: Sometimes, the worst times create the best moments, according to Rabble. My nominee, among many, for last week best moment is a Calgary woman named Rita Khanchat. Chip in to keep stories like these coming. But I'm getting ahead of myself. One week ago, Wildfire MWF-009 -- now more colloquially and correctly known as "The Beast" -- flared out of control in too-dry-for-too-long woods southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, leaped a kilometre over the Athabasca River and wreaked nature havoc on Canada quintessential frontier town. Let start with those worst times. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Vietnam: For every bowl of rice sold at the sushi and rice bowl restaurant, they try to give back the same weight of rice to kids in need living at orphanages in their home country of Vietnam. "All the owners and managers at Charlie are immigrants to Canada," said manager Robert Nguyen, whose brother Peter is the owner. "We are thankful for the opportunity that this country has given us." Since January, they've been able to provide 2,425 pounds of rice, plus cases of formula and congee, clothes, sugar, salt, bottles of cooking oil and boxes of noodles, according to Hamilton Spectator. A friend of the family planned to travel to Vietnam in April, so the eatery expected to give him cash to buy more supplies for the orphanages. "The money goes a long way back there," Robert said. Good karma is the business mantra at Charlie Chopsticks, which has a Hamilton location on Upper James Street that opened in 2015 and another in Welland. They also support other causes. They also donated a dollar to the cause for every Facebook "Like" received over those two days. Proceeds from both locations for two business days in December — more than $1,000 — went to helping Syrian refugees settle in Ontario. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Perez: She made the request because she has a young, Canadian-born daughter and felt it would be in the child best interest for both of them to remain in Canada, according to CBC. The immigration officer disagreed, saying Perez had failed to show her daughter would be negatively affected by forcing the two to return to her native Philippines and apply from there. Sheryl Yutuc Perez applied for permanent residency and asked, on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, if the Department of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism would waive its normal requirement that she leave Canada to make her application. Perez has lived in Nova Scotia for five years. The judge found the officer analysis failed to consider all the evidence. Failed to consider the evidence Perez appealed the officer decision to the federal court. "In the absence of getting reasons from the immigration department, we don't know whether the case was properly adjudicated," her lawyer, Lee Cohen said. "And by going to federal court in this matter, Miss Perez was able to get the reasons and we were able to see that the reasons were, indeed, substandard and so we pursued the federal court case." In a ruling released earlier this month, Justice James O'Reilly sided with Perez against the department. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

: My most vivid memory is of being woken up in the middle of the night to be packed tightly under a stairwell with a dozen other children, like sardines in a can, and walking outside the next day to see that the building next to us had been reduced to shambles, save for a single standing staircase, according to The Chronicle Herald. But that feeling of fear pales in comparison to the constant state of terror I was in as soon as I started school in Canada. All I knew from my life in a war-torn country was the feeling of fear. At the age of six, I landed in Halifax with my parents and younger siblings. I remember the nervous excitement that filled my stomach as I prepared for my first day of school in Canada. North End Halifax had me in awe at its vibrant beauty. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Arabian Peninsula: The group says Yemen alone accounted for one quarter of conflict-related displacement worldwide last year, with 2.2 million people uprooted, or 20 times more than in 2014, according to Metro News. The impoverished Arabian Peninsula country, which is gripped by a war pitting Yemen Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies against forces loyal to the internationally backed government, which is being aided by a Saudi-led coalition and its airstrikes' campaign targeting the rebels. That as many as the combined populations of New York City, London, Paris and Cairo — or an average of 66,000 people displaced every day in 2015.A report by the Norwegian Refugee Council said that 8.6 million of last year internally displaced were uprooted by conflict, more than half of them in Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Yemen was followed by Syria with 1.3 million displaced and Iraq with 1.1 million, the report said. The total of those internally displaced by conflict in the world now stands at 40.8 million, including the newly displaced 8.6 million last year."This is the highest number ever recorded, and twice the number of refugees worldwide," said Jan Egeland, the head of the NRC. The group Middle East director, Carsten Hansen, said that while the world attention was focused on Middle Eastern refugees, or those who fled their homelands, millions were displaced internally in the region."While richer, stable countries have been scheming to keep asylum seekers out of their borders and deny them protection, millions remain trapped in their own countries with death ... just around the corner," he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Dieudonne: He was never let through customs and returned to Europe, according to Brandon Sun. Dieudonne has been convicted of hate speech multiple times in Europe, most recently in France just a few hours before he touched down at Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, known as Dieudonne, landed in Montreal from France on Tuesday in advance of a series of sold-out shows. He had announced on his Facebook book page he would still perform his Wednesday evening show through video conference, telling his fans the venue would change from an art gallery to a hotel in the city downtown. Coderre has been an outspoken critic of the comic and blasted him on Twitter days before his scheduled arrival. Hours later, however, the comic tour promoter, Gino Ste-Marie, told The Canadian Press the video conference event had also been cancelled after Mayor Denis Coderre put pressure on the venue. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

: Problem Solving with Connectivity Innovators tackle loneliness one cup of tea at a time.A Small Town with Big Ideas for Housing Single Parent Families Dryden, Ontario sees safe shelter as the first step to improving family futures, according to Tyee. Last of two. Photo courtesy of Parole d'exclu Es. In Canada, Housing Is a Right. In practice, feds fail to live up to 40-year-old UN commitment. Right Sure, on paper. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

: My reasons aren't that different from other cyclists': it a cheaper and often quicker alternative to both driving and public transportation, according to NOW Magazine. There is, however, at least one thing that sets me apart from most cyclists: I am Black. Like a fast-growing number of Torontonians, I ride a bike. Although hard numbers on cycling diversity, or the lack thereof, are hard to come by, its popularity remains uneven across ethno-racial lines. Why are so few Blacks cycling A good start to answering that question is to ask a different one: why do people cycle, or rather, why are more people cycling If recent surveys are accurate, part of the answer has to do with better infrastructure: more bike lanes, more bike parking and the like. Or put another way, cycling still seems a white thing. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

: Schell is also the only Eastwood player that calls English his mother tongue, a fact that has led to some interesting moments during the current Waterloo County season. "They all speak different languages out there and I can only speak English, I can't speak Somali or Burmese, so it can be difficult to communicate with them and it can be hard to get their attention," said Schell, who was born and raised in Kitchener. "Sometimes you have to yell three or four times to get their attention, but it been fun trying to learn new names, learning how they play and trying to communicate with them, according to The Waterloo Record. They are a great bunch of guys, they don't exclude anyone and it been an all-around good time getting to know them." The Rebels have overcome their communication barriers during the home stretch of the WCSSAA season and enter Thursday playoffs as the second-seeded squad, behind the Forest Heights Trojans. Such is the way of life on a high school soccer team that features only one Canadian-born player and 22 others that hail from eight countries in Africa, South America and Asia. The Rebels, who have won three straight after a 4-0 loss to Forest Heights, will host a quarter-final game and are optimistic about their chances. "We're getting better at the right time," said Rebels co-captain Hussein Abdulrahman, who has been in Canada for seven years and speaks with no hint of an accent. "It great, man. All 22 foreign-born players have spent time in it, said Rebels head coach Alexa Hodgkinson. All the multicultural stuff, it brings us together and makes us better." Eastwood has long been the destination for recent immigrants and refugees because of its program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Emirates: The government listened to competing airlines' concerns, even when Emirates did not ask for any special treatment, according to Huffington Post Canada. Air Canada raised concerns fearing of the effects Emirates moving into Canada would have on its bottom line, and the government caved in and rejected Emirates' initiative. For example, when Emirates tried to join the Canadian market in 2010, hell broke loose. This caused a major rift between the two countries. Its initiative was praised even by the Consumers' Association of Canada, which at that time said allowing carriers from the Emirates to expand in Canadian markets would be "very beneficial" to consumers as reported by CBC."We've got a situation where somehow diplomatic matters for Canada are being linked to the interest of Canada major airline," said association president Bruce Cran."It doesn't make sense at all. It is important to note that the UAE-based airline did not ask for a preferential treatment like Uber has. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

CTV Kitchener: Tomorrow, the last family in the hotel will be moving to their home, Carl Cadogan, the executive director of Reception House, said Tuesday, according to CTV. Cadogan was speaking to CTV Kitchener at the Manulife headquarters in Waterloo, following an announcement of $175,000 in funding to ensure better access to affordable housing in the future. While waiting for permanent homes, refugee families had been staying in temporary accommodations around the region – including many at the Howard Johnson hotel in Kitchener. The money came from a partnership between Manulife, CN, General Motors and the Community Foundations of Canada. While housing is a major step in the resettlement process, officials will continue to work with refugees once they have homes, helping them enter the workforce and the education system. The funds will be primarily directed at ensuring that our refugees from Syria have access to decent, affordable, suitable housing, said Community Foundations of Canada chief operating officer Andrew Chunilall. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

infrastructures: Conflicts and violence exact a brutal toll on people and affected communities as tragic civilian deaths, injuries, rape and torture become a daily experience, according to Huffington Post Canada. Vital infrastructures like schools, health and water systems are destroyed, and children no longer in school become vulnerable to abuse and trafficking. Going into the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, there are good reasons why conflict and violence remain high on the agenda, but these reasons are not new. Agriculture and food production ceases, food stocks are depleted and acute hunger and malnutrition take their toll. The list goes on. People flee their homes into neighbouring towns or countries and some brave treacherous seas in search of refuge as seen in the graphic imageries of Syrians fleeing to Europe. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

sexual assault: Read RCMP response to sexual assault charge against former Insp, according to CBC. Tim ShieldsRCMP recent history of harassment, abuse and discrimination At the time of the alleged incident, Shields was the officer in charge of strategic communications at E division headquarters. According to a statement released by the Criminal Justice Branch, the criminal charge has been approved against the former Mountie as a result of an investigation into sexual misconduct alleged to have occurred between 2009 and 2010. The complainant was a civilian employee with the RCMP. The single charge of sexual assault was sworn in B.C. provincial court today. The RCMP suspended Shields in May of 2015. Shields is scheduled to appear in court on June 27. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canadian border agents: Dieudonne is scheduled to arrive in the city Tuesday for a series of 10 sold-out shows before moving to Quebec City and Trois-Rivieres, according to CTV. While it is still unclear if Canadian border agents will let him into the country because of his legal troubles, Dieudonne reputation certainly precedes him. Dieudonne M'bala M'bala -- known internationally as Dieudonne -- has been charged numerous times in France for violating anti-Semitism and hate-speech laws, prompting Jewish groups and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre to state publicly he is not welcome. He remains popular in France and around the world; his official Facebook page has more than one million likes. On Monday, federal Heritage Minister Melanie Joly said she wouldn't go to his show, but stopped short of saying he shouldn't be allowed into Canada. "It up to to make a decision based on his past," said Joly, who represents a Montreal riding. "It goes without saying that discriminatory comments will not be tolerated." Michelle Rempel, the Conservative immigration critic, said Dieudonne should be denied entry to Canada. "His messages go completely against the Canadian values of religious freedom, tolerance and pluralism," Rempel said in a statement. His detractors call him a racist and an anti-Semite, while his fans say they appreciate his defiance of authority and his comic routines that regularly target what he calls the hypocrisy and discriminatory policies of the French political elite. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canadian partner: Luckily, now there a dating website that takes this into consideration, according to Hamilton Spectator. It called Maple Match, and its tag line promises to make "it easy for Americans to find the ideal Canadian partner to save them from the unfathomable horror of a Trump presidency."In other words, Americans looking to escape a Trump presidency can find a warm, loving place to shack up in Canada. Seeking a partner can become an emotional slog, and it sure doesn't get any easier if you're planning on moving to Canada if Donald Trump is elected president. Two birds with one stone. However, over the past few days we have seen countless Americans and Canadians tell us about the frustration they've experienced with current dating platforms," Goldman told Tech Times on Monday. "After more than 35,000 hits and more than 4,500 sign-ups in just 4 days, we are confident that Maple Match will fulfil a clear need in the dating space." He insisted that it is not a joke, and the site will actually connect singles. "Donald Trump is a joke," Goldman told Cosmopolitan. "Finding true love in a place where you can be happy is not a joke. The site slogan, naturally, is "Make dating great again." According to the site founder and CEO Joe Goldman, it is not funded by an anti-Trump organization. "Maple Match started as a fun idea about Americans and Canadians connecting during the admittedly disturbing possibility of a Donald Trump presidency. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jill Lawless: Last year Trump proposed a total and complete ban on foreign Muslims entering the U.S. until our country representatives can figure out what the hell is going on, according to Toronto Star. Asked how that policy would affect London first Muslim mayor, Trump told The New York Times that there will always be exceptions. It about my friends, my family and everyone who comes from a background similar to mine, anywhere in the world." By Jill Lawless Associated Press7:34 PM, Tues., May 10, 2016 LONDON—London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday slammed Donald Trump ignorant view of Islam, after the Republican presidential contender suggested Khan could be exempted from a proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. But Khan said this isn't just about me. Donald Trump ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe. It about my friends, my family and everyone who comes from a background similar to mine, anywhere in the world. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

: A couple of weeks ago, they went for a walk in the dark for the first time in five years, according to Globe and Mail. For Elyas, it was the first time he had been out at night in his life. Ziad, 33, Boushra, 24, and Elyas fled Syria for Lebanon in 2015 and arrived in Claresholm, Alta., last month thanks to members of the Faith Community Baptist Church who sponsored them. Instead of the sounds of bombs and gunfire, all they heard were the chirps of crickets. Albik. This is a catch-all ASF view; only displays when an unsupported article type is put in an ASF drop zone It feels like we're free, said Mrs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

domestic variety: He hailed as an "agricultural hero," best known for the crossbreeding of a bright yellow wild potato from Peru with a domestic variety, according to Hamilton Spectator. That produced the Yukon Gold, which is praised for its versatility and flavour. It seems Gary Johnston, the plant scientist who bred the yellow-fleshed potato 50 years ago, was ahead of his time. Altogether Johnston developed and brought 16 potato varieties to market. Johnston named his iconic potato after the Yukon River, with its link to the Klondike Gold Rush. At one time, the top four varieties of potato were his, says the University of Guelph, where he was based with Agriculture Canada for close to 30 years. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

local network: Apply that chain to the workforce and it means that even people without a local network of their own could be only two or three introductions away from connecting with anyone they want, according to The Chronicle Herald. The Halifax Connector Program exists to get that ball rolling. Since the concept was first introduced in 1929, social networking and email have made that chain a lot easier to build and in Nova Scotia, it often takes only one or two of those links. Operated by the Halifax Partnership with support from the province and many other partners, the Connector Program helps newcomers, international students and recent graduates break into the Nova Scotia labour market by matching them to community and business leaders in their industry. Talent can be hard to find and we have a knowledge-rich community that includes international students and professionals with a lot of experience. Through a 30-minute meeting and referrals to three people in the connector network, connectees immediately begin to expand their network, confidence and opportunities. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

: With millions of refugees from the region just trying to survive, the human cost is enormous, according to Toronto Star. We need ways to end the conflict quickly, but blindly following our failures in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya won't do that. We have decades of experience showing the futility of outside powers trying to impose military solutions on conflicts. The usual peacekeeping model is also flawed, as it requires a peace to keep with little more than ground troops occupying a buffer zone between warring factions. Article Continued Below Certainly no side in the conflict would want to take on yet another military opponent so violations of the enforced peace would likely be sporadic at most. However, a hybrid model in which UN peacekeepers are inserted into a war zone with full air support, to retaliate against anyone who breaks the enforced peace or who violates the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, could work. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lougheed Town Centre: Fayzeh Ramadan, a widow, and her five children, aged 15 to 26 including two daughters with disabilities, had been living in a motel unit in east Vancouver since early February, according to CBC. On Monday, they moved into a bright 3-bedroom apartment near Lougheed Town Centre, which the Immigrant Services Society of B.C. helped them secure. Some Syrian refugees fed up after months in temporary housing The unusual arrangement raises questions about the adequacy of supports for government-assisted refugees, especially those with special needs. Through an interpreter, Ramadan said her family is "very happy and delighted" to finally have a permanent home. "We've finished this house thing, the searching. The family had been offered several previous housing options, but turned them down because the bathrooms were too small to bathe the young women, who are partially paralyzed. We are very tired, but tomorrow we will be more relaxed, for good," she said, smiling. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

office: The assailant made "politically motivated comments'' as he attacked, Ken Heidenreich, spokesman for the Munich prosecutor office in charge of the case, told The Associated Press, according to Huffington Post Canada. He said his office was investigating witness reports that he yelled "Allahu Akbar,'' Arabic for "God is great.'' "It going in that direction,'' Heidenreich said of his office initial information following the stabbing at the Grafing Bahnhof station, some 30 kilometres east of Munich. One victim died in a hospital and three other people were wounded. Officials also raised the possibility that the man was mentally disturbed. Forensic experts are seen behind the police cordon near the train station in Grafing, where a man killed one person and wounded three others in a knife attack May 10, 2016. "We have no information that he is a recent immigrant here or of that background, but we don't know for sure at the moment,'' he said, adding that the man didn't live in Bavaria. Heidenreich said that the suspect is a 27-year-old German citizen, with a German-sounding name. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Brian Pallister: As the dust settles on the April 19 election, the change in Manitoba government and the unveiling of Brian Pallister new cabinet, there are signs that this government will take a different direction than the previous NDP administration, according to Rabble. While this shift should not come as any surprise to political observers, the public will be aware of subtle changes for the new cabinet positions, like the replacement of the Conservation and Water Stewardship department with that of a minister responsible for Sustainable Development or the controversy around the appointment of an Anglophone minister to be responsible for Francophone Affairs. Chip in to keep stories like these coming. While on the surface, these moves might signal an expected shift of Manitoba new government, there are larger questions about the political and bureaucratic trajectory that key departments and initiatives such as the future of post-secondary education will follow in the coming four years. This will mark the first time since the 1950s that a provincial cabinet will be without a minister responsible for labour. As part of the new cabinet, the new Progressive Conservative government has chosen to dissolve the existing department of Labour and Immigration. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Ontario Provincial Police: He recognized two: notorious brothers who'd later kill a man in a wayward drug deal. "Hey cop," one of the brothers said, according to CBC. The sudden dread he felt – had he been found out – spun to basic survival. Four men walked up. The men began assaulting him and later that day tried to kill him, according to a lawsuit the officer, Paul Manning, has filed from his time working as a police officer in Hamilton. They say he suffered irreversible damage to his mental health because of his undercover work and how he was mishandled by the force. Evocative and wide-ranging allegations He and his wife, Sabina, seek $6.75 million in damages in an evocative and wide-ranging lawsuit that names the Hamilton Police Service and its board, the Ontario Provincial Police, former chief Glenn De Caire and OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes. 'I gave you my husband and you gave me someone completely different.'- Sabina Manning He now believes that patio attack happened because he had been sold out by a member of his own force. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

province: Hence, we don't support people locally either by buying from them or investing in their ideas, according to The Chronicle Herald. We need to start thinking of ourselves on a global scale, otherwise we are going to lose out in this province. Talent is abundant in Nova Scotia but we have a perception problem that our own people can't build world-class companies, says Saeed El-Darahali, president and CEO of Simply Cast. The 2014 Ivany Report entitled Now or Never: A Call to Action for Nova Scotians calls on the province to triple the number of immigrants arriving to 7,000 a year and grow the number of new business by 50 per cent. If you are skilled worker, you will be looking to be employed in the province. We need to focus our immigration policy on people with company formation, rather just skilled workers, says El-Darahali. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

enfeeblement: Today, the separatist threat is about as lethal as the collywobbles, according to Globe and Mail. The Parti Québécois most recent show of enfeeblement saw its leader, Pierre Karl Péladeau, depart last week after barely having arrived. Instability, particularly in Quebec, was palpable over a three-decade period. In the West, bitter talk of alienation and estrangement is all but gone. He was pivotal in bringing the West in. Stephen Harper, in what will likely stand as his most memorable legacy piece, can take credit here. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.