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 – Canadian Citizenship Not For Sale
The Government of Canada is now investigating 6,500 people from more than 100 countries for fraudulently attempting to gain citizenship or maintain permanent resident status, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. “Canadian citizenship is not for sale,” said Minister Kenney. “Canadians are generous people, but have no tolerance or patience for people who don’t play by the rules and who lie or cheat to become a Canadian citizen. The Government will apply the full strength of Canadian law to those who have obtained citizenship fraudulently.”
Citizenship and Immigration Canada – Canada Pledges to Help More Refugees
Yesterday, at the United Nations, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney pledged that Canada would continue its tradition of helping the world’s persecuted. During his speech to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Minister Kenney committed, for each of the next five years, to contribute to an international pool of resettlement spaces that could be drawn upon in times of extreme urgency such as what happened when thousands of refugees in Libya had to flee.
Stephen Harper and Barack Obama are calling a sweeping new pact to open up the border between Canada and the United States a historic move for the two countries. Named Beyond the Border, the deal is actually a basket of 29 agreements designed to quicken the flow of goods and people travelling across the border by pushing security to entry points at the edges of the continent like Halifax. The plan will harmonize the immigration and border systems of Canada and the U.S. to an unprecedented degree. But the cost of the plan is unknown, as are many of the details.
An increasing number of immigrants from Iran has prompted the PEI Association for Newcomers to translate information on its website to Farsi. From 2008 to 2009 the number of Farsi, or Persian, speakers on the Island doubled from 35 to 70, and the rate of immigration has only increased since then.
South Asian Focus – Super Visa Out of Reach for Many Canadians
As the new Parent and Grandparent Super Visa kicked off Dec 1, its simple but ‘out-of-reach’ and expensive criteria are beginning to worry many Canadians seeking to invite parents and grandparents. Putting a two-year temporary pause on receiving fresh parental and grandparental sponsorship applications, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney last month introduced the 10-year multiple Super Visa to reduce the backlog. The procedure is simple and applicants can get the Super Visa in as short a period as eight weeks. However, it’s expensive and out of reach for the average Canadian.
Globe and Mail – EU States Not “Welfare Magnets” for Poor Workers
European nations, with their aging populations and declining birth rates, need an influx of new workers to support their cherished social welfare states, economists say. And yet, there are fears that those same generous social systems will turn countries into ‘welfare magnets’ for poor, unskilled foreigners. A number of studies have punched holes in this idea, the latest from researchers at IZA, the Institute for the Study of Labour, in Germany. “There’s an impression out there that migrants come and they absorb all of our unemployment resources,” said Corrado Giulietti, who co-authored the study with colleagues Martin Guzi, Martin Kahanec and Klaus Zimmermann. “That’s absolutely not the case.”
