government shutdown: Behind the scenes, however, leading Republicans and Democrats were already moving toward a next step, trying to work out a compromise to avert a lengthy shutdown, according to CBC. Since the shutdown began at the start of a weekend, many of the immediate effects will be muted for most Americans. Last-minute negotiations crumbled as Senate Democrats blocked a four-week stopgap extension in a late-night vote, causing the fourth government shutdown in a quarter century. But any damage could build quickly if the closure is prolonged. Social Security and most other safety net programs are unaffected by the lapse in federal spending authority. And it comes with no shortage of embarrassment for the president and political risk for both parties, as they wager that voters will punish the other at the ballot box in November. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

deal-making skills: After hours of negotiating, the Senate scheduled a late-night vote on a House-passed plan, according to Toronto Star. It appeared likely to fail. The lawmakers and Trump's White House mounted last-ditch negotiations to stave off what had come to appear as the inevitable, with the parties in stare-down mode over federal spending and proposals to protect some 700,000 younger immigrants from deportation. Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump The election-year standoff marked a test of the president's much vaunted deal-making skills and of both parties' political fortitude. It could also threaten to slow any GOP momentum, one month after passage of the party's signature tax cut law. Republicans, who control both Congress and the White House, faced the prospect of being blamed for the display of dysfunction just the fourth shutdown in a quarter-century. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

gas-plants scandal: ONTARIO GAS PLANTS VERDICT DUE TODAY A judge is set to deliver his verdict today related to Ontario's gas-plants scandal, according to The Chronicle Herald. Former top political aides David Livingston and Laura Miller are charged over the destruction of documents. Trudeau fielded a number of questions on immigration and the need to fight intolerance during his stop in the city, which is preparing to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 29, 2017 deadly mosque shooting where six men were killed. The senior staff to former premier Dalton McGuinty are accused of attempted mischief and illegal use of a computer. DOUBLE-MURDER SUSPECT TO APPEAR IN COURT A man charged with first-degree murder in the presumed deaths of two men who vanished from Toronto's gay village last year is set to appear in court today. Prosecutors alleged the duo illegally destroyed records to save the Liberal party embarrassment over a decision to cancel two gas plants in 2011. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

group: Too often, the general public has bemoaned this term because many feel they have reached a point where they can no longer be bothered to amend and get their reference points right in a world that is continually evolving and becoming more diverse, according to The Chronicle Herald. But when you are an elected or appointed official, particularly one within a federal branch of government, inevitably representing a multicultural, diverse group of people, you should be required to be considerably more informed, aware and refined in your speech than the rest. Yet it perturbs me that, in response to criticism from constituents and her fellow members in the Senate, Lynn Beyak should carp that she is being blackballed for not erring enough on the side of what she calls political correctness. Whether it disturbs their own comfort level or not, they should seek to be politically accurate because words matter, whether they be displayed on a website, communicated from a lectern or liberally expressed via Twitter. We are now part of an era where, because of a backlash against the politically correct, we have witnessed mediocre, populist leaders become elected who have been free to use racist and sexist epithets as a means of ramping up support from their base. As inadequate as they can sometimes be, our words become our way of reflecting what we know to be our reality. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

kitchener resident: The landlord didn't seem to care, so she rallied the others in the building to create a tenants' association, according to CBC. Meet Violet Cook, Kitchener's Senior of the Year She spoke up because she said there were other elderly women and single women who were worried about doing so. The 87-year-old Kitchener resident recalls moving into an apartment that was nice at first, but then things deteriorated. They were afraid that they'd be evicted and it just seemed like it wasn't right, it wasn't fair. She went on to help form the Renters Educating and Networking Together, or R.E.N.T Waterloo, which advocates for housing and tenant rights. And when I encounter something like that, I kind of dig in and have to fight it it's just, I guess, something in my make-up, she said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

multimedia show: Paul's Centre, according to Toronto Star. The show's premise is simple to demonstrate to us through words, music and projected images how refugees have, for hundreds of years, improved the cultures that have welcomed them into their midst. That's the soul-lifting upshot of seeing and hearing Safe Haven, Tafelmusik Orchestra's latest multimedia show, unveiled on Thursday night at Trinity-St. Tafelmusik bassist Alison Mackay's assembly of the music, narratives and images with the help of videographer Rava Javanfar into a tidy, two-hour presentation including intermission is anything but simple, but the complexity of the puzzle is hidden by the seamlessness of its execution. She was nothing short of dazzling in her solo work in the Winter movement from Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. Members of the Tafelmusik Orchestra, who play on European instruments from the 17th and 18th centuries, were in excellent form under their new musical director, Elisa Citterio. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

shutdown congress: Behind the scenes, however, leading Republicans and Democrats were trying to work out a compromise to avert a lengthy shutdown, according to CTV. Congress scheduled an unusual Saturday session to begin considering a three-week version of the short-term spending measure -- and to broadcast that they were at work as the shutdown commences. Last-minute negotiations crumbled as Senate Democrats blocked a four-week stopgap extension in a late-night vote, causing the fourth government shutdown in a quarter century. It seemed likely each side would try forcing votes aimed at making the other party look culpable for shuttering federal agencies. But any damage could build quickly if the closure is prolonged. Since the closure began at the start of a weekend, many of the immediate effects will be muted for most Americans. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

territories: That all provinces and territories Receive strong grades on KAIROS' Report Card Provincial and Territorial Curriculum on Indigenous Peoples, according to Rabble. They are implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission TRC 's Call to Action 62. On December 31, 2018, KAIROS will truly celebrate if all or at least most of the following are implemented. KAIROS urges the provinces and territories to make mandatory -- from Kindergarten through grade 12 -- curriculum on the Treaties, residential schools, and the historical and contemporary contributions to Canada of First Nations, Inuit and M tis peoples. And, that the Canadian government Fully implements TRC Call to Action 93, which calls on the government, in collaboration with national Indigenous organizations, to revise the information kit for newcomers to Canada and its citizenship test to reflect a more inclusive history of the diverse Indigenous peoples of Canada, including information about the Treaties and the history of residential schools. That the Parliament of Canada Enacts Bill C-262, an Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

town hall-style: There is much more we need to do as citizens to create neighbourhoods, a society, a political debate that is more respectful, less anchored in ignorance and insecurity and intolerance, he told the crowd gathered in a high school gymnasium, according to CTV. We all have our role to play. The evening began with a question on how to better integrate immigrants into Canadian society and ended with Trudeau delivering an impassioned speech on the need to fight racism. The evening was briefly interrupted by a heckler who unfurled an upside-down Canadian flag with a swastika scrawled across it. The evening event was the latest in a series of town hall-style public meetings being held across the country. The man yelled incoherent remarks at Trudeau as he was escorted from the room. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump: At that time, more than half a million women converged on the U.S. capital in protest of freshly inaugurated President Donald Trump, whose secretly recorded remarks about taking sexual liberties with women fuelled accusations of misogyny both before and after his election, according to The Chronicle Herald. Participants in those original marches say their fears about the incoming administration have come to pass, but say other social forces have put wind in their sails and made them feel their cause is further ahead now than it was a year ago. As dozens of communities across Canada prepare to host rallies marking the anniversary of last year's historic Women's March on Washington, those tasked with organizing the events said they feel a sense of momentum that they could not have predicted when they first took to the streets in 2017. On Saturday's one-year anniversary of Trump's inauguration, at least 38 Canadian communities from coast to coast plan to host marches, rallies or other events. It's incredibly positive and optimistic and exciting, Bingham said of the mood among local organizers. Sara Bingham, co-executive director of Women's March Canada, says the high number of planned events is just one sign of the momentum that believers in the cause are feeling. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

crowd size: Here's what it's been like since last Jan. 20, according to National Observer. January 2017 ; Inauguration. It was a non-stop deluge of headlines with one eye-popping story swiftly supplanting another, the sensational often swamping out the significant. Argument over crowd size. Travel ban from certain Muslim-majority countries. Women's marches. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

film festival: That's always the topic, says film producer Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, according to NOW Magazine. The family doesn't like you, you're trying on the clothes, you're trying to do medical stuff, you're trying to get doctors' approvals and the story closes with the family coming around at some point. If you've ever attended a screening of trans short films at an LGBTQ film festival, you can probably guess coming-out storylines await you. But what happens after that The idea that a transgender person's physical transition is a beginning rather than an end point underscores the 13-minute short, For Nonna Anna, which is among the Canadian films selected to play at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival kicking off this weekend in Utah. Chris is still in the coming-of-age demographic, not entirely confident yet as a woman, while her grandmother's body is failing her. Directed by first-time writer/director Luis De Filippis and co-produced by Rosenberg-Lee, the film follows Chris Maya Henry a young trans woman, who is left home alone to care for her ailing Italian grandmother Jacqueline Tarne . Though not about transitioning from one gender identity to another, the film still has transition in a broader sense at its heart. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

school gymnasium: There is much more we need to do as citizens to create neighbourhoods, a society, a political debate that is more respectful, less anchored in ignorance and insecurity and intolerance, he told the several hundred people in a high school gymnasium, according to National Observer. We all have our role to play. Trudeau fielded a number of questions on immigration and the need to fight intolerance during his stop in the city, which is preparing to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 29, 2017 deadly mosque shooting where six men were killed. ; The evening began with a question on how to better integrate immigrants into Canadian society and ended with Trudeau delivering an impassioned speech on the need to fight racism after a woman expressed concern over recent public demonstrations by far-right groups. Trudeau, holding a microphone and with his shirt sleeves rolled up, encouraged Canadians to remember and protect its history as a welcoming society. The town-hall event began with a young man who said he was from Venezuela, who said his mother had yet to find work after two years in Canada and asked why so many immigrant professionals had jobs such as cleaning floors.A few questions later, a woman from Brazil made a similar comment, who implored Canadian citizens to be a little more open, to accept a little more, because we're not just here to be janitors, she said. And that is done by remembering that this country we built didn't happen by accident and it won't continue without effort, he said in the nearly 10-minute long speech, which was met by applause. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

american borders: The group's director, Kenneth Roth, singled out President Donald Trump, saying he has broken all the taboos against racism, against misogyny, against xenophobia, according to CTV. While Trump's supporters welcome his frank discourse, Roth warns that it has dangerous implications beyond American borders. In an annual report assessing the state of human rights around the world, the advocacy group says immigrant-bashing and other populist policies pose an enormous threat to hard-fought minority rights in democratic countries. Trump has this insatiable admiration for strongmen, like Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt or President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, Roth said in an interview with The Associated Press in Paris. The report urges democratic governments to address the problems that allowed populism to prosper, such as income inequality, fears of terrorism and growing migration. This makes it much more difficult to stigmatize these authoritarian leaders when Trump says these are great guys, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

announcement thursday: But Haitian immigrants and advocates complained Thursday's measures wouldn't help thousands of Haitians who still hold immigration documents showing their legal and work status expiring Monday, according to Toronto Star. And they were upset by another announcement Thursday from the Department of Homeland Security that people from Haiti, Belize and Samoa were no longer eligible to apply for visas for seasonal and farm worker jobs. Officials said the delays had to do with working out how Haitians will be able to prove their employment status until they must leave the country in July 2019. The department's explanation was that those nations had a high rate of fraud, abuse and people overstaying their visa's time limits. So America is doing it for him Some wondered in light of the president's recent remarks about Haiti if the bureaucratic slowdown was deliberate. Read more UN condemns Trump's remark on Haiti, African countries as racist' Article Continued Below Opinion Shree Paradkar Trump's s---hole countries' remark casts remarkable light on immigration policies Analysis Mitch Potter Naturally, Trump won't apologize for his s---holes' slur. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ben perryman: His lawyer, Ben Perryman, said Abdi told him it felt unreal to be free and that he wanted to thank people who had supported him in his quest to be released and to remain in Canada, according to CBC. Abdi, 23, is now required to live in a Toronto halfway house, according to his lawyer, but his legal battle to stay in Canada continues. Abdoul Abdi had spent two weeks detained in jails in the Maritimes and Ontario on immigration grounds after serving a four-year prison sentence for aggravated assault. He could be deported to Somalia because of his criminal past and because he's not a Canadian citizen. The federal public safety minister is still pursuing a deportation hearing, according to Perryman, although it has not yet been scheduled. Abdoul Abdi to be set free, but his fight to stay in Canada isn't over The government was our parents' Abdoul Abdi's sister says Somali refugee failed by Canadian foster system Abdi arrived in Nova Scotia when he was six with his aunts and sister, and was put in the care of the Department of Community Services, which never applied for citizenship on his behalf. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

chile francis: Francis arrived in Lima Thursday afternoon after finishing a trip to Chile, according to The Chronicle Herald. Francis will meet with Amazonian indigenous groups who are hoping he will call on the state to grant them formal land rights and encourage the government to support the cleanup of rivers and land spoiled by illegal mining and deforestation. Pope Francis has landed in Peru for a four-day trip that will take him into the sweltering Amazon jungle to meet with indigenous communities and put him face-to-face with a president narrowly escaped impeachment in December. He is also slated to speak with President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who sparked nationwide protests in December after pardoning former Peruvian strongman Alberto Fujimori. Pope Francis is en route to Peru after wrapping up a visit to neighbouring Chile. The pardon reopened wounds from a bloody chapter in Peru's history. 5 p.m. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

diversity training: Lonodn police officer apologizes for blackface incident The police board revealed on Thursday an extension to its diversity training that will equip up to 800 officers with knowledge on sensitive topics related to the city's black community, according to CBC. The move comes after London police Const. Police officer's blackface photos prompt investigation in London, Ont. Katrina Aarts was observed in online photos last month painted in blackface. The board elected Coun. Through a public apology, Aarts clarified that the photos that were posted on another account were taken before she was a police officer. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

farmworker jobs: Officials said the delays had to do with working out how Haitians will be able to prove their employment status until they must leave the country in July 2019, according to The Chronicle Herald. But Haitian immigrants and advocates complained Thursday's measures wouldn't help thousands of Haitians who still hold immigration documents showing their legal and work status expiring Monday. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released details Thursday about the next steps for the 60,000 Haitians with the special status. And they were upset by another announcement Thursday from the Department of Homeland Security that people from Haiti, Belize and Samoa were no longer eligible to apply for visas for seasonal and farmworker jobs. Between October 2015 and September 2016, 65 Haitians were allowed into the U.S. with seasonal farmworker visas, according to government data. The department's explanation was that those nations had a high rate of fraud, abuse and people overstaying their visa's time limits. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

fernando karadima: Fernando Karadima, such accusations against Barros are all calumny, according to CTV. The pope's remarks drew shock from Chileans and immediate rebuke from victims and their advocates. Francis said that until he sees proof that Bishop Juan Barros was complicit in covering up the sex crimes of the Rev. They noted the accusers were deemed credible enough by the Vatican that it sentenced Karadima to a lifetime of penance and prayer for his crimes in 2011. As if I could have taken a selfie or a photo while Karadima abused me and others and Juan Barros stood by watching it all, tweeted Barros' most vocal accuser, Juan Carlos Cruz. A Chilean judge also found the victims to be credible, saying that while she had to drop criminal charges against Karadima because too much time had passed, proof of his crimes wasn't lacking. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

flight attendants: Then after landing, Francis came to the rescue of a policewoman who was thrown from her rearing horse as his Popemobile passed by, according to Toronto Star. In between, he did what he actually came to do celebrate Mass for some 50,000 people in a desert-hot field near the town of Iquique. First he celebrated the first-ever airborne papal wedding, marrying two flight attendants from Chile's flagship airline at 36,000 feet during a flight on Thursday to this northern Chilean beachside town. It all began with LATAM Flight 1250 from Santiago. Francis motioned for them to sit next to him for the photo and asked if they had been married in the church. Article Continued Below The crew was gathering in the first-class section for the usual photo with the pope when flight attendants Paula Podest and Carlos Ciuffardi revealed that they were a married couple. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

haitian immigrants: But Haitian immigrants and advocates complained Thursday's measures wouldn't help thousands of Haitians who still hold immigration documents showing their legal and work status expiring Monday, according to Metro News. And they were upset by another announcement Thursday from the Department of Homeland Security that people from Haiti, Belize and Samoa were no longer eligible to apply for visas for seasonal and farmworker jobs. Officials said the delays had to do with working out how Haitians will be able to prove their employment status until they must leave the country in July 2019. The department's explanation was that those nations had a high rate of fraud, abuse and people overstaying their visa's time limits. The number of Haitians who came into the country with nonagricultural visas was not disclosed. Between October 2015 and September 2016, 65 Haitians were allowed into the U.S. with seasonal farmworker visas, according to government data. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ian donaldson: Donaldson told provincial court that while Bonney lost his job after Clark appointed her deputy minister to conduct a review into allegations of the partisan use of taxpayers' money to target minority groups, others involved in creating the strategy remained employed and received fat severance cheques, according to Metro News. Bonney pleaded guilty last October before the start of a trial, though Donaldson said his client is barely guilty for blurring the lines between his public service employment and his partisan political activities. Ian Donaldson said Brian Bonney has admitted to some missteps as part of a so-called quick wins scandal that embroiled the B.C. Liberal party before the 2013 election but he mostly did what he was told, so his behaviour wasn't subversive to the democratic process as the Crown maintains. This case isn't about corruption or personal gain, he said, adding Bonney had been on the job for seven weeks before attending a meeting in December 2011 to discuss a strategy he wasn't involved in drafting. The Crown wants a conditional sentence of 12 to 23 months that would include house arrest. Donaldson has asked for a suspended sentence for what he described as a breach of employment terms. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

school gymnasium: The evening began with a question on how to better integrate immigrants into Canadian society and ended with Trudeau delivering an impassioned speech on the need to fight racism after a woman expressed concern over recent public demonstrations by far-right groups, according to The Chronicle Herald. There is much more we need to do as citizens to create neighbourhoods, a society, a political debate that is more respectful, less anchored in ignorance and insecurity and intolerance, he told the several hundred people in a high school gymnasium. Trudeau fielded a number of questions on immigration and the need to fight intolerance during his stop in the city, which is preparing to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 29, 2017 deadly mosque shooting where six men were killed. We all have our role to play. And that is done by remembering that this country we built didn't happen by accident and it won't continue without effort, he said in the nearly 10-minute long speech, which was met by applause. Trudeau, holding a microphone and with his shirt sleeves rolled up, encouraged Canadians to remember and protect its history as a welcoming society. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration lawyer: Her immigration lawyer blames government error, according to CBC. Each time, Alexandra Dickenson's application went back to the bottom of the pile. But for a Swedish woman living in Ottawa, the process has been anything but smooth, with her application being sent back not once, but twice. It's just ridiculous.'- Alexandra Dickenson, applicant It's just ridiculous, said Dickenson. They had two children and decided to move to Canada when Lou hung up his skates and retired. In 2011, Dickenson married professional hockey player Lou Dickenson who had spent a decade playing in Europe. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

rent space: His campus tour organizer asked this week to rent space at Kent State's Student Multicultural Center on May 4 the date when, in 1970, Ohio National Guard members fired into a crowd protesting the Vietnam war and killed four students, according to Metro News. Each year, the school remembers the shootings with events on campus. Spencer, a leading figure in the white nationalist movement, and his associates have sought to speak at universities across the country, leading to lawsuits and battles over the fundamental right to free speech at public universities. The university said it can't accept the request because the first two weeks in May are too busy with the end of the academic year. Spencer has been barred by several schools from speaking on campus and has lawsuits pending against some. Kent State values respectful dialogue from all points of view, including ideology that is controversial or offensive, the university said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.