Canada Dept: The guilty verdicts against three members of a Montreal family in the murders of three teenaged daughters and their step-mother sends a clear a message on this country's tolerance for abhorrent cultural practices that place the lives of women at the whim of a man's distorted sense of honour. Canada can say it has responded in the severest way to the violence that can arise from the offensive values that land here with some newcomers, according to Winnipeg Free Press. The more pressing issue now is how Canada can prevent such tragedies. Having fled Afghanistan in 1992, the Shafias entered Canada in 2007. Their daughters quickly started acting like typical Canadian teens: they had boyfriends, dressed like their friends, rebelled against the strictures of the home and dALE CUMMINGS Related Items Articles Hamed Shafia files notice to appeal 1st-degree murder convictions Mohammad Shafia, Tooba Yahya and son Hamed Shafia will go to jail for life, with no possibility of parole for 25 years, for the premeditated killings of Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17 and Geeti, 13 and Rona Amir Mohammad, their father's other wife. All were drowned, found in a car at the bottom of a canal east of Kingston, Ont., in June, 2009. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Fiscal Discipline Dept: Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper took his sales pitch for fiscal discipline to an international meeting of political and business leaders in the Swiss town of Davos. He had three objectives: to boast about his exemplary economic stewardship; to scold his European counterparts for their profligacy; and to send a message home that he intends to trim retirement benefits, tighten Canada s immigration rules and seek more free trade deals, according to The Star. His claim that Canada has economically outperformed most industrialized countries during these recent difficult years was immediately shot down and the great austerity blitz is not going as smoothly as planned. He ran into resistance on all three fronts: (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Disney Cruise Line Dept: We expect 2012 to be a great year, said Betty MacMillan, chairwoman of the Atlantic Canada Cruise Association. We re expecting more than 800,000 passengers and crew, according to The Star. For the very first time, Disney Cruise Line has scheduled stops in Atlantic Canada this year. They re offering nine five-day cruises departing from New York that are calling on Halifax and Saint John, N.B and sAINT JOHN, N.B. When you think of cruise ship destinations, Atlantic Canada might not immediately come to mind, but a growing number of Americans and Europeans are eyeing Atlantic Canada as a choice destination for a summer or fall cruise getaway. The region is visited by the big names in the cruise industry, including Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Conservative Government Dept: Harper was on the defensive as Liberals and New Democrats condemned the Conservative government for looming changes to the system of old age benefits, according to The Star. Harper used a speech in Davos, Switzerland, last week to outline big changes his government plans for Canada, including immigration and Ottawa s system of retirement benefits and oTTAWA Prime Minister Stephen Harper was accused on Monday of misleading Canadians for springing a surprise cut to retirement benefits without first raising the idea during last year s election. It is the politics of deceit and abandonment, Liberal Leader Bob Rae said as MPs returned to the Commons after their Christmas break. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Government Dept: With a high-risk budget in the making, there is little doubt that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his strategists have thought long and hard about the political perils of the exercise, according to The Star. All of the above suggests that the government will strive to tiptoe its way through the pension minefield rather than risk having the issue blow up in its face and running a government is a bit like driving a car. Breaking a rule of the road can sometimes get one in trouble but often not for very long. An over-taxed engine can leave one in a lurch in the middle of nowhere. But the worst mishaps are frequently caused by inattention to a familiar blind spot. For instance, it does not take a degree in political science to know that any party that antagonizes older Canadians does so at its own peril. The 50-plus voters turn out in disproportionate numbers at the polls. Made up as it is of baby boomers, the current cohort has a consistent track record of ensuring its voice is heard loud and clear in every power circle. That particular constituency also makes up a significant part of the Conservative party base. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

School Property Taxes Dept: Seven Oaks is also looking at an increase of seven per cent in school property taxes -- and other school divisions are also crunching numbers that will likely lead to big tax hikes, according to Winnipeg Free Press. "If we want to continue all our programs and services, we could be looking at some significant tax increases," Barr said. "We're looking at tax increases of 8.5 per cent." THE average homeowner in the Winnipeg School Division is looking at getting hit with an $80 increase in school taxes this year, an 8.5 per cent hike. Education Minister Nancy Allan's funding announcement Monday was "not good news for school divisions," WSD finance chairwoman Kristine Barr warned Tuesday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Tooba Mohammad Yahya Dept: Honour killings are not something that youth protection systems typically work with,'' said Madelaine Berard, the director of youth protection at Batshaw Youth and Family Centres, which dealt with the Shafia family in 2008, according to Montreal Gazette. On Sunday, a Kingston, Ont., jury found Mohammad Shafia, his second wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya and their son, Hamed, guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of the couple's three daughters, Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, and of Shafia's first wife, Rona Amir Mohammad, 52 and mONTREAL - The killings of three Montreal siblings and a female relative has spurred a Montreal youth protection agency to step up efforts to educate its staff about cultures where honour crimes are practised. We have to get our heads more sensitized to this and learn better skills to understand and work with these families so we can engage them.'' (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Honour Killings Dept: I'm referring to those who timorously pretend that honour killings are not a global phenomenon, peculiar to certain regressive patriarchal cultures. These folks, afraid of appearing racist if they point out the truth - that people from other cultures are capable of doing evil - prefer to label these types of killings domestic violence.'', according to Montreal Gazette. There's nothing that the word barbaric' achieves that the words absolutely unacceptable' would not have achieved,'' Trudeau said, calling for responsible neutrality.'' Now in all fairness, Trudeau was not referring to the Shafia murders. But he was referring, in a more theoretical way, to the use of words to describe the acts that took the lives of the three girls and one woman. And when applied to the ugly reality of their slayings, soft-pedalled substitutes just don't cut it and cALGARY - Now that three members of the Shafia family are off to begin serving their prison sentences on four counts each of first-degree murder, it's time to stop skating on the thin ice of political correctness. It was barely a year ago that Justin Trudeau, MP for the Montreal riding of Papineau and the Liberals' immigration critic, didn't like the use of the pithy adjective barbaric'' in Ottawa's new citizenship guide in the section that described Canada's position on honour killings, among other things. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Batshaw Youth And Family Centres Dept: "Honour killings are not something that youth protection systems typically work with," said Madelaine Berard, the director of youth protection at Batshaw Youth and Family Centres, which dealt with the Shafia family in 2008, according to Vancouver Sun. On Sunday, a Kingston jury found Mohammad Shafia, his second wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya and their son, Hamed, guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of the couple's three daughters, Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, and of Shafia's first wife, Rona Amir Mohammad, 52 and the killings of three Montreal siblings and a female relative has spurred a Montreal youth protection agency to step up efforts to educate its staff about cultures where honour crimes are practised. "We have to get our heads more sensitized to this and learn better skills to understand and work with these families so we can engage them." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Honour Killing Dept: But legal experts and those who work in women's shelters say that once the words are stripped away, the crime is one that happens often in Canada: women being killed for not doing as they are told, according to Vancouver Sun. "It's a violent assault on women because they're women." For months during the Shafia murder trial in Kingston, Ont., the term "honour killing" was bandied about as if it were some exotic ritual that only happened in other countries with cultures far removed and backward from our own. "I think we're fascinated right now with the concept of honour killings because that was the name given to it by the prosecution and the accused but that doesn't change what the underlying activity is," said Pearl Eliadis, a Montreal human rights lawyer. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.