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.
Toronto Star – UN Chastises Canada Over Immigration Detention, Including Un-Deportable Man Jailed 8 Years
Canada should immediately release a man who has been imprisoned for eight years over immigration violations, says a United Nations human rights monitoring body. “The inability of a state party to carry out the expulsion of an individual does not justify detention beyond the shortest period of time or where there are alternatives to detention, and under no circumstances indefinite detention,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions. […] “Immigrants are regularly held in prison pending deportation while authorities attempt to verify their identity or gather travel documents from countries of origin,” said Macdonald Scott, Mvogo’s legal counsel, who plans to release the UN opinion at a Toronto news conference Thursday. “This UN ruling adds to a growing chorus of voices that insists that those are not sufficient grounds for detentions. They should simply not take place.”
Toronto Star – Ottawa Spurns Criticism of Years-Long Detention of Migrants
Countering strong criticisms from a UN human rights body over Canada’s practice of jailing inadmissible migrants for as long as eight years, border officials are maintaining that our laws permit such detentions. “The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides border services officers with the authority to detain permanent residents or foreign nationals where the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person is inadmissible to Canada,” Canada Border Service Agency spokesperson Esme Bailey said Thursday. […] Andrey Macklin, a University of Toronto law professor, said the UN decision shows Canada’s non-compliance with its international obligation. “These individuals are warehoused prior to deportation. There is a limit for the state to do that,” said Macklin, adding that other countries do restrict the length of detention if deportation is not viable. In the United States, she said, it’s no more than six months.
Le Soleil – L’Université de Montréal doit rembourser 18 millions $ perçus en trop
L’Université de Montréal doit rembourser au gouvernement 18 millions $ perçus en trop pendant 10 ans pour des étudiants qui ont été financés… en double. Depuis plusieurs années, le ministère de l’Immigration subventionne des universités québécoises qui offrent une formation à temps plein en francisation à des immigrants. Chaque université reçoit aussi une subvention de fonctionnement du ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, qui varie selon le nombre total d’étudiants inscrits chaque année. Puisque les universités reçoivent déjà un financement particulier pour les immigrants inscrits au cours de francisation, elles doivent les exclure du nombre total d’étudiants déclarés chaque année au ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, selon les règles en vigueur.
Gouvernement de l’Ontario – Communiqué – Davantage d’équité pour les demandeurs d’asile: L’Ontario demande avec instance au gouvernement fédéral de fournir des soins de santé essentiels
L’Ontario demande au gouvernement fédéral de faire preuve de justice et de compassion en soutenant totalement les besoins essentiels et urgents en soins de santé de tous les demandeurs d’asile. Il y a de cela deux ans, le gouvernement fédéral a diminué son aide en matière de soins de santé de base aux demandeurs d’asile en réduisant le Programme fédéral de santé intérimaire, menaçant ainsi la santé de certaines des personnes les plus vulnérables et les plus à risque de la société, en particulier les femmes enceintes et les enfants. Pour éviter les visites non nécessaires et coûteuses aux salles des urgences, la province a créé le Programme d’assurance-santé provisoire de l’Ontario, qui offre une protection pour la plupart des soins primaires et des services hospitaliers d’urgence, ainsi qu’une assurance-médicaments. Au cours des six derniers mois, le programme a comblé les lacunes du financement fédéral en prodiguant à plus de 270 demandeurs d’asile vulnérables des services de santé de base.
Toronto Star – Judge’s Ruling May Help Two Salvadorans Stay in Canada
A recent Federal Court ruling spells potential good news for two men who face deportation from Canada as “terrorists” because they once supported a rebel organization that is now the democratically elected government of their former land. “I think it’s very helpful,” said Lorne Waldman, a Toronto immigration lawyer representing Oscar Vigil, the former executive director of the Canadian Hispanic Congress. Vigil has been declared “inadmissible” to Canada over his ties to the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front that now governs El Salvador. […] Vigil’s support also extends to the upper reaches of the Salvadoran government, where he is well regarded as a former FMLN activist and where there is considerable reluctance to accept his banishment from Canada on security grounds, a measure that would implicitly label El Salvador’s current rulers as a “terrorist organization.” […] Despite a range of humanitarian factors weighing in their favour, both Figueroa and Vigil continue to face expulsion from Canada under Section 34 (1) (f) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a controversial provision that denies admission to this country to anyone who once supported an organization that might have engaged in political violence in the past — or that might do so in the future.
New Canadian Media – Low TO Immigrant Voter Turnout
In 2010, when Toronto mayor Rob Ford went up against George Smitherman in the last municipal elections, many neighbourhoods heavily populated with immigrants and visible minorities voted for him. This is according to a study released in April, Who votes in Toronto municipal elections? conducted by Ryerson University professor in politics and public administration, Myer Siemiatycki and co-author Sean Marshall. […] But at the heart of the matter lies another issue brought to light in Siemiatycki and Marshall’s study – neighbourhoods with high populations of immigrants and visible minorities have noticeably lower voter turnouts than their counterparts throughout Toronto. […] “Community organizing matters,” emphasizes the report, stating that a neighbourhood’s voter turn out is not fixed. For example, in the case of Regent Park, which is currently in the second phase of a major revitalization and historically has a high level of newcomer and visible minority residents, the community ranked 122nd out of 140 neighbourhoods in 2003. However, in 2006, it ranked third.
