Crowd began to gather at Ricoh Coliseum well before the scheduled start time for Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s fifty-first concert this year. The ustaad got on the stage a little after 8:15pm, and right away the coliseum was awash in flashes from cameras and the screens of the phones lit the floor like a starry night.

The evening started off with Rahat paying his obeisance to the almighty and his father the Late Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with a rendition of Allah Hoo, Allah Hoo, Alla Hoo. The audience participated from the get go by clapping and singing along. That set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Dressed in a golden kurta he sat with his harmonium in the center of the stage. His team – eight musicians dressed in off-white salwaar-kameezs surrounded him in an arc, two guitarists and two keyboard players were to his left and the drummer and clarinet player were to his right. The disco lights and the moving focus lights, occasionally in sync with the music, completed the works.

There were oldies and goodies like Ajj din chadeya tere rang warga … rabba tainu dil da vaasta, Sharaab peena sikha diya, Tainu akhiyan udeek diyan, Saason ki maala se bun loon tera naam. The very recent ones such as Dil toh Bacha Hai Ji and Teri Ore drew a roar of approval from everyone.

 One after the other, the hits just kept on coming. And the audience was taking in every minute of it. It was incredible to see everyone from the young to the old, male and female, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, all having such a good time.

It was also easy to tell that he was giving it his all. One could see him wipe the sweat off his face and forehead after almost every song that he performed. The ones where he improvised the harkats, like only he can, drew long appreciative applauses from the audience.

 Tere Mast Mast Do Naina literally brought a few in the audience to their feet – for they were dancing away with abandon on the floor of the coliseum.

The evening was complete when Rahat sang one of the all time popular songs Damm Mast Kalandar in his own inimitable style – complete with flourishes thrown in. The audience gave him a standing ovation, and the master acknowledged – by standing up and placing his right hand on his heart. They loved him and he loved them.

QUEEN’S PARK – NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says she’s proud of what New Democrats have achieved this Legislative session and will ensure passage of the Budget so they can deliver results for families concerned about jobs for youth, wait times for home care, the high cost of auto insurance and making government accountable.

“Last January, I made it clear that people wanted action on jobs, health care and the growing cost of everyday life.  We said we’d work hard to deliver results for them and we have done exactly that,” said Horwath. “We will pass this Budget based on the commitments this government has made and we will keep working hard to ensure promises are kept.”

After the government put forward its Budget, Horwath consulted with Ontarians and put forward positive proposals to make the Budget accountable: including a Financial Accountability Office modeled on Ottawa’s Parliamentary Budget Office and ensuring new toll roads won’t proceed without a vote in the Legislature.

In the lead-up to the Budget, the NDP Leader laid out clear achievable goals for the government: make life affordable by reducing auto insurance premiums by 15 per cent, improve healthcare by creating a five-day guarantee for home care service, and help young people find jobs with a First Start jobs program that will help companies ready to hire and train young workers.

“We’ve worked hard to deliver results,” said Horwath. “It’s not everything we wanted. It’s not everything people have told us they need. But we’re proud to deliver results that will make people’s lives better and government more accountable.”

The 23^rd Annual MISS INDIA-CANADA Event will be held on Saturday, August 17, 2013 at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel in Toronto.  The Miss India-Canada event has become very popular and a well-known event in Canada.  With the continuous support from the business community and the positive feedback from contestants and their parents, the Miss India-Canada event continues to grow by leaps and bounds each year. The show is proudly supported by several corporate and community business.

 The prestigious title carries with it numerous prizes courtesy of show sponsors.  Included are a CASH SCHOLARSHIP OF $1,000; ROUND TRIP TICKET TO INDIA; HOTEL ACCOMMODATION; CELL PHONE; LAPTOP, JEWELLERY SET; and many more prizes. Several prizes will also be presented to runners-up.

 The Miss India-Canada Event is unique in many ways.  Contestants are judged on their Indian Costume, Evening Gown, Talent, and their ability to speak in public.  The show is focused on Indian arts and culture and at the same time blending into the Canadian mosaic.

 Some of the past winners—Kamal Sidhu, Ruby Bhatia, Gita Bali, Rishma Malik,  Poonam Chhibber, Melissa Bhagat, and Komila (Kim) Jagtiani—have appeared on the covers of many leading magazines and newspapers in Canada, India, and other countries.  The winner of the first Miss India-Canada pageant, Kamal Sidhu, starred in the lead role with Jackie Shroff in “Aar Ya Paar”.  Moreover, Miss India-Canada 2001, Neelam Verma, was crowned Miss Canadian Universe. She represented Canada in the Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico and was selected amongst the Top 10 in the world. Also, Rishma Malik, Miss India-Canada 1996 starred in Deepa Mehta’s “Bollywood Hollywood” movie.

Entries for the Miss India-Canada Event will be accepted until Friday, June 28, 2013.

For an application form or further information, please contact:  (905) 851-0990 or visit www.MissIndiaCanada.com.

Smich, who according to Kinsella is known to police, will be charged with first-degree murder. No further details about him were released by police.

Dellen Millard, 27, is already facing a charge of first-degree murder in Bosma’s death. Police said at a news conference this afternoon that a third suspect is still being sought.

News of a second arrest came just minutes after a public memorial service for Bosma ended.

Smich was arrested while walking near Dorval Drive and Wyecroft Road in Oakville this morning. Police were also at a home listed as being owned by the Smich family earlier this morning. The arrest was made less than one kilometre from the home.

Court records show that Smich has several criminal convictions, including possession for the purpose of trafficking in 2006 and impaired driving in 2010. He was also scheduled to appear in court on a charge of mischief next month.

Suspects accompanied Bosma on test drive, police say Bosma, 32, disappeared May 6 after he went on a test drive of a pickup truck he had for sale with two men, and police announced on May 14 that they had discovered his remains on the Ayr farm of Millard.

At as news conference, Kinsella said police believe Millard and Smich were the men who went with Bosma on the test drive. Kinsella also said the second vehicle caught on video camera following the pickup on the test drive had been identified. It was a GMC Yukon owned by Millard. It has been seized by police and is being analyzed for evidence.
After Bosma’s remains were found, police said they were “burned beyond recognition.”

Police located an incinerator on the farm that they say Millard, the heir to a family aviation dynasty, purchased last July. The machine, known as “The Eliminator,” is used to cremate livestock, but police said Millard didn’t own any animals.

A small memorial to Bosma is growing near the gated entrance to Millard’s farm, with new bouquets of flowers being added.

“Our Government has already dramatically decreased wait times for family reunification applications, and cut the backlog for application processing by half,” said MP Gill. “With Phase 2 of the Action Plan, we will continue to make progress and ensure that our immigration system does not return to the old broken system of the previous Government, with wait times as long as a decade to reunify families.”
Phase 2 of the Action Plan calls for a four-point plan to reform the application and acceptance process. First, in 2012 and 2013, Canada will begin admit 50,000 parents and grandparents as permanent residents. Second, the 10 Year, multiple-entry, Parent & Grandparent SuperVisa program will be made permanent. Over 15,000 Super Visas have been issued since the program’s launch in December 2011 with approval rates averaging 86 percent.

Third, new criteria will be implemented to ensure sponsors are held responsible for the financial cost of new sponsorships on Canada’s heavily-strained social programs, and that sponsors are more financially capable of taking care of their family members. Finally, beginning in 2014, Canada will accept 5,000 new applications to the Parent & Grandparent Residency program, maintaining high levels of applicants while ensuring the backlog of applications continues to clear.

“Canada has one of the most generous family reunification programs in the world, compared to many of our partners around the Globe, who do not allow grandparents to be sponsored at all or only in very limited circumstances,” said MP Gill. “These reforms will ensure parent & grandparent applications are reviewed more quickly, while balancing the need to ensure that those accepted for admittance will be able to succeed in Canada.”

The documents reveal that in 1962 Israeli Parliament (Knesset) Finance Committee held a special session to discuss how to raise President Ben-Zvi’s salary against his wishes.

Special session was commenced as Ben-Zvi’s salary had not been increased since he took office 10 years earlier. Ben-Zvi was earning 40 per cent less than his driver.

He opposed any hikes in his salary as his contribution in the nation building process.

The committee voted to triple Ben-Zvi’s salary despite his opposition, state archives documents published recently to commemorate the Israeli leader’s 50th death anniversary say.

“This case well reflects the personality of this special man a symbol of modesty and personal and public integrity,” said the archives’ website.

In December 1962, Ben-Zvi wrote to the committee’s chairman, Israel Guri decrying the raise, Ha’aretz reported.

“In my opinion, as long as we are required to fulfill two important commandments bringing in our brethren and absorbing them here, and increasing our security independence given the external threats we face we dare not get dragged into raising our standard of living.

I have therefore opposed, in principle, a rise in my salary, in the hope that I would serve as an example to others,” Ben-Zvi wrote.

Canadian Immigrant and Scotiabank, in association with Centennial College, are presenting the 3rd Annual Career, Education & Settlement Fair. The free day-long fair, which takes place on Tuesday, June 25, 2013, will open its doors to the public at 11 a.m. at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Hon. Minister Michael Coteau will be the guest of honour and will inaugurate the Fair

“With a three-pronged approach of settlement, careers and education, the 2013 Fair brings to life our mission to inform, educate and motivate new Canadians,” said Gautam Sharma, Publisher of Canadian Immigrant. “After the tremendous success of last year’s event, we are excited to make this a bigger platform to connect and assist newcomers.”
Every year, thousands of immigrants arrive in Canada, particularly during the summer months, with great ambitions for their family’s future. However, many of them have little knowledge about the reality of Canadian living — from continuing education to obtaining employment and getting settled. Canadian Immigrant has been a guiding star for such newcomers since its inception through its print as well as online publications. The Fair expands its support of newcomers to Canada with comprehensive interactive sessions packed with useful information.

“Scotiabank is proud to be the lead sponsor of the 3rd Annual Career, Education & Settlement Fair,” said Jacqueline Bukaluk, Vice President of Global Employment Strategies at Scotiabank.
Newcomers are encouraged to attend this Fair to benefit from the various interactive workshops on topics offering information related to a newcomer’s most urgent needs such as finding a career, upgrading educational qualifications and settling successfully in Canada.
This event is tailored to meet the needs of those who are: an internationally trained professional, employed, under-employed or unemployed — with professional qualifications looking for a job, holding valuable foreign work experience and technical skills, seeking a career change upon arrival in Canada, looking for continuing education to advance career prospects, attracted to self-employment and entrepreneurship, planning to go back to school, keen on internships — paid or unpaid in the GTA, interested in getting career information, advice and support.

For more information on the 3rd Annual Career, Education & Settlement Fair, see http://www.canadianimmigrant.ca/careerfair

The online surveillance bill was effectively a digital key to determining someone’s leanings, the people they know and where they travel, says the office of Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart.

“What’s more, each of these pieces of information can be used to uncover further information about an individual,” concludes the study. “As information technologies become more and more common in our lives, and the more they become an extension of our very selves, the more sensitive and revealing subscriber identification information becomes.”
The Conservative government abandoned the legislation in February following a public outcry.

The bill would have allowed police, intelligence agents and competition bureau officers access to Internet subscriber information — including name, address, telephone number, email address and Internet Protocol (IP) address — without a warrant.

Currently, the release of such data held by Internet service providers is voluntary.

Privacy concerns

Opponents of the bill said allowing authorities access to Internet subscriber information without a court-approved warrant would be a worrisome erosion of privacy because even that limited data can help paint a candid picture.
The federal government, on the other hand, likened the information in question to a listing in a public phone book.
The privacy commissioner’s study, initiated while the bill was still before Parliament, says the government’s characterization “grossly misconstrues and underestimates” what can be gleaned from the data with a bit of additional effort.”In general, the findings lead to the conclusion that, unlike simple phone book information, the elements examined can be used to develop very detailed portraits of individuals providing insight into one’s activities, tastes, leanings and lives.”

Assistant privacy commissioner Chantal Bernier said Canadians are protective about their Internet activities.
“We should be extremely careful about granting unwarranted access about basic subscriber information,” she said in an interview.

“The challenge is to ensure privacy on the Internet while at the same time not creating a space for anonymity for criminals.”

Study compares online data to phone book

In its study, the privacy commissioner’s office focused on elements covered by the bill which are not found in a phone book — email address, mobile phone number and IP address, the numerical sequence assigned to an online device.
Taking the actual mobile phone number of a staff member in the privacy commissioner’s office, the researchers used commonly available Internet tools such as search engines to reveal the individual’s full name, their phone service provider, two personal web sites and their domain registrations, an affiliation with a university and contributions to online discussion forums.

Similar to a phone number, an email address can lead to a variety of information about someone, says the study, including friends on social network services and previous employers.

In dropping the online surveillance bill, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said the government would not include mandatory disclosure of basic subscriber information in future revisions of the Criminal Code.
Bernier said while she hopes the study’s findings turn out to be moot, the privacy commissioner’s office has received no direct assurances about the federal legislative intentions.

“We really have no idea, we have had no communication about that one way or another.”