Simon Doonans: In his first chapter, Doonan shares how he and a good friend who works in a psychiatric hospital often compare war stories, according to The Star. Given what we are all supposed to be rushing out and filling our closets with this fall, however, the release of Doonans The Asylum seems almost uncannily timely, as fashion appears to be retreating ever more away from reality into a crazy house all its own and On the cover of Simon Doonans new book is a chic-looking vintage? straitjacket with a dangling price tag. Famed for his outrageous windows for Barneys New York, and a wry fashion observer, Doonan obviously wants to make it clear that, as far as hes concerned, fashion is one crazy business. Whose world is more demented? asks Doonan. The world of the insane or the world of the insanely fashionable? He adds that his pals interns, inspired by the unconscious fashion daring of the clientele, play an extremely politically incorrect though startlingly challenging game called Inpatient or Williamsburg Hipster? (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Samer Elbanna: Now the 29-year-old is casting a longing glance back at his homeland, wondering if he has a better shot there at the life he dreams about, according to CTV. "So I'm thinking about going back to Egypt. I have everything there, or I have to fight here to be something." OTTAWA -- Samer Elbanna left Egypt in search of a better life for his family. But leaving a job in procurement -- one that had him dealing with companies all over the world -- in order to sling burgers at an Ottawa fast food joint wasn't what he had in mind. "I'm now thinking a lot of that. Because my life is not easy here," Elbanna said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Mumtaz Ladha: The employer, 60-year-old Canadian citizen Mumtaz Ladha, is facing several charges, including the human-trafficking of the 26-year-old Tanzanian woman who cannot be identified under a publication ban. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. The court heard the young woman grew up with her two older siblings and parents in a house with running water and electricity. VANCOUVER - A young woman from East Africa had lived a life of hardship and poverty before meeting the employer who eventually brought her to Canada and allegedly forced her into domestic servitude, a human trafficking trial heard Wednesday. The alleged victim, wearing glasses and a black outfit, testified at B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday that she began working as a housekeeper for Ladha in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania, when she was about 14 years old. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Parti Quebecois: Thats a harsh assessment, we know, of the PQ governments proposed Charter of Values, which has a lot of support in Quebec and whose defenders include many who seem to sincerely believe they are upholding a religiously neutral state that treats all faiths with equal respect, according to The Chronicle Herald. ALSO SEE: PQ gets backing of civil-servants #39; union for religion plan Having failed to achieve sovereignty, the Parti Quebecois is now sadly settling for bigotry. But to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln: When we square right up to this policy, we dont know what else to call it but legislated bigotry. Blind, self-deluded bigotry, maybe. But bigotry all the same. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

median family income: The rest of us are up to our eyeballs in mortgage debt, according to CBC. It shows that the median family income in Canada is $76,000 generally higher in the west than the east while the median individual income is just $27,600. That means just as many individuals earn less than $27,600 as earn more and For all the growing diversity the 2011 census and related surveys have portrayed in Canada, Wednesday's final release of data from the National Household Survey reveals a contrasting constant: the richest of the rich in Canada are married, middle-aged, white men. Statistics Canada has published the final batch of data from its new and controversial National Household Survey the survey meant to stand in for the long-form census scrapped by the Conservatives in 2010. The release was delayed for a month because of a glitch in the agency's formulas. CENSUS TRENDS Housing and income across Canada Home ownership on the rise, as is mortgage debt (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

StatsCan: But unfortunately, we can't find out from the new data just how low-income Canadians performed on income since that time. Thanks to the Harper government's elimination of the long-form mandatory census, StatsCan says Canada's new income data is not comparable to the old data, according to Huffington Post. The results from the NHS " show markedly different trends than those derived from other surveys," StatsCan states and The latest data from the National Household Survey marks the first major update to information on Canadians' incomes since the 2006 census. In that time, Canada has gone through the worst economic crisis the world has seen since the Great Depression. In a note buried in the release of the third and last installment of the NHS's findings , the proud parent of the survey found itself criticizing its own data. The statistical agency warned that the NHS's findings on low-income estimates cannot be compared to old censuses. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

baby boomers: The convergence of boomers reaching retirement age at the end of an era of historically low interest rates has conjured fear about the impact on the housing market of a growing number of homeowners choosing to downsize to increasingly popular condos. CENSUS TRENDS Housing and income across Canada Home ownership on the rise, as is mortgage debt, according to CBC. "That generation of baby boomers really likes to have the house, the garage, the garden; it keeps them active," McKenna said and Baby boomers might be looking to trade their traditional single-family homes for the convenience and comfort of a condominium, but a mass exodus is likely still a long ways off, real-estate experts and recent retirees say. But not all baby boomers will be willing to forgo the lifestyle of a single-family dwelling, said Miranda McKenna, a realtor with Real Estate Homeward brokerage in Toronto. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

minimum wage: In a policy paper released Wednesday, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce explores possible scenarios for setting the minimum wage including the current ad-hoc system where government decides to formal expert panels, according to The Star. What we ve heard from members, its not that any of our members are calling for it, but if you re going to make some changes here, it needs to be predictable, it needs to be transparent and it needs to be fair, said Allan O Dette, the chambers president and CEO, in an interview and Ontarios businesses may not be keen to see a hike in the minimum wage, but if its going up, they d like to see increases tied to inflation. It settles on linking the minimum wage with the consumer price index as the best method. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Mumtaz Ladha: The employer, Mumtaz Ladha, a 60-year-old Canadian citizen who split her time between West Vancouver and Tanzania, is now on trial for several human trafficking-related offences. She is accused of lying to immigration officials in Tanzania to bring the young woman to Canada and then employing her illegally after they arrived, according to 660 News. The young Tanzanian woman stayed at Ladhas home in a posh area of West Vancouver until she fled to a shelter in June 2009 and VANCOUVER A young woman who hailed from humble beginnings in the East African country of Tanzania left behind her home and a three-year-old child for the promise of earning $200 a month in a Vancouver-area salon, only to be forced into domestic servitude with no pay and little means of escape, the Crown alleged Tuesday at a human trafficking trial. Ladha and the young woman, whose name is covered by a publication ban, arrived in the Vancouver area in August 2008, when the Crown alleges the victim was handed a maids outfit and set to work. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Sheena Findlay: Sheena Findlay, a spokesperson for the bank, confirmed it has hired McCarthy as a director in our Canadian Banking business, effective Nov. 1, according to The Star. Its all a bit of a joke, Conacher said. They ve spun it well. Most people think there is a five-year ban on lobbying, but there isn t; you can lobby the day you leave government as long as it just takes less than 20 per cent of your time, or one day a week and OTTAWA Kevin McCarthy, Finance Minister Jim Flahertys chief of staff and one-time chief policy adviser on the banking sector, is leaving the federal government to go to a new job at Scotiabank, has learned. McCarthys beeline into a Bay Street job in a federally regulated industry may not violate the Conservative governments conflict of interest or lobbying laws, but Democracy Watch spokesman Duff Conacher said the move shows how weak the rules really are. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.