furniture bank: They ended up helping sort food at the Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank and were surprised by the amount of excess fruit going bad and being thrown out before someone could enjoy it, according to CBC. We are three boys from Syria who came to Canada six months ago and are upcycling food from food bank, said Alaa Alhraki, 25, who helps run Piece of the East. The men were inspired after taking an English language program that included a community work component. Pastries, breads, jams The business was founded by Sylvia Gawad, who helped the men learn English. Piece of the East makes sweet Syrian pastries. It launched last week at the farmers' market along the Halifax waterfront. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

government: It was, by several accounts, the largest global protest in history, according to Rabble. But in the hours and days following the march, we began to size each other up, tear each other down, and occasionally thoughtfully critique each other's politics and intentions. Many of us marched in the streets last weekend in an awesome show of solidarity against Trump and all that he promises and stands for. Donald Trump poses an unprecedented threat to all of us. Some of us come from a history several generations long of being targeted by the government. It is true that some of us are more used to being targeted by the government than others of us. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

homeland security: Trump seemed to approve of Miami-Dade's decision, saying in a tweet late Thursday Miami-Dade Mayor drops sanctuary policy, according to Metro News. Right decision. Mayor Carlos Gimenez sent a memo to the county's corrections director saying jails should hold undocumented immigrants detained by police and turn them over to the Department of Homeland Security when requested. Strong! Before Thursday, Miami-Dade only held detainees if federal immigrations officials agreed to reimburse the county for the detention costs. Miami-Dade turned over about 180 people to immigration officials in 2016 but was not reimbursed for any costs. The condition set in 2013 put the county in a Department of Justice report that listed sanctuary places that refused to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hour flight: No, my scariest thing was the 17-hour flight there, the 25-year-old shooting guard for Hamilton United laughs, according to Hamilton Spectator. Once I got there, after 17 hours, I couldn't just turn around and come home. Yes, that Iraq. So I thought I might as well enjoy it. People say, 'Were you in the army or something ' and when I tell them, 'No, basketball,' they say they didn't know there was basketball there. I know that it's an unusual thing to do. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigrants immigrants: Federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said the provinces will now start designating employers that want to hire skilled immigrants, according to Metro News. Immigrants arriving in the region will have a job offer and an individualized settlement plan for them and their families. Atlantic Canadian premiers and several federal ministers announced a key step in an immigration pilot project, at the conclusion of their second meeting on the Atlantic Growth Strategy initiative Friday. The idea behind this is to leverage the unique position of employers to help immigrants and their families better integrate into their new communities in Atlantic Canada and to remain here for the long-term so they can help grow the region's economy, Hussen said after Friday's meeting in Wolfville, N.S. Under the plan part of the new Atlantic Immigration Pilot announced last July the government will accept up to 2,000 immigrant applications this year, with increased numbers in following years depending on performance. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said his province recognizes the need to capitalize on the 20,000 young people who choose his province for post-secondary education. The pilot project is aimed at ensuring newcomers stay in the region instead of joining the stream of outmigration to other parts of the country. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

christin milloy: The government agreed to give Canadians a third choice on applications, neither female nor male, according to Guelph Mercury. Christin Milloy, the trans activist behind the complaint, said the government's own words set the stage for the all government identification documents to become gender-neutral. The admission came as part of a human rights settlement this month over the use of sex and gender in issuing social insurance numbers. It bolsters the case for those people who are challenging in other provinces and the federal government the presence of sex and gender on ID because every single one of those cases will refer to this settlement, to this statement that's been made. The department's policy of using the sex designation at birth discriminated against transgender persons, the complaint argued. Milloy and the federal government settled a long-running human rights complaint earlier this month after the Liberals agreed the federal government doesn't always need to know someone's sex or gender before handing out a social insurance number. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

daniel dropik: The American Freedom Party is a political party with deep ties to white supremacism, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, according to Brandon Sun. Dropik's recruiting comes as minorities have been pushing UW-Madison leaders to better protect them following several incidents targeting black and Jewish students last spring. Daniel Dropik, 33, said frustration over the Black Lives Matter movement's presence on campus and university courses examining white and male privilege led him to start a local chapter of the American Freedom Party. Dropik, who spoke to The Associated Press in an interview, said the university has gone overboard in supporting non-white students and promoting cultural diversity. If white people have problems, they need to be able to organize. It's become unacceptable, Dropik said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

intelligence community: After hurling insults at the intelligence community on Twitter, comparing them to Nazis, President Trump's visit to the CIA on January 21 was supposed to mend fences, according to Huffington Post Canada. So much for that. Donald Trump managed to disgrace himself on his first day in office. Unhinged over photos that compared the size of his inauguration crowd to Barack Obama's he chose, instead, to talk about himself and how wonderful he is; and also, to escalate his war on the dishonest media. All unsubstantiated of course. Still not satisfied that he'd made his point about the size of the turnout and how huge it was, he had his press secretary, Sean Spicer, lie about it, by insisting Trump's turnout was the biggest ever. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

islamic extremism: He said he said had a very good call with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto earlier in the day but reaffirmed his belief that Mexico has outnegotiated and beat us to a pulp on trade -- and that would change, according to CTV. We're no longer going to be the country that doesn't know what it's doing, Trump declared. Trump made his comments at a news conference during which he held firm on another controversy -- trade and illegal immigration from Mexico. Two issues -- torture and the U.S.-Mexico relationship -- dominated the new president's brief news conference alongside British Prime Minister Theresa May after their meeting at the White House. Since taking office, Trump has signalled a renewed embrace of torture in the fight against Islamic extremism. That was Trump's first meeting with a foreign leader after becoming president last Friday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

julie pace: We don't want them here, Trump said, according to Toronto Star. The president signed the executive action, titled Protection Of The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States, at the Pentagon, where he met with the joint chiefs of staff and participated in a ceremonial swearing-in for Defence Secretary James Mattis.A draft of the order obtained by The Associated Press includes an indefinite ban on accepting Syrian refugees, and a pause in the broader refugee program extends for 120 days. The Associated Press By Julie Pace The Associated Press Fri., Jan. 27, 2017 WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive action on Friday implementing new vetting measures that he says are aimed at keeping radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States. The draft order would also stop all entries for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen for at least 30 days. Donald Trump signed the executive action titled Protection Of The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States.' Olivier Douliery / TNS Syrian children, who moved with their parents to Canada, walk home from school in Toronto in this Nov. 25, 2016, file photo. Article Continued Below The White House has yet to release the text of the signed document. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

linda j: So he has now banned people from seven countries, including Syria, which I fled with my family in 2014, according to Toronto Star. But we were thoroughly vetted before we came here, just like other refugees exhaustively, endlessly vetted. Ricky Carioti / The Washington Post By Linda J. The Washington Post Fri., Jan. 27, 2017 President Trump says that it is not safe to accept certain kinds of refugees without extreme vetting that he has yet to detail. We are not terrorists. When our 7-day-old son died while receiving treatment for jaundice in a Damascus hospital, my husband and I decided to flee the country with our daughters. And if we'd been stopped from coming here, we would be suffering horribly right now. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mac mceachin: The order being considered by the Trump administration probably would affect Iraqi interpreters who apply for the Special Immigrant Visa, said Mac McEachin, a national security policy associate at the International Refugee Assistance Project, according to Toronto Star. If authorized, the executive action would temporarily block visas from seven countries for 30 days and suspend the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days. Warrick Page / Getty Images By Thomas Gibbons-Neff The Washington Post Fri., Jan. 27, 2017 A proposed executive order that would reduce the number of immigrants and refugees from the Middle East and North Africa will likely affect thousands of Iraqi interpreters and soldiers that served alongside U.S. troops and have applied for United States visas, according to two refugee and immigrant advocacy groups familiar with the draft document. We're trying to prepare for any eventuality, McEachin said. Besides Iraq, those countries outlined in the draft are Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. Though a far cry from President Donald Trump's call during the election campaign for a complete shutdown on Muslim immigration, the move is aimed at immigrants and refugees from countries whose citizens would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, according to the document. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

passport services: Several online companies that are not affiliated with the federal government, which issues all Canadian passports, pop up onscreen when you search for passport services online, according to CTV. But they may be of no help at all, and a waste of money too. The federal government's Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada department says Canadians should be wary of online companies that falsely claim to fast-track passport applications for a fee. When retiree Muratib Ali's made plans to renew his expired passport, he first searched online for information on how to do it. When he gave them 330, he thought he was purchasing two 10-year-passports one for himself and one for his wife. He found a website called Passport Online.ca. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

statement thursday: Prosecutors said he began shouting profanities at the woman, ranting about Islam and the Islamic State then kicked her and kept her from getting away, according to Hamilton Spectator. Trump is here now, he said, according to prosecutors. The Queens District Attorney's Office said in a statement Thursday that 57-year-old Robin Rhodes, of Worchester, mass, physically and verbally assaulted a Delta employee, who was wearing a hijab, Wednesday evening, in the airport's Delta Sky Lounge. He will get rid of all of you. You will see what happens. You can ask Germany, Belgium and France about these kind of people. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

syrian refugees: Abed & Nur Alsayyed Abed watches the presentations at the university with his sister Nur on his lap, according to CBC. Sarah Lawrynuik/CBC Abed Alsayyed, 12, stood bravely in front of the crowd of about 50 people that had gathered at the university to hear him speak. Lethbridge is already home to more than 300 Syrian refugees, most of them government sponsored. Only having learned English last January when he came to Lethbridge, he spoke impeccably. His younger sister Nur, 3, ran around the hall fascinated by the media's cameras and all the attention. I'm from Syria and I've been here one year and it's been amazing, he started. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

syrian refugees: Trump is expected to take steps to stop accepting Syrian refugees, suspend the United States' broader refugee program for 120 days and suspend issuing visas for people from seven predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa, according to The Chronicle Herald. As Trump signed the first actions Wednesday afternoon, the hashtags NoBan NoWall and Refugees Welcome trended on Twitter, and thousands signed a pro-refugee petition by Christian evangelical groups. In joint press conferences and rallies across the country, they are decrying an action Trump signed to jumpstart construction on a southern border wall. Muslims, immigrants and their supporters rallied in New York City and elsewhere in protest. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us, said Greisa Martinez, an advocacy director of the United We Dream Network, describing herself as undocumented, unafraid and here to stay. Advocates and activists across racial, religious and ethnic lines have linked before but are now mounting a more unified response. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trading partner: And it has ramped up spending so rapidly that it is plagued with duplicative programs, according to Hamilton Spectator. So when President Donald Trump says he is moving ahead with a massive border wall, it has all the hallmarks of a multibillion-dollar boondoggle. It has doubled the size of the Border Patrol by hiring more than 10,000 agents. And his insistence that Mexico be forced to pay for his costly campaign pledge threatens to rupture relations with an important ally and trading partner. But any major expansion of the existing barriers should be done in the context of cost-benefit analysis. Physical barriers certainly have a significant place in border security. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

monosyllabic chest-thumper: Sylvester Stallone who personified righteous fury in iconic films like Rocky and Rambo First Blood Part II was nominated for an Oscar last year for his comeback film, Creed, according to Guelph Mercury. Do you think anyone cares Three weeks ago at the Golden Globes, the 70-year-old action star was given the brush off when Casey Affleck and Matt Damon refused to make room for him at their table. While the blowhard businessman settles into the White House with totalitarian flair, the two behemoths who ruled pop culture during the same decade that spawned The Donald find themselves cast aside as woefully unappreciated relics. Beat it, Stallone, you monosyllabic chest-thumper. And then there's Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose bulbous biceps and stoic resolve as The Terminator turned him into an American icon, a former California governor who once considered a run for the White House himself. Your brand of vigilante overkill is past its expiry date. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

pentagon trump: We want to ensure that we are not letting into our country the very threats that our soldiers are fighting overseas, Trump said after swearing in new Defense Secretary James Mattis at the Pentagon, according to Guelph Mercury. Trump would also block visa applicants entirely from a list of countries with counterterrorism concerns, including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, until a new extreme vetting procedure for visa applicants could be launched. The White House has yet to release the text of the signed document but a draft obtained earlier showed the measure would block all refugees from entering the U.S. for 120 days and suspend the acceptance of refugees from war-torn Syria indefinitely. The U.S. has admitted more than 3.3 million refugees since 1975, and allowed more than 80,000 refugees in last year alone. The action, seen as part of Trump's campaign pledge to ban Muslims from entering the country, sparked an international outcry, given the historic role that the U.S. and other industrialized nations have long held in embracing victims of war and oppression. Under Trump's plan, those numbers would plummet to a trickle, except for a narrow group of religious minorities that would include Christians fleeing largely Muslim countries. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

rights complaint: She also noted that the information was not necessary to identify a number's holder, according to National Observer. Social Development Minister Jean Yves Duclos said in a statement this week that his department will only collect the information if needed to receive a benefit or for legitimate purposes, such as policy and program development. Milloy's human rights complaint argued the department's policy of using the sex designation at birth discriminated against transgender persons. The government will no longer make it mandatory to provide sex or gender information for a social insurance number and provide a third option for those who want to provide the detail but don't identify as male or female. Milloy said other trans activists will likely refer to her settlement in pushing governments to adopt gender neutral identification. ; It is an acknowledgment that they've made which sets the stage for the removal of sex and gender everywhere, she said. ESDC also no longer requires supporting documents to change the gender designation in the registry. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

seaton house: Stop resisting! he shouts, his demand seeming to fall on semi-conscious ears of the man on the ground, who is still not moving, according to NOW Magazine. This was the scene that ensued when Toronto police were called to detain a suspect after a spitting incident at Seaton House who has since been identified as 45-year-old Andrew Henry of no fixed address. The same officer can be seen and heard firing off a Taser, twice. He is facing nine charges, including allegedly assaulting a police officer. Khan has since filed a formal complaint with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director Would there have been a Toronto police investigation at all if Khan had not brought out his camera that day It's doubtful knowing what we know of these kinds of police encounters which happen far too frequently and the current state of police and Black community relations. After footage of Henry's arrest hit the local news cycle, Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders told City News that there would be a thorough investigation, including of threats made by one officer against Waseem Khan, the man who was filming the incident. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

state lawmakers: They are citing arguments from knife rights activists and others who say switchblades have become everyday work tools that also can save lives because they can be opened with one hand instead of two, according to Brandon Sun. West Side Story kind of released this sense that switchblades were what was bringing in Sharks and Jets, and that we would prevent gang activity if we outlawed these, said bill co-sponsor state Sen. But 54 years after Colorado enacted its prohibition of the folding knives with blades that pop out from their handles with the push of a button or a lever, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers is trying to repeal it. Owen Hill, a Republican who argues that Colorado's law is outdated and widely ignored. Steve Lebsock, say it's time for lawmakers to get rid of an archaic statute because switchblades are useful and can be bought online easily anyway by people who want them. Hill and a Democratic co-sponsor, Rep. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

anti-immigrant rivers: Just the previous year Canada had celebrated its Centennial, capped by Expo '67, according to Huffington Post Canada. I had been in the United Kingdom for over three years and left for Canada shortly after Enoch Powell made his anti-immigrant Rivers of Blood speech. An immigrant from India, I arrived in Canada in May 1968. Since then I have happily journeyed along with Canada for the last third of its 150 years. It has made me feel at home. Canada has been good to me. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

blog post: In a blog post on her charity website she wrote I'm leaving Dunkirk now, according to Hamilton Spectator. I'm speechless. Pamela was shocked by the conditions the youngsters are living in and the startling reality that the men in the camps are risking their lives every night to try and escape their surroundings by sneaking into lorries and other modes of transport. I'm so angry. I gave out blankets, hats, gloves, fruit, coloring books and crayons. The children are so lovely and polite. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

campaign promise: Trump will find some excuse to turn on Canada, Agustin Barrios Gomez said Wednesday in an interview on CBC News Network's Power & Politics, according to CBC. Barrios Gomez made his comments the same day President Donald Trump moved on his campaign promise to build a wall along the U.S., Mexico border. It's just a matter of time before this administration turns its eyes towards Canada. Trump signed executive orders to jump-start construction of a border wall and block federal grants to immigrant-protecting sanctuary cities. Trump's top economic adviser says Canada isn't in president's crosshairs Trump's 'great wall' How much will it cost Who's paying As a Mexican, I think this is a horrible symbol of ignorance, Barrios Gomez told host Rosemary Barton, adding that it was zero likely that Mexico would pay for the wall or that it would factor into NAFTA renegotiations. Sanctuary cities are jurisdictions in the U.S. that refuse to use municipal funds to enforce federal immigration laws, essentially allowing illegal immigrants to remain there even though they are not supposed to be in the country. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian audience: Not bound by political correctness, they can get away with jokes that others can't, poke fun at others and laugh with a Canadian audience on such sensitive topics as white privilege, according to Toronto Star. Now a group of immigrant comics is hoping to draw on their experiences to entertain multicultural Toronto through a monthly standup comedy show, Comedy as a Second Language, which kicks off Friday at the Social Capital Theatre on Danforth Ave. YouTube By Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter Thu., Jan. 26, 2017 Caught between cultures, immigrants may say things inadvertently and act in unusual ways that are funny to other Canadians. Comedy is a language. That's how I feel, said Carol Zoccoli, who came up with the idea when she moved here from Brazil in 2013 and found little live comedy for immigrants. I have learned so much about people and their culture through comedy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.