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.
Toronto Star – Refugee Health Clinic Sees Surge of Uninsured Pediatric Patients
Of the 814 uninsured pediatric patients seen by the Canadian Centre for Refugee & Immigrant Health clinic in the last three years, 32 per cent were without status and not eligible for any health coverage; a quarter encountered difficulties in getting doctors to treat them despite the Ottawa’s coverage for refugees; 24 per cent were permanent residents or Canadians returning from abroad or another province who had been in the province for less than the three months required to qualify for OHIP. The study recommends Ottawa require Canadian physicians who bill public insurance programs to enrol with the interim health program, accept refugee patients and ensure all refugee claimants who are minors receive health coverage immediately when an asylum claim is made.
Global News – Heavy Police Presence in Calgary as Anti-Islam Group Clashes with Opposition Sunday
The area in front of the Calgary Municipal Building was filled with protesters and police as members of the “Worldwide Coalition Against Islam” (WCAI) showed up for a rally Sunday afternoon. Clashes between the anti-Islam group and the “Calgary Anti-Fascist Action” group happened within minutes of the two groups encountering each other, but police quickly formed a line of over 30 officers to keep the protesters separated.
New York Times – A Battle Over Prayer in Schools Tests Canada’s Multiculturalism
For nearly two decades, Muslim students in the Peel School District, outside Toronto, had been allowed to pray independently on Fridays, part of a policy in many Canadian provinces to accommodate religious beliefs in public schools. Last fall, the school board decided to standardize the prayer sessions and offer six preapproved sermons that the children could recite, rather than let them use their own. The board reversed this decision, but the dispute unleashed a storm of protest that continued through this spring.
National Post – Trump Win Produces Only Tiny Bump in Numbers of Americans Applying for Canadian Citizenship
The number of Americans applying for Canadian citizenship jumped slightly after Donald Trump’s election, but numbers are still only half what they were five years ago. New statistics from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada obtained by the National Post show an average of 400 U.S. citizens put in their applications in each the first four months of this year, compared to an average of 264 per month in 2016. But overall — despite reports of the immigration website crashing on election night, and earnest tourism campaigns sprouting in Cape Breton, N.S. — the trend line has gone down in the past couple of years.
Le Figaro – Anne Hidalgo interpelle le gouvernement sur la crise migratoire qui reprend à Paris
La maire de Paris adresse un courrier à trois ministres, dont celui de l’Intérieur Gérard Collomb, pour alerter sur une nouvelle crise migratoire qui s’amplifie dans la capitale, alors que 1000 migrants campent actuellement dans les rues du nord de Paris.
Radio-Canada – Mettre en contexte le nombre de demandeurs d’asile qui arrivent au Canada par la frontière américaine
Depuis le début de l’année 2017, les reportages se sont succédé quant à l’augmentation importante du nombre de demandeurs d’asile, en provenance des États-Unis, qui veulent entrer au pays.
