edmonton mother: I said 'Maybe I cannot come again to my country,' the woman told CBC News, fighting back tears, according to CBC. And it happened we didn't come back to Turkey. One young mother who fled Turkey for Edmonton a year ago recalled the last moments with her husband, and her chilling prediction. Maybe I cannot come again to my country.'- Edmonton mother who fled Turkey The woman left Istanbul and arrived in Edmonton in the spring, via the U.S. A travel ban imposed by Turkish authorities prevented her husband, who had been in and out of detention, from joining them. CBC News is not revealing their identities or certain details due to their fear of reprisals. He escaped to Greece shortly afterward. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

government study: The head of an organization for descendants of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study said the money could help fund college scholarships the group provides, and members would like to develop a memorial garden dedicated to the men, according to Metro News. Some of the funds also could go to a county-owned museum located in Tuskegee that has separately requested the funds, but the decision should be up to the descendants, said Lillie Tyson Head, president of the Voices of our Fathers Legacy Foundation. Descendants of hundreds of black men who were left untreated for syphilis during an infamous government study want a judge to give them any money remaining from a 9 million legal settlement over the program. It was meant to go to the descendants in the first place, Head, who lives in Virginia, said in an interview Friday. Fred Gray, an attorney who heads the museum and represented study participants in the lawsuit, said he had not seen the group's letter and declined comment on the request. The Voices group has sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson asking him to withhold a decision on the money until they have time to hire a lawyer and file documents in the long-running, class-action lawsuit over the study. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hatem mcdadi: Those countries are as varied as Montenegro, Israel, Serbia, Russia, Kenya, Cameroon, Poland, Czech Republic, the United States and Spain, according to Globe and Mail. And that doesn't include 16-year-old Auger-Aliassime, who wasn't at Wimbledon and learned the game from his father, who's from Togo. Of the 13 Canadians competing, all but one Bouchard have a direct parental connection to another country. Tennis is, for sure, very international and many of the European, Asian and South American countries have a great culture of tennis, said Hatem McDadi, senior vice-president of tennis development at Tennis Canada. Indeed, studies show that when it comes to sports, new Canadians tend to gravitate to activities they knew best in their homelands. There's an affinity, a love for tennis, from many new Canadians. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigrant activists: He's been granted a number of temporary reprieves while pursuing legal options, according to Metro News. His case has become a flashpoint for local labour and immigrant activists opposed to President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. Rodriguez has been in the U.S. since 2006 and was denied asylum in 2011. The Republican president says he wants to keep the country safe. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey and Rep. Democratic U.S. Sens. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

keefer street: The project has been in the works since 2013, but concerns over gentrification and fitting in with the character of Chinatown have caused neighbourhood groups to oppose it, according to CBC. The newest proposal calls for the building to be 27 metres tall, a decrease from the 35 metres as initially proposed. Beedie Group, in a Friday media release, said it had submitted an amended application to the city of Vancouver for 105 Keefer Street, a condo proposal voted down by council in June. In a statement, the developers said it pledges to work with the city and community and vowed to provide important subsidized cultural ground-floor space, and better pedestrian areas in plaza. Beedie also pledged to revise the building's exterior to ensure that the character of the building is reflective of its context and rich heritage of the area. The space will be accessible for a multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and multilingual user-base with emphasis on seniors, the statement said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lauck: When the twentieth century dawned, the American Midwest stood tall as the republic's ascendant and triumphant region economically prosperous, politically formidable, culturally proud, and consciously regional, Lauck writes in From Warm Center to Ragged Edge the Erosion of Midwestern Literary and Historical Regionalism, 1920-1965, according to The Chronicle Herald. Yet just a few decades later, in an era of growing globalism, vocal intellectuals recast the Midwest as a repressive and sterile backwater filled with small-town snoops, redneck farmers, and zealous theocrats, wrote Lauck, a history and political science professor at the University of South Dakota. Yet the book's exploration of decades-old historical trends helps explain the attraction Trump held in the election for people who felt alienated by the political and cultural mainstream. The book takes its title from an observation by Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby Instead of being the warm centre of the world, the Middle West now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe so I decided to go East and learn the bond business. Intellectuals' increasing hostility toward the Midwest also discouraged some writers from telling the region's stories, including accounts of everyday life in the Midwest, Lauck wrote. The region's isolationist tendencies after World War II were out of sync with the rest of the U.S., Lauck said, and these tendencies clashed with the country's growing cosmopolitanism and desire to be part of the larger world. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

moe bilal: The moment was captured by Trudeau's official photographer, Adam Scotti, according to CTV. Bilal was born on May 4, 2017 to much fanfare when his parents announced his name would reflect their new prime minister. Trudeau cradled Bilal in his arms as he spoke to his parents, Afraa and Moe Bilal, Syrian refugees living in Calgary. The family also posed for a picture with Alberta Liberal Party leader David Khan. The family arrived in Calgary in February of 2016. ablib Leader Dave Khan with a family of Syrian Refugees waitingfor Trudeau thankful Canada abpoli Cdn Poli Stampede2017 Gwyneth Midgley Gwyneth Midgley July 15, 2017 The Bilial family was part of some 33,000 refugees who fled Syria and were resettled in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

official languages: Zeerak, whose name means Smart in Afghanistan's two official languages, is a 4-year-old boy who enjoys studying and learning, according to CBC. He joins 6-year-old sister Zari, whose name means Shimmering, on Afghanistan's version of the show, Baghch-e-Sim Sim, or Sesame Garden. Now a new muppet is joining the cast her brother, who will show boys the importance of respecting women. Both muppets wear traditional Afghan clothing the baggy trousers and long embroidered shirt known as a shalwar kameez for him and colourful native dresses and a cream-colored hijab, or headscarf, for her. Massood Sanjer, the head of TOLO TV, which broadcasts the program in Afghanistan, said that after the overwhelmingly positive response to Zari from both parents and children, the goal was to create a boy character to emphasize the importance of gender equality and education in a country where the vast majority of girls don't go to school and the literacy rate for women is among the lowest in the world. They join the rest of Sesame Street's multi-cultural line-up, which includes muppets specially created for local versions of the program in Bangladesh, Egypt and India. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

team work: They went through a rigorous selection process to exhibit their abilities and weaknesses, according to Toronto Star. The criteria included excellent health, a university education and skills in judgment, integrity, reasoning, team work, public speaking, motivation and resourcefulness. The Canadian Space Agency accepted applications from thousands of Canadians. There were additional requirements including professional experience language abilities English or French specific physical and medical requirements and more. It's more a question of reverse discrimination. Bimm implies the program ignored or intentionally eliminated visible minorities from the selection process. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

toronto zoo: The two newcomers are the first cheetahs to ever be born in Quebec, according to CTV. In June 2016, Parc Safari announced a joint project with the Toronto Zoo to inseminate the park's female cheetahs with the goal of encouraging the species' survival. In a video posted to Facebook, Parc Safari gave the public a look at cheetah cubs Mosi and Jelanie, who were born in May. There are currently just 9,000 cheetahs in the wild, down from an estimated population in 1900. The two cubs are not yet viewable to the public but will hopefully soon join the park's three females and five males. They are classified as a vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

alberta city: At that time, it was deemed in the public interest to assist in providing a quick return to normalcy for individuals whose lives were affected, many of whom were in crisis situations for long periods of time, says a note accompanying a remission order posted on the federal government's website this week, according to CBC. They experienced loss of income, employment, unanticipated out-of-pocket expenses and interim costs pending insurance and provincial assistance. The May 2016 disaster displaced more than 80,000 people in the northern Alberta city for at least a month as flames consumed one-tenth of its buildings. Replacement costs for the documents would have imposed an additional burden. Anyone in Fort McMurray who applied for a replacement passport between May 3 and Sept. 6 of last year and submitted supporting documentation did not have to pay. Canada's costliest natural disaster The note says 626 passports, 48 permanent resident cards and 32 citizenship certificates were replaced free of charge because they were lost, damaged or destroyed in Canada's costliest natural disaster. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

boating education: Drowning fatalities on the rise in Ontario Bodies of 2 men pulled from water at Wasaga Beach We know every year many immigrants come to Canada without experience with swimming education and training, as well as boating education and training, Barbara Byers, the director of the Lifesaving Society, said in an interview, according to CBC. According to Byers, research done by the society found that new immigrants to Canada are, on average, less likely to know how to swim than other portions of the population. The site launches next week and will include interactive video and materials in English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog and Hindi. Learning to swim, water safety, boating safety just isn't part of their experience. Lifesaving Society Byers says the new website will encourage everyone to enjoy the water, but in a responsible way. According to the Lifesaving Society, kayaks are a popular watercraft for people with little experience with boating. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

clothesline swing: New Boy, Tracy Chevalier Osei, 11, the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, is the new boy at this all-white school in suburban Washington in the 1970s, according to Toronto Star. Dee, the school's golden girl, makes friends with him, a gesture that bully Ian cannot tolerate. Knopf Canada Sun of a Distant Land, David Bouchet, translated by Claire Holden Rothman Esplanade Books The Clothesline Swing, Ahmad Danny Ramadan Nightwood The Leavers, Lisa Ko Algonquin Books By Sarah Murdoch Arrivals Fri., July 14, 2017 The immigrant experience in North America provides a rich canvas for storytelling, as these five new novels demonstrate. This retelling of Othello unfolds over the course of one violent day. She is best known for her 1999 novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring. Tracy Chevalier's inspiration for this novel was her own school days at a mostly black school in Washington, where she learned what it meant to be an outsider. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

court document: The statement of claim describes an old boy's club culture at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service where complaints about inappropriate behaviour are dismissed, minorities feel distrusted, and advancement is based on personality and not merit, including suggestions of romantic relationships playing a part in promotions, according to The Chronicle Herald. In one complaint detailed in the court document, a witness told investigators that the public would be shocked about this workplace conduct if they only knew; we keep our own secrets. The allegations are contained in a statement of claim filed Thursday in Federal Court by five employees who are seeking upwards of 35 million in damages for what they say was years of harassment condoned by supervisors. None of the allegations in the 54-page document have been tested in court. Speaking in at a news conference in Providence, R.I., Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the allegations of harassment, discrimination, and a toxic work environment unacceptable. The case could become a political problem for the Liberals, who have vowed to take action against harassment and discrimination in the military and the RCMP, and faced calls Friday to take immediate action at the spy agency. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

csis management: One of the employees is gay, three are Muslim and the other is black, according to the claim, according to CBC. The lawsuit alleges that over several years, each employee has been harassed and discriminated against by CSIS management and colleagues, on the basis of religion, race, ethnic and/or national origin, and/or sexual orientation. The five plaintiffs are all high-performing, long-term employees, according to a 54-page statement of claim filed in Federal Court on Thursday. Veil of secrecy prevents CSIS employees from speaking out, say ex-officers Among the allegations are that one employee was called fag and homo, another was told all Muslims are terrorists and another was told to complain to Allah. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service takes any allegation of inappropriate behaviour very seriously, CSIS director David Vigneault said in a statement. None of these allegations has been proven in court. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

customs enforcement: Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement Thursday that 64-year-old Kadhim Al-bumohammed kah-DHEEM al-boo-MOH-HAH-med was convicted in San Diego, California, in 1996 of a assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest in 1994, according to Metro News. The agency says Al-bumohammed also was convicted of domestic violence in Merced County, California, in 1997. Federal immigration authorities say an Iraqi Muslim man who is seeking sanctuary at an Albuquerque church is an ICE fugitive who was once convicted of assaulting a police officer. ICE says that domestic violence made him eligible for removal under U.S. law. She says there is no evidence that Al-bumohammed assaulted an officer and that case was one of mistaken identity. 10 15 a.m. Rebecca Kitson, a lawyer for Al-bumohammed, says the Albuquerque resident decided to skip his immigration hearing Thursday where he was expected to be detained. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

day freeze: The ruling Thursday was the latest twist in a long, tangled legal fight that will culminate with arguments before the nation's high court in October, according to Metro News. It could help more than 24,000 refugees who had already been vetted and approved by the United States but would have been barred by the 120-day freeze on refugee admissions, said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, a resettlement agency. The administration said Friday that it would appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court after a federal judge in Hawaii ordered it to allow in refugees formally working with a resettlement agency in the United States.U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson also vastly expanded the list of U.S. family relationships that refugees and visitors from six Muslim-majority countries can use to get into the country, including grandparents and grandchildren. Many of them had already sold all of their belongings to start their new lives in safety, she said. Citing a need to review its vetting process to ensure national security, the administration capped refugee admissions at 50,000 for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, a ceiling it hit this week. This decision gives back hope to so many who would otherwise be stranded indefinitely. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

english exam: Ads for students typically seek a young woman who has passed the International English Language Testing System IELTS required by Canadian post-secondary schools, according to CTV. On the flip side, parents of those who have passed the English exam and face paying 50,000 to 60,000 for a two-year diploma in Canada are also placing ads to find spouses willing to foot the bill. The ads are part of what some media in India are reporting is a booming industry based on families paying the travel and education expenses of students studying abroad, in exchange for marriage. Shinder Purewal, a former citizenship judge for the B.C. and Yukon region, says Canadian immigration officials are aware of the scheme but it's difficult to determine if a marriage is real or legal when all the documentation is in place and there are plenty of pictures and videos of a ceremony. It's a pretty good deal for a student who has just done high school and passed the English international exams. He says Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have already cracked down on the practice. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

july bill: In order to help develop this legislation, the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs is hearing from local residents and businesses in 10 communities across Ontario throughout July, according to CTV. Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, is a step in the right direction, especially for the under-privileged and immigrant women, said Dr. Part of the proposed bill includes hiking the minimum wage, ensuring part-time workers are paid the same hourly wage as full-time workers, introducing paid sick days for every worker and stepping up enforcement of employment laws. Sudip Minhas, executive director of Windsor Women Working With Immigrant Women. Minhas says raising minimum wage will benefit this section the most since most immigrant women work in the minimum wage category. As various studies and anecdotal information has informed us, immigrant and racialized women have been at the lowest strata of Canadian employment hierarchy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

muslim community: But for months now, this small town has been at the centre of growing controversy drawing attention across the province and even the country, according to CTV. The question should the Muslim community have its own cemetery in Saint-Apollinaire It all comes down to a vote in a local referendum on Sunday. It's not the kind of place that normally makes headlines. We knew there could be controversy, but we didn't expect it to go this far, said Mayor Bernard Ouellet, adding that it's an issue he never expected. When there is a death in the area, most Muslim families bury their loved ones near Montreal or repatriate their bodies to their birth countries. There is no Muslim-owned cemetery in Quebec City. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

remission order: The May 2016 disaster displaced more than 80,000 people in the northern Alberta city for at least a month as flames consumed one-tenth of its buildings, according to The Chronicle Herald. At that time, it was deemed in the public interest to assist in providing a quick return to normalcy for individuals whose lives were affected, many of whom were in crisis situations for long periods of time, says a note accompanying a remission order posted on the federal government's website this week. Waiving fees to replace passports and other documents lost in last year's Fort McMurray wildfire cost Ottawa almost 130,000 in forgone revenue. They experienced loss of income, employment, unanticipated out-of-pocket expenses and interim costs pending insurance and provincial assistance. The note says 626 passports, 48 permanent resident cards and 32 citizenship certificates were replaced free of charge because they were lost, damaged or destroyed. Replacement costs for the documents would have imposed an additional burden. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

seat parliament: Ramush Haradinaj, a former commander of the independence fighters, is the group's nominee as prime minister, according to Metro News. He either needs to create a coalition with another grouping or persuade individual lawmakers to support him. The biggest grouping ethnic Albanian former leaders from Kosovo's war of independence against Serbian troops in 1998-1999 holds only 39 seats in the 120-seat parliament and cannot create the new Cabinet on its own. The president is expected to call the first session of the new parliament likely next week. If the first nominee fails, the president may name a second one. Then he will nominate the prime minister. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

support karl: Support Karl on Patreon today for as little as 1 per month!It has been a long time since the Canadian labour movement has had the opportunity to applaud the actions of a Canadian federal government, according to Rabble. And yet, this past June, the Canadian Labour Congress CLC did just that, and it did so twice. Please consider supporting his work with a monthly donation. The CLC and most Canadian unions are both pleased and relieved that the Trudeau government has repealed Stephen Harper's Bills C-377 and C-525. In fact, however, it imposed costly and onerous reporting mechanisms on unions, of the sort that the government does not impose on business, or even on itself.C-525 aimed to make it harder for federally regulated workers to unionize, by requiring a secret ballot vote in addition to the existing card check system. The previous Conservative government introduced both, sneakily, as private member's bills, as we reported in this space in 2014.C-377 was disguised as an income tax measure. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian athletes: But when Canada's soccer team didn't qualify for the Rio Paralympics, Stanley, who has cerebral palsy, focused on middle distance running and last summer raced to silver in the 1,500 metres in an outstanding Paralympic debut, according to CBC. Guillaume Ouellet, 1,500, 5,000 The 30-year-old from Victoriaville, Que., is the reigning world champion in the 5,000, but narrowly missed the medal podium at last summer's Rio Paralympics. Here are five Canadian athletes to watch Liam Stanley, 800M, 1,500M The 20-year-old from Victoria was a standout soccer player who hoped to make his Paralympic debut in that sport. Ouellet was diagnosed with degenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, and took up track and field in college. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images The Calgary athlete captured his first Paralympic medal a silver last summer in Rio, and has his sights set on the podium in London. Alister McQueen, javelin Alister McQueen of Canada and Rory McSweeney of New Zealand congratulate each other after coming second and third respectively in men's javelin F44 final at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

cbc music: The Polaris winner is chosen by a large team of journalists, broadcasters and bloggers, irrespective of genre or sales, according to CTV. The winner will be announced on Sept. 18 at a gala presentation held at Toronto's Carlu. Among the 10 contenders revealed Thursday for the 50,000 award, which goes to the best album from a Canadian artist or band, are Gord Downie's Secret Path project, Leonard Cohen's final studio effort You Want It Darker and Feist's Pleasure. A webcast will be hosted by CBC Music and Aux.tv. Downie's Secret Path interprets the true story of Chanie Wenjack, a young boy who died while trying to escape a residential school, while A Tribe Called Red's pulsing We Are The Halluci Nation carries an vibrant political edge from the moment it gets underway. Here's a look at several themes that emerged from the nominees Fresh conversations were sparked in the past year over Canada's historic mistreatment of Indigenous people and the Polaris short list includes an eclectic group of artists giving voice to the issues. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

census form: I'm not sure what sort of peer review process the Fraser Institute follows, but they should be embarrassed, according to Rabble. The report and its associated news release make three dubious and related arguments One The news release leads with the alarmist and misleading claim that, between 1986 and 2011, Canada's indigenous population increased by a staggering 275 per cent. The methodology employed by Flanagan is remarkably shoddy, as I explain below. However, this merely captures how many people self-identify as having Indigenous ancestry to Statistics Canada on the Census form. The report itself acknowledges this important distinction, noting that by far the greatest growth occurred in the categories of M tis and non-status Indian -- meaning, those who identify as Indigenous but have no official status under law as Indian or Inuit. It has no connection to official status under the Indian Act or associated so-called entitlement to public benefits. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.