Canada plans to set up own no-fly list

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada announced plans on Friday to set up its own list of passengers considered too dangerous to fly on airliners, in parallel with a U.S. no-fly list set up after the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. "We must remember that Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism and we must remain vigilant," Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said in announcing the draft regulations.The government plans to set up a list for domestic flights in early 2007, which would be extended to international flights later in the year.Currently, passengers flying to and from the United States are checked against the U.S. list. And airlines flying in and out of Canada were allowed to -- but not required to -- check the list if they were flying over U.S. airspace.Vanessa Vermette a spokeswoman for Transport Canada said the move would provide a systematic list giving an extra layer of airline security.

Canada: no amnesty for some 200,000 illegal workers

U.S. sex offender freed, but Canada may deport him

OTTAWA, Canada (Reuters) -- Canadian authorities on Friday freed an American sex offender who was sentenced by a U.S. judge to three years "exile" in Canada, but the man still faces deportation proceedings.Former teacher Malcolm Watson, convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old girl, was arrested Thursday by Canadian border guards as he returned to Canada from a hearing in Buffalo, New York.A New York state judge had allowed Watson to live in Canada on probation rather than have him spend time in a U.S. jail.Ottawa, unhappy about what it sees as U.S. courts dumping unwanted offenders in Canada, wanted Watson to stay in jail until a hearing to determine whether he should be kicked out of the country.But a judge ruling on the merits of Watson's detention decided otherwise, releasing the man on a $4,500 bond and ordering him not to engage in criminal activity.Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he wanted to see the man put back in jail but that his government had few legal options left. "Most Canadians are outraged that this could happen," Harper told reporters after a speech in the Toronto suburb of Oakville, Ontario."The government will use every legal means possible to prevent this individual from being free in Canada. He is, however, a Canadian resident, and Canada's laws in this regard are too loose," he added, blaming the previous Liberal government for being soft on crime.Charles Hawkins, a spokesman for the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, said: "Watson's lawyers argued their client was not a serious threat, had been convicted of a misdemeanor and had demonstrated remorse."Officials will meet next week to set a date for a hearing to discuss the government's request that Watson be deported.Watson, a U.S. citizen, lives in southern Ontario near the U.S. border with his wife and children. He had commuted to work at a girls' school in nearby Buffalo.U.S. authorities said Watson's relationship with the 15-year-old was consensual. The age of consent in Canada is 14 but it rises to 18 if the sex takes place within a relationship of trust or dependency, such as between a teacher and student.

Canada sees sharp spike in same-sex marriages Mon Nov 20, 3:54 PM ET OTTAWA (AFP) - Gay and lesbian couples are marrying at a dizzying pace in Canada, up 23 percent since June, ahead of a planned review of its controversial same-sex marriage law, proponents of the bill said. Almost 12,500 gays and lesbians tied the knot in the past 18 months, including 2,300 newlyweds in recent months, Canadians for Equal Marriage said in a statement.Canada legalized gay unions in June 2005 following a series of court decisions.But Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised during an election campaign in late 2005 to revisit the law passed by the previous Liberal government, by holding a free vote in Parliament to decide the issue, again.Opponents led by religious groups hope to reverse the law.Harper's critics denounced his proposal to restore the traditional definition of marriage between one man and one woman, saying he would have to override the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians.Polls show a majority of Canadians do not want to re-open the divisive marriage debate while Canada's minority Parliament is poised to defeat Harper's motion, if it is brought forward.