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.
London Free Press – London Police Charge Three People with Using Phony IDs to Write English Proficiency Exams
They pay far more than Canadians do to go to school here, but some foreign students apparently are willing to fork out even more — under the table. Three Toronto-area residents are charged with forgery and personation in an exam-sitting scam, in which London police say foreign students were charged up to $7,000 for someone else to write their English proficiency test for them. More charges could come, a Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson suggested.
Globe and Mail – Swiss Quotas Threaten the Best of the European Project
Switzerland recently voted to impose immigration quotas in what amounts to a direct challenge against the European Union, where most foreigners who settle in that country originate. The result of the referendum, which gives the Swiss government three years to renegotiate its international agreements and bring them into line with the decision to place caps on newcomers, has shaken the foundations of Europe’s single market. It also foreshadows the strength of the far-right vote in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament.
Le 19 février 2014, le projet de loi 161 portant sur les nouvelles dispositions législatives en matière d’immigration en Ontario a été lu en première lecture devant l’Assemblée législative. Il énonce entre autres que le gouvernement peut établir des programmes pour favoriser l’établissement et l’intégration en Ontario d’immigrants. Il autorise l’établissement de programmes de sélection des immigrants et les régit. Autre grande nouveauté, toute personne ou tout organisme peut présenter une demande d’agrément au titre d’un programme de sélection afin d’aider le recrutement d’immigrants en Ontario. Ce qui est important pour les francophones de l’Ontario est que pour la première fois, il est clairement énoncé dans un projet de loi l’importance de protéger les intérêts vitaux des francophones en matière d’immigration.
South China Morning Post – Canadian Court Victory for Group of Chinese Migration Applicants
Would-be migrants who were dumped from Canada’s visa queue when Ottawa axed its millionaire migration scheme have won the right to challenge the decision in the courts, in a key legal victory for the mostly Chinese applicants. A group of 95 disgruntled applicants were granted leave by Canada’s Federal Court on Friday to seek a judicial review of February’s decision that resulted in about 50,000 rich Chinese having their immigration applications terminated. […] Leahy, who heads the Forefront Migration consultancy, said the decision to simply eliminate backlogged applications when it was announced that the Immigrant Investor Programme was being ended represented “moral bankruptcy” by the Canadian government.
CBC – Canada Falling Behind on Promise to Syria’s Refugees
The UN agency responsible for refugees is calling on Canada to increase the number of Syrian refugees it is willing to resettle because of the deepening crisis there. Last summer, Canada committed to taking in 1,300 Syrians by the end of 2014. So far, though, Immigration Minister Chris Alexander estimated no more than 10 have arrived in Canada from refugee camps in the Middle East. Alexander said their arrival had been slowed because the UN had only just started to identify and refer those most in need to Ottawa. But those involved in sponsoring potential refugees here point to a different problem. Martin Mark is the director of the Office for Refugees for the Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, and his desk is piled high with files of dozens of Syrians wanting to come to Canada. Part of the challenge, Mark said, is the complicated system for sponsoring these people.
Montreal Gazette – Roma Find Short-lived Solace in Montreal
After fleeing persecution in Europe, families who have found peace and acceptance here are now facing deportation. […] The Szabos, who did not want their real names published for fear of reprisals should they end up back in Hungary, are just one among dozens of Roma families who in the last two years have come from Hungary to Montreal North, and from Croatia to LaSalle, in search of a better life — and a better education. The neighbourhoods are chosen through word of mouth, or because a family member is there already. But many of them, lumped together as “bogus refugees” by the federal government, have already been deported, and the Szabos know they could be next. In the meantime, the influx of Roma has been a challenge for the schools and the teachers, who like most Montrealers know nothing about the Roma people, or the baggage they carry.
