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.
Metro News – Nations Within a Nation: Immigrants Band Together for Support
Dr. Mohammed Qadeer, professor emeritus of urban and regional planning at Queen’s University in Kingston, said there are two dimensions to ethnic enclaves. The first is a “residential concentration of people” and the other is a combination of various facilities, commercial establishments and churches, which together comprise an ethnic enclave. “The most concentrated residential groups are Jews and then Italians and then Portuguese,” Qadeer said. Ultimately, the communities within communities help more established immigrants support those who are newer to Canada. […] A 2003 Statistics Canada report cast ethnic enclaves in a bad light. […] A follow-up paper “debunked that myth.” […] Another myth is that the words “enclave” and “ghetto” can be used interchangeably. “Ghetto is an old word which is based on racial and economic exclusion,” Dr. Mohamamd Qadeer of Queen’s University said. “A ghetto is also a large concentration of poverty. “Enclaves are not ghettos.”
The Prince George Citizen – IMSS Receives Funding to Serve More People
The Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society is opening its doors to a previously under-served segment of the immigrant community. At the beginning of the month, the local agency received funding to provide services to temporary foreign workers, refugee claimants and live-in caregivers. “We were very concerned about 35 to 40 per cent of our clients who were not eligible for our services under the funding of [Citizenship and Immigration Canada],” said IMSS executive director Baljit Sethi. The province forked over more than $130,000 to IMSS for settlement services and English language classes for those previously ineligible. […] For more than a decade, Sethi said she was asking for support, especially for temporary foreign workers, but the provincial government turned them down because it was a federally funded program with strict rules. “But we said that Alberta is providing services to temporary foreign workers,” she said. “What is the difference? Why can’t we do it in B.C.?”
Globe and Mail – B.C. Parish Stymied in Syrian Refugee Effort
Rev. Biloues, himself a refugee of the Iraq war who arrived in Canada via Syria in 2005, is now focusing on bringing members of Syria’s minority Christian population to Canada. Despite promises of settling 1,300 Syrian refugees by the end of the year, Rev. Biloues said Ottawa has not been a willing partner. […] Rev. Biloues said many families in his parish would privately sponsor Syrian refugees. But delays at the case processing office in Winnipeg and then with visa offices abroad mean it is unlikely any will arrive by the end of the year, Rev. Biloues and other refugee advocates say.
The Guardian – 4,000 Immigrants Reach Italy by Boat in 48 Hours – as Minister Calls EU for Help
Italy says 4,000 immigrants have reached its shores by boat in the past two days – the highest number since it began a naval operation to handle the influx after two shipwrecks last year. “The landings are non-stop and the emergency is increasingly glaring,” the interior minister, Angelino Alfano, said. […] He claims up to 600,000 people from Africa and the Middle East are ready to set off from Libyan shores. “Europe must take the situation in hand. It cannot say that, having given €80m (£66m) to Frontex, the problem has been resolved,” he said, referring to the European Union’s border control agency.
Express Ottawa – Des interrogations sur le défi de 5% d’immigration francophone
Un objectif chiffré pour dynamiser l’immigration francophone en Ontario. C’est éventuellement ce qui pourrait arriver si le projet de loi 161, présenté récemment en première lecture à Queen’s Park, est validé de façon définitive par les députés ontariens. Cette barre de 5% fixée reste en tout cas pour le président de l’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO) Denis Vaillancourt une mesure novatrice. «C’est la première fois qu’un gouvernement en Ontario donne un engagement chiffré sur l’immigration francophone. C’est un appui important à notre minorité.» […] Le projet, présenté en première lecture le 19 février, vise à conserver le poids démographique des francophones en Ontario, notamment en assurant que 5% des nouveaux immigrants s’expriment dans la langue de Molière.
Radio Canada International – Les futurs citoyens canadiens devront-ils toujours prêter serment à la reine Élizabeth II?
Trois résidents permanents de longue date réclament l’abolition du serment de citoyenneté. Selon eux, le serment à la reine est discriminatoire et viole leurs croyances religieuses et leur conscience. Les trois plaignants, un Israélien, un Irlandais et une Jamaïcaine, contestent un jugement précédent de la Cour supérieure de l’Ontario, qui avait statué que le serment d’allégeance était constitutionnel. Défendant leur cause devant la Cour d’appel de l’Ontario, le plus haut tribunal de l’Ontario, leur avocat, Me Peter Rosenthal, a déclaré que de permettre aux futurs citoyens de ne pas prononcer un serment à la reine ne causerait aucun dommage et leur permettrait de préserver leur sentiment d’intégrité.
