Goans, saying that they are hybrid persons and denationalised, which I think is totally wrong. Their views need to be challenged because those ideas don't hold good in critical arguments. We cannot use this idea today because Cunha used it for a particular, political purpose, as it is capable of generating great violence".

Demise of Konkani tiatr’s dashing hero
	Konkani tiatr has lost another strong pillar in the death of dashing, adorable, versatile singer and actor Bab Peter on February 19 in Bahrain. A large number of mourners bid a tearful adieu to the departed artiste, who mortal remains were laid to rest at the Victoria Church cemetery in Mahim on February 23 evening. Among the mourners were the bereaved family, wife Ophelia, daughter Babli, son-in-law Sameer, Ophelia's brother Tony Cabral and a galaxy of tiatrists from Mumbai and Goa.
Ophelia and Babli sang one of Bab Peter's favourite songs, along with the choir, while the band played one of the tunes of his old songs. Sameer, Puja and Fausto D'Costa paid glowing tributes to the departed soul. The news of tiatrist Bab Peter's untimely death has stunned Goa's tiatrist and tiatr lovers.

Prince Jacob's 'Padri' on celluloid
Matinee idol, playwright and direction of the Konkani stage Prince Jacob has eventually ventured in movie making, and the mahurat of his debut making production "Padri", was held on March 2 at Our Lady of Snows Church in Raia, Salcette. The handpicked star cast is from Goa, the surrounding Konkan areas and Mangalore. Lyrics have been written by celebrated Mangalore artiste Wilfy Remimbus and music by Pappan and Joswin. Given Prince Jacob's penchant for perfection, "Padri" will certainly take Goan film making to singular heights. Estimated to cost around Rs.45 lakh, the latest Konkani film will be shot in Goa, neighbouring Konkan, Mangalore and Bangalore, within a month. Directed by Rajesh Singh, the production has a mixed cast of Goan artistes and others, and the songs have been composed by Mangalorean maestro Wilfy Remimbus. After sounding the clapper Cabinet minister Luizinho Faleiro assured that his government will endeavour to help movie makers in the State.

Goan doc lectures in Colombo
Dr Shaila Shodhan Kamat, an anaesthesiologist, was recently invited to talk on 'Preoperative Problems in Anaesthesiology' at the 6th Congress of the South Asian Confederation of Anaesthesiologists, held at Colombo. Dr Shaila has delivered lectures in anaesthesia on various platforms in Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, etc, at State, zonal and national conferences. She has developed a special technique for incubation and her favourite lecturers are on 'Stress Management' and 'Mechanical Ventilation'.

Obituary

26 Feb: Paignton, Devon, UK. MAX (MAXIMO) ALFONSO. Age: 63. Partner of Margo Han. Son of the late John and late Christina Alfonso. Brother of Fabiola (Sydney) Machado, Delphine (Norman) Da Costa of Brampton, Canada; Rufina (Cyprian) Fernandes of Sydney and Mervyn (Patsy) Alfonso of Melbourne; Teresa (Mike) Tucker, Adolf (Becky) Alfonso of England and late Lolita. Condolences to [DaCosta, Norm] ndacosta@thestar.ca
Funeral service held at the Church of the Sacred Heart and St. Teresa's in Paignton, Devon, 24 Cecil Road, on March 1. Max was a star field hockey player who was on two Railway Goan Institute (RGI) Gold Cup winning teams, and was an accomplished mouth organist with the Scorpions and other bands in Nairobi.

Appreciation of Max Alfonso by Tim timdemello2@hotmail.com
	It was with a great deal of sadness that I read in today's Toronto Star of Max's passing. Max was my classmate in the Dr. Ribeiro Goan School in Nairobi. He was a field hockey player of note. But what I will always remember him for was for his musical talent. He was a harmonica player par excellence.
As young adults, when we went on our annual class picnic - somewhere in the wilds of Kenya - Max would always entertain us on our way there and back in the bus. I remember belting out (with all the others, of course) well known picnic songs like "She'll be coming down the mountain" on the top of my lungs to Max's accompaniment on the harmonica. Indeed none of our class school picnics would be complete without Max. For full text click here.

People Places and Things

QGA Board of Directors 2005-2006
The following were elected to the Quebec Goan Association Board of Directors for 2005-2006
	Austin de Souza - President Phyl Gomes Rodrigues - Vice President Maria de Souza - Secretary Michelle Figueredo - Treasurer Sharon Fernandes - Director/Social Secretary Joan Paes - Director Flora Marlow - Director James Fernandes - Director Lourdes De Souza - Director
Click to enlarge

Events
For listing of events in 2004 please click here

Announcements

Health & Wellness

Conference To Zero In On Wasted Immigrant Talent
The Third Annual Internationally Educated Professionals Conference, a full-day conference for professionals trained outside of Canada, will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front Street West in Toronto.
Current Toronto headlines note that "systemic barriers hinder newcomers" and "faster integration into society key." The Annual Immigration Minister's report says that "55% of newcomers were in the economic class and they were skilled workers, business people and investors." As Karen Thorne-Stone, Executive Director of Economic Development at the City of Toronto states, "the education and skills that immigrants bring to Toronto are absolutely essential for the competitiveness of our economy." For full text click here.

Diabetes Spray
Type One Diabetes forces people to inject insulin to survive, but this isn't a cure. Life-threatening complications still happen so a team of Australian scientists decided to take an unorthodox approach that suggests there may be a way to identify those at risk and then treat them stopping the disease before it takes hold.
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/innovations/stories/s1312641.htm