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.
Montreal Gazette – Non-Status Haitians and Zimbabweans in a Race Against Time
Changes in Canada’s policy toward Haitians without status came last December, when Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander lifted a moratorium on deportations to Haiti and Zimbabwe. A moratorium on deportations is put in place when the Canadian government recognizes that there is a general risk for people living in a certain country. It allows people without status to work and study in Canada. Now, the roughly 3,200 Haitians and 300 Zimbabweans living without status in Canada risk being deported if they miss the June 1 deadline to apply for permanent residency on humanitarian grounds — requiring proof that they would face, in the government’s words, “excessive hardship” were they to be returned to their home country. While most of the affected Zimbabweans in Canada live in Ontario, Quebec is home to an estimated 90 per cent of Haitians in this country. […] Community centres like Montreal’s Maison d’Haïti are helping hundreds of people file their documents, but won’t be able to help everyone by the June 1 deadline.
CBC – Refugee Board Members’ Rulings Varied Widely in 2014, Data Suggests
Success in gaining refugee protection in Canada still seems to depend on the luck of the draw, according to a new analysis of Immigration and Refugee Board data. The analysis, done by Sean Rehaag at Osgoode Hall Law School, found wide variations among decisions by adjudicators at the IRB last year, continuing a trend over recent years and despite changes in the refugee system. Rehaag analysed 2014 decisions made on refugee claims under both the previous adjudication system and a new system that applies to claims filed after Dec. 15, 2012. His findings show that several adjudicators are far more likely to grant refugee protection, and others are far less likely, even when the data is controlled for variables such as country of origin. Rehaag adds that while some variation is normal, it doesn’t explain the wide discrepancies he found. […] The data show many decisions by adjudicators fall far below the average rate of acceptance that would be expected based on country of origin, and others far above.
Toronto Star – Low Acceptance and Backlog Stifles Foreign Nanny Program
Ottawa has approved fewer than 10 per cent of requests by potential employers to bring in foreign caregivers under a revised program introduced in December, latest data shows. To hire a nanny or other caregiver from abroad, an employer needs a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment, a certificate that says there’s a shortage of labour to justify hiring a foreign worker. Employment and Social Development Canada issued only 92 positive LMIAs between last December and March, according to statistics provided under a freedom of information request. […] While the federal government has attributed the sharp decrease to a decline in applications, advocates and recruiters said the low acceptance rate, compounded by a backlog in granting permanent residency to qualified caregivers, has essentially “stifled” a program Canadian families desperately need. […]“The Tories are secretly shutting out the caregiver program. More women will suffer. The caregiver applicants and the prospective employers both suffer due to the delay and the decreasing number of approved LMIAs,” said Liza Draman, of the Caregivers’ Action Centre in Toronto.
Radio-Canada – Travailleurs étrangers temporaires : des milliers d’entreprises sur les dents
Le gouvernement fédéral entend réduire de moitié, d’ici juillet 2016, le nombre de travailleurs étrangers temporaires au Canada, un véritable casse-tête pour les entreprises déjà aux prises avec une pénurie de main-d’oeuvre. Pour beaucoup de travailleurs, cette réforme marquera la fin d’un emploi au Canada, ou la clandestinité pour ceux qui choisiront de rester. La compagnie Veg Pro emploie une centaine de travailleurs guatémaltèques dans son usine d’emballage de Sherrington, en Montérégie. Le directeur, Gerry Van Winden, dit avoir tout fait pour recruter des travailleurs d’ici, mais les Québécois boudent ses emplois. Les travailleurs étrangers effectuent différents travaux sur la chaîne de montage, ils lavent, trient, emballent une variété de laitues. Leur permis de travail arrivera à échéance d’ici quelques mois et, selon la nouvelle politique sur les travailleurs étrangers d’Ottawa, il ne sera tout simplement pas renouvelé.
Toronto Star – Immigration Policy Will be Part of Election Conversation, Opposition Says
Immigration policy under the Conservative party’s watch has changed substantially, with many rules and regulations making it harder for refugees and immigrants to make Canada their home. The Tories’ tough-on-immigration stance has won over some ethnic groups; others are less than keen. Critics in Parliament have argued vigorously against the changes. But the Tories argue that their changes have saved taxpayers money, streamlined processes, cut waiting times and stopped “bogus” refugees. A spokesman for the Minister of Immigration Chris Alexander said he wasn’t available to talk to the Star to discuss the changes or what lies ahead. But according to University of Toronto’s assistant political science professor Erin Tolley, immigration rarely makes it as a central election issue because it “has the potential to alienate.” But this time around both the Liberal and the NDP say they are going to make immigration policy part of the election conversation.
CBC – Ex-Tim Hortons Temporary Foreign Workers Get Reprieve After Whistleblowing
A couple from the Philippines who complained about how they were treated while working at the Tim Hortons in Fernie, B.C., can stay in Canada for at least two more years. Jona and Chris Pineda are part of a group of temporary foreign workers who helped initiate a human rights hearing against their boss at the time, Pierre Pelletier. They accused him of cheating them out of overtime pay and threatening to send them back to the Philippines. The allegations prompted an RCMP investigation and attracted intense media attention. Pelletier was stripped of his two franchises in Fernie and Blairmore, Alta. Meanwhile, the Pinedas’ permits expired last August, and with the entire temporary foreign worker program in flux they feared being sent home. Then they learned Citizenship and Immigration Canada had given them a reprieve.
