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.
Le Devoir – 50 % des travailleurs qualifiés ont été refusés en 2014
D’ici 2021, on estime que le Québec devra trouver environ 1 million de travailleurs qualifiés pour combler les emplois et les départs à la retraite. Or, selon un document obtenu par Le Devoir, 52 % des demandes d’immigration des travailleurs qualifiés ont été rejetées ou refusées entre le début de l’année et le 30 septembre 2014. En 2013, seulement 35 % des demandes avaient plutôt subi le même sort. L’Association québécoise des avocats et des avocates en droit de l’immigration (AQAADI) estime que cette hausse de refus est « très troublante. » La plupart des demandes d’immigration des travailleurs qualifiés sont souvent rejetées pour des motifs jugés « injustifiés et futiles. » « On demande des documents qui n’existent pas, on refuse pour un oui et un non, pour une virgule mal placée, pour un sceau mal traduit et au lieu de donner une chance au candidat, on rejette son dossier », déplore le président de l’AQAADI, Jean-Sébastien Boudreault. En fait, selon les documents obtenus, le ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion a rejeté 37 % des 19 300 dossiers examinés et refusé 15 % des dossiers en date du 30 septembre 2014. En 2013, 18 % des 24 500 dossiers examinés avaient été rejetés et 17 % refusés pour l’ensemble de l’année 2013.
La Voix acadienne – S’intégrer serait plus facile avec une famille
Selon des témoignages partagés par des immigrants francophones durant la Semaine nationale de l’immigration francophone, l’intégration dans une nouvelle communauté, peu importe d’où on vient, serait plus facile, si on le fait en famille. Isabelle Dasylva-Gill, native de France, est arrivée au Canada il y a 10 ans et elle vit à l’Île depuis sept ans. Elle est mariée avec un gars de l’Île et elle est mère de deux jeunes enfants. «Je comprends que de jeunes célibataires aient plus de difficultés à se faire des amis, à s’intégrer naturellement dans la vie insulaire. Moi-même, à mon arrivée au Canada, j’ai dû faire des efforts pour m’intégrer et les jeunes de mon âge n’étaient pas très nombreux. Je trouve que le processus d’intégration est beaucoup plus facile si on arrive en couple ou avec sa famille, ou quand on réussit à fonder une famille», dit la jeune femme. Philippe Guidon, Belge, est arrivé au Canada au printemps dernier, pour travailler comme camionneur, en sachant que sa femme Nathalie, et leurs trois filles viendraient le rejoindre. «J’ai pris un emploi de camionneur pour venir au Canada parce que c’est un secteur de très haute demande, mais mon domaine de travail principal, c’est l’événementiel. J’ai réussi à faire changer mon visa pour pouvoir travailler dans ce domaine et je suis maintenant coordonnateur de l’événementiel pour La Belle-Alliance. J’en suis vraiment très heureux», dit Philippe Guidon.
CBC – “Polite Racism,” Inequality Still Linger in N.S., Say Minority Groups
Nova Scotians have a reputation for being friendly and welcoming people, but many minority groups say if you scratch the surface, there’s still plenty of racism and discrimination in this province. The African Nova Scotian community has long felt the burden of systematic racism, says Sunday Miller. Miller was born in Yarmouth and attended Dalhousie University. She has worked as a microbiologist and directed many not-for-profit organizations and is now the executive director of the Africville Heritage Trust. […] In an October 2014 report published by Immigration Settlement and Immigration Services of Halifax, lead author Carmen Celina Moncayo studied newcomer mental health. For the 94 people surveyed, racism played a large role in poor mental health. Women who wear the hijab reported sometimes feeling hated and disrespected, refugee claimants felt they were treated as criminals, and African parents said people assumed they were abusive to their children. Many of the respondents also said they faced difficulty in getting a job, even if they had both Canadian and overseas experience.
Georgia Straight – The 1,700 Page FOI Response Package on the Jiménez Case that CBSA took Nine Months to Release
In January 2014, Mexican journalist Karla Lottini revealed that an immigrant named Lucia Vega Jiménez had committed suicide while in the custody of Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Almost immediately after, a number of Vancouver journalists began filing freedom of information requests for documents related to CBSA’s handling of Jiménez’s apprehension and subsequent death. Federal legislating states that requests filed under the Access to Information Act should be answered within 30 days. Yet CBSA did not release one page related to the Jiménez case until more than nine months after journalists’ filed their requests. Some media outlets received and reported on the package of documents on Monday (November 10) while, interestingly, others are still waiting for them. Since this FOI request is now completed, anybody should be able to obtain a copy of the response package by contacting the CBSA access to information and privacy office.
Globe and Mail – Cold-Weather Courses Break Ice for Immigrants New to Canadian Winters
Winter looms large in the Canadian immigration experience, especially as the country’s source of immigrants changes. The largest group of newcomers to Canada is now from Asia and the Middle East. In the last census, the share of immigration from warm-weather regions like Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America increased. Winter is rarely the reason newcomers say they love their adopted country. In a 2007 survey, Statistics Canada asked new immigrants what they disliked the most about living in Canada; 27 per cent said the climate, ahead of lack of job opportunities and high taxes. Asked the greatest challenge they faced, 16 per cent said it was Canada’s weather.
CBC – Canadian Attitudes Toward Immigrants Conflicted, Poll Says
Canadians have conflicted thoughts about immigrants when it comes to their roles in society and the workforce, according to a CBC News survey designed to capture attitudes on discrimination. Statistics Canada figures indicate there were 6.8 million foreign-born residents in Canada as of 2011. That represents 20.6 per cent of the population, giving Canada the highest proportion of foreign-born residents in the G8 group of industrialized nations. Although Australia, which is not in the G8, has an even higher rate at 26.8 per cent. Canada “is a welcoming place for all ethnicities,” according to 75 per cent of respondents to the CBC News survey. However, responses became more divided when questions turned to specifics, such as the economy. Across the country, 79 per cent of respondents said they would be comfortable both employing or working for someone of a different ethnic background. A much smaller group — 55 per cent — “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that immigrants are “very important to building a stable Canadian economic future.” But the survey also found that 30 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that “immigrants take jobs from Canadians.”
