an alliance of university, community, and government partners dedicated to fostering welcoming communities and promoting the integration of immigrants and minorities across Canada
The Media Roundup provides links to recent and archived articles, in both English and French, on immigration and diversity appearing in the national and local news. Some international content is also included. Articles are updated weekly.
CBC – New Refugees Facing “Unprecedented” Housing Challenges
Refugees arriving in Edmonton are facing “unprecedented” challenges finding affordable places to rent, says an agency that works with newcomers. “People are paying regularly 50 to 85 and sometimes even up to 90 per cent of their income going towards rent,” said Kathryn Friesen, program manager with Catholic Social Services. Refugee families receive a monthly allowance from Ottawa for up to a year after moving to Canada. If they have children, they also qualify for the Child Tax Benefit. But high rents exacerbate an already challenging situation, said Friesen. She said refugees eager to succeed are instead forced to leave important English language and skill training to take on two or three jobs in order to make ends meet, while some of their children even drop out to work. It’s a financial struggle that can also lead to health problems or re-traumatize those who have endured war or torture, she said. […] Housing that costs more than 30 per cent of a household’s total income is considered unaffordable, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The Guardian [Charlottetown] – Feds Cut French Employment Program
A program that helps businesses in minority francophone communities hire French-speaking workers is coming to an end. The federal government is suspending the Francophone Significant Benefit program as of Sept. 30. “This is unquestionably a big setback for francophone immigration,” said Gilles Benoit, president of the Coopérative d’intégration francophone de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard, “We relied heavily on the Francophone Significant Benefit program to promote the recruitment of qualified bilingual workers among employers in the province. It is the only tool francophones had to get tangible results in francophone immigration to Prince Edward Island.” The CIF is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Benoit says the minister responsible for that department was only recently quoted as saying he wanted to do more to increase immigration of francophones. On Sept. 9, Citizen and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said his department was looking to triple the number of francophone immigrants in the provinces and territories outside of Quebec.
The Guardian [Charlottetown] – Q&A: Employment Minister Jason Kenney on EI and TFW
The interview began with a question about the data released by Employment Minister Jason Kenney’s office showing more fish plant workers were collecting employment insurance in 2013 than the total number of temporary foreign workers brought to P.E.I. to work in seafood processing plants in P.E.I. […] “We’ve always found it peculiar that employers would be seeking to bring in overseas workers for jobs that have been done by local folks that have been receiving EI. The temporary foreign worker program is supposed to be a last and limited resort and these figures demonstrate that there are local fish processing plant workers available in Prince Edward Island at all times of the year, including the peak season, and the jobs should be going to them rather than to folks overseas. This underscores what we’ve been saying all along about our efforts to both reform the employment insurance program and the temporary foreign worker program.” […] “There’s a whole range of normal business-like options available to employers if they’re facing a scarcity, as opposed to what should be maybe the last and limited resort of bringing folks in from aboard, who are in a kind of quasi-indentured status.”
The Telegram – St. John’s Among Most Attractive Cities to Immigrants: Study
St. John’s is one of Canada’s most appealing cities for migrants, according to a new report from the Conference Board of Canada. The report gives St. John’s an overall A in the study, one of six cities (out of 50) to receive the top mark. Alan Arcand, principal economist with the board, said Canada’s population is aging, making immigration an increasingly important source of population growth. “In order to be sustainable, cities are going to need to attract immigrants. They also can attract migrants from other cities,” he said. “But the features that immigrants or migrants from other parts of Canada would need, the features they want to see in a city, are common across these groups. So what we’re trying to do is find indicators that would determine how attractive a city would be to immigrants.” […] “The proportion of foreign-born is very low, so even though (St. John’s) appears attractive to newcomers, it hasn’t happened yet,” said Arcand.
Radio Canada International – Population canadienne: croissance soutenue prévue à l’ouest d’ici 2063
Selon le plus récent rapport de Statistiques Canada sur la population canadienne, rapport intitulé Projections démographiques pour le Canada, les provinces et les territoires, 2013 à 2063, la population canadienne devrait continuer à croître au cours des 50 prochaines années pour atteindre entre 40,0 millions et 63,5 millions de personnes en 2063. On peut y lire notamment que la population de la Colombie-Britannique pourrait croître de deux millions au cours des 25 prochaines années. Il y aurait cinq scénarii possibles pour la province la plus à l’ouest du pays, tous basé essentiellement sur l’afflux d’immigrants venus d’Asie. Dans le plus faible des cas de figure, la croissance serait de 600 000 personnes. À l’opposé, on retrouve la projection des deux millions, de nouveaux résidents qui se retrouveraient essentiellement dans la grande région de la métropole, Vancouver.
Toronto Star – Ottawa Will Pay Owed Benefits to Migrant Farm Workers
More than 100 migrant farm workers will receive the EI parental benefits that Canada owed them for years after Ottawa agreed not to challenge earlier decisions rendered by an independent tribunal. “That migrant workers see this benefit as important to them is proved by the number of times every year we get calls from their homelands to find out the latest (news),” said Jennifer Pothier, executive director of the Niagara North Community Legal Assistances. “Now we can tell them of the victory.” In a letter received Tuesday by Pothier and the workers’ co-counsel, Jackie Esmonde of the Income Security Advocacy Centre, the Employment Insurance Commission said it had reviewed the 102 cases and decided to agree to their demands. The review followed an order by the Federal Court of Appeal last year requiring the Social Security Tribunal to rehear the cases. Some 30,000 migrant workers from the Caribbean and Mexico have been coming to Canada under the federal Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program since 1966. Collectively they contribute an estimated $3.4 million in premiums into the EI system, though they have never been eligible for full EI benefits because they leave Canada at the end of their seasonal employment.
