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.
CBC News – Work to Settle 230 Displaced Ukrainians Begins After Plane Arrives in Saskatchewan
On Monday evening, 230 displaced Ukrainians stepped off a plane at Regina International Airport and into their new lives in Canada. The plane, which flew direct from Warsaw, Poland, carried people displaced from their homes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “It’s a really proud day,” said MLA Terry Dennis, the legislative secretary responsible for Saskatchewan-Ukraine relations, at the airport.
CBC News – Family Stuck in Long Wait for N.B. Medicare Card Told to Pay $30,000 Bill in 30 Days
Charlotte McGee and her family have accumulated more than $30,000 in medical bills while waiting for their New Brunswick Medicare cards, and they’re now being told to pay up. McGee relocated last year to Saint Andrews from Maine with her husband, Brody, a nurse who used to live in New Brunswick, and their two young children. They applied for Medicare in October and have been waiting ever since. McGee said her family doesn’t have the money to pay the medical bills.
CBC News – Deportations Halted for Two Edmonton Families at 11th Hour
Two Edmonton families facing imminent deportation — one to Mexico, the other to the Philippines — have been granted reprieves. Luis Ubando Nolasco, Cinthya Carrasco Campos and their eight and nine-year-old daughters were supposed to be on a flight to Mexico on Monday. The family fled to Canada in 2018 and sought refugee protection after a family member’s homicide. The government rejected their applications to stay and they were ordered to leave the country. But the couple says that on Saturday, they met with Edmonton Centre MP and federal Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, who told them their deportation had been paused and they don’t have to leave.
Le Devoir – Les délais pour le Certificat de sélection du Québec humanitaire explosent
Le gouvernement Legault accuse des retards sans précédent dans la délivrance du Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) pour des immigrants que le Canada a pourtant acceptés comme résidents permanents pour motifs humanitaires. Alors que ce n’était qu’une formalité de quelques semaines, il faut maintenant près d’un an pour obtenir ce précieux sésame, qui donne accès à d’importants services, dont l’assurance maladie du Québec. Sans le CSQ, il n’est pas non plus possible pour un demandeur de conclure son dossier de résidence permanente.
Toronto Star – Quebec’s Roxham Road on Track to See Record Number of Asylum Seekers – But They Face Delays and Despair in Post-Pandemic Canada
Technically a dead-end street, Roxham Road is a sleepy country route watched by high-tech border surveillance cameras. The passage that starts in New York state and continues into Hemmingford, Que., stands as the worst-kept secret of those seeking refuge from despots, disasters and all manner of dire circumstances, including North American immigration laws. Thanks to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions on border crossings, the return of air travel and a general increase in the numbers of people seeking asylum, 2022 is on track to become a record year for the controversial crossing point.
Globe and Mail – Federal Government Starting to Transfer ‘Small Number’ of Asylum Seekers to Ontario from Quebec
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean Boulet on Monday welcomed Ottawa’s decision to relocate about 100 asylum seekers who have crossed irregularly into the province – but he said that wasn’t enough. The province says its ability to house and care for would-be refugees is being strained, as about 13,350 people have entered Canada irregularly between January and May, mostly through Roxham Road, a rural road leading from the United States into Quebec. Ottawa needs to relocate more people to ease the burden on his province, Boulet said in a statement.
