Welcome to the Canadian National Multilingual News Group (CNMNG). This is a project made possible through funding by Canadian Heritage. CNMNG aims to gather news researched and written by a corps of Canadian-based journalists/writers from the country’s multilingual community groups. The overall goal is to inform, analyze and critique the issues of the day in a professional manner and to provide that to publishers and editors active in the ethnocultural-multilingual press and media whose experience provides them with a perspective that is sensitive to news relevant to their own language group.
TORONTO – Many teachers are paragons of virtue, examples and role models for the children under their care. They “serve” in loco parentis – our surrogates once we drop them off onto the school property. At a bare minimum, from them, we expect that they will impart values reflecting love of “learning” (critical analysis), a sense of responsibility, respect for the Law (and all that it entails) and commitment to the institutional vision of their employer… us, the parents of their students.
TORONTO – There is chaos at the York Catholic District School Board, where a real tug of war is underway between parents who do not want their children – still at an early age – to be subjected, “under the guise of inclusiveness”, to pressure on sexual orientations and the Board itself which, with trustees and teaching staff, goes in the exact opposite direction and wants to support initiatives in favor of the LGBTQ+ community. In the meeting of 28 February, two parents, Carlo Ravenna and Sheree Di Vittorio, expressed their concerns on the matter (“our children have the right to their innocence”, they said) and a climate of tension was created which culminated with the arrival of the police. Another meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, with four speeches (two for each “party”): Sheree herself had asked to be able to speak but was denied this possibility. Corriere Canadese asked her to send to the editorial office the speech she would have read and it will be published in tomorrow’s printed edition of the Italian newspaper. Here below is the speech in its entirety.
TORONTO – About 1,200 people attended the installation ceremony of the new Archbishop of Toronto, Frank Leo, in Saint Michael’s Cathedral in the city center on Saturday, about six weeks after the formal appointment by Pope Francis: Leo succeeds thus officially to Cardinal Thomas Collins, who tendered his resignation on his 75th birthday in January 2022 in accordance with a rule stipulating that all bishops must resign when they reach that age.
Leo said his appointment as Archbishop of Toronto was “a surprise, but a welcome one. I look forward to giving the rest of my life as a spiritual leader here from a symbolic and spiritual perspective. When you become a Bishop, you receive a ring and it is a spousal relationship”, Leo told Omni News. The Archbishop himself then underlined, among other things, the importance of the role played by Catholic schools, which he defined as “a gift”.
During his speech, Leo spoke also in Italian, to thank “the members of my family present here, as well as to my family members, friends, parishioners and faithful of the Italian community of Montreal who came here and then to those who follow us through social media”. And then again, speaking of the times of his enrollment in the seminary in Montreal, he recalled – also in Italian – the words addressed to him by Father Luigi Testa who, complimenting him on his choice, said to him: “There is nothing more better than giving your youth to the Lord”. “I can still hear him saying those words in Italian” said a very moved Leo.
Leo also emphasized his italian roots when he mentioned that he is “the son of Italian immigrants from the old country where respect, sacrifice, hard work, family, faith, and taking care of one another were and remain vital”.
Born in Montreal in 1971 to Italian immigrant parents (Francesco Leo and Rosa Valente), Leo entered the Grand Seminary of Montreal in 1990 and was ordained a priest for service to the city’s archdiocese in 1996. Leo has held various parish assignments in Montréal until 2006 when he accepted the invitation to enroll in the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome and subsequently in the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See (2006-2012), serving in various Apostolic Nunciatures around the world. In January 2012 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Chaplain of His Holiness giving him the title of Monsignor. Upon his return to Canada, Archbishop Leo joined the formation team of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal, teaching theology and philosophy and providing spiritual direction, formation and accompaniment to candidates for the priesthood. In the fall of 2015 he was appointed secretary general of the Canadian Episcopal Conference, a mandate which ended in the fall of 2021. Since 1 February 2022, Monsignor Leo has been appointed vicar general and moderator of the Curia of the Archdiocese of Montreal. On July 16, 2022, Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Montreal. His consecration as bishop took place on September 12, 2022. He is now archbishop of Toronto.
His curriculum of studies is impressive: in addition to his in-depth university studies in Canon Law (Lateran University), Diplomacy and International Law, Archbishop Leo is also specialized in Systematic Theology, Mariology, Philosophy Classical Studies and Spiritual Direction. He has taught not only in Canada but also in Australia and the USA and speaks four languages: Italian, Spanish, English and French.
In the pics above: the new Archbishop of Toronto, Frank Leo, in Saint Michael’s Cathedral; in the pic below, Leo with Giordano Basilio (Publisher of the Italian newspaper “Cittadino Canadese”) and wife; at the bottom, the video of the ceremony
VANCOUVER – A noir story, set in Italy, written by a Canadian in love with the “Belpaese”: it’s called “Bernini’s Elephant” and it’s the debut novel by Jane Callen, a writer who lives in Vancouver but travels to Italy “every time the fate allows”. The beautiful country and its people are in fact often present in the writings of Jane, author so far of stories published in Grain Magazine, Montreal Writes, Spadina Literary Review, CV7 Short Fiction Anthology Series and White Wall Review, as well as essays published in Accenti Magazine (excerpts of her writings are at www.janecallen.ca). (more…)
TORONTO – Han Dong has thrown in the towel. The deputy of Chinese origin who fell into the storm of “interference” announced his resignation from the Liberals, today, in tears (in the pic above): he will therefore sit in the House of Commons as an independent deputy. “I will continue to serve the residents of Don Valley North (in Toronto, where he was elected, ed.) as an independent member of this House. I am taking these extraordinary steps because sitting on the government caucus is a privilege and my presence could be seen as a conflict” Dong said, adding that he will work to clear his name in the meantime.
TORONTO – The new ranking of the “best” universities in the world (we’ll explain the quotation marks later) has been released and McGill University’s primacy in Canada stands out over the University of Toronto: in fact, the Montreal-based university is in 31st place in the ranking world, Toronto at 34th.
TORONTO – The race for mayor of Toronto is in full swing. Three more would-be first citizens have stepped forward in the past few hours: City Councilman Josh Matlow, former Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders and former Toronto Sun columnist Anthony Furey have announced their nominations. (more…)
TORONTO – No, I am not contemplating seeking the Mayor’s chair at Toronto City Hall. I had to beat back the tsunami of people anxious to vaunt my incredible gifts of administrative competence (happily as yet uncontested), unassailable philosophical and ideological acumen (I am taking a page from “The Narcissist’s Guide to Self-Adulation”) and impeccable ethical credentials (even though Prime Minister Trudeau says only the former Governor General fits that description).
TORONTO – Violence occurs in four out of ten schools in Toronto. And nearly three-quarters of principals and vice principals say they are finding it increasingly difficult to manage student behavior, with many of them expressing concern about an increase in violence. (more…)
TORONTO – The United States has conducted a covert investigation into national security threats posed by Chinese “operations” overseas, which has led to alarming conclusions about Canada, according to a new book written by a former RCMP and US government official military intelligence, Scott McGregor, together with investigative journalist Ina Mitchell, entitled “The Mosaic Effect: How the Chinese Communist Party Started a Hybrid War in America’s Backyard” (in the pic above, the cover of the book). (more…)
TORONTO – International graduates students with expired or expiring work permits will be able to extend their authorization to work in Canada for another eighteen months under a new immigration measure announced today by Minister Sean Fraser.
Good news for the thousands of students who were in limbo, just like the Italian girl to whose story we dedicated an article yesterday (you can re-read it by clicking here). So, according to the Immigration Minister, Postgraduate Work Permit Holders (PGWP) who qualify for the program will soon be contacted with information on logging into their online account to join and update their file, starting April 6.
A PGWP is typically not extendable, but similar policies have been implemented twice during the pandemic to allow international graduates to stay and work in Canada as many have run out of status and have been unable to pursue permanent residency due to significant immigration backlogs, at least according to reports from the IRCC.
Those with a work permit that expired in both 2022 and 2023 will therefore be able to reinstate their status, even if they have exceeded the 90-day reinstatement period, and will receive a provisional work permit pending their new application for work. work permit.
“We must use every tool to support employers who continue to face challenges in hiring the workers they need to grow,” said Minister Fraser. “We are providing international graduates whose work permits are about to expire or have expired with an additional period of time to remain in Canada to gain valuable work experience and potentially qualify to become permanent residents”.
The federal government’s 2022 PGWP extension program hasn’t been without a hitch. Permit holders were initially told that their permit would be processed automatically without them having to do anything. However, many have not received the necessary documents and have run out of status to stay and work legally in the country.
“The lessons learned from that process have been applied as we implement a similar one. The new public policy will allow anyone who was eligible under the 2022 initiative to apply for an open work permit and have their status reinstated”.
“Thank you for your patience”, concluded Minister Fraser, referring to the odyssey experienced by international students who remained hanging by a thread until this morning’s announcement.
All additional information is available on this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2023/03/canada-announces-extension-of-post-graduation-work-permits-for-up-to-18-months-to-retain-high-skilled-talent.html
In the pic above, Minister Fraser during the press conference today (screenshot from the live video on https://www.youtube.com/@CitImmCanada)
One of the lead signatories who signed the open letter to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh as advertised in the Washington Post recently, Sam Daley-Harris, an American activist and author as well as advocate for hunger eradication and democracy, elaborated the reason for it in an exclusive interview, “The 40 public figures who signed the letter are simply some of the best-known among the millions of people around the world who have been inspired by and have benefitted from the work of Muhammad Yunus, and who want to see him remain safe.” He also added, “The signers wanted to use their status as public figures to make sure that the world knew about the growing concern about the well-being of Prof. Yunus. We weren’t going to leave it to chance as to whether newspapers did or didn’t pick up the statement.”
TORONTO – A double Master’s, one in Italy after a three-year degree in one of the most prestigious Italian universities and a second one in Canada. Then, a permanent job in Toronto. But that’s not enough. Also, she, like many other young Italians and Europeans, will have to return to Italy because it seems impossible to obtain a visa extension (not to mention the “mirage” better known by the name of Permanent Residence: the PR).
TORONTO – The Liberal government’s inaction over (alleged) electoral meddling by China has some Canadian voters now wondering whether the results of the recent federal election can be trusted. That’s what Pierre Poilievre thinks: according to the leader of the Conservatives, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has “inspired many suspicions” due to his refusal to answer detailed questions about China’s role in the 2019 and 2021 electoral campaigns. (more…)
TORONTO – An exhibition to highlight as much as possible the fundamental role of Antarctica, a continent that is never talked about but on which the future of humanity could depend, given that it conceals mineral resources that might prove irresistible in a world with ever-increasing population growth and also scientific data crucial to inform future environmental policies. (more…)
OTTAWA – A week after pledging to appoint a “special rapporteur” to look into allegations of federal election interference by China and the issue of foreign interference in general, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today that Canadians will know who chose “in the next few days”. (more…)
TORONTO – Could it be a coincidence that Conservative candidates who had always won big in certain districts were defeated by liberal opponents from a certain point on, despite the decline in support of Justin Trudeau’s party? The question arises spontaneously in light of the case of China’s interference in Canadian politics and of the service published today by the National Post which analyzed the electoral results of some districts in Ontario and British Columbia.
ROME – Meetings continue in Rome between the editor of the Italian daily newspaper Corriere Canadese, Joe Volpe, and all those parliamentarians involved in defending and spreading the Italian language and culture abroad. In recent days, Volpe – with one of his closest collaborators, Danny Montesano – had a long conversation with the Honorable Christian Di Sanzo, a member of parliament of the Democratic Party elected in the North and Central America foreign constituency. (more…)
TORONTO – The media storm relating to Chinese interference in Canadian politics is beginning to have its first effects. An Ontario provincial MP, Vincent Ke (in the pic above, from his Twitter page – @vincentkempp), has resigned from the Progressive Conservative caucus and will sit as an independent, effective immediately, due to his (alleged) ties to the Chinese Communist Party, which Global News spoke about last Friday: news that Ke himself denied, calling them “false and defamatory”. (more…)
OTTAWA – New details are emerging on the story of Chinese political interference in Canada: today, during the hearing of the Foreign Minister, Mélanie Joly (in the pic above, from her Facebook profile), before the parliamentary committee for procedures and internal affairs which is studying the case, the same minister revealed Canada denied a diplomatic visa application for a Chinese political agent last fall. (more…)
ROME – Important mission to Rome for the editor of Corriere Canadese, Joe Volpe, in defense of Italian language and culture abroad and, in particular, in Canada. (more…)
VATICAN CITY – “On International Women’s Day, I think of all women: I thank them for their commitment to building a more humane society, through their ability to grasp reality with a creative gaze and a tender heart. This is only a privilege of women. A special blessing for all the women present in the square”. (more…)
TORONTO – After a year of continuous hikes, the “key” interest rate finally stops. In fact, today the Bank of Canada decided to keep it unchanged, while clarifying that it is still ready to raise rates further depending on how the intensity and the economy progress. In any case, for now the official rate of the Canadian central bank remains at 4.5%. (more…)
OTTAWA – The arrival, the embrace with the prime minister and immediately a first tweet with the video of the meeting: “Dear @JustinTrudeau, thank you for your strong engagement and that of Canada, for Ukraine. Together, we will keep supporting Ukraine for as long as needed. Keep building bridges between our people and our economies. And keep strengthening our great transatlantic friendship“. (more…)
TORONTO – Your company asks you for sensitive data, you provide it certain that it will remain confidential and then you find it “slammed” on your profile in online human resources: this is what some employees of the CBC, the public broadcasting service of Canada, reported to National Post. (more…)
TORONTO – Schools are supposed to be safe spaces for all children as they grow while learning social and academic skills. Increasingly, they manifest dysfunctionalities all too often resulting in violence. This has not been a good year for schools in Toronto and elsewhere.
TORONTO – Canada’s Intelligence Service warns that climate change poses a profound and continuing threat to national security and prosperity, including the possible loss of parts of British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces to rising sea levels. (more…)
TORONTO – The February 28, 2023, meeting of the York Region Catholic District School Board (YRCDB) may yet turn to be a seminal event in the erosion of the Catholic schools system in Ontario.
TORONTO – The Commissioner of Canada Elections says her office is literally “under siege” to review complaints and information regarding allegations of foreign interference during the last two federal elections. “I am overwhelmed by the importance of this issue and the need to reassure Canadians in these exceptional circumstances” Caroline Simard told today to MPs of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) which is examining the case of foreign interference in Canadian politics . (more…)
TORONTO – Italy of the future is here. A multi-ethnic, multicultural Italy which struggles to emerge in the “Belpaese” but has found its ideal, natural dimension in Toronto. The proof is the group “Italians in Toronto Events” (Italiani a Toronto Eventi) which for a decade has been a reality made up of meetings and events for young Italians in Toronto. (more…)
TORONTO – A team of top public officials said today that foreign attempts to interfere in the 2021 federal election did not affect the outcome. Thus, there would indeed have been foreign interference in Canadian federal elections. Whether they then had concrete effects in the results, it’s another matter. (more…)
TORONTO – He is isolated and goes on the attack: after everyone – political analysts, opposition figures and even allies like NDP leader Jagmeet Singh – advised him to open a commission of public inquiry into the (alleged) interference of the China on the Canadian federal elections, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes his own way and, in defending the liberal Chinese deputy who fell into the storm, accuses of racism those who support this hypothesis and spares no “picks” against the CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, “guilty” of having warned the government of the possibility of Chinese infiltration in Canadian politics. (more…)
TORONTO – All years start off with a bang. The firecrackers, the confetti. We all look up at Times Square and wait for the ball to drop. And in 2020, indeed, the ball dropped on all of us. Barely a quarter into the year, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) dropped that word on us: “pandemic”. The world, as we knew it, had capsized. There go our big plans. And our even bigger dreams, now reduced to abstract concepts.
TORONTO – He’s the “crutch” of Trudeau government, but obviously cannot support it on this: even the leader of the NDP, Jagmeet Singh (in the pic above, from his Twitter profile – @theJagmeetSingh), is asking for the opening of a public inquiry into the (alleged) Chinese interference in the 2019 federal elections, thus joining the call of several high-profile officials. (more…)
TORONTO – For Prime Minister Justin Trudeau everything is fine and there is no need to make further inquiries. But three weeks before the 2019 federal election, Canadian intelligence officials held an urgent and confidential briefing to top aides in the prime minister’s office, according to Global News, warning them that one of their candidates was part of a Chinese network of foreign interference: Han Dong, whom the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had begun following in June of that year and who would be one of eleven candidates from the Toronto area allegedly supported by Beijing in that election. (more…)
TORONTO – I cannot think of a worse nightmare for any parent than to lose their child. What comes close is the discovery that the child may have been, and continues to be, the victim of predation by individuals engaging in human trafficking.
HALIFAX – Immigration is critical to Canada’s long-term success. And, to fully harness the potential of immigration and create the best experience for newcomers, Canada needs an immigration system that is strong, easy to navigate and adaptive to change. Better than now, in short, given the many issues associated with (wel)coming in Canada. (more…)
TORONTO – Inflation continues to decline, albeit slightly (from 6.3% in December 2022 to 5.9% in January 2023), but the bull market in food shows no signs of slowing down. It was already known – just go shopping to find out – but now the numbers of the latest report by Statistics Canada confirm it: in January, the prices of food products recorded a year-on-year increase of 11.4%, compared to 11% the previous month. And since last August, the food inflation rate has been over 10%. (more…)
TORONTO – Cynics may say there is no peace or goodness, just eternal vigilance so that the dissemblers do not steal what is rightfully ours through dishonest means.
OTTAWA – “Our Prime Minister is quietly letting a foreign and authoritarian government interfere in our elections, simply because he benefits from it”: the leader of the Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre (in the pic above, from his Twitter profile @PierrePoilievre), on Friday accused Justin Trudeau of ignoring Chinese interference in the last federal elections because Beijing’s efforts were aimed at helping the Liberals. (more…)
TORONTO – Someone is, as they say, “on a mission”. It remains unclear what the end goal is. If you have children or grand children in a school system in Ontario these last three years have not been very rewarding from an academic and cultural perspective.
TORONTO – Canadian laws on assisted dying “should be extended to include minors”: this is one of the twenty-three recommendations made by the parliamentary committee charged with presenting a report to the House of Commons on the extension of MAID, the Medical Assistance in Dying. (more…)
TORONTO – Incredible how some people react to news they see as incomplete. The group advancing the candidacy of Dennis Mills, former, sixteen-year MP for Danforth (1988-2004) has been inundating our office with calls in support of his candidacy.
TORONTO – The idyll between Canada and immigrants is over. The numbers say it. In fact, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship says that Statistics Canada data indicate a 30% drop in the adoption of citizenship since 2001. Let’s see to what extent: in 2021, only 45.7% of permanent residents who resided in Canada from less than ten years became a citizen. A drop, compared to 60% in 2016 and 75.1% in 2001. (more…)
TORONTO – Congratulations and best wishes go out to newly-appointed Archbishop for the diocese of Toronto, his eminence Frank Leo. The Montreal-born prelate is possessed of well earned credential on the academic, theological, canonic and diplomatic front, having served the “diplomatic corps” of the Vatican for the last ten years.
TORONTO – In the end, they gave in. Canadian premiers have accepted Ottawa’s proposal, presented last week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to “inject” $46.2 billion in new funds to the provinces and territories over a decade to support an increasingly faltering health system. Crumbs, actually, if you divide the “cake” by the number of years and “beneficiaries”. (more…)
TORONTO – The hypothesis is science fiction, even par excellence. But it would be taking shape, the shape of a UFO. Not a simple “unidentified flying object”, as the literal translation of the acronym suggests, but a real UFO in the literary and cinematographic sense of the term: an alien, extraterrestrial object. No one is able, at the moment, to exclude that the objects shot down in recent days between Canada and the United States are real alien UFOs, at least until the recovery and analysis of the objects themselves are completed. (more…)
TORONTO – Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Francis (Frank) Leo (in the pic above, from www.archtoronto.org), currently Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Montreal, as the 14th Archbishop of Toronto. The archbishop-designate succeeds Cardinal Thomas Collins, who has served the archdiocese since 2007.
***This project is made possible in part thanks to the financial support of Canadian Heritage;
