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.
Ottawa Citizen – Canada Blocks Ugandan Kayakers from Ottawa River World Championship
Leaders of Canada’s kayak and canoeing communities have joined forces to get federal immigration officials to lift a ban on a Ugandan team due to take part in the World Freestyle Kayaking Championships on the Ottawa River later this month. According to documents obtained by the Citizen, the Canadian officials, based in Nairobi, Kenya, have twice rejected visa applications from the four athletes over concerns they won’t return home. The documents also suggest that the officials consider the reasons for the quartet’s proposed visit to Canada as unclear despite supporting documentation from canoe and kayaking and other organizations clearly stating the purpose. In one letter supporting the visa applications, CanoeKayak Canada urges the Canada Visa Application Centre to allow the Ugandans to attend the championships. […] Each visa application costs more than $200 per person and applications have already cost the team $1,800. (A fifth kayaker on the first round of applications dropped out). A third attempt means the athletes have to start the entire application process again — and pay again.
Reuters Canada – German TV Stirs Debate with “Refugees Welcome, Racists Not” Appeal
A popular German television presenter has prompted a heated public debate about a large influx of refugees into the country by making a prime-time appeal to Germans to stand up to racists who incite violence against the newcomers. A record 450,000 refugees fleeing conflicts and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia are expected to arrive in Germany this year, up from 200,000 in 2014, forcing the authorities and voluntary organizations to mount a large-scale humanitarian effort to feed and house them all. ARD TV’s Anja Reschke’s comments urging Germans to challenge increasingly bold critics of official Germany’s welcoming stance have struck a raw nerve in a country still haunted by memories of the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews and other minorities. “Those spewing hatred have to realize that this society won’t tolerate it any longer,” Reschke said in her commentary on Wednesday night for ARD public broadcasting, referring to online attacks on Germany’s refugee policy. […] Reschke sounded alarmed that racist comments often appeared with users’ real names, an indication of growing social acceptance. Germany has also witnessed a spate of arson attacks on refugee shelters.
Toronto Star – EU Urges Nations to Honour Pledges to Aid Migrants
The European Union appealed Friday to member countries to live up to pledges to provide planes and other assets so that its border agency can help Greece and Hungary cope with a migrant influx. EU leaders committed in April to triple the Frontex agency’s budget and provide it with more assets as thousands of people fleeing conflict and poverty head to Europe in search of better lives. “If we don’t get these assets, it would seriously undermine Frontex’s ability to carry out its operations,” EU migration spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said. Many countries had pledged to provide assets for short-term use, but Bertaud said more planes and “technical assistance,” including personnel and patrol cars, are needed for Greece and Hungary. The International Organization for Migration said Friday that, as of Wednesday, more than 192,000 migrants had arrived in Europe by sea this year. More than 2,000 migrants are believed to have died attempting the perilous Mediterranean crossing.
The Tyee – Why Racism in Vancouver’s Housing Debate Can’t Be Ignored
On a cloudy afternoon in May, a few hundred people gathered in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery to raise awareness about the city’s notorious lack of affordable housing. […]At the edge of the crowd, Brad Saltzberg leaned against a fence. Saltzberg has some answers of his own to Vancouver’s affordable housing crisis: blame it on the Chinese. Over the past decade, newspapers have occasionally published Saltzberg’s comments on anti-immigration and what makes a Canadian (being of white, European descent, mainly). […] Views like Saltzberg’s go unchecked in Vancouver’s highly racialized housing debate — one that blames real estate investors identified to have roots in mainland China for pushing the housing market out of reasonable reach. […] Buying luxury homes isn’t the only thing immigrants and Chinese people are blamed and shamed for. In the past year, student protest deemed a new college for international students at UBC “a slap in the face”; a Richmond overpass demonstration blamed immigrants for bad traffic; and businesses in West Vancouver and Richmond face ongoing backlash for posting Chinese-only signage.
Radio Canada International – Québec: sélection plus objective des immigrants qualifiés
En 2010, le Vérificateur général du Québec avait observé que le facteur « Adaptabilité » dans la sélection des travailleurs qualifiés comportait une part de subjectivité. Pourquoi? Parce que, écrivait le haut fonctionnaire, l’évaluation de ce facteur « est davantage basée sur le jugement d’une conseillère ou d’un conseiller à l’immigration que sur des balises objectivement mesurables ». Le facteur « Adaptabilité » relevait en effet de l’appréciation d’un agent d’immigration qui, après entrevue, évaluait tant les qualités personnelles, les connaissances générales que la capacité du candidat à l’immigration à réussir ses démarches d’intégration socioéconomique. La ministre de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI), Mme Kathleen Weil, a donc rectifié le tir. En vigueur depuis le 5 août, la nouvelle grille de sélection des candidats travailleurs qualifiés ne comporte plus de points attribués au facteur « Adaptabilité ». En plus de répondre à la demande du Vérificateur général du Québec, la nouvelle grille, selon la ministre Weil permettra aussi d’accueillir plus rapidement des personnes compétentes et qui répondent aux besoins du Québec.
Radio-Canada – 3 M$ pour aider les nouveaux arrivants à trouver un emploi
Le gouvernement du Manitoba verse 3 millions de dollars à l’organisme « Manitoba Start » qui aide les immigrants diplômés ou ayant une formation à trouver un emploi. Une fois au Canada, certains de ces nouveaux arrivants éprouvent des difficultés à trouver un emploi dans leur domaine d’études. Souvent, leurs qualifications ne sont pas reconnues. Selon la directrice administrative de « Manitoba Start », Judith Hayes, l’argent débloqué par la province permet la création d’un programme de développement de carrière unique au pays. « Nous disposons de gens qualifiés ici au Manitoba. Nos entreprises ont besoin de ces personnes et les nouveaux arrivants ont besoin de travailler, alors à nous de faire correspondre ces besoins », explique Judith Hayes. Une immigrante arrivée dans la province il y a un mois pour rejoindre son frère, Fatima Idowu se trouve dans cette situation. Malgré le fait qu’elle détient une maîtrise en administration des affaires obtenue au Nigeria, elle ne parvient pas à se trouver un emploi au Manitoba malgré les milliers de curriculum vitae qu’elle dit avoir envoyés.
