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.
La Presse – «La solution est d’arrêter la violence dans cette région», dit Harper
Le gouvernement canadien a fait sa large part pour soulager la misère et la souffrance des millions de réfugiés qui quittent la Syrie ou l’Irak afin de ne tomber pas sous le joug du groupe armé État islamique, affirme le premier ministre Stephen Harper. De passage à Surrey, en Colombie-Britannique, M. Harper a eu du mal à trouver les mots pour exprimer son chagrin de voir la photo du jeune bambin noyé sur la plage. Il a soutenu que la solution à la crise humanitaire qui secoue la Syrie et l’Irak va beaucoup plus loin que le programme canadien d’accueil de réfugiés. Il faut aussi, selon lui, s’attaquer à la cause de cette tragédie humanitaire, les membres du groupe armé État islamique.
Le Devoir – La crise rattrape la campagne électorale
Alors que les yeux de la planète sont tournés vers l’Europe et sa crise des réfugiés, les politiciens en campagne électorale au Canada ont été obligés, eux aussi, de porter leur regard vers cette crise. Depuis quelques jours déjà, libéraux et néodémocrates critiquent le peu d’empressement du gouvernement conservateur dans ce dossier. Et voilà que les images d’enfants noyés, de frontières bloquées par des clôtures et des barbelés, de camions devenus tombes d’immigrants clandestins forcent les politiciens canadiens à prendre des engagements ou, à tout le moins, à critiquer le manque d’engagements de leurs adversaires. Mercredi matin, en Colombie-Britannique, le chef du Nouveau Parti démocratique a promis qu’un gouvernement néodémocrate « prendra cette crise humanitaire très sérieusement ».
Toronto Star – Conservatives Postpone Immigration Announcement Amid Criticism of Response to European Crisis
The Conservative Party postponed a press conference at which it planned to tout its immigration policy, amid criticism of the Canadian government’s response to the European migrant crisis. On Wednesday afternoon the party sent reporters a press release indicating that Conservative candidate Jason Kenney would be in Brampton, Ont. on Thursday to “make an important announcement on Conservative efforts to protect the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and the security of Canada.” On Thursday morning, party spokesperson Stephen Lecce sent out a second release saying the event had been “postponed to a later date.” The announcement came hours after Conservative candidate and former immigration minister Chris Alexander dropped his campaign plans to return to Ottawa to be briefed on the crisis. Disturbing photos of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi’s body on the Turkish beach have been viewed around the world. His mother and 5-year-old brother also died while trying to make the passage from Turkey.
Toronto Star – Canada Has Taken in 1,000 Syrian Refugees this Year
Canada has accepted just over 1,000 refugees from Syria towards its goal, pledged in January, of taking in 10,000, federal figures show. But the vast majority of those, 857, have been privately sponsored refugees dependent on the financial support of churches, families and community organizations to start their new life in Canada. There have been 188 government-assisted refugees accepted towards the 10,000 goal, immigration department figures show. Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced in January that Canada would take in an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees and 3,000 Iraqi refugees over the next three years. That’s in addition to 1,300 Syrian refugees already settled under a pledge made in 2013. On the election trail last month, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said that a re-elected Conservative government would accept a further 10,000 refugees from Iraq and Syria over the next four years, on top of the previous commitments. But on Thursday, the Canadian Council for Refugees appealed to the federal government to immediately accept a minimum of 10,000 Syrians, all of them government assisted.
Qantara.de – Hungarian PM says Refugees “Threaten Europe’s Christian Identity”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned on Thursday that the wave of refugees and migrants coming to Europe and the EU’s “failed immigration policy” threaten to undermine the continent’s Christian roots. “If you’re being overrun, you can’t accept” migrants, he wrote in German daily “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, adding that most were Muslims, not Christians. “We must not forget that those who are coming in have been brought up under a different religion and represent a profoundly different culture,” wrote the conservative leader, who was visiting Brussels on Thursday. […] Orban defended his government’s controversial decision to build a fence along its Serbian border in an effort to stop and slow the influx of people fleeing war and misery. “The people want us to control the situation and protect our borders,” he wrote. “Only when we have protected our borders can we ask questions about the numbers of people we can take in, or whether there should be quotas.” […] In Brussels, EU President Donald Tusk reacted to the article, saying that “for me, Christianity in public and social life means a duty to our brothers in need”.
CBC – Syrian Refugee Crisis “a Disgrace” Says Nenshi as Albertans Try to Help
Mayor Naheed Nenshi, speaking on Thursday, lashed out at what he sees as “the mean-spiritedness that seems to have snuck into our political discourse.” “We’re a country of generosity and we’re a country of opportunity. The fact that we have not even taken the Syrian refugees that we have committed to take, let alone taking many more people who are fleeing the most desperate situation only looking for opportunity in the world, to me is a disgrace,” he said. In Calgary, however, there are those who have been working to bring more refugees from the Middle East to Canada to help ease the burden on countries that cannot keep up with the massive migration and to give peace and shelter to those on the move. The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), which has an agreement with the federal government to sponsor refugees, is working with families and Muslim communities to bring people to Canada.
