opama .. and The pyramids and sphinx

It was not a new song for me and I didn't put an attention to that sad song until someday in the summer 2005 i met a friend with a bunch of R&B songs in mp3 format. The only one original cd my friend got was that single 'first love' utada hikaru's japanesse R&B in 4 version which bought in early 2000.

My Friend played that song and started to dance as it wasn't a brokenheart song.
I knew It was not match but i didn't care...I was very happy to see the dance and
felt like i blow the dandelion...

+ + +

Saigono kiss wa
tabakono flavor gashita
nigakute setsunaikaori
ashitano imagoroniwa
anatawa dokoniirundarou
darewo omotterundarou

(Once in a while
You are in my mind
I think about the days that we had
And i dream that these would all come back to me
If only you knew every moment in time
Nothing goes on in my heart
Just like your memories
How I want here to be with you
Once more)


you are always gonna be my love
itsuka darekatomata koiniochitemo
i’ll remember to love
you taught me how
you are always gonna be the one
imawa madakanashii love song
atarashi uta utaerumade

tachidomaru jikanga
ugokidasou to shiteru
wasuretakunai kotobakari

+ + +

Strict visa rulings called unfair
Are visitors from developing countries being denied entry into Canada due to old rules?

Aug 21, 2007 04:30 AM
Nicholas Keung
IMMIGRATION/DIVERSITY REPORTER
The Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/248246

Guillermo Duarte had a lot to prove just to take a two-week vacation to visit his brother in Canada.

The engineer, 36, had to convince Canadian visa officers that he, his engineer wife, Luz, and their younger children Fernando, 10, and Faviola, 8, had strong enough ties to Guatemala to ensure they would leave Canada after a visit to his brother, Mauricio, in Toronto.

But after paying a non-refundable fee of $300, they were denied visitor's visas. (Even leaving two teens at home didn't convince the officer they wouldn't stay in Canada.)

While the denial cost the Duartes a ruined vacation, for other prospective visitors it might mean not being able to bid farewell to a dying relative, attend a loved one's wedding, or see a newborn grandchild.

This summer, the body of immigrant Hu Xiu-hua lay unclaimed in a Toronto morgue for eight weeks because her retired parents in China were denied a visa six times.

As a growing number of Canada's immigrants arrive from developing countries such as China, India and the Philippines, whose citizens need visas to visit, the problem of denials is becoming more acute.

Critics wonder if overseas visa officers grasp Canada's new reality when they reject entry with the stroke of a pen. A refusal may permanently affect future attempts.

"It's a very big problem for our community," says Gurmeet Singh of Brampton's Nanaksar Satsang Sabha Sikh temple. "And it's going to get worse ... if our visa officials don't change their attitude and show some compassion."

Visas are imposed to help "facilitate the entry of bonafide visitors to Canada for such purposes as trade, commerce, tourism, international understanding, and cultural, educational and scientific activities, while also protecting the health, safety and security of Canadian society," says Citizenship and Immigration spokesperson Karen Shadd-Evelyn.

New Democrat MP Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina) says her office has 65 outstanding complaints from constituents involving relatives' failed visa applications.

"Visa officers have the discretionary power to decide who to let in. There's no humanitarian and compassionate consideration. Their decisions are completely arbitrary and don't get reviewed," Chow says. "The onus should've been on the Canadian officials to show that these people would not leave Canada after their visits."

Duarte walked into the Canadian embassy in Guatemala City last month, hands full of documents: pay stubs, an employer letter, bank statements, the deeds on his three properties and a passport to show his lengthy travel history.

When his first try failed, his brother in Canada wrote an official invitation and asked his local councillor, MP and even a senator to intervene. The visa office later called Duarte in to apply for a minister's special permit for an extra $185. But by then, the date was too close to the family's booked vacation time and the airfare too expensive. "We are all disappointed," says Mauricio Duarte, who immigrated 17 years ago. "Whenever we go back home, we stay with our families and relatives. We would like to play hosts to someone when they come here."

Lawyer Avvy Go, director of the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, points out there's no guarantee that visitors from visa-exempt countries would leave Canada either.

"There's ... an underlying prejudicial overtone against those from developing countries. It's not really just a class issue, because you can be a millionaire in China but still get rejected," she says. "The visa ... is to protect our border from the `undesirables.' That's why we welcome some more than others."

Shadd-Evelyn says visa officers consider many factors in their decision, such as whether applicants can document that they have enough money to fund their stay.

Rather than paint everyone from the developing world with the same brush, says Liberal MP Colleen Beaumier (Brampton West), Ottawa should start collecting exit records on visitors so as to identify offenders, and monitor whether visa officers exercise "discretion" fairly.

Immigration lawyer Guidy Mamann says that since 9/11 visa offices have been under pressure to scrutinize applicants more closely, but with no new resources. They're inclined to be strict, he notes.

"Immigration reacts slowly to the global economic and political changes. Countries like China and India are becoming bigger economic powers," says Mamann, an ex-immigration officer. "My concern is our visa officers are still using outdated standards to judge these applications, (believing) these people will come and stay in Canada."

If nothing changes, he adds, Canada stands to lose the substantial economic benefits from delegates attending conferences, buyers going to trade shows and tourists all in a world that's become closer and more intimate than ever before.

Entry requirements

Countries whose citizens need visas to visit: 148

Where: Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, South and Central America

Non-refundable fees: single entry, $75 per person; multiple entry $150; $400 per family

Applications received at visa posts annually: 1 million

Approval rate: 80 per cent

Top 10 visitor source countries: United Kingdom, France, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Australia, South Korea, China, Netherlands and India

Visa-required countries in top 10: 2 (China and India)

Top 10 immigrant source countries: China, India, Philippines, Pakistan, United States, Iran, United Kingdom, Korea, Colombia and France

Visa-required countries in top 10: 6 (except U.S., U.K., Korea and France)

Saya bertemu dengan seseorang dalam 6 bulan terakhir dalam hidup saya, dan dia telah merubah hidup saya 180 derajat, tidak akan membuat saya kembali. Saya harus jalan terus ke tempat lain, dia juga. Tetapi seterusnya, saya tahu saya tidak akan pernah lagi bertemu dengan orang ini. Tapi jika satu kita bertemu di satu persimpangan di satu sudut di dunia ini, TUHAN yang tahu.

Apakah kamu akan tetap mengingat dia seumur hidup kamu jika kamu adalah saya. Apakah kamu akan tetap mengingat saya jika kamu adalah seseorang yang saya temui 6 bulan terakhir itu.

I met a person in last 6 months and we became really close. 6 month were over. This person have changed my life 180 degrees. I will never be the same again like i was. But As Life is move on, I had move on to different place. I believe i will never met this person again. Only GOD know/If we crossed same road in one perfect time, we could possibly meet....

would you remember this person when you were me?
would you remember me when you were this person?


(In Indonesian language, we express story without explain gender, we talk about he or she with -dia-, so i do like talk with in this style which is in English so I do prefer use netral gender to explain about someone)

Good news - Bill C-280 passed 3rd reading in the House! Next step: the Senate.

Toronto Star
New bill misses point

May 24, 2007 04:30 AM
Allan Thompson

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley has taken steps to keep
vulnerable people out of Canada with a new bill that would instruct
immigration officers to deny work permits to foreign strippers or others
bound for "humiliating or degrading treatment." According to Finley and
her officials, these measures would help "strippers, low-skilled labourers
as well as potential victims of human trafficking," by keeping them out of
Canada and out of the degrading work.

Some newcomers to Canada would tell you strippers are not the only people
forced to work in degrading, demoralizing jobs after they arrive. Talk to
the skilled professionals driving cabs, the doctors working as orderlies
and the lawyers making telemarketing calls. They need Finley's attention
too.

Some critics see Finley's proposal as a crass political move designed to
conjure up memories of the Liberal era "strippergate," the case of an
exotic dancer who ended up working for then immigration minister Judy
Sgro. Indeed, Finley made an explicit connection to the Sgro situation in
her public rationale for the proposed changes.

Certainly there is reason to question whether Finley's proposal to use
legislative changes to block strippers should top the agenda, or even if
it is the most effective way to deal with victims of human trafficking, or
those in vulnerable situations.

The Canadian Council for Refugees, an umbrella organization for groups
dealing with refugees, has been floating a proposal for months for
legislative change that would provide more protection for victims of
trafficking who find themselves in Canada. Notably the refugee council
proposal deals with helping vulnerable people in Canada, rather than
focusing on keeping vulnerable people out of the country.

According to the refugee council, provisions in the law now serve only to
criminalize trafficking and promote the detention of trafficked persons.
The refugee council is calling for explicit changes that would make it a
priority to protect the human rights of trafficked persons in Canada.

The refugee council says the rules for how trafficked persons can seek
temporary residence in Canada are of limited use. For one thing,
applicants have to meet a high standard to prove they are indeed a victim
of trafficking. And they are obliged to talk to law enforcement officials
as part of the process of being allowed to remain, something the council
fears would deter many from even coming forward.

The refugee council's proposals are worth a look, especially if we are
serious about dealing with human trafficking.

And when it comes to addressing the needs of those vulnerable to abuse,
other issues cry out for the minister's attention. Canada has been
criticized for its agonizingly slow process for dealing with requests for
resettlement to Canada by vulnerable people. The office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is aware of the problem.

Wouldn't it make more sense to focus our energy on the vulnerable people
who need Canada's protection, rather than devising ways to keep people
out?

Government bill takes the wrong approach to the problem of trafficking

Montréal – The Canadian Council for Refugees today expressed disappointment with Bill C-57, tabled in Parliament on 16 May by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

“This bill does nothing to protect the rights of trafficked persons already here in Canada,” said Loly Rico, chair of the CCR’s Anti-Trafficking Committee. “Worse, the bill takes a condescending, moralistic approach, empowering visa officers to decide which women should be kept out of Canada for their own good.”

The CCR is deeply concerned about the exploitation of non-citizens in Canada, and the lack of adequate measures to protect them. The CCR has prepared a proposal to protect trafficked persons, available at http://www.ccrweb.ca/traffickingproposal.html.

The CCR finds Bill C-57 problematic in a number of ways:

- The bill fails to address the root problem of the existence in Canada of jobs that humiliate and degrade workers. Work permits can only be issued by visa officers after the employer’s job offer has been validated by Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC). Why is such work available in Canada if it humiliates and degrades workers?

- Only a handful of work permits have been issued to “exotic dancers” in recent years. Parliamentary time would be better used to address the broader problem of the exploitation of non-citizens in Canada.

- The bill proposes to address the problem of exploitation by excluding people, mostly women, from Canada. It is demeaning for women to have a visa officer decide that they should be kept out of Canada for their own protection.

- The bill fails to address the situation of the most vulnerable of exploited non-citizens: those who have no valid work permit. In fact, closing the door on valid work permits may expose women to greater vulnerability by forcing them underground.

- The government’s focus on “strippers” betrays a moralistic approach. Instead of passing moral judgment, the government should work on ensuring that non-citizens’ rights are protected and that they have the freedom to make informed choices about their own lives.

The Minister’s announcement of Bill C-57 is available at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/press/07/2007-05-16.html

CIC
News release
Canada’s new government to facilitate the immigration of stateless
Vietnamese living in the Philippines

Ottawa, May 22, 2007 — The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of
Citizenship and Immigration, today announced that Canada will facilitate
the immigration of Vietnamese living in the Philippines without status
since the late 1970s through humanitarian and compassionate provisions.

“Canada’s new government will make every effort to examine the special
circumstances of this community, and to facilitate their immigration to
Canada,” said Minister Finley. “We will work with the Vietnamese Canadian
Federation to identify those still living in the Philippines without
status.”

Following the fall of Saigon in 1975, more than half a million Vietnamese
fled Vietnam, with many arriving in the Philippines. Several hundred
Vietnamese eventually remained in the Philippines because they were not
recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees. A number have since immigrated to other countries, including
Canada, as part of an international effort to help them. But approximately
150 Vietnamese remain without status in the Philippines.

While this group is not considered to be in need of protection, they can
apply for humanitarian and compassionate consideration. This is a
discretionary provision under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
which allows for permanent residence to be granted on humanitarian and
compassionate grounds. Applications received by December 31, 2007, will be
considered on a priority basis. This does not guarantee acceptance. While
the goal is to facilitate the immigration of these individuals to Canada,
immigration officers must examine applications on a case-by-case basis and
use their discretion to decide whether the case warrants exemption from
the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations.

The Sudbury Star
http://www.thesudburystar.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=533615&catname=Editorial&classif =
Bill has politics written all over it
Editorial - Friday, May 18, 2007 @ 09:00

It is hard to understand why the federal Conservative government, having been in power for so little time, has decided the plight of exotic dancers needs to be pushed to the top of the national agenda.

The industry in Canada, apparently, has a shortage of workers, so immigrants are needed, but very few are actually entering the country for that purpose.

It is not possible to make an impassioned argument that a shortage of workers in the exotic dancing industry would somehow be damaging to the nation's economic health, but it is also hard to buy into Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley's bill aimed at barring foreign exotic dancers from entering Canada.

Bill C-57 would give immigration officers at foreign missions the power to refuse temporary workers thought to be at risk of exploitation.

It has the look of political opportunism, with the idea of sustaining the spectre of Liberal scandal.

Finley says the new legislation was merely a response to the previous Liberal government's scandal in which former immigration minister Judy Sgro fast-tracked immigration papers of a Romanian stripper who worked on her election campaign.

Said Finley: "The good old days of Liberal Stripper-gate will be a thing of the past."

She is also trying to play the moral card, which, on the surface, is hard to argue with.

Said Finley: "What we're trying to do here is protect vulnerable foreign workers, ones that could easily be exposed to sexual exploitation, harassment and abuse."

In 2005, after the rules were tightened up by the Liberals, 10 people were admitted into the country with temporary work permits for the purpose of working as exotic dancers.

And now the issue has somehow made it onto the national agenda.

While we cannot question Finley's stated and worthwhile intention of protecting immigrant women from being forced into prostitution, how does this bill address any problems with the exotic dancing industry?

Said Annie Temple, who operates an advocacy website for strippers: "Keeping foreign exotic dancers out of Canada will not address the issue of exploitation. If the Conservative government is truly concerned about exploitation of exotic dancers, then they should focus on ensuring health and safety standards exist at strip clubs." Fair enough.

If there are problems with the industry, address them. Simply barring foreign strippers, while leaving whatever problems exist to Canadian workers cannot be a pragmatic solution.

Finley will likely continue to paint this legislation as humanitarian gesture, but she has not made a convincing argument for the need for a new law, which will take up the time of parliamentary committees.

Bill C-57 is too half-hearted to be taken seriously and it is not an effective use of a valuable government legislative agenda.

Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board is in the midst of what some observers call a "crisis" situation. The chair of the board has resigned, as well as an advisory panel. And the board is short of one third of the members who make Board decisions.


May 10, 2007
OTTAWA – The Conservative government continues to drag its feet on fixing Canada’s refugee system at the expense of fairness, objectivity, efficiency and compassion, Liberal Immigration Critic Omar Alghabra charged today.

“This government is unwilling to acknowledge that it has created a crisis at the Immigration and Refugee Board, let alone deal with the ever-growing backlog of individuals awaiting case hearings under its watch,” said Mr. Alghabra.

“Most concerning is the fact that they are putting their political interests and ideology before those facing life and death.”

Mr. Alghabra made his comments following the passage of his motion at the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration today.

The motion rejects the intention of the Conservative government to change the selection process for appointing IRB adjudicators. It calls on the Conservative government to stop politicizing the IRB appointment process and to fill the 60 vacancies on the IRB with members from a pool of qualified candidates in order to process the mounting backlog of refugee cases. According to recent reports, the backlog has doubled in the first three months of this year.

Last month, former IRB chairman Jean-Guy Fleury told the committee that the government’s plans to allow the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to appoint half the members of an independent advisory body leaves the board open to political influences.

Since taking power last year, the minority Conservatives have allowed the number of vacancies on the board’s 156-member compliment to grow from five to 60.

All committee members voted in favour of Mr. Alghabra’s motion except for the Conservative members. In fact, the Conservative members will be tabling their own dissenting report to contradict the motion.

“The Conservatives campaigned on reducing political influence when it comes to government appointments, instead they are setting back the clock on significant progress that had been made over the last few years under the Liberal government,” said Mr. Alghabra. “This is further proof that they just don’t care about this issue. But Canadians care about the integrity of our systems, they care about the fairness of our processes and they care about the implication these changes will have. They continue to put politics ahead of the integrity of Canada’s desire to pursue fairness and compassion.”

OTTAWA, May 8 /CNW Telbec/ - The United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) is sending a provocative Canadian-made television advertising
campaign around the world in an effort to raise awareness about the plight of
more than 20 million refugees.
The pro bono campaign created by ad agency BBDO Toronto, in partnership
with the UNHCR, is being distributed to a dozen countries, including Austria,
Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Mexico, Serbia, Kosovo,
Switzerland, Tanzania and the United Kingdom. The creative focuses on
highlighting the refugee experience by showing what it may be like to be
without shelter, food and water.
The 30-second television spot features an animated sequence of a snail
being forcibly removed from its shell. The spot ends with the tagline: "If you
think this is disturbing, you should know its being done to over 20 million
people around the world." The radio ad announces an address in a well-known
Toronto neighbourhood and advises the residents of that home that they have
been displaced. The series of print ads contrast the daily living challenges
of refugees with those of Canadians. The entire series of ads can be viewed by
visiting the website at: http://www.unhcr.ca/help.
"We realize that if advertising can sell products, why not use its power
to help people understand that millions of ordinary people are caught in a
nightmare of persecution, violence and personal tragedy," said Jahanshah
Assadi, the UNHCR Representative in Canada. "These people desperately need our
help and the campaign will help to create much-needed awareness about
refugees," he added.
"We've all seen the news reports and images of refugees around the world,
but the challenge in telling their stories is that their experiences are so
far removed from our daily lives. Now imagine coming home after a long day at
work to find that all your personal possessions and the home you know have
been taken from you. This is an experience we can all relate to and we used
this as our starting point for the campaign so people could begin to
understand what refugees around the world go through on a daily basis," said
Patrick Scissons, VP, Associate Creative Director, BBDO Toronto.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, the most critical regions for
refugees around the world include the following:

1.8 million Iraqis have been displaced within Iraq, and up to two million
others have fled their country, mainly to Syria and Jordan; this represents
more than one in eight Iraqis who have been forced from their homes.

Two million people have been displaced in Sudan's Darfur region, and over
220,000 have fled to neighboring Chad, which is itself now faced with the
internal displacement of up to 120,000 of its own citizens amid growing
regional insecurity.
More than three million people have been displaced inside Colombia,
representing eight percent of the country's population as a result of the
decades-long armed conflict between irregular armed groups and government
forces. Nearly 500,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries such as
Ecuador and Venezuela.

The campaign will lead up to the internationally recognized World Refugee
Day, which is observed every year on June 20. It is a day set aside to take
notice of the world's refugees uprooted by violence and persecution, and to
offer support and assurance that they are not forgotten. The television spot
will be used as the main centerpiece to promote World Refugee Day in Belgium,
Austria, Croatia and Serbia.
The UNHCR-BBDO advertising campaign was recently honoured at the annual
Canadian Marketing Awards with five awards, including the gold, two silvers,
and one certificate in the category of Public Service Single Print/Outdoor/Out
of Home. In addition, the campaign received the prestigious Andy Rogers Award
for the highest scoring public service announcement.

About the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The UNHCR works in 116 countries to provide protection and assistance to
an estimated 21 million refugees, and other displaced and needy persons. The
UN refugee agency, which has won two Nobel Peace Prizes, was established by
the UN General Assembly in 1950 to protect refugees and resolve refugee
problems worldwide and has helped more than 50 million people over the past
five decades. For more information, visit the website at: www.unhcr.ca

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** I was really excited about this - cool that Canada is leading the campaign.

When you born in the world, you are the existed in the world. When you are; you are physically counted; and when you are not you virtually counted. But anyway you are counted in the world by your beloved, family, relatives, friends, society, nation and world. It depends on you, how to make it to be counted.

You are not only joy and not only sorrow; you are the union of both. The both are always stand before you but the chosen is yours; who will force; who will request; who will plead and who will love but the chosen is yours. I know always, what the heart tells mind does; but we should try to do, what the mind tells.

The world has give the birth precious souls and sin souls also. Both are remembered; we always feel the virtual existence of both. Some direct us towards some where and another one directs us towards another where. We are always confused and ask what's the real path of life; what's the real existence of the world. Don't listen outside; listen inside you will listen some sounds and it will direct you, it will show your path. If you still are confused ask with your knowledge; with your experience; with lives of precious souls; they will direct you the path, Close your eyes and go on...

I am also feel like this away and I have walked a long way of years of life; where I have reached, what i have achieved; I don't know. I am following my anticipation and going, going till the life will not ask to take rest; my soul will not ask me you have not enough energy to carry me. And it depends on the world how will they count my existence physically and virtually. I am doing my duty; what types of the fruits I will get, I heartily accept because they are due to me.

I will be glad if anyone accept me; also I will be glad anyone will not accept me. The individual has individual perception, individual feeling; that shows difference from one another. The life's target is always same but paths are difference; how do you want to reach there that depend on you.

Former Supreme Court Justice Bertha Wilson, who died Saturday, wrote the Singh decision recognizing the right of refugee claimants under the Charter to fundamental justice. Refugee Rights Day, celebrated each 4 April, marks the anniversary of this decision.


April 4, 2005 marks the 20th anniversary of the Singh decision, through which the Supreme Court of Canada recognized the basic rights of refugees. The Court ruled that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the right of refugee claimants in Canada to life, liberty and security of the person, and that claimants are therefore entitled to an oral hearing, in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.
http://www.web.net/~ccr/rrdayadvisory.html

To read the decision - click here

Toronto Star
Refugee claim backlog soars in first quarter

44 adjudicator jobs go unfilled, as Conservatives `hijack' immigration board, critic says
Apr 29, 2007 04:30 AM
Joan Bryden
CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA–Canada's backlog of refugee claims almost doubled in the first quarter of 2007 as the Harper government continued to drag its feet on filling vacancies at the Immigration and Refugee Board.

As of March 31, the effective backlog, based on 26,164 pending claims stood at 6,164 – up from 3,495 at the end of 2006.

Over the same period, the number of adjudicators available to hear claims actually declined by one, while the average length of time to process a claim rose slightly to 12.6 months from 12.3.

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives took power just over a year ago, there were only five vacancies on the 119-member, quasi-judicial board. That grew to 18 by last July, to 43 by the end of last year and to 44 today.

The board has grappled with backlogs before. Indeed, 2005 was a banner year in which, for the first time in a decade, the backlog was essentially reduced to zero.

But board spokesperson Melissa Anderson said it is "significant" to see the backlog grow by almost 3,000 claims in only three months.

"Our previous backlog took a while to kind of build, really, and it was driven primarily by large, significant increases in new claims," she said.

"Whereas this time, what's quite different is really the number of refugee claimants hasn't gone up very significantly ... It's being driven this time, sort of internally, essentially through the lack of members (to hear claims)."

Mike Fraser, a spokesperson for Immigration Minister Diane Finley, said 39 adjudicators have been appointed to the IRB since the Conservatives took office. A new chair and vice-chair also have been named and the government is "moving forward with a national search for candidates."

Fraser noted the government commissioned an independent review of refugee board appointments and is implementing the resulting recommendations. Among other things, all new board members will have to pass a written exam.

The so-called reforms also give the minister more say in the choice of adjudicators. Critics fear that change will politicize appointments.

Liberal immigration critic Omar Alghabra (Mississauga-Erindale) said in an interview the Conservatives appear to be deliberately dawdling, "hijacking IRB for their own political benefit, whether to appoint their friends or whether to impose their ideology."

Alghabra said it means legitimate refugees are in limbo longer – an injustice to them and an increased financial burden on the state which provides health, education and social assistance until claims are settled. Also, bogus refugees get to stay longer, with potential implications for Canadian security.

Okay, I need to start by stating that I don't have a cell phone. Well, that's not completely true. I have a fairly old cell phone that I used to use with Pay-As-You-Go minutes. I found the rates to be terrible, the minutes were either wasted or I went through them too quickly, and I had a bit of a problem keeping my phone charged. Plus I was always paranoid in the theatre that my cell would go off and I'd be one of "those" people.

And you know what, my fears come from an honest place. I've been on the other side. I was performing at a dinner theatre for the better part of a year, and almost lost my place in my choreography when a gentleman in the front row not only received a call during the show, but actually took it and proceeded to converse for several minutes! I was shocked and appalled.

So I gave up my cell phone. I used it so infrequently, and it seemed to cause me more grief than convenience. In the year that I've now been without cellular technology there have probably been three occasions where it would have been really great to have a phone. But I somehow managed to get through them without one.

So as a reformed cell phone user, I've noticed a new trend that I find VERY disturbing. Quite frequently when I am in communal washrooms, I hear that my stall neighbours are on the phone. What is that about? The other day a woman next to me answered her phone, then asked who was calling, and proceeded to have a business call ON THE TOILET!

Am I really old-fashioned? I just don't think any calls are so important that they need to be made or taken when nature is calling. Sure, I know the bathroom stall has always been a refuge for women in crisis looking for a private place to shed some tears or spill her guts, but I assure you, these are not those kinds of calls.

Are the men doing this too? Is talking on your phone at the urinal now common-place? I would think the mechanics might be slightly more difficult, but perhaps men are overcoming those odds and joining women as they place and receive calls in the washroom.

Please stop. I find this disturbing. Wait until you're at least at the sink. It's really the classy thing to do.