Howard's Page

Hey Howard, Thanks for the note. Pretty nice place. I moved down here from Colorado back in 1999-2000, This year weather has been warm, vegetation lush and a fantastic ACC basketball season (Duke University division 1 National Champions).
All the best.
-Ira

Thank you. I'm working on my application but I have a number of questions. I was glad to find this site as there is very little information out there except what is available on the Canadian government website. I've already learned quite a bit by reading the posts here.
Kathleen

Hi Howard,
we have friends living in Bancroft, so we going to stay with them for a bit.
We are looking at Lakefield as a possibility,but we are going to rent for a year so we can have a good look round and find a nice spot with good schools ect.
hav`nt sorted jobs yet i may start a little business and might do a bit of re-training i have painted too many houses for one life and would like to change jobs.
but hey i will stack shelves in a supermarket if thats what it takes.
Have you made any plans on location/jobs ect?

all the best
Rob

Hi Howard
Actually, it is my E-mail address. I live in Las Vegas, Nevada. I am in charge of the Baggage Service office of my Airline. Hence LASBAGMAN. I am in the process of collecting my documents for the certificate of citizenship.

Howard,

Go to Al's forum, 'Shared spreadsheet to track application status'.

Thanks Howard! I'm glad to be here.
-Fred

Regarding the march in Ottawa, here's what I sent out to those on my mailing list:

Canadian Citizenship Week is just about over. This from CIC's own website, "Canada’s Citizenship Week ( CCW ) was created as an opportunity to promote the intrinsic value of Canadian citizenship, to support a sense of belonging among all Canadians." (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/evaluation/cit-week/background.asp)

Here are Jason Kenney's own words, "The theme of Citizenship Week 2009 is Our Citizenship. We want all Canadians to recognize that, no matter where you came from, when you become a Canadian citizen, Canadian history becomes your history and Canadian values become your values." (http://www.workpermit.com/news/2009-10-22/canada/canadian-citizenship-week%202009.htm)

Mr. Kenny seems big on this thing called, "Canadian Values." Let's discuss it:

Several Lost Canadians marched in Ottawa this past week, trying their best to help get status for the last remaining 81 people still being shunned by Minister Kenney. Only one broadcaster turned up to report the story, and that was Terry Milewski of the CBC. Here's his report on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smjrQPLeWkU

For pretty much every one of the last remaining Lost Canadians, their denial is a direct result of some form of discrimination, particularly when it comes to gender equality. So why is the government doing this? In a recent speech in Calgary, as reported by the National Post, here are Jason Kenney's own words on 'Canadian Values,' "The government wants to ensure that people becoming Canadian citizens have a full appreciation of the country's values -- such as rule of law and equality of men and women." Just maybe he should start by ensuring that people who are already Canadians, like MP's, Cabinet Ministers, and especially Citizenship Ministers, set the example through their actions- not words. Here's the link:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1496639

It must be asked, why does this government say that it will not tolerate gender discrimination in Afghanistan, but then turns a blind eye when they themselves discriminate against Canadian women? Does anyone out there have the answer?

As you just saw on the YouTube video, Minister Kenney tells the CBC, "rather than having press conferences or trying to politicize their applications, just make a solid application, make a strong case, and it will be considered fairly on the merits of their case." The problem is that for most all the remaining Lost Canadians, they've done exactly what he suggests, and yet despite this, his department rejected them. Minister Kenney either doesn't have a clue what his bureaucrats are doing, or he's fully aware and thus is complicit in the discrimination. Either way it doesn't bode well for the Minister.

It must be noted that in denying our last 81 Lost Canadians, Minister Kenney is defying two Canadian Supreme Court decisions and one Federal Court decision. (The Queen vs. Leong Ba Chai - 1954; Benner vs Canada - 1997; and Babcock vs. Canada - 2007). Is the defiance of court decisions now a "Canadian Value?"

Let me go further regarding this week's activities. I didn't know until just before it happened that MP Marlene Jennings was going to introduce a motion on the floor of the House to get all 81 LC's back. Here is the transcript of the proceedings:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2&DocId=4156818#Int-2901645

I hope you read down to the final comments from the Speaker. What a moment - an Obama type of moment - when the Conservative House Leader responded to Ms. Jennings by shouting out, "That's bullshit." In Parliament, like in the U.S. House of Representatives, it's entirely against protocol to yell out anything like, "You're a liar," or "That's bullshit." Apparently the Honourable member, Jay Hill, was not referring to the concept of getting the Lost Canadians their status, but rather he was voicing his objection to her introducing the motion. Let me quote the Hansard:

Hon. Jay Hill (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to apologize for the word that I just used and withdraw it. I offer my apologies specifically to the member. I was not directing it at the motion that she made. I was directing it at the repeated misuse of process in this chamber, a subject that I have raised on previous occasions. The hon. member was there yesterday during the meeting of the House leaders and whips. This issue was before us for discussion--

Mr. Rick Dykstra:
Yeah. She just keeps jabbering on.

Hon. Jay Hill:
Exactly. Mr. Speaker, now they want to interrupt after we have sat here and listened to her lengthy motion. The issue of lost Canadians is a serious one, but the reality is that this matter was under discussion by the House leaders, and she is, I believe, the deputy House leader for the official opposition. She knows better than to try this grandstanding on such an important, serious issue instead of negotiating it among all four parties in this place, along with the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, which is how the discussions have been taking place. So of course we have to refuse acceptance of the motion. The other point I want to make is that during the discussion yesterday, it was not revealed that the hon. member's motion actually sits before the House as a private member's motion. She and her party know very well that my position is that no member of this chamber has the right to suggest that his or her particular motion should supersede the order of precedence, and I will stay with that in respect of the traditions of the House.

I found MP Rick Dystra's comment enlightening as well. Mr. Dykstra is Jason Kenney's Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship, and for the last year he has refused to meet with me or return any phone calls. Let me go further:

David Tilson is the Chairman of the House Citizenship Committee for the Conservatives. David has refused to accept my phone calls and hasn't shown any interest whatsoever in reopening the Lost Canadian file so that discussions can take place to resolve the issue once and for all. Keep this in mind, his government is violating the 1948 UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights (http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Introduction.aspx), specifically with regards to "equal rights for men and women, Ariticles 1, 2, and 3" (http://daccess-ods.un.org/TMP/766589.3.html), as well as violating three United Nations Conventions on human rights, all of which Canada is a signatory to. The Conventions are as follows- The Reduction of Statelessness (1975- http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/statelessness.htm), The Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, 1979 - http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cedaw.htm), and in 1989 The Convention on the Rights of the Child (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm). Reference: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/.

So what did Mr. Tilson support just five minutes after the House discussion concluded on the Lost Canadians? Here it is:

Mr. David Tilson (Dufferin—Caledon, CPC):
"Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed mainly by members of the constituency that I represent, Dufferin--Caledon. People are concerned about animal cruelty. They petition the government to support a universal declaration on animal welfare."

It appears animals have more importance than people. Here's a link to the Hansard. Read it for yourself:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2&DocId=4156818#SOBQ-2902045

Now let's look at the NDP. Olivia Chow (Jack Layton's wife) is their citizenship critic. All summer long she has refused to return any of my phone calls. Even her staff doesn't respond. So here's the setting- The Lost Canadians are about to march on the steps of Parliament during "Citizenship Week" and Olivia (herself an immigrant Canadian) is strangely absent and incredibly silent. Not one word of encouragement for any of us. Yet she does engage the House to talk about human rights, but not for Lost Canadians. For Olivia, Ethiopians and Colombians are more important, as she says their respective country violates International Human Rights laws, which just by chance happen to be the exact same laws that Canada is violating against the Lost Canadians. One can only deduce that for Olivia Chow and the NDP it's okay to ignore the human rights of Canadians, but not Ethiopians or Colombians. Here's the link:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2&DocId=4156818#SOBQ-2902238

If you want, here's the Hansard for the entire day:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2&DocId=4156818#OOB-2901630

Overall I believe the time in Ottawa was a success. Obviously we got noticed. Again, it's a huge failure of the Canadian media that they have, for the most part, elected to remain silent. As far as I am aware, only the Daily Gleaner in Fredericton did a story:

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/833487

I believe each and every Lost Canadian needs to step up to the plate and write emails to newspapers, the CTV, CBC, Global, radio stations, and we need to plan to march in various cities across Canada. There can be no question about it, most of you are Canadian citizens today only because people stepped up to fight for you. Please, let's work as a group to get the remaining Lost Canadians into Canada. The ball is in your court, so when I ask you to do something then please do it.

I'll conclude with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, "History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."

Howard:

I'm better at fighting in Ottawa, advocating for our rights than knowing exactly what paperwork is needed. My hunch is that you are a Canadian citizen, but then proving it is another story. I have no doubt that you will need your father's paperwork. Without it I would venture to say that CIC won't just accept you on your word. They need the proof.