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.
Chronicle Herald – Q&A: Corrie Melanson, Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia
The Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia is a volunteer non-profit organization that privately sponsors and helps lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex (LGBTQI) refugees resettle in Nova Scotia. Corrie Melanson is a founder and co-chairwoman of the organization, which is raising funds to bring two refugees from Iran to Nova Scotia. […] “We are sponsoring people who are refugees because of their sexual orientation. That is possible under the UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) so it is possible under the UN to be a refugee based on your sexual orientation. I guess the interesting thing is that when you are doing an interview and that sort of stuff, they don’t actually ask about that. You have to openly declare that that is the reason, so certainly there have been lots of refugees who have come to Canada, maybe as political refugees, for example, and it hasn’t been known that they are gay or lesbian … Imagine if you are a refugee and it isn’t known that you are gay or lesbian and you are part of a community that might be more religious, and because of that you don’t feel safe in the community even here in Canada.”
CBC – Jason Kenney Says No to Easing New Temporary Foreign Worker Rules
Employment Minister Jason Kenney says he has no intention of easing new, stricter rules for employers who hire temporary foreign workers. “No, we will not be making fundamental changes to the reforms that were implemented in June partly because there is already a regional dimension built into the system,” Kenney said during a conference organized byCanada2020, a policy think-tank, in Ottawa today. The new rules include barring employers from hiring low-wage temporary foreign workers in regions where the unemployment rate is above six per cent, and will require employers to cap the number of foreign workers they hire at 10 per cent by 2016. Kenney, who is the MP for Calgary Southeast, said the program has been “overused” in his home province of Alberta, where wages in the fast-food services sector have not kept up with the rate of inflation. “In my view, this is very clear evidence of a labour market distortion,” he told the conference.
Globe and Mail – Ottawa to Review Data on Employers Who Rely on Temporary Foreign Workers
Employment Minister Jason Kenney says his department is reviewing data compiled on employers who rely heavily on temporary foreign workers – a move that follows concern from several companies about inaccuracies that could damage their reputations. The data, produced by the Employment Department and released to The Globe and Mail through access-to-information legislation, listed more than 2,500 employers the federal government contended turned to foreign workers to fill at least one-third of their labour force last year. These employers were cited in June, but not named, to buttress the government’s case for clamping down on Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) program. More than a dozen on the list, including industry giants such as Siemens AG, Accenture Canada, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Shaw Cablesystems, told The Globe that Ottawa’s figures are wrong. Some have called on the government to retract and correct the information. […] “We are going back and verifying each one of those,” Mr. Kenney told reporters on Thursday after delivering a speech on the government’s skills agenda at a conference organized by Canada 2020, a public policy think-tank.
Vancouver Sun – Governments Relying More on Lower-Paid Private Security
Federal government security contracts, such as the one at the Canada Border Services Agency airport holding centre for immigration detainees, are typically low-bid contracts, a security expert says. […] André Gerolymatos, a professor specializing in security studies at Simon Fraser University, said governments are relying more on private companies for security because it is cheaper — the wages are lower and they don’t have to pay the pensions and other benefits that government employees get. […] Detainees at the airport holding centre are supposed to be checked every half-hour by an employee of Genesis Security, but for security reasons guards cannot do room checks unless there are at least two people on duty. […]T he RCMP would not comment on its policies for checking cells because the matter is before a coroner’s inquest.
La Presse – Soins aux réfugiés: impossible de faire marche arrière, dit Ottawa
Le gouvernement fédéral affirme que revenir en arrière pour rétablir l’ancien système qui couvrait tous les soins de santé pour les demandeurs d’asile serait trop complexe et coûteux. Cet argument fait partie de l’appel du gouvernement contre un jugement de la Cour fédérale rendu en juillet, qui a tranché que la couverture de soins actuelle contrevient à la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés. Les changements apportés en 2012 au programme fédéral intérimaire de soins de santé ont réduit substantiellement la couverture offerte à ceux qui attendent que leur demande de statut de réfugié soit accordée. Le geste inattendu a outré ceux qui défendent les droits des réfugiés. Ils ont traîné le gouvernement devant les tribunaux, soutenant que les modifications constituaient un traitement cruel et inusité. La Cour a donné au gouvernement jusqu’au 4 novembre pour créer un nouveau système ou retourner à l’ancien, mais Ottawa dit avoir besoin de plus de temps.
Toronto Star – 3 Afghan Soldiers Who Fled For Canada Living in Fear
Three Afghan military officers who sought refuge in Canada after taking off from a military training exercise in Massachusetts said Wednesday they were trying to escape Taliban violence at home but now face the wrath of their own government as well. “Now that we’ve decided to seek asylum, the danger has multiplied,” said Maj. Jan Mohammad Arash, who along with Capt. Noorullah Aminyar and Capt. Mohammed Nasir Askarzada travelled more than 500 miles by taxi from a Wal-Mart on Cape Cod to Niagara Falls. The three walked across the Rainbow Bridge connecting New York to Ontario, Canada, to claim refugee status on Sept. 22 and were turned over to U.S. authorities, who charged them with immigration violations and began removal proceedings.
