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.

Pamela Wallin: The Senate committee that ordered the independent audit confirmed Tuesday that it would refer the matter to the RCMP as it unveiled a report that listed dozens of travel claims Ms. Wallin made to the Senate for trips auditors said were related to personal and partisan events. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. How Pamela Wallin claimed over $100,000 in travel expenses The release of a detailed audit of Pamela Wallins expense claims is deepening political problems for the Harper government, with the Saskatchewan senator accused of billing more than $121,000 in questionable expenses since taking office. Opinion If Wallin wants to be an activist, she should run for office (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Rehtaeh Parsons: The legislation that came into effect last week was introduced less than a month after the April 7 death of Rehtaeh Parsons, the 17-year-old from Cole Harbour who was said to have endured harassment and humiliation after a photo of her being sexually assaulted was circulated around her school and online, according to CBC. While those professionals who study and work with many of the issues around bullying and cyberbullying find hopeful signs in the Nova Scotia initiative, they caution that fundamental change will only come only through a multi-faceted approach involving parents, educators and others, to create a new sense of responsibility around online behaviour and Nova Scotia's new law to counteract cyberbullying aims to protect victims and hold young perpetrators and even their parents in some cases responsible. But legal and social welfare experts have their doubts that the law will have a significant impact in the fight against the insidious online behaviour unless much more educational groundwork is laid. She attempted to take her own life, and died a few days later after being taken off life support. People hold photographs of 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons during a memorial vigil at Victoria Park in Halifax on April 11. Paul Darrow/Reuters (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Robert Mugabe: HARARE - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said on Tuesday he saw his victory in last month's election as a mandate for "total" application of policies forcing foreign-owned firms to sell majority stakes to local investors. , according to Reuters. Rejecting this challenge along with questions by Western governments about the election's credibility, Mugabe said his new five-year term extending his 33 years in power gave him the chance to enact what he called the last chapter of a fiercely nationalist economic strategy. By Cris Chinaka Addressing a Defence Forces Day rally, Africa's oldest leader at 89, maintained a belligerent defence of his re-election on July 31, which is being challenged in court as fraudulent by his main political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Nicholas Karlis: I dont do no job, no nothing, he says in a gravelly voice. So I decide to come here, according to The Star. Downstairs, Nicholass son George proudly points to a plaque framing his fathers ticket on the Argentine. Next to the ticket, a handsome young man in a cotton shirt smiles out from a black-and-white Greek passport and When Nicholas Karlis boarded the ocean liner Argentine in Athens in 1951, the 17-year-old travelled light, with nothing but the clothes on his back, a blanket and an icon of St. George from his mother Georgina. Karlises quiet suburban home in Ottawa is filled with evidence of the familys immigrant past. In the foyer, framed letters from prime ministers and a Gov. Gen. congratulate Nicholas on 50 years in Canada and 55 years of marriage to Ionna. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Statistics Canada census chief Marc Hamel: The release originally scheduled for Wednesday will instead take place Sept. 11, said Statistics Canada census chief Marc Hamel, according to Huffington Post. "We have a couple of formulas that were not correctly applied, and it's impacting a number of the results. So we will need to re-run the tables that we had planned for the release." OTTAWA - Statistics Canada has postponed the third and final release of data from the 2011 National Household Survey, the controversial replacement for the cancelled long-form census. "We always perform quality checks up until the last minute on all of our data outputs, and in the course of doing these normal procedures over the weekend, we noticed some issues in some of the data we were looking at," Hamel said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Walmart: Victoria Ordu and Ihouma Amadi, who have completed three years of study at the University of Regina, were found to be working illegally for two weeks at Walmart, according to Huffington Post. Rather than being given a warning and a fine, both were told in June 2012 they had to leave Canada and REGINA - Hundreds of people came out Monday to support two Nigerian students who have taken sanctuary in a Regina church to avoid deportation. Both women thought they were allowed to work because they had social insurance numbers. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

unemployment check: Kennedy, 57, from Little Falls, N.J., had her $380 U.S. weekly unemployment check cut by $85 at the end of June. Just when she was coming to terms with the blow, she learned her benefits would end altogether in three weeks, more than two months earlier than she had anticipated. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. Canada sheds jobs as economy grinds its gears Phyllis Kennedy is facing a bleak future. U.S. government budget tightening has slashed her weekly unemployment check by more than a fifth, and her prospects of finding a job are grim after over a year of unemployment. U.S. jobless claims edge up, still point to healing labour market (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Immigration Minister Chris Alexander: Alexander told The Globe and Mail Monday that refugee claims "related to this particular issue will of course be looked at very seriously by our very generous system.", according to Huffington Post. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird slammed the legislation, which he fears will be enforced during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, as something that may incite violence. Bairds stance put him at odds with REAL Women of Canada, a privately-funded and socially conservative group, which called his position and activism on this issue "destructive to the conservative base in Canada." Immigration Minister Chris Alexander says Canada's refugee board will likely favour gay asylum-seekers wishing to escape persecution in Russia. Controversial new legislation in Russia , signed by President Vladimir Putin in June, bans "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" and imposes fines on those holding gay pride rallies. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

internet surveillance: Secretary of State John Kerry urged Brazil not to let recent revelations of secret internet surveillance by the United States derail growing trade, diplomatic and cultural relations between the two largest economies in the Americas. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. South American bloc takes strong stance against U.S. on spying The United States pledged on Tuesday that Brazil and other allies will get answers about American communications surveillance aimed at thwarting terrorism, but gave no indication it would change the way it gathers such information. Guardian journalist says Snowden has blueprints on how NSA operates (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

U.S. Federal Reserve: WASHINGTON - U.S. retail sales rose in July, pointing to an acceleration in consumer spending that could bolster the case at the U.S. Federal Reserve for winding down a major economic stimulus program. , according to Reuters. Retail sales rose 0.2 percent in July, the Commerce Department said. By Jason Lange Other data released on Tuesday showed that small businesses were more optimistic in July, although companies rebuilt inventories in June at an unexpectedly weaker pace. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.