canadian press: There were fears Gama would be blocked from re-entering Canada if he travelled to the U.S. for the tournament without status in Canada, according to CTV. But the federal Immigration Department will issue Gama a temporary resident permit in order to allow him to accompany his team to the Little League World Series, The Canadian Press has learned. Gama's team, the Whalley Major Allstars from Surrey, B.C., had thought they would be without the young outfielder after a federal judge ordered a review of the family's immigration case last month. The temporary permit is the result of an intervention by Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Gama was instrumental in his team making it to the Little League World Series, head coach Mike Marino said Wednesday, calling him one of the team's strongest batters and a role model for his teammates. A senior Immigration official says the 200 application fee for the permit will also be waived. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

city plan: Artist Ken Lum outside Old City Hall, where his Nuit Blanche installation International Dumpling Festival will be on Sept. 29, according to Toronto Star. Expect it to be one of the night's biggest draws. You might not even know it's called James St. unless, like countless unfortunates before you, you ducked into it looking for parking only to fall prey to a hotbed of no-standing zones and the parking cops who zealously protect them. Bernard Weil / Toronto Star If James St. and its even shorter companion, Albert St., seem like offcuts in a city plan tailored to broader, more car-friendly byways, it's because they are. John's Ward, the vibrant, tumbledown neighbourhood that now lies under the thick concrete slabs of Nathan Phillips Square, a casualty of urban renewal schemes popular in the early 1960s when the new city hall was built. Vestiges of a city long gone, they're two of the scant few leftovers of St. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

number: Asylum seekers sort out luggage after crossing the border into Canada in August 2017, according to Toronto Star. The surge in irregular migrants began last year after the U.S. said it would withdraw temporary protected status for individuals living in the U.S. from certain countries. Newly published federal data shows a total of 1,634 irregular migrants were apprehended by RCMP between official border crossings last month. Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS That's 371 more than the number of people who crossed irregularly into Canada in June. Despite last month's increase, the monthly totals are still lower than those in March and April and represent half the number of people who arrived in July of last year. The numbers had been slowly decreasing since May a downward trend the federal government had attributed to its outreach efforts as it continues to try to send the message that crossing the Canada-U.S. border at nonofficial entry points is not a free ticket into Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

quebec sovereigntists: In the 1980s, it successfully allied the restive West and fiscal conservatives with moderate Quebec sovereigntists, according to The Chronicle Herald. Under Stephen Harper, fiscal and social conservatives joined middle-class families in the West and Ontario to produce nearly 10 years of Conservative rule. By times it has amalgamated aggrieved westerners with striving suburbanites and rural traditionalists. Conservatives seemed to know who they were as a modern, right-of-centre party. Differences over ethnicity, immigration and culture, unless fixed, will limit the party's appeal in diverse communities of voters. Now deeply held views on sensitive topics threaten to undermine the current Conservatives and their little-tested leader, Andrew Scheer. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

transgender governor: Phil Scott defeated a challenge from Springfield businessman Keith Stern in his quest to win a second term, according to CTV. He will face Christine Hallquist, who won the Democratic primary to run for the state's highest office in November, when she would become the nation's first transgender governor if elected. GOP Gov. Scott said he expected the race to be closer than it was. And no one agrees with their friends all the time, but as our success shows we can make a lot of good progress when we have clear priorities and we pull in the same direction. I know there are some who are still upset with me who may not welcome tonight's result but there's so much more that unites us than sets us apart, Scott said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

council seats: The 13th annual, all-night art event takes place on September 29 and features 81 projects spread across three main exhibition zones encompassing six neighbourhood hubs that includes for the first time Scarborough, where a significant amount of work will be on display in and around the Civic Centre, according to NOW Magazine. In all, around 450 artists are participating. It's appropriate artists are grappling with these themes given Premier Doug Ford's contentious decision to redraw the boundaries of the city's election districts by cutting the number of council seats from 47 to 25 ahead of this fall's municipal election. This year's curatorial theme is You Are Here, which is meant to place artists and audiences at the centre of ongoing debates around the city's evolving social fabric as well as the influence of historic and contemporary immigrant communities. There's the conversation about the core versus the margins, and about shifting of borders and who determines the centre versus the core, explains Jeanne Holmes, programming supervisor for the city's cultural events. It also marks the second consecutive year Nuit Blanche has had a curatorial theme. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

diversity: This diversity is part of us and should be celebrated, according to National Observer. But where do we draw the line Diversity is what makes Canada strong Trudeau https //t.co/dZmCffRBFY Maxime Bernier Maxime Bernier August 13, 2018 If anything and everything is Canadian, does being Canadian mean something he tweeted. Yes, Canada is a huge and diverse country. Shouldn't we emphasize our cultural traditions, what we have built and have in common, what makes us different from other cultures and societies Politicians dangle the immigrants are scary line to get easy votes because it's the easiest trick in the campaign book, writes toulastake cdnpoli polqc CPC Having people live among us who reject basic Western values such as freedom, equality, tolerance and openness doesn't make us strong. Erin Tolley, Political Science professor at the University of Toronto and author of Framed Media & the Coverage of Race in Canadian Politics, responded to Bernier's thread and brilliantly debunked many of his arguments. Without necessarily stipulating who these people are who live among us actively rejecting these values, he went on to use dangerous and inflammatory buzzwords like ghetto extreme multiculturism, little tribes and cultural balkanization when alluding to the dangers of excessive diversity. ; He later clarified that it wasn't diversity per se that he had an issue with, but ever more diversity, whatever that means. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

nell toussaint: Toussaint came to Canada as a visitor from Grenada in 1999 but remained in the country after finding employment, despite not having permission to work in Canada, according to Vancouver Courier. She worked a variety of temporary jobs for several years before beginning the process of trying to apply for permanent residency in Canada a process that was delayed due to financial struggles and her deteriorating health. As part of its non-binding ruling, the UN committee says Canada has an onus to compensate Nell Toussaint for the harm she suffered after developing serious health conditions that required medical treatment.article continues below Trending Stories How a Romanian pop singer's quirky ode to Vancouver became a viral hit Vancouver man claims he was targeted by police because of his race Summer wild fires and smoke-clogged skies the new normal in B.C. Jean Swanson sentenced to jail time over pipeline protest The committee further says the Canadian government should review its national legislation to ensure that all irregular migrants have access to essential health care. She did receive some emergency medical treatment, but was repeatedly denied blood tests and medical procedures because she did not have a health card and couldn't afford to pay out-of-pocket, according to an affidavit she filed in Federal Court. Because her refugee claim was not active at the time and she was living as an undocumented migrant in Canada, she was denied access to the program. In 2009, Toussaint applied to the Interim Federal Health Program IFHP which covers certain medical services for refugees or those seeking refugee status in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

people: The numbers had been slowly decreasing since May a downward trend the federal government had attributed to its outreach efforts as it continues to try to send the message that crossing the Canada-U.S. border at non-official entry points is not a free ticket into Canada, according to Vancouver Courier. Despite last month's increase, the monthly totals are still lower than those in March and April and represent half the number of people who arrived in July of last year. Newly published federal data shows a total of 1,634 irregular migrants were apprehended by RCMP between official border crossings last month.article continues below Trending Stories How a Romanian pop singer's quirky ode to Vancouver became a viral hit Vancouver man claims he was targeted by police because of his race Summer wild fires and smoke-clogged skies the new normal in B.C. Jean Swanson sentenced to jail time over pipeline protest That's 371 more than the number of people who crossed irregularly into Canada in June. While these latest numbers are promising, Canadians expect all levels of government to work together to live up to our international and humanitarian obligations, said Mathieu Genest, spokesperson for Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen. Ottawa has responded to the influx with an increase in spending of 173 million for improved border security, temporary housing and to help address a major backlog in refugee claims processing at the Immigration and Refugee Board. The issue of irregular border crossers has been an ongoing headache for the Trudeau government, with concerns being raised by officials in Quebec and Ontario about millions in unanticipated costs incurred from the vast majority of asylum seekers seeking housing, social assistance and schooling in Montreal and Toronto as they await the outcome of their refugee claims. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

smoke-clogged skies: I think we're ready to shock some people here, I really do, according to Vancouver Courier. Canada, one of 16 teams battling for the prestigious Little League World Series title, opens play Friday against Latin American representative Panama. And Mike Marino, the head coach of Canada's representative this year in Williamsport the Whalley Major Allstars from Surrey, B.C. believes he has the perfect team to do it.article continues below Trending Stories How a Romanian pop singer's quirky ode to Vancouver became a viral hit Vancouver man claims he was targeted by police because of his race Summer wild fires and smoke-clogged skies the new normal in B.C. Jean Swanson sentenced to jail time over pipeline protest To be honest we're pretty confident, Marino said Wednesday in a phone interview with The Canadian Press. Whalley advanced to the annual international tournament by winning the Canadian championship last weekend in Mirabel, Que., going undefeated on a title run that was capped with an 11-0 mercy rule win over Nova Scotia on Saturday. They've spent a whirlwind week practising at the complex, doing interviews with ESPN, and going through scouting drills with the Baseball Factory. The team arrived at the Little League complex in Williamsport described by Marino as like Disneyland on steroids for baseball people on Sunday night after an eight-hour bus trip from Montreal. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

anti-china forces: He also said a few foreign media outlets misrepresented the committee's discussions and were smearing China's anti-terror and crime-fighting measures in Xinjiang, according to CTV. In Xinjiang, authorities responding to sporadic violent attacks by Muslim separatists have imposed a heavy security crackdown and detained an estimated hundreds of thousands of members of the Uighur and Kazakh Muslim minorities in indoctrination camps. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said anti-China forces had made false accusations against China for political purposes after a U.N. human rights committee raised concern over reported mass detentions of ethnic Uighurs. Former detainees have provided The Associated Press among the first accounts of life inside these camps in which they were forced to denounce Islam and profess loyalty to the party . In recent weeks, China has come under pressure from some Western governments and rights groups to release people held in such centres or account for the whereabouts of people whose overseas relatives say have gone missing. China's delegation told the U.N. panel on Monday that there is no arbitrary detention ... there are no such things as re-education centres. A U.N. committee member last week cited estimates that over 1 million people in China from the country's Uighur and other Muslim minorities are being held in counter-extremism centres and another 2 million have been forced into re-education camps. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

bertolt brecht: He just doesn't want it to feel too on-the-nose with its critique, according to Toronto Star. Producer/performer Rouvan Silogix, director Esther Jun and music director/performer Jason Collett from left . Stephanie Baird / THE CANADIAN PRESS It's been quite illuminating to see how timeless Brecht's insights were, Collett said of the production, which was being workshopped in front of audiences Tuesday and again Thursday as part of the Summer Works theatre festival in Toronto. The new adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's The Private Life of the Master Race, originally written shortly before the Second World War began, remains as potent a social commentary today as it was 80 years ago, the musician said. We're living through a very similar cycle that he was identifying in 1930s Germany. The stage play is one of a number of Canadian productions taking a stab at timely conversations over issues like racism, immigration and authoritarianism in an era defined by President Donald Trump and the rise of a white nationalist movement. And the conditions that created that atmosphere are what is most startling to me. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

bolante alo: Bolante Alo died in Calgary on Aug. 7 after an altercation with Canada Border Services Agency officers on an airplane, according to Toronto Star. The 49-year-old Nigerian man was set to be deported to his home country. Evidence submitted by Kenzie Wingert at the first of Alo's two detention hearings outlines how his refusal to co-operate with any potential deportation order escalated over time. Facebook You will have to carry me like a dead man, because I'm not going to my death, Alo is quoted as saying in evidentiary documents submitted by Wingert the legal counsel representing minister of public safety and emergency preparedness Ralph Goodale on July 26 at Alo's first detention hearing. This was his first detention hearing, administered by the immigration division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. By that point, Alo had been detained for 48 hours. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

phone interview: Gama, born in the United States to Mexican parents, has lived in Canada for three years, according to The Chronicle Herald. But the family's case is complicated in part by a drug-related charge and guilty plea by Dio's father, Noe, that led to his deportation from the U.S. in 1997 and a 60-month prison term in Mexico. The Whalley Major Allstars, based in Surrey, B.C., will be without the 13-year-old outfielder after a federal judge ordered a review of the family's case last month. I think the issue is that his lawyers are advising that there's a chance that they wouldn't let Dio back into Canada if he goes into the U.S. Whalley Little League president Gavin Burke told The Canadian Press in a phone interview from B.C. on Tuesday. We're not positive that Dio has the papers to get back into Canada. So that's the issue. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canada: The man has since been charged with three counts under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and three counts under the Criminal Code of Canada, according to CTV. The man made his first court appearance on July 25 and was later released. The Canada Border Services Agency launched an investigation in 2018 that led to a warrant being executed at the home of a 23-year-old man on April 26, 2018. He is scheduled to appear again on August 15. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

capital murder: The Harris County jury deliberated for just 35 minutes after five weeks of testimony before reaching the verdict in Houston, according to The Chronicle Herald. The same jury deliberated about nine hours before sentencing him to death for the killings, which occurred about 11 months apart. Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan was found guilty of capital murder last month in the 2012 fatal shootings of his son-in-law, Coty Beavers, and his daughter's friend, Gelareh Bagherzadeh. When the jury's punishment verdict was announced, Irsan slumped slightly. Prosecutors alleged that Irsan, a 60-year-old conservative Muslim, became enraged after his daughter married Beavers, a 28-year-old Christian, and converted to Christianity. Families of the victims cried, hugged and took pictures together after Irsan was led out of the courtroom. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

depression diagnoses: Many of us walk around with constant low-grade grief over climate change, along with worry about what wildfires and species extinctions lie ahead, according to Rabble. Statistics are climbing on depression diagnoses, although not necessarily the kind of major depression that causes some people to consider hurting themselves or others. At least, more and more people are taking prescription antidepressants. In Canada, in 2013, reports the Canadian Mental Health Association, an estimated three million Canadians 11.6 per cent aged 18 years or older indicated that they had a mood and/or anxiety disorder, and more than a quarter said they were affected enough to interfere with basic activities. Only one in five had received psychological use has also increased dramatically in all the OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Nine in 10 of them 93 per cent were taking antidepressants. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

twitter trudeau: Confused Me too, but I'll try to break it down for you, according to Toronto Star. Bernier made a series of ill-advised tweets around 8 30 on Sunday night. There is something wrong, however, with ever more diversity. When many Canadians were presumably relaxing and spending time with family, the MP was sharing a few xenophobic thoughts with strangers on the internet. Yes, Canada is a huge and diverse country. In his own words, on Twitter Trudeau keeps pushing his diversity is our strength' slogan. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lady macbeth: The historical drama, which stars Wonder Woman's Chris Pine as Robert The Bruce alongside Godzilla's Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Lady Macbeth's Florence Pugh, will be the first Scottish production to open TIFF. It's also the first Netflix feature to open the festival, so we'll be hearing about that for a while, according to NOW Magazine. The festival also named Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy as this year's closing night gala. David Mackenzie's Outlaw King will open the 43rd Toronto International Film Festival on September 6. Directed by Justin Kelly, the drama stars Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart as Laura Albert Savannah Koop, the women who convinced the world they were hardscrabble author JT LeRoy for a little while, at least. Among the newly announced special presentations Joel Edgerton's much-anticipated Boy Erased, starring Lucas Hedges as a young man forced into gay conversion therapy; the world premieres of Jonah Hill's directorial debut Mid90s and Maryam Keshavarz's Viper Club, which stars Susan Sarandon as a nurse trying to pressure the American government into helping her son Matt Bomer after he's abducted by terrorists on the other side of the globe. The two world premieres were among dozens of new titles announced today, along with two more galas The Lie, a thriller from The Killing creator Veena Sud starring Peter Sarsgaard and Joey King, and Peter Farrelly's Green Book, a period drama starring Viggo Mortensen, Linda Cardellini and Mahershala Ali and the complete Contemporary World Cinema, Wavelengths and Masters programs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

u.s: Standing outside court on Tuesday, Avenatti denied that he was representing the boy as a publicity stunt, according to Vancouver Courier. I've been representing dozens of mothers and children for weeks now, travelling around the country, he said. Instead, the judge agreed to let the boy voluntarily depart the U.S. in the next 60 days, as part of the ordinary process when an immigrant child who entered the U.S. without legal permission wishes to return. My record speaks for itself. He has also started to draw some attention as a potential challenger to Trump in the next presidential election. In addition to his legal fights on behalf of actress Stormy Daniels, Avenatti has taken up the cases of immigrant families separated under the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy on border crossings. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

punishment verdict: The Harris County jury deliberated for just 35 minutes after five weeks of testimony before reaching the verdict in Houston.article continues below Trending Stories Air quality advisory back in effect as Vancouver blanketed by wildfire smoke Vancouver beaches open to swimming again Jean Swanson defiant before sentencing for pipeline protest Metro Vancouver transit ridership increasing faster than any other region in Canada, U.S. The same jury deliberated about nine hours before sentencing him to death for the killings, which occurred about 11 months apart, according to Vancouver Courier. When the jury's punishment verdict was announced, Irsan slumped slightly. Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan was found guilty of capital murder last month in the 2012 fatal shootings of his son-in-law, Coty Beavers, and his daughter's friend, Gelareh Bagherzadeh. Families of the victims cried, hugged and took pictures together after Irsan was led out of the courtroom. Investigators said Bagherzadeh had encouraged her friend to marry Beavers. Prosecutors alleged that Irsan, a 60-year-old conservative Muslim, became enraged after his daughter married Beavers, a 28-year-old Christian, and converted to Christianity. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

celebration: This year, it marked the 56th anniversary of Jamaica's independence from British rule, according to The Chronicle Herald. The celebration included traditional drumming, dancing, food and more. It was all part of the fifth Caribbean Diaspora Multicultural Celebration, an event hosted by the Jamaican Cultural Association of Nova Scotia. Darrell Oake photos (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

father kamal: The 18-year-old jumped from the car and pounded on the door of the King St, according to Toronto Star. E. home. Alone. When no one answered, he pushed aside a window screen and wormed his way in. Khalid broke into a home in central Hamilton last week to rescue a baby boy wearing only a diaper who was standing alone on a first-floor rooftop. Khalid Tabateb, 18, right, and his father Kamal stand outside their home on the east Mountain. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hussen: MacLeod and Hussen seemed to get off to a rough start shortly after the Ontario election when Mac Leod expressed anger over how Hussen characterized the new government's language around those who cross the border between official points of entry, according to CTV. I just feel that it became more of a matter of rhetoric and who's Canadian, who's not; irregular, illegal, Mac Leod told reporters at a press conference in Ottawa. Ontario cabinet minister Lisa Mac Leod says replacing Hussen on the ad hoc intergovernmental task force on irregular migration is a move in the right direction. The words around that became far more important than actually fixing the problem. MacLeod says she's already had a wonderful chat with newly named Border Security Minister Bill Blair, and that they could each understand the other's point of view, rather than the sort of divisive rhetoric that was happening. I do think that the federal government started off on the wrong foot with our new administration with some of the stunts by the minister of immigration, so I'm glad to see that he's been removed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

omarosa trump: He tweeted that he had received a call from the producer of The Apprentice assuring him there are NO TAPES of the Apprentice where I used such a terrible and disgusting word as attributed by Wacky and Deranged Omarosa, according to CTV. Trump insisted, I don't have that word in my vocabulary, and never have. Late Monday, Trump tackled Manigault Newman's claim that she had heard an audiotape of him using the N-word. He said Manigault Newman had called him a true Champion of Civil Rights until she was fired. She said Sunday that she had listened to one after the book closed. Manigault Newman, the former White House liaison to black voters, writes in her new memoir that she'd heard such tapes existed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

state regulator: But a top state regulator conceded in an interview that investigators did not attempt to determine whether serious allegations of past abuse at the locally run facility are true, according to The Chronicle Herald. Democratic Gov. Investigators concluded the current treatment of detainees at the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center did not meet the state's legal threshold of abuse or neglect, according to a copy of the findings issued Monday by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice and obtained by The Associated Press. Ralph Northam ordered the review in June, hours after the AP published first-person accounts by children as young as 14 who said they were handcuffed, shackled and beaten at the facility. The incidents are described in sworn statements from six Latino teens included in a class-action lawsuit filed in November and are alleged to have occurred from 2015 to 2018, under both the Obama and Trump administrations. They also described being stripped of their clothes and locked in solitary confinement, sometimes strapped to chairs with bags over their heads. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.