Toronto International Film Festival: A mix of sun and cloud and a high of 28 C will make for a pleasant day in Toronto Thursday, according to The Star. King St. W. will be closed from Peter St. to University Ave. starting at 10 a.m. for the Toronto International Film Festival. The street will remain closed to traffic as well as the 504 King St. and 508 Lakeshore streetcar routes until 4 a.m. Monday and Weather and traffic: The clouds are expected to clear in the evening with a low of 21 C, according to Environment Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Islamic State of Iraq: Behind him, kilometres to the south, the key city of Erbil lies relatively unscathed, despite recent events. Just 40 kilometres northward, the city of Mosul is still held by the marauding Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or the al-Qaeda splinter group that has waged a relentless offensive across this region for months. John Baird pledges $15M to bolster Iraq security during Baghdad visit in Iraq: What Canada could offer if West decides on military action How sows 'global panic,' and other facts about the jihadist group , according to CBC. None of the 100-plus U.S. air strikes of the last month have been able to root them out and the fierce determination, bravery and skill of the legendary Peshmerga also are hamstrung by a grim reality. Peshmerga Brig-Gen. Magdeed Haki motioned towards a dark blur on the horizon about a kilometre from his searing hot, windblown perch atop a sandbagged, orange-dirt bunker in northern Iraq. The blur on the horizon, just a kilometre off, is part of that problem: about 150 fighters holed up in a village called Dash. Stalemate is in the air. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

vulnerable refugees: The Canadian government agreed last year to resettle 1,300 refugees by the end of 2014 and had said it would take responsibility for resettling 200 "extremely vulnerable" refugees, while the remainder would be privately sponsored. , according to CBC. Last year they decided to raise money and sponsor a Syrian refugee family and by Christmas they had the paperwork in place, said parish deacon Paul Soucie. Some Ottawa volunteers working to bring Syrian refugees into the city say they are growing frustrated with the lengthy process. Syrian refugees top 3 million, UN says Syrian refugees: Canada urged to take in 10,000 by 2016 The congregation of St. Martin de Porres parish in Bells Corners is one of those private sponsors. Syrian refugee children stand in front of their family residence at the Azraq refugee camp, which has so far received around 10,498 refugees, according to the United Nations. Muhammed Hamed/Reuters (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

jobless rate: There are more than 307,000 jobless Torontonians, according to the latest Statistics Canada figures. Fewer than 55,000 of them are collecting EI in a city with an 8.9 per cent jobless rate. 39% of unemployed have given up job search, poll suggests MAP: Jobless rates across the country , according to CBC. Matthew Mendelsohn, director of the University of Toronto Mowat Centre, says EI is out of step with labour market realities in the country biggest cities, leaving tens of thousands of workers without a social safety net. It was a barely noticed peculiarity in the government latest employment insurance numbers just 17 per cent of unemployed workers in Toronto are collecting EI, among the lowest rates in the city history as it confronts a higher jobless rate than the provincial and national average. Experts point out that while many of the jobless are chronically unemployed citizens who don't qualify for EI, others are part of an evolving urban labour market that isn't being reflected by Canada EI system. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Matthew Mendelsohn: There are more than 307,000 jobless Torontonians , according to the latest Statistics Canada figures. Fewer than 55,000 of them are collecting EI in a city with an 8.9 per cent jobless rate, according to The Star. Matthew Mendelsohn, director of the University of Torontos Mowat Centre public policy think tank, says EI is out of step with labour market realities in the countrys biggest cities, leaving tens of thousands of workers without a social safety net and It was a barely noticed peculiarity in the governments latest employment insurance numbers just 17 per cent of unemployed workers in Toronto are collecting EI, among the lowest rates in the citys history as it confronts a higher jobless rate than the provincial and national average. Experts point out that while many of the jobless are chronically unemployed citizens who dont qualify for EI, others are part of an evolving urban labour market that isnt being reflected by Canadas EI system. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Caroline Mogomela: We're not moving, mom, says Caroline, according to The Star. Today is a big day; not only is it the first day of high school, but it is their first day of high school in a completely new country. The sisters came from Botswana to join their mother in Canada in July and As Caroline Mogomela, 13, and sister Tshepiso Mogomela, 17, say goodbye to their mother for the second time that morning, she lingers not wanting to see them go. It is their first day of high school, for Caroline grade 9, and Tshepiso, grade 11. It like we're going to Mars, jokes Tshepiso. She walks down the sidewalk, arms holding the straps of her pink, grey and black patterned backpack. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canadian citizenship: Ontario to back citizenship by birth, Aug. 31, according to The Star. Already, the recent changes to the Citizenship Act will make it much more difficult for immigrants to acquire Canadian citizenship. All this talk of citizenship fraud associated with children of foreign born people will only fuel xenophobia, while doing little to protect the integrity of the citizenship system, if indeed such protection is needed and Re: Ontario to back citizenship by birth, Aug. 31 Kudos to the Ontario government for taking a principled stand on the right to citizenship for every person born in Canada. The musing by the federal government to remove citizenship by birth under the guise of so-called birth tourism is but another attack on the right to citizenship by certain individuals, namely people born outside of Canada and their children. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

City of Hamilton Name: Year of Arrival: 2008 , according to Hamilton Spectator. Occupation: Receptionist at City of Hamilton Name: Saima Naseem Country of origin: Pakistan (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Homayra Ferdous: He is one of more than 6,000 international medical graduates in Ontario dealing with the daily frustration of knowing their chances of becoming practising doctors are slim to none. , according to Hamilton Spectator. But both Apu and his wife, Homayra Ferdous, also a medical graduate from Bangladesh, soon found the deck was stacked against them because of the limited number of international medical graduates certified annually for medical residency positions in Ontario. Anupam Apu is good enough to be an immigrant but not a doctor. The 36-year Bangladesh native thought that when he ticked the box for general physician as a preferred career on his immigration application, he would have a chance to continue in his field. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is desperately in search of new purpose and resolve. When alliance leaders meet in Wales this week, the escalating incursions by Russia in Ukraine and the Islamic States barbaric antics in Iraq and Syria provide the immediate challenges. What is urgently needed is leadership from the United States, a semblance of strategy and tangible commitments from the disparate allies to confront these major threats to global order. Fine words and carefully crafted statements will not suffice. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. Globe editorial Putin and the return of the moving Iron Curtain Derek H. Burney was Canadas ambassador to the U.S. from 1989 to 1993. Fen Osler Hampson is a distinguished fellow and director of Global Security at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. They are the authors of Brave New Canada: Meeting the Challenge of a Changing World. Canada balks at push to increase defence spending (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Robin Williams: I imagined Robin Williams alone in his room, what went through his mind, da Silva told this week. I can understand the thinking, I can understand the emotions, according to The Star. More from thestar.com: Four days before Orlando da Silva became president of the Ontario Bar Association this month he heard the news that comedic genius Robin Williams had taken his own life. The new OBA president has also lived with the torment of depression, the sense of bone-deep worthlessness and lacerating self-disgust. He came close, in fact, to taking his own life. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

public institutions: Over the summer, public institutions offering adult ESL classes have been in discussions about program reductions and revenue options amid a scuffle between the federal and provincial governments over funding for English-language training. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. First day of school cancelled as B.C. teachers strike drags on Thousands of ESL students in B.C. are facing uncertainty as public postsecondary schools struggle to avoid course cancellations and instructor layoffs next year in the face of government funding cuts. B.C.s closed schools leave parents stranded (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Tony Accurso: Wearing a sharp blue suit and tie, Tony Accurso lost his final bid Tuesday morning to prevent a ravenous public from hearing his testimony at a televised probe into the system of colluding construction firms, political corruption and the invisible hand of the Mafia in boosting the costs of infrastructure contracts in Quebec over nearly a decade, according to The Star. I am Quebecois, I m proud of being Quebecois, I m proud of Quebec. I want to keep money here, Accurso said in a day spent going over his more than three decades building a construction empire in the province and Most often seen in handcuffs surrounded by police, the disgraced king of this provinces construction industry took his place in the witness stand of a high-profile corruption inquiry to reveal not only the secrets of his success, but his overriding passion a devotion to Quebec. But instead of the scowling, grey-haired robber baron whose face has been splashed over the news, the Charbonneau commission heard from a professed proud Quebecer born to an Italian immigrant, one who concocted a recipe to conquer the hardscrabble market for roadwork, sewers and sidewalks but always acted in the best interests of the province and its taxpayers. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Bloc: Using a baseball analogy, the longtime sovereigntist organizer and labour leader Marc Laviolette likened the PQ to the position of pitcher with the Bloc as catcher, with a defensive eye on the plate, keeping the federalist opponent in check, according to The Star. ON COM: In the quest for Quebec independence the provincial Parti Qu b cois has historically been the A team, driving the arguments for sovereignty, picking the fights with Ottawa and building the case for separation. Two hours west, in Ottawa, the Bloc Qu b cois, has played a loyal supporting role since its founding back in 1991. But with the election of outspoken French-language crusader Mario Beaulieu as leader of the Bloc a party reduced to a four-seat rump in the last federal election just two months after the stinging defeat of the PQ in April, those roles could be set to change. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Israel: When I returned with my parents seven years later, it wasnt a homecoming. Soon after our return the country witnessed a pogrom in Kielce, a town not far from where we settled. A year after the defeat of the Nazis, 42 Jewish Holocaust survivors were murdered by Poles. Rampant anti-Semitism was the reason why I wasnt sent to a state school. We became migrants, according to The Star. But none of these countries is really home. Israel, where my wife and I spend much time nowadays, is the home of our children and our people. Its the focus of my faith and I feel good there. But when I open my mouth, despite my Hebrew or perhaps because of it, I m identified as an Anglo-Saxon. In Poland I was always a Jew, in Sweden a Pole, in Britain a Swede and in Canada an Englishman. In Israel I m an Anglo-Saxon and Today is the 75th anniversary of my anxiety neurosis. On Sept, 1, 1939, the Germans invaded Poland where I was born. At four I became a refugee and have been afraid ever since. I m grateful to all the countries that took me in. Though life in various parts of the Soviet Union, where we found refuge during the Second World War, was very rough, I was spared the gas chambers where a million Jewish children ended up, including my cousins. The countries where I had been an immigrant shaped me: Sweden gave me a language and an education; in Britain I found my vocation and gained professional experience; Canada brought stability and the privilege of serving a unique congregation. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Citizenship and immigration Canada: In our view, there is not enough evidence to justify the effort and expense required for such a system-wide program change. Citizenship and immigration Canada has not quantified the extent of fraud resulting from birth tourism, said Ontario Deputy Immigration Minister Chisanga Puta-Chekwe, according to The Star. On Friday, a spokesperson for Ontario Immigration Minister Michael Chan said the province has not changed its position and The Ontario government says it will not support Ottawas proposal to remove citizenship rights to children born in Canada to non-citizens and non-residents. At this time, there is insufficient data to demonstrate the demand placed on Ontarios economy or public services from birth tourists, he wrote in a letter to Ottawa, dated September 6, 2012, after a technical briefing on the plan. A copy of the provinces response was obtained by this week. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Monforte Home Farm: Klahsen plans to turn Monforte Home Farm , established on 16 hectares 40 acres just outside Stratford, Ont., into community supported agriculture. She selling subscriptions to raise money to give farmers a start, according to CTV. The owner of the artisanal dairy that produces delectable cheeses made with the milk of goats, sheep and cows from small local farms has backing from Farm Credit Canada and is getting administrative and promotional assistance from Farm Start, based in Guelph, Ont., which aims to help young people and new immigrants begin farming and - After paying off a loan from customers that kept her Monforte Dairy in business, Ruth Klahsen is launching a new initiative designed to help young farmers. "I've always been fascinated by the idea of having land and using it in a good way and then a different way, so we came up with this model to buy this farm and put between eight and 10 young farmers on it in a way where they have land security so that they don't have to worry about land acquisition, that they'll be able to farm and make a living hopefully on the land without needing to buy it." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Philippe Falardeau: Quebecs Falardeau, 46, is bringing the Hollywood drama The Good Lie to his fifth feature, according to The Star. So hes a veteran, shes a newbie, yet they have a lot in common and Philippe Falardeau and Jordan Canning are Canadian filmmakers approaching the Toronto International Film Festival Sept. 4-14 from very different directions, but with similar hopes and fears. Newfoundlands Canning, 32, is bringing the indie dramedy We Were Wolves to the fest. Its her first feature. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Parliamentary Bureau: Why support a Karl Nerenberg to head up a Parliamentary Bureau for the rest of us ? Here are seven reasons:, according to Rabble. 2. He speaks the language or more precisely the languages . Karl is fluent and does work in English and French. Plus after a few decades he can decipher political-speak very well. 3. He rocks. Don't take our word for it. He has won a Gemini award, a Best International Documentary Series award from "la communaut des televisions francophones" , a CBC Radio Award for Best New Series C'est la vie , and recently was awarded the Canadian Ethnic Media Association Award for Best Television Documentary 2013 for Never Come Back, a film exploring the persecution of the Roma people in Eastern Europe and their struggles to be accepted as refugees in Canada and Here at .ca we strongly believe that Canada needs more independent reporting coming out of Parliament Hill. In 2011, frustrated with the coverage of Parliament and the Prime Minister Office, we crowdfunded a journalist to report on the Hill for the rest of us. Our readers came through and we sent Karl Nerenberg to do the job. Read his reporting in our Hill Dispatches. Our reporting is not funded by corporations, governments or foundations: we need community support to keep our Parliamentary Office open you can give your support right here, right now . 1. He no newbie. Karl brings 25 years experience, including eight years at the producer of the CBC show The House , to Parliamentary Bureau. He has written scripts for documentary films and long-form television reports for such shows as Le Point and Actuel on Radio Canada television and The Journal on CBC-TV. Karl also founded and, for five years, edited the magazine Federations: What new in federalism worldwide . He knows how to get the scoop. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Syrian refugees: The record figure is one million refugees more than a year ago, while a further 6.5 million are displaced within Syria, meaning that "almost half of all Syrians have now been forced to abandon their homes and flee for their lives," it said. Syrian refugees and Canada: The lessons of the boat people Syrian refugees: Canada urged to take in 10,000 by 2016 Syrian refugee applications quietly sped up by Ottawa by the numbers: How big, rich and strong the militant organization may be , according to CBC. The vast majority remain in neighbouring countries, with the highest concentrations in Lebanon 1.14 million , Turkey 815,000 and Jordan 608,000 , the said. Some 215,000 refugees are in Iraq with the rest in Egypt and other countries. Three million Syrian refugees will have registered in neighbouring countries as of Friday, an exodus that began in March 2011 and shows no sign of abating, the United Nations said. "The Syrian crisis has become the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era, yet the world is failing to meet the needs of refugees and the countries hosting them," Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Pictou County: An exemption for effort, according to The Chronicle Herald. Well, it works for Northern Pulp and Anyone in Pictou County who is stopped for speeding should tell the officer: I m a job creator and if you ticket me, I m leaving the province. I realize that I m a danger to myself as well as others, but hey, I am trying to stop. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Tarek Khalifa: Tarek and Samah Khalifa, parents of daughters Sarah, 8, and Aicha, 6, have been in Canada for eight years. , according to CBC. Tarek Khalifa said he must now decide between leaving their Canadian-born daughters behind, or bringing them into a country still plagued by instability. An Egyptian couple with two Canadian-born children won't be granted a stay of deportation, a Federal Court in Montreal has decided. The couple is set to be deported to Egypt on Friday . Samah Khalifa and husband Tarek said they are afraid to bring their daughters back with them to Egypt. They said they were persecuted by Muslim extremists there and are also worried their eldest daughter will not get the proper care for her epilepsy in Egypt. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

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.