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.
The Guardian – Advocacy Group Calls for Status for All Migrant Workers as Ottawa Increases Immigration
Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, a Toronto-based advocacy group, says migrant workers who are doing essential jobs during the pandemic also need to be included in the government’s strategy to achieve immigration targets. In February, Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited a record-high number of applicants to become permanent residents. The historical draw from the Express Entry pool included all applicants who have one year of what the government calls “skilled work experience.” The draw did not cover essential workers whose jobs usually fall out of the category.
Toronto Star – Canada Kept Doors Open to Temporary Foreign Workers During 2020’s Pandemic Lockdown, New Numbers Reveal
Amid travel restrictions and vastly reduced immigration, 322,815 people were issued a work permit under various temporary foreign worker programs, according to a joint project that tracks the pandemic’s impacts on Canadian immigration. Although that represents a drop of 10 per cent from the year before, temporary foreign workers appear to have been substantially less interrupted by COVID-19 than those in other streams of immigration to this country.
CTV News – ‘I Want to See People Like Me’: Trans Newcomers, Refugees Carving Out Online Space to Connect
Although dozens of organizations across Canada help trans newcomers, it’s usually only within broader LGBTQ2S+-friendly initiatives. But since September, a grant-funded peer-support group aptly named “Beyond Borders and Binaries,” began meeting online once a month. When they meet, trans immigrants show the ropes to newcomers, who organizers say can feel particularly isolated.
ICI Colombie-Britannique-Yukon – Des programmes pour le recrutement des enseignants francophones en C.-B. voient le jour
Grâce à une aide financière de 6,5 millions $ du ministère des Langues officielles distribuée à divers organismes au cours des deux dernières années, le Bureau des affaires francophones de l’Université Simon Fraser a développé plusieurs stratégies et projets pour former davantage d’enseignants francophones et les retenir en Colombie-Britannique. L’isolement professionnel est le principal obstacle à la rétention des professeurs francophones formés en Colombie-Britannique, explique Hélène Lalancette, directrice adjointe au Bureau des affaires francophones et francophiles (BAFF) de l’Université Simon Fraser.
CBC News – Canadian-Cuban Family Kept Apart for Nearly a Year Due to Delays in Visitor Visa Application
A southern Alberta man has been going through an “immigration hell,” as his lawyer calls it, that has left his common-law wife and two young children stuck in Cuba for almost a year due to delays in federal officials renewing her visa. Greg Skinner, who lives in Langdon just east of Calgary, says he’s frustrated with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, after 11 months of delays trying to renew a visitor visa for his common-law wife, Daylen Garcia Lopez.
Toronto Star – As Virus-Era Attacks on Asians Rise, Past Victims Look Back
On a Saturday evening in March, when COVID-19 panic shopping gripped the nation, Cung was in search of rice at a cheaper price. The family was in the Sam’s Club meat section when Cung suddenly felt a punch to the back of his head. A man he didn’t know then slashed his face with a knife. The grisly encounter brought home the dangerous climate Asian Americans have faced since the coronavirus entered the U.S., with racially motivated harassment and assaults occurring from coast to coast.
