I've been known to have some old fashioned ideas on immigrants but what do you expect from a first Canadian? I've had more then a passing interest over the past few years regarding this Canadian Tamil business and wasn't in the least bit shocked to read this 'secret' nugget of news regarding Tamil refugees going home for the holidays:

A secret government survey reveals the majority of successful Tamil refugees travel back to Sri Lanka, raising questions about the legitimacy of their refugee status.

To become a refugee, a claimant must prove they are in danger of torture, there is a risk to their life or meet other criteria showing they will face persecution in their home country. Yet this did not stop over 70% of successful Tamil refugee claimants surveyed from returning to Sri Lanka for vacations, business or to sponsor family members.

"I think it's been fairly common knowledge, that after asylum seekers get status they go back," said James Bissett a former head of Immigration Canada. "Certainly after they get landed immigrant status they go back."

Bissett said such abuse should not happen but is all too common in a system he says is known to be generous, open and easy to play. "The name of the game is to get into Canada," said Bissett. "It's Hotel California, everyone checks in but they never leave." CNEWS

This was never a secret to begin with. One time long ago a governing Liberal Party fast-tracked thousands of Tamils into Canada as part of a humanitarian effort and from reports there was little to no questioning of the individual. This gave Canada the largest Tamil population in the world (outside of Sri Lanka) and put our country on it's way to becoming a haven for Tamil Tiger terrorists. Their occupancy of our fine lands became nothing more then a portal to supply funds for the war effort overseas.

With the influx of boats laden with refugees hitting Australia's and now our ports, we've become a preferred destination. Well, we always were but the boat people stories just generate more media then the cases of hundreds of individuals that appear on our borders every year. Canadians typically need a big thing to wake up and it comes as no surprise that a recent poll shows that the majority of Canadians want them sent back to where they came from.

That's the trouble with Canada. The government tends to go it alone against the will of the people and do what they 'feel' is socially responsible.

The war in Sri Lanka is over and it is time to pinch that country off our refugee list, continue the hunt here in Canada to track down all members of the Tamil Tiger terrorist group and kick their bastard asses out of my country.

Smoke from B.C. started blanketing north-central Alberta yesterday and in some locations visibility is down to maybe a mile. It has been raining here, let's hope it rains there. I captured this guy around 7:30 last night.

I had my canoe out on a lake this past weekend and ended up following an eagle to it's nest and where there is a nest there is bound to be feathers. Life can be pretty good when you want it to be.

You always hear about the quiet before the storm but in the case yesterday evening it was quite dramatic. Coyotes going to beat hell and birds in a row and then complete silence, not even a wind. I hadn't seen clouds so low to the ground in a long time and then the pounding began. It was like time to hunker down and hold on.