iPad in Canada is reporting today that they have received information from a source saying that Apple retail store employees in Canada have been told that the weekend of April 24th is a "black out period," which means that employees cannot take time off. If this is true, it means that Apple is planning to release the iPad to Canada and possibly other countries on April 24th. It also coincides with the 'late April' date Apple gave to when the iPad would be coming to other countries.

We were contacted by a source with close ties to the Apple Store that the weekend of April 24th has been marked as a "black out period" for staff. This means no employees are allowed to book this day off. If that's the case, then it would make sense that this indeed would be the launch date for the iPad in Canada. Anytime there's a "black out period" you know it's for something big.

While there is not too much more information on what countries are included in this possible release, it seems like this could be the date. Pre-orders usually begin three weeks before the device launches, meaning that if this date were true, pre-orders for the iPad in other countries could begin as early as next week.