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.
La Presse – Ottawa veut attirer les travailleurs de Silicon Valley
Le gouvernement du Canada vient de lancer une campagne dynamique pour séduire les travailleurs des technologies de Silicon Valley frustrés par les politiques américaines en matière de visa et les inciter à adopter le Canada. Au même moment, le Congrès se débat avec une réforme du système d’immigration américain depuis longtemps espérée. Jason Kenney, ministre de la Citoyenneté, de l’Immigration et du Multiculturalisme du Canada, est arrivé hier dans la baie de San Francisco pour un séjour de quatre jours. Le but de sa visite est de proposer un nouveau visa aux entrepreneurs en démarrage d’entreprise, afin de stimuler l’économie de haute technologie du pays.
Hamilton Spectator – Ottawa to Change Immigration Age Limit of Dependant Children to Under 19
Older children of immigrants will be prevented from joining their parents and siblings in Canada under a new federal government plan to restrict the definition of “dependent child.” The change, which takes effect Jan. 1, will narrow the definition of a dependent child to someone younger than 19, rather than the current 22, and remove an exception for older children who study full time. The new rules could make roughly 7,000 immigrants a year ineligible to come to Canada. According to an outline of the plan obtained by the Star, the changes reflect the government’s immigration goals: to fuel economic prosperity, transition to a fast and flexible economic immigration system and target those with the skills to meet labour needs.
CTV News – Jason Kenney Sets Sights on Silicon Valley Tech Entrepreneurs
The Canadian government has launched an aggressive campaign to lure Silicon Valley tech workers frustrated by U.S. visa policies northward, just as Congress wrestles with a long-sought overhaul of America’s immigration system. Canada’s minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, arrived in the San Francisco Bay area Friday for a four-day visit aimed at snapping up talent for his country’s high-tech economy by offering startup entrepreneurs a new visa. […] Earlier this week, a billboard sporting a giant red maple leaf went up in South San Francisco, part of a Canadian ad campaign encouraging tech workers to head north. “H-1B problems?” asks the billboard on the road to Silicon Valley, referencing the temporary visa issued to skilled foreign workers in the U.S. “Pivot to Canada.”
CBC – Family Reunification Program Changes Worry Some in Winnipeg
According to federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, too many family-class immigrants — sponsored by loved ones already here — end up on welfare, in public housing and in our hospitals. […] The solution? Starting next year, if immigrants want to sponsor a loved one, they’ll have to prove they make a minimum $55,000 per household. They will have to commit to supporting their family members for 20 years — up until now, it was 10 years — and they won’t be able to sponsor adults who want to come as dependants (as opposed to getting a job). […] But critics say this is exactly the kind of fear-mongering that fuels misconceptions about the economic impact of immigrants. “That can happen with any system, and that’s often used as a way of introducing really draconian measures that impact many, many people,” said Louise Simbandumewe of the Immigration Matters in Canada Coalition.
The Sikh Wire – Canadian Film-Maker to Trace Roots of Sikh Immigrants
Biologist-turned film maker David R Gray of Victoria (Canada) is in Punjab to trace descendants of some early Sikh settlers in his country, including those who fought in the World War I and worked in British Columbia forests to make them habitable. Gray, who is here for four days in his first visit to India, says his interest in Sikh immigration to Canada stemmed from his chance tracking of some artifacts and leftovers of some Chinese and Indian immigrants in Victoria. The film maker has been working in Canada for the past last 50 years, tracing some of the first Sikh settlers in British Columbia.
CBC – P.E.I. Marked Low on Foreign Worker Treatment
Prince Edward Island received some of the lowest marks in Canada in a new report card on the treatment of temporary foreign workers. The report, prepared by the Canadian Council for Refugees, says migrant workers on P.E.I. have little access to information about their rights, are given no support services, and are isolated by geography and language. Only in access to health care services does the province score above a C. Josie Baker of Charlottetown’s Cooper Institute, a development education group, said the report card shows the other Maritime provinces are making inroads when it comes to foreign workers, leaving P.E.I. behind. […] The CCR report said housing conditions for farm and fish plant workers are also a major source of concern.
