Hispanic Leadership Network Dept: U.S. election coverage, according to The Star. Both men arranged for appearances Friday with the Hispanic Leadership Network. Florida has roughly 1.5 million Hispanic voters, who figure to play prominently in the largest and most diverse primary so far in the state-by-state nominating process to challenge President Barack Obama in November and jACKSONVILLE, FLA. More than a million Hispanic voters are the prize as Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich resume campaigning Friday after a feisty, final debate before Florida s primary on Tuesday. Romney was the surprise aggressor in the second debate in four days Thursday night, pressing Gingrich to apologize for an ad labeling him as anti-immigrant. That s simply inexcusable and repulsive, Romney said. My father was born in Mexico. I m not anti-immigrant. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Rosemary Barton Dept: In an interview with Rosemary Barton on the News Network, Menzies says the government wants to make sure the system in place now can be sustained in the future, according to CBC. "We're looking at all options right now. We're looking at all options that make it sustainable." Any changes to retirement income won't be sudden, but the government isn't ruling out any options for restructuring the system, Minister of State for Finance Ted Menzies said Friday. "I don't think we'd change anything overnight," he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Pension System Dept: Of those reforms, Harper said, getting a grip on slowing the rising costs of the country's pension system is particularly critical, according to Montreal Gazette. The opposition NDP and Liberals said that such a move would financially cripple millions of Canadians. They argued that at a time when world leaders are talking about addressing income inequality, the prime minister's words indicated the opposite may happen in Canada and prime Minister Stephen Harper signalled his government will bring forward "major transformations" in the coming months - in areas such as the retirement pension system, immigration, science and technology investment and the energy sector. In the wake of Harper's speech, it now appears the Conservative government could be poised to gradually change the Old Age Security system so that the age of eligibility is raised to 67 from 65. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney Dept: The former head of Canada s elite special forces and our deputy ambassador to Afghanistan turned down Sayed Shah Sharifi s visa application last fall, just weeks after complaining to the Star , according to The Star. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced in 2009 that he wanted to protect Afghans who could show individual risk because they had worked with Canadians in Kandahar province, the Taliban heartland and kANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN A Canadian Army commander and a senior diplomat denied a highly praised Afghan combat interpreter a Canadian visa after wrongly accusing him of taking his stalled case to the news media, an internal document shows. They didn t believe Sharifi s claims that the Taliban want to kill him for assisting Canadian combat troops, an essential qualification for a visa under a special federal program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Immigrants Dept: A review of the Provincial Nominee Program PNP , which allows provinces to select their own immigrants based on local economic needs, found that 80 per cent of the selected immigrants are employed in the first year most of them in their area of expertise. The program fast-tracks immigrants with the right skills, bringing them to Canada in less than a year, according to The Star. Although newcomers selected through the standard federal skilled immigrant program have a similar employment rate initially, they lag behind the provincial nominees by a full 10 per cent after three years. About 87 per cent of the federal skilled immigrants are employed then, compared with 97 per cent among the nominees and ontario is lagging behind in reaping the benefits of a program that brings in skilled immigrants more quickly and more successfully, a new government report shows. Their average income, depending on province, ranges from $29,600 to $41,700 in the first year, and rises to between $35,200 and $45,100 after three years. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

El Salvador Dept: Carmen Escobar's brother Carlos died in a house fire on Springdale Street in St. John's in late November. She has been trying to get a visa to travel here from El Salvador, but was turned down twice, according to CBC. Family friend Amanda Gaultois tells News word came Thursday that the visa has now been granted and ottawa has agreed to let an El Salvador woman enter Canada to collect her brother's remains. A Springdale Street fire on Nov. 27 killed Carlos Escobar Medina. Federal officials feared she might not leave when she's supposed to. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

National Day Dept: BRISBANE -- Australians celebrating their national day Thursday were confronted with the sight of their prime minister and Opposition leader being hustled away by security staff as hundreds of angry aborigines confronted them at a Canberra restaurant, according to Winnipeg Free Press. The protesters, who pointed out many indigenous Australians still live in poverty, banged on the glass sides of the Lobby restaurant chanting "shame" and "racist," while federal police swooped and cameras recorded the angry confrontations and australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, second from left, is escorted through a crowd of protesters following a ceremony to mark Australia's national day in Canberra on Thursday. Protesters were incensed at suggestions by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott that the aboriginal "tent embassy" -- a protest site near Parliament since the 1970s -- be closed down because many of the issues dogging indigenous Australia had been resolved. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Dept: Still, it s a shift worth noting that the high and mighty of the world economy, at their annual Swiss Alps retreat, were paying attention to the fact that inequality is now a source of political and economic instability, according to The Chronicle Herald. Not all the old ideas need tossing out. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, along with British PM David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, pushed sensibly for a free flow of goods and services with Mr. Harper stressing immigration, as well . These doors must be kept open to maximize opportunities of people everywhere to work and to share the dynamic growth of emerging markets and tALKING about the woes of inequality while enjoying five-star amenities at a Davos hotel is far nicer than living them in the wastes of Detroit or pounding streets for hard-to-find jobs in rural Nova Scotia. Hopefully this new theme at the World Economic Forum really is a reality check and high-rollers have learned something from the 2007-09 crash and their inability to set things right with the old playbook. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

DAVOS, Switzerland Ottawa Dept: DAVOS, Switzerland Ottawa will transform the country s pension system to curtail government costs, but details won t come until the budget, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday, according to The Chronicle Herald. The idea, he said, is to position Canada as a more competitive force in the global economy and to confront the pressures of an aging population and uPDATED 9:04 p.m. In a major speech to global movers and shakers at the World Economic Forum, Harper also signalled looming reforms in immigration as well as research and development all in the name of ensuring Canada s economy is on a strong footing. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney Dept: An analysis of the provincial nominee programs in nine provinces and two territories was released Thursday by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Between 2005 and 2009, Manitoba received 13,089 immigrants through the provincial nominee program, nearly 40 per cent of the 33,722 nominee immigrants who landed in Canada in those years. Alberta, with 14 per cent, was a distant second and oTTAWA -- Manitoba still gets the lion's share of provincial nominee immigrants, but arrivals in the province earn significantly less and are more likely to move away than nominees in the other western provinces, a new report shows. Although immigration falls under federal jurisdiction, Ottawa has signed agreements to let provinces and territories establish criteria for, and seek out, immigrants to fill a province's specific economic needs. Manitoba was the first to sign such an agreement in 1996 and has been the most successful at using the program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.