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.
The Record – Local Group Bridges Gaps in Immigrant Services
Dozens of local service providers got together at the Tannery Thursday night to talk about how to improve the immigrant experience in the region. Actually, most of them volunteer for a group called the Immigration Partnership of Waterloo Region — a collective that integrates services to new immigrants. […] The group doesn’t offer its own programs or services but it works with community agencies to streamline and improve services already available. Manager Tara Bedard said bridging gaps in services is crucial to helping new immigrants settle into the region. They work in housing and health care, employment services and integration — helping newcomers embrace leadership roles in their communities. In 2011 there were 108,720 immigrants in Waterloo Region, making up 23 per cent of the population. That number is expected to rise to 32 per cent by 2031 according to the partnership’s annual progress report. The partnership has three steering committees that focus on three important pillars for successful immigrants: settle, work and belong. There are dozens of similar partnerships hosted by the federal government across the country.
Globe and Mail – Would-Be Immigrant Investors Decry Ban on Iranian Funds
A hundred Iranians who wish to become business immigrants to Canada have written to Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson complaining that his office delayed their applications for up to two years because of economic sanctions against Iran. The applicants had been selected as immigrants under programs run by Manitoba, British Columbia and Quebec that require them to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in those provinces. However, because of sanctions under the federal Special Economic Measures Act, the applicants cannot transfer money from Iran without a permit from the office of the Foreign Affairs Minister. Canada has banned financial transactions with Iran since November, 2011, and diplomatic relations between the two countries have been suspended since September, 2012. […] In January, 41 of the 54 applicants to Quebec received their ministerial permits after they wrote to Mr. Baird threatening to turn to the courts, and after The Globe and Mail asked the government about their situation. The latest legal letters come from 59 applicants to the Quebec Investor Program and 44 applicants who were selected by Manitoba and British Columbia as part of their provincial nominee programs.
Toronto Star – Global Asylum Claims Rise 45% but Canada Lags in Receiving Refugees
Canada has remained at the bottom of the world’s top-15 refugee receiving countries, according to the UNHCR annual asylum trends report. Worldwide, 866,000 new asylum claims were lodged last year — a 45 per cent increase from 2013, the highest level since 1992 at the beginning of the Balkan conflicts, said the United Nations report to be released in Geneva Thursday. Syrians were by far the largest group among those seeking asylum in 2014, with 150,000 claims, or one-fifth of the total. Iraqis came second, accounting for 68,700 applications, double the number in 2013. […] In 2014, Canada received 13,500 asylum claims, about one-third more than the year before. In comparison, Sweden, a small Nordic country with 9.6 million people and a quarter of Canada’s population, admitted 75,100 refugees last year. The increase of claims in Canada was attributed to the significant drop in 2013, after Ottawa overhauled the refugee determination system in a bid to deter fraud and discourage asylum seekers from coming here. Canada has continued to rank at the bottom of the world’s top 15 refugee receiving countries, from a high of fifth in the world five years ago.
Reuters – Business Groups Rank U.S. Near Last in Welcoming Skilled Immigrants
The United States ranks near the bottom among major economies in terms of policies to allow hiring highly skilled immigrant workers, according to a study by a business lobbying group that supports relaxing immigration controls. A 62-page report, expected to be issued Wednesday by the Business Roundtable, found that the United States ranked ninth out of 10 countries including Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, France and Canada. Japan ranked 10th. U.S. restrictions on immigrants for jobs in science, technology and other specialized fields have long been an issue for business leaders who say they are unable to fill highly skilled positions. Opponents of more liberal immigration policies contend that there are plenty of skilled U.S. citizens and that immigration suppresses wages. […]Germany, Britain and France owed some of their high marks to the lack of immigration barriers within the European Union. But Business Roundtable said EU countries still have an advantage over the United States because of a lack of restrictive quotas for highly skilled non-EU immigrants.
Radio-Canada – Choisir la Gaspésie comme terre d’accueil
Attirer de nouveaux arrivants demeure un combat quotidien en Gaspésie. L’immigration, qui est en hausse dans la région, semble faire partie de la solution pour ralentir la baisse démographique. À l’occasion de la Semaine nationale contre le racisme, la Gaspésie organise les Journées de la diversité culturelle. L’objectif est de favoriser les échanges entre les Gaspésiens dits de souche et la cinquantaine de nationalités présente sur le territoire. Claudia Romero est gaspésienne d’origine péruvienne. Sa formation de biologiste en aquaculture l’a attirée spontanément à Gaspé, plutôt que dans les grands centres comme Montréal. Même si elle se trouve actuellement sans emploi, il n’est pas question pour elle de quitter cette terre d’accueil qu’elle habite depuis trois ans. Pour faciliter cette transition vers une nouvelle vie, un service d’accueil des nouveaux arrivants est offert dans les 5 MRC gaspésiennes. Claudia Romero y participe, ce qui favorise l’intégration. La région compte environ 1000 immigrants, dont le quart habite dans le Grand Gaspé, qui en accueille une trentaine chaque année.
Toronto Star – Canada Faces Dramatic Drop in Citizenship, Prompting Concerns About Disengaged Immigrants
The percentage of immigrants who become citizens has been dropping dramatically in recent years — from 79 per cent to 26 per cent among people who arrived between 2000 and 2008. Sounding the alarm is former citizenship director-general Andrew Griffith, who suggests that recent reforms which raised barriers to becoming a citizen could lead to immigrants’ widespread disengagement from Canadian public life and identity. His analysis — part of his study being presented at a conference this week — of the impact of the Conservatives’ reforms also suggests that the new version of the citizenship test has adversely affected applicants from visible minorities more than those with European roots. “In the past, citizenship was viewed as a stepping stone to immigrant integration, and it should be done earlier on,” said Griffith, who will present Multiculturalism in Canada at a three-day national immigration and settlement conference in Vancouver that starts Thursday. “These changes have made it harder and prohibitive for some to acquire citizenship, turning Canada into a country where an increasing percentage of immigrants are likely to remain non-citizens, without the ability to engage in the Canadian political process.”
