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.
Courrier international – Obama veut agir unilatéralement sur l’immigration
“Le président Obama est visiblement prêt à agir unilatéralement pour régler la question de l’immigration et en particulier à utiliser ses pouvoirs exécutifs pour éviter la reconduite à la frontière à quelque cinq millions d’immigrés clandestins vivant aux Etats-Unis”, explique The New York Times dans son éditorial. “Il s’agirait notamment de permettre aux parents d’enfants nés sur le sol américain, donc jouissant de la citoyenneté américaine, ainsi qu’aux personnes entrées illégalement sur le territoire américain lorsqu’elles étaient enfants, de bénéficier d’un statut de résident temporaire et d’un permis de travail”, relate le quotidien new-yorkais qui a été le premier à publier la nouvelle. Obama pourrait également “assouplir les conditions pour les immigrés ayant des compétences dans le domaine des hautes technologies”, ajoute le journal. Le fait qu’Obama veuille contourner le Congrès pour légiférer sur l’immigration n’est, bien sûr, pas du goût des républicains qui ont remporté la majorité à la Chambre des représentants ainsi qu’au Sénat lors des élections législatives de mi-mandat du 4 novembre.
Toronto Star – Every 10 Minutes, a Stateless Baby is Born
According to the United Nations, there are roughly “10 million people worldwide who lack a nationality and the human rights protections that go with it.” This month, the UN’s refugee agency signalled its desire to end the problem of statelessness within the next 10 years. But it’s a very big problem. The reasons someone is born stateless are legion. Wars and unrest drive tens of thousands into a refugee limbo away from their homes (see the crises in Syria and Iraq); administrative rules and bureaucracy make access to citizenship papers for some communities very difficult (as is the case in corners of the post-Soviet world); ethnic or religious discrimination in some countries lead to tens of thousands being wholly denied citizenship rights (as is the case for the Rohingya Muslims of Burma). […] The UN agency is campaigning for more governments to sign on to existing UN conventions regarding the rights of stateless peoples and it is also pushing for more pressure on governments to reform their citizenship laws.
Toronto Star – Toronto Group Reaches Out to Help Gay Refugees Start New Lives in Canada
Four summers ago, Jason Kenney — then Canada’s immigration minister — threw down a gauntlet before the country’s GBLT community. Many had approached him about particular refugee cases — gay Iranians facing state executions; lesbian Jamaicans attacked with machetes. “It’s time,” Kenney said, for gay organizations to “step up” and start sponsoring these refugees themselves. The following spring, Kenney announced a $100,000 “pilot project” to help groups do just that. The fund would provide three months of income support for the newly arrived refugees, coming from countries where homosexuality is life-risking. The announcement twigged Lazier, an emergency room doctor who’d fought for women’s and gay rights decades ago. Her life as an openly gay woman was now safe and comfortable. […] She called the Metropolitan Community Church, where minister Brent Hawkes performed the country’s first legal gay marriage while wearing a bulletproof vest 14 years ago. So did another six people. […] So, the “MCC Toronto Group of Five,” as they call themselves (even though they are seven), became a formal constituency group of the church. Last November, they accepted their first refugee — another gay Iranian named Amir Pourshariati. One of the members, Philip Shea, offered a room in his home.
BBC – Barack Obama Defends US Immigration Reform Pledge
US President Barack Obama has defended plans to use his overriding executive powers to push through changes to the nation’s immigration system. He said Congress had been given ample opportunity to come up with its own plan but had failed to act. Republicans in Congress say such action would be beyond Mr. Obama’s authority. His remarks follow media reports he plans to extend protection from deportation, potentially affecting as many as five million immigrants. […] At the centre of the reports is a plan to extend the president’s “deferred action” plan, which was designed to protect young adults who were brought to the US illegally as children from being deported. The plan is to include parents of children who are US citizens or legal residents. The action is designed to prevent the break-up of families via deportations. The number of those affected by the suggested policy is based on how long an individual has lived in the US.
Chronicle Herald – There Are Many Ways to Help Foreign Students Become Welcome Here
So far, the big outcome from the Nova Scotia Commission on Building Our New Economy, which was led by Acadia University president Ray Ivany, has been the creation of the oneNS Coalition. The coalition is a select group of Nova Scotians chosen to create a 10-year action plan for the province. […] On Friday, the coalition hosted a meeting at Acadia University to discuss ways Nova Scotia could retain more of its youth and international students. One member of the coalition, Martha Crago, vice-president of research and professor in human communication disorders at Dalhousie University, told me there were many interesting ideas that may not have been considered previously. It was a combination of suggestions, she says — from relatively minor tweaks in the system, to things like providing access to health insurance in the earlier months of an international student’s arrival in Nova Scotia, to being included more in university activities. The international students also learned about services that are available to them, which should help them to more actively participate in Nova Scotia society, says Crago. Things like the Greater Halifax Partnership’s connector program, she says, a simple referral database that aims to help immigrants, international students and young Nova Scotians build a professional network, which could lead to job opportunities.
St. Thomas Times Journal – St. Thomas and Elgin’s Inaugural Newcomer Champion Award to Honour Those Making a Difference
What does it mean to be a newcomer champion? It means settling in a new community and making a difference. Or being an individual, group or organization that supports newcomers as they settle in their new homes. And a new set of awards will recognize both types of champions in the New Year. The St. Thomas-Elgin Local Immigration Partnership is launching its first-ever Newcomer Champion Awards at a ceremony in February. But nominations are open now to anyone who wants to recognize people and organizations from St. Thomas and Elgin who are making a positive impact. The awards flow from STELIP’s mandate to create welcoming, caring and inclusive communities that are appealing to settlers. […] The Newcomer Community Leader Award will recognize a newcomer committed to making a difference. […] And the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award will recognize those who have been positively and proactively supporting newcomers who choose to live in St. Thomas and Elgin county.
