Rental Units Dept: Last month, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities said that while one third of Canadians are renters, less than 10 per cent of new developments built in the last 15 years were rental units, according to The Star. Critics have said the government has ignored those who can t afford to buy, Vancouver-based Concert Properties www.concertproperties.com and other developers such as Medallion Properties www.medallioncorp.com , Park Properties www.parkproperty.ca and Minto www.rentminto.com aren t ignoring what they see as a burgeoning rental market in Toronto and around the country and toronto s condo construction boom might lead many to believe there is little happening in the way of new rental building in the GTA, but there are several new construction projects underway in the downtown core that suggest some developers see a solid future in creating new rental accommodation. Industry observers say several factors, including an uncertain regulatory environment in Ontario, lack of tax incentives and rising land prices mean fewer developers are building rental accommodation. There are some, whoever, see reasons to forge ahead with plans to create a solid portfolio of rental stock. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Vietnam Dept: THE body of a Winnipeg trucker who died in a crash Jan. 11 remains in a Kenora funeral home while his widow in Vietnam tries to get into Canada, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Meanwhile, the body of Amir Mohammadi has been denied religious burial rites and desecrated, say Muslim friends in Winnipeg. They were shocked to learn the Kurdish Canadian was killed in a highway accident east of Kenora last month. They were shocked again when they set about planning his burial and discovered his body was claimed by a woman he wed in Vietnam last year and amir Mohammadi "She applied to the Canadian Consulate for a visitor's visa in order to come to Canada to see her husband for the last time," said Victor Libitka, the woman's lawyer. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Richard Truscott Dept: Seven in 10 haven't put a plan in place to deal with labour shortages that are intensifying, according to Winnipeg Free Press. "The sucking sound that we hear from the draw of people into the resource sector is only going to become louder," says Richard Truscott, the Alberta director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and small business owners are experiencing a return to labour shortages as workers get lured back to oil mega-projects that continue to ramp up in the Prairies and northern Alberta. The majority are finding themselves unprepared again, according to a recent survey. Nearly three-quarters 74 per cent of small business owners believe it is getting more difficult to find good employees, while 64 per cent say the demands on today's job applicants exceed their qualifications, according to the quarterly American Express Small Business Monitor survey. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Province Dept: The reasons are simple. Beginning in 2003, the Canadian dollar began a strong ascent that lifted it from the persistent lows of the previous decade around 70 US cents to the recent highs around parity with the U.S. dollar during the past four years, with only a brief dip in late 2008 and early 2009. This surge in the currency made Ontario s exports more expensive for foreigners to buy and rendered the province s exporters less competitive, while also making imports cheaper, according to The Star. Ontario s overall GDP per head relative to the rest of the country reflects the turnaround in trade. In 1998 2002, Ontario s GDP per person was 14.1 per cent higher than the average for the other nine provinces and three territories; in the first three quarters of 2011, it was 6.5 per cent lower. Since 2006, Ontario s GDP per person has been below the average for the rest of Canada and the roots of Ontario s current fix lie in both the economy and in the province s record of failing to keep growth in government spending in line with revenue growth. Ontarians have long been accustomed to their economy growing faster than the rest of the country. This was once true: in 15 of the 21 years from 1982 to 2002, Ontario grew faster than the national economy. But changing economic conditions have hit Ontario harder than other provinces over the past decade; in all nine years from 2003 to 2011, Ontario s real economic growth was below that of the rest of the country. The impact on Ontario s nominal GDP was huge. The contribution of trade to the economy is measured by net exports, the difference between what the province sells outside its boundaries and what it buys from other countries and provinces. Ontario s net exports to other provinces, where there was no currency effect, remained relatively stable. But the contribution to GDP of net exports to other countries first vanished entirely and then began to detract from Ontario s growth. The financial crisis and resulting U.S. recession, during which auto sales fell by about one-third, aggravated this trend. The province s international trade surplus, which accounted for 4.3 per cent of GDP in the 1998 2002 period, disappeared by the middle of 2006 and was replaced by a trade deficit, which in the first three quarters of 2011 diminished nominal GDP by 7.5 per cent. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Don Bapst Dept: Much like his previous works, Don Bapst's fourth novel, published by a Winnipeg-based literary house, shines a light on the darkness that can reside in the human soul, according to Winnipeg Free Press. In The Hanged Man, he has created an original tarot deck of his own. At less than 200 pages, the novel is a quick read, although not an altogether satisfying one. A genre-crossing thriller/mystery/occult fantasy, it's much closer to Dan Brown than, say, Edgar Allen Poe and aCCORDING to popular belief, the tarot deck was created as a parlour game in 15th-century Europe. But what if the cards were always intended to be used as tools of divination? And what if it they could truly guide us and decide our fate? Known for his edgy material -- his Facebook page lists the infamous Marquis de Sade as an "interest" -- Bapst is an American-born immigrant to Eastern Canada who is clearly intrigued by the supernatural. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Ken Chiampou Dept: KFI AM 640 suspended John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, the hosts of the "John and Ken Show," for "making insensitive and inappropriate comments about the late Whitney Houston," it said in a statement Thursday, according to CTV. According to audio posted online at UrbanInformer.com, the hosts called the late singer a "crack ho" and said she was "cracked out for 20 years." LOS ANGELES A Los Angeles radio station has pulled two popular talk radio hosts off the air for comments they made about Whitney Houston. "Management does not condone, support or tolerate statements of this kind," the station said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney Dept: However, the government is planning to achieve those savings by stripping away the rights of vulnerable people who come to this country seeking protection, according to a University of B.C. immigration law professor, according to Vancouver Sun. On average, Kenney said it takes 4 years from the initial claim to remove a failed refugee claimant from the country. The government has said under the new rules that it will take 45 days to process an application from a "safe" country and 216 from other countries, but this does not include the time to removal and proposed changes to Canada's refugee system designed to crack down on "bogus" claimants would save B.C. taxpayers almost $100 million over five years, the federal government claims. The pending legislation, announced on Thursday by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, aims to process claims from countries deemed "safe" more quickly so that illegitimate refugees are removed within a shorter period of time. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Thai Capital Dept: The foiled plan was discovered Tuesday when explosives in the men's rented house blew up by mistake, forcing them to flee. Two were detained in the Thai capital, and a third was captured Wednesday in neighbouring Malaysia as he reportedly tried to return to Iran, according to CTV. The Iranians hung out with several female sex workers during their stay there, and one of the women was brought to Bangkok to identify the suspects on Thursday, said Lt. Col. Noppon Kuldiloke, a senior immigration police investigator in southern Thailand and the news comes as Thai authorities announced they were searching for two more suspects in the botched bomb plot, including a possible explosives specialist who may have been training the Iranians. After flying into the southern city of Phuket on Feb. 8, the men moved to Pattaya and stayed there for at least two nights before heading to Bangkok. Located 70 kilometres southeast of the Thai capital, Pattaya is particularly notorious for its sleazy sex industry and large contingent of prostitutes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

The Conservative Government Dept: The Conservative government's new plan to reform the refugee system will prevent legitimate claimants from telling their stories and will damage the Immigration and Refugee Board's ability to review those claims, says one immigration expert. The reforms were announced Thursday by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who said Canada is being preyed upon by "bogus" refugees from democratic countries with strong human rights records. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

The Canadian Press Jason Kenney Dept: OTTAWA -- The Conservative government is using its majority to once again overhaul the refugee system to reduce what it considers to be bogus claims, according to Winnipeg Free Press. This new legislation, called the Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act, more closely resembles the original refugee bill as tabled by the Tories, before any concessions. But, Kenney said, a glut of refugee claims from the European Union has forced the government to adopt even tougher measures and sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press Jason Kenney: glut of claimants from EU CP Immigration Minister Jason Kenney tabled legislation in the House of Commons on Thursday that reverses some key concessions the Tories made to the opposition two years ago in order to pass the Balanced Refugee Reform Act through a minority Parliament. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.