Monsieur Lazhar Dept: MONTREAL - Philippe Falardeau's "Monsieur Lazhar" continued its banner year at Quebec's Jutra Awards, winning seven prizes including best movie, according to Winnipeg Free Press. The Oscar-nominated flick about an Algerian immigrant who helps a class of Montreal students grapple with the sudden death of their teacher also won for best screenplay, sound and for original music and philippe Falardeau holds up his awards for best screenplay and best director for the movie Monsieur Lahzar at the Jutra awards, celebrating the Quebec film industry in Montreal, Sunday, March 11, 2012. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes Falardeau also took home the prize for best director. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Philippe Falardeau Dept: Director Philippe Falardeau's film about an Algerian immigrant who helps a middle-school class deal with the suicide of their teacher won six Genie Awards last week, according to CBC. Falardeau dedicated his prize to Algerian immigrants who are rebuilding their lives in Quebec and monsieur Lazhar swept Quebec's Jutra film awards on Sunday night, winning seven out of nine categories for which it was nominated, including best picture. Falardeau was awarded the Prix Jutra for best director and best screenplay, while his child stars 11-year-old Sophie Nelisse and 13-year-old milien Neron won supporting actress and actor, respectively. The drama also won awards for best sound and original music. Prix Jutra winners Best film : Monsieur Lazhar. Director : Philippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar. Actress : Vanessa Paradis, Cafe de Flore. Actor : Gilbert Sicotte, Le vendeur. Supporting actress : Sophie Nelisse, Monsieur Lazhar. Supporting actor : milien Neron, Monsieur Lazhar. Screenplay : Philippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar. Cinematography : Pierre Cottereau, Cafe de Flore. Art direction: Patrice Vermette, Cafe de Flore. Short film : Trotteur. Animation : Dimanche/Sunday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

University Of Toronto Dept: I started off by relating an anecdote about a colleague who told me she had heard parents of high-school children saying they hoped Bill 101 would be tightened to keep francophones and immigrants out of English CEGEPs - and thus, they believed, make it easier for their own anglophone kids to get in, according to Montreal Gazette. Today, a selection of reader responses: On the Opinion page March 1 - the deadline for CEGEP and university applications for next fall - I wrote about challenges that anglophones have in getting access to higher education in the English sector, and I invited readers to share their experiences and observations. I also described how, and why, McGill University's admission policy is less favourable to local applicants than the University of Toronto's policy is to Toronto residents. And I highlighted unhappiness in the English high-school sector over Quebec's new and sudden reluctance to expand vocational education in English to keep up with demand. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Financial Services Firms Dept: When the 26-year-old Saint Mary s University graduate arrived at the International Careers Fair in Halifax, he made a beeline for three financial services firms, according to The Chronicle Herald. I majored in finance and I would like an entry-level job in my field, said Zhang, from China but looking to put down roots in Nova Scotia and dong Zhang didn t come to the job fair to chit-chat. Dressed in a grey suit with a portfolio under one arm and a stack of targeted resumes under the other, Zhang delivered tailor-made pitches to recruiters for Citco Canada, TD Canada Trust and RBC Royal Bank. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Hilaire Belloc Dept: - Gazette, Saturday, March 10, 1923, according to Montreal Gazette. The welcoming party from Loyola College, where he was to lecture that evening, were seriously worried Had he missed the train's departure from Toronto? Had he decided not to come at all and hunting a celebrity proved an engrossing occupation to several earnest persons last night. Hilaire Belloc was in a grump. The celebrated author and poet, French-born but British by upbringing and citizenship, was meant to arrive at Bonaventure Station. But as the passengers disembarked from the train, he was nowhere to be seen. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty Dept: 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, according to Vancouver Sun. "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 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. 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 par-ties in stark terms and establish a lasting legacy, has arrived. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canada Dept: "We must have transformational change to move to an immigration program that works for Canada and for newcomers," he said in a speech to the Economic Club of Canada, according to CTV. He said Canada also has an eye on New Zealand, where a backlog of immigration applications was legislated away in 2003 and replaced by a pool of prospective applicants and immigration Minister Jason Kenney said all options are on the table when it comes to modernizing the process of bringing in would-be immigrants. He said the changes which will roll out over the course of 2012, will include one to give the provinces the ability to cherry-pick the immigrants they want. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jump Street Dept: Today this cheesy bit of video seems a bit ridiculous, as '80s as big hair and synth pop. But hey, that pretty much sums up 21 Jump Street, one of the first TV series to put Vancouver on the map, according to Vancouver Sun. The movie is a spoof, but the original series was dead serious. Filmed here between 1986 and 1991, it introduced TV audiences around the world to the gritty back lanes of Gas-town, the gritty hallways of Vancouver high schools, and a bunch of not-so-gritty young actors and the blue neon "21" makes a zzz sound as it springs to life, followed by the fffffttttt of a spray can writing "Jump Street" graffiti on a brick wall. Jump Street has almost faded from the public consciousness, but it's about to stage a come-back: Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum star in a 21 Jump Street movie that comes out next week. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Mark Stobbe Dept: ONE had to be excused for fear she might go into labour, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Jurors selected to hear the Mark Stobbe murder trial had Manitoba Justice officials reaching for the Tylenol when the high-profile case got off to a rocky start last month. Fortunately, 14 jurors had been selected to hear the two-month trial instead of the usual 12 and the case was able to proceed as scheduled without dipping below the mandatory minimum of 10. The remaining jurors are expected to begin their deliberations in the high-profile case as early as next week and getting picked to sit on a jury is sort of like winning the legal lottery, according to Jamie Krilyik, Manitoba Justice s jury co-ordinator. But not everybody ends up celebrating being picked, and some appear to go out of their way to mess with the process. KRT / NEWSCOM Another couldn t stop falling asleep in court. And a third simply decided he no longer wanted to show up. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Diamond Dave Dept: As punk, college-rock sincerity and yoga bloomed around him, David Lee Roth confessed that he "used to jog but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass." As the '80s unfurled, he caught the zeitgeist and stated his conviction that money may not buy happiness, but "it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it.", according to Montreal Gazette. And VH gave every indication of Aging Disgracefully, from the singer on in and you want lines? Diamond Dave's got a million of 'em. Of all the bands of their era, Van Halen most embraced yahooing American indulgence - not necessarily drugs or alcohol, although they consumed their share, but the Live Large and Ugly impulse, the conspicuous display of Hollywood wealth, revelling in fab stardom, triumphal, without any pretence to working class or populist cred. There's something to be said for a singer who can articulate: "I am not this way because I'm in a band; I'm in a band because I'm this way." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.