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.
CBC – Decisions by Refugee Appeal Division Members Vary Widely
An analysis of past decisions by current members of the Immigration and Refugee Board’s appeal division shows wide discrepancies in the rate of positive decisions, a fact that’s concerning to many refugee advocates. Eighteen out of the 19 members currently listed on the IRB’s website as adjudicators for the two-year-old Refugee Appeal Division worked previously for the Refugee Protection Division, which makes the initial decision on whether to grant refugee status. CBC News analyzed decisions to grant or deny refugee status in 2013 by the 18 members now at the appeal division and found that several members decided to grant refugee status at a rate far below the average. The analysis is based on decision rates compiled by refugee law expert Sean Rehaag at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. For example, four of the members granted refugee status to claimants less than 20 per cent of the time. Another eight granted refugee status more than 20 but less than 30 per cent of the time.
Radio-Canada – Une histoire pour chaque nouveau visage
Les nouveaux arrivants font de plus en plus partie du paysage fransaskois, mais quelle est leur histoire? Comment se sont-ils retrouvés en Saskatchewan? Notre vidéojournaliste, Vincent H. Turgeon, a profité de la journée d’accueil du nouvel arrivant à Saskatoon, organisée par la Communauté des Africains Francophones de la Saskatchewan, pour rencontrer quelques-uns de ces nouveaux visages et leur demander de lui partager le récit de leur arrivée dans la province. Certains ont un passé de réfugié ou d’étudiant en URSS au moment de l’effondrement de l’empire soviétique. Pour d’autres, la réputation des hivers glaciaux des prairies avait créé une certaine appréhension. Une chose est sûre, avec chaque nouveau visage vient s’ajouter une nouvelle histoire au grand livre de la Fransaskoisie.
Nearly seven in 10 Canadians think employers regularly abuse the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, a government-sponsored survey shows. Despite that, more than half support the controversial program, according to the Harris/Decima survey of 1,984 Canadians, commissioned by Employment and Social Development Canada. The $95,000 survey, conducted last May, found that 57 per cent of Canadians strongly or somewhat support the temporary foreign workers program. Just 32 per cent say they are opposed. Asked if some employers abuse the program by not doing enough to recruit Canadians, 68 per cent said yes and just 19 per cent said no. Moreover, 54 per cent of those who said yes believe employers abuse the program all the time or frequently. Just six per cent think it rarely occurs. Despite the program’s high profile in the past couple of years, only four in 10 Canadians said they were somewhat or very familiar with it. […] Asked if the program should be reformed or abolished, 58 per cent said it should be reformed while about one in three favoured abolition. The survey is considered accurate to within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
A family of four Syrian refugees had a warm reception in Charlottetown Sunday afternoon. The Sabra family arrived in Charlottetown three weeks ago. They were sponsored by the Charlottetown Diocese Refugee Committee. The family fled Syria over a year ago, and have been living in Jordan as refugees for more than a year. […] Dan Doran, with the Charlottetown Diocese Refugee Committee, worked to bring the Sabra family to Prince Edward Island. “It’s always a pleasure, this is the reward at the end of the day for the work that we all do. It’s very satisfying, to say the least — not only to see the family here, but the happiness for the family members, to have their family reunited,” he said. Doran says two more Syrian families are awaiting approval to come to P.E.I. He’s hopeful Canada will welcome greater numbers of refugees in the days to come, but admits it’s unlikely the federal government will meet its commitment to bring 1,300 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of 2014. Statistics tabled in the House of Commons last week show 457 refugees had arrived, as of mid-November.
Toronto Star – Simcoe Clinic in a Grocery Store Breaks Barriers for Migrant Farm Workers
Migrant farm workers have been lining up at Simcoe Town Centre every Thursday or Friday evening since May for a free shuttle bus to the Real Canadian Superstore three kilometres away. Their focus isn’t groceries so much as a unique health office, Clinicas De Salud Para Trabajadores Agricolas Migratorios, or Agricultural Seasonal Worker Clinic, housed in the food chain’s extra space. The clinic was created to serve the more than 4,000 migrant farm workers toiling at farms and greenhouses in the region south of Brantford. Designed to eliminate some of the systemic barriers migrant workers face in getting basic health care, the pilot project has been a resounding success — reducing visits by such workers to the Norfolk General Hospital. “These folks work long hours and have no transportation. Some don’t speak the language,” said Peter Szota, executive director of the Grand River Community Health Centre, which runs the clinic. “This is a great example of breaking down the barriers for access.”
CBC – Foreign Workers: Microsoft gets Green Light from Ottawa for Foreign Trainees
The federal government has granted an exemption to Microsoft Canada that will allow the company to bring in an unspecified number of temporary foreign workers to British Columbia as trainees without first looking for Canadians to fill the jobs. A notice posted on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website says foreign workers will receive specialized training in a new human resources development centre in the province. The tech giant will not have to perform a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) — a rigorous process that would include a search for Canadians who could fill the positions. The exemption was granted under a provincial-federal agreement that gives a pass to companies that gain provincial approval. The Canadian government argues the arrangement is the result of a significant investment by Microsoft that will create jobs for Canadians as well at a new 400-person training centre. Nevertheless, some legal observers say the decision appears at odds with the government’s promise to crack down on abuse in the system in order to protect Canadian jobs.
