housing crisis: Ahmed Hussen, the federal minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, told a news conference Monday he believes Ford's vocabulary is inaccurate, according to Vancouver Courier. I'm very concerned by Premier Ford and provincial minister Lisa Mac Leod really making statements that are difficult to understand when it comes to how they're describing asylum seekers, Hussen told reporters in Halifax. Last week, a spokesman for Premier Doug Ford used the term in a statement sent to the media, saying the recent influx of asylum seekers has resulted in a housing crisis in Toronto and threats to services that Ontario families depend on. article continues below Trending Stories Vancouver diver spent nine days in Thailand cave as part of soccer team rescue The stinkiest, most heavy metal sounding flower in the world is about to bloom in Vancouver Vision Vancouver's Diego Cardona seeks redemption in second city hall run Vancouver High on Life vloggers die in Shannon Falls tragedy On Monday, an emailed statement sent to The Canadian Press from Ford's office repeated the illegal border crossers terminology. These are people who we have a legal obligation to give a fair hearing to, and so we're applying Canadian law, we're applying international law and that requires all levels of government to work together. However, according to the federal Customs Act, those seeking asylum in Canada have that right to do so under the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. The act of crossing the border at a point other than an official port of entry is illegal. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tomas: It took 20 seconds for that life to be taken away, according to Vancouver Courier. An immigration officer looking for someone else spotted him and asked an innocuous question C mo est s How are you Then he asked whether Tomas had papers. It had taken a decade for Brandon Tomas Tomas to establish a life in America a wife, a steady job and five American-born children. In a flash, the 33-year-old Guatemalan was in handcuffs, in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, headed to jail and probable deportation.article continues below Trending Stories Vancouver diver spent nine days in Thailand cave as part of soccer team rescue The stinkiest, most heavy metal sounding flower in the world is about to bloom in Vancouver Vision Vancouver's Diego Cardona seeks redemption in second city hall run Vancouver-Seattle bus route only survivor as Greyhound pulls out of western provinces Many miles away from the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities are separating families in raids that target immigrants at home and at work, conducted in the name of public safety. This is the story of one such operation, and the lingering effects it had not just on families but on the community they had come to call home. Most of these raids go unnoticed outside of the communities affected, but they are integral to the Trump administration's broader crackdown on immigration that is leading to more arrests, particularly of migrants with no criminal records. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

toronto-based author: Frank gets sick and they can't afford medical care, but Polly can travel into the future; her job there includes health benefits so Frank can get well, according to NOW Magazine. They promise to meet in Galveston in 1993, but she ends up re-routed to 1998. Frank and Polly are in love in Buffalo circa 1981. America and the United States are two different countries one stratified, one more equal. What will it take for Polly and Frank to be reunited From page one, the Toronto-based author's work of allegorical fiction reads like a comment on immigration within a love story. In America, there is only electronic currency, movement is restricted and strict curfews are enforced. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump: The Trump administration argued that California is obstructing its immigration enforcement efforts.article continues below Trending Stories Vancouver diver spent nine days in Thailand cave as part of soccer team rescue The stinkiest, most heavy metal sounding flower in the world is about to bloom in Vancouver Vision Vancouver's Diego Cardona seeks redemption in second city hall run Vancouver High on Life vloggers die in Shannon Falls tragedy As he did in last week's decision, Mendez ruled Monday that the federal government could proceed with its attempt to block part of a third California sanctuary law, which prohibits employers from allowing immigration officials on their property without warrants, according to Vancouver Courier. The twin rulings by Mendez, who was nominated to the federal bench by Republican President George W. Bush, allow California to continue limiting police co-operation with immigration officials and require inspections of detention facilities despite the Trump administration's lawsuit filed in March. A judge on Monday dismissed the federal government's claim that U.S. law trumps two California laws intended to protect immigrants who are in the country illegally, affirming his ruling last week that California was within its rights to pass two of its three so-called sanctuary laws.U.S. District Judge John Mendez rejected the U.S. government's argument on two of the laws that the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government pre-eminent power over states to regulate immigration. The lawsuit, announced by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is part of the Trump administration's efforts to overturn so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that he said allow criminals to remain free. California's law limiting the sharing of information with federal agents does not directly conflict with U.S. law, Mendez wrote in a seven-page decision. Supporters of sanctuary laws argue they encourage immigrants to report crimes without fearing deportation. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

way right: Popular columnists who are featured on major platforms with significant media exposure that writers of colour can only dream of have also waded into the debate, according to National Observer. Let's get one thing out of the way right now there has been no attack on freedom of speech. The show was recently cancelled after major protests and international media reported on the fact that it was produced by a white producer and featured a predominantly white cast with a white singer front and centre.I've heard Quebec pundits characterize the protests and the outrage as hysteria and paranoia. None whatsoever, writes Toulas Take SLAV Mtl They call the decision by the Montreal Jazz Festival to cancel the show intellectual terrorism, an attack on freedom of speech, emotional tyranny, cultural Apartheid, a blow to artistic freedom, fascism and censorship. Was that censorship too or simply a just cause prevailing When the CBC had to pull The Story of Us and publicly apologize following an uproar in Quebec about the way the historical TV series portrayed French settlers was that censorship or a wrong righted Perspective is a funny thing. Are you listening to yourselves speak What embarrassing hyperbole! ; As stand-up comedian Louis T recently tweeted, when Mathieu Bock C t and Richard Martineau were against the re-enactment of the Battle at the Plains of Abraham by the federal government in 2009, the event was cancelled. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ant-man sequel: The 20th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the 20th to debut no. 1 at the box office Ant-Man and the Wasp comes on the heels of two mammoth Marvel successes this year Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War, according to The Chronicle Herald. While the first Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd, had a rocky road to release due to a late director change, the rollout of the sequel, directed by Peyton Reed, was smoother. According to studio estimates Sunday, the Ant-Man sequel easily surpassed the 57 million debut of the 2015 original in North America. Cathleen Taff, head of distribution for Disney, credited a marketing campaign that played up the film as a more modest, funny and light-hearted change-of-pace for Marvel following the grandiosity of Infinity War. Ant-Man and the Wasp, with a reported production budget of about 160 million, may have performed well enough to firmly establish its place among Marvel's more main-line superheroes. It came in solidly within of our range and definitely sized-up the sequel, said Taff. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

court appearance: The family separation issue is especially urgent for the parents of young children who are more dependent on their mothers and fathers, according to Toronto Star. Studies show that major stress at a very young age can create a lifetime of emotional and physical problems. Then it was the child's turn for his court appearance before a Phoenix immigration judge, who could hardly contain his unease with the situation during the portion of the hearing where he asks immigrant defendants whether they understand the proceedings. DOUG MILLS / The New York Times File Photo I'm embarrassed to ask it, because I don't know who you would explain it to, unless you think that a 1-year-old could learn immigration law, Judge John W. Richardson told the lawyer representing the 1-year-old boy. The separations have become an embarrassment to the administration as stories of crying children separated from mothers and kept apart for weeks on end dominated the news in recent weeks. The boy is one of hundreds of children who need to be reunited with their parents after being separated at the border, many of them split from mothers and fathers as a result of the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

des moines: He was 89, according to The Chronicle Herald. Ray, who never faced a serious election challenge during his 14 years as governor, died Sunday morning at a nursing home in Des Moines, said his former chief of staff David Oman. Robert D. Ray, who helped thousands of Vietnam War refugees relocate to the state and defined Iowa's Republican politics for years, has died. Ray had been battling Parkinson's disease for several years, Oman said. I used to tell the staff, whenever we would talk about something like that, that you don't start talking about politics at all, Ray told The Associated Press during an interview in November 2011. Ray once said that his approach to governing was simple leave politics out of the decision-making process. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

thinly-disguised attack: It was there when Conservative leadership contender Kellie Leitch called for immigrants to take a so-called Canadian values test, according to Toronto Star. The refugee policy is back in the forefront and Ontario Premier Doug Ford is facing off against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It was there when former prime minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government passed the infamous Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, a thinly-disguised attack on Muslims. Rene Johnston / Toronto Star In 2016, Canadians congratulated themselves on their generosity after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government admitted thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing civil war. Now refugee policy is back in the forefront. Yet even then, an Angus Reid poll showed that 44 per cent of Canadians opposed the move. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

des moines: He was 89, according to Vancouver Courier. Ray, who never faced a serious election challenge during his 14 years as governor, died Sunday morning at a nursing home in Des Moines, said his former chief of staff David Oman. Robert D. Ray, who helped thousands of Vietnam War refugees relocate to the state and defined Iowa's Republican politics for years, has died. Ray had been battling Parkinson's disease for several years, Oman said.article continues below Trending Stories Vancouver High on Life vloggers die in Shannon Falls tragedy Minimum wage increases go into effect June 1 across B.C. Classic works take on the modern world in Bard on the Beach Which way is the right way for Cambie Bridge cyclists Ray once said that his approach to governing was simple leave politics out of the decision-making process. Let's just decide what the right thing to do is, and then we'll decide how to promote it. I used to tell the staff, whenever we would talk about something like that, that you don't start talking about politics at all, Ray told The Associated Press during an interview in November 2011. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

stories vancouver: We have agreed to open up embassies in our respective countries, allow our people to visit each other's cities and allow our airlines and ports to operate freely, said Abiy, in comments covered by Eritrean state television, according to Vancouver Courier. Abiy said the two leaders have agreed to bring down the wall between us. Ethiopia's reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in Eritrea's capital and was welcomed with hugs and laughter by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, a joyous scene unthinkable just months ago.article continues below Trending Stories Vancouver High on Life vloggers die in Shannon Falls tragedy Minimum wage increases go into effect June 1 across B.C. Classic works take on the modern world in Bard on the Beach Which way is the right way for Cambie Bridge cyclists After being cheered by crowds in Asmara, Eritrea's capital, and holding private meetings, the two leaders attended a dinner and announced new measures. Now there is no border between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Love can win hearts, and we have seen a great deal of it today here in Asmara. That border line has gone today with the display of a true love ... love is greater than modern weapons like tanks and missiles. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

darshan kaila: Darshan Kaila is Pawan's close relative and employed both men, according to CTV. He said the two men were friends. Friday evening Ontario Provincial Police said the Underwater Search and Recovery Unit recovered the bodies of 19-year-old, Arwinder Brar and 20-year-old, Pawan Preet Brar, following a report of two swimmers in distress in McLeod Park on Thursday. It's a loss we cannot recover or don't know we are going to cope within our life, but we try within our life, but we try our best to pray and get help from God, said Kaila. Kaila said when the pair disappeared he travelled to Kenora and has been receiving updates from police. He said they travelled to the area for a day trip with five other people, and were planning to be back in Winnipeg for a shift later that day, but never made it back. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

cent: However, this has produced large racial disparities, according to Toronto Star. While Black and Hispanic students represent 70 per cent of the general NYC student population, they makeup only 10 per cent of students in the city's specialized high schools. Admission to these schools, which are some of the most prestigious in the country, is currently based on performance on a single test. Mayor Bill De Blasio has thus proposed to set aside 20 per cent of the seats at each specialized school for students from high-poverty middle schools which tend to have large proportions of Black and Hispanic students who score just under the current cutoff score on the test. Sachin Maharaj is a PhD candidate and Canada Graduate Scholar in educational policy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto Bias, lack of opportunity and discriminatory treatment likely play a significant role in the underrepresentation of Black and Indigenous students at the TDSB's specialized schools, writes Sachin Maharaj. In the long-term, the plan is to eliminate the admissions test entirely, and permit entry to the top students from every middle school in the city. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration law: I'm embarrassed to ask it, because I don't know who you would explain it to, unless you think that a 1-year-old could learn immigration law, Judge John W. Richardson told the lawyer representing the 1-year-old boy, according to CTV. The boy is one of hundreds of children who need to be reunited with their parents after being separated at the border, many of them split from mothers and fathers as a result of the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy. Then it was the child's turn for his court appearance before a Phoenix immigration judge, who could hardly contain his unease with the situation during the portion of the hearing where he asks immigrant defendants whether they understand the proceedings. The separations have become an embarrassment to the administration as stories of crying children separated from mothers and kept apart for weeks on end dominated the news in recent weeks. Such children don't have a right to a court-appointed attorney, and 90 per cent of kids without a lawyer are returned to their home countries, according to Kids in Need of Defence, a group that provides legal representation. Critics have also seized on the nation's immigration court system that requires children -- some still in diapers -- to have appearances before judges and go through deportation proceedings while separated from their parents. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

press brazil: Since the World Cup tournament, the pub has opened an hour early on game days to accommodate the spike in customers adding to roughly a 10 per cent boost in sales, according to Toronto Star. But some teams draw bigger crowds than others, said the general manager of the restaurant. Augustine's pub on Commercial Drive. The semifinals start on Tuesday leading up to the final game on July 15. Silvia Izquierdo / The Associated Press Brazil is huge, so is Germany. Ken McGagh / The Associated Press The semifinals start on Tuesday leading up to the final game on July 15. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

jerome blake: I had to run against who's in the field, and that's exactly what I did, Brown, of Toronto, said, according to The Chronicle Herald. I literally won by a nose Friday night in the 100, and I had a pretty comfortable win in the 200 and I'm pleased with it. Brown won the 200 to complete the short sprints sweep at the Canadian track and field championships on Saturday, but the field was missing Andre De Grasse to a hamstring injury and Gavin Smellie to an odd late false start call. I can build off this. Jerome Blake of Kelowna, B.C., was second in 20.38, while Mobolade Ajomale of Richmond Hill, Ont., won the bronze in 20.62. Brown, who'd won the 100 by a thousandth of a second the previous night, led from the gun to capture the 200 crown, his fourth Canadian senior title, in 20.17 seconds. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

readers: And 2012, alert readers will grasp, isn't as long ago as the 12th Century, according to Rabble. But that was then and 2018 is now, and not just as far as Harper is concerned. Still, wouldn't terrorism be a fair description of the Inquisition, the brutal effort to root out heresy carried out from the 12th to the early 19th centuries by what was effectively a non-state actor, as we say in the bland militaristic bureaucratese of the 21st Century And isn't the idea of excommunication for whatever reason, even if it is not much practiced any more, the sort of behaviour we associate to this day with religious cults I ask these questions only as a sort of back-handed defence of Stephen Harper, the former Conservative prime minister who obviously has far too much time on his hands these days, for travelling to Paris last Saturday to give an apparently well-compensated speech to a Free Iran rally sponsored by an Iranian exile group Harper's own government classified as terrorists as recently as 2012. Mojahedin-e Khalq, the group in question, often referred to as MEK and also known as the People's Mujahadeen, was declared by various Western governments to be a terrorist group in 1979, back in the days it wanted to overthrow the Shah of Iran, a geopolitical ally of the United States. Eventually, MEK ceased to be officially branded a terrorist group. The same year, as it turned out, someone else overthrew the Shah. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

self-driving cars: The company has trained its artificial intelligence systems to recognize if individuals are happy or sad, tired or angry, using a photographic repository of more than 6 million faces, according to Toronto Star. In this April 23, 2018, photo, Rana el Kaliouby, CEO of the Boston-based artificial intelligence firm, Affectiva, demonstrates their facial recognition technology, in Boston. We're not interested in applications where you're spying on people, said el Kaliouby, the CEO and co-founder of the Boston startup Affectiva. Recent advances in AI-powered computer vision have spawned startups like Affectiva, accelerated the race for self-driving cars and powered the increasingly sophisticated photo-tagging features found on Facebook and Google. But as these prying AI eyes find new applications in store checkout lines, police body cameras and war zones, the tech companies developing them are struggling to balance business opportunities with difficult moral decisions that could turn off customers or their own workers. Elise Amendola / The Associated Press file photo Recent advances in AI-powered computer vision have accelerated the race for self-driving cars and powered the increasingly sophisticated photo-tagging features found on Facebook and Google. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

starweaver tapestry: The discussion is part of a weeklong July 9-13 series of ticketed noontime tiffin talks that will be garnished with Indian takeout lunches packed in classic Bombay office-wallah dabbas, according to Vancouver Observer. Venue for the talks will be the outdoor Pause Pavilion that ISF bought from Ted-X and set up hard by the Bard on the Beach big top in the Salish sacred site of s n a q the park formerly known as Vanier . The pavilion's ceiling features a stunning Starweaver tapestry of a sky-entwining weaver goddess who features in the mythology of so many cultures worldwide. On the glory side, there will be banner performances by virtuosos like Hariprasad Chaurasia whose bansuri flute has been likened to the mythic Venugopal instrument of Lord Krishna himself ; sitar maestro Mohamed Assani performing a Scheherazade tribute in fusion with Vancouver's own Allegra Chamber Orchestra ; and a Ramayana episode staged, in classical Kutiyattam style, by Kerala's famed Nepathya ensemble to coincide with the 17th annual World Sanskrit Conference, hosted this year at UBC . But the mythopoeic downside will come in for its own share of sceptical attention, too, in such events as a panel on the timely theme of Fake News, Lies and Bulls t. The work is a collaboration between ISF artist in residence Sandeep Jahal and Musqueam knowledge keeper Debra Sparrow, who also offered the opening invocation at the Roundhouse launch party. A quintet of them will take the stage of Chinatown's Imperial Theatre tomorrow evening for high-powered soiree called 5x15. The pavilion isn't all that ISF has cadged from Ted-X. There's also the format of staccato brain-blurbs by Public Intellectuals. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

fire i: I literally won by a nose Friday night in the 100, and I had a pretty comfortable win in the 200 and I'm pleased with it, according to Vancouver Courier. I can build off this. Brown won the 200 to complete the short sprints sweep at the Canadian track and field championships on Saturday, but the field was missing Andre De Grasse to a hamstring injury and Gavin Smellie to an odd late false start call.article continues below Trending Stories Vancouver High on Life vloggers die in Shannon Falls tragedy Cousin says High on Life vlogger who drowned at Shannon Falls died selflessly When street gangs ruled Vancouver'We ran for our lives' West 4th Avenue residents devastated by fire I had to run against who's in the field, and that's exactly what I did, Brown, of Toronto, said. Brown, who'd won the 100 by a thousandth of a second the previous night, led from the gun to capture the 200 crown, his fourth Canadian senior title, in 20.17 seconds. De Grasse, the Canadian record-holder in the 200, had finished third in the 100 but pulled up with a hamstring injury in his 200 semifinal Saturday. Jerome Blake of Kelowna, B.C., was second in 20.38, while Mobolade Ajomale of Richmond Hill, Ont., won the bronze in 20.62. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

multicultural world: Rating NNNNHere's a two for one stand-up comedy special in an intimate bar on the east end, according to NOW Magazine. The promotional hashtag cedarnuts brings up a photo of two not Caucasian dudes on Instagram. See listing. This show explores what it means to be an outsider in our multicultural world. Habib Siam is a Lebanese cast away immigrant who's had to make friends with white kids in soccer shorts. Spoiler alert it involves dealing with immigration officers. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

years: Politically, nothing has really moved over five years, there hasn't been any result, really, Ousmane Maiga told The Canadian Press during a recent visit to a bustling outdoor market in Mali's capital, Bamako, according to National Observer. Maybe with this election, it can change. The elections, scheduled for July 29, are being hailed as an important milestone for the country, which has been riven by political unrest and growing instability marked by widening internal divisions and frustration at the government. ; The hope among many Malians is that a successful presidential vote to be followed later this year by regional elections will begin to reverse the country's lagging fortunes and pave a path out of the current morass, which has endured for six long years. Because Malian citizens, the Malian population see that it's very important to make a good choice. And to also choose someone who is not included in corruption. To have someone who has a vision. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

border security: Americans are more closely divided on the question of whether enough is being done to prevent illegal immigration and whether the country has gone too far in welcoming immigrants, according to Toronto Star. Also, more people say they trust U.S. President Donald Trump than congressional Democrats to deal with the issue of border security. On other aspects of the immigration debate, however, a more mixed picture emerges. The support for Trump on the border security issue is especially evident in congressional districts considered key battlegrounds in this fall's midterm elections. EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ / AFP/GETTY IMAGES Democrats appear more energized than Republicans about the fall elections, especially in battleground districts. A poll found nearly seven out of 10 Americans surveyed said they opposed the policy that separated immigrant children from their parents, compared with 29 per cent who said they supported the policy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

downtown toronto: In it he recounts getting into a cab in downtown Toronto and going to the new location of the Olga Korper Gallery that had recently relocated from Spadina Ave., where art galleries had clustered, to Morrow Ave, according to Toronto Star. Brampton's place as a cultural centre has been growing with independent efforts like the FOLD, a Festival of Literary Diversity. There's a passage in Robert Fulford's excellent 1995 book Accidental City The Transformation of Toronto that I think of often as it puts current notions of where culture is that is, where the exciting parts of the city are into perspective. Pictured here are, Zarqa Nawaz, right, creator of the Little Mosque on the Prairie, with her mother Parveen Nawaz and Jael Richardson, artistic director and founder of FOLD. Metroland file photo Morrow is a short, formerly industrial street off Dundas St. as it curves north to meet Roncesvalles Ave. One day the entire GTA could be part of that geography. Fulford's description of how far off the beaten path the gallery was is amusing to read in 2018 when Toronto's arts and culture scene has expanded far beyond Morrow, but it's instructive to see how our perception of cultural geography changes over time. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

families: The move prompted mass outrage in the United States and internationally, according to The Chronicle Herald. After first blaming the practice on the Democrats, Trump on June 20 signed an executive order that stopped the separation of families. Because children can't be in jail with their parents, more than 2,300 families caught by Border Patrol were separated. A June 26 court order by a federal judge set a hard deadline to reunite the families, and that deadline is fast approaching. Trump administration officials have said 2,342 children were separated from 2,206 parents between May 5 and June 9. Here's where things stand THE NUMBERS It's still not clear how many children have been separated from families under the zero-tolerance policy, or how many remain separated. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mac leod: Lisa Mac Leod, provincial minister in charge of immigration, urged Trudeau to commit federal resources to relieve overcrowding in Toronto's shelter system, according to The Chronicle Herald. About 800 refugee claimants and asylum seekers are staying in Toronto college residences that must be vacated on Aug. 9 before students return to campus. On Friday, the Ontario government said it faces a looming crisis next month if Ottawa doesn't help find space for refugees and asylum seekers currently sheltered in college dorms. Those college dormitories are for students who are returning in the fall, Mac Leod said. It is pressing. That space will be needed. ... This is something that is very urgent. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.