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VANCOUVER: Seven Indian Canadians were elected to the 79-member assembly in Canada's British Columbia Excerpt from: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4526275.cms?prtpage=1 13 May 2009 Among those who were elected was Wally Oppal, provincial attorney-general and virtually number two in the cabinet. A former British Columbia Supreme Court judge, Oppal plunged into politics in 2005 and got elected on the ruling Liberal Party ticket from the Vancouver-Fraserview constituency. The highly respected Oppal, who was born here in the 1940s, this time contested from his home constituency of Delta-South to beat fellow Indian Canadian Dileep Athaide of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Oppal is set to retain his top slot in the new cabinet under Premier Gordon Campbell. Preliminary results show Mr. Oppal with 9,619 votes, ahead of Ms. Huntington's 9,617. NDP candidate Dileep Athaide placed third with 2,801 votes. The constituency vacated by Oppal this time was captured by fellow Indian Canadian and super cop Kash (Kashmir) Heed on the ticket of the Liberal Party. Heed, who quit his high-profile job as the chief of West Vancouver Police to plunge into politics, is tipped to become the next solicitor general of British Columbia. The third high-profile Indian Canadian to win was former transportation minister Harry Lali who romped home in the Fraser-Nicola constituency. Two other prominent Indian Canadians who retained their seats were Raj Chouhan of the opposition NDP and Dave Hayer of the ruling Liberal Party. Punjab-born Chouhan came to Vancouver in 1973 and became famous by organising farm workers. He is the founding president of the Canadian Farmworkers' Union. Dave Hayer is the son of the slain Punjabi editor Tara Singh Hayer, who founded the Indo-Canadian Times. Tara Singh was killed allegedly by Babbar Khalsa to stop him from testifying in the Air India Kanishka bombing that killed 329 people. Former Indian basketball player and NDP candidate Jagrup Brar also got elected for the third time from the new constituency of Surrey-Fleetwood, beating Jagmohan Singh of the Liberal Party. Seventy-one-year-old John Nuraney of the ruling party also returned as an MLA from Burnaby Deer-Lake as did Harry Bains of the opposition NDP from the Surrey-Newton constituency. There were as many as 16 Indian-origin candidates in the fray for the 79-member assembly elections. While the ruling Liberal Party had fielded seven, the opposition NDP put up nine Indian Canadian candidates. Indian Canadians constitute more than five percent of the population of British Columbia of 4.4 million, and Punjabi is the third largest spoken language in the province.

Three things Sri Lanka’s government must do to ensure peace http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/carintern.htm* *Source: Caritas Internationalis | 19 May 2009 Caritas says that the Sri Lanka government needs to bring peace to the country now that war is over through a series of short and long term measures  These are to: *Improve the conditions in the camps for people displaced by the war, *Resettle people made homeless as soon as possible and help rebuild their lives, *Bring about a just peace that meets the needs of all Sri Lankans The government needs to take steps immediately to ensure that the people displaced by the fighting and living in camps have access to food, clean water, and protection. Currently, 251,861 people have reached camps. Humanitarian agencies have strictly limited access and that must change. Caritas is providing much needed food and other assistance to the many displaced people. Caritas is providing food for over 11,089 people, in seven camps in Jaffna and some 21,071 in Mannar. However, Caritas says the camps do not meet international standards on security and living conditions, and traumatized families remain divided. Caritas says the next step is to ensure that people who have been forced from their homes are allowed to return as soon as possible. Once there, war victims must receive significant support in rebuilding their lives. **Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone

Canadian Prime Minister: "Sri Lanka must understand that there will be consequences for its actions" TORONTO, May 16 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister joined the United Nations and numerous world leaders today calling for an end to violence in Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister has reportedly made several calls to President Rapapakse to make clear his concerns about the need for an end to violence and help for civilians. Thousands of civilians remain surrounded by the Sri Lankan army today and a massacre is looming. The United Nations have expressed grave concern for the safety of the estimated 30,000 to 80,000 civilians remaining inside the combat zone. The Prime Minister declared "Sri Lanka stands on the brink. We have called repeatedly for the violence to cease. The humanitarian agencies must be granted access to civilians caught in the crossfire of a dreadful conflict. We are backing UN efforts to secure an orderly end to the conflict." The Canadian Human Rights Voice applauds Prime Minister Gordon Brown for directly intervening and calls on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to join other world leaders on behalf of Canadians to end the violence before further innocent lives are lost. Canadian Human Rights Voice (CHRV). CHRV a not-for-profit, non-governmental, independent human rights committee comprised of Canadian University Graduates. www.chrv.ca.

Non-anglo names barrier for job hunters: Study http://www.theprovince.com/Business/anglo+names+barrier+hunters+Study.html Excerpts from Article … By Shannon Proudfoot, | Canwest News Service | May 20, 2009 Job applicants with English-sounding names on their resumes are 40 per cent more likely to be called for an interview than those with Chinese, Indian or Pakistani names, according to a University of British Columbia study released Wednesday. The Carrie Martins and Matthew Wilsons of the world simply have an easier time in the Canadian job market than the Hassan Khans or Min Lius, new research reveals. "Employers may be statistically discriminating by name and immigrant status because they believe these characteristics signal a greater chance of inadequate language or social skills," says Philip Oreopoulos, an economics professor at UBC. "Obviously, the other possibility is that employers simply prefer to hire individuals of similar ethnic or language backgrounds." Whether it's intentional or not, they could be missing out on the best candidate and curtailing job prospects for recent immigrants and second- and third-generation Canadians alike, he says. It's well known that immigrants — and especially recent arrivals — struggle in the labour market, Oreopoulos says, with unemployment rates twice those of Canadian-born people and wages 35 per cent lower. But researchers have long puzzled over why, particularly since that's true even for those admitted under a points system that attracts highly educated and skilled immigrants who should be able to integrate easily. In an effort to understand why, Oreopoulos and his team sent out 6,000 resumes in response to 2,000 online job postings in the Toronto area for occupations including computer programmers, administrative assistants and accountants. They rotated the faux resumes between English- or foreign-sounding names and education and experience obtained in Canada or abroad, using Chinese, Indian and Pakistani names because those countries are the biggest sources of Canadian immigration right now. Manjeet Dhiman, senior director, services and business development for ACCES Employment, an immigrant employment centre in Toronto, says it's simply human nature to gravitate to what's familiar, but they try to show employers the value of foreign experience and a diverse workforce. Some of their clients express anxiety about their names, she says, and although it's not something the centre recommends, some opt to anglicize their names on their resumes to improve their chances. Dhiman believes the demand to fill Canada's skills shortage with immigrant talent in the near future may push employers to be more open-minded. "A lot of these names, if you start to become familiar with them, they're not hard to pronounce," she says, adding that she sometimes gets mail addressed to "Mr. Manjeet Dhiman" from people who can't interpret her Punjabi name. "This is not just for immigrants, but because we're such a multicultural country this impacts Canadians as well. Employers have to be open to accepting people with these different types of names and backgrounds because that's Canada."

Canadian executive CAs say graduate hiring levels likely to decline in 2009 http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2009/15/c4239.html?view=print TORONTO, May 15 /CNW/ - Senior level chartered accountants in Canada expect fewer university and/or college graduates to be hired this year according to the most recent CICA/RBC Business Monitor (Q1 2009). Although half of the respondents indicated that their hiring levels were expected to be unchanged from a year ago, 17 per cent indicated that their company's hiring levels would decrease. This is up sharply from eight per cent of respondents last year. Only six per cent of the respondents suggested that their company was planning to increase the number of graduates hired in 2009. Respondents indicating that they plan to hire fewer graduates compared with last year were most likely to cite the economic downturn in Canada (80%) or decreased sales (60%). "The fact that the number of graduates hired may decrease this year is not a surprise," said Kevin Dancey, FCA, President and CEO, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA). "Companies are making tough choices in these tough times. However, as we recently reported, these same chartered accountants expect Canada to experience economic growth by the end of the second quarter of 2010. Perhaps, those tough decisions will soon become a little easier to make."

Canadian Home Sales Surge As Prices Dip 3rd Month In Row Garry Marr, Financial Post | Friday, May 15, 2009 Existing-home sales surged in April, a third consecutive monthly increase, which forced the Canadian Real Estate Association yesterday to revise its forecast for a housing market apparently on the rebound. On a seasonally adjusted basis there were 34,838 unit sales last month, an 11.2% increase from March and the largest monthly jump in sales since March, 2004. "This spring has been strong," said Gregory Klump, chief economist with the Ottawa-based group, which represents about 100 real estate boards across the country. "Affordability, lower rates and prices, that's bringing people back to the market." Interest rates are at a record low for a five-year, fixed-term mortgage, still the most popular product among homeowners. Some banks are offering rates as low as 3.75%, if the buyer locks in for a full five years. But variable rates, tied to prime, have also continued to drop as the Bank of Canada has lowered rates. Add in the fact that prices have fallen from the record-setting pace set in 2008 and you have a recipe for people getting out to buy, says the Canadian Real Estate Association. The average price of a home sold in April was $306,366, a 3.2% decline from a year ago.

Ontario Taking Clean, Green Solutions To India Premier Dalton McGuinty To Promote Environmental  Technologies On Trade Mission TORONTO, May 14 /CNW/ - Premier Dalton McGuinty is leading a trade mission to India in December to promote Ontario's innovative companies, attract investment and turn bright ideas into new green jobs. The delegation will include representatives from Ontario's leading clean tech companies and focus on how the province's green solutions can help India grow sustainably. The week-long mission will include stops in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. India's economy is one of the largest and fastest growing in the world. India recently introduced a National Plan To Fight Climate Change (http://pmindia.nic.in/Pg01-52.pdf ), focusing on clean, renewable energy sources and increased energy efficiency. Their efforts to fight global warming have boosted investment in climate-friendly projects, creating opportunities for Ontario companies. QUOTES "Ontario is a leader in developing technologies for cleaner air, energy and water. We're eager to put our innovation to work to help India build a greener economy. By promoting Ontario's clean tech ideas in India, we can create jobs here and reduce pollution there." - Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario "India is one of the world's fastest growing economies and Ontario is an economic powerhouse within North America. We're continuing to build on the important and longstanding relationship we share, to the benefit of both jurisdictions." - Sandra Pupatello, Minister of International Trade and Investment Find out who's investing (http://www.investinontario.com/investments/default.asp) in Ontario