Federal Government Dept: One such change would allow the federal government to strip people of their permanent-residency status if it determines that the country from which they fled is now safe to return to, according to Montreal Gazette. Acquiring Canadian citizenship is the only escape from the uncertainty, but before someone can apply for citizenship, he or she must have been a permanent resident of Canada for at least three years and a refugee bill introduced last week in Parliament might well help streamline Canada's cumbersome refugee-determination process, but along with the bill's positive measures are some potentially worrisome changes. In practical terms, this means that refugee claimants who have been granted permanent residency status will still have to live for years with the threat of deportation hanging over their heads. The current refugee-determination process is overly long, which means that by the time a refugee has been granted permanent residency, several years have often passed. By then, families have put down roots and started a new life. It seems unfair at that point to force people to go through the upheaval of starting over yet again because of events over which they have absolutely no control. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Gary Peters Dept: Gary Peters spent almost five hours at the Canada Border Services Agency offices in Mississauga, Ont., where he was questioned about the Montreal-based engineering giant's role in financing some of his international travels, according to Montreal Gazette. SNC-Lavalin announced earlier on Tuesday it had launched an independent investigation into $35-million worth of improperly documented payments related to construction projects "and certain other contracts" in the last quarter of 2011 and the Ontario private security contractor who helped dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's family flee Libya during last year's revolution was grilled by Canadian immigration officials Tuesday about his ties to SNC-Lavalin. Asked what the CBSA officers wanted to know about SNC-Lavalin, Mr. Peters replied: "What trips they paid for, how much they paid, who paid, who was the contact. That's what they were asking about that. How I got paid." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lewthwaite Dept: Police suspect that she is fundraising for a terrorist group, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, according to CTV. The official said he cannot confirm if the woman is Lewthwaite herself. Police are working closely with Scotland Yard on the case, he said and nAIROBI, Kenya Kenyan police are hunting for a British woman who has been using the identity of the widow of one of the suicide bombers who attacked London's transport system, an official said Thursday. The suspect has been using a number of identities, including those of Samantha Lewthwaite and Natalie Faye Webb, the official said. Lewthwaite is the widow of Jermaine Lindsay, one of the suicide bombers who killed 52 commuters in multiple bombings of London's transport system on July 7, 2005. British newspapers report that Faye Webb is the victim of identity theft. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Immigration System Dept: "Immigration is playing an increasingly important role in our economy and we need a system that does a better job of attracting the people who have the skills that are in demand and getting them here quickly," Kenney said in the keynote address to the National Metropolis Conference in Toronto. "We have made some great strides towards an immigration system that is fast and flexible, but know that there is more work to do.", according to CTV. Kenney says he plans to redesign the immigration point system to be more flexible and place greater emphasis on language ability and youth and immigration Minister Jason Kenney outlined his vision Thursday for a faster immigration system that would allow employers a greater say in selecting new Canadians. Kenney's plan would see employers have the ability hand-pick potential immigrants and bring them to the front of the line. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Dept: At a time when some might choose to downplay - even deny - the bilingual character of this city, Sammy has chosen to celebrate the richness thereof. Most in the concert business were aghast when he first proposed the concept of meshing anglo and franco shtick in a show. Clearly, the public wasn't paying attention: What began as a one-show experiment mushroomed into 30 - before Sammy had even taken to the stage. And since opening soft last week - the official redcarpet premiere was Wednesday, in conjunction with the comic's ninth leap-year birthday - another five shows have been added. At this rate, Sammy is never going to leave the building, according to Montreal Gazette. If the unprecedented success of the first large-scale anglo-franco comedy revue in the country leaves some thinking that Sammy is going to be playing it safe on stage, trying to placate both sides of the linguistic divide, they are dead wrong and oui, most are gonna rire their derri res off. But Sugar Sammy's much buzzed-about Franglais offering You're Gonna Rire - continuing until at least May 26 at the Olympia - is more than a comedy spectacle. It is also a bold and unique Montreal cultural experience. Make that a Montreal sociological experience as well. It's not an accident or simply a public-relations coup that Sammy will be packing the Olympia for months to come - nearly 35,000 tickets have already been sold. Nor are patrons being forced to shell out at gunpoint. His act obviously resonates with an often fickle ticket-buying public, which would appear to be equal parts anglo and franco. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Immigrant Workers Dept: The Alberta government agrees the cap on immigrant workers allowed to come to the province needs to be much higher, said Shipton, according to CBC. "We need to recognize that we are competing not just with the United States, not just with western Canada, we are competing globally for a small pool of skilled workers out there so we need the system to become much more responsive and streamlined to the needs of the economy, he said. Currently the federal government has set the cap at 5,000 workers, while Alberta wants the number raised to 10,000. "We will be more successful in this effort if the federal and provincial governments make the necessary changes to help employers gain access to the human resources we need, Shipton said. div (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

VVD Dept: The leaders of coalition parties will meet next week at Prime Minister Mark Rutte's official mansion to hammer out a package of extra budget cuts to bring down the deficit to the EU-mandated level of 3 per cent of GDP, according to CTV. Rutte, leader of the free-market VVD party, came to power in 2011 pledging to slash spending by C18 billion US$24.2 billion and now has to cut at least C9 billion $12.1 billion more to reduce the deficit to the 3 per cent target and according to draft Central Plan Bureau calculations, the deficit is currently at 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of a country's economic output -- and will remain there next year if the government does not further rein in spending. "These are tough numbers, but this is the new reality," Rutte said in a statement. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Seychelles Dept: "It seems at the moment that 376 out of 627 guests have accepted Costa Crociere's offer to continue their holiday in the Seychelles," the company said in a statement, ahead of the ship's expected arrival on the islands today, according to Montreal Gazette. A fire on the ship Monday knocked out its power supply and engines and passengers have spent three nights without working bathrooms and sleeping on decks in the sweltering heat because the air conditioning doesn't work and more than half the passengers on board a stricken cruise ship being towed through the Indian Ocean have decided they want to stay in the Seychelles for a holiday, the cruise operator said Wednesday. The passengers will be put up in "high-quality hotels" on the islands of Praslin, La Digue, Silhouette and Cerfs at Costa Crociere's expense. The others will be flown back to their homelands on specially chartered planes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Whitecaps Dept: As a result, Watson a native of Redditch, England will no longer occupy an international spot on Vancouver's roster, according to CBC. Watson's newly-minted domestic status means that the Whitecaps have 10 international players on their roster and vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Matt Watson obtained his permanent residency status from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services on Thursday, according to the Major League Soccer club. The Whitecaps had acquired an additional international roster spot from the Colorado Rapids in January, giving Vancouver a total of 10 for the 2012 season. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Department Of Education Dept: The Department of Education's enrolment report released this week reports net growth of 1,354 students in public schools -- a growth of 0.8 per cent, after a net gain of 173 students last year ended 16 years of what appeared to be inexorably declining enrolment, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Statistics Canada has warned for years the declining birth rate would lead to annual dwindling numbers of students well into the next decade and a huge immigration wave has brought thousands of new children into Winnipeg schools and produced enrolment growth in the province's public schools for the second straight year. The immigrant-driven growth is predominantly in urban centres, including Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Steinbach, while most rural divisions continue to get smaller. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.