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.
CBC – Visa Backlog Puts Nova Scotia Universities in Limbo
Universities in Nova Scotia say they are scrambling to deal with a possible shortfall of international students because a strike by foreign service officers is delaying some visa applications. The federal government and the union representing diplomats and immigration officers abroad — the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers — have been locked in a contract negotiation battle for months. As part of escalating job action measures, diplomats at key visa application centres abroad have scaled back some of their services, including processing visas required for international students studying at Canadian universities and colleges.
Le Soleil – Port de signes religieux: l’interdit s’étendrait aux fonctionnaires municipaux
Dans les intentions du gouvernement Marois figure celle d’interdire le port de signes religieux ostensibles non seulement chez les fonctionnaires provinciaux, mais aussi chez les fonctionnaires municipaux, selon des informations obtenues par Le Soleil de sources sûres. Les élus du gouvernement du Parti québécois entament mercredi une retraite de deux jours à Carleton, en Gaspésie, en vue de préparer la nouvelle saison politique et la rentrée parlementaire, laquelle s’effectuera le 17 septembre. Plusieurs sujets ont été inscrits au menu des discussions à huis clos, dont les désormais incontournables accommodements religieux et la Charte des valeurs québécoises.
Hamilton Spectator – “Hidden” Extra Pay Went to SISO Financial Director, Court Hears
Robert Salama received hidden payments every two weeks from 2007 to 2009 while he was financial director at SISO, a forensic accountant has testified. Scott McBride, contracted by the RCMP to examine the Hamilton immigration agency’s payroll records, told court Monday that the “extra pay” was $2,000 to $2,500, and a second employee received similar amounts, also not entered into the organization’s books. The payments to Salama and Nese Burgaz, a former administrator for the publicly funded Settlement and Integration Services Organization, were not accounted for anywhere in SISO’s records, McBride testified at the trial of Salama and Morteza Jafarpour.
Métro Montréal – Canada: appel à l’aide pour les réfugiés syriens
L’afflux de réfugiés syriens qui fuient leur pays pour les pays voisins créé une pression énorme sur les organisations humanitaires qui oeuvrent au Moyen-Orient. On estime que plus de deux millions de personnes, dont un million d’enfants, ont quitté la Syrie pour le Liban, la Turquie et la Jordanie. Présent dans la région depuis 1967, Développement et Paix Canada intervient depuis près d’un an pour aider les victimes de la guerre civile en Syrie. L’organisme doit renforcer son action sur le terrain, afin de répondre aux besoins grandissants des réfugiés. Développement et Paix lance, conjointement avec la Conférence des évêques catholiques du Canada, un appel d’urgence à la population canadienne pour obtenir des dons.
Huffington Post – The Plight of the Female Refugee – Breaking Barriers
Many barriers persist which make it difficult for female refugees to resettle in safe countries – countries like Canada. Restricted access to the funds needed to complete the refugee application process, limited mobility especially where female refugees are also mothers accounting for their children, minimal education and language skills, as well as an inability to recount traumatic experiences for religious, cultural, or personal reasons in an interview setting are all factors which make it difficult for female refugees to become involved in the refugee determination process.
Ottawa Citizen – Facing Deportation to a Country that Doesn’t Want Him, an Ottawa-Born Man is Still Fighting for a Work Permit
The legal team representing a stateless Ottawa-born man who is facing deportation has put pressure on Canada’s immigration agency to grant their client a work permit. Since being released from an immigration holding centre in May, 23-year-old Deepan Budlakoti has been denied a work permit and forced to live with his parents under curfew, despite being born in Canada. Budlakoti drew attention to himself with a conviction on drug-related charges in 2010. The federal government is now trying to deport him because of a rarely used section of the Citizenship Act that states that if a child is born while the parents are foreign diplomats or foreigners working for a diplomat then the child is not considered a Canadian citizen. Budlakoti’s parents were working for India’s high commissioner when he was born, and at the time were not Canadian citizens. But the Indian government does not want Budlakoti and has refused to issue him travel documents.
