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.
The Varsity – Inside the Student Refugee Program
In early September, as the academic year settles in at the University of Toronto’s three campuses, a handful of students arrive at Pearson Airport, anxiously awaiting the start of their university careers. These students are refugees, sponsored through the collaborative efforts of the University of Toronto and the World University Service of Canada (WUSC). […] In spite of its broad impact, WUSC is a little-known entity on campus. Many students are unaware of the role they play in supporting student refugees through the SPR. The SPR is made possible through the WUSC levy, a fund that each student at the university contributes to. The fee itself is nominal, but its reverberations for the refugee students are quite significant. The fees allow them to leave their countries of asylum and enter Canada as permanent residents in order to pursue an undergraduate degree, with assistance provided by the levy.
Globe and Mail – Five Key Facets of Canada’s Shakeup in Immigration Policy
Canada is overhauling its immigration program, cutting backlogs, tweaking existing programs and introducing new ones. Critics have said some of the changes are heavy-handed and too focused on jobs, but the Conservatives – who expect Canada to welcome 250,000 new permanent residents this year – call it a legacy of the government. […] EOI is set to kick in next year and will allow would-be immigrants to be matched with jobs that need to be filled, and then processed within six months, much more quickly than immigration cases take now. […] Provinces get a quota of people to nominate for permanent residency. About 45,000 such new nominees are expected in 2014, but provinces have long asked for a higher quota. Mr. Alexander gave no signal they’d get it.
Globe and Mail – Ottawa to Revise Foreign-Worker Rules as Employers Complain of Delays
The Conservative government is preparing a second round of changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, as Canadian employers warn an overhaul last year has interfered with their ability to recruit top talent. The federal government overhauled the program last April in a bid to see Canadians getting first crack at jobs. Since then, the time needed for an approval, known as a Labour Market Opinion (LMO), to bring in foreign workers of all skill levels has ballooned and now takes months – too long, in the eyes of many in the private sector. […] Employment Minister Jason Kenney is now pledging a second round of reforms within the next two or three months, including the “likelihood” of a new fast-track system for high-skill positions.
Simcoe.com – Website to Help Employers Hire Immigrants
Employers in Simcoe County will soon have an online resource to help them through the process of hiring new immigrants. The Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration has awarded the county a grant to develop an enhanced website in partnership with the Simcoe Muskoka Workforce Development Board. The goal is to launch the new website by this spring.
Montreal Gazette – Bill 60 is Herouxville Writ Large
André Drouin is back in the saddle again. Last week, the former Hérouxville city councillor appeared at the provincial parliamentary committee examining Bill 60. […] To the surprise of exactly no one, Drouin is in support of the PQ’s proposed values charter — legislation that he argues is long overdue. […] It’s not a stretch to think of Hérouxville as the prototype for Bill 60. Hérouxville, for the uninitiated, is a rural farming town in the Mauricie region. In January of 2007, it became a flashpoint for heated debate on immigration and reasonable accommodation in Quebec, when the town council adopted a five-page code of conduct for newcomers thinking of settling in the community. The code was based on the results of a 20-question opinion poll undertaken by 196 of the approximately 1,300 local town residents, none of whom were immigrants, and almost all of whom were white, francophone and with Catholic roots.
CBC – Bastion of Tolerance, Sweden Opens Wide for Syria’s Refugees
On the northern fringes of Europe, Sweden has offered its hand to more Syrian refugees than any other Western nation, granting those who make it here permanent residency. And while its generosity has caused some tensions on the home front, including a modest rise in the anti-immigrant right, that has not stopped the Swedish government from lobbying its European counterparts to open their doors as well. […] Since 2012, Sweden had taken in at least 14,000 Syrian refugees at last count, which is 10 times the 1,300 Canada has promised to absorb over 2013 and 2014.
