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 – Temporary Foreign Workers Perform at Banff Centre
The Banff Centre is known for hosting concerts with world-renowned musicians, but on Friday, it will present the talents of some of the town’s foreign workers. The World Comes to Banff multi-media concert will feature actors, photographers, visual artists and musicians who also work as cleaners, cooks and dishwashers. Many of the performers will be leaving Canada in the next few months because of the recent changes to rules surrounding TFWs. That’s the case for the concert’s organizer, Rodrigo Castro, who has been working as a housekeeper at the Banff Centre for almost three years. “We want to say thank you to the Bow Valley for letting us work and live in the beautiful Rocky Mountains,” he said. […] Along with being a farewell concert, Castro hopes to showcase the “hidden talents” of Banff’s foreign workers.
Brant News – Many Cultures Share Their Concerns With Liberal MP, Takacs
Markham-Unionville MP John McCallum says a Liberal government under Justin Trudeau would welcome immigrants to Canada with “a smile, not a scowl.” That was a key message McCallum shared with a packed room for a roundtable discussion about reaffirming Canada’s multicultural fabric at the Mohawk Chapel in Six Nations with interested cultural representatives from Brantford and Brant County. Local Liberal candidate Danielle Takacs invited McCallum to help her seek input from representatives of the many cultures in the area. […] In response to a question about the red tape tripping up Europeans who immigrate to Canada, the Liberal Critic for Citizenship and Immigration, Multiculturalism, and Seniors said the new Citizenship Act has erected unnecessary barriers for immigrants to become citizens. “We encourage immigrants who come to Canada to become citizens,” McCallum said. “We would like to bring as many new people here as we can.” Markham-Unionville is one of the most culturally diverse ridings in Canada, McCallum said, and does well economically. […] McCallum said more Europeans are coming to Canada because of high unemployment, but said a Liberal government wouldn’t table a program targeted at Europeans.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada News Release – Canada Welcomes First Permanent Residents Under Express Entry
Launched in January, Express Entry is a new way of managing applications for Canada’s key economic immigration programs. Candidates create an online profile and express their interest in coming to Canada permanently. Candidates who meet the minimum criteria are accepted into the pool and ranked according to various factors, including language proficiency, education and work experience. Each is a leading indicator of one’s likelihood of integrating fully and quickly into Canadian society and making an optimal contribution to the economy. 6,851 Express Entry candidates have received an invitation to apply for permanent residence. Most complete electronic applications under Express Entry will be processed in six months or less. International students are well placed for success under the Express Entry system because of their high education, Canadian work experience, strong official language skills and youth. They can transition to permanent residence through any of the programs under Express Entry for which they meet the requirements, including the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program or the Provincial Nominee Programs.
Globe and Mail – Slow Start for Express Entry but New Immigration System to Pick Up
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said he expects just 10 to 15 per cent of the immigrants who arrive in Canada this year will have been selected via the new Express Entry application system, a mechanism designed to choose immigrants more quickly to better meet the needs of the labour market. But he expects that figure will rise sharply by 2016. Since the system’s launch on Jan. 1, Canada has invited 6,851 prospective economic immigrants in the Express Entry pool to apply for permanent residency in various categories, from federal skilled workers to skilled trades people and those, including students, in the Canadian Experience Class. The Conservative government pledged to accept up to 280,000 immigrants this year, but the vast majority will be selected under the old system as Canada transitions to Express Entry. […] Mr. Alexander said he doesn’t expect the new system to significantly alter the mix of Canada’s immigration source countries. India, China and the Philippines remain the largest sources for applications.
Radio-Canada – Yukon : des travailleurs étrangers se disent victimes de discrimination
Deux hommes qui sont allés travailler au Yukon dans le cadre du Programme territorial de candidature à l’immigration (PTCI), affirment avoir été victimes de discrimination de la part de leur employeur, un restaurateur de Whitehorse. Byung Wook Jun et Geongyo Hong sont sud-coréens et ont tous deux été embauchés pour travailler au Airport Chalet, un restaurant achalandé de la route de l’Alaska. Ils affirment avoir été victimes de discrimination et forcés de travailler plus fort que leurs collègues canadiens, avant d’être injustement congédiés. « Je crois que c’est lié à mon homosexualité », a déclaré Byung Wook Jun. Il a déposé une plainte pour atteinte aux droits de la personne et discrimination en raison de l’orientation sexuelle. La Commission des droits de la personne du Yukon a ouvert une enquête. M. Jun a été congédié de son poste de serveur. […] Pour sa part, Geongyo Hong était chef cuisinier pour le restaurant. Il soutient que M. Jun et lui travaillaient des centaines d’heures supplémentaires qui étaient payées comme des heures à temps normal, en argent comptant. […] La fédération des travailleurs du Yukon (YFL) soutient que le système se prête aux abus. « Vous avez un programme qui donne le pouvoir aux employeurs de gérer l’immigration », soutient la présidente de la YFL, Vikki Quocksister. « Vous créez ainsi un environnement de travail où règne la peur. »
Acadie nouvelle – L’immigration francophone, un scandale
Extrait de la présentation devant le Comité permanent des langues officielles de la Chambre des communes, le 26 mars 2015.) (…) Pendant qu’on fait étude après étude sur les défis de l’immigration francophone, année après année, on fait entrer au Canada, à l’extérieur du Québec, plus de 98 % d’immigrants anglophones comparativement à moins de 2 % d’immigrants francophones. C’est, à tout le moins, ce que disent les chiffres de Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada. Malgré les cibles, malgré les engagements, malgré les multiples recommandations des comités parlementaires, c’est une constante depuis 20 ans. Quatre-vingt-dix-huit pour cent d’immigrants de langue anglaise, et 2 % de langue française. C’est un scandale. La population francophone a beau augmenter en nombres absolus; avec des proportions comme celles-là, notre poids relatif ne cesse de diminuer. À plusieurs endroits, ce n’est qu’une question de temps avant que nos communautés tombent en dessous du seuil minimum requis pour recevoir des services et des communications en français des bureaux fédéraux.
