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What Voters Need To Know

http://www.thestar.com/

Key facts for voting in the Jan. 23 federal election:
Who's eligible
Canadian citizens, 18 years and older as of election day.
Voters list registration
Not on the list or need to make corrections? Contact your local returning office by calling 1-800-463-6868 or go to http://www.elections.ca.

Contact information is also available on voter reminder cards mailed to every residence in the 308 federal electoral districts across the country.

As a last resort, voters not on the list can register at their local polling station on election day with proper identification that shows name, address and signature.

Watch this Riding
277 Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca
2006 Candidates:
CAP: David Piney
CON: Troy DeSouza ( see http://www.goanvoice.ca/2005/issue25/index.html)
GRN: Mike Robinson
LIB: Keith Martin (Incumbent)
NDP: Randall Garrison
WBP: Douglas Christie


RIDING PROFILE

This riding is in the southwest corner of Vancouver Island, with Victoria as its southeast boundary and the Strait of Juan de Fuca to its west and south.

Esquimalt, Langford, Colwood, View Royal, Metchosin and Sooke are here, as is that part of the district of Saanich west of Douglas Street. Of the 110,909 residents counted during the 2001 census, 14 per cent are immigrants and 12 per cent are seniors. Because Victoria is right next door, lots of residents work for the government. CFB Esquimalt and Royal Roads University are also major employers. Unemployment is just 6.1 per cent; the average family income is $61,140. This riding was created in 1986, and a decade later it added one-fifth of the Saanich-Gulf Islands riding.
Population: 110,909

Political History
Four-term incumbent Keith Martin first won office on the Reform ticket in 1993, when he unseated the New Democrat MP, Dave Barrett. New Democrats had dominated here for most of the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2000, Martin knocked off Liberal challenger Alan Thompson by 12,446 votes. Early in 2004, Martin joined the Liberals. In the election that year, he defeated New Democrat Randall Garrison by 2,568 votes. 1988 - NDP 1993, 1997 - REF 2000 - CA 2004 - LIB

Conservative Party of Canada's Rahim Jaffer, 34, first elected from the province of Alberta to the Canadian Parliament in 1997, believes if his party could win a majority in the January 23 elections, it would reform the immigration system and mend relations with the powerful neighbour to the south. And that's not just an empty election promise, he emphasizes, because he has been working on it for years in the Opposition.

In this 39th election, his party, led by Stephen Harper, is fielding almost the same number of South Asians as the Liberal Party of the beleaguered Prime Minister Paul Martin.

"Since the last election, more and more people have become more familiar with our leader (Stephen Harper), with our party, and many of our policies, and I think that is having a positive impact," Jaffer told News India-Times in an interview.

Read more at : http://www.newsindia-times.com/2006/01/20/canada9-120034.html
 

Now Canadian Goan Snowbirds can have Dual Citizenship
OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA (OCI)
From: http://www.cgitoronto.ca/overseas_citizenship_of_india.htm#3.Eligibility%20criteria:
 

To respond to a longstanding demand of persons of Indian origin who are now nationals of other countries, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India had announced, on the occasion of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2005, the Government of India’s intention to grant dual citizenship to such nationals of certain countries, the laws of which permit such a facility for their citizens. This has now been given legal backing by the Indian Parliament with the approval of Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2005. The Scheme is called “Overseas Citizenship of India”. 2. Under the said scheme, a Registration Certificate, like an Indian passport though in a different colour, will be issued to the applicant.
A multiple entry, multi-purpose OCI ‘U’ (Universal) visa sticker will be pasted on the applicant’s foreign passport.
These two documents will have the applicant’s photograph, and all the necessary security features.

Eligibility criteria:
A foreign national, who
- was eligible to become a citizen of India on 26.01.1950, or
- was a citizen of India on or at any time after 26.01.1950, or
- belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15.08.1947,
and his/her children and grandchildren, are eligible for registration as Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), provided his/her country of citizenship allows dual citizenship in some form or other under the local laws.
The minor children of such persons are also eligible for OCI.
However, if the applicant had ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, he/she will not be eligible for OCI.

US border crossing initiative is a step in the right direction
Council Warns that More Action Must Be Taken on US-Canada Cross Border Initiatives
 

VANCOUVER, Jan. 17 /CNW/ - The Council of Tourism Associations of BC (COTA) welcomes news of US border crossing initiatives to encourage travelers from the US to Canada, but warns that it may not be enough to address border crossing issues.
In an advisory released this morning, the US Department of State and Department of Homeland Security outlined a secure, less expensive passport card for US land borders. The card, which will be issued in late 2006, will serve as an alternative to the traditional passport, which is more expensive.

The cost of traditional passports is around $430 US for a family of five. The new passport cards could reduce that cost by an estimated 60%, allowing Americans to pass back and forth between our two countries with more ease when crossing at land borders.

Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite has urged U.S. news anchors to call for an end to the war in Iraq.

His appeal, made during an appearance before North American TV critics in Pasadena, Calif., called to mind his 1968 conclusion that the Vietnam War was unwinnable.

Cronkite, then known as "the most trusted man in America," had returned from a visit to Vietnam during the Tet offensive when he briefly set aside his objectivity to talk about the war. His verdict was that the war was unwinnable and that the U.S. should exit.

Then-president Lyndon Johnson reportedly told a White House aide at the time: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."

In his speech, Cronkite, now 89, called that moment one of the proudest of his career.Cronkite said he has reached the same conclusion about the war in Iraq and it's time for news anchors to call for a withdrawal. It's not unprofessional to voice an opinion if viewers are clearly told it is opinion, he said.

All countries have one National Day. India has two - January 26 and August 15.www.nri-worldwide.com - the portal for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) explains in detail the significance of these two days.

You can also greet fellow Indians around the world with e-Republic Day (Jan 26) Greeting Cards, available free on this popular site.

The portal has won several awards including the iNova Award (New York) 2002 in the Community Portal section and the Galaxy Bronze Award 2002 (New York) for Community Awareness. It had previously won the Golden Web Award (2001-2002). It was also voted the most interesting Non-Resident Indian (NRI) site in an on-line poll last year.

Notes to the Editor :

There are an estimated 25 million Indians living outside India. They are referred to as NRIs (Non-Resident Indians). www.nri-worldwide.com strives to bring this diaspora together with news, views, happenings and updates on this the world's most religiously and culturally diverse human race.