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.
Torontoist – Jane-Finch Residents Rally Against Immigrant Detentions
Last week, Canada Border Services Agency collaborated with the provincial Ministry of Transportation and the Ontario Provincial Police to stop individuals in northwest Toronto under the guise of a “commercial vehicle safety blitz.” Police reportedly stopped people in their cars and on the street, and demanded identification and immigration papers—most of the detained were Spanish-speaking workers from Latin America. […] Suzanne Narain of Jane Finch Action Against Poverty said her group is demanding that Ontario become a “sanctuary province” where the undocumented can work without fear of arrest and detention. “We will not let undocumented people be deported,” Narain said. Toronto city council reaffirmed its “access without fear” policy in 2013 and pledged that undocumented people would receive equal access to City services. In 2008, Toronto Police contemplated but ultimately rejected a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy intended to prohibit officers from sharing immigration information with federal authorities.
Radio-Canada – FFCB : la discorde perdure dans le dossier des services aux immigrants
Le lancement officiel des bureaux de services d’aide aux immigrants de la Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique (FFCB) de la 7e Avenue a lieu vendredi soir avec, en toile de fond, une discorde avec certaines de ses associations membres. La FFCB utilise une partie de la subvention de 1,2 million de dollars sur deux ans reçue du gouvernement fédéral pour financer des services d’aide qu’elle offrira elle-même plutôt qu’en donner la responsabilité à certaines de ses organisations membres. La situation est source de discorde depuis plusieurs mois et incite certaines organisations à remettre en question leur association avec la FFCB. « À plusieurs reprises au cours des ans on a eu des moments où on disait que ça valait vraiment la peine d’être membre de la Fédération des francophones, et puis ça [les services à l’immigration offerts directement par la FFCB], c’est une des choses qui va vraiment mettre en péril cette réalité-là », a déclaré Johanne Dumas, directrice administrative de la Société francophone de Maillardville.
Radio-Canada – Lancement des services d’immigration francophone à la FFCB
La fédération des francophones de Colombie-Britannique lance aujourd’hui ses nouveaux services à l’immigration. Il s’agit d’un programme qui comprend deux volets: un volet de services indirects et un autre direct, pour l’aide aux immigrants francophones de Colombie-Britannique. Un programme aussi, qui est critiqué par certains organismes – notamment La Boussole et la Société francohpone de Maillardville – qui devaient initialement offrir directement ces services. Evelyne Charuest en parle avec la directrice par intérim de la FFCB Iseult Friolet.
YorkRegion.com – Programs Help Ease Transition for Newcomer Students
Elementary school students new to Canada are invited to a special back-to-school orientation program next week. Welcome and Information for Newcomers is a program for newcomer families in York Region. The purpose of the peer-run program is to give new elementary students a better start in school in September. It also gives parents information about community resources, including education curriculum, school bus safety, library resources, police resources and healthy eating. […] The program is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and organized by Catholic Community Services of York Region with support from the York Region District School Board. The York Catholic District School Board also runs a Newcomer Orientation Week (NOW) program in select high schools. The school board, in partnership with Catholic Community Services of York Region, Settlement and Education Partnership in York Region, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the York Region District School Board offers the Newcomer Orientation Week program for high school students new to Canada.
Canada.com – Small Towns Hope to Replace Exodus to Cities with New Immigrants
Canada’s cities are booming, but it’s killing the rural parts of the country. The 2011 census found that 35 per cent of us now live in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and a big chunk of that is from immigration. Now a growing number of small towns are banking on new Canadians filling their greener pastures, too. From Simcoe County in Ontario to rural Alberta, there’s a growing push— and need — to attract immigrants. […] “Recent settlement trends reveal that economic regions other than the GTA are receiving a larger share of Ontario immigrants and that the proportion of secondary migration to non-Census Metropolitan Areas is increasing,” according to a 2012 report from the Rural Ontario Institute. Peel Region is a good example: Mississauga was always a hub for new Canadians but Brampton to its north has expanded rapidly over the last two decades because of new Canadians, reaching ever further into what was once agrarian land in the city’s north. Now that population is starting to head further out.
Edmonton Journal – Group Pushes for Permanent Residency Status for Temporary Foreign Workers
A group supporting temporary foreign workers had stern words for federal politicians on Tuesday, likening government changes to the program to the abuses of migrant workers in the early 20th century. “We feel very strongly that it is a violation of human rights,” said spokeswoman Clarizze Truscott. “These atrocities are happening again today (to) temporary foreign workers.” The Temporary Foreign Workers Support Coalition was founded in May. To date, the group said it has met with New Democrat Linda Duncan, the member of Parliament for Edmonton-Strathcona, and Ontario Liberal MP John McCallum. “He reassured us that he will push to extend work permits of temporary foreign workers who have pending (Alberta Immigration Nominee Program) applications,” Truscott said. “The delay is really hurting them because while they’re waiting for results, their current work status is running out.” Truscott said this means workers could end up being in the country illegally if they don’t have permission to work, but their applications haven’t been processed. The group said that getting permanent residency status for temporary foreign workers is “essential” and that the coalition will continue pushing for it.
