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 – Canadian Refugee Adjudicators Asked ‘Offensive’ and ‘Insensitive’ Questions: Report
Refugee claimants were asked hurtful and demeaning questions and deprived of their right to fair and impartial hearings, according to a new report that determined eight Canadian adjudicators violated their code of conduct over the past two years. The report, prepared by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), includes findings that an adjudicator was “blunt and insensitive” when questioning a female refugee claimant who alleged she was raped.
National Post – Why Canada so Urgently Needs to Update Its Citizenship Materials
More than a decade after its publication and at least four years after it was promised, an update is coming this year to the Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship study guide. The current guide, created in 2009 and lightly updated in 2012, is provided to newcomers to learn about the nation’s history, culture and ethics in advance of the citizenship test they must pass to become Canadians. The study guide is, in essence, a distillation of how the government wants the nation to be seen.
Le Droit – Immigration francophone: le fédéral fait « un pas dans la bonne direction »
Lors d’une discussion avec les leaders d’organisations francophones de partout au pays, M. Mendicino a indiqué ne pas avoir établi de plafond au nombre d’immigrants francophones qui pourront obtenir leur résidence permanente dans le cadre d’un programme annoncé le mois dernier qui vise à favoriser la rétention au pays des travailleurs essentiels qui bénéficient en ce moment d’un visa temporaire. Marco Medicino a souligné lundi que l’immigration sera un élément important de la relance économique du pays après la pandémie de la COVID-19, en plus de souligner son importance pour la vitalité des communautés francophones en milieu minoritaire.
Global News – Feds to Create New System to Help Process Immigration Applications More Quickly
Ottawa says it will create a new digital platform to help process immigration applications more quickly after the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for a faster shift to a new system. The federal government pledged in the 2021 budget to spend $428.9 million over the next five years to deliver the platform that would gradually replace the existing case management system. The new platform will launch in 2023 to improve application processing and provide more support for applicants, the government said.
Reuters – Canada Taken to Court Over COVID Policy That Pushes Asylum-Seekers to U.S.
Canada’s pandemic-era policy of turning back asylum-seekers trying to enter between official border crossings is unlawful and violates their rights, a legal action filed on Tuesday alleges. The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers filed the legal action in federal court claiming the policy is unlawful because it fails to consider the situation of asylum-seekers and whether they have reasonable alternatives available. The policy also denies asylum-seekers their right to a hearing, according to a copy of the legal action seen by Reuters.
Le Soleil – Recrutement à l’international : une migration inespérée en Chaudières-Appalaches
Initié afin d’offrir aux entreprises de la région Chaudière-Appalaches de la visibilité, un service de représentation et de l’appui dans leur recrutement à l’international, le programme Passerelle a connu un succès inespéré. Non seulement il a permis l’arrivée de 658 travailleurs spécialisés, mais au total, ce sont 1643 personnes qui se sont installées dans la région. Émigrer dans un nouveau pays étant une décision importante, les dirigeants du programme voulaient avant tout s’assurer que la décision d’un travailleur de venir s’installer dans la région soit un projet de vie, un projet de famille et qu’elle soit animée par l’intention de s’y épanouir.
