budget cycle: The proposed budget is nearly 13 million more than had been approved in principle by council last year as part of the two-year budget cycle, according to The Chronicle Herald. Really, the major cost is the increase in the operation cost, said Stuebing, who took over the department in September. Part of the good news was that council voted to accept the proposed 2018-19 budget that included 68 million in wages and benefits. It's overtime, staff replacing those who are training. The recruiting, hiring and training drive has been precipitated by a recommendation that each fire truck should have four firefighters on board, and by a recent spate of retirements. The department has hired 40 career firefighters to help staff its 51 fire stations that protect more than 400,000 people in a 5,577-square-kilometre area. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

i side: Uploaded in April 2017, the episode detailing Canada's geography currently boasts 1.4 million views with 26,000 likes and 1,000 dislikes, according to Rabble. After watching the video several times, I have to say I side with the dislikes and for some very good reasons. Through its main series and namesake, it covers the geography, history, politics, culture and diplomacy of a sovereign country per episode, through the alphabetical list of United Nations members. Aimed at high school aged viewers, the host uses misogynous and outright racist material to inject 'humour' into this 13-minute video meant to educate viewers on the geography of Canada. While attempting to explain the difference between Americans and Canadians, Barby describes Americans as the quintessential teenage boy, namely energetic, opinionated, and confident. Instead, it insults and degrades women, Indigenous communities, and a wide variety of racial and ethnic groups. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian citizenship: Accepting the federal position would result in uncertainty about an individual's fundamental right to citizenship, Vavilov's counsel say in a brief filed with the high court, according to CTV. The Supreme Court will announce in coming weeks whether it's going to hear the case, though no date has been set for the decision. They're asking the Supreme Court of Canada to dismiss the government's application for a hearing of the legal issues at the heart of the strange espionage saga that has left Alexander Vavilov, 23, in limbo. The government is appealing a ruling that returned Canadian citizenship to Vavilov after it was revoked by Ottawa. The following year the family - including an older boy, Timothy - left Canada for France, where they spent four years before moving to the United States. Vavilov, 23, was born in 1994 as Alexander Philip Anthony Foley to Donald Heathfield and Tracey Ann Foley. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian citizenship: I hope that they correct their mistake and that they don't go forward with the deportation, according to CTV. Abdoul Abdi, who never got Canadian citizenship while growing up in foster care in Nova Scotia, was detained by the Canada Border Services Agency after serving nearly five years in prison for multiple offences, including aggravated assault. He would not be in these circumstances if it wasn't for the government, Fatouma Abdi said outside court in Halifax. Abdi's lawyer, Benjamin Perryman, said federal officials turned down the 24-year-old's request to press pause on a deportation hearing while he pursues a constitutional challenge. The former refugee was not in court because he had to work -- one of the conditions of his release to a Toronto-area halfway house. Abdi then asked the Federal Court to temporarily halt the deportation hearing -- scheduled for March 7 -- and Perryman made arguments on his behalf on Thursday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

child care: Because they lacked permanent status either through permanent residency or citizenship they would no longer receive support from the city on the basis of their immigration status, according to Toronto Star. One parent, a single mother and an international student, found herself scrambling to find answers. Early last fall, No One Is Illegal, the migrant rights group, learned from parents who are international students that their child-care subsidies were being withdrawn. At the annual review meeting where parental contribution is assessed, she was told her status as an international student meant she would be dropped from the child-care subsidy program. That's more than my pay. Without the city subsidy, child care for her two children totalled around 4,000. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ethiopian government: I believe that the public's demands and questions should be met and answered, according to Toronto Star. It was not immediately clear whether lawmakers had accepted the resignation. I want to be part of the solution, he said in remarks carried by the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation. Ethiopia has been rocked by months of protests demanding wider freedoms that have left hundreds dead and tens of thousands detained. Read more Ethiopia to drop charges against political prisoners, close notorious camp Article Continued Below Ethiopian government says renewed ethnic clashes kill more than 20 people Cyril Ramaphosa sworn in as South Africa's new president a day after Jacob Zuma resigns The protests have disrupted life and business in one of Africa's fastest-growing economies. react-empty 162 The 53-year-old prime minister said he will continue in his role until the power transition is completed. The government in recent weeks released more than 6,500 detained opposition figures, journalists and others after the prime minister in an unexpected announcement in January said he wanted to widen the democratic space for all. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

inadmissibility provisions: Advocates and opposition politicians say it discriminates against people with disabilities; in December, the House of Commons immigration committee recommended the entire provision be scrapped, according to Metro News. The Liberals have agreed the program is problematic, a message Hussen repeated Thursday in his testimony before the House of Commons immigration committee. The Liberals have been under pressure for months to overhaul the medical inadmissibility provisions of Canada's immigration law, which allows the government to deny people permanent residency if, for example, their condition would create excessive demand on the health care system. The policy is out of step with Canadian values on accommodating people with disabilities. The response will come by April 12, Hussen said the deadline for the government to respond to the committee report. Hussen said the government has been consulting with provinces, and wanted to review the committee's own report before deciding how to move forward. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

license photo: In a plea agreement, he said took personal information from immigration files and then forged identification documents, such as Social Security cards and drivers' licenses, in his victims' names, according to Metro News. Sometimes, he said, he used a picture of a murder victim that had appeared in a newspaper as a license photo. Raphael Sanchez, 44, oversaw deportation proceedings in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington before resigning when charges were filed Monday. He used the forged IDs to obtain lines of credit, used credit-monitoring services to determine which of his victims had the best credit, and listed three victims as dependents on his income tax returns. Raphael Sanchez betrayed that solemn responsibility and abused his official position to prey upon aliens for his own personal gain. It is the duty of our federal immigration authorities to ensure the honest enforcement of our nation's immigration laws, Acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan said in a news release. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

manufacturing group: Kent County immigrants get helping hand to join workforce The heating and ventilation company is trying to fill its workforce and encourages families of employees to come along and settle in the community, according to CBC. That idea appealed to Val Lagumbay and his family. So far, she has 26 clients from the Philippines, 21 of them working at the Imperial Manufacturing Group. They moved to Richibucto on Dec. 11. Lagumbay has worked abroad before, but he said having his wife and three children with him has made a huge difference. I was thinking about the future of my kids, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

press credentials: Yet it raises more questions about why he was in Syria, according to Toronto Star. He has told U.S. authorities that he was kidnapped and imprisoned by Daesh and had press credentials to do freelance writing about the conflict. The government's justification for holding the detainee without charge, contained in more than 150 pages filed late Wednesday, is loaded with details about the still-unidentified man, who is married and has a 3-year-old daughter. The case has sparked debate about the government's legal right to hold enemy combatants linked with Daesh under congressionally approved war powers written after the Sept. 11 attacks as well as the constitutional rights afforded every American citizen. The FBI interviewed someone who met the detainee in New Orleans in July 2005 when he was a college student. The government's court filing provides a detailed itinerary of the detainee's travels across the world, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Turkey and Syria and the United States where he went to college in Louisiana. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

press pause: Abdi's lawyer, Benjamin Perryman, says federal officials turned down the 24-year-old's request to press pause on a deportation hearing while he pursues a constitutional challenge, according to The Chronicle Herald. Abdi then asked the Federal Court to temporarily halt the deportation hearing scheduled for March 7 and Perryman made arguments on his behalf in Halifax today. Abdi, who never got Canadian citizenship while growing up in foster care in Nova Scotia, was detained by the Canada Border Services Agency after serving five years in prison for multiple offences, including aggravated assault. Perryman argued proceeding with a deportation hearing while Abdi's constitutional challenge is ongoing will cause irreparable harm. Heidi Collicutt, a lawyer for the federal government, told Justice Keith Boswell that Abdi's request presupposes an unfavourable outcome at the immigration admissibility hearing, and it would not be appropriate to stop an independent body from carrying out its statutory mandate. He says the Immigration Division hearing will inevitably lead to a deportation order given the circumstances of Abdi's case, and he would no longer be able to work one of the conditions of his release. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

recruitment officer: Police diversity fails to keep pace with Canadian populations Police must build relationships with Indigenous Montrealers, advocates say Compare that to the city's general population 32.8 per cent of Montrealers are visible minorities or Indigenous, according to CBC. Ingrid Cataldo, a recruitment officer with the SPVM, says the police service is trying to increase its contingent of visible minority officers. According to the SPVM's 2016 annual report the latest to be published 8.5 per cent of its police officers identify as Indigenous or as a visible minority. We think that more the police department reflects the population it serves, the better it is in understanding different values, different cultures, different languages, she said. Critics say recruitment efforts aren't strong enough, and targeting minorities for hire isn't all that has to happen. However, the number of minority officers has remained stuck at around eight per cent for the past decade. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

security ally: I believe that the public's demands and questions should be met and answered, according to The Chronicle Herald. It was not immediately clear whether lawmakers had accepted the resignation. I want to be part of the solution, Hailemariam Desalegn said in remarks carried by the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation. Ethiopia, one of Africa's fastest-growing economies and a close security ally of the United States, has been rocked by months of protests demanding wider freedoms that have left hundreds dead and tens of thousands detained. The 53-year-old prime minister said he will continue in his role until the power transition is completed. The government in recent weeks released more than 6,500 detained opposition figures, journalists and others after the prime minister in an unexpected announcement in January said he wanted to widen the democratic space for all. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

service officer: His investigations have worked toward indicting suspects who would then be put on trial at a Hague-based court known as the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, according to Metro News. Schwendiman has not yet issued any indictments. Specialist Prosecutor David Schwendiman issued a statement saying he will leave the post at the end of March because his three-year term as a U.S. State Department foreign service officer is coming to an end and cannot be extended. My leaving does not signal a change in policy or commitment to the work of the Specialist Prosecutor's Office and Specialist Chambers on the part of the U.S. or the European Union or the international community as a whole, he said. No one responsible for the crimes covered by the mandate of the Specialist Prosecutor's Office and Specialist Chambers should for one second think that my departure has anything to do with any lack of commitment to the investigation, he said. Schwendiman, who took the prosecutor's job in 2015, said he issued the statement to make clear he was not resigning or being fired from his post as prosecutor of a court that is unpopular among Kosovo's rulers. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

wood buffalo: The original Criminal Code charges were stayed in Fort McMurray provincial court on Wednesday, according to CBC. Alberta Justice spokesperson Dan Laville said Wednesday that police continued to investigate the fatalities after the original charges were laid, and that work included finalizing an accident reconstruction report. The 48-year-old man now faces one count of careless driving under the Traffic Safety Act. On the basis of the new evidence, Laville said in an email, the Crown determined the charges of dangerous driving causing death did not meet the prosecution standard of 'reasonable likelihood of conviction.' The collision happened in the Fort McMurray subdivision of Wood Buffalo on Real Martin Drive. Here's the reply from AlbertaJSG about why it stayed criminal charges against a man charged with dangerous driving causing the deaths of Hadi 'Dani' Eljamal & Sana Elache in Fort McMurray ymm We also updated our web story. David Thurton/CBC Neither the department nor the Crown would say what the new evidence was. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

works agency: Mladenov also cited Gaza's 47 per cent unemployment rate, rising to 60 per cent for young people, he said, according to CTV. Llorentty Soliz said he highlighted that the situation in Gaza has been worsened by the U.S. suspension of millions of dollars in funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Bolivian Ambassador Sacha Llorentty Soliz said Nikolay Mladenov, the special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the council that drinking water is short, hospitals have been closed and doctors stopped doing surgeries. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, known as UNRWA, was notified Jan. 16 that the U.S. was withholding 65 million of a planned 125 million installment. Llorentty Soliz said he told the council the primary responsibility for the catastrophic situation in Gaza rests with Israel. The U.S. demanded a fundamental re-examination of the agency in addition to changes to its programs, which have been heavily criticized by Israel. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

bloemen: Speedskater Ted-Jan Bloemen's gold was part of a banner day for Canada's Olympians, according to National Observer. The luge relay team of Alex Gough, Sam Edney, Tristan Walker and Justin Snith won silver. After settling for silver in the men's 5,000 metres, Bloemen had lamented that he didn't have more in the tank to challenge Kramer for gold. Pairs figure skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford took bronze. Skating with confidence and consistency in the second-last pair, Bloemen laid down a time of twelve minutes, 39.11 seconds. His tank was full of high-grade octane on Thursday, as Bloemen dominated the competition in the men's 10,000 metres and won the gold medal in an Olympic-record time. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

espionage saga: The Supreme Court will announce in coming weeks whether it's going to hear the case, though no date has been set for the decision, according to National Observer. The government is appealing a ruling that returned Canadian citizenship to Vavilov after it was revoked by Ottawa. They're asking the Supreme Court of Canada to dismiss the government's application for a hearing of the legal issues at the heart of the strange espionage saga that has left Alexander Vavilov, 23, in limbo. ; Accepting the federal position would result in uncertainty about an individual's fundamental right to citizenship, Vavilov's counsel say in a brief filed with the high court. Vavilov, 23, was born in 1994 as Alexander Philip Anthony Foley to Donald Heathfield and Tracey Ann Foley. The FBI turned up at the family's Boston-area home eight years ago. The following year the family including an older boy, Timothy left Canada for France, where they spent four years before moving to the United States. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

applications: Processing times are 12 months for those who filed an application prior to December 2016, while applications after that date take about 26 months, according to CTV. The Liberals had made family reunification programs an immigration priority upon coming to office in 2015 and have been gradually increasing the number of newcomers admitted in those programs since. Hussen says the backlog of applications now sits at 15,000, down from 75,000 in 2016. In 2018, admissions are projected to hit about 66,000. Hussen says the government understands how important it is to reunite couples and it also makes for a stronger country. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

daca applications: The Trump administration should be able to alter the policies and priorities set by its predecessor, Garaufis said, according to CTV. He said his order does not require the government to grant any particular DACA applications or renewal requests. U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis in Brooklyn said in a written order that the Republican president indisputably has the power to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program but relied on flawed legal positions in doing so. The ruling came in lawsuits brought by immigration rights groups and 15 states and the District of Columbia. DACA was implemented unilaterally after Congress declined to extend these benefits to this same group of illegal aliens, he said. Justice Department spokesman Devin O'Malley said the order doesn't change the government's position that DACA was an unlawful circumvention of Congress. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

dutch: The Dutch government announced that Lubbers died in Rotterdam surrounded by his wife and children, according to CTV. No cause of death was given. He was 78. Prime Minister Mark Rutte hailed Lubbers, who led the Dutch government from 1982 to 1994, as a statesman who dragged the Netherlands through tough economic times. Lubbers' conservative economic policies were in step with his counterparts in Washington and London during the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. With his broad knowledge and experience and his tireless creativity, he knew how to find a solution for every problem, Rutte said on Facebook. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

emergency request: On Feb. 15, a Federal Court will hear an emergency request to temporarily stop Abdi's deportation, according to Toronto Star. The broad strokes of Abdi's story are these. Yet it has ballooned into a needless battle exposing federal and provincial indifference to non-citizen children. Instability was the only constant in the life of this man, born 24 years ago in Saudi Arabia to a Saudi father and Somali mother. Article Continued Below At age 8, child protective services scooped him and his sister out of their aunt's home for reasons unknown. He lived for four years at a refugee camp in Djibouti and then at age 6 landed in Canada along with his sister and aunts. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

florida trips: The travel advisory issued by 15 groups warns immigrants from other states to reconsider Florida trips or to be ready to encounter immigration agents at airports, sea ports and bus stations, according to Metro News. We are taking the step of warning our communities that as the Florida lawmakers, state, local and federal do not take steps to push back against the anti-immigrant policies, we do not feel like our communities are safe in the state, said Tomas Kennedy, deputy political director at the Florida Immigrant Coalition. Leaders from immigrant rights and non-profit organizations said new co-operation between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and 17 Florida sheriffs is also spreading fear in the state. The advisory comes as Florida braces for its busy spring break season in March, when its beach resorts and theme parks attract millions of people. Activists staged several rallies across the state Wednesday, including at Greyhound bus stations where at least two recent Border Patrol arrests of passengers were caught on cellphone videos. The government estimated more than 4 million travellers from Canada and other countries arrived from January to March in 2017, compared with almost 27 million visitors who came from other states. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration applications: According to Hussen, the number of spousal immigration applications in the queue has dropped to 15,000 from 74,900 a year ago, and the average processing time has also been sharply reduced to 12 months from 26 months, according to Toronto Star. The Government of Canada is committed to family reunification. To celebrate Valentine's Day, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen hosted a news conference at a Mississauga dessert shop to update his department's dramatic reduction of the spousal sponsorship backlog. We understand how important it is to reunite couples. Canadians who marry someone from abroad shouldn't have to wait for years to have them immigrate or be left with uncertainty in terms of their ability to stay. It also makes for a stronger Canada, said Hussen. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration officials: Immigration officials also have made a significant dent in what had become a vast backlog of files, bringing it from roughly 75,000 files down to about 15,000 in just over a year, according to CBC. Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told CBC News it was the humane thing to do. The average wait is now one year in about 80 per cent of cases, down from the previous two-year wait, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. We wanted to make sure families were not unnecessarily kept apart and family reunification is a very key priority for our government, he said in an interview. Foreign spouses hit snags Liberals to scrap policy that rejects sick immigrants Canada to welcome 1 million immigrants over 3 years Hussen said the results were achieved by deploying a tiger team of staff to tackle the backlog, and by simplifying the application process to avoid delays and duplication. And that is why spousal sponsorship was, is and will continue to be a key part of our immigration system. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration proceedings: Prosecutors with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section allege that Sanchez stole the identities of seven people in various stages of immigration proceedings to defraud credit card companies including American Express, Bank of America and Capital One, according to The Chronicle Herald. Neither Sanchez nor his lawyer, Cassandra Stamm, immediately returned emails seeking comment Tuesday. Raphael A. Sanchez, who resigned from the agency effective Monday, faces one count of aggravated identity theft and another of wire fraud in a charging document filed Monday in U.S. District Court. According to court rules, the type of charging document filed in Sanchez's case called an information can be filed only when a defendant has agreed to waive his or her right to be indicted by a grand jury; it's typically an indication that a plea agreement is in the works. The charging document contained few specifics about the allegations, but did give one example It said that in April 2016, Sanchez sent an email from his government account to his Yahoo account that included personal information pertaining to a Chinese national identified only as R.H. The information Sanchez sent included an image of R.H.'s U.S. permanent resident card, the biographical page of R.H.'s Chinese passport and a utility bill in R.H.'s name. The court's calendar showed that Sanchez is due to enter a plea Thursday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.