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 – Edmonton Community Groups Prepare to Welcome Afghan Refugees
The timeline of that arrival remains unclear, according to Catholic Social Services (CSS), the contracted agency for getting government-assisted refugees settled in Edmonton and Red Deer. Sharon Yeo, director of immigration and settlement service, said the situation in Afghanistan has been rapidly changing. Once refugees arrive in Edmonton, they will be connected to essential services like health care, school enrollment and employment opportunities, with the help of community organizations like CSS.
Global News – Canada’s Evacuations From Kabul Are Over. Here’s Where the Focus Will Shift Next
What is clear is that the Canadian focus is shifting: away from evacuation, and towards moving forward with humanitarian aid and the processing in neighbouring states of what will likely be floods of applications for asylum from those able to escape in the coming days, and weeks, and months.
CBC News – Former P.E.I. Student Detained, Faces Deportation for Accessing Mental Health Care
Mehdi Oussama Belhadj Hassine was born in Saudi Arabia. He was detained by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on Aug. 13 after spending weeks in the Hillsborough Hospital seeking help for his mental health. Belhadj’s legal counsel, Halifax lawyer Lee Cohen, is authorized to speak on his client’s behalf. Cohen said he’s “extremely disturbed” by this case. “Something has gone terribly wrong here. A young man in need of mental health care accesses it and because he has accessed it, now he’s on the path to being removed from Canada.”
Toronto Star – ‘Canada Has Left Us’: As Suicide Attacks Rock Kabul, Former Canadian Allies Left Behind
Canadian officials announced that this country had ended its Afghan evacuation operation, five days before the Aug. 31 deadline agreed to by the Taliban and the White House for withdrawal. And the same day blasts killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, Afghan and U.S. officials said. More than 140 Afghans and 15 American service members were injured. “Canada has left us,” said Maroof, a former interpreter, still in disbelief. “The country that prides itself as the biggest humanitarian country has broken my trust and my heart. But I want to thank all our veteran supporters.”
Le Devoir – O’Toole veut « privatiser » le parrainage des réfugiés
Alors qu’Erin O’Toole martèle depuis des jours que Justin Trudeau n’en fait pas assez pour accueillir des réfugiés afghans fuyant le régime des talibans, le chef conservateur promet discrètement dans sa plateforme électorale de délaisser, en règle générale, le parrainage de réfugiés par l’État pour laisser le soin à des familles et à des organismes privés de s’en charger.
La Presse – Crise en Afghanistan. Le Canada a évacué plus de 2700 personnes
Le gouvernement poursuit son opération d’évacuation en Afghanistan, où la situation sécuritaire se dégrade « d’heure en heure ». Les prochaines heures seront cruciales, alors que le Canada s’apprête à mettre un terme à l’opération avant la date butoir du 31 août fixée par les États-Unis. Les 22, 23 et 24 août, des vols avec 436, 506 et 535 réfugiés afghans, respectivement ont pu décoller de l’aéroport international Hamid-Karzai, à Kaboul. En ajoutant à ce nombre celui des citoyens et résidants canadiens, on arrive à un total de plus de 2700 personnes évacuées de l’Afghanistan.
