More policies for Liberal MP Khan to protest about (en francais)

Related: Liberal MP organizing anti-Harper protest - By the way, I'd be interested in hearing from any NDP, Conservative, Green, Libertarian, Marxist-Leninist and general non-partisan people who also received a phone call from Liberal MP Khan's office to attend this anti-Harper protest.

Stephen Harper's Conservative government action speaks louder than 13 years of empty Liberal words.

Harper set to make foreign adoptions easier
CTV.ca News Staff

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to announce plans to make it easier for Canadians to adopt children born in foreign countries.

Harper is set to make the announcement Friday during a visit to Mississauga, Ont.

Sources told CTV News that Ottawa wants to smooth away the bureaucratic red tape that currently slows the process for overseas adoptions.

Harper also reportedly intends to follow up on his election promise to half the $975 immigrant landing fee.

The announcements come as the Tories move to woo immigrant communities, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area.

The GTA takes in around 40 per cent of new immigrants who come to Canada each year, but despite Harper's promise on cutting the landing fee, the Conservatives were shut out of Toronto in the January elections.

The region is a crucial battleground for the Tories as they try to lure away enough Liberal seats to form a majority government.

On Thursday, Ottawa said it would issue temporary residence permits to people who had been smuggled into the country to work in the sex industry and other trades.

Police say between 600 and 800 people are smuggled into Canada each year, while a further 1,500 to 2,200 are trafficked through the country into the United States.

Immigration Minister Monte Solberg told Reuters Thursday that victims would be given temporary residence permits valid for 120 days and would be eligible for health-care benefits.

At the end of that period, they could either return to their home country or apply for another permit valid for up to five years.

"We're talking about a lot of people who are affected by it . . . it's an important start," he said.

Canada is the signatory to a 2003 United Nations trafficking protocol to protect and assist those caught up in the trade in human beings.