skin tone: The outfits often involve racial stereotypes and even include darkening your skin tone as part of the makeup, according to CTV. The results of the poll say that 30 percent of Albertans think it's okay for their kids to dress up as ethnic stereotypes and 44 percent think that darkening your skin to match the ethnicity of the costume is perfectly okay too. A poll, by Insight West, shows that Alberta is the one province in Canada that is more likely to embrace culturally insensitive or just plain offensive costumes. Balwinder Marwaha, who runs the Halloween Alley store in southeast Calgary, says he stocks a number of the questionable costumes. Jessie Loyer, an indigenous expert at Mount Royal University, opposes the idea. As long as they fit and they represent, they don't disrespect that culture or religion; we'll bring those costumes into the stores because people want them. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

star newsroom: Before the latest census numbers were released earlier this week, one question kept coming up in the Star newsroom Would the data show that Toronto, for the first time, had become a visible minority majority city If that was the case, reporters and editors would have to be ready, according to Toronto Star. Statistics Canada gives advance notice about what will be released when, which gives newsrooms a chance to plan. This week, we look at how the Star put together its coverage of the recent release of 2016 census data. But, without data available beforehand, editors and reporters do their best to plan for the kind of coverage they think will be needed. The 2011 National Household Survey found that 49 per cent of those living in Toronto identified as a visible minority, so editors were on the lookout for a change in that number in 2016. With the return of the mandatory long-form census after a 10-year absence, an accurate look at the city's ethnic makeup was once again a possibility. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

suicide bomber: That is when it exploded, killing the soldier, Capain Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan, and two Iraqis who stood nearby, according to Rabble. Khan was a Muslim-American, killed by a suicide bomber who was likely of the same faith. A U.S. Army officer who was on watch saw it and ran forward toward the vehicle. He was laid to rest in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, along with thousands of others killed in the so-called Global War on Terror. Then the openly racist presidential campaign of Donald Trump swept them into the center of a political storm. His family privately mourned their loss daily, frequently visiting his gravesite. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

union: Police quickly surrounded it and arrested the man, according to Metro News. Brea Police Chief Jack Conklin said none of the demonstrators sought first aid but the SEIU United Service Workers West union later released a statement saying six people were taken to a hospital for evaluation. A man drove his car through marchers Thursday at an immigrant rights rally, with one demonstrator jumping on the hood as the car lurched forward and then stopped. The union helped organize the protest and President David Huerta said the four union members and two staff were victims of what appears to be a deliberate and hateful crime. I think he was trying to get through the crowd, Lt. Police disputed that. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

war dept: It also contradicts Trudeau's October 25 public declaration that nobody, ever, deserves to be tortured, according to Rabble. Readers may recall the infamous Harper-era torture memos of 2011 that allowed a range of government agencies, including the Canadian Security Intelligence Service CSIS the Royal Canadian Mounted Police RCMP Canadian Border Services Agency CBSA the Communications Security Establishment CSE and the War Dept. to trade information with torturers. This barbaric decision the kind smug Liberals would like to think is more appropriate to the Donald Trumps and Stephen Harpers of the world is part of the Trudeau team's efforts to pretty up the dangerous C-51 anti-terrorism act that they supported while in opposition. Such memos placed the Canadian government in contravention of legally binding commitments against complicity in torture. Instead, Goodale will continue to build on the concept of torture controls, which require the creation and maintenance of a bureaucratic torture infrastructure dedicated to determining who gets tortured, under what circumstances, and who is provided immunity for engaging in such illegality. But in a classic Liberal solution, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale decided in September, via a series of new memos, to continue defying the absolute prohibition on torture. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

board member: Dawn Russell, president of St, according to National Observer. Thomas University in Fredericton and a board member of Universities Canada, said that includes conducting surveys of member schools to collect data on how universities are currently doing on diversity issues and setting benchmarks that will be updated and reported on regularly. Presidents of about 60 schools that are members of Universities Canada voted to adopt the principles which include a commitment to identify and remove barriers for women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples and people with disabilities when it comes to university hiring practices, leadership roles and the student body. Data on diversity on Canadian campuses is limited, with many schools choosing not to collect data at all on the gender or race of their students and employees. He said universities have done a lot of work to help admit and ensure students with disabilities graduate, but they can now step that effort up with help to give those students jobs. ; One of the great successes of universities is that a lot of young students with disabilities are graduating from universities but these students have a 50 per cent unemployment rate, which is significantly different than their able-bodied counterparts, Hansen said in an interview. Hansen said universities are one of the best places to take the lead on making Canada a country where accommodating disabilities is not just seen as the charitable thing to do but as an initiative with massive economic and social benefits. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian: Previously, they founded the Canadian Arabic Orchestra and the Mississauga-based Canadian Arabic Conservatory of Music, according to NOW Magazine. As soon as we start exposing this Arabic music more, and showing it to the Canadian public, more and more people will start to attend the concerts, Audeh says. Their inaugural Festival of Arabic Music & Arts, running from October 28 to November 12, is the couple's latest project to this end. The festival brings together international and local artists, both Arab and non-Arab, for concerts, stand-up comedy, theatre and more. Ilham Al-Madfai & Sultans of String Three-time Juno nominees Sultans of String will no doubt be a familiar name to some. Audeh, who calls this two-week festival a dream come true, runs us through five performances you won't want to miss. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

desmond cole: November 18, 9 30 am to 5 30 pm, according to NOW Magazine. Isabel Bader Theatre. Speakers include Naomi Klein, Andr Alexis, Desmond Cole, Camilla Gibb and more. Tickets 15- 25, available here. Our country rests at the centre of numerous ongoing global issues, from the international refugee crisis to the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations. Canada is at an important moment in time. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

shannon phillips: Her comments come in the wake of a National Energy Board analysis that concluded Canadians' fossil fuel consumption will peak in 2019 and then decline, according to National Observer. This is a province that is up to the challenge, I can't think of any province that is more up to the challenge ... as long as there are policies in place that ensure that we understand climate change is real, action on climate change is real in the rest of the world, and it is our job to work together with our partners in industry and in civil society and in Indigenous communities and elsewhere to ensure we are resilient to the changes that are to come. The world will need energy for generations to come and Alberta is the producer of that energy... Shannon Phillips said Friday. Alberta's oilsands region in the northern part of the province are considered to be part of the world's third largest reserves of crude oil after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. This makes production more costly than more conventional forms of oil and also means that extraction leaves a larger environmental footprint. But the region's tar-like heavy oil, found beneath the boreal forest in the northern part of the province, requires huge amounts of energy and water to produce. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

cheema doesn: His 29-year-old wife Gurpreet Kaur, originally from India, was found dead in an apartment on Deguire St. in Saint-Laurent one day after he was seen hastily leaving the home, according to CTV. He then dropped off his two children 20 days and 18 months old at the time at a friend's house in Park Extension and never returned home, police said. Harinder Singh Cheema was arrested in San Francisco in July 2015. Cheema doesn't deny having killed his wife, and during opening statements Thursday, both the prosecution and defence stated as much. In court on Thursday, family friend Rangvinder Singh testified that the couple, both recent immigrants, were struggling. However Cheema has pleaded not guilty to murder and his defence attorney has not yet revealed what the legal strategy will be in this case. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

citizenship canada: How much longer is anyone's guess, according to CBC. The Kensington Area Refugee Sponsorship Initiative said it submitted its application in 2016 to sponsor a refugee family, currently living in Turkey. They're still waiting. Where are our families ' Refugee sponsor groups frustrated by delays This week, it received a letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada stating it could be another seven to eight months for their application to be fully processed. KARSI says it spent several months collecting donations to prepare for the arrival of a refugee family from Turkey. Furthermore, the group says the family has not yet been processed for any medical or security checks or participated in formal interviews, which the group said can be a lengthy process depending on what they find out when the process starts. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

corpus christi: Tuesday when Border Patrol agents stopped the ambulance she was riding in, her family said, according to Toronto Star. The agents allowed her to continue to Driscoll Children's Hospital, the family said, but followed the ambulance the rest of the way there, then waited outside her room until she was released from the hospital. The girl, Rosamaria Hernandez, who was brought over the border illegally to live in Laredo, Texas, when she was 3 months old, was being transferred from a medical centre in Laredo to a hospital in Corpus Christi around 2 a.m. By Wednesday evening, according to family members and advocates involved in her case, immigration agents had taken her to a facility in San Antonio where migrant children who arrive alone in the United States from Central America are usually held, even though her parents, who both lack legal status, live 240 kilometres away in Laredo. But it is rare, if not unheard-of, for a child already living in the United States to be arrested particularly one with a serious medical condition. Her placement there highlighted the unusual circumstances of her case The federal government maintains detention centres for adult immigrants it plans to deport, facilities for families who arrive at the border together and shelters for children who come by themselves, known as unaccompanied minors. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hernandez family: Leticia Gonzalez, an attorney for the Hernandez family, said Thursday that Rosa Maria was taken with a cousin from the Texas border city of Laredo to a children's hospital in Corpus Christi, about 150 miles 240 kilometres away, according to Metro News. They had to pass through one of several Border Patrol checkpoints set up in South Texas, north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Immigration advocates are protesting Rosa Maria Hernandez's case and say Border Patrol should show more discretion in the cases of sick children who are in the U.S. illegally but need medical treatment. Advocates say the interior checkpoints, many of them miles north of the Rio Grande, restrict the movement of people without legal status out of the region. At the hospital, agents stood by and refused to let Rosa Maria's relative close the door to their room so they could keep watch over the girl, Gonzalez said. Gonzalez said Border Patrol agents allowed the girl and her cousin to pass, but followed the hospital vehicle taking them. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

cent: In New Brunswick, however, only 4.6 per cent of residents were born outside Canada, barely an increase from 4.5 per cent in 2011, according to CBC. Just over 9,000 immigrants arrived in New Brunswick in that time-frame. The 2016 census numbers show that immigrants in Canada have reached their highest level in almost a century, making up 21.9 per cent of the population. Immigration paperwork interrupts 'happily ever after' for Harvey couple Give cities bigger role in immigration, N.B. advocate tells MPs 21.9% of Canadians are immigrants, the highest share in 85 years Stats Can That's a sign we're doing the right things and the investments are working, that more people are attracted to New Brunswick and more people are staying, said Alex LeBlanc, executive director of New Brunswick's Multicultural Council. The national proportion is five times that, according to the most recent Statistics Canada data. We're really just taking steps in this direction towards growing our population the time for steps has passed and really New Brunswick needs to take leaps towards growing our population. 'If we're not all rowing in the same direction, people might have negative experiences when they come, and choose to move elsewhere.' -Alex LeBlanc Across Atlantic Canada, immigrants make up 4.8 per cent of the population. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

leadership roles: Presidents of about 60 schools voted to adopt the principles which include a commitment to identify and remove barriers for women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples and people with disabilities when it comes to university hiring practices, leadership roles and the student body, according to The Chronicle Herald. SURVEY A new survey released today shows Canadian doctors are increasingly being asked about medically assisted death for children. Rick Hansen, a former paralympian whose foundation is devoted to making the world a more accessible place, spoke to the presidents in Ottawa on Wednesday. The Canadian Paediatric Society says about 40 per cent of the 2,600 doctors it asked to participate responded to the survey. Nine reported receiving explicit requests for assisted death from minors. It says 35 pediatricians reported having exploratory discussions with patients under the age of 18 in the preceding year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

cent: Total income was 26 per cent lower for visible minorities than non-visible minorities and 25 per cent lower for Indigenous Canadians than non-Indigenous Canadians, according to Toronto Star. But recent immigrants many of whom are also visible minorities face the toughest economic challenge with total incomes that fall 37 per cent below total incomes for Canadians born here, the data shows. The income gap for these groups barely budged between 2006 and 2016, narrowing by just two percentage points for Indigenous Canadians and recent immigrants and widening by one percentage point for visible minorities, according to census data released Wednesday. It means for every dollar in the pocket of someone born in Canada, a recent immigrant has just 63 cents. In Toronto, more than 55 per cent of visible minority residents were living on less than 30,000 in 2016 compared to fewer than 40 per cent of the rest of the city's population, according to census data provided to the Star. Article Continued Below More than 22 per cent of Canadians including 51.5 per cent of Torontonians reported being from a visible minority community in 2016, up from 16.3 per cent nationally in 2006. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

opposition stronghold: While most of Kenya was peaceful, voter turnout was relatively low even in some regions considered to be strongholds for President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was declared the winner of an Aug. 8 election that later was nullified by the Supreme Court in a decision seen as precedent-setting for Africa, according to CTV. Polling stations in some areas supporting opposition leader Raila Odinga didn't open at all because of sporadic unrest in which police fired bullets and tear gas at stone-throwing protesters who heeded his call for a boycott and maintained the election was not credible. At least four people were killed. Voting in four counties, including the opposition stronghold of Kisumu, will be held Saturday, said Wafula Chebukati, chairman of Kenya's electoral commission. It said another person was shot dead in Homa Bay in western Kenya when hundreds of people tried to force their way into a police base. A police statement late Thursday said one person died of a gunshot wound in Kisumu County when about 300 people stormed into a vote counting centre. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

quay kelly: Originally she had a cough that sounded like a cold, but it wouldn't go away, said Emma Kelly, who lives with Bennett on Queen's Quay, according to Metro News. Kelly said her housemate, who lost both her parents at a young age, came to Canada on a work visa some 18 months ago. That's the harsh reality faced by Irishwoman Leeanne Bennett, 27, who was in the process of pursuing her Canadian permanent residency when she received a shock lung cancer diagnosis in recent weeks. She was lucky the disease was spotted, after doctors in Canada and Ireland where she had briefly returned for a holiday initially diagnosed a chest infection and bronchitis, respectively. In the end, she was babysitting for a family friend here in Canada who happens to be a doctor, and they pushed her to get tested quicker. She was planning to wait for further tests in January 2018. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

resident status: That's according to census data released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday, according to Metro News. It seems Alberta is particularly appealing the percentage of recent immigrants to Canada who chose to live here rose from 6.9 per cent in 2001 to 17.1 per cent in 2016. Over the past 15 years, the number of recent immigrants meaning someone who got their landed immigrant or permanent resident status in the last five years who have moved to western provinces has more than doubled. That's the biggest increase in the western provinces. These days, that's no longer the case. Erick Ambtman, executive director of the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, said in the past, his organization always spoke about how newcomers settled in the big three cities Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

solidarity dinner: President Trump has directed me to go to the Middle East in late December, Pence said in a keynote speech delivered at In Defence of Christians' annual solidarity dinner for Christians in the Middle East, according to The Chronicle Herald. He promised that, one of the messages that I will bring on the president's behalf to leaders across the region is that now is the time to bring an end to the persecution of Christians and all religious minorities. Pence discussed his plans at a religious dinner in Washington, where he stressed the Trump administration's commitment to helping Christian minority groups across the Middle East. Pence also announced Wednesday that President Donald Trump had directed his State Department to pull U.S. funding from ineffective United Nations programs aimed at addressing persecuted and displaced religious minority communities, and redirect that money to programs run by the United States Agency for International Development, as well as faith-based groups and private organizations. From this day forward, America will provide support directly to persecuted communities through USAID, said Pence. Pence complained that Christians and other persecuted people in the Middle East have not been getting the relief they need, and accused the U.N. of having too often failed to help the most vulnerable communities, especially religious minorities. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

typeof b: By contrast, more than twice as many of the immigrants who arrived in P.E.I. before 2001 live outside of the capital city as live in it. if undefined typeof b in The pattern matches what is happening nationally, with immigrants attracted to the cities, according to CBC. More than half of all the country's immigrants live in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. P.E.I. immigration growing at fastest rate in the country 2016 census numbers released Wednesday by Statistics Canada show 2,180 of the immigrants who arrived between 2011 and 2016 lived in Charlottetown on July 1, 2016, and just 1,180 chose to live in the rest of the province. On census day, 48 per cent of P.E.I.'s immigrants lived in Charlottetown. if undefined typeof b in Earlier this year the provincial government announced a program to try to attract more immigrants to rural parts of the Island. MORE P.E.I. NEWS IRAC reviewing application to build Ultramar gas station near Maypoint roundaboutMORE P.E.I. NEWS A quicker, but smaller potato harvest on the Island this year (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

u.s.-mexico border: Having a baby, her lawyers say, was not part of her plans, according to Toronto Star. But she was detained at the U.S.-Mexico border and, after a medical examination, told that she was pregnant. She dreamed of studying nursing and, someday, caring for senior citizens. She tried to schedule an abortion, but the Trump administration blocked her, prompting a lawsuit in federal court. I'm not ready to be a parent, she said in a statement provided by her lawyers. Early Wednesday, after an appeals court ruling in her favour, the teenager identified as Jane Doe in court papers left a federally funded Texas shelter, where she had been kept under close watch, and terminated her pregnancy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

bna act: His daughter and several grandchildren lived at the camp for three months, according to NOW Magazine. Indigenous leader and activist Arthur Manuel died unexpectedly earlier this year just as he was wrapping up work on his recently released book, The Reconciliation Manifesto, Recovering The Land, Rebuilding The Economy with co-author Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson . Naomi Klein, who delivered the eulogy at Manuel's funeral at Adams Lake Indian Band Community Centre on January 15, 2017 and also contributed the preface to Manuel's book praises Manuel as a formidable activist and brilliant teacher. He visited the camp twice in 2016. In this excerpt, Manuel writes about how the BNA Act that created Canada set the young country on the path to a race-based democracy. Colonialism is not a behaviour that can be superficially changed by a prime minister professing sunny ways. Canada, as a society, is still in denial about its historical and current colonialism when it comes to Indigenous peoples, and how the country is still largely based on the white supremacism of its founding document, the British North America BNA Act. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

climate: But we can't avoid the subject any longer. 2017 is the first year in recorded history that the U.S. was hit by three Category-4 hurricanes, according to National Observer. Bee made it clear climate change didn't cause the storms and wildfires, but was making the effects of natural disasters worse. ; She urged Americans to consider the serious risk of climate change, if only because wildfires were increasing the spread of lyme disease, an infectious illness caused by tick bites. But despite all these disasters, climate change is never the top story, she said. She also reminded her audience that millions in Florida were ordered to evacuate because of extreme weather this year, and asked how America would respond to refugees from Mississippi. Watch the two segments of her climate change-focused show here Video of Natural Disasters The Greatening October 25, 2017 Act 1 Full Frontal on TBSSamantha Bee discusses the effects of climate change on America on Wednesday. At the end of her show, Bee changed into a tick costume as part of Ingrid Michaelson's hilarious but ominous song about climate change from the earth's perspective. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hhs: The agency oversees facilities for unaccompanied minors who enter the United States illegally and had refused her requests for an abortion, according to Metro News. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday restored a lower court's ruling against HHS. The new ruling ordered HHS to step aside and allow the teen to go forward with an abortion. The 17-year-old had fought for a month to have an abortion, eventually leading to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Trump administration did not appeal to the Supreme Court before the procedure, but advocates for the teen referred to in court filings as Jane Doe to shield her identity rushed to arrange the abortion after the ruling Tuesday afternoon. In a statement released by the ACLU, the teen said she came to this country to make a better life for herself, and found out she was pregnant after entering immigration custody. I'm relieved for Jane Doe, but I'm so incredibly frustrated that we had to go through all of this for what is a very well-settled constitutional right, Brigitte Amiri, an ACLU lawyer who argued for the teen in court, told The Associated Press. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canada: The census counted 145,645 children aged 0-4, 8.7 per cent of Aboriginal people in Canada. -- One in five Indigenous people in Canada is living in a dwelling that needs major repairs, while one in 10 lives in a household that has a space shortfall of at least one bedroom. -- However, 7.3 per cent of Indigenous people in Canada are 65 or older, compared with 4.8 per cent in 2006 -- and that proportion could double by the year 2036. -- The census counted 145,645 Indigenous children aged 0-4 in 2016. -- The number of people who identified as First Nations reached 979,230 last year, up 39.3 per cent over 2006, while the Metis population grew by 51.2 per cent over the same period to 587,545 people, according to CTV. The census recorded 65,025 Inuit, 29.1 per cent higher than in 2006. -- Winnipeg 92,810 Edmonton 76,205 Vancouver 61,460 and Toronto 46,315 reported the largest Indigenous populations, while the highest proportion of Aboriginal people were in Thunder Bay 12.7 per cent Winnipeg 12.2 per cent and Saskatoon 10.9 per cent . -- In 2016, 7.5 million people -- about 21.9 per cent of the total population -- reported being foreign-born individuals who immigrated to Canada. Some selected highlights if undefined typeof b in -- The census counted 1.67 million Indigenous people in Canada in 2016, accounting for 4.9 per cent of the total population -- up from 3.8 per cent in 2006 for a growth rate of 42.5 per cent over the last 10 years, four times the rate of the non-Indigenous population. -- The average age of the Indigenous population was 32.1 years, nearly a decade younger than the non-Indigenous population at 40.9 years. In 1921, the census reported that proportion at 22.3 per cent, the highest since Confederation. During the first four months of 2016, refugees accounted for one-quarter of all immigrants admitted to Canada, thanks to an influx of refugees from Syria. -- Asia, including the Middle East, remains the largest source of recent immigrants to Canada at 61.8 per cent, followed by Africa at 13.4 per cent. Statistics Canada projects that proportion could reach between 25 and 30 per cent by 2036. -- The census counted 1,212,075 new immigrants who permanently settled in Canada between 2011 and 2016, 3.5 per cent of the total population last year. -- 60 per cent entered under the economic category, 26.8 per cent to join family already in Canada and 11.6 per cent as refugees. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.