Stephen McNeil: Nova Scotians may have voted dramatically for change in the October election, reducing the NDP from a dominant majority to bedraggled fringes on the electoral map. But voters will not see many dramatic changes in direction as Premier Stephen McNeil and his cabinet heads into Province House for the fall legislative session, according to The Chronicle Herald. But compared with the upheaval of election night, there is no sense of urgency from McNeil. In a wide-ranging interview in advance of the fall session, the new premier talked a lot about studies, consultation and the need to await financial detail in several policy areas before significant changes would be considered and Pomp and ceremony will yield to the nuts and bolts of governing as the McNeil Liberals begin this week to put their stamp on the province. The general assembly begins with a throne speech Thursday and will likely run into early December. A fiscal update on the 2013-14 budget will be presented shortly before Christmas. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Winnipeg Police Service: Block by Block, a new crime-reduction strategy currently underway, could significantly change this. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Three factors make Block by Block innovative and give it a good chance of being successful: integrated social-service delivery; crime prevention through social development; and a new policing strategy. The Winnipeg Police Service knows the police can never arrest their way out of the city's problems Between 1991 and 2010, the crime rate in Canada's nine largest cities declined a whopping 50 per cent. In Winnipeg, the reduction was only 25 per cent, much of which was due to an 85 per cent decline in car theft. With the exceptions of the auto-theft prevention strategy and some gang-reduction programs, violent crime and community safety have remained significant challenges for Winnipeg. The Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Police Service have developed partnerships with a broad range of social agencies and community groups that will establish one of North America's most comprehensive community-safety and wellness initiatives, literally tackling the issues block by block. This initiative will initially focus on a 21-block area in the William Whyte neighbourhood. If successful, it will expand to other communities. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

The Canadian Press: The report by the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic, obtained by The Canadian Press, accuses Ottawa of making it so difficult for refugees to claim asylum that its pushing them into the hands of human smugglers, a state of affairs that sometimes puts lives at risk, according to The Star. The Harvard report also shows Canada and the U.S. are failing to meet their obligations to asylum-seekers under international and domestic laws, said Efrat Arbel, one of the reports authors and OTTAWA A new Harvard Law School study paints a scathing portrait of Canada as a country thats increasingly slamming its doors on asylum-seekers and thereby unwittingly contributing to the human smuggling crisis. The exhaustive 107-page study, entitled Bordering on Failure, found that some asylum-seekers have drowned attempting to swim across the Niagara River to Canada. One man lost both legs while trying to cross a railway bridge into Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Newfoundland Economic Recovery Commission: In fact, if Nova Scotia is to emerge from its current economic doldrums, there is a need to see vigorous growth throughout the rural and small communities that are such a part of the Nova Scotia fabric, according to The Chronicle Herald. My experience as a commissioner with the Newfoundland Economic Recovery Commission in the 1990s, and later as a consultant to it, leaves me with a strong appreciation of the need for rural development to come from the bottom up and not from the top down. Government has a role to play in all economic development, but many times that role should be to stay on the sidelines and not do things that inhibit growth and The Nova Scotia Commission on Building Our New Economy has generated a lot of media coverage in recent weeks. As the title implies, the emphasis is on new, and while that is understandable, we should not forget the need to strengthen the traditional economy of this province much of it rural. To do that, we need to understand that it is not always necessary to be on the leading edge of technology. Sometimes it is far better to be on the trailing edge of technology as long as we are successful. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Quebec: Members of the Lev Tahor community of about 200 people -- about half of them children-- were under investigation by social services in Quebec for a host of issues including hygiene, children's health and allegations that the children weren't learning according the Quebec curriculum, according to CTV. Quebec child-welfare officials said on Monday they briefed their counterparts in Ontario on the case and would wait to see how authorities in Chatham-Kent and Windsor, Ont., decide to proceed and MONTREAL -- Child-welfare authorities and local police in Ontario say they found nothing unusual when they checked in on an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect that fled to that province last week amid allegations of child neglect. The community denies any mistreatment of the children, but left Quebec a little more than a week ago and ended up settling in southwestern Ontario. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Zachary Quinto: The highlight of the awards ceremony came when Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock in the latest "Star Trek" films, presented the honorary International Emmy Founders Award to writer-director-producer J.J. Abrams, who took a break from pre-production work on the new "Star Wars" film, according to Times Colonist. Britain garnered three International Emmys at the ceremony at the Hilton New York hosted by British comedian John Oliver, formerly of "The Daily Show." NEW YORK, N.Y. - Britain's Sean Bean and Brazil's Fernanda Montenegro took the top acting honours Monday night at the 41st International Emmy Awards in which the statues were spread among TV productions from six countries. Abrams, who helped create such trend-setting TV series as "Felicity," ''Alias," and "Lost," paid tribute to his actors and production crews as well as his family. He credited his father, TV executive Gerald W. Abrams with teaching him "about leadership, tenacity and getting things done at all costs" and his wife, Katie McGrath," for "her support and brutal honesty" and encouraging him early on to write "about things that I care about," which led him to create his first television script for "Felicity." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

social media: The study predicts that in their own ways social media experts will become a much a victim of advancing technology as many other occupations, according to 660 News. People will need to be even more literate with social media just to get in the door and it will no longer be something that absolutely differentiates folks, said Tara Talbot, vice-president of human resources at Workopolis and MONTREAL Jobs for tech savvy social media experts will be as obsolete in 10 years as for more traditional occupations such as taxi dispatcher and toll booth operator, according to a new study released Tuesday by online employment site Workopolis. That is because todays youngsters are already immersed in platforms such as Twitter and Facebook and so will enter the job market familiar with social media. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Mohamed Elrasheed: His father, a former political prisoner and pharmacist, and his mother still live there. Since his arrival, Elrasheed has turned to the Sudanese community for help and advice. Prior to coming to Canada, he worked in England and studied in Australia. He hopes to one day get a masters degree in health economics. For now, he is happy that only after four months of searching, he has a job with Tekcorner, a company that provides Internet services, according to The Star. Why did you immigrate and Mohamed Elrasheed, a 28-year-old dentist, came to Canada from Sudan in August 2012 after finishing an MBA at the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in Khartoum. Working in Sudan, he made $200 a month. The reason he came here: to esape political and economic instability in Sudan, headed by military dictator Omar al-Bashir since 1989. He spoke to and this is an edited version of the conversation. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

TV executive Gerald W. Abrams: NEW YORK Britains Sean Bean and Brazils Fernanda Montenegro took the top acting honours Monday night at the 41st International Emmy Awards in which the statues were spread among TV productions from six countries, according to The Chronicle Herald. Abrams, who helped create such trend-setting TV series as Felicity, Alias, and Lost, paid tribute to his actors and production crews as well as his family. He credited his father, TV executive Gerald W. Abrams with teaching him about leadership, tenacity and getting things done at all costs and his wife, Katie McGrath, for her support and brutal honesty and encouraging him early on to write about things that I care about, which led him to create his first television script for Felicity and The highlight of the awards ceremony came when Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock in the latest Star Trek films, presented the honorary International Emmy Founders Award to writer-director-producer J.J. Abrams, who took a break from pre-production work on the new Star Wars film. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

New Zealand: Ioane Teitiota and his wife moved to New Zealand from the low-lying Pacific island nation in 2007. He argued that rising sea levels make it too dangerous for him and his family to return to Kiribati. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. In his decision, Judge John Priestley said Teitiota did not fit the definition of a refugee under international guidelines because he was not being directly persecuted. WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A New Zealand judge on Tuesday rejected a Kiribati man's claim that he should be granted refugee status because of climate change. Immigration authorities twice rejected his claims, so he appealed to the High Court. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.