actions: The RCMP tweeted Thursday evening that all actions are being taken to ensure public safety and more information will be provided on Friday.article continues below Trending Stories Mental health rated low in B.C. despite healthy lifestyles and long life doctor Aussies living in Vancouver say they prefer Canadian lifestyle to Down Under Are you ready for La Poutine Week B.C. Vision Vancouver will not run a mayoral candidate for first time in party's historyA senior government official speaking on background confirmed that the arrests were related to a national security investigation, according to Vancouver Courier. The official, who did not wish to be identified because the investigation is in its early stages, said the situation is contained and there's no threat to public safety. The RCMP have made two arrests in Kingston, Ont., in what a government official confirms is a national security investigation. The RCMP said they are working closely with Kingston police on the probe, calling it an ongoing and evolving situation. The government of Canada has no greater responsibility than to keep its citizens safe. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said any operational details on the RCMP investigation will be released by the Mounties, adding that the country's security agencies act on credible information about potential threats. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

kingston police: The official, who did not wish to be identified because the investigation is in its early stages, said the situation is contained and there's no threat to public safety, according to National Observer. The RCMP said they are working closely with Kingston police on the probe, calling it an ongoing and evolving situation. The RCMP tweeted Thursday evening that all actions are being taken to ensure public safety and more information will be provided on Friday. ; A senior government official speaking on background confirmed that the arrests were related to a national security investigation. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said any operational details on the RCMP investigation will be released by the Mounties, adding that the country's security agencies act on credible information about potential threats. Earlier today, the RCMP and other police partners took action in Kingston, Ontario, based on credible information, to ensure public safety, Goodale said in a statement Thursday evening. The government of Canada has no greater responsibility than to keep its citizens safe. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

beirut suburb: The refugees had gathered since the early hours in the northern Beirut suburb of Burj Hammoud, according to CTV. There, they boarded buses that took them home. Thousands of Syrians have returned home from Lebanon since June as calm returns to parts of the country. Hundreds of others also gathered in other parts of Lebanon from where buses took them home. The returns come as Syrian government forces have made gains in recent years, capturing nearly 60 per cent of Syria. Syrian state news agency SANA said buses carrying the refugees began arriving in the Syrian border villages of Jdaidet Yabous in the east and Dabousiyeh in the north in the early afternoon. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration pilot: Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said the aim of getting more immigrants to settle in rural areas and small communities is to help fuel economic growth, according to Toronto Star. Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO Thirty per cent of our GDP comes from rural Canada. The five-year Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot requires remote communities to submit a thorough plan identifying available middle-class job opportunities and developing social support infrastructure to help the newcomers settle. These communities are experiencing out-migration and are having difficulties in filling unfilled jobs when 78 per cent of our immigrants are settling in large urban centres, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told the Star in an interview from Sudbury, where he made the announcement. Hussen said the program aims to bring 2,750 principal applicants plus their family members each year to communities with less than 50,000 people or where the population is under 200,000, but are far away from urban centres. This is a major move to make sure our rural communities can grow their economies and populations through immigration. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canada: Crowds on the beach in Hollywood for Canada Fest, according to Toronto Star. Courtesy of Canada Fest So the 36th annual Canada Fest, the largest French language musical festival in the United States, has moved off Hollywood Beach Boardwalk this year to a 10-acre park in the middle of U.S. Highway 1 as its cuts through downtown Hollywood. But, it was all too much for thousands of Canadians who fled inland seeking the shelter of tall buildings, dense trees and urban structures. Those lovely breezes moderated the hot tropical sun, but played havoc with the microphones and recording equipment that play a vital role in the operations at the Canada Fest Musical Festival, which Louis St. Louis St. Laurent launched on the beach in 1983. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

collection: Here are some highlights of Wednesday's spring-summer 2019 couture collections VALENTINO'S FLOWER WOMEN On couturier Pierpaolo Piccioli's request, Valentino's seamstresses named each and every couture dress after a flower or emotion, according to CTV. This detail reveals the preciousness that the designer and his atelier bestowed on the 65 carefully constructed looks, in which each model was transformed into a silken bloom. The VIP crowd that was surrounded by multicolored perfumed flowers whooped during a standing ovation as snow fell outside. A surreal red rose hood opened the collection, enveloping the model's head. Wednesday's effort lacked some of the vigour of Piccioli's standout collection last season, but it was poetic, thoughtful and colour-rich. Later gowns were less unusual or daring, producing a display in which Piccioli offered a more classical interpretation of floral couture. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

jagmeet singh: I'd say, 'OK, let me check with my wife.' I'd get back a day later and the place would be gone, Singh said, according to CTV. The market's really hard out here. Jagmeet Singh began calling landlords last year as he prepared to move across the country from Brampton, Ont., to run in a byelection in Burnaby South. If it's hard for me, I can only imagine how hard it is for so many people. In Burnaby, renters have been kicked out of older apartments to make way for luxury condos, and sky-high prices are shutting millennials out of the market. Housing is shaping up to be a defining issue in the byelection, set for Feb. 25, and in the federal election later this year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

luxury condos: DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS I'd say, OK, let me check with my wife.' I'd get back a day later and the place would be gone, Singh said, according to Toronto Star. The market's really hard out here. Jagmeet Singh began calling landlords last year as he prepared to move across the country from Brampton, Ont., to run in a byelection in Burnaby South.NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is proposing to build 500,000 new affordable units over the next decade. If it's hard for me, I can only imagine how hard it is for so many people. In Burnaby, renters have been kicked out of older apartments to make way for luxury condos, and sky-high prices are shutting millennials out of the market. Housing is shaping up to be a defining issue in the byelection, set for Feb. 25, and in the federal election later this year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

email: It can be punished by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 10,000, according to National Observer. The NEB has denied it broke the law.I still don't know exactly what was in that deleted email sent on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, at 2 40 a.m. We should have the BB phone records checked again using the same date range, but adding in De Souza's telephone number, wrote a private investigator in an email to NEBCanada about Nat Observer 's mikedesouza cdnpoli records of business value is an indictable offence under Canadian law. However, based on what I was told over that lunch, the email appeared to be related to a request by one NEB employee who was asking a private detective to investigate another NEB employee in the office. In one response to a formal request made through access to information legislation, I learned that the NEB had spent 24,150 on a sole-source contract to a private security firm, Presidia, to interrogate employees and try to find my sources. Private eye hunted for sources ; This unusual activity might seem out of place for a regulator that has powers of a federal court and, as a result, is expected to be fair, impartial and credible in its reviews and oversight of major energy infrastructure projects and operations.I have asked a lot of questions and requested a lot of information from the NEB about the mysterious deleted email and related issues over the past three years, getting answers that sometimes prompt more serious questions. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ships: It measures minute particles of air pollution that, when inhaled, can cause harm to your heart and lungs, according to National Observer. Kennedy, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, is the author of a new study, released Thursday, which details the findings of a two-year study exposing poor air quality on four Carnival Corporation ships the largest cruise operator in the world including one that left Vancouver for Los Angeles in October 2018. ; The report, titled An investigation of air pollution on the decks of four cruise ships, found that air pollution on these ships was significantly worse than some of the world's most polluted cities like Beijing, China or Santiago, Chile. This device is a portable digital contraption. Kennedy measured air pollution every second for one minute and created an average for each minute for twenty minutes at time, during the day and night. The lowest particle count across these four ships was 38,888 particles per cubic centimeter pt/cc while the highest was 157,716 pt/cc. His findings reveal that while all four ships were traveling at sea, average pollution particle counts were significantly higher at the stern the area on a ship behind the smokestacks. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

archives curator: The title of the book translates to Statistics, Media, and Organizations of Jewry in the United States and Canada, and it was unveiled to media in Ottawa on Wednesday, according to CTV. It's an in depth statistical report or census, of the American and Canadian Jewish communities, said Michael Kent, Library and Archives curator of the Jacob M. Lowry Collection. Those who procured it say the information within the book would have likely been the building blocks for Hitler to carry out his Final Solution plan for eradication of all Jewish people in North America had the Nazis won the Second World War. This Judaic collection includes other important holocaust remembrance items. He and Kent went on to acknowledge that, while the item may contentious, they defend its acquisition as key to a full historical picture of the realities of the Second World War, Hitler's rule and the Holocaust. Librarian and Archivist of Canada Guy Berthiaume began the unveiling event stating that historical significance does not come with caveats. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

chinese-canadian population: But the area's new-found diversity has hindered social cohesion, according to a new report from the Hua Foundation, as newcomers are having trouble integrating into the existing community, according to Toronto Star. Developers have been building new condominiums in Vancouver's Chinatown in recent years. Chinatown used to consist predominantly of businesses that catered to the Chinese-Canadian population. Jennifer Gauthier / For Star Metro We rarely talk about how neighbourhoods with so many different stakeholders across cultural as well as socioeconomic differences, how we can get along and work together, said Kevin Huang, executive director of the Hua Foundation. Racist policies in the mid-1900s pushed Chinese-Canadian business owners in the Lower Mainland to create a separate supply chain that connected restaurants and green grocers with culturally appropriate farmers and distributors. The non-profit has studied food-security gaps in the neighbourhood before, but its most recent report highlights parallel food systems in the Lower Mainland and how gentrification has deepened the divide between those systems within Chinatown itself. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

countries: In U.S. News and World Report's 2019 Best Countries Report, produced with the BAV Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, 20,300 respondents from 36 countries in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa were asked to score 80 countries based on 65 attributes, according to CTV. The attributes were grouped under categories like adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers, open for business, power and quality of life. In other categories, Canada was deemed to have the best quality of life and the U.K. best for education. For the third year in a row, Switzerland took to the top spot, scoring high in areas of business, quality of life and cultural influence. It's carved out a brand internationally, one of quality and impartiality, said Dan Hamilton of the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in a statement. Or in this case, its perceived international neutrality. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mali obomsawin: Lula Wiles are provocateurs of the best kind, rabble-rousers with the purest intentions, according to Rabble. One of the brightest recent signees to Smithsonian Folkways, the Smithsonian Institution's nonprofit record label, Lula Wiles are a Boston-based folk trio made up of Isa Burke, Eleanor Buckland and Mali Obomsawin, and it seems like they're hellbent on stirring up folk conventions for the better. Curated by the Paste Music Team. They make traditional roots music stacked with warm harmonies, acoustic expertise and the occasional electric element, but there's nothing antiquated about the subject matter of their songs. To that end, one of their most in-depth tunes is Good Old American Values, a single from their label debut What Will We Do, which is out this Friday, Jan. 25, on Folkways. The three women, who were swapping songs at summer camp in Maine long before they attended college in Boston and became a band, sing with distinctly American voices, but they're not afraid to question every single thing it means to be just that. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

miles kilometres: As she spoke in the yard of a Catholic Charities shelter in South Texas, the boy played nearby, according to CTV. He had a hairless scar on top of his head in the shape of a jagged, capital T. I will always feel culpable, said Orbelina, 30. After quietly planning for months, she took the 3-year-old boy and his two brothers and headed north without telling her husband. Always. The Trump administration wants to use that money to construct more than 200 miles 320 kilometres of border wall. U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a 5.7 billion wall -- a demand that triggered the longest government shutdown in history -- is unlikely on its own to stop families with stories like Orbelina's, who are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border by the thousands each month. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

government shutdown: Even then it seemed doubtful that the 1,300-page End The Shutdown And Secure The Border Act released by Senate Republicans had any chance of passing swiftly, according to Toronto Star. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority but would need Democrats to reach the usual 60-vote threshold for bills to advance. Despite the fanfare of the president's announcement and the rush to release the legislative package late Monday, voting in Congress was not expected to unfold until later in the week. Not a single Democrat publicly expressed support for the deal in the 48 hours since Trump announced it.U..S President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the southern border and the partial government shutdown at the White House on Saturday. The package would reopen the shuttered parts of government and boost some spending. Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post Details released late Monday highlight the centrepiece of Trump's offer 5.7 billion U.S. to build the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border alongside temporary protection from deportation for some immigrants. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

bargainers time: One vote will be on his own measure, which reflects Trump's offer to trade border wall funding for temporary protections for some immigrants, according to CTV. It was quickly rejected by Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., set up the two showdown votes for Thursday, a day before some 800,000 federal workers are due to miss a second paycheque. The second vote is set for a bill approved by the Democratic-controlled House reopening government through Feb. 8, with no wall money, to give bargainers time to talk. Pelosi has shown no sign of yielding and Democrats hold the upper hand in public opinion -- polls show Trump gets most of the blame for the shutdown. In the Democratic-controlled House, Wednesday will bring more votes on legislation to reopen the government in line with Speaker Nancy Pelosi's demand to end the shutdown before negotiations begin. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

disinformation campaigns: In advance of four provincial elections and one federal election coming up in 2019, Canada's director of general military strategic communications is warning that Canadians should be alert for attempts to influence the electorate, especially disinformation campaigns on digital and electronic media, according to Rabble. He urged Canadians to pay close attention to their news sources, to learn to identify fake news, and to support professional, credible, dedicated journalists. The deciding factor in future warfare will be narrative -- whose story wins. There was a time, he said, when newspapers would print columns from both sides of an issue, side by side, so people could compare them. Back then, in the first armed conflict ever telecast live, CNN sent 15 people and tons of equipment to cover the 1990 Gulf War -- the U.S. attack on Saddam Hussein and Iraq over his attack on Kuwait. That was back when people trusted the legacy media. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

hussen: This comes after Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen was asked, and deflected questions on Tuesday, about who would be footing the bill for Mohammed's protection, according to CTV. Asked during media availability if the federal government would be paying for the security, Hussen said that he didn't want to discuss those details. A source close to the file speaking to CTVNews.ca on background said that because security is not a typical cost that many refugees face, the government is looking into a way to transfer the funds to the organization, which is helping the 18-year-old adjust to her new life in Canada. We have to be careful about the details with respect to her security, Hussen said, noting that she will be receiving access to the federal government's settlement services like job support. Mohammed's safety. In a follow-up comment to CTVNews.ca, Hussen's press secretary said Our primary concern is Ms. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

science writers: Peter Calamai was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2014 for his achievements as a science journalist and for his contributions to the cause of literacy, according to Toronto Star. MCpl. It was a passion he would pursue over more than four decades in daily newspapers, to foreign postings in Europe and Africa and the newsrooms of the Hamilton Spectator, Southam News, the Ottawa Citizen and the Toronto Star. Vincent Carbonneau / Rideau Hall, OSGG His expertise in science shone through too, as he made a name for himself as one of the country's foremost science writers. He was 75. Calamai died at his home in Stratford, Ont., Tuesday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

effects ripple: Much of that aid is channeled through international NGOs, which were abruptly informed of the cuts last summer and have been scrambling to keep their programs alive, according to Vancouver Courier. President Donald Trump says the USAID cuts are aimed at pressuring the Palestinians to return to peace talks, but Palestinian officials say the move has further poisoned relations after the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital last year. The Trump administration's decision last year to cut more than 200 million in development aid to the Palestinians is forcing NGOs to slash programs and lay off staff as the effects ripple through a community that has spent more than two decades promoting peace in the Middle East.article continues below Trending Stories More than 40 men arrested in underage Vancouver sex sting Vancouver family donates 40 million to build new art gallery Former Vancouver school trustee Ken Clement charged in underage sex sting Update Video of police take-down after car-jacking in Richmond The U.S. government's development agency, USAID, has provided more than 5.5 billion to the Palestinians since 1994 for infrastructure, health, education, governance and humanitarian aid programs, all intended to underpin the eventual creation of an independent state. The aid groups, many of which have little or no connection to the Palestinian Authority, say the cuts hurt the most vulnerable Palestinians and those most committed to peace with Israel. Before the aid cuts were announced, it provided food aid branded as a gift from the American people to more than 180,000 Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza on behalf of the World Food Program. If you want to maintain the idea of the peace process, you have to maintain the people who would be part of the peace process, said Lana Abu Hijleh, the local director for Global Communities, an international NGO active in the Palestinian territories since 1995. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

plant-based sources: The guide is expected to have a bigger focus on plant-based sources of proteins, a change that has already sparked concern among industry players, including dairy and beef farmers, according to Vancouver Courier. When the food guide review began several years ago, Health Canada officials said the facelift would be based on input from scientists and health experts as well as feedback from Canadians. Health Minister Ginette Petipas Taylor will unveil an overhauled Canada Food Guide in Montreal this morning. EXPENSES PART OF RCMP PROBE IN B.C. LEGISLATUREThe Speaker of the British Columbia legislature alleges in a report that the clerk and sergeant-at-arms engaged in flagrant overspending, questionable expenses and inappropriate payouts of cash totalling in the millions of dollars. The report says that based on what he had seen and heard, Plecas believed there was a real possibility crimes may have been committed and he felt obligated to contact the RCMP. Sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz and clerk of the house Craig James were suspended and escorted out of the legislature in November without any explanation. Darryl Plecas's report was released Monday after it was reviewed by members of the Legislative Assembly Management Committee. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

anti-immigrant views: Isabelle Hudon, Canada's ambassador to France, says the yellow-vest movement in Canada appears to have been appropriated by far-right extremists espousing racist, anti-immigrant views and even indulging in death threats against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to Toronto Star. Omar Mosleh / Star Metro Edmonton By contrast, she says the yellow vests in France started last November with a protest against a fuel tax and mushroomed into a more generalized protest against the heavy tax burden imposed by French political and business elites on the middle class. Isabelle Hudon says the movement in Canada appears to have been appropriated by far-right extremists espousing racist, anti-immigrant views and even indulging in death threats against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. While violent individuals have been involved in the French protests, some of which have devolved into riots, Hudon says she's never seen the protests there linked to race or immigration. Article Continued Below Read More Canada's yellow vest movement looks like it's here to stay but what is it really about Threats abound on Yellow Vests Canada Facebook page, raising questions about free speech Ottawa must go further in fighting right-wing extremism During a stop in Moncton, N.B., over the weekend, she was surprised to see some yellow-vest protesters brandishing signs with what she called violent words on immigration. Hudon, who was in Canada along with five other envoys to brief ministers at a cabinet retreat last week, says it appears to her that protesters here have adopted the symbol of their French counterparts the yellow safety vests all drivers in France are required to carry in their vehicles but do not share similar complaints or objectives. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

men: The National Division which handles cases in the region that includes Parliament Hill continues to work with its international partners on this matter, and declined to comment further on the charges the pair are facing abroad, according to CTV. Ivory Coast arrest document in French As CTV News' Joyce Napier first reported on Jan. 18, the two men were arrested last month by the Ivory Coast's cybercrimes unit. In a statement to media, the RCMP National Division confirmed that Ivory Coast officials have arrested and charged the two men, as a result of excellent collaborative efforts with its internal law enforcement partners. Sources at that time confirmed that the arrests of the two men identified only by the initials CH and DML, are linked to Clement's case. They allegedly used the accounts to correspond with Clement and a French citizen. Government officials in the Ivory Coast allege that the two men created fake profiles on Instagram and Linked In pretending to be a white woman named Brianna Dounia. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canada: As for the slowdown in bilateral China-Canada tourism, there could be a hit not only to hotels and destinations, but also to local businesses that facilitate Canadians travelling to China, such as travel agencies, according to Vancouver Courier. Vancouver-based Flight Centre Canada president John Beauvais told Business in Vancouver that it is very concerning to watch the escalation of the spat that started in December, when Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, CFO of the large Chinese telecom Huawei, at the behest of the U.S. government, which sought her extradition for allegedly misleading banks into providing money to Huawei for initiatives that violated U.S. sanctions on Iran. The fallout could hurt B.C.'s tourism sector, given that more international visitors to B.C. came from China in 2018 than from any other country, aside from the U.S.article continues below Trending Stories Update Video of police take-down after car-jacking in Richmond Car thefts down dramatically in VancouverB.C.'s skilled labour shortage about to become acute Dashcam footage shows wild Vancouver Police takedown VIDEO A bigger cloud on the horizon, however, could come from a decline in the number of British tourists if there is economic turmoil following an abrupt March 29 departure from the European Union without a trade deal. Beauvais said he has yet to receive reports of cancelled corporate or retail trips because of Canada-China tensions, but that doesn't mean that it's not happening. Rosewood Hotel Georgia director of marketing Brad Simmons said the Chinese government's travel warning is not a concern of mine because Chinese nationals represent less than 10 per cent of his hotel's clientele. Others in the tourism industry told BIV that they are more concerned about U.K. leaving the EU in a hard Brexit, in which there is no trade deal in place a situation that could cause the U.K. economy to sputter and its residents' discretionary spending to disintegrate. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

police: An official working with the family confirmed Sandmann's identity, speaking on condition of anonymity because the source didn't want to distract from the statement.article continues below Trending Stories Update Video of police take-down after car-jacking in Richmond Car thefts down dramatically in VancouverB.C.'s skilled labour shortage about to become acute Dashcam footage shows wild Vancouver Police takedown VIDEO Videos posted of the confrontation drew wide criticism on social media, according to Vancouver Courier. I am being called every name in the book, including a racist, and I will not stand for this mob-like character assassination of my family's name, wrote Sandmann, who added that he and his parents have received death threats since video of Friday's confrontation emerged. The student identified himself in an email statement Sunday evening as junior Nick Sandmann of Covington Catholic High School in a northern Kentucky suburb of Cincinnati. Both Sandmann and Nathan Phillips say they were trying to defuse tensions that were rising among three groups on a day Washington hosted both the March for Life and the Indigenous Peoples March. Other students appeared to be laughing at the drummer; and at least one could be seen on video doing a tomahawk chop. But video of Sandmann standing very close to Phillips, staring and at times smiling at him as Phillips sang and played a drum, gave many who watched it a different impression. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.