Jeffery Kendall Brown: Jeffery Kendall Brown, 30, was sentenced Thursday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax on a charge of theft under $5,000, according to The Chronicle Herald. If he fulfills the terms of his probation order, he wont have a criminal record and A Halifax man has been given a conditional discharge for stealing $200 from a woman after she d allegedly been drugged and sexually assaulted by another man. Brown will be on probation for one year, with conditions that he abstain from consuming alcohol, take part in any counselling deemed necessary by his supervisor, make restitution to the complainant, and perform 20 hours of community service. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Alix Goolden Hall: Handels Messiah goes without saying, and there are two options: the Civic Orchestras 15th annual sing-along performance Dec. 18, 7 p.m., Alix Goolden Hall, $10-$22 and the Victoria Symphonys usual pair Dec. 20, 8 p.m.; Dec. 22, 2:30 p.m.; Farquhar Auditorium, $35-$55 . This year, however, Bach is giving Handel a run for his money: On Dec. 1, the Victoria Symphony tackled his complete Christmas Oratorio, and he is the focus of two more coming concerts. , according to Times Colonist. On Dec. 21, the Victoria Bach Ensemble, now in its 10th season, presents its third annual Christmas concert 7:30 p.m., Church of St. John the Divine, $15/$10 . The all-Bach program will include violin and keyboard concertos, a trio sonata, and the joyous Cantata 51, a virtuosic showcase for soprano Eve Daniell and trumpeter David Barss. The ensemble also includes six string players and is led by keyboard player Michael Drislane. We are halfway through the classical Christmas music season, though the busiest weeks are still to come, with one concert scheduled as late as Christmas Eve. The first, Christmas in Bachs Leipzig, is the annual holiday concert of the Early Music Society of the Islands Saturday, 8 p.m., Alix Goolden Hall, $26-$32 . Jeanne Lamon, longtime director of the Toronto-based Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, will lead and perform in a program including the popular Cantata 61 and seasonal arias and chorales by Bach, along with works by Graupner, Vivaldi and Telemann. Also among the performers: soprano Nancy Argenta, tenor Benjamin Butterfield, and the Vox Humana chamber choir all fresh or exhausted? from the Christmas Oratorio , plus the Victoria Baroque Players. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

CMHC: And its a similar story for Manitobas urban vacancy rate, which is the average vacancy rate for its seven largest urban centres combined. It jumped to 2.4 per cent from 1.6 per cent in October of last year, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation CMHC said today in releasing the results of its Fall Rental Market Survey. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. "Higher vacancies are also attributed to the continued movement of existing renters to homeownership due to favourable conditions such as low mortgage rates and a rising selection of active listings in the resale market," Himbeault added. Winnipegs apartment vacancy rate has jumped nearly a full percentage point over the past year, climbing to 2.5 per cent in October from 1.7 per cent a year earlier. "Rental demand has been impacted by a moderation in net migration to Manitoba as well as modest employment growth," said Dianne Himbeault, CMHC Senior Market Analyst for Winnipeg. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

China: CHENGDU, China -- The announcement that China was relaxing its one-child policy coincided with my arrival in Chengdu. That the draconian law, enacted in 1979 to slow population growth, was being reformed to allow two children was big news around the world, but it caused hardly a stir in Chengdu. Why was that? , according to Winnipeg Free Press. -- -- -- A 2008 survey showed 76 per cent of Chinese had adopted a one-child outlook. GERALD FLOOD / Photo Store (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

James Rajotte: A quick glance at the 69-page report shows why the Conservative MP waited until the last possible moment to release it, precluding parliamentary debate and minimizing public attention, according to The Star. Here is recommendation No. 1: That the federal government continue to create strong conditions for economic growth and job creation and In the final hours before Parliament adjourned for its eight-week Christmas recess, James Rajotte , chair of the finance committee, quietly tabled Income Equality in Canada: An Overview. It is a pathetic piece of work. It heaps praise on Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his regressive policies. It says nothing about lifting low-income Canadians out of poverty, nothing about tackling the desperate shortage of affordable housing in the country, nothing about increasing the Canada Child Tax Benefit, nothing about improving public pensions and nothing about shoring up the countrys deteriorating social programs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Christine Melnick: Selinger said his government was still going over a report issued a day earlier by provincial ombudsman Mel Holley, who said Christine Melnick was behind an effort to fill the legislature's public gallery with immigrants and support agency workers last year, according to CTV. Liberal legislature member Jon Gerrard said Melnick misled the public and the legislature last year by denying she was behind the effort. He said it's now up to Selinger, who demoted Melnick from cabinet in October, to answer questions and WINNIPEG -- Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger did not directly answer questions Thursday about whether one of his former cabinet ministers was untruthful about an orchestrated debate at the legislature. "We will take a careful look at the report ... and we will make sure things are done properly," Selinger said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

international student population: Though progress has been made in recent years, the size of the Manitoba international student population still lags behind other provinces. British Columbia, for instance, accounted for 25 per cent of Canada's international student population, while Manitoba claimed only three per cent. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. The International Education Act will establish a code of conduct for institutions that educate international students, creating consistently high standards across the province. This will set requirements on recruitment methods, course quality and student supports and will aim to prevent misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to international students. In 2012, the Canadian International Education Advisory Panel recommended increasing Canada's international student numbers from 265,000 to more than 400,000 within 10 years. Now, thanks to new legislation, Manitoba has the leverage to attract more students from around the world by demonstrating international education in our province is of the best quality and is maintained by stringent standards: Bill 44, the International Education Act, was given royal assent in the Manitoba legislature Dec. 5. The legislation will act as a seal of quality to show prospective international students and their families Manitoba provides education worth investing in. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Interim Federal Health Program IFHP: The new provincial program is designed to fill a health care void created by cutbacks to the Interim Federal Health Program IFHP in June 2012 by the federal government. As critics of the IFHP cuts forewarned, the federal policy change has had a negative impact on the wellbeing of medically indigent refugee claimants and on the health care system in general, according to The Star. These barriers to timely diagnosis and treatment often come at a cost, a large percentage of which will be borne by taxpayers at the end of the day. If we factor these extra expenditures into the cost-benefit calculation, it is debatable whether the IFHP cuts will ultimately result in less spending for the health care system and On Tuesday, Dec. 10, when the world celebrated Human Rights Day, refugees in Ontario had rare cause to celebrate an important human rights success. Just a day before, the Ontario government announced that it will join Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Quebec in providing health care to refugee claimants starting in January 2014. Frontline healthcare practitioners have observed multiple incidents of avoidable emergency room visits by uninsured refugee claimants who developed acute medical conditions as a result of forgoing primary care or not being able to afford medications. There are also occasional reports of refugees being denied treatment or asked to pay for services upfront despite still qualifying for the IFHP. Other media reports point to a growing number of the uninsured showing up at community health centres and volunteer clinics, whose capacity was already over-stretched. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Bob Dewar: Bob Dewar, a one-time chief of staff to former premier Gary Doer, had worked for the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union MGEU for 23 years. He had served as the unions director of operations since 2003. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. In a brief telephone interview, union president Michelle Gawronsky refused to say whether Dewar had received a buyout, citing privacy concerns. The provinces largest union announced late Wednesday one of two senior staffers it suspended in September has retired. The MGEU posted a four-sentence statement announcing the retirement on its website. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

school board: The groups most frequent opponents in court have been the local school boards, which in Quebec are responsible for collecting their own taxes from property owners. In three of those cases, a judge has ordered the group to pay. A fourth is still before the courts, according to The Star. The most recent case involving a school board, which was completed in mid-August, involved nearly $2,000 in unpaid school taxes going back to 2010. Another case, resolved in September 2012, ordered the Society of Spiritual Development, to pay more than $2,400 for two years of unpaid school taxes and A Toronto Star investigation of Lev Tahor has turned up seven lawsuits filed in Saint-J r me, Que., in which the reclusive group is accused of leaving thousands of dollars worth of bills unpaid for such things as legal fees, work performed at its former compound in nearby Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, and school board taxes. Operating under the corporate and charitable guises of Congregation Riminov and the Society of Spiritual Development, Lev Tahor runs its own religious education system and has stated that its objections to the teaching of evolution and sex ed in the provincial curriculum are the main reasons for their move to Ontario. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.