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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 – Facing Deportation to a Country that Doesn’t Want Him, an Ottawa-Born Man is Still Fighting for a Work Permit
The legal team representing a stateless Ottawa-born man who is facing deportation has put pressure on Canada’s immigration agency to grant their client a work permit. Since being released from an immigration holding centre in May, 23-year-old Deepan Budlakoti has been denied a work permit and forced to live with his parents under curfew, despite being born in Canada. Budlakoti drew attention to himself with a conviction on drug-related charges in 2010. The federal government is now trying to deport him because of a rarely used section of the Citizenship Act that states that if a child is born while the parents are foreign diplomats or foreigners working for a diplomat then the child is not considered a Canadian citizen. Budlakoti’s parents were working for India’s high commissioner when he was born, and at the time were not Canadian citizens. But the Indian government does not want Budlakoti and has refused to issue him travel documents.
CBC – 1st “Urgent” Syrian Refugees to Arrive in “Coming Months”
Two-hundred Syrian refugees to be accepted by the federal government as “urgent” cases have yet to arrive in Canada. Former immigration minister Jason Kenney said last month Canada would accept as many as 1,300 Syrian refugees by the end of next year, including 200 “extremely vulnerable, urgent cases.” But Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said in Ottawa on Friday none of those initial 200 refugees have yet arrived in Canada. […]The remaining 1,100 spots will be filled through private sponsorship rather than government resettlement.
Ottawa Citizen – Federal Government will Fund Hill Monument to Victims of Communism
An anti-communist group will get up to $1.5 million in federal funds to build a monument on Parliament Hill. Tribute to Liberty, a registered charity, has already received approval to build a memorial to people killed by communist regimes. […] On Friday, Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander jointly announced funding of “up to $1.5 million over two years” under Citizenship and Immigration’s Inter-Action program.
Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada – Communiqué – Le gouvernement du Canada appuie un projet de monument commémoratif aux victimes du communisme
L’honorable Jason Kenney, ministre responsable du Multiculturalisme, et Chris Alexander, ministre de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration du Canada, ont annoncé aujourd’hui l’appui fédéral à un monument commémoratif national aux dizaines de millions d’innocentes victimes de régimes communistes partout dans le monde. […] Tribute to Liberty reçoit jusqu’à 1,5 million de dollars sur deux ans dans le cadre du programme Inter-Action de Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada pour ériger ce monument commémoratif entre l’édifice de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada et la Cour suprême du Canada, à Ottawa. Les ministres Kenney et Alexander ont annoncé l’octroi du financement fédéral sur le site du monument à venir.
Radio-Canada – Québec se penche sur la neutralité religieuse des employés de l’État
Le ministre québécois des Institutions démocratiques et de la Participation citoyenne, Bernard Drainville, admet que le gouvernement péquiste de Pauline Marois s’interroge sur la neutralité religieuse des employés de l’État dans le cadre du projet de loi sur la charte québécoise des valeurs, qui doit être déposé cet automne. Lors d’une entrevue accordée à l’émission Première heure, diffusée à ICI Radio-Canada Première, à Québec, le ministre a réitéré que les propositions qu’il entend présenter visent à assurer des balises pour encadrer les demandes d’accommodements raisonnables présentées sur des bases religieuses et à assurer la neutralité de l’État.
CBC – CFIB Calls for More Foreign Workers in Twitter Chat with Minister
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says the number of job vacancies dropped slightly during the second quarter of this year but stressed that there are still 289,800 full- and part-time private sector jobs that remain unfilled. The association representing small and mid-size business also spoke out Thursday in favour of the controversial temporary workers program in a Twitter chat with Employment and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney. “Many CFIB members would like to see lower-skilled TFWs (temporary foreign workers) qualify for permanent residence,” tweeted CFIB president Dan Kelly during the chat.
