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.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada – Canada Becomes First Country To Sign the Ottawa Protocol
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today signed the Ottawa Protocol on Combating Antisemitism. The Protocol is an action plan developed during the second annual conference of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA) which took place in Ottawa in November, 2010. Signing it demonstrates the Government of Canada’s support for it and a commitment to its goals.
This week, the Greater Sudbury Public Library is partnering with Citizenship and Immigration Canada in support of World Refugee Day. The main branch on Mackenzie Street is hosting a travelling exhibit until Sept. 23. The exhibit is visiting communities across Canada to promote awareness around World Refugee Day. World Refugee Day is celebrated every year on June 20. This year is especially important as it marks a milestone with the 60th anniversary of the signing of the 1951 Refugee Convention. After its stop in Sudbury, the exhibit continues travelling around Canada until mid- December, which is when the 60th anniversary commemorations culminate with a Ministerial meeting in Geneva.
Guelph Mercury – Tories Warned About Serious Mexican Visa Issues
Senior bureaucrats warned the Harper government that imposing a new visa on Mexican travellers would overload Canada’s diplomatic capacity. The deputy ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Trade offered that assessment in a July 2009 briefing note to then foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon. The memorandum, obtained under the Access to Information Act, was written by deputy ministers Len Edwards and Louis Levesque. The document highlighted “most notably the serious operational issues and challenges at our posts in Mexico as they prepare to become Canada’s largest visa processing operation in the world.”
Guelph Mercury – Canada Should Tap Into U.S. Labour Pool, Kenney Says
Ottawa is mulling ways to tap into the U.S. labour force as worker shortages loom on our side of the border, the federal immigration minister said Friday. “We’re at a preliminary point of examining ways that we could do a better job of accessing unemployed American labour,” Jason Kenney told a business audience in Calgary — a city all-too familiar with worker shortages, especially in the oil and gas sector. “There are a number of policy things that we’re considering. I don’t want to go into too much detail … We think, particularly in the energy industry, that may be a significant solution to some of the emerging labour market shortages.”
Citizenship and Immigration Canada – Consultation Sessions On The Temporary Foreign Worker Program Announced For October
Consultation sessions on the hiring of temporary foreign workers will take place in Calgary next month, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced this morning in a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. “Over the summer, I held consultations across the country on our overall immigration levels. From what we heard, primarily in Alberta, there is also a need to seek input specifically on temporary foreign workers,” said Minister Kenney. “We took major steps towards protecting foreign workers from mistreatment with the adoption of new regulations on April 1st. To build on that work and to address other issues that have been raised, this fall, we will be reaching out to those with an interest in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.”
News Talk 650 – Regina Immigration Rates Double In Last Decade
Your friends and neighbours are becoming more and more diverse. A new study by the City of Regina shows that immigration is way up — and it’s only going higher. The city says immigration rates have doubled with 10,000 new immigrants moving in during the last decade alone. The city’s Bruce Rice says after twenty years of declines, immigration is skyrocketing. “Right now, it’s about 10 per cent of the population. We’re looking about a third of the population in 2030,” said Rice.
