Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne: And if the two sides cant come to an agreement, the provinces and territories must be able to opt out with full compensation, they added, according to 660 News. Its true that there is not yet an alternative that has been put on the table, said Wynne, who hosted the Council of the Federation meeting. But we agreed that that alternative needs to be developed and TORONTO Canadas provinces and territories will put together a counter-proposal to a contentious federal job grant plan thats threatening provincial training programs and wont help the countrys most vulnerable workers, several premiers said Friday. While all the provinces agree that they dont like the Canada Job Grant, theres been little movement to present the Harper Conservatives with another option since it was first proposed in last springs budget, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne acknowledged. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Rudi Hoenson: Then came 3 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Japan. , according to Times Colonist. The 90-year-old shies away from making the details public, lets slip only a story about losing five teeth three upper, two lower to a rifle butt in the mouth, the cost of not bowing to the satisfaction of a guard. Rudi Hoenson was just a teenager when captured during the Second World War, a Dutch soldier swept up in the invasion of what is now Indonesia. They were brutal, he says. I went in, I was about 130 pounds. I came out, I was less than 80. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Seth Parker: Seth Parker told a Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board hearing in Halifax that the proposed deal could lead to court action between the parties involved because the wording is vague, according to The Chronicle Herald. Parker told the provincial regulator that parts of the agreement need to be clarified to protect ratepayers and Lawyers could be kept busy with legal disputes if the regulator approves a proposed agreement on market-priced energy from the Muskrat Falls project, a consultant for the consumer and small-business advocates said Friday. This agreement could be the Maritime Regulatory Attorneys Full-Employment Act for a period of years if things go wrong, Parker, of Boston-based Levitan Associates Inc. , told the hearing. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Thaksin Shinawatra: Thai Airways said it was investigating if one of its employees committed the ethical breach, which came during Thailand's latest round of mass street protests against Thaksin. The former prime minister was ousted in a 2006 military coup but remains at the centre of a long-running political crisis, according to Times Colonist. By Friday, the photo was the buzz of Thai-language web forums, with some commentators criticizing the ethics of posting private flight details and others questioning if the Shinawatra sisters were fleeing the political heat at home and BANGKOK - The daughters of Thailand's self-exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra have criticized an online leak of flight details showing they flew first-class to London with eight suitcases. But they denied they were following their father's footsteps and fleeing the country. A photograph posted online of a computer check-in terminal shows the names, seats and ample baggage allowance of Thaksin's two daughters, Pintongta, 31, and Paetongtarn, 27. It was posted late Thursday, shortly after their flight left Bangkok. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Yuji Toyozato: How could he be so stupid? Hes owned the thing for two damned months, but still feels like a baby holding a grown-ups toy. As the ringtone becomes louder, his anxiety mounts. Green circles emanate from the phone icon, taunting him like a bully. Whats the matter? You cant pick me up?, according to Huffington Post. Why is something so simple for everyone else so hard for me and Yuji Toyozato clutches his ringing phone and panics. He has no idea how to answer it. No. He doesnt know how. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

China: China has pledged less than $2 million in cash and materials, compared to $20 million provided by the United States, which also launched a massive military-driven rescue operation that includes an aircraft carrier, according to 660 News. Canada has promised $5 million in aid and has pledged to match donations to relief organizations. It has also sent its Disaster Assistance Response Team to help with relief operations and BEIJING, China The outpouring of international aid to the Philippines makes Chinas contribution for typhoon relief look like a trickle: even Swedish furniture chain Ikea and beverage giant Coca-Cola have done more than the worlds second-largest economy. That wont help Beijings campaign to win over neighbours with its soft power. Another Chinese rival, Japan, on Friday pledged another $20 million in aid, raising its total to $30 million, and offered to send troops, ships and planes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Current Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program applicants: Current Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program applicants from areas affected by the typhoon will have their applications processed within the next two weeks, instead of the usual three to six months. New applications will be processed on a priority basis, according to CTV. For a permanent residency visa, applicants approved by MPNP will need to apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which has sole authority for issuing visas to anyone wanting to travel temporarily or permanently to Canada and The province will speed up some immigration applications from the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, Premier Greg Selinger announced Friday. "We have seen the devastation that typhoon Haiyan has caused in the Philippines and we want to do whatever we can to help ease the burden for families recovering from its impact," Selinger said in a news release. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Department of Family Services: In its 2012-2013 annual report released on Friday, the Department of Family Services and Labour said 3.5 per cent of children aged 17 and under are in care. That compares to 1.9 per cent in 2000-2001. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. More than 10,000 families 10,117 received services from child welfare agencies last year. The percentage of children in Manitoba who are in the care of child welfare agencies has almost doubled since the NDP took power in 1999. There were 9,940 children in care in Manitoba as of March 31. According to one estimate presented last summer during an inquiry into the death of Phoenix Sinclair, more than 80 per cent of kids in care in Manitoba are aboriginal. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Marcia Ostashewski: Cape Breton Universitys Marcia Ostashewski plots out the immigrant experience in song, studying how the trials and successes of everyday life are woven into the melodies, according to The Chronicle Herald. Their experience is a process thats wonderful and also involves its own traumas and shocks and challenges and these songs of immigration tell those stories and you cant look at them just as words that you can translate theres a layering of more meaning in that, Ostashewski said Thursday and The ethnomusicologist has dug into how people preserve their culture through dance and song, focusing primarily on the Eastern European communities in Cape Breton. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canada Pension Plan: Host Premier Kathleen Wynne's top priority for the meeting is reforming the Canada Pension Plan, warning there will be a huge financial crisis if action isn't taken now, according to CTV. But Nova Scotia, Alberta and the federal government are worried a hike in premiums, which are split evenly between workers and employers, would be the same as increasing taxes on businesses and could kill jobs and TORONTO -- Canada's provincial and territorial premiers will be discussing pensions and the federal job grant program when they meet in Toronto today. Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island also want CPP improvements, with PEI proposing to hike maximum CPP contributions to $4,681.20 a year from $2,356.20 and boosting maximum annual benefits to $23,400 from $12,150. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.