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 – Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi on Canada’s Handling of the Refugee Crisis
Born in Toronto to parents who emigrated from Tanzania, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi is watching how many Syrian refugees will be allowed into Canada. Before his keynote speech at the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s LaFontaine-Baldwin symposium, Mr. Nenshi expressed his frustration with the federal government’s handling of the Syrian issue. […] “The numbers change every day. The numbers that people who work for the agencies and families trying to sponsor Syrian immigrants do not match the numbers the government is giving us [the Conservatives’ most recent plan is to absorb 20,000 Iraqi and Syrian refugees]. If we can’t share with our citizens basic data like that, if we’re not honest, to me that’s treating citizens with contempt. I think the reason this conversation about the Syrian refugees hit us so deeply in the heart is because we were suddenly confronted with a very big gap between the stories we tell ourselves about who were are and the actions we take.”
Toronto Star – Conservatives Pledge to Speed Admittance of Syrian Refugees
The federal Conservatives have promised to streamline admittance procedures to allow into the country by next September all 10,000 Syrian refugees the government has committed to accept. That’s 15 months earlier than the Conservatives had originally announced, but still nine months longer than the resettlement time frame the NDP and Liberals have proposed on the campaign trail. But Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander justified that lag Saturday, saying rigorous security and medical screening were still needed to ensure terrorists and other undesirables didn’t slip in amongst the fleeing. “We’ll take the time necessary to ensure that in welcoming those most in need we protect the security of Canadians,” Alexander told a Scarborough news conference. “Now some would have us shortcut these procedures for security and other key aspects of resettlement, sending planes to rush tens of thousands of people into our country, without even knowing who they are.”
CBC – Conservative Government Aims to Resettle 10,000 Syrian Refugees by September 2016
The Conservative government said Saturday it will speed up the processing of refugee applications in an effort to bring in “thousands more” Syrians and Iraqis by the end of 2015. Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said the new measures mean the 10,000 Syrian refugees the government previously promised to resettle in the next three years would instead be brought to Canada by September 2016 — “a full 15 months earlier than anticipated,” he told reporters in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. […] On the Canadian side, Alexander said the government is doubling the size of the workforce at the Winnipeg processing centre where all applications are handled. The government would also allow groups of five and families to sponsor those who have not yet received convention refugee status. The cost of these measures, Alexander said, will be $25 million over two fiscal years.
The Telegram – Canada’s Response to Refugee Crisis Embarrassing
Last week, two of our country’s most prominent retired soldiers called out Canada — or rather the Canadian government — for its disgraceful and inadequate response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Both General Rick Hillier, Canada’s former top soldier and Romeo Dallaire, retired lieutenant-general and a former UN commander, said Canada must do its part. They urged the government to put a plan in place and bring between 50,000 and 90,000 Syrian refugees to Canada. In the case of Hillier, he said 50,000 refugees — starting with women and children — could be brought to Canada by Christmas. This is doable, said Canada’s former chief of defence. This is nearly five to 10 times as many refugees as the Conservative government has agreed to over the next couple of years (10,000 by 2017) and even more than the two opposition parties have outlined. In addition, last week a group of prominent and former immigration ministers and senior bureaucrats (including two Privy Council clerks) called on the Canadian government to “think big.”
Gouvernement du Canada – Venir en aide plus rapidement aux réfugiés syriens et iraquiens sans compromettre la sécurité du Canada
Le gouvernement du Canada a annoncé aujourd’hui des mesures supplémentaires visant à résoudre la crise humanitaire résultant de la situation en Syrie et en Iraq. Ces mesures permettront aussi aux Canadiens d’agir plus facilement. Le Canada affecte de nouvelles ressources et apporte des modifications ciblées à ses directives afin de pouvoir respecter plus rapidement ses engagements actuels de réinstaller des réfugiés syriens et iraquiens, sans qu’il réduise pour autant les mesures relatives au contrôle de sécurité, aux vérifications judiciaires et aux examens médicaux.
La Presse – Ottawa accélérera le traitement des demandes d’asile des réfugiés syriens
Le gouvernement conservateur compte accélérer le traitement des demandes d’asile déposées par les réfugiés syriens afin de délivrer des milliers de visas additionnels d’ici la fin de l’année. Les Syriens fuyant la guerre civile qui ravage leur pays n’auront plus à prouver qu’ils sont des réfugiés conformément aux critères du Haut Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés. Ils seront plutôt considérés comme tels par les autorités canadiennes dans le cadre de l’évaluation de leur demande.
