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.
Radio Canada International – Une opinion lourde de poids contre le projet de charte des valeurs québécoises
La Commission des droits de la personne du Québec estime que plusieurs propositions du projet de Charte des valeurs québécoises du gouvernement de la première ministre Pauline Marois compromettent les droits et libertés. L’organisme croit que l’interdiction du port de signes religieux ostentatoires par les employés de l’État « ne passe pas le test » de la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne du Québec. La Commission pense aussi que l’encadrement des accommodements religieux proposé par le gouvernement Marois risque de nuire à d’autres types d’accommodements, par exemple pour les personnes handicapées.
Calgary Herald – Kenney Urges Companies to “Double, Triple” their Efforts to Hire Canadians
Federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney urged business owners Thursday to work harder to hire Canadians first, warning that the Temporary Foreign Worker program they may be depending on will not be allowed to keep growing at its current rate. […] Nearly 40 per cent of the more than 200,000 temporary foreign worker positions approved last year were for Alberta employers, who rely on out-of-country labour to address workforce shortages in the oilsands, on farms, and in fast-food restaurants. […] Kenney said a second round of reforms are in the works. These could include a reinstatement of the accelerated labour market opinion process that used to allow some employers to bring in temporary foreign workers faster. The fast-track process was eliminated earlier this year, but the government has floated the idea of bringing it back in a more limited way, focusing only on critical, highly skilled jobs.
The Windsor Star – Canada to Lift Travel Visas for Czechs
Within a matter of weeks, the federal government is expected to lift travel visas for those coming to Canada from the Czech Republic, Postmedia News has learned. Asked about the plan, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said in a statement that the government has been working “for some time to get to this place” and that the country has made “important changes” since the visa was first imposed four years ago. […] Canada slapped visas on the Czech Republic in 2009 due to skyrocketing asylum claims, many of them involving ethnic Roma. The move angered the central European nation, which vowed not to ratify the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) if Canada didn’t lift the visa requirement.
La Tribune – Elle quitte le pays puis revient illégalement
Une femme de 31 ans d’origine roumaine se retrouve derrière les barreaux après avoir franchi illégalement la frontière canado-américaine cette fin de semaine à Stanstead. Les six enfants qu’elle amenait avec elle ont été confiés à la DPJ. En attente d’une décision de Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada pour sa demande de réfugiée politique, Simona Ciuciu doit maintenant se défendre d’une accusation pénale d’être entrée au Canada sans se rapporter à un poste de douane. La femme de 31 ans avait demandé le statut de réfugié politique en 2011 en compagnie de ses enfants et de son mari après être entrée illégalement au Canada par la rue Church à Stanstead.
Canada.com – Prairies are the New Hot Spot for Newcomers to Canada
The traditional hotbeds of immigration across Canada are losing their lustre as jobs in the prairies look better than ever. Immigration to Saskatchewan nearly doubled between 2008 and 2012, according to new data from the federal government about where new permanent residents to Canada declare their place of settlement. In the same time, immigration to Alberta has risen nearly 65 per cent. Topping the growth charts is Yukon, which has seen immigration soar by nearly 150 per cent. […]The percentage of change can be misleading, though. Ontario still leads the country with more than twice the immigration level of any other province at 105,000 people in 2012.
Al Jazeera – Russia Detains Scores of Migrants After Riot
Russian police rounded up more than 1,600 immigrants in Moscow a day after rioting by nationalists over a fatal stabbing of a Russian that many residents blame on a man from the Caucasus region. Some 200 residents rallied in the Biryulyovo district on Monday to call for tougher policing of labour migrants, in a second day of protests over the stabbing death of an ethnic Russian, 25-year-old Yegor Shcherbakov. In apparent response, riot police rounded up 1,200 immigrants at a wholesale vegetable market in Biryulyovo which was the scene of attacks on workers on Sunday. […] A group that lobbies for labour migrants in Russia warned of an increased risk of ethnic violence in Moscow on Monday. “The nationalists are pursuing their political goals. This is clearly very dangerous. We are warning migrants to be careful for now in crowded areas and on public transportation,” said Mukhamad Amin, head of the Federation of Migrants of Russia.
