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.
Toronto Star – Canada Border Services Agency Confirms Identity for “Man with No Name”
After almost a decade, the “Man with No Name” has finally had his identity and birthplace confirmed. Canada Border Services Agency officials have at last verified the identity and birthplace of Michael Mvogo, who has been in detention in Canada for more than nine years over immigration violations, according to federal government documents obtained by the Star. The CBSA has a notarized copy of his birth certificate as well as a video and a written statement that establish Mvogo’s identity and birthplace in Cameroon, according to the internal CBSA report. Those documents and the video eliminate the last obstacle facing the CBSA in its attempt to remove Mvogo from Canada. Mvogo, who had originally been picked up in Toronto, is supposed to finally be deported on or by Aug. 24, according to a Star source. […]Last year, a United Nations human rights monitoring body issued a report condemning Canada for detaining Mvogo for so long and urged that he be immediately released.
Surprise : la Reine des Cantons-de-l’Est s’illustre pour ses crimes haineux dans un lot de villes canadiennes. Excès de documentation, plaident les autorités ; écosystème social en mutation et réaction à vif au débat sur la charte des valeurs, affirment certains. Cinquante-deux pancartes écrites à la main : le décompte a été conservé en mémoire, avec la précision du chiffre, par Mohamed Kounna, propriétaire d’une épicerie-boucherie à saveur moyen-orientale, sise rue Belvédère Sud, à Sherbrooke. « J’en ai enlevé 52 sur toute la rue, résume-t-il d’une voix douce et calme, debout devant le comptoir de viandes, dont le caractère halal est affiché, sans ostentation, sur la vitrine de son commerce. Dessus, on pouvait lire : “ Non à l’islam. Non aux musulmans ”. Avec des choses comme ça, on ne peut pas le nier : il y a, dans la société, des gens qui acceptent plus difficilement l’autre. » Cette « récolte » de pancartes vindicatives, c’est entre 2013 et 2014 qu’il l’a réalisée. Le Québec au grand complet vivait alors au temps de débats passionnés sur l’identité nationale et la charte des valeurs, alimentant entre autres la campagne électorale du Parti québécois.
Le Devoir – L’«échec» de la régionalisation de l’immigration
C’est le paradoxe de la régionalisation de l’immigration. « En matière d’immigration, Sherbrooke est souvent citée en exemple pour sa diversité culturelle, son ouverture, son intégration, résume Mohamed Soulami, directeur et fondateur d’Actions interculturelles de développement et d’éducation (AIDE). Cela nous a toujours rendus très fiers, mais on sait aujourd’hui que le modèle en question nourrit surtout… un échec. » Les mots sont durs, tout comme la réalité des chiffres qui viennent avec eux. Dans les dernières années, la ville n’a pas été en mesure, en effet, de retenir les immigrants qu’elle avait invités fortement à s’installer sur son territoire : « 23 % à peine des immigrants restent dans la région », dit M. Soulami, qui a vu se former, puis disparaître, dans les 25 dernières années passées dans la région, la communauté de Haïtiens, de Salvadoriens, de Vietnamiens, dont les membres se sont dispersés depuis dans les rues de Montréal ou dans d’autres grandes villes du continent. « Cela veut dire que 77 % quittent les lieux, faute d’avoir trouvé un travail pour s’intégrer. Et c’est dramatique. »
Brantford Expositor – Laurier Brantford’s LEAF Program Helps Students Hone English Skills
The LEAF program – Laurier English and Academic Foundation – is designed to help equip students get the English language skills needed to pursue a university degree. […] International students are a growing and important part of the Laurier campus, said Valerie Kilgour, who manages LEAF. “We actively recruit international students because they add so much to the life of the campus. It’s a great experience for them and it adds to the experience of the Canadian students to have them on campus and living in the residences,” said Kilgour. On the Brantford campus, there are about 250 international students out of a student body of about 3,000. The LEAF program focuses on academic English as a second language skills, presentation skills, reading, essay writing, communication, and studying. Along with LEAF grads – who may have been in the program for a few months or more than a year – Friday’s ceremony included the school’s first Summer Business English Program, a four-week course designed to provide skills that would help students in an international business context.
The Guardian – Calais Crisis: British Police to be Deployed to Target People-Smuggling
British police will be deployed in Calais to target people-smuggling gangs as part of a new agreement aimed at alleviating the ongoing migrant crisis at the French port. In the first visit to Calais by a UK government minister since the crisis escalated at the start of the summer, home secretary Theresa May arrived in the town on Thursday to confirm a joint declaration with Bernard Cazeneuve, the French minister of the interior. Their deal will see officers from the UK based in a new command and control centre in Calais alongside their French counterparts and Border Force personnel. The work of the police contingent will be led by two senior commanders – one from the UK and one from France. They will report regularly to May and Cazeneuve on the extent of immigration-related criminal activity on both sides of the Channel. Officials said the move was aimed at disrupting organised criminals, who attempt to smuggle migrants illegally into northern France and across the Channel into Britain, by ensuring intelligence and enforcement work is more collaborative.
The Prince George Citizen – Fort St. John Seeking Skilled Immigrant Workers
A new pilot project to bring skilled immigrants to Fort St. John from outside of Canada is moving forward, according to Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman. Ackerman told various businesses about the initiative at the opening of STEP Energy Services new office, where multiple energy service companies were gathered to celebrate. These skilled workers would come from outside the country for skilled positions such as electrician and welders, “and whatever else is needed,” Ackerman said. “We’ve received the nod from the province and the federal government to do this pilot project,” Ackerman said. “It’ll be for Fort St. John… We’re looking forward to modernizing local government, bringing in the skilled workers, and growing our businesses.” Ackerman had few additional details about the skilled worker programs, however. “We’re working on it, and once we’ve got it all ironed out with all the details, it’ll gladly be public.” A spokesperson with the the B.C Ministry of Jobs, Tourism, and Skills Training, said ministry staff has met with the City of Fort St. John and “recognizes the area faces unique workforce challenges.”
