halifax cafe: John's, N.L., writer screamed when she got the news she is one of 15 authors vying to be one of five in the CBC Radio book debate, according to The Chronicle Herald. I feel honoured to be in this august company. The St. To be longlisted so quickly is unbelievable, says Bala, whose novel was published in early January in both Canada and the United States. In the fall of 2010 the MV Sun Sea, a cargo ship carrying almost 500 Tamils from war-torn Sri Lanka, arrived in British Columbia. Bala expresses another emotion as she talks rapidly and excitedly at a Halifax cafe about her compelling, fast-paced tale based on a true story. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

haitian flags: The gathering was meant as a rebuke of a vulgar comment Trump made about Haiti and African nations during negotiations with congressional leaders over immigration policy, organizers said, according to Metro News. We can stand in the cold because we are fighting for what is right, said Geralde Gabeau, a rally organizer. Roughly 200 people came out to City Hall Plaza waving Haitian flags and holding signs critical of the president before marching silently next door to the John F. Kennedy Federal Building that houses many federal agencies. We are not going to repeat the words of the president because we are a people of character, grace and dignity. The special status allows foreign nationals to live and work in the United State temporarily when natural disasters or civil wars prevent them from returning to their home countries safely. Organizers also called on the Trump administration to re-examine its decision to terminate temporary protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hispanic caucus: Leaders of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus signed a joint statement Friday, responding to widely shared videos of Border Patrol officers removing a woman from a Florida passenger bus, according to Metro News. U.S. Rep. Some Democratic members of Congress say the breadth of the zone where U.S. Border Patrol is permitted to check travellers ' documentation must be reviewed. Ted Deutch led six other Florida Democrats in signing it. The Democrats called the officers' actions arbitrary and disruptive. The videos showed officers boarding a Miami-bound Greyhound bus last week in Fort Lauderdale. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

house: Senior White House officials cast the plan as a centrist compromise that could win support from both parties and enough votes to pass the Senate, according to CTV. But it comes with a long list of concessions that many Democrats, and also conservative Republicans, especially in the House, may find impossible to swallow. The plan was applauded by some in Congress, but blasted by conservative activists as amnesty and slammed by a slew of Democrats, who accused U.S. President Donald Trump of holding Dreamers hostage to his hard-line immigration agenda. The plan would provide a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 690,000 younger immigrants protected from deportation by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program -- as well as hundreds of thousands of others who independent estimates say qualify for the program, but never applied. The plan would not allow parents of those immigrants to seek lawful status, the officials said. Trump announced last year that he was doing away with the program, but gave Congress until March to come up with a legislative fix. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration agents: It all depends on the luck of the draw, according to CBC. Devries is one of several Island immigrants hoping to win a lottery next month where the prize is the chance to be reunited with their parents and grandparents. Her grandparents might finally leave Venezuela and join her family on P.E.I. Her three children might have great-grandparents to dote on them. They are from Venezuela and the situation there is very difficult and dangerous, said Devries, a real estate agent who has lived on P.E.I. with her husband and children for seven years. Liberals relaunch family reunification lottery despite angry backlash around 'immigration fiasco' Government approves 12 immigration agents to drive rural growth Devries said the process can be nerve-racking. My whole family have left the country and they are alone in a house that's not secure. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lady bird: Not so for In the Fade, though, according to Vancouver Observer. See below . And why 7 nominations for films from Netflix Isn't it sort of a TV service Isn't it partly responsible for the severe decline in attendance at actual movie theatres last year Once again though, I'm happy that The Boss Baby was recognized. Sure, 13 for Shape of Water seems excessive, but Dunkirk, Three Billboards, Lady Bird and others got appropriate recognition. It won't win but it's a contender. Sadly, they weren't even nominated for Academy Awards. These are the new ones this week In the Fade 4 stars Maze Runner The Death Cure 3Hollow in the Land 2 Geek Girls 3 A Skin So Soft 3Some Other Guys 4 The film won a Golden Globe a couple of weeks ago and Diane Kruger won best actress at Cannes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mark reilly: His documentary, Strong Island hip-hop slang for Long Island, New York tells the tragic tale of the death of his older brother, William Ford Jr, according to Rabble. On April 7, 1992, the 24-year-old African-American man was shot through the heart by a white, 19-year-old mechanic named Mark Reilly. He has become the first transgender director to be nominated for an Academy Award. Although the cause of death was listed as homicide, and no one disputes that Reilly fired the gun, a grand jury made up of 23 white people declined to bring charges. The documentary, on its surface, is a cold case investigation. While a transgender man's groundbreaking Oscar nomination is certainly a cause for celebration, this achievement is steeped in pain, so eloquently evoked in this poetic, haunting masterpiece. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

point value: The methodology Two telephone polls from June and December probed respondents for their opinions in categories covering their economic outlook on the future and sense of class mobility, how well they know Canada's ethnic makeup, their racial tolerance and finally, whether they believe so-called populism is a good or bad thing, according to The Chronicle Herald. The answer to each question was allotted a point value. EKOS Research and The Canadian Press sought to explore to what extent similar discontent exists here and in particular, where, by devising an index to measure attitudes. Negative answers such as respondents reporting they were falling backward received more points than positive ones. The higher the point total, the more 'ordered' a person's world view. The sum of the points determined where someone sits on a spectrum of views ranging from 'open' to 'mixed' to 'ordered'. Put another way, it measures how insecure Canadians are feeling. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

refugee: In recent years the refugee board has been under tremendous pressure to meet a 60-day statutory requirement for most asylum cases, part of the reforms made by the former Conservative government in 2012 to fast-track the refugee determination process and expedite removals of failed claimants, according to Toronto Star. It is unfair to the board that the government created this law. In a form letter, the Immigration and Refugee Board told recent asylum-seekers that they should expect their cases to be heard in between 12 and 24 months as the board prioritizes hearings based on the date they are referred by immigration and border enforcement officers, affecting both those who cross the land border and those who arrive by air. The timelines are certainly not working out, said Janet Dench of the Canadian Council for Refugees, adding that the new scheduling system is good news to those who have been languishing in the backlog but bad for recently arrived claimants. Article Continued Below While the board had been prioritizing the most recent claims to meet timelines, it stopped rescheduling cancelled and adjourned hearings and the backlog has snowballed. With limited resources and no control over the intake of new claims, the board has been unable to abide by the restrictive timelines, which fail to account for administrative delays such as when a refugee judge is sick, an interpreter is unavailable or the claimant's lawyer is absent. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

vsb guidelines: You have to decide, are British prime ministers appropriate names for Vancouver schools Sir William Macdonald Elementary renamed Xpey' Elementary Under current VSB guidelines, Fraser said school naming and renaming is left to individual schools and local communities, according to CBC. Last year, two Vancouver schools were renamed to reflect Indigenous communities. I came to realize that the policies we have in place are not adequate and that it's time for the VSB to take a high level review of how we name and rename schools so we can better represent our city, Fraser told CBC News. Fraser wants the school board to rework its policies so more community groups and local First Nations are included in future decisions. The motion will be put forward at the VSB board meeting on Jan. 29. I recognize Vancouver schools do not adequately represent the historical multicultural heritage of our city and neither do they reflect our commitment to reconciliation, she said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

america data: Vancouver also happens to be the car-sharing capital of North America, according to a recent study, according to Vancouver Courier. Data collected from Vancity Credit Union show that Vancouver has, per capita, more car sharing vehicles than any other North American city. Specifically, we like to participate in car sharing, and we have a big pool of car share vehicles to prove it. With about 3,000 cars available for short rentals to members of a handful of programs, Vancouver has a larger fleet than in many key U.S. car-sharing cities, such as Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco.article continues below Trending Stories Man who died trying to stop fight remembered for his good humour Man dies in early morning fight on Granville Street Witness to Knight St. collision critical of bystander racism Mourners gather today for funeral of Alfred Wongrelated Five unregulated, Uber-like companies already operating in Richmond Rack-free bike share service U-bicycle rolls into Vancouver, plans massive expansion Vancouver has, hands-down, more car-sharing vehicles than in other Canadian cities; Toronto has 1,650 while Montreal has 2,080. Two out of three car share members of the 4,000 Vancity surveyed noted they joined up within the last two years, and one in three said it had been within the last year. There are four major car-sharing businesses in Vancouver Evo, Modo, Car2Go, and Zipcar. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

change: She issued a news release Friday morning spelling out a motion she'll introduce at the Jan. 29 meeting. article continues below Trending Crosstown elementary could be getting a new name Macdonald elementary renamed Xpey'Vancouver Park Board to consult with First Nations on Siwash Rock name change The move specifically aims to change the board's re-naming policy to enable better representation of the city's historic multicultural heritage and the board's commitment to reconciliation, according to Vancouver Courier. The VSB has more than 100 schools, but as their names do not fully reflect Vancouver's diverse, multicultural heritage, it's time to take a thoughtful and considered approach to change this, she said in a news release. Green Party board chair Janet Fraser is the latest to the wade into school re-naming waters. Fraser says the policy change is meant to align with the city's recent recommendations and apology for historical discrimination against people of Chinese descent. Fraser, however, does not include any mention of the downtown elementary school's name that's been dogged by some critics as bland, unoriginal and a failed opportunity to recognize the city's cultural history.A committee meeting on Jan. 17 saw Vision trustee Allan Wong call for a re-naming committee to be struck to get a new moniker process for the school started. Her motion comes a week after Crosstown elementary was again thrust into the conversation over its name. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

customer safety: I help address any changes related to platforms or scheduling and relay customer concerns to related departments while also supporting customers in need of medical assistance, according to NOW Magazine. I keep people in the know with posters regarding new campaigns and changes, which help ensure customer safety in our station. Expand What do you do at Union As a customer care coordinator, I have a variety of responsibilities, such as assisting our customers with wheelchairs, wayfinding and following up with complaints and concerns. What's the best way to spend one weekend in Toronto It depends on your tastes and interests as well as what time of year you're visiting Toronto. In the summer, there are many festivals, concerts and sporting events happening in the downtown core. Generally speaking, the ROM, CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium, Ontario Science Centre, Casa Loma, Metro Toronto Zoo and Canada's Wonderland are a few worth mentioning. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

afghan migrants: It also rejected allegations that their detention had been unlawful, according to Metro News. The court ordered that Greece pay legal costs as well as an additional 620 euros 770 dollars to each plaintiff for failing to promptly inform them of the reasons for their arrest. 2 30 p.m. Europe's top human rights court has cleared Greece of allegations of serious mistreatment made by three Afghan migrants who were arrested and held at an overcrowded island detention centre . The Council of Europe's Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that three plaintiffs, now aged between 25 and 29, had not been subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment by authorities on the island of Chios after their detention in March, 2016. The U.N.'s refugee agency is urging the European Union not to abandon its system for sharing refugees when any member country is overwhelmed by migrant arrivals.UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Volker Turk said Thursday that refugee relocation is absolutely crucial. When voluntary relocation of refugees failed, a mandatory quota scheme was introduced, but some countries refused to take their share, resulting in legal challenges. Frontline countries Greece and Italy were unable to cope with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants in 2015. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

bradford bulls: And the transatlantic squad is still reeling from the sudden departure of marquee forwards Fuifui Moimoi, Ryan Bailey and Dave Taylor, according to The Chronicle Herald. Effectively I've just lost my three most decorated players, said coach Paul Rowley. The second-year rugby league team has a long list of walking wounded as it heads into its lone pre-season game Friday at the Bradford Bulls. Any coach of any sport, to lose their three most decorated players, it doesn't set them in a good position really in terms of on the field. However as I've always said there's nobody bigger than the club and the club will always move on regardless. And aside from that, on a personal level obviously you grow attached to players and I'll miss the boys as will their teammates. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

discussion point: It's going to happen, at some point in the future, over a period of 10 to 12 years, according to The Chronicle Herald. Trump's pronouncements came as the White House announced it would be unveiling a legislative framework on immigration next week that it hopes can pass both the House and the Senate. We're going to morph into it, Trump told reporters. The president's remarks amounted to a preview of that framework. But immediately after Trump spoke, a senior White House official stressed the idea of a pathway to citizenship so-called Dreamers was just a discussion point in the plan that the White House intended to preview to the House and Senate later Wednesday. He said he'll propose 25 billion for building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and 5 billion for other security measures. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

earthquake: Instead of reviewing facts about conditions in Haiti since the earthquake, including an ongoing cholera outbreak and destruction from Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Homeland Security officials sought to bolster stereotypes about blacks and immigrants committing crimes and receiving public assistance, according to the lawsuit, according to Metro News. The temporary protected status allowing Haitians to legally live and work in the U.S. after the 2010 earthquake had been renewed repeatedly, to the chagrin of critics who said the humanitarian measure never intended to allow immigrants to establish roots in this country. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Maryland federal court, the NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defence and Educational Fund said Homeland Security officials failed to follow the normal decision-making process when considering whether to renew the temporary protected status granted to Haitian immigrants since a devastating earthquake struck the Caribbean country in 2010. The Trump administration announced in November that Haitians with the protected status would have until July 2019 to get their affairs in order and return home. It also quotes separate reports that Trump said thousands of Haitians who came to the U.S. in 2017 all have AIDS, and that he used vulgar language to question why the country needed more immigrants from Haiti or from African countries instead of from countries like Norway. The lawsuit cites a 2017 report from The Associated Press detailing U.S. immigration officials' attempts to find data on Haitians with protected status committing crimes or receiving public assistance. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

executive: This moment is not safe to go back, he said, according to Toronto Star. We have to improve the security situation inside Myanmar to send them back. While many Rohingya want to eventually return to their villages, UNICEF deputy executive director Justin Forsyth said that no one he met during visits to Bangladesh's refugee camps said they would go back now. Read more Skepticism, worry amid preparation for Rohingya repatriation to Burma Article Continued Below Burma says first camp for returning Rohingya refugees will be ready next week Bangladesh, Burma aim to finish return of Rohingya refugees within two years More than 680,000 Rohingya fled Burma's Rakhine state beginning in August, after Burma security forces began clearance operations in their villages in the wake of attacks by Rohingya insurgents on police posts. Bill Richardson resigned suddenly from an advisory panel on the crisis, calling it a whitewash and a cheerleading operation for Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi. While most of the refugees left Burma in the first weeks of the crisis, Rohingya are continuing to trickle across the border into Bangladesh, complaining of mistreatment at home. react-empty 163 Forsyth spoke one day after former New Mexico Gov. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

rajasthan region: Inder Chopra, vice president of Toronto's International Film Festival of South Asia IFFSA visited India last month to try to land Padmaavat for his own festival, according to CBC. The film tells the story of a 14th-century Rajput queen revered in India's Rajasthan region for resisting the advances of a Turkish Muslim king, after he attacks and overcomes the formidable fort of Chittorgarh and the Rajput ruler, in order to capture the beautiful Hindu queen. Inder Chopra of the International Film Festival of South Asia expects the historical drama by director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, which opened Wednesday in India, to be a grand show. Or so the story goes. But in the northern region of Rajasthan, where Rajput warriors repeatedly fought off invaders, the film's rumoured depiction of the queen a symbol of high female honour sparked violent protests by some Hindu groups and Rajput caste organizations. The film is based on an epic poem written 200 years after the siege in 1303, leaving questions ever since about its accuracy, and whether the queen in question even existed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

garneau theatre: The Ice on Whyte festival is back drawing crowds to Old Strathcona with a variety of events, activities and ice and snow exhibits, according to CBC. It all happens this weekend and next weekend. You can expect it to turn up at the annual Edmonton Pet Expo Saturday and Sunday at the Edmonton Expo Centre. Art made out of ice will be on display at Ice on Whyte in Old Strathcona this weekend. Lake Summerside is the place to be at noon on Sunday for the polar plunge, a fundraiser for Special Olympics Alberta. CBC Over at the Garneau Theatre, Metro Cinema is offering Canada's Top Ten Film Festival until Feb. 4. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

leitch: I have concluded, however, that the time has come for me to serve in other ways, including as a surgeon and volunteer, according to Rabble. She gave no specific reason for her departure beyond saying is it time to return to the public service that is the core of my being. My time in politics has been a genuine privilege, and I will always be thankful to the constituents of Simcoe-Grey for their tremendous support, Leitch said in a statement late Tuesday. She said she will serve out the rest of her term, but then I'm looking forward to getting kids back on the playground to play. Leitch, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, was first elected in her Ontario riding in 2011 and made a failed bid for the party's leadership last year. She has been a valued member of the caucus for a long period of time, said Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

obama-era program: The proposal represents a reversal for the president, who once promised to eliminate an Obama-era program protecting immigrants brought to the U.S. as children and now in the country illegally, according to Toronto Star. He later urged lawmakers to extend the program, but maintained he was not considering citizenship. Senior White House officials offered a preview of Trump's immigration framework Thursday, casting it as a compromise that could pass the Senate. The Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program currently covers roughly 690,000 of those younger immigrants about half the number who qualified for the program, according to independent estimates. It would not allow parents of those immigrants to seek lawful status, the officials said. Trump's plan would expand this further by adjusting some of the requirements, officials said, but they would not offer specific details. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

refugee claimants: It was still scary to have someone say they'll be deported in two hours if they don't pay up.'- Louisa Taylor, Refugee 613 They're asking asylum claimants for money, saying that there's a pending investigation and they owe money to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, and to pretty much pay up, said the IRB's Line Guibert-Wolff, according to CBC. Guibert-Wolff said the IRB first learned of the scam in December. The IRB has printed posters in six languages warning refugees about the scammers, who threaten their targets with deportation if they don't pay up. She said refugee claimants were contacted by phone or email by people claiming to represent either the RCMP or the IRB. Some were instructed to pay in cash, while others were ordered to use iTunes cards or bitcoin. She said the IRB has been working with the RCMP in its investigation. She said a pending investigation prevents her from speaking in detail about the amounts the scammers demanded, or about how they were able to obtain claimants' phone numbers and email addresses. 140 targeted since August Guibert-Wolff said the IRB became aware in December of 140 asylum seekers who had been targeted by the scammers since last August, though it's believe none actually made the payments. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

time: This writer happens to find it to be of an intrinsic interest that is almost aesthetic, akin to a symphony or great painting, according to Rabble. In this series, going back 50 years, one decade at a time, from 2018 to 1968, I have been interested in looking at events of the still recent past from the standpoint of the way many of us now see such current issues as the environment, inequality, Indigenous people, youth and women. In fact, there might be no reason at all to pay any attention to history, be it recent or ancient. Today we travel back four decades to a time when this writer was a mere 30 years old.1978In 1978, P.W. Botha became the last hardline head of government of South Africa. Botha's reign was marked by intense, brutal and violent repression of the anti-Apartheid movement. His successor, F.W. de Klerk, freed Nelson Mandela and negotiated an end to the Apartheid system. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

rohingya insurgents: This moment is not safe to go back, he said, according to CTV. We have to improve the security situation inside Myanmar to send them back. While many Rohingya want to eventually return to their villages, UNICEF deputy executive director Justin Forsyth said that no one he met during visits to Bangladesh's refugee camps said they would go back now. More than 680,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar's Rakhine state beginning in August, after Myanmar security forces began clearance operations in their villages in the wake of attacks by Rohingya insurgents on police posts. Forsyth spoke one day after former New Mexico Gov. While most of the refugees left Myanmar in the first weeks of the crisis, Rohingya are continuing to trickle across the border into Bangladesh, complaining of mistreatment at home. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

roy halladay: That would certainly fit with the recent trend after four players were elected this week in the 2018 class, according to CTV. Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman were voted in this year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, marking the second time in four years the BBWAA elected four players. With newcomers Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay headlining the ballot -- and Edgar Martinez up against a deadline -- next year's induction class could be another sizable one. Since 2013, when the writers elected nobody, there's been a veritable flood of BBWAA inductees -- at least two per year for five straight votes. Next year could be another multiplayer induction. The last time the BBWAA voted in multiple players for that many years in a row was from 1951-56. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.