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.
The Peterborough Examiner – New Immigration Strategy for Peterborough For the Next Five Years Plotted
Integrating into Peterborough’s community hasn’t been easy ride for newcomer Naser Miftari. Miftari immigrated to Peterborough from Kosovo in 2011 with his wife and son. He has a PhD in political science and a masters in journalism, though he hasn’t be able to land a secure job in either of his fields. […]That’s one of the reasons Miftari attended a community consultation on the 2015-2020 Immigrant Integration Strategy of Peterborough Thursday. Hosted by the Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration (PPCII) and the New Canadians Centre, the event took place in the Peterborough Public Library’s auditorium. The consultation was a chance for individuals and organizations to provide input on the PPCII’s new strategy that’s to launch in November. The three key areas of focus for the plan are social infrastructure and planning, economic infrastructure and planning and outreach and policy change.
Vancouver Sun – Faster Timelines Mean Less Access to Justice for Refugees
Prior to the reforms to the refugee system in 2012, claims would take a year or two to be decided, in part because for many years the government was not naming new decision makers. The reforms, coupled with new decision makers and less claimants, have focused on making the refugee determination system move faster. The speed and rigidity of the new system has made experienced counsel even more important. Instead, our recently-released research report finds that the Conservative government’s 2012 changes to the refugee determination system — reforms widely criticized at the time — have made it even more difficult for refugee claimants in B.C. to work with a lawyer to put their best case forward in what has become an unforgiving system. With the shorter timelines in the new system, a claimant has to submit a detailed narrative setting out the basis for their claim just 15 days after arrival […] Most claimants have never testified before and are often terrified. When the day of the hearing arrives, many have not had a full night’s sleep since their arrival in Canada only a few weeks earlier.
CBC – B.C. Establishes K-12 Homestay Guidelines for International Students
British Columbia became the first province to introduce guidelines for kindergarten to Grade 12 homestay programs on Friday. Homestays are formal arrangements by international student programs to house international students with approved families during the course of study. Nearly 17,000 students took part in the 2014-15 program, contributing about $400 million to the provincial program. “Our world-class education system continues to attract students from around the globe and these guidelines make the decision to study here even easier,” said Peter Fassbender, B.C.’s minister of community, sport and cultural development. The province wants to expand the program, Fassbender said. The guidelines outline responsibilities for homestay organizers and international student programs. The guidelines include a number of safeguards.
Radio-Canada – Le désespoir des réfugiés Syriens devant des frontières qui se referment
L’Union européenne est aux prises avec une importante crise de l’immigration. Plus de 340 000 migrants ont franchi ses frontières depuis le début de l’année, contre 123 500 à la même période l’an dernier et les pays d’accueil se montrent de plus en plus inflexibles. Catherine Perrin en discute avec la journaliste Anne-Charlotte Hinet, qui a suivi des réfugiés dans leur périple vers la Serbie, ainsi qu’avec Faisal Alazem, directeur du Conseil syro-canadien à Montréal. […] Du côté canadien, Faisal Alazem dément les affirmations du gouvernement, qui dit avoir accueilli 2500 réfugiés syriens depuis le début de la crise : « D’après nos recherches et ce qu’on entend, il n’y a pas beaucoup de réfugiés accueillis. Il y a beaucoup d’obstacles, malheureusement. » Selon lui, le pays s’en remet au système de parrainage privé, qui permet à des citoyens de parrainer des réfugiés, mais celui-ci est lourd et chargé de délai.
TFO – Immigration francophone: Légère tendance à la hausse ces dernières années
Maintes fois dénoncé, le chiffre de 1,46% d’immigration francophone hors Québec au cours de la période 2006-2011 reste anormalement bas. C’est pourtant le plus élevé des dernières années. D’après les chiffres obtenus par #ONfr provenant de l’Enquête nationale auprès des ménages (ENM) réalisée par Statistique Canada en 2011, il y a eu une augmentation de la proportion d’immigrants francophones en dehors de la Belle Province sous les deux premiers mandats de Stephen Harper. Entre 2001 et 2005, les provinces francophones en situation minoritaire n’avaient accueilli que 1,11% de nouveaux arrivants ayant le français comme première langue. Le taux n’était que de 1,03% pour la période 1971-1980, 0,94% (1981-1990) et un creux à 0,85% entre 1991 et 2000. En valeur absolue, les provinces en situation minoritaire ont reçu un total de 13 750 immigrants francophones de 2006 à 2011. C’est mieux en tout cas que les 9 225 arrivés entre 2001 et 2005. Bien que s’étalant sur dix années, les autres périodes ont accueilli un nombre restreint de francophones: 11 435 (1991-2000), 7 705 (1981-1990), et 7 810 (1971-1980).
CBC – Most Seeking Asylum in Europe are Refugees, Not Mere Migrants
The incredible images of people walking across borders, of being tear-gassed with their children and others, of scrambling onto overflowing trains — have forced everyone to see their journeys in a new light. Several media organizations, as well as CBC News, are choosing words other than “migrant” to describe the people arriving on Europe’s shores. That is at the milder end of a whole lexicon that attempts to dehumanize and diminish what these people go through. British Prime minister David Cameron recently called them a “swarm.” The U.K. foreign secretary described them as “marauding.” Some media describe them as a “flood” and a “threat.” A column in Britain’s Sun media went much further, describing them as a “plague of feral humans” and comparing them to “cockroaches.” That drew condemnation from the UN human rights chief, who compared it to the hateful language of Nazis. He said it fed “a vicious cycle of vilification, intolerance and politicization of migrants.” “Migrant” can indirectly contribute to the same effect, but mostly it misleads. One of the most offensive things about it is that it simply denies the chief culprit behind, and the source of, the desperation we’re watching unfold: War.
