Syrian refugee child: In a confidential inspection report made public in January, the Red Cross says Canada should jail child immigrants only as a "last resort" and must find alternatives to detention for such vulnerable newcomers, according to Huffington Post Canada. A Syrian refugee child displays his serial number as his family register their information at the Canadian processing centre for Syrian refugees, during a media tour held by the Canadian Embassy in Jordan, at Marka airport, Amman, Jordan on Dec. 8, 2015. Goodale told a Senate committee today his department is looking at alternatives to locking away children, but he suggests the issue is a complex one that requires study. The border services agency holds people who are considered a flight risk or a danger to the public, and those whose identities cannot be confirmed. Among these were at least 197 minors, held an average of about 10 days each. The Red Cross says the border agency detained 10,088 immigrants — almost one-fifth of them refugee claimants — in 2013-14 in a variety of facilities, including federal holding centres and provincial and municipal jails. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

: We met and fell in love 10 years ago in college, and it still stands that he the best thing that ever happened to me, according to Huffington Post Canada. I fell in love with him because he was perfect for me -- and he just happened to be from a completely different culture than my own. We are the living, walking, breathing epitome of cultural differences -- he is Hindu, I am Catholic; he is a strict vegetarian, I am not; he comes from a huge traditional Iyengar family, I come from a very small Canadian family. Sure, we have had our challenges. But our journey getting to know each other cultures has been beautiful, mind-blowing and so interesting. There were difficulties being accepted by his family, we still have frequent misunderstandings, we get stared at a lot in public, and we feel a bit isolated in our journey as an intercultural couple because our mix is such a rarity. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Atlantic School of Theology: The fourth annual event gives Haligonians the chance to visit different buildings of architectural, historical and cultural significance, according to The Chronicle Herald. There were more than 25,000 venue visits during last year event, and Doors Open Halifax is hoping to top that as they celebrate their fourth year. Doors Open Halifax runs this weekend, June 4-5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They'll be opening up 31 different spaces around the city, from the Atlantic School of Theology and the Halifax Shambhala Centre to St. There a really nice variety so people can create an experience that personal to them, says Tara Wickwire, president of Doors Open Halifax. Paul Church and the Waegwoltic Club. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

SOHL: Funding pulled from heritage language schools in Saskatchewan SOHL operates 80 heritage language schools and organizations and they teach about 40 languages at schools in Regina, Saskatoon and elsewhere in the province, according to CBC. Now a petition spear-headed by SOHL is circulating calling on the ministry to reinstate funding for language schools and they're looking for signatures, according to Tamara Ruzic, executive director of SOHL. "I could understand if we're talking about millions of dollars here ... but we're talking about $225,000 that benefited over 80 non-profit organizations," Ruzic told CBC Radio The Morning Edition. "This cut, to be blunt, has been a slap in the face to the dedicated volunteers who have been doing this for 25 years." Ruzic said the grant money allowed SOHL to give volunteer teachers an honorarium, as well as pay for school supplies, transportation and — in some cases — lunches for students. In March, the Saskatchewan Organization for Heritage Languages said they received notification the Ministry of Education was pulling a $225,000 grant, which had been provided for the past 25 years, due to less than favourable economic conditions in the province. With the grant money being pulled, she said it likely many of the weekend language schools will end. "I think a lot of them will continue the best they can but I am afraid some of the smaller ones, the ones that don't have a lot of money— the newer ones — they might shut down," Ruzic said. Losing language schools equals loss of culture Sabine Wecker is a teacher and coordinator at Regina German Language School. Executive director of the Saskatchewan Organization for Heritage Languages says the province should not be cutting language schools at a time when more immigrants are moving to Saskatchewan. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

marketing opportunity: Some people don't look at either choice as being ideal, according to Huffington Post Canada. Searches that involve the phrase "immigrating to Canada" seem to be growing and some Canadian communities are seeing it as a marketing opportunity to attract new people. And as the primaries continue, it would appear that people in the U.S. are starting to explore their options beyond voting for the candidate of their choice. So if the possibility of Trump or Clinton becoming president may make you think about leaving the country, there are some things to consider beyond just immigration rules if you want to come to Canada. Even if you come to Canada, you will probably still have to file a tax return with the Internal Revenue Service every year unless you also decide to renounce your citizenship. U.S. citizens are taxed based on residency and citizenship. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

routinely conduct diversity training: Many have been doing so for well over a decade, according to Toronto Star. But it hard to know what difference that made in the absence of hard data. Mon., May 30, 2016 Police forces across Ontario routinely conduct diversity training, anti-racism initiatives and outreach programs aimed at better connecting with minority communities. An inquest jury recommended further training initiatives this past week specifically to defuse unconscious bias on the part of officers. But what needed, as well as more training, is a comprehensive way to measure the effectiveness of what been done so far. The panel, which looked into the police shooting of Jermaine Carby in Brampton two years ago, was right to highlight racial profiling as an issue that still demands action. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Irish community: The stone, stained black from exhaust fumes, sits in a little-visited industrial zone near the foot of the bridge, and some members of the Montreal Irish community say the city needs to do a better job of honouring the chapter of Canadian history it represents. "This is the largest single burial site of the Great Hunger in the world outside of Ireland itself," said Victor Boyle, one of the directors of the Montreal Irish Memorial Park Foundation. "It also the first memorial to that event outside of Ireland." But he says that while cities such as Toronto have prominent memorials to their Irish ship fever victims, Montreal much-larger number of dead are going unrecognized, according to Hamilton Spectator. On Sunday, about 100 members of the Irish community took part in an annual walk to the site. A 10-foot tall engraved stone, placed on a median between the lanes of traffic, announces that the site is the resting place of some 6,000 Irish immigrants who died of typhus in "fever sheds" along the riverbank in 1847-48 after fleeing famine in overcrowded ships. The ceremony, led by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, has taken place in some form or other since 1865 — six years after the stone was erected by mostly-Irish Victoria bridge construction workers who stumbled across the graves. Boyle says the park would honour not only the Irish victims but also the Montrealers who risked their health and safety to help them, ranging from clergy members to British soldiers to Montreal mayor, John Easton Mills, who contracted typhus and died in 1847 after visiting the fever sheds. Now, Boyle foundation is trying to get permission to transform a parking lot adjacent to the site into a memorial park in time for Montreal 375th anniversary in 2017. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

public safety minister: And we need to make some changes there in order to accommodate alternatives." In a confidential inspection report made public in January, the Red Cross said Canada should jail child immigrants only as a "last resort" and must find alternatives to detention for such vulnerable newcomers, according to CBC. We can and must do better,' public safety minister says of immigration detainee health Ontario health workers demand end to 'inhumane' immigration detention process Trudeau tracker: Have the Liberals kept their promise on C-51 The border services agency holds people who are considered a flight risk or a danger to the public and those whose identities cannot be confirmed. Goodale told a Senate committee on Monday his department is looking at alternatives to locking away children, but he added the issue is complex and requires study. "There are problems in the system that go beyond simply changing procedures," Goodale said. "Physical capacity is an issue. The Red Cross says the border agency detained 10,088 immigrants — almost one-fifth of them refugee claimants — in 2013-14 in a variety of facilities, including federal holding centres and provincial and municipal jails. Higher number of detainees However, the number of young detainees was almost certainly higher because the figures did not include those who were not formally part of a detention order, but nonetheless found themselves behind bars with a parent or guardian. Among these were at least 197 minors, held an average of about 10 days each. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

strange place: Once settled in Canada, the refugees struggle to adapt to a strange place and a new language, all the while bearing the emotional burden of their past, according to CBC. Watch Adrienne Arsenault documentary on the Farwans in the video at the bottom of this story One family gave the CBC The National extraordinary access to their private lives as they made their life-altering journey from Syria to Lethbridge, Alta., by way of Jordan. Not so well known is the sadness they carry with them as they rebuild their lives far from home, missing loved ones left behind. This is a portrait of the Farwan family. We first met Jebreel, 6, and his family last December in Irbid, Jordan, where the family of 10 had settled three years earlier after fleeing the civil war in Syria. When we met the Farwans, they were living in Jordan. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Louie Sam: How the West Was Undone'3:10 to Yuma' mans up, according to Tyee. The Riot that Changed Canada How rampagers against Asians in Vancouver helped launch a famous PM. The Freeing of Charles Mitchell How a prisoner slave was liberated just by stepping onto Victoria soil. Photo courtesy of Huntington Library. Read more: Media image: Sign Up for the Tyee Newsletter Eternity Street: Violence and Justice in Frontier Los Angeles John Mack FaragherW.W. Norton In February of 1884 an angry American mob crossed into British Columbia, seized a Sto:lo youth named Louie Sam from the custody of a B.C. deputy, and set about lynching the boy from a tree. The sordid tale might make for a powerful Hollywood movie. The vigilantes, led by two white men, claimed Sam had murdered a white shopkeeper in Washington state, but historians are almost certain he was innocent. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Hamilton: It that simple, according to NOW Magazine. The community of Hamilton is doing more to help them than most nations, including my own. There are a lot of people in need of a lot of help, says Matt Berninger, frontman for The National. Berninger, originally from Cincinnati and now based in L.A., speaks a hard truth: the United States has only accepted 2,600 refugees, while Hamilton alone has taken in 1,200. Berninger and Reid saw the challenges faced by Syrian refugees first-hand when travelling from France to Britain. There are only nine cities in Canada carrying the responsibility of helping these people get into the fold of Canadian life, says the National manager Brandon Reid. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canada Border Services Agency: Goodale told a Senate committee on Monday his department is looking at alternatives to locking away children, but he added the issue is complex and requires study."There are problems in the system that go beyond simply changing procedures," Goodale said. "Physical capacity is an issue, according to Brandon Sun. And we need to make some changes there in order to accommodate alternatives."In a confidential inspection report made public in January, the Red Cross said Canada should jail child immigrants only as a "last resort" and must find alternatives to detention for such vulnerable newcomers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean KilpatrickOTTAWA - Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says he wants to end the Canada Border Services Agency practice of detaining child migrants. The border services agency holds people who are considered a flight risk or a danger to the public and those whose identities cannot be confirmed. Among these were at least 197 minors, held an average of about 10 days each. The Red Cross says the border agency detained 10,088 immigrants — almost one-fifth of them refugee claimants — in 2013-14 in a variety of facilities, including federal holding centres and provincial and municipal jails. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

: And we need to make some changes there in order to accommodate alternatives." In a confidential inspection report made public in January, the Red Cross said Canada should jail child immigrants only as a "last resort" and must find alternatives to detention for such vulnerable newcomers, according to The Waterloo Record. The border services agency holds people who are considered a flight risk or a danger to the public and those whose identities cannot be confirmed. Goodale told a Senate committee on Monday his department is looking at alternatives to locking away children, but he added the issue is complex and requires study. "There are problems in the system that go beyond simply changing procedures," Goodale said. "Physical capacity is an issue. The Red Cross says the border agency detained 10,088 immigrants — almost one-fifth of them refugee claimants — in 2013-14 in a variety of facilities, including federal holding centres and provincial and municipal jails. However, the number of young detainees was almost certainly higher because the figures did not include those who were not formally part of a detention order, but nonetheless found themselves behind bars with a parent or guardian. Among these were at least 197 minors, held an average of about 10 days each. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Montreal Irish: On Sunday, about 100 members of the Irish community took part in an annual walk to the site, according to Metro News. The ceremony, led by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, has taken place in some form or other since 1865 -- six years after the stone was erected by mostly-Irish Victoria bridge construction workers who stumbled across the graves. The stone, stained black from exhaust fumes, sits in a little-visited industrial zone near the foot of the bridge, and some members of the Montreal Irish community say the city needs to do a better job of honouring the chapter of Canadian history it represents."This is the largest single burial site of the Great Hunger in the world outside of Ireland itself," said Victor Boyle, one of the directors of the Montreal Irish Memorial Park Foundation."It also the first memorial to that event outside of Ireland."But he says that while cities such as Toronto have prominent memorials to their Irish ship fever victims, Montreal much-larger number of dead are going unrecognized. Now, Boyle foundation is trying to get permission to transform a parking lot adjacent to the site into a memorial park in time for Montreal 375th anniversary in 2017. He also wants to salute the many Quebecois families who adopted Irish orphans into their families. Boyle says the park would honour not only the Irish victims but also the Montrealers who risked their health and safety to help them, ranging from clergy members to British soldiers to Montreal mayor, John Easton Mills, who contracted typhus and died in 1847 after visiting the fever sheds. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Democratic Party: Much has been made of data showing young women ditching Clinton for her Democratic Party rival, Bernie Anoa Chonga, recently quoted in the Guardian voicing her opposition to Clinton, possibly spoke for a whole slew of so-called third-wave feminists when she said, There are a lot of issues that affect low-income women, immigrant women and women of colour that her brand of doing things is not going to address, according to Toronto Star. For many women in the U.S. and in this country, mainstream feminism is still a subject of white-on-white discrimination. By Shree Paradkar Toronto Star Sun., May 29, 2016 If Barack Obama presidency ended up showing us that racism is truly alive and well in the United States, Hillary Clinton run for the White House has exposed the deepening fault lines within Western feminism. It a rallying cry by middle-class white women for the rights of women like themselves that happens to benefit other women who attain that level of privilege. The plight of our missing and murdered indigenous women is not a cultural issue. The Toronto Filipina nannies' struggles to be unified with their families is not just an immigration issue. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Winnipeg City Councillor: Starting over: One Syrian refugee family story, in their own words "We had people arriving here at 11 a.m. and this really didn't get started until 1 p.m.," Gilroy said. "That goes to show how popular this was and how many people wanted to come out today." Winnipeg City Councillor Cindy Gilroy said she was pleased by the turnout on Saturday, according to CBC. Along with a bouncy castle, jigging, hoop dancing and traditional Arabic dances, 30 information booths provided information about services to refugees ranging from public library access to what to do in case of an emergency. Hundreds of newcomers and volunteers showed up at the Old Exhibition Grounds on Sinclair Street, now home to the North Centennial Community Centre. Police were on hand to explain how 911 works and the city handed out family library cards and recreation passes, Gilroy said. Among the 25,000 Syrian refugees Canada has accepted, 1,000 have settled in Manitoba with just over 800 choosing to live in Winnipeg, according to a Social Planning Council of Winnipeg news release. John McCallum, immigration minister, swarmed with thanks by WPG Syrian refugees #Refugee Welcome Fair @IPWinnipeg @spcw1919 "I'm hoping that we're really connecting with families, getting them the supports that they need," she said. "We're here today to welcome a thousand refugees that have come to Winnipeg to make it their home." Federal Immigration Minister John McCallum and his provincial counterpart Ian Wishart also attended Saturday fair, said Gilroy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

historic site: One e-mail in particular stood out from the others, according to The Chronicle Herald. It was from Geoff Biddulph from the Lunenburg County Historical Society, and he wrote to tell me about an important historic site that I had neglected to include in my column. It would seem that a lot of people are in agreement with my observation that the South Shore rich past holds great potential in helping to build the region future prosperity. He felt it was just as important as the other locations I had mentioned, and he was right for pointing out my omission. If there was ever a site in Nova Scotia that had historical significance, then this site, a newly intended capital city site where French colonists were brought in to form the core Acadian families that would eventually spread through Nova Scotia and beyond, is of great historical significance, he continued. Here is what he had to say: I enjoyed reading your article on our past is our future, but was surprised when you gave examples of historical places but omitted Fort Point in LaHave that was the capital of Acadia from 1632 to 1635, he wrote. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Irish community: The stone, stained black from exhaust fumes, sits in a little-visited industrial zone near the foot of the bridge, and some members of the Montreal Irish community say the city needs to do a better job of honouring the chapter of Canadian history it represents. "This is the largest single burial site of the Great Hunger in the world outside of Ireland itself," said Victor Boyle, one of the directors of the Montreal Irish Memorial Park Foundation. "It also the first memorial to that event outside of Ireland." But he says that while cities such as Toronto have prominent memorials to their Irish ship fever victims, Montreal much-larger number of dead are going unrecognized, according to The Chronicle Herald. On Sunday, about 100 members of the Irish community took part in an annual walk to the site. A 10-foot tall engraved stone, placed on a median between the lanes of traffic, announces that the site is the resting place of some 6,000 Irish immigrants who died of typhus in 'fever sheds' along the riverbank in 1847-48 after fleeing famine in overcrowded ships. The ceremony, led by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, has taken place in some form or other since 1865 -- six years after the stone was erected by mostly-Irish Victoria bridge construction workers who stumbled across the graves. Boyle says the park would honour not only the Irish victims but also the Montrealers who risked their health and safety to help them, ranging from clergy members to British soldiers to Montreal mayor, John Easton Mills, who contracted typhus and died in 1847 after visiting the fever sheds. Now, Boyle foundation is trying to get permission to transform a parking lot adjacent to the site into a memorial park in time for Montreal 375th anniversary in 2017. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration detainees: The move follows a similar effort by doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals in an open letter to Ontario Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Yasir Naqvi, after a string of recent deaths involving immigration detainees, according to Toronto Star. The concern we have is that people are being detained and transferred to facilities for people punished for criminal offences for the convenience of CBSA , said University of Toronto law professor Audrey Macklin, one of more than 100 refugee lawyers in Ontario who signed the petition sent to Naqvi office last Wednesday. By Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter Sat., May 28, 2016 Ontario lawyers are calling on the province to end the arbitrary and punitive detention of migrants held in provincial jails for violating the country immigration laws. These people have not committed any crime. CBSA transfers detainees from its holding centres to provincial jails if they pose a danger to others, have physical and mental health needs or are unlikely to qualify for early release. One of the reasons they give to transfer them is because of their mental health problems, and we know putting people with mental health problems in jail is going to make them worse. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ethnic groups: From Modi to Bibi in the blink of a photo op, our subsovereign premier global vision is matched only by her parochial ambitions as she burnishes her credentials with ethnic groups back home, according to Toronto Star. Not to be outdone, Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown took his 16th trip to India last January so that he, too, could boast of face time with Modi.NDP Leader Andrea Horwath stays closer to home, but wades deeper into world affairs, courting controversy while cultivating local voters. Order this photo By Martin Regg Cohn Provincial Politics Columnist Sun., May 29, 2016 Listening to the leaders of Ontario three major parties, you would think the world awaited their pronouncements on both provincial and planetary affairs.A checklist of global hot spots targeted recently by our local leaders ranges across the Middle East, South Asia and the Far East: Premier Kathleen Wynne has visited China twice ; then India to hobnob with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February; and a tête-à-tête in Jerusalem with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu this month. This month she rendered her historical verdict on Sri Lanka three decades of civil strife : Article Continued Below Standing together with Tamil Canadians today remembering loved ones killed during the genocide in Sri Lanka, she tweeted. On the same week that Wynne was visiting the Holy Land with a delegation of business entrepreneurs, Hudak issued a challenge in the legislature: Would MPPs from all parties support his private member bill, the Standing Up Against Anti-Semitism in Ontario Act His target was the controversial BDS movement that has attempted for more than a decade to organize a boycott, divestment and sanctions strategy against Israel for its partial occupation of Palestinian territory. Who knew that Horwath felt so confident about determining the difference between alleged war crimes overseas versus a systematic campaign of genocide to eradicate the Tamil people from that island nation While Horwath styles herself an authority on Sri Lanka tortured history, former PC leader Tim Hudak lays claim to Israeli affairs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Liberals: To many Canadians, it seems as if the Tories are joining the marriage equity party a tad late, according to The Chronicle Herald. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Liberals at their own annual convention in Winnipeg, same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada for more than a decade. "Who knows Trudeau added, 10 years from now, they might finally be willing to admit that climate change is real. The party faithful, gathered in Vancouver for their annual convention, voted to remove the traditional definition of marriage — as the union of one man and one woman — from Conservative policy. Or that tax cuts for rich people don't help the middle class. Mr. Or that government shouldn't legislate what women can wear on their heads. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

The Conservative Party: The Conservative Party has never been more united after an election defeat than it is now, which is remarkable given the history of internal conflict, according to CTV. I have to admit I didn't expect this to be a fun convention, the former cabinet minister said. This is a great achievement of Stephen Harper, Kenney told CTV Question Period. I thought it would be a bit more like a wake. Following a historic 78-day campaign last year, the Conservatives lost a total of 89 seats in October election. Kenney, who spoke alongside former minister of transportation Lisa Raitt, said this gives him confidence in the party ability to form a majority government in the next election. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Montreal: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Morgan LowrieMONTREAL - Many of the people taking the Victoria bridge in or out of Montreal may not realize they're driving over a mass graveyard.A 10-foot tall engraved stone, placed on a median between the lanes of traffic, announces that the site is the resting place of some 6,000 Irish immigrants who died of typhus in 'fever sheds' along the riverbank in 1847-48 after fleeing famine in overcrowded ships, according to Brandon Sun. The stone, stained black from exhaust fumes, sits in a little-visited industrial zone near the foot of the bridge, and some members of the Montreal Irish community say the city needs to do a better job of honouring the chapter of Canadian history it represents."This is the largest single burial site of the Great Hunger in the world outside of Ireland itself," said Victor Boyle, one of the directors of the Montreal Irish Memorial Park Foundation."It also the first memorial to that event outside of Ireland."But he says that while cities such as Toronto have prominent memorials to their Irish ship fever victims, Montreal much-larger number of dead are going unrecognized. The stone commemorates the deaths of some 6,000 Irish immigrants who died of typhus in Montreal in 1847-48 after fleeing famine overseas. On Sunday, about 100 members of the Irish community took part in an annual walk to the site. Now, Boyle foundation is trying to get permission to transform a parking lot adjacent to the site into a memorial park in time for Montreal 375th anniversary in 2017. The ceremony, led by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, has taken place in some form or other since 1865 -- six years after the stone was erected by mostly-Irish Victoria bridge construction workers who stumbled across the graves. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Irish community: The stone, stained black from exhaust fumes, sits in a little-visited industrial zone near the foot of the bridge, and some members of the Montreal Irish community say the city needs to do a better job of honouring the chapter of Canadian history it represents. "This is the largest single burial site of the Great Hunger in the world outside of Ireland itself," said Victor Boyle, one of the directors of the Montreal Irish Memorial Park Foundation. "It also the first memorial to that event outside of Ireland." But he says that while cities such as Toronto have prominent memorials to their Irish ship fever victims, Montreal much-larger number of dead are going unrecognized, according to The Waterloo Record. On Sunday, about 100 members of the Irish community took part in an annual walk to the site. A 10-foot tall engraved stone, placed on a median between the lanes of traffic, announces that the site is the resting place of some 6,000 Irish immigrants who died of typhus in 'fever sheds' along the riverbank in 1847-48 after fleeing famine in overcrowded ships. The ceremony, led by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, has taken place in some form or other since 1865 -- six years after the stone was erected by mostly-Irish Victoria bridge construction workers who stumbled across the graves. Boyle says the park would honour not only the Irish victims but also the Montrealers who risked their health and safety to help them, ranging from clergy members to British soldiers to Montreal mayor, John Easton Mills, who contracted typhus and died in 1847 after visiting the fever sheds. Now, Boyle foundation is trying to get permission to transform a parking lot adjacent to the site into a memorial park in time for Montreal 375th anniversary in 2017. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

welcome party: Michael Qaqish said it was time for a welcome party. "We know that the first year and the first little while when refugees or immigrants come to a new country is the most difficult so we want to make sure that they know we're here to support them and we're here to provide all the tools that they need to succeed in their life in Canada," he said, according to CBC. Ghina Salloum, 13, has settled into a new home on St. Now that 1,500 Syrian refugees have been settled into their new homes in Ottawa, Coun. Laurent Boulevard and enrolled in Grade 7 since she arrived in Ottawa at the end of December. "Everything. Everything. I like everything," she said, adding that the Canadian Tulip Festival was a highlight. ""I like the schools, the people, the Canadian people. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

public spending: The G-7 leaders — including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — claimed a "special responsibility" for beefing up policies to stimulate growth of their economies, according to Hamilton Spectator. But their declaration glossed over disagreements over co-ordinating public spending policies to help perk up weak consumer spending and business investment, saying each country would take into account "country-specific circumstances." Germany, in particular, has balked at calls from other G-7 members to commit to an expansionary fiscal policy. "Weak demand and unaddressed structural problems are the key factors weighing on actual and potential growth," they said in the declaration. "We remain committed to ensuring that growth is inclusive and job-rich, benefiting all segments of our societies." In a nod to concern over how to pay for such spending, especially in Japan where the public debt is more than twice the size of its economy, the communique includes a reference to the need to ensure debt is "on a sustainable path." The G-7 host, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he had won support from his counterparts for his own "three arrows" economic strategy of ultra-loose monetary policy, public spending and longer-term reforms. "We will be launching 'Abenomics' to the world," Abe said. A sweeping declaration from the meeting at a scenic Japanese seaside resort covered a universe of global and regional challenges, a breadth not matched by a depth of concrete measures. Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, said there was agreement on such a three-pronged approach. "Many countries can do quite a lot and some more than they are currently doing," Lagarde told reporters after the meeting ended. Abe appealed to his fellow leaders to act to avert another global crisis, comparing the current global economic situation to conditions just before the 2008 financial crisis. She said the IMF would help identify what countries could and should do to help counter slowing growth. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.