Skills Shortage In Canada A 'Significant Problem'
http://www.visabureau.com/canada/

Canada's skills shortage is heading for a crisis, with newspapers all over the country reporting severe shortages of skilled workers. Shortages in many sectors of the economy can only be met in the short term by people taking up Canadian immigration.

Finance minister Jim Flaherty has described Canada as being on the precipice of a major shortage of skilled workers, reported the London Free Press. "It's a significant problem. We're talking about thousands and thousands of vacancies for skilled workers across Canada," he told a meeting near Toronto.

In Ontario, St Lawrence College has warned the government it must increase student enrolment by 30,000 in the next four years or there will be serious skills shortage.

Chris Whitaker, president and chief executive officer of the college, told the Brockville Recorder & Times that the province is facing a "serious skills shortage" in the years ahead with retiring baby boomers and rapid technological changes affecting businesses and industries.

Cousins Anton And Pedro Get Answers At IGO Meeting


Just under 100 people with a host of real estate, property management, and investment issues on their mind attended the International Goan Organization (IGO) of Ontario meeting on August 26, 2007.

Cellie Gonsalves, Director of the IGO reviewed the "Best of Both Worlds" project which dealt with seven major issues facing Goans living in Canada, namely Land & Property Disputes; Property Management; Buying, Selling & Leasing Real Estate; Estate & Taxation; Investing in India; Discrimination against Goans born in Pakistan and Grievances of NRGs and Information Center. Action taken in dealing with all these issues by the IGO and the Commissioner for NRI Affairs, Hon Minister Eduardo Faleiro in Goa was reviewed.

Officials from the State Bank of India, Dr. Ajay Tandon Sr. Vice President & Branch Head, State Bank of India (Canada), and Mr. Trevor Fernandes Chief Manager, State Bank of India, Goa shared their knowledge and expertise relating to banking, investing and taxation of capital gains in India.

Cellie stated that there is commonality between concerns of Goans in Canada and those residing elsewhere in the world. She said that the IGO therefore believes that spearheading solutions to these concerns will ultimately serve all Goans, and in this way spark a heightened sense of solidarity and connectivity between Goans the world over...and our motherland.

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Al Mathias

Africa: Fete Honours Great Goans
http://allafrica.com/stories/200708241100.html
East African Standard  (Nairobi) - 25 August 2007
Posted to the web 24 August 2007, Amos Kareithi And Philip Mwakio - Nairobi



Excerpts….
Goans in Kenya are marking 75 years since constructing the Goan Institute in Mombasa. The school, which has now changed its name to Sacred Heart, has seen some of Kenya's great leaders pass through its gates. The foundation and collaboration of the community saw the establishment of enduring institution in the 1930s.

"I am a product of the school. It has made me what I am today and I am proud of it," says Mvita MP and ODM presidential aspirant, Mr Najib Balala. "Sometimes I wish I was born a Goan. They have a legacy," he says.

A celebration to mark 75 years of the existence of Goan School (presently Sacred Heart School) in Mombasa was the highlight of a weeklong celebration to mark the origin of the institution.

To bring the Goans living in the Diaspora together, the community worldwide celebrates the Goan Day every August. The Goan community in Mombasa lined up a series of events to coincide with the celebrations. The events included an Inter-School's quiz, Memorial Holy service mass for the deceased, thanksgiving mass and an inter-faiths thanksgiving service. There is also the 75th anniversary reunion.

The highlight of the weeklong celebration was a dramatised play written by award winning playwright and Mombasa Municipal Council nominated civic leader, Mr Kuldip Sondhi. Titled, "A Goa Saga", the play is based on the history of the Goan School. It tells the story of the courage of its founders and adventures of school life with a twist of fun and controversies. Having lived in Kenya for more than 100 years, the million-dollar question is, will the community live for another century or will it become extinct?

The community has produced outstanding hockey players and athletes such as Seraphino Antao, who in the 1962 Commonwealth games in Perth, Australia, grabbed two gold medals in 110 yards and 220 yards. The history of Goans is interesting as it is complex. "The Goans came to Mombasa in the 1630s. The town was at one time under the control of rulers in Goa. They and the Portuguese are entwined in the Kenyan history," says Balala.

Many Goans cannot speak Hindu. Neither can those who have settled in Kenya speak their native tongue, Konkani. Dr Ivan Fernandes, who rose to the rank of a senior Deputy Director of Medical Services, is another inspiration to the community. "In my home the only language spoken is English. This is my first language. My children and I have mastered Kiswahili though," Fernandes says.

The chairman of the Goan community in Mombasa, Mr Angelo Pereira explains that although the Goans were under the Portuguese, they were forced to migrate from India and learn English because that was the only way they could secure employment. Interestingly, the Goans in Mombasa carry Portuguese names, wear Indian faces and speak in English and the language of their adopted home, Kiswahili.

Over the years the Goans in Mombasa have severed the social umbilical cord with their ancestors in India and Portugal. They now consider themselves Africans. In 1930s, there were about 5,000 Goans in Mombasa alone. They worked as architects, teachers doctors and stewards.

The numbers have, however, dwindled to an extent that the community, which had its own school boasting of 1,000 children, are now no more than 200. 75-year-old Sacred Heart School in Ganjoni, Mombasa, has seen some of Kenya's great leaders pass through its gates.

They do not have any special attachment to Fort Jesus Museum, the historical monument erected by Portuguese empire builders in 1593 as a military base. "The number is quite low. Most of those who remain here are old people. Majority have migrated to the United Kingdom, Australia and America," says Fernandes.

Others are living in Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Zanzibar and Arusha. But the tragedy is that some of the Goans who at one point held British passports are stateless. They do not belong to Goa, India, Portugal, Kenya or Britain.

"It is a shame that people who have contributed so much to development should suffer the indignity of being stateless. It is time they stopped sitting on the fence and spoke out," Balala says. For decades, the Goans have shunned controversy, stayed out of the limelight, but they have not necessarily been left alone.

"We have to develop a culture of affiliation with other communities so that we can continue to share our legacy and preserve our values as we share with other people," Fernandes concludes.

Eucharistic Congress Will Revive Christian Roots, Says Ouellet
Church Primate Says 2008 Gathering Is A Grace For Our Country
http://www.wcr.ab.ca/news/2007/0827/ouellet082707.shtml

By DEBORAH GYAPONG
Canadian Catholic News
Montreal

"I believe the Lord of history is inviting us to bear witness to his love and to challenge the forces of dissolution that are challenging our culture," said Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec and primate of the Church in Canada.

"This congress is a grace for our country," he said. There is a need to recover the depth and beauty of the Church's mission and to deepen the Gospel vision of a culture of love.

Ouellet, former rector of St. Joseph Seminary in Edmonton, was speaking to the 600 delegates at the national convention of the Catholic Women's League Aug. 13.

The congress, set for June 15-22, will coincide with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. Quebec is also Canada's oldest diocese, through which missionaries went on to evangelize the whole continent.

Ouellet said he hopes the congress will "give new life to the consciousness of the Christian roots of our country.

"We've been blessed from the beginning with the gift of saints. Fourteen have been beatified or canonized in the last 40 years," he said. "Not many countries have so wonderful a story to tell the whole world."
Pope Benedict has been invited. Ouellet said it will be clear by Christmas whether he will come.

The cardinal spoke as well of "great efforts" to involve youth, describing it a "big challenge, especially in Canada, for handing on the faith and also religious practices and devotions to the next generation."

India's Jet Airways prepares to take flight in Canada

In his four decades in the aviation business, Naresh Goyal has learned that airlines cannot survive on friendly service and low fares alone. They also need a smart route map with connecting flights to have a fighting chance of filling planes with paying customers.

The billionaire founder of Jet Airways (India) Ltd. believes he has the right stuff to make a profit on Toronto-New Delhi flights and is undaunted by Air Canada's money-losing experience on the route.

Mr. Goyal, 58, wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He started in the aviation business in 1967, earning $40 a month as an employee in a marketing firm. In 1993, he created Mumbai-based Jet after India's government opened the airline sector to private competition

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