WATCH: female conservative journalist assaulted in Alberta by left-wing protestor 

A family in Calgary is attempting to avoid deportation from Canada. The family is from Sri Lanka and two of their children were born in Canada. 

Maneth Fernando is the eldest son in the family at 9-years-old. He wrote a letter to Marco Mendicino, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada as a last resort to ask Ottawa to help his family stay in the country. 

In an interview with CTV News, Maneth said, “Canada is a safe place with lots of good schools and my friends are here. If I go back, the kids in the Sri Lankan schools will laugh at me because I can only speak English.”

In the letter, Maneth mentioned that he was worried that “something bad will happen” to his family if they are forced to go back to Sri Lanka—his parents birthplace. 

His parents are Nishan Fernando and Sulakshana Hewage two of their three children were born in Canada. One is 4-years-old and the other is only 15 months. 

It has been arranged by the Canada Border Service Agency that the family be flown to Colombo, Sri Lanka on March 3. This decision has come after years of court proceedings. 

Udani Perera, the family’s lawyer, said, “There are two Canadian born kids here and the only options that my clients were given is to put the Canadian-born into foster care and go back to Sri Lanka, which is completely unacceptable.”

The couple fled Sri Lanka and made their way to Canada with their first son in 2012. Fernando told officials that he feared for the safety of his family because his uncle was involved in criminal activity. 

He told CTV News, “We were seeking a safe place for my kids and family.”

Federal Court documents showed that Fernando’s uncle was a contract killer, a political fixer and a loan shark. He also had connections to high up politicians. 

The uncle that Fernando was referring to has been murdered since the family left Sri Lanka. He was the man who raised Fernando. 

Until 2016, Fernando had worker status in Canada. In May of 2016, his permanent residency application was refused. Ottawa said that Sri Lanka did not pose enough of a safety threat to the family who has claimed to have been attacked twice in the past. 

In 2018, the claim was rejected again. 

Another application was submitted by the family about five months ago. The application is still on a waiting list and cannot stop the family from being sent back while on the list. 

The IRCC statement noted, “If applicants have to leave the country, their application for permanent residence will continue to be processed.”

Their lawyer, Perera, thinks the family will not be safe if they return to Sri Lanka.

“There are serious threats to their lives,” she said. 

Western Canada has a new group dedicated to helping founders with disruptive ideas go big without leaving the area.

That group’s name? Harvest.

Set up by SkipTheDishes co-founder and former CEO Chris Simair, Harvest has received initial investment capital from Western Economic Diversification Canada, to set up a large venture builder project.

Venture building firms are similar to incubators or accelerators in that multiple ideas are supported by one group, but also quite different in that normally no demo days are run. Instead, venture builders use internal resources to grow companies from within the organization. In effect, a venture builder is a start-up that builds startups.

Currently, Harvest also plans to leverage the unique infrastructure that built SkipTheDishes, in order to support its projects and is looking to set up offices across the Prairies. Possible cities for the company’s headquarters include Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

According to CEO Chris Simair, the first company in Harvest’s portfolio, Neo Financial, has already grown to over “20 employees with plans to go to market next year.”

The inclusion of a firm dedicated to disruption could also greatly help the economy out west, which according to the Canadian government, has continuously lagged behind provinces such as Quebec and Ontario when it comes to venture capital funding.

It seems Alberta is in for more cuts.

According to the CBC, Huskey Energy CEO Rob Peabody revealed on a conference call Monday that his firm will be cutting 370 jobs this year as it looks to reduce spending.

“What we’re seeing is that (the reductions) will generate forward savings of about $70 million … per year,” said Peabody, adding the company will take a charge against earnings of $70 million in the fourth quarter to account for the cuts.

“We’re going to continue those efforts to capitalize on the fact we’ve created a more focused and a simpler company.”

While these cuts will provide roughly $70 million in savings, overall spending for 2020 and 2021 will be cut $500 million due to worsening market conditions.

The split will be heavier in 2021, with over $400 million coming in cuts.

Huskey stock has fallen by over 40% in the last year.

Bill Peters has resigned as the head coach of the NHL’s Calgary Flames after former player, Akim Aliu, accused him on racism on social media, according to Sportsnet.

The Calgary Flames’s general manager, Brad Treliving, made these comments during a press conference. During this, he also stated that Geoff Ward would take over as the interim coach.

Aliu accused Peters on Twitter of directing a racial slur towards the player “several times” when they were both in the AHL. Peters was Aliu’s coach during his time at the Rockford IceHogs.

After Aliu’s tweets, Peter’s released an apology, although he did not direct it specifically to Aliu.