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.
Cameroonvoice – Citoyenneté canadienne : une loi plus dure, des délais moins longs
C’est le 20 Juin 2015 qu’entrera officiellement en vigueur la nouvelle Loi sur la Citoyenneté Canadienne. Elle rendra le processus d’obtention du passeport canadien bien plus difficile qu’il ne l’est aujourd’hui. Selon la loi actuellement en vigueur, pour espérer devenir canadien, il faut avoir respecté l’obligation de résidence dans le pays (qui est de 1095 jours) à l’intérieur d’une période de quatre ans. Chaque jour passé au Canada avant d’obtenir le statut de résident permanent compte pour une demi-journée de présence sur le territoire. Dans un peu moins d’un an, pour être éligible à demander la citoyenneté canadienne, il faudra avoir été présent physiquement au Canada au moins quatre ans (soit un total de 1460 jours) au cours des dernières six années. Par ailleurs, les demandeurs devront effectivement démontrer qu’ils ont vécu au Canada 183 jours par année pendant au moins quatre ans au cours des six dernières années. Les jours passés au Canada en tant que non-résident permanent ne seront plus comptabilisés.
Radio Canada International – Le parcours de vie de Dahlia Mostafa
Cette ingénieure est arrivée au Canada, il y a 10 ans, en provenance de l’Égypte. Dahlia Mostafa fait d’abord un saut à Montréal et parfait des études graduées en génie électrique à l’Université McGill. Son intérêt pour la sécurité informatique la pousse à travailler à un doctorat à l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique. Elle vit présentement à Calgary en Alberta, et travaille à titre de chef d’équipe chez la pétrolière Suncor Energy. Le père de Dahlia a été une grande source d’inspiration et était d’un âge très avancé lorsqu’elle est née. C’est lui qui a inculqué à sa fille le goût des sciences et de la recherche. Maryse Jobin a voulu d’abord savoir pourquoi Dahlia Mostafa est venue s’installer au Canada, en quoi consistent ses recherches, et pourquoi elle s’implique dans la communauté […].
The Calgary Sun – New Calgary Park Named After Alberta’s First Sikh Harnam Singh Hari
His accent was strange, the turban even more so. But when Harnam Singh Hari walked up to a pile of cement bags and hoisted a pair of the heavy sacks at once, that was all the introduction he needed — he got the job. With most workers at the cement plant struggling to load just a single bag, the young Punjabi’s prodigious strength and a willingness to work made his unfamiliar dress and accent a moot point. Hari had found his home — and Alberta in the year 1909 had found its first Sikh citizen.
CBC – Federal Court Allows More Latitude for Refugee Appeals
The Federal Court is giving refugees a broader basis for appeals, telling Canada’s Refugee Appeal Division that it can overturn a decision based on the merits of the case, rather than only if there was a mistake in the legal process. Until now, the Refugee Appeal Division of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board would only look at the process used to decide whether someone was a refugee. The RAD, as it’s known, wouldn’t reassess the facts of the case before coming to its decision. Federal Court Judge Michael Phelan, in a decision released Friday, said the RAD has the power to consider whether a decision by the Refugee Protection Division is wrong rather than look at whether it was a reasonable decision to make.
CBC – Immigration Law Needs Overhaul to Deal with Minor Violations: R. Reis Pagtakhan
When non-Canadians violate immigration laws, they are usually faced with one penalty – deportation. While this penalty may be appropriate for long-term repeat offenders, it is not appropriate for first-time offenders with minor violations. In 2013, two students from Nigeria, Victoria Ordu and Favour Amandi, were deported from Canada for allegedly working illegally in Canada. […] While both Ordu and Amadi were removed from Canada, they were recently allowed back into Canada to finish their studies. The end result was the two students lost multiple school years and Canada let them back in anyway. Since Ordu and Amadi were allowed to return to Canada, what was the point of sending them home in the first place? Is immigration purgatory really an appropriate penalty? […] The problem with Canadian immigration enforcement is there is typically no middle ground of penalties. While Canadian immigration law allows for the issuance of fines for immigration violations, this provision of the law has never been put to use. What the federal government should do is introduce graduated penalties that can be assessed on non-Canadians for violation of immigration laws.
CBC – ISIS Atrocities in Iraq: What’s Canada’s Next Step?
On Tuesday, Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said Canada was “at the forefront” of efforts to help refugees, reminding reporters that since 2009 Canada has resettled more than 18,000 Iraqis, many of them religious minorities. “That’s a record that speaks for itself,” Alexander said. “We’re going to resettle 5,000 more Iraqi and Iranian refugees who are now in Turkey in the months and years to come.” But Canada’s commitment to resettle roughly 20,000 Iraqi refugees, particularly those from the Christian minority, predates the current conflict. Resettlement work was complicated and delayed with the closure of Canada’s visa offices in Syria in 2012. The office had been central for processing Iraqi refugee applications, as many had fled to Syria.
