Year Conference: People and Conference

year conference: Canet said he sent 2,000 letters of inquiry to conference invitees asking about their travel plans and 70 per cent of the 315 people who replied said their visa application had been rejected by the Canadian government, according to Brandon Sun. Co-organizer Carminda Mac Lorin said Canada reputation as a free and open society will be "tainted" if there are fewer people at this year conference. Twenty-four hours before the beginning of the international event, conference co-coordinator Raphael Canet told reporters the number of people denied entry to Canada hasn't changed much since he raised the issue a week ago. The majority of the people denied entry visas are from Africa, and many are from Latin America, organizers said. World Social Forum is an annual conference that is being held in North America for the first time. Immigration Canada blamed conference officials and said rules for visitor visas need to be followed rigorously, while the event directors said they did all they could to facilitate the visa process. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.