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.
Waterloo Record – Foreign Workers Program Fixes Backfire
What started in April with complaints that three McDonald’s franchises in Victoria, B.C., were favouring temporary foreign workers over domestic employees culminated in a June announcement by federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney of sweeping policy changes impacting every sector across the country. The Tories’ sense of urgency was elevated by polls showing the intense media coverage had convinced the majority of voters that a program representing less than 2 per cent of our total workforce was stealing large numbers of jobs from unemployed Canadians. […] David Lynn, president of the Canada West Ski Areas Association, captured the view of many business leaders: “We feel that government should deal directly with the people that are abusing the program and not institute a series of draconian changes that impact … people who use the program responsibly.” One of those “draconian changes” will tighten the screws from a cap of 30 per cent for “low-skilled” temporary foreign workers to just 10 per cent by mid-2016. And a new income criterion increases the proportions of temporary workers categorized as low-skilled.
Cameroonvoice – Immigrer au Canada : 10 conseils pour vous guider
Conseil 1 : Préparez vos documents – Avant de commencer votre procédure d’immigration, assurez-vous d’avoir tous les documents nécessaires à l’envoi de votre candidature. Les documents de preuves tels que les photocopies de vos pièces d’identité, les actes de naissance, les relevés d’imposition, les contrats de travail… doivent tous être traduits en français ou en anglais (langues officielles du Canada). Les documents fournis dans votre langue maternelle (autre que le français ou l’anglais) ne seront pas acceptés : ils devront toujours être joints avec leur traduction officielle. Conseil 2 : Soyez ponctuel – Une fois votre dossier envoyé à CIC, assurez-vous de fournir les informations et/ou documents demandés par le gouvernement en respectant le temps qui vous est alloué pour le faire […].
L’immigration jour un rôle crucial dans le soutien aux économies des provinces et des territoires et les premiers ministres demandent au gouvernement fédéral que les niveaux d’immigration soient relevés de manière immédiate. Ils demandent également un système d’immigration plus efficace. Les premiers ministres ont réitéré que les provinces et les territoires sont les mieux placés pour évaluer les besoins de leurs communautés et de leurs économies régionales et devraient avoir un rôle prépondérant dans la prestation de services visant l’établissement des immigrants. Les premiers ministres ont aussi souligné le succès du Programme Candidats des provinces. Ils pressent le gouvernement fédéral de relever les plafonds des niveaux d’immigration pour les programmes de candidats des provinces. Les premiers ministres reconnaissent le mécanisme d’entrée accéléré pour les immigrants économiques que mettra en place le gouvernement fédéral en janvier 2015.
Toronto Star – Woman’s Asylum Claim Rejected because She Didn’t Seek Help After Multiple Beatings
A refugee judge who found it hard to believe that a domestic abuse victim from Botswana did nothing to get help “before allowing herself to be beaten some 100 times” rejected her claim for asylum based on her alleged lack of credibility. Now those findings are at the centre of a legal challenge by Tshegofatso Kgang, a 42-year-old mother of three, whose attempt to have the decision quashed will be heard in Federal Court in October. Her lawyer alleges the judge’s findings were sexist, a case of blaming the victim. […] Immigration and Refugee Board member Michael Sterlin wrote in his decision refusing Kgang’s claim that “The claimant made insufficient efforts to avail herself of the protection of her own state before coming to Canada.” After numerous beatings, Kgang says, she did finally go to hospital and to police and finally moved into her mother’s home with her children. Her husband was never charged by local police. […] In a reply to court, government lawyers said Sterlin had properly considered and applied the board’s gender guidelines.
The Star Phoenix – Detained Refugees Treated as Criminals
“Detention of asylum seekers and refugees causes unnecessary suffering, with often serious consequences for health and well-being, in particular when people are held for long periods,” Volker Turk, UNHCR’s director of International Protection, said in a statement last month. “It also increases anxiety, fear and frustrations, and can exacerbate past traumatic experiences.” The University of Ottawa’s Delphine Nakache levelled the criticism at Canada in a 2011 report to the UNHCR, noting that the separation of criminal and non-criminal populations is a well-established principle in international law. […]Last year, almost 10,000 people, including asylum seekers, were detained by the Canada Border Services Agency, which has the authority to detain foreign nationals and Canadian permanent residents under certain conditions. […] Fifty-eight per cent of detainees were held in a designated immigration holding facility and 42 per cent in provincial jails last year, said [CBSA Spokesman Tom] Robbins. The average length of detention was 20 days. But there are important regional differences. All immigration detainees outside of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are housed in prisons.
Toronto Star – Ontario Reviewing Relations with Border Agency
“The minister has asked officials to review the practices surrounding safety blitzes and our protocols for working with traffic safety partners moving forward,” a spokesperson for Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca told the Star Friday. On Aug. 14, Canada Border Services Agency officers used a commercial vehicle roadside blitz along Wilson Ave., between Jane St. and Highway 400, to arrest 21 undocumented workers. The result has been met with outrage by immigrant advocates and an opposition critic. Del Duca spokesperson Patrick Searle acknowledged it is not the first time the CBSA has tag-teamed on safety checks, with critics firing back that it is hardly the mandate of the MTO to aid and abet immigration officers. […] Advocacy groups continue to urge Queen’s Park to investigate what exactly happened at the joint agency blitz, which resulted in the deportation and arrest of undocumented workers in Toronto. The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) is calling for a public inquiry and No One Is Illegal, a grassroots group that advocates for migrants, wants Wynne to declare the province a safe haven for undocumented workers.
