asylum system: The fact that the number of successful Haitian claims is very low should serve as a cautionary tale for those still contemplating crossing into Canada illegally from the U.S. to seek asylum, said Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, according to CTV. Coming to Canada first of all has to be done through regular channels, and secondly the asylum system is only for people who are in genuine need of protection, Hussen said. Since February, the Immigration and Refugee Board has received 14,467 claims in total from what they call irregular border crossers, and the overall acceptance rate sits at 60 per cent. It's not for everyone. Just under 60,000 Haitians are covered by the policy that protects against deportation. People have been crossing into Canada between official checkpoints in increasing numbers since the start of the year, but the summer months saw a major surge after the U.S. government notified those who hold temporary protected status in that country that their status would be under review. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

attorney erin: He will remain on GPS monitoring, according to Toronto Star. It means he can go home with his family for, we don't know how long, attorney Erin O'Neil-Baker told The Hartford Courant. An attorney for Marco Reyes Alvarez said Wednesday the Department of Homeland Security has agreed not to arrest, detain or deport Alvarez while his appeals paperwork is being processed. We know that at any point the second circuit appeals court could make a decision on his case, but while those are pending the Department of Homeland Security, they won't deport him. The father of three was supposed to board a plane to Ecuador on Aug. 8 but instead took refuge inside the First and Summerfield United Methodist Church. Alvarez entered the U.S. illegally in 1997 and has been living in Meriden. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

australia-born senators: She said Wednesday she discovered she was British while gathering evidence ahead of a December deadline for Australia-born senators to provide documented proof that they had not inherited the citizenship of an immigrant parent or grandparent, according to CTV. She will resign when the Senate resumes next week. Skye Kakoschke-Moore is a member of the Nick Xenophon Team minor party. The ruling conservative coalition could lose two House of Representative seats in byelections next month over inherited citizenship. Australia is rare if not unique in the world in banning dual nationals from sitting in Parliament. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

experience: Shan's appointment as welcomer-in-chief was confirmed at a recent Toronto City Council meeting, with the Ward 42 Scarborough-Rouge River representative taking over from Coun, according to Metro News. Joe Mihevc. Neethan Shan hopes his own experience as a refugee will let him hit the ground running. Shan will also remain the city's Youth Advocate. As someone who arrived as a refugee, to be able to help others who might be going through similar challenges is very humbling. I came to Canada, aged 16, from the civil war in Sri Lanka, so I can bring lived experience and professional experience together, he said Tuesday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

haitian claims: Only 298 have had their claims finalized so far, and just 29 of them, or 10 per cent, have been accepted, according to CBC. Quebec not expecting another wave of Haitian asylum-seekers Canada on alert as U.S. ends protection program for Haitians Another 139 claims from Haitians were rejected, 68 were abandoned and 62 were withdrawn or terminated, according to the data. Data released by the Immigration and Refugee Board IRB on Wednesday shows that 6,304 citizens of Haiti claimed refugee status after crossing illegally into Canada between February and October, about 44 per cent of the total number. The fact that the number of successful Haitian claims is very low should serve as a cautionary tale for those still contemplating crossing into Canada illegally from the U.S. to seek asylum, said Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen. It's not for everyone. Coming to Canada first of all has to be done through regular channels, and secondly the asylum system is only for people who are in genuine need of protection, Hussen said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

health condition: Section 38-1C states that a person can't be admitted to Canada if they have a health condition that might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services.''The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration is studying medical inadmissibility criteria for newcomers at the request of provincial and territorial ministers and has heard from numerous groups who argued the rules discriminate against people with disabilities and should be scrapped, according to Metro News. Hussen appeared before the committee Wednesday, capping three days of hearings, and said the current rules that have been in place for 40 years are in need of an overhaul. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said he's committed to changing the rules currently spelled out in the country's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and left the door open to the possibility of repealing the controversial section altogether. This provision needs to be changed. I personally think this provision is out of date in terms of looking at those two things. It's simply not in line with our government's policies with respect to moving towards an accessibility agenda, but also with ... how Canadians are increasingly of the opinion that we should be more inclusive as a society, Hussen said before the committee. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

health condition: Section 38-1C states that a person can't be admitted to Canada if they have a health condition that might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services, according to CTV. The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration is studying medical inadmissibility criteria for newcomers at the request of provincial and territorial ministers and has heard from numerous groups who argued the rules discriminate against people with disabilities and should be scrapped. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said he's committed to changing the rules currently spelled out in the country's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and left the door open to the possibility of repealing the controversial section altogether. Hussen appeared before the committee Wednesday, capping three days of hearings, and said the current rules that have been in place for 40 years are in need of an overhaul. It's simply not in line with our government's policies with respect to moving towards an accessibility agenda, but also with ... how Canadians are increasingly of the opinion that we should be more inclusive as a society, Hussen said before the committee. This provision needs to be changed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

john rae: The provision is at the centre of public hearings by a parliamentary committee to review a provision of Canada's immigration law that rejects immigrants who are expected to place excessive demand on health or social services if let into the country, according to Toronto Star. Disability is the last major characteristic that remains a barrier to settling and building a life in Canada, and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities believes this provision is outdated and discriminatory and must be removed from the Immigration Act, said John Rae, a vice chair of the council. Rights groups and individuals affected by the so-called medical inadmissibility rule say not only is it inhumane, but it also breaches the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. On Wednesday, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen agreed the rule needs to be updated. Article Continued Below This provision needs to be changed. He was vague on exactly how the law might be changed, saying no decisions would be made without input from the provinces and territories who bear most of the costs of health and social services. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

people canada: Canada good, according to CBC. Thank you, thank you, Canada, he said. Speaking in Kurdish, translated by his daughter Yara, Ahmad, 42, has nothing but praise for what the Canadian government has done to help them resettle. People Canada good, yes. Unable to speak English, Ahmad hasn't been able to get a job, so he works every day to learn the language of his new home, taking English classes through a federally funded course. The Ahmads Fadel, his wife Rania, 40, their sons Mostafa, 14 and Mohamad, 9, and daughters Yara 15 and Eman six months were part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's commitment to resettle more than 40,000 Syrians fleeing their war-torn homeland. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ratko mladic: In all, the governing Liberals say they'll put up 40 billion over the next decade, according to The Chronicle Herald. A meeting is to be held on Thursday to discuss the issue of sexual harassment in Canada's screen industry. The government also plans to create a federal housing advocate and legislate a right to housing. Canada's performers union ACTRA has invited industry stakeholders to the closed-door meeting to discuss how to implement practical, concrete measures to tackle the issue in a way that also leads to cultural change. RETIRED GENERAL 'AMAZED Retired Canadian general Lewis Mac Kenzie says he is amazed it took six years to bring former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic to justice. Actress-writer Susan Coyne says while sexual misconduct has long been a part of the Canadian industry, it's a problem that seems to be growing. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ratko: Kosovo has welcomed the conviction of Serbian military chief Ratko Mladic on charges of genocide and other crimes by a United Nations court, according to The Chronicle Herald. Kosovo's Foreign Ministry said the verdict marked an act of international justice and satisfaction for the Bosnia war victims. Ratko Mladic all times local 5 50 p.m. The ministry also recalled that its own ethnic Albanian population, like Bosnians, suffered at the hands of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and his generals, who applied in Kosovo, too, all the forms of crimes described in the charges against Mladic. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says the genocide conviction of Ratko Mladic shows that those who perpetrate atrocities cannot outrun justice. Kosovo was previously a province of Serbia that declared independence in 2008. 4 45 p.m. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

showcases pieces: Some of the pieces in here are 150 years old.'- Janet Prebushewsky Danyliuk The Ukrainian Museum of Canada in Saskatoon provides some answers with its current exhibition, Braving the Cold Winter Wear of Ukrainian Pioneers, which showcases 24 pieces of outerwear from years gone by, according to CBC. As a museum we wanted do to something to bring our history alive and also to meet the magic of the season, too, and show that winter was very colourful and very beautiful, said museum director and CEO Janet Prebushewsky Danyliuk. Which raises the question how did people survive the elements here 100 years ago The way these things were constructed, too, they would last forever. The oldest pieces on display are a felt coat dating back to 1867 and a sheepskin coat from the 1870s. Prebushewsky Danyliuk said the exhibition shows how immigrants used the handmade, traditional clothing they brought from Ukraine to adapt to the Canadian winters. The most recent pieces are nearly 100 years old, from the 1930s. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump administration: Haitian migrants have until July 2019 to return to their country, according to Toronto Star. On Wednesday, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada released data on the outcomes of the 1,314 asylum decisions made involving those who crossed unguarded points along the border with the United States from February to October. The federal government has been on high alert since the Trump administration announced this week it will end its temporary residency permit program that has allowed 60,000 Haitians to stay in the United States. Of those, 941 were accepted and 373 rejected. Almost 12,900 of the 14,470 refugee claims are still pending. Some other 258 claims were either abandoned or withdrawn. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

citizenship canada: While a rapid impact evaluation the population was conducted by the government for the first wave of arrivals, the auditor general went digging over the longer term, looking to see whether Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada was both providing the services newcomers needed and tracking what happened next, according to National Observer. This audit is important because the Syrian refugee initiative will succeed in the long term only if the people it brought to Canada integrate into Canadian society, the report said. We were concerned about the department's inability to track whether the Syrian refugees had access to basic provincial services, such as health care and education especially considering that part of the department's objective was to help Syrian refugees benefit from Canada's social, medical, and economic systems, the auditor general's report said. While the federal government did have a plan to track outcomes, it either didn't collect all the required data outright, or had trouble getting from the provinces and settlement organizations, the report said. Still, by March 2017, the auditor general concluded that more than 80 per cent of the new arrivals had their needs assessed, and 75 per cent of those who received language assessments did attend language classes. So what happened, for example, was that Syrians in some parts of the country faced lengthy wait times for language classes because the government wasn't keeping an eye on those wait lists and in turn ensuring funds were being allocated where they were needed most. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

world war: Rating NNNIn Trace, Jeff Ho weaves an intricate and harrowing account of his family's immigration journey between two places, Hong Kong and Toronto, according to NOW Magazine. Combining his animated acting and virtuoso piano chops there are two pianos on either side of the stage Ho seamlessly integrates classical and show tunes into his complex story. See listing. The multi-generational, transnational, non-linear narrative includes many characters but focuses mostly on Ho's cigarette- and mah-jong-obsessed grandmother and her escape from China to then-British Hong Kong during the Second World War, and Ho's own experience arriving in Toronto as a child along with his mother's extreme efforts to secure a middle-class existence. Things become clearer as the narrative progresses, but a family tree primer in the program, or perhaps some onstage signaling of where/when a certain scene is taking place would go a long way. With Ho's fast-paced switching between characters, time and place it can be a bit hard to follow at the outset. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

childhood arrivals: While he knew the significance of the protection he received under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, he had one problem he didn't have the money to pay the 495 registration fee required to renew his participation in the program for two more years, according to Metro News. Park worked as a private tutor, and money was tight in the late spring and summer months when school was out. Nurimaro Park, 26, is one of about 800,000 people who had benefited from an Obama-era program that extended protections to immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children. He figured he could re- enrol at the end of the year the rules of the program allowed people to renew lapsed registrations as long as a full year hadn't passed. Those who were enrolled in the program would be eligible to file for one last two-year extension if their registration was close to expiring. In September, though, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Trump administration is phasing out the program. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

childhood development: The report says the child poverty rate in B.C. in 2015 was 18.3 per cent, representing 153,000 children, half of them living in Metro Vancouver, and that the overall rate is nearly a full percentage point above the national average, according to CTV. First Call's provincial co-ordinator Adrienne Montani says children from single-parent families experienced poverty at 48 per cent, more than four times the rate of kids with two parents. The grim reality of growing up poor is outlined in a report by First Call, which wants public policy initiatives including a commitment to early childhood development and economic equality to give kids a chance to succeed. The report says that in 2015, a single parent working full time for the whole year for minimum wage would have earned only 18,761. Families on welfare, the majority of whom have disabilities or other health conditions, struggle to meet their basic needs, and frequently have to rely on food banks and other charitable sources to feed and clothe their children. The statistics on the depth of poverty show poor children in B.C., including those living with parents working full-time or part-time, are being raised on median annual incomes more than 10,000 below the poverty lines for their respective family sizes, the report says. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

family friend: Steinle was walking with her father and a family friend on a sunny day in July 2015 when she was shot, collapsing into her father's arms, according to The Chronicle Herald. Garcia Zarate had been released from the San Francisco jail about three months before the shooting, despite a request by federal immigration authorities to detain him for deportation. The jury of six men and six women will consider dueling arguments that Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was either a hapless homeless man who killed Kate Steinle in a freak accident or a calculated murderer intent on playing a sick game. He had been deported five times before. During the presidential race, then-candidate Donald Trump cited the killing as a reason to toughen U.S. immigration policies. Steinle's death put San Francisco and its sanctuary city policy in the spotlight, as Democrats and Republicans lashed out at city officials for refusing to co-operate with federal deportation efforts. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

home: Haitian-born Lys Isma has lived in the United States since she was nine months old, according to CTV. The University of Florida student told CTV News Channel on Tuesday from her home in Miami that she is not planning to leave. Others aren't so sure. I'm not going to pack up my things and go to a place that I don't know, she said, referring to Haiti. I'm going to find a way to stay here because my friends are here, my family is here, my school is here and this is my home, she said. Isma also doesn't plan on coming to Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

haiti community: This buys me time to figure out what's next, Jeune said Tuesday in Miami's Little Haiti community, standing next to her daughter Lagranda, according to Metro News. But at the same time, Jeune is upset that the government on Monday said she and nearly 60,000 Haitians must return home July 2019, ruling out any further extensions of the immigration benefits given to Haitians who came before and in the aftermath of the Caribbean country's 2010 earthquake. function set Cookie related path / ; Related Decision on Haitians' status in the U.S. has Canada on alert for asylum seekers Haitians fear wrenching end to US immigration protectionUN ending 13-year military peacekeeping mission in Haiti function set Cookie related path / ; Related Migrant flight to Canada has big impact on Miami's Little Haiti Montreal opens second shelter for asylum seekers arriving in Canada Canada is not a safe haven for asylum seekers, Trudeau warns I am very depressed to know that within 18 months, I have to go back, she said. I can breathe a little and get some rest. Having been in Miami since 2009, Jeune has not returned to Haiti but hears from her sister and other relatives back in her native Port-de-Paix that conditions have not improved for those whose lives were upended by the earthquake. Many of the dozens lined up to receive turkeys at the cultural centre ahead of Thanksgiving were confused over whether the program was in fact extended or ended and were hesitant to speak about immigration. In Little Haiti, the mood was of both relief and anger. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

haitians article: Haitians were placed on notice earlier this year, and, few months later, waves of people began crossing illegally into Canada from the U.S. to claim asylum, catching the Liberals off guard when the crowds began to number more than 200 people a day, according to Toronto Star. Read more Trump administration ending temporary residency permits for almost 60,000 Haitians Article Continued Below Peacekeeping myths and nostalgia die a quiet death under the Liberals Tim Harper react-text 151 Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale, shown in this Sept. 5 file photo, said Monday that the physical apparatus required for the RCMP and border guards to deal with an influx is in place, as are contingency plans for a variety of what if scenarios. /react-text BEN NELMS / THE CANADIAN PRESS UN to end peacekeeping mission in Haiti after 13 yearsA spokesperson for Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said while Canada remains an open and welcoming country to people seeking refuge, anyone entering Canada must do so through the proper channels. react-empty 161 Entering irregularly is not a free ticket' into Canada, ' said Hursh Jaswal late Monday. The Homeland Security Department said late Monday that conditions in Haiti have improved significantly, so the benefit will be extended one last time until July 2019 to give Haitians time to prepare to return home. There are rigorous rules to be followed and the same robust assessment process applies. Those who are determined not to be in need of Canada's protection, are removed. Those who are determined to be genuinely at risk, are welcomed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

labour party: Trudeau, of course, is well known around here, according to Rabble. Instead, Lukacs reminded about 300 participants in the Edmonton-based Parkland Institute's 21st annual conference in a biting, often hilarious deconstruction of Prime Minister Trudeau's progressive neoliberalism at the University of Alberta Saturday morning, Corbyn saved his party, his career and possibly Britain when May's best-laid plan went spectacularly awry on June 8. Corbyn is the leader of Britain's Labour Party, the unrepentant socialist thoroughly reviled by the very finest people in British society and their right-wing echo chamber around the world, who was supposed to have been completely undone by Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May's brilliantly timed U.K. election just a year after the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom. The theme of the Parkland conference Collapse Neoliberalism in Crisis. For example, in a paean to Donald Trump published by the National Post Friday, former newspaper magnate Conrad Black, who in happier times gave up his Canadian citizenship to become a British Lord, mocked the Guardian as being on the verge of bankruptcy and reduced to a pitiful variation of crowd-funding. By way of background, the Guardian is the internationally respected British newspaper of liberal inclination that is despised by billionaires and 1-per-centers around the planet. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

month extension: Since the 2010 earthquake, the number of displaced people in Haiti has decreased by 97 per cent, the department said in a statement issued Monday evening, according to CTV. Haiti is able to safely receive traditional levels of returned citizens. The Homeland Security Department said conditions in Haiti have improved significantly, so the benefit will be extended one last time -- until July 2019 -- to give Haitians time to prepare to return home. Advocates and members of Congress from both parties had asked the Trump administration for an 18-month extension of the program, known as Temporary Protected Status. Rony Ponthieux, a 49-year-old Haitian nurse with temporary residency who has lived in Miami since 1999, told The Associated Press, This isn't over, this is time we get to fight for renewal, not to pack our bags. Haitian President Jovenel Moise's government also requested the extension. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

pr application: The clause can kill a PR application, and would-be sponsorship, if a family member's medical condition might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services, according to Metro News. Human-rights lawyer Fay Faraday called it hypocritical, pointing out that medical inadmissibility affects many caregivers under the Temporary Foreign Worker program who themselves care for disabled Canadians. The excessive demand clause in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act bars people from permanent residency PR if they're expected to be a significant burden on the system. They're here providing the services to your family members with disabilities but are themselves being denied to bring their families here, she said. With the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration hearing submissions on the issue this week, advocates want the government to remove what they call disablist rules. We'll take their labour but we won't take their families. function set Cookie related path / ; Related They were denied entry into Canada despite having immigration applications approved Federal government immigration poll suggests hardening attitudesA look at the next three years of immigration to Canada, by the numbers The Caregivers Action Centre says 1,000 people and their families are affected by such clauses each year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

price tag: Ferguson said the government is lowballing both the three-year timeline and the 540 million price tag for a long-term, efficient solution, and called on the Treasury Board of Canada and Public Services and Procurement Canada to track and publicly report on the plan, according to CBC. But despite the major problems, he said it would be wrong to scrap the Phoenix system now after seven years of development and implementation. In his fall slate of six audits, Auditor General Michael Ferguson finds that successive governments have failed to address the Phoenix payroll mess, leaving thousands of employees overpaid, underpaid or not paid at all. If they started all over again, it's hard to see how they would actually end up in a better situation, he said. Highlights from the fall 2017 auditor general report Canadians getting bad advice from the taxman auditor Auditor criticizes misconduct at military college Answers to 9 questions on Canada immigration The Phoenix system already cost 310 million to create and implement, which means the overall cost to build and fix the program is edging toward 1 billion. I think at this point, their only real option is to try and resolve the problem within the system as it exists right now. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

services newcomers: We were concerned about the department's inability to track whether the Syrian refugees had access to basic provincial services, such as health care and education especially considering that part of the department's objective was to help Syrian refugees benefit from Canada's social, medical, and economic systems, the auditor general's report said, according to Toronto Star. While a rapid impact evaluation the population was conducted by the government for the first wave of arrivals, the auditor general went digging over the longer term, looking to see whether Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada was both providing the services newcomers needed and tracking what happened next. Markers like how many kids are in school or how many Syrians are on income assistance weren't being measured between fall 2015 and the spring of this year, the period examined by the federal watchdog, raising questions about what happened to the population once they began to settle in Canada. This audit is important because the Syrian refugee initiative will succeed in the long term only if the people it brought to Canada integrate into Canadian society, the report said. Article Continued Below So what happened, for example, was that Syrians in some parts of the country faced lengthy wait times for language classes because the government wasn't keeping an eye on those wait lists and in turn ensuring funds were being allocated where they were needed most. react-text 151 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets newly-arrived Syrian refugees at Pearson International airport on Dec. 11, 2015. While the federal government did have a plan to track outcomes, it either didn't collect all the required data outright, or had trouble getting from the provinces and settlement organizations, the report said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.