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 – Travailleurs migrants : « invisibles et jetables » ?
Le 18 décembre marque la journée internationale des migrants, ces 232 millions d’hommes, de femmes et d’enfants de par le monde qui vivaient hors de leur pays natal en 2013. Au Canada, environ une personne sur cinq est née à l’étranger, la plus forte proportion de tous les pays du G8. Et chaque année, quelque 200 000 travailleurs viennent d’ailleurs pour occuper un emploi temporairement. Ceux qui sont peu spécialisés — les travailleurs saisonniers agricoles, les aidants familiaux — vivent dans une « situation de grande vulnérabilité », selon la Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse. Pour sensibiliser la population à leur sort, ils raconteront mercredi leurs expériences par le biais de photos, de peintures et de poèmes sur le thème « Invisibles et jetables », dans le cadre d’une soirée artistique à Vancouver. La cinéaste et militante Marie Boti a fait des enjeux de la migration le sujet de plusieurs de ses documentaires.
Star Phoenix – New Immigrants Do Best in Saskatchewan
The wage gap between Canadian-born citizens and immigrants in Saskatchewan is lower than in any other province, according to a Statistics Canada report. From 2000 to 2010, the low-income rate among immigrants in Saskatchewan dropped significantly. The rate is a number based on StatsCan’s low-income cutoffs for after-tax income. In 2000, “recent immigrants” – those who had been in Canada for less than five years – had a low-income rate of 37.3. Ten years later, the rate was 14.7. […] Although the report didn’t give a detailed analysis of the reasons Saskatchewan’s immigrants are doing better, one of its authors, Feng Hou, said the provincial economy likely played a role. Saskatchewan has the lowest rate of unemployment in the country, and “labour shortage” is entrenched in the current provincial rhetoric. John Hopkins, CEO of the Regina Chamber of Commerce, said the province’s approach to immigration in solving that labour shortage is a factor in the positive StatsCan numbers.
Vancouver Sun – Injured Migrants Fear Being Reported to CBSA by Hospitals
People without legal status in Canada are increasingly afraid to go to hospitals for fear of being reported to the Canada Border Services Agency, a community health group claims. Such people are staying away from emergency rooms because there have been several instances of the billing departments of hospitals passing on information to immigration authorities, said Byron Cruz of the group Sanctuary Health. […]Vancouver Coastal Health Authority spokeswoman Anna Marie D’Angelo said hospitals are primarily concerned with providing health care and do not involve themselves in non-care issues such as immigration. The only reason a health authority’s billing department would contact the CBSA would be to verify whether a patient not covered by B.C.’s Medical Services Plan is a resident or non-resident. […] In an email response to questions from The Sun, the CBSA said its officers “may enter, or seek the appropriate warrant to enter, any building, including hospitals, in which a person who has contravened the (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act) may be staying. … If someone was in hospital, they would have to be officially discharged before we would take them from the establishment.”
Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada – Communique – Promotion de la création d’emplois et de la croissance économique : Le gouvernement dévoile un programme pilote de capital de risque pour les investisseurs immigrants
Le ministre de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration, Chris Alexander, a annoncé aujourd’hui que le Canada dévoilera un programme pilote en janvier 2015 pour attirer des immigrants expérimentés du milieu des affaires, en mesure d’investir activement dans l’économie canadienne et de stimuler l’innovation, la croissance économique et la création d’emplois. Le nouveau Programme pilote de capital de risque pour les investisseurs immigrants est partie intégrante des changements transformationnels fondés sur l’engagement du gouvernement de bâtir un système d’immigration économique rapide et souple. En plus d’avoir à investir 2 M$ pour 15 ans et de posséder une valeur nette de 10 M$, les investisseurs immigrants devront répondre à certains critères d’admissibilité liés à la langue et à la scolarité et devront démontrer une expérience en matière de commerce ou d’investissement. Cela permettra de s’assurer que les investisseurs immigrants auront un grand impact dans l’économie canadienne, et que ceux qui sont admis comme résident permanent seront bien préparés pour s’intégrer dans le milieu des affaires et dans la société du Canada.
Bay Today – Multicultural Centre Gets Cash for Incubator
A downtown business incubator will open February 2nd, thanks to financial contributions from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and FedNor, among others. The incubator, to be named Enterprise Genesis, is the product of 18 months of work by the North Bay Newcomer Network’s (NNN) entrepreneurial sub-committee, chaired by Nipissing University School of Business Chair Dr. John Nadeau. NNN is the Local Immigration Partnership project for North Bay, funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. It is operated by the North Bay and District Multicultural Centre. The Trillium Foundation grant is $116,500 over two years and the FedNor grant is $91,676 over two years.
Star Phoenix – Feds Increase Number of Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominees
The federal government has announced there will be an additional 51 nominations under the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) in December. The increase brings this year’s SINP nomination cap to 4,818. The number of nominees in Saskatchewan has increased from 1,517 in 2007 to 4,793 (an increase of 216 per cent). “With Saskatchewan’s economy booming, it’s vital that newcomers to Canada know that opportunities abound on the prairies,” stated Federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chris Alexander in a news release. “For those who come to Canada, who play by the rules and who are willing to work hard, Saskatchewan is one of the best places to be right now.” In 2015 the SINP nomination cap will be increased to 5,500 – a jump of 15 per cent over 2014.
