clearance operation: Though Myanmar's army claimed it was a clearance operation against the terrorists, the United Nations, United States and others have said the operations were ethnic cleansing to remove the Rohingya from the country, according to The Chronicle Herald. Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement in November to repatriate Rohingya and set up a working group last month to oversee the repatriation of people who had fled violence in the northern part of Rakhine state in western Myanmar. More than 650,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh since Myanmar's military launched a brutal crackdown in August following attacks on police posts by a militant group. Win Myat Aye, the minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement, said Myanmar was hosting a one-day meeting Monday with Bangladesh officials in the capital Naypyitaw to discuss the logistics of how many Rohingya will be allowed into Myanmar and how they will be scrutinized to be placed in the camps. We are planning ahead to be able accept the returnees from next week and we are sure that this will be done on time, Win Myat Aye said. Officials plan to start the repatriation process from Jan. 23. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

corey: Other victims included a 30-year-old man and his 6-year-old son and father-in-law; a doctor and his daughter who died in the arms of her brother, a young mother asleep with her 3-year-old daughter as her 10-year-old nephew slumbered nearby; and a woman and her 89-year-old husband of more than 50 years who celebrated his birthday the day before the disaster, according to Metro News. Here are their stories and those of others in the community where victims ranged from captains of industry to the people who manicure their lawns Sisters Sawyer Corey, 12, and Morgan Christine Corey, 25, were sleeping when the mud smashed into their home. An immigrant from Mexico and a pair of sisters were among the 20 people killed in devastating mudslides that brought tragedy and sorrow to the idyllic coastal community of Montecito, California. Sawyer was found dead earlier in the week. As with so many other families, we know that as their house came down around them our girls clung to each other as best they could while being washed away, their brother Taylor Owens wrote on a fundraising web page. Her sister's body was found Saturday in mud and debris. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

florida resort: At gatherings across the nation, activists, residents and teachers honoured the late civil rights leader on what would have been his 89th birthday and ahead of the 50th anniversary of his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, according to CTV. But in the many speeches delivered from pulpits and podiums across the country, Trump's name came up nearly as often as King's, with speakers indicating that his turbulent presidency was undermining efforts to ease racial tensions in the U.S. The president spent his first Martin Luther King Jr. Angry pro-Haiti protesters and Trump supporters yelled at each other from opposite sides of a street near the president's Florida resort. Day in office buffeted by claims that during a meeting with senators on immigration last week, he used a vulgarity to describe African countries and questioned the need to allow more Haitians into the U.S. He also is said to have asked why the country couldn't have more immigrants from nations like Norway. He added, We got to find a way to work on this man's heart. In Washington, King's eldest son, Martin Luther King III, criticized Trump, saying, When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I don't even think we need to spend any time even talking about what it says and what it is. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigrant entrepreneur: When Danish-born Pernille Fischer Boulter arrived in Nova Scotia, she wrote letters introducing herself to 100 of the province's top CEOs, according to The Chronicle Herald. In her new book, Tales from an Immigrant Entrepreneur, the author describes how this enabled her to meet influential people, including John Risley, then-CEO of Clearwater Fine Foods. Entrepreneurs often need to work hard to win introductions. Pernille, the founder of Kisserup International Trade Roots, has worked on export development with small, micro and medium businesses in 90 countries. I'd worked in a high-paid, high-stress sales job in Europe for American computer manufacturer Commodore . I'd been responsible for hundreds of dealers, budgets of millions of dollars, profit and loss responsibility, and daily international contact, she said. But when she arrived in Chester in 1998 after marrying Canadian entrepreneur Keith Boulter she struggled to find what she wanted a sales job in an IT company. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

a.b: To protect the man's privacy, he was only randomly identified by court as A.B. The circumstances under which Mr, according to Toronto Star. A.B. contracted HIV are wholly irrelevant to the issue before the IAD, as are any issues related to the applicant's father's moral character, said Justice Shirzad Ahmed in a recent decision to send the case back to the tribunal for a new assessment. In chastising Michael Sterlin, the decision-maker at the immigration appeal division IAD tribunal, the court said that how the 62-year-old immigration applicant got HIV had nothing to do with the sponsorship case. The IAD appears to make judgments against Mr. In 2009, one of A.B.'s two daughters who are both Canadian citizens living in Ottawa applied to sponsor him and his wife to come to Canada under family reunification. A.B.'s moral character, and in doing so, the IAD acts as moral police. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

shithole countries: They suggested that a Democrat who publicly confirmed the remarks, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, could not be trusted, according to Toronto Star. This is a gross misrepresentation, it's not the first time Sen. Republican Senators Tom Cotton Arkansas and David Perdue Georgia who attended the meeting and previously said they could not recall whether Trump had referred to shithole countries, on Sunday denied outright that Trump had ever said it. Durbin has done it and it is not productive to solving the problem we're having, Perdue said on ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos. But why would Norwegians want to leave home The accusations prompted Democrats to blast the GOP senators for impugning a colleague's integrity, while also slamming Trump and his remarks as unabashedly racist. react-empty 163 The only administration official to speak publicly this weekend about the meeting was Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who attended the session. Read more Trump partly denies, but also defends controversial immigrant remarks Article Continued Below Q and A David Frum on America's Trumpocracy'Trump wants the U.S. to take in more people from Norway. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

megan mcdowell: She says she is thrilled to be contributing to Chebucto Connections and its collaborative approach to community outreach, according to The Chronicle Herald. It is so unusual in this crazy time, when the water is rising up on everyone, to have a place like that, where you don't get an automated phone response or someone saying, Sorry, we don't have anything to offer you,' says Jones. Jones will be joined during the first half of the event by fellow artists Rhys Bevan-John, Megan McDowell and Veronique Mac Kenzie. Chebucto Connections serves an area stretching from the Armdale Rotary to Sambro and the staff hopes this fundraiser will draw wider attention to the range of work they do. ECHO community organizations share a rotating physical presence at Chebucto Connections' space on Herring Cove Road as well as a virtual hub online to provide information and access to services. Most of their programs also fall under the umbrella of ECHO Eastern Chebucto Hub Operations which, as Christina Carter, operations manager of Chebucto Connections explains, is a group of organizations looking at how to deal with the most vulnerable people. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

often-visceral consequences: Once the police had finished their work, mosque administrators opened the doors to journalists, if only to show firsthand the often-visceral consequences of unchecked hatred and ignorance, according to CBC. It was like the aftermath of war. Less than 48 hours before, a gunman had walked into the centre, killing six and injuring 19. Men and women parishioners wandered around, dazed and weeping. And blood was everywhere on the carpet and prayer rugs, on the Linoleum floor outside the main room, caking the stairs to the basement and circling a storage closet drain. Bullets, dozens of them, had splintered drywall and shattered glass. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ont .,: Previous reporting below As Toronto police investigate an attack on a 11-year-old Muslim girl this week as a possible hate crime, a human rights advocate says that official statistics provide only a tiny glimpse into the kinds of hateful acts minority communities face in Canada, according to CBC. Khawlah Noman, a student at Pauline Johnson Junior Public School in Scarborough, Ont., was walking to school on Friday morning when a man approached her from behind and tried twice to cut off her hijab with a pair of scissors, according to police. Full details here. For those of us who wear a head scarf, it's like we have a target on us, said Amira Elghawaby, a human rights advocate based in Ottawa. They are incidents that are meant to send a message that certain communities are not welcome. Elghawaby was formerly spokesperson for the National Council of Canadian Muslims NCCM . These are message crimes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

toronto police: According to officers at the time, the 11-year-old girl was on her way to Pauline Johnson Public School in Scarborough, when she felt something and turned around to see a man trying to cut her hijab with a pair of scissors, according to CTV. She said she screamed and ran away, but the man returned less than 10 minutes later and tried to cut it once again. On Friday, Toronto police said they were investigating a report that a young girl was attacked by a man with scissors, as she was walking to school in the east end of the city. In speaking with CTV News on Monday, Toronto Police Service spokesperson Mark Pugash said investigators reached the conclusion after sifting through the evidence. We have spoken with the girl we have spoken to all the people the public would expect us to speak to in the course of a thorough investigation, and when we put all of that together -- we looked at it very closely -- and that was the conclusion that we came to. We had, as everyone knows, allegations of an extremely serious crime on Friday which we investigated -- we had a team of investigators who put together a significant amount of evidence and they came to the conclusion that the events that were alleged did not happen, Pugash said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canada: She will focus on the unique contribution of young people in Canada today. 7 30 pm, according to NOW Magazine. Free. The author of the bestselling Prisoner Of Tehran will present her perspective on the challenges faced today in Canada, in Iran and throughout the world. The lecture is sponsored by Romero House for Refugees as part of its contribution to the civic life of the city. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

citizenship rights: Those laws keep changing and although most of the changes are for the better, each time it happens, someone is surprised to find out they don't qualify for citizenship, according to National Observer. Don Chapman, author of The Lost Canadians A Struggle for Citizenship Rights, Equality, and Identity, has been an advocate for the Lost Canadians for years, after his struggles with losing citizenship and fighting to regain it. Consider what it would be like to grow up in Canada with Canadian parents, but then have a baby in another country and discover your child is not entitled to Canadian citizenship. ; It's happened to many people over the past few decades, as Canada has changed its citizenship laws. Loopholes in the law Chapman warns that citizenship in Canada is not written into constitutional law. Citizenship is a constitutional right in the United States, Chapman said in an interview with National Observer. He argues the problem that has plagued Canadian citizenship for more than 100 years is that citizenship laws which still have discriminatory loopholes keep changing, depending on which government takes power. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

law: An overwhelming influx of refugees, sweeping legislative changes, unreasonable long-term detentions and deportations These are the topics that come to people's minds when they hear the phrase immigration law, according to NOW Magazine. When stories about immigration law make it to the news, they are filled with drama. Most applicants are rejected without reason. These stories are striking, and rightly so changes in and misapplication of immigration law can have dire consequences for those involved. It is these unremarkable injustices that truly expose the culture of complacency and arbitrariness in immigration law enforcement, and give the best perspective on the rot within the system. However, with the public eye turned toward the sensational, mundane everyday injustices go under the radar. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

wage hikes: In both processes, the planned increases have generated significant public debate, including the predictable circulation of exaggerated claims about the supposed harmful effects of minimum wage increases and stereotypes of who will benefit, according to National Observer. I'd like to use recent economic research on minimum wage hikes to debunk five of the most common claims, using examples from several Canadian provinces. Ontario will reach the same wage rate on January 1, 2019. Claim 1. Not only is the province raising the minimum wage to a level that is proportionally higher than anything known before, but it is doing it within an incredibly short timeline. Large minimum wage increases are without precedents ; Earlier this week, Tristin Hopper wrote in the National Post that Ontario's minimum wage will rise 29 per cent from 11.60 to 15 within the span of a year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

basilica: Peter's Basilica on Sunday, a day the Catholic Church dedicated to the issues and contributions of those who leave homelands in hope of a better life, according to Metro News. New arrivals must know and respect the laws, the culture and the traditions of the countries that take them in, he said. At his invitation, several thousand migrants, refugees and immigrants from 49 countries joined Francis at Mass in St. Local communities must open themselves without prejudices to their rich diversity, to understand the hopes and potential of the newly arrived as well as their fears and vulnerabilities. As a result, we often refuse to encounter the other and raise barriers to defend ourselves. It is not easy to enter into another culture, to put oneself in the shoes of people so different from us, to understand their thoughts and their experiences, Francis said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

holmes: The inference is spot on The Sunshine Eaters, taken literally, is a nod to the plant nourishment, sustained as they are by those nurturing rays, according to Toronto Star. But there are heavy politics to be found in the ground from which they grow, and you don't have to dig deep to uncover them. Nearby and behind glass, delicate watercolours of native plants, painted around the turn of the last century by longtime OCAD University faculty member Robert Holmes, sit quietly arrayed on easels, suggesting, maybe, something not quite finished. Land, simply put, is power, and he because it's always been he who has it, holds it. If you worried what would happen to the fiery tenor of the art world's Canada 150 rebuke once the calendar turned, then this will come as welcome assurance. Between Obasawim and Holmes lies a chasm of difference From the blithe privilege of a delicate visual taxonomy to an urgent plea to return what was taken, The Sunshine Eaters sets up as a have and have-not polemic that defies its poetic title. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

child refugee: Abdi came to Canada as a child refugee from Somalia in 2000 with his sister and aunts, according to Toronto Star. His mother died in a refugee camp while awaiting the three-year process that eventually landed his family here. Abdi's is a tragic story that highlights the gaps in Canadian institutions and systems that disproportionately and negatively impact Black Canadians. Under uncertain circumstances, of which his family continues to seek clarification due to language barriers at the time, the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services removed a 7-year-old Abdi and his sister from the care of their aunt. Article Continued Below Abdi's aunt never stopped fighting for guardianship, and while she obtained her own citizenship she was denied the opportunity to apply for citizenship on behalf of her niece and nephew. Over the next decade the siblings were separated and Abdi was shuffled between 31 homes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

gendered approach: For women in Ontario, it's likely they're being paid marginally or significantly less than their male counterparts, according to Toronto Star. Currently, half the workers in Ontario earning less than 15 per hour are between the ages of 25 and 64, the majority of which are women. However, both our discussions of the potential implications of this change, and the policy itself, fail to adopt a gendered approach. The pay gap between men and women in Ontario sits at 30 per cent as it has for virtually 30 years worsening considerably for immigrant women 39 per cent and Indigenous women 57 per cent . Visible minorities, once protected by Ontario's Employment Equity Act, repealed in 1995, now stand as the province's most under-represented population in the labour market. Women still have to work over 15 months to earn what men earn on average in a year. The statistics are there, as are the barriers. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

people: There is so much help that is needed out there, as Powley puts it, according to Metro News. And yet despite how outspoken she is, if you sit with Powley for an hour to chat, as Metro did last week, you will have to take a little extra time to lean in and hear what she has to say. Regarding the causes she cares about which are many, ranging from sustainable urban planning, to supporting refugees, to the rights of people with disabilities she is an ardent campaigner, constantly out engaging the community to instigate positive change. Powley has multiple sclerosis MS an incurable autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system. For Powley it began in her teens with slowly losing the balance she needed for ballet. Essentially, if the nerves in our bodies are wires, then MS strips off the insulation and the nerves gradually short out. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

soap store: So, when he and his family came to Canada as refugees from Syria two years ago, he knew he wanted to keep doing what he does best, according to CBC. I can work 20 hours a day. It's what his family has been doing for generations. I don't get tired about that, because I love my job, Sabouni told CBC News Saturday at the grand opening of his new soap store, Aleppo Savon. 4th generation Syrian soap maker to launch Calgary retail outlet The southeast Calgary store, which Sabouni opened along with business partners Husny Hadry and Walid Balsha, was swarmed with customers, excited to get their hands on the artisanal products, which are made with olive and coconut oil. When I begin, yes, but not now. Sabouni said the huge crowd made him a little less nervous about starting a business. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

post: The Sony Pictures release is now approaching 300 million domestically and, after grossing 40 million in China this weekend, a worldwide total of 667 million, according to The Chronicle Herald. Coming closest was Steven Spielberg's Pentagon Papers drama The Post, starring Streep as Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham and Tom Hanks as editor Ben Bradlee. Jumanji easily remained the no. 1 film in North America despite an onslaught of new challengers, according to studio estimates Sunday. Twentieth Century Fox is forecasting 18.6 million for the weekend and 22.2 million for the four-day holiday. Made for about 50 million and fast-tracked after the election of President Donald Trump, The Post is considered by many a timely commentary on the power of the press, and a rebuke of Trump from some of Hollywood's biggest names. It's a solid result for The Post in its nationwide expansion following several weeks of limited release. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump denigrated: For African-Americans in particular, this latest insult from Trump felt like whiplash, according to CTV. Barely a year ago, America's first black president, Barack Obama, marked his final King Day in office with his usual community service; now, his successor is presiding over a racial backlash the country has hardly seen in more than a generation. In the same week that he honoured King by making a national park out of the ground where King was born and preached until his death, Trump denigrated practically the entire African diaspora, and left many Americans headed into the civil rights icon's birthday convinced that the leader of their country is a racist. Trump has denied being racist, labeling himself the least racist person there is during his 2016 campaign. He began last week by designating the historic site around King's Atlanta birth home as a national park. Some of his actions leading up to this year's federal holiday honouring King's birth seemed to be an attempt to live up to that. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump: Trump, who has taken a hard stance against illegal immigration, announced last year that he will end the program unless Congress comes up with a solution by March, according to CTV. I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! AMERICA FIRST Donald J. Trump real Donald Trump January 14, 2018 DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military, the Republican president tweeted. At issue is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program created by President Barack Obama to shield hundreds of thousands of these individuals, known as Dreamers, from deportation. I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! .AMERICA FIRST. Republicans and Democrats were already at odds over funding the government, and the negotiations became more complicated after Democrats -- whose votes are needed to pass a government funding bill -- insisted immigration be included. Further roiling the talks are comments by Trump during an Oval Office meeting in which he questioned the need to admit more Haitians to the U.S., along with Africans from shithole countries, according to people briefed on the conversation but not authorized to describe it publicly. Government funding expires midnight Friday without a deal in place, and some government functions will begin to go dark. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ice: Virtue and Moir won their eighth Canadian ice dance title Saturday, with a program to music from Moulin Rouge! that was both passionate and provocative, according to The Chronicle Herald. In one particularly steamy lift that prompted questions from reporters, Virtue sticks a toe pick in the ice to propel herself up backwards so that she's straddling Moir's shoulders, her hands clasping the back of his head. So when they returned to the competitive arena last season after a two-year hiatus, the three-time world champions weren't content with being the same skaters that left the sport after their silver medal performance at the Sochi Olympics. Moir called it suggestive. We knew taking the ice at the Olympic Games again meant that we had to have a different style, and we wanted to make a bit of a different statement, and if that was bringing a certain edge or sexuality or darkness or a contemporary feeling to it, mission accomplished I guess. I think 'edgy' would probably summarize most of the program quite well, and that's what we were going for, Virtue said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

works agency: Future contributions would require the agency, facing heavy Israeli criticism, to demonstrate significant changes in operations, they said, adding that one suggestion under consideration would require the Palestinians to first re-enter peace talks with Israel, according to CTV. The State Department said Sunday that the decision is under review. U.S. President Donald Trump hasn't made a final decision, but appears more likely to send only 60 million of the planned 125 million first installment to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, said the officials, who weren't authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. There are still deliberations taking place. The administration could announce its decision as early as Tuesday, the officials said. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the matter. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

african ambassadors: I've never seen a statement like this by African countries directed at the United States, according to CTV. The African ambassadors issued the statement late Friday following an emergency meeting after Trump used vulgar language to reject an immigration bill, asking why the U.S. would take in more people from Haiti and shithole countries in Africa. Former U.S. ambassador to the UN Samantha Power has shared the statement on Twitter, saying Whoa. Trump has denied using that language but others present say he did. Meanwhile, at least one more African leader spoke up on Saturday. The new statement expresses concern over the Trump administration's apparent increasing denigration of Africa and people of colour. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.