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.
London Free Press – Immigration Changes Address Labour Shortage
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney doesn’t want immigrants who are trained as doctors and engineers driving cabs or selling gum at corner stores. He says he wants newcomers to fulfill their potential and not waste their lives doing “survival” jobs because of road blocks provincial and federal associations erect to prevent skilled immigrants from working in their fields of expertise.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada News Release – An Immigration System that Works Canada
The new selection system for the Federal Skilled Worker Program will take effect on May 4, 2013 at which time the program will re-open for applications, Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. “The government’s number one priority remains jobs, economic growth, and long-term prosperity,” said Minister Kenney. “The new Federal Skilled Worker Program criteria will ensure Canada is selecting the skilled immigrants our economy needs, who are the most likely to succeed and fully realize their potential in Canada.”
Toronto Star – Canada Gets Human Rights Failing Grade from Amnesty International
This year three UN expert committees rated the country’s performance on meeting rights commitments — and returned a failing grade. […] The report welcomed changes to immigration and refugee laws in the past year that allowed for refugee appeals, but said they have also created two new classes of migrants and refugee claimants whose rights have been restricted. Those designated “irregular arrivals” — such as the Sri Lankan refugee claimants who arrived in B.C. — face mandatory detention, with intermittent reviews, and if accepted as refugees are barred from travelling outside Canada for five years.
Toronto Star – Federal Immigration Points System Changed
The points system that is used to decide who can immigrate to Canada is getting a makeover. The new judging criteria for the federal skilled worker program will award more points to younger immigrants and changes the way the government looks at work experience and education. The way points are allocated for language ability will also change. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney unveiled the new system on Wednesday after first introducing a plan for it in the government’s March budget.
Globe and Mail – Policy Decried as Man Who Had Canadian Passport in Error Faces Deportation After Jail
Deepan Budlakoti has an Ontario birth certificate. The government once considered him a Canadian citizen and issued him a passport. It now claims that was all a mistake, and although Mr. Budlakoti was born in Canada and his parents and younger brother are Canadian, he was never really a citizen, the government says. He’s also a criminal and thus deserves to be deported, it says. […] The government argues Mr. Budlakoti should be tossed out of Canada, just like any other convicted criminal who is not a citizen or landed immigrant. It says Mr. Budlakoti was born while his parents were working as servants to the Indian High Commissioner in 1989 and therefore – unlike children born to tourists or those illegally in Canada – is Indian, not Canadian.
Leader-Post – Immigration is Sask. Story of the Year
The big story in 2012 is that we are growing … or more specifically, how we are growing. We are talking about the population boom and the role new immigrants are playing in changing the face of Saskatchewan. […] A bit of the credit goes to the previous NDP government for establishing the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SNIP) – a program that’s clearly paid dividends, and one that has been wholeheartedly supported and nurtured by the Wall government.
