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.
National Post – Canada Should “Re-Engineer” Immigration Based on Lessons from Syrian Refugee Process: Minister
The Liberal government plans to apply the lessons it learned from bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada to speed up processing times for family class immigration, economic immigrants and refugee claimants, Immigration Minister John McCallum said Thursday. “We have to re-engineer our whole department in terms of the processes we follow, the speed at which we do it — and we can draw on the experience we’ve just had with the refugees,” said McCallum in a speech at the Metropolis Conference, an annual national conference on immigration issues in Toronto.
CTV News – EU Mulls “Large-Scale” Migrant Deportation Scheme
Turkey is under growing pressure to consider a major escalation in migrant deportations from Greece, a top European Union official said Thursday, amid preparations for a highly anticipated summit of EU and Turkish leaders next week. European Council President Donald Tusk ended a six-nation tour of migration crisis countries in Turkey, where 850,000 migrants and refugees left last year for Greek islands.
The Economist – Why so Many Canadians Privately Sponsor Syrian Refugees
Private sponsorship of refugees began in Canada in 1978 amid another refugee crisis: the Indochinese fleeing from Vietnam after the war. Media coverage of desperate “boat people” helped overcome a public reluctance to deal with what was initially regarded as an American problem. After Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore said they could take no more people, Canada agreed to welcome 60,000 over three years, as long as each government-supported refugee was matched with one who was privately sponsored.
Toronto Star – Immigrant Kids Missing Out on City Recreation Opportunities, Study Shows
Nyla Rahman would have loved to enrol her three kids in the city’s recreation programs, if the immigrant mom had known where to find them and if her family could afford them. […] Rahman’s experience is not unique, as a new study by Social Planning Toronto finds children of immigrants face many hurdles in accessing recreation programs. Newcomer youth are participating in recreation at half the rate of Canadian-born children.
The Chronicle Herald – Syrian Refugees Helping Repopulate East Coast Provinces, but Will they Stay?
As Syrian refugees flow into Atlantic Canada, there’s hope they’ll help repopulate a struggling region even as the newcomers navigate the challenges of housing shortages and a tight job market. […] Approximately 946 Syrian refugees will have landed in Nova Scotia by this week, including a family of seven on Monday, with 1,500 expected by year’s end.
Radio-Canada – Galvanisé par les réfugiés syriens, le Canada aurait oublié les immigrants africains
Selon des informations recueillies par Radio-Canada en Colombie-Britannique sur la côte ouest canadienne, la mission humanitaire canadienne auprès de 25 000 réfugiés syriens ces trois derniers mois aurait éclipsé l’attention des autorités envers les demandes d’immigration et les dossiers de candidats africains à l’immigration en particulier.
