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 – Employers still turning to low-wage foreign workers, even as unemployment rises
Canadian employers continue to ramp up their recruitment of low-wage workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program this year, a trend at odds with the federal government’s plans to restrict migration to the country.During the first quarter of 2024, employers received government approval to hire 28,730 people through the low-wage stream of the TFW program, an increase of 25 per cent from a year earlier, according to figures from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
CBC News – Feds give some asylum-seekers in Cornwall an extension on deadline to move out
After a month of fear and uncertainty, some asylum-seekers staying in a conference centre in Cornwall, Ont., now have another 60 days to find alternate housing. Robert Coulombe, executive director of the Roy McMurtry Legal Clinic in Cornwall, said a representative of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told a community meeting on Thursday that the centre will remain open for 66 identified clients but food will not be provided to them.
Toronto Star – Canada’s refugee system is overwhelmed by skyrocketing claims. What can Ottawa do to reduce backlogs?
Canada’s refugee system has been the envy of the world. It’s recognized as being orderly, fair and efficient when compared to any other western country. But as the number of asylum seekers keeps surging here — and with the queue and processing times getting longer, the beleaguered system is in desperate need of a rethink to save it from spiraling out of control and being clogged up in endless backlogs.
The Globe and Mail – More measures coming to reduce temporary residents, immigration minister says
Canada’s government is preparing to unveil a suite of measures to clamp down on temporary immigration and has no plans to follow through right now on a broad program offering status to undocumented residents, the country’s immigration minister told Reuters. “The era of uncapped programs to come into this country is quickly coming to an end. This is a big shift. You can’t just slam on the brakes and expect it to stop immediately,” Marc Miller said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday.
CBC News – Ottawa has no plans to give all undocumented workers residential status, minister says
Ottawa has no plans to broadly give residential status to undocumented migrants working in Canada, Immigration Minister Marc Miller says. The Liberals pledged in late 2021 to “explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had no timeline for putting this proposal into effect. Miller has estimated the number of undocumented people in Canada at somewhere between 300,000 and 600,000.
Toronto Star – Universities in Atlantic Canada worried about big drop expected in foreign students
HALIFAX – With just over one month before the beginning of the school year, universities in Atlantic Canada are worried about the expected big drop in foreign student enrolment due to caps imposed by the federal government. In Nova Scotia, the province has so far accepted less than 4,000 international students for the upcoming year, down from last year’s 19,900 foreign students.
