Mary Kate Harvie: ALLOWING offenders to donate to charity as part of their sentences is an "unseemly" practice that creates an impression of "unequal justice," deprives the government of cash and invites questions about bias in Manitoba's criminal courts, the province's top court has ruled. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. A rarely seen five-justice panel of the Appeal Court unanimously ruled provincial court Judge Mary Kate Harvie's decision to hand former Kenko Sushi owner Jung Won Choi a conditional discharge -- plus probation including a requirement to donate $6,000 each to two Winnipeg charities -- resulted in an unfit sentence and had to be struck down. Kenko Sushi is seen on Corydon in 2009. The Court of Appeal made the findings Thursday in handing down a strongly worded decision in the case of the former owner of a Corydon Avenue sushi restaurant who pleaded guilty last year to illegally employing six foreign workers between June 2008 and May 2009. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Charles Taylor: The charter would ban Jewish, Muslim and Sikh head coverings, and other religious or cultural symbols, for workers in Quebecs public sector: schools, daycares, drivers licence examiners etc. Philosopher Charles Taylor , who co-chaired a provincial inquiry into religious accommodation, immediately called it Putinesque. He was referring to Russias anti-gay laws. Sounds more poutinesque than Putinesque, said someone I know, which should qualify for instant admission to the Canadian wordplay hall of fame. It catches the provincial double entendre alert pettiness of the measures, according to The Star. This is where I get nostalgic for the old Quebec nationalism. I happened to visit Quebec City last June, where I d gone to live decades before, when I decided to try to become a writer rent a garret, take long walks, feel isolated etc. The Parti Qu b cois had yet to elect a single member though it had been founded recently by Ren L vesque, and it felt like a genuine expression along with myriad other movements and parties of the zeitgeist. The whole society was in creative motion, under the general heading of national pride and The Parti Qu b cois government in Quebec is floating a Charter of Quebec Values . It makes me nostalgic for the old days of Quebec nationalism. The provincial alert! minister of citizenship, Bernard Drainville , has said, . . . if we want to be able to properly manage this multicultural diversity, we will have to give ourselves rules and common values . . . A diversity that must be managed by government bureaucrats doesnt sound very luxuriant, creative or exuberant, but its the we will have to give ourselves part that chills me. I can see the appeal of common rules and values when they arise naturally in the give-and-take between citizens and communities, not imposed by legislation. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Halifax Regional Police: Police have charged yet another jail employee and an accomplice with providing drugs and contraband to prisoners at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, according to The Chronicle Herald. The two people were arrested at their homes in Spryfield and Middle Sackville. Police then searched the homes and seized a small quantity of marijuana and hashish and Nine charges are being filed as a result of a week-long joint investigation by the RCMP and Halifax Regional Police. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Ted Cruz: Cruz was born to a Cuban father and an American mother who ran a seismology company in Calgary. The family returned to the U.S. when Cruz was four. In a bit of delicious irony, he has had to make public his Alberta birth certificate to prove his American credentials through his mothers citizenship. The Republican senator has the backing of the Tea Party, members of which helped foment the controversy over President Barack Obamas birth. In an attempt to quell the controversy, Obama made his Hawaiian birth certificate public. , according to Times Colonist. So he should. The U.S. Constitution says a president must be a natural-born citizen. Cruz will have trouble enough with xenophobic right-wingers who might regard someone born outside of the country as something less than a full citizen. Holding citizenship in two countries would be a definite handicap politically. Calgary-born Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas with presidential aspirations, says he will renounce his Canadian citizenship. For him, its probably the right thing to do, but other prominent U.S. politicians havent found their Canadian roots to be a handicap. Apparently unaware until recently that his birthplace automatically made him a Canadian citizen, Cruz says he will apply to have that citizenship cancelled. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Premier Darrell Dexter: Nova Scotia is the only province in Canada to see an increase in the number of farms since 2009, Premier Darrell Dexter said Friday, while announcing the government was topping up the provinces $600,000 FarmNEXT fund by another $400,000 for next year, according to The Chronicle Herald. Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth, where the two-day Meet Your Farmer at the Mall event is underway, was deliberately selected as the location to hold the announcement instead of a rural location and A provincial fund that helps aspiring farmers finance their ventures has been boosted up to $1 million for 2014. The premier said the injection of funds into FarmNEXT will allow the program to provide cash incentives to potentially assist more young people getting into agriculture. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

social settings: But while home-schooling may often be linked to a persons discomfort in social settings, in many ways it is actually a way to mitigate the socialization problems children face in schools, while also encouraging independence. , according to Times Colonist. First, there is an impression that home-schooled children typically interact only with family members. But home-schooled children make friends among their neighbours, in extra-curricular clubs, at home-school gatherings and among co-workers. In fact, a Fraser Institute report states that Canadian home-schooled students are regularly involved in an average of eight social activities outside the home. School is as much about socialization as it is about education. It is for this reason that some people dont consider home-schooling a viable option. Several myths surround home-schooling. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Syria: Roughly half of all the nearly 2 million registered refugees from Syria are children, and some 740,000 of those are under the age of 11, according to the UN refugee and childrens agencies. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. Number of refugees fleeing Syria could triple by end of 2013: UN The number of registered child refugees fleeing Syrias violence has topped the 1 million mark in another grim milestone of the deepening conflict, two UN agencies said Friday. Russia urges Assad to co-operate in UN probe of alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd: GENEVA - The head of U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday he hopes common sense will prevail in Australia's election-season debate about how the country treats asylum seekers. , according to Reuters. Opinion polls predict the government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Labor Party will be unseated by the conservative coalition led by Tony Abbot when Australians vote on September 7. By Tom Miles "We are of course very much interested, not in the election itself, but in the debate about asylum policy in Australia," said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Justin Trudeau: Sources have told News the marijuana confession was an intentional move on Trudeau's part, according to CBC. "Brutally honest," Capstick said about what Trudeau revealed in an interview with the Huffington Post's Althia Raj. "But, of course, at the same time that it is brutally honest, it was most certainly a tactical manoeuvre and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's revelation this week that he has smoked pot since being elected to the House of Commons caught some people off guard, but the surprising admission wasn't a spontaneous slip of the tongue, it was deliberate. The admission itself was a surprise to Ian Capstick, a communications and political strategy specialist, but he believes it was done on purpose. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Justin Trudeaus: Trudeaus confession that he smoked a joint after becoming an MP has put the pot-smoking predilections of politicians if any under the microscope, according to The Chronicle Herald. Indonesias foreign minister must have wondered what everyone else was smoking when his Canadian counterpart got the cannabis question Friday and OTTAWA Liberal Leader Justin Trudeaus marijuana mea culpa has sparked some serious reefer madness on Parliament Hill. It now seems every parliamentarian is being asked if they ve ever fired up a fattie. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.