Patrick Brazeau: OTTAWA - The Senate expense scandal is sure to return to the spotlight today as business resumes on Parliament Hill. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Today promises at least one more day of protracted debate about how to censure the three wayward senators at the centre of the scandal Patrick Brazeau, Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin. Parliament Hill in Ottawa is viewed from the shores of Gatineau, Quebec on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Related Items Articles Suspension debate ends with Brazeau warning to colleagues: 'It can happen to you' MPs are back in the national capital the Conservatives fresh from rallying behind their leader, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, at the party's convention in Calgary for what's expected to be more opposition grilling of the Conservatives over the Senate. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Nova Scotia: Nova Scotias economy is expected to gain momentum next year after a rocky period of job losses, weak consumer spending and slowing investment, the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council says, according to The Chronicle Herald. Overall we think 2013 is going to be pretty slow in Nova Scotia, but we are expecting the economy to pick up in 2014, Elizabeth Beale, president and chief executive officer of the economic council, said in an interview and In its annual economic outlook released Monday, the think-tank said the provincial economy is expected to grow two per cent in 2014, buoyed by a jump in natural gas output and increased spending on major projects. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Angela Merkel: Calls have grown in recent days from opposition politicians and leading German cultural figures to offer Snowden asylum in exchange for his testimony in a looming investigation into alleged U.S. bugging of Merkel's phone. , according to Reuters. But in an apparent attempt to nip the asylum debate in the bud, Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert made clear on Monday that the chancellor was not prepared to take any steps that might put the relationship with Washington at risk. BERLIN - Angela Merkel reaffirmed the importance of Germany's ties to the United States on Monday, making clear a domestic debate over granting asylum to former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden must not be allowed to harm relations. Merkel had stayed silent since a leading lawmaker from Germany's Greens party visited the fugitive U.S. intelligence worker in Russia last week and returned to Berlin with a message that Snowden would cooperate if guaranteed safe haven. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

manufacturing companies: Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index PMI of manufacturing companies stood at 50.9 in October, just above September's 50.7 and marking the third straight month above the 50 line separating growth from contraction. , according to Reuters. "The improving picture in the Spanish manufacturing sector continued in October, although there is little sign so far of a widening build-up of momentum," said Markit economist Andrew Harker. MADRID - Growth in Spanish manufacturing activity sped up slightly in October, a survey showed on Monday, though companies cut staff at a faster rate, pointing to a weak, jobless recovery in the fourth quarter. Spain's economy returned to growth in the July-September period after nine quarters of contraction, driven by a strong export sector. But unemployment came in at 26 percent and is expected to remain high for years. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Larry Finnson: WINNIPEG'S kings of candy are expanding south of the border. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. The American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs -- are similar to Costco, but owned by Walmart -- have 619 stores. Arlene Dickinson centre , CEO of Venture Communications, flanked by her OMG's partners Larry Finnson left and Chris Emery right . Larry Finnson and Chris Emery, best known as the creators of Clodhoppers before selling the company in 2006, have signed a deal with Sam's Club in the U.S. to distribute their newest confectionary treat -- OMG's. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Edward Snowden: Snowden's leaks about the National Security Agency NSA , from its alleged mass scanning of emails to the tapping of world leaders' phones, have infuriated U.S. allies and placed Washington on the defensive, according to Reuters. "Instead of causing damage, the usefulness of the new public knowledge for society is now clear because reforms to politics, supervision and laws are being suggested," the 30-year-old ex-CIA employee and NSA contractor wrote and BERLIN - Fugitive U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden said calls for more oversight of government intelligence agencies showed he was justified in revealing the methods and targets of the U.S. secret service. In "A Manifesto for the Truth" published in German news magazine Der Spiegel on Sunday, Snowden said current debates about mass surveillance in many countries showed his revelations were helping to bring about change. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

OTTAWA Conservatives: MPs and a handful of senators are returning to Ottawa from Calgary after wrapping up a two-day biennial policy convention that just might have added another chapter or two to the saga however, according to 660 News. I hope that the Senate makes a decision on that motion as soon as possible and I do hope that we can make some lemonade from the lemon of this whole issue by re-energizing efforts for fundamental Senate reform through democratization and OTTAWA Conservatives are hoping a vote to suspend three errant senators without pay this week might help turn the page on a scandal that has jammed their political momentum for months. Honestly, what most of our MPs are hearing from constituents is that they re sick of the whole story and the issue, they want to see something decisive done in terms of accountability and then to move on, Employment Minister Jason Kenney said in a weekend interview. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lebanon: KFAR ZABAD, Lebanon - International donors must do more to help Lebanon absorb a flood of refugees straining its schools and public services, the head of the United Nations children's fund UNICEF said. , according to Reuters. With a weak government and threadbare national services even before the Syrian crisis erupted two and a half years ago, Lebanon is struggling to support those refugees, scattered in informal camps across the country's most deprived areas. By Dominic Evans Lebanon, the smallest of Syria's neighbors, is giving sanctuary to the largest number of refugees from the civil war across its border and Syrians now number around a quarter of its own population of just over 4 million. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

socially conservative: Those are two areas that the prime minister has insisted the government does not want to reopen. However, the tally of resolutions adopted after this national convention suggest the two are still very much live issues for the socially conservative wing of the party, according to The Star. More at thestar.com: Harpers missed opportunity CALGARY The Conservative party grassroots, ignoring leader Stephen Harpers political skittishness, formally condemned abortion in passing a declaration of opposition to gender selection and entrenched the partys opposition to legislation on euthanasia and assisted suicide. At the 2013 policy convention attended by Harper, who kept well away from reporters the party reinforced its small-c conservative bona fides. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Stephen Harper: Of course he is running again in 2015, the prime minister assured reporters, according to The Star. Harper could hardly have answered any other way, but at the risk of disappointing him again, the question was certainly being asked here during the Conservative convention and CALGARY When he travelled north in August, Stephen Harper answered a question which had become a topic of much speculation in Ottawa. I m actually disappointed you feel the needed to ask that question, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.