border: According to a request for proposal obtained by the Star, the border agency is seeking a contractor who can provide and maintain the electronic system, including voice reporting with location based service and electronic monitory, according to Toronto Star. The border agency has been under tremendous pressure for its widespread use of lengthy immigration detention sometimes in maximum-security provincial prisons where convicted criminals are held for migrants whose identity is in doubt, who are deemed to be a danger to the public or who may not show up for deportation, even in some cases when they are not considered dangers to the public. Expanded electronic supervision tools such as the use of GPS electronic monitoring will be piloted in the Greater Toronto Area, said the Canada Border Services Agency, and could come as early as April. The CBSA's ability to monitor, track and locate individuals is critical to the success of the immigration enforcement program, the agency said in its tender issued Wednesday. In the latest incident in October, Teresa Michelle Gratton, a 50-year-old American citizen awaiting removal, died after she was found in medical distress inside a Milton jail. Article Continued Below Canada's immigration detention system has been under intense public scrutiny since 2016 after a series of deaths of detainees in immigration custody. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

cape breton: In all the correspondence we had with Citizenship and Immigration Canada age was a factor, said John Hylas Smith, according to The Chronicle Herald. When I went online in 2005 and looked at the applications, there is a scorecard and after 50 years of age they start subtracting points. But Canada doesn't because they're too old. But despite being 58 years old at the time, Smith, like his wife Christina, was not one to be deterred. After attending a Natalie Mac Master concert in California, the music enthusiasts travelled to Cape Breton and decided this was where they wanted to live. He, a senior manufacturing engineer for an aerospace company working on the International Space Station, and she, a senior vice-president for Warner Brothers, were a couple that had spent their lives getting things done. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

enberg: Enberg's daughter, Nicole Enberg Vaz, confirmed the death to The Associated Press, according to CTV. She said the family became concerned when her father didn't arrive Thursday on his flight to Boston, and he was found dead at his home in La Jolla, a San Diego neighbourhood, with his bags packed. He was 82. His daughter said the family believes Enberg died of a heart attack but was awaiting official word. He'd been busy with two podcasts and was full of energy. It's very, very, very shocking, said Vaz, who lives in Boston. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

focus laser-like: The first step was to replace former Liberal leader St phane Dion as global affairs minister, according to Rabble. The new minister, Chrystia Freeland, has a degree from Harvard and worked as a high-profile journalist in New York City, London and Moscow. When the year began, the Trudeau government signalled it planned to focus laser-like on the new administration in Washington. The Liberal brains trust calculated that with her worldliness and charm the one-time globetrotting journalist would have more success than the earnest and professorial Dion. Global affairs professionals were not happy with that choice. Earlier, Trudeau had named lobbyist extraordinaire David McNaughton to represent Canada in Washington. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

gualtiero bassetti: Interior Minister Marco Minniti and the head of the Italian bishops' conference, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, were to welcome them, according to Metro News. The U.N. refugee agency's Libya representative, Roberto Mignone, tweeted that he was travelling with 162 vulnerable refugees. The Interior Ministry said the refugees were due to arrive later Friday at Rome's Pratica di Mare military base. Italy said the women, children and elderly people were all entitled to international protection. Italy and the EU have come under criticism from human rights groups for helping the Libyan coast guard more effectively patrol its coasts to prevent smugglers from operating. It did not say what countries they came from. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

health services: W. Sistering is a community hub where women can access health services, employment counselling and housing support, and also take knitting or yoga classes and share meals with friends, according to Toronto Star. It is also increasingly being used as a makeshift home for women with complex health issues who can't get into the shelter system or afford a place to call home. We don't want that time to be a downer, we want that time to feel like they have someone in their lives, that they have someone who cares and that's us, said Karleen Spence, a community support worker at the 24/7 drop-in on Bloor St. At night, they spread out to sleep in reclining chairs or on mats on the floor. Article Continued Below With this coming holiday season, the number of women who are coming to Sistering has increased significantly, Bray said, especially as the temperatures drop. Wendy Bray, Sistering's fund development manager, said the goal year-round is to help women in a tough place feel loved and supported. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

medium term: If such a scenario played out, the deficit would reach an annual high of 24.8 billion around 2030-31 before beginning to fall, according to CTV. By 2040-41, the federal debt would top out at around 1.08 trillion before starting to fall, as compared to last year's prediction that it would reach 1.55 trillion by 2050-51. Finance officials predicted in a report released Friday that barring any policy changes, the federal government could be on track to run annual shortfalls until 2045-46, compared to projections last year that deficits would run to 2050-51. The improvement is attributed to an overall boost in the fiscal outlook, particularly in the medium term, which comes after the Canadian economy mounted a surprise resurgence over the past 12 months. We have an ambitious plan to grow Canada's economy by investing in people, growing the middle class and helping those working hard to join it, Morneau said in a statement Friday. While long-term predictions contain considerable uncertainty, Finance Minister Bill Morneau nonetheless said the projections prove the Liberal government's plan is bearing fruit. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

myanmar: Eliot Engel, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, contended that Myanmar authorities were committing genocide in Rakhine State, according to Metro News. He said it was stunning that the Trump administration has only designated one person from Myanmar over the bloody crackdown that caused a refugee exodus to Bangladesh. Rep. The United States imposed sanctions on Maung Maung Soe, who until last month was chief of the Myanmar army's Western command responsible for security operations in Rakhine. Katina Adams, a State Department spokeswoman for East Asia, said Friday the U.S. is continuing to consider options under U.S. and international law to help ensure that those responsible for ethnic cleansing and other atrocities face appropriate consequences. He was among 13 people worldwide punished Thursday under human rights legislation. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

iyal: Mohammed and Razak Iyal lost all their fingers to frostbite after losing their way while walking through farmers' fields into Manitoba from the United States, according to CBC. Their harrowing story attracted worldwide attention. It's going to be sad but I will be more happy than being sad because I'm alive, said Seidu Mohammed, 25. Frostbitten asylum seeker wins case to stay in Canada Most refugees now waiting 16 months to have claims heard It's very difficult for me, said Iyal, 35. We can't forget about that night. Lose your fingers in just one night and your life just changes totally. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

official languages: Those not fluent in Mandarin may be a minority in the building, according to a tribunal decision from Dec. 13, according to CBC. English ousted as Wellington Court language dispute escalates We have two official languages in Canada English and French and in Western Canada, it's predominantly English, he said. In 2015, Andreas Kargut filed a complaint, claiming the Wellington Court strata council's switch to Mandarin-only meetings violated the rights of the owners who did not speak Mandarin. You know, we have our constitutional rights at stake here. Since the initial complaint, the two sides have unsuccessfully tried to find a solution, the decision read. Owners of nine other units in the building have joined the complaint, according to the decision. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ontario premier: Rae's interim report said refugee camps are deplorably overcrowded and pose a threat to human health and life itself, according to CBC. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed the former Ontario premier earlier this year to give him advice on the humanitarian crisis, which the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing. Bob Rae issued his interim report on Thursday night on the crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims flee Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh because of a crackdown by Myanmar security forces. Seeing these words in print makes me realize how inadequate words are to express the extent of the damage and trauma.'- Bob Rae in his interim report Rae travelled to Bangladesh earlier this year to see the situation and has also met with a number of leaders, officials and non-governmental organizations in the region. Rae said those accounts included sexual violence as a weapon of war and there is clear evidence of sexual trauma among the women who survived. His interim report drew particular attention the plight of women, saying he heard detailed and graphic accounts from women who made it to Bangladesh about sexual violence and abuse at the hands of the Myanmar military. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

palestinian people: The list of countries devastated by conflict grows long, according to Toronto Star. Entrenched crises continued in Syria, Iraq and South Sudan. Canada has made contributions in 2017 to addressing many of those global challenges; but that has not always been backed up with consistent action at home. Widespread ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people erupted in Myanmar, with hundreds of villages razed, untold numbers of people killed, and over 600,000 refugees forced to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. The Palestinian people marked 50 years of human rights abuse under Israeli military occupation. The crisis in Yemen deepened; the grim civilian toll exacerbated by a Saudi-led blockade that impedes humanitarian relief. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

shelters thousands: The American Civil Liberties Union posted the memo as part of its ongoing lawsuit over abortion access for immigrant minors in custody, according to Metro News. The document describes how the teen was raped in her home country and believed she had become pregnant as a result. The memo is addressed to Scott Lloyd, director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which shelters thousands of unaccompanied immigrant minors in the U.S. without legal permission. According to the memo, written by the Office of Refugee Resettlement's deputy director, she told a doctor during her first pre-natal visit that she wanted an abortion. In later visits, the teen reported the pressure her mother and a potential sponsor were putting on her to keep the pregnancy. The teen disclosed to the medical doctor that she preferred to harm herself rather than to continue with her pregnancy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

conversion: The rationale really falls under just the amount of research, as well as the individuals that we've spoken to, around the harm the lasting harms caused by that particular practice, according to Vancouver Courier. Conversion therapy, according to the committee's motion, is a range of pseudoscientific practices used with intentions of converting an individual's sexuality or gender identity into alignment with the heterosexual and cisgender majority. The city's LGBTQ2 advisory committee has asked the city to not grant business licences to anyone practising conversion therapies.article continues below Trending Stories Metro Vancouver housing prices to rise in 2018 Online fundraiser launched for victim in Burrard bridge crash One dead in Burrard bridge crash Co-owner of the infamous Elbow Room Cafe has died Jen Donovan, committee co-chair, says the move to ban conversion therapy which is also called reparative therapy is based on research that shows these kinds of therapies are harmful. As an umbrella term, it includes practices such as religious rites, behavioural modification therapy, medication use, and electroshock therapy or lobotomy.A cursory search for Vancouver care providers who offer conversion or reparative therapies yielded few results. However, it offers discipleship courses for people who want to heal unwanted self-identified same-sex attraction. However, the Courier did find a religious organization, Journey Canada, which states it is against conversion therapy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

sports jacket: Photo Shannon Brinkman This converted photography studio, adorned with paintings of legendary black musicians, is sometimes dubbed the world's most famous jazz venue, according to Vancouver Courier. The All-Stars band features a turbaned drummer who executes with cool precision and a saxophonist in a professorial sports jacket who shakes his head wistfully when he's not playing. Virtuoso jazz musicians grace Preservation Hall in New Orleans. It just embodies coolness.article continues below Trending Stories Vancouver could move towards banning conversion therapy Metro Vancouver housing prices to rise in 2018 Online fundraiser launched for victim in Burrard bridge crash One dead in Burrard bridge crash However, when 85-year-old clarinetist Charlie Gabriel performs a virtuosic solo, my joy peaks. New Orleans celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2018, and I'm in Louisiana's largest and most diverse city to fight my obsessive need to associate everything with 1980's pop music. Why Because it unmistakably reminds me of the clarinet on Big Bad Bill Is Sweet William Now on Van Halen's 1982 album Diver Down. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

alto adige: South Tyrol, known as Alto Adige in Italian, was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until after World War I. Residents voted after World War II to remain part of Italy, but tensions with Rome and Italian-speakers continued for decades, according to Metro News. Some 70 per cent of South Tyrol residents speak German. Italy's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that Angelino Alfano expressed appreciation to Karin Kneissl that the Austrian chancellor has offered reassurances that any initiatives involving Italy would be taken in co-operation with Rome. A further 5 per cent speak the Romance language Ladino. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

iraq: The proclamation capped three years of often intense fighting that first started when Daesh captured large swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and declared the creation of a self-styled caliphate, according to Toronto Star. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told reporters following a visit to the Middle East this week that victory came faster than Canada and its allies had expected, and the focus now is on ensuring stability in Iraq after Daesh. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced earlier this month that the country had been fully liberated from Daesh, also known as ISIL, after the militant group was cleared from the last pockets of territory that it had held in the country. Read more Article Continued Below Iraq says its war against Daesh is over Iraqi woman unveils harrowing memoir about being a sex slave for DaeshU.S. weapons helped Daesh fuel industrial revolution of terrorism' Report react-empty 163 The military will present options to the government in the new year, though it seems evident that Canadian forces will be training Iraqi counterparts to protect against various threats from inside and outside the country. The progress against Daesh has gone actually quite well, to the point where we are actually ahead of schedule based on our plan, he said by telephone from London, where he was meeting with his British counterpart. Sajjan did not give any indication that the government was planning to end Canada's military mission in Iraq, which was extended this past summer to March 2019. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

isil: The proclamation capped three years of often intense fighting that first started when ISIL captured large swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and declared the creation of a self-styled caliphate, according to CTV. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told reporters following a visit to the Middle East this week that victory came faster than Canada and its allies had expected, and the focus now is on ensuring stability in Iraq after ISIL. The military will present options to the government in the new year, though it seems evident that Canadian forces will be training Iraqi counterparts to protect against various threats from inside and outside the country. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced earlier this month that the country had been fully liberated from ISIL after the militant group, also known as Daesh, was cleared from the last pockets of territory that it had held in the country. Sajjan did not give any indication that the government was planning to end Canada's military mission in Iraq, which was extended this past summer to March 2019. As you know, we've taken 100 per cent of the territory but a lot more work needs to be done to make sure that stability within the nation remains and the capacity building needs to start. The progress against Daesh has gone actually quite well, to the point where we are actually ahead of schedule based on our plan, he said by telephone from London, where he was meeting with his British counterpart. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

david beckham: MLS announced last December that it would select its 25th and 26th teams during the second or third quarter of 2017 and they would start play by 2020, according to CTV. Twelve areas submitted bids the following month, when MLS said it would announce the two selected by the end of the year. A day after selecting Nashville, Tennessee, as one of its next two additions, MLS said Thursday it still is considering which market to add from among Cincinnati, Detroit and Sacramento, California. Contenders were pared to four finalists on Nov. 29, and the groups made presentations to the league's expansion committee on Dec. 6. The 24th team, provisionally awarded to Miami and David Beckham in 2014, still has not finalized a stadium location and remains on hold. Los Angeles FC, the league's 23rd team, starts play next season. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

government shelter: Lloyd's efforts to dissuade teens in his office's care from having abortion were disclosed in previous court filings by the American Civil Liberties Union, according to CTV. Those filings included emails in which he offers to connect a pregnant teen with a few good families who would see her through her pregnancy. Scott Lloyd heads the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which faces an ongoing lawsuit over its refusal to allow teens in its care to have abortions. But he appears to go a step further in a memo included in a filing Thursday by the government, saying that his office has no obligation under the law or the U.S. Constitution to allow abortions for anyone in a government shelter. The memo, dated Sunday, explains why Lloyd refused a teenager's request even though agency staff had reason to believe the minor was impregnated in a rape. ORR cares for thousands of minors at a time, most of them unaccompanied children and teenagers from Central America who have entered the United States without legal permission. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

midnight friday: President Donald Trump is expected to sign the measure, according to The Chronicle Herald. The stopgap legislation would keep the government from closing down at midnight Friday. The measure passed the House on a 231-188 vote over Democratic opposition and then cleared the Senate, 66-32, with Democrats from Republican-leaning states providing many of the key votes. It has traversed a tortured path, encountering resistance from the GOP's most ardent allies of the military, as well as opposition from Democrats who demanded but were denied a vote on giving immigrants brought to the country as children and in the country illegally an opportunity to become citizens. Congress will return in January facing enormous challenges on immigration, the federal budget, health care and national security along with legislation to increase the government's authority to borrow money. The wrap-up measure allows Republicans controlling Washington to savour their win on this week's 1.5 trillion tax package even as they kick a full lineup of leftover work into the new year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

montr al: The program was originally suspended last January due to delays in processing the cases, according to CBC. At the time, more than 10,000 applications had been accepted by the province and were awaiting approval from the federal government. A spokesperson for Immigration Minister David Heurtel said the province is extending its suspension of new applications until at least June 30, 2018. Three-quarters of those applicants were Syrian refugees. People have been calling us and asking, 'When is it reopening ' he said. The program has historically helped reunite families, and the delays can be painful for people waiting on both in and outside of Canada hoping to reunite, said Paul Clarke, executive director of Actions R fugi s Montr al. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

shelter beds: These are spots that are real and that will bring people in from the winter cold, Councillor Joe Mihevc, standing alongside Mayor John Tory, told reporters at a morning news conference, according to Toronto Star. They are for most part not full shelter beds but do address in the very short term, for this winter, the crisis of overflowing drop-ins and shelter facilities. Part of city council's response to an alarming surge in Torontonians with nowhere to live, many of them refugees, the Better Living Centre will open with spots for 20 people their choice of cots or mats, with shower facilities and expand to 100 spots by mid-January, city officials said Thursday. City council heard this month that city shelters are at 95-per-cent capacity, above the 90-per-cent mandated maximum. Article Continued Below Council voted to find 400 new shelter and respite spaces either within existing shelters, or in other city-owned sites, or in motels already hosting overflow residents including many refugee families on top of a staff-recommended increase, and work to find sites for three new permanent shelters. The bed shortage, driven by refugees arriving in Toronto, soaring rents and almost no vacancy, comes as homeless Torontonians die, most never reaching age 50. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tana lin: Lawyers from the ACLU and Jewish Family Service asked U.S. District Judge James Robart for an injunction on a ban the administration has placed on refugees from some mostly Muslim countries, according to Metro News. The ban went into effect in October after President Donald Trump issued an executive order resuming the refugee program with enhanced vetting capabilities. It was Tana Lin, not Mariko Hirose.A corrected version of the story is below Judge considers lifting ban on entry of refugees, familiesA federal judge said he would decide before Christmas whether to stop a Trump administration ban on certain refugees after hearing arguments that the ban is separating families and putting some refugees in danger By MARTHA BELLISLEAssociated PressA federal judge said he would decide before Christmas whether to stop a Trump administration ban on certain refugees after hearing arguments Thursday that the ban is separating families and putting some refugees in danger. The day before that order, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats sent a memo to Trump saying certain refugees must be banned unless additional security measures are implemented. The ACLU argued the memo provided no evidence for why additional security was needed and didn't specify a timeframe for implementing the changes. The banned refugees include the spouses and minor children of refugees who have already settled in the U.S. The action also suspended the refugee program for people coming from 11 countries, nine of which are mostly Muslim. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump administration: The Trump administration announced penalties against 13 people worldwide in all, according to The Chronicle Herald. They included Gambia's former president, the daughter of Uzbekistan's late dictator and the son of Russia's prosecutor general. The new sanctions were the most serious U.S. response so far to what it calls ethnic cleansing in the western part of the Southeast Asian nation. The sanctions were the first set imposed under a 2016 law, named after a Russian lawyer who died in prison, that empowers the Treasury Department to target officials anywhere for human rights violations and corruption. Washington progressively eased economic and political sanctions against Myanmar starting in 2012 to reward the country for its shift toward democracy after decades of military rule. The inclusion of Myanmar's Maung Maung Soe on the list was perhaps the most dramatic move in terms of U.S. foreign policy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

xie answers: John's streets, is a young and fresh-faced Chinese man, according to CBC. You'd never guess 32-year-old Ming Xie is the owner not only operating the busy lunchtime spot on Kenmount Road, but two other Sun Sushi locations in the capital city. The man turning it into rolls of sushi, affectionately named after St. One falafel at a time Mohamed Ali owners set sights on franchising His English is broken, and Xie answers almost all questions with a big smile. Mark Cumby/CBC Xie's mother immigrated to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2000, and soon realized there was something missing in St. Ming Xie says his favourite roll is the Chef's Signature, with eel, crab, shrimp, cucumber, asparagus and avocado. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.