average weekly earnings: It says weekly earnings were up 1.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis, according to CTV. Year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings outpaced the national average in four of the largest industrial sectors, led by administrative and support services as well as construction and OTTAWA -- Statistics Canada says average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $918 in August, up 0.4 per cent from July. That year-over-year increase reflects a number of factors, including wage growth, changes in the composition of employment by industry, occupation and level of job experience, as well as average hours worked. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

government shutdown: The Labor Department said Thursday that the four-week average rose 8,000 to 356,250, the highest since April. The 16-day partial government shutdown and backlogs in California due to computer upgrades inflated the average, according to Times Colonist. Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have fallen for three straight weeks and are just above the pre-recession levels reached in August and WASHINGTON - The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 10,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, a sign that employers are laying off very few workers. Still, a government spokesman said those unusual factors did not affect last week's first-time applications, which appeared to be free of distortions for the first time in two months. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

LinkedIn: The new feature called "Intro" creates mini profiles of LinkedIn users' email contacts based on information found on their main LinkedIn profile. As a result, when a contact sends you an email, a small profile of the user's professional history appears in it, according to CTV. LinkedIn says the opt-in service is meant to add a more professional context to emails, but security experts say the new app puts users private data at risk and Popular professional networking site LinkedIn has launched a new feature aimed at making connections more easily, but the technology raises concerns it could open the door to security breaches. The service, which launched last week, allows users to quickly view a persons job title, education history, online connections and past employment history without leaving their email. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Multiple Listing Service MLS: Homebuilding activity in Manitoba will ease in 2014 after four straight years of growth, while sales of existing homes are expected to rebound and selling prices will continue to climb, according to the latest forecast from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Sales of existing homes through the Multiple Listing Service MLS are expected to rebound to 13,800 units after falling to 13,700 this year from 14,008 in 2012. Sales of existing homes through the Multiple Listing Service MLS are expected to rebound to 13,800 units. In its Fall 2013 forecast released today, the national housing agency said housing starts in the province are expected to reach 7,400 units by the end of this year an increase of 2.3 per cent from 2012s total of 7,242 before falling back to 7,100 units in 2014. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Provincial Growth Management Policy: Another study: let the planning gripes begin, Oct. 25, according to The Star. Fact: Our industry is focused on creating new complete communities out of the vision of the Provincial Growth Management Policy and local Official Plans. Our direction is taken from policies that have been supported and endorsed by our elected officials to ensure there are diverse residential options and sufficient employment space as the GTAs population continues its rapid growth. We know that more than 202,000 jobs were created in new home construction, renovation and related fields last year in the GTA. Those jobs generated more than $10.8 billion in wages for the local economy and Re: Another study: let the planning gripes begin, Oct. 25 Any discussion surrounding future planning and development across the GTA and the province must be fair, balanced and grounded in fact. Here are just a few facts: (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Marika Ferber: The married couple in their 80s were found at the base of their Etobicoke apartment building just before 8 a.m. Tuesday, after seemingly deciding to jump to their deaths together to put an end to her chronic pain, according to The Star. Fiser and Ferber were both born in the small Croatian city of Osijek on the eve of World War II, said longtime friend and neighbour Mira Vlatkovic. They befriended each other as children in the small Jewish community, which was torn apart when the Nazis invaded and The story of Vladimir Fiser and Marika Ferber probably never would have been told had it not been for the way it ended. Friends told of a pair who bucked the odds and rode the waves of history to arrive at their nondescript apartment tower on the edge of Toronto. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Rupert Murdoch: SYDNEY - Australia should throw open its doors to immigrants to make the country more competitive, media mogul Rupert Murdoch said on Thursday, in contrast to his backing for the new government's tough policy on asylum seekers. , according to Reuters. "Australia is on its way to becoming what may be the world's most diverse nation," Murdoch, head of News Corp , said in a speech to the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney. "This is an incredible political advantage." By Jane Wardell Murdoch said the diversity created by immigration, and the ties it brings with other nations, particularly in Asia, would help give Australia a leg-up as it seeks trade relationships. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Kamloops Chinese Cultural Association: Copyright 2013, according to Times Colonist and A museum honouring the contribution Chinese immigrants made to B.C. and Canada would go a long way to righting historical wrongs, the president of the Kamloops Chinese Cultural Association. "I would like to see some sort of museum built in Kamloops by the provincial government to properly recognize the people," Joe Leong said Wednesday. Leong raised the museum issue after the province announced a consultation process would begin to discuss wording for a formal apology to the B.C. Chinese community for past transgressions. In the coming months Multicultural Minister Teresa Wat will travel the province and meet with Chinese community associations and citizens to identify wording for the apology. Leong isn't sure how such an apology would please everyone, especially given the lives lost during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants during the late 1880s. "We'd have to figure out some kind of wording that would be appropriate and positive," he said. A museum, on the other hand, would be a permanent monument to the province's Chinese heritage, said Leong. The region was the centre for railway construction during the 1880s. Kamloops is home to one of the largest Chinese cemeteries in B.C. and the only cemetery devoted to pioneer Chinese. Leong said this makes the city a perfect location for such a museum. "In the 1890s, one third of the population of Kamloops was Chinese," he said. And Kamloops is the first city in North America to elect a Chinese mayor. Peter Wing was elected in 1966 and served three terms. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Reel Asians: The winner of awards for Best Picture and Best Director at Japans Academy Awards last year, The Kirishima Thing is another highlight of the early days of Reel Asians new program. Based on a bestselling novel by Ryo Asai, Daihachi Yoshidas film is a deftly rendered drama about a group of high school students whose carefully maintained social order is thrown into disarray by the enigmatic disappearance of the schools most popular student. With its perceptive take on teenage desires, ambitions, insecurities and rivalries, The Kirishima Thing is an unusually acute and affecting study of adolescent existence and all its complications. Reel Asian patrons can see those treacherous high school hallways for themselves on Nov. 6 at 8:30 p.m. at the AGOs Jackman Hall, according to The Star. Doc Soup Spring Arnaud: A much-acclaimed American film about one familys experience of Alzheimers, The Genius of Marian is this months selection for the ever-popular Doc Soup program the Bloor hosts three screenings on Nov. 6 and 7. A new Canadian title that starts a run at the Annex movie house on Nov. 1, Spring Arnaud is an affectionate profile of Spring Hurlbut and Arnaud Maggs, two artists who enjoy a rare and special bond and To mark this new southward orientation, Reel Asian launches its 17th annual program with the Canadian premiere of Bombay Talkies, an omnibus project that debuted at Cannes in May. Made up of shorts by four of Bollywoods most celebrated directors, this exuberant celebration of Indian cinemas first century includes appearances by megastars such as Rani Mukerji and Amitabh Bachchan. It plays Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Isabel Bader Theatre. The slate of docs, features and shorts continues to Nov. 16 in theatres downtown and in Richmond Hill. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Peter Woolstencroft: At least nine resolutions for amendments to the Conservative partys policy book seek to crack down on the power of organized labour. The labour reform proposals are sponsored by various riding associations in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, according to Huffington Post. The number of proposals and the radical nature of a few of them suggest that the party is taking a cue from the American right wing, said Peter Woolstencroft, a political science professor at the University of Waterloo who focuses on the history of the Conservative party and A number of labour reform proposals on the agenda at this weekends Conservative party convention could be signs that the party is shifting further to the right, political observers say. Many call for an end to union political involvement, but one amendment seeks a more radical change to the Rand formula, a staple of Canadian labour relations that requires all employees in a unionized environment to pay union dues regardless of whether they join. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.