midnight magic: Mother Jones, a left-leaning current affairs magazine, has described her as one of the Democrats who could beat Trump in the 2020 election, and the Washington Post ran a 2015 profile with the headline Is Kamala Harris the next Barack Obama Harris's political success is no surprise to those who knew her during her teen years in Montreal, where she attended high school in Westmount, just west of downtown, according to National Observer. In a 1981 yearbook from Westmount High School, the then-16 year old Harris described her favourite pastime as dancing with Midnight Magic, a dance troupe she founded with her friend Wanda Kagan. Kamala Harris does not publicly embrace speculation about her 2020 intentions, some online betting websites have put her at the front of the pack to lead the Democratic party into the next election. We performed in community centres in front of elderly people or danced at fundraisers, Kagan told The Canadian Press. After graduation, Harris moved to the United States and the childhood friends lost touch, Kagan said. Outside of our studies, dance took up a lot of our time. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

singh: To build a public identity that captured his essence, Singh reached far outside the world of seasoned political veterans, according to National Observer. Instead, he approached the somewhat obscure Skyrocket, a boutique Vancouver branding agency co-founded by Mo Dhaliwal.A novice to federal politics, Dhaliwal is better known as a nationally recognized and award-winning arts and diversity advocate, curator, and former chair of the B.C. government's multicultural advisory council. Engineered with a dedicated strategy and ground-game, Singh's campaign was marked from the outset by a disciplined and unwavering commitment to his key identity marker, With Love and Courage. ; That framing went viral when Jagmeet Singh was captured on film calmly citing his mantra when confronted by a racist heckler during the campaign. National Observer caught up with Mo Dhaliwal to talk about how a complete outsider constructed the public identity of Jagmeet Singh for Canadians. How did you connect with Jagmeet Singh's campaign, and how did the process of creating his public identity work There is an amazing circle of people around Jagmeet, his brother Gurratan, and many others, and they're quite familiar with my body of work. The following is an edited transcript of the interview Mo, you're not known as a political operator. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

european colonialism: One wore a hooded white sheet, according to Metro News. They spoke out before being escorted away Sunday. Two of the three protesters were dressed in fake chains. The New York Police Department says one person was arrested.A movement to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day is gaining momentum. They say eliminating their festival of ethnic pride is culturally insensitive. But the gesture to recognize victims of European colonialism also has outraged Italian-Americans. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mannan hamrasho: Syrian refugees here in Winnipeg are putting on a Thanksgiving party to thank the community for supporting them. cbcmb Austin Grabish When they were in trouble .. different people from this neighbourhood give them a hand in order to support them, said Maysoun Darweesh, a volunteer with the Kurdish Initiative for Refugees who helped organize Saturday's event, according to CBC. Speaking through a translator last month, Mannan Hamrasho told CBC News in recent months he had been beaten by a man who robbed him. Syrian refugees targeted by hateful graffiti Members of Syrian family targeted by graffiti say they have been beaten, threatened The family, along with others from Winnipeg's Syrian community, invited North End residents and everyone who passed by their home to join them for a Thanksgiving meal Syrian style. Bear Clan members came out to dance with Syrian families Saturday evening Travis Golby/CBC On another occasion, he said kids threatened his children who said we'll burn your life and we'll put fire in your house. The family was never able to confirm if the fire was connected to the threats, but the Bear Clan Patrol ramped up patrols in the area in light of graffiti that told the family to go home. A house next door to the Hamrasho home caught fire shortly after that and it was so severe a window in the Hamrasho home blew out. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

marginalized communities: We know that poor people are often treated differently.'- Nathalie Des Rosiers If passed, the legislation would add the four new areas of rights protection to the code and give anyone discriminated against recourse they currently don't have at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, according to CBC. Des Rosiers, a former human rights lawyer, said the code as it stands has gaps and doesn't fully protect many of the province's residents, especially those in poor or marginalized communities. The private member's bill, tabled by Liberal legislator Nathalie Des Rosiers, would expand and modernize Ontario's human rights code which was first established in 1962. In my view, Ontario must have a Human Rights Code that addresses fully the new types of discrimination that Ontarians may feel and may face, she said. Combating negative stereotyping Des Rosiers said the changes would bring Ontario's Human Rights Code in line with other codes across Canada and around the world. The purpose of this bill is to recognize there is a role for government in ensuring we respond proactively to discrimination, she added. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

narrowcast views: Indeed, a ruling downtown ethic is the hallmark of many an art scene the world over; art as an urban feature, to be blunt, has become the stamp of many a civic branding campaign Nuit Blanche, I'm looking at you . Such narrowcast views serve an agenda of convenience difference is messy; breadth, however capacious, can never be broad enough, according to Toronto Star. Tight parameters based on longstanding boundaries keep things both tidy and self-affirming, and the casual exclusions they beget have rarely been a point of concern to anyone on the comfortable side of things. The art world, here and elsewhere, hasn't been overly reflective of this simple fact. Aside from being blithely heartless, such notions are also a cheat to audiences who deserve more. A sky-high real estate market has made the downtown core increasingly unfriendly to cultural activity, let alone a landscape of difference; our city's much-vaunted diversity exists less and less within the boundaries of the city centre, and more and more in the blossoming communities in its far orbit. Toronto now is not Toronto of any recently imaginable then. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

policies democrats: Many were policies Democrats have said explicitly are off the table and threaten to derail ongoing negotiations over legislation protecting young immigrants known as Dreamers, according to CTV. They had been given a reprieve from deportation and the ability to work legally in the country under President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, which Trump ended last month. Trump's list of demands included overhauling the country's green-card system, a crackdown on unaccompanied minors entering the country, and building his promised wall along the southern border. In a letter to House and Senate leaders released by the White House, Trump said the priorities were the product of a a bottom-up review of all immigration policies that he had ordered to determine what legislative reforms are essential for America's economic and national security. Trump announced last month that he was ending the DACA program, but he gave Congress six months to come up with a legislative fix before recipients began to lose their status. These findings outline reforms that must be included as part of any legislation addressing the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DACA recipients, he wrote, adding that Without these reforms, illegal immigration and chain migration, which severely and unfairly burden American workers and taxpayers, will continue without end. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

code: If passed, the legislation would add the four new areas of rights protection to the code and give anyone discriminated against recourse they currently don't have at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, according to Toronto Star. Des Rosiers, a former human rights lawyer, said the code as it stands has gaps and doesn't fully protect many of the province's residents, especially those in poor or marginalized communities. The private member's bill, tabled by Liberal legislator Nathalie Des Rosiers, would expand and modernize Ontario's human rights code which was first established in 1962. In my view, Ontario must have a Human Rights Code that addresses fully the new types of discrimination that Ontarians may feel and may face, she said. Article Continued Below Des Rosiers said the changes would bring Ontario's Human Rights Code in line with other codes across Canada and around the world. The purpose of this bill is to recognize there is a role for government in ensuring we respond proactively to discrimination, she added. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

turkish nationality: It said the measures would apply to e-visas, visas issued at borders and visas in passports, according to CBC. This week, Turkish authorities arrested a U.S. Consulate employee of Turkish nationality for alleged links to the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government blames for last summer's failed coup. Statement from the U.S. Mission to Turkey USEmbassy Turkey The Turkish Embassy in Washington responded with a similar statement on Twitter later Sunday and said it would reassess the commitment of the Government of the United States to the security of Turkish mission facilities and personnel. Gulen denies involvement. Turkey's official Anadolu news agency reported this week that he allegedly communicated with former police chiefs in a 2013 corruption probe, 121 people involved in the attempted coup and hundreds of people using an encrypted mobile messaging application. Statement from the Turkish Mission to the U.S., October 8, 2017 Turkish Embassy Metin Topuz is accused of espionage and attempting to overthrow the Turkish government and constitution. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

unity debates: The Conservative party, formerly the Reform Party, trod that road in its infancy, according to National Observer. It was a road better left abandoned, Trudeau stated in the post. Aside from its being intellectually dishonest, the reflexive stoking of regional tensions is a political dead end. Trudeau also pointed out that when Energy East was first proposed, the global supply of crude was relatively tight. Let's not go backwards, simply because speaking from anger is an easy response to disappointing news, Trudeau said. He ended the post with a warning that festering regional tensions bound the country in paralyzing unity debates from the 1970s through the 1990s. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

assembly session: She made the statement at Dhaka airport on her return from New York after attending the U.N. General Assembly session, according to Metro News. The U.N. has described the violence in Myanmar as ethnic cleansing. Hasina said the government was pursuing a plan to build temporary shelters for the Rohingya on an island with the help of international aid agencies whom she praised for their support. Hasina accused Myanmar of creating tensions at the border, but said she has asked the country's security forces to deal with the crisis very carefully. More than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims have crossed over to Bangladesh since late August, when Myanmar security forces responded to militant attacks with a broad crackdown that witnesses and rights groups say has included killing and arson. They pretended like they wanted a war, she said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

citizen party: The 38-year-old Mikhnevich, who is a co-founder of the Cyprus-based international game developer Wargaming, said some notable figures' criticism of Turkey whose 1974 invasion in the wake of a coup by supporters of union with Greece split the island along ethnic lines borders on hate speech, according to Metro News. Mikhnevich said most of the 30,000 Russians who live in Cyprus are politically passive. Ivan Mikhnevich, a Belarusian who holds Cypriot citizenship, said the I the Citizen party seeks to keep the island's politics on a centrist trajectory after its founders saw political discourse drifting toward the ultra-right and left. But it was the 2016 election of two far-right lawmakers that prompted a core group of Russian Cypriots to get involved in domestic politics. He said the party has rallied many Greek Cypriots to its cause with membership approaching 1,000. Mikhnevich insisted I the Citizen is primarily a Cypriot party not intent on protecting the interests of Russians living in Cyprus. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

dixie road: Though the cause of the fire is unknown, it occurred just a few hours after an unidentified man threatened a family that lived in one of the townhouse complex's units, according to CTV. Khaled Alawad told CP24 that the man showed up at his door at around 5 p.m. and accused him of stealing a bike. The blaze broke out behind the complex on Bloor Street near Dixie Road at around 2 15 a.m. and then quickly spread to adjoining units through the roof of the structure. Alawad said he explained to the man that he has owned the bike for six months but couldn't reason with him. I called 9-11. He said the man then made some disparaging remarks about Syrians and refugees and attempted to push open his door. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

japanese-canadians: Over 80 Japanese-Canadians lived in the Langham building in pretty rough conditions, a lot of small rooms with people crammed, said the society's executive director, Paul Grace-Campbell, according to CBC. Campbell told CBC On The Coast guest host Gloria Macarenko the events over the weekend are a chance to reflect on what happened, learn from the past and start a discussion about Canada's future. '1064788035563', 'playlist Selector' 'container Selector' ' container48085848', 'ciid' 'caffeine14345200' ; It's very important to remember what happened to Japanese-Canadians and also to look at it in the context of what is going on now globally, Grace-Campbell said. Roughly, 1,100 of them were interned in Kaslo, B.C. This weekend, the community is remembering the era with discussion and reflection at Kaslo's Langham Cultural Society. 75th anniversary of Japanese-Canadian internment camps echoes as fears of Islamophobia rise Lynne Kutsukake on a lesser-known part of Japanese-Canadian history The Langham building, where the society and a museum are located, was home for some of the people interned during the war. Globally, in terms of immigration policies and migration movements around the world, Grace-Campbell said, but also in the context of Canada's own multicultural history. Living memory Grace-Campbell said the internment and its aftermath had a significant impact on the community. It's always important to bring experts out, and people who have experience and to discuss multiculturalism and what that means for Canada, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

police department: The anonymous author purported to be a parent and suggested firing an unnamed worker because of her skin colour, according to CTV. Township police chief Michael Marks said he has never seen a letter so offensive in his 20 years of police work, and whoever sent it could face harassment and ethnic intimidation charges. The Bridge 2 Creative Leaning Center in Whitehall Township received an envelope Tuesday containing letters addressed to the owner and a worker, The Allentown Morning Call reported. It's disturbing. This is something we as a police department are going to take very seriously. This is not something you want to see in your community, Marks said, adding that there have been no similar incidents reported in the township. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

saskatchewan weekend: Aubree Worobetz has been a dancer with the group for 10 years, according to CBC. Ukrainian multicultural dance felt 'tokenistic', says Indigenous dancer You know Ukrainian culture has always been a really strong part of my life. The Ukrainian group has danced its way into the heart of audiences in Canada and beyond and on Saturday, its throwing a party to celebrate its 50 years of artistry. My older sister actually danced in the group before me and so seeing a family member just dance so wonderfully in the ensemble was very much inspiration enough to join, she told CBC-Radio's Saskatchewan Weekend. Supplied/Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble It's a great expression of Ukrainian culture. Over the years the group has performed a mix of traditional Ukrainian dances, as well as pieces that rely on music from regions in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

serbian town: Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership but at the same time is edging closer to longtime Slavic ally Russia, according to Metro News. The time of shame is gone. The remarks by Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin illustrate Serbia's increasing defiance of the West. It's time for a quiet pride, Vulin said in the central Serbian town of Nis. Vladimir Lazarevic, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a U.N. war crimes tribunal for atrocities committed by Serb troops in Kosovo during NATO's bombardment, which stopped the crackdown. He was flanked by former Gen. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

way: A network of express bike paths would separate cyclists from traffic, coming at a price tag of 25 million per year over the next ten year, according to CTV. Plante was not specific on the location or the timeframe of the bike path, but promised there would be a public consultation to establish it. The Projet Montreal leader called Clement Ouimet's death unacceptable, saying if she is elected, the party would establish a cycling expressway. We will be investing time, energy and money in securing the bike path and we want to create and express bike network. With the express bike path, it will be a good way to make sure to make sure there are fewer collisions, she said. This way, all the 116,000 people that commute every day using their bikes can do it in a safer way. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

border security: Also to be pursued was an overhaul of the green card system to prevent extended family members, including siblings and adult children, from joining permanent residents in the U.S. The White House was expected to endorse principles of the Davis-Oliver bill, which aims to give local law enforcement officials the power to enforce immigration laws and allow states to write their own immigration legislation, according to Metro News. The White House was also expected to call for billions of dollars in funding for border security, more immigrant detention beds and immigration judges. The principles, according to people familiar with ongoing discussions, were expected to include elements of proposed legislation that would dramatically reduce legal immigration rates. It remained unclear whether the principles, which were expected to be announced in the coming days, would serve as a broad immigration wish-list or specific demands the White House expected in exchange for signing legislation for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Under a phase-out plan announced last month by President Donald Trump, more than 150,000 young people covered by DACA, often known as Dreamers, whose permits were set to expire before March 5 were given the chance to submit renewals provided they arrived by midnight Thursday. It shielded from deportation hundreds of thousands of young people, many of whom were brought into the U.S. illegally as children, and allowed them to work legally in the country. Trump gave Congress six months to come up with a legislative replacement for the program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

chinese vegetables: She tapped into her own commnunity to find success in Vancouver's rapidly growing local-food scene, according to Metro News. We grow Chinese vegetables, so a lot of our customers are Chinese because they want those organic Asian greens which you can't really find anywhere here, said Chiu. function set Cookie related path / ; Related Vancouver's suburban malls become community hubs for newcomers Vancouver Chinatown's cultural food businesses struggle to survive report Character homes, Chinatown top list of most endangered Vancouver heritage When you go to farmers' markets, you don't see a lot of baby bok choy or gai lan or choy sum, which is what I want to grow because that's what I eat as a staple green at home. The 28-year-old started her half-an-acre farm in Richmond, called Riverside Farm, after completing farm school at Kwantlen Polytechnic University two years ago. But growing Chinese greens, known as choy, in the Lower Mainland is not new. Even today, some Chinese households continue to cultivate vegetable gardens in their yards, especially in East Vancouver neighbourhoods. In fact, more than 90 per cent of produce grown in the Lower Mainland in the 1920s was cultivated by Chinese farmers in a system segregated by racist policies of the time, according to historian Kay Anderson, author of Vancouver's Chinatown. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

christian university: President Donald Trump's eldest son said his father was criticized only because of an atmosphere of hatred on the left that the younger Trump blamed on liberal university campuses and traditional media, according to The Chronicle Herald. He condemned ... the white nationalists and the left-wingers, Trump Jr. said during the annual fundraising gala for Faulkner University, a private Christian university in Alabama. Donald Trump Jr. on Thursday stood by his father's declarations that both sides were to blame after August's racially driven violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a white supremacist killed a counter-protester. That should not have been controversial, but it was. He mentioned antifa, far-left-leaning militant groups that call themselves anti-fascist, for outbursts in Berkeley, California. Trump Jr., who was paid as Faulkner's keynote speaker, went on to cite examples of violence on the left. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

citizen survey: The annual quantitative surveys done until last year had showed a decline in the perception among Calgarians that the city is a safe place to live, the commission says, according to CBC. Calgary police seen as less competent, fair and ethical in 2016 citizen survey The Calgary Police Commission wanted to dig deeper to find out what was driving the trend, so it commissioned a qualitative consultation instead of the annual survey, it said. The 2017 Citizen Consultation Research Report, based on online consultations conducted by Illumina Research Partners, gives a valuable snapshot of perspectives about safety and policing in our city, the commission said in a release on Friday. The online community consultation format allows participants to communicate in their own words how they feel about safety, crime, and the Calgary Police Service, and why they hold particular views, the final report says, while noting that the results are not statistically projectable to the population at large. More than 100 Calgarians from all eight police districts took part in the moderator-led online bulletin board discussions, which included in-depth probing of participants to understand different perspectives and why people feel or behave a certain way. According to the report, the participants' perception that Calgary is safe has eroded because of a perceived increase in crime, the economic downturn, changing demographics, media coverage and the growth of the city. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

drives guineans: After a de-facto amnesty on deportations between 2013 and 2016, requests for asylum by Guineans have been refused en masse since December, according to Rabble. According to the Refugee and Immigration Board, 10 Guineans in Canada have had their asylum rejected since June 30. The protesters called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to live up to his Welcome to Canada rhetoric and allow asylum seekers from the small West African nation to stay. Sixty-three claimants from the impoverished country are currently pending. Certainly, in a number of ways, this country has contributed to the impoverishment that drives Guineans to seek a better life elsewhere.A handful of Canadian mining companies operate in the small West African nation and to strengthen their hand Ottawa signed a Foreign Investment and Protection Agreement with Guinea in 2015. Rally organizers cited corporate Canada's exploitation of the mineral rich nation as a rationale for why asylum seekers should be allowed to stay. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigrants: In the late 80s and 90s, developers built indoor malls in Metro Vancouver's growing suburbs with the region's influx of East Asian immigrants in mind, according to Metro News. Richmond has the most, with malls like Yaohan, Parker Place and Aberdeen Centre, named after a Hong Kong area. The destination every possible Asian mall, said Yu. For about three decades, the malls, filled with mostly mom-and-pops, supplied the local diaspora with what they're used to from overseas. These malls offer immigrants like Yu's mother an easier time transitioning to life in Canada, from overseas goods to the ability to speak in their mother tongue.A favourite of immigrants and locals alike are the mall's diverse food courts, with everything from Shanghai soup buns to Xinjiang skewers. You'll find stalls scooping rice and noodles out of vats for homemakers and parties, mountains of East Asian soaps and films on DVD and surprises like pig roasting, music schools and a Chinese Christian centre.A go-to place for Yu's mother was a store in Burnaby's Crystal Mall that sold ginseng and tofu. function set Cookie related path / ; Related Urbanite finds success growing organic choy for Vancouver market Vancouver Chinatown's cultural food businesses struggle to survive report Character homes, Chinatown top list of most endangered Vancouver heritage The owners always remembered her, said Yu. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration division: While your posts may not be criminal, I cannot pretend that they do not exist, according to Toronto Star. Nor can I ignore the impact that I think they are likely to have on those who read them and in turn on the Canadian public, Cook told Hamdan. Adjudicator Trent Cook of the board's immigration division said Thursday in an oral ruling that Othman Hamdan's behaviour and online activity make it necessary to keep him incarcerated pending the outcome of an immigration review. In my view, anyone who actively promotes and calls on people to engage in terrorist activity is engaging in behaviour and conduct that puts the Canadian public in danger, regardless of if that conduct meets the standard necessary to obtain a criminal conviction. Article Continued Below Hamdan, 35, is a Jordanian national of Palestinian descent who came to B.C. after living in the United States and was granted refugee status following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.A B.C. Supreme Court judge found Hamdan not guilty in September of allegations of encouraging murder, assault, and instructing a person to carry out a terrorist activity, ruling that Hamdan's comments might be offensive but they didn't constitute inciting terrorism. A date has not yet been set for Hamdan's admissibility hearing to determine if he should remain in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration review: While your posts may not be criminal, I cannot pretend that they do not exist, according to CTV. Nor can I ignore the impact that I think they are likely to have on those who read them and in turn on the Canadian public, Cook told Hamdan. Adjudicator Trent Cook of the board's immigration division said Thursday in an oral ruling that Othman Hamdan's behaviour and online activity make it necessary to keep him incarcerated pending the outcome of an immigration review. In my view, anyone who actively promotes and calls on people to engage in terrorist activity is engaging in behaviour and conduct that puts the Canadian public in danger, regardless of if that conduct meets the standard necessary to obtain a criminal conviction. Hamdan, 35, is a Jordanian national of Palestinian descent who came to B.C. after living in the United States and was granted refugee status following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A date has not yet been set for Hamdan's admissibility hearing to determine if he should remain in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.