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 – New Canadians with Medical Degrees Work Towards Accreditation
A group of new Canadians with degrees in medicine and other fields who are unable to practice in Canada have banded together in Ottawa to provide mutual support while they work towards accreditation. The informal group, which meets weekly at the Catholic Immigration Centre on Argyle Ave., began four years ago when Hassan Ghanim, then a fresh graduate, sought study partners. After a couple of weeks, news of the meetings spread by word of mouth and soon a dozen foreign-trained doctors were regularly attending the free meetings. Ghanim says 170 international medical grads have come through the group since he formed it. The aim for members is to refresh their specialization, but also learn about the licensing tests and accreditation process. […] Zahra Setoudeh, one of the 15 other international medical grads that regularly come to his weekly meeting, practiced gynecology for seven years in Iran before arriving in Canada last fall. “I want Canada to know these people are here when they are fresh, they have to use them — not when they are depressed after a few years,” said Setoudeh.
CBC – “Niqab Ban” Returns as Conservative Bill Planned for Parliament’s Final Days
With just days to go before Parliament rises for the summer — and MPs shift into election campaign mode — Multiculturalism Minister Tim Uppal says the Harper government has a last-minute bill coming to ban face coverings at citizenship ceremonies. The Quebec government introduced legislation Wednesday to enshrine religious neutrality in provincial institutions, including a requirement for people giving or receiving provincial government services to have their faces uncovered. […] “We broadly support Quebec’s legislation regarding the uncovering of faces for giving and receiving public services,” Uppal told reporters after the Conservative caucus met on Parliament Hill. “Our government will be moving forward in the coming days with legislation with respect to the face coverings at citizenship ceremonies, and we will consider what other measures may be necessary,” the minister said. His colleague, Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel, who represents a Quebec riding, told reporters the Conservative government is analyzing other possible measures in the future, but acknowledged that the federal bill would not go as far as Quebec’s for the time being. When asked if this proposal was Islamophobic, Uppal said absolutely not.
Sarnia Observer – New Committee Looks at Healthcare System Barriers Facing Newcomer Immigrants
Canadian newcomers often struggle accessing the healthcare system because they don’t understand how it works, says a regional health official overseeing access equity. Now, the healthcare oversight body for the region that includes Sarnia-Lambton, Chatham-Kent and Windsor-Essex, is looking into how to mitigate those barriers. A new Health Equity for Newcomer Immigrants committee through the Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) is meeting for the first time next week, said Sarah May Garcia, lead of health system design. It’s about “bringing the settlement sector and the health sector together to start work on a care pathway and action plan that starts to address all those inequalities in healthcare,” she said. In the case of immigrant newcomers, Garcia said, language can be a big stumbling block. Many also use hospitals for all of their healthcare needs, instead of doctors’ offices or other community healthcare options. […] Other factors, such as limited OHIP coverage, depending on immigration status or lack of a vehicle, mean newcomers aren’t necessarily receiving the best healthcare, Garcia said.
http://www.theobserver.ca/2015/06/10/new-committee-looks-at-healthcare-system-barriers-facing-newcomer-immigrants
Radio Canada International – Devenir réfugié pour sauver sa vie
Plus d’un million de réfugiés depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale sont arrivés au Canada. En 2011, le Canada a accepté environ 13 000 réfugiés à travers le programme de réinstallation du Haut-Commissariat aux réfugiés, le deuxième en importance après les États-Unis d’Amérique. Depuis 2012, le Canada a cependant décidé de refermer ses frontières aux réfugiés. Invoquant le fait que le pays était « dépassé » par le nombre de demandes de «faux réfugiés», le gouvernement canadien a changé sa loi-cadre sur les réfugiés. Aujourd’hui, beaucoup de demandeurs d’asile sont expulsés vers leur pays d’origine, et ce, même s’ils risquent d’être persécutés ou parfois exécutés. Comme enquêteur principal pour l’Association africaine des droits de l’homme au Congo, Talent Bin Nagen s’est retrouvé en quelques heures dans une situation de vie ou de mort après avoir accordé une entrevue à un journaliste américain, où il décrivait la détention de prisonniers par des rebelles dans des trous de deux mètres remplis d’eau.
Radio-Canada – Ottawa conteste des décisions rendues par une juge de la citoyenneté
Des avocats du gouvernement fédéral se présentent devant un tribunal d’Halifax, mercredi, pour contester la première d’une série de décisions rendues par une juge de la citoyenneté. Cette décision concerne un pilote de ligne d’origine nigériane, Akintomiya Oladapo Ojo, qui s’est établi avec sa famille à l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard en 2007. Il a demandé la citoyenneté canadienne en 2013, même s’il ne répondait pas aux critères de résidence. Il devait avoir vécu au Canada pendant trois des quatre années précédant sa demande. La juge de la citoyenneté Ann Janega lui a tout de même accordé la citoyenneté canadienne parce qu’il avait montré, selon elle, que le Canada était le pays où il vivait normalement. Au moment de sa demande, M. Ojo passait beaucoup de temps en Afrique de l’Ouest, où il accumulait les heures de vol qui lui manquaient pour que sa licence de pilote soit reconnue par Transport Canada. Sa famille demeurait à l’Î.-P.-É. pendant ces séjours.
Vancouver 24 Hours – Surrey Petition Wants Refugee Loan Ban
Canada is one of the only countries to not only charge refugees the cost of transportation to the country, but interest on the loan as well, and one Surrey councillor intends to make it an issue in the upcoming federal election. Coun. Judy Villeneuve said it’s a goal for her to have the refugee transportation loan removed so the “poorest of the poor” aren’t force to repay it. “In reality it can be up to $15,000 for families that do arrive here, people with no assets,” she said. “Some spent 18 years in war camps, and are coming here with really very few assets from a material perspective, and have never lived in an urban environment.” Villeneuve said Surrey has previously called for the removal of the refugee transportation loan program, but nothing came of it. “We determined that to forgive those loans, it would be at the most $38 million across Canada,” she said. […] The plan is to send letters to all candidates in the federal election and put public pressure on them to promise the program’s removal once in office. http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2015/06/09/surrey-petition-wants-refugee-loan-ban
