OTTAWA — Millions of Canadians who pay into the federal employment insurance program will soon face a new set of rules on EI benefits and what jobs government will expect them to accept to receive payments.

Here’s an explanation of the EI program, the reforms being considered by government and what it means to Canadians:

What’s wrong with the EI system?

• The government notes that current and projected labour shortages across the country have provinces and businesses searching for temporary foreign workers to fill the positions. With that in mind, the Conservatives want to retool the EI system to better connect Canadians with available jobs.

• The Harper government says there are currently “disincentives� in the system that can punish EI recipients for accepting work while receiving benefits, and actually discourages them from searching for employment.

• Currently, Canadians living in different regions of the country with similar labour market conditions can receive different benefits. For example, benefit rates are calculated differently for workers living in Abbotsford, B.C., and Windsor, Ont., despite living in areas with similar unemployment rates. The government says changes are needed to ensure more regional fairness and provide equitable treatment to people living in areas with similar unemployment rates.

• Federal data show there are more than 70,000 fraudulent EI claims every year resulting in overpayments. Over the last four years, the government has written off nearly $125 million in EI overpayments it figures cannot be recouped from Canadians.

• The Canadian Federation of Independent Business — which represents more than 109,000

Article source: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/What+wrong+with+what+expect+from+coming+overhaul/6650332/story.html

May 19 (Reuters) – The nation’s largest civil rights group, the NAACP, endorsed gay marriage on Saturday, giving a boost to the movement to legalize same-sex nuptials despite reservations expressed by some black ministers.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People passed the resolution at its board meeting in Miami “as a continuation of its historic commitment to equal protection under the law,� the organization said.

“Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. The NAACP’s support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people,� Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement.

The gay rights movement got a big boost last week when President Barack Obama said for the first time he supports gay marriage.

After he announced his decision, Obama held a conference call with at least eight black ministers, some of whom were skeptical, to explain his position, The New York Times reported.

Three state legislatures have voted this year to legalize gay marriage – New Jersey, Maryland and Washington state – although New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie vetoed the measure. In Maryland the law passed even though some black Democrats opposed it.

Six other states – New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Iowa plus the District of Columbia – have legalized gay marriage, and a handful of others recognize so-called “civil unions.â€�

“EQUAL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY�

There has been a steady increase in support for same-sex marriage.

Article source: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/civil+rights+group+NAACP+endorses+marriage/6650845/story.html

A U.S. senator has made it his mission to save country music in Canada this summer from nitpicking, guitar-snatching U.S. government agents who might try to enforce a “confusing” American law that targets products made of wood from endangered tree species around the world.

Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander is the senior federal lawmaker from Tennessee – its capital, Nashville, far better known as Music City and for its Grand Ole Opry than for being home to the state legislature.

And Alexander, an accomplished piano player himself, is taking steps to ensure that Nashville superstars such as Taylor Swift, Toby Keith and Carrie Underwood – just three of the many American country singers booked for music festivals in Canada this summer – don’t have their guitars, or those used by their backup bands, confiscated at airport inspection stations or the Canada-U.S. border.

“I don’t want the musicians from Nashville who are flying to Canada to perform this summer to worry about the government seizing their guitars,” Alexander said in a statement issued Friday, adding that he is working with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon to address the “unintended” consequences of new U.S. legislation the two of them co-sponsored in 2008.

“We’re committed to creating a safe harbour for instruments made before 2008 – this law was never intended to apply to those instruments,” said Alexander. “We are also working to give companies more certainty about importing wood, by requiring the federal government to inform importers of foreign wood whether the law applies to them

Article source: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Nashville+politician+Lamar+Alexander+fights+keep+guitars+border+agents+hands/6650246/story.html

Never count out Fredy Montero.

The nifty Seattle Sounders forward buried a 19-yard shot past Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper Joe Cannon in the 90th minute Saturday, salvaging a 2-2 draw for Seattle in their Major League Soccer match with the Caps at BC Place.

The goal stunned most of the sellout crowd of 21,000 that had just been thrilled by Whitecaps forward Camillo Sanvezzo’s go-ahead goal off a free kick in the 82nd minute.

But 1,000-plus boisterous travelling Sounders supporters were delighted with Montero’s effort in an electric atmosphere that comes with any Caps/Sounders game.

The Colombian international had been thwarted by three terrific Cannon saves earlier in the second half but it was fourth time lucky when he took control of a ball headed from teammate Eddie Johnson, turned and calmly fired a well-placed shot past Cannon – who could only look.

Sanvezzo’s long curling free kick looked like it would carry Vancouver to a huge win over their Cascadia rivals when his 30-yard shot fooled Seattle defenders and goalkeeper Bryan Meredith.

[Caps midfielder Gerhon Koffie said he nudged the ball with his forehead before it went in so the official goal scorer might be changed.]

But Montero – who scored twice in a 3-1 Seattle win over Vancouver the last time the Sounders visited Vancouver – showed why he’s a two-time MLS All-Star.

Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie couldn’t hide his disappointment at the result.

“We’re here to be the best,” he said. “We’re not here to tie games and we’re not here to be happy with scoring

Article source: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Fredy+Montero+final+goal+brings+Sounders+draw+with+Whitecaps/6650737/story.html

Click here for more photos of Nazanin Afshin

OTTAWA — Iranian-born Nazanin Afshin-Jam is a former Miss World Canada, a charismatic human rights crusader and now an author.

That’s not all. She has also been a singer and a model. And if all else fails, this 33-year-old has a good trade to fall back on: A former air cadet with the rank of warrant officer, first class, Afshin-Jam has her pilot’s licence, which could come in handy if her husband, Defence Minister Peter MacKay, ever needs another quick exit from, say, Labrador.

One is initially struck by Afshin-Jam’s beauty, the kind of beauty that makes men weak in the knees and causes passersby to stop and stare in awe. But this is also beauty laced with strong opinions and definitive actions aimed at making the world a better place.

Some of those opinions will be aired publicly May 31 when, courtesy of the Ottawa International Writers Festival, Afshin-Jam delivers a talk about her new book The Tale of Two Nazanins: A Teenager on Death Row in Iran and the Canadian Who Vowed to Save Her.

The book was co-authored by journalist Susan McClelland, published by HarperCollins and is to be available in stores Tuesday (May 22).

Afshin-Jam says being married to the man previously considered Parliament Hill’s most eligible bachelor will not stop her from speaking out on international human rights issues, even if she has to criticize Canadian government policy.

“I will speak my mind if I think there is

Article source: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Fate+brought+beauty+queen+Nazanin+Afshin+condemned+Iranian+teen+together/6651037/story.html