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.
Gouvernement du Canada – Communiqué – Les gouvernements du Canada et de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard prennent des mesures pour aider les Prince-Édouardiens à obtenir un emploi plus rapidement
Aujourd’hui, le gouvernement du Canada a annoncé qu’il accordait près de 4 millions de dollars à l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard pour la réalisation de deux projets qui aideront des jeunes et les nouveaux arrivants à trouver un emploi dans leur domaine de formation. Les gouvernements ont également renouvelé deux ententes qui permettront de jumeler les Prince-Édouardiens handicapés et les travailleurs âgés aux emplois disponibles. La ministre des Pêches et des Océans et députée d’Egmont, l’honorable Gail Shea, a fait les annonces au nom du ministre de l’Emploi et du Développement social, l’honorable Jason Kenney, en compagnie de la ministre des Services communautaires et des Aînés de l’Île du Prince Édouard, l’honorable Valerie E. Docherty, et du ministre de l’Innovation et des Études supérieures de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard, l’honorable Allen F. Roach. Le premier projet, intitulé Programme de préparation à la carrière, est financé conjointement avec le secteur privé et recevra 3 millions de dollars du gouvernement fédéral pour permettre à plus de 400 étudiants du postsecondaire d’acquérir de l’expérience de travail au sein de petites et de moyennes entreprises.
CBC – Eco-Equitable Trains New Immigrant, Underemployed Women
A charitable boutique that trains and employs women who recently immigrated to Canada launched its online store this past week, just in time for the holidays. Eco-Equitable, first opened in 2002, is a registered Canadian charity that provides temporary work and training through small-scale textile recycling. The business, including a boutique, aims to provide a bridge for immigrant and underemployed women to transition to fiscal independence, while reducing harmful waste. Scarves, handbags and fabric are made at the boutique site on MacArthur Avenue in Vanier, then sold in the store and now, online. […]The boutique moved online thanks in part to volunteers from the University of Ottawa. The work at Eco-Equitable has also helped students develop their business skills.
CBC – Decisions by Refugee Appeal Division Members Vary Widely
An analysis of past decisions by current members of the Immigration and Refugee Board’s appeal division shows wide discrepancies in the rate of positive decisions, a fact that’s concerning to many refugee advocates. Eighteen out of the 19 members currently listed on the IRB’s website as adjudicators for the two-year-old Refugee Appeal Division worked previously for the Refugee Protection Division, which makes the initial decision on whether to grant refugee status. CBC News analyzed decisions to grant or deny refugee status in 2013 by the 18 members now at the appeal division and found that several members decided to grant refugee status at a rate far below the average. The analysis is based on decision rates compiled by refugee law expert Sean Rehaag at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. For example, four of the members granted refugee status to claimants less than 20 per cent of the time. Another eight granted refugee status more than 20 but less than 30 per cent of the time.
Radio-Canada – Une histoire pour chaque nouveau visage
Les nouveaux arrivants font de plus en plus partie du paysage fransaskois, mais quelle est leur histoire? Comment se sont-ils retrouvés en Saskatchewan? Notre vidéojournaliste, Vincent H. Turgeon, a profité de la journée d’accueil du nouvel arrivant à Saskatoon, organisée par la Communauté des Africains Francophones de la Saskatchewan, pour rencontrer quelques-uns de ces nouveaux visages et leur demander de lui partager le récit de leur arrivée dans la province. Certains ont un passé de réfugié ou d’étudiant en URSS au moment de l’effondrement de l’empire soviétique. Pour d’autres, la réputation des hivers glaciaux des prairies avait créé une certaine appréhension. Une chose est sûre, avec chaque nouveau visage vient s’ajouter une nouvelle histoire au grand livre de la Fransaskoisie.
Nearly seven in 10 Canadians think employers regularly abuse the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, a government-sponsored survey shows. Despite that, more than half support the controversial program, according to the Harris/Decima survey of 1,984 Canadians, commissioned by Employment and Social Development Canada. The $95,000 survey, conducted last May, found that 57 per cent of Canadians strongly or somewhat support the temporary foreign workers program. Just 32 per cent say they are opposed. Asked if some employers abuse the program by not doing enough to recruit Canadians, 68 per cent said yes and just 19 per cent said no. Moreover, 54 per cent of those who said yes believe employers abuse the program all the time or frequently. Just six per cent think it rarely occurs. Despite the program’s high profile in the past couple of years, only four in 10 Canadians said they were somewhat or very familiar with it. […] Asked if the program should be reformed or abolished, 58 per cent said it should be reformed while about one in three favoured abolition. The survey is considered accurate to within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
A family of four Syrian refugees had a warm reception in Charlottetown Sunday afternoon. The Sabra family arrived in Charlottetown three weeks ago. They were sponsored by the Charlottetown Diocese Refugee Committee. The family fled Syria over a year ago, and have been living in Jordan as refugees for more than a year. […] Dan Doran, with the Charlottetown Diocese Refugee Committee, worked to bring the Sabra family to Prince Edward Island. “It’s always a pleasure, this is the reward at the end of the day for the work that we all do. It’s very satisfying, to say the least — not only to see the family here, but the happiness for the family members, to have their family reunited,” he said. Doran says two more Syrian families are awaiting approval to come to P.E.I. He’s hopeful Canada will welcome greater numbers of refugees in the days to come, but admits it’s unlikely the federal government will meet its commitment to bring 1,300 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of 2014. Statistics tabled in the House of Commons last week show 457 refugees had arrived, as of mid-November.
