John Baird: Baird was asked by reporters during a teleconference from Rio de Janeiro about growing calls for a boycott of the 2014 Games in Sochi, according to CBC. "We've got an important opportunity for the free world to be able to put the focus on what's happening in Russia in recent weeks and months and hopefully that can yield a change," he added. Related: IOC wants more reassurance on Russian anti-gay law Related: How not to boycott the Olympic Games Related: Russian sports minister urges critics to 'calm down' Related: Twitter reacts to group's anti-Baird comments Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said he hopes "decency will prevail" when it comes to Russia's anti-gay law, but that despite his concern about Canadians going to the Olympics there, a boycott is not the answer. "We want to see the athletes succeed, and obviously we're in close contact with the Canadian Olympic Committee," Baird said. "I was pleased to see the International Olympic Committee come out and seek further assurances from the Russian Federation in advance of the Games." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

OTTAWA Statistics Canada: It was the second consecutive monthly loss of jobs and will come as a surprise to markets, which had expected something closer to the economists consensus of a modest 10,000 employment gain, according to 660 News. Private employers actually added 31,400 jobs during the month and OTTAWA Statistics Canada said the economy shed 39,400 jobs in July, enough to push the unemployment rate up one-tenth of a point to 7.2 per cent. The agency said a whopping cut of 74,000 in the public sector, mostly in health care, social assistance and administration, was the main reason for the poor July labour market performance. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

unemployment rate: The Canadian economy lost 39,000 jobs last month, pushing the unemployment rate up 0.1 percentage points to 7.2 per cent. But Hamilton's unemployment rate dropped 0.2 points to level off at six per cent, according to CBC. But Statistics Canada reported Friday that levels rose in Alberta, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, pushing the national average up and Hamilton's unemployment rate dropped in July, even though the national average rose. In Ontario, unemployment levels dropped in Guelph, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Peterborough and Oshawa. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Putin: Obamas comments came just two days after cancelling a planned summit with Putin next month , and as senior U.S. and Russian officials met at the State Department to look at areas in which co-operation is possible. Those officials put a brave face on the badly strained ties and said the meeting produced some tangible results on the military front and on the push to forge a political solution to the crisis in Syria, among other issues, according to The Star. I ve encouraged Mr. Putin to think forward as opposed to backward on those issues, with mixed success, he told reporters. He said he decided not to attend the summit because Russia has not moved on a range of issues where the U.S. would like to see progress. He said his unhappiness with Russia granting asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden was one reason, but not the only one, for his decision and WASHINGTON President Barack Obama said Friday he was reassessing the U.S. relationship with Russia because of a growing number of issues on which the two countries differ, and he lamented what he called his mixed success in trying to persuade Russian leader Vladimir Putin to abandon a Cold War mentality. Obama said Putins return to the Kremlin last year had brought about more rhetoric on the Russian side that was anti-American, that played into some of the old stereotypes about the Cold War contest between the United States and Russia. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

President Vladimir Putins: Tornovois murder earlier this year was a horrific reminder that Russia is a dangerous place to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Homophobia is rampant. And its not getting better on President Vladimir Putins watch. Pandering to prejudice, he has just signed a law that criminalizes the propagation of homosexuality and gay rights to minors, and outlaws gay rallies and promotion of gay causes in the media, according to The Star. But thats not the view REAL Women of Canada takes. The socially conservative group has launched a crude and misguided tirade against Baird, accusing him of abusing his position to impose his own special interests by lobbying the Russians and funding groups elsewhere that fight discrimination. It says Baird is trying to further his own perspective on homosexuality and After a few beers in a Volgograd playground Vladislav Tornovois drinking buddies decided he was gay. So they brutally beat him. Mutilated him. Tried to set him on fire. And snuffed out his life by crushing his skull with a heavy stone. He was 23. To Prime Minister Stephen Harpers credit, Canada has refused to remain silent. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird was tasked with lobbying Moscow to drop the new law, and then to decry it as a mean-spirited and hateful incitement to intolerance and an affront to human rights. All of which it is. To Amnesty Internationals Alex Neve, Baird deserves praise for flagging rights abuses in places such as Russia, Uganda and Kenya. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Obama: Can America do business with Vladimir Putin?, according to The Chronicle Herald. The White House's announcement, on Aug. 7, that Obama was canceling a Moscow summit meeting with his Russian counterpart, shows how far the Americans have drifted toward concluding that the answer may, in fact, be mostly negative and During his first term, President Barack Obama invested much time and effort in seeking a positive answer to that question. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Labour Shirley Bond: The latest figures show the provincial unemployment rate jumping to 6.7 per cent from 6.3 in June. , according to Times Colonist. Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour Shirley Bond says monthly fluctuations are expected and she notes B.C. has experienced job losses in July in three of the last five years. VANCOUVER - The unemployment rate jumped in British Columbia in July with the loss of 11,700 jobs, but the provincial government says there are almost 39,000 more people working since it introduced its jobs plan. Part-time workers, especially those in the wholesale and retail sectors, saw the biggest losses in the province dropping by 17,800 jobs, partially offset by a gain in full time work of 6,100. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

unemployment rate: In Waterloo Region, the unemployment rate rose to 8% from 7.5% and in Brantford the unemployment rate increased by 0.1% to 6.7%. Guelph had a little bit of encouraging news. Their unemployment rate fell 0.2% to 7.7%, according to CTV. In the last week alone, two manufacturers shut their doors in Waterloo Region: Gerdau Cambridge Mill and Barbarian Rugby Wear and The Canadian labour market took an unexpected turn for the worse last month. According to Statistics Canada, 39,000 people lost their jobs in July and the national unemployment rate now sits at 7.2%. This is the second consecutive month that the economy lost jobs, and the trend could continue into August. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird: "We have put a great deal of emphasis on promoting Canadian values," Baird told The Canadian Press from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday, according to CBC. Baird also said that political and religious freedoms and women's rights' are values the government promotes around the world and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is brushing off criticism of Ottawa's defence of sexual minorities' rights in other countries, saying the vast majority of Canadians support the government's stance despite claims from a conservative women's group to the contrary. "With respect to sexual minorities, we've focused on three things. One, against the criminalization of sexual minorities, two, against violence, and three, against the death penalty and I think 99.9 per cent of Canadians support us on those three issues." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Barack Obama: WASHINGTON - Responding to critics, President Barack Obama promised Friday to work with Congress on "appropriate reforms" for domestic surveillance programs that were thrust into the public eye by leaker Edward Snowden, saying he understands why Americans are skeptical about the collection of telephone and Internet information. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. As for Snowden, recently granted temporary asylum by Russia, Obama said he is not a patriot, as some have suggested, and challenged him to return to the United States to face espionage charges. President Barack Obama answers questions during his news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Aug. 9, 2013. The president said he'll work with Congress to change the oversight of some of the National Security Agency's controversial surveillance programs and name a new panel of outside experts to review technologies. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais "It's not enough for me to have confidence in these programs," the president declared at a White House news conference shortly before a scheduled departure on a weeklong vacation. " The American people have to have confidence in them as well." The president announced a series of changes in a program begun under the anti-terror Patriot Act that was passed in the wake of the terror attacks of Sept, 11, 2001. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.