church leaders: I tell them my story, he says, according to Vancouver Courier. They all come to this church and they have positive experiences. Over the years, a few other non-white members joined Rockcliffe Pentecostal Church, which Johnson describes as one big family. article continues below Trending StoriesCTV Vancouver parts ways with Tamara Taggart and Mike Killeen What the thunder Why we hear it so seldom in Vancouver Vancouver campus is Yorkville University's firstB.C.'s alcohol retailers want option to sell cannabis The father of two finds the church so welcoming that he's introduced many reluctant Indian friends to Rockcliffe. Many church leaders want to give minorities a similar welcome. According to a 2017 Ipsos survey, only 40 per cent of Canadians attend church compared to 63 per cent in 2006. The immigrant and minority population is expanding beyond big cities, and leaders believe their churches must do a better job of serving an increasingly diverse population, especially as attendance plummets. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tamara taggart: While the committee studying the issue won't confirm how many churches could be closed, Montreal La Presse and a local newspaper have reported that as many as 33 of the diocese's 54 churches could be on the chopping block as of this summer, according to Vancouver Courier. The diocese says an announcement will be made in June. But with so few answering the call each Sunday, the small town northwest of Montreal is one of many facing what once would have been unimaginable a churchless future.article continues below Trending StoriesCTV Vancouver parts ways with Tamara Taggart and Mike Killeen What the thunder Why we hear it so seldom in Vancouver Vancouver campus is Yorkville University's firstB.C.'s alcohol retailers want option to sell cannabis As the Saint-Jerome Catholic diocese north of Montreal contemplates whether to dramatically slash the number of buildings it maintains, parishioners say they won't accept the closure of their churches without a fight. The news isn't sitting well with some residents in Sainte-Sophie, who have formed a group to try to save the church. But Stephan Filion, the group's founder, wonders whether the diocesean committee is even considering other options. Thus far, their activities consist of trying to raise attendance at Sunday mass, and trying to show church authorities that the community is willing to work to find solutions. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

tournament morocco: The evaluation of bids is more stringent following concerns about the votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and rights abuses in Russia and Qatar.FIFA mandated 2026 bidders to commission and submit independent human rights reports that weigh risks linked to the tournament, according to Vancouver Courier. Morocco has denied repeated requests from The Associated Press to release its report. Mexico City is the first stop on a five-day trip by the FIFA task force, which also will visit Atlanta, Toronto and the New York metropolitan area, where the bid committee proposed the 2026 final be held at East Rutherford, New Jersey.article continues below Trending StoriesCTV Vancouver parts ways with Tamara Taggart and Mike Killeen What the thunder Why we hear it so seldom in VancouverB.C.'s alcohol retailers want option to sell cannabis Vancouver campus is Yorkville University's first The FIFA delegation will score the rival Moroccan bid the following week before delivering assessments, which could disqualify a contender ahead of the June 13 vote in Moscow by the FIFA congress. The North American document, prepared by human rights assessors Ergon, stated the likelihood of worker abuses is significantly reduced in the U.S., Canada and Mexico because no stadiums or significant additional infrastructure must be built. But Ergon identified key risks associated with Mexico hosting 10 of the 80 games in 2026 in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, which the bid has proposed solutions to address. Morocco, by contrast, plans 15.8 billion in construction projects to prepare the country for what would be its first World Cup, including 3 billion to build or renovate every stadium or training facility. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

asylum seekers: Those figures don't include more than 600 additional arrivals who entered the country illegally through Quebec over the Easter weekend, according to CTV. Officials are expecting those numbers to continue to grow as temperatures rise. The RCMP intercepted more than 3,000 irregular border-crossers in January and February, part of a total number of 7,800 asylum seekers processed by the federal immigration department and the Canada Border Services Agency during the same time period. Immigration and CBSA officials have been preparing for the influx after getting caught flat-footed last summer dealing with an unexpected surge in mainly Haitian migrants entering Canada through Ontario and Quebec. Our government is prepared for any future fluctuations, said Mathieu Genest, press secretary for Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen. Canada is an open and welcoming country to those in need of protection, but our government is committed to orderly migration to protect Canadians and our immigration system. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

barack obama: Arizona Gov, according to Toronto Star. Doug Ducey said about 150 Guard members would deploy this week. Trump's announcement, similar to moves made during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, came after news of a caravan of Central American immigrants travelling through Mexico. And the Texas National Guard said it was already sending Guardsmen to the border, with plans to place 250 troops there in the next 72 hours as an initial surge, according to a Guard spokesperson. The total so far remains well short of the 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members that Trump told reporters he wants to send. Two helicopters lifted off Friday night from Austin, the state capital, to head south. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

community groups: A planned question about citizenship that has states suing the federal government isn't on the test, according to Metro News. Several elected officials and leaders of advocacy and community groups this week held an emergency press conference to raise concerns, which include a shortage of publicity around the test and its limited language outreach in an immigrant-heavy county, with large communities from countries including the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Portugal and Cape Verde. Providence County, the state's most populous, is the only place where the Census Bureau is running a full test, after plans to test two other sites this year were cancelled because of a lack of funding from Congress. If we don't get it right here, then the country's not going to get it right, Democratic Lt. Dan McKee warned. Gov. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

doug ducey: Doug Ducey said about 150 Guard members would deploy next week, according to CTV. And the Texas National Guard said it was already sending Guardsmen to the border, with plans to place 250 troops there in the next 72 hours as an initial surge, according to a Guard spokesman. Arizona Gov. Two helicopters lifted off Friday night from Austin, the state capital, to head south. New Mexico Gov. The total so far remains well short of the 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members that Trump told reporters he wants to send. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

corruption scandal: He has been dogged by a massive corruption scandal involving the 1MDB state fund, which is under investigation in the U.S. and other countries for allegations of cross-border embezzlement and money laundering, according to Metro News. The 220-page election manifesto, which includes 364 pledges, was launched Saturday, the day Parliament was dissolved to pave the way for national polls expected in early May. Najib, 64, is seeking a third term in office under pressure to improve his National Front coalition's performance after support eroded in the last two elections. His campaign slogan Make my country great with BN the Malay acronym for the National Front has similarities with President Donald Trump's 2016 election motto Make America great again. This election is not about BN versus the opposition, Najib told tens of thousands of supporters at the manifesto launching at a sports stadium near Kuala Lumpur. This election is not about Najib versus the opposition leader. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

farm staff: Community gardener Marwan Iskander says when he first arrived from Jordan that he just wanted to do a little gardening at the farm, but it turned into so much more, according to CTV. Then I discovered that there's more to it, Iskander says. Staff and volunteers say they always knew they might lose their two acres of land to the expansion of the Halifax infirmary. There's so much beauty, a lot of people around, you make friendships, you get to work with different ethnic groups. Farm staff says the farm will have to pack up and leave in the fall, but they're on the search for a new site. The community farm is about to enter its seventh growing season, but the Halifax Infirmary now needs the land. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

spanish settlers: In 1836, the Alamo was the site of a legendary battle as Texas fought for independence from Mexico, according to The Chronicle Herald. A tricentennial commemorative week is scheduled for May 1 to May 6. The city was founded in 1718 when Spanish settlers built the Mission San Antonio de Valero today known as the Alamo along the San Antonio River. For visitors, May 4 will be of particular interest, with arts events, a festival and fireworks. TRICENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE WEEK The Alamo and four other 18th-century missions built as outposts of Spain's colonial empire make up the only UNESCO World Heritage site in Texas. For travellers who'd like to see San Antonio but can't make that week in May, the city is hosting exhibitions and other festivals throughout the year, and you can visit the Alamo anytime, along with the River Walk just across the street. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

university game: Rigby, a five-foot-11 forward from Charlottetown, was an AUS first-team all-star this season, leading the Panthers in scoring 18.4 PPG . In her final university game, Rigby scored 16 points in the AUS final against champion Acadia last month in Halifax, according to The Chronicle Herald. The biology student has a cumulative GPA of 3.9 and is a four-time academic all-Canadian. The award, established in 1985, is given annually to an outstanding student-athlete in Atlantic University Sport for excellence in academics, athletics, leadership, sportsmanship and citizenship. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

sun cycle: The project has an estimated 1 million budget, most of which would be used to construct bicycle lanes and equipment on the Ju rez side, and it could open as soon as autumn 2018. ; The system would build on El Paso's existing bikeshare system, Sun Cycle, which began in September 2015, according to National Observer. The ultimate goal a binational system with 30 stations and 300 bicycles, all of which will be available to use on either side of the Rio Grande.A binational border-spanning bikeshare might sound like an unlikely undertaking, given the tone of the current immigration debate, but to Michael Medina, executive director of El Paso's MPO and head of the project, it's also eminently practical for this borderland metropolis, where American corporations have established a network of maquiladoras, or factories, on the Mexican side of the river. The initiative, proposed by El Paso's Metropolitan Planning Organization MPO more than a year ago, was presented at the Transportation Research Board in Washington D.C. on January 7. A lot of people that travel to El Paso from Mexico are dropped off at the border, he says. So we thought, what if they could get directly to their destination using a bicycle Biking across international borders is relatively rare, but not impossible. They walk through the bridge, and then they either get the bus on the other side or someone picks them up. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

adult life: The actor who is known for playing an endearing, hippie stoner is an opinionated activist for cannabis reform, according to CTV. In Chongs's mind, weed has never been illegal, so I never even give it any thought, he says. For most of his adult life, cannabis has been illegal, yet Chong has continued to smoke it openly and publicly. With Canada on the cusp of legalization, Chong's life work as the Grandfather of Pot is almost done. Chong spent the first few years of his life on what he calls a manger, which was a converted chicken coop. He was born on May 24, 1938 in Edmonton, Alberta, to a hard-working Chinese immigrant father and Scottish-Irish mother. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

asylum seekers: Those figures don't include more than 600 additional arrivals who entered the country illegally through Quebec over the Easter weekend, according to CTV. Officials are expecting those numbers to continue to grow as temperatures rise. The RCMP intercepted more than 3,000 irregular border-crossers in January and February, part of a total number of 7,800 asylum seekers processed by the federal immigration department and the Canada Border Services Agency during the same time period. Immigration and CBSA officials have been preparing for the influx after getting caught flat-footed last summer dealing with an unexpected surge in mainly Haitian migrants entering Canada through Ontario and Quebec. Our government is prepared for any future fluctuations, said Mathieu Genest, press secretary for Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen. Canada is an open and welcoming country to those in need of protection, but our government is committed to orderly migration to protect Canadians and our immigration system. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian soil: That's triple the usual numbers of 50 to 60 migrants per day, according to CTV. Police were waiting on Canadian soil to arrest those crossing the border. About 150 people crossed each day. But unlike last year, when thousands of Haitian migrants were housed in a Montreal stadium, the new group is predominantly from Nigeria. On Thursday, more than 114 migrants arrived, according to the Customs and Immigration Union. The crossings weren't limited to the weekend. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

college workforces: The result is faculties that fail to reflect the range of backgrounds and identities of the students they teach, says the study, released Friday by the Canadian Association of University Teachers, according to Toronto Star. Have your say Based on data from the 2016 census, it provides a snapshot of university and college workforces and incomes, and highlights entrenched differences in pay and positions. Yet when it comes to the academic workforce, little has changed in the last decade, with only a handful of Black and Indigenous professors, fewer women with coveted full-time positions than men, and significant wage gaps that penalize female and racialized staff, according to a new report. Article Continued Below The findings are discouraging, says Pat Armstrong, a York University sociology professor and co-chair of the association's equity committee. It's pretty clear there's a big gap between the student body and the faculty that's teaching them. Progress is very slow, she said in an interview. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

confinement linda: California is a state that has a torture law, noted anti-torture crusader Linda Mac Donald in her Facebook post, meaning that if convicted, the Turpin parents face extra penalties beyond those provided for, say, unlawful confinement, according to Rabble. Linda and her campaign partner Jeanne Sarson have been lobbying for recognition of non-state torture NST since 1993, five years after the UN Committee on Torture began its work in 1988. The parents are charged with torture and child endangerment, CNN reported. In March, their paper on NST with Jackie Jones was part of a groundbreaking publication, Gender and Torture. International human rights law, traditionally, has not protected women from the harms they have suffered as a result of being women, wrote the anthology's editor, Macarena S ez, of the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law at the American University Washington College of Law. With papers by more than 25 experts, the anthology expands on former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E. Mendez's 2016 report on gender perspectives on torture -- which turned existing law on its head by suggesting states should look at the act committed, rather than who committed the act and why. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration agents: A federal immigration official declined to confirm whether it was the largest.A statement from immigration officials says 11 people were arrested on criminal charges, 54 others have been placed in detention and 32 have been released from custody.A total of 21 people were arrested after immigration agents raided 7-11 stores nationwide in January, according to Metro News. The National Immigration Law Center says it is believed to be the largest single workforce raid under the Trump administration. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

news conference: That's not good policing, according to The Chronicle Herald. That's not good for building a vibrant society .... When you're stopped in your community for no reason, it makes you feel like you have no worth. People are being stopped because of the colour of their skin, he told an outdoor news conference, held in a park that is in a predominantly black neighbourhood in Halifax's north end. Singh said he was detained by police for no reason multiple times when he was younger, and it continued to happen when he was a law student in Toronto. This is an issue that impacts folks across Canada, he said. The leader, elected to lead the federal NDP last October, has said police have stopped him 11 times over the years, with the first incident of what he describes as racial profiling happening when he was 17. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ronald vitiello: It is lower than the 6,400 National Guard members that former President George Bush sent to the border between 2006 and 2008, according to The Chronicle Herald. Trump said his administration is looking into the cost of sending the troops to the border and added we'll probably keep them or a large portion of them until the wall is built. Trump's comments to reporters on Air Force One were his first estimate on guard levels he believes are needed for border protection. Earlier Thursday, Ronald Vitiello, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's acting deputy commissioner, cautioned against a rushed deployment. He said that guard members would be placed in jobs that do not require law enforcement work, an apparent reference to undertaking patrols and making arrests. We are going to do it as quickly as we can do it safely, Vitiello told Fox News Channel. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

sierra leonean: The former opposition candidate and military leader now faces the challenge of helping the country of 7 million people recover from the devastating Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016, according to Metro News. The election was the fourth since Sierra Leone's brutal civil war ended in 2002, and concerns about potential divisions along ethnic, political or regional lines remain fresh. Julius Maada Bio spoke the day after winning the West African nation's runoff election. No Sierra Leonean should feel threatened by my ascension to power, Bio said Thursday. National cohesion is very much a part of my program. I am not going to discriminate. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

square kilometres: It was estimated that 1,400 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces, according to Rabble. Schools, hospitals, universities and a major part of Gaza's infrastructure was destroyed. The main purpose of our delegation was to build playgrounds for the children of Gaza after Israel's brutal aerial, naval and ground attack named Operation Cast Lead. The ultimate objective of our delegation was an attempt to break the siege imposed since 2007 by the Israel government on the Gaza strip -- a densely populated 365 square kilometres where 1.8 million people live, many of them in precarious conditions. We were motivated by our quest for justice and our will to see with our own eyes the conditions Palestinians were living in after the devastation caused by the military operation. Our delegation was composed of U.S. human rights activists, mostly women, and a few Canadians. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

land acknowledgement: For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca and, most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River, according to NOW Magazine. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land. If you've been on campus at University of Toronto in the past few years, you've probably noticed at every convocation, ground-breaking or building opening, someone reads a land acknowledgement that goes something like this We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. Many post-secondary schools across Ontario have their own version of the Statement of Acknowledgement of Traditional Land, but it's only a part of the wider push to decolonize campuses in the wake of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation report. But the decolonizing process isn't simple. That has created a hiring boom as schools look to hire Indigenous professors and administrators. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

border wall: The announcement came hours after Trump pledged strong action today on immigration and a day after he said he announced he wanted to use the military to secure the southern border until his long-promised, stalled border wall is erected, according to Toronto Star. Read more Trump says he'll use troops to guard the border with Mexico until his wall is built Article Continued Below Why Trump is so furious over a U.S.-bound caravan' of Central American migrants Trump threatens NAFTA, foreign aid to Honduras over refugee caravan'Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she had been in discussions with the governors of the southwest border states and has been working with them to develop agreements that will oversee where and how many Guardsmen will be deployed react-empty 144 She suggested some troops could begin arriving as soon as Wednesday night, though other administration officials cautioned that details on troop levels, locations and timing were still being worked out. The lawlessness that continues at our southern border is fundamentally incompatible with the safety, security, and sovereignty of the American people, Trump wrote in a memo authorizing the move, adding that his administration had no choice but to act. Trump has been frustrated by slow action on building his big, beautiful wall along the Mexican border the signature promise of his campaign as well as a recent uptick in illegal border crossings, which had plunged during the early months of his presidency, giving Trump an accomplishment to point to when he had few. But over the past 12 years, presidents have twice sent National Guard troops to the border to bolster security and assist with surveillance and other support. Federal law prohibits the use of active-duty service members for law enforcement inside the U.S., unless specifically authorized by Congress. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

border: In Washington, Marine Lt, according to Toronto Star. Gen. The deployment is in very early planning stages, the National Guard in Texas said in a statement. Kenneth F. McKenzie told reporters at the Pentagon that it has not yet been determined how many, if any, of the troops participating in the border security operation will be armed. Jerry Brown would respond to Trump's call. Read more Trump signs order sending National Guard to U.S.-Mexico border to fight illegal immigration Article Continued Below Trump says he'll use troops to guard the border with Mexico until his wall is built Why Trump is so furious over a U.S.-bound caravan' of Central American migrants With troops in all states, the National Guard has been called on by past presidents and governors to help secure U.S. borders, and the Texas contingent said it had firsthand knowledge of the mission and operating area that will allow it to move seamlessly into the new role. react-empty 144 The Republican governors of the border states of Arizona and New Mexico also welcomed deployment of the guard along the southwest border as a matter of public safety, but it was unclear how Democratic California Gov. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

haitian man: The man has been detained since September, when he was held for deportation on the grounds that he had two misdemeanour convictions for trying to ride mass transit for free, the ACLU said, according to Metro News. The ACLU and the Brooklyn organization asked the judge to declare that members of the designate class must receive a hearing before an immigration judge within six months. The ACLU and the Brooklyn Defender Services want to bring class-action status to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court recently on behalf of a detained 60-year-old Haitian man who became a permanent resident as a child in the 1970s and has lived in the U.S. for 46 years. The immigration judge would then decide whether the individual is a flight risk or a danger to the community before deciding whether freedom is appropriate while the case proceeds.A message sent to a Justice Department spokesman was not immediately returned. The bond hearings previously allowed some immigrants to remain free while their deportation cases proceeded because the government was unable to show they were a risk to flee or a danger to the community. The ACLU and the Brooklyn organization that provides free legal services to some immigrant detainees said in court papers that immigrants are being denied bond hearings because of a February change in federal policy following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a California case. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.