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.
Courrier enquêtes – « Comment l’Europe et la Libye laissent mourir les migrants en mer »
Il y a un peu plus d’un an, le 6 novembre 2017, une fragile embarcation sombre en mer avec à son bord 150 migrants partis de Tripoli pour tenter de rejoindre l’Europe. La plupart d’entre eux sont morts. Avec l’aide de Forensic Oceanography – une organisation créée en 2011 pour tenir le compte des morts de migrants en Méditerranée – et de Forensic Architecture – groupe de recherche enquêtant sur les violations des droits de l’homme -, le New York Times a retracé le déroulement de ce drame, dans une enquête vidéo extrêmement documentée.
Ottawa Citizen – The Tireless Activist Refugee Who Helps Other Newcomers
Samer Al Jbawi takes on challenges with a steely determination. From nearly the moment the Syrian-born Al Jbawi and his family arrived in Ottawa on Dec. 30, 2015, the English-language teacher was recruited to help fellow government-assisted refugees, who only understood Arabic, navigate through the bureaucracy of their new city and country. Within four months, Al Jbawi went from volunteering to getting paid to provide the service, when he was hired to work as a settlement counsellor at the Somali Centre for Family Services on Bank Street.
CBC News – Legal Aid Manitoba Wants Non-Lawyers Empowered to Argue Refugee Claims
Legal Aid Manitoba doesn’t believe someone should need a law degree to plead the case of refugee claimants who want to stay in Canada. The organization has asked the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada for permission to use trained advocates rather than lawyers to represent asylum-seekers, at least in some cases, after a surge in refugee claims last year as more people walked across the border into Manitoba. The federal department says it is barred by legislation from granting the request.
CBC News – Immigration Canada Preparing to Launch Revamped Family Reunification System
The Trudeau government announced in August that it would be dropping a contentious lottery system in favour of quotas and admit up to 20,500 parents and grandparents in 2019, up from 17,000 in 2017. The application period is set to reopen at the end of the month. On Thursday, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen weighed in on the program switch, saying a negative reaction from Canadians was part of the reason the lottery system was scrapped. He vowed the government will give applicants ample warning before opening the applications again.
La Presse + – « La science pour combattre le racisme »
Une exposition scientifique sur le racisme ? Contrairement à ce qu’on pourrait penser, ce n’est pas en réaction à cette perception que l’intolérance est en hausse dans nos sociétés. C’est plutôt la visite d’une exposition similaire au Musée de l’homme, à Paris, qui a donné le goût à l’équipe du musée Armand-Frappier de traiter du sujet. « On a eu un coup de cœur. On a appris des choses, et ça nous a touchés. Ça nous a donné le goût de partager avec nos visiteurs le désir de prendre soin les uns des autres », explique Guylaine Archambault, directrice générale du musée. L’exposition présentée à Laval est donc celle du musée français, mais adaptée au public québécois (on y a notamment ajouté des volets sur les autochtones).
New York Times – ‘Birth Tourism’ Is Legal in Canada. A Lawmaker Calls It Unscrupulous.
Birth tourism is not only generating political opposition, but mobilizing self-appointed vigilantes determined to stop it. It is perfectly legal. Under the principle of jus soli — the right of the soil — being born in Canada confers automatic citizenship. But as more pregnant women arrive each month to give birth, some Canadians are protesting that they are gaming the system, testing the limits of tolerance and debasing the notion of citizenship.
