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.
Globe and Mail – Restaurant Lobby Pushes Back Against Kenney on Temporary Foreign Workers
Canada’s restaurant association is pushing back at federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney’s suggestion that it may be time to bar the use of temporary foreign workers for fast-food jobs. Mr. Kenney’s musings brought a mixed response from British Columbia and Alberta, where Canadians have allegedly been displaced from jobs in McDonald’s in favour of temporary foreign workers, raising questions about the program. […] While B.C.’s Jobs Minister saluted Mr. Kenney’s “aggressive” moves to deal with the misuse of the program, Alberta’s Labour Minister said it makes no sense to target fast-food restaurants and not other industries. […] On Tuesday, Mr. Kenney told CBC Radio One in British Columbia it wasn’t an “unreasonable question” to ask about limiting the use of the program for fast-food restaurants, given the availability of Canadian workers in most areas.
Chatham Daily News – Approximately 16,000 Foreign Workers Arriving in Ontario
Ontario’s population has been temporarily rising every spring for the past 48 years with the arrival of seasonal farm workers. Approximately 16,000 foreign workers are starting to arrive for this year’s growing season through the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). The workers come from Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad/Tobago and the Eastern Caribbean states. […] Ken Forth, president of the Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services (FARMS) board of directors, which administers SAWP applications, said this long-established program is successful because of the benefits it provides. Forth said it is estimated that for every foreign worker brought to Ontario, there’s two full-time jobs created in the agri-food industry. “We’re not taking jobs, we’re creating jobs,” Forth said. A lot of Canadians are hired in the agricultural industry to drive trucks and equipment, adding those jobs would “go by the wayside” if foreign workers didn’t come to work on fruit and vegetable farms, he added.
Toronto Star – Syrian Refugee Crisis Requires Bolder Action From Ottawa
Last year the government said it would give some priority to Syrian refugees and admit 1,300 by the end of 2014, but because Canadian processing times are two years or more, a month ago the minister stated that less than 10 such refugees had so far arrived in Canada. Ten! These numbers exclude Syrians arriving in Canada on their own to seek asylum, but in 2013 there were only 493 such asylum seekers, or less than 1 per cent of the 56,351 Syrian asylum seekers in 44 industrial countries. Other countries have already responded creatively to the Syrian crisis. Germany evacuated 5,000 Syrian refugees to Germany and will likely allow those people to become permanent residents. Sweden has given permanent resident status to more than 5,000 Syrians who had been living on a temporary basis in that country.
Radio Canada International – Les travailleurs canadiens attaqués de l’extérieur et de l’intérieur
Le printemps 2014 passera à l’histoire comme l’un des plus inquiétants pour ceux qui pensent que les emplois et les revenus des travailleurs canadiens sont de plus en plus menacés par les pressions d’une compétition déloyale. Il y aurait d’abord une menace extérieure, sous la forme du programme canadien des travailleurs étrangers temporaires. Ensuite, les travailleurs canadiens seraient menacés de l’intérieur grâce à une mauvaise utilisation des programmes d’embauche de stagiaires non rémunérés. D’autres employés et anciens employés de McDonald’s à travers le Canada viennent de dénoncer ses dernières heures la réduction de leurs heures de travail et de leur salaire au profit de travailleurs étrangers temporaires.
Rabble – Temporary Foreign Workers: How Federal Settlement Policies Overlook Some Newcomers
Prior to the federal government’s changes to the delivery model of settlement services in 2012, these services were a provincial responsibility in Manitoba, Quebec and British Columbia. As a result of federal and provincial agreements, the settlement service framework gave these provinces considerable discretion over how services were implemented, funded and delivered, with the purposes of addressing region-specific needs. There was an acknowledgement that individual regions had unique settlement needs and that service delivery should be tailored rather than implemented in one-size-fits-all fashion. However this has all changed. In 2012, the federal government centralized Canada’s immigration policies. Provision, design and implementation of settlement services are now overseen by the federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration. […] Settlement service delivery, particularly in smaller, non-traditional immigrant destinations in Manitoba, faces considerable adjustments to their current practices as they lose the autonomy based in locally managed service delivery.
Global Post – Refugee Set on Life in Canada Fights Lingering Suspicions from 9/11-Era Arrest
A Toronto-area refugee says his efforts to build a new life in Canada are being stymied by the federal government’s lingering – but long discredited – suspicions about his past. In a rare interview, Hassan Almrei says his arrest 13 years ago on a national security certificate continues to haunt him, even though the certificate was tossed out more than four years ago. Almrei, 40, has long sought permanent resident status, and he hopes to become a Canadian citizen.
