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.
Montreal Gazette – EI Recipients May be Forced to Take Foreign-Worker Jobs
As part of the Harper government’s upcoming immigration reforms, employment insurance recipients may be forced to take jobs that would otherwise be filled by temporary foreign workers. The federal government wants to reduce disincentives to work and create a “greater connection” between the EI program and the temporary foreign-worker program, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told the National Post editorial board this week.
This article is no longer available online. Please contact the media source directly for more information. Original Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/recipients+forced+take+foreign+worker+jobs/6488677/story.html
Globe and Mail – Rejected Afghan Interpreters Get Second Chance to Come to Canada
In order to be allowed into Canada, they had to prove their lives were at risk and many were told their claims weren’t believable. Now, those having their files reviewed are being told all they need is a letter of recommendation from a Canadian soldier or government official. The other requirement of the program was that the applicants had to have been employed for 12 months between the fall of 2007 and 2011. That rule shut out some who worked during the bloodiest days of battle, but the requirement remains in place.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada – Economic Growth and Prosperity the Focus of Immigration Changes
Proposed changes to the economic immigration system include eliminating the backlog of old Federal Skilled Worker applications, modernizing how selection is done under that program to better reflect the importance of younger immigrants with Canadian work experience and better language skills, creating a new Federal Skilled Trades program, and modifying the Canadian Experience Class to better facilitate the transition to permanent residence by successful skilled temporary workers.
Globe and Mail – Immediate Labour-Force Needs are Just Part of the Immigration Equation
Recent policy changes – notably greater use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the Provincial Nominee Program and the new ministerial instructions – have shifted the focus toward the short term, responding especially to pressures to fill occupational and skills shortages. While short-run needs obviously have a place in immigration policy, the long run also matters.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada – Immigration is Key to Economic Growth and Prosperity
In his speech to the Chamber of Commerce today, Minister Kenney announced the results of a pilot program that tested the impact of vouchers on uptake of language services funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Under the 2009 pilot, close to 2,000 newcomers in Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia were randomly sent vouchers, inviting them to take advantage of free language training at a local service provider in their community. This group was compared with over 24,000 newcomers with similar profiles who did not receive vouchers. The use of the vouchers saw an increased uptake of these services by almost 25 percent.
Maclean’s – Is the Federal Immigration System a Failure?
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney sees deep flaws in Canada’s immigration system. For too long, he argues, the system has been drawing ambitious newcomers who arrive here ready to work only to find their qualifications aren’t recognized […] or their skills aren’t in demand. […] Is the federal program really the unmitigated disaster he suggests? Not by international standards, where Canada is rated highly for its successful integration of immigrants into the economy, or even by some of the yardsticks Kenney has been using to argue Canada’s existing immigration system needs to be completely overhauled.
