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.
Asian Pacific Post – Mega Lawsuit Against Immigration Canada
At least 1,300 millionaires from mainland China have decided to sue the Canadian immigration authorities after the country decided to terminate its immigrant investor program for which the complainants had applied. Each of the complainants is asking for CAD5m in compensation should the Canadian government continue to refuse to assess their cases. The Chinese mainlanders paid around USD1.7m as application deposit when they applied for immigration under Canada’s 25-year-old Immigrant Investor Program (IIP). Tim Leahy, the Canada-based lawyer representing the claimants, said the 1,335 wealthy Chinese citizens submitted their immigration applications in Hong Kong but immigration authorities in Canada slowed the processing before eventually suspended the IIP program last February.
Metro News – Report Alleges Conservative “Political Interference” in Migrant Detentions
A groundbreaking study accuses Ottawa of “political interference” in the detention reviews of foreign nationals held for immigration violations, citing the decline of release rates under the Conservative government. […] By examining the decisions of adjudicators, who are all federal government appointees, researchers also found the same decision makers who sat on the tribunal from 2008 through 2013 appeared to have become less likely to release immigration detainees. In 2008, the average release rate of the same 13 members was 21 per cent, which fell to 11.5 per cent in 2012 and 9.3 per cent in 2013, according to the 40-page report, titled “Indefinite, Arbitrary and Unfair: The Truth about Immigration Detention in Canada.”
CBC – Deported Nigerian Students to Return to School in Regina
Two Nigerian students who were deported for violating terms of their student visas will return to study in Saskatchewan. Kay Adebogun, who is the senior immigration counsel for the women, told CBC News the Canadian government has allowed them back into the country. “I’m still of the opinion that they shouldn’t have been sent back for that simple error. So that was why we needed to do whatever we can legally to make this day happen,” said Adebogun. For a few weeks in 2011, Victoria Ordu and Favour Amadi worked at a Walmart in Regina. Both said they did not realize it was not permitted under the terms of their student visas. Soon after, they received deportation orders from the federal government. For more than a year, the women took refuge in four different city churches after learning they would be forced to leave the country. On October 11, 2013, the two returned to Nigeria voluntarily in the hope that doing so would allow them to return to Canada later.
Le Devoir – Syrie : les organismes prêts à accueillir 10000 réfugiés
Les organismes qui accueillent les réfugiés partout au Canada demandent au gouvernement fédéral de répondre aux demandes d’aide des Nations Unies en débloquant 10 000 places d’urgence pour les Syriens. Un tel engagement aurait « un impact significatif », expliquentils dans une lettre transmise mercredi au ministre fédéral de l’Immigration, Chris Alexander. […] Les organismes d’accueil sont d’autant plus pressants que, ces derniers mois, ils ont reçu un très faible nombre de réfugiés tous pays confondus. Au Centre multiethnique de Québec (CMQ), ce sont 250personnes qui sont arrivées depuis juillet, alors qu’on en attendait plus de 380.
Ottawa Citizen – Bernie Farber: Pusuma Family Deserves Better
Jozsef Pusuma, his wife Timea Daroczi and their six-year-old daughter Lulu have spent the last 29 months hiding from the Canadian government. They are in a Toronto church, in sanctuary. Their crime: fear of being deported back to Hungary where their lives are in danger. […] Tragically, upon arrival they were hooked up with a lawyer who provided a Hungarian speaking consultant to the couple, who then could not speak a word of English. They said he misrepresented them. Documentation attesting to the justifiable fear of a return to Hungary was never submitted. Their lawyer did not even appear at their hearing. Sadly, he has been accused of doing the same to 17 other refugee families and is facing disciplinary proceedings at the Law Society of Upper Canada. The Conservative government refuses to help the family. It is demanding their immediate deportation. […] Individual Canadians and ad hoc groups of religious leaders have spoken out. More than 45,000 Canadians have signed a petition asking for compassion. Last week, a large protest was held in front of the office of Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chis Alexander. Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists gathered as one to advocate on behalf of the Pusumas.
CBC – International Grads Now Have Immigration Route to N.S.
It will now be a little easier for international graduates to settle in Nova Scotia after their studies in Canada are finished. The province announced today that any international graduate from a Canadian college or university can apply for permanent residency if they have a job offer from a Nova Scotia employer. […] Nova Scotia universities welcome more than 7,000 international students a year, but fewer than 50 have applied to stay since the paperwork moved to Ottawa. […] The policy change will also help colleges and universities attract international students. The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration negotiated the change with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program, the province can nominate potential immigrants, but Citizenship and Immigration Canada makes the final decision.
