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.
Toronto Star – Border Officials Slammed for Arresting Woman in Hospital Emergency Room
A Pakistani grandmother recovering from a heart attack was arrested at a Montreal hospital by border officers and told she would be deported from Canada the next day. Although Khurshid Begum Awan’s removal on Wednesday was eventually cancelled following protest by her cardiologist, refugee advocates criticized the Canada Border Services Agency for its actions. “There is no reason for this kind of belligerent and intimidating tactics,” said Rosalind Wong of Solidarity Across Borders, who was with the woman at the Montreal General Hospital when the arrest occurred Tuesday. “Three officers just showed up at the emergency room and informed her she was under arrest. It’s really disturbing. We call on health-care providers and administrators to ensure people accessing health services are safe from border agents.”
Citizenship and Immigration Canada News – Special Measures for Canadian Citizens and Temporary and Permanent Residents Affected by the Tragedy in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec
To help those directly affected by the tragic explosion and fire in Lac-Mégantic, the Government of Canada will automatically extend or restore the status of temporary residents, including those in Canada to work, study or visit, and provide free replacements of destroyed documents, such as immigration and citizenship status papers, permanent residency cards and Canadian passports, announced Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander today.
CBC – Unaccompanied Child Refugees Pouring into Canada
More than 300 unaccompanied minors are pouring into Canada seeking refugee status every year, a CBC News investigation has found. According to the Canada Border Services Agency, 1,937 children averaging 10 years old have arrived in Canada since 2008 with no parents and no documents, fleeing war, poverty and other adversity in their home countries. The biggest influx came in 2009 when 460 kids crossed the border. […] Nearly half of the young asylum-seekers arrive in Quebec or Atlantic Canada.
Radio-Canada – L’abolition des visas pour les Mexicains pourrait prendre quelques années
Même si l’imposition de visas aux Mexicains est un irritant majeur pour ce pays, le ministre canadien des Affaires étrangères, John Baird, croit que plusieurs années pourraient s’écouler avant que la situation ne change. Il a fait cette déclaration jeudi lors d’un point de presse conjoint avec son homologue, le secrétaire des Affaires étrangères du Mexique, qui était en visite à Ottawa. L’abolition de l’exigence de visa est « l’objectif » et le « but » du gouvernement canadien, a déclaré le ministre Baird, après une rencontre privée avec José Antonio Meade Kuribrena, lors de laquelle le sujet a été soulevé.
The Tyee – A Home for Refugees “Caught In-Between”
For refugee claimants, of which there are upwards of 2,000 that come in to British Columbia [annually], they arrive, in many cases, essentially homeless,” says Chris Friesen, settlement services director of the Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSBC), the province’s largest immigrant-serving agency. The ISSBC operates a downtown Vancouver transitional housing facility called Welcome House, which has some 80 beds. The 800 to 900 government-assisted refugees coming to B.C. each year are brought to Welcome House, leaving little room for refugee claimants. […] “Because the target of government-assisted refugees is done on a calendar-year basis, often in the rush to meet the targets, we have upwards of 40 to 50 per cent of the annual target arrive in the last quarter of the calendar year. And so we often have to go to nearby hotels on temporary basis.”
La Presse – Boom des demandes d’asile par des Nord-Coréens
L’Agence des services frontaliers du Canada (ASFC) dit observer depuis 2008 une hausse marquée du nombre de demandes d’asile présentées par des Nord-Coréens. D’une poignée de demandes il y a cinq ans, le Canada en a reçu plus de 700 en 2012. La majorité de ces demandes d’asile ont été présentées à Etobicoke, en banlieue de Toronto, détaille un rapport sur l’immigration illégale en provenance de Corée du Nord de l’ASFC obtenu par La Presse en vertu de la Loi sur l’accès à l’information. Le document, lourdement caviardé, explique que les demandeurs n’avaient pas de document pour confirmer leur identité ou démontrer comment ils étaient arrivés au Canada.
