Announcement by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOn October 27th, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, announced his plans to change the International Student Program to include more measures protecting prospective applicants from fraud. Most of these cases were identified during processing, however 450 were not caught and ultimately resulted in the issuance of a study permit. Since then, over 600,000 study permit applications have been submitted to IRCC, a very significant number that almost certainly includes fraudulent applications. Foreign students still represent a key source of growth for the country and Canada will continue to welcome their study permit applications. [1] “Changes to International Student Program aim to protect students”, Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2023/10/changes-to-international-student-program-aim-to-protect-students.html[2] OSMAN,Laura, “Immigration minister announces new rules to curb international student fraud”, October 27th 2023; https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/international-student-fraud-rules-1.7010427[3] “Designated learning institutions list”, Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/study-permit/prepare/designated-learning-institutions-list.html

It was a heated Monday vote over exempting the carbon tax on home heating. Just last month, McDonald became the only Liberal to back a non-binding Conservative motion to repeal the carbon tax entirely. He then did a brief media tour to claim that the carbon tax was rendering his party unelectable all along the Atlantic Coast. But on a much less sweeping Conservative motion, McDonald changed his mind and voted the Liberal line. The only material thing that’s changed in the interim is a Trudeau government “carve-out” on the carbon tax for home heating oil.

“I know it sounds bizarre, but it’s true.”Her family moved to the U.S. in her early childhood and settled in Houston’s East End. The Houston East End Chamber of Commerce estimates the population to be 70% Hispanic or Latino. Most of Houston’s East End belongs to District H and I, in which 63% and 68% speak Spanish, respectively. Many communities in East Houston are subject to industrial pollution at a rate higher than their white, more affluent counterparts. Viewing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Screening Database visualizes this very simply.

Governments introduced vaccine passports in 2021, as COVID-19 vaccines were more available to the public. Understanding how effective these policies were could help public health officials across the country prepare for future pandemics, the researchers say. Provincial governments, including Saskatchewan's, introduced vaccine passports in 2021, after the first major waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and as people began to get COVID-19 vaccines. Researchers compared vaccination rates, across age groups and time, in the seven weeks before and after vaccine passports were implemented across Canada. Saskatchewan Health Minister Everett Hindley told reporters Tuesday the provincial government is not looking to implement vaccine passports at the moment.

Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike for the explosion, while Israel rejected these claims and instead blamed the incident on a misfired rocket launched from Gaza by Hamas. Mark Goldberg, a telecommunications consultant in Toronto, says the CBC lacks an accountability body, which impacts their reporting. Lantsman says that by perpetuating flawed or disproven anti-Israel narratives, the CBC has put entire communities at risk. She says that combined with other perceived biases within the CBC, including a bias against the Conservative Party, that the CBC should be defunded. “A news organization that refuses to take accountability for flawed reporting and contributes to dangerous antisemitism deserves zero dollars of taxpayer funding,” says Lantsman.

Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada, gave an interview to CBC North’s Airplay. The broadcast can be heard here: https://www.cbc.ca/.

Canadian pop star Nelly Furtado is set to host the 2024 Juno Awards, which are slated for Sunday, March 24, from the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This will be Furtado’s second time as Juno Awards host. Tickets to the 2024 Juno Awards broadcast go on sale Friday, Nov. 10. Furtado, 44, amassed 10 Juno Awards from 2001 to 2007. Academy Award-nominated actor (and Halifax native) Elliot Page (Juno), will present the honor live on the Juno Awards broadcast.

‘Shrinkflation’: Why food giants are charging you the same for‘Shrinkflation’: Why food giants are charging you the same for. Posted: 4 hours ago.

The renowned singer and composer will make his way to Wesley United Church with his repertoire of Canadian traditional music, original songs and instrumental worksFolk singer and composer Ian Bell is returning to Cambridge Nov. 18 to perform at the Wesley United Church sanctuary in Galt. Bell has performed professionally across Canada and in the United States since the late 1970s. As a long-time freelance broadcaster, Bell worked on many occasions with Stuart McLean on CBC Radio's Vinyl Café. Bell performs material from a large repertoire that includes both Canadian traditional music and his own songs and instrumental compositions. In addition to his musical activities, Ian also worked in Ontario community museums (including Norwich and Port Dover) for 30 years.

"I'm excited to return to host and perform at The 2024 JUNO Awards in Halifax," says Furtado. Academy Award®-nominated actor, writer, producer, director, and Halifax native, Elliot Page, will present the honour live on The JUNO Awards Broadcast. After sweeping the JUNO Awards in 2022 winning four awards, Montreal-born singer-songwriter Charlotte Cardin returns for a show stopping performance in Halifax. About National Music Centre | Centre National de MusiqueThe National Music Centre (NMC) has a mission to amplify the love, sharing, and understanding of music. NMC is the home to four Canadian music halls of fame, including the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Quebec's ADISQ Hall of Fame.

A federal jury on Monday found a scuba dive boat captain was criminally negligent in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Boylan failed to post the required roving night watch and never properly trained his crew in firefighting. The lack of the roving watch meant the fire was able to spread undetected across the 23-metre boat. Two to three dozen family members of the victims attended each day of the trial in downtown Los Angeles. That case is pending, as are others filed by victims' families against the U.S. Coast Guard for alleged lax enforcement of the roving watch requirement.

Get ready, music fans, because the JUNO Awards are coming to Halifax. Joining this impressive lineup of performers is 2024 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Maestro Fresh Wes. This two-day music festival will transform over 10 venues across the city, showcasing local musical talent and the 2024 JUNO Award nominees. Tickets to The 2024 JUNO Awards go on sale to the general public on November 10 and are available at ticketmaster.ca/junos. JUNO Week event tickets are on sale November 10 at junoawards.ca/events.

PITTSBURGH — Oil sheens up to 18 miles long have repeatedly been reported by an environmental advocacy group on the Monongahela River over the last six months. U.S. Steel spokesperson Amanda Malkowski told Environmental Health News (EHN) the company has worked and communicated with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and “has thoroughly investigated every report” of oil spills tracked to its facilities. The oil spills are just the latest environmental insult for the waterway, which is one of Pittsburgh’s iconic three rivers, in addition to the Allegheny and the Ohio Rivers, which together make up the Ohio River basin. The way oil spills disperse creates a special headache for investigators in tracking down a source but health advocates say residents aren’t getting the answers — or action — they deserve. During one incident when the group reported an oil sheen on the river but the agency was unable to send out an investigator quickly, Three Rivers Waterkeeper called the EPA’s 24-hour hotline for oil spills in waterways, according to Hulton VanTassel.

Position: Health Coordinator (Nutrition & Community Health components)Location: Gaziantep, TurkeyReports to: Deputy health technical managerDuration: 12 monthsAbout RI: Relief International is a leading nonprofit organization working in roughly 20 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. Position Summary:The Health Coordinator (CH & Nutrition) is responsible to lead and provide technical support for the planning and smooth implementation of community health (CH) and nutrition program activities in NWS. The Health Coordinator shall ensure quality implementation of project activities and shall build capacity of field level CH & Nutrition staff, ensure timely and quality program reporting and sound budget management. Access and analyze CH and nutrition activities progress continuously through lessons learned, field assessments and provide corrective measures where applicable. Assist to promote and encourage community participation in and ownership of health and nutrition activities at the community level.

The unions representing hundreds of thousands of public sector workers who walked off the job today have announced three more strike days planned for November 21 to 23 unless a deal can be reached before then. About 420,000 public sector workers are striking as part of a one-day walkout meant to put pressure on the Quebec government. (CBC News)Here is an expert from McGill University who can comment on this topic:Barry Eidlin, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology“The Legault government has not seemed very interested thus far in reaching an agreement with public sector workers. There is no progress addressing workplace issues of forced overtime and scheduling, key quality of work-life issues that are essential to addressing labour shortages and providing quality public services. The CAQ government claims there is no money for public sector workers, but government spending is a question of priorities.