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.
National Post – B.C. Man in Terror Case Ordered Released by Federal Court but Awaits Deportation
A British Columbia man who glorified terrorism by the Islamic State group in multiple Facebook posts has been ordered released from immigration detention by the Federal Court. The court upholds a decision made in August by the immigration division of the board, which ordered Othman Hamdan released. Hamdan has been in custody since September 2017, when the Canadian Border Services Agency arrested him on the same day he was acquitted of terrorism-related charges based on Facebook posts calling for so-called lone-wolf attacks.
CTV News – Ottawa Gives Quebec $250M to Cover Costs Related to Asylum Seeker Influx
The federal government is giving Quebec $250 million in compensation for costs the province incurred following the influx of asylum seekers across the U.S. border. Quebec’s immigration minister said Thursday the federal money completely covers the province’s expenses in connection with the thousands of people who crossed irregularly from the United States in 2017 and 2018. Simon Jolin-Barrette said in a statement that Ottawa has also agreed to cover the province’s expenses related to asylum seekers in 2019.
Global News – Canadian Nationalist Party Granted Eligibility to Become a Registered Party in the Upcoming Federal Election
Elections Canada informed the Canadian Nationalist Party on Thursday that it had met the requirements under the Canada Elections Act to qualify as a registered party during the October election. The requirements include garnering a minimum of 250 eligible voters to support the application. The party, founded in 2017 by 28-year-old Travis Patron, espouses anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ2 views. The party’s policies on its website include deporting “illegal migrants.”
CBC News – Immigration Lawyers Report Canadian Muslims Being Denied Entry to U.S.
Those denied entry include a prominent Guyana-born Toronto imam who serves as a chaplain with the Peel Regional Police and an Iraqi Turkmen community leader who has family members fighting ISIS in the Middle East. The two men — who were denied entry at different border crossings and were not travelling together — are among at least six Canadian Muslim men who have been denied entry at the U.S. border over the last two weeks. The men and their families, all of whom are Canadian citizens, were given little in the way of explanation.
Toronto Star – Ontario Urged to Encourage Immigrants to Look Beyond the GTA
According to the Conference Board of Canada report, 45 per cent of Ontario’s 13.5 million people live in the GTA, but each year almost 80 per cent of new immigrants settling in the province make the region their home, meaning that most of Ontario doesn’t get enough newcomers to sustain their communities, and that even more pressure is being put on an already strained housing pool and other services in the 905. Last year, 106,000 immigrants settled in the GTA, while just 31,000 made their homes in the rest of Ontario.
Global News – Report Suggests Ontario Needs a New Regional Immigration Strategy
Ontario’s small communities could benefit from the influx of immigrants that are disproportionately settling in the Greater Toronto Area, a new report said Thursday. The study from the Conference Board of Canada said the number of newcomers settling in Ontario last year starkly illustrates the disparity between the GTA and the rest of the province, noting the current settlement levels have potential to strain the resources of the provincial capital while preventing other regions from reaping rich economic rewards.
