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 – Ottawa aura à l’oeil les entreprises qui emploient des travailleurs étrangers
Le gouvernement fédéral a déposé un projet de loi qui lui permettrait d’imposer de lourdes pénalités aux entreprises qui abusent du programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires. La mesure est incluse dans le projet de loi de mise en oeuvre du budget, présenté au Parlement vendredi. Les nouvelles mesures entreraient en vigueur au début de 2015, mais les pénalités ne sont pas encore déterminées, a indiqué Alexandra Fortier, l’attachée de presse du ministre de l’Emploi, Jason Kenney. La loi autoriserait le ministère de l’Emploi à pénaliser les employeurs qui font de fausses déclarations quant à leur utilisation de travailleurs étrangers, ou qui ont recours à des travailleurs étrangers pour remplacer des Canadiens.
Bas-Saint-Laurent – Cap dur la régionalisation de l’immigration
Afin que les régions puissent bénéficier des retombées tant démographiques qu’économiques de l’immigration, le Québec s’est doté d’un réseau national de régionalisation. Ce Réseau des Organismes de Régionalisation de l’Immigration du Québec (RORIQ) est composé de dix-neuf organismes représentant onze régions du Québec, y compris l’organisme Accueil et intégration Bas-Saint-Laurent et de quatre organismes qui constituent les portes d’entrée montréalaises pour la régionalisation de l’immigration. Les membres de RORIQ sont des pionniers dans le domaine de la promotion de la vie en région et ils en demeurent les moteurs et jouent plusieurs rôles. Ainsi, à Rimouski, depuis les 5 dernières années, Accueil et intégration Bas-Saint-Laurent a fait la promotion de la MRC de Rimouski-Neigette auprès de 1 300 personnes immigrantes, a accueilli 190 personnes immigrantes dans la MRC.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada News Release – Mississauga Welcomes More New Citizens
Approximately 2,400 new citizens from more than 125 countries were welcomed to Canada at citizenship ceremonies held by Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Mississauga office over the past two weeks. Ceremonies like these demonstrate how the government is working to make the citizenship program more efficient, helping more people realize sooner their dream of becoming Canadian. The government’s proposed changes in Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, will also reduce wait times by streamlining the decision-making process for citizenship. It is expected that these changes will bring the average processing time for citizenship applications down to under one year and that the current backlog will be reduced by more than 80 percent by 2015-2016.
Toronto Sun – Guaranteed Income Supplement Changes Take Burden Off Taxpayers, Kenney says
Immigrant families, not taxpayers, should be on the hook to support family reunifications in Canada, said Employment Minister Jason Kenney. Kenney was defending his government’s policy Friday that makes it harder for elderly immigrants to receive taxpayer subsidies. The Guaranteed Income Supplement is provided to the poorest Canadians in old age. Immigrants who arrive under the parents and grandparents program has traditionally been able to qualify for GIS after living here 10 years. Through that program, the immigrant is sponsored by a family member who signs a declaration saying they bear financial responsibility for the relative for 10 years. The measure, brought in through the budget implementation bill, proposes to extend the sponsorship period from 10 to 20 years and disallows immigrants from applying for GIS while they are sponsored.
Al Jazeera America – Vancouver`s Housing Boom Could Head South Along with Chinese Rich
A housing price boom in Vancouver fueled by the arrival of wealthy Chinese investors could be heading south of the border after the Ottawa government rescinded its immigrant investor scheme — and not everyone is happy about it. […] President of the U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce Siva Yam said the end of Canada’s investor visa in February, which chucked some 65,000 applications, mostly from Chinese nationals, “will draw some Chinese investors to America” who would otherwise have made a bid for Canadian residency. The Canadian Immigrant Investor program was simpler than its U.S. counterpart: A foreign investor worth at least $1.6 million had to lend the Canadian government $800,000 without interest for a period of five years. Under the U.S. system, EB-5-seekers must invest $1 million, or $500,000 in state-designated “Targeted Employment Areas,” and prove they created at least 10 jobs for American residents for a minimum of two years.
Winnipeg Free Press – Harder Times for Refugees: Agency Chief
These days, Janet Dench feels like she’s stepped back in time to when she started at the Canadian Council for Refugees. Back then, in the 1980s, refugees were slagged as immigration “queue-jumpers” rather than people in need of protection whom Canada welcomed, said the executive director of the council that represents 170 non-government organizations. “In some ways, things come around in a cycle,” she said Wednesday. Dench was in Winnipeg to meet with the Manitoba Refugee Sponsors at their monthly meeting. A “proud to protect refugees” campaign this year aims to switch cycles, said Dench, who is based in Montreal. Canada’s immigration policy has undergone a “massive change,” she said. In 2000, for the first time, the number of temporary foreign workers — with no status or options — outnumbered new permanent residents in Canada, said Dench.
