Page 11 - IAV Digital Magazine #432

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Canada Military
Builds Refugee Camp
For Refugees From US
The Canadian mili- tary is building a camp to house the growing number of refugees crossing the US border, offi- cials have said.
The camp would house up to 500 asylum seekers in Saint-Bernard-de- Lacolle, Quebec, near Plattsburgh, New York.
The construction begins about a week after Montreal turned its Olympic Stadium into a shel- ter for refugees arriving from the US.
More than 3,300 people crossed into Quebec between 1 January and 30 June.
The military-built camp would house hundreds of asylum seekers in heated tents fitted with flooring and electric- ity while they wait for their refugee applications to be processed, said a statement from the military.
Patrick Lefort, a spokesman for the Canada Border Services Agency, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation there is currently a backlog of asylum seekers at Roxham Road, a
popular crossing point near Saint- Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec.
It will take about two or three days for Canada Border Services to process the 700 asylum applications. In the meantime, there is no place for them to stay.
Francine Dupuis, of Praida, a provincial program for the reception and inte- gration of asylum seekers, told the BBC that another 1,200 people crossed into the province in July, about 90% of them from Haiti.
In May, Donald Trump announced that the US would end the program that extended tem- porary protection to Haitian citizens after the devastating 2010 earthquake. That protection is due to expire in
January 2018.
Since then, many asylum seekers have tried to get refugee status in Quebec, a French- speaking province.
No such protection exists in Canada, where the assess- ment is done case- by-case.
Haiti sent two gov- ernment officials to meet the Quebec government on Tuesday, to discuss the situation.
Montreal's Olympic Stadium is being used to as a shelter in August, and the city also plans to use the decommis- sioned Royal Victoria Hospital into a 320-bed facility.
School-aged refugees will be enrolled at Montreal's French- language school board beginning next month.
UAE Bans Japanese Kikkoman Soy Sauce Due Alcohol Content
Restaurants in the UAE have been told to throw out Japanese-made Kikkoman soy sauce due the brand having alco- hol in some of its products.
The UAE Ministry of Environment and Climate Change said "sev- eral samples of the product with differ- ent production dates violated the rules", a news release read.
"The decision came based on the results of tests conducted by spe- cialised accredited laboratories, which confirmed that sev- eral samples of the product with differ- ent production
dates violated the rules", the ministry added.
The sale of alcohol is controlled in the UAE and only available from spe- cial licensed out- lets and licensed hotels and bars, sold under certain conditions.
Officials said Kikkoman sauce that was specifical- ly produced in Japan was being targeted, suggest- ing that was the type that contains alcohol. The food manufacturer has production plants and offices in the US, Netherlands, China, Canada, Singapore and Taiwan. The min- istry did not elabo-
rate.
Kikkoman sauce is a naturally brewed product like wine or beer. According to the company's website, it is made from soybeans, wheat, salt and water. During the fermentation process, the wheat starches are bro- ken down to sug- ars and part of the sugar is changed into alcohol.
"The alcohol adds to the aroma and overall flavour of our soy sauce," the company stated on its website.
This product con- tains approximate- ly 1.5 per cent - 2 per cent alcohol by volume.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine