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.
National Post – Canada Won’t Accept Palestinian Refugees Displaced by Controversial Israeli Settlements: ¬Immigration Minister
Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said Sunday Canada will not get involved in resettling Palestinian refugees displaced by the expansion of controversial Israeli settlements. […] The remarks are an apparent reversal of Canada’s official position on the decades-old territorial dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, in which it has offered Canada as a home for some of the refugees displaced.
London Community News – Speed Immigration for Economy’s Sake: Chambers
London employers want Ottawa to think fast and move faster to open Canada’s borders to immigrants with in-demand skills. A new report from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the London Chamber of Commerce says the federal government should treat as customers both businesses and skilled foreign nationals and cut the time it takes to process an immigration application. If that doesn’t happen, Canada and this province in particular could fall behind in the global race for international students and skilled workers. […] The report includes 13 recommendations and was partially based on information gathered at a series of roundtables, including one at the London Chamber, with Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Michael Coteau.
CTV News – Daughter Defends Couple’s Controversial Testimony on Values Charter
Proponents of Bill 60 say it’s an important plan that would increase gender equality and shield the province from what has been described as encroaching religious fundamentalism. Critics have called the minority PQ government’s project unnecessary and an attack on personal freedoms that violates the federal and Quebec charters of rights. […] Opponents believe the PQ could use identity as a wedge issue in the province’s next election campaign, which some observers predict could begin as early as next month. […] “There are a lot of people who are misinformed and who sincerely believe that their way of life is threatened by requests from immigrants, especially people who live outside the area of Montreal who are not really in daily contact with immigrants,” said Bourget of Quebec Inclusif, a lobby group with a mix of federalist and sovereigntist voices opposed to the proposal.
Global News – The Parti Quebecois is Playing a Dangerous Game with the Charter of Values
For those that missed it, last week Quebec was back in the pages of the New York Times. A cross section of academics, politicians and individual citizens (myself included) put pen to paper with the hopes of letting the world know what is taking place behind the official narrative the Parti Quebecois is deploying to justify taking away long established individual rights under the proposed Quebec “Charter of Values.” […] It was in response to the op-ed, “Quebec’s Latest Stand” published in the New York Times on January 10, by Quebec’s provincial minister for international affairs and the city of Montreal. The author, Jean-Francois Lisée, told the world that his minority government’s plan to ban ostentatious religious symbols “sets out a vision of government that breaks sharply with Canada’s broader multicultural ethos.” Lisée tried to make a causal link between Canadian multiculturalism and the rise of radical Islam. While every society should be concerned about religious extremism, it would seem that Lisée purposely obfuscated fiction for fact. He failed to mention that it is not the federal Canadian government, but the province of Quebec that pretty much controls its own immigration policies, which are designed to give priority entry to French-speaking immigrants. This is why so many new Canadian citizens living in Quebec hail from northern Africa.
Guinée News – Portrait : le parcours exceptionnel d’un africain, immigrant handicapé, à Montréal
Marié et père de trois enfants âgés de 7 ans, 3 ans et 9 mois, Mody Maka Barry est directeur général de Handicap Action Intégration (H-A-I), un organisme communautaire à but non lucratif établi à Montréal. Personne à mobilité réduite, M. Barry fait de sa mission un sacerdoce : intégration par l’emploi des personnes en situation de handicap. Du communautaire à la politique, il s’investit, s’épanouit et s’accomplit dans la ferme ambition de « faire découvrir aux personnes à mobilité réduite les forces intérieures qui sont cachées en eux ». Passionné, il est convaincu que c’est seulement par le travail qu’une personne en situation de handicap réalise une vie saine et accomplie.
Calgary Herald – Tibetans Warmly Welcomed in Calgary, Their New Home
After overcoming incredible odds, eight Tibetans started their new lives in Calgary on Saturday as they landed in the warm embrace of strangers who will help them learn a new culture, build a new future. They are the first of 400 displaced Tibetans who will arrive in Calgary over the next three years under a national resettlement program. […] The Tibetans had been living in exile in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in eastern India. Until they stepped off a plane into Calgary International Airport, they had been stateless – without a nationality – but the resettlement program grants them permanent residency status in Canada, Dorjee said. […] For the first couple weeks, they will stay in accommodations provided by the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, a non-profit group that offers settlement and integration services to immigrants and refugees in southern Alberta.
