Fiscal Policy Dept: Whether in trade, immigration, retirement benefits, resource development, innovation or fiscal policy, Conservative insiders say, the years of plodding, minority-era "incrementalism" are over. Indeed, there's a sense within Conservative ranks that their moment of truth, a chance to distinguish themselves from the other parties in stark terms and establish a lasting legacy, has arrived, according to Montreal Gazette. Government sources characterize the coming shift as moving from day-to-day governing, extracting successes wherever possible, to making fundamental changes that correct big, underlying problems in the economy, or open up new opportunities in broad areas, such as resource development or trade. In a sense, the Tories are adopting something closer to the style of earlier Conservative governments, such as the Brian Mulroney regimes that introduced North American free trade: Go big or go home and in a sharp break from their first two mandates, the Harper Conservatives are preparing to unveil a budget that is revolutionary rather than evolutionary, one that will introduce sweeping structural changes in key areas of federal policy. Politically, from the government's standpoint, that won't happen a moment too soon - even if the budget provokes great controversy, which it most certainly will. "Everybody's going to be busy for a long time reporting about it," said one insider, speaking of the coming budget, to be handed down by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on March 29. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Philippe Falardeau Dept: Director Philippe Falardeau took home best director honours and best adapted screenplay for the story of an Algerian immigrant, his own life full of heartbreak, who steps in to teach a middle-school class after their teacher commits suicide, according to CBC. "I want to say that I m privileged to work in a time and a place where our public system makes it possible for us to make a personal film," Falardeau said after his win for best director. "It is a choice we make as a society. Cinema is the memory and the imagination of a country so without that our country would not be a nation and monsieur Lazhar was the big winner Thursday night at the Genie Awards the heart-warming story about a teacher making a difference in the lives of a middle-school class earned best picture and five other trophies. Monsieur Lazhar was a favourite going into the awards, which were presented in Toronto. The film earned an Oscar nomination earlier this year in the best foreign-language film category. Genie winners Best film: Monsieur Lazhar Best art direction: A Dangerous Method , James McAteer Best cinematography : Snow a Ashes , Jean-Fran ois Lord Best actor : Monsieur Lazhar , Fellag Best actress: Cafe de Flore , Vanessa Paradis Best supporting actor: A Dangerous Method , Viggo Mortensen. Best supporting actress : Monsieur Lazhar , Sophie Nelisse Costume: Funkytown , Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt Best director: Monsieur Lazhar , Philippe Falardeau Best editing: Monsieur Lazhar , Stephane Lafleur Best makeup: Cafe de Flore , Christianne Fattori, Frederic Marin Original score : Cafe de Flore , Howard Shore Best song : Starbuck , Carole Facal Best adapted screenplay: Monsieur Lazhar Best original screenplay: Starbuck Best feature doc: At Night, They Dance Best short doc : Sirmilik Best live action short: Doubles with Slight Pepper Best animated short: Romance (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Immigration Dept: Mr. Kenney said the backlogs have made Canada s immigration system dysfunctional. If it takes seven or eight years to render a decision, that person s skills may no longer be needed in the labour market, he said. At the moment, potential immigrants must all be assessed by Canadian immigration officers, who receive roughly two applications for every available visa, according to Globe and Mail. On Wednesday, he emphasized the need to clear Canada s backlogs, which are huge. If no new applications were accepted, there are enough people waiting in the system to fill our skilled worker targets for the next five years. He also announced that provinces will be able to sift through the current pool of skilled worker applicants to cherry pick candidates for their provincial nominee programs. At this point, we re looking at all options for dealing with these backlogs and coming up with a faster, more responsive system. We owe it to newcomers to do that, Mr. Kenney said. I do think that we can t continue to tell people that they re going to wait for eight years for a decision on whether they can come to Canada. It s not fair to them and it s not fair to our economy. Mr. Kenney s speech outlined some of the major changes to immigration policy he plans to enact later this year. Last week, he proposed creating a just-in-time immigration system, one that would grant businesses a much more important role in immigrant selection. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Majority Government Dept: Mr. Baird s mission is to gauge commitment to reforms and, if encouraged, to signal Canada will ease sanctions if Myanmar s reforms become entrenched, according to Globe and Mail. Mr. Baird s trek seemed impossible a year ago; events in Myanmar have moved quickly. But Ottawa s willingness to venture into complex diplomacy in far-off places is a change, too and the visit is a symbol of a changing approach in a majority government. The Harper government s foreign policy is moving beyond the short list of countries it cared about in its minority years, like the United States, China, Afghanistan and Israel. And with Mr. Baird, the majority s foreign minister, it s willing to be seen delving into complicated affairs, like those in Myanmar. The interest in Myanmar is, in part, linked to the government s trade-driven ties to Asia and to Southeast Asian nations in the 10-country ASEAN bloc. Myanmar is a member and others in the group have urged Canada to become more active in the region s affairs as Ottawa seeks closer ties. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Cafe De Flore Dept: Going into the evening, Jean-Marc Valles wrenching drama Cafe de Flore , starring Johnny Depp s partner Vanessa Paradis as a young mother devoted to her Down syndrome son, led the pack with 13 nominations, ahead of A Dangerous Method , which had 11. Valles risky, time-shifting film ended up with three Genies, including best actress for Paradis, according to Globe and Mail. Falardeau s script based on the one-character play Bashir Lazhar by velyne de la Cheneliere also won best adapted screenplay, while Ken Scott s crowd-pleasing Starbuck nabbed best original screenplay honours. Cafe de Flore , Julie LeBreton in Starbuck , Charlotte Sullivan in Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster and Roxana Condurache in The Whistleblower . Cronenberg s psychoanalytical thriller, which explores the history of sex through the minds of Sigmund Freud Viggo Mortensen and Carl Jung Michael Fassbender , took home Genies for best art direction, best musical score for long-time Cronenberg collaborator Howard Shore , and best supporting actor, a prize picked up personally by Mortensen, who walked the red carpet in Toronto with his director friend, who also cast the U.S. actor in Eastern Promises and A History of Violence . (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

SilverCity Riverport Dept: Friends With Kids "" Two best friends decide to have a child together while keeping their relationship platonic, so they can avoid the toll kids can take on romantic relationships. 14A. International Village Cinemas, SilverCity Riverport, Colossus Langley, SilverCity Coquitlam, according to Vancouver Sun. Salmon Fishing in The Yemen "" A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik's vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert. 112 min. Parental guidance. Fifth Avenue Cinemas. ? OPENING FRIDAY John Carter "" Transplanted to Mars, a Civil War vet discovers a lush planet inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter a princess who is in desperate need of a savior. Parental guidance. In 3-D at select theatres. Scotiabank Theatre, Esplanade, Dolphin Theatre, SilverCity Metropolis, SilverCity Riverport, SilverCity Coquitlam, Grande Surrey, Empire Guildford, Colossus Langley, Caprice White Rock, Meadowtown Centre, Towne Abbotsford, Silvercity Mission, Galaxy Chilliwack. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Philippe Falardeau Dept: Director Philippe Falardeau took home best director honours and best adapted screenplay for the story of an Algerian immigrant, his own life full of heartbreak, who steps in to teach a middle-school class after their teacher commits suicide, according to CBC. "I want to say that I m privileged to work in a time and a place where our public system makes it possible for us to make a personal film," Falardeau said after his win for best director. "It is a choice we make as a society. Cinema is the memory and the imagination of a country so without that our country would not be a nation and monsieur Lazhar was the big winner Thursday night at the Genie Awards the heart-warming story about a teacher making a difference in the lives of a middle-school class earned best picture and five other trophies. Monsieur Lazhar was a favourite going into the awards, which were presented in Toronto. The film earned an Oscar nomination earlier this year in the best foreign-language film category. Genie winners Best film: Monsieur Lazhar Best art direction: A Dangerous Method , James McAteer Best cinematography : Snow a Ashes , Jean-Fran ois Lord Best actor : Monsieur Lazhar , Fellag Best actress: Cafe de Flore , Vanessa Paradis Best supporting actor: A Dangerous Method , Viggo Mortensen. Best supporting actress : Monsieur Lazhar , Sophie Nelisse Costume: Funkytown , Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt Best director: Monsieur Lazhar , Philippe Falardeau Best editing: Monsieur Lazhar , Stephane Lafleur Best makeup: Cafe de Flore , Christianne Fattori, Frederic Marin Original score : Cafe de Flore , Howard Shore Best song : Starbuck , Carole Facal Best adapted screenplay: Monsieur Lazhar Best original screenplay: Starbuck Best feature doc: At Night, They Dance Best short doc : Sirmilik Best live action short: Doubles with Slight Pepper Best animated short: Romance (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Local Business Community Dept: Through her work as a mortgage specialist, Nikki Jafari, a native of Iran who grew up in Toronto, has seen first-hand the difficulties newcomers face in immersing themselves in the local business community, according to The Chronicle Herald. The second annual edition of the trade show takes place Sunday at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax and networking can be tough, but imagine what it s like when you re a new business owner and English is your second language. That s when she founded the Iranian Trade Show, a one-day networking event and exhibition featuring the best and brightest of the burgeoning Iranian business community in Halifax. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Education Sectors Dept: According to the report to be released Thursday to mark the International Women s Day, women of colour made up only 2.6 per cent of the elected officials, public sector executives and legal sector leaders, and in boardrooms of the corporate, voluntary and education sectors in the region, according to The Star. In spite of significant resources and efforts that have been devoted to promoting diversity and inclusion in workplaces and encouraging representativeness among leaders, results have been uneven and there are substantial gaps in every sector, the study says and visible minority women in Greater Toronto still have a long way to go if they want to pursue leadership roles in both the public and private sectors, a new study says. While they fared much better in elected office and the education sector in the GTA, their representation on corporate boards and executive seats, at 0.6 per cent, was dismal, says the report by Ryerson University s Diversity Institute, part of a Community University Research Alliance project. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Quebec Dept: The NDP is like Lego. It grows by adding new pieces. The first, Ontario unions, was added to a socialist Western base in 1961; next was Alexa McDonough s Atlantic presence in 1997; and then Quebec last May, according to The Star. Three candidates absorb what this means: Thomas Mulcair, Layton s Quebec lieutenant; Brian Topp, the main strategist for much of Layton s tenure; and Nathan Cullen, who became an MP with Layton in 2004 and buried in the NDP leadership race is one question: Did the 2011 election count? That may seem odd. Everyone, after all, talks about the breakthrough often. But there are two candidate camps. One that appreciates the change it brings, and one that does not. I recently watched the party s ads that ran in Quebec. They featured dogs barking at each other, lamenting that old separatist-vs.-Liberal fights didn t get much done. Jack Layton appealed to work together in a progressive federation, and Quebecers said yes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.