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.
CTV News – Temporary Foreign Worker Program Abusers to Face Federal Fines
The federal government says it will bring in legislation to allow it to impose heavy penalties on firms that abuse the temporary foreign worker program. A government source says the measure will be contained in the budget implementation bill being tabled in Parliament later today. The new measures will be in place starting in early 2015. The source says the nature of the penalties have still to be determined, but it will be the strongest action the government has taken so far on the controversial issue. The legislation will authorize the employment minister to penalize employers who issue false declarations about their use of foreign workers or who use foreign workers to replace Canadians.
CBC – Mexican Man in Montreal Gets a Stay in Deportation Order
A Mexican man who was supposed to be deported Saturday due to a misunderstanding with a Canada Border Services Agency agent has been granted permission to stay in Canada a little longer. Miguel Luna was arrested and detained after a Tuesday meeting with an immigration agent held to discuss his imminent departure date. Luna asked if he could stay in Montreal until May 10 so that he could finish up his work contract at LaSalle College’s cafeteria, pay his Quebec income taxes and buy his plane ticket. The agent denied his request for extension, giving him until late April. But due to a misunderstanding about the purchase of his plane ticket and his address, the agent detained him and ordered his immediate removal from Canada. […] He is returning to Mexico to attend university so that he can apply for immigration to Canada in the future, and provided CBSA with proof of his enrolment.
Radio Canada International – Saskatchewan: 13 nouveaux citoyens canadiens francophones
Treize francophones qui vivent à Régina, dans les Praires canadiennes, ont reçu leur citoyenneté canadienne jeudi. Ils ont prêté serment lors d’une cérémonie qui s’est déroulée au Musée Royal de la Saskatchewan. Parmi les 68 personnes qui ont prêté serment et qui sont maintenant devenus citoyens canadiens, Jean De Dieu Ndayahundwa. Originaire du Burundi, il a fait ses études en Belgique avant d’arriver au Canada en 2009. M. Ndayahundwa et sa fille de trois ans sont devenus canadiens. « C’est une grande fierté », dit le nouveau canadien.
Cameroonvoice – Immigration. Le Québec acceptera 70% de dossiers en moins à partir du 1er avril 2014
Les nouvelles règles concernant le nombre maximal de demandes qui seront reçues par le Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés du Québec (MICC), dans la catégorie des Travailleurs Qualifiés du Québec viennent enfin d’être publiées ! Ces dernières rentreront en vigueur à partir du 1er Avril 2014 et seront applicables jusqu’au 31 Mars 2015. D’ici quelques jours, le Programme régulier des Travailleurs Qualifiés du Québec acceptera seulement un maximum de 6 500 demandes de Certificat de Sélection du Québec (CSQ). Ce qui est près de 70% moins qu’entre le 1er Aout 2013 et le 31 Mars 2014 où le quota de demandes accepté avait été fixé à 20 000. Les objectifs du gouvernement en matière d’immigration permanente sont donc revus à la baisse.
Kawartha Region – Heritage Council Concerned About Citizenship Changes
With changes to Canadian immigration law pending, the Welland Heritage Council and Multicultural Centre is stepping up its efforts in assisting those pursuing Canadian citizenship. Those efforts included a workshop last week outlining the steps to citizenship and looming changes for would-be Canadians. Some changes have already come into effect, specifically in February the fee for citizenship doubled, from $200 to $400. Settlement counselor Jennifer Turner said some of her clients have already suffered a setback in their citizenship process because of the new fees. For many refugee and marginalized immigrants the fee can represent a considerable saving effort. Turner said some of her clients were almost at the $200 mark when the fees suddenly jumped. Some, she said, had already paid the $200 and began the process only to miss a deadline and have the new fees apply.
Globe and Mail – Officials Can’t Say Whether They Aided Canadian Who Died in U.K. Custody, Ottawa Says
Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs says privacy rules prevent its officials from saying whether they provided consular assistance to an elderly Canadian who died in Britain after he was mistakenly taken into immigration custody. […] In Britain, Mr. Dvorzak’s death has been raised in the House of Lords by David Ramsbotham, a former U.K. Chief Inspector of Prisons. “ It’s a terrible story,” Lord Ramsbotham said in a telephone interview from London. He said he wanted to know why a traveller in transit ended up at the Harmondsworth immigration removal centre, an overcrowded facility where staffers have been criticized for their excessive use of restraints. […] He said the U.K. Home Office, the department responsible for the removal centre, has long been criticized for the way it handles immigration detainees. […] “One of the things I’ve been particularly concerned about has been the inappropriate use of restraint techniques by immigration centre staff, which are based on prison techniques and are completely inappropriate for an immigration detainee,’ ” Lord Ramsbotham said.
