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.
Canoe – Réfugiés syriens: la priorité aux minorités persécutées
Le gouvernement fédéral continuera à donner la priorité aux «minorités persécutées» quant aux réfugiés syriens, a indiqué mardi le ministre de l’Immigration, Chris Alexander. Le ministre Alexander a précisé devant les journalistes à Toronto que le Canada accueillera les chrétiens, les Kurdes sunnites et les femmes en danger de violence sexuelle dans ce pays ravagé par la guerre. «Plusieurs minorités sont sous pression et, dans plusieurs cas, attaquées, a souligné le ministre de l’Immigration. Notre programme de réinstallation des réfugiés cherche à aider les plus vulnérables.» Le Canada a accueilli plus de 2000 réfugiés depuis le début de la guerre civile en Syrie, en 2011. Le Canada a cependant été la cible de critiques au cours des dernières semaines pour ne pas avoir accepté sa juste part de réfugiés. Ottawa a aussi été accusé de choisir les réfugiés en fonction de leur religion. La Suède a accepté 60 000 réfugiés depuis 2011 tandis que l’Allemagne en a accueilli 20 000.
Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada – Communique – Nombre record de nouveaux citoyens accueillis en 2014
Le ministre de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration du Canada, Chris Alexander, a annoncé aujourd’hui que le Canada a accordé la citoyenneté à plus de 260 000 personnes cette année, grâce aux améliorations apportées par le gouvernement au programme de citoyenneté, ainsi qu’à la réforme récente de la Loi sur la citoyenneté. Cela représente plus de nouveaux Canadiens que toute autre année au cours de l’histoire du Canada et au moins deux fois plus que l’année dernière. Grâce aux changements apportés récemment à la Loi sur la citoyenneté, le gouvernement a réussi à améliorer l’efficacité du traitement des demandes de citoyenneté. Les résultats sont déjà visibles. Le nouveau modèle de prise de décision entré en vigueur le 1er août comprend une seule étape plutôt que trois. Depuis cette date, plus de 115 000 personnes ont obtenu la citoyenneté canadienne, soit une augmentation de 90 % par rapport à la même période l’an dernier. L’arriéré des demandes de citoyenneté canadienne a diminué de 17 % depuis juin 2014, et a atteint son plus bas niveau en près de trois ans.
Hamilton Spectator – Making the Immigrant Connection
Almost half of Hamilton’s immigrants lived somewhere else in Canada before relocating here. Among immigrants living in Hamilton in 2011 who came to Canada after 1995, 47 per cent came as secondary migrants, after living elsewhere in Canada. Moreover, these secondary migrants to Hamilton were more likely to be economic class immigrants. Economic class immigrants are admitted to Canada because of their skills, experience and language. They have higher levels of education, are more likely to be working, and have higher employment earnings compared with other immigrants. The emerging evidence suggests that mobility is connected to employment and business success. For example, employment incomes are virtually identical among immigrants who relocated to Hamilton and those who left Hamilton. By comparison, these mobile immigrants have higher incomes compared with immigrants who have lived in Hamilton since arriving in Canada. This holds true for both men and women. The data also reveals that, since 1996, the proportion of immigrants to Hamilton with a diploma, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or doctorate has increased. As well, it indicates that employment opportunities are positively correlated with education and with language and communication skills.
Metro News – Toronto Group Calls for Stay on Deportations to Countries Fighting Ebola
A Toronto group is leading an effort to put a moratorium on deportations and speed up immigration applications for people with ties to three Western African countries battling Ebola. About 200 people from across Canada signed a petition calling on swift action on applications for people from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The petition was sent last month to Minister of Immigration Chris Alexander. It specifically mentions expediting permanent resident applications for spouses and common-law partners along with the renewal of things like work permits. “It’s a lot of suffering for people whose spouses are left in this whole Ebola crisis as they wait for the papers to come through,” said Amadou Barry. Barry helped lead the effort with other Guineans living in Toronto. They’re part of a group called the Citizen Action Commission. The petition also asks that Canada waive fees for immigration services and start processing visa applications, which were frozen because of Ebola concerns.
CBC – Canada Launches Pilot Program for Spouses Waiting for Permanent Residency
The federal government will start issuing open work permits to help the spouses of Canadians already living in the country but waiting for permanent residency, under a one-year pilot program launched today. […] “As we promised, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is launching a pilot program that will allow spouses being sponsored under the Inland Spousal Sponsorship program to receive their work permits much sooner while we process their applications,” a spokesman for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander told CBC News on Monday. […] Existing applicants, who have been waiting in certain cases upwards of 18 months, could see their open work permit applications processed within a matter of weeks, while new applicants could see their permit applications processed within four months. An open work permit allows applicants to work for any employer for a specified period of time while their permanent residence applications are processed. This would also allow the applicants to receive provincial health coverage while awaiting permanent residency.
Wall Street Journal – Canada Wants Refugees to Go West
Canada is weighing steps to settle refugees in parts of the country with low unemployment levels, signaling the government’s effort to use immigration policy to support economic growth—without alienating voters. Canada has one of the highest per capita immigration rates in the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations, and just over half of immigrants and nearly half of refugees to Canada settle in Ontario, the country’s largest province, which has a higher unemployment rate than faster-growing Alberta, which attracts a much smaller share of newcomers. […] Refugees could help meet demand for unskilled labor by settling in the resource-rich Alberta, and help to avoid concentrations of unemployed immigrants in central Canada, Minister of Employment Jason Kenney said in an interview. […] The service industry in Alberta has grown to rely on foreign workers, who come to the country on special visas to do specific jobs, and limiting their entry angered business groups and politicians. But Alberta has attracted a small share of other categories of immigrants, and only 11% of refugees, or 2,751 people.
