Trudeau to march in Toronto’s Pride parade
Trudeau will be the first prime minister to take part in the celebration.




Justin Trudeau marches in the Vancouver Pride parade in August 2015.

Trudeau will be joined in the Toronto Pride parade this summer by Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Toronto Mayor John Tory.
DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS

By: The Canadian Press, Published on Mon Feb 22 2016

Toronto’s Pride organizers say Justin Trudeau will become the first prime minister to participate in the festivities.
Trudeau is expected to march in the parade on July 3.
The city’s first-ever Pride Month launches June 1 with a theme of belonging and inclusion.
Along with Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Toronto Mayor John Tory are also slated to take part in the festivities.
Organizers also have said gay Syrian refugees will have a place at the Pride events.

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Syrian refugees find ‘new family’ at first jobs in Canada
Adonis Supermarket has extended a helping hand to Syrian refugees, hiring dozens of newcomers at its two GTA locations.


Grbed Ashjian stacks fresh pitas at Adonis supermarket. He had been involved in designing pita manufacturing machines in Syria. He considers himself lucky to have a job here.
CARLOS OSORIO / TORONTO STAR Order this photo

Grbed Ashjian stacks fresh pitas at Adonis supermarket. He had been involved in designing pita manufacturing machines in Syria. He considers himself lucky to have a job here.

By: Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter, Published on Tue Mar 01 2016
On any given day, when shoppers walk into Adonis Supermarket, they will likely be greeted by a recently arrived Syrian refugee.
Since Canada opened its doors in November to resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees, the Middle Eastern grocery chain has brought many of them onto its payroll in Quebec and Ontario, including several dozen at its two Greater Toronto locations, at Warden and Eglinton Aves., in Scarborough, and its sister store in Mississauga.
Founders — Elie Cheaib, Georges Ghrayed and Jamil Cheaib — are immigrants from Lebanon, and they, like many others, were touched by the refugee crisis and wanted to do their part to show support for Canada’s massive Syrian resettlement plan, said store manager Hani Tawil.
“Our new hires are all highly skilled and educated. They used to be lawyers, doctors and engineers back home. They all need somewhere to start because nobody knows them and they need to survive and be independent as soon as possible,” said Tawil, who, himself, moved here with his family from the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo in 2012.
“It’s not an option to come for them. They all had wonderful lives before. It’s the same for me. On my son’s fourth birthday, he said his wish was to become a shooter because he didn’t want to die. That’s when I decided to leave. We all deserve a better future.”
Agop Kojournian carries a tray of meat while working in the meat department at Adonis supermarket in Scarborough. He used to work at a body shop in Syria and is delighted to have landed a job so quickly after arriving in Canada.
CARLOS OSORIO
Agop Kojournian carries a tray of meat while working in the meat department at Adonis supermarket in Scarborough. He used to work at a body shop in Syria and is delighted to have landed a job so quickly after arriving in Canada.

Like different immigrant groups that had arrived before them, the Syrians, some still struggling with the English language, can easily find comfort in Canada’s Arabic community.
An ethnic employer like Adonis, where Arabic and Canadian cultures coexist and complement one another, can help ease the transition for newcomers eager to feel at home in their newly adopted country.

FEATURE 6 April 2016
The truth about migration: How evolution made us xenophobes
Multicultural societies are more harmonious and successful, but to make them work we must fight our evolved tendencies to mistrust migrants



All the evidence suggests that migrants boost economic growth. So why don’t we just fly people who want to work to countries where there are jobs and welcome them with open arms? Prejudices rooted in humanity’s evolutionary past may be partly to blame.

The white flight of Derek Black
By Eli Saslow October 15, 2016

Derek Black, 27, was following in his father’s footsteps as a white nationalist leader until he began to question the movement’s ideology. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Ahmed Hussen: From Somali refugee to Canada's parliament
By Jessica Murphy
BBC News, Toronto

Ahmed Hussen came to Canada from Somalia as a refugee. Now he's the new minister of immigration.
Along with thousands of compatriots, Ahmed Hussen fled war-ravaged Somalia for a better life in Canada.
Hussen's journey took him from Mogadishu to Toronto and then on to Ottawa's Parliament Hill, where the former Somali refugee was named this week as the country's newest minister of immigration in a reshuffle of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Cabinet.
It was a fast political rise for the rookie politician, and will put Hussen, who arrived in Canada in 1993 as a 16-year-old, in charge of the complex portfolio that oversees who is welcomed into the country.
Friends say the lawyer and social activist will be able to draw from personal experience in his new role.