Wayne Smith: Statscan chief fires back at household survey critics, according to Globe and Mail. U.S. consumer sentiment slips in June Reuters Video Video The following are comments from Wayne Smith, chief statistician of Statistics Canada. He spoke to The Globe about data quality and lessons learned in conducting the agency's first-ever national household survey and what may be in store for future census releases. Comments have been condensed and edited. More Related to this Story Health concerns outweigh finances for boomers headed for retirement (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

National Security Agency: But experts suggest that the intense public interest in the former National Security Agency contractor is helping him stay free, at least for now, according to CBC. "The United States government probably doesn't want to appear very aggressive in this case, because their back is weak, so to speak." As surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden hopscotches across the globe to avoid extradition to the United States, some wonder how mighty America could ever fail to catch its most famous fugitive. "This is a case where there are mixed feelings, so the United States is walking a tightrope, I think, with a lot of its own people who are really upset by what they've just found out," said Albert Berry, a professor emeritus in international economics at University of Toronto's Munk School for International Studies. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

legal strike position: The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers entered a legal strike position earlier this year and has instructed members to gradually escalated job actions over recent months. The union says its members, who include immigration officers and economists, are paid significantly less than other public servants who do similar work under different job classifications. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. labour Canadian diplomats in 12 countries walk off the job Ottawa-based foreign service officers protested outside the Prime Ministers Office Tuesday to call attention to stalled labour negotiations with the federal government. Job action by foreign service hurting Canadian tourism industry (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino: The whistle-blowing former U.S. intelligence contractor was last seen in Hong Kong, reportedly landed in Moscow , and is believed to be on his way to following WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to refuge in Ecuador, according to The Star. Ecuador didnt say Monday whether it would accept Snowdens plea. But Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino praised him for disclosing the U.S. surveillance program and said Ecuador was free to exercise its sovereignty as it saw fit in the matter, the Washington Post reported and The mystery of Edward Snowden s whereabouts deepened Monday, after a flight from Moscow to Cuba landed with an empty seat booked in his name . Assange is confined to the Ecuadorian embassy in London. But he says Snowden is safe and has applied for asylum in Ecuador, Iceland and other countries. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Annapolis Valley Regional School Board: Close to 300 students in Grade 7, along with their math teachers, will receive tablets for the school year as part of a pilot project courtesy of Southwest Properties and Clearwater Seafoods Ltd, according to CBC. The four schools selected for the pilot project are from the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board, the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board, the Halifax Regional School Board and the South Shore Regional School Board and A major property management company and one of Atlantic Canada's largest seafood suppliers are teaming up with the province of Nova Scotia to supply Grade 7 students at four schools with tablets next year. "I think that if Nova Scotians are better educated it makes this a way better place to do business, not just for the people who we're searching for to join our company but for the entire economy," said Jim Spatz, the CEO of Southwest Properties. Tina Broderick, a math teacher at Oxford School, along with Jacob Beaton and Olivia Singer, will get tablets next year to take home and use in class. Jean Laroche/ (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Insurance Bureau of Canada: Insurance companies aren't going to be the ones picking up the tabs since "overland flooding" water that comes in through doors and windows is not covered by most policies. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, overland flooding is a risk for only a small percentage of the population those that live on a flood plain or close to bodies of water and most homeowners are not willing to pay the extra costs to be protected against the risk, according to CBC. She promised to do "everything it takes" to help people rebuild their homes and Redford said it won't take as long as it has in past disasters to get financial assistance to those who need it. She said people should be able to get funding in under two weeks and As thousands of Albertans begin cleaning up their flooded homes, questions are being raised about whose pockets the money is going to come out of to help repair the damage. So with insurance generally not being an option, homeowners will be turning to the government for help. Alberta Premier Alison Redford announced Monday that a preliminary $1 billion in spending has been approved to support immediate flood recovery and reconstruction efforts. The government is also committing to provide preloaded debit cards for housing needs and day-to-day purchases. They will be worth $1,250 per adult and $500 per child. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Hezbollah: Residents of the southern port fled machine-gun fire and grenade explosions that shook the coastal area in one of the deadliest rounds of violence, seen as a test of the weak government's ability to contain the furies unleashed by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, according to Times Colonist. The fierce battle that al-Assir's fighters were putting up showed how aggressive Sunni extremists have grown in Lebanon, building on anger not only at Syria's regime but also its allies in Hezbollah and BEIRUT - Lebanon's third-largest city of Sidon was turned into a battle zone Monday as the military fought heavily armed followers of an extremist Sunni Muslim cleric holed up in a mosque. Official reports said at least 16 soldiers were killed and 50 were wounded in two days of clashes with armed followers of Ahmad al-Assir, a maverick Sunni sheik whose rapid rise is a sign of the deep frustration among many Lebanese who resent the ascendancy of Shiites to power, led by the militant group Hezbollah. More than 20 of al-Assir's supporters were killed, according to a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to reporters. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jennifer Stoddarts: Privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddarts office has compiled a preliminary list of agencies with potentially worrisome patterns when it comes to the loss of Canadians personal information, according to The Chronicle Herald. Upon crunching the numbers, the privacy commissioner identified nine departments and agencies that may lack adequate reporting mechanisms, have faulty security procedures or require improved tracking protocols and OTTAWA Canadas privacy czar has singled out several federal departments for their lacklustre approach to data breaches, citing a need for better reporting, security and tracking protocols. The analysis is based on departmental figures tabled in Parliament in April in response to a question from New Democrat MP Charlie Angus. The response indicated there were more than 3,000 data breaches over a 10-year period affecting about 725,000 Canadians. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The court's conservatives, in two 5-4 decisions, ruled that a person must be able to hire and fire someone to be considered a supervisor in discrimination lawsuits, making it harder to blame a business for a co-worker's racism or sexism. The court then decided to limit how juries can decide retaliation lawsuits, saying victims must prove employers would not have taken action against them but for their intention to retaliate, according to Times Colonist. "Both decisions dilute the strength of Title VII in ways Congress could not have intended," said Ginsburg, who then called on Congress to change the law to overturn the court and WASHINGTON - A sharply divided Supreme Court on Monday decided to make it harder for Americans to sue businesses for retaliation and discrimination, leading a justice to call for Congress to overturn the court's actions. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote both dissents for the court's liberal wing, and in a rare move, read them aloud in the courtroom. She said the high court had "corralled Title VII," a law designed to stop discrimination in the nation's workplaces. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jewish Refugee Action Network: A new group, called the Jewish Refugee Action Network, was recently launched in Toronto, according to Globe and Mail. Veterans of the convocation address share their wisdom Members of Canadas Jewish community are challenging the federal governments treatment of refugee claimants by lobbying for the repeal of laws that discourage asylum seekers from certain countries. Stephen Lewis, the former Ontario NDP leader who went on to become Canadas ambassador to the United Nations and the UNs special envoy for HIV/AIDs in Africa, is a co-chair along with his wife, journalist Michele Landsberg. More Related to this Story (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.