immigrantscanada.com

Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

email: The email includes three examples of questions she wants asked of immigrants Are men and woman equal, and entitled to equal protection under the law Is it ever OK to coerce or use violence against an individual or a group who disagrees with your views Do you recognize that to have a good life in Canada you will need to work hard to provide for yourself and your family, and that you can't expect to have things you want given to you It is unclear if the email, which was first reported by iPolitics.ca, was sent to all Conservative Party members, or just subscribers to The Rebel.media, according to CBC. Leitch's campaign spokesman Michael Diamond said he would not be able to shed any more light on the email because he does not discuss strategy or tactics with the media. In a sponsored email sent to subscribers of the conservative website The Rebel.media, Kellie Leitch promises that if she becomes Conservative leader, and then prime minister, she would require each immigrant to Canada to be screened for Canadian values. Kellie Leitch says her supporters aren't racist for backing values test Trudeau 'Do you think Kellie Leitch should have her own party ' The cornerstone of Leitch's campaign to be the next leader of the federal Conservatives has so far been her pledge to redraft Canada's immigration policy. I believe that every single potential immigrant, without exception, should have a face-to-face interview with a trained immigration officer and asked questions to ascertain whether or not their values are consistent with our way of life, Leitch says in the email. Not only would her plan require each immigrant to be screened for anti-Canadian values, but everyone seeking to start a new life in Canada would have to undergo a face-to-face interview with an immigration official before being granted entry. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

eu law: The European Court of Justice ruled that allowing people to choose where to get international protection would undermine the EU system establishing which country should handle asylum applications, according to The Chronicle Herald. It said that EU law only lays out the procedures and conditions for issuing visas to transit through or stay on the territory of a member state for up to 90 days. The decision announced Tuesday came after a Belgian court in October ordered the government to give humanitarian visas to a family in war-torn Syria. But the Luxembourg-based court said member state courts remain free to rule on visas under national law. The government fears that granting visas would open the floodgates to more applications and believes that it should be responsible for such decisions and not the courts. Friends in Belgium had offered to lodge and feed the family, who lived in the besieged city of Aleppo and believed still to be in Syria. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

fidesz party: In the eyes of Hungary's combative prime minister, Viktor Orban, an early supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, migrants are a Trojan horse of terrorism, putting his country under siege, according to CTV. He considers the migrants, many of whom are Muslims, as a threat to Europe's Christian identity and culture. Human rights groups said the decision was a flagrant violation of international law. According to rules adopted Tuesday by lawmakers from his governing Fidesz party and the far-right Jobbik party, all asylum-seekers will be detained at camps built from shipping containers on the border with Serbia until a final decision is made on their asylum requests. Police will also be allowed to expel to the Serbian side of the border fence any migrants who cannot prove their legal right to be in Hungary. Hungary intends to close all other refugee reception centres around the country. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hands: Hands of Hope is a registered charity that has been providing free furniture to low income families for the last 15 years, according to CBC. Many of the recipients are single mothers and immigrants, but this year the office has been busier than ever because of new refugees settling in Winnipeg. One charity is stepping up, but its volunteers can't keep up with demand for delivery of used furniture. We're very busy. When people get housing it's not much of a house if there's nothing in it, and so we deliver them furniture and then it becomes a home. Sometimes we get a 100 calls a day, said Hands of Hope founder Charles Norris. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hud secretary: There were other immigrants who came here on the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less, Carson said as he walked across a stage holding a microphone, according to CBC. A HUD spokesman declined to comment on Carson's statement. Carson, who was confirmed as HUD secretary last week and is the only black member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet, was talking about the work ethic and dreams of immigrants who came to the United States through Ellis Island in his first speech at the department. The department later tweeted This is the most cynical interpretation of the Secretary's remarks to an army of welcoming HUD employees. The slave narrative and immigrant narrative are two entirely different experiences, he said, adding, the two experiences should never be intertwined, nor forgotten, as we demand the necessary progress towards an America that's inclusive and provides access to equal opportunity for all. No one honestly believes he equates voluntary immigration with involuntary servitude! Carson later clarified his remarks on Facebook. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

jersey resident: It's hard not to be conflicted, said Wright, 26, an independent who supports President Donald Trump's proposed travel ban on certain foreigners, according to Metro News. By no means do I want to be cruel and keep people out who need a safe place. But turn the talk specifically to the risks and benefits of admitting refugees to the U.S., and the New Jersey resident gives a fraught sigh. But we have to have a better system of thoroughly finding out who they are. A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reflects that divide, with two-thirds of the respondents saying the benefits of legal immigration generally outweigh the risks. Wright is part of a group of Americans a new survey suggests are making distinctions between legal immigrants who choose to be here and refugees who are legal immigrants, too fleeing persecution in their home countries. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

language: It comes after a New York-based musician announced he was pulling out of the festival over immigration language in his contract, according to The Chronicle Herald. Word of the contract language caused swift reaction on social media and comes amid heightened fears of immigration crackdowns under President Donald Trump. SXSW announced the changes Tuesday ahead of the massive music, film and technology showcase starting later this week. SXSW organizers have said the clause about notifying appropriate U.S. immigration authorities had been a safeguard in case artists did something truly egregious, like starting a brawl or causing safety issues. Source Source The Associated Press SXSW says the language will be removed starting in 2018. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lists: We make a big deal about the centennials and even the sesquicentennials, but not so much about the if that is what it might be called don't trust my Latin, I'm piecing it together from Wikipedia and Google translate . You may be wondering what kind of gift is appropriate for an occasion like that, according to Toronto Star. The traditional anniversary giving lists say paper is for the first, tin is for the 10th, gold is for the 50th, but I can't find lists that get up to 183. While it's a nice, round number look at the curves on that eight and that three it isn't one of your more widely celebrated anniversaries. Still, Tourism Toronto seemed to find the perfect, albeit non-traditional, gift for the city in the form of a promotional video. Share your thoughts It's a title that also borrows from Drake's meme-ified album title of last year Views and the video also takes some of his swagger and style in presenting his hometown. It's titled The Views Are Different Here, which seems to play equally to the political attitudes of a certain subset of Americans just now and to our own self-flattering sense of our own open-mindedness. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

monday morning: This order is part of our ongoing efforts to eliminate vulnerabilities that radical Islamist terrorists can and will exploit for destructive ends, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared, according to Globe and Mail. In an e-mail to supporters, Mr. Trump signed the order in private Monday morning and dispatched three cabinet members to announce it at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters in Washington. Trump wrote he was keeping America safe by targeting countries that have been compromised by radical Islamic terrorism. As a result, travellers landed in the United States only to discover they were barred from entering. The previous order barred citizens of seven countries from entering the United States and went into effect abruptly with no warning period. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

russian point: Alongside Britain, Germany and the U.S., Canada will soon lead a NATO battlegroup that is supposed to defend Eastern Europe from Moscow, according to Rabble. About 450 Canadian troops are headed to Latvia while the three other NATO countries lead missions in Poland, Lithuania and Estonia. This training mission in the Ukraine is on top of 200 troops in Poland, a naval frigate in the Mediterranean and Black Sea and a half dozen CF-18 fighter jets on their way to locations near Russia's border. From the Russian point of view it must certainly look like NATO is massing troops at its border. In 2014 the right-wing nationalist Euro Maidan movement ousted Viktor Yanukovych who was oscillating between the European Union and Russia. Canada's military buildup in Eastern Europe is the direct outgrowth of a coup in Kiev. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

spvm spokesperson: Officers were responding to another call and on their way there on Sherbrooke St., they saw there was a fire inside that restaurant, so from there they stopped, explain Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant, according to CTV. The two officers saw two people near the scene. SPVM officers responding to another call near the Boustan located near the corner of Grand Blvd. and Sherbrooke saw the fire at 1 20 a.m. The two, a 39-year-old woman and 28-year-old man, were arrested after questioning. An SPVM spokesperson said no motive had yet been established. The two suspects met with investigators later on Tuesday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

support trump: They are fleeing from terrorists, according to CTV. Kurdi said she wants people who support Trump's order because they believe it will make them safer from terrorism to show me the evidence. People should understand those refugees, they've been forced from their country because of the war, Kurdi told CTV News Channel on Monday. How many of them they actually did something bad in Canada or the U.S. as a terrorist she said. In fact, no Syrian refugee has committed a deadly terrorist attack in the U.S. or Canada, according to an extensive review published last fall by U.S think tank The Cato Institute. I want to know that. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

travel ban: Fallout from the Trump administration's crackdown on asylum seekers and its travel ban on people from half a dozen Muslim countries risks making crossing the border more difficult and certainly more worrisome for many Canadians, according to Toronto Star. The Trudeau government needs to make clear to Trump's Homeland Security secretary, John Kelly, the importance of easy cross-border travel when he visits Ottawa this week. Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS By Star Editorial Board Tues., March 7, 2017 There's a chill along the border between Canada and the United States, and it has nothing to do with the weather. And it should encourage Americans, especially those in neighbouring states that also value good cross-border relations, to speak out against the Trump administration's misguided policies that are throwing unnecessary roadblocks in the way of Canadians trying to travel south. So far about half a dozen cases have become public a tiny number among the tens of thousands of Canadians who cross the border on an average day. One of the most troubling developments is an emerging pattern of Canadians being denied entry to the United States for no apparent reason other than their ethnic background. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tuesday i: No matter what the United States attempts to do, progress is going to move forward, Martin Luther King III said at a leadership conference in Lethbridge on Tuesday, according to Hamilton Spectator. I think the president will find that out very quickly because humankind is going to stand up and say we resist this and won't allow this to happen. The oldest son of Martin Luther King Jr. is praising Canada for being a beacon of freedom and he's urging people not to lose hope in the United States. We're a much better nation than the behaviour that seems to be exhibited. King, who met privately with U.S. President Donald Trump before the inauguration, said the administration is off to a rocky start but he hopes it can strike a balance on immigration. You never lose hope, although it seems that things are dark and dismal. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

york-based musician: Word of the contract language caused swift reaction on social media and comes amid heightened fears of immigration crackdowns under President Donald Trump.SXSW organizers have said the clause about notifying appropriate U.S. immigration authorities had been a safeguard in case artists did something truly egregious, like starting a brawl or causing safety issues.SXSW says the language will be removed starting in 2018, according to Metro News. It comes after a New York-based musician announced he was pulling out of the festival over immigration language in his contract. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

eu law: The European Court of Justice ruled that allowing people to choose where to get international protection would undermine the EU system establishing which country should handle asylum applications, according to Brandon Sun. It said that EU law only lays out the procedures and conditions for issuing visas to transit through or stay on the territory of a member state for up to 90 days. The decision announced Tuesday came after a Belgian court in October ordered the government to give humanitarian visas to a family in war-torn Syria. But the Luxembourg-based court said member state courts remain free to rule on visas under national law. The government fears that granting visas would open the floodgates to more applications and believes that it should be responsible for such decisions and not the courts. Friends in Belgium had offered to lodge and feed the family, who lived in the besieged city of Aleppo and believed still to be in Syria. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

fire monday: On Tuesday, protesters blocked main highways and towns to enforce the general strike, according to Brandon Sun. They attacked several government offices and vandalized a vehicle from the National Human Rights Commission, which had a team monitoring the situation. Police had opened fire Monday on protesters attempting to disrupt a political rally, killing at least three and wounding dozens in southern Nepal, which has been hit by violent protests over the last year. There were minor clashes between police and the protesters, but no one was hurt. Home Ministry official Bal Krishna Panthi said police first tried to disperse the protesters with bamboo batons and tear gas before firing their guns. The commission said it was probing the police firing and monitoring the fresh violence in the area. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

york-based musician: Word of the contract language caused swift reaction on social media and comes amid heightened fears of immigration crackdowns under President Donald Trump.SXSW organizers have said the clause about notifying appropriate U.S. immigration authorities had been a safeguard in case artists did something truly egregious, like starting a brawl or causing safety issues.SXSW says the language will be removed starting in 2018, according to Brandon Sun. It comes after a New York-based musician announced he was pulling out of the festival over immigration language in his contract. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

calgary mp: Ms, according to Huffington Post Canada. Leitch is playing divisive politics, and the consequences can be seen in America, where in the last two weeks three innocent people were shot or killed, because they were seen as immigrants, said Obhrai, who is of South Asian descent and immigrated to Canada from Tanzania in 1977. Obhrai, a Calgary MP since 1997, said in a news release that Leitch's plan to screen immigrants, refugees and visitors for so-called Canadian values will not only lead people to view the Conservative party as anti-immigrant, but could also endanger people's lives. This is a dangerous environment to create in Canada, and I am outraged by this. Photo The Canadian Press Last week, Deep Rai, a 39-year-old U.S. citizen of Indian descent, was shot in the arm on his driveway in Kent, Wash., by an attacker who allegedly told him Go back to your own country. Conservative leadership candidate Deepak Obhrai, right, says his challenger Kellie Leitch is playing divisive politics. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canada ',: Falk asks Trudeau to clarify his message, Welcome to Canada', which was posted to Twitter in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban that targeted travellers from seven Muslim majority countries, according to Metro News. Is this an open invitation for folks that want to illegally cross into Canada to come here and take advantage of our generous immigration and refugee policy Falk says in the video. In a video posted to Facebook on Saturday, Ted Falk delivers a statement to Trudeau while standing at the border near Emerson-Franklin where RCMP confirm 183 people have walked into Manitoba so far this year. He then asks Trudeau to set the record straight and say whether he approves of the illegal crossings. Prime Minister, was your invitation restriction to legal means of immigrating to Canada or did it also include illegal entry into Canada and come anyway you want says Falk. Mr. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canada: Organizations that help refugees in Winnipeg say another 19 crossed overnight from Feb. 27 to Feb. 28, bringing the total increase over the two month period to 162 in 2017 - a total difference of 128 compared to 2016, according to CTV. Success rates Why some refugee claimants may have better odds in Canada 478 more asylum claims in Canada Numbers from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada also show an increase. Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 27, 2017, the RCMP intercepted 143 people illegally crossing the border an increase of 109 people form the same period last year. Between Jan.1 and Feb. 21, 2016, 1,803 Asylum Claims were made at inland offices of IRCC and CBSA. Over the same period in 2017, numbers show 2,281 people made asylum claims at the inland offices an increase of 478 claims. IRCC said the inland claims include the people who have illegally crossed the border from the United States into Canada. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said these numbers are preliminary and subject to change. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian passport: She and a group of friends were stopped at the Quebec-Vermont border on Sunday en route to a spa getaway, according to CTV. We gave in our passports and we were asked to come inside to be questioned, she told CTV News. Manpreet Kooner, 30, was born in the Montreal-area to parents who came to Canada from India in the 1960s. Once inside, Kooner says she was singled out by U.S. officials, who questioned her for over five hours, taking her fingerprints and photograph while searching the vehicle they arrived in. They made me sign a paper saying I'm not allowed to enter the states because I'm an immigrant travelling without an immigrant visa, she said. She says she found the incident bizarre given that she was travelling on a Canadian passport and has no criminal record. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

coalition government: Wilders is the founder and leader of the Freedom Party PVV which currently holds only 12 seats in the 150-seat Dutch parliament, according to Hamilton Spectator. But he is aiming to make it the largest single party in the March 15 election which, in ordinary times, would probably give it the leading role in the next coalition government. It is almost impossible to radicalize a system like this, but Geert Wilders is going to try. But these are not normal times, and the PVV is far from a normal party. Wilders recently called Dutch residents of Moroccan origin scum . He vows to close mosques and Islamic schools, ban the sale of the Qur'an, and stop all further immigrants or asylum seekers from Muslim countries. It really only has one policy stop the immigrants and it is unashamedly racist and anti-Muslim in its rhetoric. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

day i: I was thirsty for 18 years, according to Metro News. I remember every day I was thirsty. Finding a job was his toughest challenge upon arrival in Manitoba, he said, but it didn't compare to what he faced living in the Al Tash refugee camp in western Iraq for almost two decades. You drink a little bit, but it's not enough, Rahimi said in an interview Monday. Many, many of our people died and many of my friends were recruited into al-Qaida and the American war in 2003, 2004, he said. We were going to die. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hud secretary: There were other immigrants who came here on the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less, Carson said as he walked across a stage holding a microphone, according to CTV. Carson later that night called slaves involuntary immigrants on a radio show. Carson, who was confirmed as HUD secretary last week and is the only black member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet, was talking about the work ethic and dreams of immigrants who came to the United States through Ellis Island in his first speech at the department. Slaves came here as involuntary immigrants but they still had the strength to hold on, he said on Sirius XM's The Armstrong Williams Show. Don't let anyone turn that into something bad. That requires a tremendous amount of toughness and will power and hope and faith and they had that, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

indian parents: She now lives in Montreal's LaSalle borough with her fianc and works in a science lab at a local college, according to CBC. She told CBC she was on her way from Montreal to a spa in Vermont for a day trip with two friends, who are both white, Sunday afternoon. Manpreet Kooner, 30, is a Canadian citizen who was born to Indian parents in Canada and raised here. They never made it. At one point, she said, a border agent told her 'I know you may feel like you've been Trumped,' an apparent reference to U.S. President Donald Trump. Kooner said she was held at the border for six hours before being turned away. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.