immigrant: Increasingly, they bring creative destruction to our knowledge sector, according to Globe and Mail. Data now reveals that Canadian immigrant entrepreneurs are more likely than others to innovate, invest in research and development and introduce new products. Entrepreneurial immigrants do more than open convenience stores, ethnic restaurants or dry cleaners – the businesses many people may think of when they think about immigrant entrepreneurs. Immigrant entrepreneurs are not just diversifying our choice of products in Canada; they are also better at diversifying our exports. While Canadian businesses are notoriously risk-averse and concentrate their exports to the United States for ease of doing business, immigrant entrepreneurs challenge this corporate culture and are far more likely to seek out new markets beyond our southern neighbour. In a highly competitive global environment where Canadian firms must take advantage of rising purchasing power in more populous countries, pursue new and untapped markets to reduce risks from fluctuations in the domestic market, and find younger demographics in foreign markets, immigrant entrepreneurs are proven to be highly successful at this more than other Canadians. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

income verification: Critics say that puts locals at an unfair disadvantage and inadvertently encourages real estate speculation by foreigners who have easier access to credit, according to Globe and Mail. The federal regulator chastised the banks in July for inadequate foreign income verification because they can be exposed to more risk if they do not ensure these clients have the means to pay their mortgages in the long term. Canadian applicants must still prove their sources of income. The regulator also pointed out that banks can be vulnerable to money laundering if they do not verify that a customer money was obtained legitimately. The revelation stems from a Globe and Mail investigation that showed Vancouver real estate speculator Kenny Gu was able to buy and flip several single-family homes – while prices in the area skyrocketed – using credit from Canadian financial institutions. The Globe discovered income verification in such cases is still not mandatory at both banks, two months after all lenders were warned to be more diligent. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

julie towers: It a figure boosted by the one-time influx of Syrian refugees, but Towers says she confident the figure can reach the goal of 7,000 annually that an economic blueprint for the province has called for in hope of boosting a declining and aging population, according to CTV. Towers says one of the keys will be whether Ottawa -- which still vets the immigrants chosen through the province nominee program -- increases the current limits. Julie Towers, the chief executive officer of the province office of immigration, testified Wednesday at a legislature committee that 3,418 newcomers arrived in Nova Scotia in the first half of this year, slightly more than arrived in all of 2015, a record year. Lenore Zann, an NDP member of the legislature, says budget figures show small increases may not be keeping pace with rising demand for language classes, assistance to schools and job training. Zann also raised the issue of a request by the Halifax school board for additional funding to help it cover the cost of more english teachers and translation for schools that have seen sudden influxes of Arabic-speaking Syrian children. She said the party has heard from settlement agencies that funding isn't keeping up. "It just that the increased numbers of people has not been met with the increased provincial funding they actually need," she said. "That is concerning." Towers told the legislature committee that funding for settlement has increased from about $3.4 million in 2014-15 to $4.4 million budgeted for 2016-17. "It going up by a few hundred thousand dollars each year as the number of immigrants has come up as well," she said, adding that the funds go to various settlement agencies. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lauren krugel: By Lauren Krugel The Canadian Press Wed., Sept. 14, 2016 CALGARY—Former prime minister Brian Mulroney has waded into the debate over screening newcomers for anti-Canadian values, saying he sees no need to toughen the immigration process as one Conservative leadership contender is suggesting, according to Toronto Star. Ontario MP Kellie Leitch has floated the idea of applying such a test to potential immigrants as a way to make sure their views on issues like gender equality are aligned with Canadian values. Mulroney said Canada immigration process is just fine. "People don't just walk in the front door here," he said. But Mulroney said that unnecessary. People don't just walk in the front door here, he told reporters after delivering a speech at the University of Calgary on Tuesday. We have a good process now. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

leadership rivals: First up was Kellie Leitch, who suggested screening potential immigrants for anti-Canadian values, according to Toronto Star. She ran into a buzz-saw of criticism from editorial writers, commentators and some of her leadership rivals. Wed., Sept. 14, 2016 The contest to succeed Stephen Harper as Conservative leader seems to be turning, at least in its early stages, into a bidding war for the support of the narrow-minded, the suspicious and the fearful. But the idea seems to be popular among rank-and-file Conservatives, giving her a big boost in name recognition and support. He playing to the same crowd with a 10-point plan to fight terrorism with enhanced screening of immigrants and foreigners, among other measures. Now comes Tony Clement, who clearly knows an opening when he sees it. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

leitch proposal: And that fine, she told reporters at a caucus retreat, according to The Chronicle Herald. I want to be clear: I will be the leader of the party in May of 2017 and it because I am talking about the issues that Canadians care about, about Canadian values. I've heard from a number of people in our party and even from some caucus-mates that they may have a different opinion than myself. Leitch proposal to vet would-be immigrants and refugees for anti-Canadian values has put her at the centre of the leadership race debate, and at the two-day caucus retreat that ended Wednesday. Last Friday, former senior minister Jason Kenney, who is currently seeking the provincial leadership in Alberta, said Leitch had never put forward that position in all the years they worked together. Several other candidates have harshly criticized the proposal, and former prime Minister Brian Mulroney said Tuesday in Calgary the current immigration process works fine. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mike timani: They were responding to concerns that Syrian refugee families were leaving New Brunswick to settle in larger centres across Canada, according to CBC. Saint John losing Syrian newcomers to larger cities The New Brunswick Multicultural Association says roughly five per cent of Syrian refugee families have left the province. "It no doubt, we're always going to lose some but when you look at this what we have lost without looking actually looking at what we have gained, we only lost 4.2 per cent of the total," said Timani. Both Mike Timani, the president of the New Brunswick Multicultural Association, and Alex LeBlanc, the group executive director, say it is common that some refugees will decide to leave a province after they have settled. Both Timani and LeBlanc said the focus now has to stay on the 95 per cent of Syrian refugee families that have chosen to stay in the province. To date, LeBlanc said 103 Syrian refugees have found full-time or part-time work and 38 others will be employed in the next few weeks. Alex LeBlanc, the executive director of the New Brunswick Multicultural Council, said some refugees will leave once they've settled so they can reunite with family in other cities. "Five per cent leaving means that we've got 95 per cent of the families that are here and that where our attention is now," said LeBlanc. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

province office: It a figure boosted by the one-time influx of Syrian refugees, but Towers says she confident the figure can reach the goal of 7,000 annually that an economic blueprint for the province has called for in hope of boosting a declining and aging population, according to Metro News. Towers says one of the keys will be whether Ottawa — which still vets the immigrants chosen through the province nominee program — increases the current limits. Julie Towers, the chief executive officer of the province office of immigration, testified Wednesday at a legislature committee that 3,418 newcomers arrived in Nova Scotia in the first half of this year, slightly more than arrived in all of 2015, a record year. Lenore Zann, an NDP member of the legislature, says budget figures show small increases may not be keeping pace with rising demand for language classes, assistance to schools and job training. Zann also raised the issue of a request by the Halifax school board for additional funding to help it cover the cost of more english teachers and translation for schools that have seen sudden influxes of Arabic-speaking Syrian children. She said the party has heard from settlement agencies that funding isn't keeping up."It just that the increased numbers of people has not been met with the increased provincial funding they actually need," she said. "That is concerning."Towers told the legislature committee that funding for settlement has increased from about $3.4 million in 2014-15 to $4.4 million budgeted for 2016-17."It going up by a few hundred thousand dollars each year as the number of immigrants has come up as well," she said, adding that the funds go to various settlement agencies. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

rudderham: Neither was in a position where they would qualify for the funding needed to get their neighbourhood bakery business rolling. "Banks wouldn't come near us, according to Hamilton Spectator. There was no way," says Rudderham, now 34. "Any financial institution we went to said, 'OK, where are your co-signers '" But the two wanted to maintain their independence and not involve anyone else in the company. Rudderham was on maternity leave and Miller had been working at another bakery for about a decade making a modest wage. A private family loan allowed the partners to do that by providing enough funding to finance the bulk of their business. The nonprofit provides support to aspiring business owners between the ages of 18 and 39. "We jumped at it," Rudderham recalls. "Finally we were in a lucky position where it just made things easier." The whole process — from applying for the loan to receiving feedback directly from small business people — was a supportive one, she adds. A $15,000 microloan through the Canadian Youth Business Foundation — now called Futurpreneur Canada — was the icing on the cake. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

supporters two-thirds: Eighty-seven percent of Conservatives polled support this "common-sense approach," Leitch said Tuesday, citing a recent poll by Forum Research, according to Huffington Post Canada. Kellie Leitch speaks in the House of Commons on Oct. 21, 2013. "While the elites and most media harshly criticized even the mention of the discussion, you knew better," she wrote. In a second fundraising email since she announced her policy, Leitch told her supporters two-thirds of Canadians agree with her. Canadians should "not shy away" from their Canadian values, she told supporters and Conservative party members. "We should be proud to talk about these values," she said. "And I want to keep these types of important conversations going. What more, the senator added, Leitch, as a former cabinet minister charged with the status of women portfolio, should be more concerned about poverty, day care and policies that impact women rather than this values business. "What on earth is she talking about, does she even know what Canadian values are " Ruth suggested Leitch is being tactical and that her polling data is likely very clear. "There are probably those who would like that, you know it 'not in my backyard' stuff, 'I only want people like me.' Well, that not the way the world is, and it ungenerous of Canada, it bad for the economy, it great that there has been a protest within the party about it. But in order to keep talking, she said, her campaign needs more money. "This leadership contest has nine months to go, and we need resources to make that happen." Leitch asked for a tax-receiptable donation or help with making phone calls, selling memberships or campaigning on social media. "Together we will stand up to those who don't want to discuss Canadian values and whose politically correct elitism remains tone deaf to the views of most Canadians." "Together we will stand up to those who don't want to discuss Canadian values and whose politically correct elitism remains tone deaf to the views of most Canadians," she wrote. "With your support, we'll bring the voice of hardworking Canadians back to Parliament Hill." Conservative Senator Nancy Ruth told The Huffington Post Canada that Canadian values are ever-moving. "Nothing is ever stable in Canada, new generations, people from different countries bring different values all the time, it is one of the most wonderful gifts Canada has and to try to define it is ridiculous," she said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

criteria: But Mulroney said that unnecessary."We have a good process now, according to Brandon Sun. People don't just walk in the front door here," he told reporters after delivering a speech at the University of Calgary on Tuesday."They have to meet certain criteria and I think if they meet those criteria, that should be OK."Mulroney, who was the Progressive Conservative prime minister from 1984 until 1993, also diplomatically waded into U.S. politics, where immigration has also been a hot-button issue."This is a most unusual choice that Americans have to make."He said he knows both Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican opponent Donald Trump personally. Ontario MP Kellie Leitch has floated the idea of applying such a test to potential immigrants as a way to make sure their views on issues like gender equality are aligned with Canadian values. He said his children know Trump children and "anybody who can raise wonderful children like that has got something going for him."But he said in the end, Clinton has more going for her in terms of experience."Who the more qualified Obviously because of her background, Hillary. But Trump, he said, has "caught a wave" with his hardline stance on immigration, particularly from Mexico and Muslim countries — a view Mulroney said he doesn't share. She spent her whole life in public policy," he said, predicting that the outcome of the election will turn on who does better in the televised debate in about two weeks. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

house: One big move came from Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, who on Tuesday gave up his job as Opposition House leader. "My consultations about a possible run for the Conservative leadership have been very encouraging and I would like to continue to explore the feasibility of such an endeavour," the Saskatchewan MP said in an email statement, according to The Waterloo Record. The former Speaker of the House of Commons is expected to officially declare his candidacy in the coming weeks. The news this week that former cabinet minister Peter Mac Kay has officially decided not to join the race has cleared the way for other hopefuls — and more precisely, their potential campaign teams and financial donors — to start making their own intentions known, even if most political observers did not consider his decision a surprise. "I would suspect that now, nobody is waiting for anybody else to enter, so you need to signal your intentions sooner, rather than later," said Conservative strategist Tim Powers. O'Toole, a bilingual MP from Ontario who is reconsidering his earlier decision to stay out of the race, said he wants to use his time in Halifax to make sure that the support he has received from his colleagues is widespread among the 97 MPs and 41 senators that make up the Conservative caucus. "I would be running as a unifier and I have to make sure that I have that support throughout the caucus," O'Toole said in an interview Monday. Quebec MP Maxime Bernier announced the endorsement of four Conservatives from Atlantic Canada, including Nova Scotia Sen. Conservative MP Lisa Raitt has said she has made up her mind and she is expected to make an announcement some time this month. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

marketing certificate: It was a very well recognized school, with more than 50 years as an iconic institution for design in Latin America, according to NOW Magazine. It was a great school, but unfortunately, with all the issues and problems in my country, it closed its doors some years ago. I supervise five designers and all the work they do for the different brands that belong to Sunwing, from flyers and brochures to newspaper, online and social media ads.I studied design at the Newman Design Institute in Caracas, Venezuela. When I came to Canada five years ago, I got a marketing certificate at George Brown Continuing Education. I consider that agency my school in terms of advertising. I used to work as an art director for the ad agency J. Walter Thompson in Venezuela. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

country right: Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose downplayed the endorsement, saying the IMF had praised the policies of the Tory government under Stephen Harper during the global recession, according to Brandon Sun. Instead, Ambrose said the party is paying closer attention to domestic indicators and the opinions of the Bank of Canada, the Conference Board of Canada and ordinary Canadians who are struggling with unemployment and increasing debt."These are people who are out of a job, these are people that are worried about their paycheques," she said at the close of the two-day retreat."Things are quite grim in a lot of parts of our country right now."The IMF support of Ottawa "growth strategy" could serve to weaken the Conservatives' criticism of Trudeau economic policies, sure to be one of its main targets when it heads back to Parliament on Monday. Leadership candidate Tony Clement went so far as to accuse Christine Lagarde, the head of the respected international body, of "spouting left-wing ideology" when she praised the fiscal policies of the federal government a day earlier in Ottawa."I don't care if it the Queen of Sheba — if you're advancing theories based on left-wing ideology that means more tax and more spend, it will not create jobs," he said on the last day of the Conservative caucus retreat in Halifax."We're not going to fall down the same cliff again just because some expert from outta town has said it ok."Lagarde met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday and gave her stamp of approval to his economic initiatives, adding that she hoped they would "go viral" and spread to the European Union. But Conservative finance critic Lisa Raitt said that while it nice to have Lagarde approval, both she and Trudeau failed to explain how the federal Liberal government will pay for its spending."My fault in what she said is it one thing to say it ok to spend, it another thing to tell us how we're supposed to pay it all back," she said."This government has shown us nothing on how they're going to pay it back."Leadership contender Maxime Bernier said it was a wrong-headed policy at a time of flagging growth in Canada, and that billions in federal spending has done little to spur economic recovery."The reality is that after nearly a year you don't have any growth in Canada," he said."We need growth of four per cent and the way to do that is with less government and more private investment."The MPs made the comments as they wrapped up summer meetings that were dominated by discussions over immigration, electoral reform, party unity and the nascent leadership contest. The proposal has already caused dissension between some declared candidates, with Michael Chong calling it "unworkable nonsense" and Deepak Obhrai saying it is "anti-immigrant."Caucus members also looked at ways to make a comeback in Atlantic Canada, a region that shut out the party in all 32 ridings in the last federal election. Much of the debate in the hallways of the Halifax hotel centred on controversial remarks by leadership Ontario MP and candidate Kellie Leitch, who has proposed screening newcomers for "anti-Canadian values" as a way to assess their views on issues like gender equality. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

people mayor: Take yesterday press conference promising a "very exciting and special announcement."The media hordes were expecting big news, according to NOW Magazine. TV crews schlepped to the Ford family compound in Etobicoke to discover something a little less noteworthy – Doug sales pitch for a new book. With Doug Ford one never knows what to think, except the worst. Turns out Doug written one with late brother Rob when Rob was on his death bed: Ford Nation, Two Brothers One Vision, The True Story Of The People Mayor. Doug never been shy about riding his little brother political coattails. It expected out November 22. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

abraham lincoln: And talking about it gives others permission to talk about mental health as well, according to Toronto Star. By Jim Coyle News Tues., Sept. 13, 2016 As a politician who knows depression first-hand, Celina Caesar-Chavannes joins a long list of famous forebears that includes such figures as Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill. Owning my depression is my therapy, she said. Even so, it remains a relative rarity for a Canadian MP to admit to a mental health condition she knows might be used against her in the toxic worlds of politics and social media. She is an immigrant. But Caesar-Chavannes is a woman. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

anti-canadian values: Friends, our party has been there before, a long, long time ago, and we have no intention of going back there." Interim leader Rona Ambrose addresses the national Conservative summer caucus retreat in Halifax on Sept. 13, 2016, according to Huffington Post Canada. In recent days, the Conservatives have been embroiled in a debate over "Canadian values" after Ontario MP and leadership candidate Kellie Leitch said would-be immigrants should be screened for "anti-Canadian values." She has since explained that she believes newcomers should be surveyed to see if they believe in same-sex marriage and the equality of women. We are all realists here," Ambrose said in a speech to about 115 MPs and senators gathered in Halifax for a summer caucus meeting. "We know that drama drives ratings, that those outside of our party will do everything they can to separate us into separate camps. Several Conservatives MPs gathered in Halifax privately told The Huffington Post that they think Leitch is "crazy" and that she and her campaign manager, Nick Kouvalis, are hurting the party future chances by trying to carve out space in an increasingly crowded field of leadership candidates. On Tuesday, Chong called Leitch plans a dangerous game that is unworkable and nonsense. Publicly, some leadership candidates — in particular, Ontario MP Michael Chong and Alberta MP Deepak Obhrai — have panned her views. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

austrian authorities: Slovenian border guards tried to send them back to Austria on Monday, but Austrian authorities declined to take them, according to Metro News. The migrants have now been placed in a Slovenian refugee centre near the border. Slovenia state news agency says nine migrants who crossed into Austria illegally and then were returned to Slovenia have become the focus of a dispute between the two European Union neighbours .STA said Tuesday that the group entered Austria on Sunday and were swiftly returned to Slovenia. STA says formal proceedings will be launched to return them to Austria. Romanian television Digi24, reporting from Bulgaria on Tuesday, says the bodies were found in the Bulgarian waters of the Danube after their boat capsized on Thursday. Tens of thousands migrants and refugees fleeing wars and poverty have crossed the border between Slovenia and Austria before the so-called Balkan route that led from Greece through Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia was shut in March.___2:45 p.m.A Romanian television station is reporting that two migrants, including a 5-year-old boy, have drowned and six are missing after their boat sank last week crossing the River Danube from Bulgaria to Romania. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian values: The Opposition MP who proposed it was no doubt thrilled; the proposal did what it was intended to do, generating some precious name recognition, according to CBC. You can't buy that. It was a slow news week in Ottawa, so the parliamentary press gallery went after the story about screening immigrants for "Canadian values" like a beagle on a hamburger. So the proposal was a political success. But the opportunity to discuss the notion of whether there actually is any such thing as a universally held Canadian value was missed. The coverage was largely unimaginative, with repeated alerts about "dog whistles," the notion that the proposal held a scarcely hidden right-wing, nativist, anti-immigrant, agenda, which, let face it, is unlikely. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

claims dallaire: On his recent five country African "reconnaissance" tour defence minister Harjit Sajjan included an individual whose standing is intimately tied to a military leader who has destabilized large swaths of the continent, according to Rabble. Accompanying Sajjan was General Romeo Dallaire, who backed Paul Kagame Rwandan Patriotic Front in 1993/94 and continues to publicly support the "Butcher of the Great Lakes." In his 2005 book Le patron de Dallaire parle , Jacques-Roger Booh Booh, a former Cameroon foreign minister and overall head of the mid-90s UN mission in Rwanda, claims Dallaire ignored RPF violence, turned a blind eye to the weapons they received from Uganda and possibility shared UN intelligence with the Ugandan sponsored rebels. So, what should those of us who want Canada to be a force for good in the world think about the Trudeau government plan to join a UN stabilization mission in Mali, Congo, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic or South Sudan First, we have good reason to be cynical. Dallaire doesn't deny his admiration for Kagame. Dallaire then explained: "It had been amazing to see Kagame with his guard down for a couple of hours, to glimpse the passion that drove this extraordinary man." Dallaire interaction with the RPF was not in the spirit of UN guidelines that called on staff to avoid close ties to individuals, organizations, parties or factions of a conflict. In Shake Hands with the Devil, published several years after Kagame unleashed unprecedented terror in the Congo, Dallaire wrote: "My guys and the RPF soldiers had a good time together" at a small cantina. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

dalai lama: He insisted that Islam should never be conflated with terrorism."A genuine practitioner of Islam must respect others' lives," he said, adding that someone who kills in the name of Islam or Buddhism "is no longer a Muslim, or a Buddhist."He urged European countries to take in refugees, such as those fleeing Syria war, but said European governments should also work toward ending the war so that the refugees can go home, according to Metro News. The Dalai Lama himself fled Tibet and has lived in India for decades, effectively as a refugee, and is viewed by China as a separatist. The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, speaking Tuesday in Paris, said dialogue "is the only way," but didn't elaborate on how it should take place or with whom. He slammed Chinese censorship as "immoral" but said he optimistic that China will eventually relax restrictions and open up more. While he is no longer involved in politics, the Dalai Lama said he'd be happy to meet French President Francois Hollande. He is on a weeklong visit to France for conferences on the environment, spirituality, secular ethics and preserving Tibetan language and culture. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

drive growth: The millennial generation, those who reached adulthood after the year 2000, are not having babies at the rate they would need to drive growth, according to Hamilton Spectator. Having kids is obviously a personal decision, but what should concern us is the extent to which those decisions are being influenced by external factors, such as precarious employment, low income and ability to rent or own adequate housing. Consider: Declining birth rates are an issue across Canada, and Hamilton is no exception. This is just one reason economists and advocates alike are worried about the overwhelming growth of precarious employment, with its typical lack of security, low wages, no benefits and little dependability. If we don't have sustainable population growth, there only one other option — decline. We need to recognize this is a potential societal game-changer. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

game birds: He divvies it up into chops and other cuts, selling it to adventurous eaters who wander into the Kensington Market store, according to Toronto Star. While more familiar meats like beef and pork account for up to 90 per cent of sales at Sanagan Meat Locker, the remainder comes from people seeking so-called exotic meats like wild boar. By Aleksandra Sagan The Canadian Press Tues., Sept. 13, 2016 Once a week Peter Sanagan brings a whole wild boar carcass to his Toronto butcher shop. Game birds are popular, too. Though exotic meat consumption is not well tracked, demand for it appears to be rising and some industry insiders and watchers say that likely to continue as foodie culture grows. When in season, we'll have things . . . like pheasants and partridges and squabs, wild turkey, Sanagan says. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

house: One big move came from Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, who on Tuesday gave up his job as Opposition House leader. "My consultations about a possible run for the Conservative leadership have been very encouraging and I would like to continue to explore the feasibility of such an endeavour," the Saskatchewan MP said in an email statement, according to The Chronicle Herald. The former Speaker of the House of Commons is expected to officially declare his candidacy in the coming weeks. The news this week that former cabinet minister Peter Mac Kay has officially decided not to join the race has cleared the way for other hopefuls — and more precisely, their potential campaign teams and financial donors — to start making their own intentions known, even if most political observers did not consider his decision a surprise. "I would suspect that now, nobody is waiting for anybody else to enter, so you need to signal your intentions sooner, rather than later," said Conservative strategist Tim Powers. O'Toole, a bilingual MP from Ontario who is reconsidering his earlier decision to stay out of the race, said he wants to use his time in Halifax to make sure that the support he has received from his colleagues is widespread among the 97 MPs and 41 senators that make up the Conservative caucus. "I would be running as a unifier and I have to make sure that I have that support throughout the caucus," O'Toole said in an interview Monday. Quebec MP Maxime Bernier announced the endorsement of four Conservatives from Atlantic Canada, including Nova Scotia Sen. Conservative MP Lisa Raitt has said she has made up her mind and she is expected to make an announcement some time this month. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

industry insiders: While more familiar meats like beef and pork account for up to 90 per cent of sales at Sanagan Meat Locker, the remainder comes from people seeking so-called exotic meats like wild boar, according to Metro News. Game birds are popular, too."When in season, we'll have things ... like pheasants and partridges and squabs, wild turkey," Sanagan says. He divvies it up into chops and other cuts, selling it to adventurous eaters who wander into the Kensington Market store. Though exotic meat consumption is not well tracked, demand for it appears to be rising and some industry insiders and watchers say that likely to continue as foodie culture grows. The firm doesn't have consumption estimates for meats like ostrich, zebra or bison. In Canada, consumption of less traditional meats like horse, venison, camel, rabbit and game grew an average of 10.6 per cent a year between 2010 and 2015, according to estimates from market research firm Euromonitor numbers exclude some meats many would consider exotic, like buffalo and guinea fowl, which fall under different categories it tracks. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

leadership campaign: My family is my No. 1 priority, said Mac Kay, who has two small children, Kian, 3 and Valentia, 11 months, with his wife, human rights activist Nazanin Afshin-Jam, according to The Chronicle Herald. While the opportunity is exciting and the reward compelling, I feel it would be asking too much of them to jump back into politics right now and the heat of a leadership campaign with all that it entails, said Mac Kay, 50, who did not seek re-election in 2015 and is now a partner at a Toronto law firm. After much soul-searching, advice from trusted friends and weighing of the impact on my young family, I have decided not to seek the leadership of the party, the former cabinet minister from Nova Scotia said in a statement Monday. I am full of admiration for those who will seek the leadership and I stand ready to work with whoever the new leader will be, Mac Kay said. One of them is Kevin O'Leary, the celebrity businessman who was compared to Donald Trump when he started musing about joining the Conservative leadership race earlier this year. The decision by Mac Kay now makes it possible for others who were waiting for his choice to prepare in earnest for their own potential bids. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.