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.
[Australian] Detention Centres Under Pressure
The struggling immigration detention network – already stricken by rioting and suicides – will come under yet more pressure from an expected surge in boat arrivals following the High Court’s ban on sending asylum seekers to Malaysia. Asylum seekers on Christmas Island say the shortest boat journey from Indonesia can take just two days, and with the High Court placing a question mark over the government’s ability to send any asylum seekers offshore for processing, the lure to make the dangerous voyage to Australia has increased dramatically. http://www.smh.com.au/national/detention-centres-under-pressure-20110901-1joax.html
New CIC Notice About Work Permit Applications From Haiti
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has posted a new notice about an extension of measures in processing work permit applications from Haiti If you are a Haitian national who arrived in Canada before to January 13, 2011, and are applying for a work permit or extending a work permit, your exemption from the requirement to provide a labour market opinion (LMO) as part of your application is now being extended. The requirement for an LMO will remain in place for all those who arrived in Canada after that date.
Dutch Gameshow Pits Failed Asylum Seekers Against Each Other
From the description – not to mention the 30-second trailer – it would seem to be one of the more tasteless TV programmes yet devised. In fact, Weg van Nederland, to be broadcast on Dutch television tonight, has a deliberately liberal agenda, albeit delivered in a provocative way. Contestants on the one-off game show from the public broadcaster VPRO, part of an annual week of experimental programmes, comprise five asylum seekers who have exhausted legal avenues to stay in the Netherlands and await imminent deportation to their country of origin.
They compete in a quiz about Dutch culture, history and language, with the winner awarded €4,000 (£3,500) to help cushion them when they are expelled. Consolation prizes include a bulletproof vest.
Should Recent Arrivals Qualify For Old Age Security?
How much fiscal benefit should Canadians with only a short history of residence in Canada receive? Earlier this week, the NDP withdrew a Private Members’ Motion originally submitted by Vancouver East MP Libby Davies on this controversial topic. The NDP motion echoed a previous proposal by former Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla in 2009 to make Old Age Security for recent immigrants more accessible. Ms. Dhalla’s proposal proved so controversial that even her Liberal colleagues disowned it during the 2011 federal election with adismissive “that’s not going to happen.”
Canada should reduce immigration during deep economic recession, say the authors of a detailed analysis of the earnings of immigrants over their first 10 years in the country that also touts the benefits of selecting newcomers based on earning potential. Canada should emphasize skill-assessed immigrants because their earning power “consistently and substantially” out-performed other classes of newcomers, the study says. Written by two Queen’s University professors and released by the Canadian Labour Market and Skills Researcher Network Wednesday, the study calls on policy makers to look closely at how rapidly immigrants are integrating into the Canadian labour market as the wage gap between immigrants and Canadian-born workers widens.
Alabama’s new immigration enforcement law aims to turn undocumented workers into non-persons. It violates their civil rights, and it criminalizes any small act of kindness toward them, including an offer of shelter, a ride to school or a meal in a church basement. While immigration reform remains a major challenge in the U.S., the federal government must ultimately resolve it. The Alabama bill opens the door to state-sanctioned racism, as all Hispanics, regardless of their legal status, will be targeted.
