Residency Application Dept: At the time his residency application was being considered, Mr. Dotcom had made charitable contributions in New Zealand and was planning to sponsor a fireworks show for the city of Auckland at a cost of $600,000 New Zealand $492,000 U.S. . He set a deadline for immigration officials to act on his application and threatened to move to Australia or Canada if they didn t meet it, according to Globe and Mail. The applicant has already made a substantial economic contribution to New Zealand through his spending here and will make further investments, immigration official Chris Biggs wrote. I consider that these benefits and potential benefits outweigh the negative aspects flowing from the applicant s convictions. Mr. Dotcom was charged with racketeering in the U.S. this year; prosecutors say he facilitated millions of illegal downloads through his website. U.S. authorities are seeking Mr. Dotcom s extradition from New Zealand, where he remains under house arrest. They complied. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canada Mortgage And Housing Corp. Dept: The apartment buildings now under construction in Halifax have a total of 2,282 units, says Matthew Gilmore, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. s senior provincial market analyst, according to The Chronicle Herald. There are all kinds of reasons for the rise in the number of apartments being built, but he says it probably isn t the $25-billion Irving Shipbuilding contract to supply combat vessels to the Royal Canadian Navy and halifax is going through an apartment-building construction boom the likes of which the city has not seen since the 1970s. The national housing agency tracks construction from beginning to end, and Gilmore says this is one of the highest apartment unit totals under construction in Halifax that CMHC has recorded in nearly 50 years. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Troubled Family Dept: She did leave behind a troubled family: a father, Vakhtang, who had reportedly been acquitted of public indecency and would later go on to stab three people; a brother, Giorgi, who would briefly disappear himself, before returning unharmed within 24 hours, according to Globe and Mail. In the absence of concrete evidence, journalists and the public floated wild theories: Some speculated she had been kidnapped in broad daylight; others that she had joined a religious cult; some thought they spotted her among a group of travelling hippies in Alberta and the slender teen with chestnut hair left behind no hint as to her fate, baffling investigators and prompting them to reach out in all directions interviewing thousands of people, combing garbage dumps and scouring Toronto parks by helicopter to no avail. She had been in Canada just three months when, after walking to school with her brother Giorgi on Sept. 14, 2009, she vanished. For 2 years, the mystery captivated the city, a fascination deepened by Ms. Makhniashvili s equally inscrutable personality. An introvert, she had few close friends, spending her time studying physics. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Guatemalan Military Dept: GUATEMALA CITY - A former member of an elite Guatemalan military force extradited from the United States last July was sentenced to 6,060 years in prison Monday for his role in the killings of 201 people in a 1982 massacre, according to Winnipeg Free Press. The sentence was handed down by a three-judge panel is largely symbolic since under Guatemalan law the maximum time a convict can serve is 50 years. It specified 30 years for each of the 201 deaths, plus 30 years for crimes against humanity and pedro Pimentel Rios, a former member of an elite Guatemalan military force known as the "kaibiles," leaves the court during a recess of his trial in Guatemala City, Monday March 12, 2012. Pimentel is suspected of helping carry out a massacre at the village of Dos Erres in 1982 that left more than 150 people dead in the Central American nation. AP Photo/Moises Castillo Pedro Pimentel Rios was the fifth former special forces soldier sentenced to 6,060 years or more for what became known as the "Dos Erres" massacre after the northern Guatemala hamlet where the killings occurred during the country's 1960-1996 civil war. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Naoto Kan Dept: After their triple-whammy disaster one year ago, many Japanese cycled through emotions familiar to Americans after Hurricane Katrina: disbelief at the failure to anticipate such a crisis, anger at official obfuscation as it unfolded, frustration at the slow pace of reconstruction ever since, according to Winnipeg Free Press. But there were also differences between the two countries' reactions and then Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan pauses during a press conference in Tokyo last year, announcing his resignation to the nation. Japan s former prime minister says he feared early in the March nuclear crisis that it might become many times worse than the Chornobyl disaster and threaten the nation s survival. KOJI SASAHARA / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES The scale of the catastrophe provoked another sentiment Americans will recall: the sense that, after this, nothing will ever be the same. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Alberta Premier Alison Redford Dept: Ms. Clark has the backing of Alberta Premier Alison Redford and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, who are facing similar labour and skills shortages. They are eyeing Quebec s immigration authority with envy, according to Globe and Mail. Ms. Clark was in Ottawa last week but did not formally raise the immigration issue, waiting instead for a task-force report she commissioned to help build B.C. s case. The biggest one for us in the West is immigration. It s one of the most important economic levers any government has and we don t have it. ... We need to devolve immigration to provincial governments. As Ottawa struggles with a huge backlog of immigration applications, the provinces, especially in the fast-growing West, are increasingly frustrated with their inability to bring in needed workers. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Vice President Dick Cheney Dept: TORONTO - Former U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney has cancelled a Canadian speaking appearance due to security concerns sparked by demonstrations during a visit he made to Vancouver last fall, the event promoter said Monday, according to Winnipeg Free Press. However, Ryan Ruppert, of Spectre Live Corp., said Cheney and his daughter Elizabeth had begged off via their agent and former Vice President Dick Cheney addresses the third annual Washington Ideas Forum at the Newseum in Washington, Thursday Oct. 6, 2011.Cheney has cancelled a Canadian speaking appearance due to security concerns. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Manuel Balce Ceneta Cheney, whom the protesters denounced as a war criminal, was slated to talk about his experiences in office and the current American political situation at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on April 24. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Monsieur Lazhar Dept: Falardeau also took home the prize for best director, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Rounding out a great night for Monsieur Lazhar were Jutras for 11-year-old Sophie Nelisse as best supporting actress and for 13-year-old Emilien Neron as best supporting actor and mONTREAL -- Philippe Falardeau's Monsieur Lazhar continued its banner year at Quebec's Jutra Awards, winning seven prizes including best movie. 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. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Spectre Live Corp. Dept: After speaking with their security advisers, they changed their mind on coming to the event, Mr. Ruppert said, according to Globe and Mail. Last Sept. 26, Mr. Cheney s appearance in Vancouver was marred by demonstrators who blocked the entrances to the exclusive Vancouver Club and however, Ryan Ruppert, of Spectre Live Corp., said Mr. Cheney and his daughter Elizabeth had begged off via their agent. They decided it was better for their personal safety they stay out of Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Sarkozy Dept: It sounded as if Mr. Sarkozy, who is lagging behind his left-wing opponents in the polls, had turned into Marine Le Pen, the charismatic leader of the borderline-fascist National Front, a once-taboo party that currently commands 17 per cent in the polls. Or, even more disturbing to many French and German observers, that he had turned into David Cameron, according to Globe and Mail. Of course, Mr. Hollande, who had been considered a centre-left moderate, has also been flirting with extremes in the runup to the April 22 first-round election. He has made speeches in which he has advocated a 75-per-cent top tax rate and said he would renegotiate the EU s fiscal pact, which places limits on the debt and spending abilities of member governments all in an apparent bid to capture votes from several parties on the far left and on Monday, many Europeans were reeling from a fiery speech Mr. Sarkozy gave in Paris the previous night in which he promoted trade protectionism, and attacked immigration and Islam. Most alarmingly to Germans, he threatened to cancel one of the key planks of European unification, the Schengen Treaty which eliminates borders and allows free movement of goods and people between 26 countries. I had the impression I was listening not to a French president but almost to a Conservative British Prime Minister, said Mr. Sarkozy s chief opponent, Socialist Party Leader Fran ois Hollande . Britain s rejection of the euro and the Schengen Treaty, and the Tories skepticism toward the EU, have made them anathema to both the left and the right on the continent. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.