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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.
La Presse – Immigration: Ottawa doit tenir compte de la réalité des communautés francophones
Le Commissariat aux langues officielles exhorte Ottawa à agir sans plus tarder pour pallier le déséquilibre migratoire dont les communautés francophones en situation minoritaire font les frais. Le gouvernement fédéral ne devrait pas seulement établir des priorités dans la sélection des candidats en fonction de considérations économiques, mais aussi en tenant compte de la force vive que représente l’immigration francophone en situation minoritaire, soutient-on dans un rapport déposé mardi. Car il existe actuellement un déséquilibre migratoire au chapitre de la langue parlée par les nouveaux arrivants qui débarquent au Canada, selon le commissaire Graham Fraser, qui a élaboré le document avec son homologue de l’Ontario, François Boileau. «J’ai pensé que c’était urgent de faire des recommandations au gouvernement», a soutenu M. Fraser en point de presse à l’Université d’Ottawa, où le rapport a été présenté. Le Canada n’a jamais atteint la cible globale de 4 pour cent qu’il s’était fixée en matière d’immigration au sein des communautés francophones en situation minoritaire.
Asian Pacific Post – International Students Give Canada Top Marks
Foreign students from Asia and the Middle East give Canada top marks affordability and safety, a new international survey shows. Canada is also given top rankings for its student visa programs, making it easier for international students to work while studying, and its multiculturalism. The survey of 1,000 students from Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, China, India, Bangladesh and Middle East also found that international students was conducted by the global education agency IDP. The survey is great news for Canada, which is pushing forth with its International Education Strategy that aims to double the number of international students and researchers — to 450,000 — in Canada by 2022 in an effort to create jobs and stimulate the domestic economy. Canadian full-time undergraduate students pay an average of $5,700 in tuition every year. International students, meanwhile, can pay three times that amount — or an average of $19,500 every year.
Toronto Star – Immigrants Took the Brunt of Recession-Year Turn Toward Self-Employment
The recession of 2008 drove many Torontonians in the direction of self-employment — with new immigrants taking the biggest brunt of the shrinking job market, according to a new study. Between 2008 and 2009, the city’s self-employment rate rose from 15.7 per cent to 17.1 per cent, above the provincial and national benchmarks, says the joint report by Social Planning Toronto and Newcomer Women’s Services Toronto. Among self-employed immigrants, 39 per cent had lost their paid employment just before they became self-employed. Some 63 per cent reported earning less than $10,000 a year, compared with about 57 per cent for non-newcomers, says the report, titled “The economy and resilience of newcomers,” to be released Tuesday. […] Based on previously unreleased Statistics Canada data and interviews with newcomer entrepreneurs and service providers, the report examined the impact of labour market restructuring on newcomer entrepreneurship in Toronto.
Winnipeg Free Press – Police, Newcomers Working to Build a Model for Peace
Police, newcomers and social agencies in Winnipeg gathered Tuesday night to get their umoja going. Umoja is the Swahili word for unity and the name of the group trying to turn what’s been called the murder capital of Canada into a model of peace and diversity. On Tuesday night, about 100 members of the group — including Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis, deputy chief Dave Thorne and Manitoba’s top Mountie, Kevin Brosseau — played games, shared a meal and ideas at the University of Winnipeg. Umoja was formed in 2009 to build trust and communication between police and an influx of newcomers. About 10 per cent of recent immigrants to Winnipeg were refugees from countries where police were seen as oppressors, not peacemakers. Here, there were incidents of prejudice and racial profiling. When a community leader from a West African country was beaten by police in a case of mistaken identity, he went to one of the settlement agencies asking what to do. “He asked ‘How can I deal with what happened to me?’” said Noelle DePape, who works at IRCOM. “‘We need to trust police and develop lines of communication,’” she recalled him saying.
CBC – Refugee Groups Want Welfare Changes Pulled from Omnibus Budget Bill
The Conservative government’s proposed changes to who can qualify for welfare amount to an effort to pressure provinces into adopting anti-refugee policies, say critics who are picking a new fight over benefits for refugee claimants. Nearly 160 groups from across the religious and social spectrum are calling on the government to reverse measures, buried in the latest omnibus budget bill, which open the door to refugee claimants being denied welfare. The Conservatives say they are just giving provinces the flexibility to determine benefits, but it’s not a benign change, Michele Biss of the group Canada Without Poverty told a news conference Tuesday. “The federal government is offering a financial incentive as a means of the provinces implementing the government’s ideological driven policies towards refugees,” Biss said. […] During committee hearings on the issue Tuesday, Conservative MP Gerald Keddy elaborated on his party’s rationale in a heated exchange with Biss. “What it actually allows is those who are abusing the system — false refugees or fake asylum claimants — to lose their social assistance,” Keddy said.
Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada – Communiqué – Célébrer la diversité et le multiculturalisme
Le ministre de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration du Canada, Chris Alexander, a prononcé le discours d’ouverture aujourd’hui au colloque de la Fondation canadienne des relations raciales (FCRR), soulignant les efforts des participants pour une société canadienne meilleure et plus inclusive. Le ministre Alexander a parlé de la façon dont chaque communauté, chaque personne et chaque organisation peut aider à sa manière les immigrants à s’intégrer, à découvrir notre histoire, nos valeurs et nos responsabilités communes, et à bâtir notre avenir à tous. Durant le colloque, qui se tient sous le thème « Le Canada actuel : Comment faire ressortir des valeurs civiques communes », des centaines de délégués aborderont divers enjeux liés au multiculturalisme, et contribueront à tracer l’itinéraire à suivre pour assurer un avenir brillant au Canada. La FCRR s’efforce d’aider les Canadiens à combattre la discrimination raciale, et réunit les connaissances en la matière afin que les organisations publiques, privées et bénévoles puissent s’en inspirer pour établir des politiques et des pratiques efficaces qui respectent la diversité et favorisent une citoyenneté inclusive.
