prairies doctors: Ibrahim told Metro President-Elect Donald Trump's statements calling Somali migrants a disaster for Minneapolis will see many more become desperate to get to Canada, according to Metro News. On December 24, Seidu Mohammed, 24, from Ghana, crossed the border on foot near Emerson, Manitoba, with another man from Ghana. Fear of political instability in the United States is likely to push more refugees to seek asylum in Canada by fleeing across the porous border in the prairies, according to Jibril Ibrahim, the President of the Society. Doctors have told Mohammed that his fingers, and possibly his hands, will need to be amputated due to severe frostbite. There is concern. Ibrahim said his organization is taking steps to ensure that any potential refugees entering Alberta and finding their way to Edmonton will be properly cared for. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

robert creech: At 17, she left her parents in Ottawa and moved to Vancouver to attend University of British Columbia, where she achieved a BA in economics, according to Globe and Mail. At 20, she married Robert Creech, a classical musician. By Grade 9, she had attended 12 schools. Their first daughter Julia was born in Toronto and then Andrea, Pam and Erica arrived on the scene in Vancouver. They all followed Gwenlyn with successful careers in the arts, education and administration. She taught her daughters to always stand up for themselves. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

syrian: However, some people involved in refugee sponsorship said the program was not promoted enough, according to Globe and Mail. The government does not track how many Syrian refugees sponsored through Family Links have arrived in Canada,. Nearly 40,000 Syrian refugees had landed in Canada as of Jan. 2 21,751 government assisted, 13,997 privately sponsored and 3,923 through a blended program of private and government sponsorship. The immigration department said many private sponsors already knew Syrian refugees in Canada with displaced family members overseas, and therefore few of them used Family Links. The Family Links project was launched in January, 2016, in an effort to reunite Syrian refugees in Canada with family members displaced by the civil war overseas. The sponsors and family members then agreed to sponsorship terms, with the private sponsor usually providing 12 months of resettlement support. The federal government partnered with Catholic Crosscultural Services CCS which put Canadian sponsors in contact with Syrian refugees in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

touches u.s: Those people who were in the middle of trips to get to the United States could be the biggest losers, some Cubans said, according to Metro News. There are people who have sold houses, renounced everything, and today they are in limbo, said Leonardo Serrano, a 47-year-old who works for a firm that operates with private and government investment. President Barack Obama on Thursday ended the possibility of automatic legal residency for any Cuban who touches U.S. soil. They won't be able to get there, and when they return they won't have anything. The repeal of the wet foot, dry foot policy went into effect immediately after a Thursday afternoon announcement. Average Cubans and opponents of the island's communist leaders said they expected pressure for reform on the island to increase with the elimination of a mechanism that siphoned off the island's most dissatisfied citizens and turned them into sources of remittances supporting relatives who remained on the island. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

vladimir putin: He is held responsible for most of the world's ills from the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president to the slaughter in Syria, according to Toronto Star. If his critics are correct, he is a very busy man. MIKHAIL KLIMENTIEV / AFP/GETTY IMAGES By Thomas Walkom National Affairs Columnist Fri., Jan. 13, 2017 What would we do without Vladimir Putin The Russian president has become the West's favourite villain. In the United States he is viewed as a throwback to the old days of the Soviet Union. Less is made of the fact that this is not unprecedented. Much is made of the fact he used to work for the KGB, the former Soviet security service. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

use: Daniel Romero Munoz, who led the team that identified Mengele's remains in 1985, saw an opportunity to put them to use, according to Guelph Mercury. Several months ago, the head of the Department of Legal Medicine at the University of S o Paulo's Medical School obtained permission to use them in his forensic medical courses. Dr. Today, his students are now learning their trade studying Mengele's bones and connecting them to the life story of the man called the Angel of Death. Mengele died nearly four decades ago when he drowned off the coast of the state of S o Paulo. The bones will be helpful to teach how to examine the remains of an individual and then match that information with data in documents related to the person, Munoz said recently, flanked by students. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mahendran: Mark Nohra, who represents Mahendran, told the jury in closing arguments that the Canada Border Services Agency and RCMP showed total disregard for policies established to protect people's liberty and freedom, according to The Waterloo Record. He said investigators repeatedly showed isolated photographs of his client to migrants during interviews. The men, Nadarajah Mahendran and Thampeernayagam Rajaratnam, and two Sri Lankan men have pleaded not guilty to organizing the 2010 voyage of the MV Sun Sea, contrary to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Referring to one witness who testified earlier in the trial, Nohra said the migrant's identification of Mahendran could not be trusted. That is a question we really cannot answer. The question you're left with is, 'Did he pick out my client because he had actual memory of him or did he pick out my client because he had the image burned into his brain ' Nohra asked. (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 The Waterloo Record. 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.

touches u.s: Those people who were in the middle of trips to get to the United States could be the biggest losers, some Cubans said, according to Brandon Sun. There are people who have sold houses, renounced everything, and today they are in limbo, said Leonardo Serrano, a 47-year-old who works for a firm that operates with private and government investment. President Barack Obama on Thursday ended the possibility of automatic legal residency for any Cuban who touches U.S. soil. They won't be able to get there, and when they return they won't have anything. The repeal of the wet foot, dry foot policy went into effect immediately after a Thursday afternoon announcement. Average Cubans and opponents of the island's communist leaders said they expected pressure for reform on the island to increase with the elimination of a mechanism that siphoned off the island's most dissatisfied citizens and turned them into sources of remittances supporting relatives who remained on the island. (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 Brandon Sun. 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.

atlantic provinces: 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 The Chronicle Herald. 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.

canadian families: If the Conservative Part of Canada is going to achieve victory in 2019, we will need a strong, unified and inclusive party, according to Huffington Post Canada. I'm running for leader because that is my vision for our party and our country. After listening to worried Canadians in every province and territory, I have to speak out against two of my opponents who are using the phenomenon of negative and irresponsible populism imported from the United States to successfully garner media attention. Stephen Harper showed us a path to win three elections and make life better for Canadians. And always thoughtful about how Canadians would hear our words. How did we earn the trust of Canadians for nearly a decade We were in touch with the values and concerns of Canadian families. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

charge: Since then, he pumped gas to put himself through York University, according to a 2015 Toronto Star profile, worked at the Ontario Legislature, and did his law degree at the University of Ottawa, according to CTV. I'm 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 am especially proud today to be the minister in charge of that file, Hussen told reporters on Parliament Hill Tuesday. The Somali-Canadian, first elected in 2015, is now in charge of the same program under which he came to Canada from Mogadishu in 1993. All MPs and cabinet ministers enter public life informed by their experiences, he said. I'll bring my experience as an immigrant to Canada, but also as an immigration lawyer, someone who worked many, many years before running for office as a community activist, a community organizer and a community advocate. I'm no different in that sense. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

co-published today: At 13.2 per cent, B.C.'s poverty rate is the second highest in the country says a new report Long Overdue Why B.C. Needs a Poverty Reduction Plan, co-published today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives CCPA the United Way of the Lower Mainland and the B.C. Poverty Reduction Coalition, according to Vancouver Observer. Poverty rates in B.C. remain much higher than historic lows seen in the late 1970s and late 1980s. And it's not because B.C. doesn't have a poverty problem. Measures of severe hardship, such as food bank use and homelessness, have continued to climb. The report finds that approximately half of those living below the poverty line are either the working poor or children of the working poor. And working poverty rates are also on the rise. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

european union: Borders are so secure that illegal immigration no longer fuels fears of terror attacks or drains public coffers, according to The Chronicle Herald. That is France as envisioned by far-right leader Marine Le Pen, a leading candidate for president in the spring election no globalization, no European Union, no open borders. Francs, not euros, fill the pockets of French citizens. The nation is its own master. A series of deadly extremist attacks, 10 per cent unemployment and frustration with mainstream politics have helped make the party she has worked to detoxify a potentially viable alternative. It's a vision that holds increasing appeal for voters once put off by the image of Le Pen's anti-immigration party as a sanctuary for racists and anti-Semites. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

fellow workers: Gina Bahiwal, 42, has run out of options and is scheduled for deportation to the Philippines on Sunday, according to Toronto Star. She was left without status under the former Tory government's now rescinded four-in-four-out rules that banned migrant workers from Canada for four years after having worked here for four. Justicia for Migrant Workers By Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter Thu., Jan. 12, 2017 A migrant worker who has stood up for fellow workers and become a public face of the labour rights movement is facing deportation herself, caught up in the very rules she fought successfully to change. I have been inspired by Gina's dedication and tenacity to fight for the rights of migrant workers. Every victory that we have accomplished, from banning recruitment fees to ending the four-in-four-out rule, is attributed to the activism of Gina. From advocating for their maternal rights to exposing the unscrupulous practices of migrant recruiters, Gina is one of our unsung heroes, said Chris Ramsaroop of the advocacy group Justicia for Migrant Workers. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

force mexico: And each time, Mexican leaders respond the same way, according to Hamilton Spectator. 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.

globalization issues: It would join the United States and Russia in a global battle against Islamic militants, according to Toronto Star. Francs, not euros, would fill the pockets of French citizens. Pavel Golovkin / AP By Elaine Ganley The Associated Press Thu., Jan. 12, 2017 PARIS France as envisioned by far-right leader Marine Le Pen should be its own master and have no globalization issues, European Union membership or open borders. Borders would be so secure that illegal immigration would no longer fuel fears of terror attacks or drain public coffers. It has made Le Pen a leading candidate in France's presidential election this spring.A series of deadly extremist attacks, 10 per cent unemployment and frustration with mainstream politics in France have helped make the party she has worked to detoxify a potentially viable alternative. It's a vision that holds increasing appeal for voters once put off by the image of Le Pen's anti-immigration party as a sanctuary for racists and anti-Semites. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

halifax stanfield: They were in the first wave of the now 40,000 Syrian refugees living in Canada, according to The Chronicle Herald. The government-assisted refugees had no idea what to expect when they first stepped of that plane in the midst of winter. Abdulbaset Alnaasan, Maisoun Aljaber and their seven children arrived at Halifax Stanfield International Airport last Jan. 22. Aljaber thought they would be living in a refugee camp, like the ones in Greece and Turkey, and that her sons would be enlisted to serve in the army. We hope they will have a better life than us, Alnaasan said, referring to the seven children surrounding him in the living room. They could have never guessed that nearly a year later they'd be sitting in their spacious apartment, located just off Bayers Road, with all their children attending school. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

city: Meet Aisha Addo, a Torontonian who will change the city in 2017Meet Dr, according to CBC. Fatima Uddin, a Torontonian who will change the city in 2017 Who Dr. Metro Morning's Who's Next series brings you the Torontonians who will shape this city in 2017. Branka Agic What she does Manager of health equity at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health CAMH How she's going to change Toronto in 2017 Dr. Last year, she launched the first strategy to improve the mental health of immigrants, refugees and ethnocultural groups with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, he said on Metro Morning. Kwame McKenzie, medical director for health equity at CAMH, has no difficulty listing the accomplishments that led him to nominate Agic. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration plan: Officials cite a backlog of active applications and pressure to cut down processing times, according to Huffington Post Canada. The backlog grew because, prior to 2012, there were no limits on the number of new applications that could be submitted, department spokeswoman Remi Lariviere told The Huffington Post Canada in an email. The move, affecting groups of five and community sponsor applications, was quietly announced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada IRCC in a news release during the holidays. As a result, we received more applications annually than we could process given the number of spaces in the immigration plan. Photo Jonathan Hayward/Pool/Reuters It's a change that affects smaller sponsor groups. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau greet Syrian refugees Ahmad Al Krad, his wife Doaa Al Mahmed and their children in Vancouver on Sept. 25, 2016. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

house prices: We have a housing crisis in Vancouver -- not only young people, but professionals are not able to afford a home for their family, according to Huffington Post Canada. Earlier, mainland Chinese investors, housewives, foreign students were highlighted as culprits who caused the housing crisis. That conversation was 5 years ago and nowadays the house prices are way more unaffordable. Now, immigrants are being blamed for causing the appalling housing situation. It also appears that immigrants have a high percentage of owning their own house. Should the Chinese or immigrants be blamed for our housing crisis Why not Many of the expensive properties are purchased by people with Chinese surnames. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

keleghan: Keleghan's parents moved to Canada from England in 1957 and both describe their adopted homeland as the world's best country, according to Toronto Star. Yet his mother has refused to become a citizen while his father never looks back. CBC By Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter Thu., Jan. 12, 2017 Is it possible for immigrants to let go of the country where they have come from and fully embrace the one they have come to That's the question Peter Keleghan set out to explore when the award-winning Canadian actor and his big sister, Teresa, decided to take their mother back to her birthplace in Ireland for her 90th birthday last June. Keleghan, a TV stalwart with roles in numerous Canadian series as well as the soap opera General Hospital, invited a group of close friends for dinner one summer evening last year all first-generation children of immigrant parents and discovered the ubiquitous nature of Canada's immigrant stories. Article Continued Below Where people came from is not as good as what they have come to. The candid and unscripted discussions of their experiences have formed the backdrop of the Montreal-born actor's documentary Once An Immigrant, which premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC-TV's Firsthand. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

osman ali: No one will look at him first as Somali, African, immigrant, Muslim, according to Metro News. That's huge. His appointment breaks a barrier, said Osman Ali, director of the Somali Canadian Association of Etobicoke. For him to be in that position is very important for a community that has been marginalized for a long time. They'll always look up and say If Ahmed can do it, I can do it too. It's especially true for young Somali Canadians either born here or who came as immigrants who often get caught up in bad behaviours and criminal activities, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

quebec city: Quebec to temporarily suspend all new private refugee sponsorship applications Sponsors rush to submit applications to Quebec's refugee program before it shutters By the end of June, 2019, 200 refugees including but not exclusively Syrians will be settled in the community 300 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, according to CBC. The first 40 people are expected to arrive by June 30, 2017. Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil made the announcement Wednesday in Rimouski, just two days after she announced that private sponsorship applications would be put on ice, to deal with the growing backlog. Unlike privately sponsored refugees who are given financial and social support by individuals or groups, government-sponsored refugees are often chosen from refugee camps located in countries bordering Syria, such as Jordan. Radio-Canada Speaking on Quebec AM Thursday, Veil said it was important to strike a balance between private and publicly sponsored refugees. Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil announced 200 government-assisted refugees will be settled in Rimouski between June 2017 and June 2019. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

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.