nurse practitioners: Work visas restored to specialized Canadian nurses working in U.S. Specialized Canadian nurses stress over rules preventing them from working in U.S. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not explain what happened specifically when they announced on Friday nurses would once again be approved for work visas, according to CBC. Windsor immigration lawyer Laurie Tannous said the confusion stemmed from a new interpretation of legislation under U.S. president Donald Trump's administration, which could apply to more professions than just nursing. The trouble began last week when visa applications for advanced practice nurses and advanced clinical nurse practitioners working in Detroit hospitals were denied. It's the same legislation, the same rules, the same policies, she said. More problems expected Canadian nurses have for years been approved for non-immigrant professional TN visas under the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA . But recent applications for specialized nurses were rejected. They're just being enforced, whereas for the eight years prior to that, they weren't. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

pastime isn: You can't plan anything.' Richard Lautens / Toronto Star file photo By Sara Mojtehedzadeh Work and Wealth reporter Mon., March 20, 2017 It's a well known trope that millennials are permanently attached to their phones, according to Toronto Star. But for 20-somethings such as Briea Beausoleil, the pastime isn't an exercise in vanity; it's a taxing feature of the precarious workplace. You can't plan your future. For Beausoleil, the habit crept in after graduation. You were constantly by that phone, looking at it, just waiting for it to ring, said Beausoleil, now 24. Her wages as an early childhood educator were too low to make a living, so she got a job as temporary, part-time employee at a Windsor-area factory . . . where erratic schedules meant much-needed shifts could crop up at any moment. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

refugees: U.S. officials began scheduling appointments with asylum seeker families on Nauru from Monday, Mehdi said, according to CTV. If refugees pass the initial fingerprint security screening, they will have face-to-face interviews with Homeland Security officers in Nauru or Papua New Guinea, the document said. Department of Homeland Security officers are taking biometric details from refugees on Nauru, including fingerprints, heights and weights, according to a document circulated among asylum seekers and provided to AP by Mehdi, a refugee on the island nation who for security reasons did not want his family name published. Refugees had been given no indication of how long the security vetting process would take, Mehdi said. The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection declined to comment. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

undocumented migrants: A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll found Americans feel similarly about illegal immigration, with 50 per cent of adults supporting deportation, according to Huffington Post Canada. Nearly half 46 per cent also said they disapprove of how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is handling the issue of illegal border crossings. Just over one-third of respondents 36 per cent felt Canada should accept undocumented migrants and allow them to seek refugee status, while 48 per cent said they want to see an increase in deportations. One of the reasons why Canada remains an open country is Canadians have confidence in our immigration system, the integrity of our borders, and the help we provide people who are seeking relief and a better life, Trudeau said on Feb. 21 during question period. A man from Syria hugs his daughter after they were detained by the RCMP as they illegally crossed the U.S.-Canada border near Hemmingford, Que., on Feb. 28, 2017. We will continue to strike that balance between having a rigorous system and accepting those who are in need. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

washington think-tank: Obama was reluctant to commit large numbers of U.S. troops to combatting IS in Iraq, but his approach, which relied on training and supporting local forces, has succeeded in pushing the militants out of much of the territory they once held, according to The Chronicle Herald. Speaking at a Washington think-tank shortly after his White House visit, al-Abadi said he got the impression that the Trump administration will take a more aggressive approach, although he did not say what that might entail. I think they are prepared to do more than the administration of President Barack Obama, he said. I think this administration wants to be more engaged in fighting terrorism, he said. He added, however, that military force is not necessarily the most effective tool. I sense a difference in terms of being head-to-head with terrorism. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

catholic priests: During the 100-day genocide, more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists, according to Brandon Sun. Many of the victims died at the hands of priests, clergymen and nuns, according to some accounts by survivors, and the Rwandan government says many died in the churches where they had sought refuge. In an extraordinary statement after Francis' meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the Vatican acknowledged that the church itself bore blame, as well as some Catholic priests and nuns who succumbed to hatred and violence, betraying their own evangelical mission by participating in the genocide. During the 25-minute meeting in the Apostolic Palace, Francis implored anew God's forgiveness for the sins and failings of the church and its members, the Vatican said. The Rwandan government has long pressured the church to apologize for its complicity in the genocide, but both the Vatican and the local church have been reluctant to do so. He expressed the desire that this humble recognition of the failings of that period, which unfortunately disfigured the face of the church, may contribute to a 'purification of memory' and may promote, in hope and renewed trust, a future of peace. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration: Departmental officials say Trump's executive orders are too new for them to be able to estimate how much they could cost Canada and in what ways, according to Brandon Sun. Related Items Articles Illegal border crossers nabbed so far in 2017 nearly half of all caught in 2016The Immigration and Refugee Board, however, has been saying for months that a rise in the number of asylum claims is already straining its resources and it has put in a pitch for more cash. But both immigration officials and the federal minister told a House of Commons committee that right now, there's no new money. Board officials had been hoping to get an answer in Wednesday's federal budget but Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen wouldn't commit Monday to new funds. The board did receive about 4.5 million to deal with an expected increase in claims from Mexican nationals following a government decision to lift visas for Mexicans last December. He says the fact that claims have been rising at the IRB since 2015 is proof the problem goes beyond the so-called Trump effect. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

syrian man: U.S. District Judge William Conley issued a temporary restraining order earlier this month prohibiting the administration from enforcing the revised version of the ban specifically against the man's family.A top immigration official filed a declaration on Friday ordering U.S. officials in Jordan, where the wife and daughter would travel for visa interviews, to process their applications by March 28, according to Brandon Sun. Roman Ginzburg, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer, further ordered that the office schedule interviews for no later than April 20 if the applications are in order. The Syrian man, who was granted asylum last year and is living in Wisconsin, sued over President Donald Trump's travel ban in February. The filing didn't explain why the applications were being fast-tracked, but an earlier filing noted that U.S. Sen. The Justice Department lawyer assigned to the case didn't immediately reply to a message seeking further information. Tammy Baldwin requested it. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

washington think-tank: Obama was reluctant to commit large numbers of U.S. troops to combatting IS in Iraq, but his approach, which relied on training and supporting local forces, has succeeded in pushing the militants out of much of the territory they once held, according to Brandon Sun. Speaking at a Washington think-tank shortly after his White House visit, al-Abadi said he got the impression that the Trump administration will take a more aggressive approach, although he did not say what that might entail. I think they are prepared to do more than the administration of President Barack Obama, he said. I think this administration wants to be more engaged in fighting terrorism, he said. He added, however, that military force is not necessarily the most effective tool. I sense a difference in terms of being head-to-head with terrorism. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

aids patient: Breslin, who died Sunday at 88, was a fixture for decades in New York journalism, notably with the New York Daily News, and he won a Pulitzer Prize for pieces that, among others, exposed police torture in Queens and took a sympathetic look at the life of an AIDS patient, according to Hamilton Spectator. His was the triumph of the local, and to get the local right, you have to get how people made a living, how they got paid, how they didn't get paid, and to be able to bring it to life, said Pete Hamill, another famed New York columnist who in the 1970s shared an office with Breslin at the Daily News. In a writing career that spanned six decades, the columnist and author became the brash embodiment of the street-smart New Yorker, chronicling wise guys and big-city power brokers but always coming back to the toils of ordinary working people. Jimmy really admired people whose favourite four-letter word was work, said Hamill, speaking from New Orleans. It was the rumpled Breslin who mounted a quixotic political campaign for citywide office in the 1960s; who became the Son of Sam's regular correspondent in the 1970s; who exposed the city's worst corruption scandal in decades in the 1980s; who was pulled from a car and nearly stripped naked by Brooklyn rioters in the 1990s. Breslin died at his Manhattan home of complications from pneumonia, according to his stepdaughter, Emily Eldridge. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian press: The Canadian Press By The Canadian Press Sun., March 19, 2017 CALGARY Alberta Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney says the wheels are in motion on his unite-the-right plan, with the goal of a new party and an elected leader in place a year from now, according to Toronto Star. This is not written in stone but if there's any way that we can accelerate that timeline, I'm all ears, Kenney told reporters Sunday after he met with the Progressive Conservative board of directors. Kenney says he wants to reunite with Wildrose party members. I want us to go as quickly as we can ... but not jeopardize the unity project by speeding this up unnecessarily. Read more Jason Kenney picked as new leader of Alberta Progressive Conservatives Article Continued Below Wildrose leader Brian Jean has already said he is in favour of joining forces if his members approve. On Saturday he won 75 per cent of the vote in a delegated convention to become the new party leader on a platform to dissolve the PCs and merge with the fellow right-centre Wildrose party. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

nawruz eve: For Nawruz Eve we will have a bonfire and music and marshmallows, he said on CBC's Weekend Morning Show, according to CBC. Some traditional Kurdish things plus with Canadian traditions. Ali came to Canada as a refugee four years ago and is celebrating the new year holiday, Nawruz, in Winnipeg on Monday. Kurdish brother, sister reunite in Winnipeg after fleeing Syria The celebrations will mark the year 2629 for Kurdish people. Police would follow us, they would catch us and put us in prison, he said, adding sometimes people were killed. The important celebration was dangerous for Ali when he was growing up in Syria. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

citizenship law: We are protesting to tell the government to rightfully follow the 1982 citizenship law and we cannot allow the government giving citizenship cards to these illegal migrants, said Aung Htay, a protest organizer, according to Metro News. The Rohingya face severe discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, with many in Rakhine and elsewhere considering them to be illegal migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, even though Rohingya have been in Myanmar for generations. Rakhine state's dominant Arakan National Party led the protest in Sittwe, the state capital, where many Rohingya lived before an outbreak of inter-communal violence in 2012 forced them to flee their homes. The 2012 violence killed hundreds and drove about 140,000 people predominantly Rohingya from their homes to camps for the internally displaced, where most remain. Sunday's protest took place three days after the Rakhine Advisory Commission, led by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, urged Myanmar's government to reconsider a failed program to verify Rohingya for Myanmar citizenship and to remove restrictions on freedom of movement. Rakhine, one of the poorest states in Myanmar, is home to more than 1 million stateless Rohingya. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

discrimination: This year's theme was racial profiling and incitement to hatred, including in the context of migration, according to CTV. Racial discrimination has not been eliminated and we are all called to confront and to address this issue individually and collectively, said senior pastor Rhonda Britton. The service is held every year at the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church on United Nation's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The UN describes racial and ethnic profiling as a reliance by law enforcement, security and border control personnel on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin as a basis for subjecting persons to detailed searches, identity checks and investigations. Statistics released in January show black people are disproportionately singled out by police for street checks. It's a concern for many living in Halifax. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ivanka trump: He was heading home from Paris when the attacks happened and was left stranded in Gander for nearly a week, according to CBC. Justin Trudeau touts Come From Away's message as Ivanka Trump attends NYC performance His story has become part of the Broadway musical Come From Away, which is based on central Newfoundland's compassionate response in the days following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Tuerff was one of nearly 7,000 people stranded in Central Newfoundland in the days following 9/11. I've been amazed at some of the great stories that I've heard today, said Tuerff at the signing of his book, Channel of Peace, in Gander. Now he's using proceeds from his book to help Gander continue its campaign to bring Syrian refugees into the community. Tuerff, who also gained media coverage for his Pay It Forward campaign, said he admires the way Canadians came together to help strangers in 2001. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mark rute: Common sense and the centrist' Dutch prime minister had survived, according to Toronto Star. But drill down just a little and a different picture emerges. JOHN THYS / AFP/GETTY IMAGES By Robin V. Sears Sun., March 19, 2017 The headline across the continent this week was, Europe Breathes a Sigh of Relief. Yes, conservative Mark Rute did survive, but he lost 25 per cent of his caucus. The real winner, however, despite the media hysteria pre-election day was not Geert Wilders, who won only five new seats. The biggest loser was the Dutch Labour party, which lost 75 per cent of its MPs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

people breslin: In a writing career that spanned six decades, the columnist and author became the brash embodiment of the street-smart New Yorker, chronicling wise guys and big-city power brokers but always coming back to the toils of ordinary working people, according to Toronto Star. Breslin, who died Sunday at 88, was a fixture for decades in New York journalism, notably with the New York Daily News, and he won a Pulitzer Prize for pieces that, among others, exposed police torture in Queens and took a sympathetic look at the life of an AIDS patient. JOSHUA BRIGHT / NYT By Verena Dobnik The Associated Press Sun., March 19, 2017 NEW YORK Jimmy Breslin scored one of his best-remembered interviews with former president John F. Kennedy's gravedigger and once drove straight into a riot where he was beaten to his underwear. His was the triumph of the local, and to get the local right, you have to get how people made a living, how they got paid, how they didn't get paid, and to be able to bring it to life, said Pete Hamill, another famed New York columnist who in the 1970s shared an office with Breslin at the Daily News. Article Continued Below Breslin died at his Manhattan home of complications from pneumonia, according to his stepdaughter, Emily Eldridge. Jimmy really admired people whose favourite four-letter word was work, said Hamill, speaking from New Orleans. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

riot police: Demonstrators carried banners with portraits of victims of alleged police brutality, according to Metro News. Anarchists faced off with riot police at the end of the march and tear gas was fired but clashes remained limited in scope and violence. The demonstration was the latest protest sparked by the alleged rape in February of a young black man with a police baton, and other police abuse. The alleged police rape of Theo in the Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois turned the 22-year-old into a symbol for minorities standing up to police violence. He was hospitalized for two weeks. His last name hasn't been publicly released. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

sponsorship groups: We tend to think that the best way to help volunteers stick with it in the long run is to have someone you can go to for support, said Liz Mac Beth of the Open Harbour Refugee Association, which is based in Halifax, according to CBC. Besides being mentors for each other, the members are also buoyed by the successes others groups are having. The Private Sponsors of Nova Scotia Roundtables started about a year ago and the chair of the group said it's been helpful in beating burnout. New groups being fresh experiences There are about 45 private sponsorship groups in the province and 25 are based in the Halifax area. Some of the people who have never done it before have found they can actually feel more comfortable and hopefully experience less burnout. Many of the groups that have been doing it for so long have found that the fresh eyes of a group that's just starting has taught them some new things that they can do better, said Mac Beth. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

syrian women: Sanchez is graduate student in McMaster University's global health program, working on a thesis about better ways to integrate refugees, particularly Syrian women, into our community, according to Hamilton Spectator. As part of her work she will be starting a volunteer internship position working with Wesley Urban Ministry in May. But Sherald Sanchez says she also sees an unbelievable strength and resiliency that should be used to empower them and help them become contributing community members. She hopes to finish her thesis by August. This interview has been edited for length. Sanchez recently spoke with the Spectator about her ongoing work. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

unity project: I want us to go as quickly as we can ... but not jeopardize the unity project by speeding this up unnecessarily, according to CTV. On Saturday he won 75 per cent of the vote in a delegated convention to become the new party leader on a platform to dissolve the PCs and merge with the fellow right-centre Wildrose party. This is not written in stone but if there's any way that we can accelerate that timeline, I'm all ears, Kenney told reporters Sunday after he met with the Progressive Conservative board of directors. Wildrose leader Brian Jean has already said he is in favour of joining forces if his members approve. The two leaders will meet Monday in Edmonton. Kenney also says any unity move must be approved in a referendum, although he declined Sunday to say what percentage he believes would represent a vote to merge. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

aids patient: Breslin, who died Sunday at 88, was a fixture in New York journalism, notably with the New York Daily News, and he won a Pulitzer Prize for pieces that, among others, exposed police torture in Queens and took a sympathetic look at the life of an AIDS patient, according to Brandon Sun. His was the triumph of the local, and to get the local right, you have to get how people made a living, how they got paid, how they didn't get paid, and to be able to bring it to life, said Pete Hamill, another famed New York columnist who in the 1970s shared an office with Breslin at the Daily News. In a writing career that spanned six decades, the columnist and author became the brash embodiment of the street-smart New Yorker, chronicling wise guys and big-city power brokers but always coming back to the toils of ordinary working people. Jimmy really admired people whose favourite four-letter word was work, said Hamill, speaking from New Orleans. It was the rumpled Breslin who mounted a quixotic political campaign for citywide office in the 1960s; who became the Son of Sam's regular correspondent in the 1970s; who exposed the city's worst corruption scandal in decades in the 1980s; who was pulled from a car and nearly stripped naked by Brooklyn rioters in the 1990s. Breslin died at his Manhattan home of complications from pneumonia, according to his stepdaughter, Emily Eldridge. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

citizenship law: We are protesting to tell the government to rightfully follow the 1982 citizenship law and we cannot allow the government giving citizenship cards to these illegal migrants, said Aung Htay, a protest organizer, according to Brandon Sun. The Rohingya face severe discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, with many in Rakhine and elsewhere considering them to be illegal migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, even though Rohingya have been in Myanmar for generations. Rakhine state's dominant Arakan National Party led the protest in Sittwe, the state capital, where many Rohingya lived before an outbreak of inter-communal violence in 2012 forced them to flee their homes. The 2012 violence killed hundreds and drove about 140,000 people predominantly Rohingya from their homes to camps for the internally displaced, where most remain. Sunday's protest took place three days after the Rakhine Advisory Commission, led by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, urged Myanmar's government to reconsider a failed program to verify Rohingya for Myanmar citizenship and to remove restrictions on freedom of movement. Rakhine, one of the poorest states in Myanmar, is home to more than 1 million stateless Rohingya. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

coalition government: The Dutch election is over, the incumbent prime minister has won, his far-right racist rival has lost and the sound of fizzy Champagne bottles popping open can be heard throughout the capitals of Europe, according to Toronto Star. But does this mean that the right-wing, populist dragon in Europe has been slain and we can all go back to where we much prefer to be, obsessing about Donald Trump's latest tweets Well no, not quite. TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP/GETTY IMAGES By Tony Burman Foreign Affairs Columnist Sat., March 18, 2017 This has been a dramatic week in the battle for Europe. Here are five lessons from the crucial Netherlands election 1. His party will be the largest in the Dutch parliament by far, and he is certain to lead a coalition government. It's a triumph with limited impact Article Continued Below By any measure, the victory by incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte was impressive. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

design exchange: Instagram feeds glowed with arty angles of its Vegas-style neon sign, according to Toronto Star. The Centre for Social Innovation joined local artists, craft breweries and the Design Exchange to rock the funky shell of the old store for a Farewell weekend of installations and parties. Rick Madonik / Toronto Star By Karen von Hahn Fashion Columnist Sat., March 18, 2017 It was interesting, the rush of nostalgia for Honest Ed's as it finally closed its doors for good. Weeks beforehand, people who hadn't been there in years were lined up to buy anything a bent and scuffed scrap of paper advertising Jergen's Lotion for 3.99 so long as it qualified as Honest Edwardiana some examples of which, of course, are already up for resale on eBay and Kijiji . Not only do I have several friends who developed a sort of addiction to Ed's signage and kept going back for more, I, too, found myself visiting the old discounter on more than one occasion to pick over the scraps. In its best years, back when Ed himself was alive and kicking, you were guaranteed to find something truly great amidst the dreck a quality, Italian-made aluminum frying pan; obscure reggae recordings on vinyl; real Hungarian paprika or simple, all-cotton baby onesies are among the treasures I recall bringing home over the years. And while there was something sort of sad about all the hipsters the same types who will end up living in the condo that will replace the store on the site picking over its carcass, I decided not to feel badly about it because I really did love and frequent the store. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

votes: Richard Starke, a sitting PC legislature member, was second with 323 votes, according to Huffington Post Canada. Longtime party member Byron Nelson was a distant third, with 40 votes. Kenney, 48, captured 1,113 of 1,476 votes cast in the party's first delegated convention since 1985. Today, it's springtime in Alberta,'' Kenney proclaimed after the results were revealed. Photo Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press Kenney will now begin the next phase of his unite-the-right campaign by seeking a deal with the Wildrose party to join forces under a new conservative banner. This result sends a message to our fellow Albertans who are struggling, to those 200,000 Albertans who are looking for work, we are going to ensure there is a government on your side.'' A convention attendee is silhouetted amongs shamrocks at the Alberta PC Party leadership convention in Calgary on March 17, 2017. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.