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.
Radio-Canada – L’Association syrienne d’Ottawa amasse des fonds pour les réfugiés de Syrie
La communauté syrienne d’Ottawa a organisé, dimanche, une campagne de financement pour venir en aide aux Syriens, qui se retrouvent dans les camps de réfugiés. Près de 400 personnes ont assisté à cet évènement, durant lequel les gens étaient invités à donner sur une base volontaire. Au moment d’écrire ces lignes, des dons s’élevant à 4000 $ étaient accumulés. Les participants ont également dégusté des mets du Moyen-Orient, assisté à des spectacles en boucle et participé à des cours de danse culturelle. Les membres de la communauté syrienne d’Ottawa veulent contribuer à l’effort d’aide humanitaire dans leur pays d’origine en amassant 25 000 $. L’évènement s’est terminé en soirée et les fonds seront remis à l’organisme Human Concern International (HCI). Le montant accumulé servira à acheter des matelas, des couvertures et des vêtements chauds pour affronter les rigueurs de l’hiver.
Washington Times – Anti-Islam, Anti-Immigration Movement Stifling Germany’s Economy, Business Leaders Warn
Europe’s divisive debates over immigration and Islam may be putting sand in the gears of Europe’s economic engine. Saying Germany needs skilled laborers to work in the factories and laboratories of its export-heavy economy, German corporate and industrial leaders are denouncing the string of anti-Islamic marches that have attracted growing crowds throughout the country in recent weeks. “We distance ourselves from this movement and any xenophobic movement that damages Germany’s reputation,” said Alexander Wilhelm, deputy head of the Confederation of German Employers Associations, a national umbrella group. […] Founded late last year in the eastern city of Dresden, PEGIDA has been staging demonstrations on Mondays against immigration from countries with large Muslim populations. […] Initial protests in Dresden numbered in the few hundreds but have been growing steadily and spreading: On Jan. 12, the group’s march in Dresden drew 25,000 people, including throngs of right-wing extremists and soccer hooligans. Thousands joined demonstrations in other cities.
Metro News – U of T Project Advocates Change to Canadian Refugee Policies for People with HIV
Canadian refugee and resettlement policies are negatively affecting would-be refugee claimants abroad who have HIV or are at high risk of contracting the virus, a University of Toronto program has alleged. The International Human Rights Program at the university’s faculty of law is launching a research project to advocate for changes on the immigration policy that has created the “designated countries of origin” list. Immigration office says people from those listed countries are “less likely” to be prosecuted, thus less worthy of a refugee status in Canada. Many of those countries are members of European Union, some from Asia, plus U.K. and U.S.A. But in some of those countries, the risk of contracting HIV, being stigmatized or facing prosecution is higher for refugees, sexual minority people or those who’ve suffered all sorts of gender-based violence, said Renu Mandhane, the program director. Canada should help those people to rebuild their lives here and get access to necessary medical treatment without fear of persecution, she said.
Radio-Canada – Moncton pourrait bientôt compter un centre culturel arabe
Un jeune entrepreneur de la région de Moncton, Mohamed Ali Mhalla, espère ouvrir un centre culturel arabe l’automne prochain. Il explique que l’idée lui est venue après le 11 septembre 2001. Aujourd’hui, avec quelques amis et l’aide de la Ville qu’il compte solliciter, il espère ouvrir les portes de son centre dès septembre prochain. Il veut que le tout concorde avec la rentrée des classes. M. Mhalla veut que le centre soit très accessible à la communauté. Il vise un emplacement au centre-ville. Le centre offrirait des cours de langue arabe pour les enfants et les adultes. L’endroit se voudrait aussi un lieu de rassemblement pour partager la culture arabe du Moyen-Orient et d’Afrique du Nord, notamment l’art, la poésie et la cuisine. « Pour contribuer, pour participer sur la scène socioculturelle dans la région, donc au niveau de l’immigration, de la culture, de l’éducation. On trouve que la communauté depuis le 11 septembre s’est isolée un peu, s’est retirée, par peur, par crainte des préjugés, de la mauvaise image véhiculée dans les médias et tout », explique Mohamed Ali Mhalla.
London Free Press – World-Class Education, Low-Class Marketing
International cross-border education is a booming business. But a report by Bernard Simon of the Munk School of Global Affairs says Canada is being left behind, while the Harper government’s international education strategy has set unrealistic and underfunded targets. Several years ago the Ontario government announced a $37-million program aimed at attracting foreign students to the province’s colleges and universities. Then Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak opposed the initiative, saying, “The funding would be better spent helping more Ontario students to get post-secondary education.” This attitude reflects a widespread misunderstanding of the benefits that foreign students bring. It’s one of the reasons why Canada is behind the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Russia, Germany and Japan (in that order) when it comes to share of the international student market. But even our eighth-place standing means the 95,000 foreign students in Canada in 2010 contributed about $8 billion to our economy. […] Our record is particularly disappointing when it comes to attracting students from China, by far the largest source of international students. They represented about 20% of all post-secondary students in 2012. Nearly a third of them went to the U.S. Only 3.8% came to Canada.
Toronto Star – Couples in Limbo Demand Audit of Spousal Sponsorship Program
Canadians caught up in Ottawa’s backlog in processing in-country spousal sponsorships are calling for an audit of the troubled program. Processing times have tripled recently. Thousands of Canadians are now having to wait more than two years to acquire permanent resident status for their foreign spouses already living in Canada. That means living in limbo for the foreign partner, including not being allowed to take a job or access health care coverage. A national online group called Canada Inland Spousal Sponsorship Petitioners says Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) must immediately establish “service delivery standards,” as recommended by the Office of the Auditor General in a scathing report in 2010. […] Canadians have the option to sponsor a foreign wife or husband either from abroad or within Canada; many prefer to do it here, so they don’t have to be apart during the processing. A spousal sponsorship is a two-stage process: the sponsor has to be assessed and approved before the foreign spouse can be screened for medical clearance, background checks and other verification. Currently, inland applicants must wait 17 months — up from six months in 2013 — for stage one, and eight months longer for stage two.
