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 Guardian – Greek Court Acquits Farmers Who Shot 28 Bangladeshi Strawberry Pickers
A Greek court’s decision to acquit farmers who admitted shooting 28 Bangladeshi strawberry pickers when they asked for months of back pay has sparked outrage in the country. Politicians, unions and anti-racist groups condemned the verdicts, describing them as a black day for justice in a case that had shone a light on the appalling conditions in which migrant workers are often kept in Greece. […] Scores of migrants, many sobbing in disbelief, protested outside the court after magistrates cleared two of the attackers, including the farm owner. Two others, accused of aggravated assault and illegal firearms possession, were jailed for 14 years and seven months and eight years and seven months, but were freed pending appeal. The strawberry pickers were shot in April last year when they demanded to be paid for six months’ work at a farm in Manolada in the southern Peloponnese. Four were badly injured in the attack.
Nanaimo Daily – US Lawsuit Filed Over Muslim Citizenship Denials, Delays Caused by Alleged Security Check
Five people sued the U.S. government Thursday alleging that an expanded national security check targeting Muslims has led to lengthy delays and denials in their citizenship and green card applications. The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California claims that the government doesn’t allow immigration officers to approve benefits for applicants deemed a national security concern under a 2008 program. The Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program uses overly broad criteria and has delayed naturalization and green card applications filed by Palestinian, Iranian and Somali citizens, the lawsuit alleges. According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles, the program uses a wide range of criteria to label applicants a potential security concern, including travelling through regions where there is terrorist activity or the identities of a person’s relatives or associates. Immigration officers are expected to deny applications filed by people flagged by the program, or delay making a decision as long as possible, the lawsuit alleges.
A company that recruits temporary foreign workers on behalf of Canadian employers has filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s Canada, alleging breach of contract and defamation of character. Graeme Young, the Manitoba lawyer representing Actyl Group Inc., which has recruited temporary foreign workers for McDonald’s in Western Canada, told CBC News the lawsuit was filed in a Winnipeg court Thursday. In the company’s statement of claim, Actyl alleges McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd. breached its contract when it failed to pay the agency certain “service fees” for immigration services it provided the franchisees. Actyl alleges McDonald’s Canada was “unjustly enriched” when it deducted money from the paycheques of its foreign workers and pocketed the deductions instead of paying the recruiting agency directly.
Agence France-Presse – L’ONU dénonce le projet de Washington d’expulser les enfants
Mme Navi Pillay, Haut-commissaire des Nations unies aux droits de l’homme, a dénoncé jeudi le projet de Washington de renvoyer dans leurs pays les enfants en situation illégale originaires d’Amérique centrale. “Il y a près de 57.000 enfants non accompagnés aux Etats-Unis. Je suis extrêmement inquiète car les Etats-Unis semblent sur le point de renvoyer la plupart d’entre eux”, a déclaré Mme Pillay à la presse à Genève. L’arrivée massive de mineurs non accompagnés a pris de court les autorités américaines qui manquent de moyens financiers et légaux pour y faire face. Le président américain, Barack Obama, a insisté sur le fait que les nouveaux arrivants seraient renvoyés chez eux, et le législateur est en train de préparer un projet sur l’accélération des renvois des ces jeunes.
Radio-Canada – Travailleurs étrangers : un recruteur engage une poursuite contre McDonald’s Canada
Une entreprise qui recrute des employés étrangers temporaires au nom d’employeurs canadiens a intenté une action en justice contre McDonald’s Canada alléguant une rupture de contrat et de la diffamation. L’action en justice a été entreprise auprès d’une cour de Winnipeg, jeudi, selon Graeme Young, l’avocat manitobain qui représente Actyl Group Inc. Cette entreprise a recruté des employés étrangers temporaires pour les restaurants McDonald’s de l’Ouest canadien. Dans les documents déposés en justice, Actyl Group Inc soutient que McDonald’s Canada s’est « injustement enrichi » en déduisant des frais du salaire de ses employés étrangers et en les empochant, plutôt que de les remettre à l’agence de recrutement. Ces frais étaient retenus pour payer « des services d’immigration qu’Actyl était en mesure d’offrir aux employés de McDonald », selon Me Young. L’entreprise allègue également que McDonald’s Canada avait accepté de payer une prime de 500 $ pour chaque demande de résidence permanente accordée à ses employés.
The Hill – A Little Help from Our Friends: Canada Could Help Alleviate a Humanitarian Crisis
Since October, more than 45,000 unaccompanied children have fled Central America and made their way to the United States. The unaccompanied children who have crossed into the U.S. and any who follow remain at risk. They need a safe place to live and other basic services while their asylum claims are under review. […] These difficult politics necessitate searching beyond America’s northern border for help. Canada enjoys a tradition of humanitarianism and neighborly relations, and the migration crisis is an opportunity to ask our neighbors to live those values: Canadians could agree to provide at least temporary asylum to some of these children. […] In doing so, the U.S. would be asking Canada to accept a moral obligation even if it does not have an immediate legal reason to do so. These children should not be summarily deported as many will have potential claims to refugee or some other form of protection status. But it will take time to sort out legal status, and each child will need to live in a safe place while he or she waits.
