GO-GIVER

Giving Takes You Somewhere

All the great fortunes in the world have been created by  men and women who had a greater passion for what they were giving - their product, service or idea - than for what they were getting. And many of those great fortunes have been squandered by others who had a greater passion for what they were getting than what they were giving.

It's up to you who, what, where you're headed. A path of giving or greed. 

Never again will I pity or belittle myself.

How foolish I was when I stood in despair, by the side of the road, and envied the successful and wealthy

as they paraded by. Are they blessed with unique skills, rare intelligence, heroic courage, enduring

ambition, and other outstanding qualities that I posses not? Have they been allotted more hours, each

day, in which to perform their mighty tasks? Do they have hearts full of compassion and souls overflow -ing with love that are different from mine? No! God plays no favorites. We were all fashioned from the

same clay.

Now I also know that the sadness and setbacks of my life are not unique to me. Even the wisest and

most successful of our world suffer chapters of heartbreak and failure but they, unlike me, have learned

that there is no peace without trouble, no rest without strain, no laughter without sorrow, no victory

without struggle and that is the price we all pay for living. There was a time when I paid the price willing-ly and easily but constant disappointments and defeats first eroded my confidence and then my cour -age even as drops of water will, in time, destroy the strongest granite. All that is now behind me. No

longer am I one of the living dead, remaining always in the shadows of others and hiding behind my

sorry apologies and alibis while the years waste away.

Never again will I pity or belittle myself.

Thank you, God, for playing your game with me, today, and placing in my hands these precious scrolls. I

was at the lowest ebb of my life but I should have known it is at that moment that the tide always turns.

No longer will I look mournfully to the past. It will never return. Instead, with these scrolls, I will shape the

present because it is mine and I will go forth to meet the mysterious future without fear, without doubt,

without despair.

I was formed in the image of God. There is nothing I cannot achieve if I try.

Never again will I pity or belittle myself.

Alberta comments on federal moratorium on temporary foreign workers in food services sector

Today Thomas Lukaszuk, Minister of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour, issued the following statement:

“We agree with the Government of Canada on a number of important points. Canadians must have first access to jobs in this country. The federal Temporary Foreign Worker program has rules, and it is important that they be followed. There have been some recent incidents in the food services sector, and those situations need to be dealt with.

“However, we have concerns about the moratorium the federal government has imposed.

“Alberta’s economy is strong, and our labour market is unique. Unemployment is below five per cent. There are employers who cannot find people, there are people who cannot find jobs, and Alberta has programs for both. Job fairs and websites help job seekers find work. Food services companies and workers participate in these, yet positions remain open.

“It’s the reality of Alberta’s labour market: when jobs remain unfilled, workers are recruited from other sectors, customer service declines, or Canadians already on staff lose shifts or jobs when restaurants close or reduce their hours. Albertans want restaurant services, and companies need temporary foreign workers to provide them.

“There are ways for the federal government to deal with compliance problems in its program. Alberta has services to ensure provincial workplace laws are followed, and we act on complaints received. We have information about workplace rights available for all Alberta workers, and two TFW offices providing information and referrals in 170 languages. In matters under provincial jurisdiction, compliance is focused on the specific employer responsible, not the entire industry. If the federal government is concerned about compliance, we would be happy to help with enforcement of federal requirements.

“Alberta feels it is unfair to freeze an entire sector because there are problems with a few players. We encourage the federal government to clarify the timelines of its review, so that Albertans can continue to get the food services they need.”

Related information

Federal statement

Call: 1-877-427-3731 for questions or complaints about payroll issues

Media inquiries

 Janice Schroeder

 780-638-5615

Press Secretary, Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour

Jason Kenney's Hold on Canada's Food Industry Temporary Foreign Workers

On Friday, Restaurants Canada — which represents 30,000 members across the country — released this statement:

Restaurants Canada (formerly the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association) is disappointed with Minister Kenney’s decision to suspend the Temporary Foreign Worker Program for the food services sector, and is committed to working with the federal government to correct any abuses, restore the integrity of the program and expedite our sector’s access to it in regions of severe labour shortages.

The restaurant industry employs 1.1 million Canadians and is the number 1 source of first-time jobs for young people. About 2 per cent of the industry’s employees are temporary foreign workers. In areas of the country with severe labour shortages, the TFW program is vital, allowing restaurants to remain in business, and to continue to provide jobs for their Canadian employees.

The majority of restaurant operators using the program operate in complete compliance and it is unfortunate that their businesses and employees will be hurt by this broad-stroke approach. Albertans in particular will remember what it was like a few years ago to find restaurants closed because of a shortage of workers.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which claims to represent 109,000 small businesses from coast to coast, also put forward a rather harsh rebuke.

"For a government that has been very supportive of Canada's small business community, this decision is a slap in the face to entrepreneurs in the food services sector," CFIB President Dan Kelly said in a statement.

The former immigration minister is also taking some heat from the immigration community.

"Here is another example of the government acting in a knee-jerk fashion," immigration attorney Michael Niren told Yahoo Canada News.

"Penalizing a whole industry because of a few alleged violations is irresponsible and harms not only potential foreign workers, local business but undermines the TWF program.

"If the government can, on a whim, cancel full streams of employment, both employers and employees lose confidence in the system. This is an example of an abuse of power. Industry leaders and the general public should protest. Our economy relies on a steady and reliable flow of TFWs. Sadly, the media and government focus on a few unfortunate cases instead of the enormous benefits from the program."

And of course – for different reasons – the opposition parties are opposing Kenney.

[ Related: Should Temporary Foreign Worker suspension go beyond restaurants? ]

NDP employment critic Jinny Sims says that while she supports the moratorium, it means nothing without a full independent review of the program.

"The Minister has now acknowledged the problem but – as usual – only took action after the issue made headlines. Now that Jason Kenney has finally taken some action, after months of refusing to do anything, he must follow it up with a commitment to launch an independent review of the unending problems with this program," Sims said in a statement.

"More and more companies – not only fast food chains – have been taking advantage of loopholes in this program to reduce workers’ hours, wages and even to fire Canadian employees. The government needs to act urgently to finally clean up the mess they created."

The NDP intends to introduce a motion in the House of Commons on Tuesday which would impose a moratorium on all low-skill foreign workers in all industries, and request that the Auditor General review the program.

As immigration minister, Kenney has had to stickhandle his way through difficult files before — immigration backlogs, family reunification and refugee reform to name a few.

Temporary foreign workers, however, might be his most difficult assignment yet.

(Photo courtesy CBC)

CANADA's FOOD INDUSTRY MORATORIUM

Temporary Foreign Worker Program - Moratorium

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is a program of last and limited resort, to be accessed by employers facing genuine, acute labour shortages, and only after Canadians are not available to fill the job. In support of this Program mandate, on December 31, 2013 , the Minister of ESDC issued three Ministerial Instructions, one of which is the Refusal to Process Labour Market Opinions (LMO) if there is new information indicating that the employment of the foreign national in any portion, sector, region or occupational group of the labour market in Canada may or will have a significant negative effect on the Canadian labour market.

After careful analysis of significant new information, including from Canadians through Service Canada’s Confidential Tip Line, the Minister of ESDC has directed officials to establish a moratorium on the Food Services Sector’s access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Effective immediately, ESDC will no longer process LMOs for occupations in the Food Services Sector.

LMOs will not be processed for occupations classified by the 2002 North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS 2002) in Food Services and Drinking Places (NAICS subsector 722). Specifically, certain occupations related to sales and service and sales and service management as set out in the National Occupational Classification (NOC 2006). Please see this list for further detail.

Employers that have submitted applications and paid the processing fee, but have not yet received an LMO, will be refunded the full processing fee.

Any unused positions on positive LMOs that have been issued to employers for these sectors will be suspended and therefore will no longer be able to be used to obtain a worker permit.

ESDC will continue to ensure that Canadians have first access to available jobs. Abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will not be tolerated. To report misuse or abuse, contact:

Service Canada Confidential Tip Line

1-866-602-9448

integrity@servicecanada.gc.ca

Anonymous tips can also be provided to the Employer Contact Centre: 1-800-367-5693

List of all Sales and Services Occupations (Skill type 6 based on NOC-2006)

NOC Code	NOC4 Title
6641	Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Occupations
0631	Restaurant and Food Service Managers
6212	Food Service Supervisors
6453	Food and Beverage Servers
6611	Cashiers
6241	Chefs
6242	Cooks
6252	Bakers
0611	Sales, Marketing and Advertising Managers
0621	Retail Trade Manager
0632	Accommodation Service Managers
0651	Other Services Managers
6211	Retail Trade Supervisors
6213	Executive Housekeepers
6214	Dry Cleaning and Laundry Supervisors
6215	Cleaning Supervisors
6216	Other Service Supervisors
6221	Technical Sales Specialists - Wholesale Trade
6251	Butchers, Meat Cutters and Fishmongers - Retail and Wholesale
6411	Sales Representatives - Wholesale Trade (Non-Technical)
6421	Retail Salespersons and Sales Clerks
6451	Maîtres d'hôtel and Hosts/Hostesses
6452	Bartenders
6484	Other Personal Service Occupations
6622	Grocery Clerks and Store Shelf Stockers
6623	Other Elemental Sales Occupations
6651	Security Guards and Related Occupations
6661	Light Duty Cleaners
6662	Specialized Cleaners
6663	Janitors, Caretakers and Building Superintendents
6681	Dry Cleaning and Laundry Occupations
6682	Ironing, Pressing and Finishing Occupations
6683	Other Elemental Service Occupations

Good Friday

Good Friday is observed the Friday before Easter. The Christian holiday, also known as Viernes Santo in Spanish, commemorates the passion, suffering, crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.

This year, the holiday falls on April 18. Many Christians will spend the day fasting, praying, repenting and meditating on Jesus’ Passion story. Good Friday falls in the middle of Holy Week. Maundy Thursday marks the day of the Last Supper and Easter Sunday celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Below are answers to common questions about Good Friday.

 What is the Good Friday story?

The holiday follows the accounts described in the Canonical gospels. The story begins when Judas the apostle betrays Jesus and is then arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus is then brought to trial where he is found guilty of subverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar, making himself a king and claiming to be “God's son." While the Roman governor Pontius Pilate found him innocent, Pilate feared the crowds and let them decide Jesus’ fate -- death by crucifixion. Jesus was whipped, beaten, scourged and stripped naked. Jesus was led to Golgotha, where he was nailed to the cross. Six hours passed before he died.

 Why is the holiday called Good Friday?

There are several theories behind the name of the Christian holiday. According to the Baltimore Catechism, the word “good” may signify how Jesus’ death “showed His great love for man, and purchased for him every blessing.”

Another theory points to how the word “good” may refer to "a day or season observed as holy by the church" in context of the Passion story. The first reference to Good Friday comes from a text written around 1290 that refers to the day as “guode friday.”

 How is Good Friday celebrated?

Many Christians will celebrate Good Friday by attending church services that read the Gospel accounts of the Passion story. There are also processions that replicate Jesus’ journey carrying the cross through Jerusalem to his site of crucifixion

Good Friday is also one of the two days where Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast. Fasting is defined by eating only one full meal. Catholics must also abstain from meat.

By Zoe Mintz

If Only More People Acted This Way The World Would Be A Much Better Place

ALL IN ONE PACKAGE OF GIVING.

This commercial puts into our perspective about what the world really needs these days, the virtue of unconditional love without expectations.

300,000 Filipinos in US face deportation

At least 300,000 undocumented Filipinos in the United States (US) are facing deportation, prompting the Philippine government to seek temporary extension of their stay in the US, citing humanitarian reasons.

This photo from the website of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (Nafcon) shows a group calling on the US to grant Temporary Protected Status to undocumented Filipinos. NAFCON is composed of Filipino organizations and individuals in the US.

Rep. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar, vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, made the disclosure in his call to US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg to support Manila’s request for a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the undocumented workers.

Evardone mentioned their much-needed remittances, sent to their families back in a country still recovering from last year’s killer typhoon Yolanda.

“For humanitarian reasons, may I ask His Excellency to support and recommend to President [Barack] Obama the immediate approval of the Philippine government’s pending request for a Temporary Protected Status for undocumented Filipinos in the United States. Once the TPS designation is made, out-of-status Filipinos in the US could help fast-track our rebuilding efforts and economic recovery from the devastation of typhoon Yolanda through their monthly remittances to their respective families,” Evardone said in his letter.

A TPS would defer the deportation of these Filipinos, thus enabling them to continue working in the US. But it does not grant permanent resident status to aliens.

The Philippines’ request for TPS is pending before the Office of Secretary of State John Kerry. Should Kerry approve it, the request would also have to go through the Department of Homeland Security for the TPS to take effect.

At least 20 American senators have already expressed support for the TPS request.

“Families in the Philippines, especially those left homeless by Typhoon Yolanda depend much on the remittances of these OFWs [overseas Filipino workers]. With an 18-month TPS, these undocumented Filipinos could infuse into our economy at least P2.64 billion per month should each of them send $200 monthly to their respective families, at an exchange rate of P44 to $1,” Evardone said.

Based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas records, the OFWs’ personal remittances reached $2.4 billion in December 2013, 12.5 percent higher than the amount remitted in the same period in 2012. The US was one of the major sources of the remittances.

The US had issued TPS designation on undocumented individuals from Syria, Somalia, Haiti, Honduras and El Salvador.

The Philippines will probably have its best chance to secure the TPS when Obama visits the Philippines later this month.

Credits to:

by LLANESCA T. PANTI 
REPORTER

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