March 07, 2012

www.diversityreporter.com

THe Harper government is considering changes to the citizenship rules to tar-get so-called birth tourism — where a foreign national comes to Canada to givebirth so the baby can get Canadian citizenship. But critics say closing the loop-hole will deter bona fide immigrants and harm the economy in the long run.

“We don’t want to encourage birth tourism or passport babies,Immigra-tion Minister Jason Kenney told the CBC’s Power and Politics in an interview."This is, in many cases, being used to exploit Canada’s generosity. The vastmajority of legal immigrants are going to say this is taking Canada for granted.

“We need to send the message that Canadian citizenship isn’t just somekind of an access key to the Canadian welfare state by cynically misrepresenting

Detail story on page 3

Slumdog FlyoverLittle Punjab survives on charity

Diversity reporter Wire services

LONDON: Near the Heathrow airport,underneath a motorway flyover dwells'Little Punjab', a squalid community ofillegal immigrants including Indians,who came here to fulfill their dreamsbut were reduced to a slum-life, accord-ing to a media report.

More than 30 of them, can often befound there, in full view of pedestriansand traffic on the road that passesunder the bridge, M4, sending vibra-tions through to the ground under-neath, and less than 20 yards from thenearest houses.

They are known as the Bridge Menof Heston. It's a breathtaking snapshotof what happens when dreams of forg-ing a better life in Britain turn sour. Aremarkable fact about many of those in'Little Punjab' have been here for nearlytwo years, without being compelled toleave, and relying mostly on charity andgoodwill to stay, the British newspaperreported.

The police, the UK Border Agencyand local authorities have long beenaware of the Bridge Men of 'Little Pun-jab', which takes its nickname fromSouthall, widely known as Britain's Lit-tle India. A community leader was

quoted as saying that the UK govern-ment and Indian high commission were"well aware of the problem", but addedthat "everyone seems to have gone tosleep. No one does anything about it. Ifthey are here legally, help them. If theyare not, then help them get back."

Although most Bridge Men arethought to be illegal immigrants, someare known to have come to Britainlegally with visas, which have since ex-pired. One of them arrived more than adecade ago as a teenager but lost his joband fell out with his family. Now hishome is a sleeping bag.

relateD story anD pictures on page 5

Detail story anD pictures on page 9

‘Birth tourism’ maychange citizenship rules

Alberta/ Saskatchewan

readers and advertisers

can contact

For advertisements, news coverage

and community partnership call

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AdviceWednesday March 07, 2012


02

Diversity reporter Wire

services

SALT SPRING ISLAND:More new immigrants,

refugees and their families liv-ing on Salt Spring Island will haveaccess to a free english-languagetutoring program, thanks to new

funding of $8,000.The english as a Second Language Set-

tlement Assistance Program (eSLSAP) givesrecent immigrants and refugees who are settlingin rural communities an opportunity to accessbasic english language programs. The fundingdelivers on the commitment made in 'Canada

Starts Here: The B.C. Jobs Plan' tosupport newcomers and enable themto fill some of the over one million

jobs anticipated to open inBC over the next

decade.

This grant is part of the 2011-12 eSLSAPbudget of $2 million to deliver this award-winning program in 45 communities. This newfunding also allows english Practice Groups,part of the eSLSAP curriculum, to be offeredin more communities. Newcomers can nowpractisespeaking conversational english insmall group settings in 25 communities, suchas Dawson Creek, Terrace and Whistler. eS-LSAP is one of the english-language programsoffered through WelcomeBC - the Province'sumbrella of services for immigrant settlementand integration services.

The program is made possible throughfunding from the Government of Canada andthe Province of British Columbia. Last year,more than 700 volunteers throughout theprovince provided english-language tutoringto over 1,000 immigrant and refugee learnersin regional and remote B.C. communities.Quotes: Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourismand Innovation - "eSLSAP gives newcomersaccess to programs that lead to improved eng-lish language proficiency. Being confident andfluent in english is one of the most importantskills immigrants can acquire as they starttheir lives in B.C. - an essential building blockfor finding a job and settling into a new com-munity."

Murray Coell, MLA - Saanich North andthe Islands - "Helping new Canadians settle

into their communities is an important part ofthe services that our government provides, andI am proud to support funding for this won-derful program."

Quick Facts: * eSLSAP is delivered in asmall group, one-on-one tutoring environmentwhich allows co-ordinators and tutors to focuson the learner's individual goals and languageskills. * eSLSAP received international recog-nition, winning the 2011 Grundtvig Award,out-of-europe category, for excellence inAdult education from the european Associa-tion for the education of Adults (eAeA). *B.C. continues to be one of Canada's most pop-ular destinations for new immigrants, wel-coming more than 40,000 newcomersannually.

By 2019, it's expected that there will beover a million job openings in the province,and skilled immigrants will play a vital role infilling almost one-third of those positions. *Since 2008, more than $160 million in federaland provincial funding has been invested inenglish language development services forimmigrants under WelcomeBC. For more in-formation visit: http://www.welcomebc.ca/ *For information on becoming an eSLSAP vol-unteer tutor, visithttp://www.mytrainingbc.ca/eslsap/recruit-ment Learn More: Visit WelcomeBC:http://www.welcomebc.ca/

New grants help

immigrants improve

English skills

03 editoriAl Wednesday March 07, 2012


THe Harper government is consideringchanges to the citizenship rules to tar-get so-called birth tourism — where aforeign national comes to Canada togive birth so the baby can get Cana-

dian citizenship. But critics say closing the loop-hole will deter bona fide immigrants and harm theeconomy in the long run.

“We don’t want to encourage birth tourism orpassport babies,Immigration Minister Jason Ken-ney told the CBC’s Power and Politics in an inter-view. "This is, in many cases, being used to exploitCanada’s generosity. The vast majority of legal im-migrants are going to say this is taking Canada forgranted.

“We need to send the message that Canadiancitizenship isn’t just some kind of an access key tothe Canadian welfare state by cynically misrepre-senting yourself.… It’s about having an ongoingcommitment and obligation to the country.”

The potential changes are part of the gov-ernment’s plan to “modernize” the CitizenshipAct, though Kenney admits he doesn’t have ahandle on the extent of the problem.

The issue was brought to the government’sattention by hospital administrators and doc-tors in Montreal who complained that womenwithout legal immigration status had givenbirth there and left without paying the bill,Kenney said.

A recent story by a Hong Kong newspaperalso exposed unscrupulous immigration con-sultants who were telling pregnant coupleshow to come to Canada as visitors and givebirth here to have a better chance of staying onhumanitarian grounds or have their childrenobtain citizenship and later sponsor them.

Canada and the U.S. are the only nationsin the developed world that grant automaticcitizenship to babies born on their soil. Mostother countries, including the european na-tions, as well as Japan, Australia and NewZealand require people to have permanentlegal status prior to obtaining citizenship orrequire at least one parent to be a citizen.

There would be a provision for babies po-tentially left stranded without any citizenshipunder proposed changes, though such casesamount to only a handful a year, Kenney said.

"Any changes that we make would cover offthe problem of stateless persons."

Critics say the government is overreactingto the issue of birth tourism.

“It’s an overblown knee-jerk reaction to aproblem that the government has no formalstatistics on,” said Toronto immigrationlawyer Michael Niren.

“Does is happen? Sure it does, but the gov-ernment should not move to throw out birthcitizenship, which is entrenched in our demo-

cratic culture, based on some loosey-goosey ev-idence.” The move may score the governmentpoints on a “hot button” issue like immigrationbut changing the law would be short-sightedbecause it would deter bona fide immigrantsfrom considering Canada, Niren said.

“A protectionist approach may be politi-cally savvy in the short term but it won’t sup-port Canadians in the long run," he said.

“Which direction do we want to go as a na-tion? What kind of signal are we sending? Theworld is a global place today. Our populationis getting older and smaller, so instead ofkeeping immigrants out we have to open thefloodgates because we’re going to desperatelyneed more and more workers to support oureconomy.”

Using fraudulent means or reasons to gainCanadian citizenship is obviously wrong andshould be dealt with by closing administrativeloopholes at hospitals or better screening ofvisitors admitted to Canada, Niren said.

But overhauling the Citizenship Act is “likeusing a nuclear bomb to kill an ant hill,” headded.

Instead the government should focus onfixing the immigration system, which Nirensaid is “broken” with long backlogs. “We’relosing the best and brightest applicants toother countries because of it.”

‘Birth tourism’ may change citizenship rules

OTTAWA: employers can nowaccess more information onlineabout Citizenship and Immigra-tion Canada (CIC) programs tohire permanent and temporaryforeign workers, Minister JasonKenney announced today.In keeping with the govern-ment's focus on the importanceofimmigration to Canada's econ-omy and growth, the CIC websitehas been redesigned to include anew section to guide employersto the most suitable program."The economy and job growthremain the number one priorityof the Government," said Minis-ter Jason Kenney. "Labourshortages are becoming a grow-ing problem in many regions,and this website will help em-ployers access information thatwill help them hire permanent ortemporary foreign workers whenno Canadians are able to fill aposition."

employers can learn the stepsinvolved in hiring temporary for-eign workers, helping to bring aworker to Canada permanentlyand hiring international stu-dents studying in Canada.In addition to the enhanced web-site, the Department is reachingout directly to employersthrough public consultations. "Immigration is becoming in-creasingly important to meetingour labour market needs," saidMinister Kenney. "I want to strengthen the part-nership with employers to en-sure our economic immigrationprogram better meets the needsof our economy." This new web-site, a work in progress, buildson the success of other onlinetools for employers, such as theemployer's Roadmap, availableathttp://www.credentials.gc.ca/employers/roadmap/index.asp

employers have

access to more

online information

to hire workers

needed to fill labour

shortages

immigrAtionWednesday March 07, 2012


04

Diversity reporter Wire services

THe Government of Canada hasput in place a bar on sponsor-ship in an ongoing effort todeter people from using a mar-riage of convenience to come

to Canada, Citizenship, Immigration andMulticulturalism Minister Jason Kenneyannounced today. Regulatory changes nowin force mean sponsored spouses or part-ners will have to wait five years from theday they are granted permanent residencestatus in Canada to sponsor a new spouseor partner. Until now, a sponsored spouseor partner arriving in Canada as a perma-nent resident could leave their sponsorand sponsor another spouse or partnerthemselves, while their original sponsorwas still financially responsible for themfor up to three years.

“I held town hall meetings across thecountry to hear from victims of marriagefraud,” said Minister Kenney.

“In addition to the heartbreak andpain that came from being lied to and de-ceived, these people were angry. They feltthey had been used as a way to get toCanada. We’re taking action because im-migration to Canada should not be builtupon deceit.”

Minister Kenney was joined by repre-sentatives of Canadians Against Immigra-tion Fraud (CAIF) at today’sannouncement. “We welcome the stepstaken by the Honourable Jason Kenney tostop marriage fraud,” said Sam S. Benet,President of CAIF. “These measures willdefinitely protect the integrity of our im-migration system.”

Spousal sponsorship is open to abusewhen a person enters into a relationship –such as a marriage or a common law part-nership – in order to circumvent Canada’simmigration law. Concerned with theproblem, the Minister held online consul-tations in the fall of 2010 to gather publicopinion and ideas on how to best addressmarriage fraud.

“Many of the people who took part inthe consultations made it abundantlyclear that marriage fraud poses a signifi-cant threat to our immigration system,”added Minister Kenney.

“Our government has listened to thevictims of marriage fraud and all Canadi-ans, and acted to crack down on those whoengage in fraud and abuse Canadians’ gen-erosity and our immigration system.” Bar-ring such sponsorships is consistent withsimilar restrictions imposed by Australia,New Zealand and the United States.

The proposal for a five-year sponsor-ship bar was prepublished in the CanadaGazette on April 2, 2011, and was open fora 30-day public comment period. Thechanges coming into force today, March 2,are posted on Citizenship and Immigra-tion Canada’s website and will be pub-lished in Part II of the Canada Gazette onMarch 14, 2012.

To show it is serious about crackingdown on marriage fraud, CIC is taking anumber of steps to deter it. For example,in addition to the sponsorship bar, furtherpublic consultations are also expected tobegin in the coming weeks on a proposedconditional permanent residence measure.

A Notice of Intent proposing the devel-opment of this conditional measure waspublished in the Canada Gazette on March26, 2011. The measure aims to deter peo-ple in newer relationships from usingtheir relationship to gain quick entry toCanada as permanent residents when theyhave no intention of staying with theirsponsor.

In addition, legislation to crack downon crooked consultants came into force inJune 2011 and last spring, CIC launchedan anti-fraud campaign, which will be re-launched this month. This includes ashort video warning people not to beduped into committing marriage fraud.

The video directs people to a speciallink on the CIC website(www.cic.gc.ca/antifraud) to find out howto immigrate to Canada the right way.

Diversity repor ter Wire services

TORONTO: In a keynote address to the Na-tional Metropolis Conference today, Citizen-ship, Immigration and MulticulturalismMinister Jason Kenney outlined his vision for afaster, more responsive immigration systemthat better meets Canada's economic needs.

"Immigration is playing an increasingly im-portant role in our economy and we need a sys-tem that does a better job of attracting the peoplewho have the skills that are in demand and get-ting them here quickly," said Minister Kenney."We have made some great strides towards animmigration system that is fast and flexible, butknow that there is more work to do."

In his speech, the Minister highlighted re-cent changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Pro-gram, where current applicants must haveexperience in one of 29 occupations in demand,or have a job offer in Canada.

He also noted the growing success of theCanadian experience Class, which allows cer-tain foreign students and temporary foreignworkers to translate their Canadian work andeducation experience into permanent residence.And he lauded the growth of provincial and ter-ritorial nominee programs, noting the role theyhave played in spreading the benefits of immi-gration across the country and addressing long-term regional labour needs.

While recognizing these improvements, theMinister indicated that more challenges lieahead in seeing his vision realized. He noted,for instance, that the current points systemused to assess federal skilled worker applicantsneeds to be more flexible and intelligent. Itshould place greater emphasis on the impor-tance of language, he said, while recognizingthat the language ability needed to successfullyintegrate in Canada is different for a doctor asopposed to a welder. It should also place greateremphasis on younger workers with high qualitycredentials that can be recognized quickly.

The Minister pledged to do a better job ofattracting entrepreneurs and investors toCanada, noting that we lag behind the U.S.,where half of the top 50 venture-capital backedcompanies are founded by immigrants.

While noting progress to date, he also prom-ised to do more to reduce the legacy of backlogs,where there are wait times of seven years orlonger in some categories.

"It makes no sense to tell people 'apply now,but put your life on hold for a few years beforewe'll even let you know if you qualify,'" said theMinister. "I will continue to make changes tocreate a faster, more flexible immigration sys-tem. Canadians need and deserve a system thatboldly puts Canada's best interests first."

Canada Introduces Sponsorship

Restriction to Address Marriage Fraud

Minister Kenney outlines vision of a fand flexible immigration system

05 immigrAtion Wednesday March 07, 2012


By paul Harris DAILY MAIL

DAWN is breaking over Heathrowairport and, nearby, it’s time to getup and look for work. Just abovewhere everyone is sleeping, the traf-fic has already started to thunder

along the M4, sending vibrations through to theground underneath. It’s cold down here on theconcrete slabs. There are empty cans of stronglager kicking around the floor, and the livingareas, if you can call them such, are filthier than athird-world slum.

This is Little Punjab, a squalid community ofillegal immigrants, the homeless, the jobless andthe hopeless. They call them the Bridge Men ofHeston, a community sleeping rough beneath amotorway flyover.

More than 30 of them can often be foundhere, in full view of pedestrians and traffic on theroad that passes under the bridge, and less than20 yards from the nearest houses.

It’s a breathtaking snapshot of what happenswhen dreams of forging a better life in Britainturn sour. But perhaps more remarkable is thefact that many of those in Little Punjab have beenhere for nearly two years, without being com-pelled to leave, and relying mostly on charity andgoodwill to stay. And although some do make the5am trek to join a daily roadside lottery in thehope of being picked by passing tradesmen for ca-sual work, most seem content to spend the daysleeping on sodden bedding or passing the time incold, disgustingly dirty lethargy.

With some irony, countless government min-isters must have passed unknowingly within feetof the Bridge Men on their way to meetings andsummits via Heathrow. Maybe one item on theiragenda would have been to discuss sending moreaid to India – when, here in Little Punjab, they

would quite literally have been on top of theproblems at home. Yesterday I visited the en-campment, where the M4 crosses a busy thor-

oughfare between Heston and Southall. By midmorning it looked as if only a few were stillaround – but beneath the damp sheets and sleep-

ing bags I could occasionally see movement fromthose who had settled down the night before andnot yet emerged.

Slumdog Flyover:With lorries thundering past only feet away, squalid camp of thehomeless, hopeless migrants whose dream of a new life went sour

Mehtab (his name means ‘light of the moon’) told me these werethe ‘drunks and drug men’ who simply stayed in Little Punjab allday, stirring only when kindly passers-by delivered food and water,or when yobs hurled missiles and abuse from cars.

He said he had gone to look for work in the morning but wasnot selected from the hopefuls who congregate in a car park nearSouthall’s landmark Sikh temple. He claims he was tricked intocoming to Britain with the prospect of work two years ago – onlyto discover that his papers were as false as the promises that weremade to him back home. Now he had no paperwork, passport orvisa – and therefore no hope of work.

A young man in a bobble hat, who said he was a Sikh from Pun-jab, was in a similar plight. In between taking calls on his mobilephone, he told me he was ‘an un-legal’, not able to claim benefitsor get legitimate employment.

So why stay? ‘Because soon someone will have to do somethingfor us,’ he told me. ‘If they don’t give us papers, we have no chance.’

As he spoke, another Bridge Man urinated against the railings

in full view of people waiting at a bus stop across the road.The toilet area is a short trek away in some scrubland, but the

ground is thick with excrement and rotting litter, so rank that eventhe foxes steer clear of it at night. Bathroom facilities beneath thebridge consist of a bottle of anti-bacterial hand-wash strung up ona fence. I accidentally trod on a hidden hand as I went to use it –with so little reaction from its owner that it could have belongedto a corpse.

The police, the UK Border Agency and local authorities havelong been aware of the Bridge Men of Little Punjab, which takesits nickname from Southall, widely known as Britain’s Little India.

A community leader I spoke to yesterday said the UK govern-ment and Indian High Commission was ‘well aware of the prob-lem’, but added: ‘everyone seems to have gone to sleep. No onedoes anything about it. If they are here legally, help them. If theyare not, then help them to get back.’

Another said: ‘This is one of the most advanced countries inthe world – yet people are left to live in inhuman conditions on its

doorstep.’ Although most Bridge Men are thought to be illegal im-migrants, some are known to have come to Britain legally withvisas which have since expired.

One arrived more than a decade ago as a teenager but lost hisjob and fell out with his family. Now his home is a sleeping bag.

Some find food at the Sikh temple, which provides meals forup to 1,000 needy people a day. Others simply wander the streets.

One neighbour, who has lived in the area for more than half acentury and can see the bridge from her window, complained toHeston Residents’ Association about piles of rubbish building uparound the site, and regularly sees young men ‘moping around halfdrunk’, as she put it.

‘I sometimes wonder if there’s anywhere else in the civilisedworld where this would be allowed to happen,’ she said.

‘I asked the council what they were going to do about it. Theysaid they had delivered a letter translated into Punjabi about a vol-untary repatriation scheme. Surprise, surprise – it doesn’t seem tohave done the trick.’

'If they are here legally, help them. If they are not, then help them get back'

BollywoodWednesday March 07, 2012


06

OSCAR-WINNING filmmakerSharmeen Obaid-Chinoy says herwork is inspired by Canada'sstance on many human rights is-sues. The Pakistani-born journal-

ist, who became a Canadian citizen after movingto Toronto in 2004, won the Academy Award forbest documentary short.

The dual citizen was recognized for her filmSaving Face, billed as the first from Pakistan towin an Oscar.

It follows the struggles of women who havebeen disfigured by acid attacks, usually inflictedby husbands or relatives.

Obaid-Chinoy was born and raised inKarachi but married a Canadian citizen and nowsplits her time between Toronto and her variousfilming locales.

At Sunday's Oscar ceremony, the producertook the stage with director Daniel Junge to ded-icate the award "to all the women in Pakistanwho are working for change."

Reached Monday in Los Angeles, Obaid-Chi-noy described the win as "stunning, overwhelm-

ing, unbelievable.""And of course, very gratifying," said Obaid-

Chinoy, whose husband was also born in Pak-istan but moved to Canada after studying in theUnited States.

"We had been getting favourable feedbackfrom people who had gone to see the film ... butthe other films that we were competing againstwere also tremendous films with filmmakerswho had been nominated for the AcademyAward before. We thought that we had a chancebut certainly we didn't think we were the front-runners."

The 40-minute Saving Face follows severalwomen who have been disfigured by acid vio-lence and chronicles the efforts of a doctor to re-construct their faces and restore their dignity. Itairs March 8 on HBO Canada.

"I'm inspired by the stance that Canadatakes on many human rights situations," Obaid-Chinoy said of the influence she's felt from heradopted homeland.

"I've been able to meet some wonderful peo-ple in Canada and ... I have a community of film-

makers that I work with in Canada often — edi-tors and cameramen and the film community isvery supportive."

During her acceptance speech at the Oscarbash, Obaid-Chinoy dedicated her win to thewomen of Pakistan.

"Don't give up on your dreams. This is foryou," said Obaid-Chinoy, also an emmy award-winning film producer and journalist.

Backstage, she noted that Pakistan had a vi-brant film industry in the '50s and '60s but thatthings have since changed.

"And now my generation, there are a numberof filmmakers ... trying to revive that, but it's few

and far between," she said in a transcript pro-vided by the academy.

"And I hope that this will be an impetus togetting a more flourishing film industry in Pak-istan."

Obaid-Chinoy said Hollywood's star-packedbash provided a startling brush with fame aftershe claimed the gold statue. She said the firsttwo people she ran into backstage were A-listersBrad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

"And because Angelina has a connection toPakistan, because she's been there, it was reallynice to chat with her about that and give her acopy of our film," said Obaid-Chinoy.

AngelinA Joliecongratulates chinoyTop Hollwood star Angelina Jolie congratulated Pakistani filmmakerSharmeenObaid-Chinoy on winning the Oscar award for her documentary “SavingFace”, The New York Times reported Monday. Ms Jolie, a presenter at the lavishAcademy Award ceremony Sunday night, met MsObaid-Chinoy backstage to com-pliment her on receiving the coveted award. The actress has made frequent visitsto Pakistan as goodwill ambassador of the United Nations HighCommissioner forRefugees. Speaking to the Islamabad-based Times correspondent by telephonefrom Hollywood, MsObaid-Chinoy said that she was “dazed” by her success. “Itreinforces the fact you can be anyone, come from anywhere and as long as you doquality work it gets rewarded,” she was quoted as saying.“Saving Face” focuses on the efforts of Dr Mohammad Jawad, a Pakistani-Britishplastic surgeon who traveled across Pakistan to repair the faces of women whohad been burned by acid. But MsObaid-Chinoy emphasized that the film also fo-cuses oncourageous lawyers and legislators who introduced a strict law last yearthat mandates a sentence of life in prison for those convicted of committing acidattacks. “This is a film about hope,” she was quoted as saying by the Times. “Itshows that Pakistan has a problem, but that there are people on the ground whoare tackling it.” She said that she hoped her Oscar would inspire other Pakistanifilmmakers. “ This shows that someone from their ranks can do it,” she said.

OScar-winning Pakistani-Canadianfilmmaker inspired by CanadaSaving Face filmmaker a dual citizen

FALLING Glass. Out of Service eleva-tors. Years of fighting with the devel-oper to fix deficiencies. Units that looknothing like the plan that was prom-ised. These are just some of the issues

Condo Buyers in Toronto face according to recentmedia reports.

If that’s not enough to keep buyers awake atnight, it turns out that maybe only scratching thesurface.

According to a recent CBC look at the issue "Asmall but growing chorus is sounding the alarmabout the future of these buildings." In fact warn-ings are being issued about the dark side to ourcondo boom, just as we plan to expand this formof housing even further.

The CBC reported that " industry insiderswarn that as energy costs climb, glass towers maybecome the "pariah" buildings of the future." evenmore concerning to buyers are warnings frombuilding Scientists, such as Dr. John Staube of theUniversity of Waterloo, of the long-term failure ofglass structures.

Many of us will buy a condo, the largest pur-chase of our lives, without really knowing all the

facts. How can we protect ourselves?Does the dark side to the condo boom cry out

for better Consumer Protection? Trinity-SpadinaMPP Rosario Marchese‘s answer with an em-pathic YeS!

On February 27, at the monthly meeting ofcivic engagement group Why Should I Care?(WSIC), Trinity-Spadina MPP Rosario Marchesediscusses his proposed Condominium OwnersProtection Act. He will share with us why he be-lieves Consumers need protection.

The downtown Toronto MPP has introducedthe Condominium Owners Protection Act threetimes in the last four years and plans to present arevised version again during the upcoming ses-sion of the Ontario Legislature. Doing so wouldreopen the Condo Act for the first time since 1997.

If passed, this legislation would better protectconsumers, improve building practices, and cre-ate a tribunal to deal with disputes between own-ers, developers, and property managers.

WSIC's events are free, non-partisan, and heldin an inviting, low-key environment. All are wel-come to attend, ask questions, and share theirideas through thoughtful discussion.

A Dark side to Toronto’s Condo Boom?

Alberta/ Saskatchewan readers

and advertisers can contact

For advertisements, news

coverage and community

partnership call Rajesh

Angral in Calgary at

Phone : 403-400-0203

tanya gupta- a glamorous youth icon from Jammu border town


JAMMU (INDIA): The glamorous, ravishing,breathtaking youth icon from the border town ofJammu Tanya Gupta. She rocked the nation andmillions of viewers at the closing ceremony of the

Asian games. A darling of the services she hasbeen the voice at many shows of the forces whereshe has won the hearts of our gallant soldiers allover the country by not only singing for them buttouching their lives by working passionately forthe empowerment of widows of the forces. Atrained classical singer this versatile artist canmove seamlessly from rock to rap to pop music.As many people say “God must have specially cre-ated Tanya to sing – she is a melody, a charm, a‘tarana’, a ‘tarannum’ and a magic that unfolds inher courteous simplicity which inspires an instantaffinity and liking for her talent and her melodi-ous voice” Tanya Gupta, is a talented and versatilesinger. It was her sincerity and dedication, whichhelped her carve a niche for herself in the worldof music and which is helping her in realizing herdreams. With such extreme hard work and pas-sionate dedication she has not only earned namefor herself, but for her State in several competi-tions and her Motherland at the closing ceremonyof the Asian Games held in China, biggest extrav-aganza ever in history of events, with a worldrecord audience of over 600,000 present at theperformance and several millions watching ontheir television screens.


HeAltH & entertAinmentWednesday March 14, 2012


02

VICTORIA: British Columbians continue tolive long and healthy lives, according to the2010 Vital Statistics Annual Report from theMinistry of Health. Life expectancy in B.C.remains the highest in Canada at 81.7 yearsfor 2006-10, up from 81.4 for 2005-09.B.C.’s population also grew naturally by13,647 in 2010, or at rate of 2.8 per thou-sand.

The report states cancer death rates inB.C. are falling, supporting the Province’sleadership in cancer care, prevention andtreatment resulting in some of the best can-cer outcomes in the world. Heart diseasemortality rates are lower and death ratesfrom Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and multiplesclerosis have dropped to 1994 levels. How-ever, mortality rates for chronic diseases likediabetes have increased slightly from 2009.

This further supports the need for theProvince’s comprehensive Healthy FamiliesBC strategy, which helps families make thehealthy choice the easy choice. At 55, thenumber of HIV deaths in B.C. in 2010 isdown from 63 in 2009, and the lowest since1995. This lower figure can be attributed to30 years of leading-edge research along withcommunity and health system efforts, whichhave helped turn HIV/AIDS from what wasonce a deadly epidemic into a chronic butmanageable condition.

B.C. is the only province in Canada thatis demonstrating a consistent decline inHIV. The BC Centre for excellence inHIV/AIDS, under the leadership of Dr. JulioMontaner, plays a crucial role in research

and treatment, positioning B.C. as a worldleader in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The vital statistics document also foundthat just more than half the 2010 births inBritish Columbia were from mothers aged30-39. In recent decades there has also beena gradual increase in multiple birth rates inB.C., rising from 1.9 per cent of all live birthsin 1986 to 3.2 per cent in 2010.

The 139th edition of the Vital StatisticsAnnual Report contains information col-lected from registrations of births, deaths,and marriages that happened in 2010. Infor-mation from the report is used for variousaspects of health planning, research and ed-ucation. Quotes: Minister of HealthMichael de Jong - “This report demonstratesthe importance of health prevention andawareness policies and how many BritishColumbians can lead long and healthy lives.We will continue to help and encourage peo-ple to move forward on this path, whichbuilds healthy families and communities andtakes the financial strain off the health-caresystem.”

Provincial Health Officer, Dr. PerryKendall - “It’s very encouraging to see lowermortality rates for cancer and heart diseasein British Columbia. It’s my hope that evenmore people will be able to make choicesthat will reduce the risk factors for chronicdisease, such as more exercise and eatingreasonably well.” Learn More:

The 2010 Vital Statistics Annual reportcan be found at: www.vs.gov.bc.ca/stats/an-nual/2010.

ajmer alam WaniINDIA CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU (INDIA): The glamorous, ravishing,breathtaking youth icon from the border town ofJammu Tanya Gupta. She rocked the nation andmillions of viewers at the closing ceremony of theAsian games.

A darling of the services she has been thevoice at many shows of the forces where she haswon the hearts of our gallant soldiers all over thecountry by not only singing for them but touchingtheir lives by working passionately for the empow-erment of widows of the forces. A trained classicalsinger this versatile artist can move seamlesslyfrom rock to rap to pop music.

As many people say “God must have speciallycreated Tanya to sing – she is a melody, a charm,a ‘tarana’, a ‘tarannum’ and a magic that unfoldsin her courteous simplicity which inspires an in-stant affinity and liking for her talent and hermelodious voice”

Tanya Gupta, is a talented and versatilesinger. It was her sincerity and dedication, whichhelped her carve a niche for herself in the worldof music and which is helping her in realizing herdreams.

With such extreme hard work and passionatededication she has not only earned name for her-self, but for her State in several competitions andher Motherland at the closing ceremony of theAsian Games held in China, biggest extravaganzaever in history of events, with a world record au-dience of over 600,000 present at the perform-ance and several millions watching on theirtelevision screens.

Tanya hails from a well known medical andteaching family. She was introduced to the worldof music at an early age. Trained in HindustaniVocal Classical for 15 years, she belongs to KiranaGharana ,received training in all aspects of Clas-sical music Dhrupad, Dhamar, Khayal, Thumri,Bhajns and other nuances of music, Post Graduatein Music from one of the biggest institutes of

India and national scholarship holder, a goldmedallist, swaran gaeeka awadee, All India GuptaCommunity awarded her as the best singer, per-formed in Global Village Dubai,Asian businessawards emirates Palace Abu dhabi ,May QueenBall Beauty Pagent , Asia Pacific entrepreneur,Navy Bowl Delhi and Vishakpatnam, HT Youthnexus and many more. Worked very closely withthe armed forces pan India,in the recent months,have done 5 shows for the Indian Navy. Workedin various projects for women empowerment oneof which was Karukaraya an outreach programmerun by the navy. Her talent was further nurtured

by her Guru’s and ‘ustads’. She had won severalawards in various competitions both nationallyand internationally. It was her sincerity and ded-ication to music that convinced world-renownedand iconic singers such as Suresh Wadker ji andUstad Ghulam Ali Khan to accept her as their‘shishya’ under whose guidance she was trainedfor many years. She was in teacher’s guest facultyfor Film and Music Academy in Dubai. She hasalso worked in various Bollywood projects, suchas the “top ten” chart buster Sony BMG album‘Chahat’”. Worked with the the most renownedmusic directors and performed with all lead

singers of Bollywood like Sonu Nigam, Shaan,Roop Kumar Rathore, Salim Merchants, GhulamAli Khan, Shobha Mudgal, Hariharan, Shafkaat,Mohit Chowhan. Being a theatre performer aswell,she has participated in several theatre festi-vals including NSD, Nandikaar etc. Her singingwas acknowledged and appreciated by great iconsof music like Farida khannum,ghulam ali andmany more. She has been interviewed by severalpublications and appeared on NDTV,CNNIBN,TIMeS NOW, INDIA TV etc. Tanya’s variousperformances in India as well abroad have wonher the love and appreciation.

tanya gupta- a glamorous youth icon from Jammu border town

British Columbians lead the wayin healthy living: Report

03 editoriAl Wednesday March 14, 2012


OTTAWA: New Democrats are calling on theConservatives to support civilian oversight and fi-nally take action to fix serious problems in theRCMP. Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley),joined by New Democrat Public Safety Critic Jas-birSandhu (Surrey North), introduced the CivilianOversight Act in the House of Commons today.

“This bill would create a national body guar-anteeing fully independent investigations andoversight of the RCMP that Canadians can counton,” said Cullen. “Binding civilian oversight is acritical first step towards restoring public confi-dence in the force. Systemic issues need to be

fixed, including ending an internal culture that al-lows harassment and bullying.”

The current oversight agency cannot makebinding recommendations to the RCMP commis-sioner, and primary investigations into incidentsof death or serious bodily harm are contracted outto provincial or municipal police forces or stillconducted by the RCMP themselves, rendering iteffectively powerless.

“Conservative mismanagement of the RCMPand political interference in the operations of theforce have eroded the public trust,” said Sandhu“It is time the government finally move forward

on ensuring proper civilian oversight to theRCMP.”

Along with public interest groups, civil rightsadvocates and RCMP officers themselves, theNDP has long-called for improved oversight ofCanada’s national police force. Cullen introduceda Private Members Bill in the last parliament thatwould have established a civilian investigationservice for the RCMP.

“Canada needs a fully accountable nationalpolice force to deal with the real issues of crimeand gang-related violence in communities acrossthe country,” said Sandhu.

time to act on rcMp oversight: nDpBinding civilian oversight of the RCMP long overdue

By antHem man

BRITISH rock group Deep Purple playedVictoria's Save On Foods Arena (SOFA) twoweeks ago, their first ever show in the Gar-den City. The 60's rockers have been an im-portant footnote in the evolution ofrock-and-roll. They, along with The Doors,made the organ and keyboard prominent in-struments in the classic rock line up. Beforethem, the key instruments were guitar, bass,drums and vocals. Once and a while a bandmay have thrown in another instrument butmostly they'd stick with the basics. Not DeepPurple. For them, keyboards were just as im-portant as the rest of the instruments. In the60's they had moderate success, most no-tably covering Joe South's "Hush."

After numerous line up changes the bandhad settled on a line up and exploded to su-

perstar status with the release of 1972's "Ma-chine Head." "Highway Star," "SpaceTruckin'" and "Lazy" made for a wellrounded record, but none of these songs hadthe impact of "Smoke On the Water". Thesong isn't just the signature song of theband; it's a rock-and-roll classic! With thesimplest of guitar riffs, it is usually the firstsong an aspiring guitar player learns. Someguitar shops have even banned it from beingplayed to avoid the staff from going insane.Led Zeppelin's “Stairway to Heaven” is an-other song to hit such heights of overexpo-sure; just watch “Wayne's World”.

However, egos would get in the way ofthis rock tour-de-force and lead to moreline-up changes. Guitarist Richie Blackmoredeveloped a reputation as a non-teamplayer, and eventually fled the coupe to formhis own band, Rainbow, along with future

Deep purple plays Victoria

star Ronnie James Dio on vocals. The rest ofthe band would carry on, continuing to be abig concert draw while putting out goodrecords, but never again reaching the suc-cess of “Machine Head”. After a very suc-cessful reunion in ‘84 (with Blackmore backin the fold), they parted ways again. The cur-rent line up consists of Roger Glover, IanPaice and Ian Gillian, all members of DeepPurple during their golden years, and re-placements Steve Morse on guitars and DonAirey on the keyboards.

The show was a good stroll down memorylane. Songs joining the above-mentionedhits were "Strange Kinda Woman", "WomanFrom Tokyo", "Never Before", and the lonesong from the ‘84 reunion album, "PerfectStrangers". The musicianship was fantastic.Original keyboardist Jon Lord's replacementDon Airey had very big shoes to fill, but heanswered the call, and then some. "Lazy" hasan extensive intro where the keyboard takesyou on a roller coaster ride before the rest ofthe band joins in, and Airey had us in thepalm of his hand guiding the crowd throughevery curve and turn. Guitar solos and drumsolos helped fill the one hour forty-fiveminute set. Although I generally feel thattwo hours is a minimum for a concert, butI'll cut these senior citizens some slack.everything they played was good. Unfortu-nately, I felt that they left some classics offthe set. "Perfect Strangers" had a few greatsongs, and to only have one from it was dis-appointing. Vocally, Ian Gillian can't quitehit some of the high notes he mastered backin the ‘70's, but after 40 years of wear andtear on his voice, we can’t expect him to.

Influential, innovative, original and leg-endary; all of these adjectives accurately de-scribe Deep Purple. To think that they havenot been nominated for the Rock-and-RollHall of Fame is a glaring omission, and,quite frankly, an embarrassment. Along withLed Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Deep Pur-ple helped put the pieces in place for whatwould become heavy metal, and for that theydeserve recognition. They have achievedcritical success, high album sales and top-grossing tours throughout the years, all be-cause of quality music. I hope they continuefor years to come.

indiAWednesday March 14, 2012


04

THe report on Global employ-ment Patterns 2012, released re-cently by the InternationalLabourOrganisation (ILO), isheroically sub-titled “Preventing

a deeper jobs crisis”, even as the global eco-nomic crisis is deepening. It expresses a fondand vain hope thatits scholarly and detailedprofiles of the labour scenario will be effec-tive in protecting it from the warp and weft ofa situation that it already considers ratherhopeless; as it admits: “The policy space toboost recovery remains limited.”

So, at the outset, the report sounds theright tone — one of scepticism regarding re-covery, and therefore, pessimism regardingthe impact on the global workforce. It fore-sees increasing unemployment or what itcalls “decent work deficits” this year.

Needless to say, the world's youth will bethe hardest hit; the ILO figures for global un-employment for those between the ages 15-24years are expected to be a percentage pointhigher than the previous economic crisis. At12.7 per cent, that's a pretty steep number offresh and energetic blood to be wasting awayfor want of “decent work.”

The ILO also finds that an additional 6.4million may have given up hope of findingjobs and dropped out of the labour force. Thereport does not delve into the implications,but if history is any guide, that number of in-dividuals will choose from a menu of anti-so-cial occupations to vent their rage at beingforced out of society's matrix.

The report finds that the global employ-ment-to-population ratio is declining. As aresult, the protracted attempt of developingnations to catch up with living standards ofadvanced countries is becoming all the moretenuous.

The ILO expresses this in terms of thestandard productivity criterion to suggestthat the gap between the workers in the de-veloping and advanced regions is increasing.INDIAN CONTEXT

The report's gloomy scenario regardingglobal employment rests on the assumptionof weak investments, and absence of publicpolicy to stimulate a climate for capital infu-sion. But its section on India suggests a con-trarian view regarding the absence ofemployment, even when investments are onthe uptick.

India's experience with growth and em-ployment undermines the causal relationship

between private investments in particular,and employment. This is what the ILO finds:“The robust growth witnessed in the region(South Asia), driven largely by India, hasbeen mostly associated with a rapid rise inlabour productivity, rather than an expansionin employment.”

Here's the interesting part. Up until theend of the millennium, that is just a year be-fore the balance of payments crisis and theonset of India's liberalisation, “employmentand labour productivity grew at similarrates.”PRICE OF PRODUCTIVITY

Right from 1991, “as global and domes-tic economic conditions improved, in-creased labour productivity became the

driver of growth in the region. Between2007 and 2011, labour productivity in-creased by 6.4 per cent on an average, whileemployment expanded by just 1.0 per cent.This situation is prominent in India, wheretotal employment grew by only 0.1 per centduring five years til l 2009-10 (from 457.9million in 2004-05 to 458.4 million in2009-10), while labour productivity grew bymore than 34 per cent in total during thisperiod.”

But productivity alone isn't to blame.South Asia has witnessed a fall in femalelabour force participation in recent years:“This has been most pronounced in India,where the participation rate for women fellfrom 49.4 per cent in 2004-05 to 37.8 per

cent in 2009-10 for rural females, and from24.4 per cent to 19.4 per cent for urban fe-males. This drop in participation can onlypartly be explained by the strong increase inenrolment in education, because it has beenevident across all age groups.”

The “main challenge”, as the ILO sees it isthe “is not unemployment, but the high de-gree of informality that persists despitestrong growth.”ILO'S LIMITED COVERAGE

In the usage of certain terms, such as “theworking poor” or “vulnerable employment lo-cated mainly in the informal sector” the ILOechoes not just the ArjunSengupta commit-tee's remark that the informal economy ac-counts for the largest share of employment,but also the 66{+t}{+h} Round of the NSSO,that reported a significant rise in contractand casual labour usage.

But its location of informal employmentin agriculture alone misses out the extent ofinformality that exists in the urban economyand in manufacturing, which is the organisedeconomy.

The Labour Bureau of Statistics of the USDepartment of Commerce that surveyed fac-tory wage compensation across many coun-tries, including India and China, based ondata till 2005, noted the strong increase ininformal contract employment on the shopfloor. In more general terms, so did the66{+t}{+h} Round of NSSO.

From a policy point of view, the ILO's no-tion of “working poverty” too is restrictive,for it rests on a yardstick of income: $1.25 perday. As in the case of the poverty line used byIndian policymakers, it hides real poverty,judged not just by the availability of a mini-mum income, but by the absence of access toeducation, health and, of course, food.

When incomes cannot sustain the meansto a standard of living adequate to promoteand sustain “productive” labour, when a fam-ily has to decide whether to spend on food, ormedicine or education, and so leave out oneor the other with that bare minimum income,what we witness is “working poverty.”

But the ILO is spot on, when it points tothe implications of the South Asian and theIndian scenario on young and women. But itrefers to the current crisis. What India hasbeen witnessing is a demographic dream cur-dling into a nightmare, even as growth meas-ured in GDP terms makes us thesecond-fastest growing economy globally.

A two-year-old girl battling for life in a NewDelhi hospital has put the media spotlight on asordid tale of child abuse and prostitution in theworld’s biggest democracy.

Three weeks ago, a toddler with severe in-juries was brought to the hospital by a teenagerclaiming to be her mother. The child, later namedFalak (sky) by nurses, was in critical condition,with human bite marks on her body.

Her story is being played out on televisionscreens across India, shocking viewers with im-ages of a hapless baby hooked up to a ventilator.There are daily updates on her health, while tele-vision campaigns exhort the government to domore for abandoned children.

The case has also drawn attention to one ofIndia’s most shameful truths — shocking levels ofmistreatment and neglect of the girl child.

Media reports say the battered and bruisedtoddler had been abandoned by her biologicalmother and passed on several times before land-ing up in the arms of a teenager, herself a victimof abuse.

A TrustLaw survey in 2011 ranked Indiafourth among the world’s most dangerous coun-tries for women — with respondents citing femalefoeticide, child marriage and high levels of traf-ficking and domestic servitude.

Falak’s mother, tracked down by police thisweek, was apparently unaware of the child’s con-dition. The young woman has a sob story of herown — lured to New Delhi with the promise of ajob, nearly forced into prostitution, coerced intoa second marriage and separated from her threechildren.

Doctors have said Falak, even if she survives,

could suffer the effects of brain damage. While theplucky toddler clings to life for now, millions ofgirls in India may suffer a worse fate due to a pref-

erence for sons over daughters.Census data last year showed a child sex ratio

of 914 girls for every 1,000 boys born — indicating

efforts to curb female foeticide haven’t borne re-sults.

What can India do to save the girl child?

Latest saga in battle for finding India’s missing girls

Jobless growth continues in India

05 Ad Wednesday March 14, 2012


AdWednesday March 14, 2012


06

07 entertAinment Wednesday March 14, 2012


First Family Day and Fun ‘n Fest sab by rang

radio, i Web guy and ace entertainment calgary

Eye-popping spring fashion arrivesAS spring draws closer and temperatures warm, Canadians put away the win-ter wools and pop out with spring colours. Spotting new trends and findingwhat works for your personal style is fun and exciting, but be careful not tooverlook the importance of caring for your clothes—old and new alike. Takea look at this spring fashion guide so you will stand out this season withclothes that pop:

Trending: Orange: This is the 'it' colour of the season. Find the right shadefor you and don't be afraid to have some fun with colour.

Colour Blocking: Colour blocking, pairing bright colours together in dif-ferent items of clothing is back for another season. It is simple to pull off andis a great way to get noticed.

Bold Prints: They are back this season and are more powerfully than ever.Bold patterns like oversized florals, geometric shapes and animal prints areall over the runways.

Spring Denim and Leather: Who says leather is meant for winter? Pumpup any outfit with a splash of leather or denim to give an edge to your outfit

Fabric Care TipsTo sort, or not to sort: Most of us do. In fact, 97 per cent of Canadians sort

their clothes before washing, compared to only 94 per cent in the UnitedStates. Sorting helps ensure colours don't bleed and helps with the treatmentof different fabrics.

Stain removal: Canadians struggle with getting out tough stains. Datashows that only 43 per cent pre-treat their stains and 29 per cent don't useany type of stain removal products. This is why it's beneficial to use the newpre-measured pods. Popular brands like Tide PODS contain a detergent, stainremover, and brighteners that get the complete job done without added work.The unique three-chamber design is said to separate the formula's essentialingredients to help preserve their potency and achieve consistently clean re-sults in each load.

The smell of clean: Most bad odours on clothes come from either dirt orbacteria. So if your clothes are being properly cleaned in your wash, odoursshould be washing away too. For those who are looking for extra lasting scent,consider an in-wash scent booster. Popular right now, for example, is DownyUnstopables simply added to the detergent. Lastly, always remember toquickly remove wet clothes from your washing machine to dry, and leave yourmachine open when not in use to avoid mildew growth.

commUnityWednesday March 14, 2012 08

ON February 24th Raj Hundal, NDP Candidatefor Surrey-Tynehead joined with organizers,donors and Newton-North Delta MP Jinny Sims,Surrey-Fleetwood MLA JagrupBrar, Surrey-Green Timbers MLA Sue Hammell and Surrey-Panorama NDP candidate AmrikMahil at theMuslim Food Bank fundraiser that took place atSurrey’s Punjab Banquet Hall. The Muslim FoodBank ensures that those in need are provided withfood in a regular and consistent manner as part oftheir social services. They have a committed man-agement team that works in cooperation and intandem with many of the Muslim communitiesand Islamic Centers in the lower mainland.

Most of the resources that the Muslim Food

Bank uses to serve humanity are from local Mus-lims, organizations and businesses and they servehumanity by feeding the needy of all faiths.

Raj Hundal said, “The Muslim Food Bankmust be applauded for their continuing effortsand hard work in the community.”

“This fundraiser provides an opportunity tolearn about some of the great work done by theMuslim Food Bank and recognize the donors fortheir financial contributions,” said Raj Hundal.

“It is with great pleasure that I extend my per-sonal congratulations to the organizers for puttingthis fundraiser together,” said Raj “this kind ofinitiative will have a tremendous impact in thecommunity.”

raj Hundal and other dignitaries attend muslimfood bank fundraiser

Diversity reporter Wire services CANADA NEWS

BUYING your first home is a dream for many newlywed couples.But a little planning and research can go a long way to help youturn that dream into reality. A good place to start is with the Fi-nancial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), an independent gov-ernment agency that has lots of helpful information and tools.Here's a snapshot to get you started:

Mortgages 101 defines the key terms that anyone planning onbuying a home needs to understand, such as the down payment,amortization period and term. It explains in clear language howinterest rates, payment frequency and other fees will affect themonthly payments and total cost of home ownership.

It also outlines the many other fees that you may have to pay,such as mortgage default insurance, land transfer taxes and mov-ing costs.

See what you can afford: FCAC's interactive mortgage calcula-tor tool will calculate the monthly payments for any given mort-gage amount (loan), and the mortgage qualifier tool will show youhow much financial institutions will lend you, given your incomeand circumstances.

Next, you can turn to the interactive budget calculator to seehow large a monthly mortgage payment you can afford. By show-ing you where your money goes and where you can trim yourspending, this tool will help you to save a larger down paymentand make sure you can meet the regular mortgage payments.

Check your credit score: Before you start shopping for a mort-gage, order a copy of your credit report to make sure it does notcontain any errors. This is a snapshot of your financial history. Apotential lender will look at a copy of your report before approv-ing you for a mortgage. The Agency's publication Understandingyour Credit Report and Credit Score explains how to obtain andunderstand your credit report and score.

Once you know how much you can afford and how much themortgage, fees, and insurance will cost, the FCAC's Mortgages 101will guide you through the home purchase process.

You can find all these resources and information online atfcac.gc.ca. You can also follow@FCACan on Twitter and onYouTube.

a little guidance makes it easier to buy your first home

09 HAve yoUr sAy Wednesday March 14, 2012


Some babies born to immigrant parents areincorrectly classified as underweight — whichcould lead to unnecessary tests and stress — butnew birth weight charts could avoid the prob-lem, Canadian doctors say.

When a baby is born, the first questions thenew parents are often asked is "Girl or boy?"Then, "How much did the baby weigh?"

The answer from some parents of SouthAsian background is often different than that ofother parents. But a lower weight could meanthat doctors think the baby is at higher risk ofdevelopmental issues. That leads to more bloodtests, longer hospital stays and closer followupwhen the baby isn't actually at risk because itsweight is within the normal range for its ethnicgroup, researchers say.

In Wednesday's issue of the Journal of Ob-stetrics and Gynecology Canada, Dr. Joel Rayand his team published new birth weight curvesbased on the ethnicity of the baby's parents.They used birth registry information for760,000 live births in Ontario. Until now, birthweight curves for Canada were outdated andrisked misclassifying some South Asian and eastAsian babies as abnormally small.

"About one in 10 male infants of South Asianancestry would be classified as small for gesta-tional age, meaning under the 10th percentile ofbirth weight, if you used a conventional Cana-dian curve rather than their own ethnicity-spe-cific curve," Ray said.

It's about the same for South Asian femalesand about one in 18 for east Asian males fromcountries such as China or Korea, he added.

Babies classified as small for gestational agecould be scrutinized more closely with bloodtests in hospital and then checked more oftenafter going home — a time when all new parentsare adjusting to their new role and don't needunnecessary stress.

Immigrants' newborns up to 250 gramslighter

Newborns of immigrant mothers weighed upto 250 grams less at birth than those of Cana-dian-born women, with the exception of thoseoriginating from european and Western na-tions, the study's authors said.

"It would be nice to have a South Asiangrowth chart," said new mom Manisha Mehta inToronto. Her son was on the 15th percentilewhen he was born, meaning 85 per cent of babyboys were bigger than him on conventional

charts. "That way parents can feel OK knowingthat their child is growing and is healthy."

The babies who weigh small on the oldcharts don't typically have disease in the wombor after birth, so the ethnic differences likely re-flect differences in genetic programming, Ray

said.By using the new curves, doctors, midwives

and nurses could prevent misidentifying other-wise healthy newborns as small for gestationalage or missing those who are truly large for ges-tational age and should be delivered by elective

cesarean section, the researchers said.The investigators also hope to chart the

growth of newborns and children from differentethnic groups.

The study was funded by the CanadianFoundation for the Study of Infant Deaths. (CBC)

Immigrant babies oftenwrongly deemed underweightNew birth weight curves could help prevent unnecessary tests and stress

Don cHapman

GIBSONS: As Canada prepares to observe Inter-national Women's Day on Thursday, some Cana-dians are still excluded from citizenship solelybecause they were born to unwed mothers over 65years ago. They are part of a group known as LostCanadians: people who are excluded from citizen-ship or are having difficulty claiming it because ofthe date or circumstances of their birth.

Among them are some of the 22,000 childrenwho were born overseas toCanadian servicemenand arrived in Canada with their war bride moth-ers during or immediately after the Second WorldWar. Some were born out of wedlock becausetheir fathers could not get the required permis-sion to marry. Such cases were common and in-evitable under wartime conditions. After alifetime in Canada, these war bride children arestill excluded from citizenship by an obscure pro-vision of the 1946 Citizenship Act.

Jackie Scott was born in england in 1945, out

of wedlock, to a Canadian soldier and a Britishmother. Because of poor health, she was unable totravel to Canada with her mother until 1948.Shortly after her arrival, her parents were marriedin Toronto. By her parents' marriage she was le-gitimated retroactively from birth under Ontariolaw, but is still being denied citizenship. She isnow suing the Minister of Citizenship and Immi-gration in the Federal Court.

Marion Vermeersch, a retired social workerliving in Simcoe, Ont., was born in england in1944 to a Canadian soldier and a British mother.Her father, born in Scotland, had arrived inCanada in 1926 as a British Home Child. Marionwas born out of wedlock, but after her father waswounded in action her parents were able to marryin england before he was repatriated to Canada.She arrived in Canada with her mother in May1946 and has lived here ever since. When she ap-plied for her first passport in 2003, she was in-formed to her shock and disbelief that she was nota Canadian citizen. She was told instead to apply

for a Permanent Resident Card, and now travelson a British passport.

Tom Kent (1922-2011) served briefly in the1960s as deputy minister of Citizenship and Im-migration. In 2009, asked to comment on one ofthese cases, he replied: 'exclusion from citizen-ship, in cases such as you describe, is entirely con-trary to the philosophy of Canadian citizenship asI have always understood it. The people you knowhave not been treated fairly. The dismissive atti-tude of officials, as reported, should be unaccept-able to the Minister.'

Jason Kenney - The Minister of Citizenshipand Immigration has recently stated that the gov-ernment will take steps to end the automatic ac-quisition of citizenship by so-called passportbabies whose mothers enter Canada solely for thepurpose of giving birth to a Canadian child. Heshould give equal attention to the plight of thoseCanadians who by an accident of birth are still ex-cluded from citizenship of the only country theyknow.

lost canadians say citizenship a Battle for Women's rights

sportsWednesday March 14, 2012


10

MAHeLA Jayawardene andTillakaratne Dilshan took full toll ofa wayward Australia as Sri Lankaforced a third triangular series final

in Adelaide. Chasing 272, the visitors galloped tothe target with 5.4 overs to spare, benefitinggreatly from a rollicking start when the first threeovers reaped 30 runs.

Dilshan alternated between the brazen andthe cheeky, crashing 10 fours and also beingstruck on the helmet when he attempted hispatented Dil-scoop. The captain Jayawardene wasmore cultured, but outpaced his partner in aprincely innings that would have ended in the sec-ond over if not for a Clint McKay no-ball.

Such indiscipline summed up Australia'spredicament, having struck a horrid patch of formin the field midway through the first final in Bris-bane and then being unable to rise above it inAdelaide. The captain Michael Clarke is also in theunenviable position of carrying a left hamstringproblem perilously close to the start of the WestIndies tour, due to begin almost immediately afterthe third final.

Clarke had done his best to give his side a de-cent total. His 117 in Australia's 6 for 271 was thefastest of his limited-overs career and the secondof his ODI captaincy. David Warner was more cir-cumspect, but his chanceless 100 demonstrated arange of concentration and focus reserved for thebest of batsmen. Famed as a boundary hitter,Warner reached the rope only four times in his in-nings and cleared it only once, but the value of hiseffort was reflected in a final total far greater thanseemed possible at the innings' midpoint.

Matthew Wade departed early to the spin ofDilshan, who opened the bowling and completeda tidy 10 overs, before Shane Watson played achancy innings in which he was grassed twice.each dropped catch fell off the bowling of FarveezMaharoof, who ultimately ran out Australia's vice-captain with a direct hit in his follow through. La-sith Malinga was the tightest of Sri Lanka'sbowlers and deserved his three wickets.

Two more catches would go down off Clarke'sbat later in the innings, while Jayawardene ragedagainst a delayed no-ball call at the height of hisopposite number's innings. Debating the point an-grily with both umpires after Maharoof hadstrayed above waist height with a full toss,Jayawardene lost his cool. His fury would be farmore controlled when the reply began.

A second-over edge behind by Jayawardenewas cancelled out by McKay's overstep, typical ofthe abject way in which Australia's bowlers begantheir defence of a less than watertight total. BrettLee gave up three wides on the way to conceding12 from the opening over, and James Pattinson'sfirst two overs were taken for 22 despite an abun-dance of away swing.

No fewer than 11 of the first 30 runs werehanded to Sri Lanka via the extras column, asAustralia's bowlers maintained the poorly formthey had demonstrated in the latter overs in Bris-bane. Clarke had taken the field despite his injury,but his presence did not make much of a differ-ence.

Jayawardene and Dilshan did not get too fran-tic after the start they were given, and slipped intocomfortable gears that involved regular singlesand the odd boundary whenever the bowlersstrayed in search of a first wicket. Australia's mid-innings options were milked for regular runs,Xavier Doherty's first five costing 37.

Dilshan was first to pass 50, and Jayawardenesoon followed. Australia's frustration grew whenAsad Rauf refused a concerted appeal for caughtbehind from Dilshan on 77, as replays revealed asubstantial edge that Wade gathered while keep-ing up to Watson.

Jayawardene's sparkling stay was ended by ahint of Pattinson reverse swing and a clear lbw,but Dilshan went on to his second century of thetournament before Dinesh Chandimal and KumarSangakkara guided the visitors home. Clarke hadlittle hesitation batting upon winning the toss, butthe early overs were slow going. Jayawardene'simaginative use of Dilshan added to the openers'uncertainty, and Wade's impatience proved ter-minal when he swung at a ball not quite shortenough for the stroke and was bowled.

Watson's innings was halting, and he wasdropped by Dilshan in the fielding circle then byRangana Herath on the long-off boundary - thelatter unable to complete an equivalent of hisspectacular outfield take in the first final. How-ever Maharoof was not discouraged by the missedchances, and when Watson was 15 he gatheredand swivelled from Warner's offside bunt to throwdown the stumps and find a diving Watson com-

fortably short. Clarke helped to build somegreater momentum in the company of Warner,who was less conspicuous than he had been at theGabba.

The pair accumulated steadily, adding a littlemore impetus with the batting Powerplay, andcontinuing to benefit from profligate fielding fromthe tourists. Clarke was turfed on 71 and 77, thesecond chance falling to Malinga, who managedonly to palm the chance over the rope for six.

It set the scene for an explosive over, in whichClarke took Maharoof for six, four, six, four - thelast a high full toss swung behind square leg. Ini-tially the umpires did not call it a no-ball, but onreflection Bruce Oxenford raised his arm to handAustralia an extra run and another delivery.Jayawardene was incensed by the delayed call, ar-

guing at length with both officials in a mannerthat suggested more of the incident would beheard later. Clarke had blazed past Warner de-spite the opener having a 23-run start, and he wasfirst to reach his century with a flick throughsquare leg. Though he had made plenty of usefulcontributions in the interim, it was Clarke's firstODI century since his first innings as the fully-fledged captain, against Bangladesh in Dhaka inApril 2011.

Warner's hundred arrived in the next over,an effort of composure and also courage after hisgroin complaint in Brisbane. He skied a catchwithout adding another run, leaving an increas-ingly restricted Clarke to guide the hosts to atotal rather less substantial than was ultimatelyneeded.

Emphatic Sri Lanka level finals Cricket

All-Star T20

Match in

TorontoTORONTO: Kat Rose Inc. has offi-

cially announced the details of the

Cricket All-Star T20 match, which

will be taking place on May 12, 2012

at Rogers Centre. "This exhibition

match has been sanctioned by

Cricket Canada, and approved by the

International Cricket Council, and

we are certain that it will be a memo-

rable event," said RanjitSaini, Presi-

dent of Cricket Canada.

"The idea is very similar to that of an

NBA or an NHL All-Star game, as we

are getting the best available players

from all over the world to put on an

exciting show," said Herb Choga,

President of Kat Rose Inc. The

Cricket All-Star T20 match will fea-

ture Asia XI vs International XI, and

six players from each squad were an-

nounced at the press conference yes-

terday, which took place at Rogers

Centre.

The Asia XI team will be lead by

Shahid "Boom Boom" Afridi (Pak-

istan), who will be the team captain

as he has captivated the hearts of

cricket fans all around the world

over the last decade and a half.

Other all-stars named for the side

are SanathJayasuriya, a former Sri

Lankan all-rounder whose record for

the fastest century has only been

overtaken by Afridi; Sunil Joshi

(India), a left-arm spinner; SaeedAj-

mal (Pakistan), who is arguably the

best spinner in the sport today;

TamimIqbal (Bangladesh), an open-

ing batsman; and Mohammad Sami

(Pakistan), a fast bowler.

Two Canadian superstars will be part

of the International XI squad;

AshishBagai, former team captain;

and RizwanCheema, a world-class

cricketer who is currently also play-

ing in the Bangladesh Premier

League. Other names announced for

the International XI squad are Mark

Boucher (South Africa), considered

to be one of the most successful

wicket-keepers of all time; Tino Best

(West Indies), known as one of the

fastest bowler during his prime;

Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe), a top-

tier all-rounder.

Alistair Campbell, Chief Selector of

the event said, "Brian Lara (West In-

dies) is close to being signed," but

assured that "the greatest batsmen

of all time will be the team captain."

"The match will be played on an arti-

ficial turf, and ICC certified Cana-

dian umpires will be selected," said

IngletonLiburd, Cricket Operations

Officer for Cricket Canada. He fur-

ther stated, "proceeds from the

match will be donated to Cricket

Canada for its Home Ground Project

and future development of the sport

in Canada."

"Imran Khan, a Dutch-born Punjabi

singer of Pakistani background, will

electrify the crowd during the half-

time show," said Amir Shamsi, Sr.

VP of Kat Rose.

Tickets go on sale starting Saturday,

February 18, 2010 at 10 a.m., and the

ticket prices are as follows: $25, $39,

$69, $99, and $199. It has been over

4 years since the last time interna-

tional crickets played in Canada, and

tickets are expected to sell out fast.

11 women Wednesday February 22, 2012


BollywoodWednesday March 07, 2012


08

LONDON Paris New York’ worldpremiere sees its producers tapinto the lucrative cinematic marketthat caters to Asians and the Arabsof the region

It sounds odd that a film titled “London ParisNew York” would host its world premiere inDubai but that is the power of the penny spenthere that has transformed this region into thelargest overseas market for Bollywood today.

Fox Star Studios CeO, Vijay Singh, con-firmed the same, saying: “Two years ago, wehosted the premiere of “My Name is Khan” inthe UAe, which still holds the number one po-sition for an Indian film across the GCC.

“In these two years, the state of businesshas transformed so dramatically, whereby oncewhere the UK and the US were considered thebiggest markets for showbiz has now becomethe Middle east.”

Lead actor, Ali Zafar echoed the statementsaying: “The large Asian diaspora in the Middleeast ensures that our film has a strong marketbase here. Bollywood sells, and that is a fact.”

Since the turn of 2012, Dubai alone hashosted several Bollywood film world premieres,including that of “Players”, which albeitbombed at the global box office, but did see avery warm welcome for its lead cast, includingAbhishekBachchan, SonamKapoor and Bi-pashaBasu, amongst others, who turned updressed to the nines to walk the red carpet.

Following this, smaller films such as “Gal-liGalliChorHai” with AkshayeKhanna and“Pappu Can’t Dance Salla” with NehaDhupiahave also seen their lead stars strut their stuffat first show screenings in a neighbourhood

near you.And the buck of course doesn’t stop there

for Q1 2012, with next week seeing VidyaBalanattempt to charm local fans and media onceagain for the premiere screening of her film,“Kahaani”, which will be held here on March 7.

Speaking to emirates 24|7, film producerKunalKohli, who held the world premiere of hisfilm “Break KeBaad” in Dubai last year, echoedwhat Singh said earlier: “In the past, the Mid-dle east is the third largest overseas market forBollywood films, after the United States andthe United Kingdom. We predict there is a lotof room for growth for Indian cinema here, andif organising premieres here gets the buzz goingthen that is one step forward for us.”

According to Kohli, a third of any bigbudget Bollywood film’s total box office collec-tions are garnered from overseas earnings, withthe Middle east region accounting for 20 to 25per cent of that.

“Over the next few years, we can expect thatfigure to rise by at least another 10 percentagepoints considering we have such a large Indiandiaspora here, coupled with the fact that Bolly-wood has gained potential in crossing over toappeal to a different, international audience inrecent years,” he added.

But others have a different take.Talking to emirates 24|7 earlier, actor Ak-

shay Kumar who has been to Dubai for theworld premiere of his film, “Action Replayy”and later to promote “DesiBoyz”, said: “Havinga premiere here just works, considering theweekend here is a day earlier than India andthe close proximity to India allows us to jet infor a day and wow our fans.”

Bollywood eyes Mideast as its biggest moneyspinner

09 sAskAtcHewAn Wednesday March 07, 2012


CORRESPONDENT WANTED

Calgary, Edmonton,Fort McMurray (AB)

Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert (SK)

Good pay and benefits

SEND YOUR RESUME AND WORK SAMPLE:

[email protected]

By paul DHillon

IN a Bensch arrived in Regina,Saskatchewan in 2011 for a year-long Ro-tary Youth exchange program. She hailsfrom the German town of Roth which is in

the Bavarian region of Central Franconia. Roth isover 950 years old and has a beautiful old castleand central marketplace. Over the course of thepast few months she has been studying alongsideCanadian students and experiencing a year of lifein Canada away from her family in Germany.

“When I was coming to Canada I didn’t reallyexpect anything in particular but the people herehave been very good, I really love the people here.I didn’t know much about Regina other than thatit was the capital city but I was pronouncing it Re-Gee-NA which I think made people laugh atfirst!”

In Germany, Ina lives with her three brothers,two sisters, and her mother and visits her fatherevery two weeks. She did miss the famous Okto-berfest in Germany this year and celebrated her17th birthday in Canada during the month of Oc-tober. “I do miss the really good dark black breadthat I would have at home; I have found the foodto be quite different here. The other thing I foundwas that in schools the students move from classto class but in Germany it is the teachers thatmove.”

The Bavarian region is known for its geo-graphic beauty but Ina has found the prairies tobe inspiring.

“I love the countryside here; it’s so differentthan Bavaria. There I was surrounded by moun-tains everywhere and here there is just so muchspace and it’s so flat! The weather hasn’t been asbad as people said it was going to be either, peopledefinitely don’t live in igloo’s either.

When asked what she thought Canadianswould look like or if she expected anything in par-ticular she replied.

“I don’t think there is a Canadian picture ofwhat people look like, I expected a variety and it

was just that. I really like that, to have so manycultures from all over in one place is amazing.”

Rotary Youth exchange students spend up toa year living in a different country with host-fam-ilies. Participants learn a new way of living, agreat deal about themselves, and possibly a newlanguage. Students act as ambassadors, teachpeople about their country, culture, and ideas. Forover 75 years, students and host families havebroadened their horizons through Rotary Youthexchange. More than 80 countries and over8,000 students each year participate in the pro-gram, which is administered at the regional levelby Rotary districts and at the local level by Rotaryclubs. Ina Bensch is sponsored by the Regina-eastview Rotary Club.

Bavaria to Regina

UrdUWednesday March 07, 2012


10

March 07, 2012

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