Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird: A stunning terrorist attack at a shopping mall in Kenya's capital on Saturday has struck home in Canada with the death of two Canadians, including a 29-year-old diplomat who worked at the Canadian embassy. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. "That people could be gunned down in broad daylight in a shopping mall on a weekend is just a tremendous tragedy. And obviously when you have someone who is serving their country abroad, it's quite devastating," said Baird, who was in London, Ont. speaking at the Ontario Progressive Conservative party's policy convention. A rescue worker helps a child outside the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, after gunmen threw grenades and opened fire during an attack that left multiple dead and dozens wounded. A witness to the attacks on the upscale shopping mall says that gunmen told Muslims to stand up and leave and that non-Muslims would be targeted. Annemarie Desloges was off duty shopping at Nairobi's upscale Westgate Mall when the attack that killed at least 39 people occurred, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Saturday night. Related Items Articles Fresh gunfire from Kenya mall where extremist attackers, hostages are surrounded (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

BlackBerry: The Canadian tech darling announced Friday it expects to post a loss of between US$950 million and $995 million when it reports its second-quarter earnings next week, according to CTV. But tech and business analysts say this could spell the beginning of the end for BlackBerry and News that BlackBerry would be cutting 4,500 jobs has many questioning the future of the struggling Waterloo, Ont., company. The company says layoffs, which will affect 40 per cent of its global workforce, will help BlackBerry cut its operating costs in half by the end of May 2014. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Brenda Halloran: Brenda Halloran says there has been a trend where those affected by past layoffs have been absorbed by the more than 800 tech companies within the region, according to The Star. BlackBerry announced Friday it will be slashing 4,500 jobs across the company, but isnt saying how many of those will be at its Waterloo facilities and The mayor of Waterloo, Ont. is expressing hope that her city can weather the loss of jobs at BlackBerry . She says there are more than 1,000 job opportunities in the regions tech sector alone. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Japan's population: This is Japan. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Japan's population is shrinking faster than anywhere else in the world. Its government estimates the population will fall by roughly 15 per cent, or 20 million people, by 2040. With this steep drop, the tax base and labour force will plummet, all while state spending on the elderly rises, creating a long-term economic crisis. Imagine our current discussions about women and the workplace -- Can women have it all? How do women lean in? -- taking place in a country with one of the worst gender-equality ratios in the world. And women, it turns out, could be key to jolting the nation out of its economic coma. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Morgan: TORONTO -- Forcing would-be Canadians to take an oath to the Queen as a condition of citizenship is constitutional, even if it does violate free-speech rights, an Ontario court ruled Friday. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. "The oath of citizenship is a form of compelled speech," Morgan states. The longtime permanent residents oppose the oath to the Queen, saying allegiance to Canada should be all that's required. In his ruling, Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Morgan dismissed an application by three permanent residents, who argued the requirement was discriminatory and unjust. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Uhuru Kenyatta: Late Saturday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said at least 39 people had been killed among them very close family members and more than 150 wounded, according to The Star. Survivors said the Al Qaeda-linked gunmen asked any shoppers they had cornered whether they were Muslim. If the answer was yes, those people were free to go. The non-Muslims were not and NAIROBI, KENYA Terrified shoppers huddled in back hallways and prayed that militant gunmen lobbing grenades and firing assault rifles inside Nairobis top mall Saturday would not find them. When the coast was thought to be clear, crying mothers clutching small children and blood-splattered men sprinted out of the four-storey mall. In Ottawa, the prime ministers office confirmed that two Canadians were among the dead. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

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.

Paul Dewar: Dewar said the NDP doesn't support a boycott, saying gay and lesbian activists in Russia don't want one because it would shift the focus to the Olympics and away from discrimination against sexual minorities, according to CTV. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that homosexuals face discrimination in Russia and said the law does not infringe on their rights and TORONTO -- The federal New Democrats have launched a petition calling on the Conservative government to ban the Russian politicians behind that country's anti-gay law from coming to Canada. While NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar supported the government's move to speak out against the new law, he said it should go further by barring the legislators who supported it from getting Canadian visas, if they want to visit Canada. "When it comes to this issue you need to put actions behind your words," he said Saturday. "What we've seen in Russia is something that's reprehensible." Dewar was joined by Linda McQuaig, the NDP's candidate in the upcoming byelection in the federal riding of Toronto Centre, and provincial New Democrat politician Peter Tabuns. The trio hit the streets in the city's gay village encouraging passers-by to sign the appeal. Dewar said the list of those who back the petition -- which is also online -- will be presented to the government when Parliament resumes next month. The controversial Russian law bans so-called "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" and imposes fines on people who stage gay pride rallies. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has denounced the law and said Canada will work with like-minded countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom to pressure the Russia to change it ahead of next year's Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Russia is standing by the law, saying it has no intention of changing the legislation despite international condemnation and calls for a boycott of the upcoming Winter Games. Baird has not endorsed the boycott calls but said Russia's hosting of the Games would draw attention to the issue. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Brian Mulroney: How about the posh home of Canada's 18th prime minister?, according to Huffington Post. According to the Gazette, the home was purchased in 1993, not long after Mulroney left office, and registered under his wife's maiden name, Mila Pivnicki and What can $8 million buy you these days? Brian Mulroney listed his mansion in the affluent Montreal suburb of Westmount last weekend for $7.9 million, reports Allison Lampert of he Montreal Gazette . (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Doug Porter: The proportion of the economy related to construction is more than twice as high in Canada as it is in the U.S. , Porter said in a client note this week. Of all the economic activity in Canada, 13.4 per cent is related to construction, compared to 5.8 per cent for the U.S, according to Huffington Post. But whats so bad about having a lot of construction jobs? For Porter and some other economists, the worry is that the present rate of building is unsustainable, and when the industry gets back to normal, there will be job losses and All those construction cranes dotting the Toronto skyline might be evidence of an economy that has a serious problem, writes BMO Capital Markets chief economist Doug Porter. This is simply the most glaring example of how Canadas unbalanced monetary policy rates too low, currency too high is affecting the economy. Note that in the 1990s, when the currency was too low and rates were too high, construction wallowed for a decade, Porter wrote. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.