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.
New York Times – Your Digital Trail Follows You to the Border
As immigration policies tighten and the security and technology to enforce them increase, travelers can find themselves caught in a web of suspicion that prevents them from visiting some countries. A past arrest or conviction — even a public admission of illegal activity — can be grounds for inadmissibility. So can political activism or the impression that a traveler is visiting on business without obtaining a work visa. […] The United States and Canada now share criminal history data, so Canadian border agents can view records from the F.B.I.’s database, and Canada shares its criminal records with the United States. Travelers may be denied entry to Canada if they have committed any one of a wide range of crimes, including theft, assault, dangerous driving, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and possession of a controlled substance. […] Travelers with criminal records can apply for a rehabilitation waiver or a temporary resident permit to visit Canada, but the application requires copies of court documents that can be costly and time-consuming to collect.
Globe and Mail – “Draconian” Changes to Refugee Act Put Those With Protected Status On Edge
Recent changes to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act have resulted in a dramatic increase in applications to strip refugees of their status, according to a new report by the Canadian Council for Refugees. The issue, which appears particularly pronounced in Vancouver, has created a climate of fear among refugees – some now permanent residents – who face the possibility of losing status and being deported from Canada, the report states. The CCR calls the process “arbitrary, draconian and absurd.” […] The CCR’s report includes profiles of six people, five of whom currently reside in Metro Vancouver. They include a woman threatened with cessation of refugee protection after stating on her Canadian citizenship application that she had returned to her home country of origin four times to care for sick or elderly family members and attend a funeral. The woman has lived in Metro Vancouver for more than 10 years and works in a supervisory position at a freight company. Her common-law partner and four-year-old child are both Canadian citizens.
Globe and Mail – Why Syrian Refugees will Thrive in Canada
Canada has a history of doing it successfully, sometimes on a shoestring. Hungarians, Chileans, Ismaili Muslims, Southeast Asians, Bosnian Muslims and Karen people were among the bigger movements of the past half-century. Using our history, there is a lot to confidently predict about Syrians in Canada. While cultural adjustment and trauma will certainly be an opening chapter of their lives here, it will not be the whole story. They will get jobs. Upon arrival, Syrian refugees will likely begin working in positions they are overqualified to fill. Some will find ways to transition back to their old professions over time and with Canadian credentials; others will bloom in entirely new careers. […] Last summer, Canada pledged spots for 1,300 Syrian refugees, but the CBC has reported that just 10 had arrived as of March. We are not Sweden, which expects 23,000 Syrians in 2014, and we are not Jordan, which hosts 1.3 million in a population of seven million. But we are a country that prides itself in generosity to refugees. We can do better.
Huffington Post – Will the “Culturally Compatible” Immigrant Please Stand Up?
Jason Kenney may no longer hold the immigration file, but the longest continually serving Immigration Minister in Canadian history still has considerable influence in the multiculturalism, labour, and temporary foreign worker files. Initially elected as a candidate of the Reform Party of Canada, Kenney has evolved into a key strategist for Harper’s Conservatives. The Reform Party‘s early immigration policy proposals were laid out in a pamphlet called Blue Sheet which was issued in 1991. It stated that Reformers opposed “any immigration based on race or creed or designed to radically or suddenly alter the ethnic makeup of Canada.” […] PM Harper, Kenney and his crew have been careful not speak publicly on these matters. But Kenney slipped up while unrolling the red carpet for the Irish, not long after he cancelled 300,000 patiently-waiting skilled workers’ applications. “The employers in Canada are increasingly identifying Ireland as a great source of talent, hard-working, highly-educated folks who are culturally compatible,” Kenney said.
Huffington Post – Ottawa Promoting Youth Exchange Program As Way to Hire Temporary Foreign Workers
A youth exchange program is drawing the attention of opposition parties and student groups who question whether it is being used as a back door for temporary foreign workers at a time when youth unemployment remains stubbornly high. […] In 2004, 23,869 young foreigners came to Canada to work under the program while 20,836 young Canadians left to work abroad. Eight years later, however, the program had mushroomed, with 58,094 foreign youth coming to Canada in 2012 but only 17,731 young Canadians had gone abroad. […] International Experience Canada was originally designed as a cultural exchange with the goal of having a “neutral effect” on the Canadian labour market. Under the Conservatives, however, it has shifted focus to become a temporary foreign worker program for those 18 to 35 years of age, Liberals say.
Déclaration du ministre Kenney sur le Mois du patrimoine asiatique
L’honorable Jason Kenney, ministre du Multiculturalisme, a fait la déclaration suivante au sujet du Mois du patrimoine asiatique. « Ce soir, je suis heureux de lancer officiellement la célébration nationale du Mois du patrimoine asiatique lors d’un événement organisé par le Musée canadien de la nature. Le Mois du patrimoine asiatique est l’occasion de réfléchir aux nombreuses contributions des Canadiens d’origine asiatique qui ont participé à l’édification de ce pays pluraliste et prospère dans lequel nous vivons aujourd’hui.
