UN Human Rights Council: Canada was responding Thursday to the UN Human Rights Council, which is conducting its Universal Period Review of Canadas rights record, on a wide range of issues from poverty, immigration, prostitution and the criminal justice system, according to The Star. Canadas ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Elissa Golberg, offered a brief rebuttal to Belarus, but did not engage directly with the other countries that criticized Canada and OTTAWA Cuba, Iran, Belarus and Russia used a UN body Thursday to criticize Canadas human rights record, as the Canadian envoy rejected calls to develop a comprehensive national review to end violence against aboriginal women. Countries have their rights records reviewed every four years by the Geneva-based UN forum, but the Harper government has been skeptical in part because it allows countries with dubious rights records to criticize Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

minister: Statements from senior ministers Wednesday suggested the PQ has no intention of watering down the plan for quick passage in the current minority legislature, according to CTV. The third party in the legislature has offered to negotiate a deal on a bill but another minister, the one spearheading the proposed Charter of Values, said he'd rather hear from Quebecers first and QUEBEC -- The Parti Quebecois government appears to be digging in its heels for an extended debate on its controversial religion plan, having brushed off invitations for a speedy compromise. One day after one minister expressed a willingness to "improve" the charter, the government made it clear the changes it envisioned would be minor and would not dilute its basic elements. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

U.S. Federal Reserve: The S P/TSX composite index fell 4.62 points to 12,926.78. The Canadian dollar dipped 0.38 of a cent to 97.45 cents US, according to 660 News. The news sent U.S. markets up sharply, resulting in the Dow Jones industrial index and S P 500 closing at record highs on Wednesday and TORONTO North American markets finished lower Thursday as investors began to digest an unexpected decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue with its monetary stimulus program. The U.S. central bank had been widely expected to announce a scaling back Wednesday of its $85 billion of monthly bond purchases, which have put downward pressure on long-term borrowing rates. Instead, the Fed did nothing as Fed chairman Ben Bernanke voiced worries over the state of the U.S. economic recovery and the still-high levels of unemployment. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mental health: SCORCe has programs and training in housing, mental health and addiction as well as employment for Calgarians in vulnerable situations, whether physical or mental, according to 660 News. But thanks to SCORCe, people in need of help, can now get it and The Safe Communities Opportunity and Resource Centre, or SCORCe, is open once again in its home on 7th Avenue, beside the City Hall LRT station. Calgary Police Chief, Rick Hanson says every year, there are over 60,000 social disorders calls made to police for issues that could be dealt with outside the courts. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

UN Human Rights Council: Canada was responding Thursday to the UN Human Rights Council, which is conducting its Universal Periodic Review of Canada's rights record, on a wide range of issues from poverty, immigration and the criminal justice system, according to Huffington Post. On Thursday, that happened again and OTTAWA - Cuba, Iran, Belarus and Russia used a United Nations body Thursday to criticize Canada's human-rights record, as the Canadian envoy rejected calls to develop a comprehensive national review to end violence against aboriginal women. Countries have their rights records reviewed every four years by the Geneva-based UN forum, but the Harper government has been skeptical in part because it allows countries with dubious rights records to criticize Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

the World Bank: BEIRUT - Syria's conflict will cost Lebanon $7.5 billion in cumulative economic losses by the end of next year, the World Bank has said in a report prepared for an aid meeting at the United Nations, according to Reuters. It estimates that the war and resulting wave of refugees into Lebanon will cut real GDP growth by 2.85 percent a year between 2012 to 2014, double unemployment to above 20 percent and widen the deeply indebted nation's deficit by $2.6 billion and By Dominic Evans A summary of the report, seen by after the World Bank briefed diplomats in Beirut, provides the most detailed assessment yet of the strain Syria's conflict has placed on its small Mediterranean neighbor. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

United Way Calgary Homeless Foundation Alpha House: Premier Redford and Mayor Nenshi were on hand for the centres official ribbon cutting on Thursday morning, according to CTV. SORCe brings representatives from the following organizations together in a location adjacent to the City Hall LRT Westbound platform: United Way Calgary Homeless Foundation Alpha House Drop-In Centre The Alex Neighbourlink Chief Crown Prosecutor Chief Probation Officer Bylaw Services City of Calgary Community Neighbourhood Services Alberta Health Services Calgary Police Service For the first time in Calgary, twenty social service agencies will be housed under one roof. The collective will be known as SORCe Safe Communities Opportunity and Resource Centre and assist the citys downtrodden. This was the second opening of SORCe. In mid-June, the centre began assisting Calgarians but the flooding of the Bow and Elbow Rivers prompted the temporary closure of the agency. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jason Kenney: Throughout his case studies of various policy issues, Griffith underlines how officials working on multiculturalism and citizenship issues under Kenney were forced to confront their own latent ideologies and grapple with challenges to their expertise under a regime that broke starkly from the approach of previous governments, according to The Star. An organizations use of terms such as oppression, white power and racialized communities became grounds for striking it from a pool of grant applicants. This aversion was part of the ministers larger distaste for the issue of barriers facing visible-minority Canadians, and his desire to shift focus toward discrimination within and among minority communities and Andrew Griffith , a retired senior official at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, has just published a book about the tense period beginning in 2007 that saw minister Jason Kenney bring a tidal wave of change to two federal departments. Among the many virtues of Griffiths book, Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias: Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism , is a striking commitment to epistemological modesty and self-reflection. From vocabulary to policy priorities to the deepest questions of what counted as sound evidence for policy-making, the Conservatives upended decades of received wisdom. For instance, Griffith reports, Kenney and his staff held in particular odium the blame-laying perspectives taken by downtown activists and researchers in analyzing mainstream discrimination toward cultural minorities. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Chrystia Freeland: Retired general Andrew Leslie, former commander of Canadian army, is the latest recruit, according to Huffington Post. Leslie's appointment comes a day after Trudeau named Chrystia Freeland a former journalist, internationally acclaimed author and the party's candidate in the coming Toronto Centre byelection as co-chair of an advisory council on the economy and OTTAWA - Justin Trudeau has begun showcasing a new Liberal team, with some surprise stars emerging. He has agreed to co-chair an advisory council on international affairs for the Liberal leader and is not ruling out running for the party in the 2015 election. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Claudio Aprile: Restaurateurs Michael Bonacini, Claudio Aprile and Alvin Leung will put home chef contestants through their paces in the Canadian version of the Gordon Ramsay hit, expected to debut on in the winter of 2014, the network announced Thursday, according to CTV. "The best part was finally just getting on camera, getting into wardrobe and really becoming part of this incredible experience." TORONTO -- Three high-profile chefs were literally bursting with excitement during their first day on the set as judges for the new TV show "MasterChef Canada." "It was incredible. It was lightning in a bottle," Claudio Aprile, the owner and creative force behind the Orderfire Restaurant Group, which includes Toronto's Origin brand restaurants, said during a break on Monday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.