labour laws: The Official Opposition wants to change labour laws so employees in unionized workplaces are no longer compelled to pay dues even if they don't join the union, according to CTV. "We need to modernize our labour laws and that starts with giving workers a choice, and it's simple: do they want to join a union and pay union dues or not." TORONTO -- The Liberals and New Democrats went on the attack Thursday, warning a Progressive Conservative proposal to make Ontario a so-called "right-to-work" province, would kill jobs, not create them. "Ontario is one of the only places in the world where people have to be forced to join a union in order to take employment, and that's wrong," said PC labour critic Monte McNaughton. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lev Tahor: Members of the group, known as Lev Tahor, left Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., last week for Chatham, Ont., where they were busy on Monday unloading mattresses and appliances into new homes, according to CTV. The group insists its doing nothing illegal and An ultra-Orthodox Jewish community that fled Quebec for Ontario amid an investigation into alleged child neglect says its being targeted by authorities for its religious practices. The sudden move has authorities on alert, as Quebec social services was investigating the group for alleged child neglect, including failing to provide proper healthcare, hygiene and education. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Torontos Chinese Canadian Community Service Centre: Chinese-language classified and online ads are forever seeking yue-sao or postpartum doulas who tend to a new mother and her babys emotional and physical needs for the first month after birth, according to The Star. A three-day course at Torontos Chinese Canadian Community Service Centre is so popular that theres a waiting list and Part nurse, Chinese medicine practitioner, nanny and caregiver, Sharon Keung has job skills much in demand by new parents in the Chinese-Canadian community. The demand is so high that recruitment services for experienced yue-sao have sprung up and social agencies are starting to offer short-term training programs in Greater Toronto and Vancouver. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Macdonald House: But High Commissioner Gordon Campbell said Canada managed to sell Macdonald House at One Grosvenor Square in London to the highest bidder, an Indian developer, according to CTV. Canada plans to consolidate its diplomatic activity at another historic property, Canada House on Trafalgar Square in the heart of London and OTTAWA -- Canada's top diplomat in the United Kingdom says security concerns were one consideration in the $530-million sale of the historic London mansion that houses part of the Canadian High Commission. The Mumbai-based Lodha Group will take over the downtown property in London's posh Mayfair district in December 2014. The deal was announced Thursday after the Harper government declared its intention to sell it earlier this year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

federal government: Last year, Ottawa began limiting how many applications Canadian sponsors such as church groups and community organizations can submit. The annual cap was 1,350 in 2012 and 2,000 in 2013, according to The Star. Critics say there are no clear guidelines how targeted refugee populations are selected, and worry the Conservative government is trying to use Canadas refugee resettlement program for political expediency, instead of helping people in need and The federal government is taking greater control over which refugees are accepted into Canada, and is targeting those from certain countries for political expediency, critics say. At the same time as the cap was being introduced, the federal government also moved towards a targeted selection approach by allocating the majority of resettlement spots to refugees from specific countries such as Iraq, Bhutan, Eritrea, Congo, Colombia and Turkey. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau: The possibility of a non-confidence vote on the budget arose Thursday when Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau announced Quebec's balanced budget will be delayed until 2015-16, primarily because of lower-than-expected revenues, according to Huffington Post. The opposition say they can't accept that scenario and QUEBEC - Quebec's two major opposition parties say they'll vote against the next provincial budget when it is tabled in the spring a move that would trigger a general election. Marceau, whose Parti Quebecois has only a minority government, said the province should post a deficit of $2.5 billion this fiscal year instead of a projected balanced budget. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Liberal government: Finance Ministry data released Wednesday as part of the Liberal government's November second quarterly financial report show a job contraction of 0.1 per cent -- totalling 2,600 fewer jobs -- over the same period last year, according to CTV. Clark's jobs plan, launched in the fall of 2011, was her government's major push to stimulate job creation in B.C., and it included goals to strengthen infrastructure to get goods to markets and expand B.C. markets and services, especially in Asia and VICTORIA -- Job growth in British Columbia has stalled, but it's too early to call Premier Christy Clark's highly-touted jobs plan a bust, Finance Minister Mike de Jong said Wednesday. "We set more robust targets than what we achieved through 2013," de Jong said at a news conference at the B.C. legislature. "That's why I'm not hesitant to tell you our objectives are and remain to grow jobs, grow the economy and the numbers you see for 2013, so far, fall short of where we'd like to be." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Yvonne Niego: Police in Iqaluit, Nunavut, say Oblate priest Joannis Rivoire is wanted on three sex-related charges dating from his time in Rankin Inlet between 1968 and 1970, according to Times Colonist. Niego said the alleged offences are against children, including a 14-year-old and IQALUIT, Nunavut - RCMP confirm they have an active arrest warrant on child sex abuse charges for a second Arctic priest who left Canada. "We have a valid arrest warrant," Cpl. Yvonne Niego said Thursday. "If he returns to Canada, he will be arrested to face justice." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

employment insurance: For Canadians who plan their lives around staying employed think about school teachers, bus driver, lab technician, accountants, business managers EI employment insurance is nothing more than a rip-off pure and simple, says Gregory Thomas , director of the national lobby group. Canadian workers deserve to keep their own money, according to The Star. Its reform scheme is just beginning to penetrate the public consciousness. But dont laugh it off. The federations 29-page study, Unmasking Employment Insurance : How EI Increases Unemployment and Steals Billions from Working Canadians, is neither a joke nor an ideological rant. It is a well-researched document. There are no obvious factual errors and Unsatisfied with the success of its campaign to make austerity a permanent feature of government, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation CTF has launched a new crusade. It wants Prime Minister Stephen Harper to scrap employment insurance , now in its 74th year. The organization, which claims to have 84,000 supporters, is circulating a petition urging the Prime Minister to end this massive government tax grab. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: The Department of Justice's Board of Immigration Appeals was wrong when it concluded that the man had failed to show that government officials in Russia were either unwilling or unable to control his attackers, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday, according to Times Colonist. "The government failed to present any evidence to rebut Doe's undisputed testimony that he suffered serious assaults at the hands of individuals on account of his homosexuality or to show that the Russian government was able and willing to control non-governmental actors who attack homosexuals," the court said and SAN FRANCISCO - A U.S. appeals court has ordered immigration officials to review their decision not to grant asylum to a gay man who said he was attacked for his sexual orientation in 2002 and 2003 in his native Russia and feared he would be persecuted if forced to return there. The man was only identified as "John Doe" in the opinion. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.