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.
Radio Canada International – Les univers de la création au service des citoyens
Comment démocratiser la culture et créer des rencontres entre les artistes, les œuvres et les citoyens? Par la médiation culturelle, dit-on à la Ville de Montréal. Depuis 2005, Montréal a adopté la médiation culturelle pour favoriser l’accès à la culture pour tous ses citoyens, après avoir constaté que beaucoup de monde ne se sentait pas concerné par ce que la ville leur offrait déjà. L’idée derrière cette nouvelle façon de faire est d’inciter les populations – que ce soit les écoliers, les adolescents, les familles, les immigrants, ou les populations défavorisées – à se rejoindre dans un espace-temps et géographique commun à tous. Depuis, des centaines de projets de médiation culturelle ont vu le jour, suscitant la participation de milliers de citoyens.
Toronto Star –The Inherent Racism of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Under Canada’s regime of temporary labour migration, migrant workers experience working and living conditions that differ dramatically from those of Canadian citizens. Upon arrival, migrant workers face tight constraints on their ability to earn a decent living, to exercise what modest labour rights they have and to claim basic entitlements. […] We would like to propose the following steps. First, the federal and provincial governments must ensure that migrant workers can exert their rights at work. This means: open work permits, TFW-specific anti-reprisal protections, equal access to social entitlements and labour protections for all workers. Once both the provinces and the feds have ensured equal protections, we must move toward full immigration status for migrant workers already in Canada and those who continue to arrive here as we undertake trenchant immigration reform. Finally, we need permanent immigration status for all migrants coming into Canada, including workers in low-skilled occupations and the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program. This must include meaningful family reunification.
Calgary Herald – Immigration System Shouldn’t Overlook Children
Although the temporary foreign worker program is intended to fill short-term labour shortages in Canada, there are also paths to permanent residency that require at least a one-year stay in Canada, leaving a spouse and children behind for this time. This is a significant disruption of the family environment with a long period of separation. True, granting all Canada’s temporary foreign workers permanent status can be argued on humanitarian and justice principles. But we must not ignore the fact that children of temporary workers successfully nominated for permanent residency are likely to face a difficult adjustment to Canadian life, particularly if English or French is not their mother tongue. The permanent immigration system is a much better route to ensure good long-term outcomes for family units. When immigration policy puts more emphasis on the family unit, the future for Canada’s economy and society will improve.
Radio-Canada – Lorsque les politiciens courtisent les communautés culturelles
Les communautés culturelles en banlieue de Toronto sont fortement courtisées par les politiciens en campagne. Et pour cause. Un siège sur cinq se trouve dans la région du 905, qu’on appelle ainsi en raison de l’indicatif régional. Ici les « minorités visibles » sont dans les faits majoritaires. Pour le moment, ces circonscriptions sont des forteresses libérales. Mais ces châteaux forts sont assiégés par les deux autres partis. […] La question de l’emploi préoccupe évidemment les électeurs. Mais c’est surtout le sujet des primes d’assurances auto qui est sur toutes les lèvres. À Brampton, ces primes sont les plus élevées de la province.
Times Colonist – Marking the Centennial of the Komagata Maru
What does it mean to commemorate the Komagata Maru episode 100 years later? Should it simply be a reminder of how Canada has moved progressively from a racist past toward a country open to immigration and multiculturalism? Or should it be read in relation to contemporary issues surrounding immigration policy in this country? The recent media spotlight on Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, for instance, evokes the forms of exclusion and racist discourse witnessed a hundred years ago. In 1914, South Asian migrants’ adaptability, assimilability and inclusion into the fabric of the Canadian nation were routinely questioned and often denied. A wedge was placed between “Canadian” labourers and Asian or South Asian labourers. The foreigner was viewed as someone who should be considered simply lucky to be given a job, let alone someone deserving of equal pay for equal work. Today, we see this attitude formalized through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The labourers who have entered Canada through this program are overwhelmingly scapegoats in this repetitive narrative that pits Canadians vs. foreign labour.
Financial Post – Canada Facing More Competition in Drawing Immigrants, says OECD Study
That Canada has been a magnet for immigrants — many of them highly sought-after skilled workers — is well-documented, and that continues to be an issue close to the country’s economic core. But we’re facing increasing competition from other major economies — the United States, Germany and the U.K., for sure — as well as from fiscally challenged countries like Spain, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Much can change in the course of a few years, especially trends in immigration, according the findings of an OECD study released Tuesday. […] Canada is in fifth place among OECD members, based on data collected up until 2012, even though it attracted 258,000 new permanent residents, or a gain of 4%, in 2012 alone.
