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.
Toronto Star – Ontario’s Ethnocultural Legal Clinics Get New Funding
Legal clinics that focus on serving the GTA’s growing immigrant communities will get a slice of the province’s $4.2 million new funding, but the bulk of the money will go to mainstream neighbourhood clinics. After years of stagnant funding to assist vulnerable groups with unique language and cultural needs, the so-called ethnocultural legal clinics are expected to receive a $86,000 raise in annual operational funding. Legal Aid Ontario is to announce the funding on Friday. […] The regional legal clinics in Durham, Halton, Peel and York regions are the big winners, recognized for the growth of the general population and specific needs in their communities. […] Shalini Konanur, of the South Asian legal clinic, which serves one of Ontario’s fastest growing communities, said the allocation shows LAO does recognize the needs of the clients it serves. With immigrants, most of them visible minorities, making up an increasing proportion of the population in cities outside Toronto, Konanur said that legal clinics traditionally focused on poverty and housing issues are also faced with emerging needs involving racism and immigration issues.
Windsor Star – University of Windsor Lands $700,000 for International Student Exchanges
University of Windsor students will be travelling to study at other universities in England and India, thanks to $700,000 in recently announced scholarships. […] Two projects from the U of W will share the money, to send students abroad for four-to-six-month exchanges, with students from India and England coming here to study. […] Meanwhile, the engineering faculty — led by engineering professors Tirupati Bolisetti, Rajesh Seth, Jerald Lalman and Nihiar Biwas — is partnering with four universities in India and one in the United Kingdom in an exchange program studying clean water and clean energy ideas. Windsor is sending a total of eight undergraduate students and four graduate students over three years to these institutions. The U of W will also be accepting students visiting from those universities.
The Tyee – Canada Doesn’t Know What 154,000 Foreign Workers Actually Do
Canada’s budget watchdog says there isn’t enough information about temporary foreign workers, noting the dearth of data makes it difficult to assess the impact these workers have on the economy. Jean-Denis Fréchette’s comments echoed concerns raised by Opposition critic Jinny Sims in a Tyee report on temporary foreign workers hired at Facebook. Yesterday, Fréchette released a report showing the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada jumped by more than 200,000 in a decade — rising from 101,098 to 338,221 between 2002 and 2012. However, Fréchette noted that the government did not list the skills of nearly half — about 154,000 — of those foreign workers in Canada in 2012. As a result, he could not determine what job positions they held, the report said. Without that information, Fréchette said he can’t fully assess the impact foreign workers have on the economy.
Winnipeg Free Press – Canadians Less Welcoming of Immigrants, Visible Minorities, Survey Says
Canadians are becoming less welcoming of newcomers — especially of visible minorities, a new national survey has found. The EKOS poll, conducted March 4 to 10, shows a country that’s becoming more fearful and less compassionate, say Winnipeggers who help immigrants and refugees. “I’m horrified by these numbers and find them extremely disheartening,” said Dorota Blumczynska, the executive director of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba. The survey found 46 per cent of Canadians say too many immigrants are coming — up from 25 per cent in 2005. Forty-one per cent said too many immigrants are visible minorities — up from 18 per cent in 2005. The shift toward a less-welcoming landscape is no surprise to the head of Canada’s largest private sponsor of refugees. “These are frightening times, and Canadians feel it,” said Tom Denton, executive director of Hospitality House Refugee Ministry. “Political instability across the planet and daily appalling news from abroad is engendering fear of ‘the other,’ not just in Canada but everywhere.”
CBC – Temporary Foreign Workers Pin Hopes on April 1 Reprieve
Stephan Belitsky is like thousands of temporary foreign workers in Alberta: his life is in limbo and all he can do is wait. His work permit will expire April 1, which is when a deadline kicks in for those workers who have been in Canada for more than four years. They either need to be on the path to becoming permanent residents, or they have to leave the country. […] He is one of about 10,000 temporary foreign workers who have applied to stay in Canada through the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program. […] The federal government announced the reprieve earlier this year, but officials in Alberta say they are still in the process of contacting employees and can’t say when all of those who will receive an extension will be notified. […] Alberta can only hand out a maximum of 5,500 nominations for permanent residency each year, and the only way a worker can qualify for an extension to stay is if their current permit is still valid.
Radio-Canada – Hijab en cour : Rania El-Alloul refuse l’argent amassé pour elle
Rania El-Alloul, cette mère de famille que la juge Eliana Marengo a récemment refusé d’entendre parce qu’elle portait un hijab en cour, ne veut pas utiliser les quelque 50 000 $ amassés pour elle grâce à une campagne de sociofinancement sur Internet. Elle entend par ailleurs porter plainte contre la magistrate à l’origine de la controverse. Dans un message posté sur la page du site GoFundMe, qui accueille la campagne de sociofinancement, Mme El-Alloul explique qu’en rendant son histoire publique elle ne voulait qu’attirer l’attention sur la discrimination qu’elle a subie. Selon elle, l’argent devrait être employé à d’autres fins. Les organisateurs de la campagne, qui n’ont aucun lien avec elle, désiraient que la somme lui permette d’acheter une nouvelle voiture, puisque la décision de la juge Marengo l’a empêchée de récupérer la sienne, qui a été saisie par la Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec. Le montant devait aussi l’aider à payer ses frais juridiques.
