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 – Migrant Workers Deserve to be Treated with Fairness and Equality
The changes to the TFWP [Temporary Foreign Workers Program] will encourage the use of more temporary workers. Temporary workers have fewer rights, limited benefits and essentially no access to settlement services. In addition, visa conditions for temporary workers often make them dependent on their employers for such things as housing, health care and basic information about their rights. […]Migrant workers pay taxes, and they contribute to social programs, including the Canada Pension Plan and employment insurance, that they may never use. Recent estimates indicate that TFWs and their employers contributed as much as $303 million over 12 months in employment insurance premiums in 2008 alone.
Montreal Gazette – Romanian Nationals in Magog Interrogated by Immigration Authorities
A group of Romanian nationals who drove clandestinely into Canada and were spotted in Magog early Tuesday are now in the hands of immigration authorities. […] The Canadian Border Security Agency, which is handling the case, would not confirm their request for asylum, or their nationalities, but said they were in a vehicle that drove into Canada from the U.S. without stopping at the border checkpoint.
Calgary Herald – Alberta Opening Door to Foreign Workers
An Alberta-based pilot program that allows skilled tradespeople to move from employer to employer while on a temporary Canadian work permit is expanding – a change that could bring hundreds or even thousands of new workers to the province, says Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. […] The pilot program also allows these types of workers to be issued a work permit without a special authorization from Ottawa, called a Labour Market Opinion. The Alberta government estimates the province could be short almost 1,500 welders, 1,376 carpenters, 775 heavy duty mechanics and 77 ironworkers in less than a decade.
CBC – Edmonton Immigrants Wait to become Canadian Citizens
The lack of a citizenship judge in Edmonton has left hundreds of immigrants in Edmonton waiting to be sworn in as Canadian citizens. Edmonton and Northern Alberta has been without a citizenship judge since January. […] A few citizenship ceremonies are being held in the Edmonton region if and when judges or other officials from elsewhere travel through.
Citizenship and Immigration News Release – Canada-Alberta Pilot Project Expanded to Include More Occupations
Alberta employers looking to hire highly skilled foreign workers in certain in-demand occupations will benefit thanks to the expansion of a Temporary Foreign Worker pilot project. […]Originally launched June 1, 2011, under the Temporary Foreign Worker Annex to the Agreement for Canada-Alberta Cooperation on Immigration, this pilot project allows eligible foreign nationals to come to Alberta to work temporarily in a specific occupation.
Vancouver Sun – Kenney Lashes Out at NDP Over “Lost Canadians”
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney slammed the Opposition Friday for suggesting the government is failing to recognize the children of Canadians who served in the First and Second World Wars as citizens because they were born abroad before 1947 when Canada first established its own citizenship. […] He said he is well aware that a small number of individuals who were born overseas and out of wedlock to Canadian servicemen and their non-Canadian partners continue to fall through the cracks and has vowed to introduce legislation “very soon” to “correct this aberration.” Kenney said he has also granted citizenship to about a dozen people in this situation directly through orders in cabinet.
