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 Globe and Mail – More than 200,000 international student work permits to expire by 2025, making transition to permanent residency harder
More than 200,000 international students will see their work permits expire by the end of 2025 – many of them, however, might not successfully obtain permanent residence status in that time frame because of recent changes in immigration policy. New data obtained by The Globe and Mail from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada show that there are 203,260 international students in Canada who hold postgraduation work permits that will expire in the next 15 months. Almost 70,000 of those permits expire between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024.
Le Devoir – Fin des exceptions aux plafonds de travailleurs temporaires au Québec
Autre tour de vis sur l’immigration temporaire. Ottawa va annoncer mercredi que ses plus récents resserrements liés aux travailleurs étrangers temporaires à bas salaire s’appliquent aussi au « traitement simplifié », une liste de professions désignées en pénurie par Québec. Un plafond de 10 % d’effectifs étrangers à bas salaire par entreprise, ainsi que des contrats plus courts, sera désormais de mise, selon une source proche du dossier au gouvernement. Le gel complet des embauches dans certaines villes sera aussi en vigueur pour les postes à bas salaire de cette liste comptant plus de 250 professions.
La Presse – « Mon conjoint a l’impression qu’il s’est fait avoir »
Les nouveaux immigrants font les frais des délais et des coupes en francisation. Hasan Al Shwanrah en sait quelque chose. Bientôt, les services gouvernementaux refuseront de lui parler autrement qu’en français… alors qu’il n’a toujours pas réussi à intégrer de classe. « Il a l’impression qu’il s’est fait avoir », se désole Nadia Balla, conjointe de Hasan Al Shwanrah, démunie devant l’engrenage administratif dans lequel son conjoint, arrivé de Turquie, est coincé.
Global News – Quebec court authorizes temporary foreign worker class action on closed permits
Quebec’s Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit involving temporary foreign workers who are suing the federal government over work permits that bind them to an employer. The lawsuit, launched in 2023 by the Montreal-based Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers, alleges closed work permits violate Charter rights pertaining to life, liberty and security of the person, and equality. On Friday, Quebec Superior Court Silvana Conte greenlit the lawsuit, whose members include any foreign national issued a work permit in Canada after April 17, 1982, that was tied to a specific employer.
Vancouver Sun – Abuses show need for fundamental change to foreign worker program: advocates
In February 2022, Miguel Gómez answered a Craigslist ad to work in construction as a temporary foreign worker in Canada.As a worker experienced in carpentry, he hoped for a better life in Canada for him, his wife and three children. With the promise of a temporary work permit when he arrived and assurances, he says, from his future employer that he and his family would prosper, Gomez travelled with his family from Mexico to B.C.
CBC News – Residents in Waterloo region struggle to bring family to Canada as war in Sudan intensifies
The UN says nearly 20,000 people have died as a direct result of the violence, but other estimates suggest as many as 150,000 people may have been killed. Humanitarian agencies are demanding urgent action to prevent the mass starvation of an estimated 25.6 million people. Attempts at securing a peace deal have failed to make any progress. Abbas says her family needs urgent help to escape the turmoil in Sudan — and she wishes there were pathways to bring them to safety more quickly.
