immigration program: He said the agency has written to five lawyers who represent a high volume of those cases and asked if they can help explain what's behind it, according to CBC. He would not name the lawyers. Jawad Kassab, who leads the refugee and immigration program at Legal Aid Ontario, said the agency has identified an unusual pattern in sexual orientation claims filed by Nigerian refugee seekers this year. Kassab said he is concerned that if claims are fabricated, refugees with legitimate claims might have a harder time getting the help they need. Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan signed the Same-sex Marriage Prohibition Act into law on Jan. 7, 2014. It galls me because of the potential impact that it could have on the refugee system and the Canadian public's perception of refugee claimants and refugees in a very vulnerable time globally, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

maria: The film opens with Maria Cheng Pei Pei hosting a birthday celebration for her workaholic accountant husband, Bing, Tzi Ma . Maria reveres Bing and remains in awe of the sacrifices he has made for the family, so much so that she even respects his insistence that she not speak to their son, according to Rabble. But when she finds evidence that Bing may not be the perfect person she believes him to be, she's forced to consider her world in a radically different light. Toronto International Film Festival In her film Meditation Park, Mina Shum returns to the themes that propelled her early work. Maria embarks on a journey of self-discovery by engaging with the world around her, something Bing has always discouraged. Mina Shum is a Hong Kong born, Vancouver-raised filmmaker who studied theatre and film production at the University of British Columbia. She befriends a group of local eccentrics and a rather shady neighbour, Gabriel Don McKellar . Maria soon realizes that people's lives are much more complicated than Bing has led her to believe. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

phone interview: Harris, a native of Saginaw, Michigan who moved to Atlanta last year, cast her ballot Tuesday for city councilwoman Keisha Lance Bottoms, who will face fellow councilwoman Mary Norwood in a Dec. 5 runoff election, according to Metro News. Just having a mayor whose name isn't the standard name you would find on a coffee mug . I don't know what could be better! Harris said in a phone interview. The 28-year-old graphic designer exulted Wednesday on her Facebook page Keisha, Keisha, Keisha! I just want a mayor name Keisha. It's kind of like when Barack Obama became president. Ethnic-sounding names have long been considered an obstacle, particularly when applying for jobs or college admissions. A campaign once fixated on the possibility of Atlanta electing a white mayor for the first time in decades has suddenly shifted to the notion that the city could end up with Mayor Keisha adding Bottoms to a growing list of politicians whose ethnic-sounding names haven't hindered them from winning elected office. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

rambam mesivta: He did not come out as they shouted Your neighbour is a Nazi, according to CTV. Police stood in front of the three-story row house, marked by an overgrown garden and a rotting front door. About 100 students from Rambam Mesivta stood across the street from the Queens home of 94-year-old Jakiw Palij on the 79th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Palij was a guard at the Trawniki concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1943. A federal judge removed Palij's citizenship in 2003, saying he falsified his immigration application. He has said he was forced to be a guard. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

team statement: That's ultimately a decision for the team, though, according to CTV. Bowman, who is Metis, also said he respects the Edmonton CFL organization but would prefer a different name. I think there's an opportunity to have a more inclusive name, he said. The Eskimos responded to the mayor's comments on Wednesday through a team statement, saying in part We are always interested in hearing what people think within our community and elsewhere, on this topic or any other topic related to our Football Club. The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami agreed with Bowman. We use the Edmonton Eskimos name with pride and respect. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

toronto area: Twenty-nine per cent of Ontarians and 22 per cent of Canadians overall reported being visible minorities, versus a thin majority in the City of Toronto, according to Metro News. The numbers also varied in the Big Smoke. The data shows a marked difference in diversity between the multicultural heartland of the Greater Toronto Area and the rest of the country. The higher proportions of diversity more than 50 per cent were clumped in the inner suburbs of Scarborough, North York and Etobicoke. People who identify as Aboriginal are not counted as a visible minority by Statistics Canada. What does your community look like Search by address or zoom in on your census tract, a geographic area defined by Statistics Canada that typically makes up between 2,500 and 8,000 people. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trans energy: There were messages that called for my beheading and for a bat to be taken to my face, according to Rabble. There were messages that called me a 'c ' or 'bitch'. Some messages suggested I should have posted naked and others commented on my appearance.I'am not new to being trolled.I'm a public figure with a national organization calling for an end to the expansion of extreme energy including pipelines expanding the Alberta tarsands or oilsands, and for a just transition to a clean economy. These are names on the Facebook profiles that sent me misogynistic and violent messages over a span of a few days. In our four-year fight against Trans Canada's Energy East pipeline, I dedicated a lot of time to myth-busting. We were up against Goliath, a corporation that spent over a billion dollars on the recently terminated pipeline project from Alberta to a new port in Saint John, New Brunswick. I did this because I believe the project would have violated Indigenous rights, made a mockery of our role with the Paris Climate Agreement and put the drinking water of over 5 million people at risk from an oilsands spill. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

views: As with many issues, there were a variety of views inside the administration on a policy, according to Toronto Star. The Acting Secretary took those views and advice on the path forward for TPS and made her decision based on the law, said Jonathan Hoffman, the DHS spokesman, referring to a form of provisional residency called Temporary Protected Status. Duke refused to reverse her decision and was angered by what she felt was a politically driven intrusion by Kelly and Tom Bossert, the White House homeland security adviser, who also called her about the matter, according to officials with knowledge of Monday's events, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. He added that it was also perfectly normal for them to discuss the issue before she had reached a decision. By extending the residency permits of the Hondurans, Kelly told her that the TPS decision keeps getting kicked down the road and that the additional delay prevents our wider strategic goal on immigration, the White House official said. A White House official confirmed the calls to Duke on Monday, but said Kelly's frustration had to do with Duke's lack of decisiveness. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

water journeys: I soon knew what she meant, according to Toronto Star. Using both drone photography and close-ups, shot across one year in 23 countries, Ai Weiwei's movie is awash in often startlingly beautiful images of desperate adults and children surviving harrowing water journeys or long marches, arriving with almost nothing, living in crowded refugee camps, bringing home the notion, as New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis put it, that ours is an age of ceaseless churn with no calm in sight. A friend told me I would need this, she said. Ceaseless churn also describes our current public discourse about immigrants and refugees, from the dispiriting nativist rhetoric in the U.S. and proposed travel bans to the Trudeau government's recent declaration that it will open our doors even wider to new immigrants. Can we find a more engaging way to say this Article Continued Below We have recently debated Quebec's Bill 62 that bans women in full face-coverings from riding a city bus. We have new statistics that show Toronto is now majority visible minority such a mouthful. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

watershed moment: His death was a watershed moment for police relations with the black community in Montreal, according to CBC. It mobilized the community to put pressure on authorities to answer serious questions about the shooting and examine the way they related to Montreal's different ethnic communities. His name was Anthony Griffin. That process, some would say, is ongoing. That passenger is Anthony Griffin. These are a few key moments in that journey. 32092 Around 6 30 a.m., police receive a call from a taxi driver that a passenger in Notre-Dame-de-Gr ce did not pay his 27 fare. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

alberta tarsands: There were messages that called me a c ' or bitch'. Some messages suggested I should have posted naked and others commented on my appearance.I'm not new to being trolled.I'm a public figure with a national organization calling for an end to the expansion of extreme energy including pipelines expanding the Alberta tarsands or oilsands, and for a just transition to a clean economy, according to National Observer. In our four-year fight against Trans Canada's Energy East pipeline, I dedicated a lot of time to myth-busting. There were messages that called for my beheading and for a bat to be taken to my face. I did this because I believe the project would have violated Indigenous rights, made a mockery of our role with the Paris Climate Agreement and put the drinking water of over 5 million people at risk from an oilsands spill. I helped organize public forums, participate in government consultations, write reports, op-eds, government submissions, factsheets, blogs and press releases all providing facts countering Trans Canada's claims. We were up against Goliath, a corporation that spent over a billion dollars on the recently terminated pipeline project from Alberta to a new port in Saint John, New Brunswick. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

assault policies: The acknowledgement of rape culture can function as a transformative tool and opportunity to be good citizens or a different kind of citizen, according to NOW Magazine. It can create radical change in our socialization and education and better inform us of the racism, colonialism and misogyny intrinsic to sexual assault. But is that all there is We've known about sexual assault in Hollywood for at least a century, while choosing to ignore how lonely, re-victimizing and stigmatizing it is for those who choose to report or the rewiring of the lives of adults and children who tell. They should never be separated. Oh, there are sexual assault policies. It can allow us to observe the degree to which rape functions as entertainment in our media watch any episode of Law & Order as bounty and ethnic cleansing in our wars and as entitlement in toxic masculinity. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

night: The 100 or so words that followed described an incident that happened one night last summer a man followed her as she walked home alone, according to NOW Magazine. He was in his car yelling at me, the 31-year-old recalls. On the morning of October 18, Louise went on Facebook and typed out the words me too. I waited in front of a busy bar for a few minutes and he drove off. Louise got home safely that night, but the situation stuck with her. But he circled the block and followed me again. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

brooklyn museum: Speaking to supporters at an election night party at the Brooklyn Museum, de Blasio pledged to make New York the fairest city in America, promising to increase investments in pre-kindergarten and affordable housing, to put body cameras on all police officers and to fight for more money to fix the subway system, according to CTV. We've got to become a fairer city. De Blasio, a Democrat, easily defeated Republican state lawmaker Nicole Malliotakis, of Staten Island, and several third-party candidates. We've got to do it soon, and we've got to do it fast, he said. First elected four years ago, de Blasio emerged as a national leader in progressive politics. You've seen some important changes in the last four years, but you ain't seen nothing yet. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

caseworkers approach: They have encountered him before; they know he's teasing when he gives a phoney name, according to Metro News. Gladys Rivera and Ali Olson are part of a citywide, round-the-clock army of workers for nonprofits contracted by the city. A nurse will be visiting to discuss his heart problems, they tell him.A short time later, in Marcus Garvey Park, the sun has just begun to rise when the caseworkers approach a man zipped inside a sleeping bag. Their aim is to get the homeless into shelter, and so they make the rounds of upper Manhattan, checking on clients, identifying newcomers to the streets and trying to connect them with services. You never know which one is going to be the one that sticks, said Olson. They are often rejected, but they do not give up. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

citizenship canada: The Global Skills Strategy cuts the amount of time a foreign worker needs to wait for a work permit, with decisions being made within two weeks instead of months, according to CBC. The program also makes it easier for their immediate family members to enter the country. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada launched the two-year project in June to help companies that need to bring in talent quickly so their businesses can expand. Federal plan to fast-track foreign talentU.S. travel ban could be boon for Canada's tech sector Tech execs trash Trump travel ban The feedback from the private sector has been very positive, said Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development. Some applicants appear to be lured to Canada as they are second-guessing moving to the United States because of the political climate. More than 2,000 people have already applied so far meaning about 80 per cent of the applications to the program have been fast tracked. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

culture: It also points to the withering of civic attachments, the undoing of civic culture, the decline of public life, the erosion of any sense of shared citizenship and the death of commanding visions, according to Toronto Star. As he visits Asia this week in a trip that those in the White House, as usual, feared could careen spectacularly off the rails, the world will once again witness how Trump's history of unabashed racism and politics of hate is transformed into a spectacle of fear, divisions and disinformation. His ascendancy in American politics has made visible a culture of cruelty, a contempt for civic literacy, a corrupt mode of governance and a disdain for informed judgment that has been decades in the making. Under Trump, the plague of mid-20th century authoritarianism and apocalyptic populism has returned in a unique American form. Article Continued Below How could a liberal society give up its ideals so quickly What forces have undermined education to the extent that a relatively informed electorate allowed such a catastrophe to happen in an alleged democracy George Orwell's ignorance is strength motto in 1984 has materialized in the Trump administration's attempts not only to rewrite history, but also to obliterate it. A year later, people in Asia and the rest of the world are watching, pondering how such a dreadful event and retreat from democracy could have taken place. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

daniele hamamdjian: CTV's Daniele Hamamdjian visited a congested camp inside Bangladesh, near the Myanmar border, according to CTV. It's a place where sheets of plastic are often the only protection from the sun, monsoon rains turn the ground into thick mud, and disease and violence are an ever-present danger. Since late August, more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims and other minorities have chosen a bleak and uncertain future in a foreign land to escape what the United Nations has called a case of textbook ethnic cleansing, and the world's fastest growing refugee crisis. This is zero line. Col. You're in a no-man's land, Lt. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

dozen lawmakers: In another new challenge, Mombasa Gov, according to Metro News. Hassan Joho, another governor and more than a dozen lawmakers have revived old calls for coastal counties to secede, alleging discrimination by the national government since Kenya's independence from British rule in 1963. Some posted online images of Kenya divided into two nations along ethnic lines, reflecting a growing sense of marginalization in some opposition strongholds despite some progress in allocating more rights and resources to aggrieved communities. Critics have dismissed the call as political posturing in the wake of President Uhuru Kenyatta's disputed election win on Oct. 26, but the rhetoric highlights the skepticism of some Kenyans about the unity of one of Africa's most influential nations. Recent independence bids in Spain's Catalonia region and Iraq's autonomous Kurdish area ran up against the power of the state, and the bloodshed that accompanied the path to statehood in African nations including Eritrea and South Sudan is a measure of the toll of some secessionist bids. However unlikely, secession is an idea that was extremely marginal, and now it's gone mainstream, said Abdullahi Boru, a political analyst in Kenya. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hillel b.c: This is the second year that students from the two campus communities will come together to share a Middle Eastern feast, according to CBC. Last year, the dinner was only for Muslim or Jewish students, but the guest list for this year has expanded. The University of Victoria's Muslim and Jewish student associations, along with Hillel B.C., are hosting a multicultural dinner event in an effort to build relationships between members of different faith and cultural groups. Guest list grows We thought it would be important to bring other faith and cultural groups as well, Asiyah Robinson, president of the UVic Muslim Student's Association told On The Island host Gregor Craigie. Ora Stefanic, the Victoria director of Hillel B.C., said the expanded guest list is an indication that people from many backgrounds are trying to break down barriers and stereotypes. There's a lot going on in the world today and one of my personal beliefs is that, if people are being targeted, we need to band together and build support in a community, said Robinson. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration status: It requires local law enforcement agencies to honour federal immigration requests to detain people in local jails for possible deportation, according to The Chronicle Herald. The law also allows police to inquire about people's immigration status during routine interactions such as traffic stops. The Texas Legislature approved the law in the spring. It subjects some law enforcement officials with removal from office and criminal charges if they don't comply with the law. The critics also argue that some parts of the law are unconstitutional because they are vague as to exactly how local officers are to fulfil their duties with respect to immigration law. Opponents argue, among other things, that the law illegally puts local law enforcement officers in the role of federal immigration officers, and that it puts local officers in the position of violating detainees' constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

opposition strongholds: In another new challenge, Mombasa Gov, according to Toronto Star. Hassan Joho, another governor and more than a dozen lawmakers have revived old calls for coastal counties to secede, alleging discrimination by the national government since Kenya's independence from British rule in 1963. Some posted online images of Kenya divided into two nations along ethnic lines, reflecting a growing sense of marginalization in some opposition strongholds despite some progress in allocating more rights and resources to aggrieved communities. Critics have dismissed the call as political posturing in the wake of President Uhuru Kenyatta's disputed election win on Oct. 26, but the rhetoric highlights the skepticism of some Kenyans about the unity of one of Africa's most influential nations. Recent independence bids in Spain's Catalonia region and Iraq's autonomous Kurdish area ran up against the power of the state, and the bloodshed that accompanied the path to statehood in African nations including Eritrea and South Sudan is a measure of the toll of some secessionist bids. Read more President Uhuru Kenyatta wins rerun election in Kenya However unlikely, secession is an idea that was extremely marginal, and now it's gone mainstream, said Abdullahi Boru, a political analyst in Kenya. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

refugees: Currently, the camp at Manus Island is closing, leaving hundreds of refugees in a desperate situation, according to Rabble. Asia Pacific Currents talks to Tamil Refugee Council spokesperson Aran Mylvaganam about the latest situation on Manus Island. On top of turning back boats in acts of piracy on the high seas and deporting refugees back to dangers in countries they escaped from, Australia has created a series of concentration camps for refugees both onshore and offshore. Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia Image Takver/flickr Like this article Please chip in to keep stories like these coming. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

rodriguez: Upwards of 200,000 Salvadorans are also awaiting a decision on their status, which is expected in the coming weeks, according to The Chronicle Herald. Pablo Rodriguez, who represents a Montreal-area riding, said Wednesday he's headed to Texas to reach out to all three communities after myths circulating earlier this year prompted hundreds of people a day to cross illegally into Canada in search of asylum, fearing the end of the temporary status program in the U.S. We want to make sure that people have all the facts and what we're telling them is before selling your house, leaving your job, picking up the kids from school, make sure you understand the rules, Rodriguez said. The Trump administration has placed around 5,000 Nicaraguans on notice that their temporary status in the U.S. will be revoked in the next year, while nearly 86,000 Hondurans have been given an extension until July, at which point their status could be revoked. Temporary protected status spares people from deportation and gives them quasi-legal status in the U.S., so they can work or go to school. But critics saw it as an overly permissive policy in need of being reined in, something the U.S. began doing last spring. It's extended for things like major natural disasters, such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, that can make deporting people a potential violation of humanitarian law. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

status program: Upwards of 200,000 Salvadorans are also awaiting a decision on their status, which is expected in the coming weeks, according to CTV. Pablo Rodriguez, who represents a Montreal-area riding, said Wednesday he's headed to Texas to reach out to all three communities after myths circulating earlier this year prompted hundreds of people a day to cross illegally into Canada in search of asylum, fearing the end of the temporary status program in the U.S. We want to make sure that people have all the facts and what we're telling them is before selling your house, leaving your job, picking up the kids from school, make sure you understand the rules, Rodriguez said. The Trump administration has placed around 5,000 Nicaraguans on notice that their temporary status in the U.S. will be revoked in the next year, while nearly 86,000 Hondurans have been given an extension until July, at which point their status could be revoked. Temporary protected status spares people from deportation and gives them quasi-legal status in the U.S., so they can work or go to school. But critics saw it as an overly permissive policy in need of being reined in, something the U.S. began doing last spring. It's extended for things like major natural disasters, such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, that can make deporting people a potential violation of humanitarian law. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

toronto area: Twenty-nine per cent of Ontarians and 22 per cent of Canadians overall reported being visible minorities, versus a thin majority in the City of Toronto, according to Toronto Star. The numbers also varied in the Big Smoke. The data shows a marked difference in diversity between the multicultural heartland of the Greater Toronto Area and the rest of the country. The higher proportions of diversity more than 50 per cent were clumped in the inner suburbs of Scarborough, North York and Etobicoke. People who identify as Aboriginal are not counted as a visible minority by Statistics Canada. What does your community look like Article Continued Below Search by address or zoom in on your census tract, a geographic area defined by Statistics Canada that typically makes up between 2,500 and 8,000 people. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.