Leslie Ann Coles Dept: It was a pivotal moment for women working behind the camera and a signal that the male-dominated industry was welcoming new voices into the elite filmmakers club. But the euphoria was short-lived, according to The Star. If she acknowledged, Hey, I m a woman director, the feminists said, It s not about being a woman, why make it an issue? At the same time, what she did thank you. At the 2010 Oscars, Kathryn Bigelow made history as she accepted the Academy Award for Best Director for her powerful dramatic thriller, The Hurt Locker , the first woman to take the prize. I think Bigelow was caught between a rock and a hard place, says writer-director Leslie Ann Coles, founder and director of Toronto s Female Eye Film Festival , which marks its 10th year next month. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Kensington Market Dept: The store, with the fire-truck red sign and striped awning, has stood on Baldwin St., near Kensington Ave., for more than five decades. The company now has locations in Etobicoke and Brampton and ships meat to the U.S, according to The Star. We came back with an offer we couldn t refuse, the younger Leider said, adding that the new occupants will definitely not be meat purveyors and european Quality Meats and Sausages, a stalwart butcher shop in the heart of Kensington Market, will close in the spring, yet another harbinger of the old immigrant quarter s fast-changing fa ade. Rumours circulated earlier this year that the shop was put on the market for $1.8 million. While Larry Leider, son of founder Morris Leider, would not discuss specifics of the sale, he confirmed the Kensington branch will shutter April 7. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Alberta Court Of Appeal Dept: Jorge Vinicio Orantes Sosa is also wanted by Guatemalan authorities for allegedly participating in attacks on a village in 1982 in which 251 men, women and children were massacred, according to CBC. But the Appeal Court says there is no evidence to justify a publicly funded lawyer and the Alberta Court of Appeal has denied legal aid to a man who has been ordered extradited to the United States to face immigration charges. Sosa wanted a legal-aid lawyer to help him appeal the extradition order. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canadian Psychological Association Dept: Until this winter, public and media debates about sentencing have been long on cliches and short on reason. At election times, we have repeatedly heard political candidates and some media pundits rant about getting tough, cracking down and throwing away the key to make us safer. However, experts and researchers agree most of the measures behind these cliches actually make us less safe, according to The Chronicle Herald. The Canadian Bar Association representing defence lawyers, prosecutors and judges has said the bill will make us less safe, less secure and ultimately less Canadian. Similar criticisms have come from other non-partisan experts like the Canadian Psychiatric Association, Canadian Association of Social Workers, Canadian Psychological Association, Canadian Pediatric Society, and National Union of Public and General Employees Corrections officials . Sentences must fit the crime was the headline of s Feb. 16 editorial. This widely accepted phrase, and many like it, have disturbingly little basis in social research or facts which raises important questions about our current arguments about sentencing and corrections in Canada. The most troubling consequence of this ranting is Bill C-10, a sweeping tough on crime bill that has passed through the House of Commons and is now before the Senate. Ironically, it is called The Safe Schools and Communities Act. In short, its purpose is to send offenders to jail more often and keep them there longer. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Gombe State Dept: An Associated Press reporter in Gombe, the capital of Gombe state, heard the blasts around evening prayers in the city. Gunfire quickly followed the explosions, with witnesses saying people began fleeing the area near a police command and an immigration office, according to Winnipeg Free Press. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, though suspicion immediately fell on the radical sect known as Boko Haram and gOMBE, Nigeria - Explosions and gunfire could be heard Friday night across a city in northeast Nigeria previously targeted by a radical Islamist sect, as authorities in another city blame its members for killing five people leaving a mosque. Gombe state police commissioner Orubebe Ghandi Ebikeme simply described the situation as "very bad," declining to give further comment. Other authorities could not be immediately reached for comment. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Philippe Falardeau Dept: Flying in the face of most predictions, a commentator for the cable news network says the Canadian film is his pick for Oscar gold on Sunday, according to Winnipeg Free Press. "Monsieur Lazhar," by director Philippe Falardeau, is a compelling tale of an Algerian immigrant who helps a class of young students cope with the shocking suicide of their teacher and mONTREAL - CNN thinks "Monsieur Lazhar" is an Oscar winner. However, Tom Charity says while he expects "Monsieur Lazhar" to win the Oscar for best foreign-language film, he thinks "A Separation" by Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi is more deserving of the award. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Conservatives Dept: And so, while Conservatives are supposed to cherish government that is off the backs of the people, what we have is something closer to the opposite. The government is also oversized in spending, another conservative no-no, according to Globe and Mail. Last week, the Conservatives were planning to go ahead with a system of national online surveillance. But a national outcry against the plan originally advocated by the Liberals will likely force amendments. The government also reaffirmed its plan for mandatory minimum sentencing, although an Ontario Superior Court judge lambasted the policy and critics say it will reduce the right to a fair trial and in this country, the Conservative government has a nationalist bent, evident in its elevation of military values, populist anti-intellectualism, moral certitude on foreign policy, law-and-order fixation and message-control mania. This kind of nationalism requires state-driven conformity, not liberty. The Conservatives in-your-face proclivities from the minority years have been well documented. But a majority has brought no let-up. On the freedom front, the government likes to boast of encouraging provincial autonomy and of shutting down the gun registry, the long-form census, the Wheat Board. But, by way of contrast, it s instructive to look at what has transpired in our land of liberty recently. It might make you wonder about the kind of Canada that s emerging. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Online Dating Site Dept: The 18-year-old woman met the man who was living in Victoria, B.C. through an online dating site last April, according to CBC. When the woman returned to Calgary this past December, she contacted police to allege that the man was engaged in coercive and threatening behaviour toward the victim and her family, officials said and an American man faces numerous charges after a Calgary woman was coerced into prostitution, police say. After the woman moved to Victoria, it s alleged the man forced her to work in the sex trade. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Committee On The Elimination Of Racial Discrimination Dept: Members on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, all of them human-rights experts from around the world, questioned why headway has not been made in resolving the disparities between First Nations communities and the rest of the country, according to Montreal Gazette. The treatment of natives jumped back onto the federal political agenda after the Red Cross delivered humanitarian aid to the First Nations community of Attawapiskat in northern Ontario late last year and canada's international reputation came under fire in Geneva on Wednesday as a UN expert panel delivered scathing criticisms over the government's treatment of First Nations and recent changes to the country's immigration system. "This problem should not continue the same way as it has in the past," said Noureddine Amir, vicechairman of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. "How long will this be ongoing?" (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Native Mexico Dept: MEXICO CITY - Demian Bichir learned an important lesson when he left his native Mexico to launch a U.S. acting career and ended up working in a Mexican restaurant in New York: How to live the invisible life of an illegal immigrant with dignity, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Like Galindo, Bichir came to the U.S. illegally. The U.S. amnesty program in 1986 put him on the road to a Green Card. The character he plays is not so lucky, trying to climb the rungs from day worker to owner of a gardening business while keeping his American-born teenage son from street gangs and in this photo taken on Feb. 16, 2012, Mexican actor Demian Bichir poses for a portrait in Mexico City, Mexico. Bichir learned an important lesson when he left his native Mexico to launch a U.S. acting career and ended up working in a Mexican restaurant in New York: How to live the invisible life of an illegal immigrant with dignity. It's a subtle quality he brings to his Oscar-nominated role of Los Angeles gardener Carlos Galindo in the movie "A Better Life." AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills It's a subtle quality he brings to his Oscar-nominated role of Los Angeles gardener Carlos Galindo in the movie "A Better Life." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.