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.
Global News – Some Quebec Junior Colleges Say Ottawa Denies 80 to 90 Per Cent of Study Permits from Africa
Some Quebec junior colleges say 80 to 90 per cent of the international students they’ve accepted from Africa are being refused study permits by the federal government, jeopardizing their ability to offer programs and raising questions about bias in the immigration system. Frédéric Tremblay, the communications head at Alma College, said the main reason given for refusing study permits is that authorities don’t believe the applicant will return home after studying — even as the province hopes to retain them.
CBC News – ‘I Just Need a Chance to Live Again’: Jamaican Migrant Worker with Cancer Begs to Stay in N.S.
A seasonal farm worker from Jamaica is fighting to stay in Nova Scotia for cancer treatment, saying it would be a death sentence for her to go home. Kerian Burnett, 42, was hired by a Colchester County farm through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) in April. She picked strawberries for about two months before she began experiencing severe pain. By June, the pain was so extreme that she stopped working and was ultimately diagnosed with cervical cancer in mid-September.
Globe and Mail – Smaller Centres Poised to Benefit from the Coming Population Boom
The city of Peterborough, Ont., has a synagogue, a mosque and a Buddhist temple. City hall hired its first diversity, equity and inclusion officer last year. The changes brought in entrepreneurs with new businesses, younger residents and families that revitalized the community, and greater cultural diversity, says Diane Therrien, the outgoing mayor. The new influx gave Peterborough a peek at what may lie ahead for other similar-sized centres in Canada.
ONFR+ – Niveaux d’immigration fédérale : la francophonie dans l’eau trouble
Le désir du fédéral d’augmenter de manière massive l’immigration dans les prochaines années pourrait signifier le début de la fin pour le français au Canada sans un changement de cap majeur, préviennent des experts.Pour des experts en démographie et en immigration, les nouvelles cibles d’Ottawa comportent un risque majeur pour la survie du français hors Québec et dans la Belle Province sachant les déboires en immigration francophone.
CTV News – Refugee Stabs Herself with Knife in Front of Federal Official Amid Desperate Plea for Housing
Aziza Abusirdana, a Palestinian refugee, stabbed herself in the stomach, just below the ribcage, last week while in a meeting with a federal government official with Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). For seven months she’s been stuck, living in a refugee hotel west of Toronto. She says she never intended to kill herself, but decided to stab herself in the stomach to try and get the attention of the federal government and the settlement agency which, for more than half a year, hasn’t been able to assist her in finding what she believes would be a safe place to live.
Reuters – Canada to Start Targeting Draws for Skilled Immigrants Next Year
Canada will do targeted draws for skilled immigrants for the first time starting next year, allowing it to cherry pick applicants with the most in-demand skills for the regions of the country that most need workers, the federal immigration minister told Reuters. A key focus will be on recruiting more doctors and nurses, but only for provinces that make it easier for health workers to validate their foreign credentials and start practicing when they arrive, Minister Sean Fraser said in an interview late on Wednesday.
