immigrantscanada.com

Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

One Nova Scotia Coalition: Time is of the essence, yet a sense of urgency is missing. So here are a few recommendations a seven-point plan for the coalition to urgently consider, on how to advance our economy:, according to The Chronicle Herald. Retain our youth: extend payroll rebates As the Ivany commission made clear, it is now or never in terms of addressing the economic challenges facing Nova Scotia. Yet the silence from the One Nova Scotia Coalition, charged with determining a plan of action regarding the economic future of the province, has been deafening since it was formed three months ago. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Stefan Mahon: Kayt and Stefan Mahon, who live in Canmore, Alta., adopted Leo and Grace from an orphanage eight months ago. However, the Sierra Leone government is putting almost all of its resources into fighting Ebola and has not been able to issue passports for the twins. Without passports, they can't leave the country, according to CTV. The children are currently in lockdown in an orphanage, where the couple said they are relatively safe from Ebola and An Alberta couple has been unable to bring home the twins they legally adopted from Ebola-affected Sierra Leone in February. "We are concerned for their health because the medical system in Sierra Leone has all but collapsed," Stefan told Canada AM Friday. "All efforts, as they should be, are going toward the Ebola virus. But our children are more likely to have trouble with anything from malaria to other common diseases typhoid or hepatitis B and there is no one to help." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca: The minister has asked officials to review the practices surrounding safety blitzes and our protocols for working with traffic safety partners moving forward, a spokesperson for Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca told Friday, according to The Star. Del Duca spokesperson Patrick Searle acknowledged it is not the first time the has tag-teamed on safety checks, with critics firing back that it is hardly the mandate of the MTO to aid and abet immigration officers and Ontarios Transportation Ministry is rethinking its policy of working with other agencies following a public flap over immigration officials rounding up undocumented workers during a roadside commercial vehicle check. On Aug. 14, Canada Border Services Agency officers used a commercial vehicle roadside blitz along Wilson Ave., between Jane St. and Highway 400, to arrest 21 undocumented workers. The result has been met with outrage by immigrant advocates and an opposition critic. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: Hello CBC/The Current,, according to Rabble. 1. The Ukraine government has been waging a bloody, ruthless war against the people of the east of the country using methods that amount to war crimes, namely, the use of heavy, indiscriminate shelling against civilians. Thousands have been killed and close to one million people have been made refugees and The following letter was sent to the weekday, national newsmagazine program of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The Current on Aug. 29, 2014 I thought your story today on Ukraine was another exercise in providing a platform to propagandists instead of seriously exploring a complex story. None of your three guests breathed a word of the most important sets of information that listeners require to reach a balanced view of the war being waged in eastern Ukraine. These are: (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs: On August 20, reported the Canadian Jewish News, several thousand took to Bathurst Street under the slogan "We Will Not be Silent: A March Against Global Anti-Semitism." The demonstration was organized by United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, B'nai Brith Canada, Canada Israel Experience, March of the Living Canada and the Jewish National Fund JNF Canada, according to Rabble. Photos and articles suggest that many among the racially homogenous crowd carried Israeli flags and celebrated that country recent military onslaught on Gaza. The Times of Israel reported: "The purpose of the march was passionately summed up in Bill Glied closing remarks: 'Thank God for the IDF. Thank God for Israel. And remember together we must stand. Never again!'" Why does a demonstration of hundreds of people against "anti-Semitism" in Toronto seem more like a march for white supremacy than a rally against racism? If one were to take the organizer slogan seriously this demonstration was among the largest anti-racist mobilizations in recent Canadian history. But, unfortunately it was little more than a group of "white" people calling for the further subjugation of "brown" folk. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Stefan Mahon: Leo and Grace have been waiting in a Sierra Leone orphanage since they were adopted by Kayt and Stefan Mahon last February. The couple lives in Canmore, Alta., and has been waiting for the proper paperwork to come through to allow the twins to leave Sierra Leone. , according to CBC. Citizenship and Immigration Canada CIC said in an email to News on Thursday that Canadian consular officials in Accra, Ghana, are now working on the couple request for citizenship for the twins and are awaiting a final round of documents from the couple. Twins who have been adopted by an Alberta couple could be one step closer to getting Canadian citizenship after the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone crippled their government ability to process their travel documents. Ebola outbreak delays Canmore couple adoption plans Ebola cases could hit 20,000, WHO says The Mahons have been urgently appealing to the Canadian government to give the twins Canadian citizenship since the government in Sierra Leone is not able to handle the passport processing because of a lack of resources caused by the deadly Ebola outbreak. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Denis Lebel: Denis Lebel, the prime ministers Quebec lieutenant, is banking on his 12-day End of Summer Tour to court a province where the Conservatives hold only five seats and recent polls have suggested they trail the New Democrats, Liberals and Bloc Quebecois in popular support, according to 660 News. We wanted to be sure that everybody in Quebec understands that Quebec is very important for our government, Lebel told a crowd of about 100 supporters at a rally this week in Montreals Mount Royal riding, a district long coveted by the Conservatives and Federal Conservatives are capping off their summer with a pre-electoral push in Quebec, a charm campaign to help the party rebound in what has proven to be challenging terrain. Even though the next election could be more than a year away, Lebel has been shaking hands and delivering speeches across the province on a trek that was to wrap up Thursday in Quebec City. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Pearson Airport: And if they dont have a Canadian credit history, the bank is willing to offer them a new credit card to help build one, according to The Star. has the banking rights to Pearson Airport an asset the bank intends to exploit in order to establish a link with immigrants during their first minutes in Canada and is intent on capturing new Canadians as customers the minute they step off the plane in Toronto, says the banks David Williamson. In a country such as Canada the growth in the population is largely from those that are joining us in the country, Williamson, head of retail and business banking, said as released its third quarter earnings Thursday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

David Williamson: David Williamson, CIBCs head of retail and business banking, says new Canadians are an obvious growth area for the countrys fifth-largest lender, according to 660 News. One of the difficulties new Canadians face in obtaining credit at major banks is their lack of Canadian credit history, a factor in assessing whether they can repay debt and sees a long-term reward in wooing new Canadians with small-balance credit cards, saying it hopes to win their business in future as investment and mortgage clients. A lot of folks coming in are of solid credit standard. They re coming in to work here or to invest here, so we re looking to more than just participate in that space, Williamson told analysts on a call Thursday following the banks latest earnings release. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Fairness Commissioner Jean Augustine: Augustine on Wednesday took particular exceptions to an overly rosy and glowing portrait in a report earlier this week by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario bragging that a record number of international medical graduates IMG were either being accepted into residency programs or being certified to open up their own practices, according to The Star. According to 2011 StatsCan figures, she said there are 6,540 IMGs living in Ontario, many of whom are left without a hope of ever practicing medicine in the province and Ontarios Fairness Commissioner Jean Augustine says things are anything but rosy for foreign-trained doctors trying to break into Ontario. Augustine said a further look at the numbers show that a small percentage of foreign-trained doctors are being accepted into 200 government-funded IMG residency positions. Instead, many are being given to Canadians who have trained offshore and want to return to Ontario, which, she says, belies the original intent of the program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Nick Liu: For two years, Nick Liu was the boy who cried restaurant, promoting his perennially soon-to-open Gwailo until finally finding a location on College St. After renovating, changing the name to something less likely to offend, the chef Liu trained at Scaramouche and earned his reputation at Niagara Street Caf is finally able to offer his takes on Chinese cuisine egg net salad, whole fried trout to the audience hes spent so long cultivating at various street fairs, according to The Star. Its averaging to over 100 a day, says Liu. I ve never created anything that has sold more than this and In the first week of service, ostensibly Chinese restaurant DaiLo sold 500 Big Mac dumplings. But already, the most popular, Instagram-able menu item is the McDonalds -flavoured bun: ground beef, special sauce, aged cheddar processed cheese, onions and Vlasic pickles inside a black sesame seed dumpling. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

scientific literacy: A new report, Science Culture: Where Canada Stands , released today by the Canadian Council of Academies found that 42 per cent of Canadians have a basic level of scientific literacy necessary to understand media reports about science, putting Canada first among 35 countries with similar available data. The council is an independent non-profit group that puts together expert panels to conduct assessments for the federal government on a wide range of public policy issues ranging from policing to wind turbine noise. Read more and download the full report , according to CBC. In order to gauge science literacy, respondents were asked questions such as: Does the sun go around the earth or does the earth go around the sun? Human beings as we know them today developed from earlier species of animals. True or false? Electrons are smaller than atoms. True or false? Canadians are among the most scientifically literate people in the world, a new report reveals. But don't get too smug yet in spite of that, fewer than half of us would be able to read and understand a newspaper article about a new scientific discovery. The science literacy ranking was based on an April 2013 survey of 2,000 Canadians commissioned by the council from Ekos research. That data was then measured against the results for other countries for which comparable data are available. The weighted results are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Tunisia: The Ben Cheikh Brahim family has been living in New Brunswick for three years. , according to CBC. The family says it has faced persecution in Tunisia after converting to Christianity from Islam many years ago. A Dieppe family from Tunisia could soon be facing deportation. But the family has been asked to leave voluntarily by Sept. 5 after losing an appeal of its denied refugee claim. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Wayne Hammil: Early immigrants to B.C. faced not only the hardship of settling into a new home, but also seemingly racist policies Chinese and Indo-Canadians did not have the right to own property and only got the right to vote in 1947. , according to CBC. Realtor Wayne Hammil recently spotted a covenant in a land title dating back to 1928 when he was putting a Vancouver home up for sale. To many people, Metro Vancouver stands for diversity, but there a dark history behind how some local neighbourhoods and property owners dealt with minority groups. In Vancouver, West Vancouver and Victoria, owners tried to use restrictive land covenants to keep minorities from buying land and many of those covenants remain in place to this day. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mental health problems: The commission review came out of several controversial cases in which individuals with mental health problems died in confrontations with police officers. , according to CBC. Eighteen-year-old Sammy Yatim was shot nine times by Toronto police last year after police responded to a call about a person with a knife aboard a streetcar near in the city west end . The Mental Health Commission of Canada released a series of recommendations Wednesday aimed at improving how police forces interact with people with mental health issues in order to avoid some of the tragic outcomes that have occurred in recent years. Here is a review of some of the cases that have prompted debate about the issue. Toronto officer who shot Michael Eligon feared for his life Sylvia Klibingaitis told 911 operator 'I'm pure evil' VPD officer cleared in 2007 shooting death of Paul Boyd Sammy Yatim A group of neighbours and activists held a vigil and retraced the last steps of Michael Eligon, shot by police. Ivy Cuervo/ (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Colin Dodds: Prominent immigrants Colin Dodds and Wadih Fares are co-chairing the Premiers Immigration Advisory Council. , according to CBC. "Many of our students want to stay and we just have to find a way to make that happen, said Dodds. Premier Stephen McNeil announced the creation of an advisory council Tuesday to help increase immigration in Nova Scotia. Dodds, who immigrated to Canada from the U.K. 32 years ago will advise the premier on attracting and retaining international students. Dodds is the president and vice-chancellor at Saint Marys University, an institution where one in four students comes from outside of the country. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

aborted attempt: That the gist of an anonymous mass email that hit Tory inboxes last week, courtesy of the same mysterious Gmail account that blew the whistle on an aborted attempt by the all-party Board of Internal Economy to impose a sweeping gag order on political staffers last December. Hill staff asked to sign lifetime confidentiality agreements MPs drop bid to impose lifetime gag orders on Hill staff , according to CBC. "Are you being paid fairly for the work you do for your member of Parliament? Here are some things to think about to help you figure that out." Conservative MP office workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your status as the lowest-paid political staffers in the precinct! "Dear Conservative Staff," the latest missive from "Nanker Phelge" begins. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Greater Halifax-Dartmouth: Highlight line: We need people to come, and when they come, we need them to stay. We want them to be comfortable, to become Nova Scotians and to help us have a successful future. Stuart MacLean, board chairman, Greater Halifax-Dartmouth according to The Chronicle Herald. Of the 2,700 immigrants who come to Nova Scotia each year, 70 per cent locate in Halifax and (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Saint Marys University president Colin Dodds: Saint Marys University president Colin Dodds and noted developer Wadih Fares will try to do what previous provincial governments could not open the floodgates for immigration to Nova Scotia, according to The Chronicle Herald. These two are impressive individuals, McNeil said during a press conference at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Advice from Wadih and Colin will be critical and Premier Stephen McNeil on Tuesday announced Dodds and Fares, both immigrants, as co-chairs of his immigration advisory council. Fares will work with government and businesses across Canada, while Dodds will focus on attracting and retaining international students. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Education Across Borders Collective: A week before most students head back to class, Education Across Borders Collective is calling on the Quebec Education Minister to modify the law to open up schools to all children living in Quebec. , according to CBC. spokesman Alain Perron said those children were accepted to study for free following a directive by the Ministry of Education. As children across Quebec gear up for the start of the school year, close to 5,000 undocumented children in the province will be left behind, according to the Education Across Borders Collective , a Montreal-based advocacy group. The Commission scolaire de Montr al, Montreal French language school board, says fewer than five undocumented students applied for studies last year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Sedinger Ayala: Citizenship and Immigration Canada has stayed Sheila Sedinger Ayala removal order. , according to CBC. Sedinger Ayala, 27, was initially ordered to be deported back to Mexico after her refugee claim sponsor her husband was convicted of a criminal offence. A Montreal woman facing deportation will get to stay in Canada for at least two more years. "It feels amazing," Sedinger Ayala told news. "Now I can concentrate on celebrating my daughter birthday which is this Saturday, the day I was going to be deported." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Immigrant Settlement Association: This summer the Immigrant Settlement Association is helping seed the fourth garden in four years. The Mosaic Ministries, an independent church on Willett Street in Halifax, donated the land. , according to CBC. Monica Mussa fled war-torn Congo just seven months ago. She says the plot of land isnt big, but even half a row in the middle of a city is a welcome thing. Refugees accustomed to growing their own food in their home countries are finding garden space in their newly adopted Halifax neighbourhood. Many of the gardeners are from the South Asian country Bhutan, a Buddhist nation where prosperity is measured by the happiness of its people. The Bhutanese were the driving force behind the first garden on city land next to a bus stop. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Xavier James: Trudeau is intelligent, humane and self-confident, a Qu b cois who is devoted to Canadian unity and has the most marvellous family: a sophisticated career-minded wife, Sophie Gr goire, and three adorable young children with the interesting names that only confident parents bestow: Xavier James, Ella-Grace and Hadrien. He has an English degree from McGill, a UBC teaching degree and taught for several years. He has his fathers intellect and wit, while being more down to earth, and his mothers good looks and warmth. And the guy, a Montrealer, can wear a suit, according to The Star. If you re reading this online, check out the gif of Justin and Sophie dancing in a hallway just before his big convention speech in 2013. This is how these two shake off their spare energy; they dance like nobodys watching. But everyones watching and they like what they see and Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau is popular. Why wouldnt he be? But what makes some politicians attractive and others repellent? Take every word over four letters in that paragraph and you have a list of why the ruling Conservatives hate him. I didnt put the word attractive in there in case they fizzed with resentment and exploded, like when you shake a pop can and open its little metal hole. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Toronto: Torontos population is greater than the population in six of the 10 provinces. Because of our direct municipal electoral system, more people cast a vote for the citys mayor than for any other political office in the country. We believe Toronto voters need the best opportunity to scrutinize those standing for office to see how they compare, according to The Star. Following the model of our provincial and federal leaders debates, each event would be hosted by a respected senior journalist and provide equal airtime to the leading candidates as determined by the consortium. The events should take place in major venues in front of live audiences and, importantly, be carried simultaneously on each of Torontos local television channels, as well as live-streamed to the Internet and Toronto has long had a strong tradition of hosting community debates for its mayoral candidates. During the 2010 campaign, more than 80 debates were held throughout the city. These debates, typically organized by community organizations, tend to focus on specific issues as well as the concerns of local neighbourhoods. This tradition should be applauded and continue, but its also time that it evolve. This is why we are calling on Torontos media to create a debate consortium to plan and simulcast two major citywide debates during the 2014 mayoral campaign. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lev Tahor: Of the nearly 200 members of the sect, a half-dozen families remain in Chatham, Ont., where the group has been based since November 2013. The members left in Canada include some of those who have been involved in a custody dispute with the region children services authorities for several months. the fifth estate: Lev Tahor leader Shlomo Helbran refugee case questioned Quebec officials say many more Lev Tahor children could be at risk Guatemalan judge rules Lev Tahor children can stay , according to CBC. The sect picked up and moved to Chatham from Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., last November after Quebec youth protective services known by its French acronym, the DPJ initiated steps to remove 14 of the children . One of the children was a mother to a young child herself. Most of the members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor have moved from Canada to Guatemala amid allegations of child abuse. Radio-Canada sources said the bulk of the families began leaving Canada one by one starting in June to join some of the members involved in the custody battle who had left for Guatemala in March. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper: Speaking to reporters in Whitehorse on Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper described tactics as "unspeakable barbarism." , according to CBC. "It a deplorable situation," Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair said during an event in Amherstburg, Ont., "and I think that Canada should continue to work with our allies." As attacks and atrocities from extremist group mount in Iraq, Canada political leaders have all offered strong words of condemnation. "The desire to essentially commit genocide against any group of people in the region who are different, these are shocking developments," the prime minister said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.