refugee camps: Thousands of women and children from refugee camps in Africa spend hours and hours collecting firewood, said Sam Bennett, an MBA student at UofT's Rotman School of Management, according to Metro News. Not only is it exhausting for them, it is also dangerous. Students from the business and engineering programs have partnered to build Moto, a fuel log made from used coffee grounds, wax and sugar that acts as substitute for firewood. Through our research we found that very often they are attacked and assaulted. With coffee grounds collected from local Starbucks, Second Cup and Tim Hortons, the group has gone through different mixes to produce the current fuel log. Bennett hopes that Moto can serve as a safer, environmentally-friendly alternative to firewood, which many refugees rely on for heating and cooking. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

research director: The Halifax-based council said 11,600 immigrants came to Atlantic Canada in the first nine months of 2016, due in part to an influx of Syrian refugees, according to CTV. The total numbers have tripled since 2002, David Chaundy, author of the report, said in a phone interview Thursday. The Atlantic Provinces Economic Council report released Thursday said a record 8,300 immigrants arrived in 2015, and yet more the following year. Chaundy, the council's research director, attributes the increase to expanded use of provincial nominee programs, which allow provinces to nominate people who wish to immigrate to their region, up to a cap. But Chaundy said retention rates for Atlantic Canada are low, and lengthy processing times are a barrier for greater use of immigration in the business community. That's what has really driven the growth, said Chaundy, adding that this year the region could see closer to 19,000 immigrants, due in part to a new three-year Atlantic immigration pilot project announced by Ottawa and the four provinces last year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

san diego: I don't know what to do right now, according to CBC. Refugees frostbitten after walking to Manitoba border Spike in asylum seekers crossing from U.S. to Manitoba '852811331848', 'playlist Selector' 'container Selector' ' container83510393', 'ciid' 'caffeine13931558' ; Seidu Mohammed describes being lost in the frigid cold2 32 Mohammed said he fled Ghana for the United States in 2015 because he feared for his life due to his sexual orientation, but when he arrived in San Diego, he was detained for a year. It's very bad news, Seidu Mohammed, 24, told CBC News in an interview at a Winnipeg hospital where he is being treated for severe frostbite. He applied for asylum after his visa ran out but a judge denied his request. Nobody stopped' He and another Ghanaian man, who he met in Minneapolis, decided to flee to Canada. I run for my life, Mohammed said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

stephen harper: Chris Alexander The former immigration minister under Stephen Harper, Alexander said at his campaign launch that his government got immigration right, according to CTV. We were able to sustain the highest levels of Canadian immigration in our history because our job market was tight, he said at a debate in Saskatoon in November. Here's a closer look at where the candidates stand on immigration -- including their views about how many should be accepted, how they should be screened and who should be encouraged to come. Immigration levels under Harper were as high as 270,000. He supported a ban on niqabs at citizenships ceremonies that a court later struck down. As minister, Alexander faced criticism over delays in meeting the Conservatives' commitment to resettle Syrian refugees. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

workers alliance: That puts them in precarious conditions and the ministers need to immediately turn their attention to these issues, according to Metro News. Hussan's group has long been calling for migrant workers to be granted permanent residence status, claiming deporting them could adversely affect the country's economic growth. The vast majority of new immigrants to Canada are actually either undocumented or have temporary status, said Syed Hussan, member of the Toronto-based Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. Advocates also want to see the introduction of an open work permit for foreign workers waiting for permanent status. We've heard numerous reports of abuse and exploitation in workplaces, unpaid overtime work and poor working conditions, he said. Most of these workers are stuck in low-wage jobs with one employer, said Hussan. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

arena ciudad: No, I did not try them, but I guess I will have to before I leave Booker said Wednesday after practice at Arena Ciudad de Mexico, according to Guelph Mercury. Mexican roots run deep in the Suns, whose coach Earl Watson and Booker both have Mexican-American mothers, making the games Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks and Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs memorable occasions for both of them. But eating grasshopper tacos, a local delicacy That's where the Phoenix Suns star apparently draws the line. The 20-year-old Booker is the son of former NBA player Melvin Booker and Veronica Gutierrez, a Mexican-American who raised him while his father played overseas for a decade, including stops in Italy and Russia. Having the support from your mother like that it's unbelievable. I owe her everything, just growing up she raised me and my brother and sister and she never frown, she was always positive said Booker, who's averaging 19.2 points in his second season in the NBA. She really cared for me, and never really cared about basketball, as long as I was happy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ctv winnipeg: Doctors have told him that his fingers, and possibly his hands, will need to be amputated, according to The Waterloo Record. Mohammed tells CTV Winnipeg he fled Ghana fearing for his life because he is bisexual. On Dec. 24, Seidu Mohammed, 24, who is from Ghana in West Africa, crossed the border on foot near Emerson, Man., with another man from the same country. He says he spent a year in a detention facility in the United States and when he was released he decided to head north to Canada. All our arms were frozen, our feet frozen, we can't see, says Mohammed. He and the other man walked for 10 hours in freezing and snowy weather, losing their hats, mitts and their way. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

force mexico: And each time, Mexican leaders respond the same way, according to The Waterloo Record. Neither today, nor tomorrow nor never Mexico will pay for that stupid wall. Every few days, president-elect Donald Trump repeats his threat to build a massive border wall and force Mexico to pay for it. If Trump wants a monument to his ego, let him pay for it!! former Mexican President Vicente Fox tweeted on Wednesday shortly after Trump made the border claim again at a news conference. For Mexico, he said, the wall issue is a matter of national dignity and sovereignty. There is no way, Luis Videgaray, Mexico's new foreign secretary, said this week. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

washington spirit: Former Canadian under-20 forward Lindsay Agnew Ohio State went in the second round 19th overall to the Washington Spirit while Canadian international goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan Clemson and forward Nichelle Prince Ohio State were chosen in the third round, according to Guelph Mercury. Sheridan was taken 23rd overall by New Jersey-based Sky Blue FC and Prince 28th by the Houston Dash. Three players from the NCAA champion USC Trojans were taken in the first round. The lure of big money and big-name teams in Europe removed Canadian star defender Kadeisha Buchanan Olympique Lyonnais and midfielder Ashley Lawrence Paris Saint-Germain in advance of the 10-team draft. But I also know that there's a lot of great players who have joined this league today and I have a lot of confidence that we're still the best league in the world. We would be thrilled to have Ashley and Kadeisha in this league, commissioner Jeff Plush told reporters. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

attorney boy: Cornell Brooks, the head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP said the organization firmly believes that Sessions is unfit to serve as attorney general in the incoming Trump administration, according to Toronto Star. Brooks joined supporters and opponents of Sessions on the second day of confirmation hearings. Jeff Sessions is unfit to serve as attorney general as a 1986 letter from the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., surfaced strongly expressing opposition to the Alabama senator. The Alabama Republican was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1986 for a federal judgeship amid accusations that he had called a black attorney boy which he denied and referred to the NAACP and ACLU as un-American. Sessions' record conclusively demonstrates that he lacks the judgment and temperament to serve effectively as attorney general of the United States, Brooks said, saying the senator evinces a clear disregard, disrespect and even disdain for the civil and human rights of racial and ethnic minorities, women, the disabled and others who suffer from discrimination in this country. We take no pleasure in stating that, in the view of the NAACP, Sen. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

baseball-specific field: Yet the country has emerged as a potential spoiler in the upcoming World Baseball Classic thanks to quirky regulations that allow it to pack its squad with American pro players of Jewish descent, according to Toronto Star. Major-leaguers Ike Davis, Sam Fuld and Ryan Lavarnway were among 10 team members who visited Israel for the first time this month to get a glimpse of the country and people they will represent and to boost a sport that remains on the fringes of the local athletic scene. Tsafrir Abayov / The Associated Press By Aron Heller The Associated Press Wed., Jan. 11, 2017 PETAH TIKVA, ISRAEL Israel has just one baseball-specific field, and most Israelis know little about the game. It's a match that benefits both sides. For the players, it's a chance to play in the high-profile tournament and connect with roots many didn't even realize they had. For Israel, the option of tapping into a deep pool of Jewish big leaguers offers a rare opportunity to compete internationally against powerhouses such as the U.S., Japan and the Dominican Republic and lift baseball out of its longtime obscurity in the Holy Land. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

chris patten: The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Hong Kong announced her death, calling her a beloved member with a remarkable career including the scoop of the century, according to Hamilton Spectator. A determined journalist who defied gender barriers and narrowly escaped death several times, Hollingworth spent much of her career on the front lines of major conflicts, including in the Middle East, North Africa and Vietnam, working for British newspapers. She was 105. She lived her final four decades in Hong Kong after being one of the few Western journalists stationed in China in the 1970s. Chris Patten were fans of Hollingworth, while various British generals wrote about her fondly. She won major British journalism awards including a What The Papers Say lifetime achievement award and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Former British Prime Minister Ted Heath and former Hong Kong Gov. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

chrystia freeland: I'm the youngest female appointed to cabinet in Canada's history, so that's pretty exciting, Gould said Tuesday, according to Hamilton Spectator. Trudeau shook up his cabinet in a bid to adjust to the upheaval wrought by incoming American president Donald Trump to international affairs in general and Canada's relationship with the United States in particular. And at 29, she's making a mark even before opening a single file of her new Democratic Institutions posting. He entrusted to Chrystia Freeland a former economics journalist with extensive contacts in the United States the crucial responsibility of navigating the changing domestic and global dynamic as his Liberal government prepares to deal with an unpredictable and avowedly America-first Trump administration. And she will retain responsibility for Canada-U.S. trade relations. Freeland leaves the international trade portfolio, where she distinguished herself overcoming eleventh-hour obstacles to a Canada-European free trade agreement, to replace veteran Liberal MP St phane Dion at Global Affairs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trade policy: Trudeau shuffled his cabinet Tuesday in a move that saw him demote underperformers and promote a trio of rookie MPs while ushering out some of the Liberal old guard, including former Liberal leader St phane Dion, according to Globe and Mail. Canadian officials have met with Trump transition team Freeland The Canadian Press Ms. Mr. Freeland, who takes over from Mr. Her duties will include not only international affairs but the whole gamut of U.S. trade policy including the softwood lumber dispute and possible renegotiation of the 1994 North America free-trade agreement. Dion, will become one of the most powerful foreign affairs ministers in recent times. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hat trick: Manneh still must receive a waiver from FIFA to play for the U.S. team, since he was previously called in for Gambia's under-20 team, according to Metro News. The 22-year-old Manneh was born in Gambia and moved to Texas as a teenager. Kekuta Manneh has become a U.S. citizen, moving the Vancouver Whitecaps forward closer to eligibility for the men's national team.U.S. Soccer announced Manneh received his citizenship Wednesday, after the opening practice of January training camp under new coach Bruce Arena. He has spent the past four seasons playing for Vancouver while maintaining a U.S. residence just over the border in Washington state. The speedy wing has 22 goals in 98 career MLS games, becoming the league's youngest player to record a hat trick. Manneh broke his right foot in July and missed the next four months of the MLS season, limiting him to 17 games with the Whitecaps last year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

i need: So in my personal life, in my work life, and with visits to China, I have lived and breathed things Chinese for a long, long time, he told reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons after Tuesday's cabinet shuffle, according to CBC. McCallum said the appointment first came up in a conversation with the prime minister last week. He pointed to his wife, who is Chinese, and to constituents in his Markham-Thornhill riding, many of whom are also of Chinese descent. He spoke about the importance of a knowledge of China, and also a link to his office that I would have, McCallum said. I need my top people to be out there engaging at the highest levels around the world, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said of the appointment. Trudeau shuffles cabinet3 new faces in Trudeau's inner circleANALYSIS Crafting a sturdier cabinet in the Trump era It is unusual to appoint a sitting cabinet minister to an ambassador's job. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

israeli government: He said the source of the problem were long-standing barriers placed by the state that prevent Arabs from acquiring proper building permits, according to Metro News. Hundreds of protesters in Kalansua chanted in Arabic Netanyahu coward, this is our land and we are here. Yousef Jabareen, an Arab member of Israel's parliament, called the demolition in the central city of Kalansua unprecedented and vowed to fight further measures. The Israeli government has recently vowed to crack down harder on illegal Arab building. Arabs make up a fifth of Israel's population. It comes after criticism from Jewish West Bank settlers who faced a court-ordered evacuation of an illegally built outpost and who demanded the law be enforced equally. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

jeff sessions: In the second day of confirmation hearings, New Jersey Sen, according to The Chronicle Herald. Cory Booker, Sessions' colleague, and Rep. Jeff Sessions at times has shown hostility toward civil rights, making him unfit to be attorney general, as a 1986 letter from the widow of Martin Luther King Jr. surfaced strongly expressing opposition to the Alabama senator. John Lewis, D-Ga., who was beaten when he marched for civil rights in the 1960s, warned that Sessions could move the country backward if confirmed as Donald Trump's top law enforcement official. Senator Sessions' record does not speak to that desire, intention or will, Booker said, noting his opposition to overhauling the criminal justice system and his positions on other issues affecting minority groups. Booker said the arc of the universe does not just naturally curve toward justice, we must bend it, and the country needs an attorney general who is determined to bend it. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

kevin: O'Leary made the comments during an interview with business news website Benzinga in Detroit, according to Huffington Post Canada. The site's article that featured the video was live for one day but has now been deleted. In a video posted online Tuesday that has since been made private celebrity businessman Kevin O'Leary is shown saying I think the next five years are going to be amazing and hail King Trump is what I say. Benzinga declined to comment when asked why the story was taken down. Photo Matthew Eisman/Getty Images Other clips from O'Leary's talk are still online, including one where he talks about his morning routine. Kevin O'Leary attends a conference at the New York Stock Exchange in 2016. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

chris patten: The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Hong Kong announced her death, calling her a beloved member with a remarkable career including the scoop of the century, according to Guelph Mercury. A determined journalist who defied gender barriers and narrowly escaped death several times, Hollingworth spent much of her career on the front lines of major conflicts, including in the Middle East, North Africa and Vietnam, working for British newspapers. She was 105. She lived her final four decades in Hong Kong after being one of the few Western journalists stationed in China in the 1970s. Chris Patten were fans of Hollingworth, while various British generals wrote about her fondly. She won major British journalism awards including a What The Papers Say lifetime achievement award and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Former British Prime Minister Ted Heath and former Hong Kong Gov. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

drop everything: The wife and mother only briefly considered her choice Should she drop everything to see the president one last time Two hours later, she was on a plane, wearing an Obama T-shirt and overcome with emotion, according to Brandon Sun. As Obama said goodbye and thanked supporters on Tuesday night in his adopted hometown of Chicago, the occasion marked the unofficial countdown to the end of his historic presidency. Carlos took a moment to reflect on how, eight years earlier, she had worked as an organizer in Atlanta to get Barack Obama elected president, marking her start in politics. The first black president's words resonated across the country for many African-Americans finally able to bask in seeing a family that looked like them in the White House. The scene Tuesday was reminiscent of election night in 2008. After eight years, the era comes to a close in 10 days. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

marine gen: John Kelly told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during a confirmation hearing Tuesday, according to The Chronicle Herald. Certainly it has to be a layered approach. A physical barrier in and of itself will not do the job, retired Marine Gen. The normally blunt-talking Marine walked a fine line in his answers to several questions about how Trump's Homeland Security Department will carry out its many varied missions, specifically efforts to find and deport immigrants living in the country illegally. Asked about the fate of young immigrants protected from deportation by President Barack Obama, Kelly told Democratic Sen. He struck a balance between defending Trump's hard-line positions on immigration and border security, and the more moderate positions of some senators, especially Democrats. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

others: For the challenges that are new, Obama offered his vision for how to surmount them, and for the persistent problems he was unable to overcome, he offered optimism that others, eventually, will, according to CTV. Yes, our progress has been uneven, Obama told a crowd of some 18,000. Forceful at times and tearful at others, Obama's valedictory speech in his hometown of Chicago was a public meditation on the many trials the U.S. faces as Obama takes his exit. The work of democracy has always been hard, contentious and sometimes bloody. Yet Obama argued his faith in America had only been strengthened by what he's witnessed the past eight years, and he declared The future should be ours. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

rookie mp: Flash forward to Tuesday, and there was Hussen, front and slightly to the right, swearing an oath to serve the Queen in front of a cluster of clicking cameras as he officially joined the reshuffled Liberal cabinet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to Metro News. The rookie MP for York-South Weston has leapt from the backbench of the party to become Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, a position made all the more noteworthy for Hussen's own story. He told the Star at the time I don't think I could handle the life of a politician . . . I don't want to be front and centre. He came to this country as a refugee from war-torn Somalia, settling on his own in a foreign land as a 16-year-old in 1993. I am extremely proud of our country's history as a place of asylum, a place that opens its doors and hearts to new immigrants and refugees, and I'm especially proud today to be the minister in charge of that file, Hussen told reporters outside the House of Commons on Tuesday. Just hours after formally assuming his new post, Hussen who has been a lawyer, human rights advocate and community activist said the trajectory of his life would affect how he approaches the job, just like it would for anyone else. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tax base: Saint John Mayor Don Darling says the city needs to reverse a population decline that has been happening since the 1950s, according to CBC. Brian Chisholm/CBC Mayor Don Darling says it is critical that Saint John start to grow. It's part of the new committee's mandate to grow the local economy, population and tax base. He notes the population has declined since the early 1950s, and the city's geographical area has increased tenfold. We need action. We need results, Darling said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tillerson: The surprising shift in tone by Tillerson, a former Exxon Mobil CEO and Russian Order of Friendship recipient, reflected the difficulty Trump will have in persuading Democrats and Republicans to broach a broad rapprochement with President Vladimir Putin's government, according to CTV. Calling Russia a danger to the United States, Tillerson said he would keep U.S. sanctions in place and consider new penalties related to Russian meddling in the presidential election. Instead, Rex Tillerson suggested the outgoing Obama administration responded too softly to Moscow's takeover of Ukrainian territory. Although he said he hadn't read last week's classified assessment by the U.S. intelligence community, Tillerson said it was a fair assumption that Putin would have ordered the operation that purportedly included hacking, propaganda and internet trolls to harm Hillary Clinton's candidacy and advance Trump's. Russia today poses a danger, but it is not unpredictable in advancing its own interests, Tillerson told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But in a puzzling revelation, Tillerson conceded he hadn't yet talked with Trump about a Russia policy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.