Intelligence Unit Dept: A spokesperson for the group said someone broke into their Toronto office sometime Saturday night, ransacked the premises and stole a computer, according to CBC. But congress members now say there wasn't as much sensitive information on the computer as was previously thought, and all information was encrypted and the Toronto Police Intelligence Unit has taken over the investigation into a break-in at the Canadian Tamil Congress. The congress initially said the computer contained sensitive information including birth certificates, names and contact information for hundreds of Tamil migrants who arrived in Canada last month. As reported in the news.
@t congress members, birth certificates

Family Reunification Dept: But Occessite hadn't bargained with Canadian immigration bureaucracy. It would take another eight months for the Montreal daycare provider to receive final approval for her refugee claim, and 10 long months before she was reunited with her two children, whom she had left in the care of a friend in Haiti, according to Montreal Gazette. The quake, which killed an estimated 225,000 people and left more than a million homeless, drew a massive outpouring of support from Canadians and promises by the Quebec government to streamline family reunification and when Eline Occessite's application for refugee status was fast-tracked in August 2009, eight months after fleeing would-be kidnappers in her native Haiti, she thought her problems would soon be over. The devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12 would make the wait the most terrifying experience of her life. As reported in the news.
@t native haiti, refugee claim

Provincial Cabinet Dept: Bechard, a provincial cabinet minister, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. He was 41 years old, the father of two and stepfather to his wife Mylene's two children, according to Montreal Gazette. Before the funeral, Charest noted that in politics some days are tougher than others and Bechard had a knack for lightening the mood. "Claude had the gift of making us laugh, making us smile, to make us stand back a bit," Charest told LCN and claude Bechard was remembered for his energy, dynamism, sense of humour and generosity by mourners who attended his state funeral Saturday in Ste. Anne Cathedral in La Pocatiere. The hundreds of mourners at the cathedral included Premier Jean Charest, former premier Daniel Johnson, Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe and retired Canadiens defenceman Patrice Brisebois. As reported in the news.
@t bloc quebecois, montreal gazette

Phone Interview Dept: The former premier, now at the centre of a vigorous battle against the harmonized sales tax, is only joking. He's happy to talk about literacy and offer his support to the Postmedia Raise-a-Reader campaign, according to Vancouver Sun. Archie, Donald Duck and Superman opened the doors to a language and a culture the young boy, who emigrated from the Netherlands after the Second World War, knew nothing about. "I hate reading," Bill Vander Zalm says in a phone interview with The . "The number of e-mails I have to go through every day, I get so much of it, it's driving me crazy." Vander Zalm discovered the joy of reading when he taught himself English at the age of 12 by reading comic books. As reported in the news.
@t vancouver sun, second world war

Perspective Canada Dept: Viewed from a certain perspective, Canada’s immigration rate is as deceptive as the Cayman rate. It is not Canada that has “the highest per-capita immigration rate in the world.” It is Toronto. More than 40 per cent of Canada’s 250,000 immigrants choose each year to migrate to the GTA. Few of these immigrants have chosen “Canada.” If they had, they wouldn’t all be living in the same place – unless you define the GTA as Canada. Yes, half a million Cuban Americans have crammed together in Miami – but another half million chose to live in the other 49 states as well, according to Globe And Mail. Speaking of population decline, the U.S. Census Bureau says that the United States population could reach one billion by 2100 – assuming that the country keeps accepting immigrants in the same numbers it does now and that its birth rate remains high. The question arises: With most of the world’s affluent countries anticipating declines in population or already experiencing them , why this American people boom? With its self-sustaining Total Fertility Rate, the coveted 2.1, the U.S. doesn’t need immigrants to compensate for a shortage of babies and by one measure, Canada accepts 5.63 immigrants a year per 1,000 population. The U.S. accepts only 4.32 immigrants – 30 per cent fewer. The tiny Cayman Islands accept 16.48 immigrants, 300 per cent more. What does this astonishing number signify? It means only that, at any given moment, 824 Cubans are using the nearby islands as a stop on their way to the United States. More than 50 years after the Cuban Revolution, thousands of Cubans a year still find their way to Dade County and beyond. Assuming that immigration trends persist, the GTA will grow by more than 9 million people in the balance of the 21st century. Add the present population 5.5 million : Toronto will easily exceed 15 million by century’s end – enough people, given a fair share of seats in the Commons, to form a minority government all by itself. Yes, Vancouver will grow, too, along with Calgary-Edmonton and Montreal, but these cities will grow much more slowly. It is Toronto alone that gives Canada an extraordinary immigration rate. Without Toronto, Canada would quickly begin a persistent population decline. Canada needs this megalopolis for strategic demographic reasons – for survival. As reported in the news.
@t immigration trends, population decline

Regent Park Dept: Before the renewal project began, the 31-year-old lived in one of the cockroach-infested public housing units on Dundas St. West. Last December, she moved into a brand new three-bedroom townhouse unit after a three-year wait at a temporary residence on River St. She is still raving about her new home, according to The Star. So perfect that she has become used to giving impromptu house tours to a steady stream of envious friends and a reporter from the Star. The house is well-lit, and traditional Ethiopian home decorations adorn its walls. Despite several boxes still left to put away, it is obvious Ibrahim and her children have comfortably settled in and sureya Ibrahim, a mother of three from Ethiopia, is a shining example of how well the revitalization has worked for Regent Park tenants. We have two washrooms, so it s a big deal, she smiled. They did a very good job building it . The walls, the floors, it s perfect. As reported in the news.
@t park tenants, dundas st

Progress Ave Dept: We were targeted. We fully well know we were targeted because we were involved in this Sun Sea issue, said David Poopalapillai, national spokesperson for the Tamil congress, according to The Star. Poopalapillai said some rooms in the office were ransacked and computers and telephones were left on the floor. The computer at the main reception desk was the only thing taken, he said and the Canadian Tamil Congress fears the names of hundreds of Tamil asylum-seekers who boarded the MV Sun Sea and their families back home have been stolen in what they allege is either a hate crime or an act of international espionage. Toronto police are investigating the break-in, believed to have occurred late Saturday or in the early hours of Sunday, at the congress headquarters on Progress Ave. in Scarborough. As reported in the news.
@t asylum seekers, national spokesperson

Volunteer Coordinator Dept: Wherever the Dalai Lama goes, they do the preparation, said Salden Kunga, a volunteer coordinator for the Dalai Lama visit, as he waited for the monks at Pearson airport on Sunday. They are like the entourage, according to The Star. When they applied for their visas, they got it half an hour later, Nangsetsang said Sunday, clarifying an earlier statement that said the monks had trouble getting their visas. There was no problem from Canadian Immigration and always a few steps ahead of the Dalai Lama, two advance monks from northern India have finally arrived in Toronto to help prepare Canada s first Tibetan cultural centre for the leader s arrival. Namgyal Nangsetsang, a Tibetan Cultural Centre spokeswoman, said the busy monks are about a week behind schedule. As reported in the news.
@t dalai lama, canadian immigration

Sun Sea Dept: The break and enter is believed to have taken place between 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. Sunday at the office, located on Progress Ave. in Scarborough. There were forced signs of entry, according to The Star. Poopalapillai is worried that the identities of the 492 Sri Lankan immigrants smuggled into Canada off the coast of British Columbia last month aboard the MV Sun Sea were on the computer. The identities of the migrant s families still living in the fragile Asian nation also could have been taken and police are investigating after the Toronto headquarters of the Canadian Tamil Congress was broken into and a computer that may contain sensitive information including the names of the recent wave of migrants and their families was stolen. David Poopalapillai, a spokesperson for the Tamil Congress, said some rooms in the office were ransacked and computers and telephones were left on the floor. The computer at the main reception desk was taken. As reported in the news.
@t reception desk, asian nation

Parents Dept: Vakhtang Makhniashvili believes his missing daughter is dead and says the possibility that she s alive is quite slim, according to The Star. The meek and demure Lela Tabidze shakes her head, fights back tears and pipes up and a year later, the parents of Mariam Makhniashvili say they are divided in their fears, but united in grief. Hearing his words, although soft-spoken I fear the worst his wife becomes choked up. As reported in the news.
@t pipes, fears