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 – Parti Québécois Wants to Nix Safe Third Country Agreement Amid Asylum Seeker Boom
The leader of the Parti Québécois is calling for the suspension of the Safe Third Country Agreement amid a surge of asylum seekers arriving at illegal border crossings into Quebec. Under the agreement, the majority of migrants coming from the United States who make an asylum claim at an official border checkpoint in Canada are denied entry since the U.S. is deemed to be safe. As a result of the Safe Third Country Agreement, a growing number of asylum seekers are instead arriving at unofficial crossings, such as Roxham Road in Hemmingford, Que., where they are arrested but not immediately refused entry.
Toronto Star – ‘Why Is this Man in Prison’ Judge Asks Government Lawyer in Immigration Detention Case
Ricardo Scotland, an immigration detainee with no criminal record, is arguing that his indefinite detention in a maximum security jail is a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Scotland’s case is just the latest to put Canada’s immigration detention system — by which the federal government jails non-citizens, often in maximum security institutions, for an indefinite length of time, typically while it tries to deport them — under increased scrutiny.
New York Times – Foreign Farmworkers in Canada Fear Deportation if They Complain
Canada’s seasonal agriculture worker program was set up to recruit migrants from Mexico and 11 Caribbean nations to work for up to eight months a year to address chronic labor shortages. But critics say the program is poorly supervised, leaving workers vulnerable to exploitation by employers, often denied the Canadian labor benefits they are entitled to and at risk of deportation if they complain about employment conditions.
CBC News – As Many as 1,200 Asylum Seekers Wait to Be Processed at Lacolle Border Crossing
With waves of migrants fleeing the United States, the Canada Border Services Agency says that as many as 1,200 asylum seekers are waiting to be processed at the border crossing in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que. Patrick Lefort, the CBSA regional director general for Quebec, said Lacolle border agents can process up to 230 migrants per day.
CBC News – Cancelled Asylum Hearings ‘Devastating’ to Ottawa Refugee Claimants, Advocates Say
As asylum seekers continue to stream into Canada in record numbers, dozens of refugee claimant cases in Ottawa are being delayed or cancelled with very little notice, say local advocates. The revelation comes as hundreds of people, most of whom are originally from Haiti, have been crossing illegally into Canada from the U.S. each day near the border crossing in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que.
Toronto Star – Dedicated Immigration Team Formed Amid Stream of Asylum Seekers Crossing Quebec Border
The prospect of growing camps of migrants on the Quebec-New York border prompted Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board to exclusively dedicate 20 of its members Friday to the handling of their sudden barrage of asylum claims. The agency had been watching carefully the flow of would-be refugees into the province, but it was a sudden recent spike in arrivals that prompted more aggressive action, said Shereen Benzvy Miller, the head of the refugee protection division.
