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.
CBC – Manitoba Aims to Get Immigrants Into Their Skilled Professions
Immigrants hoping to find work in their professional field are getting some help from the Manitoba government. Labour and Immigration Minister Erna Braun announced on Thursday more money and resources to improve the recognition of foreign qualifications and help connect employees and employers. Many immigrants to Canada find themselves working as taxicab drivers or in the service industry, even though they have engineering or doctorate degrees from their home countries. “Navigating the world of qualifications recognition can be complex,” said Judith Hayes, executive director of Manitoba Start, which provides career services to immigrants and connects them with businesses through a job-matching service. “By having better information and clear guidance on navigating the licensing process, newcomers will be in a better position to achieve full certification in their profession as quickly and efficiently as possible.” […] According to the provincial government, more than 16,000 people came to Manitoba last year, 5,000 of whom came under the provincial nominee program.
The Guardian – Immigration Viewed Negatively by Half of Developed World’s Population
Nearly one in two people in the world’s most advanced economies believe immigration is causing their country to change in ways they don’t like, according to a new poll. In many countries this is true in more than half of the population – in Turkey (84%), Italy (65%), Russia (59%), and in Belgium, France, Israel, South Africa, Great Britain, Hungary and India, the survey by global research company Ipsos found. However, the poll also reveals significant differences between countries – and, where attitudes towards immigration are negative, the reasons vary. The proportion who agree immigration is causing their country to change in ways they don’t like is below 30% in China, South Korea, Brazil and Japan. It is also a view shared by only a minority of citizens in the US, Spain, Canada and Germany. In Turkey (92%), Italy (71%) and Russia (69%), respondents also believe that there are too many immigrants in their respective countries, compared with 60% in France and Britain. The numbers are lower in Germany and Sweden (43%), the US (49%) and Spain (48%). Across the 24 countries polled, half of all people surveyed say there are too many immigrants in their country.
Globe and Mail – Changes to Temporary Foreign Worker Program Generate Labour Shortage
Even as the national unemployment rate hovers around 7 per cent, farmers, meat packers and other agri-food businesses say they cannot find enough Canadians to hire. The work is often unpleasant (butchering livestock) or seasonal (planting and harvesting). So they rely on a handful of federal programs that allow them to bring in temporary foreign workers, seasonal agricultural workers and students and young farmers. “Very few Canadians are willing to take on this kind of work when the duration is so short. Two months in the spring and two months in the fall. And it’s long hours. Often you are miles away from home,” said Blair Rutter, executive director of Saskatoon-based Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. […] After published reports showed that the fast-food industry was using temporary foreign workers to replace Canadians, the federal government last year limited employers’ access to the system. “The temporary foreign worker program is intended to be a last and limited resort when employers are facing short-term skills and labour shortages, and only when qualified Canadians are not available. In June, 2014, the government overhauled the program to ensure that it continues to meet this objective,” a government spokesperson said in an e-mail.
CBC – Bridgetown Prepares to Welcome Iraqi Refugee Family
Members of two Baptist churches in the Bridgetown area of Nova Scotia are preparing to welcome an Iraqi family of six now living in a refugee camp. Their group, called Paradise Refugee Support, is raising the $16,500 it needs to match Ottawa’s re-settlement money to sponsor a family for their first year in Canada. Through local donations, the group has managed to find and completely furnish a two-storey home in Bridgetown for the 34-year-old single mother and her five daughters from 10 to 18-years-old. “From Iraq, they went to Syria,” said Pastor Mark Reece of the Paradise Baptist Church. “They were displaced after having lived in Syria for about eight years and now in Turkey, for the last 18 to 20 months in a refugee camp, they are looking for a fresh start.” […] Canada has committed to settling 3,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of this year and 10,000 Syrian families over three years. […] Over the next three years, the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches has committed to sponsoring 50 refugee families through churches in Atlantic Canada — half the total of Canadian Baptist churches.
Radio Canada International – International Students Increasing in Canada
International students are beginning to arrive on campuses large and small across Canada these days. Some returning for the next year of study, some for the beginning of a stay in Canada that may be transformative, and could be the beginning of a life here. Students have been coming to Canada since just after the second world war. But now their numbers are increasing dramatically and Canadian colleges and universities are welcoming them warmly. Jennifer Humphries, VP of Membership, Public Policy and Communications at the Canadian Bureau for International Education, says there’s been an ”explosion” of international student mobility. She says in 2001 there were 2.1 million students studying abroad, in 2014 there were 4.5 million, and in 2025 there will be 7.5 million studying outside their home-countries. Canada hosts about 5 per cent of these students. In 2014 the Canadian government announced plans to double the number of international students and researchers in Canada by 2022 to 450,000. The government estimated the increase would generate some 86,000 new jobs and add an additional $10 billion to the domestic economy each year.
Our Windsor – Only 1 in 10 Candidates Invited to Immigrate Under Ottawa’s New Express Entry System
More than 112,700 people applied for permanent residency in Canada under a highly touted new system Ottawa introduced in January — but only one in 10 succeeded in getting an actual invitation to come. Despite a promise that Express Entry would allow expeditious processing within six months, only 844 permanent resident visas were issued, including both the principal applicant and family members, and 411 people had arrived in Canada as of July 6, according to the program’s six-month review. More than 85 per cent of the 12,017 candidates selected from the pool were already in Canada on temporary permits at the time of the application. The top five source countries included India, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Ireland and China. “It is remarkable that only 844 visas have been issued for a program which has invited over 12,000 people to apply. Within the 844, only 411 have actually used their visas and been admitted to Canada as permanent residents,” said Toronto immigration lawyer Shoshana Green.
