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.
Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada – Communique – Reconnaître les contributions des nouveaux arrivants au Canada
Le ministre de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration du Canada, Chris Alexander, a félicité aujourd’hui les lauréats des troisièmes prix annuels de l’entrepreneuriat des immigrants, qui reconnaissent la réussite entrepreneuriale de nouveaux arrivants qui se sont établis au Canada. Ces prix, qui sont organisés par la Ville d’Ottawa en partenariat avec le Club économique du Canada, visent à reconnaître quatre personnes exceptionnelles ayant grandement contribué au milieu entrepreneurial d’Ottawa. Les lauréats des prix annuels de l’entrepreneuriat des immigrants sont les suivants : Anand Aggarwal, Manor Park Development; Abdul Haseeb Awan, BitAccess Inc.; Mona Kalra, Maple Care Physiotherapy Inc.; et Peyman Yazdani, Restaurants Subway.
Inside Toronto – Community Matters Toronto Receives Five-Year Grant to Help New Canadians in St. James Town
New Canadians living in St. James Town are set to have better health outcomes thanks to a five-year, $528,665 commitment by the federal government. St. James Town organization Community Matters Toronto received the grant for its Healthy Living in St. James Town project, which takes a multi-pronged, holistic and preventative approach to improving the well-being of residents in the downtown neighbourhood. Community Matters Toronto Board Chair Chris Hallett noted that Healthy Living in St. James Town has been in the works for more than a year, adding the program seeks to break down barriers to health care for newcomers. “Things like breast cancer screenings and cervical cancer screenings, in some cultures, people don’t even approach those subjects,” he said. “There’s a cultural barrier where that type of screening isn’t even discussed, and for some residents, there’s a fear of screenings, a fear of what the results might be and a lack of knowledge about them.” Healthy Living in St. James Town will aim to break down those barriers by partnering residents with foreign-trained medical professionals, who will become “community assistants” and provide support while demystifying the health-care system.
Winnipeg Free Press – Top US Colleges like Yale, Harvard Seek Students from Outside the Economic Elite
Top American universities like Yale and Harvard, widely regarded overseas as places only for children of the rich and powerful, are increasing efforts to attract the best international students, regardless of their financial backgrounds. With more undergraduates coming from abroad than ever, the Ivy League universities that have worked to overcome reputations for serving only children of the elite in the U.S. are trying to do the same the world over with travel, novel recruiting strategies and some help from the U.S. State Department. […] No country is receiving more attention than China, which sends far more students to the U.S. than any other country. Nearly 275,000 students came from China last year, 31 per cent of all international students, according to the Institute of International Education. As China has grown more prosperous, many U.S. colleges have stepped up recruiting there, seeking revenue-generating students who can pay their full way. A small number of schools pledge, like Yale, to meet the full financial need of admitted international students, and for them it is a matter of making that known around the country of 1.3 billion people.
CBC – Refugee Health Care Fight Cost Feds $1.4 Million in Legal Fees
The federal government is refusing to reveal the full price tag for its ongoing legal battle over the interim refugee health program. But so far, the tally exceeds $1.4 million. Last December, Toronto New Democrat MP Andrew Cash filed a written request seeking the total amount spent on legal fees and related costs to date. He also requested the estimated tab for the appeal of last year’s decision by the Federal Court, which ruled that the decision to cancel the program was unconstitutional. In a response tabled on Monday, Justice Minister Peter MacKay stated that the total legal cost is “approximately” $1,431,148.83. That, however, doesn’t include the money spent by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which also was asked to reply to the question. In his response, Immigration Minister Chris Alexander acknowledged that his department would also have “incurred costs” as a result of the litigation, including responding to information requests from opposing counsel, preparing affidavits and related activities.
Metro News Canada – No Broad Right for Refugee Health Care: Feds
Not all refugee claimants automatically have a constitutional right to health care coverage following a Federal Court decision last year, the federal government says. So the current system fully complies with the decision, the government argued this week in the latest legal fight with refugee claimants on the issue. […] A Federal Court judge has reserved her decision in the latest skirmish and meanwhile the government’s appeal of the original decision continues. The two sides were in court this week over the health coverage program introduced for refugee claimants after the Federal Court struck down the previous one as unconstitutional. While the system put in place in November is broader than the old interim federal health program, known as IFHP, not all refugee claimants have access to the same levels of coverage. The court never said they had to, federal government lawyers argued. […] But lawyers for the refugee claimants have argued the intent of the ruling was to return to the program in existence prior to the 2012 overhaul.
Journal de Montréal – Le gouvernement veut mieux informer les immigrants
Le gouvernement Couillard souhaite que les nouveaux arrivants soient mieux informés de leurs droits afin de ne pas tomber dans les pièges de propriétaires frauduleux. Dimanche, une enquête du Journal a révélé que de nombreux propriétaires montréalais violent délibérément la loi lorsqu’ils s’apprêtent à louer leur logement à de récents immigrés, notamment des Français. Paiement de plusieurs mois de loyer d’avance, dépôts de garantie, supplément pour le ménage: autant de conditions interdites mais pratiquées sans remords par certains. Dès le début de la semaine, le cabinet du ministre Pierre Moreau, responsable de l’habitation, a contacté la Régie du logement pour remédier à la situation. «La Régie va travailler pour améliorer la communication, afin que les gens susceptibles d’être victimes de cet état de fait soient mieux informés», a expliqué l’attachée de presse du ministre, Catherine Poulin.
