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.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada – Minister Kenney Announces Appointment to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation
A. Raoul Nembhard has been appointed to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation’s Board of Directors for a three-year part-time term, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. The CRRF is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of a Chair and up to 11 other directors appointed by the Governor in Council.
Toronto Star – All Ontario Parties Should Support Cap on Remittance Payments
Singh’s bill would cap remittance fees in Ontario at 5 per cent, and require companies like Western Union and MoneyGram to disclose any other costs or exchange fees. The 5 per cent figure is the same as that recommended by the World Bank and by the G8 group of countries, which in 2009 pledged to bring remittance costs worldwide down to that level by 2014. No other province caps remittance fees, but the idea is no different in principle from limiting the interest charged on payday loans to prevent low-income earners from being gouged. Ontario did that in 2008.
CBC – UN Body Says Changes to Canada’s Immigration Laws Risk Human Rights Violations
The reports finds fault, too, with the government’s changes to the law on human smuggling, saying it is “deeply concerned about Bill C-31 (the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act), given that, with its excessive Ministerial discretion, this Act would introduce mandatory detention for individuals who enter irregularly the State party’s territory; and exclude ‘irregular arrivals’ as well as individuals who are nationals of designated “safe” countries from having an appeal hearing of a rejected refugee claim. This increases the risk that those individuals will be subject to refoulement.”
New York Times – Do-It-Yourself Immigration Reform
Migration between Mexico and the United States has returned to a healthy circular pattern: large numbers of Mexicans legally cross northward to work, then return south with confidence that they can repeat the journey the next time. The reason: Even as illegal Mexican migration flattened out in recent years, legal Mexican travel north rose. These migrants have their papers in order. So it’s time to reconsider whether the United States still faces a difficult problem with Mexican immigration.
Globe and Mail – Applicants Furious at Change in Canada’s Immigration Law
Anger at the changes is high in Hong Kong and southern China. Many people there have family ties to Canada, which accepted a flood of immigrants from Hong Kong before 1997, when the former British colony rejoined China. Of the 284,000 applicants worldwide who would be bumped out of line by the changes, about 12,000 are from mainland China or Hong Kong. The government has set aside $130-million to refund application fees and says applicants are free to try again under the new criteria.
Globe and Mail – Why Do So Many Canadians See Ethnic Enclaves as a Threat?
Ethnic enclaves are certainly nothing new. Most began not as voluntary settlements but as the place new immigrants, especially visible minorities, were forced to go because white Vancouver didn’t want them. Today, of course, they are vital commercial and cultural precincts that new immigrants gravitate toward for obvious reasons. People there speak the same language. They have the same customs, traditions and food.
