Adel Benhmuda: Immigration Minister Chris Alexander has waived the $6,800 fee his department was demanding before allowing the former Mississauga family to return. Most of the fee $6,000 was to cover the costs of deporting the family to Libya in 2008. Upon arrival at the Tripoli airport, Benhmuda was imprisoned and tortured, according to The Star. More at thestar.com: Timeline Adel Benhmuda and his family can return to Canada without paying the costs of a deportation that resulted in his torture, the federal government has decided. The demand for payment, revealed by , was seen by supporters of the family as adding outrageous insult to injury. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Costco Wholesale Corp: n" - Costco Wholesale Corp COST.O: Quote and Victoria's Secret parent L Brands Inc LTD.N: Quote were among the major U.S. retailers to report same-store sales gains for October, but many chains expressed caution heading into the holiday season. , according to Reuters. A group of eight U.S. retailers reported an overall 3 percent increase in sales at stores open at least a year, better than analysts' forecasts of 2 percent, according to Thomson data. By Phil Wahba Consumer confidence has dipped, in part because of slow employment growth, and shoppers have gravitated toward bargains in recent months. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

state employees: Bill 60 would force state employees to take off their headscarves, yarmulkes, turbans and larger-than-average crucifixes if they want to keep their jobs, according to CTV. If adopted, not only must state employees have their faces uncovered while administering government services, but those receiving those services must also have their faces uncovered and The Parti Quebecois government tabled its controversial values charter in the national assembly Thursday. The purpose of this bill is to establish a Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and of equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation request, reads a note at the beginning of the document. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Ted Menzies: The member for the riding of Macleod tweeted the news before releasing a more detailed statement thanking his wife, staff and long-time constituents for their support, according to Huffington Post. "I am retiring from politics but look forward to another exciting career ahead. Thank you all for the opportunity to proudly represent the most beautiful riding in Canada, and for the privilege to represent some of the greatest people I will ever know." OTTAWA - Alberta Conservative backbench MP Ted Menzies, who last summer declared he wouldn't run again in 2015, has announced his immediate resignation from the House of Commons. "The time has come for me to move on," Menzies said, noting that his decision earlier this year to surrender his ministerial duties allowed him to focus on helping flood-ravaged residents of southern Alberta. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Twitter: The S P/TSX composite index declined 86.21 points to 13,294.2, dragged lower by mining and energy stocks, according to The Star. U.S. indexes failed to find lift from the GDP data and The Toronto stock market closed lower Thursday as traders waded through a flood of Canadian earnings news and watched Twitter stock skyrocket as the years most anticipated IPO got underway. Twitter stock started trading late-morning Thursday and quickly soared about 90 per cent to $50.09 from the initial public offering price of $26 U.S. , which had been set Wednesday night. The stock later closed at $44.90. The Canadian dollar was down 0.4 of a cent to 95.59 cents U.S. as the greenback strengthened in the wake of a surprise decision by the European Central Bank to cuts its key rate to 0.25 per cent from 0.5 per cent. Other data showed that U.S. gross domestic product rose at an annualized rate of 2.8 per cent in the quarter, against the two per cent rise that economists had expected. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty: The minister told reporters on Thursday that he thinks enriching the CPP is a good idea for the future, but not now when the economy remains weak and global risks are high, according to CTV. The Finance Department also announced Thursday that the minister will deliver the fall economic update on Tuesday in Edmonton. Flaherty said he remains on track to balance the budget in 2015 and OTTAWA -- Finance Minister Jim Flaherty appears to have poured cold water on proposals to hike Canadian Pension Plan benefits at next month's meeting with the provinces, saying the economy is still not strong enough to withstand the added payroll taxes required. "We have to be careful," he said. "The CPP sounds like Valhalla, everybody gets free money. Well it's not free money, employees have to contribute to the plan every paycheque, employers have to contribute to the plan every paycheque. It's a tax, it's a payroll tax on employers and employees." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Edward Snowden: Six out of 10 people polled for public broadcaster ARD said they admired the former U.S. spy agency contractor, against 14 percent who thought of him as a criminal, according to Reuters. The 30-year-old American's disclosure that the National Security Agency NSA engaged in wholesale bugging of phones and email in Germany have put the U.S.-German alliance under severe stress and BERLIN - Most Germans consider Edward Snowden a hero for revealing secret U.S. monitoring of its allies' communications, including Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, but are less sure about the idea of giving him asylum, according to a new poll. But only 46 percent were in favor of offering Snowden political asylum in Germany, with 48 percent against. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Brad Duguid: Seven months after Ottawa first proposed the program in its March 2013 budget, the minister of employment and social development can expect a litany of complaints when he sits down with his colleagues Friday in Toronto, according to CTV. "They're out on a branch on this one, a very fragile branch," Brad Duguid, Ontario's minister of training, colleges and universities, said this week and OTTAWA -- The federal government's Canada Job Grant proposals are in trouble, officials and opposition critics are warning on the eve of Jason Kenney's meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts. Quebec has even demanded to opt out of the program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Samson Cree First Nation: Chelsea Yellowbird from the Samson Cree First Nation was shot and killed at her home on Sept. 5, 2011, according to Huffington Post. RCMP say Randall Omeasoo, 21, of Hobbema was arrested Thursday and was being held in custody and HOBBEMA, Alta. - Two more men have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of a woman on a reserve south of Edmonton. The house was next door to a house where her nephew, five-year-old Ethan Yellowbird, was shot dead while sleeping two months earlier. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jan Fukumoto: Teaching kids compassion, Nov. 4, according to The Star. The research clearly shows that when students are placed in a regular class with an appropriate program, they do better in language, social skills, emotional well-being and in future employment opportunities. People learn to accept and value one another through authentic interactions and participation within natural settings and Re: Teaching kids compassion, Nov. 4 Jan Fukumoto, TDSB special education teacher and central co-ordinator of Autism Services, is absolutely right in thinking that it is important to address childrens questions before barriers set in. That is why so many families want a unified educational system that provides for equity and inclusion for all children. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.