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.
Ottawa Citizen – Immigration Minister Tells Ontario: Pay for Refugees’ Health Care Yourself
A week after Ontario began providing health care to many refugees, the federal government has firmly closed the door on either restoring the program it cut 18 months ago, or helping to pay for it. Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews has said she will present the federal government with a bill for the program the province set up to fill gaps after federal cuts to refugee health care. But the message from Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s office is blunt: If you want it, pay for it yourself. Canadians don’t want “failed asylum claimants and asylum claimants from safe countries receiving better health care benefits than Canadian taxpayers,” said Alexander’s press secretary Alexis Pavlich. […] Doctors working with refugees say the federal government is misleading Canadians about the situation — at the expense of refugees. […] “The tone from the (federal) government is that refugees are getting better health care than ordinary Canadians. That is just not true,” said Meb Rashid, a Toronto family physician and one of the founders of Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care.
Radio Canada International – Un microsite du Barreau du Québec dédié à l’immigration
Conçu comme une trousse d’outils pour guider les personnes désireuses d’immigrer au Québec et pour aider celles déjà en processus d’immigration, le microsite du Barreau du Québec est destiné au grand public et aux organismes impliqués dans le domaine. À la fine pointe de l’information juridique, le site met les visiteurs en lien avec plusieurs ressources gouvernementales ou spécialisées. Deux rubriques intéresseront plus particulièrement les immigrants: Arnaques et fraudes et Faciliter mon arrivée et mon installation. Dans cette section, il est question de justice, de logement, de santé, d’éducation, d’emploi, de langue, d’argent, de transport, de la famille et du milieu de vie.
La Presse – Une enseignante argentine se bat pour travailler
Le cas de Florencia Molina, sans permis d’enseignement, mais dans les faits qualifiée, illustre bien la situation d’un trop grand nombre de travailleurs étrangers recrutés par le Québec, mais qui se butent aux portes du marché du travail de leur société d’accueil. «Florencia n’est pas une exception, se désole Joanne Ouellette, directrice générale de l’organisme Solidarité ethnique régionale de la Yamaska (SERY). Dans tous les domaines avec des ordres, ça bloque. C’est ici que la game se joue. » Le 3 janvier dernier, La Voix de l’Est racontait l’histoire de Mme Molina, une enseignante d’espagnol et d’anglais formée dans l’une des meilleures écoles de son pays d’origine, l’Argentine […].
Radio Canada – Les détails sur la discrimination de la C.-B. envers les Sino-Canadiens sont dévoilés
Les détails contenus dans plus d’une centaine de documents qui démontrent des actes discriminatoires envers les Sino-Canadiens, approuvés par le gouvernement de la Colombie-Britannique, ont été publiés par le chef du Nouveau Parti démocratique (NPD), mercredi. Parmi ces documents se trouvent des projets de loi qui limitent l’immigration et qui interdisent aux Asiatiques de voter. Adrian Dix soutient que leur publication est une étape importante dans le processus qui mènera à des excuses officielles à la communauté chinoise de la province pour les torts historiques. Le gouvernement libéral tient actuellement des discussions publiques au sujet de ces excuses, mais, selon Adrian Dix, ces discussions manquent de substance, car les Britanno-Colombiens ne savent pas de quoi s’excuse la province.
Prince George Citizen – Helping Vulnerable Students
Although it has been 14 years since her death, Sorkomova’s legacy is a harsh reminder for UNBC, as well as CNC, to monitor the mental health of their students closely, particularly their substantial body of international students. […] “Her fear, shame and precipitating sense of hopelessness may have been contributing factors in her decision to take her own life,” wrote coroner Beth Larcombe in a 20-page report after an inquest was held into Sorkomova’s death. Larcombe recommended that UNBC improve its contact with its international students and hire more counselling staff. By the time the report came out, UNBC had already hired a full-time counsellor, to go with the part-time counsellor that had been working when Sorkomova died.
Toronto Star – Canada Urged to Speed Approval of Skilled Immigrants
Ottawa’s new skilled immigrant selection system must process applicants within two months if Canada hopes to outbid other countries in attracting the world’s best and brightest, warns a new report by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Immigration Minister Chris Alexander is set to launch the brand new “Expression of Interest” processing system (EOI) in early 2015 to replace the decades-old “first-in, first-out” mechanism for the federal skilled workers program. […] The proposed system is viewed as a huge opportunity to reverse the decrease in skilled-worker immigration to Ontario, which has seen its share of economic immigrants decline by 49 per cent, from 95,091 in 2001 to 48,930 in 2012, due to federal policy changes.
