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.
Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada – Communiqué – Réouverture du Programme pilote de capital de risque pour les immigrants investisseurs
Le gouvernement du Canada continue d’évaluer les demandes présentées au titre du Programme pilote de capital de risque pour les immigrants investisseurs (CRII), un programme qui fera en sorte que les immigrants qui viennent au Canada procurent des avantages importants pour notre économie et notre société. Le Programme ouvrira de nouveau du 25 mai au 30 décembre 2015. Attirer des investissements importants et des immigrants très qualifiés qui peuvent stimuler l’économie et la croissance du Canada, tel est l’objectif du Programme pilote de CRII. Les investissements faits au moyen de ce programme pilote seront utilisés pour financer des entreprises en démarrage canadiennes novatrices au potentiel de croissance élevé. Nous incitons fortement les candidats intéressés à se présenter à une évaluation linguistique et à faire évaluer, le cas échéant, leurs titres de compétences étrangers par une organisation désignée dès que possible, afin de pouvoir présenter leur demande avant la fermeture du programme.
The Star Phoenix – Immigration-Related Scams Cause for Concern
The Canadian Border Services Agency’s prairie region is raising red flags after several targeted immigration scams in recent weeks. Spokeswoman Jacqueline Callin said the scams have included threats of deportation and coercive language in emails and phone calls as a way to scare people with permanent resident cards into paying fictitious fees. Another scam involves people overseas establishing online relationships with Canadians, then making fake plans to come to Canada. The scammer eventually claims to be detained at the border and only able to get through if a large sum of money is transferred into a bank account. […] She didn’t know how many times the scams have been reported over the past few weeks, but said one case is all it takes to capture the agency’s attention. She noted not everyone who is targeted reports incidents to the CBSA or local police.
Ottawa Citizen – Canada’s Duty to Desperate Refugees
The moral choice is stark: the human race can watch thousands of people die of thirst and hunger, or it can provide water and shelter. Yet Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister, said dismissively, “It would be utterly irresponsible of me or anyone to suggest for a second that we will reward people for doing something so dangerous.” Clearly, the people who undertook this perilous journey are not responding to incentives and disincentives in the neat and tidy way that Abbott expects. Tough love for migrants has not stopped smugglers from taking people out to sea. Instead, the smugglers identified the obvious loophole that policy-makers did not. They have learned to simply make false promises, pocket the money, then abandon the migrants at sea. Canada’s government has adopted a similar ideology to Abbott’s when it comes to refugees arriving by boat. It contends that if destination countries turn away boats and punish smugglers, the exploitation of desperate people will stop. The situation in the Bay of Bengal – and in the Mediterranean – suggests that theory is a dangerously simplistic approach to a complex problem.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada News Release – Maximizing the Benefits of Immigration for the Canadian Economy
Federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) governments reiterated their shared commitment to maximizing the economic benefits of immigration at today’s meeting of FPT Ministers responsible for immigration. The selection of economic immigrants and the improvement of settlement and labour market outcomes for newcomers were a key focus of the meeting, which was co-chaired by Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander and Ontario’s Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade Minister Michael Chan. […] Immigration levels planning was discussed by the ministers. Provincial and territorial representatives will continue to provide advice based on labour-market data. This advice will inform the decisions of the federal government, along with input from third parties including private-sector employers in a series of cross-Canada consultations in the coming months. Ministers also reviewed the ongoing work on Helping Immigrants Succeed: An FPT Action Plan that aims to improve Employment Fit/Foreign Qualification Recognition, Social Connections, and Language for those outside of the labour market.
London Free Press – Foreign Doctors Unable to Work in London are Pushing for Change to Licensing System
No one tracks precisely how many foreign doctors have come to Ontario with dreams of becoming a licensed physician here, but HealthForceOntario, which provides service to those doctors, estimates that since 2007 there’s been more than 15,000. Last year, just 70 were chosen by Ontario’s six medical schools to become residents — a mountain of an obstacle on what is the only path for most of them to become a doctor. Even worse, that mountain is growing: Ontario funds 200 residency spots for graduates of international medical schools, but positions are also being taken by Canadians who go abroad to medical school, then return, a cohort that’s more than tripled. While foreign docs faced steepening odds of practising medicine in Ontario, the federal government made it easier for them to emigrate here, changing rules to make it easier for them to qualify for immigration. […] Foreign doctors are elbowed out of the way by a group you might not consider international at all: Canadians who get rejected by medical schools here, go abroad to study in places like the Caribbean, then apply for residency in Ontario.
Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada – Communiqué – Maximiser les avantages de l’immigration pour l’économie canadienne
Les gouvernements fédéral, provinciaux et territoriaux (FPT) ont réitéré leur engagement commun à maximiser les avantages économiques de l’immigration lors de la réunion des ministres FPT responsables de l’immigration qui a eu lieu aujourd’hui. La sélection d’immigrants économiques et l’amélioration des résultats en matière d’établissement et de la situation sur le marché du travail des nouveaux arrivants étaient au centre des discussions lors de la réunion qui était coprésidée par le ministre de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration du Canada, Chris Alexander, et le ministre des Affaires civiques, de l’Immigration et du Commerce international de l’Ontario, Michael Chan. L’immigration économique et le fait de s’assurer que le Canada reste une destination de choix demeurent des priorités de premier ordre pour l’ensemble des participants à la discussion. Les ministres présents à la réunion ont discuté du lancement du nouveau système d’immigration Entrée express et de l’importance des programmes des candidats des provinces qui permettent aux provinces et aux territoires de trouver des immigrants éventuels, afin de satisfaire aux besoins de leur marché du travail.
