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.
Globe and Mail – In India and Canada’s International Student Recruiting Machine, Opportunity Turns into Grief and Exploitation
Grey Matters, which sees 7,000 to 8,000 students each month at its 56 locations in India, is one of many such centres in Chandigarh’s sprawling Sector-17 market, a hub of retail stores and education institutes that has become known as a one-stop shop for young Indians itching to begin their adult lives abroad. They promise a new life, jobs, houses and prosperity and a chance at the ultimate prize: Canadian citizenship. But for many, the dream doesn’t mesh with the reality.
Globe and Mail – Canadian Woman Who Spent Two Years in Syrian Prison Camps Fights Ottawa to Return Home From Iraq
A Canadian woman who spent two years in Syrian prison camps, now stranded in northern Iraq, wants a judge to compel Ottawa to give her an emergency passport so she can return home. In her application to the Federal Court, the woman says she has no identity documents and little cash, and fears for her safety living in an Irbil hotel with an expired visa. “I am desperate in every way and want nothing more than to return to Canada,” she says in an affidavit filed with the court.
CBC News – Foreign Workers Can Ease N.L.’S Workforce Woes, But Those Who’ve Used the System See Big Flaws
The labour shortage phenomenon is playing out across North America but in this province, “it’s pretty bad,” said Tony Fang, an economics professor at Memorial University. On a recent McDonald’s stop, he chatted with the sole worker on duty, a manager, who told him the other three employees were all no-shows, and that the restaurant was mostly staffed by MUN international students. Attracting and retaining those international students, along with other newcomers, is key to Newfoundland and Labrador’s future, Fang said, and that needs to be recognized by the broader community.
CBC News – Canada Post Loses Man’s Passport, Sparking ‘Nightmare of Any Immigrant’
A Nova Scotia man wants Canada Post to explain how it lost his passport and why it gave it to someone else without getting the required signature. Fibin Joseph had paid Canada Post to have his passport tracked — and to require a signature on delivery. It got to Ottawa, was signed for, and returned. The tracking information said it arrived back in Halifax on Oct. 17, and was delivered at noon the next day. Joseph went to his community mailbox, but the passport wasn’t there.
Global News – Ontario Government Seeking to Double Skilled Immigrants to Address Labour Shortage
Labour Minister Monte McNaughton says the province is facing a significant labour shortage that has been intensified by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He says doubling the number of immigrants allowed under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program from 9,000 to 18,000 a year will help tackle that shortage. The number of job vacancies in Ontario has increased from 234,000 in October of last year to almost 316,000 vacant jobs last month, according to Statistics Canada.
CBC News – Conservatives Call for Investigation into Government Data Breaches that May Have Put Afghans in Danger
The Conservatives have written to Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien to complain about a pattern of data breaches at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), CBC News has learned. The complaint is in response to a string of misdirected emails last month that may have exposed hundreds of vulnerable Afghans to danger. “The ramifications of this mistake have life-threatening consequences,” wrote Conservative immigration critic Jasraj Singh Hallan.
