Clements press secretary Matthew Conway: As a strike by foreign service workers drags on, its impact is being felt from coast to coast by the tourism and education sectors , as well as by people worldwide who need visas to come to Canada, according to The Star. On Monday, Clements press secretary Matthew Conway said the minister was still reviewing the unions offer as the deadline looms by noon Tuesday. If the government rejects the offer, the disruption can be dragged on indefinitely and Foreign students withdrawing from programs. Tourists cancelling their trips. Foreigners not being able to visit their loved ones here even in times of family emergencies. Despite an offer issued last week by the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers for a binding arbitration, Treasury Board President Tony Clement has not budged to the unions demands. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

public transit: The Scarborough subway extension may attract more passengers to public transit, but this will not add capacity to the existing congested subway network. The result of such haphazard planning will ultimately be longer wait and commute times for transit users, and commutes by public transit in Canada are already 81 per cent longer in duration than those by cars, according to The Star. First, we need to understand the difference between expanding the transit network and adding transit capacity. The two are not necessarily synonymous. Subway extension expands transit service but does not add capacity in the most congested segments of the network and If transit could be planned one line at a time, city councils vote last week to build the Scarborough subway extension could be deemed a success. However, public transit works much better when it is planned and built as a network. And networked thinking is what has been missing in the transit debate in Toronto. What is needed in the GTA is greater co-ordination among transit planning authorities. Also, subway expansions should both improve the systems ability to meet existing transit demands and support and serve planned increases in population and employment densities. In addition, transit planning has to be mindful of the demographic and commuting trends in the region. We offer the following considerations for those entrusted with improving transit service in the region. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Queen Elizabeth: Re The Queen And I Find Middle Ground July 22 : Ratna Omidvar was born in India, I was born in New Brunswick. But we both share a complicated relationship with Queen Elizabeth, according to Globe and Mail. I grew up in Whitney Pier, N.S., a steel town with an ethnically diverse population. Many of my friends today are Quebeckers, both from old French families and recent immigrants. To argue we owe allegiance to a British monarch makes little sense to my friends, past and present and The Queen and I My mother came from United Empire Loyalists; my fathers Scots Highlander ancestors, who came to Canada in 1790, had little to do with loyalty to the king. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

foreign workers: In 2006, there were 150,000 temporary foreign workers employed in Canada. By December 2012, that number had more than doubled to 340,000, according to CBC. The temporary foreign worker program has come under scrutiny in the last four months, since reported that professional IT workers were being fired from their jobs at RBC so the employer could bring in temporary foreign workers and Despite an unemployment rate that spiked in 2009 and remains high, the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada has more than doubled over the last six years, according to the Conference Board of Canada. The growth in the number of foreign workers continued throughout the 2009 recession, when the unemployment rate peaked at 8.6 per cent. In June of this year, unemployment stood at 7.1 per cent, though joblessness among young workers was stuck around 14.1 per cent. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

visa problems: Rotating strikes have targeted visa processing internationally, and wait times for student visas are growing leaving university administrators bracing for the worst. International students, and the tuition they pay, are a pillar for Canadian universities, and visa problems could delay or derail their semester. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. Visas How Canada #039;s complex visa application deters would-be travellers Ottawa has opened the door for arbitration with its striking foreign service workers as universities warn Canadas reputation with international students will suffer a long-term blow if visas are not issued in time for the fall semester. Embassies Amid visa delays, Bogota embassy advises would-be visitors to Canada to stay home (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Amanda Anka: The 'Arrested Development' star - who has two daughters, Francesca, six, and 17-month-old Maple, with his wife Amanda Anka - will happily help his offspring land the job of their dreams but isn't keen on them following in his footsteps and entering the showbiz world, according to CTV. Bateman - who became a high-profile teen actor in the 1980s - believes that acting can be a tough industry to crack and he doesn't want his daughters to have to deal with the disappointment that comes with being an actress and Jason Bateman doesn't want his children to go into acting. He explained: "I want to help my kids navigate their careers but I don't want it to be in the entertainment industry. Acting is kind of an odd way to make a living and I hope they'll be drawn to something other than that." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Hannelore Romeike: The Romeikes roh-MEYE-kees moved to Morristown in eastern Tennessee in 2008 after an escalating fight with German officials that led to fines totalling 7,000 euros, or more than $9,000. Uwe and Hannelore Romeike said they feared that if they stayed in Bissingen an der Teck in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, their children could be taken away because the family refused to comply with a law mandating that all children attend school, according to Times Colonist. In May, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said the family did not meet the criteria for asylum, finding that Germany does not single out religious minorities for persecution. The court found that Germany treats all truants the same regardless of the reason, religious or not. Earlier this month, the court declined to revisit the issue and NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Attorneys for Christian parents who fled Germany in order to home school their children but have been denied U.S. asylum said they are preparing to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and were working with Congress to try to change asylum law. The family initially was granted asylum by a Memphis immigration judge, but that ruling was overturned. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jackie Scott: The 68-year-old was raised in Ontario, paid her taxes and voted in elections. But a dizzying tangle of old laws have meant the government doesnt consider her a Canadian, according to Globe and Mail. As she considers all shes gone through to get to this point, Ms. Scotts voice cracks with emotion and Jackie Scott has been waiting years to be officially accepted by her country. Now, her long, drawn-out fight to be recognized may be reaching its climax as her case is set to have its day in court on Monday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jean Keating: But boasting in a bar about getting away with manslaughter was apparently her undoing, according to The Star. For more than a decade, she built a new life in this town of 2,500, but still trouble followed her. She was arrested several times in Canada, including once on a charge of impaired driving and MINNEDOSA, MAN. For more than 15 years, Jean Keating, an Oregon woman accused of causing a fatal car crash in 1997, lived illegally under an assumed name in this small town in western Manitoba. Keating, then 38, was facing manslaughter and drunken driving charges when she stopped contacting her lawyer and vanished. Police believe she crossed the Canadian border with her children, ages 1 and 3, in 1998. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jacquie Scott: Jacquie Scott says it was only 10 years ago that she discovered she was not officially a Canadian, even though she was raised in Canada by her Canadian father, according to CBC. Scott says she never questioned her citizenship growing up in Ontario in the 1950s and 60s. She was even able to vote in elections as an adult and A woman born to a Canadian soldier and a British woman during the Second World War is suing the federal government after being denied Canadian citizenship. On Monday in Federal Court in Vancouver, Scott launched a legal fight for Canadian citizenship that could set a precedent for those who call themselves "lost Canadians." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.