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.
Globe and Mail – Permanent Resident Visas for Foreign Investors Should Cost More: Lawyer
The Canadian government is poised to relaunch a program that grants permanent residency to foreign millionaires but a veteran immigration lawyer says he fears Ottawa is still underpricing what amounts to a path to citizenship. Ottawa announced in February it would end the decades-old Immigrant Investor Program, saying the $800,000 investment required of newcomers, as well as other conditions, “significantly undervalued Canadian permanent residence.” In the 2014 budget, the federal government said it would replace the program with one that would require foreign applicants to make a venture capital investment in early-stage startup companies. This is an effort to ensure the money applicants invest in Canada has greater economic impact than the old program, which required foreigners to make what amounted to an interest-free loan to the government. Richard Kurland, a Vancouver-based lawyer with decades of experience in the field, said he expects an announcement from Immigration Minister Chris Alexander within two weeks and predicts the minimum investment required under the revamped program will be about $1.5-million.
Toronto Star – New Rules for Federal Live-In Caregivers Program
Ottawa has officially changed its decades-old live-in caregivers program to a two-stream program that will restrict the number of foreign nannies or caregivers it will accept. Under the program, which comes into effect Sunday, caregivers will no longer have universal access to permanent residence status after working in Canada for two years. They must now apply under two categories — those caring for children, and those caring for people with high medical needs. Ottawa will allow 2,750 caregivers under both new streams to access permanent residency, for a total of 5,500 applicants a year. A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s says about 4,500 applicants have applied for permanent residence under the old program from 2011 to 2013. The changes are bad news for caregivers, says Pura Velasco, a spokesperson with the Caregivers Action Centre, a Toronto-based group with 1,000 plus members. “The pathway to permanent residency has been revoked,” says Velasco, a former caregiver herself. “It’s gone.” Under the terms of the old program caregivers had a “guaranteed pathway to permanent residency,” Velasco says. But not anymore, thanks to the annual cap.
Vancouver Desi – MOSAIC Tackles “Honour-Based” Violence Against Women and Girls
Non-profit immigrant settlement agency MOSAIC B.C. launched a campaign Friday to raise awareness about ‘honour-based’ violence against women and girls. The Status of Women Canada-funded project, There is No Honour in Violence Against Women, is the result of a two-year project led by MOSAIC B.C. Over the past 20 months, the organization conducted focus groups with clients from various local anti-violence service providers and women from immigrant and refugee communities. And according to MOSAIC’s senior manager of specialized services, Marc Larrivée, half of those service providers reported dealing with cases that dealt with violence “in the name of honour.” […] “Our work has shown that the focus must remain on violence against women and not to stigmatize immigrant women with the notion that what they may have experienced is vastly different from what Canadian-born women have faced,” Larrivée said, adding that the common question from most focus groups was, ‘Why is what’s happening to me so different than my Caucasian (neighbour)?’ “It’s really important that immigrant and refugee people don’t feel as though their culture … is being put up as something vastly different,” he said. “It’s not going to help women come forward.”
The Guardian – Cameron to Tell EU: Cut All Tax Credits to Migrants
Immigrants from the European Union will have to work in Britain for four years before they can claim benefits, David Cameron is to propose in a major speech setting out his vision of how the EU can control the free movement of workers – and how he is willing to leave the union if he does not get his way. In an attempt to restore his shattered credibility on immigration, the prime minister will say on Friday that Britain’s EU membership is now dependent on nation states being able to withhold almost all benefits from EU migrants. The proposal, which would affect more than 300,000 EU migrants working in Britain and claiming tax credits, is designed to reduce the disparities between the take-home pay earned by EU migrants in Britain and that earned in their home country, and is aimed squarely at the low-skilled end of the labour market. The plan to make Britain a less attractive place is an implicit acknowledgement that cutting back on EU migrants’ access to out-of-work benefits – the main thrust of coalition policy so far – is ineffective, since migrants come to work rather than live on benefits.
Metro News – Tolerance for Immigrants in Halifax Takes Dip in Survey, Mayor Says “We Need Them”
A year of increased focus and discussion on the importance of immigrants to the future of Halifax and Nova Scotia has had no impact on perceptions of tolerance in the latest City Matters survey. On a scale of 1 to 10, Halifax residents gave tolerance of immigrants an average score of 6.7 – lower than last year’s mean score of 7.0. The senior counsel for the research firm that conducted the survey said the results are surprising – and disappointing. […] The manager of the YMCA’s Center for Immigrant Services said the results suggest Halifax is “challenged” when it comes to looking at deeper issues of inclusion and cultural understanding. “There’s certain pockets of professionals, maybe, or people in the city that really see the value in diversity and are really working towards it, but somehow it doesn’t get shared with everybody,” said Kathryn Khan. Khan said more Halifax residents need to take the time to meet and talk to newcomers, rather than simply talking about them.
Brampton Guardian – Sheridan College Receives $500K Donation in Support of International Students
Sheridan College president Jeff Zabudsky was all smiles Thursday morning as he accepted a $500,000 donation that will help support the growing number of international students studying at the school. Guard.me International Insurance and its founders, Keith and Sharon Segal, provided the generous financial gift. The company is among the world’s largest health and travel insurance providers in international education and has a longstanding relationship with Sheridan. The money, which will be provided over five years, is earmarked to finance enhancement and expansion of the tutoring centre at Davis Campus in Brampton as well as provide scholarships and bursaries for international students. The announcement was made in the Library Learning Commons at Davis Campus and connected via Internet with a location in Chandigarh, India, where school, Canadian consulate and Guard.me officials were attending a reception to celebrate the donation. Students from India represent a large number of the some 4,500 international students from about 80 countries currently studying at Sheridan. About 3,000 of those students are in programs at the Brampton campus.
