Refugee claimant who has previously lived in Chicago and Dubai plays the "honour killing "card in order to remain in Canada

Jordanian mom hiding in Toronto after deportation order

First posted: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 07:14 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 07:22 PM EDT

Abeer Hassan Al Rifaee, 32, on the run, but believed to be in Toronto with her sons, claiming she will be subject of “honour killing” if deported to Jordan for converting family from Islam to Christianity. Jordanian community claim leaving Islam one of worst crimes in Jordan and she can be stoned to death.

TORONTO – A Jordanian mom of two now hiding in the Toronto-area claims she will be the victim of an “honour killing” if deported to Amman.

She says that is the punishment that awaits for converting her family from Islam to Christianity.

Abeer Hassan Al Rifaee, 32, has been on the run with Mohamed, 10, and Saleem, 8, since March 29 when a warrant was issued for her arrest by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for not showing up for removal.

Jordanian community and church leaders in Toronto said converting to Christianity from Islam is one of the worst crimes in that country. As a penalty Al Rifaee can be stoned to death.

“I am very scared for my life and that of my children,” Al Rifaee told the Sun from a Toronto-area hideout. “My kids haven’t been going to school and we are scared to leave the apartment.”

The family seldom venture outside fearing they’ll be scooped and placed on a flight home.

“We are very terrified for our lives,” she said on Wednesday. “The kids like me are terrified of being tortured and forced to re-convert to Islam.”

Al Rifaee, her estranged husband, and their sons, arrived here from Dubai in February 2009 as visitors and filed refugee claims that were turned down in March 2011. Subsequent appeals were also denied.

They had previously lived in Chicago for five years and her sons were born there.

Al Rifaee’s refugee claim was tossed out due to credibility issues and she had returned to Jordan four or five times after alleging she’ll be killed there, a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled.

Would-be immigrants take Ottawa to court over cancelled applications
Published On Wed, 16 May 2012

Stephanie Levitz
The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—Would-be immigrants are taking the federal government to court over its decision to return their applications.

They’re angry about the Conservatives’ move to legislate away a backlog of some 280,000 applications created before 2008.

The government announced the decision in its March budget, saying it’s a necessary part of modernizing the immigration system.

But Toronto lawyer Lorne Waldman said he was immediately flooded with emails by people who were furious about the changes.

They’d followed all the steps they were told to take in order to come to Canada, he said, only to be pushed aside.

Shakeil Boothe was found without vital signs at a Brampton home on May 27 last year and was declared dead a short time later.

Parents face first-degree murder charges in Brampton boy’s death
Published On Thu, 17 May 2012

Shakeil Boothe was found without vital signs at a Brampton home on May 27 last year and was declared dead a short time later.
The Canadian Press

A couple accused in the death of a 10-year-old boy are now facing upgraded charges of first-degree murder.

Police say the boy’s father Garfield Boothe and stepmother Nichelle Boothe-Rowe appeared in a Brampton court Thursday for the start of their preliminary hearing.

Both were formally charged with the upgraded counts.

Shakeil Boothe was found without vital signs at a Brampton home on May 27 last year and was declared dead a short time later.

Garfield Boothe was originally charged with failing to provide the necessities of life but that charge was later upgraded to second-degree murder.

Nichelle Boothe-Rowe was previously facing a manslaughter charge.

Source: 2006 Public Use Microdata File, Statistics Canada.

Pakistani-Canadians: Falling below the poverty line
Murtaza Haider | 1 day ago

Pakistan-born immigrants are the new face of poverty in urban Canada. The Canadian census revealed that 44 per cent of Pakistan-born immigrants fell below the poverty line making them the second most poverty prone group of immigrants in Canada.

While they may project an aura of opulence during their visits back home, their life in Canada, however, is often full of struggle and frustration. Thousands of Pakistani trained engineers, doctors, and PhDs are driving taxis or are working as security guards in large cities. In fact, one in three taxi-drivers in Canada was born in either India or Pakistan. Several others are unemployed thus becoming a burden on Canadian taxpayers.

The latest Census data for income for 2005 revealed that Pakistan-born immigrants reported the second highest incidence for the low-income cut-off, a proxy for poverty line in Canada. In comparison, only 18 per cent of India-born immigrants in Canada reported being a low-income person or belonging to a low-income economic family. Immigrants born in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Italy and Germany reported the lowest incidence of poverty in Canada.

Source: 2006 Public Use Microdata File, Statistics Canada.

Unlike in the Middle East where the Arab governments do not allow assimilation of migrant workers, the Canadian government and the society to a large extent does not create systematic barriers that may limit the immigrants’ ability to succeed and assimilate in Canada. This is not to suggest that immigrants face no barriers at all in Canada. They in fact do. For instance, Pakistan-trained doctors cannot practice medicine without completing further training in Canada. The shorter duration of medical training in Pakistan necessitates the additional certification for doctors. Engineering graduates from Pakistan, however, face no such barrier because the engineering curriculum and the duration of training in Pakistan is similar to that in Canada.

Despite the opportunities (and constraints), Pakistani-Canadians have not prospered as much as immigrants from other countries have. In 2005, wages earned by Pakistan-born immigrants were on average 70 per cent of the wages earned by those born in Canada. In comparison, wages earned by the India-born immigrants were 86 per cent of the wages earned by Canadians. At the same time, immigrants born in America earned 20 per cent more in wages than those born in Canada. Similarly, UK-born immigrants also reported on average higher wages than that of Canadian-born.

Burnaby recognized for circus rec program

By Staff Writer – Burnaby NewsLeader

The City of Burnaby has won a provincial Award of Excellence for its circus program.

The award, from the BC Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA), recognizes the program which was developed as a way to introduce physical activity to children from immigrant and low-income families.

The aim was to create such a program with a non-competitive environment that could also be easily communicated to children with varying levels of English speaking skills. It was designed so children worked through increasingly difficult activities.

The program took place after school in a school gymnasium with the Burnaby school district providing the free space and sponsors were found to allow it to be offered free of charge. Participation was strong with 119 children and 16 volunteers involved.

The Program Excellence Award recognizes creative, successful and innovative programs which may serve as an example of outstanding achievement in public recreation services programming.

“The City of Burnaby identified a need and came up with a novel program that created a safe place for children to learn new skills while being active and social,” said BCRPA chief executive officer Suzanne Allard Strutt. “The program excelled in promoting recreation and physical activity to what can be a hard to reach part of the community.”