April 2014

When I was at the Ottawa Immigration Law Conference last month, I was chatting with a colleague about the decline in refugee claims.  She told me it had been over a year since she has had a call from a refugee claimant.

March 2014

I just attended the annual Ottawa Immigration Law Conference.  There, a trio of immigration law experts told attendees what was wrong with the Canadian government's new proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act.

February 2014

Last month the Ottawa Citizen published two articles on convenience store ownership in Ottawa. They describe how convenience stores are losing profit and closing down, because grocery stores are now often open every day for 24 hours.

Unfortunately, since immigrants own many of Ottawa’s convenience stores, they are the primary victims. One of the articles talks about an immigrant couple who have to work long hours at their convenience store, every day from 7am to 10pm. Another convenience store owner explains how he does not have enough time to take English classes due to the long working hours.

January 2014

I recently learned an awesome new phrase, “Bread and Circuses.” According to Wikipedia, it comes from Latin and stands for “a superficial means of appeasement”. Wikipedia says that when it comes to politics, the phrase is used to describe the creation of public approval, not through exemplary or excellent public service or public policy, but through diversion; distraction; or the mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace.