loonie: TORONTO - The loonie closed lower Thursday amid a Canadian retail sales report for June that was much weaker than economists had been expecting. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. The loonie closed off the worst levels of the session, down 0.39 of a cent at 95.09 cents US after going as low as 94.96 cents US. The Canadian dollar loonie is pictured in Vancouver, Sept. 22, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward Also, the American dollar continued to appreciate on growing indications that the U.S. Federal Reserve is set to begin winding up a key economic stimulus program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Premier Pauline Marois: Mr. Trudeau said on Wednesday that he raised his views with Premier Pauline Marois during his first meeting with the Premier. The Quebec government has confirmed that it will move forward with the contentious legislation, which is meeting with heavy criticism. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. KONRAD YAKABUSKI Next in the pipeline: Pauline Marois Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has waded into Quebecs roiling debate over religious rights, saying he has serious concerns about the Parti Qu b cois governments proposals to ban religious head wear such as hijabs and turbans from the public service. JOHN IBBITSON Trudeaus stand on pot legalization gives Harper a generational wedge (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Pauline Maroiss: No one outside government has seen the draft bill yet, but we know a few things, according to Globe and Mail. SHAUNA VAN PRAAGH Distinguishing Quebec as closed-minded Pauline Maroiss PQ government is planning to make good on a promise to introduce a secularism charter that will oust religious minorities from public life. Public sector workplaces will be scrubbed clean of the sartorial evidence of faith. Government departments, public services, police, judicial and legal services will be purged of reasonable accommodation. People will be able to go about their daily lives without the risk of seeing educators, doctors or professors who appear to be anything other than lapsed Christmas-and-confirmation Catholics. More Related to this Story (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lionel Perez: In a letter published in Le Devoir , the mayor of Montreal's C te-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Gr ce borough called this part of the government's proposed secular charter "rigid and selective." Q A: Quebec's religious garb debate intensifies, according to CBC. Perez, who wears a kippa a Jewish skullcap while serving as mayor, says nobody should be forced to make a choice between being an elected official and wearing a religious symbol on the job and Lionel Perez, the mayor of one of Canada's most multi-cultural neighbourhoods, has spoken out against the Parti Qu b cois government following reports earlier this week about plans to impose a widespread ban on religious symbols in the public sector. "What should concern us is the vision and how the government wants to implement this secularism. These positions show a willingness to define secularism in a way that is rigid and selective," wrote Perez. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

political ambitions: His days in diapers in Calgary were getting in the way of his political ambitions south of the border, ambitions that appear to include a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, according to The Star. The Texas senator let loose with a declaration that I am not a Canadian every bit as full-throated as the famous I am Canadian beer commercial rant and OTTAWA Its been apparent for some time that young Ted Cruz didnt really bond with the Alberta oil patch as a toddler. So this week he moved to erase the first four years of his life. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Australia: The U.N. report comes in the middle of an Australian election campaign where immigration is a major issue, as the rival parties vie to appear tough in promising to curb an influx of asylum seekers. , according to Reuters. "The government is conscious of the need to carefully balance the safety and security of the Australian community and Australia's human rights obligations to that person," an Immigration Department spokeswoman said. GENEVA - Australia must compensate and release 46 refugees whom it has arbitrarily detained and treated in a cruel, inhuman and degrading way, a U.N. human rights watchdog has said. Australia, which said the refugees had received adverse security assessments from its chief spy agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, said it had six months to respond to the U.N. findings. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police: Delegates at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police annual meeting have passed a resolution that says officers need more enforcement options to deal with people caught with pot, according to CTV. "There's a cost to a lot of the enforcement that we do," Chu said Tuesday at the meeting in Winnipeg and WINNIPEG -- Canada's top cops say handing out tickets for illegal possession of small amounts of marijuana could be more efficient than laying criminal charges. Association president Jim Chu, who is chief constable of the Vancouver Police Service, said having the option of writing tickets to penalize pot users caught with less than 30 grams of the drug would reduce policing and court costs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

religious symbols: Its latest manoeuvre, according to a trial balloon floated in a Montreal newspaper, is a plan to ban religious symbols such as Muslim head coverings, Jewish kippas and Sikh turbans along with ostentatious personal crucifixes from schools, hospitals, daycares and anywhere else in the broad public sector, all in the name of ensuring religious neutrality. In fact, such a move would be anything but neutral, according to The Star. Of course, the PQ doesnt want to ban all religious symbols. The partys own ads during the last provincial election campaign featured a lingering aerial shot of the enormous cross on Mount Royal accompanied by promises to take pride in our values. And legislators in Quebecs National Assembly famously debate laws in a chamber where a crucifix hangs above the Speakers chair and Quebecs Parti Qu b cois government is plumbing new depths in its cynical campaign to pump oxygen into the sputtering cause of sovereignty. It would amount to targeting religious minorities by effectively excluding devout Jews, Muslims and Sikhs from public sector jobs. It would play on the defensive attitude of francophone Quebecers who fear their values are under siege from newcomers. In the words of Charles Taylor, the McGill philosopher who six years ago co-chaired a commission into religious accommodation in Quebec, it would be an absolutely terrible act of exclusion. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

unemployment benefits: WASHINGTON - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits last week held near a six-year low and U.S. manufacturing activity rose this month, suggesting the economy is starting to find firmer footing, according to Reuters. Despite the increase, the four-week moving average for claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, fell to its lowest level since November 2007. That backed the widely-held view that U.S. economic growth will accelerate in the second half of the year, and hinted at a stronger pace of hiring in August and By Jason Lange Initial claims for state unemployment benefits climbed 13,000 to 336,000, just above the level expected by economists in a poll, Labor Department data showed on Thursday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Howie Mandel: When Mandel stopped by the HuffPost Live studio to discuss "America's Got Talent" and his new show "Deal With It," host Josh Zepps asked for his thoughts on Cruz's move, according to Huffington Post. Cruz released his birth certificate to the Dallas Morning News earlier this week after the newspaper speculated that his Canadian citizenship could render him ineligible for the 2016 presidential election and Sen. Ted Cruz's R-Texas decision to renounce his Canadian citizenship doesn't sit well with Canadian-born comedian Howie Mandel. "I think it's totally wrong," Mandel said. "You don't have to renounce it. You can be a dual citizen." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.