catoctin mountains: We're going to Camp David with a lot of the great Republican senators, and we're making America great again, Trump said Friday afternoon as he left the White House for the presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, according to CTV. He was joined Friday evening by Vice-President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, among others. A long list of high-stakes topics are on the agenda, including the budget, infrastructure, immigration, welfare reform and the 2018 midterm elections. Republicans are beginning the new year with newfound optimism after finally scoring a win by passing the tax bill at the end of last year. Just two weeks remain until a Jan. 19 government funding deadline, and there is little visible progress on several contentious issues, including a budget deal to boost spending on both the Pentagon and nondefense agencies and to extend protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. They face a pile of unfinished business that was punted into this year during the push on taxes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lottery: This year, applicants must fill out additional questions to determine their eligibility before they are entered into the lottery, according to CTV. Over 95,000 people applied in 2017, according to government statistics. The government began accepting applications for the Parents and Grandparents Program on Tuesday. It was the first year the government had switched to a lottery system for the program after years of backlog. They're essentially taking a spot away from someone else, Ryan said. While the lottery system helped clear the backlog, selecting 10,000 candidates at random, it also chose ineligible candidates who ultimately couldn't continue the application process, according to Edward Ryan, an immigration consultant with Edge Immigration. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

disc-shaped cake: They're a disc-shaped cake made of corn flower with a pocket perfect for filling, according to Metro News. They're a historic food long before they hit city streets, arepas were made by indigenous peoples who lived in what is now Venezuela and Colombia. On a block of Main Street between Kohli's barbershop and the Tandoori Oven restaurant, Yarina Ramos makes arepas. If you visited Venezuela before, you can find a place that's 24 hours with 30 different things to put in the arepas, said Ramos, 47, owner of Chevere Eh at 6440 Main St. When she says Venezuela before, she means a different time. Different kinds of cheese, beef, seafood like tuna everything goes into the arepa. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

gold-medal game: Canada defeated the Czech Republic 7-2 in Thursday's semifinals to set a date with Sweden for gold at the Under-20 tournament, according to The Chronicle Herald. It's where we want to be heading into it so it's nice to have that opportunity, said Dube. Goaltender Carter Hart and forward Dillon Dube are part of seven returning players on this year's Canadian squad looking to erase the memory of the 5-4 shootout loss to the United States in the gold-medal game at the Bell Centre last January. We played a good game tonight, we're building every game and we're going to be at our best tomorrow and hopefully it works out for us, but it's going to be a great opportunity getting back. I got a week after that to kind of reset and go home, but that's a year ago now and a lot of things have unfolded since then, the Flyers prospect said. Hart admittedly needed a couple days to put last year's loss behind him. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

jobs program: For years local MPs set out which groups would be given priority to receive funding under the jobs program, according to Toronto Star. The Liberals say that under that system, groups which promoted anti-abortion or anti-LGBTQ messages applied for and got federal money, including anti-abortion groups such as Campaign Life Coalition, Life Site News, Priests for Life, and the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform. Two officials who spoke to the Star say the Liberal government hasn't yet received the formal papers but has been advised the group filed an application for judicial review Friday with the Federal Court. After a review last summer, the Liberal government revised eligibility criteria for the program. Article Continued Below The government's website says the new criteria does not exclude churches or faith-based groups, but it does say the group's work must respect Charter values including reproductive rights and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. It now requires that the core mandate of an organization must respect individual human rights in Canada, including the values underlying the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

judges: The attorney general invited feedback from advocates and others, after which time he may issue new instructions for immigration judges closures have been a lifeline to immigrants who apply for citizenship, permanent residency or other visas, shielding them from deportation while their petitions are vetted, according to Metro News. But critics say judges too often let people stay in the country longer than they should in a sort of legal purgatory. Sessions posed detailed questions challenging the use of administrative closures, an increasingly common outcome that allows people to stay in the country without legal status. About 350,000 cases are administratively closed, and the Justice Department said 180,000 cases were closed in four years of the Obama administration, more than in the previous 22 years. Immigration judges are employees of the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, giving the attorney general broad oversight powers even as they assert independence. In 2012, the department's Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that neither Homeland Security Department attorneys seeking to deport someone nor the immigrant trying to stay could stop a judge from closing a case, paving the way for the increase. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tech migr: Among the most conspicuous is the current anti-immigrant sentiments in the U.S. and Britain that are redirecting highly skilled tech migr s to Canada who might otherwise have chosen those countries as their adopted homelands, according to Toronto Star. Indeed, Canada has eclipsed Britain as the second-most favoured destination of high-skill migr s. Canada has advantages in the global contest for tech talent, home grown and recruited from abroad. The U.S. remains most-favoured, though proposed new restrictions on visas for non-American tech workers and their families have diminished America's attractiveness. Twenty-first-century economies will stand or fall on their tech prowess. The stakes are high in developing concentrations of tech excellence. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lynn beyak: Beyak had posted roughly 100 letters in support of her earlier defence of residential schools where some 6,000 Indigenous children died from malnutrition and disease to her Senate website, according to CBC. In a statement, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said he found out about the letters on Tuesday and asked Beyak to remove some of the comments, but she refused. Lynn Beyak, known for defending residential schools as well-intentioned, has been kicked out of the Conservative caucus after she refused to remove racist comments posted to her Senate website. Scheer's spokesperson, Jake Enwright, said the conversation took place over the phone. Lynn Beyak under fire for 'racist, offensive, hurtful' letters posted to Senate website Who would be na ve to think that alcohol, drugs, incest would not have found their way into the lives of the North's children, read one of the letters flagged by Scheer's office. Sen. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

miles: It also calls for 407 miles 651 kilometres of replacement or secondary fencing, said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public, according to CTV. Trump has promised a big, beautiful wall with Mexico as a centerpiece of his presidency but offered few details of where it would be built, when and at what cost. The proposal by Customs and Border Protection calls for 316 miles 505 kilometres of additional barrier by September 2027, bringing total coverage to 970 miles 1,552 kilometres or nearly half the border, according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter. His administration asked for 1.6 billion this year to build or replace 74 miles 118 kilometres of fencing in Texas and California, and officials have said they also will seek 1.6 billion next year. It comes as the administration intensifies negotiations in Congress on a package that may include granting legal status to about 800,000 people who were temporarily shielded from deportation under an Obama-era program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The 10-year plan, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, resulted from discussions with senators who asked the agency what it would take to secure the border, the official said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

spending billions: Their slogans include, Leave Syria, think about us! and Death to Hezbollah! the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group that has been a key instrument of Tehran in Syria's war, according to The Chronicle Herald. Syria saw its own anti-government protests in 2011. Although the protests have focused on economic issues, demonstrators have also voiced opposition to the government's policy of sending young Iranians to fight and die in Syria and spending billions of dollars on the military when they say the priority should be working to provide jobs in Iran and control the rising cost of living. They were met with a brutal crackdown by President Bashar Assad's security services, sending the country into civil war. Iran's theocratic leadership has cast the effort as a religious war for Shiite Islam, an epochal struggle to defend the shrine of the Prophet Muhammad's granddaughter in Damascus from Sunni jihadis, and to deal a crippling blow to what it says is a U.S.-Israeli conspiracy to destroy Syria. But as cracks appeared in Assad's military, with soldiers refusing to fire on protesters and defecting to the opposition, Iran and later Russia stepped in to support their ally. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

zarate: Garcia Zarate will now be taken into U.S. custody to face two federal gun possession charges, according to Metro News. The San Francisco Sheriff's Department said it would hold Garcia Zarate in jail until U.S. marshals pick him up. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Samuel Feng also denied a defence request to grant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate a new trial for his conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. His lawyer, Tony Serra, said he expects the transfer this weekend. That would be a marked departure from the state case, in which the judge banned any mention of Garcia Zarate's immigration status and the nationwide debate around it. Serra also said he plans to inject politics as much as he can into his defence of Garcia Zarate in federal court. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

non-english-speaking mother: Rating NNNNYou know a show is special when an audience is roaring with laughter one minute and gently sobbing the next, according to NOW Magazine. That happened several times during the sold-out weekday afternoon opening of Good Morning, Viet Mom, Franco Nguyen's solo show about being raised in Canada by his Vietnamese-born, non-English-speaking mother. See listing. Nguyen has developed the show a lot since its premiere last Fringe, when it was called Soaring Under Liquid Skies. The script is centred around Nguyen's trips back to Vietnam to see his dying grandmother, which makes him consider his mom in a new light. He no longer consults notes during the show and he's got a maturity and relaxed quality onstage that goes with his natural swagger and cockiness. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

warning: Tory says the city is asking Ottawa and the provincial government to determine whether the armoury would be suitable as a 24-hour winter respite centre that could remain open until April 15, according to National Observer. To cope with Thursday's imminent cold snap, however, Tory says Toronto has opted to open two additional short-term warming centres downtown that will be available to residents for the duration of the cold weather warning, which is set to extend into the weekend. Environment Canada has issued a new extreme cold warning advisory for the city, predicting overnight temperatures of as low as -25 C with wind chill values that could make it feel like -40 C. After nearly two weeks of similar conditions, Tory bowed to public pressure to seek permission to open the Moss Park Armoury, which is owned by the federal government. Tory said the city will also be dispatching additional teams of outreach workers and deploying other staff to help with the expected influx of people tapping into the shelter system, which has come under unusual strain in recent weeks. The proposal to open the Moss Park Armoury, which was rejected by city council last month, gained fresh life as temperatures plummeted and led to Tory's promise to reach out to higher orders of government to discuss the idea. ; I want to say those discussions have been going very well, have been very constructive, he said Thursday, adding that he expects a resolution will be finalized soon. Tory said the prolonged spell of cold weather, combined with an influx of refugees over the past two years and a city-wide mental health crisis, has seen demand on the system soar 30 per cent from where it was at this time last year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

allophones people: According to the study, nearly a quarter of Allophones people whose mother tongue is neither English nor French are low-income, while 16 per cent of Anglophones and 13 per cent of Francophones meet that criteria, according to CTV. In Montreal, the poverty rate for Allophones is 17 per cent, 13 per cent for Anglophones and 10 per cent for Francophones. According to the study, which is based on data gathered in the 2016 census, Anglophones are more likely to live in poverty than Francophones, with an even worse situation for the province's Allophones. Study author Jack Jedwab say poverty among the Anglophone community has always been an issue, but the gaps to me seem to be more pronounced in 2016 than I would have anticipated. Jedwab said the Anglophone community has evolved, with many more English speakers coming from visible minority groups or are recent immigrants. The trend is also reflected in the province's unemployment rate six per cent for Francophones, eight per cent for Anglos and 10 per cent for Allophones. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

community members: They were the first Syrian refugees to be sponsored in Fort Nelson, B.C., a small oil and gas town near the Yukon border, according to CBC. Despite being in the midst of an extended economic downturn, community members had spent the previous two years fundraising to sponsor a family who would be suited to life in northeast B.C. The Sharkiye family celebrating their first Christmas in Fort Nelson. Isam Sharkiye, 35, and his family arrived in Canada in August. Sandy McLean Because Fort Nelson's remote we needed a family with few medical issues, so it was really just luck or fate or divine intervention that brought this family and us together, said Sandy McLean, one of the community members helping the Sharkiyes get settled. One community member donated a piece of copper, and Sharkiye created his first work in Canada. Shortly after arriving, Isam Sharkiye started collecting equipment from scrap yards. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

culture education: Tashi, 32, has pleaded not guilty, according to Metro News. If convicted, he could face a prison term of five years or as many as 15 years, Liang said. Tashi Wangchuk's lawyer Liang Xiaojun told The Associated Press that a judge in Qinghai province heard oral arguments for four hours and will issue a verdict at an unspecified date. Liang says prosecutors presented evidence focused on a nine-minute video the Times made in 2015 that told of how Tashi tried to sue local officials for denying Tibetans language and culture education. Tashi was detained in January 2016, two months after The Times published its video and accompanying article. The Times' website is blocked in China. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

license numbers: At least six people were detained on or near motel property during a two-year period, according to The Chronicle Herald. Motel 6 was aware that the agents used the guest registry information to single out guests based on their national origin in violation of Washington state's anti-discrimination law, the state's lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court alleged. Attorney General Bob Ferguson said motel employees divulged the names, birthdates, driver's license numbers, license plate numbers and room numbers of at least 9,150 guests to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents without a warrant. Ferguson said at least six Motel 6 locations in the state all in the Puget Sound region and corporate-owned provided the information without guests' knowledge or consent. In September, Motel 6 issued a directive to every one of our more than 1,400 locations, making it clear that they are prohibited from voluntarily providing daily guests lists to Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE the company said in an emailed statement. Washington's Supreme Court makes it clear that guest registry information is private, he said, and Motel 6 violated the law each time it gave out private information. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

elections groups: Democrats are trying to balance their commitment to a progressive priority with their desire to avoid a government shutdown and the potential fallout in the 2018 elections, according to Metro News. Groups such as Move On are threatening to champion primary challenges against incumbents who don't fight hard enough for these young immigrants. Democrats' inaction has enraged liberal activists, who have shifted their anger away from the Republicans who run Congress. They're commonly referred to as Dreamers, based on never-passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act. The pro-immigration United We Dream is preparing a new wave of camera-friendly protests at the Capitol and outside congressional Democrats' offices nationwide. The liberal organization CREDO is pledging to block campaign cash from unco-operative Democrats. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

environment canada: Environment Canada has issued a new extreme cold warning advisory for the city, predicting overnight temperatures of as low as -25 C with wind chill values that could make it feel like -40 C. After nearly two weeks of similar conditions, Tory bowed to public pressure to seek permission to open the Moss Park Armoury, which is owned by the federal government, according to The Chronicle Herald. Tory says the city is asking Ottawa and the provincial government to determine whether the armoury would be suitable as a 24-hour winter respite centre that could remain open until April 15. Goodale says options are being evaluated to find the most effective solution as quickly as possible following a request from Toronto's mayor to open a federal armoury to shelter the homeless. To cope with Thursday's imminent cold snap, however, Tory says Toronto has opted to open two additional short-term warming centres downtown that will be available to residents for the duration of the cold weather warning, which is set to extend into the weekend. Tory said the prolonged spell of cold weather, combined with an influx of refugees over the past two years and a city-wide mental health crisis, has seen demand on the system soar 30 per cent from where it was at this time last year. Tory said the city will also be dispatching additional teams of outreach workers and deploying other staff to help with the expected influx of people tapping into the shelter system, which has come under unusual strain in recent weeks. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

half reservists: That represents the first real growth in the number of people in uniform in several years, as increased attrition and recruiting challenges exacerbated by Conservative-era budget cuts steadily thinned the ranks, according to CBC. Yet officials are unlikely to celebrate, as the military is still short about 2,000 regular-force members and 5,300 reservists even before the Trudeau government's promise to grow both forces in the coming years. New figures show that there were about 450 more military personnel at the end of March 2017 than the previous year, with about half being regular-force members and the other half reservists. Special forces commander weighs recommendations on future of Iraq mission Canada promotes recruitment of transgender troops as Donald Trump imposes military ban The Liberals plan to increase the regular force to 70,500 members from its authorized strength of 68,000 and the reserves to 28,500 from 27,000 to defend against growing global instability and emerging threats such as cyber. In real terms, that meant not having enough staff to fly or maintain the air force's Chinook transport helicopters or its Hercules transport planes. Federal auditor general Michael Ferguson flagged the personnel shortage as a real threat to the Forces in November 2016, warning that it put a heavier burden on those in uniform and hurt military operations. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

kosovo lawmakers: It called on Kosovo politicians and lawmakers to abandon any thought of repealing or re-negotiating any aspect of the law ... because that calls into question Kosovo's commitment to the rule of law, according to Metro News. In December, a group of Kosovo lawmakers tried to amend the law, seeking to extend its jurisdiction over Serbs, their former adversaries in the 1998-1999 war for independence. A statement Thursday from the nations the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy said they were deeply concerned by ongoing efforts to undermine the work of the Specialist Chambers. The court now has jurisdiction only over potential war crimes suspects who were Kosovo citizens. We condemn such a move, the nations said. This move puts the interests of certain individuals above the interests of Kosovo society. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

rachael cummings: The camps have poor sanitation and are a breeding ground for diseases like diphtheria, measles and cholera, to which newborn babies are particularly vulnerable, said Rachael Cummings, the agency's health adviser in Cox's Bazar, the nearest city to the camps, according to CTV. This is no place for a child to be born. The babies will probably be born in tents in unsanitary conditions and will be at increased risk of disease and malnutrition, and of dying before age 5, Save the Children warned in its report Friday. More than 650,000 Rohingya have fled what the United Nations and others say is a campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar military and Buddhist mobs since August last year in Rakhine state in western Myanmar. A Bangladeshi official called the projection of 48,000 babies mind-boggling. UNICEF has said almost 60 per cent are children. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

react-text trump: Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump Trump said Thursday that any deal he signs will need to include funding for his border wall, more money for immigration enforcement, an overhaul of the family-based immigration system and an end to the diversity visa lottery, according to Toronto Star. Article Continued Below Trump told the lawmakers that he would love to take care of DACA, but we're only going to do it under these conditions. react-text 155 Trump said Thursday any legislation on the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program he signs will need to include funding for his border wall and an end to the diversity visa lottery. /react-text DOUG MILLS / The New York Times Chain migration is a total disaster which threatens our security and our economy and provides a gateway for terrorism, he said, referring to the current system that allows many immigrants to sponsor their extended family members. Lawmakers have been trying to hammer out a deal on how to extend legal status for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children and had been protected from deportation by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program DACA . Trump announced he would be ending the program last year, but gave Congress a March deadline to come up with a legislative fix. Trump also said he hoped the overhaul will attract Democratic support. react-empty 165 It would be really nice to do it in a bipartisan way, he told those gathered, which included John Cornyn of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.A separate group of Senate Republicans is scheduled to sit down with Trump on Thursday afternoon to discuss the budget and other legislative priorities for the year. Sign up Read more Virginia activists file lawsuit over Trump administration ending DACA program Trump demands border wall funds, immigration changes High school and college DACA recipients march on Capitol Hill Read more about United States, Donald Trump react-empty 175 Do you want to help shapethe Toronto Star's future Join our team of readers who are passionate about journalism and share your views. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

side character: Other books are more like mirrors, reflecting a story that is relatable to the reader's own lived experience, according to Toronto Star. Most students read books that are windows, for instance, though there is a push among schools to include diverse voices that are also mirrors. Some stories offer a window into another world or experience, like an outsider looking through a window. As a kid, most of the books I read were window books. We might have shared other characteristics, such as interests or hobbies, but the job of searching for commonality was mine. I never read a book that featured a character even a side character who looked like me. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

students centre: It's so cold I can't feel my legs or hair, said Hossan, wearing a scarf around his neck even while he's indoors at UPEI's International Students Centre, according to CBC. In Bangladesh, it is very hot that's why we feel very cold. He arrived on P.E.I. four days ago to study engineering at UPEI right in the middle of minus-double-digit cold snap. Hossan, along with fellow Bangladeshi student Arafat Hossen Akash, got a quick taste of their new reality. Others helped us because we don't have cell phone yet and called a taxi for us to go home. How to prepare for this week's winter storm Last night, we are freezing downtown, Hossan said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

sudan people: In December 2013, President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, fired vice-president Riek Machar, a Nuer, and unleashed his Sudan People's Liberation on Nuer villages, according to CTV. They killed and raped civilians and burned their homes. But fighting soon broke out between rival ethnic groups. South Sudanese refugees queue to receive a lunch of maize mash and beans, at the Imvepi reception centre, where newly arrived refugees are processed before being allocated plots of land in nearby Bidi Bidi refugee settlement, in northern Uganda, on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Although a peace agreement was made in 2015, it didn't hold. AP Photo/Ben Curtis Those loyal to Machar retaliated, also killing and raping based on ethnicity, according to Human Rights Watch. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.