discrimination: They acknowledged racism, discrimination and violence that has led to areas, including Halifax and Toronto, banning police in uniform in the parade, but went in another direction, according to The Chronicle Herald. We recognize there are very serious concerns about discrimination and violence towards marginalized groups in communities across Canada and it is na ve to think there is zero racism, homophobia or transphobia in the CBRM, the statement said. We've fostered a strong, progressive working relationship built on collaboration and mutual understanding; we're grateful for the positive impact it's had and it's something we want to keep building on, wrote the two organizations in a joint statement released to media Thursday. But, when it comes to policing here, there is absolutely zero tolerance for discrimination. Toronto's chapter of Black Lives Matter halted the parade last July for a half-hour until Pride organizers signed a list of their demands and in January, Pride Toronto adopted their demands for the next parade. The union for Toronto's police asked the city in early May to pull their annual 260,000 grant to the parade after police floats were banned. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

effort: Fewer than a third of those arrested in the latest operation were foreign citizens, according to Metro News. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Thomas Homan said 1,098 suspected gang members were arrested on a variety of federal and state criminal charges, while 280 others face administrative immigration charges. The announcement of the gang sweep, part of an enforcement effort launched in 2005, comes amid a Trump administration effort to crack down on street gangs as part of a broader border security and illegal immigration enforcement effort. Among them were 384 foreigners who were living in the U.S. illegally and 61 legally in the country. Agents arrested 104 suspected MS-13 members. Gang members are involved in a broad range of criminal activity, including drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion and other crimes with a nexus to our border, Homan said.ICE said hundreds of suspected members of the Bloods, Surenos, MS-13 and Crips gangs were among those arrested in the operations between late March and early May. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

eric schneiderman: It's no secret that we've seen intense fear in immigrant communities across New York in recent months, according to Huffington Post Canada. To take advantage of that fear for financial gain is simply unconscionable, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. The cab companies were alleged to have charged as much as US 300 to transport people fleeing to Canada from Plattsburgh, N.Y., to the Canadian border normally a US 50 to US 75 ride. Unfortunately, frightened and desperate people are the number one target of scammers. A U.S. border agent questions two families that arrived in a taxi to cross the U.S.-Canada border near Hemmingford, Que., on Feb. 17. Schneiderman said an undercover investigator from the attorney general's office was dropped off at Plattsburgh's inter-city bus station, where she handed a cabbie from Northern Taxi a note saying she wanted to go to a place where people are able to walk across the border. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

fashion: The jewelry kept morphing into things, according to The Chronicle Herald. It kept changing until it eventually inverted itself into a dress, and where there was jewelry it was gone and there was a triangle cut out in the dress. In this dream, I was talking to a friend and she had on this piece of jewelry, said Veronica Mac Isaac, who will showcase her newest collection this weekend. MacIsaac said when she woke up, she was upset that something like that already existed in the world of fashion. And on May 13 at the Maritime Museum of Atlantic, she will show off her newest modern tartan fashion, where each piece is built around triangles, arrows, and V-shapes. It was a whole 10 minutes after I woke up until I was like, Wait, that doesn't exist, that was just a dream, she said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

future infrastructure: Full disclosure I ran unsuccessfully against Morneau in the 2015 federal election, according to Rabble. Morneau hasn't grabbed the limelight like some of the more flamboyant ministers. Amid all that fresh-faced diversity, it's easy to overlook the pale face of finance minister Bill Morneau -- a rich, white male from Bay Street, ensconced in the cabinet's most powerful post. But, with the help of heavy hitters from Bay Street and Wall Street, he's been quietly designing a radical new bank that will deliver some of Canada's future infrastructure -- roads, bridges, public transit, utilities -- into the hands of private investors. But the bank's unusual design will also, for the first time, give powerful private institutional investors -- even foreign-owned entities -- the opportunity to actually own important pieces of Canadian infrastructure, with the ability to charge us fees for using them. The Trudeau cabinet may have a New Age feel to it, but it's by no means neglecting its Bay Street base, which stands to profit handsomely from Morneau's proposed Canada Infrastructure Bank CIB . The bank is being presented to the public as a way to attract billions of private sector dollars to help pay for our public infrastructure. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration code: I don't have any kids, I don't have anything in Criminal Code or immigration code, he said, according to CTV. So I don't know why I'm still in jail. Sivaloganathan Thanabalasingam, a refugee from Sri Lanka who was charged with murdering his wife, told the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada during his detention hearing he no longer fears returning to his home country. That's what I'm thinking ... to go back to my country. The charge was stayed in April after the length of the proceedings was deemed to have violated a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that set time limits for trials to be completed. Thanabalasingam, 31, was charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of his 21-year-old wife, Anuja Baskaran. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

justin forsythe: The Canadian government and the prime minister have spoken out very strongly on two big issues one is around refugees and migrants and secondly, is around women and girls, said UN Assistant Secretary General Justin Forsythe, the deputy executive director of UNICEF. The United Nations children's agency is urging Justin Trudeau to press his fellow G7 leaders to do more to help vulnerable and isolated refugee children, according to Huffington Post Canada. Photo Chris Wattie/Reuters All G7 countries need to do more to address the exploitation of children crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Europe, Forsythe said in an interview. A senior UNICEF official wants the prime minister to push for progress on a serious aspect of the global refugee crisis children travelling alone without adult supervision while in Sicily later this month for the G7 summit. Ninety per cent of children making that journey are classified as unaccompanied and face no end of misery, including sexual slavery and detention during their flight, and further discrimination in some European countries, he noted. Forsythe singled out Britain and France as two countries that need to do more, citing the ongoing internal political debates in both as obstacles to progress. Trudeau's impressive leadership on Syrian refugees and his development focus on helping women and girls in poor countries give him the political capital to push his fellow leaders to accept and help settle more unaccompanied child migrants, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

kushner cos: Meyer mentioned her brother at a conference in Beijing on Saturday, according to CTV. Marketing materials for the event also promoted her as Jared's sister, and cited the Kushner family's celebrity status. Nicole Kushner Meyer, who had been representing her family's company in China, came under fire for what critics say was an attempt to attract investors using the family's ties to White House. The family real estate company, Kushner Cos., later apologized. The Kushner Cos. said Thursday that no representative will be attending conferences in China this weekend. It said Meyer had not meant to attract investors by using her brother's name. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

move: It hasn't been able to move beyond its phantasmological form and actually take power outside of Hungary and Poland, according to Hamilton Spectator. Everywhere else on the continent, mainstream parties have managed to keep the new, old breed of rabidly right-wing nationalists from taking the reins of government the past decade. For now, though, it's mostly just that a spectre. How have they done this, even in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis in 80 years Well, it turns out, the centre actually can hold so long as the center-right helps out. Even double-digit unemployment and semiregular terror attacks weren't enough for Le Pen's far-right National Front to get anywhere close to 51 per cent of the vote, especially as every other party treated them like political pariahs. That, at least, is the lesson of the relentlessly technocratic Emmanuel Macron's bigger-than-expected blowout of the anti-immigrant and anti-European Union Marine Le Pen in France's presidential election. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mediterranean sea: The Canadian government and the prime minister have spoken out very strongly on two big issues one is around refugees and migrants and secondly, is around women and girls, said UN Assistant Secretary General Justin Forsythe, the deputy executive director of UNICEF. All G7 countries need to do more to address the exploitation of children crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Europe, Forsythe said in an interview, according to CTV. Ninety per cent of children making that journey are classified as unaccompanied and face no end of misery, including sexual slavery and detention during their flight, and further discrimination in some European countries, he noted. A senior UNICEF official wants the prime minister to push for progress on a serious aspect of the global refugee crisis -- children travelling alone without adult supervision -- while in Sicily later this month for the G7 summit. Trudeau's impressive leadership on Syrian refugees and his development focus on helping women and girls in poor countries give him the political capital to push his fellow leaders to accept and help settle more unaccompanied child migrants, he said. In all of these countries there are very strong debates around migrants and refugees. Forsythe singled out Britain and France as two countries that need to do more, citing the ongoing internal political debates in both as obstacles to progress. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

research institutions: With the grants, they pursue career-development programs, mentorships and networking opportunities through academic and research institutions across the country, according to Metro News. The initiative is led by Access Alliance, a Toronto non-profit that provides services and addresses health issues for vulnerable immigrants and refugees. Immigrant Insights Scholars Initiative awards fellowships to newcomers who qualify as epidemiologists, statisticians and evaluation experts. It's an attempt to tackle the longstanding issue of qualified immigrants who end up in precarious employment as their credentials are not approved in time or just can't break into their respective domains. Some of these newcomers are overqualified and their skills are easily transferable in our economy. As a country we are losing out on so much, said Yogendra Shakya, senior research scientist at Access Alliance. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

russian government: Just days earlier, Comey asked the Justice Department, run by Trump crony Attorney General Jeff Sessions, for more resources for the investigation, according to Rabble. Trump's termination of Comey echoed President Richard Nixon's firing of the special prosecutor investigating Watergate, Archibald Cox, in what was called The Saturday Night Massacre. Comparisons to Watergate are chillingly relevant; Comey was investigating potential collusion between the Russian government and Trump's presidential campaign. Amidst the daily deluge of scandal, one detail remains crystal clear Donald Trump understands the power of the media, and he wields that power relentlessly. His unpredictable pronouncements have captured the attention of the corporate media, almost to the point where very little else is covered. From the announcement of his Supreme Court nominee in a suspenseful event that could have been drawn from reality TV, to his incessant and inflammatory tweeting, Trump manipulates the media and, more often than not, controls the news cycle. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

summer programs: Sierra Club hopes to expand Wild Child program This one is a lot more extensive though, a nature immersion program that takes them right into the woods, according to CBC. What we're going to be doing in P.E.I. are spring programs and summer programs, coordinator Hannah Gehrels told Angela Walker on Mainstreet. It's called the PEI Wild Child Forest School, an off-shoot of the Wild Child program that takes kids out of day cares and into the outdoors for a couple of hours, run by the Sierra Club. So spring programs are three hours each week for six or seven weeks, and the summer programs will be more like summer camps, a full day, Monday to Friday camps. CBC The forest school, all of our programming is outdoors for the entire time, rain or shine. Hannah Gehrels is projects coordinator for PEI Wild Child. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

supreme court: His lawyer says he followed the rules when he made two return trips home, but now that Canada's immigration laws have changed, he's caught in a legal limbo, according to CBC. He's a law-abiding refugee who is now being told to get lost, said Doug Cannon, who has filed for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, questioning whether or not refugees are equal to other immigrants. Nilam, 36, came to Vancouver during a raging civil war in his home country in 2008. Tamil migrants look over the side of the MV Sun Sea which was intercepted off the coast of B.C. in 2010. Those changes allow the government to revoke permanent residency status for settled refugees, if the person travels back to their home country, uses their old passport or applies for a new passport. Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press The case could affect hundreds of other refugees impacted by legislative changes made by the Conservative government in 2012. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

symphony: Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra music director Eric Paetkau promised something else on the stage Saturday night that will make this performance the first of its kind citizenship, according to CBC. A dozen or so people will join the symphony on stage, where they will be sworn in as new Canadians before joining the orchestra in what's sure to be an emotional version of the national anthem. Let's do Canadiana to an extreme.'- Saskatoon Symphony music director Eric Paetkau The concert promises Canadiana to an extreme, and not just because the performance will exclusively feature Canadian composers. The idea felt like a perfect fit for a symphony that works hard to represent our community, to reflect who we are as a city, a province, a country, Paetkau told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning. This weekend's concert will be the final one of the 86th season for the SSO. Courtesy SSO Part of that is the all-Canadian lineup for the concert. Let's do Canadiana to an extreme and bring it all together. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

al azzawi: He was given the book to learn and practice the language, according to Brandon Sun. The text contained sentences such as Daddy throws a bomb and goes to prison. ; I am eating sandwiches in prison. ; He shows me the bomb and the prison. Raad Al Azzawi, 38, has been taking French lessons at a school in a Brussels suburb since September. Al Azzawi told The Associated Press Thursday that in Iraq, there is a lot of misery, and I saw these writings and frankly, I was very sad. She took photos of the pages and published them on Facebook when she found out they were given to migrants and asylum-seekers to help them learn French. His teacher, Catherine Lemaire, said it suggests asylum-seekers are considered either as stupid or as terrorists and for me this is unacceptable. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

child migrants: Ninety per cent of children making that journey are classified as unaccompanied and face no end of misery, including sexual slavery and detention during their flight, and further discrimination in some European countries, he noted, according to Brandon Sun. Trudeau's impressive leadership on Syrian refugees and his development focus on helping women and girls in poor countries give him the political capital to push his fellow leaders to accept and help settle more unaccompanied child migrants, he said. The Canadian government and the prime minister have spoken out very strongly on two big issues one is around refugees and migrants and secondly, is around women and girls, said UN Assistant Secretary General Justin Forsyth, the deputy executive director of UNICEF. All G7 countries need to do more to address the exploitation of children crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Europe, Forsyth said in an interview. Forsyth singled out Britain and France as two countries that need to do more, citing the ongoing internal political debates in both as obstacles to progress. We've seen it in France, we've seen it in Britain and they're big political discussions, he said. In all of these countries there are very strong debates around migrants and refugees. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

jody wilson-raybould: The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized as reasonable the authority, under provincial law and common law, of police officers to stop vehicles at random to ensure that drivers are licensed and insured, that the vehicle is mechanically fit and to check for sobriety, Wilson-Raybould's statement says, according to Brandon Sun. The information revealed from a breath sample is, like the production of a driver's licence, simply information about whether a driver is complying with one of the conditions imposed in the highly regulated contexts of driving. Jody Wilson-Raybould tabled a so-called charter statement in the House of Commons explaining why the government believes the new measures are permissible under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Bill C-46, which includes new powers for police and harsher penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, was introduced in the Commons last month alongside the government's long-awaited plan to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The roadside test itself could not lead to a charge, but it would allow the police to continue investigating and to subject the driver to further tests. The new mandatory alcohol screening measures would mean police could demand a breath sample from any driver they lawfully stop even if they had no suspicion the person had been drinking before being pulled over. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

bars applicants: She noted that citizenship revocation is an important decision that bars applicants from re-applying for 10 years while some could even be rendered stateless, according to CBC. Given the importance of Canadian citizenship and the severe consequences that could result from its loss, the principles of fundamental justice require a discretionary review of all the circumstances of the case, wrote Gagn . Among those circumstances, she said, is a consideration of humanitarian and compassionate grounds. In a decision today, Justice Jocelyne Gagn said the provisions in question, which don't violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, do violate Canada's Bill of Rights in a way that can not be avoided by interpretation. Gagn then ruled three sections of the previous government's Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act SCCA inoperative. It also overturns part of the law that allowed the government to revoke someone's citizenship without a hearing. That means going forward, ministers of Citizenship and Immigration will no longer have the power to decide on their own to revoke someone's citizenship if they feel it was obtained by lying or concealing information. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian citizenship: In a decision released Wednesday, Justice Jocelyne Gagne not only quashed the citizenship revocations against eight Canadian citizens who were alleged to have obtained their citizenship by fraud or misrepresentation, but ordered the federal government to pay each of the litigants 5,000 for costs, according to Toronto Star. The decision means that all eight individuals will soon have their Canadian citizenship restored unless the government successfully appeals Gagne's decision or puts in place some form of due process to revoke their citizenship. Cole Burston / Toronto Star file photo By Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter Wed., May 10, 2017 In a rebuke of Ottawa's expedited citizenship revocation process, the Federal Court has ruled that a citizen deserves a fair hearing by an independent decision-maker before the government can strip a person's citizenship. Although the court has set aside the decision for 60 days and current revocation proceedings will remain legally valid during this time, the government is unlikely to initiate further citizenship revocations because any citizen who is being stripped of their citizenship during these 60 days can refer to this court decision to halt the process against them. Article Continued Below The fundamental importance of the nature of the decision, specifically a determination of the applicants' right to remain Canadian citizens, weighs in favour of a high degree of procedural fairness. The judge said that citizens threatened with the loss of their citizenship have the right to an oral hearing before a court or an independent tribunal, to full disclosure of the allegations against them and to the opportunity to have their special circumstances considered by an independent decision-maker. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

citizenship applications: The decision comes in eight cases considered as test cases that challenged the constitutionality of the changes made in May 2015, according to The Chronicle Herald. Those amendments barred people from going to court to fight the loss of their Canadian status, in some cases leaving them stateless, over alleged lies on their residency or citizenship applications. In a key decision, Judge Jocelyne Gagne struck down provisions of the Citizenship Act enacted by the former Conservative government under Stephen Harper, saying they conflict with principles of fundamental justice. The changes also barred people from reapplying for Canadian citizenship for 10 years after revocation. Since there is no right of appeal from a revocation decision of the minister under the amended act, the need for procedural fairness is all the more acute. Clearly, citizenship revocation is an important decision, Gagne wrote in her ruling. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

day extension: In the past, authorities held off deporting people much longer, in some cases years, while these bills wound through one or more sessions of Congress, according to Metro News. In addition, the agency said congressional leaders of the judiciary committees or key subcommittees must now formally ask authorities to delay carrying out deportations, Homan wrote in the letter late last week. In a letter to lawmakers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Thomas Homan said the agency will only hold off deporting immigrants with legislation pending on their behalf for up to six months with the possibility of one 90-day extension. The move changes how federal immigration authorities handle cases of immigrants with cases compelling enough for U.S. lawmakers to sponsor bills on their behalf in final efforts to help them avoid deportation. Few of these bills are offered by lawmakers, and fewer still pass. The change affects few people but comes as the Trump administration seeks to tighten immigration enforcement and build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

johnson: Tim Johnson A child emerges from a Dorze beehive home, according to Toronto Star. Tim Johnson The women of the Mursi tribe wear lip plates as a sign of dedication to their culture and husbands. Tim Johnson The women of the Mursi tribe wear lip plates as a sign of dedication to their culture and husbands. Tim Johnson By Tim Johnson Special to the Star Wed., May 10, 2017 OMO VALLEY, ETHIOPIA-Tucked deep in the country's southwestern corner, Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region SNNPR is one of Africa's most diverse areas, a relatively small state a little larger than the U.S. state of Maine that's home to more than 45 indigenous ethnic groups. Overnight in the small towns of Jinka, Konso and Turmi, and visit villages populated by the following peoples Karo Meant to intimidate tribal foes as well as attract mates, the Karo a tribe of about 1,000 people that lives near a big bend in the Omo River cover their bodies in intricate and dazzling patterns made with ochre and white chalk mixed with animal fat. Part of the Great Rift Valley, a visit to SNNPR's remote lower valley of the Omo can include a chance to experience a different tribal group each day. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

need protection: Immigration privileges granted to her and many other Haitians after the 2010 earthquake could soon be revoked, according to Metro News. President Donald Trump's appointees must announce by May 23 whether to continue temporary protected status for about 50,000 Haitians legally living and working in the U.S. Without this status, they could suddenly face deportation.A top immigration official has argued that Haiti is stable enough for its citizens to no longer need protection from deportation. Farah Larrieux feels like she's about to be forced out after living and working in the U.S. for more than a decade. According to emails obtained by The Associated Press Trump appointees are looking for evidence that Haitian immigrants have committed crimes before announcing the decision. I am planning my life, settling down. As President Barack Obama's administration repeatedly extended the benefits for Haitians, Florida came to feel like a permanent home to Larrieux. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

state senate: The measure would enable detention facilities to hold families for prolonged stays, which advocates say could physically and psychologically harm children, according to The Chronicle Herald. The bill needs a final Senate vote that could come as early as Wednesday before heading to the state House. The state Senate voted 20-11 Tuesday to give preliminary approval to a bill that would allow Texas to license two family lockdowns, despite a past state court ruling that such facilities do not meet minimum requirements to care for kids. Texas' legislative session ends May 29, so time is running short. That lockup, which mainly holds women and children seeking asylum from Central America, earns GEO 55 million annually. The private prison company GEO Group, which operates an 830-bed family facility south of San Antonio, lobbied Texas politicians to introduce the licensing bill, which could help its Karnes Residential Center remain open. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

robert joseph: One of the exciting things about the survey is that there was a similarity in alignment of ideas around what it means to both camps, said Reconciliation Canada founder and residential school survivor Chief Robert Joseph on CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning, according to CBC. The first one of course is that everybody agrees that we desperately need reconciliation. Nearly two years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report on the tragic legacy of Canada's Indian Residential School system, the survey, commissioned by the organization Reconciliation Canada, found that 62 per cent of Indigenous people and 46 per cent of non-Indigenous Canadians agreed there's a great need for reconciliation. So that's a good start, for all sides to say yeah, we agree. Reconciliation Canada On top of attitudes and perspectives on reconciliation, the survey also asked respondents to gauge specific actions needed to achieve reconciliation and improve opportunities for people from Indigenous communities. Chief Robert Joseph is the ambassador for Reconciliation Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.