Exchange District National Historic Site Dept: Mike Aporius / St. Charles Hotel Enlarge Image, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Back in 2008, the owners of two century-old hotels on pedestrian-friendly Albert Street announced plans to convert their heritage properties into boutique hotels befitting the entrance to the Exchange District National Historic Site and mike Deal / Royal Albert Arms MIKE DEAL / Enlarge Image MIKE DEAL / ILLUSTRATION Downtown-revitalization advocates lament the derelict heritage buildings on pedestrian-friendly Albert Street, on a block that serves as the entrance to the Exchange District. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Conservative Government Dept: The order represents a reversal of policy for the Conservative government, which once insisted the Canadian Security Intelligence Service would discard information if there was any inkling it might be tainted, according to The Chronicle Herald. A copy of the two-page December 2010 directive was obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act and oTTAWA The federal government has directed Canada s spy agency to use information that may have been extracted through torture in cases where public safety is at stake. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has quietly told CSIS the government now expects the spy service to make the protection of life and property its overriding priority. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Zebunesa Sadiq Dept: The cause of the Winnipeg fire that claimed five members of Hamid Farooq's family is officially undetermined, but the question remains whether their deaths were preventable, says a man who works with newcomers to Canada, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Hoorya Sadiq Enlarge Image LEFT: Fayza Peyawary from left , Zebunesa Sadiq, Aliza Sadiq and Hamid Farooq ABOVE: Hoorya Sadiq "In many cultures, we try to help ourself," said Shoaib Ebadi, who attended the memorial service last week for the family from Pakistan. Enlarge Image (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Citizenship Oath Ceremony Dept: It's almost impossible for those born in Canada to imagine the dreams, the hopes, the struggles and the hard work it takes to become a Canadian citizen, according to Winnipeg Free Press. "Let's do it. We can fake the Oath," reads an email from a sunmedia.ca address and the federal immigration ministry's decision to fake a citizenship oath ceremony at the Sun TV studios using bureaucrats as stand-ins is either awful judgment or outright sacrilege, depending on your point of view. One would think of all the people out there, immigration ministerial staff would understand the gravity of a swearing-in ceremony -- that final moment officially welcoming immigrants into the fold. Apparently not. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Unemployment And Underemployment Dept: Unemployment and underemployment among immigrants is worse than ever, the report says, but Ottawa could easily fix the problem, according to The Chronicle Herald. As of yet, no major country has been able to stake this claim. OTTAWA CP The federal government could put the equivalent of 370,000 more people to work if it tweaked the immigration system to focus on the long-term needs of the job market, says a new report by Toronto-Dominion Bank. We would gain a major competitive advantage if this country were recognized around the world as one where all migrants are successful in being able to practise their own trade and raise their standard of living, said chief economist Craig Alexander. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Dept: A flatbed truck and a 2007 GMC Savanna passenger van collided shortly before 5 p.m. Monday northeast of Stratford, Ont., police said, according to CTV. Ontario's transportation minister appealed for patience while police investigate and police and EMS workers who were on the scene after a collision that killed 10 migrant workers and one truck driver said Tuesday it was "amazing" and a "miracle" that three people survived. The van required a Class F licence because it had more than 10 seats. The OPP says they have yet to determine the driver of the vehicle. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Sun TV Dept: Kenney is impressive. He has been making overdue changes to our challenging immigration and refugee system. I don't always agree with them - I'm not sure we should force Muslim women to remove their veils for citizenship oaths, for example - but I admire the way he is willing to take responsibility for his decisions, and explain them, blathering on all day, in both official languages, according to Montreal Gazette. What was more interesting was the reaction at Sun TV, a small cable news channel inspired by Fox News and this week, the opposition and reporters had a bit of fun at the expense of Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who had to stand up in the House of Commons and apologize for the fact that his department sent some civil servants to Sun TV's studios to pretend to be new Canadians taking a citizenship oath. But it's good for politicians to be humble, so it was good fun to watch him squirm a bit over this tempest in a teapot. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jason Kenney Dept: But the bizarre incident is more interesting in what it says about Prime Minister Stephen Harper s Conservative government its bully-boy approach to the federal bureaucracy, its indifference to reality and, in particular, its unrelenting attempts to redefine the way in which Canadians view their own country, according to The Star. But beyond that, Kenney s job is to help change the way in which Canadians look at politics, part of a long-term effort to make Harper-style Conservatism the country s dominant ideology and the strange case of Jason Kenney and the faked citizenship ceremony continues to intrigue. Many have criticized the role of Sun TV in broadcasting, as news, a hoked-up photo-op in which federal bureaucrats posed as new Canadians. That Kenney was at the centre is only appropriate. The immigration minister has served as point man in the government s effort to corral votes of so-called ethnics. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Conservative Government Dept: The order represents a reversal of policy for the Conservative government, which once insisted the Canadian Security Intelligence Service would discard information if there was any inkling it might be tainted, according to CBC. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews quietly told CSIS the government now expects the spy service to "make the protection of life and property its overriding priority" and may under exceptional circumstances share information based on intelligence that may have been derived from the use of torture. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has quietly reversed the Canadian government's policy on using intelligence derived from torture or mistreatment. Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press The federal government is defending itself after more information has come to light about its directions to Canada's spy agency to use information that may have been extracted through torture in cases where public safety is at stake. Opposition MPs seized on the news, saying it means the government is indirectly supporting torture. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Migrant Agricultural Workers Dept: Assessing the precise number of migrant farm workers in Canada is difficult, according to CBC. Workers can be hired under the federal Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program SAWP , which was established in 1966. Temporary foreign workers can also be hired under the agricultural stream of a federal immigration pilot project for occupations requiring lower levels of formal training and a flatbed truck and passenger van collided on Feb. 6 near the hamlet of Hampstead, Ont., killing 11 people most of them migrant agricultural workers from Peru and seriously injuring three others. Migrant workers have become an important source of labour for Canada's agricultural sector, and they're being recruited from a growing number of countries around the world. How many migrant farm workers are there in Canada? "Our problem is they're under two different programs, so it's hard to get an exact number," says Stan Raper, national co-ordinator of the Agricultural Workers Alliance. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.