immigrantscanada.com

Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

media treatment: Fifty years later, media treatment of the LGBTQ community has changed and is still changing, according to CTV. The progress has been extraordinary, with the caveat that we still have a lot to do, said Cathy Renna, a former executive for the media watchdog GLAAD, who runs her own media consulting firm. Some of the coverage of rioting outside the gay bar -- unimaginable today in mainstream publications for its mocking tone -- was itself a source of the fury that led Stonewall to become a synonym for the fight for gay rights. Before Stonewall, mainstream media coverage of gays was generally nonexistent or consisted of negative, police blotter items. A 1966 Time magazine article called homosexuality a pathetic little second-rate substitute for reality, a pitiable flight from life. When a small group demonstrated against government treatment outside the White House in 1965, a newspaper headline said, Protesters Call Government Unfair to Deviants, noted Josh Howard, whose film The Lavender Scare, about an Eisenhower-era campaign against gays and lesbians in government, aired on PBS this week. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

url links: Trudeau is quoted in the post saying he made the decision to convert to Islam after meeting thousands of new Syrian refugees, listening to their stories and learning more about the Muslim faith, according to CTV. The story also contains several images of Trudeau embracing his new found faith. The story, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Converting from Christianity to Islam, was published on the Vatican Enquirer website three years ago. The quote used in the story is attributed to website, The Global Sun, but the URL links to a web page that is no longer active. It also reference's Trudeau's wife and children as being very supportive of his decision. A search of The Global Sun, another satirical website, through Internet archival tool Way Back Machine, reveals a post titled, Justin Trudeau To Convert To Islam Muslim . That post, dated July 4, 2016, contains the aforementioned quote and claims Trudeau announced his sudden change of faith during a 15 minute news conference. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

netherlands: We are very unhappy because from the very beginning, it became a political issue on how to accuse Russia of the wrongdoing, he told reporters, according to CTV. Even before they examine the debris they already say Russia. Mahathir said he doesn't think the findings of the international investigative team is true at all as it was based on hearsay. So it is very difficult for us to accept that. The trial for the defendants, who also include a Ukrainian separatist fighter, was set for next March in the Netherlands, though it appeared unlikely any of them would be brought before the court, since Russia and Ukraine forbid the extradition of their citizens. In announcing the charges Wednesday, prosecutors appealed for witnesses to help lead them even further up the chain of command in President Vladimir Putin's Russia. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trade: Working towards certainty on continental trade uncertainty Trump foisted an acrimonious renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Canada and Mexico, and after more than a year of hard bargaining, everyone survived, according to CTV. The leaders of the three countries signed the deal late last year but final legal ratification remains a significant hurdle -- especially in the United States. Here are five things to take away from the day 1. Trump has insulted Pelosi, who essentially holds the cards on ratification because she controls the agenda in one house of Congress. We likely won't know for weeks how successful Trudeau was in persuading Pelosi. Still, Trump sounded upbeat in a meeting in the Oval Office, figuring that Pelosi and the Democrats would ultimately back the deal, and made a point to highlight Trudeau's meeting with her after their confab, calling it a terrific thing. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

climate change: A carbon tax is not one of them, nor is a ban on single-use plastics, according to CTV. Sign up for our Capital Dispatch newsletter, delivered twice weekly to your inbox and every day during the election Scheer's plan is billed as one that will conserve the environment, protect children from the effects of climate change which the Conservatives state is a real and urgent problem and further lower emissions without taking money out of Canadians' pockets. The 60-page plan A Real Plan to Protect Our Environment provided to reporters in advance includes more than 50 policy proposals aimed at supporting green technology innovation, and protecting the environment. However, the plan, previously described by Scheer as the most comprehensive policy announcement by an opposition party in Canadian history, does not include any estimates on how much the wide-ranging ideas within the plan would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, or contribute to meeting the Paris Agreement commitment of holding global warming below 2 C and pursuing efforts to keep global warming below 1.5 C. Despite this, Scheer is reasserting his party's commitment to meeting the Paris targets. Months later he appeared to walk that back, instead saying his plan would have meaningful reductions. This had been in question over the last year, since he said on CTV's Question Period last April that he would deliver a climate plan ahead of the 2019 election that would meet the Paris Agreement, without a carbon tax. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lemay partner: The company added its property has been hit several times in recent months by the leftist group, which it doesn't name, according to CTV. While Lemay did not say who was attacked or how, an anonymous post to an anarchist website described an arson attack against the car of one of the firm's architects and partners. The firm Lemay said in a statement one of its employees was personally targeted in front of his home. The post on Montreal Counter-Information celebrates the torching of a BMW belonging to a Lemay partner outside his home in the city's west end on June 11. Montreal police spokesman Julien Levesque confirmed Wednesday the force's arson squad is investigating a June 11 arson incident involving a car in the Notre-Dame-de-Grace borough. May fires burn for all that the worlds of prison and borders have stolen from us, the post reads. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

matthew mahabadi: In their resignation statement, the Councillors said it was a privilege to serve the city, but that it was tiring, stressful, soul-crushing at times . Richard Ferris and Matthew Mahabadi who resigned as Peterborough city Councillors following the local Labour group's failure to oppose antisemitism, according to Rabble. In March 2018, Mr Ferris, the party's deputy leader in Peterborough and a Councillor for Park Ward, and Mr Mahabadi, who represents East Ward, were openly critical of a decision to allow Alan Bull to stand for election. In a joint statement they said blowing the whistle in March had exposed them to alienation and ignorance . Labour group leader Shaz Nawaz, who is now under public suspicion following his hiring of close friend and convicted vote-rigger Tariq Mahmood in two recent Parliamentary elections, described the move as disappointing yet failed to comment on or address the shocking proven cases of anti-Semitism within the branch he leads. Mr Bull was then suspended over a 2015 Facebook post in which he appeared to question the historical basis of the Holocaust. In an article posted in the New Statesman, Mr Ferris and Mr Mahabadi criticised the Labour Party over its failure locally and nationally to deal with an extremely serious case of unapologetic anti-Semitism . It seems we'd let a cork out from the bottle, across the party, they wrote. Another vile jew-hating post from Peterborough Labour's Alan Bull. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

meeting signals: In Washington, three months may be akin to an eternity for negotiations, but fresh off a partial but history-making January government shutdown, with animosity between House Democrats and the administration in clear view, and President Donald Trump looming as the constant legislative wild card, the meeting signals an attempt to stave off an avoidable showdown and debt ceiling debacle that would leave both Republicans and Democrats politically damaged and the country reeling from their showdown, according to Rabble. I don't know if there is any goodwill, but there is mutual self-interest so I hope they can find it, Sen. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, White House officials and appropriators meet Wednesday afternoon, there will be fewer than 50 legislative days before the spending deadline. Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri and member of leadership, told CNN about the odds for an agreement. Without an agreement, automatic budget cuts from 2011 would go into effect, a result that both Republicans and Democrats agree could devastate government programs and paralyze the military. McConnell's blockade of House legislation is about to face its toughest test The meeting Wednesday will focus on raising the budget caps for both domestic and military spending. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

replacement events: He booked a lineup of speakers to address transgender issues, youth emergency shelters, and two-spirit people, according to CTV. Perhaps it wasn't the festive atmosphere many people came to expect on Edmonton's usual Pride weekend earlier this month, but Goncalves was focused on healing the divide. So instead of grumbling about the lack of replacement events, he decided to plan another celebration -- a grassroots assembly that downplayed jubilation and drew attention to the lingering unrest and underrepresentation felt by marginalized LGBTQ voices. I figured it would be a good step in the right direction to show we do care, that we do want to support all members of our community, Goncalves said. Those sentiments will sound familiar to many in LGBTQ communities across Canada who in recent years have confronted questions about the future of their own local Pride events as inner turmoil -- and external disagreements -- wrack the organizations that run them. We have problems and we need to figure out how we can solve them. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tax rate: Both may be partly right, according to Rabble. It's another controversy for the WVHA, which spends more than 20 million annually providing health care needs in West Volusia County and which significantly increased its tax rate two years ago to cover costs. Ask WVHA chairwoman Dolores Guzman, and she will say Soukup was kicked off the Citizens Advisory Committee for violating Florida's Sunshine Law, for defaming the authority's attorney and for impertinence. The latest dust-up began May 7 when Soukup attended his first advisory committee meeting. WVHA Commissioner Dr. A former Deltona city commissioner who resigned midway through his term in 2017, Soukup ran unsuccessfully for a WVHA board seat in 2018. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

climate: Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says he could do a better job of fighting climate change than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and ensure that Canada achieves its target to lower annual emissions that it originally set under former prime minister Stephen Harper at international climate change negotiations in 2015 in Paris. ; Under the Conservative plan, it will not be free to pollute and unlike the Liberal scheme, there will be no sweetheart deals for anybody, said Scheer in prepared remarks, according to National Observer. However, rather than simply funneling money to the government as the Liberal plan dictates, emitters who exceed our limits will be required to invest in technology that will lower emissions to fight climate change. The plan, presented in a glossy, 60-page booklet, is an attempt to shift the environmental focus away from the Trudeau government's carbon pricing system, and towards other initiatives, such as requiring firms to pay for clean technology, reforming air quality regulations, and providing new tax deductions for industries that can cut emissions in foreign countries. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer gives a speech to media about his environmental platform, A Real Plan to Protect our Environment, in Chelsea, Que. on June 19, 2019. Party officials speaking on background could not offer any supplementary material or academic studies that examine the proposals' effectiveness in terms of impact on pollution. Photo by Kamara Morozuk Scheer's plan does not project the amount by which each proposed initiative would lower Canada's carbon pollution. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

radar images: Investigators want to go as far as we can get because it's important to know who can be held responsible for this absolute tragedy, top Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said, according to Vancouver Courier. The trial for the defendants, who also include a Ukrainian separatist fighter, was set for next March in the Netherlands, though it appeared unlikely any of them would be brought before the court, since Russia and Ukraine forbid the extradition of their citizens. The case, built with the help of wiretaps, radar images and social media posts, marks the most significant step yet toward tying the tragedy to Moscow, which has backed the pro-Russian separatists fighting to seize control of eastern Ukraine.article continues below Trending Stories Vancouver-based low-cost airline vows to take off this December Vancouver police survey safety in Gastown Completing Vancouver musician's album cathartic for those he left behind Restaurant servers' minimum wage increasing 5/hour by 2021In announcing the charges, prosecutors appealed for witnesses to help lead them even further up the chain of command in President Vladimir Putin's Russia. Russia's Foreign Ministry called the charges against the country's citizens absolutely unfounded and accused the investigators of using dubious sources of information and ignoring evidence provided by Moscow in order to discredit Russia. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was brought down on July 17, 2014, over eastern Ukraine by what investigators said was a Buk missile from a Russian anti-aircraft unit. It said, too, that the international team turned a blind eye to Ukraine's failure to close its airspace to commercial flights despite the fighting that endangered aircraft. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

point: Trump's late-night messages Monday promised that starting next week his administration will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States, according to CTV. They will be removed as fast as they come in. But maybe that wasn't his point. That was a pronouncement likely to excite his political base just as he was formally announcing his reelection bid Tuesday night. But it came at a cost. It also scared immigrants in the U.S. illegally -- and could deter others from coming. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

export commodities: The announcement by Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, comes four months before the federal election, according to CTV. This 1.7 million is going to help festivals, big or small, and Canada celebrations, Rodriguez said in Halifax on Tuesday. Ottawa announced funding Tuesday for more than 160 different projects from one end of the province to the other. They're all opportunities for people to get together with friends and family to celebrate. I think we need to be reminded that the arts and culture community here is one of our great export commodities, said Leonard Preyra of Jazz East Festival. The funding will support nearly 170 projects and is welcome news to those who work in the industry. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tuesday night: He painted a disturbing picture of what life would look like if he loses in 2020, accusing his critics of un-American conduct and saying Democrats want to destroy you and they want to destroy our country as we know it, according to CTV. A vote for any Democrat in 2020 is a vote for the rise of radical socialism and the destruction of the American dream, he said. Addressing a crowd of thousands at Orlando's Amway Center on Tuesday night, Trump complained he was under assault from the very first day of his presidency by a fake news media and an illegal witch hunt that had tried to keep him and his supporters down. Trump made only passing mention of any of the Democrats running to replace him even as he tossed out radical and unhinged to describe the rival party. Even after two-and-a-half years in the Oval Office, Trump remains focused on energizing his base and offering himself as a political outsider running against Washington. Trump has long railed against the special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and the ongoing probes by House Democrats in the aftermath of Robert Mueller's report . The apocalyptic language and finger-pointing made clear that Trump's 2020 campaign will probably look a whole lot like his run three years ago. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

government authority: The Kyoto Protocol committed major industrial economies to reducing their annual CO2 emissions to below 1990 levels by 2012, while providing financial support to developing countries to encourage them to follow suit eventually, according to National Observer. Canada signed the accord in 1998 and ratified it in 2002, eventually pulling out of the treaty in 2011. ; In February 2007, Layton argued Canada must honour its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol as he introduced a climate change accountability act that would impose a full range of greenhouse gas reduction targets at five-year intervals, and give the government authority to ensure compliance through strong regulations. The longtime environment advocate and Ontario NDP MPP for Toronto-Danforth was then Layton's special adviser on climate change, at a time when the phenomenon was just starting to be taken seriously by countries across the world. Canada has to be involved in international efforts to combat climate change. It is time to get tough on the polluters. We must be involved every step of the way, and we should play a leadership role, Layton said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

report notes: The bipartisan groups have been conducting similar studies in the run-up to elections in other countries, including the 2020 presidential campaign in the United States, amid mounting evidence of foreign interference in recent elections in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the U.S. The report notes that Canada has imposed sanctions on Russia, infuriated Saudi Arabia by criticizing its human rights record and is in the midst of a diplomatic war with China over the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on an extradition request from the U.S. Given those disputes and the fact that Canada is a member of NATO and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, the report suggests it's likely that foreign adversaries may seek to interfere in the coming election to further their own interests, damage Canada's reputation or undermine democracy, according to Vancouver Courier. The most pervasive concern in the 2019 Canadian federal election will likely be disinformation campaigns that undermine social cohesion by amplifying extremist narratives and discrediting leaders, the report says. But the report says this country needs to do more to regulate social media giants and should impose major sanctions on those that fail to control fake news and other forms of disinformation on their platforms.article continues below Trending Stories Scorpion gives birth after travelling to Canada in Vancouver woman's luggage Vancouver weather forecast calling for risk of thunderstorms tonight Controversial Vancouver restaurant Escobar has suddenly closed Multiple restaurants are down for the dumplings The report is part of a series of assessments conducted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation and the Transatlantic Commission on Elections Integrity for the Alliance of Democracies Federation. It notes that there is already evidence linking Russia, Iran and Venezuela to Twitter accounts used to amplify extremist views on contentious issues, such as pipelines and immigration. The government has also beefed up election laws related to unauthorized use of computers and given the commissioner of elections stronger powers to investigate suspected violations and to enforce the law. The report lauds the Trudeau government for taking steps to guard against foreign interference, including prohibiting advocacy groups from using foreign money to fund election-related campaigns and requiring social media companies to keep a public registry of all online political ads posted on their platforms. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

deck: Without showing anyone, the subject would shuffle the cards into the deck, according to National Observer. Keeler went through all 52, one at a time, instructing his subject to deny picking the card, even if it was the one they had chosen. He would have his subject, hooked up to an array of electrodes and sensors, pick eight cards from the deck. One card at a time. Checking his machine, which monitored their breathing and heartbeat, Keeler could catch his subject in a lie. Photo from Shutterstock. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

british-led attempt: The non-profit group has decided to appoint a committee of experts, including historians, sociologists and legal scholars, to determine whether the British-led attempt to rid the region of Acadians between 1755 and 1763 was in fact a genocide, according to CTV. This is a debate that's been raging within Acadian circles for years and years, said Eric Dow, a spokesman for the group. But could this traumatic event in Canada's early history be considered a genocide The Acadian Society of New Brunswick, which advocates for more than 250,000 French speakers and Acadians in the province, revived that thorny debate during its annual general meeting on the weekend. There hasn't been a consensus established yet ... There's a lack of closure in the Acadian community. There's a kind of competition to see whose atrocity is worse, said John Mack Faragher, a professor emeritus at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. However, a leading scholar on the subject said evidence to support describing the deportations as a genocide is lacking. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hour session: It passed 62 to 42, according to CTV. Opposition parties said the measure, which scraps immigration applications from 18,000 skilled workers and refunds their fees, forcing them to start over again, is extreme and undemocratic. Bill 9 was voted into law by the ruling Coalition Avenir Quebec party after a marathon 19-hour session in the National Assembly in the early hours of Sunday June 16. Including the applicants' families, the fates of some 50,000 people wishing to emigrate to Quebec are at stake. The legislation gives the province more authority over who receives permanent residency, which will involve a values test for would-be immigrants. The government's use of the legislative mechanism of closure, allowed it to end debate and use its majority to force a vote. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration levels: Sign up for our Capital Dispatch newsletter, delivered twice weekly to your inbox and every day during the election Just 37 per cent said the priority should be on growing immigration to meet the demands of Canada's expanding economy, according to CTV. Hussen says he is concerned by this because he has heard directly from employers across the country who are in desperate need of workers. Sixty-three per cent of respondents to a recent Leger poll said the government should prioritize limiting immigration levels because the country might be reaching a limit in its ability to integrate them. Economists and experts widely agree that immigration is key to meeting labour and population shortages. It's not a zero-sum game, he said. Canadians may be worried about the ability of communities to absorb more newcomers due to housing and other infrastructure shortages, but Hussen says the answer is not to cut the number of immigrants coming to Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

quebec solidaire: The Parti Quebecois also voted in favour, while the Liberals and Quebec solidaire were opposed, according to CTV. The bill prohibits public servants in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols on the job. Premier Francois Legault's government used its majority to push through Bill 21 by a vote of 73 to 35 after applying the mechanism of closure to end debate on the bill prematurely. Its opponents say the law targets religious minorities while the government argues it affirms the Quebecois people's secular identity. Liberal member Marc Tanguay said the changes would result in a secularism police. The Coalition Avenir Quebec government introduced last-minute amendments toughening the law, making provisions for a minister to verify that it is being obeyed and to demand corrective measures if necessary. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

marine environment: In response, the agency has asked landowners to volunteer property as a disposal site for the carcasses, according to CTV. By doing so, landowners can support the natural process of the marine environment, and skeletons left behind can be used for educational purposes, officials said. So many gray whale carcasses have washed up this year that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries says it has run out of places to take them. But the carcasses can be up to 40 feet 12 metres long. Landowner Mario Rivera of Port Hadlock, Washington, told KING5-TV that the smell is intermittent and isn't that bad. That's a lot to decay, and it could take months. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

marriage licences: According to her research -- which is currently pending final review 3,382 marriage licenses involving minors between the ages of 16 and 18 were issued between 2000 and 2018, according to CTV. This was based on data from provinces' vital statistics offices, which issue marriage certificates. People need to re-think the idea that the practice only takes place in foreign countries, McGill University assistant professor Alissa Koski told CTVNews.ca during a phone interview. Earlier this month, Koski presented her findings in Vancouver to the Canadian Population Society, which is a member of non-profit Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Alberta issued 791, Quebec had 590 and British Columbia had 429 such marriage licences. Koski discovered that Ontario issued the most licences for so-called child marriages, with 1,353. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

william p: Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg News By Paul Kane Paul Kane Senior congressional correspondent and columnist Email Bio Follow June 15Rep, according to Rabble. Justin Amash R-Mich. has never been afraid to go it alone. Justin Amash R-Mich. answers a question during a town hall event in Grand Rapids, Mich., on May 28, 2019. The self-styled libertarian regularly votes present if he feels legislation is misguided. And Wednesday, Amash was the only Republican to support a committee vote that held Attorney General William P. Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress over the administration's refusal to turn over documents related to the 2020 Census. Last week, following many months of disenchantment with the group, Amash resigned from the House Freedom Caucus after being one of the founding members of the rabble-rousing group of conservatives that upended GOP politics for more than four years. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canada: It warns passengers on an Air China flight from Beijing that arrived in Vancouver at 10 50 a.m. that day and those aboard an Air Canada flight to Regina that left at 2 p.m. may have been exposed, according to CTV. The passenger went through Canada Customs and Immigration so the centre says people in the main terminal may also be vulnerable. The centre says a passenger with the disease had a layover at Vancouver International Airport on June 9. Measles is a highly infectious airborne disease and symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash that starts centrally and spreads to the limbs. Passengers, crew and travellers who may have come into contact with measles are asked to check their immunization status. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.