Support for monarchy wanes
Six in ten Canadians (58%+5) believe Canada should end ties to monarchy when Queen Elizabeth’s reign ends.

The recent Ipsos-Reid poll also found that majority (62%+9) would like to have Canada’s head of state to be the Governor-General and not the Queen.

The findings were made as Canada prepares for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in the last week of June.

Guilty verdict in Dulnuan trial
Two Ecuador-born tradesmen were found guilty in mid-June by an 11-man jury in the murder of Jocelyn Dulnuan, a Filipina caregiver, who was found dead in a Mississauga mansion in October, 2007.

Convicted of first-degree murder were Cristian Figueroa, 37, and Fabian Loayza-Penalosa, 40.  The verdict carries automatic life prison sentence with no parole for a minimum of 25 years.

Dulnuan, 27, married and with a daughter, was strangled with a thin, braided wire that was wrapped twice around her neck and tied tightly with a knot at her throat.

The two accused blamed each other for the murder.  The jury did not have to decide who actually strangled the victim since both acted in concert to commit the burglary which resulted in the caregiver’s death.

Dulnuan was also the victim of an improperly implemented live-in caregiver program (LCP).   Originally hired as a caregiver from HongKong under the LCP, she was let go by her employer shortly after arrival, and was constrained to perform work other than caregiving in violation of her work permit issued under the program.

Midnite decree cements lawyer appointments
Outgoing President Gloria Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 883 granting lawyers in government service the rank of career executive service (CESO) required for “managerial class” in the civil service.

The order received by the Civil Service Commission last June 11 would effectively result in the “instant promotion of lawyers in the executive branch .. to the rank of a regional director with corresponding salary increase and permanent status”, former CSI chair Commissioner Katrina David, an Arroyo critic, said.

David observes the order ignores seniority and the “merits and fitness” system in appointments as even new law graduates with no civil service experience can readily earn the CESO appointment.”

Malacanang explained that the order was meant to upgrade the status of lawyers in government service and make it attractive as a career options for lawyers, noting the shortage of lawyers in the career service.

David said incoming president Benigno Aquino III may repeal the order but CESO appointments already made before he takes oath may not be recalled.

No-wait e-passports for OFWs
Overseas Filipino workers and other Filipinos in urgent need of passports do not have to wait long for an appointment, the Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Consular Affairs said in a news release recently.

Currently, the DFA-OCA appointment system will give traveling Filipinos a September appointment to apply for an electronic passport.

“Returning OFWs and those that are due for overseas deployment can have their passports processed immediately provided that they present documents that show there are jobs waiting for them in their countries of destination,” said the statement of the DFA-OCA.

Fed fix for abused nannies
Caregivers who lost their jobs due to abusive situations in their work place will have a fast lane in securing new labour market opinions and work permits.

This was disclosed last June 19 by Geraldine Nerdjivanian, a Citizenship and Immigration official, during an orientation seminar in a Toronto church hall for temporary workers and newcomers to Canada.

According to the CIC official, the caregivers would be able to get a new LMO in as early as five days, a process which normally entails a waiting period from three weeks to a couple of months.

Feds target immigration fraud
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney unveiled this month legislation to crack down on corrupt immigration consultants who exploit prospective immigrants.

The Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act would strengthen rules governing those who charge a fee for immigration advice, close loopholes exploited by fraudulent consultants and set up a regulatory authority.

The act would make it a crime for anyone except certified consultants, lawyers or notaries to provide immigration advice for a fee or charge a fee.

"Crooked immigration consultants victimize people who dream of immigrating to Canada," said Kenney.

"Worse still, there is evidence that these individuals encourage prospective immigrants to lie on their immigration applications, to concoct bogus stories about persecution when making refugee claims, or to enter into sham marriages with Canadian citizens and permanent residents," he said.

Arroyo election albatross
Most allies of outgoing President Gloria Arroyo received a drubbing during the last elections in their own bailiwicks that critics attributed to the unpopularity of the Arroyo administration.

The more notable of the losing “President’s men” (and women) were Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita  and his son who were defeated in Batangas; former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales and his son who lost in Iloilo; former Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera and her daughter in Quezon; former chief of staff Mike Defensor and his father, Mat Defensor in Quezon City; the son of Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales; former Gen. Tomas Dumpit and son: and Agrarian official Joc-Joc Bolante, of the infamous fertilizer scam.

The defeat of presidential contenders Gilberto Teodoro and Manny Villar were also attributed to the “Arroyo poison”.  Teodoro was the candidate of Lakas-Kampi, the president’s party, and Villar was rumored to be the secret administration candidate, as he did not criticize the administration, and filed the impeachment complaint against Estrada that paved the way for Arroyo’s presidency.

Albertans highest paid in Canada
Bouyed by the energy sector, average weekly earnings in Alberta at $989.93 topped all provinces, where such earnings on a national level average $845.25, Statistics Canada noted in a recent report.  The province also tied Saskatchewan for the biggest year-over-year rate of growth at 5.7% from April, 2009, compared to the national growth rate of 3.3%.

Analysts, however, note that while wages continued to advance, growth will be moderate in the longer term.  They said the “gap in wages here compared to other provinces is already quite wide and could have a hard time widening further."

Statistics Canada found gains in the goods sector in April, as the number of jobs continued to grow in construction and in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction.

The federal agency observed that average weekly earnings grew in six of Canada's seven largest industrial sectors. From April 2009 to April 2010, growth was above average in educational services (8.6 per cent), retail trade (5.2 per cent), manufacturing (4.2 per cent) and accommodation and food services (4.2 per cent). Over the same period, average weekly earnings declined in health care and social assistance (2.0 per cent).

Pacquiao in Forbes list anew
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao made it to Forbes’ Celebrity 100 anew for the second year in a row.

The newly-minted Congressman from Sarangani province after the May 10 elections, and acknowledged best pound for pound boxer of the decade by winning a record seven division titles in boxing earned an estimated $42 million in the past 12 months to move two notches from No. 57 to No. 55 in the list.

Women claimed three of the top five spots in this year’s celebrity list.  Oprah Winfrey reprised her No. 1 position with $315M, Beyonce rose to second with a distant $87M, and Lady Gaga making her first entry by taking fourth, with $62M.

“Avatar”s director James Cameron was third, while golfer Tiger Woods fifth, despite a sex scandal that sidelined him for months and cost him lucrative endorsements.

Forbes’ ranking is a measurement of entertainment related earnings over the past 12 months as well as of exposure in print and other media.

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