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.
Globe and Mail – Federal Government Seeks to Attract Foreign Talent by Making Start-up Visa Program Permanent
The federal government is moving to entrench an immigration pilot project known as the Start-up Visa Program, which offers permanent residency to foreign entrepreneurs who agree to bring their companies to Canada. Started in 2013 under the Harper government, the Start-up Visa Program was set to expire in 2018, but will now remain a part of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) policy.
CBC News – Red Cross to Monitor Canada’s Immigration Detention Centres
The federal government has signed a contract with the Canadian Red Cross for the monitoring of Canada’s immigration detention centres to ensure they comply with domestic and international standards, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced Thursday. The two-year contract between the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the CRC will include regular visits throughout the year to detention facilities across Canada where immigration detainees are held, the government said. The aim of the program is to increase the number of detainee visits each year, requiring the CRC to conduct up to 86 site visits annually, primarily focusing on the most vulnerable, including unaccompanied minors and individuals with medical and mental health conditions, Goodale said.
Globe and Mail – ‘I Miss Happiness’: A Syrian’s Journey from Mayor in Aleppo to Obscurity in Saint John
In Syria, Mohamed Sharbaji was an elected official and business owner, until war stole everything he had. In New Brunswick, he can barely leave his small, bare apartment as illness and language barriers keep him isolated.
CBC News – Federal Disabilities Minister ‘Frustrated’ After Family Denied Residency over Daughter’s Health Needs
An advocate who says it is “unfair” that an American family was denied permanent residency due to the potential costs of their daughter’s health problems has found an ally in Canada’s minister of persons with disabilities. The family of six moved to Canada from Colorado in 2013 and have built a business in the town of Waterhen, Man. When they came to Canada, Jon and Karissa Warkentin didn’t know that their daughter Karalynn, then two, had special needs. She was diagnosed in 2014 with epilepsy and global developmental delay.
Radio-Canada – Ruée de migrants haïtiens à Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle
Alors que l’administration de Donald Trump menace d’expulser plus de 50 000 Haïtiens, des centaines d’entre eux traversent la frontière à Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle pour demander l’asile au Canada, a appris Radio-Canada.
CBC News – Sri Lankan Men Accused of Human Smuggling Found Not Guilty in B.C. Supreme Court
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has acquitted four Sri Lankan men on charges of human smuggling in relation to the arrival of 76 Tamil migrants on the MV Ocean Lady ship nearly nine years ago. The ramshackle vessel traveled across the Pacific Ocean for an estimated 45 days before it arrived in B.C. in October of 2009. Four people aboard — Francis Appulonappa, Hamalraj Handasamy, Jeyachandran Kanagarajah and Vignarajah Thevarajah — were charged with human smuggling. On Thursday, Justice Arne Silverman found all of them not guilty.
