Amir Kazemian spent almost three years in the sanctuary of a church in East Vancouver after the immigration board rejected his refugee claim. Last weekend a Vancouver police officer arrested Amir inside the church after Amir called the police about another matter. This was only the second time Canadian officials violated church sanctuary. Amir was taken into custody and his lawyer and supporters were afraid he would be deported back to Iran where he risked imprisonment and torture for his religion and previous political activity, but the immigration board released Amir and granted him permanent resident status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Read more in a CBC article, "Iranian refugee joyous after release from Canadian custody, supporters cheer." Read more about the sanctuary movement in Canada.

The Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives writes a response to a mistake which appeared in the Toronto Star. The newspaper wrote that an adult refugee recieved more than twice the amount of monthly assistance than is given to a pentioner. Refugees actually recieve much less money per month than pentioners. Instead of competing for the government funding they need, these two groups should join together to work for social justice.

Child poverty continues to be a problem in Canada. Immigrant families, in particular, are living in poverty, due largely to the failure of the Canadian government to recognize their credentials. Not only immigrants struggle to find jobs, there are also many other Canadians who struggle to find well paying or full time work. Read the CBC article addressing Canadian Child Poverty.