Sara Jhangiryan Dept: Canadians also don't appear to have problems with dual citizenship or with Canadian citizens living abroad, according to the telephone survey, which the Environics Institute says is the first poll to directly ask Canadians their views on citizenship, according to CBC. "To be a good citizen, it means to contribute to the society, to obey the laws of the country, to help other citizens, to volunteer, and it's a rewarding feeling when you do all those things," said Sara Jhangiryan , an Armenian-born resident of Toronto who became a Canadian citizen last year and most Canadians feel immigrants are just as likely to be good citizens as people who were born here, a recent Environics Institute survey suggests. A group made up of five national organizations , the Environics Institute, Maytree, The Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the RBC Foundation commissioned the public opinion poll, which asked over 2,000 Canadians what they think are the characteristics of a good citizen and other questions about citizenship. Armenian-Canadian Sara Jhangiryan became a citizen last year and says giving back to the country that let her in is an important part of her idea of citizenship. Roma Andrusiak/ (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

House Of Commons Dept: The government will table a bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday that is expected to toughen the measures taken in the Balanced Refugee Reform Act. That bill which passed a minority Parliament in June, 2010, after several concessions were made to the opposition has yet to be implemented. It was due to be up and running by June 29 of this year, according to CBC. Most notably, it will eliminate a key appeal route for claimants from countries that are on a special "designated country of origin" or "safe country" list. It will also eliminate a committee of experts who were to advise the minister on which countries to place on that list. The list, which isn't yet up and running, is designed to fast-track claimants from countries the government determines is "safe" and therefore not likely to generate legitimate claims and the Conservative government is poised to change the refugee system yet again in an attempt to deter what it considers "bogus" claimants, News has learned. Sources familiar with the bill say it will reverse some fundamental compromises the government made to get it approved by opposition MPs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Aboriginal Population Dept: With 16,000 newcomers last year -- the biggest spike in more than 65 years -- and a booming aboriginal population, how will Manitoba tap into this abundance of human potential?, according to Winnipeg Free Press. "If you're a social services agency working with First Nations or M tis or immigrant communities. ... there's going to be more demand for services," said stats chief Wilf Falk and manitoba s chief statistician, Wilf Falk The province's chief statistician is getting together with non-profit agencies and funders to look at demographic data to plan where to go from here to make the most of this human resource windfall. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Joel Ray Dept: When a baby is born, the first questions the new parents are often asked is "Girl or boy?" Then, "How much did the baby weigh?", according to CBC. In Wednesday's issue of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Canada, Dr. Joel Ray and his team published new birth weight curves based on the ethnicity of the baby's parents. They used birth registry information for 760,000 live births in Ontario and some babies born to immigrant parents are incorrectly classified as underweight which could lead to unnecessary tests and stress but new birth weight charts could avoid the problem, Canadian doctors say. The answer from some parents of South Asian background is often different than that of other parents. But a lower weight could mean that doctors think the baby is at higher risk of developmental issues. That leads to more blood tests, longer hospital stays and closer followup when the baby isn't actually at risk because its weight is within the normal range for its ethnic group, researchers say. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Monty Robinson Dept: Cpl. Monty Robinson is facing a second round of high-profile accusations: A year before the motorcycle accident, Robinson was the senior officer among the four Mounties who approached a Polish immigrant at Vancouver's airport, a confrontation that left Robert Dziekanski dead after he was zapped with an RCMP Taser, according to CBC. "She ought to have warned him," Crossin said of Const. Sarah Swallow, the Delta, B.C. police officer who arrested Robinson and the lawyer for an off-duty RCMP officer accused of obstructing justice by leaving the scene of a fatal motorcycle accident and then pounding back two shots of vodka to "calm his nerves" is arguing testimony about the officer's statement should be disallowed. Robinson's lawyer, David Crossin, argued Tuesday testimony by the officer that arrested Robinson at the scene of the motorcycle accident should not be considered by the judge hearing the case because Robinson hadn't been notified of his right to legal counsel before telling her about the vodka. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Daryl Boado Dept: WHEN Daryl Boado took his oath of Canadian citizenship on Tuesday, he was cheered on by his Grade 5 class, according to Winnipeg Free Press. As chance would have it, Daryl, 10, had the choir from his school sing at the special ceremony. The grades 4 and 5 choir from Sister MacNamara School cheered for their classmate and his family as they received their citizenship certificates and daryl Boado, 10, takes his oath of Canadian citizenship with his father, Melchor, and mother, Natividad, on Tuesday. The three members of the Boado family, originally from the Philippines, took their oath of citizenship along with 40 other new Canadians at the Manitoba Legislative Building at a special ceremony in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Halifax Dept: Nexus is a 12-year-old joint venture of the Canadian and U.S. governments, according to CTV. A Nexus card costs $50 and lasts five years and those airports are in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. The program allows border guards to move people who are not considered a security risk through customs faster so travellers who appear to be high-risk can get a closer examination. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

OTTAWA Travellers Dept: Transport Minister Denis Lebel announced Tuesday that starting Wednesday, Nexus members can use their cards for faster screening at airports in eight Canadian cities, according to The Chronicle Herald. The minister says this will cut waiting times and oTTAWA Travellers under Canada s Nexus program will be able to use their cards in new, faster security lines when flying to the United States. Those airports are in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Nicolas Sarkozy Dept: The conservative leader is expected to declare his candidacy on prime time television Wednesday evening and hold his first campaign rally on Thursday in the Alpine town of Annecy, where his ruling UMP party expects a deluge of supporters, according to Montreal Gazette. While opinion polls show Hollande 15 points ahead of Sarkozy in the May 6 run-off, the president's camp is betting that he can narrow the gap before the April 22 first round and nicolas Sarkozy is set to formally enter France's 2012 presidential race on Wednesday, kicking off a rapid-fire re-election campaign with the odds stacked in favour of Socialist challenger Fran ois Hollande. Sarkozy, who gave nothing away as he addressed workers at a solar power company on Tuesday, is set to flesh out his campaign platform in a keynote speech to an audience of several thousand in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille on Sunday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Decline Dept: It's been a slow dissolution, rather than a precipitous or cataclysmic decline. It has taken years to set in and will continue to unfold for decades to come. But the pattern in the 2011 census data is clear and, barring the discovery of major new resource deposits in Northern Ontario, perhaps irreversible, according to Montreal Gazette. But the draws to newcomers are now westward and eastward, rather than central. This builds on the results of the last census, in 2006, and marks a fundamental, cross-Canada shift and you wouldn't have guessed, as Premier Dalton McGuinty basked in the adulation of fellow Liberals at the party's biennial convention here last month, that he has presided over what may be a permanent decline of Ontario's place within Confederation. Canada's population is healthy, with steady, roughly six-per-cent growth driven by immigration. People from around the world still flock here, chasing opportunity, prosperity and security for their children. National population growth outstrips that of any other G8 country. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.