Superior Court Justice Edward Morgan: All three have lived in Canada for years and are eligible for citizenship, but argue they should not have to swear allegiance to the Queen as they oppose the monarchy on moral and religious grounds, according to The Star. Superior Court Justice Edward Morgan agreed the oath is compelled speech which infringes on the right to free expression. But he ruled that violation a reasonable limit which is justifiable in a democratic society, and thus constitutional and A push by three prospective Canadian citizens to strike down the portion of the citizenship oath which swears allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II was dismissed Friday by an Ontario court. The Charter guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, and the oath is a form of forced political speech, said Dror Bar-Natan, who has lived in the country for 11 years. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Downtown Winnipeg BIZ: IT'S easy to donate to the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ's third annual CEO Sleepout for Winnipeg's homeless, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Or make a cheque or money order out to "Downtown Winnipeg BIZ -- Change for the Better": Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, 426 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, Man., R3C 0C9 Perfume Paradise owner Ari Driver has helped -- and been helped by -- the homeless. WAYNE GLOWACKI / Photo Store Here's how to help Just go to www.changeforthebetter.org and click the "Donate Now" button under the photo of your favourite CEO, community leader or media personality. Doug really wants you to click the button under his mugshot. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

PC Leader Jamie Baillie: I laughed out loud at Bruce MacKinnons Sept. 19 cartoon of PC Leader Jamie Baillie gulping down Viagra in an attempt to fulfil his pledge to increase the population, according to The Chronicle Herald. Theres nothing wrong with encouraging immigrants, but what about encouraging young couples already here to raise families and Nudging up numbers But the cartoon has a grain of truth in it. A simple way to increase the population is for Nova Scotia to make it easier for young families to raise children. Incentives could involve a baby bonus; affordable child care and housing for every family based on ability to pay; increased number of family resource centres to help stressed parents; and family-friendly employment flexible hours, part-time work with benefits. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

part-time employment: The economy is weak. Employment is stagnant. And the workforce is aging, according to The Chronicle Herald. Despite an uptick in part-time employment last month, full-time employment remained flat in August and showed no change from August 2012 and For the first seven months of this year, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were the only provinces in Canada with falling employment. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

South Asian Legal Clinic: The first-of-its-kind report, being released at a Toronto news conference Friday, was conducted by the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario , which questioned 30 social service agencies about the practice, according to The Star. The report found that parents, siblings, extended family, grandparents and religious leaders were all involved in pushing individuals into forced marriage. The reasons were mostly cultural 66 per cent , but honour, money and immigration purposes were also behind some forced marriages and A groundbreaking three-year study of forced marriage in Ontario has found more than 200 women who were wed against their will, a practice the reports authors say highlights serious gaps in services. It found 219 reported cases between 2010 and 2012, with 97 per cent of the victims being women. The survey found the majority of victims, 81 per cent, were between 16 and 34 years old. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

comprehensive economic and trade agreement: In a quiet fashion, Canada and Europe are negotiating a comprehensive economic and trade agreement, or CETA, which goes far beyond conventional free trade, according to The Chronicle Herald. Supporters argue this would improve economic prospects on both sides of the Atlantic. They cite the benefits to efficiency and economic performance from free trade beyond national borders, with Canada gaining access to the vast European Union EU market and This ambitious deal would liberalize trade in goods and services, virtual goods and procurement. It would harmonize professional qualifications, regulations and intellectual property protections and eliminate most performance requirements for investments. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Federal Open Market Committee: Shortly after the Federal Reserve hinted in May that it might start to ease its monetary stimulus, rich-country bond yields shot up and emerging-market currencies and stock markets cratered. Was it all for nothing? On Sept. 18, at the end of a closely watched meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's policy-setting body, chose not to taper. Instead it said that it would keep buying $85 billion a month of Treasury and mortgage bonds with newly created money the policy known as quantitative easing or QE, according to The Chronicle Herald. So what has held it back now and Although the Fed had never actually promised to act in September, all the signals pointed in that direction. QE would stop, it had said when the latest bout of bond-buying began last September, when the labour-market outlook had improved substantially. Since then the unemployment rate has dropped to 7.3 per cent from 8.1 per cent and private employment has risen by 2.3 million, or 2 per cent. In June Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said that the Fed probably would start to taper by year-end, and stop QE when unemployment hit 7 per cent, which it expected by mid-2014. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

violence against women: On the same day Canada rejected a United Nations call for a review to end violence against aboriginal women, Winnipeggers took to the streets to call for an end to violence against women. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Mae Louise Campbell speaks at the Take Back the Night rally Thursday. PHIL HOSSACK / Photo Store Over 100 turned out at the Take Back the Night rally on Selkirk Avenue Thursday evening. Photo Store More than 100 demonstrators gathered in the heart of the North End for the 35th annual Take Back the Night march just hours after Canada's ambassador to the UN said "Canada is proud of its human-rights record and our peaceful and diverse society." Enlarge Image (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Health Canada: In June, Health Canada launched its Plain Language Labelling Initiative , and its public consultation process has just concluded. The purpose is to improve the safe use of drugs by making drug labels, and the accompanying safety information, easy to read and understand. The problem is acute, according to The Star. Have you ever pulled out the information pamphlet for Tylenol? You flip the package this way and that in search of the information but when you do find it, who can understand it and The chief virtue that language can have is clearness, and nothing detracts from it so much as the use of unfamiliar words. So said Hippocrates , the Greek physician from the 4th century B.C. and father of Western medicine. As a medical practitioner, Hippocrates knew what he was talking about. Now, 2,400 years later, Canada is coming on board. Do you know what a product insert is? Thats the pamphlet that comes with many drugs you buy. It explains what the drug is, what its supposed to do, and possible side effects. But its written in a long and wordy way. Its also printed in a small, hard-to-read font in black and white, with few headings. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Quebec politics: But is this a sign of things to come in the battleground province?, according to Huffington Post. What could explain this change of fortune? Other recent polls have been hinting at potential Liberal weakness in Quebec. This could be due to any number of factors, but the issue dominating Quebec politics at the moment would seem to be the most likely culprit. The Parti Qu b cois' proposed Charter of Quebec Values has been panned by both Liberals and the NDP, despite it having support among francophone Quebecers though that support appears to be on the wane and New Democrats lead in Quebec in a major poll for the first time since Justin Trudeau became Liberal leader. The poll by CROP for La Presse , interviewing 1,000 Quebecers online between Sept. 12-15, suggests New Democrats have picked up six points in the last month and are now narrowly ahead in Quebec with 33 per cent support. That is the best the party has done in a poll by CROP since before Trudeau's leadership victory and the first time since then that the party has been ahead in the province in a large-sample survey by a Quebec-based pollster. More striking, however, is the 10-point drop by the Liberals to 31 per cent support. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.