QUEBEC - Quebec Premier Pauline Marois: QUEBEC - Quebec Premier Pauline Marois says she is proud of her first year in power even though she admits its been difficult. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. While Marois has been praised for her response to the Lac-Megantic train disaster, her government was initially characterized as improvisational for its many flip-flops and then divisive because of its plans to regulate religious identity. Quebec Premier Pauline Marois walks out of a cabinet meeting Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at the legislature in Quebec City. Marois was elected one year ago on Sept. 4, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot That could be seen as an understatement for someone coming out of a tumultuous 12 months that began with a possible assassination attempt while she was giving her election-night victory speech last Sept. 4. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Putin: Obama gains ground in push for Syria action, according to The Star. The interview late Tuesday night at Putin's country residence outside the Russian capital was the only one he granted prior to the summit of G-20 nations in St. Petersburg, which opens Thursday. The summit was supposed to concentrate on the global economy but now looks likely to be dominated by the international crisis over allegations that the Syrian government used chemical weapons in the country's civil war and NOVO-OGARYOVO, RUSSIA President Vladimir Putin warned the West against taking one-sided action in Syria but also said Russia doesn't exclude supporting a UN resolution on punitive military strikes if it is proved that Damascus used poison gas on its own people. In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press and Russia's state Channel 1 television, Putin said Moscow has provided some components of the S-300 air defence missile system to Syria but has frozen further shipments. He suggested that Russia may sell the potent missile systems elsewhere if Western nations attack Syria without UN Security Council backing. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

container terminal: Besides the Roberts Bank coal terminal at the Deltaport causeway on First Nations land in Delta, B.C., Port Metro Vancouver will also build a new inspection facility at its Burrard Inlet terminal in Vancouver, according to 660 News. International Trade Minister Ed Fast said the marine container examination facilities will improve security and help to increase exports to new markets by reducing processing times and DELTA, B.C. Canadas largest container terminal will be part of a multimillion-dollar expansion to include new facilities for inspection of offshore cargo arriving at two Vancouver-area ports. The $106-million project announced Wednesday will include nearly $50 million from the federal government. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper: The G20 leaders summit in St. Petersburg, Russia was supposed to be focused on global economics on nurturing stability in countries rocked for the past five years by slowdowns and bank failures, according to The Star. Harper spoke with British Prime Minister David Cameron about Syria before leaving for Russia this morning and OTTAWA Prime Minister Stephen Harper has departed today for an international meeting that was once forged out of economic tumult and is now being reshaped by an unfolding political crisis. But with amped-up tensions over Syrias alleged use of chemical weapons , even summit host Vladimir Putin has had to concede that this years G20 will have to adapt and tackle the question of what to do about the violence and loss of life. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

occupational injury: According to the reports, over the last five years the number of sick days claimed due to occupational injury have decreased by more than 3,800 days. That has led to savings of $900,000, according to the city, according to CBC. According to the city, the average number of days lost is below the national average for public sector workers. Saskatoon workers recorded an average of 7.8 days off work compared to the national average of 10.9 days off work and Workplace reports from the City of Saskatoon show some improvement when it comes to employees being absent due to injury. Officials also said that overall employee attendance is the best Saskatoon has seen since 2008. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canada Border Services Agency: Carmelo Bruzzese, 64, was ruled a flight risk after his arrest late last month by the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency, according to The Star. His lawyer, Guidy Mamann, was unavailable for comment and A Vaughan grandfather wanted in Italy on Mafia-related charges remains behind bars in Milton after being arrested on an immigration warrant. His detention review has lasted six days and is expected to last into next week. Detention reviews often last less than half an hour. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee: A resolution backing the use of force against President Bashar Assads government cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a 10-7 vote after it was stiffened at the last minute to include a pledge of support for decisive changes to the present military balance of power in Syrias civil war. It would rule out U.S. combat operations on the ground, according to 660 News. The support seen in the Senate will be harder to find in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which is also reviewing Obamas request, though its timetable is even less certain and WASHINGTON President Barack Obamas request for speedy congressional backing of a military strike in Syria advanced in the Senate on Wednesday, hours after the president left open the possibility he would order retaliation for a deadly chemical weapons attack even if Congress withheld its approval. The measure is expected to reach the Senate floor next week, although the timetable for a vote is uncertain. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Barack Obama: STOCKHOLM - President Barack Obama on Wednesday defended anew the United States' controversial surveillance programs, trying to reassure Europeans that the National Security Agency's spying apparatus acts in limited fashion to root out threats even though recently revealed programs show a more widespread information-gathering effort. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Still, the president acknowledged that questions about privacy were likely to trail him in Europe a continent that is protective of privacy rights for some time. The issue also bubbled up during his trip to Germany in June, shortly after newspapers published reports based on documents leaked by former government contractor Edward Snowden. President Barack Obama, accompanied by Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, gestures during their joint news conference at the Rosenbad Building, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, in Stockholm, Sweden. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais "I can give assurances to the publics in Europe and around the world that we're not going around snooping at people's emails or listening to their phone calls," Obama said in response to a Swedish reporter's question during a news conference with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt as he began a whirlwind, 24-hour trip to Sweden. "What we try to do is to target very specifically areas of concern." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Rob Carmona: Attorney Marjorie Sharpe spoke outside federal court in Manhattan Tuesday after 38-year-old Brandi Johnson was awarded $30,000 in punitive damages. The jury had awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages last week against STRIVE East Harlem and its founder, Rob Carmona, according to 660 News. Johnson said she wants the message of the case to be that the word wont be tolerated no matter what your race is and NEW YORK, N.Y. A lawyer for a black woman whose hostile workplace claim against a black bosss N-word rant produced a $280,000 jury award says she hopes society has learned something. She said she hopes her clients quest for justice against a four-minute tirade of slurs by Carmona last year helps eliminate the most offensive word in the English language. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

President Barack Obama: WASHINGTON A Chicago Goldman Sachs executive and big-time fundraiser for U.S. President Barack Obama is still on track to become the new American ambassador to Canada despite rumours over the summer that his complex investment portfolio had disqualified him, according to The Chronicle Herald. In a story Wednesday about Canadian complaints over the delay in naming a new U.S. envoy to Canada, the Washington Post reported that Heyman has already undergone the State Departments diplomatic charm school training, an almost certain sign that he ll soon be announced publicly as Obamas pick and Bruce Heyman has encountered some complications during vetting, but so far there are no insurmountable obstacles in his path to the job, says a source familiar with the discussions. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.