community blackboard: Yauca De Almeida, the owner of Yauca's Lounge, started in September, De Almeida said, and have continued on an almost monthly basis, according to Toronto Star. The shops sit adjacent to each other, two of several that pepper Dovercourt Rd. in the city's west-end neighbourhood. Tracey TieF, the owner of Annares Natural Health Apothecary says she has had four instances of vandalism against her store since Nov. 2016. The vandalism ranges from broken front windows, to anti-Semitic graffiti including swastikas and the phrase I heart Nazis appearing on Annares' community blackboard, to what appears to be feces being spread across the front windowpanes of Yauca's Lounge. Const. Article Continued Below Toronto Police confirmed that they're conducting a mischief investigation into the incidents. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

cross-country skiing: I think it is a good thing to do for fun and for kids to learn and do it one day and get better. says Saad, according to CTV. The lessons start from the very beginning- from how to put on skis to how to fall. For the first time ever, a small group of Syrians refugees are getting lessons in cross-country skiing. 12-year-old Saad Huseyn and his eight-year-old sister Zahra Huseyn came to Canada from Syria just over a year ago. The equipment is donated from the school and transportation to the lesson is from volunteers. It's an enjoyable activity and if you don't have something enjoyable to do in winter in my mind, winter is too long but when it's enjoyable it's not long enough! says teacher John Stephenson. The newcomers will learn alongside locals in the Learn to Ski program to help integrate into the community. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

gain influence: The remarks came after Israeli media reports indicated that despite its public declarations, Israel was actually concerned about the ramifications of such a move, according to Metro News. Critics say an aid cut could lead to a humanitarian crisis and that in the absence of UNRWA, Israel, as an occupying nation, could get stuck with the bill for providing services to Palestinians. Speaking at his weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu also reiterated his support for Trump's threat to cut aid to the Palestinians. A collapse in UNRWA could also open the way for the Hamas militant group to gain influence. UNRWA is an organization that perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem. Netanyahu suggested UNRWA's budget should be transferred to the more far-reaching United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, where it would be allocated to those truly in need. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

language: To me, it's a bit of a symbol, she said, according to Toronto Star. The language is really important to me, personally, because it's a way to connect with my community and really bridge the gap between the generations. Tessa Erickson of the Nak'azdli Whut'en First Nation is creating an app and organizing a summer camp to help get younger people in her central B.C. community speaking the Nak'azdli dialect of the Dakelh language. Members of her nation were fluent in the dialect about three generations ago, before they were sent to residential schools, Erickson said. Article Continued Below They didn't want the same experiences they went through to happen to their children if they passed on this language that was kind of looked down upon, Erickson said. The Grade 10 student said she's been told generations since then were afraid to teach the language to their children. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

nova: Frances Power became a co-founder and Raines became the first Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra conductor, according to The Chronicle Herald. Forty years later by 2017 the orchestra was described by renowned professional conductors and musicians as one of the finest youth orchestras in Canada. Raines had some students assisting in the orchestra, and that was when the thought arose that Nova Scotia should have a provincial youth orchestra. Jan. 9, 1877 The Academy of Music in Halifax officially opened on Pleasant Street later Barrington Street located at the foot of Spring Garden Road and Barrington. Developed by Ray Gould in Membertou, it was published until 1991 by the Union of Nova Scotia Indians and the Native Communications Society of Nova Scotia. Jan. 10, 1965 The Micmac News began publishing. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

senate leaders: Trump spent much of Friday and Saturday morning hashing out his 2018 agenda with GOP House and Senate leaders, top White House aides and select Cabinet members at the presidential retreat at Camp David, according to The Chronicle Herald. He described the sessions as incredible and perhaps transformative in certain ways. Emerging from closed-door meetings with Republican leaders, President Donald Trump on Saturday held out the prospect of a deal with Democrats on the fate of young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children but appeared to put a welfare system overhaul once a top White House priority on the back burner. A long list of high-stakes topics were on the agenda, from national security and infrastructure to the budget and 2018 midterm election strategy. We hope that 2018'll be a year of more bipartisan co-operation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, predicting a significant number of Democrats would be interested in supporting Trump's agenda. Though Democrats were not included in the discussions, the leaders some dressed casually in jeans, khakis and sweaters said they were optimistic that more Democrats would be working with Republicans. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

summer camp: To me, it's a bit of a symbol, she said, according to Metro News. The language is really important to me, personally, because it's a way to connect with my community and really bridge the gap between the generations. Tessa Erickson of the Nak'azdli Whut'en First Nation is creating an app and organizing a summer camp to help get younger people in her central B.C. community speaking the Nak'azdli dialect of the Dakelh language. Members of her nation were fluent in the dialect about three generations ago, before they were sent to residential schools, Erickson said. They didn't want the same experiences they went through to happen to their children if they passed on this language that was kind of looked down upon, Erickson said. function set Cookie related path / ; Related Learning and teaching Mohawk language to preserve its history Cree belongs in the House of Commons Kabatay Languages don't die naturally but are actively snuffed out, usually by colonial forces, said Mark Turin, chairman of the First Nations and endangered languages program at the University of British Columbia. The Grade 10 student said she's been told generations since then were afraid to teach the language to their children. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tps program: Their status expires in March, and with the U.S. ending what's known as the TPS program for thousands of nationals from other countries in recent months, it's likely Salvadorans are next, according to CBC. The U.S. has argued the temporary nature of the program has been abused, and the conditions like natural disasters or conflict that had made it unsafe for people to return to certain countries have changed. The Trump administration is on the cusp of announcing whether it will renew the temporary protected status that's allowed Salvadorans to live in the United States without fear of deportation since 2001. Thousands face deportation But that's left thousands of people facing deportation to countries they haven't lived in for years. One thing I know is I'm going to lose my job, and if I don't have a job, what can I do I don't want to go to El Salvador but I won't be able to stay here, he told the American newspaper this week. When asked what he'd do if he lost his TPS status, Salvadoran Carlos Reyes, 40, who lives in Long Island, N.Y., told Newsday that Canada was an option. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump: He'll campaign for incumbents, he said, and anybody else that has my kind of thinking, according to CTV. But after a stinging loss in Alabama, Trump said he's done supporting challengers, declaring I don't see that happening. Trump told reporters after meeting GOP House and Senate leaders at Camp David on Saturday that he's planning a robust schedule of campaigning for the 2018 midterm elections and that includes involvement in the Republican primaries. Trump had supported Roy Moore after he won the GOP primary. Trump spent much of Friday and Saturday morning hashing out his 2018 agenda with GOP House and Senate leaders, top White House aides and select Cabinet members at the presidential retreat at Camp David. Moore's defeat in the subsequent special election handed Democrats another seat in the Senate. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

vancouver demonstration: On December 28, protests began in the city of Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city, before spreading across the country, according to Vancouver Observer. Sparked by economic stagnation and rising food and gas prices, demonstrators soon began demanding the downfall of the government. The demonstrators chanted against the government in Iran, and called on the Canadian government to support the uprising at home. We want to grab international attention, because if the Iranian government has its way, and if people do not win this fight, the government will arrest and kill thousands, Nasim Sedaghat, one of the organizers of the Vancouver demonstration, said. Global Affairs Canada issued a statement on December 30 saying Canada is encouraged by the Iranian people who are exercising their basic right to protest peacefully. So many cities are rising up that the government does not know where to disperse the army and where not to, but it is waiting for an excuse for a massive crackdown . Sedaghat said that the Canadian government has a role to play in backing up the people on the streets. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

outreach centre: Women's Habitat in Toronto opened its doors in 1978, according to Rabble. Over the decades, it morphed from a volunteer based, grassroots cooperative to a full service, provincially-funded organization with a staff of 30 members. This is nothing new, but it's discouraging that the situation shows no signs of improving. In 2006, the shelter created an additional outreach centre to offer programs and services that assist over 650 women each year with access to counselling and parenting programs, housing and legal services, health services, as well as programs designed specifically for children. These sessions provide continuity, community, and support during times when women may feel isolated, alone, and in need of companionship. Drop-in programs are very popular because they don't require pre-registration and are invaluable to women readjusting to life after living in a shelter. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

apartment block: He and his family have since embraced Canada's cold winters, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with Friday's extremely frigid temperatures, he said, according to CBC. It's super cold, but there's no other way. Basiri came to Ottawa from Afghanistan five years ago. We have to live with it, Basiri said, adding that the recent deep freeze is the coldest he's ever experienced. Iced cap Ottawa currently coldest capital city in the world 4-day cold snap beginning Thursday in Ottawa Environment Canada Other newcomers living in the same apartment block were also shocked when they stepped outside Friday morning. I hope I don't see that cold anymore in my life. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ontario street: The 24-year-old graduate student said she rolled down her window and the stranger asked her where she was from, according to CTV. Vassell replied that she was from Vancouver, where she was born and raised, but that didn't satisfy the woman. Anika Vassell told CTV Vancouver that she was parked in her car at W Broadway and Ontario Street in Vancouver on Thursday when an unknown woman tapped on her passenger side window. She asked Where are you from What country are you from ' and I told her that my parents are Jamaican and South African and she said, and you're that black ' Vassell recalled on Friday. I see that you are black and I see that you're not white so you are not like the rest of us, the stranger is heard saying in the video. At this point, Vassell said she decided to start recording the interaction on her phone because the woman continued to berate her about her race. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

perogies sauerkraut: The day of the Christmas Eve meal, she expects to be cooking from 4 a.m. until guests arrive at 5 p.m, according to CBC. At Barb Dedi's Ukrainian Christmas meal, she serves four different kinds of perogies Sauerkraut, cheese, cottage cheese, and fruit. About a week before Christian Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7, the work truly begins, culminating in a cooking frenzy that starts three days before the meal. CBC Dedi has been busy whipping up more than 30 dishes, including an array of desserts and the 12 meatless dishes traditionally served at a Ukrainian Christmas Eve meal. She's been hosting the dinner every year for a decade. She'll be serving 50 guests at the annual event in her home in Regina. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

riff raff: I am sorry for offending or causing hurt to anyone in this room from the bottom of my heart, said Eidsvik, according to CBC. I hope that you will accept my apology. Court of Queen's Bench Justice Kristine Eidsvik who is the judge in residence at the university made the remarks to second-year students taking a negotiation class. Uncomfortable with 'dark people' Several students say Eidsvik talked about being uncomfortable when she walked into a room full of big dark people. The students say Eidsvik told them she was used to being in her ivory tower where she's normally removed from the riff raff. One student told CBC News the judge said she was used to having a button to press if she was in trouble. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

catoctin mountains: We're going to Camp David with a lot of the great Republican senators, and we're making America great again, Trump said Friday afternoon as he left the White House for the presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, according to CTV. He was joined Friday evening by Vice-President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, among others. A long list of high-stakes topics are on the agenda, including the budget, infrastructure, immigration, welfare reform and the 2018 midterm elections. Republicans are beginning the new year with newfound optimism after finally scoring a win by passing the tax bill at the end of last year. Just two weeks remain until a Jan. 19 government funding deadline, and there is little visible progress on several contentious issues, including a budget deal to boost spending on both the Pentagon and nondefense agencies and to extend protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. They face a pile of unfinished business that was punted into this year during the push on taxes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lottery: This year, applicants must fill out additional questions to determine their eligibility before they are entered into the lottery, according to CTV. Over 95,000 people applied in 2017, according to government statistics. The government began accepting applications for the Parents and Grandparents Program on Tuesday. It was the first year the government had switched to a lottery system for the program after years of backlog. They're essentially taking a spot away from someone else, Ryan said. While the lottery system helped clear the backlog, selecting 10,000 candidates at random, it also chose ineligible candidates who ultimately couldn't continue the application process, according to Edward Ryan, an immigration consultant with Edge Immigration. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

disc-shaped cake: They're a disc-shaped cake made of corn flower with a pocket perfect for filling, according to Metro News. They're a historic food long before they hit city streets, arepas were made by indigenous peoples who lived in what is now Venezuela and Colombia. On a block of Main Street between Kohli's barbershop and the Tandoori Oven restaurant, Yarina Ramos makes arepas. If you visited Venezuela before, you can find a place that's 24 hours with 30 different things to put in the arepas, said Ramos, 47, owner of Chevere Eh at 6440 Main St. When she says Venezuela before, she means a different time. Different kinds of cheese, beef, seafood like tuna everything goes into the arepa. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

gold-medal game: Canada defeated the Czech Republic 7-2 in Thursday's semifinals to set a date with Sweden for gold at the Under-20 tournament, according to The Chronicle Herald. It's where we want to be heading into it so it's nice to have that opportunity, said Dube. Goaltender Carter Hart and forward Dillon Dube are part of seven returning players on this year's Canadian squad looking to erase the memory of the 5-4 shootout loss to the United States in the gold-medal game at the Bell Centre last January. We played a good game tonight, we're building every game and we're going to be at our best tomorrow and hopefully it works out for us, but it's going to be a great opportunity getting back. I got a week after that to kind of reset and go home, but that's a year ago now and a lot of things have unfolded since then, the Flyers prospect said. Hart admittedly needed a couple days to put last year's loss behind him. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

jobs program: For years local MPs set out which groups would be given priority to receive funding under the jobs program, according to Toronto Star. The Liberals say that under that system, groups which promoted anti-abortion or anti-LGBTQ messages applied for and got federal money, including anti-abortion groups such as Campaign Life Coalition, Life Site News, Priests for Life, and the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform. Two officials who spoke to the Star say the Liberal government hasn't yet received the formal papers but has been advised the group filed an application for judicial review Friday with the Federal Court. After a review last summer, the Liberal government revised eligibility criteria for the program. Article Continued Below The government's website says the new criteria does not exclude churches or faith-based groups, but it does say the group's work must respect Charter values including reproductive rights and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. It now requires that the core mandate of an organization must respect individual human rights in Canada, including the values underlying the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

judges: The attorney general invited feedback from advocates and others, after which time he may issue new instructions for immigration judges closures have been a lifeline to immigrants who apply for citizenship, permanent residency or other visas, shielding them from deportation while their petitions are vetted, according to Metro News. But critics say judges too often let people stay in the country longer than they should in a sort of legal purgatory. Sessions posed detailed questions challenging the use of administrative closures, an increasingly common outcome that allows people to stay in the country without legal status. About 350,000 cases are administratively closed, and the Justice Department said 180,000 cases were closed in four years of the Obama administration, more than in the previous 22 years. Immigration judges are employees of the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, giving the attorney general broad oversight powers even as they assert independence. In 2012, the department's Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that neither Homeland Security Department attorneys seeking to deport someone nor the immigrant trying to stay could stop a judge from closing a case, paving the way for the increase. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tech migr: Among the most conspicuous is the current anti-immigrant sentiments in the U.S. and Britain that are redirecting highly skilled tech migr s to Canada who might otherwise have chosen those countries as their adopted homelands, according to Toronto Star. Indeed, Canada has eclipsed Britain as the second-most favoured destination of high-skill migr s. Canada has advantages in the global contest for tech talent, home grown and recruited from abroad. The U.S. remains most-favoured, though proposed new restrictions on visas for non-American tech workers and their families have diminished America's attractiveness. Twenty-first-century economies will stand or fall on their tech prowess. The stakes are high in developing concentrations of tech excellence. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lynn beyak: Beyak had posted roughly 100 letters in support of her earlier defence of residential schools where some 6,000 Indigenous children died from malnutrition and disease to her Senate website, according to CBC. In a statement, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said he found out about the letters on Tuesday and asked Beyak to remove some of the comments, but she refused. Lynn Beyak, known for defending residential schools as well-intentioned, has been kicked out of the Conservative caucus after she refused to remove racist comments posted to her Senate website. Scheer's spokesperson, Jake Enwright, said the conversation took place over the phone. Lynn Beyak under fire for 'racist, offensive, hurtful' letters posted to Senate website Who would be na ve to think that alcohol, drugs, incest would not have found their way into the lives of the North's children, read one of the letters flagged by Scheer's office. Sen. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

miles: It also calls for 407 miles 651 kilometres of replacement or secondary fencing, said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public, according to CTV. Trump has promised a big, beautiful wall with Mexico as a centerpiece of his presidency but offered few details of where it would be built, when and at what cost. The proposal by Customs and Border Protection calls for 316 miles 505 kilometres of additional barrier by September 2027, bringing total coverage to 970 miles 1,552 kilometres or nearly half the border, according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter. His administration asked for 1.6 billion this year to build or replace 74 miles 118 kilometres of fencing in Texas and California, and officials have said they also will seek 1.6 billion next year. It comes as the administration intensifies negotiations in Congress on a package that may include granting legal status to about 800,000 people who were temporarily shielded from deportation under an Obama-era program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The 10-year plan, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, resulted from discussions with senators who asked the agency what it would take to secure the border, the official said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

spending billions: Their slogans include, Leave Syria, think about us! and Death to Hezbollah! the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group that has been a key instrument of Tehran in Syria's war, according to The Chronicle Herald. Syria saw its own anti-government protests in 2011. Although the protests have focused on economic issues, demonstrators have also voiced opposition to the government's policy of sending young Iranians to fight and die in Syria and spending billions of dollars on the military when they say the priority should be working to provide jobs in Iran and control the rising cost of living. They were met with a brutal crackdown by President Bashar Assad's security services, sending the country into civil war. Iran's theocratic leadership has cast the effort as a religious war for Shiite Islam, an epochal struggle to defend the shrine of the Prophet Muhammad's granddaughter in Damascus from Sunni jihadis, and to deal a crippling blow to what it says is a U.S.-Israeli conspiracy to destroy Syria. But as cracks appeared in Assad's military, with soldiers refusing to fire on protesters and defecting to the opposition, Iran and later Russia stepped in to support their ally. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

zarate: Garcia Zarate will now be taken into U.S. custody to face two federal gun possession charges, according to Metro News. The San Francisco Sheriff's Department said it would hold Garcia Zarate in jail until U.S. marshals pick him up. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Samuel Feng also denied a defence request to grant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate a new trial for his conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. His lawyer, Tony Serra, said he expects the transfer this weekend. That would be a marked departure from the state case, in which the judge banned any mention of Garcia Zarate's immigration status and the nationwide debate around it. Serra also said he plans to inject politics as much as he can into his defence of Garcia Zarate in federal court. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.