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 – Zunera Ishaq, Who Challenged Ban on Niqab, Takes Citizenship Oath Wearing It
The Ontario woman who won court battles affirming her right to wear a niqab while taking the citizenship oath finally took part in the ceremony on Friday afternoon. Zunera Ishaq cried as she took the oath at a government building in Mississauga, Ont., west of Toronto. “Thank you so much for honouring me here today,” she said. […] Ishaq, 29, came to Canada from Pakistan in 2008 and gained permanent residency, but has been through a long legal fight to be able to take the citizenship oath while wearing a niqab. On Monday, the Federal Court of Appeal paved the way for today’s ceremony, dismissing a motion by the federal government to suspend a recent ruling that supported Ishaq’s legal fight. The federal government plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, but the Appeal Court cleared the way for her to wear the face-covering veil during the swearing-in, in time to vote in the Oct. 19 general election. Even so, right before Friday’s ceremony, Ishaq showed her face to an official to confirm her identify.
Le Devoir – Stephen Harper se défend de faire une sélection électorale
Stephen Harper se défend d’écarter les réfugiés syriens musulmans pour accueillir d’autres minorités religieuses qui lui seraient plus favorables électoralement. Car certains musulmans font partie de ces sous-groupes persécutés par le groupe État islamique (EI) que son gouvernement accueille en priorité, a-t-il insisté vendredi. Ses opposants l’ont cependant accusé d’agir de façon « éhontée », voire « dégoûtante ».
Maclean’s – Which Refugees Are Better Than Others?
The country is devouring all its children in almost equal measure. That includes Syria’s confessional majority: Sunni Muslims. If the wrath of the so-called Islamic State has come down disproportionately on non-Sunni Muslims—Yazidis, Shias, Alawites and Christians—then that of dictator Bashar al-Assad’s mostly Alawite regime has focused on the Sunni Muslim majority. This is what makes Canada’s policy on whom it would prefer to admit as a refugee problematic. “We will prioritize persecuted ethnic and religious minorities, those at demonstrated risk, and we make no apologies for that,” Costas Menegakis, parliamentary secretary to Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, said in December. A policy that favours religious minorities in Syria would, by definition, discriminate against Sunni Muslims, because of their majority status in the country. […] The criteria also reportedly favour those the government believes are more likely to successfully integrate in Canada, such as people who speak French or English, have run a business or have family in Canada.
The Record – Refugee Audit Didn’t Include Church Groups
Privately sponsored refugees were exempted from the Conservative government’s security audit of the Syrian refugee resettlement program, raising questions about whether it’s because most probably aren’t Muslim. The Conservative government ordered a review of some Syrian refugee cases this summer as a result of intelligence reports suggesting refugees could pose a threat. […] Of the 11,300 Syrian refugees the government has committed to resettling since the start of the Syrian war, the vast majority are being resettled by private groups, mostly churches. But the June audit was carried out only on government-assisted refugee cases, including those already in Canada and those still in the queue, forcing a halt to processing those files for several weeks. “The processing of privately sponsored refugees continued throughout this period,” said Chris Day, a spokesman for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander. Only UN-referred refugee files were audited as the government knows less about those cases when they arrive for processing than they do about refugees being brought to Canada by private groups, said a government source speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the system.
Toronto Star – Government Asks RCMP to Investigate Citizenship Leak to Media
The government is calling in the RCMP to investigate another highly sensitive leak to the media, this time at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, according to media reports. […] “Leaks such as these are unethical and are against the law,” a memo obtained by the broadcaster read. “As such, we have contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who have now launched an investigation. The trust that the public, our partners and elected officials have in us is the cornerstone of our democratic functions.” Citizenship and Immigration spokespeople would not confirm the investigation Friday evening, except to say the department would take action. “In instances where an unauthorized disclosure of information is suspected, standard investigative measures are followed,” wrote Rémi Larivière in an email to the Star. It’s not clear what law, if any, could have been broken. But two separate leaks this week — one to the Globe and Mail, the other to CTV News — detail an audit reportedly ordered by the Prime Minister’s Office into the background of Syrian refugees. Unnamed sources told CTV that PMO staff discouraged the acceptance of Sunni and Shia Muslims fleeing the war-torn country, and went through files to ensure persecuted religious minorities were given preference.
Winnipeg Free Press – Refugee Program Should Not Be Privatized
In refugee policy, sponsorship is in addition, or complementary, to government resettlement. […] Yet more and more of Canadian resettlement is done by private sponsors and less and less is done by the government. In 2001, the government resettled close to 9,000 refugees whereas by 2013 it brought in fewer than 6,000. Private sponsorships, meanwhile, almost doubled over the same decade from 3,570 to 6,396. In 2013, the government started a blended resettlement option where sponsors cover six months of financial support and the government provides the other six months. Sponsors still provide the full year of social and emotional support. This is a tempting option for sponsors as the government is covering half their costs. But the reality is sponsors are covering half the government costs as 1,000 spaces were taken out of the government program to create the cost-sharing model.
