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.
CBC News – ISANS Using Literacy App to Accelerate Refugee Children’s English Reading Skills
Squiggle Park is a reading game created by a Halifax start-up in 2015 to help accelerate kids’ reading skills in only 30 minutes of weekly play. The app has been used at Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS) children’s centres since February as part of a pilot program sponsored by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Roxana Pouladi, an early childhood educator at ISANS, has for the last two months noticed a huge improvement in the kids’ English skills.
Le Devoir – Demandeurs d’asile : les douaniers appréhendent le pire à Lacolle
Les agents des services frontaliers et d’immigration nagent en plein mystère alors que les installations temporaires du poste de Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle s’emplissent depuis l’entrée en vigueur des nouvelles « balises » fixées par le gouvernement québécois. Le taux d’occupation des centres d’hébergement temporaire situés au Québec est, lui, passé de 69 % à 74 % depuis […].
CBC News – Whistler, B.C., Group Fights to Bring Syrian Man Stranded in Malaysian Airport to Canada
A group of Canadians has sent an urgent request to Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen asking him to help a Syrian man who has been stuck in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport for 50 days. Hassan Al Kontar, 36, has been living in the transit section of the airport since he was turned away from a Turkish Airlines flight. Laurie Cooper, who lives in Whistler, B.C., got in touch with Al Kontar when she heard of his predicament. Now, a group of Whistler residents have raised the money required to sponsor him.
CTV News – More Funds Needed to Address Influx of Refugee Claimants in Shelter System: Tory
Toronto has issued an urgent appeal to the federal and provincial governments for help dealing with the growing number of refugee claimants in its shelter system. Mayor John Tory says the number of refugee claimants in the city’s shelters has grown from an average of 459 per night in 2016, to an average of more than 23 hundred per night this month. Federal spokeswoman Beatrice Fenelon says the department will continue to work with the city and province on the issue
Radio-Canada – Les jeunes rapportent plus de conflits interethniques à l’école
Les élèves du Québec observent de plus en plus de conflits entre groupes ethniques. Les cas restent relativement peu nombreux en chiffres absolus, mais c’est l’une des tendances préoccupantes qui se dégage d’une étude dévoilée jeudi, à Québec. La hausse est constatée tant au primaire qu’au secondaire.
Globe and Mail – Toronto Calls on Ottawa to Help with Handling Homeless Refugees
Toronto Mayor John Tory says his city needs urgent help from the federal and provincial governments to deal with a surge in refugee claimants, who now account for nearly 40 per cent of the people in the city’s strained shelter system. If the rapid growth continues – refugees made up just 11 per cent of Toronto’s shelter population in late 2016 – Toronto could be forced to enact an emergency plan that would see some of its community recreation centres closed and converted into temporary shelters, officials warn.
